How about Cosmic Horror? – Chapter 4

Author: Gumi

“I’m worried about how much the hospital bill will be.”

“Why are you worrying about that?”

“Because I have to pay for it…”

As Irae was about to complain, a sudden possibility crossed her mind, and her eyes lit up.

“Could it be that the person who caused the accident is covering it?”

The doctor had said she fell from a great height. Could the one who accidentally pushed her be someone rich? Like, semi-chaebol rich? Was that why she ended up in this kind of VIP hospital room?

“You’re definitely not paying for it.”

He assured her as if to put her mind at ease. She clenched her fists. Yes!

“You’re that happy?”

“So happy I could breakdance.”

“I’d love to see that.”

Now? Wasn’t it a bit too much to show her breakdance after only seeing him twice? Preserving her dignity as a human being, she promised herself she’d show him next time

“You’ll be seeing it plenty in the future anyway.”

Things were awkward now because of her amnesia, but over time, she believed she’d become more comfortable with him, and then she could show him her heartfelt breakdancing.

“True. We are married, after all.”

His agreeing voice was so sweet it nearly melted her soul. For some reason, since he said his name, the planet—previously shrouded in pitch black—had turned a radiant pink, sparkling again.

While going through the discharge process and heading home, Irae was shocked multiple times.

First, her so-called husband paid the hospital bill. He pulled out a black card from his wallet and paid in full.

Second, when they got to the parking lot, a man who introduced himself as her husband’s personal secretary showed up with a car that looked anything but ordinary and drove them home.

Third, their house was even more luxurious than the VIP hospital room, which could put a five-star hotel to shame.

“Is this really our house?”

“Yes. The house where you and I will live a lovey-dovey life from now on.”

He confirmed as he took off his wristwatch. Large hands with prominent veins, a suit, and a wristwatch – definitely a winning combo for a man. It was such a small thing, but she couldn’t take her eyes off it.

Maybe it was because he didn’t have a face, but from the neck down, his body really was perfect. Not a single flaw. Muscular where it needed to be, lean and sleek where it should be—his physique was just ideal.

“You’re staring so hard it’s making me shy.”

“Huh? Why?”

She swallowed dryly and sputtered. He was her husband, wasn’t he? His body was hers to nibble, chew, taste, and enjoy—right?

“You wouldn’t want to do it with a planet, would you?”

She quickly averted her gaze and didn’t ask what “it” was. Even with a head injury, she had enough common sense left.

Even if he was her husband, doing ‘it’ with a man she’d only met twice wasn’t something her upbringing in a Confucian country would allow. No, even if Confucianism permitted it, a planet was a no-go… It was slightly better than tentacles, but still.

She suddenly felt awkward. Right. They were married. Of course they’d done it. That was obvious—but now that she consciously thought about it, her head spun and her stomach churned.

She had no memory of any of that kind of thing. So technically, she had a husband, but she was mentally still a virgin.

…How many times have we done it?

She’d heard they hadn’t been married for long. Newlyweds usually did it three or four times a week, right? Five times? Judging by his physique, he must have a lot of stamina… Every day?

Glancing at his body, she shook her head. No, every day was impossible. It was basically hard labor. He might be up for it, but her stamina wouldn’t hold up.

Just then, a shadow loomed over her, and a blue planet filled her vision.

“What impure thoughts are you making that face for?”

“W-What kind of baseless accusation is that? I didn’t think anything like that!”

Caught off guard and spooked by the bizarre visual, she protested without taking a breath.

The rings surrounding the planet transformed into a cluster of question marks.

“Are you planning to join a rap competition? I’ll support whatever you do, honey, but I don’t think rap suits you. Especially with your poor lung capacity.”

His casual remark, as if he knew everything about her, annoyed her. Poor lung capacity? That was slander. She hadn’t gotten it checked or anything, but she didn’t smoke, so there was no reason for it to be bad.

“How do you know I have poor lung capacity?”

“I stuck it in deep, and you said you were suffocating and couldn’t last long.”

Irae’s eyes widened. What did he stick in, and where? Could it be what she was now thinking…?

Her gaze traveled down his perfectly sculpted body, below the belt.

That one where the pants thickened? How did that go in? Did I really… put that in my mouth?

“Where are you looking, honey? I’m talking about when we kissed.”

“You said you stuck it in deep, and I couldn’t breathe.”

“Yes. My tongue.”

His shameless response made the back of her head throb. He had to be setting her up on purpose, didn’t he? It was he who was the pervert, not her!

“You don’t even have a tongue right now, let alone eyes, a nose, or a mouth.”

He brought his hand up to his face. With long fingers, he slowly caressed the underside of the floating planet—probably where his lips were.

“Want me to prove it’s there?”

“How?”

“If you can’t see it with your eyes, then feel it with your body.”

He moved closer. Reflexively, Irae stepped back. The closer he got, the more she backed away, until her back hit a cold wall. With nowhere else to run, she pressed herself against it.

As he leaned down, the planet’s rings drew closer, almost touching her face.

Is this really happening?

Her first kiss… with a planet. It was better than tentacles, but she still didn’t want it. She’d much rather do it with something that resembled a human.

“Wait. This doesn’t feel right.”

“What doesn’t?”

“I mean, yes, we’re married, but I’ve lost my memory, and I’m not mentally prepared for this kind of contact yet. Your appearance is also a bit… of a barrier, so to speak.”

He said nothing for a while. The planet stopped spinning and hovered motionlessly in place.

She felt suffocated as if time and space itself had stopped. For some reason, it reminded her of the apocalypse.

“Let’s say, honey…”

His finger slowly traced the line between her forehead and her hairline. Her nerves tingled in the direction he was tracing.

“…that we build enough closeness, and even then, I still don’t look human to you. What will you do then?”

Honestly, it wasn’t a scenario she wanted to consider. To spend a lifetime seeing her husband as something straight out of cosmic horror—

But it wasn’t entirely out of the question. One day, she’d have to think seriously about it.

“I guess I’ll just… learn to live with it…?”

“By avoiding me like now?”

“Well… humans are adaptable, so I’ll probably… figure something out.”

Irae dropped her gaze diagonally and mumbled vaguely. She couldn’t imagine how just yet, but maybe she’d get used to the planet eventually. Physical intimacy with the tentacle version… that might take a lot more time.

“If nothing else works, maybe we could do it blindfolded. My sense of touch is working just fine.”

That was her last resort. She would only do that if there was no other choice.

Suddenly, the dimly glowing planet pulsed with a sudden flash of red. A color so ominous it screamed danger.

“That’s… kind of tempting.”

Dread rose in her throat. She hesitated before cautiously speaking.

“Can I take back what I just said?”

“There’s no ‘take back’ in the dictionary we share, honey. Did you forget?”

Since when did dictionaries lack such a crucial word? She couldn’t argue because she had no recollection of it.

He gently brushed his finger across her eyelid and backed away.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she stepped away from the wall and looked around, only to flinch at the sight of a pitch-black lump sitting on the bookshelf.

That hadn’t been there before.

“That’s…”

“What does it look like to you?”

He asked curiously.

Irae’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. Did he think something was wrong with her vision? Everything else looked normal—except for him.

“Isn’t that a black cat?”

“Ah, a cat.”

He repeated her words in an ambiguous tone, neither confirming nor denying it. Then he suddenly addressed the cat directly.

“You heard her? You’re a black cat.”

To her surprise, the cat bobbed its head vigorously.

“It understands human language?”

“It’s pretty smart.”

“Are we raising it?”

“Well, it’s kind of like a pet.”

Why say “kind of like”? It was a pet, wasn’t it?

“What’s its name?”

“Shan.”

That was… unusual. Just one syllable, and the pronunciation was strange.

“If Shan disappears, don’t be surprised. He likes hiding in places you can’t see. Especially hates sunlight, so he probably won’t show up during the day. He’s probably tucked away somewhere sleeping, so don’t exhaust yourself looking.”

He explained in a gentle tone. The longer he spoke, the more his pleasant voice stood out.

“You don’t need to feed him, either. I take care of that at night. You don’t have to do a thing.”

She nearly swooned from his velvety, chocolate-sweet voice. Only after a delay did the actual meaning of his words hit her.

So… don’t bother trying to find the cat if it’s missing, and don’t feed it either?

She had a feeling that if the cat were determined to hide, she wouldn’t be able to find him in this big house. It was nice not to have to do anything, but… wasn’t it a bit cold? Was it normal to have this kind of distance with a cat? She wasn’t a cat owner, so she wasn’t sure. It seemed like her husband was Shan’s main caregiver. He must have raised Shan since before they got married.

“Okay.”

While she was momentarily distracted, the cat disappeared.

“Ah, Shan’s gone somewhere. I wanted to take a closer look at him.”

“He’s always like that. You won’t see him much in the future either.”

At this point, wasn’t it basically a stray cat?

She had questions but decided to put them aside for now. There were too many others piling up in her head.

“Um…”

Just as she tried to speak to the man, she hesitated.

“Yes. What’s wrong?”

He replied kindly as he hung his jacket in the wardrobe.

There happened to be a mirror nearby, and she was curious what it would reflect.

Would she see a human, like in the photo? Or that creature with a planetary head?