THE JOURNEY TO KUROYAMA
Ryu glanced at his phone screen one last time before stuffing it into his pocket. The signal was down to a single bar. The car they were riding in shook violently as it traveled over the rocky road. Up ahead, Kento held the door handle, his face pale.
“If this car goes into a ravine, I want you all to know one thing,” Kento said.
Sato, sitting beside him, didn’t look up from her notebook.
“What?”
“I haven’t gotten married yet.”
Ryu laughed. “You don’t even have a girlfriend.”
“That’s the problem. Dying single is a tragedy.”
Sato finally looked at him. “Statistically, your death won’t be any more tragic than someone else’s just because of their relationship status.”
Kento turned to Ryu. “Why does our friend always talk like he’s from an encyclopedia?”
“Because he reads an encyclopedia.”
A chuckle filled the car. The tension of the journey seemed to ease somewhat.
The three of them were on a cultural and environmental documentation expedition.
Ryu was in charge of taking photos and videos. Sato collected historical data and environmental conditions. Kento took care of logistics, transportation, and pretty much everything the other two didn't want to do.
The journey grew farther from the city. Modern buildings began to disappear. The road became narrower. Forests obscured the view to the right and left. Ryu stared out the window. "Kuroyama is truly remote."
Sato replied, "That's why we came."
Kento shook his head. "I came because I was paid."
Ryu laughed. "To be honest."
As the car passed a wooden sign that read "KUROYAMA," Kento suddenly stopped. Beneath the sign were several small bells moving in the wind. No one was ringing them, but one of the bells rang by itself.
Ting.
Ryu turned his head. "Did you hear that?"
Kento replied quickly, "The wind."
Sato looked at the bells through the rear window. "The wind is moving in the opposite direction."
No one laughed after that.
The village was livelier than they had imagined. Children ran between houses. Women carried baskets from the market. Several men were repairing fences. But when the delivery truck stopped, activity seemed to slow.
The villagers looked at them with curiosity mixed with caution.
A man in his fifties came to meet them. His name was
Kunta. He was a respected figure in the village.
“Are you from the city?” he asked.
Ryu extended his hand. “Yes. My name is Ryu. This is Kento and Sato.”
Kunta looked at Ryu’s hand for a few seconds before shaking it. “How long will you be staying?”
“Maybe two or three weeks,” Ryu replied.
Kunta nodded. “Don’t go out alone after dark.”
Kento raised an eyebrow. “Is there a bear?”
Kunta looked at him. “Worse.”
Kento immediately lowered his eyebrows. “Oh. Okay.”
Ryu chuckled. Kunta didn’t.
Not far away, a young girl was carrying two baskets. She stopped when she saw the group. Her name was Nanami.
Ryu didn't know why his eyes immediately fell on her. Nanami looked at him too. Only for a few seconds. But Kunta saw the look.
"Nanami," Kunta called.
Nanami turned. "Yes, Dad?"
"Come in."
"But I have to take this to Mrs. Mei's house."
"Later."
Nanami looked at her father, then at Ryu, then back at her father. "Okay."
She walked away. Ryu followed her with his eyes.
Kento approached. "Don't."
Ryu frowned. "Don't what?"
"Don't start."
"Start what?"
"That stare."
Sato chimed in, "I noted that Ryu has looked at that girl four times in less than two minutes."
"You two are annoying."
Kento laughed. "Well, that's true."
Nanami lived with Kunta and Una in a wooden house not far from the river. Una was the opposite of her husband. She was gentle, smiled easily, and often intervened when Kunta was too harsh on Nanami.
At dinner, Una asked, “How are the new people?”
Nanami pretended to be busy with her rice. “Nothing special.”
Una smiled. “Nothing special, even you’re smiling to yourself?”
Nanami immediately stopped eating. “I’m not smiling.”
Kunta put down his chopsticks. “Don’t talk about them.”
Nanami looked at her father. “Why?”
“Because they’re leaving.”
“Everyone eventually leaves.”
Kunta was silent.
Una looked at the two of them. “Come on. Eat first. There’s nothing wrong with the food.”
Nanami held back laughter. Even Kunta finally took a deep breath.
But after eating, Kunta called Nanami alone.
“Did you talk to any of them?”
Nanami fell silent. “Who?”
“Don’t mess with your father.”
“Just an introduction.”
“Keep your distance.”
Nanami was getting annoyed. “He didn’t even do anything.”
“That’s exactly it.”
“I don’t understand.”
Kunta stared at her for a long moment. “You don’t need to understand everything. You just need to trust your father.”
Nanami entered her room, feeling annoyed. She opened the window and looked at the lights of travelers’ houses in the distance.
For the first time in a long time, something outside Kuroyama intrigued her.
The next day, Ryu went to photograph the river. He happened to see Nanami there.
“You again,” Nanami said.
Ryu smiled. “You too.”
“I do live here.”
“I live here now, too.”
Nanami chuckled. “Three weeks.”
“Stay.”
“Don’t get bored so quickly.”
“I’m not bored yet.”
Nanami looked at him. “It’s only been two days.”
They laughed.
The conversation was simple. Ryu asked about village life. Nanami asked about the city. Ryu told her about previous trips, including sleeping in a car because the inn was full.
“Where have you slept?” Nanami asked.
“At the bus terminal.”
Nanami laughed. “Really?”
“Really.”
“You must smell.”
Ryu held his chest. “How cruel.”
“I’m just being honest.”
“At least I shower.”
“How many times?”
“Now you’re being insulting.”
Nanami’s laughter rang out lightly. Ryu paused for a few seconds, watching her.
Nanami finally realized. “Why are you looking at me?”
Ryu quickly looked away. “No.”
“Liar.”
“You too.”
Nanami smiled. “What?”
“You were looking at me too.”
Nanami’s face turned red. “I wasn’t.”
Ryu laughed. “Now you’re the one lying.”
For the first time, Nanami felt that a conversation with a man didn’t have to scare her. And Ryu began to realize that he wanted to see her again.
Kunta saw them from afar as they returned from the fields. He didn’t hear their conversation. He only saw the way Ryu looked at Nanami and the way she looked down when he smiled.
That night, Kunta waited for Nanami on the porch.
“Where have you been?”
“The river.”
“With who?”
Nanami was silent.
“Nanami.”
“With Ryu.”
Kunta closed his eyes. “What did I tell you?”
“She’s just a friend.”
“No man and woman meet every day just to be friends.”
Nanami immediately retorted, “Did you have a girlfriend, too?”
Una, who was passing by, nearly choked upon hearing that. “Nanami!”
Kunta looked at his wife. Una raised her hand. “I’m not interfering.”
Nanami almost laughed, but Kunta’s face stopped her.
“Listen,” Kunta said. “You can talk to anyone. But don’t let it get to you.”
“Why?”
“Because Kuroyama doesn’t allow it.”
Nanami looked at her father. “The village can’t determine people’s hearts.”
Kunta replied quietly, “The village might not. But something that lives here can.”
Nanami fell silent. Kunta didn’t elaborate.
The following days brought Ryu and Nanami closer. They didn't always talk about serious matters. Sometimes they just sat, eating street food, or walking aimlessly.
One afternoon, Nanami took Ryu to a small food stall.
“Try this.”
Ryu took a bite of the food he was given. His face changed.
Nanami laughed. “Why?”
“Spicy.”
“It's not spicy.”
Ryu stared at her. “Your tongue is dead.”
Nanami laughed even harder. “You're weak.”
Ryu took a drink. “I feel betrayed.”
“Drama.”
Kento, who happened to be passing by, stopped. “What happened?”
Nanami pointed at Ryu. “He lost to a chili pepper.”
Kento immediately laughed. “Finally, someone can beat him.”
Ryu pointed at Kento. “Go away.”
Nanami laughed until her eyes watered.
Kento walked away, saying, “I support you guys!”
Ryu and Nanami immediately looked at each other.
“He’s joking,” Ryu said.
Nanami nodded. “Sure.”
But after Kento left, the two of them became awkward.
Ryu asked quietly, “What if he wasn’t joking?”
Nanami stared at him. “About what?”
“Nothing.”
Nanami smiled slightly. “Coward.”
Ryu laughed. “You started it.”
The feeling didn’t grow through grand confessions. It grew through small things: waiting for someone to arrive, remembering her favorite food, searching for her face in a crowd, and feeling the day was worse when she didn’t see her.
CHAPTER 7
THE FIRST JUMPSCARE
Ryu began meeting Nanami in secret. They chose places far from Kunta’s house. One such place was an old road leading to an abandoned mill.
One afternoon, Nanami asked, “Are you afraid of ghosts?”
Ryu laughed. “No.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve slept in the woods.”
“That doesn’t answer.”
“If a ghost comes, I’ll talk to it.”
Nanami looked at him seriously. “What if he answers?”
Ryu stopped walking. “Don’t say that.”
Nanami immediately laughed. “He said he wasn’t afraid.”
Ryu pointed at her. “You did it on purpose.”
They laughed. But a few minutes later, Nanami asked to go home early because the sun was starting to set.
Ryu walked alone back to the inn. The village road was getting dark. He heard footsteps behind him.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Ryu stopped. The footsteps stopped.
He turned around. There was no one.
“Kento?” he called.
There was no answer.
Ryu continued walking. The footsteps were heard again.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Ryu turned around more quickly. It was empty.
He sighed. “Okay. Tired.”
Then a female voice whispered right in his ear.
“Ryu…”
Ryu froze.
He turned around hard. There was no one.
His phone vibrated. A message came in from Nanami: I'm home.
Where are you?
Ryu stared at the screen. Then his face turned pale.
If Nanami was home... who just called his name?
To be continue...
