As If Transmigrating Wasn’t Enough, I’m Pregnant?! - Chapter 1.10
At that moment, his gaze fell on a grimy milk pouch hanging beside the old iron door of Unit 302.
The cloth pouch was thick with dust, and it looked as though no milk had been delivered in a long time. The instant he saw it, Ryu Hae-sol understood. The key would be in there. As if following an old habit, his hand instinctively reached into the milk pouch.
After finding the key, he took a deep breath and pushed open the heavy iron door. The moment it swung open, a foul stench rushed out from inside, making him hold his breath. It was the smell of utter despair, a vile mixture of mold, dust, and the body odor of someone who was ill.
“This place is seriously the worst.”
A groan escaped his lips before he could stop it. The sight before him was far more horrific than the description in the novel. It was a single room barely large enough for one person to lie down in.
In one corner stood a tiny sink piled high with dirty dishes, and beside it, an old refrigerator rattled and hummed noisily, looking as though it might fall apart at any moment.
In the middle of the room lay a shabby, crumpled blanket, its shape still clearly marked by where someone had been lying. No one was in the filthy, squalid home. Dust had settled everywhere, as though the place had been left vacant for a long time.
“Haah, damn it.”
A sigh escaped him unconsciously. It was a murky mass of resignation and despair, dragged up by force from somewhere deep inside him. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, Ryu Hae-sol slumped to the floor. He could feel the cold, sticky texture of the vinyl flooring through his thin trousers, but he didn’t even have the energy to care.
His unfocused gaze wandered around the room. Where was he supposed to start? How was he supposed to deal with these wretched remnants of poverty and despair? The mountain of dirty dishes, the piles of clothes sprouting in the corners like mold, and the overpowering stench filling the room, enough to drive anyone mad. Should he clean? Do the laundry? Or simply ignore the whole mess and get some sleep?
Moon Seong-yoon’s rational judgment and the overwhelming exhaustion felt by Ryu Hae-sol’s body tangled together in his mind, leaving him unable to reach any conclusion.
He simply sat there, helpless and listless. The tiny room, this entire world, felt like the gaping maw of some enormous beast preparing to swallow him whole.
It happened at that very moment.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The deafening pounding against the old iron door was so violent that his shoulders jerked up as if seized by a spasm. It felt as though his heart had plummeted straight to the floor.
These were no ordinary knocks. The act was unmistakably violent, charged with menace and intimidation. Ryu Hae-sol’s body instinctively shrank back in terror.
Of course, Moon Seong-yoon’s rational mind tried to analyze the situation sharply. Who the hell was it? Who would pound on someone’s door so rudely at this hour? He thought of Ryu Hae-sol’s father, but quickly shook his head. In the novel, Ryu Min-seop was so ill that he could barely even move.
Then who?
Before he could finish the thought, a shrill creeeak rang out. The rusted hinges finally gave way, and the door burst open. Two burly men poured into the room like shadows. Backlit by the faint midday light, their dark silhouettes looked enormous and sinister, like demons.
The man in front had closely cropped hair and a tattoo of a snake twisting around his neck. The muscles beneath his tight black T-shirt bulged prominently. The man beside him was even bigger, chewing gum noisily with an expressionless face. The moment they entered, the atmosphere in the room seemed to grow even heavier.
Their overpowering stench of sweat and cheap cigarettes mixed with the musty smell of mold, creating a nauseating reek. The tattooed man swept his gaze contemptuously around the room, then spotted Ryu Hae-sol sitting on the floor and let out a greasy, sneering laugh.
“Well, well, look who finally showed up! We’ve been waiting out there for ages just to catch up with you, you little bastard.”
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