5am. Igeon liked this time the best before the hazy, dim sunrise started to rise.
Stomp! Stomp!
He kept his breathing steady, breathing in on every left step and out on every right step.
The cold air breezed through his lungs as he ran.
Igeon returned home after running for an hour and a half in the morning. It had already been 3 years since he started jogging in the mornings .
‘It should be about time now’
It was almost time for his mother to wake up and make breakfast.
Igeon’s mouth watered as he remembered the sweet-smelling soy bean paste soup and savory smell of bread.
Whether it was bread or rice, it didn’t matter because Igeon was quite hungry after running in the morning.
Naturally, this amount of exercise in the morning would make one hungry.
Maybe that was why Igeon’s steps hastened as he returned home.
He shouted expectantly.
“I’m back!”
Like any other day, he opened the front door and called out as usual.
‘Huh?’
He suddenly felt a chill up his spine as he inhaled sharply.
Reflexively, Lee Gun pinched his nose as a fishy smell suddenly a.s.saulted his senses .
“Mother?”
To his surprise , what returned wasn’t his mother’s voice, but rather a roar only a beast could animate.
Grrrrrr.
Igeon begun to shiver.
He turned his head towards the direction the sound came from.
He could see two glowing eyes within the thick darkness.
The two glowing eyes which were positioned quite low for that of a human, crept towards him.
‘…a dog?’
The outline of the animal in the dark was definitely a dog with the kind of long snout it had.
It resembled a Malamute or a Siberian husky .
“Grrrrrr”
Igeon quickly changed his thoughts as he saw the sharp teeth and a salivating beast in front
of him.
‘It’s not a dog’
It was a grey wolf.
The grey wolf revealed its sharp teeth dyed in red.
Igeon couldn’t look away considering the overwhelming pressure it gave off.
His heart started thumping faster, and his body stiffened on the spot.
It felt like he had stood there for at least several minutes when not even a few seconds had pa.s.sed.
In a daze, his eyes suddenly landed on an ap.r.o.n which his mother used.
It was a blue-coloured ap.r.o.n with a sun drawn on it.
‘Ah!’
No sound escaped from his mouth, but it was as if someone had hit him he suddenly woke up from his temporal paralysis .
His eyes which were only focused on the wolf, widened as he observed his surroundings. He saw a shirt covered in blood and decorated with human flesh.
“Grrrr!”
Right at that moment, the wolf sprung at him.
“Argh!”
At the same time Lee Gun bent down and rolled forward.
Luckily, his sudden instinctive movement allowed him to luckily dodge the wolf.
Hence, allowing him a moment of survival.
“Grrr!”
The grey wolf didn’t stop its advance and bared its fangs towards Igeon as it turned towards him again.
“Uwaahh!”
Igeon exclaimed in confusion as he narrowly escaped by hurling an object he’d managed to grab at the wolf.
It was a scruffy briefcase with a faded handle that his father used for work.
‘Mother and I were planning to gift him a new briefcase for his birthday this year.’
“Ah!”
Igeon exhaled in realisation as he faced the reality of his parents death.
No, he had to face it.
His parents were dead.
His parents who had never left his side for his 19 years had abruptly left him.
How nice it would have been if they were alive even if hanging onto their last breath like in the novels?
But that was just too much to ask for.
Igeon’s parents had died a cold, harsh death.
“Grrrrr!”
The grey wolf lunged towards him again.
In this tense moment Igeon’s two eyes suddenly gleamed dangerously.
It was a gleam filled with plain anger.
“d.a.m.n you!”
Igeon ran forward as he screamed.
Thunk!
Luckily, the grey wolf didn’t think Igeon would run straight towards it hence its attack had missed.
The attack was so strong that its leg smashed right through the floor and got stuck in it.
Seeing that, Igeon calmed down.
The grey wolf was overwhelmingly stronger than him. But that didn’t stop his murderous rage towards it.
‘Bare hands wouldn’t work; I need a weapon’
Igeon went towards the kitchen as he gathered his thoughts cooly despite his anger.
Shiiiing!
He went towards the table where the knives were kept and pulled out the longest kitchen knife he could find.
Tadadak!
In no time, the wolf had freed itself and was advancing towards him.
It revealed its fangs as it preyed on him with murderous intent.
Ddak!
The sound of the wolf’s teeth smashing into something in the air was heard.
Igeon, who had stooped low to avoid the attack, thrusted the knife upwards into the wolf from below.
“Die!”
Flash.
For a second he saw a flash.
Puuuuuuk!
The knife easily pierced the wolf and embedded itself deep inside the wild beast’s throat.
Igeon had cut his finger due to the sudden strength he’d poured into his arm to stab the wolf.
Dduk.
“Keugh…”
He groaned as a burning sensation spread through his palms but he forcefully pushed away the pain and focused.
A drop of blood fell.
“Grrrr” [Giiing]
The grey wolf wept sorrowfully.
The knife cleanly went through its neck and killed it.
No, it wasn’t dead yet. But he didn’t have the time to be surprised at its tenacity.
Igeon slowly stood up and moved towards the kitchen.
And came out holding another kitchen knife in his hands.
It was a blunt knife that his mother was planning to throw away.
Igeon walked towards the struggling wolf without hesitation.
Puk! Puk!
Blood splattered and its flesh was shredded.
As he stabbed continuously.
Tung!
Igeon’s blood mixed with the blood smeared on the knife.
Igeon turned his body around and went towards the toolbox.
The wolf was already dead.
Crunch!
He brought a hammer from the box and smashed the wolf’s head.
He proceeded to mutilate the wolf until it was splattered into pieces.
Jiiing.
Suddenly, Igeon held his head as a piercing sound rang inside his head.
The strong pain made him unable to balance himself.
“Urghh!”
He tried to stay awake, no, he tried to at least not fall over…but he lost consciousness.
Tak. Jururug.
His outstretched hand touched the wall as he fell and a long stream of blood dripped down from his hands.