Chapter 164
I was planning to meet Gong Ye-rin and Im Hee-yeon, but they said they were changing clothes.
After waiting about 5 minutes, I opened the door to see Ye-rin and Hee-yeon sitting on the bed. Unlike Hee-yeon, who waved at me, Ye-rin was irritable.
"You kidnappers. When are you planning to let us go?"
In the past, I might have felt guilty. But with Yang Juhee in such a dire situation, I couldn't afford to be picky.
If I could use this situation, I had to.
"Your release depends on how much you cooperate. How many times have you been to the corridor?"
"More than 10 times, I think?"
Hee-yeon answered quickly. Ye-rin glared at her.
"Hey."
"They said they'd let us go if we cooperate."
"You believe that lie? You're still playing innocent even in this situation? Such a fake."
Ye-rin seemed displeased with Hee-yeon's cooperative attitude towards us. I asked Hee-yeon, who seemed more likely to talk than Ye-rin.
"Do you know about residual stay? When someone can't leave the corridor. It's different from dying or escaping with a talisman, they just remain in the corridor."
"Huh? I don't know about that."
Hee-yeon shook her head. Ye-rin, who had been watching Hee-yeon, sighed.
"Do you know why we were chasing people out in there? People who stay in the corridor too long become entranced by it."
"Entranced?"
"If you stay in the corridor for too long, you become a prisoner of its... charm? Like how a person who's committed a crime is drawn towards more sin. The corridor is the same."
What is she talking about?
Ye-rin continued explaining, but much of it was hard to understand. Jeongseok, the smartest among us, summarized it in a question.
"So, people who stay in the corridor for a long time become entranced by the corridor itself and try to go deeper, higher?"
"Yes. We were getting people out before they could be bound to the corridor. Our methods were a bit extreme, but we had no choice, right? The number of precious escape talismans is limited."
Bound to the corridor...
As I was lost in thought, Ye-rin, sitting on the bed, crossed her legs.
"There are a lot of missing people in this city, right? We know a bit about you guys too. Family members or acquaintances who've gone missing or died? Those who disappeared might already be caught in the corridor."
I recalled the Nightmare Corridor we've been through. I didn't remember meeting anyone who was caught there.
Of course, we hadn't explored every part of the corridor. The 3rd and 4th floors were still largely unknown.
"If this helped, how about letting us walk in the garden for an hour a day? I feel like I'm getting fat just staying in this room."
Ye-rin and Hee-yeon requested a daily one-hour walk. I looked at Dahee, who nodded.
"Alright. I'll take responsibility and let you walk for an hour each day."
"And get rid of this cat! It keeps biting my feet!"
Meow—
***
"Geez, why did Yang Juhee have to do something like residual stay and make everyone suffer instead of just dying peacefully?"
In the mansion's garden.
Bong Ji-yeon clicked her tongue. I couldn't help but feel depressed, thinking that Juhee was going through such a tough time because of me.
What could Juhee be doing in the corridor right now?
Maybe she was waiting for us to save her, but there was a cooldown period for entering the corridor.
『Time until re-entry – 25.15.44』
It would take at least two days before we could enter the corridor. Of course, there was one way to enter without waiting for the cooldown.
It was by using the terrible "Baby Finger."
I took out the tissue-wrapped object from my pocket. Wang Ja-hyun, Gong Ye-rin, and Im Hee-yeon's group used this to enter and exit the old school building.
If I used this, couldn't I enter and exit the old school building separately from my status window's corridor entry? Then I might be able to save Juhee.
Just then, someone put their hand on my shoulder. It was Yoo Dahee.
"Dying and residual stay. We're all prepared for that much. It's not your fault, Young-won."
Is she trying to comfort me? Bong Ji-yeon chimed in.
"I'm not prepared for that!"
That's right. Ji-yeon was cooperating with us to find her sister, and we recently found Ji-yeon's sister. We recovered her head.
"What about your sister's head?"
When I asked, Ji-yeon shuddered.
"It's in this mansion. How could I keep such a creepy thing at home?"
Wanting to find her sister's head but still being scared of it - I could understand that feeling.
Suddenly, a good idea popped into my head. Bong Se-yeon was also someone who had stayed in the corridor for a long time.
Maybe she knew about residual stay, or how to save someone who was left behind.
"Kids, take this medicine."
On our way to meet Bong Se-yeon, Ms. Hong Miri gave us each a pill.
"You need this to cross that lily of the valley flowerbed."
Se-yeon’s head was kept in the Chairman's study. The Chairman's study was a building at the center of a lily of the valley flowerbed, and these flowers were said to be highly toxic.
It had been a while since we visited the Chairman's study after the "Monkey's Hand" incident.
Looking at the place filled with various strange objects, Kwon Sua trembled.
"It's creepy. We'd be cursed if we touched anything carelessly, right?"
It really seemed that way.
Se-yeon unni's head was on a cushion inside a transparent glass case in a temperature-controlled collection storage. Ms. Hong Miri opened the glass case and reached for the head.
"Teacher, you're not planning to do that again, are you?"
"We have no other choice. Hold my head for me."
Ugh!
It was so scary.
While everyone had their eyes closed, Ms. Hong Miri and Se-yeon's heads were swapped.
Casually swapping heads. I think there used to be a cartoon called Anpanman…
"What's going on?"
It seems Bong Se-yeon has regained consciousness. Holding Ms. Hong Miri's head, I hurriedly spoke to Se-yeon.
"Not just Yang Dohee, but Yang Juhee seems to be trapped in the corridor too! What should we do?"
"Caught in the corridor, huh."
Se-yeon unni also used the phrase "caught in the corridor." Now it seemed like a common occurrence.
"If that's happened, the only way is to go and save her yourself. Like how Dohee tried to save me. Of course, there are often cases where the person trying to save someone gets caught themselves. That's what happened to Dohee."
Like becoming a hostage while trying to rescue a hostage?
"The longer they're caught, the less likely they are to return to normal."
That was the end of Se-yeon's advice.
Back to the original state.
Watching this, Kwon Sua screamed as if she couldn't take it anymore.
"Swapping necks like that. It's too scary!"
I felt the same way. But thanks to Se-yeon, I could gain some certainty.
There was hope. The sooner I made a decision, the better.
***
"Ha Young-won, I didn't expect you to ask to meet me."
At a cafe near the school.
When Wang Ja-hyun appeared, the female customers' attention was immediately drawn to him. He was still an eye-catching guy.
Not wanting to attract unnecessary attention, I decided to get straight to the point.
"Explain in detail how you entered the corridor."
"Right here, right now?"
Ja-hyun narrowed his eyes. He must have realized he had no choice, or maybe for some other reason, he shrugged agreeably.
"Alright. The thing you stole from me. I call it a key. If you hold it close and strongly wish while falling asleep, you can enter another world. You can think of it as a passport or a pass."
"Why?"
"I don't know the reason either. Maybe, well, it wasn't originally from this world. Maybe the owner of that finger was originally from that side. What's important is the function, not the principle, right?"
That was true. So it's an object that's used when you wish to go to another world while holding the "key."
"Of course, this is when using it alone. If you want to use the key with multiple people, the method changes. The key seems to be originally for one person, so a special ritual is needed."
I had already heard about that ritual from Gong Ye-rin and Im Hee-yeon. It was practically an impure, blasphemous, pagan idolatry ritual.
"That's... enough. We're different from you."
"That's right. What exactly are you guys?"
Thinking I had nothing more to discuss with Ja-hyun, I pushed my chair back with a scrape and stood up. Ja-hyun asked me as I was leaving.
"You don't think I'm alone, do you?"
"What do you mean?"
"The Guardians. You might not believe it, but I'm actually one of the milder ones."
That was the end of my conversation with Ja-hyun. I need to leave quickly. He might be unpleasant, but his knowledge was real, so it was a helpful conversation.
With the finger, I can enter the corridor regardless of the Nightmare Corridor cooldown. I'll enter the corridor alone and save Juhee—
That was my plan.
The responsibility as the person who got everyone involved, repayment for all the help I've received from Juhee, and various emotions were swirling inside me.
"Did the conversation go well?"
As I came out of the cafe, Dahee was waiting for me. When did she get here?
Maybe it was the hot weather, but Dahee's expression looked a bit gloomy. She seemed to be hesitating about something.
"I came because I wasn't sure what might happen if you met Ja-hyun alone. The others said they were going to investigate about the demon."
Buzz buzz buzz—
The cicadas were still crying in the summer. I suddenly felt like this summer might go on forever.
Why is the world so hot?
"...You're planning to enter the corridor alone, aren't you?"
Dahee seemed to already know what I was planning to do.
"Did you read my mind or something?"
"If I couldn't do that much, I wouldn't survive as a high school girl in Korea. It's a real war to get along with other girls, you know?"
What exactly is a high school girl? High school girls seem to be more amazing than I thought.
Yoo Dahee chuckled to herself and said.
"In some ways, I'm envious of Juhee. She's like a captured princess, isn't she?"
"Is that so?"
Feeling somewhat awkward, I scratched my cheek.
As my whole body started to feel itchy, Dahee tugged at my collar.
"I could go with you, if you'd like."