Call of Abyss

Chapter 1

There is nothing more terrifying than waking up in an unfamiliar place.

Jongmin thought he would never have such an experience again after his military discharge.

Every time he woke up in a foreign land during deployment, Jongmin's entire body would freeze from fear and tension, and he would break out in a cold sweat for a long time.

Before enlisting, Jongmin had considered long-term service, but after realizing his own nature during his time in the military, he ultimately had to give up on it.

Yet now, at this very moment, Jongmin was waking up in a dark, unfamiliar room, feeling the same fear he had during his deployment.

"Jongmin hyung...."

Jongmin barely managed to hold onto his fading consciousness, gripped by fear and cold, and looked at the person calling his name.

The person was tied up with ropes and sitting on a chair.

"Giyeong, where are we? What happened to us?"

"I don't know.... I was drinking with you and Kyungsoo, then blacked out. When I woke up, I was here."

Giyeong, who had been a junior non-commissioned officer in the military and later became a close younger friend after discharge, spoke weakly while looking at Jongmin.

Jongmin's last memory was exactly the same as Giyeong's.

Considering the circumstances, it was clear that Jongmin and Giyeong had been drinking and then lost consciousness before being brought here by someone.

Jongmin slowly scanned the room with eyes that had somewhat adjusted to the darkness.

Nets, ropes, and fishing rods were haphazardly placed in one corner of the room, while a toolbox and a plastic fuel container were in another corner.

The walls were made of wood, appearing quite sturdy, and several shelves were attached to them.

"This looks like a storage room used by fishermen."

"Why are we locked in a storage room?

And Kyungsoo is missing, hyung...."

At Giyeong's words, Jongmin carefully examined every corner of the storage room again.

Kyungsoo was nowhere to be seen.

If Jongmin and Giyeong had been drinking and then abducted, Kyungsoo, who had been drinking with them, should have been here as well.

A sudden wave of unease and dread swept through Jongmin's mind.

"Giyeong, we need to get out of here.

As soon as possible...."

"The ropes are tied too tightly."

Giyeong shook his body vigorously, trying to loosen the ropes.

However, no matter how hard he struggled, the ropes were so tightly bound that even as sweat formed on his forehead, they showed no sign of loosening.

Watching Giyeong struggle, Jongmin also tried moving his body, but the only result was the pain of the ropes digging into his flesh—the bindings did not loosen at all.

After struggling to free themselves for a long time, the two eventually became exhausted, their bodies drenched in sweat, and they slumped weakly.

"Damn it, what the hell is going on?"

Jongmin tried to recall why this was happening to him.

Just earlier that day, he had been lying on a summer beach, drinking with his former military subordinates, Giyeong and Kyungsoo, enjoying the vast, tranquil blue sea, the young women in bikinis, and the sleek, beautiful yachts floating beyond the horizon.

Deployment had been a daily hell of chaos, but lying on the beach and taking in the peaceful scenery had helped Jongmin heal from the emotional wounds of his time as a deployed soldier.

After his military discharge, Jongmin had believed his life would be as peaceful and uneventful as that beach scene.

But what was this situation now?

He had never imagined he would end up tied up in a dark storage room like this.

"Jongmin hyung, I hear footsteps."

At Giyeong's words, Jongmin held his breath and listened carefully.

Heavy, dull footsteps echoed from a distance.

"Giyeong, close your eyes and stay still."

Giyeong nodded at Jongmin's words and shut his eyes.

Jongmin also closed his eyes and slightly lowered his head.

After a moment, a creaking sound accompanied the opening of a wooden door.

Peeking through slitted eyes with his head still lowered, Jongmin saw someone approaching him, wearing water-soaked boots.

Jongmin felt his heart pounding as if it would burst and quickly shut his eyes again.

Unable to move freely, he decided his best option was to pretend to be unconscious.

With a rustling sound, the rope binding Jongmin to the chair was loosened.

However, the rope around his hands and feet remained tight, and Jongmin was violently kicked to the ground.

"Jongmin hyung!"

At Giyeong's cry, Jongmin instinctively opened his eyes and looked at the unknown figure.

The person was wearing a poncho and a gas mask, making it impossible to tell if they were male or female, but they were so tall that they seemed nearly two heads taller than Jongmin.

In one hand, the figure held a military knife, and in the other, something black.

"Help! Someone help us!"

Seeing the black object, Giyeong suddenly began shouting desperately.

The figure threw the black object between Jongmin and Giyeong.

Jongmin soon realized what it was.

It was Kyungsoo's severed head.

A chill ran up his spine from his back to the top of his head.

Jongmin finally understood the true terror of death, something he had barely experienced even during deployment.

"Stay away! You bastard! Help! Somebody help!"

Seeing the gas mask killer approaching him, Giyeong screamed even louder.

Tied up and lying on the ground, Jongmin felt utterly helpless and tears welled in his eyes.

The gas mask killer stood in front of Giyeong, lifted the military knife high, and stabbed it straight into his neck.

Blood spurted from Giyeong's neck, splattering onto the gas mask killer's poncho and the storage room floor.

That was the end.

Giyeong barely made a sound, only choking on his own blood before taking his last breath.

As if it wasn't enough, the gas mask killer stabbed Giyeong's chest and abdomen again.

A chillingly meticulous and cruel person.

"Why are you killing us? What the hell for?"

Jongmin screamed at the gas mask killer.

He genuinely wanted to know why he had to die at the hands of a psychopath in a gas mask in this unfamiliar place.

The gas mask killer gave no answer to Jongmin's question, instead grabbing the rope around his legs and dragging him across the floor out of the storage room.

Outside, now shrouded in night, the wind howled eerily, and a light drizzle began to fall.

Jongmin considered screaming for help but quickly abandoned the idea.

Judging by the killer's previous actions, making any noise would result in his immediate death.

Not far away, he could hear the sound of waves crashing.

It was clear that he and Giyeong had been taken to a storage room somewhere near the beach.

The gas mask killer dragged Jongmin along for a while before entering a forest.

The dark forest exuded an overwhelming sense of dread.

Jongmin's past flashed before his eyes like a panorama.

Though he had briefly strayed during his school years, he had worked harder than anyone else after becoming an adult.

Striving to live a respectable life, he had enlisted as a non-commissioned officer and even gone on overseas deployments.

After his discharge, he worked tirelessly for three years at a security company, saving up a substantial amount of money.

To think that such a hard-fought life would end like this—it filled Jongmin with frustration and resentment.

If he could move freely, he wouldn't run away; he would fight this killer.

Dying in a fight would be far better than being dragged off to die helplessly.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, the gas mask killer suddenly stopped walking.

Jongmin saw a blood-stained altar ahead.

The gas mask killer lifted Jongmin and placed him onto the altar.

Jongmin realized he was about to be sacrificed in some kind of ritual.

In the darkness, flames rose high.

The storage room where he and Giyeong had been was burning.

"We're short on numbers. We shouldn't have killed them in the storage room."

"I'll make up the quota soon."

"You'd better. We need to finish the ritual before people gather because of the fire."

"Understood."

A voice from somewhere in the forest spoke, and the gas mask killer responded.

This horrifying act wasn't being carried out by the gas mask killer alone.

The gas mask killer looked down at Jongmin and slowly removed the gas mask.

Then, the face of a middle-aged man with a short beard hidden behind the gas mask appeared.

"You must be wondering why this is happening to you?"

The Gas Mask Killer spoke in a deep, rough voice as he looked at Jongmin.

"You must want to know why such a terrible thing is happening to you when you've lived a good life without doing anything wrong."

"Please spare me, sir."

At Jongmin's plea, the Gas Mask Killer smiled gently and shook his head.

"If you look back at your life, you'll remember that once, someone begged you just like that."

"You drove a man who respected his father, a former Special Forces member, and followed in his footsteps to become a Special Forces member and even go on overseas deployment, to beg you, and then to death."

Listening to the Gas Mask Killer's words, Jongmin was initially confused about what it meant, but soon recalled a person from the depths of his memory and realized what all this was about.

"You're Sergeant Shin Dongjun's father."

"How dare you shamelessly utter my son's name."

"Please forgive me. We were foolish and wrong back then. Please spare me."

"Were you so merciful to Dongjun?"

At the Gas Mask Killer's question, Jongmin could not keep his mouth shut.

Until the day before Sergeant Shin Dongjun committed suicide, Jongmin, Giyeong, Kyungsoo, and other members of the overseas deployment unit bullied and ostracized him.

The dark and anxious face of Sergeant Shin Dongjun came to mind.

If even one of the unit members had extended a warm hand to Sergeant Shin Dongjun and listened to him, he would never have committed suicide.

But no one did so.

All the unit members, including Jongmin, criticized Sergeant Shin Dongjun's sluggish actions, ignored his homesickness, and openly mocked and ridiculed him as he struggled to adapt to the unit.

It was only after he shot himself that the unit members regretted their actions and begged for forgiveness in front of his corpse.

"An eye for an eye, a death for a death; true atonement is achieved that way."

The Gas Mask Killer murmured softly, took out a small vial from his bosom, and poured an unknown liquid into Jongmin's mouth.

Jongmin felt something writhing in his throat as it slithered down into his stomach.

Breathing became increasingly difficult, and his chest and abdomen burned as if scorched by fire.

Your life was worthless, but your death will serve as the foundation for a new world.

Beg for forgiveness before my son when you meet him in the afterlife.

Listening to the Gas Mask Killer's cold and merciless words, Jongmin felt his consciousness fading.

In his blurring vision, Sergeant Shin Dongjun's tearful face appeared for a brief moment before vanishing.

Why hadn't he reached out to him back then?

Why had he been so cruel to him?

As his life neared its end, deep regret and sorrow filled Jongmin's heart, but it was already too late.

Jongmin heard the Gas Mask Killer chanting something like an incantation, but soon, he could hear nothing at all.