Ch.28028 – There’s Space Behind the Pillar 5

# 028 – There’s Space Behind the Pillar # 5

Tumbling, tumbling, tumbling-.

“Yeongwon. Even if you hear this voice, don’t follow it. Here. The exit. Mom has already gone out-.”

“Shit….”

The Status Window once advised me.

There’s cause and effect in everything.

If there’s a body without a head-.

Then naturally, there must be a ‘head’ without a body.

When my eyes met those pale pupils, I felt my blood run cold and my hair stand on end.

“Shit, guys, run!”

We need to escape-.

As I was thinking this while running, a problem occurred.

“Ah!”

Perhaps his legs gave out from tension, but Jeongseok fell down!

Jeongseok had fallen, and the head was tumbling toward him.

“Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Here. The exit. Mom has already gone out-.”

In this desperate moment, Yang Juhui shouted.

“You bastard! How could you fall there! Shit!”

Rustle-.

Yang Juhui pulled out a box cutter from her pocket.

She ran so quickly that I couldn’t even think about what she was planning to do with that box cutter. She positioned herself between the rolling head and Jeongseok.

Then she stabbed the ghost’s head with all her might.

“Die!!!”

Slash, swoosh!

“━Yeongwon━──!!”

The Head Ghost let out a high-pitched scream. It was particularly unlucky that it screamed my name, making me feel like I had a snake wrapped around my neck.

Clatter, clatter-.

The ghost’s broken eyeballs glaring at Yang Juhui and Jeongseok was horrifying.

I wanted to shake off this bad luck, but there were more important things to worry about right now.

“Hey! Get up! Let’s get up! Let’s go!”

I helped Jeongseok, who had collapsed on the floor.

Jeongseok, who had been sitting and watching this scene, snapped back to his senses and got up.

“Yeongwon!!! How could you fall there!!! Shit!!! I’m going to the exit!!! Mom!!!”

“Fuck off!!!”

We ran with all our might, trying to escape the voice behind us.

We kept running until we were out of breath and our heads were spinning.

# # #

I don’t know how long we ran.

But when the flashlight beam caught the sign that read “Principal’s Office,” we opened the door and hid inside without even discussing or exchanging opinions.

“Haa, haa, haa-.”

“Ugh, I’m dying…”

“Hey, you guys are men, how can you run so poorly.”

We were all catching our breath as if paying back accumulated interest.

Only Yang Juhui, who was used to running, seemed somewhat normal.

Anyway.

We survived for now.

As the adrenaline that had rushed to the top of my head subsided, fear finally set in. My legs trembled at the realization that we had truly almost died.

Drip, drip, drip-.

I now noticed that Yang Juhui was bleeding from her hand.

“Hey, what’s that? Are you hurt?”

“Ah shit. I must have hurt myself when I stabbed that head. Lost my knife too. Is there anything that could be used as a weapon?”

It seemed Yang Juhui had injured her hand when she stabbed the ghost’s head with the box cutter. And we lost our only weapon, the box cutter.

Suddenly, I remembered Yang Juhui’s player sheet.

“Name: Yang Juhui Lv.2

Trait: 《Tool Use》

Disposition: Brave

Quirk: None

Possessions: Yeongwon’s box cutter, Zippo lighter, multipurpose room key

An unstable and secretive delinquent girl. Her personality is bold, she enjoys adventure, and she’s proactive. In dark and sinister journeys, this girl will generally be a reliable companion.”

“《Tool Use》: You can enter the corridor with up to 3 tools. The durability of tools increases by 1.5 times.”

“Possessions: Yeongwon’s box cutter

Can stab a ghost once to temporarily stun it. Disappears after use.”

Her constant search for items that could be used as weapons might be because of that trait, 《Tool Use》. Or conversely, her habit of looking for weapons and tools might have given her that trait.

Just as quirks manifest according to a person’s constitution, tendencies, and temperament, traits might also manifest according to a person’s temperament and tendencies.

Rustle. Tap.

Rustle.

I couldn’t just stand by watching Yang Juhui opening and closing drawers with her bloodied hand, so I joined her in the item farming.

This time, Jeongseok scored a find.

“There’s a first aid kit here.”

Slide-.

Jeongseok pulled out a first aid kit from a lower drawer.

When he opened it, there were bandages and antiseptic.

“Medical supplies have expiration dates. For antiseptic, it’s about a year… I’m not sure if it’s safe to use this antiseptic.”

Splash splash splash-.

Ignoring Jeongseok’s ambiguous explanation, Yang Juhui liberally sprayed the antiseptic on her wound.

Then she efficiently wrapped the bandage around it, making me feel like I was in the presence of a general like Guan Yu or Zhang Fei.

After treating her right hand, Yang Juhui plopped down on the chair in the principal’s office.

Only then could Jeongseok and I sit down on the floor.

“Ah shit, we survived.”

“Guys, I’m sorry. My legs gave out in that unexpected situation… I thought the phone would warn us if a ghost was coming, but I guess not. Or maybe the Head Ghost is an exception…”

Jeongseok apologized for freezing up and falling when he saw the Head Ghost. Thankfully, Yang Juhui had stabbed the head with her knife; if she hadn’t…

Looking at her right hand wrapped in bandages, Yang Juhui spoke up.

“So what do we do now? Should we go back there and follow the arrows? Does anyone know the way back to the elevator we came in?”

Shake, shake.

I shook my head.

Even Jeongseok, whom I had some hope for, shook his head.

We had been so focused on escaping that we had mindlessly run without memorizing the path.

The situation was pretty screwed up.

As the atmosphere was about to become gloomy, Jeongseok, who had caused this situation, tried to make up for his mistake by explaining.

“But we did get some information. That Head Ghost from earlier. From what I heard, it was repeating things we said in random order. It repeats what it hears.”

“Really?”

“It imitated Yeongwon’s mother’s voice. And that voice clearly said it was escaping through the exit. It also said not to follow it because it wasn’t really her. If this story is true…”

Clap-.

Yang Juhui gave a small applause.

“So Yeongwon’s mom really did escape! Shit, that hurts. Shouldn’t have clapped.”

Thinking that I should take Yang Juhui to the hospital right after this incident, I recalled my mother’s voice I had heard earlier.

It was undoubtedly my mother’s voice.

My mother had left me information using the ghost, as if leaving a message—that’s how I could see it.

“Mom seemed to know I would come to this strange passage. She sent a message saying she was trapped in the elevator. She must have thought I would come looking for the elevator.”

Indeed, I came looking for my mother.

As expected, mothers know their sons well.

Despite encountering the Head Ghost, getting injured, and losing things, we had gained something.

“So Mom escaped from this place. Then one of our goals is gone. Now our only goal is to survive and escape from here. Let’s all make it out alive.”

“By the way, Yeongwon. What are you holding in your hand?”

Yang Juhui, who had been nursing her hand, showed interest in me.

She must have noticed the paper in my hand.

“Oh, this.”

Slide-.

I showed everyone the paper.

It was something I had found while searching for potential weapons in the principal’s office.

“It’s a photo. A photo of children.”

As Jeongseok said, what I found was a photo.

It was a picture of small children gathered together, and on the back was written “A-1.”

Should I assume it’s a photo of “A-1” class?

“Seeing that there are photos of children, was this a kindergarten?”

Yang Juhui looked around.

While I wondered if such a creepy kindergarten could exist, it made some sense.

So the “A-1” sketchbook we acquired was drawn by one of the children in this photo.

What happened to that child…?

But first, let’s rest for about five minutes.

# # #

“Guys, look at this.”

Jeongseok, who had been rummaging through the principal’s office, called us over as if he had discovered something.

I thought he might have found another photo, but that wasn’t it.

“There are two more passages in the principal’s office besides the entrance. One leads to the left, and the other to the right. And both have arrows drawn with crayons.”

Perhaps feeling guilty about Yang Juhui getting injured because of him, Jeongseok showed great enthusiasm in exploring the principal’s office, and he finally achieved results.

“It’s a fork in the road. Which way do you think we should go?”

Jeongseok asked for my opinion.

In a situation where we have to choose between two paths, he probably wants to hear the opinion of the team leader, which would be me.

Yang Juhui said:

“How about we check both?”

That was one approach.

However, after learning that my mother had escaped, one idea or concept had been dominating my thoughts.

Given the circumstances, it might be worth experimenting.

“Status Window.”

I called up the Status Window.

And I opened the shop.

I had 363 points.

Enough points to gamble.

“Guys. Please pray this works.”

I spent another 90 points.

Now I had 273P left.

Ding!

Something like a capsule toy machine appeared before my eyes, and round capsules started rattling. Rattle. Rattle rattle. Rattle.

I was wondering what would happen.

“The product has been placed at the entrance.”

“2250 steps to the east.”

“…Did it work? I think it worked!”

People truly find strength when there’s hope, even in hellish environments.

I was experiencing that firsthand right now.

“Guys, we can get out! Let’s go east! The capsule draw seems to be showing us the way out!”

When I first tried the capsule draw, I thought it was interesting how the notification system told me that the product had been placed at the entrance.

I had been thinking hard about how to use this, and now seemed to be the moment, and my gamble appeared to have succeeded!

“Guys. Let’s go.”

We left the “Principal’s Office” with a bright hope in our hearts like a candle.

Whatever the contents of the capsule I bought for 90 points, it was our lifeline.

“The arrows continue. But why are they drawn so low on the wall?”

Yang Juhui grumbled, looking at the crayon marks on the wall.

However, I thought I knew why these marks were so low.

“A child drew them. That’s why they’re so low. Jeongseok, how’s the phone? Still no sound?”

“It’s quiet, but… if we encounter a ghost here, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere to hide.”

The passage we were walking through was straight.

An endless straight line.

After walking what felt like 100 meters, Jeongseok said:

“I’ve been thinking about this since we were in the elevator. I think this might be some kind of alternate world. Like a different place located in the same space.”

“So what does that mean?”

“…Just saying.”

So Jeongseok sometimes talks nonsense too.

He probably wanted to say anything to shake off his fear.

This eerie chill and darkness never become familiar.

“An alternate world…”

The Nightmare Corridor.

And this strange passage.

The two were very similar.

The appearance of the Head Ghost was also similar.

Is there any meaning or reason for this…?

They say everything has cause and effect….

“Yeongwon. Mom. Exit. Here. No. Not Mom.”

Just then, we heard something heavy tumbling behind us.

The problem was that the phone also started making static noises.

Click. Click. Click.

The sound of high heels coming from the direction we were heading.

And the sound of the Head Ghost from behind.

“…Shit, we can’t run away.”

We were completely trapped.

The only fortunate thing was that there was a box nearby.

Creak-.

When we opened the box, we saw that the inside was spacious enough for two people.

The problem was… there were three of us.

“This can’t fit three people, can it?”

Static-.

Waaaaaah-.

Mom… Mom….

“What should we do? Ha Yeongwon! What should we do?”

Jeongseok held the screaming phone, not knowing what to do.

A straight passage.

Three people.

A box for two.

Ghosts in front and behind.

I decided to make a decision.

“Hey. You two get in. Hurry!”

I decided to put Jeongseok and Yang Juhui, who had followed me into this hell, into the box.

Both Yang Juhui and Jeongseok were surprised, but there was little time to explain.

“Hurry! I have a plan!”