Reborn as a Prophet in a Horror Movie

#185Reader Mode

T/N: Translation Update Californipony ——> Californiphony

#185

The buried memories came flooding back all at once. Seojun’s face went red-hot, the heat spreading up his neck until he was convinced he might actually catch fire. Even after Johan put him down, he couldn’t bring himself to meet his eyes. Not when Johan grabbed his arm and started shaking it like an overexcited kid. Seojun stayed rooted to the spot, head ducked, jaw tight, throat completely dry.

If a genie appeared right now offering three wishes, Seojun knew exactly what he’d ask for. One: smack Johan upside the head hard enough to give him amnesia. Two: travel back in time and tear his own mouth off before he could say such embarrassing, criminally cringe garbage. Three: locate the nearest window in this hospital and throw himself out of it.

Really, he just needed to not be here. Anywhere else would do.

“Where’s th-the Nurse? Hey, Seojun! What happened to the Nurse?”

Thankfully, salvation arrived a beat later as McCullan crept into view, head swiveling as he looked for Samantha. Levi trailed close behind, club ready, already eyeing Johan like she didn’t trust him one bit. Her gaze swept over the wreckage on the floor before she spoke, voice pitched low.

“Seojun, what’s going on? Who’s that guy?”

Her tone cut sharp, no warmth in it whatsoever. But Levi had given him the same thorny distrust when they first met, so Seojun wasn’t bothered. Honestly, he was just thankful for the interruption. It gave his shot nerves something to focus on as he started to answer.

“Don’t worry. This guy’s got nothing to do with that body-modification psycho doctor. He’s my…”

The word wouldn’t come out. He practically had to wrench it free.

“My friend. Yeah. A friend.”

“Friend….”

Johan repeated it with a quiet snicker. Ever since he’d dropped Samantha down that elevator shaft, he’d been in an oddly cheerful mood. Johan’s gaze never left Seojun, his voice lifting with something close to delight.

Why are you saying it like that? You’re making it weird.

Seojun pushed down the warmth rising up his neck and forced himself to meet Johan’s eyes, expression stiff, doing what he could to rescue this disaster of an introduction.

“He might look like this, but he’s not a strange guy. Really, he’s completely norm—”

His tongue staged a full revolt halfway through. If Johan wasn’t strange, then who the hell qualified? Seojun’s mouth faltered, words choking off before they could escape. Johan picked up on the hesitation instantly. He blinked once, then leaned in with innocence.

“What’s wrong, Jun? Look into these clear, spotless eyes of mine. They’re pure. Not a single speck of dust.”

Johan lowered himself to Seojun’s eye level and went wide-eyed—comically so, until his irises caught the light and damn near glittered. Like sun rippling off a lake. Seojun gazed into those shining, almost liquid pupils and felt his thoughts flatline. What kind of genetic cheat code was this? Whatever else you could say about the guy, that was impressive.

Seojun was still avoiding Levi’s sharp stare when Johan stood back up and moved forward. The man made for an intimidating sight. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and with enough bulk to blot out the light behind him. Levi’s face tightened slightly. Johan didn’t seem to notice, or maybe just didn’t care. He simply offered her an easy, friendly smile.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Johan Gentil.”

“……”

Levi didn’t reply, just gave him a curt nod and left it there. Johan’s friendly approach did nothing to soften her guard. His gaze flicked to the top of her head, and then he was leaning in close, breath warm against Seojun’s ear.

“So this is the new friend you made, Jun? Luciel? Gotta say, less goth than I expected. Doesn’t strike me as the ‘girly and delicate’ type, either.”

“No, this is Californiphony. Her actual name’s Levi Anton… wait a second. Johan. How do you know about Luciel?”

“Kira told me. Obviously.”

Seojun looked up at him, thrown.

“Kira? You know Kira?”

Johan’s face broke into the most self-satisfied smirk Seojun had ever seen. He sounded thoroughly pleased with himself.

“Course I do. We traveled here together. Total coincidence, by the way.”

Watching Johan’s cheeky little grin as he emphasized the word coincidence, Seojun was speechless. Then a name slotted into place. His eye flew wide, mouth dropping open, nose wrinkling in sheer disbelief.

“Johan… hold on. You’re Yon? That was you this whole time? Where did you even come up with a name like that?”

What Seojun really meant was: Just what the hell have you been up to? But before Johan could offer any explanation, McCullan muscled his way between them.

A moment ago, the guy had been trembling like a chihuahua in a snowstorm. But the name “Yon” landed like a slap to the face. Suddenly he was alert and pissed. He stomped forward, every step radiating belligerent energy. A quick, nervous glance at Levi’s stone-cold face, and then he was yelling at the top of his lungs.

“Y-you bastard! You’re the guy called Yon?!”

He threw himself forward, hands snatching for Johan’s collar. Obviously, Johan wasn’t about to stand there and take it. A casual sidestep and McCullan grabbed nothing but empty air. Missing only made it worse. His face shifted from red to a deep, mottled purple, veins throbbing at his temples. Nostrils wide, eyes showing too much white. He ground his teeth and shook a trembling fist at Johan.

“You’re the bastard who did that to Mina, aren’t you? Huh?!”

There was real pain in McCullan’s voice. But Johan barely reacted. Just a slight tilt of his head, one eyebrow cocked, projecting nothing but apathy.

“Did I do something? More importantly, have you seen Mina?”

Seen Mina? Seojun searched Johan’s face. He knew Johan could be cold toward people he didn’t care about, but even accounting for that, something didn’t add up. Seojun reached over and tugged gently at his sleeve. Johan bent toward him without hesitation.

“Johan. Didn’t you come here with Mina?”

“Yeah. But we split up once we got to the hospital. She said she had to get something ready and headed in first. Never heard from her after that. Kira and I went in later. She’s not answering her phone, either. Oh, right. Jun, here.”

Halfway through explaining, Johan dug something out of his pocket and held it out.

“Th-this is…?”

“Found it near the emergency exit on the first floor. Thought I’d keep it safe. It’s yours, right?”

His phone! The one Seojun had used as bait for Samantha. Seeing something he’d completely given up on, his chest squeezed. He picked it up, flipping it over in his hands. Banged up and the screen was cracked, but still in one piece.

Seojun sniffled, eye stinging, and he slipped the phone into his fanny pack with the care of a priest handling a relic. He swore to himself right then: if they made it out of this hellhole alive, he was heading straight to a repair shop and recovering every last byte of data.

McCullan stared at this heartfelt phone reunion. Then, cautiously, he spoke up.

“Uh, Seojun… now that you’ve got yours back… any chance I could get mine, too…?”

“Haha, McCullan, you’re hilarious! Hahaha!”

Seojun flat-out ignored him. McCullan’s expression wilted. Nearby, Levi seemed lost in her own head—arms crossed, idly tapping her chin with the club, eyes sliding toward McCullan every so often. Seojun had no idea what was going through her mind, and frankly, he didn’t have the mental bandwidth to ask.

“Anyway, never mind him. Jun, you remember that creepy nurse from before? The one who looked like she stepped out of a hardcore cosplay convention?”

“Samantha?”

“You actually got her name? Wow. Look at you, being sociable. Out here making friends left and right.”

“……”

Since when does knowing a ghost’s name count as being sociable?

Seojun was still wrestling with that questionable logic when Johan shot a quick look around and moved closer, voice going low.

“Anyway, about Samantha. She’s definitely a ghost.”

“……”

If there was anyone who could look at Samantha and still argue she was a regular, living human being, Seojun would love to study their brain. Who in the world wouldn’t instantly recognize her as a ghost? Or a zombie at bare minimum? Listening to Johan murmur this laughably obvious information like he was sharing state secrets, Seojun was at a complete loss.

But Johan kept going. He pressed closer still, lips nearly touching Seojun’s ear, breath hot on his skin as he whispered his next big reveal.

“Jun. Ghosts are real. And so are invisible people.”

“Johan. Invisible people do not exist.”

Seojun killed that nonsense on the spot. Fine, he’d encountered enough ghosts by now to begrudgingly admit they were a thing. But invisible humans? Absolutely not. He clicked his tongue and nudged Johan’s face away.

And seriously, who did Johan think he was talking to? Seojun was the guy who’d gotten kidnapped to a lab conducting insane experiments just to create an invisible human. If anyone knew the truth, it was him. Met with Seojun’s blunt dismissal, Johan’s eyebrows drooped sadly. He thumped his chest in frustration.

“Jun, you gotta keep an open mind! Broaden your horizons!”

“Open mind, my ass. I’ve decided my mind is staying closed for good.”

A lesson he’d learned the painful way after leaving home.

Actually… didn’t I lose an eye in Wraithwood exactly because of that mindset?

Seojun was still chewing on that harsh bit of irony when Levi finished whatever she’d been mulling over and walked up to Johan. She sized up his imposing imposing physique without even trying to be subtle, then spoke.

“How about we cut the chitchat and get to what matters? Yon, putting aside the fact that Seojun seems to know you… where have you been all this time, and what are you doing here? Let’s start there.”

Her tone was practically an interrogation, but fair enough. Seojun was itching to find out how Johan had appeared at the perfect moment to save him. Scratching the back of his head, Johan casually reached over and slid a monkey wrench from the bouquet in Seojun’s hands.

Levi stiffened, but Johan didn’t swing. He just stood there, gaze following the dust motes drifting slow through the air.

“It’s kind of a long story…”

“Then start with Kira. Where is she? Why isn’t she with you?”

“Oh, Kira said she wanted to check out the basement.”

Johan answered like it was nothing. Seojun’s lips formed words silently.

Basement. Underground.

“Ah—Wait!”

Seojun’s head snapped around so fast it nearly made a sound. He thrust the bouquet toward the elevator, gesturing wildly. It dawned on him way, way too late. The only thing he could blame was the overwhelming relief of getting away from Samantha. It had completely fried his brain.

Luciel, Brown, and Dennis were still down there.

And now, apparently, so was Kira.

Which meant that, in a truly impressive lapse in judgment, they had essentially express-delivered Samantha straight down to the basement with everyone else.