A/N: Okay~ It's Alchemist here~! I have this story on dA too (my username is also AlchemistOfSushi), so it may be familiar. Anywho~ I hope you like this one! I had fun writing this chapter. I think, this is one of my favourite horror legends XD
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia! It belongs to Hidekaz Himuraya~ (believe me, if I owned it, Estonia would get 80% more screen time~ XD)
Horror Legend belongs to whoever made it up/found it...
Please read and review~
Im Yong Soo was obsessed with the haunted house at the annual summer carnival. He loved the feel of the adrenaline pumping rapidly through his body as he walked around the darkened maze full of surprises, ready to scare the living daylights out of those who were brave enough to go in. Of course, being such a fan, he went into the haunted house every year, so he'd gotten quite used to it. But this year was different: they had newer surprises for the haunted house-goers. And Im Yong Soo was ready for whatever the haunted house threw at him.
He managed to dodge all the spring-activated traps, and found a dimly lit door near the end of the haunted house. Im Yong Soo walked towards it and he was mildly shocked as a corpse dropped down in front of him, its arms flying up, ready to embrace the Korean who jumped back, a wild grin on his face. He had to admit; compared to the other corpses, this one looked real. Im Yong Soo wanted to give Wang Yao and Kiku a pleasant surprise by hanging this at his house and then inviting them over.
The Korean plotted a scheme to sneak around the back of the haunted house after it closed and steal the corpse. All he had to do was wait, so he continued around the maze. He ran into a man, whose appearance made him look as though he might've been one of the corpses in the house too. It was in fact, the owner of the haunted house, and he was dead ugly. He had a hump on his back and his muscles were bulging off his arms in disfiguring angles. Im Yong Soo noticed the narrowed eyes that stared back at him and shuddered. He made a mental note to keep out of that guy's way in the future.
While waiting for the carnival to end, Im Yong Soo killed time by walking around the carnival grounds. All he could think about was the reactions of his two brothers. Wang Yao would probably kill him for it, and Kiku would most likely faint. But Im Yong Soo was too excited to worry about whether Kiku would faint or not; his mind was fixed on how he was going to possibly get the corpse from the haunted house.
The carnival closed shortly, and the stampede of carnival-goers all heading for the exit gave Im Yong Soo his chance to sneak around the back of the haunted house and slip through the door. All the lights around the haunted house were dimmed to almost being switched off. The front doors were closed and chained. The back door was still open, and it was too easy to get into. Im Yong Soo chuckled to himself quietly as he stepped carefully to avoid setting off any traps. It was harder than he thought to navigate through the darkened maze.
Im Yong Soo traced his fingertips along the wall lightly, when he ran into something furry. It stank of decay, and the Korean coughed a little before realising he'd set off a trap. He lifted his foot and the arm retracted back.
The corpse that Im Yong Soo wanted was hanging by a rope attached to a harness that also had struts attached to the corpse's arms, so when it bounced on the rope, the arms went flying upwards like they'd done when Im Yong Soo had first encountered it. The Korean just had to take the corpse off the rope and then he'd be able to take off with it.
Creeeaaaakkk… Im Yong Soo's blood turned to ice. Floorboards creaked behind the Korean teenager. Creeeaaakkk… The teenager reminded himself that the floorboards had to be quite loose for the spring-traps to work, so it must be why they're making that sound, right? Creeeaaakkkk… He thought about turning tail and running away, but then he'd made it this far for nothing. Im Yong Soo wasn't giving up now. It was just his nerves, right? Just his nerves.
Im Yong Soo hugged the corpse close to his chest as he reached up to get the rope off. The cold plastic mask touched his cheek, and the angle that the dim light shone on it made it seem as though it was either grinning or it was snarling. The Korean boy also noticed the musty, rotten smell about the corpse. Fed up with trying to nicely unhook the rope, Im Yong Soo jerked the rope with a sharp tug, pulling the corpse free of the rope, but dropping it clumsily in the process. He attempted to catch it, but all he could grab was its arm, hearing a light pop as it came out of its socket, and the material of its shirt ripped at the shoulder. The ripped sleeve slid off the arm as Im Yong Soo looked in disappointment, but something caught his eye. Having gotten used to the dim light, the Korean could see the faint outline of what appeared to be a smooth, circular bump at the end of the arm, where it would've been attached to the shoulder. He held it closer to his face as his studied it the light, but then dropped it as if it were white-hot.
Im Yong Soo's eyes widened as realisation hit him like a punch to the gut. It was a bone. A human bone. The once-arrogant Korean teenager picked up the corpse by the faded collar of its shirt, and hesitantly removed the mask. The face that had once been hidden was revealed: skin that was a grey pallor, mummified and dry. Its face was contorted into a look of pure horror. A once-white gag had been tied tight around the corpse's mouth. Heavily shadowed eyes had sunken into the skull. The gag, now loosened from rotting, fell from the corpse, revealing badly decayed teeth behind a mouth with no lips.
Dropping the corpse, Im Yong Soo staggered back, a look of terror on his face as he collapsed to the ground on weakened knees, turning his head to the side and vomiting, before he felt a hand grab a fistful of his hair and force him back onto his feet. He found himself face-to-face with the man from earlier — the one Im Yong Soo had jeered at inwardly for being so ugly. The man kneed Im Yong Soo in the stomach and then hit him hard on the back of his head as he doubled over. Im Yong Soo went out like a light.
When the teenager regained consciousness, he found himself unable to move his arms or legs, for they had been bound to something solid. His chest felt as though he was being crushed in between concrete walls. There was a piece of cloth in his mouth, preventing him from making noise. His eyes widening, he saw the man who'd knocked him unconscious appear in front of him. Dirty fingernails stroked down Im Yong Soo's cheek.
'So young and handsome,' the man said, while Im Yong Soo could only shout in his mind, pleading for everything to be a dream. 'Such a pity. Such a pity. Too arrogant for your own good.'
Im Yong Soo tried to scream, but nothing came out. The man grabbed Im Yong Soo's head roughly and forced him to look down at the corpse he'd tried to steal.
'Much better to have an energised young boy than a bag of bones,' the man said. The man placed something over Im Yong Soo's face. It was plastic and cold. It was dark and tight. It hid Im Yong Soo's face.
It hid Im Yong Soo's tears.
Nothing else was ever heard of the Korean teenager who went missing on the last night of the carnival.
Well, that was fun. :) Now, there's free cookies and a shirtless nation of your choice for lucky reviewers~ XD
Korea: EHHH? Why did you kill me off, da ze...
China: Good riddance, aru -coughs-
Japan: Un... I must... -nods affirmatively-
Korea: -pouts- Oh well, this horror legend originated in me, da z... (punched by China)
Alchemist: ... -watches Im Yong Soo fly off- Well hit, sir!
China: -turns to Alchemist with a glare-
Alchemist: -runs away-
Also, if there are any horror legend requests, I will be happy to take your ideas. Nations like America, who have already suffered their fate, can't be chosen, but the nations who survive, or are mentioned in the fanfiction (such as Iggy, France, Russia, etc.) will be allowed in~
Next up: Raivis (Latvia)