Chapter 29: Missing (1)

I put Yang Juhee and Jung-seok into the box and closed the lid. Then, I turned off the flashlight.

A corridor enveloped in complete darkness.

Roll roll-

Click, click.

I could feel the two ghosts getting closer to me.

Feeling the temperature drop several degrees in an instant, I gritted my teeth and held my breath.

The gamble of a lifetime.

All or nothing.

Click, click.

Roll roll.

Finally, the sound of high heels approached right in front of me.

"Young-won."

The head ghost calling my name also came right up to me.

I was pressed as close to the wall as possible.

Crunch, crunch.

Roll roll.

The head ghost met the headless high-heeled ghost.

They were close enough to touch if I just reached out. My heart was pounding like it would burst, and I felt like all the blood from the top of my head had sunk to my feet.

But - they showed no signs of noticing me.

My gamble had paid off!

I had a hunch when the head ghost's gaze seemed to follow only Jung-seok and Juhee earlier, not seeing me!

"Hehehehe."

The head ghost suddenly laughed.

Just as I was wondering what would happen next, the high-heeled ghost slowly reached out and grabbed the head ghost.

Then it brought it to its own severed neck.

"This isn't the body."

Thud, roll roll roll.

The head ghost fell off the body and rolled back the way it came.

The high-heeled ghost in the white gown also disappeared, continuing straight ahead with its stiff joints creaking.

Zzt-

When the discordant noise from the phone in the box disappeared, I could finally exhale my held breath. I had won the gamble.

"So it really worked. The 'Subtle Perfume'."

『Subtle Perfume: A perfume made from water fairies splashed in. Greatly reduces the chance of being discovered by ghosts and observers. Lasts for 100 hours when used. 1/2 uses.』

It was an amazing item.

In other words... I seemed to be almost invisible to the ghosts now.

With this, we might really be able to escape.

"Guys. You can come out now!"

Thinking the ghosts' presence had completely disappeared, I called my friends. When I opened the lid, I met the eyes of Jung-seok and Juhee, who were stiff like mice in front of a cat.

"...Hey! What happened to you!"

Juhee jumped out of the box and protested to me in a small voice. Jung-seok was also just gaping, as if it was unbelievable.

I tried to explain as briefly as possible, in case the ghosts might return.

"I had used the 'Subtle Perfume', remember? When you spray this, it greatly reduces the chance of being discovered by ghosts. I took a chance because the head ghost acted like it couldn't see me earlier."

"......"

Juhee looked like she didn't quite understand.

Fortunately, Jung-seok nodded as if he understood in many ways.

"I see. But you said it was your first time using the perfume too. There wasn't a definite guarantee that the ghosts wouldn't be able to see you just because you sprayed the perfume, right?"

"That's true. But we didn't have time to be picky."

The box was barely big enough for two people.

The corridor was straight with ghosts at both ends.

We had to sacrifice one person, and I had the highest chance of survival.

"Wow. You're really crazy. Even so, that's... I would never have thought of that. But in the end, your judgment was right."

Jung-seok seemed very impressed by my decisiveness and gamble. However, Juhee frowned as if she was slightly angry.

"Hey. Next time, at least say something. Do you know how surprised and scared we were!"

"I wish I had time to explain too. Anyway, let's go. It'll be troublesome if the ghosts come back."

We chose to move forward. Our destination was the outside.

It was a dark and gloomy place, but our progress seemed very smooth.

***

"Does it really say to go in here?"

As we walked straight down the corridor following the crayon marks, a "Operating Room" appeared in front of us.

『25 steps to the east』

"Does it really say to go in here?"

Juhee asked me again. Juhee, who always walked in front fearlessly, seemed a bit scared this time.

"It seems right to go in here. Why? Is there something bothering you?"

Small, trivial emotions. A piece of paper on the floor.

These things might be crucial puzzle pieces for us now.

Did she feel a sense of incongruity about there being an "Operating Room" in a place we thought was a kindergarten? I thought it was a bit strange too.

I gauged Juhee's mood, and she pointed inside the lab with her hand.

"No, look there. There's a huge spider web in there. I'm a bit scared of spiders."

I see. To think Juhee, who had stomped on cockroaches without hesitation, would be afraid of spiders.

I thought she was like a general like Guan Yu or Zhang Fei, but she was still a girl after all.

The tension that had been wound tight suddenly relaxed, and I found myself chuckling without realizing it.

"Juhee's cute. If a spider comes out, I'll catch it for you. I'm scared of cockroaches, but not spiders."

"What are you saying?!"

"Guys. Stop chattering and let's go in first."

Jung-seok cautioned me and Juhee. But for all that, he wasn't readily entering this "Operating Room" either.

He probably wants someone else to go in first.

I realized today that Jung-seok was more of a coward than I thought.

Usually, Juhee would have taken the lead, but she seemed reluctant because of the spider web.

I decided to take the lead this time.

"Guys, we're really close. Let's hang in there a little longer. I hope there's an exit in here. Please."

Slide-

I opened the sliding door and entered the "Operating Room."

The operating room smelled so strongly of various medicines that it made my nose wrinkle.

There were two operating tables like you'd see in a surgery department, both contaminated with something dark red and hardened. Could it be blood?

What caught our attention even more were the elevators.

There were two elevators like twins.

About 1 meter apart, left and right.

"Any marks? Are there crayon marks?"

Jung-seok asked Juhee.

Juhee, who had the best eyesight among us, took the flashlight from me and looked around, but shook her head as if she didn't find anything.

"I can't see any. Young-won, how about you? You said you could see some writing?"

『1 step to the east』

"It seems to be this left elevator."

Without the status window...

Even if we had luckily found the crayon marks and made it here, would we have had to take a 50-50 chance at this fork in the road with two elevators?

"Young-won. Look at this."

Jung-seok, who was rummaging through the operating room, drew our attention as if he'd found something.

He was holding a chart like doctors would carry. Looking closely, there was writing on paper stained with dark red marks.

[According to research, results are passed down through blood. Parents and children. Twin sisters will prove our theory.]

[Twins are indeed amazing. The development of sisters ─Yeri and ── has stood out among the children in the facility for the past 5 years. Especially the younger sister ───'s aptitude as an observer far exceeds expectations.]

[The younger sister has a unique birthmark that the older sister doesn't have. Does this difference create a gap in stages even between twins who share the same blood? In any case, these sisters will surely take us to ─.]

[The experiment failed.]

"Do you think this means anything?"

Jung-seok asked for my opinion.

I looked at the two operating tables in the room and thought... but I couldn't pinpoint anything or come up with any ideas.

Something involving twins failed... is that how we should see it? However, the word 'observer' written there was quite concerning.

"Hey. What are you guys doing there? Aren't you coming out? You said it was the left elevator!"

I snapped back to attention at Juhee's call as I was looking for more useful items around. It seemed best to escape this place quickly after all.

We boarded the elevator.

To be honest, the inside of the elevator wasn't in the best hygienic condition.

There were 100 floor buttons in the elevator. Again, all the numbers were written as "4".

"Should we press any button? They're all the same 4th floor anyway."

Jung-seok shook his head at Juhee's question.

"That... I think we should think about it a bit."

All the same 4th floor...

As I was carefully examining the elevator buttons, I found one button with a dark red liquid smeared on it in the shape of a fingerprint.

It looked like someone had pressed this with their finger.

"Okay. I'll choose."

Swish-

Among the 100 buttons, I firmly pressed the only "4" that had a mark like a stain on it.

The door closed-

Whirrrr-

The elevator started moving to an unknown destination, whether up or down.

『The door is opening.』

Click-

Swoosh.

About a minute after boarding the elevator, the door opened.

The scene beyond was particularly familiar.

"It's outside. We're out!"

Juhee was the first to leave the elevator. Soon, Jung-seok cautiously followed, stepping outside.

"Here. This is the 4th floor of Young-won's house, right? Right! It seems we've returned! Damn! We're alive!"

I also stepped out of the elevator. Then someone came up from the stairs and scolded us.

"Hey! It was you guys! You left paper and tape on the stairs!"

It was the manager auntie who lives on the 4th floor of Taegwang Villa.

The auntie was holding a paper that said "Do not ride the elevator," which looked quite familiar.

Jung-seok looked at the phone in his hand.

"...Not even a minute has passed. 11:20 PM. Not even a minute has passed since we entered the elevator."

"This paper is yours, isn't it! You naughty kids!"

Turning my gaze from the auntie's scolding, I looked at the elevator we had entered and exited. But the elevator had disappeared as if it were a lie.

"Why aren't you answering when an adult is talking! Did you do this or not!"

Why does the manager auntie's scolding, which would have been annoying normally, sound so sweet now?

It was because it was the voice of everyday life that made us feel more than anything that we had survived.

『Congratulations! You have defeated the 'Death Elevator'!』

『Calculating rewards for 3 survivors.』

『You gain 300P.』

I picked up the 'capsule' that had fallen in front of our house door. It was quite heavy.

Click, pop-

When I opened the capsule, there was a small pen inside. Wondering what it was, I looked at it and text appeared.

『Eternal Glow-in-the-Dark Pen: A pen that's visible even in darkness. Marks made with this pen can never be erased unless using the eraser on the cap.』

A pen?

For a moment, I thought - all that trouble just for a pen? But considering how the crayon marks had been a big help in the death floor just now… This pen seems like it could be useful in many ways.

Click-

I opened the door and entered the house.

I thought Mom, who had escaped first, might be waiting for me at home, but my expectation was wrong.

The power is off─.

Mom's phone was still turned off.

I decided to wait for Mom for now, and the next morning, after serious consideration, I reported Mom's disappearance to the police.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I had the number of a Yeongji High senior police officer who could help with the missing person report on my phone.

Mom was found on the third day after escaping from the elevator- On a street in Jimun-dong near the downtown area of Gaeryong City.

The person who found her was someone I knew but couldn't have expected at all.

Click. Click. Click.

Just as the sound of high heels was giving me goosebumps-

When I turned my head, a woman in a sophisticated suit with red shoes and an alluring choker around her neck was approaching me. It was a woman I had once had a crush on.

"Yo."

"...Ms. Hong Mi-ri?"

"Yes, Class D troublemaker. Nice to meet you. You're here to see your mom, right? Shall we go together?"

Click. Click.

The English teacher, wearing high heels, walked elegantly and alluringly towards the hospital.