Ch.40Disaster Alert Broadcast

The Wanderer’s Library, Floor 7 storage room.

I was walking around with Jung Haewon, showing him different places.

“Since we’re trapped in this apartment, we can’t get necessities from outside. That’s why I’ve been collecting supplies from all over the place.”

“Wow…”

“Before, there were items scattered all over the 11th floor, but that’s blocked off now. We need to find a new floor to gather things from.”

“Can I take pictures?”

“Do whatever you want.”

*Click*

“If I uploaded videos of this, the views would be insane.”

“And you can upload them?”

“Once we get out of here, right?”

Jung Haewon examines the photos on his phone.

“If I just get out of here, I’d hit a million subscribers instantly. I could make a living just telling this story, don’t you think?”

That’s actually tempting.

“I get a cut, right?”

“70-30 split.”

“No way, it should be 50-50.”

“That’s not fair… I’ll be doing all the video production and editing, so 30% is already generous.”

“I draw, you know. Don’t you know thumbnails are what win the battle for views these days?”

“Hmm. How about 60-40 then?”

I was half-joking, but seeing him respond so seriously is kind of funny.

“But do you think we can actually get out of here?”

“We have to try.”

“Didn’t I tell you about people dying here?”

It’s not something to talk about lightly, but it’s an everyday reality in this place.

I was pretty shocked when I first saw it too.

Thinking it would be better to warn him in advance, I led Jung Haewon to a corner of the storage room.

An ivory-colored plastic partition curtain.

The air is much drier here than in the surrounding area because candles are always kept lit.

*Rustle*

“Follow me.”

Metal shelves and black boxes. Dozens of candles lit in each compartment.

Some are extinguished.

“……”

I tilted a small candle to relight the ones that had gone out.

“Ouch!”

“Did you burn yourself?”

“No. It’s fine.”

I peeled off the candle wax stuck to the back of my hand and finished what I was doing.

Right above the shelf, Choi Jun-gi smiles brightly in a family photo.

After that incident.

Heo Yoon and Seok Hyunmin took his remains to some floor and cremated him.

Choi Jun-gi returned as ashes.

A columbarium collecting the recovered remains. I quietly gazed at the boxes placed on the shelves.

“When we find an exit, I’m going to take all these people outside too.”

I wonder if such a day will ever come.

“That’s what that man said.”

“……”

Jung Haewon stares quietly at the photo.

“Let’s go now.”

How many people have died here? We can’t just sit around grieving for hours every time someone dies.

We left the storage room and returned to the hallway.

“So where am I supposed to stay?”

“Well, we’ll talk when the others come, and decide on an empty apartment for you. We’ll have to move your stuff then, so you don’t need to think about it yet.”

“No, I just want to rest… Being suddenly trapped in this strange place is draining all my energy.”

“…Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Do you think I can’t see through you?”

Being a guy myself, I know exactly what he’s thinking.

He’s just beating around the bush, hoping to follow me to my place.

“Well, that’s not…”

“Sigh…”

I sigh and start walking, with Jung Haewon trailing behind me.

I stop in front of apartment 704.

“Wow. Look at all these scratches on the doorknob. How did you even pick this lock?”

“It’s a skill. Learned it from a guy I know.”

This isn’t just picking a simple padlock—being able to break into an apartment is almost professional level.

It’s like something out of an old thief manga.

“Were you in juvenile detention or something?”

“What? Of course not! But the guy who taught me had been there.”

“You’re just the same, you little punk.”

I mutter dismissively and enter the door code.

“Can the keyhole be fixed?”

“Yes. It works by pushing the pins inside, so the lock itself is fine.”

“That’s good then.”

Even though I was just staying here, I suddenly notice how messy it is.

“Wait here.”

I push Jung Haewon toward the table and make him sit.

Then I start cleaning right away.

“You just picked a lock and broke in. The lock.”

“That’s why I asked if anyone was home first.”

“Want me to hit you?”

This high school kid doesn’t know when to stop talking back.

I gather the plastic bottles rolling on the floor and fold the scattered clothes neatly.

“Fine. If you want to lie down, go use the sofa over there.”

“Ah. Thank you…”

Even Jung Haewon seems to have trouble with polite speech, typical of high schoolers.

Leaving him sprawled on the sofa, I walked to the bedroom.

*Plop*

I lay down on the mattress and stared at the ceiling.

It’s kind of sad that a high schooler is trapped here. He seems normal, not crazy like Daju, so I should treat him well.

Another thing I’ve realized is that it’s easier to act like a guy when I’m with a younger brother figure.

No, I am a guy, so this is normal, but that’s what I mean.

I’m always tormented by Yoon Daju with her “female corruption” nonsense. Choi Serim and Heo Yoon are like older sisters, so they’re somehow difficult to deal with. They seem to find me cute, and I can’t break that image. Seok Hyunmin? This guy rarely talks because he finds it bothersome. He’s been talking more lately, but mostly just with Heo Yoon.

So it feels refreshing to act according to my true self for once. It makes me feel proud somehow?

But being tired is still being tired.

It’s been less than an hour since someone barged in while I was resting, putting me on high alert.

Lying in bed, I feel my energy draining completely.

As I pulled the blanket over me and was idly fiddling with my phone…

[*Static noise…*]

A somehow familiar sound echoed through the room.

* * *

A vast prairie backed by clear blue skies.

Bookshelves, easily tens of meters tall, stand like pillars supporting the sky.

Heo Yoon and Seok Hyunmin exited the elevator and surveyed their surroundings.

“This place looks like a library too.”

“Don’t touch anything carelessly, sis.”

“I’m not touching anything.”

Heo Yoon quietly examined the bookshelves.

The book spines were labeled in languages from around the world, seemingly people’s names.

[Gabriela Cromwell]

[張薇]

Hmm…

[Facebook Account: aasdfgas]

[One stubby pencil with an eraser]

[7,500 BTC]

Or maybe not?

Anyway, it doesn’t seem like they can gather supplies here.

“There’s nothing worth taking. Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Heo Yoon quickly returns to the elevator.

Seok Hyunmin finishes taking some quick notes and turns around.

[*Static noise…*]

“Sis, do you hear something?”

“Huh? What sound?”

“Like static.”

“……”

The two held their breath and focused on the sound.

The crackling static grew louder.

It didn’t take long to recognize the familiar sound.

[*Static noise…* Attention all residents.]

Heo Yoon let out a deep sigh.

“It’s the broadcast.”

“Yeah.”

“Did we ever tell Dabin about this?”

“…I’m not sure. It was something we could have told her later. Originally.”

Seok Hyunmin nervously interlaces his fingers then releases them.

Heo Yoon bit her lower lip hard.

“Hmm… what should we do?”

The broadcasts always came in the morning.

They weren’t that frequent, and above all, they followed the rule of once every six months.

It had always been that way.

“But sis.”

“Yeah.”

“I think we need to worry about what’s happening here first.”

[This is an emergency. Please check the disaster alert broadcast immediately.]

The sound of breaking windows. Thunder. The murmur of people and screams mixed into the broadcast.

[I repeat. Please check the disaster alert broadcast immediately.]

[The broadcast is being transmitted via radio, TV, or mobile DMB.]

The next moment.

The horizon distorted.

The boundary between earth and sky warped, and above was no longer a beautiful blue.

A gray sky, as if bruised all over.

*Rumble rumble rumble*

The world begins to shake.

“Hey, Seok Hyunmin. Run over here.”

“Wait.”

“What are you doing? I said run!”

Heo Yoon roughly grabbed Seok Hyunmin’s hand and pulled.

The ground shakes incessantly.

And then.

A massive bookshelf toppled over, casting its shadow upon them.

[This is an emergency news bulletin.]

[Avoid open areas. Do not open doors. Do not stay in open spaces.]

[I repeat.]

[Do not stay in open spaces.]

[Do not go outside. Close all windows and curtains in your home and wait. If you are on the road, take shelter in the nearest building. If you are in a vehicle, lock the doors, engage the parking brake, and hide in the empty space under the seats.]

[This channel is relaying disaster alert broadcasts received from the Global Occult Coalition—GOC—under the UN.]

[All global occult association member organizations in each country are requested to cooperate in evacuating innocent civilians.]

The broadcast continues to flow from the TV that turned on by itself.

The apartment’s internal announcement system is also repeating.

I came out to the living room and watched as the sky changed.

In the cloudless gray sky, dark blue holes appeared here and there. It looked like those ozone layer depletion photos I’d seen in environmental articles.

Jung Haewon stood frozen by the window.

“W-what is this?”

“Come over here.”

I pulled the dumbfounded Jung Haewon into the living room.

For now, we should follow the broadcast instructions.

*Rumble rumble rumble*

The ground shakes violently.

The glass on the table gradually moves toward the edge.

“Get under the table!”

*Crash!*

I quickly ducked under the table.

Jung Haewon swiftly took shelter beside me.

“This is crazy. Do earthquakes happen here too?”

“I don’t know either!”

The vibrations intensified.

The wardrobe doors opened on their own, and the contents spilled out and rolled around.

A crack appeared in the window, then—

*Crumble*

The glass fragments collapsed.

[This is an emergency news bulletin.]

[Avoid open areas. Do not open doors. Do not stay in open spaces.]

[Do not go outside. Close all windows and curtains in your home and wait. If you are on the road, take shelter in the nearest building. If you are in a vehicle, lock the doors, engage the parking brake, and hide in the empty space under the seats.]

The vibrations continued for several minutes.

In extreme tension. Things shattering, breaking, rolling roughly on the floor—this hellish time finally ended.

When I raised my head, I saw Jung Haewon cowering in fear.

“Huff… huff…”

I also exhaled the breath I’d been holding.

All the lights had gone out, leaving only sunlight as illumination.

We’ll need to prepare to use our smartphone flashlights.

But first, we need to wait until the vibrations completely subside.

The major crisis has passed, but the floor is still slightly shaking.

Neither I nor Jung Haewon could say anything for a while.

Only the TV kept talking.

[The earthquake has subsided. Citizens, please evacuate your homes and proceed to the nearest shelter.]

[The military will protect your safety until the end.]