After returning to the lodging and sharing stories about the cave, a variety of reactions erupted from the group.
“Unknown territory… exploration… dangerous journey, low pay, extreme cold, complete darkness for months, constant danger, uncertain safe return, honor and glory upon success….”
The romantic streamer, Nicang, was all for it.
“Ugh, a cave? It’s damp and filthy. Bats will show up. Why would we go to a place like that in this heat?”
“But inside the cave is cool even in summer.”
“Still not feeling it….”
The realist, Riri, opposed.
“Uh, ghosts might come out, you know?”
“Yep, but they say it’s random, so it kind of sounds like a gacha game. That could be fun-.”
“We can’t have ghosts! No ghosts allowed…!”
“Why? Taker, are you scared of ghosts?”
“If ghosts appear, Kayak will faint like last time and I’ll have to rush her to the hospital while dealing with a barrage of emails from viewers—”
“Oh.”
The traumatized victim, Taker, was against it.
“I hereby declare the proposal for an expedition into the unknown cave rejected by a vote of 1 in favor and 2 against.”
“Hold up!”
“What…?”
With startled bunny eyes, Taker asked. But this time, they couldn’t concede.
“That makes 2 in favor. Therefore, the voting results are a tie!”
“No, Kayak is the proposer, so she should be counted—”
“This is how we do it in our town.”
Half-heartedly pushing the agenda through.
Was it a strong intuition? Somehow, after hearing Geumtaeyang’s story, thoughts of the cave wouldn’t leave my mind.
There was definitely something there. My inner spirit was screaming about it.
“Since Kayak really wants to go, I guess we have no choice.”
“Yay!”
“But you have to come out if it gets too dangerous or if ghosts show up and you faint like last time, okay?”
Taker’s persuasion had worked for now. I was ready to go alone if necessary.
“I’ll have to go too then.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“If I stay back at the lodging, I’ll get bored… It’s not that I’m scared of ghosts; it’s just hot out and I didn’t want to go because it seemed like a hassle.”
“While we’re at it, let’s take a stroll by the sea too.”
The last remaining opponent, Riri, also decided to join the expedition to the cave.
“Is it possible to run away if ghosts show up?”
“Yeah, what if we all get caught by a ghost?”
“Please don’t say ominous things…”
Thus, the journey towards the cave began for everyone.
*
As Geumtaeyang had instructed, we ventured into a secluded corner of the beach where people rarely roamed, and finally stumbled upon the cave.
“Wow, I can’t believe there’s really a cave here!”
“They seem to know the weirdest places.”
As expected, the entrance to the cave was not particularly grand. It was just about the right size for two adult men to squeeze in at the same time. With such a small entrance, the inside likely wouldn’t be too spacious either.
“Do we really have to go in here?”
“Is Geumtaeyang just messing with us?”
“Looking at it, it seems a bit creepy…”
“It definitely has that spooky vibe.”
“Places like this in horror movies always lead to accidents…”
“Quit telling scary stories before we even step inside.”
Nicang, who had shown enthusiasm for the exploration, looked surprisingly intimidated once faced with the cave. Riri, who claimed to be fearless, seemed to be pretending, clearly spooked.
Among us, Taker showed the most extreme refusal reaction.
“I mean, it’s fine to come, but do we have to go in right now? Can’t we wait until tomorrow when it’s light out?”
“They say the cave’s energy weakens when the sun comes up.”
“So you’re more of a scaredy-cat than I thought, Taker?”
“Scared? I’m not scared at all…”
Saying that, Taker boldly stepped forward.
Honestly, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t a bit scared by the majestic cave, but Taker’s fussing made me feel oddly more at ease.
“Shall we go then?”
And so, the serious exploration of the cave began.
*
“It doesn’t seem as dangerous as I thought.”
“It’s not that dark inside either.”
“The path is a straightforward line, so there’s no chance of getting lost.”
How long had we walked in from the entrance? We had gathered most of the information about the cave’s terrain and potential hazards.
One of my concerns, that Geumtaeyang had provided false information, didn’t seem to be the case. The inside of the cave matched exactly what he had described.
“He said there’s a deep puddle of water further in.”
“So, that puddle might trigger some spiritual phenomena, right? Like seeing reflections of the people around us or catching glimpses of the future.”
“Ooh… I’m suddenly excited!”
Riri and Nicang seemed to have adjusted to the cave’s atmosphere, swinging their arms around and showing their anticipation. They were acting boldly as if they’d never been scared at all.
The actions were bold as if there was no enemy in sight.
On the other hand, the Taker grew cautious as they moved inward and said this just before the spirit spot:
“Hmmm… Shall we just look around here and head back slowly?”
“Why? We’ve come all the way here; we should at least experience some spiritual phenomena.”
“No, it just feels unsettling. Is it really necessary to go through that when we’re doing just fine?”
“Oppa, aren’t you going to ask the ancestors for lottery numbers?”
“The Taker has already hit the lottery more than five times, it’s practically guaranteed.”
“Not that much…”
I could somewhat relate to his feelings. My basic personality was quite similar to the Taker’s.
A type that prefers stability and is sensitive to change. If someone had suggested going to a place like this, I probably would have reacted in a similar way.
This was a unique case in many ways. Doing things they usually wouldn’t do, what exactly were they hoping to verify by coming to a place like this?
Anyway, because I was like this, I didn’t tease the Taker for being a coward or drag them along forcefully.
“Taker, then please wait here for a moment.”
“Here?”
“Or you can go outside the entrance; just stay until we get back. Think of it as a precaution.”
It was like setting up a base camp. In real expeditions, there was usually someone keeping watch at the resting spot. You need a place to come back to after an adventure.
“Ugh, it feels like I’m setting a flag for something. What if something really happens?”
“No, Geumtaeyang said nothing major has happened so far. The worst was just seeing something ghostly, and if a real incident had occurred, we would have known.”
“If we don’t come out after an hour, you must come in and get us, Taker!”
In the end, it was decided that the Taker would wait in front of the spirit spot.
“Yeah, having one person stay behind feels reassuring.”
“Isn’t it scarier to be alone?”
“True. Just in case, turn on the broadcast. If you’re chatting with people, it might ease the tension.”
“Can you even broadcast inside a cave?”
After leaving the Taker, we walked about five minutes when we finally saw the puddle Geumtaeyang had mentioned with a sound of water flowing.
“This puddle is emitting smoke too!”
“It seems like some special device used in broadcasts.”
“Isn’t that dry ice?”
As expected, Geumtaeyang was right.
– “There will be a puddle of water. Just looking at it feels unusual, right?”
The puddle was indeed extraordinary, with white smoke billowing out. Whether it was a natural phenomenon occurring in the cave or not, it certainly looked special.
“So, do we just watch that?”
“Yeah, we just have to watch.”
“I’ve been watching for a while now, but when exactly—.”
At that moment, -thud-.
Riri’s sulking voice was abruptly cut off.
“Uh…?”
It felt as if I had been separated from the world in an instant. All my friends around me vanished, and there was no sound at all.
The only thing that existed was just me. And the puddle flowing in front of me.
At that moment, I realized. Something truly unusual was happening.
‘But is this the end?’
I was a little surprised to suddenly be alone, but it felt like I was slightly deflating. Being left alone in a space where three of us were together was undoubtedly a strange phenomenon, almost like a spiritual event. However, this wasn’t what I had envisioned.
What I had imagined was something a bit more mysterious, something that pulled me from within—
And then it happened.
Fwhoosh—
A sudden breeze began to blow from the puddle spewing smoke.
“The smoke…?”
The thick white smoke in the puddle cleared away completely.
And so, I found myself facing a transparent puddle with no smoke at all. The water was so clear that my face was reflected on the surface—.
“Oops.”
Once again, a change occurred. The surface that had reflected my face began to ripple.
The sound of drops tapping on the surface and the vibrations echoing through the cave. Even without any external elements, circular patterns began to spread on the puddle’s surface.
Eventually, the puddle that calmed down showed not my face, but the face of another.
A face that was both unfamiliar and familiar, curiously awkward yet unmistakable. There was no way to think of this person as a woman.
That was, that was me.
“It’s me…?”
My image was reflected on the surface of the puddle.
My previous self, the version of me when I was a man, was shining back at me from the puddle.
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