NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 6
Chapter 6: The Red Woman (1)
Knock, knock, knock…
The sound of knocking on the front door.
Eunha quietly rose from the sofa.
The temperature had dropped to the point that her body trembled.
Her smartphone displayed a "No Signal" message.
In the living room, where the knocking sound echoed, she gazed intently at the [Black Book] resting on the table.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
※ A Guide to Safe Home Living ※
1. If someone knocks on your front door.
First, check outside through the peephole.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The words written in the black book.
The timing was too perfect.
She had just read the "Guide," and now there was knocking?
Was this a hidden camera prank?
She wouldn't mind if it were.
She’d laugh it off and let it slide.
Knock, knock, knock.
Even as she thought, the "thing" outside continued knocking.
It didn’t ring the doorbell, as if it knew Eunha was inside.
'Th-Think positive… It could just be a drunk neighbor.'
Forcing a smile, she checked the [Black Book].
So, if you hear knocking, you're supposed to check outside through the peephole, right?
…Really? Is that the right move?
Wouldn’t it just leave if she ignored it?
Salespeople give up and leave when you pretend not to be home.
Muttering useless hopes, she dragged herself toward the entrance.
Moving without making a sound, keeping her mouth shut to avoid even the sound of her breathing, she suddenly changed direction toward the kitchen.
She pulled out a kitchen knife.
Just in case.
Having something for self-defense wouldn’t hurt.
'If the "thing" outside is just a normal neighbor, then I’ll be the lunatic who answered the door holding a knife… but that’s the better outcome.'
The kitchen knife gleamed under the fluorescent light, giving her a strange sense of courage.
Yeah.
She was a lunatic.
Failing the same exam 30 times would do that to a person.
Holding onto her newfound courage, Eunha stood proudly in front of the door.
"……My house. Doesn’t have a peephole."
And just like that, she hit another wall.
Her house had no peephole.
You know, that round lens embedded in the center of the door?
The thing people used to check outside?
That was only in old apartments.
These days, because of security concerns, homes only had intercom systems.
Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock.
"Ah, hold on, can you be quiet? My head hurts."
Knockk…
…..
Eunha fell into thought.
No peephole.
Using the intercom felt wrong.
The book specifically mentioned a "peephole."
What if she turned on the intercom, and the "thing" beyond the door got angry?
Then it would be Eunha’s fault for not following the guide properly.
But she couldn’t just open the door and check either…
………Knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock.
After pacing near the entrance for a while, she eventually decided to just let things be.
She trudged back to the living room and flopped onto the sofa.
She chose to ignore it.
The [Black Book] was the one in the wrong for expecting a peephole in a peephole-less home.
Thinking that made her feel much better.
She should have ignored it from the start.
Feeling lighter, Eunha looked down at the [Black Book].
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
※ A Guide to Safe Home Living ※
1. If someone knocks on your front door.
First, check outside through the intercom.
If you see a woman in a red dress standing there,
Immediately hold salt in your mouth and hide in the bathroom.
The front door will open on its own, and "it" will roam through every part of your home except the bathroom for about 10 minutes before quietly leaving.
The above actions must be completed within 3 minutes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Huh.
The peephole changed to an intercom.
Why didn’t it just say so earlier?
Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock.
"……Yeah, yeah, I’m coming."
Dragging her heavy heart, she picked up the knife and headed for the entrance.
She was exhausted.
Whether the thing outside was a ghost or a person, she just wanted to get rid of it and finish her meal.
Maybe it was just trying to scare her, and nothing bad would actually happen.
With that thought, she pressed the intercom camera button.
Beep—
The intercom turned on.
The knocking immediately stopped.
As if it had been waiting.
How did it know?
Anxiousness twisted around her like sticky threads as she checked the screen.
……The intercom was pitch-black.
Nothing was visible.
Was it broken?
She pressed the camera button multiple times.
The screen remained completely black, as if something were blocking it.
Frowning, Eunha stared hard at the intercom.
Drip—
Then, as she leaned closer.
Something filled the entire screen.
A pitch-black eyeball.
It twitched eerily.
Blink. Blink.
Something was stuck to the wall, pressing its face right against the intercom camera.
Its eyes blinked as it peered into the lens.
『……Found you.』
"It" smiled beyond the camera.
Crescent-moon-shaped eyes stared at Eunha.
Eunha stumbled backward as if running away.
The presence beyond the door quietly withdrew from the intercom as well.
And at that moment, she finally saw it.
The sight on the intercom screen made her clap a hand over her mouth.
She felt that if she didn't cover her mouth, she wouldn't be able to suppress the scream threatening to escape.
It was the red woman.
A woman drenched in blood was smiling at the intercom camera.
Her dress was so stained with red that it was impossible to tell what color it originally was.
In one hand, she held a bloodied handsaw.
The jagged teeth of the saw were uneven and worn, making Eunha wonder if it could even cut properly.
The blood dripping from the saw made it clear what it had been used for.
She didn't need to think hard to know—getting cut by that thing would be hell.
With those rough edges, it wouldn’t be a clean cut—it would be like tearing through flesh.
『One… two… three…』
The "thing" curled its lips into a crescent-moon smile and began to count.
Like a child playing hide-and-seek, excited at the thought of catching its prey.
『Seven… eight… nine…』
The "thing’s" voice whispered in Eunha’s ear.
She flinched and turned her head, but there was nothing around her.
Even when she covered her ears, the voice was still crystal clear.
Like a lover whispering sweet nothings.
The "thing’s" cold breath slid down her cheek.
She was terrified.
『Twenty-one… twenty-two…』
A primal fear, rooted in the instinct to survive, constricted her throat.
Gulping as she struggled to breathe, Eunha tightened her grip on the kitchen knife and sprinted toward the living room where the [Black Book] lay.
“Huff… huff…”
No doubt about it.
It was the red woman written about in the [Black Book].
She really appeared.
What the hell is that book?
Did it summon the monster?
Or did it warn her about it in advance?
Either way, the "thing" had seen her.
Through the intercom, without a doubt.
Why is the intercom camera quality so damn good?
This apartment is too high-end—it’s making her cry.
"It's okay. Stay positive… Right. Just follow the book's instructions."
Rushing to the living room, Eunha grabbed the [Black Book].
The book said a woman in a red dress would appear through the intercom.
That meant she shouldn’t panic—if she followed the instructions, she could escape safely.
The only thing that could help her now was the [Black Book].
Clinging to a sliver of hope, Eunha quickly read it again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you confirm that a woman in a red dress is standing at your door,
Immediately hold salt in your mouth and hide in the bathroom.
The front door will open on its own, and "it" will search every part of your home except the bathroom for about 10 minutes before leaving quietly.
These actions must be completed within 3 minutes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The book said to hold salt in her mouth and hide in the bathroom.
But she didn’t have any salt.
This was insane.
『Seventy-five… seventy-six… seventy-seven…』
A sudden dizziness overwhelmed her, and she clutched her head.
Salt?
That tiny bit of salt she used up for a fried egg?
Throwing the [Black Book] onto the sofa, Eunha dashed to the kitchen.
She had to hold salt in her mouth and hide in the bathroom within three minutes.
But no matter how hard she searched the kitchen cabinets, she couldn’t find even a grain of salt.
'When did the three minutes start? From the first knock? Or from when I saw "it"?'
Was the number "it" was counting the three-minute timer?
Ah, she wanted to cry.
Tears contain salt, right? Could that work somehow?
Would eating a salted fried egg count?
Despite the urgency, ridiculous thoughts cluttered her mind.
Clenching her chest as her heart pounded, Eunha tried to think.
'What do I do? I have to think fast. Should I jump out the window? It’s the ninth floor. But what if it follows me? If I jump out the window and grab some salt before it catches me… Wait! Salt!'
Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed through her mind.
Salt. Sodium chloride. NaCl.
What’s a key feature of salt?
It’s salty.
Really salty.
That means… as long as it's salty, it’s basically salt.
'Soy sauce! You’re actually salt!'
Rushing back to the living room, Eunha grabbed the soy sauce bottle from the table and poured it straight into her mouth.
Her face contorted as her tongue shriveled from the overwhelming saltiness, but she forced herself to hold it in.
"Ugh…! Guh…!"
『One hundred sixty… one hundred sixty-one… one hundred sixty-two…』
She was going to throw up.
But this wasn’t enough.
Dashing back to the kitchen, she grabbed the empty salt bag she had thrown in the trash.
It was completely empty, but maybe it would work as a kind of talisman.
'Whatever happens, happens! I did everything I could!'
Holding back the urge to gag, Eunha chugged the soy sauce in one go.
Then, she threw the empty bottle onto the floor, bolted to the bathroom, and slammed the door shut.
『One hundred seventy-nine… one hundred eighty.』
Click—
The front door opened.
The woman in red stepped inside.