The next morning, your father quickly set off to organize our escape. I was afraid, Joon-Ho, because you can imagine what would happen if someone got wind of our plans... Someone from the people who had succumbed to the hatred and spite...

I decided to act as if everything were normal, at least outwardly. I stepped out of the door in the morning and sat with you in the garden, tending to the plants. Your grandmother was at a neighbor's house again, helping with the canning of some cabbages. I kept thinking about what had happened the previous day.

Deiji's words, which might have been true. The hatred in the people who had tortured and mutilated an innocent man, driven by madness and guided by old stories that seemed to contain a bit too much truth...

When doubts arose about leaving the city with you and your father, I only had to think of Deiji, bleeding out on the floor of her house... Of the weeping figure at the well and the malicious faces of the insane crowd... Of the chants that paid homage to powers from a distant past and... Of you and how you would grow up if we stayed... if you would grow up at all and they didn't take you away one day, for some insane made-up reason...

The weeds began to wither and so did the plants, as I sadly noticed. Over time, a more foul-smelling wind blew from beyond the sea up to us. It reeked of the atrocities and malice that had taken place near the shore below... and were probably still happening. The salty note of the ocean mixed in, almost mocking me.

I angrily stabbed the small trowel I had been using to loosen the soil into the ground, only to stir up dry dust.

"Yes... It's dry... Much too dry... yes, yes..."

I looked up. Su-Ji was standing there, peering over the fence into the garden, nodding sadly to herself. The old woman had silver hair neatly tied into a bun. She wore a traditional hanbok, its once vibrant colors long erased by dirt and time.

"Ah, Su-Ji, how are you? Has it gotten better for you?"

"Oh, child, it's not going so well... my back... you know... And I also have problems with the soil. It's parched. It hasn't rained properly for a while now... And water is running low. They say things are getting terrible down by the sea..."

"I've heard about it. They sacrificed a man..."

"Yes, yes... Terrible... What did it accomplish, other than bring some satisfaction? Nothing... The wells are still poisoned, and even in the surf, this yellowish pus shimmers. Almost like an oil film, but somehow... alive..."

"What? Since when?"

It just wouldn't stop! Why, why couldn't it return to how it used to be?

"I don't know. I heard it from a friend who was down there today. She was completely distraught and disturbed. There have also been problems nearby... It's a calamity... I mean, neighbors often have heated arguments, there have always been acts of violence... But like this? No... They've never behaved like this before. People running through the streets, covered in blood...? There are rumors that even some corpses are lying around, rotting away with nobody caring... Disgusting and eerie..."

With that, she set off and continued up the street to her small shed.

Similar reports were brought by others who moved between the different neighborhoods. From people who worked down by the sea during the day or had family there. Even nearby, there were now isolated cases of individuals acting aggressively and treacherously. I was just happy that most did not ask me about the blood on my clothes I had carried through town earlier.

As the day wore on, the air was finally torn apart by distant screams and gunshots. My guts twisted because your father was down there... I was afraid he wouldn't come back, afraid we'd be alone, and that the malice in the people would seep into us and eventually kill us...

I thought about Deiji and what she had done to Hyeon... Thought about her lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling and the blood flowing from her neck...

In the evening, your father came home. His clothes were torn, his face dirty and he had a bloody cut on his cheek, but he was alive.

"Down there... It's pure chaos. Fights, lunatics... Everyone seems to want to go to the well to drink more, and there are disputes and scuffles over the slightest things..."

He groaned as I began to clean his wound.

"I never want to go down there again... I can't imagine what you experienced there... But it worked. I found Hoomin; he was still in his right mind and agreed to help. Had shut himself off in the north for a while to deal with the loss of Seok. He's getting supplies and will then take the Haemin out to sea, where he'll make a turn and dock in the south in a small hidden cove. He'll wait for us there until tomorrow evening. We need to pack the essentials and get going! Immediately! We'll take as many containers as we can and fill and get water from the stream up above. Then we'll continue over the mountains to the Haemin. We just have to hope that the madness stays down by the beach for now and doesn't completely flood up here. This one..." he pointed to the wound, "I got when two teenagers took a liking to my hat as they walked down the street. They said I didn't deserve it and went completely mad and rabid. Luckily, Dong-Ha was nearby and helped me... It will reach us soon, too, if we don't hurry..."

I swallowed and began packing some things for you. It was late noon, and under normal circumstances, we would easily cover the distance, but what if people spotted us sneaking toward the border? What if Hoomin couldn't make it, had gotten caught or turned mad? What if we set out into the wilderness in vain...?

But the violence and hatred that were increasingly bubbling up in Gipeun were undeniable and life-threatening. The knowledge of the growing horrors so close to you made me feel a painful tightness in my chest. But it was the only way. We couldn't go north; the road was too far, and they said it had also started there. Whether that was true, I didn't know, but I didn't want to risk it... Though... I also didn't want to risk fetching water from the streams, or at least not taking suspicious quantities.

"Ayeum!" I suddenly exclaimed.

Your father just looked at me, confused.

"Ayeum! Eun, she has working pipes. We can fill our containers at her place without being seen! Then we can sneak behind her house and into the bushes and make our escape!"

He thought for a moment and then smiled weakly.

"A truly great idea!"

It was a good idea, but today I know it was the wrong one. Today I know that this idea cost your father his life, that because of this decision, you never got to know how much he loved you. Joon-Ho, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for taking your father away from you, even if it was unintentional. But going to Ayeum seemed like the best course of action, the most sensible thing to do... We did not want to get caught! Please, you must understand that!

We set off less than half an hour later. I had strapped you to my chest, wrapped in one of the few cloths we owned. I also carried a sack with an old metal canister hidden inside, hoping to soon fill it up. Your father was also laden with an old backpack containing several bottles. I packed some valuables into another shoulder bag so that we would have at least something to start a new life with. Finally, we stepped out of the door of our house for the last time. Your grandmother wasn't back yet, but she knew what we were planning. In the distance, but not far enough away, more and more screams and angry curses were heard, and more and more gunshots reported the use of firearms by the security men. The sounds finally drove me away without seeing your grandmother ever again. She wasn't far away, but the neighbor she was with was further down the street, and your father said it was too dangerous to go in that direction even a few meters.

"It's no use. She knows we're leaving. She knows how difficult it is. We talked about it extensively yesterday..."

"But... I... I have to say goodbye! She's... she's my mother..."

But time was running out. Plumes of smoke were rising not far away, and fires were blazing a few streets down the road. In the air, more screams were audible, and more gunfire echoed.

It almost tore my heart out of my chest, but with a tearful face, I turned away and walked up the path that led to Ayeum's house. Once again, eyes from the houses along the way watched us, observing what we were doing, but we quickly left them behind. You were sleeping peacefully, and I hope you didn't witness too much of all those horrors.

Finally, we crossed Ayeum's lush garden and headed for the door. After a few brief, heavy knocks, her father opened. He looked worse than usual but waved us inside.

"What... what can I do for you? You seem to be in a hurry. Ayeum isn't here right now, she went up to the hills, but she'll probably be back soon," he said absentmindedly, chewing on his fingernails.

"We... we wanted to ask if we could..." I began, but the man suddenly cut me off.

"You know, Haru, I've been thinking..."

"Thinking about what?"

"Well, our conversation. I've been thinking about what we talked about."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

He turned around and looked deep into my eyes, a faint, sad smile on his lips. There was something about his expression that didn't sit right with me, but I had seen so many horrors in the past few days that I thought I might have become paranoid. How foolish, wasn't I? I should have known better, after everything...

"I've been thinking," he continued.

"I went to see Hyun, an old colleague. We drank and talked for a long time, and I've been thinking. And something became clear to me."

His voice was now trembling ominously.

He had been drinking... what? What had he been drinking? Just alcohol, or...?

No!

"You. You and those DAMN BRATS! YOU KILLED HER!" he suddenly screamed out and jumped toward me.

And at you.

Why hadn't I strapped you to my back... Something flashed in his hand.

Your father reacted reflexively and threw himself on the old man to protect us.

"YOU HAVE TAKEN HER FROM ME! I HATE YOU! I HATE NOTHING IN THE WORLD MORE THAN YOU! YOU MUST DIE! PERISH! YOU HAVE TO PAY!" the Ayeum's father screamed as Eun tried to somehow wrestle him down.

But I also noticed that your father was hesitating. He was big and working on the Haemin had made him muscular and strong... But he had never seriously hurt anyone and the old man was now lashing out like a madman, hitting Eun, seemingly only hungering for one thing - revenge. First on me, then on everything else he could find. Saliva flew around, blood splattered and finally your father hit the old man so hard in the face with his elbow that he went down and didn't move again. When Eun turned to me, he pressed his hand to his chest and I saw the table knife that had been rammed deep into his ribs.

The next moments are blurry, I'm sorry. I only remember that I knelt beside your father, you weeping on my chest. I stroked him as he leaned against the wall, uttering only groans, contorted in pain. I didn't understand what he was saying, but I'm sure it was about both of us. I'm sure your father was telling us how much he loved us. That we should stick to the plan, that we needed to flee and escape. To find a better life. That you were the best thing that had ever happened to him. Joon-Ho, I'm sure he thought exactly that. Your father loved you more than anything and gave his life so we could survive. I saw it in his fading eyes. I'm glad he didn't go mad. He died as a human. And he died with us. I held his lifeless body, weeping bitterly, hearing only your cries.

But... we had to go on. I had to stick to the plan, just as he would have wanted. So that you could escape from this town. So that you would have a life that wasn't as hopeless as those of the others living in that deadly, bleak country...

I gathered myself, sweaty and again covered in blood. The cloth in which I had wrapped you was now stained red and damp. I staggered into the next room with you, searching for a replacement. I found some of Ayeum's clothes and changed both of us. I found a backpack among her things and loaded some of the bottles from your father's bloody bag into it. Then, finally, I went to the old faucets at the sink.

Would anything come out at all? Were the pipes still functional? Or had the spiteful neighbors, who had drunk the hateful water, already destroyed all the pipelines because they begrudged them to Ayeum and her father? Trembling, I placed my hand on the cold metallic handle and turned it.

Nothing, just gurgling and escaping air.

Nothing.

NOTHING!

I screamed and hit a cupboard door, not noticing the pain when my hand smashed into the wood. You began crying again as well.

Your father had died in vain...!

IN VAIN!

We should have just gone to the stream, should have simply taken some of its water and left. What a foolish idea I had had! What a stupid suggestion...

I had killed him...!

In those moments, something died inside me, and a numbness and coldness entered my mind that I never shook off. It drained the last bit of warmth I had left in me. You've experienced that coldness too often, my beloved Joon-Ho, I know, and I'm forever sorry. But back then, in that moment... my world turned gray.

Then, gushing.

Water!

It spurted in bursts from the faucet, and I caught it in one of the bottles. Then I looked cautiously through the glass to see if the yellow, pus-like streaks were visible. Whether this water also carried the hatred within...

It was clean.

It was clean!

I couldn't believe it.

It was clean.

I fell to the floor sobbing and held you close.

Finally, there was a glimmer of hope!

The stream of water now bubbled continuously, and crystal-clear, cold water poured into the metal sink with a hiss. I filled four bottles and the canister, relieved beyond words. Carrying all that water and you was exhausting, but I did not care.

I swore to myself that I would get you out of there, Joon-Ho, no matter the cost! I would take you across the sea to another country, a country where hatred was far away and had not inundated everything... A country where...

Suddenly, I froze. Icy chills ran down my spine, and you started trembling in my arms like never before. My knees went weak, and I sensed something nearby, something that brought more danger than anything I had ever seen or experienced. When I think back nowadays, I still feel sick and afraid. After all the things that had happened, after the brutalities, the cruelties, the envy, the hatred, the spite, after the crowd that had been on the verge of tearing me to pieces, after the fires in Deiji's and Ayeum's father's eyes, seeking to extinguish me and their dead bodies... There was something worse.

Something that instilled pure, cold panic and terror in me...

What could it be? What could possibly...?

And then, I saw it.

The water, which was still running and had slowly filled up the sink because the drain was plugged, began to change.

It wasn't the yellow-brown substance mixed in there, no voices whispering hateful things... It was... an oily blackness that seemed to slowly bleed into it. It mixed with the water, and soon, everything in the sink was engulfed in an indescribable darkness. Peculiar patterns of thin waves curled on the water's surface, though they were alien patterns I had never seen before and never have seen since. The sight of this dark liquid nearly drove me mad. It flowed from the faucet, but with peculiar movements, slower, slightly thicker than normal water would have done.

A part of me felt like I was looking into an eternal depth. Almost as if the water's surface was just an entrance to a place made of panic and fear itself. It partly felt as if there were things inside, things approaching. But partly it also felt like gazing into an infinite, black void. As the basin began to overflow, I ran out of the room. I rushed out of the back door and up the hill, just up the hill, away from the black... water.

I left you fathers corpse in that house, and I hate myself for that. What if those waters had taken him and denied him peace in the end...? But I also had to make sure that you got out, Joon-Ho! That was the right thing to do, was it not? What he would have wanted?

The path up the mountainous hill behind Ayeum's house was overgrown with thick bushes and dense trees, and I struggled on until I reached the road leading to the viewing platform. We had to get there, and then farther away, just away!

I had already covered half the distance when a group of panicked people came running towards me. They were coming from the direction of the side path that led to the stream which had saved us from the tainted groundwater in the last few days.

"RUN, RUN!" a woman shouted.

"THE MOUNTAIN! THE MOUNTAIN IS BLEEDING!" another screamed.

"THE BLOOD OF THE MOUNTAIN WILL DEVOUR US! IT'S SO BOTTOMLESS, INFINITELY DEEP!"

They were gesturing wildly, nameless terror on their faces. Some—very few—ran up the mountain, probably to seek safety there. But most ran downhill toward the town. Perhaps they wanted to warn their families?

I followed those who kept running uphill. There was nothing to hear, but slowly, I noticed that the strange musty smell that had plagued me in the past few days down in Gipeun was dissipating as I got further and further up the mountain. My sides were throbbing, and my lungs burned, and you still hadn't settled down. Therefore, the last few meters to our viewing platform, that old gravely plateau, almost escaped my notice, but eventually, I sat with you on one of the old stone seats that Hyeon had made for us so many years ago.

To impress me...

The memories were piercing. Everything in me hurt. I had lost your father, my friends... Only us two remained...

Two other women and a little boy stood with me, trembling. The boy cried, wanting to be with his father. The woman who appeared to be his mother clung to her torn dress, holding him close. The other woman had leaned against one of the stone seats, burying her head in her hands.

Then we looked down at the city and the sea...

Plumes of smoke billowed everywhere, and flames flickered from houses and gardens. In many places, tiny groups of people could be seen, seemingly pulsating. I suspected they were busy killing each other...

The ocean beyond the beach looked almost peaceful as it lay there, touched by the gentle breeze whipping the land. On the water of the bay, there was a shimmering, yellowish film that seemed to surface and disappear repeatedly. A breeze blew up to us, and it was as if I heard those faint voices one last time, the ones I had heard in Deiji's water bucket, in what felt like an eternity ago...

"Hate... Hate will help... Hate will bring retribution... Bring better times... Hate you... Hate you... Scum... Scum..."

Then came the darkness. At first, it was only on the horizon, far out on the ocean. A deep, infinite darkness that devoured the water and seemed to suffocate everything in its path. When it reached the harbor, the clouds also darkened, and distorted black lightning streaked across the sky. I don't think anyone down in Gipeun even noticed...

Not far from us, I saw the black water flowing down the hill, the same black water I had seen in Ayeum's house. I couldn't make out much, but it was enough. The liquid flowed forth, thick and relentless. The houses it touched disappeared. Although the dark water couldn't have been more than ankle-deep, it looked like the buildings were simply plunging into an infinitely deep sea. There were no sounds, no sounds at all as the structures vanished. Only the terrible screams of people reached us as they noticed the... water. I saw some fall into it and disappear as well. I couldn't see their faces, but I'm sure they were so contorted by terror that they couldn't even be described as human anymore.

Soon, the sea itself surged. It was completely black now, appeared to churn and boil. All the strange glimmers that had been visible on the surface before disappeared. Higher and higher waves piled up, and then the floodwaters crashed into the town. I... I'm not exactly sure what I saw. The sea seemed to gain consciousness, to become a foreign presence that tore into Gipeun and pulled it into its infinite maws of horror. Not only monstrous waves of darkness ripped the buildings into the infinite abyss of the black sea, but there were also other shapes rising from the water — almost like claws or tentacles — that reached for the people and buildings. Sheds and streets and temples and official buildings, all falling down, just down into a void. It was as if the sea itself was reaching for Gipeun. Soon, only the black water in the bay remained, which had partly shot up the mountain but was now slowly receding. Where it had been, the landscape had changed and was partly unrecognizable.

The sight of the bay now resembled a different, foreign world. I felt terror when gazing into the abyss, and the feeling was a thousand times worse than the sight of that trickle that had come out of the faucet. A hole was in the world. A hole was, where Gipeun once had been.

"Let's go. It's over. I have a boat. It has room for all of us."

My voice sounded foreign as I spoke. Everyone flinched and turned to me. The boy was still crying, but his mother nodded. The other woman looked at me with tear-streaked eyes. She appeared disturbed but determined as well. We stood up and headed south.

I looked back at Gipeun one last time. It was now completely consumed by the dark abyss. Holding you close, I turned my gaze away. Our small group didn't take long to reach the hidden cove. We fought our way through the wilderness and along steep cliffs, the water I had saved helping us to endure. I believe that without the bottles and the canister, we wouldn't have made it and would have perished somewhere along the way or wasted too much time searching for a clean water. Eventually, finally, the next evening, we found the old boat and the grumpy Hoomin, just as had been agreed. He seemed to have heard nothing of the horrors beyond the mountains. So, in the end, we found ourselves crowded aboard the small ship and set sail, eventually reaching Japan. The rest of the escape was also tough and draining, costing us more than a month, but in the end we made it.