Ch.15Reality Awareness

Beep beep beep-

Daju stood confused, holding the removed doorlock battery. Even with the power source removed, the lock mechanism continued to function perfectly.

“What the heck!!! How is it still working when I pulled out the battery?”

It must have backup power. It’ll probably work fine a few more times. I need to prepare before then… but I don’t see anything useful in the apartment. I just moved in, so I don’t even know where things are. Do I have to search everywhere?

“Just hold the door steady!”

Rattle-

I opened the closet door and found a box. Things that belonged to the college student who lived here before. Maybe in here?

“Found it!”

Steel cable. Handcuffs. Cable ties and more. The previous tenant must have gone exploring often, as there were many useful odds and ends for situations like this. Better to take the whole box and work with it directly. I set the box down on the floor with a thud that echoed through the apartment.

I can’t be too late.

♪♬♪♬♪♬-

With an ominous melody, Daju screamed.

The door was already open, and through the gap, a crowbar entered and began violently jabbing around inside.

Whoosh- Whoosh-!

“Get away from the door!”

Clatter clatter clatter!!!

Park Sungjin was now fighting with the hinges. The door violently opened and closed, with the thin chain rattling precariously.

I put the box down in the entryway and took out the cable.

“I’ll use this to tie and secure the doorknob.”

“…Okay.”

Carefully, I pulled out the steel cable and approached the door. I forcibly wrapped the stiff cable around the handle and secured it with cable ties.

That’s one side done. Now I just need to tie it to something solid inside the apartment.

Crack!

“…Huh?”

Something hot spreads across my fingertips. Something warm flows over the back of my hand. Pain pulses through me with each heartbeat.

Did the crowbar hit my fingers? How badly am I hurt? Slowly lowering my gaze, I see mangled nails. My right index and middle fingers are completely shattered.

“Ugh.”

“Oppa!!!”

Bang bang bang bang!

The hinge chain that seemed unbreakable is gradually deforming. I push away Daju who approaches me and extend the other end of the cable with my uninjured left hand.

“Take this and tie it to the window frame over there.”

“Uh, where?”

“Stretch it tight and tie it to the kitchen security bars.”

Daju hurriedly crosses the living room. My fingers… it’s my dominant hand. Will I be able to use it?

“Argh!”

This really… really fucking hurts.

Thwack! Thud!

The door gap is widening, creating much more space for the crowbar to swing.

Now Park Sungjin is openly striking the chain.

“I’ll pull hard, so secure it right away!!!”

Timing it right, I pulled the door with all my strength.

Clatter! Screeeech-!

With the sound of scraping metal, the crowbar gets stuck in the door and stops.

“I secured it!”

“Keep reinforcing it with what’s in the box!!!”

Thump thump thump! Clatter clatter clatter!!!

The power struggle continues for a long time. The steel cable repeatedly tightens and loosens.

“Does this guy never get tired?!”

“Oppa! I used everything in the box!”

“Then come help me pull! It’s killing me to do this with one hand!!!”

After what seemed like an eternity.

Clang!

The crowbar that had been firmly wedged in the door gap fell down.

“Aaaaarrrrggghhh!!!!!”

A horrific scream echoed through the hallway, followed by the sound of footsteps going down the stairs.

“Huff. Huff…huff…”

We carefully removed the crowbar and closed the door.

Click.

Only after hearing the lock mechanism turn did we collapse onto the floor.

“He doesn’t have a key to the apartment, right?”

“No.”

“Let’s keep the digital lock turned off.”

“……”

“……”

An awkward silence falls. Only the sound of heartbeats and heavy breathing remains.

Brushing my sweat-soaked hair to the side, I stared at the chipped front door.

Can we really survive here?

Daju is lying face down on the floor, and Choi Serim is still asleep despite all the commotion. Suddenly, Daju calls me in an innocent voice.

“Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

My heart sank.

At this point, I can’t gauge what Daju might say. Even her constant teasing and crossing the line was a persona she forced herself to maintain. With the situation changing constantly, her emotional swings now seem like dangerous symptoms. The kind shown by someone pushed into a mental corner.

After struggling to find words for a while, Daju spoke again.

“Want to shower together?”

“……No.”

“Please.”

I don’t want to. I really don’t want to.

How did the situation end up like this?

“Ah. No way……”

“If you don’t shower with me, I’ll kill myself.”

“You…! You know exactly…! what you’re doing……”

My words trail off without me realizing it.

“You’re like a little sister……sniff. That’s why I like you……”

“No! You’re the little sister here!!!”

Begging so pitifully while crying. Yoon Daju. You’re really unfair.

“…Fine!”

“Really??”

“You-“

Bipolar disorder. Or maybe something wrong with her frontal lobe.

I swallowed the rest of my words.

“The water here comes out well and the hot water is decent too, so showering is really nice. We don’t pay separate water bills either. I still have shampoo left from what I brought before. Oh right! Oppa, I’ll wash your hair for you. It’s long so it must be hard to do alone, you should know these things. Also…!”

People must have died every day, with new people coming in to replace them. No sane mind could endure this place.

The things that guided us outside. Rational judgment and logical thinking. They might be advantageous for immediate survival, but ultimately they harm us. If trapped in a space like this with no hope of escape, one would choose suicide before dying horribly outside. So I…

“Hey!!!”

Lost in thought, my body suddenly tilts. Yoon Daju is pulling hard on my clothes.

“Hey! I’ll undress myself!!!”

Ah. My clothes were already stretched out.

“Stay still. I might kill you because you’re so cute.”

“Ah! Wait a second!”

“?”

“My fingers. They’re killing me.”

Daju pulls back her hand with surprised eyes.

“I really can’t use this hand.”

“Just a moment.”

Daju rummages through the box by the door. Soon she brings something out.

“I’ll wrap it with bandages for now. We should splint it properly, but let’s talk to the others when they return.”

“When will they be back?”

“They said they’d be back before evening.”

Right. There were other people who went exploring…

When they return, they’ll find our numbers drastically reduced. I don’t know how to explain this.

“Let’s think about it after we shower.”

“…Okay.”

I nodded quietly. The more I think, the more my head throbs with pain, and I’m starting to crave warm water too.

Rustle. Rustle.

Clothes pile up on the floor in front of the bathroom door.

A moment later.

I found myself standing in front of the bathroom mirror, experiencing the greatest humiliation of my life.

“This, this is just this once.”

“Sure~”

It’s been almost a day since I became a woman. Yes. I’ve gotten used to it surprisingly quickly. Running, rolling around. Even shouting. But facing each other naked like this is a first. I can’t look directly at the mirror.

“This is absurd. Really.”

“Wow. You have a nice figure.”

“Hey. You. Right now!”

I don’t know if I’m dumbfounded or mortified to the point of madness. I can’t even speak properly as words keep getting stuck in my throat.

“I’m seriously regretting this.”

“Don’t look away like that. You need to get used to it by looking in the mirror. You’ll be in this form for a while.”

“No? I’ll be back to normal soon, you know?”

Squeeze. This time not my shoulder but my cheek.

Yoon Daju forcibly turns my head toward the mirror.

“Sigh…”

First, I see my body. A dazed face. Innocent eyes. Thin arms and legs, and breasts…ugh…yes. I seem to have fairly prominent breasts. End.

Then I shift my eyes to Daju behind me.

Oh…

I thought she just looked cute, but she surprisingly has quite a volume. No, wait. Her presence was always noticeable even through clothes, but I never had the chance to focus on it. The kid was acting up every three minutes.

Overall white and soft to the touch. The feeling against my back is smooth…this must be what it feels like to date a cute girlfriend. Sadly, this is my first time knowing this.

If there’s one complaint, it’s that she’s standing there confidently without showing any sign of embarrassment. Maybe that’s why I’m not as turned on as I expected. Or maybe it’s just because I don’t have a dick anymore. Anyway, life feels empty.

Shhhhhh-

“Stay still. I’ll wash your hair first.”

“Pfhbhbh. Hey. Can’t breathe!”

I grabbed the shower head.

“Oppa, your fingers will get wet…!”

“Argh!”

Damn, that’s right.

Bath over.

My hair was sticking to me like seaweed, soaking wet, and I had to spend a long time drying it with a towel.

“Let me dry off too. I’ll show you how to dry your hair properly.”

“Okay.”

Somehow, I feel like I’ve let go of everything.

Whirrrrr-

The hairdryer’s warm air feels nice.

“Don’t dry it completely or your hair will split, so leave a little…like this…though we should also…but for now…”

It’s warm and nice. Makes me sleepy…

Perhaps due to the day’s exhaustion, I suddenly couldn’t resist the drowsiness washing over me.

When I woke up again, I was in an elevator.

Clunk!

With a heavy metallic sound, the lift began descending.

7th floor. 6th floor. 5th floor.

It reached the 1st floor but didn’t stop.

B1

B2

B3

Continuing downward. Toward purgatory.