A MAN IN THE MIST

“Please, spare me…” the woman whimpered. She rolled on the floor, trying to get away from the figure in front of her. Her hands and legs were tied with wires; her wrists and ankles were hurting yet she struggled to release herself free.

The figure advanced towards her one step after another, his left hand rolled over a thin, sharp knife. Those cold eyes were fixed on the glistening, tearful eyes that gave her a shiver with terror. He smirked with delight as if he was superior to her. He crouched in front of her and wiped her tears with his cold fingertips. “Shh… don’t cry. You look ugly when you do that.”

The woman shuddered at the cold touch. Tears streamed down her red cheeks. “Please… please…”

The man cocked his head. “Are you begging for mercy? Am I hearing it right?” He chuckled, amused by her expression.

The woman trembled and looked at him with tiny hope of expectation. “I’m… I’m innocent. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“If you are innocent, then the whole world is innocent. Don’t you think so?” The guy stretched his arm out and stroked her disheveled hair. He brushed his fingers and said, “Akira, I really really loved you.” His words were sincerely gentle and affectionate.

The woman, Akira, swallowed hard. For some reason, his voice made chills run down her spine. With a quivering voice, she confessed, “I… I love you too.”

“Lie!” He sliced her face with the knife in his hand. It happened so fast that the woman was unable to block the attack.

“Ahh!” Akira screamed, cupping her right cheek with her tied hands. Blood gushed out rapidly, her palm not enough to stop the bleeding. Drops of blood trickled through her fingers.

“Who told you to lie? Look what you made me do. It’s not my fault. I’ve done nothing wrong. It’s all YOUR fault!” The more he yelled, the more excited he became. “You are a sinner, Akira. If you live, god knows how many men will be destroyed. Maybe you should just die.”

Akira shook her head in panic. She didn’t want to die. Not like this.

But fate wasn’t on her side. She watched the knife slaughter her body until she took her last breath.

The guy paused the moment Akira stopped crying and moving. Realizing that her soul finally left her body, he stood up. “Clanggg!” He dropped the knife and dragged his body close to the window. He parted the curtain slightly. From the fifth floor, the fog seemed dense covering his view of the road.

‘It’s chilly,’ he told himself. He looked down at his black jacket. It was a bloody mess. ‘I need to get rid of it.’ He washed his face and hands properly, ready to depart. He touched the doorknob to push the door open.

At that moment, there was a sound of someone sneezing. It was hardly audible. The sound came from the storeroom. The guy froze on the track. Slowly, he turned around and walked toward the storeroom. The room was tightly shut. He opened the door and found a six year old boy hugging his legs to his chest. He raised his head in the thought that his mother opened the door, only to find a guy covered in blood. His eyes widened in shock. The man’s cold eyes narrowed down at him.

Somewhere in the neighborhood, a dog kept barking, trying to alert its owner.

The girl wearing a high school uniform strode briskly in the street. Her body was covered with warm clothes. She tightened the muffler around her neck and shivered. “I’m freezing. I need to drink hot chocolate as soon as I get home.” On her way, she came across the barking husky. She paused in her track and waved her hand at the poor thing. “What are you doing outside? Go inside, or you will catch a cold.”

The husky mewled as though it was scared and continued to bark again. The girl huddled before it and reached out her hand through the iron gate, gently patting the dog.

While she was busy talking to the dog, a man walked past her. She turned around in astonishment and stared at him.

Through the mist, the moonlight gleamed mysteriously. Wearing a thin turtleneck black sweater, a tall guy walked on the street and soon disappeared within the mystifying mist.

‘Is this guy insane?’ she wondered with wide eyes.