Miho the Killer Chapter 25: Reunion

It was Saturday morning. A beautiful sumr day, a sumr that was coming to an end soon. Soon the leaves would start to turn brown, and fall, one by one, then in droves. Once the trees were ready for the winter with nothing but bare skin, the harsh winter would co. Climate change and global warming only seem to be true in sumr these days. The past few winters were exceptionally cold. Record high temperatures each sumr. Record low temperatures each winter. It was as if the Earth was trying to test the resilience of humans by putting us through two extres.

At what point would we snap?

The old man was driving an unremarkable car. Predictably cliche black, but unexpectedly not polished. A modest car that would have been perfect for two at the front and a tied-up man at the back. Would have been a bit too tight with two n, but I don’t think the old man would have cared much about their legroom.

After an hour’s drive from Seoul, we arrived at Paju, further up north than Goyang. It was a modest house not so far from the Publication Complex, where many factories and warehouses for book publishers existed. I heard that the industry wasn’t doing too well these days, with people preferring to read things on their phones and tablets and all that.

"Whatever you do, don’t provoke her."

The old man said as we got out of the car, just before we entered the house. I nodded my head in affirmation and clasped my hands together in front of my chest.

The door opened and a bell that was hung on it rang, like entering an old bookstore.

And inside, it really did look like a bookstore. As we walked through the living room, I glanced around and saw that there were bookshelves standing in front of almost every wall, each of them weighed heavy with knowledge.

We walked through the narrow hallway with a wooden door at the end. The old man gave a look again to tell to be careful. I nodded again.

"We are coming in, Miho."

Without waiting for an answer, he opened the door. I walked in, and there was Miho, my devil.

She sat on her bed looking out of a window, her head wrapped around in a bandage. She slowly turned her body our way and I felt an electric shock run all over my body as our eyes t.

"Mi-"

Before I could even complete her na, she jumped out of bed and dashed toward . The old man promptly stopped her, grabbed her by the back of her collars, and dragged her back to bed like putting a particularly naughty child to sleep.

"Dr. Yang! Dr. Yang!"

What?

Miho called out to in desperation. The old man looked at and shrugged his shoulders. He put Miho on the bed and walked back to where I stood, close to the door. He closed the door and stood leaning against it.

"Yes, Dr. Yang is here, Miho."

This wasn’t exactly a reunion I thought of, but the feeling of relief on Miho’s face was so overwhelming I did not want to break her delusion.

"Yes, I’m here. Ms. Jin."

"Huh?" Miho asked in confusion.

"Yes?"

"Who’s Ms. Jin?" She asked. Looking even more puzzled.

I approached the bed slowly and sat on the chair next to it, facing her.

"Right. You’ve had a serious head injury. Are you aware of that?"

"I guess."

"Your mory might be a little mixed up."

Miho just sat on her bed, looked at , and blinked a few tis.

"Let check a few things for you. What’s your na?"

"Gu Miho"

I looked over to the old man and he nodded his head.

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

I didn’t need any confirmation that this was wrong, but I decided to play along.

"What is the last thing you rember?"

"I was riding a bicycle. I think it was at the Lake Park - in Ilsan. Do you know that place?"

"Yes, that’s a wonderful park isn’t it?"

"Yeah, I used to go there with my sister all the ti."

"What is your sister’s na?"

"Sohee."

I did my best not to cringe and looked over to the old man, who subtly shook his head.

I took a deep breath and faced Miho again.

"So how do you feel today, Miho?"

I decided to call her by her first na and drop the Ms. Jin - or Ms. Gu - act.

"Oh God... I’ve been having dreams. Terrible dreams."

Miho raised her hands and pressed on her temple from each side.

"Could you tell about your dreams?"

"I see horrible things... so scary. So scary."

"Shhh, take it easy, Miho. What makes you so scared?"

"I see... I see people die. Not in a normal way. I see people die horribly."

"I’m very sorry to hear that. But this is to assess your condition. Could you tell so of the things you see?"

"I see many things. A man getting slaughtered. Multiple n dying. Their eyes getting poked out... people dying with knives in their guts, on their back, on their heads... I see a woman burning. The screaming, the stench... it’s horrifying."

I felt like I just got hit by a train.

"Who... is doing all these terrible things to people?"

"I don’t know... I can’t see her face..."

"Her?"

"Yes!"

"But you said you can’t see HER face. How do you know it is a woman?"

"Just her body... it looks like a woman. And she has long hair. Sotis in pony tail, sotis all ssy like a crazy woman. She’s a monster. An absolute monster."

Miho hugged her knees and shivered.

"Is it always the sa woman?"

"Yes... always..."

"What does she wear?"

"She’s wearing a suit. Black. But I know it’s a woman. She’s wearing a n’s suit but I’m sure she’s a woman."

"Does she ever speak to you?"

"No."

"Does she ever hurt you in your dreams?"

"No."

"Then why are you so scared?"

"What kind of question is that?! Wouldn’t YOU be scared if you saw people die?"

I was lost for words but I had to recompose myself.

"Of course, of course. It’s normal to feel that way. It’s really horrible, isn’t it?"

"Thank God. I knew it. I knew that you would understand, Dr. Yang."

The old man was right.

This wasn’t the Miho we knew anymore.