How to Survive the Horror Novel I Wrote
Chapter 5
I edged away from Ugeum, turned down the call volume, and answered the phone.
“Yes, teacher.”
- Jian-ssi, you remember your blind date today, right? It’s at Restaurant OO at 12:00.
I looked at Ugeum reflexively. He raised an eyebrow as if asking what was wrong.
I didn't think he would be very pleased to know I was going on a blind date.
“Teacher, I’m sorry, but—”
- Oh my, no!
Before I could even finish my sentence, Teacher Ye-yeon cut in preemptively.
- Don't say you're sorry. I won't accept it. No ditching on the day of. The person who arranged it on their end is the principal!
“Ah.”
- If you don't go, Jian-ssi, I'll be on the principal's bad side.
“……”
Honestly, that was none of my business. I wasn't even close with Teacher Ye-yeon.
Did she see right through my thoughts? Teacher Ye-yeon pressed on relentlessly.
- You'll get on his bad side too, Jian-ssi. You know how the principal is, right? He holds grudges like crazy. Come on, let's make our school life easier. Okay?
I wondered what the point was if I ended up dead anyway, but if I was going to keep living, it was an important matter. It wasn't like I could just quit school tomorrow.
Every time something like this happened, I desperately wanted to become a full-time author, but there was no guarantee my books would keep selling well forever.
I didn't want to live comfortably in my youth only to face an old age devoid of everything.
I let out a sigh.
“……Understood.”
- Thank you! I'm counting on you.
Teacher Ye-yeon hurriedly hung up before I could change my mind.
“Who was that?”
Ugeum asked with a chin gesture. I chose my words carefully.
“Mo Yeyeon, another teacher. She asked me to meet her by 12:00 because she has a favor to ask.”
It wasn't a complete lie. Ugeum's gaze shifted to the wall clock.
“You'll have to start getting ready now if you need to wash up and put on makeup.”
“Yeah. Sorry, but could you come back later?”
It was an empty pleasantry. Never come back.
“Alright.”
Fortunately, Ugeum obediently put his clothes back on and stepped out. I walked him to the front door.
Just as I was secretly breathing a sigh of relief, Ugeum, who was putting on his shoes, asked out of the blue:
“You're not going out to meet a guy after doing all this, are you?”
I froze. If someone else had asked, I would have brushed it off and denied it, but the person standing in front of me was a serial killer who had only one rule: zero tolerance for lies.
Watching me unable to answer, Ugeum stared as if interrogating me, then suddenly broke into a playful smile.
“Just kidding.”
With a smirk, Ugeum kissed my cheek and left. I slumped down with a sigh.
Soon, the sound of typing ceased.
* * *
The blind date venue was a restaurant in front of a nearby subway station.
A seven-minute walk from home. It was a courtesy from the other party.
However, it seemed he had exhausted all the consideration he possessed on choosing the location, because the date itself was supremely uncomfortable.
Calling it a blind date was generous; it was practically a formal marriage meeting. The very first question I received after introductions was, “How much is your annual salary?”
When I mentioned that it felt a bit sensitive to discuss on a blind date, he bluntly pointed out my age.
He asked if twenty-nine wasn't an age where one should be looking to get married rather than just date.
No, it isn't. And why the hell do you get to decide what age I should get married at?
Unable to voice the surge of retort, I merely snapped back inwardly. When I managed a forced smile and said things weren't necessarily like that these days, the blind date man spoke in a surprised tone.
“You have a rather aggressive side, contrary to how you look.”
It was the first time in my life I had ever received such an assessment. He clearly didn't know what truly aggressive meant, making me want to introduce him to Jung-an.
If he got cussed out while getting a glass of water thrown in his face, he would understand instantly.
‘What is this crazy bastard talking about?’
The image of Jung-an splashing water in his face with a look of pure disbelief flashed through my mind.
Pfft. My cheek muscles twitched as I suppressed the burst of laughter threatening to leak out.
“That wasn't a compliment.”
The blind date man muttered sourly. Thanks to that, my amusement evaporated completely.
If it were up to me, I would have rejected him on the spot, but unfortunately, I was a working adult. To avoid having the principal nitpick everything I did, I had to get through this ordeal smoothly.
I treated the man sitting across from me like a student's parent and humored him.
No matter what nonsense he spouted, I let it go in one ear and out the other, nodding and smiling while focusing solely on my food.
I already had no appetite because I was so sleepy, but having to eat while facing such an unappetizing person made it impossible to tell whether the food was going into my mouth or my nose.
Listening half-heartedly, eating half-heartedly, I was practically zoning out when—
Clack, clack, clack.
The sound of typing drifted from somewhere. A razor-sharp chill pierced my entire body, as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head.
Startled, I whipped my head around.
This was a restaurant. Not a café. There wasn't a single person using a laptop, let alone a keyboard.
A dark unease billowed and swelled inside my chest.
No way. It can't be.
“What's the matter?”
The blind date man asked with a bewildered expression.
“I thought I heard someone typing somewhere.”
“You must have misheard.”
Yet the typing was still audible right now. In fact, it was very close.
It seemed I was the only one who could hear it. While chillingly terrifying, a part of me thought this might actually be a relief.
Maybe Jung-an was right. Maybe something really was wrong with my mind.
If I was the only one hearing auditory hallucinations and seeing visual ones... If both the keyboard and Ju Ugeum were merely delusions in my head...
Then at least my life would be safe.
“I'll be right back from the restroom.”
I stood up from my seat. Hallucination or not, I couldn't bear it without seeing the true nature of this sound with my own eyes.
Without even having to go far, I spotted a black wired keyboard typing away on its own atop a table right behind my back. I froze on the spot.
Why was this here? Did it not only return when thrown away, but actually follow me around?
The blood in my entire body ran cold.
Wait, if this is here, that means……
With a dreadful premonition, I looked toward the entrance, and sure enough, I saw Ugeum walking in.
The employees and customers paying at the counter near the entrance stared at him with dazed expressions.
Hallucination my foot. That bastard was real. Despite not even being a real human, he existed in reality.
How did he know to come here? Had he followed me?
Ugeum had stalker tendencies. Once he picked a target, his hobby was lingering around them for long periods, monitoring and observing them.
Could it be me too? Ugeum appearing here felt like an implication that even a lover could become prey, making my throat tighten.
“Aren't you going to the restroom?”
The blind date man's voice snapped me out of it. Reluctantly, I headed toward the restroom.
The restroom was near the entrance. Naturally, our paths were bound to cross. Seeing me, Ugeum stopped in his tracks, his face brightening.
“Jian-ah.”
He wasn't even surprised. As if he had come here knowing full well I was here.
“What are you doing here?”
I asked stiffly.
Ugeum countered with a single word.
“And you?”
I felt the urge to wiggle out of it with a lie, but there was no telling what would happen if I got caught.
I meekly confessed.
“I came for a blind date.”
Ugeum's eyebrow twitched.
“I thought you were meeting a fellow teacher.”
“I'm sorry. That was the favor she asked of me. To go on this blind date.”
“Even though you have me?”
“I haven't been able to tell people I have a boyfriend yet.”
“Or did you just choose not to?”
Ugeum hit the nail on the head in a calm voice. For a moment, words failed me.
He was right, I had chosen not to. What was I supposed to say?
‘Sorry, but I have a boyfriend.’
‘Oh my, really? When did you get one?’
‘The day before yesterday.’
‘How did you meet?’
‘He suddenly appeared when I was writing with a cursed keyboard.’
‘What does he do?’
‘He's a serial killer.’
Was I supposed to say that?
When I offered no reply, Ugeum spoke gently.
“Relax your expression. I'm not mad.”
“……Really?”
“You must have had your reasons that you couldn't share. Right?”
Ugeum smiled generously.
Anyone looking would think he was a saint. He was a murderer.
“Don't worry about me and take care of your business.”
Whispering affectionately, Ugeum walked past me, nonchalantly brushing off the gazes boring into him from all directions.
A step too late, I realized I hadn't received Ugeum's answer. Why he had come here.
As I looked back at Ugeum, I suddenly felt a stinging gaze.
The blind date man was watching this way with a suspicious look.
If he knew Ugeum's true identity, he wouldn't dare stare like that.
To dispel the blind date man's suspicions, I went to the restroom. But when I returned to the table, oh good lord.
Ugeum was sitting at the table right behind our blind date. It was a seat where he was directly facing me, looking right past the blind date man.
Noticing my gaze, Ugeum offered a bright smile and waved.
What on earth was he plotting?
I glanced at Ugeum as I sat down. The blind date man caught my gaze and frowned uncomfortably.
“Is that someone you know?”
“Pardon?”
The blind date man looked at me and nodded toward the seat behind him. He was pointing at Ugeum.
When my eyes inadvertently met Ugeum's, he smiled playfully and shrugged his shoulders.
My heart dropped. Ugeum was a character who could smile as if nothing were wrong even when he was enraged to the peak of fury. Most of the time, that bastard's smile wasn't really a smile.
What if he was actually furious? The image of Ugeum snapping the blind date man's neck in a dark, deserted alley in the dead of night flashed through my mind.
I knew it was an unfounded worry. Ugeum wasn't the type to kill just anyone.
Still, I couldn't help being terrified.
“Ah. Yes……”
“How do you know him?”
The blind date man pressed persistently.
Why was he so curious? Was someone's personal network really that intriguing to a person you just met today?
Ugeum was also waiting for my answer. It was a complete checkmate.
What was I supposed to say?
To avoid offending Ugeum, I had to say he was my boyfriend, but to maintain manners toward the matchmaker, I had to lie.
Just as I was hesitating, caught between a rock and a hard place—
A woman approached with the sharp clicking of heels and sat down directly across from Ugeum without hesitation. The back of her permed head blocked my view of Ugeum's face.
I was dazed. I had thought he followed me. Did he have plans here all along?
