episode_0042
by fnovelpia[Residents are requested to evacuate the building.]
This is something I read in a science magazine.
It is said that when you are dreaming, the part of the brain responsible for logical judgment becomes dull, so no matter how nonsensical the content is, it feels real.
[Please continue to listen to disaster broadcasts via radio or cell phone.]
Broadcasts from inside the apartment continue to be broadcast from the speakers on the wall.
Nothing could make more sense than the current situation.
So how do you wake up from a dream?
It is important to find contradictions.
It’s about finding parts that are unrealistic to anyone and vividly realizing that this isn’t reality.
For example, your finger joints may bend backwards.
I stretched my left hand into the air and confidently cracked my index finger.
Ttuduk.
“Ah!”
weird.
Namu Wiki said it could be done?
Is it because I did it alone?
Next to him, Jeong Hae-won is looking puzzled.
“Hey. Cover your nose and breathe.”
“Hvvbn.”
“No?”
“Yes.”
This time, I decided to take Jeong Hae-won’s hand and break his fingers.
“No sister, why all of a sudden!”
“Stay still, please.”
Pop!
“Ahh!”
“What is it? It doesn’t work?”
“What is happening all of a sudden?”
“No. They say this is what you have to do to wake up from a dream. This is called a reality check, but I thought of it when you said it was a fact check.”
“Anyone can see that this doesn’t seem like a dream.”
As the wind blows, the curtains flutter wildly.
[I’m watching]
[I’m watching]
[I’m watching]
A dry voice continues to be heard from outside the window.
[I’m watching]
Every time the curtain shakes, I hear a voice, and it feels like the bottom of my head is being scratched.
If you keep listening to it, you might really go crazy.
“Hey. Is there any other way?”
“Uh…what if I just turn off the TV?”
“Is that so?”
It will be safe as long as the curtains are closed. maybe.
I waited for the wind to die down and crawled to the middle of the living room.
[We will continue to bring you news.]
– Minister of Public Administration and Security Son Hyeon-cheol
I stood up in front of the TV and pressed the power button.
[The government has restored the emergency communication network. A little while later, I received a phone call from the Prime Minister… … .]
what. Did I press the wrong button?
Even if I carefully look up and check, what I pressed was clearly the power button.
What happened?
I kept pressing the button, repeating ‘fuck’ to myself hundreds of times.
No, why doesn’t it turn off?
… … There are times like that.
There are two people on the street who were talking to me without any interest.
Since I don’t have anything to worry about, I look at the commercial buildings lining the street.
But at some point, the sound of words that had been like a familiar background sound suddenly stopped.
Has the topic changed somehow? The two begin their conversation with completely different tones and speaking styles.
That alone shatters the peace.
Because of human social instinct with ’empathy’ as the keyword, we cannot help but look in that direction at least once.
That was the current situation.
[…] … Dear citizens.]
I felt goosebumps running down my spine.
Slowly raise your head and check the TV screen.
The minister on the screen is looking down at me.
Empty eyes.
A pale, bloodless face.
[Please do not turn off the broadcast and continue watching.]
It’s clearly looking at me.
He was just looking at the center of the screen, but now he tilts his head to meet my gaze.
[If you act without listening to the broadcast, you may lose your precious life.]
[Please do not turn off the broadcast and continue watching.]
For a moment, my body froze.
I fell back and lay down with my mouth slightly open.
“Ah, uh… … .”
All I could do was make a sound.
The minister on screen speaks without even moving his lips.
[Please do not turn off the broadcast and continue watching.]
“… … .”
I walked towards the screen.
Next moment.
The TV fell and rolled on the floor.
Quadang!
“Are you okay?”
Jeong Hae-won came across the living room and dropped the TV.
Feeling myself come to my senses, I nodded.
“Uh… … .”
“My sister was really strange just now. I almost got sucked into the TV, and my eyes suddenly turned black and I really thought I wouldn’t be able to come back.”
Jeong Hae-won, completely lost in thought, speaks without even breathing.
“Okay. thank you. Well done.”
On the other hand, I get out of breath even while I’m talking, so my words come out intermittently.
It’s not because I’m tired, it’s because I can’t handle my heart beating like crazy.
“Hu… … .”
Cracking, crackling.
Noise comes from the overturned TV.
That wasn’t the only thing that came out. Blood flowed out as if it were a living creature, soaking the living room floor.
Jeong Hae-won quickly dodges his steps and is scared.
“Ugh, it’s creepy.”
The wind caused the snowballs outside to roll in one place.
[I found it?]
[I found it?]
[Found it…]
“Huh?”
Jeong Hae-won, who has become contemplative, and the shadow outside the window that has just begun to move.
We had to move quickly.
Sigh-
The creepy voice stops for a moment.
I pulled down the curtains that were floating in the wind.
“Don’t relax.”
“Yes. Sister.”
“You must not move.”
“… … Yes.”
I waited until the wind calmed down again and hid under the table.
“But if I hold on like this, won’t it end?”
“I don’t know.”
“The broadcast was cut off earlier. I guess I’ll have to do something about that guy outside the window… … . ah. Should I just leave the house?”
“No. It’s the same as what was said on the broadcast. They keep chanting and telling me to get out of the building. Are you going to do that?”
Moreover, the broadcast was not interrupted.
[Please continue to listen to disaster broadcasts via radio or cell phone.]
The broadcast inside the apartment still continues.
As well as.
“Sister. Look over there.”
“Shhh.”
A broken TV also picks itself up and returns to its original position.
The blood that flowed out also returns to the screen.
Broadcasting resumes again.
[I ask you again. Please do not turn off the broadcast and continue watching.]
– Minister of Public Administration and Security Son Hyeon-cheol
[And I have one more thing to tell you.]
Son Hyeon-cheol, who was sitting in a straight position on a chair, suddenly bends down.
[Hidden under the desk wouldn’t be such a wise move.]
“Huh? ”
Jeong Hae-won reflexively exhales.
“Then that guy is looking here right now, right?”
Jeong Hae-won nods his head furiously.
I’ve been feeling like there’s not much time left now.
I’ve done almost everything there is to do.
What should I do now?
I fell down on the floor and started muttering something about the situation.
“I thought I really knew everything earlier. End the dream by doing a reality check. I thought everything would be fine, but it wasn’t. then? This isn’t a dream, it’s reality. Is there any other way to escape?”
“Fact check. Not a reality check.”
“I know. It’s not just an idea. How are you going to fact check here?”
“That… … .”
Jeong Hae-won trailed off, but it actually helped.
“Stay still. I just thought of one.”
I remembered.
Another way to counter the rumors coming out on TV.
***
A vast meadow. Under a gray sky.
The earthquake stopped a long time ago, but Heo Yun and Seok Hyeon-min had to keep running.
Once the bookshelf started to fall, it continued to fall like dominoes.
A wooden bookshelf so huge that it reaches the sky.
The books inside pour out like a tidal wave.
And about 10 minutes later.
One of the two people’s stamina was completely depleted.
“Heo Eok. omg… … .”
“Seok Hyun-min, why are you so slow?”
“Sister. Huh. Aren’t you too fast? ”
“If you’re out of breath, just shut up and run. What are you talking back to me!”
“My sister told me to… … ”
“Stop panting and come to work.”
“Wow!”
Heo Yoon pulled Seok Hyeon-min’s wrist, who was lagging behind, and threw him forward.
Rumble-
Just a few seconds later. The place where Seok Hyun-min was standing was covered with a pile of books.
“Hey. Do you know the direction?”
“Heo Eok. omg. All the way over there… … . Keep going.”
Now we don’t even have enough time to talk.
Heo Yoon linked arms with Seok Hyeon-min and quickly turned the curve using his legs as a pivot.
quaddd-
To the right of the two people, an enormous amount of books formed a hill.
“Where is the direction now?”
“Over there. Just go to the direction marked with the flashlight.”
“I can’t see it?”
“No, look over there!!!”
“IC. It won’t work. The direction is confusing so you keep pointing.”
Heo Yoon continues to drag Seok Hyun-min, whose stamina is running low.
Despite Heo Yoon’s performance, the situation became increasingly worse.
Continuing from before. A broadcast from inside the apartment can be heard from somewhere above the two people’s heads.
[Residents are requested to evacuate to an open area outside the building. Disaster broadcasts are being broadcast through TV, radio, and mobile phone DMB. Residents, please be sure to listen to the broadcast and evacuate safely. Let me say it again. Residents are requested to evacuate to an open area outside the building. Disaster broadcasts are being broadcast through TV, radio, and mobile phone DMB. Residents, please be sure to listen to the broadcast and evacuate safely.]
And one more thing.
It happened among a pile of books that had fallen on the floor.
Like a seed sprouting.
In the open book that came out of the bookshelf, something was wriggling and growing.
“Ha… . Going crazy… .”
Seok Hyeon-min takes a deep breath and sighs.
“What is that again? Grossly.”
Heo Yoon frowns.
A lot of broken letters appeared in the air above the pile of books.
■■■■
■
■
Seok Hyeon-min is the one who observes the anomaly, while Heo Yoon only vaguely gets a sense of it.
Although the two people had different vision, they were both able to see this time.
■■■■■■■■■
things we lost
■■■■■■■■■
Only then did Heo Yoon realize.
Something I saw briefly when I first came to this floor. The names written on the spines of the books. What they mean.
The ‘mongdang pencil’ that was often lost in the classroom.
7500 ‘Bitcoins’ buried in a garbage dump and no longer found.
The names in English or Chinese characters probably belonged to missing people.
Objects that seem to have nothing to do with each other wake up from the records and fill the floor.
Fragments of the narrative layer destroyed by ■■
Fingers that are all rotten and slippery.
A person cut into pieces.
The body of a dog that died while tied to a leash.
pencil lead
rubber band
key to a basement
“It won’t work. Run again.”
“Yes.”
Although terrible things caught his eye, Heo Yun began to worry about something else.
Among the names on the spine of the book I glanced at. There was one that was particularly long.
[The existence of a warlike and evil ancestral civilization]
In the pile of books on the other side, a stocky, furry body slowly straightens its bent body and breathes.
The approximate number is about ten. Each person is as small as a child.
He was wearing flowing white clothes, and the skin on his face and hands was covered with red fur like a bonobo.
“!@#$!$%^!”
“!@#$@##@$!”
“!@$%%^!”
Those who have just woken up begin to converse in an unknown language.
The last thing that caught Heo Yun’s eyes was the sight of them aiming their staff-like weapons in this direction.
Heo Yoon immediately turns his head and runs toward the elevator with all his might.
P-it-
Something hot brushed the back of her neck.
Teuong!
This time, a nearby wooden bookshelf falls apart.
The sound of explosions and flames coming from far away. A piece of dented metal was glimpsed inside the bookshelf.
Heo Yoon didn’t know because he was concentrating all his attention on running, but Seok Hyeon-min knew right away.
This is definitely a gunshot.
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