Chapter 141
"We did it! We did it!"
The moment Kwon Sua locked the door and finished escaping through the window, we hugged each other and jumped up and down.
It had been a long time since I felt this good.
"Now let's bolt!"
Pitter-patter-!
We fled without looking back! Our meeting place was, of course, our secret base.
We arrived at the secret base like that. Jung-seok and Yang Juhee were already there.
"How did it go?"
At Yang Juhee's question, I took the talismans out of my pocket.
Ten talismans.
As I waved them, everyone's expressions brightened. But Jung-seok was a cold boy.
"Did you do it right? Did you switch them properly? The switch is crucial."
The talisman switch.
We exchanged the fake talismans drawn by Yoo Dahee with the original ones. Dahee was really good at drawing talismans, maybe because she usually draws a lot.
"Don't worry. We did everything. We erased all our traces, so we won't be caught for a while. And besides the talismans, we brought this too. I don't know what it is. It was with the talismans."
Swish-
I held out the object wrapped tightly in tissue paper to everyone. It was a moment when people's expressions became subtle.
Just as I was wondering what this could be, Dahee trembled.
"This... it gives me a bad feeling."
A bad feeling? But Yang Juhee was very brave.
"What is this? Let me see."
Swish-
Yang Juhee, fearless since the 《Sacrificial Virgin》 incident, unwrapped the tissue paper. Soon, Yang Juhee's expression twisted.
"What is this?"
The object wrapped in tissue paper was about the size of one segment of my pinky finger. Its rough surface, color, and texture closely resembled a dried persimmon.
"...What on earth is this?"
Even our computer Jung-seok frowned as if he was seeing this object for the first time.
What could this be? Why was this with the talismans?
As we were deeply pondering its identity, Ms. Hong Mi-ri entered the secret base.
"Kids, did you resolve everything well?"
I thought this was a good opportunity and showed Ms. Hong Mi-ri the object we had acquired.
"This..."
Ms. Hong Mi-ri made a chilling expression as if she had realized something, then carefully wrapped the object back in tissue paper. Then she put it in her pocket.
"Can I have this analyzed by someone I know? I think we'll have results in a day."
"Sure, go ahead."
It's an object we don't even know about anyway. It would be good if we could find out what it is.
In my opinion, there must be a reason why Wang Ja-hyun's group hid this with the talismans. Could it be an extremely valuable item?
With that feeling, we celebrated our first theft at the secret base. Everyone was excited, feeling thrilled by this deviation.
"So I just climbed over the wall... and opened the door!"
"If I hadn't picked the lock, it would've all been over!"
It was truly a festive atmosphere.
We realized we had a talent for theft. Honestly, I was prepared to turn back time once, but to succeed on the first try. I felt proud, thinking life can go this well sometimes.
'Yeah, you can't just have unlucky days, right? You need good days too.'
Before we knew it, it was evening. As we were deciding on the dinner menu, Ms. Hong Mi-ri came in.
Ms. Hong Mi-ri said.
"What you brought. It's human."
"...What?"
I was shocked. How could that be human?
"To be precise, it's a human finger, they say."
I was still puzzled. How could that be a human finger?
As we were all curious, Jung-seok said.
"Is it a baby's finger?"
"Yes. They say it's the finger of a baby about 0 to 1 year old. They dried it and mummified it. Creepy, right?"
Why would someone cut off a baby's finger and make it like this? Why did Wang Ja-hyun have that?
I couldn't understand.
***
Wang Ja-hyun was causing a ruckus, practically turning his house upside down. It was to find the missing object.
"It's gone! It's not here!"
But no matter how much he looked, the missing object was nowhere to be found.
Anger spread like fire in his chest. Wang Ja-hyun's eyes now turned to the girls.
"Did you take it?"
"Wh-what are you talking about? We don't even know what's in that box."
"You're the one with the key."
Gong Ye-rin and Im Hee-yeon trembled at the man's anger.
Veins were standing out on Wang Ja-hyun's forehead, and his eyes were bloodshot.
"Ye-rin, let's look together."
"Okay, okay."
Gong Ye-rin and Im Hee-yeon pretended to search, not even knowing what it was, afraid of becoming targets of his anger. They thought it was better than getting hit by Wang Ja-hyun.
Wang Ja-hyun was the type to hit even if they were girls.
'It's not here.'
After rummaging through the house for a while, Wang Ja-hyun gave up searching for the object. There was no way that thing, locked in a heavy metal box, could have disappeared on its own.
Theft.
It was right to assume someone had stolen it.
Ding dong-
Just then, someone rang the doorbell. Gong Ye-rin, who had been anxious as if sitting on pins and needles, brightened her expression.
"It must be Kim Geon-ho! I'll open it!"
Click, creak-
As the door opened, Kim Geon-ho entered the house, frowning.
"Why's the house in such a state? It was already chaotic, but now it's even worse."
Wang Ja-hyun looked at Kim Geon-ho. He felt a 'Could it be him─' moment, but soon shook his head.
'Kim Geon-ho is an idiot.'
Kim Geon-ho wasn't bold enough to betray him. From the start, he was essentially a 'coward'.
'Someone from outside stole it.'
Would it be someone who knows the true value of that object? It was a treasure, one of only two in the world.
There were plenty of people who wouldn't hesitate to kill to get it.
That's why he, a chosen one, had been keeping it...
Wang Ja-hyun decided to honestly admit his mistake.
"The key to the corridor entrance is gone. It means we can't enter the corridor anymore."
"What?"
"Then what do we do!"
Gong Ye-rin and Im Hee-yeon looked upset. Thinking them useless, Wang Ja-hyun looked at Kim Geon-ho.
Suddenly, he remembered how Kim Geon-ho was curled up in a corner when they first met. It could be called a kind of 'quirk'.
Though he might not remember it himself, it might be related to that cursed old school building. It didn't seem like a mere coincidence.
'There are others besides us wandering the corridor. I'm also concerned about Gong Ye-rin and Im Hee-yeon coming back from the dead recently. It's probably not done alone, but by a group of two or more.'
Wang Ja-hyun came to a conclusion.
There's someone. And to find out who that someone is, it seemed best to dig into Kim Geon-ho.
"Kim Geon-ho. Do you remember in detail what happened before you refused to go to school? Tell me everything, even the smallest details. Also, if there's anyone else who suddenly changed, tell me."
"Suddenly?"
Kim Geon-ho crossed his arms and fell into thought. The nervous girls spoke before Kim Geon-ho.
"Jung Sojin! Kim Geon-ho, you were close with Jung Sojin but suddenly you weren't!"
"Right! Jung Sojin! She suddenly had a fit!"
"Jung Sojin, the class president of Class D?"
Wang Ja-hyun knew about the class president too. He had once wanted to live in the same apartment complex as her.
'Kim Geon-ho and Jung Sojin. It might be someone close to these two.'
Originally, the stolen treasure was one of two in the world. It was entirely possible that the one with the other piece had stolen his.
Just then, Gong Ye-rin asked.
"So, what exactly is this treasure?"
Wang Ja-hyun kept his mouth shut.
He was concerned about the one missing talisman. He thought there might be a traitor within this group.
Otherwise, this crime would have been impossible.
***
Our talisman theft was a perfect crime. At the same time, we had left behind a huge clue.
"Our theft of the talismans might be discovered soon. If they narrow down people who know the value of the talismans, they'll eventually reach us."
My life has been unlucky.
In that sense, it was almost a given that Wang Ja-hyun's group would figure out our theft. It meant we had limited time.
"We'll finish conquering the corridor before that. They say the fourth floor is the end, so we're really close."
If the "Nightmare Corridor" was a game, it would be close to musical chairs.
There's only one fixed finish line and multiple teams.
If we arrive first, we wouldn't need to fight others.
Let's speed up.
With that thought, we immediately prepared for the next expedition. We felt confident with the many stolen talismans.
In that sense, I was thinking of changing things up a bit for this expedition. When I returned home after a long time and manipulated the status window, there were many 'NEW' marks.
First, there were 10 additional escape talismans. And second, there was the "Finger".
『Finger: A finger that allows entry into the Nightmare Corridor. Slightly increases the luck of its possessor.』
"Oh, shit...!"
Isn't this a first-time item?
It was a total jackpot item. To think the item we stole without knowing was a finger that allows entry into the corridor.
"So that's what it was."
The reason Wang Ja-hyun's group could enter the corridor. It was because of this finger.
Is this like catching a mouse while backing up?
The problem was that with such an important object gone, Wang Ja-hyun's group might pursue us more fiercely.
If I had such an object and lost it, I'd really go crazy. For me, it would be like losing my status window.
Who knows what the insane Wang Ja-hyun might do. So, we needed to work harder.
I had to think hard and decide on the members and items for this expedition.
Yang Juhee: Box cutter, Magic wand, School uniform, Zippo lighter, Straw doll. Escape talisman
Me: Vortex key, Escape talisman.
Hong Mi-ri: Camera, Escape talisman.
Yoo Dahee: Paper crane, Escape talisman.
I left out Jung-seok. Jung-seok wasn't much help on the third floor of the corridor.
'Alright.'
Slowly-
I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, the cool corridor greeted me.
This time, we'll definitely break through the third floor.