episode_0018

darkness. A red light is twinkling at the end of a completely unlit hallway.

[▼]

[▼]

Elevator doors slowly opening. The hem of the cardigan I was wearing was pulled forward.

Without any time to grasp the situation, my feet were in the air.

Empty!

A dull shock is felt. Below, the abyss gapes wide open, and I stand, pressing the elevator button.

The structure of the floor did not change. The hallway on the 11th floor, which had grown endlessly, now faces downward.

“Ahh!”

When I look up, I see a daju hanging from the handle.

“Jump this way! I’ll catch you!”

“Can’t you just press the close button?”

“Ah.”

Then it’s okay.

“I’ll look for it first, so hold on!”

“Find it quickly! My hands are already tired!!!”

Finding the button under my feet wasn’t easy. Even more so because the viewing direction suddenly changes.

“Why is this so complicated?”

“At the bottom! It’s next to the open button below!”

“I found it!!!”

Elevator doors begin to close with a sound.

Daju is hanging over her head with her face all red.

“Are you done?”

“Wait a minute. What’s underneath?”

“What?”

That red light.

A few chunks break off from the huge ball of light and begin to rise in this direction.

Slurp-

thud!

Something hits hard outside the closed elevator door.

thud! thud! thud! thud!

Then return to the original direction.

Gravity grabbed my head and I fell backwards. On the other hand, Daju maintains his balance by stomping on the floor with fluid movements.

“Ha…ha…what was that just now?”

“I don’t know. I could see through the door gap for a moment, but the surroundings were too dark.”

“I won’t be able to come here from now on. Let’s go back.”

“Yes.”

I pressed the 7th floor button and took out my smartphone.

– hey!!!!!!!!!

The chat room is full of exclamation marks. How can you feel the noise in your writing? I tapped the screen and entered a sentence.

– Me: When I just went to the 11th floor, the direction of gravity changed.

– Me: Do you know anything?

– Does it matter now?

– I almost died of boredom? Are you human?

It seems like the way you speak has changed.

– I can’t speak properly due to insufficient capacity.

– There is too little power

– Me: I will move it to a better computer later.

– Me: If you leave here, I will give you a computer with the highest specs.

– You need to fill it with movies and novels, not just talk about strange monsters.

– Me: ㅇㅇ

After a while, a file was uploaded to the chat room.

– Check it out, this one is probably the most similar.

* * *

CREEP-011 is a townhouse located on ■■■ Avenue, Pennsylvania, USA.

The object has the following anomalous characteristics:

– A hallway that expands infinitely, ignoring physical limitations.

– There is a specific object placed in the middle of the hallway. This is believed to be related to the item the victim currently wants the most.

– The moment the victim enters the hallway, the direction of gravity changes. Victim ‘falls’ to the end of the hallway. It is unknown what happens afterward.

[Experiment Record 001]

– Agents A, B, and C were assigned to CREEP-011 to investigate.

– Agent A found something at the end of the hallway. B and C could also see the object, but could not answer the question of what it was. Directed to go through the hallway and look for the object.

– The moment you get close to the object, gravity reverses. All three agents responded calmly. Instructions were given to install a step stool on the window frame and climb on it.

– A fixes the automatic wheelchair on the scaffold, and B and C hold the rope and go down.

– 10 minutes have passed. B complained of dizziness and motion sickness. C is no problem.

– 30 minutes have passed. B has a panic attack. C complains of dizziness.

– 60 minutes have passed. The entire 1000m rope was used. A operates the elevator to raise B and C.

– The rope that C was tied to was roughly broken. B testified that he had been talking actively with C just now and that he had not noticed anything. Agent C’s subsequent whereabouts are unknown.

– In fact, the scene of B and C climbing the rope was recorded, and no abnormalities were found in the video camera or video.

– After the exploration, Agent B repeatedly complained of feeling dizzy, and later collapsed, bleeding from the head while receiving a check-up at a medical facility within the Foundation. The cause of death is believed to be multiple fractures due to a fall.

– Isolation measures: Prevent nearby civilians from accessing the house and disguise it as an office for a steel company.

The foundation succeeded in purchasing the building, which was registered as Mr. ■■■ ■■’s private property.

* * *

– Me: Can’t you tell me about additional experiments?

– yep

– No information.

I turned off my smartphone screen and got lost in thought.

This building. It’s definitely similar to the characteristics of the 11th floor. A few things are a little different.

First of all, location. What is in the document is a townhouse in the United States.

Additionally, there was no change in the direction of gravity no matter how far you went on the 11th floor.

“Daju. Was the 11th floor always safe?”

“Yes. It’s been like that since I first came here. No monsters or anything appeared. From what other people say, it seems like it has been a safe floor for at least a few years.”

“The monster appeared once last time I went there. That was the first time.”

“Yes.”

Daju Yoon nods.

“So, I remember we once talked about what it would be like to live here instead of the 7th floor.”

“Uh. I know? Why didn’t you do that?”

“Someone opposed it. There seems to be something at the end of the hallway.”

“Who?”

“A person my brother doesn’t know. This is the guy from before, but I don’t know where he is now.”

“I see…”

“I’ve always been someone who saw strange things. That guy. When passing through a hallway, you see writing, or you find a passage by placing your hand in an empty space. So it was somewhat useful. So I immediately gave up my plan to live on the 11th floor. I have also received a lot of help, but I guess it is hard to live a normal life after seeing things like that.”

“What? Then…?”

“Mr. In the end, I wrote my will, packed my bags and left. I heard that during the last expedition, I looked at a floor where I could stay comfortably.”

“……”

Daju looks up at the elevator floor number with a bitter smile. The elevator spans between the 9th and 8th floors.

“Actually, I wonder if I need to know something I don’t need to know. Knowledge is poison. There is a saying like this, right? Just walk around blindly and avoid only visible dangers. If you do that, won’t you find the exit automatically?”

“Yes. That could be possible.”

“Well, there’s no need to dig into the hidden truth here, right? All I have to do is get out of here and that’s it, but I don’t know why.”

I nodded quietly.

‘Foundation’. And a building in the U.S. that has similar ‘anomalous properties’ to this apartment. I’ve been thinking for a while about what kind of relationship they have.

Actually, there is no need to think about it too complicated.

Ding-

The elevator arrives at the 7th floor.

I told Yoon, who was waiting, the situation on the 11th floor.

“Oh my god. It wasn’t like we were going to be in big trouble!”

“Fortunately, it went well.”

“Actually, all you have to do is press the close button, but someone told you to jump like the head of your head. I almost died because I couldn’t even find the button.”

“Hey…”

“Joke.”

Daju tilts her head and smiles. I really want to feed him some honey chestnuts, but I’m holding back.

“Okay. Still, I’m glad I found out early. I’ll have to tell Hyeonmin not to go there later. I should tell this to my uncle too. Anyway, you worked hard!”

Yoon pats my back.

I thought there would definitely be something to say. Just laugh and end the situation here?

Rather, I had to bring it up first.

“Then where do we get supplies in the future?”

“Well? Because I can last a few days with what I have now. In the meantime, should we look for a new supply plan?”

Heo Yun is still smiling brightly.

“No worries…?”

“What are you worried about? Then all you have to do is go and starve to death. Isn’t that right?”

He didn’t seem like a person who had this much worry.

I looked into Yun’s face without saying a word,

“Ah…haha…”

Daju smiles awkwardly.

“Oppa. Let’s go.”

“……Yes.”

I followed Daju and left room 702.

“Oppa. Do you remember what I said last time?”

“What is it.”

“People here. There are only very sensitive people.”

“Yes. I remember.”

“If you touch it incorrectly, it can really flip over……”

This is a place where you die if you take a wrong step. Perhaps this is natural. The external atmosphere was brighter than I expected, so I forgot about it for a moment.

“Ah! You can’t tell me you heard this! Got it?”

“Okay. Got it.”

I was left alone in the hallway.

When I raise my head, I see clouds floating beyond the railing. Gray still life on a black background.

Night has come.

Talk. Talk.

“Ah.”

I took out the door lock battery.

I took out the key and opened the house door.

* * *

next day.

Knock knock!

I woke up to a knock on the door.

“Oppa! Come out quickly! Let’s discuss what to do next!”

I saw it in a documentary. When the queen bee ages or dies in a beehive, other bees revolt and take her place. There is no hesitation or delay in the process.

A leader is naturally determined without any special selection.

I got up from my seat and briefly washed my face and brushed my teeth. Now I have to get dressed. I can see yesterday’s clothes roughly taken off in front of the bathroom.

A flowing cardigan and a refreshingly colored top that would be suitable for any high school girl.

I can’t believe I was wearing that until yesterday.

I shook my head, took out my sweats and put them on again.

Room 701, where Choi Jun-ki’s body was recovered last night. It is now being used as a conference room again as if nothing had happened.

“Is Dabin here?”

“Yes.”

Surprisingly, the first person to say hello was Serim Choi.

Daju Yoon is busy picking the seams from her clothes. Heo Yoon is looking through the paper to see if he is looking for something.

“That’s right. Who are you?”

This is Seok Hyeon-min.

Daju answers with her eyes fixed on the sleeves of her clothes.

“I knocked on the door, but there was nothing.”

“It looks like you don’t want to come out. Just leave it alone.”

Seeing that everyone except Seok Hyeon-min said nothing, it seemed like the meeting usually proceeded like this.

“Hey. Yoon.”

“I told you not to speak informally.”

“It looks like we’ve got everything together, so let’s get started.”