I Awakened With My Dark History - Chapter 01

========== CHAPTER 1 ==========

December of senior year, after the CSATs and the results were out—it was truly the day of excavating the bookshelf.

“So heavy…….”

Because of the box stuffed with books, my steps were wobbling on their own.

The trash collection area, which was right in front of me, felt like a thousand-ri journey.

As I moved sluggishly, someone ran over and took the box from me.

“You carried it all the way here yourself? I told you to wait.”

“It’s hard if only Appa has to go back and forth.”

Appa took the box and carried it to the trash area with brisk steps.

His hands, wearing cotton work gloves, took out the books and tied them up with string in a flash.

“Are there more books to bring down?”

“This should be almost the last of it. Omma said she was just bringing some notebooks.”

I squatted down next to Appa and took the books out of the box.

“Huh? Hey! Ha Cho-eun!”

This excavation wasn’t just my job. A friend who lived in the same apartment complex was waving her arms from afar.

I tossed aside the box I was taking books out of and waved back just the same.

“Ah, what the. Choi Arin, did you come out to throw away books too?”

“Yeah, I’m going to toss everything. I even have my middle school textbooks?”

“You too? Hey, me too. I have a ton of notebooks, too. It filled up two shopping bags.”

“Whoa. I don’t really use notebooks, so I don’t have many. But are there any fully used ones among them?”

“Nope. Not a single one.”

While we were giggling, Omma came down to the first floor carrying a shopping bag.

I rushed over to take the shopping bag.

Choi Arin awkwardly bowed her waist and greeted my Omma.

“Hello.”

“Oh, Arin, it’s been a while. Did you come out to throw away books?”

“Yes.”

In the meantime, I was pulling out handfuls of notebooks from the shopping bag.

If I didn’t tie everything up with string, the garbage truck wouldn’t take them.

And with that reckless hand movement, something dangerous finally emerged into the world…….

“Hey, daebak. Isn’t that landscape photo notebook a total relic?”

“I bought it when I entered middle school, and it was still there. It’s practically brand new.”

Between designs that brought back memories, it appeared.

“Gasp.”

A pitch-black cover.

And the words scrawled in white correction fluid on it caught our eyes.

‘Do Not Look.’

‘My Own Notebook’

‘Only I Can See’

‘Never ever open this XXX’

They were words that instantly made an ordinary notebook seem ominous.

The moment I saw it, I should have retreated quickly…….

But like the first victim in a foreign horror movie, I displayed baseless courage.

“What kind of notebook was this?”

“Take a look. It might be a notebook too precious to throw away.”

Choi Arin approached next to me as I squatted. And so, that dangerous notebook was opened.

“Aaaack!”

The pitch-black notebook used a mental attack.

It was super effective.

I immediately screamed and pulled the notebook into my arms.

“Aack! Ack!! Aaaack! Aaaaaack!”

As I suddenly sat down and screamed, the gazes of passersby gathered.

“Mom, look at that prairie dog.”

“Shh. It’s not that. She’s a repeater.”

Fortunately, people showed infinite consideration toward students putting out books during this time of year.

Amidst that consideration, I glared at Choi Arin.

Depending on the situation, I was prepared to turn my friend into the female lead of a morning soap opera.

It was a resolution to be forgotten.

“Did you see it?”

“Huh?”

“Did you see it?”

I grabbed Choi Arin’s shoulders and started shaking her.

“Ah, did you see it or not!!!”

Choi Arin, with an ominous smile, gave a thumbs-up devoid of any soul.

“Yeah, Chloris!”

Back in the days of elementary and middle school, there were cartoons that were super popular.

And I had become way, way, way too immersed in them.

To the point where I imagined myself in that world.

Hearing the name of the fairy born from that come out of my friend’s mouth was shocking.

I had no choice but to steel my resolve.

“Come here. Bow your head.”

I turned my head around looking for the best rock.

Unfortunately, there were no rocks in the well-maintained trash area.

Instead, there was a frying pan someone had thrown away.

“Just hold still. Let’s just erase that memory.”

“Kyaa! Chloris is bullying me. This is school violence, Chloris! You said you were a kind fairy in a flower garden!”

“You crazy girl, stop it!”

I ran toward the fleeing Choi Arin amidst her deceitful shouts.

Both of our parents shook their heads as they watched our nonsense.

It wasn’t a one-day occurrence, so it seemed they didn’t even have the will to stop us.

The pathetic stamina of a high school senior hit rock bottom before long.

We couldn’t even leave the trash area and panted while holding onto each other.

“Don’t go anywhere and talk about this, seriously.”

“Ah, but I really didn’t see much. I only saw the name and the drawing.”

That was a relief, at least.

Only one thing was discovered, and it was just the name and the drawing at that.

‘Even if it’s just one, it’s embarrassing either way.’

Choi Arin was still grinning, as if she still had some mischief left in her.

I dragged Choi Arin back to the pile of books.

If it were up to me, I would have burned this dangerous thing right away and scattered the ashes to the sea, but reality was different from my heart.

“I’m going to bury it between other notebooks and throw it away. Don’t touch it. Seriously.”

It was the moment I warned Choi Arin, who was eyeing the notebook, waiting for a chance to touch it.

Thump—

The ground shook briefly once.

Rumble—

And following that, the apartment shook for a long time.

An ominous feeling brushed between us.

Earthquakes, fires, sinkholes—the possibilities of all kinds of natural disasters flashed through my mind.

And finally, the one natural disaster that occupied everyone’s mind was just one thing.

Dungeon.

A natural disaster that appeared suddenly over a decade ago, causing and continuing to cause massive loss of life and property.

“Evacuate! Let’s evacuate quickly for now.”

Appa, who came to his senses first, hurriedly gestured.

But it was already too late.

Kwaaaaa.

The sound of a massive whirlpool raging brushed past our ears.

It was the sound of all kinds of noise, wind, and people being sucked in.

“Uh, Omma! Appa!”

“Kyaaack!”

And then, it was a blackout where the situation was unknown.

Splash. Splash…….

My face is cold.

“Ugh, ughh.”

I groaned softly and raised my hand to wipe my cheek.

Water as cold as ice covered my cheek instead.

At that chill, my eyes snapped open on their own.

With my eyes wide open, a familiar face suddenly intruded.

“You’re awake! Ha Cho-eun, hey, are you okay?!”

“Uh, uhh.”

I barely answered and sat up.

Choi Arin let out a sigh of relief and stuck close to my side.

“Here, where is here?”

The surroundings were a large cavern. But it didn’t look like a cave.

It was because of the wide and bright underwater environment spread out above our heads.

It felt like being inside an underwater dome.

There was no glass, but the water couldn’t breach this cavern as if blocked by something.

And the numerous paths extending from this cavern weren’t swallowed by the water either.

It was a bizarre sight that defied understanding.

“I don’t know. I think it’s a dungeon.”

Choi Arin answered that while sniffing. It wasn’t a pointless action; she seemed to be swallowing her tears.

Looking around, there were many people besides us. It seemed to have swallowed everyone who remained in the apartment complex.

Children were crying, and adults were trying to handle the situation somehow, so it was chaotic.

“Where are my parents?”

“They’re all over there.”

And among the people trying to handle the situation were my and Choi Arin’s parents.

I don’t know if it’s a misfortune or a blessing that even our parents are here.

“They said it would probably be okay, but I don’t know. Everyone doesn’t seem to have a clue what the situation is. There are no Hunters, either.”

Choi Arin sniffled again, perhaps because talking about the grim situation made her want to cry again.

I, too, felt my heart sink for no reason and hugged the notebook in my arms tightly.

And I regretted it.

“Ah, crazy. Why did this notebook get dragged along? Is it cursed?”

I don’t know why it’s here when it’s not even a doll.

Suddenly, all the tension and fear were pushed aside, and only absurdity toward the notebook surged.

At my reaction, Choi Arin scolded me as if she found it ridiculous.

“Hey, is the notebook important right now?”

“It is important.”

Unfortunately, it is more important than anything to me.

“If we leave it in the dungeon, no one will be able to see it, so should I just throw it away while I have the chance?”

“……Then a Hunter might pick it up thinking it’s an item and it’ll end up on national television.”

[Breaking News]

A notebook has been discovered in the dungeon. It contains descriptions of various creatures, including the fairy Chloris, and the Hunter Association says it is possible that this is a record of monsters…….

‘I must absolutely not leave it behind. I’ll keep it safe and incinerate it as soon as we get out of the dungeon.’

I steeled my heart and hugged the notebook.

To think a day would come where I would consider a notebook this precious and important.

Fortunately, the notebook talk seemed to have eased Choi Arin’s tension.

Choi Arin rubbed her eyes with a much more relaxed face.

“We learn all the evacuation procedures for a Dungeon Wave, but to actually get sucked into a dungeon is something else.”

Trying to find strength somehow, Choi Arin spoke in a slightly more cheerful voice.

“I mean, I’ve heard stories about houses collapsing or fires breaking out when a dungeon appears.”

It was the first time I’d seen a dungeon suck in people nearby.

Perhaps it appeared underground like a sinkhole, and people just fell in—I even had such absurd imaginations.

“Will the Hunters come soon?”

“Hey, hey, hey. Don’t cry. If you lose your strength, you can’t run away.”

I wrapped my arms around Choi Arin’s shoulders and patted her.

I was pretending to be fine and comforting her, but in reality, I wasn’t in a very good situation either.

I was just desperately comforting her because I felt like I would cry too if Choi Arin cried.

“Mom. Mom.”

Just then, the voice of the prairie dog child was heard from not far away.

The child tugged at her mother’s clothes and pointed her finger high up.

I followed the child’s finger and looked up for no reason.

Above my head, the clear underwater environment was still spread out.

But unlike before, fish I hadn’t seen were swimming around.

“Look, an eel. An eel.”

If I had to guess the size, maybe a dolphin?

Fish were gathering one by one, looking down at us inside the dome.

And what the child pointed at was beyond those fish.

I could see a long shape slowly approaching, casting a huge shadow.

Just as the child said, it looked like an eel.

But anyone could tell that wasn’t an eel, even while riding an airplane.

It approached in an instant and slammed its massive body onto the dome.

Kwaaang!!

I felt the shock of the entire cavern shaking along with the dome.

“Kyaaack!”

“Ru, run away! Ugh-ack!”

People in a panic screamed and ran to all sides of the cavern.

All sorts of dark side paths became their escape routes.

We were no different. Pale-faced, we looked for our parents like little children.

“Omma, Appa!”

“Appa!”

I scrambled to get to my parents, but there were too many people.

I was getting pushed and shoved around, actually moving further away from my parents.

“Cho-eun-ah! Honey, Cho-eun!”

Before I could wave at the sound of Omma’s voice amidst the screams, the cavern shook once more.

Kwaaang!

Chwaak!

This time, it was with another ominous sound.

A massive monster broke the barrier that separated the cavern from the underwater.

The water pouring from above blew people away like a bomb.

“Keuheup! Heup!”

Choi Arin and I were also swept away by the water and pushed to the end of the cavern.

My parents were no longer in sight.

Kya-haack!

Udeudeuk.

Help me!! No!

Kareureureu.

Run away, get in quickly! Quickly!

M-my child!

All sorts of sounds were mixed together, and I couldn’t distinguish my surroundings.

While the water was rising up to my chin in an instant, only ‘that thing’ beyond the barrier was clearly visible.

It resembled a snake, but it had a mane.

Three claws kept breaking the dome.

Every time it broke the dome, more monsters poured in.

Choi Arin grabbed my arm and forced me up.

“F-for now, let’s run into the path too! Quickly!”

I don’t know where she got that strength, but Choi Arin lifted me up in a flash. There was no time to come to my senses.

Kareureuk!

Tteudeuk. Tteudeuk. Tteudeuk.

Kyaaaaa.

Avoiding the fish-shaped monsters pouring in, we scrambled into the dark path.

The noise heard from behind was like a dream.

No, I wished it were a dream.