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“It seems it hasn’t been long since the fire was set.”

Did that mean it hadn’t been long since they turned into snails? To Kang-soe’s question, Yeom-gon replied that he didn’t know. They couldn’t yet tell if the grass refused to grow because of the recent fire or because of something far darker. With that, he took a step forward.

The heavy wooden well cover sat shut. Yeom-gon tapped it lightly with his fingertips, then gazed quietly up at the charred remains of the house. Who burned it down? The mutter was soft, barely audible, but Kang-soe caught it and answered promptly.

“Someone they knew must have burned it.”

“Someone they knew? Ah, my. Another mistake.” He’d suddenly dropped honorifics again—making such a mistake. He stared meaningfully at Kang-soe, who quickly turned his head to avoid the intense gaze.

“Didn’t the salt merchant say the fool who turned into a snail tried to crawl up from there?”

“Indeed he did.”

“And the only person who saw that was the merchant, right?”

“Correct.”

“And he said there were survivors among them.”

“Though it is highly uncertain if they remain human.”

Not survived but remained human—that was the critical distinction. Yeom-gon corrected the phrasing, but Kang-soe just blurted out his raw thoughts. Is a snail even human? Since they aren’t human, they’re basically dead. He stated this bluntly, then deduced that whoever burned the house must have known the grotesque son was trapped inside.

“But why is that important?”

What did that have to do with the han he’d mentioned? Yeom-gon didn’t answer. Instead, he knocked lightly on the well cover.

A hollow thump-thump echoed, followed shortly by the distinct sound of dripping water—as faint as a needle dropping onto silk, yet the two men standing quietly before the stone rim heard it perfectly.

They blinked, locking eyes.

There was something down there.

As Yeom-gon’s hand gripped the edge of the well cover, Kang-soe called out to him in sheer panic.

“B-brother!”

“…Little brother?”

“You aren’t seriously going to open that cover right now, are you?”

“Of course I will. What else would I do?”

Yeom-gon stated he would simply check what was inside and close it immediately, but Kang-soe was struck with sudden, paralyzing terror.

“Oh my. Brother. I urgently need to take a piss, so I’ll go relieve myself in the bushes over there while you quickly check it.” Kang-soe smiled as amiably as possible, desperately assuring him that he wasn’t running away—no need to worry whatsoever.

“Damn this bladder. Why would it need to go at a time like this. Haha.”

Instantly, the corners of Yeom-gon’s mouth twitched upward. Kang-soe’s forced laughter kept trembling nervously—ha, ha—and a pathetic groan escaped his lips unbidden.

“A-ahem. I suppose I can hold it a bit longer.”

How long could looking into a well take? Saying he’d just watch for a moment and then go pee, he stepped nervously to the side. Only then did Yeom-gon’s smirk drop. What a terrifyingly easy man to read. As Kang-soe tried to hide his trembling hands and squeezed his eyes shut, Yeom-gon opened the well. He kicked and snapped the rusted padlock, hauling the heavy cover aside with a grating creak.

The sound was so terrifying that Kang-soe cracked one eye open, but peeking through squinted lids, he couldn’t make out anything in the dark shaft. Just as he tried to open them a fraction wider, something abruptly shot out from the abyss and wrapped tightly around his waist.

“Aaaagh!”

He screamed in mortal shock, but then a voice told him to calm himself. The one who had grabbed his waist was Yeom-gon. Realizing he’d shrieked in premature panic, Kang-soe’s face flushed a burning red.

While Kang-soe gaped silently like a landed fish, Yeom-gon finished pushing the well cover aside. He waved his free hand gracefully, as if waiting for dust to settle, then tightened his grip around Kang-soe’s waist.

“W-why are you doing this?”

“Didn’t you say you needed to urinate?”

His legs had been literally shaking from the startle. Kang-soe tried to act nonchalant and answer in the affirmative, but Yeom-gon’s lips seemed to curl into a slight, wicked smile—or maybe it was a trick of the light. In that moment, Yeom-gon’s whisper brushed directly against his ear.

“Pee.”

“Pardon?”

What did I just hear? Yeom-gon rolled his eyes toward the sky, as if contemplating the crudeness of what he’d just said, and spoke again.

“Ah, my goodness. Another mistake.”

What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this? Ignoring Kang-soe’s blank, horrified stare, Yeom-gon made a soft shhh sound—like a mother prompting a toddler—and rubbed Kang-soe’s lower belly with the hand still wrapped around his waist.

Did I mishear him? Kang-soe stared at Yeom-gon with a thoroughly blank face and dug a finger into his ear to clear it. He looked back, and Yeom-gon—perhaps assuming Kang-soe hadn’t heard properly—repeated himself:

“Please relieve yourself.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I told you to piss.”

He kept hearing incredibly strange things. While Kang-soe vigorously dug out his ear with his pinky, Yeom-gon gently shook his waist.

“Didn’t you say you urgently needed to go?”

“…Well, that was…”

Because I didn’t want to stand next to you while you opened a cursed well. Unable to voice the pathetic truth, Kang-soe clamped his mouth shut. When he didn’t answer, Yeom-gon actually reached down and tried to untie Kang-soe’s waistband. Startled out of his wits, Kang-soe thrust his hips back and violently twisted away.

“Whoa! Why are you doing this?!”

“Didn’t you say you needed to go?”

“No! I said earlier that I could hold it! I’ll just pee in the bushes over there when we’re done here.”

“Since you have to go anyway, isn’t it better to put it to good use?”

“What do you plan to do with someone else’s piss! If you want to use it so badly, you pee, Hyung-nim!”

When Kang-soe finally yelled, Yeom-gon’s eyes widened. Did you just yell at me? He didn’t say it aloud, but his widened, piercing eyes conveyed exactly that. Terrified, Kang-soe shrank his neck into his shoulders, mumbled a weak defense about how Yeom-gon kept touching him when he’d said no, and bolted.

Naturally, he was caught by the collar before he’d taken three steps, but he didn’t give up easily. Ultimately, Kang-soe had to be dragged back a couple more times before he finally surrendered with a heavy sigh and dropped his pants.

“Just aim into the well.”

“Shhhhh.”

Why does this feel so deeply humiliating? Kang-soe retorted with a profoundly sour expression.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“I’m not a three- or four-year-old child; stop making that ‘shhh, shhh’ sound. You’re going to summon a snake instead of piss. And don’t make me do stuff like this either.”

“What exactly do you mean by ‘stuff like this’?”

Isn’t it obvious? Kang-soe glared downward and replied, “This.”

Prompted by the look, Yeom-gon casually clasped his hands behind his back and stared intently at where Kang-soe had gestured. Kang-soe’s insides boiled with embarrassment. Snapping at the hunter to stop staring, he turned around and awkwardly got into position over the dark shaft.

But under such intense scrutiny, nothing would come. Come out. Come out. Let’s just pee quickly and get this nightmare over with.

Right around then, the urine slowly began to flow, arcing into the darkness below, and he felt terribly, profoundly weird about the entire ordeal. Even if it was an abandoned well, it felt like committing a profound sin. The stream hit the bottom with a splashing drip. Had rainwater pooled down there from yesterday’s storm? Until Kang-soe entirely finished, Yeom-gon merely stared silently into the well, offering no commentary.

Shivering as he finished and hastily pulling up his pants, Kang-soe asked, “Is there something down there?”

“There is, and there isn’t.”

What is he talking about? As Kang-soe stared at him in confusion, Yeom-gon smiled pleasantly, then looked up at the sky. Following his gaze, Kang-soe saw the sun beating down fiercely. It had looked cloudy for a second—so why was it so incredibly clear now? Perhaps due to the previous day’s rain, the air hung heavy and humid, and with the blazing sun bearing down, it was stiflingly hot.

Beside Kang-soe, who exhaled deeply and desperately fanned himself with one hand, Yeom-gon muttered, “This is a problem. It shouldn’t rain yet.”

“…What do you mean?”

When Kang-soe asked what on earth he was muttering so suspiciously about, Yeom-gon didn’t answer, choosing instead to stare at him quietly.

“Is there something on my face?”

“No. I just had something to think about.”

Why do you need to stare at my face to think? He was clearly making fun of him, but lacking a sharp tongue, Kang-soe couldn’t think of a snappy retort. He just kicked the dirt hard with his toe. Damn nobleman. If he wasn’t a nobleman, was a handspan shorter, and didn’t carry that terrifying sword, I would’ve smacked him and bolted.

Wait. If he wasn’t a noble, was short, and didn’t have a sword, I wouldn’t even need to run away in the first place.

He could just ignore him. Bark all you want, I’m going my own way, he imagined himself saying, walking away at a leisurely stroll, and the rebellious fantasy eased his frustration. Though reality was quite different, Kang-soe briefly savored the sweet taste of liberation in his imagination.

Of course, that peace didn’t last long either.

“…ther.”

“Little brother.”

Lost in thought, he suddenly found that pale, unnerving face right in front of his nose. Startled, Kang-soe jumped and nearly fell backward. Calming his racing heart, he asked why the man was calling him.

“It seemed my little brother Kang-soe’s mind was wandering.”

“…W-well, that’s…”

“That’s?”

“I also have various things to think about. So, just for a moment.”

“Your mind was wandering?”

Yeah, so what if I got distracted for a second? Thinking Yeom-gon might actually smack him for it, Kang-soe subtly shrank his shoulders, but Yeom-gon called out to him in an incredibly sweet, gentle voice. Little brother. Little brother. It sounded sweet to the ear, but somehow it made him feel as though he was about to be severely punished, his heart prickling with anxiety.

He expected a reprimand, but Yeom-gon didn’t scold him. Instead, he simply stated there was somewhere they needed to go and grabbed Kang-soe’s arm. Are you doing this in case I run away? At Kang-soe’s question, Yeom-gon shook his head. Then he stared silently at the bushes and the cursed well once more, making Kang-soe feel inexplicably fearful, entirely unable to shake free of the grip.

“There isn’t much time left.”

“Time for what?”

“Before the heavens hand down their punishment.”

“Punishment…?”

Hadn’t they already been punished? Kang-soe recalled the people turned into grotesque mud snails, and the thought of them slithering sluggishly made his stomach churn violently. As he covered his mouth, struggling to suppress his nausea, Yeom-gon’s explanation continued.

“Turning into snails is a curse.”

Han built up and layered over itself. It laid down stepping stones for the sluggish to crawl upon and made them leap and lunge forward with unnatural speed. Yeom-gon looked at the miasma blanketing the village—seemingly there yet not there, but undoubtedly present to his trained eyes.

“…Yes, just like that lowly creature in the well.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. For now, there is somewhere we must go.”

“Where are we going?”

“The fool they locked in the well is gone. I thought he would writhe and thrash around when doused in urine, but seeing as it was quiet, he must have vacated the premises. And that is likely the reason our time is running out.”

“I really don’t understand a single thing you’re talking about, Hyung-nim.”

It was all utter nonsense to him. At Kang-soe’s complaint, Yeom-gon merely smiled and started walking. They navigated a short forest path and crossed a low hill—not a long journey, but soon the charred house had vanished entirely behind them. As they walked, large patches of ground appeared burned and scarred. Kang-soe wondered if someone had accidentally started a fire while clearing a field, then suddenly realized: Is there even anyone left in this village to clear a field?

Could it be?

A sudden, paralyzing chill crept down the back of his neck. The blazing, clear sky suddenly looked pitch black to his eyes, and his head spun dizzily. Without realizing it, Kang-soe’s knees buckled, and he collapsed to the dirt.