Ch.32Rainy Spring Day (3)

“There are two things we need to watch out for on the 8th Floor. First, that light over there.”

As if responding to Seok Hyunmin’s flashlight, a light came on across the dark corridor.

“Don’t take your eyes off it. Never. At least one person needs to keep watching it for us to stay safe.”

“Okay.”

Blink. Blink.

Looking at the light flickering with an unpleasant green color gives me an ominous feeling.

“What’s next?”

“We’ll take turns watching the light. I’ll go first. Then Daju. You’ll be last. Since Yoon is acting strange right now, we’ll leave her in the back. If you can’t handle it anymore, tap the person behind you to signal.”

“Turns?”

“Yes. Until it’s your turn, don’t look at the light and rest as much as possible.”

Just looking at a light requires rest periods? There was no time for explanations.

“No time. Follow me quickly.”

The sound of hair dragging across the floor grew closer.

Seok Hyunmin took the lead into the corridor, and the rest followed in the designated order.

I needed to keep hold of Yoon Daju and Seok Hyunmin in front while looking after Heo Yoon behind me. Glancing back, I could see Heo Yoon stumbling with a blank expression.

“Ah, uh…”

After a moment’s hesitation, I extended my injured right hand backward, and Heo Yoon flinched and trembled.

“Take my hand.”

Soon I felt a cold touch on my broken fingers. Heo Yoon was carefully holding my hand.

“If you’re ready, let’s go.”

“Let’s go, oppa.”

Holding Daju’s hand, we began moving through the dark corridor.

“……”

The only sounds were the rain outside the building and Seok Hyunmin’s occasional rough breathing.

We seemed to have moved quite far, but the light remained in its original position.

The green light blob flickering in the distance.

I would look up to follow the person ahead, but whenever the light entered my vision, I quickly turned my gaze to the floor. I was beginning to understand what Seok Hyunmin meant.

Why we needed to take turns.

Why rest periods were necessary.

Looking at the glow brought an inexplicable sense of foreboding. My heartbeat seemed to flow coldly through the air, like feeling each red blood cell carrying oxygen through my arteries. The reason would become clear if I thought about it more, but each time I gave up looking at the light.

An endless, tedious curiosity—astronomers live with unresolved questions and emptiness.

“Ugh.”

Seok Hyunmin briefly stumbled—like drinking a cup of seawater when on the verge of exhaustion.

Scrrrrratch—

With a scraping sound on the floor, the distant light began rapidly approaching.

“Move aside!”

Yoon Daju pushed Seok Hyunmin back and took the lead.

The surroundings were still pitch black, but my eyes were gradually adjusting to the darkness. I could see Seok Hyunmin moving to the back of the line—the waves of the night sea were rough.

“Hyung. What was that?”

“……”

Seok Hyunmin silently headed behind Heo Yoon.

Quite some time had passed since we entered the corridor.

A darkness impossible to adapt to.

I could now make out the shapes of people in front of me, but no matter how much time passed, I couldn’t gauge the size of this space.

“Ugh…”

From the front came Daju’s shallow groans.

From behind came panting breaths.

Time feels like it’s continuously stretching.

The elevator should have been close by.

Tap.

Daju weakly tapped my arm, then staggered to the back of the line.

Now it was my turn to stare at the light.

Slowly.

Time expanded.

I stood in an empty space.

After looking around for a while, I soon realized.

An empty place. All I could do was think.

I think about the current situation.

I’m still in the corridor. Looking at that distant green light causes my perception of time to stretch to the extreme, and my consciousness falls into an unbearable void.

I also think about how to escape this situation. I still have feeling in my fingertips. It’s already becoming hard to believe I have a body, but I’m still aware that I’m breathing and my heart is beating. Since someone else’s hand is touching my fingertips, I gently squeeze it and close my eyes. Then I should return to the dark corridor.

Time flows differently between the outside and this place. How long have Seok Hyunmin, Yoon Daju, and the others endured?

I trace my memories and calculate the time difference through repeated experiments.

I fantasize. I think diligently to find answers to my concerns.

It’s extremely personal.

I philosophize.

Only for humans.

What remains at last is

the pursuit of truth.

Everything has turned black now, and the galaxy’s starlight rotates in from afar.

I’ve transcended the horizon of sensation and can reach for any information I desire.

I can process dozens, hundreds of logical operations as a single work unit.

I discard useless thoughts without hesitation and fill myself with new ones.

Finally.

Pre-linguistic thoughts escape my mind.

For a civilization that will outlast the universe.

“Wake up. We’re here.”

“Huh…?”

When I came to my senses, Heo Yoon was standing normally, looking after everyone.

“Noona, are you okay now?”

“Yes. I calmed down after some long meditation. That’s good.”

I slowly moved my fingertips to regain sensation in my body. Memories evaporated quickly, leaving only the sense that “I had been deeply contemplating something for a very long time.”

It feels exactly like getting up after hours of solving practice problems.

Was Heo Yoon also watching the light?

With her previous confident smile, Heo Yoon presses the elevator button.

“You regained consciousness quickly. The 8th floor tends to make people dazed.”

“Yes… I still feel a bit dazed.”

“Seok Hyunmin, get up! Daju, snap out of it!”

Heo Yoon grabbed the shoulders of the other two and shook them vigorously, but it didn’t seem very effective.

“Ah. Looks like we’ll have to drag them along.”

“Yes. I think so.”

“Wait. Where’s Serim?”

“…Let’s talk about that later.”

Trying my best to hide my expression, I grabbed Daju’s arm and pulled her into the elevator.

Despite how difficult it must be, Heo Yoon’s expression doesn’t change as she throws Seok Hyunmin inside.

“Now we need to go to the roof, right?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“I knew everything all along, but I couldn’t speak then. My mind kept going blank.”

Heo Yoon briefly shows a sad expression.

“I’m sorry.”

The elevator starts moving.

Heading to the 13th floor.

To reach the roof with the water tank, we need to use the stairs there.

Swoosh-

13th floor.

It looks like a normal apartment.

Heo Yoon takes the lead, and I follow. Looking back, the other two are staggering slowly behind us.

“Still dazed?”

“…Yeah.”

Seok Hyunmin, shaking his arms to regain sensation, answers briefly.

“I’m dizzy…”

Yoon Daju walks precariously, leaning her body backward.

Heo Yoon throws open the iron gate and begins climbing the stairs.

“Hurry up! We don’t have time!”

Swoosh-

The sound of hair sweeping across the floor comes from not far away.

The now-familiar stench was rising from nearby.

And shortly after.

“Oppa! Run!”

Daju gripped my arm tightly.

Swish-

Just one floor below, black hair could be seen climbing up the stairs.

“Aah!”

Heo Yoon, who was at the front, screamed and pulled her arm back.

From the empty space below the stair railing, hair was extending upward like vines.

Numerous strands of hair tangled and clumped together, now resembling a coiled snake.

“Hey. Seok Hyunmin. Give me that.”

Heo Yoon reached back with her hand, but instead, Seok Hyunmin swung the crowbar himself.

Clang!

Crack.

Dark red fluid splattered, and the snake’s head was severed, falling deep below the railing.

“Hyunmin! Well done!”

Crunch!

Seok Hyunmin then struck down the hair pushing from behind.

Hair that had flowed through the closed iron gate was gathering again and pushing in.

Thwack!!

There’s a limit to fending off the endless black tentacles flying in.

Seok Hyunmin was now running at the very back.

“We’re almost there!”

Yoon Daju, now at the front, quickly climbs the stairs and throws open the roof door.

“Hurry! Just a little further!”

Like countless fiber cells forming muscle, the hair clumped tightly together, exerting tremendous force.

An amorphous muscle mass crawling up the floor. It looked like a slime creature from fantasy.

Crack-!

“Huh?”

The hair wrapped around the crowbar Seok Hyunmin was swinging and grabbed it.

Then as it violently shook its body,

Thud!

The crowbar flew into the wall and got stuck.

Now only Seok Hyunmin remained on the stairs.

Just a little.

Just a little more.

“Made it! Close the door!”

Right after Seok Hyunmin jumped onto the roof. Following Heo Yoon’s signal, we closed the door with all our might.

Boom!

Click-

“Huff. Huff…”

Seok Hyunmin collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath.

Heo Yoon was also nearly exhausted.

Only Daju and I were relatively okay.

“Oppa. What do we do now?”

“Water tank…huff…find the water tank.”

“That thing over there, right?”

Daju pointed to a small structure with a ladder attached.

“Yes.”

“Do we need to go in there?”

“Yes. Go inside…inside…”

Bang!

The roof door began to shake violently.

No time to rest and talk. We immediately got up and headed for the water tank.

“Let’s hurry, Daju.”

“Yes, oppa.”

Inside the water tank room we entered by climbing the ladder, there was a stench and humid air.

A space without a single point of light. We had to move through black water that reached up to our chests.

“Phew…”

“Shine the light ahead.”

Daju shines the flashlight above her head.

Concentrating, I looked around.

“Now over there.”

Something was floating on the water’s surface.

“Found it. Let’s get out now.”

“What is that?”

“A talisman. Once we get out, we’ll burn it…”

More precisely, it’s a clump of hair tangled in a talisman.

As I picked it up, words I had seen before began to swirl in my mind.

Breathing

Binding

Oxygen

Suffocation

…

This must be evidence that this thing is the source of all these incidents.

I continued what I was saying.

“Then this broadcast will end.”

“Ah… that’s good…”

“But Daju.”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, but there’s one last thing you need to do.”

“What is it?”

“Please help me get out somehow.”

“What? Oppa! Why suddenly…!”

“My legs suddenly feel weak… ah…”

Not just my legs, but my whole body was losing strength.

It feels like falling into sleep immediately.

I collapsed under the water’s surface.

……

[Attention residents. The water will be temporarily shut off due to pipe maintenance. All residents…]

The announcement echoes above my head.

I’m definitely closing my eyes.

But I’m starting to see the scenery under the black water.

And very vividly at that.