Ch.46Potato Universe

I got up from the bed before things got worse.

When I pulled open the door—

“Aaah!”

Daju fell forward with a thud.

Apparently, she had been leaning against the door while shouting.

In that brief moment, she tried to grab me for balance, but I quickly stepped aside.

Thud!

Daju collapsed onto the shoe rack floor and began to whimper.

“Oh, oppa, you scared me…”

“Don’t cry. It’s annoying to look at.”

I wonder how far her thoughts had gone in that short time.

Where was that pervert-like smile and those threats from earlier? Now there were tears welling up in her eyes.

“I’m sorry for *sniff* taking the joke too far, oppa… Sometimes I can’t control myself, and what starts as a light joke suddenly becomes too intense, and I cross the line. I don’t know why I’m like this… *sob* I’m really weird, aren’t I?”

Daju rambled on and then suddenly burst into tears.

She really does have mental issues. Looking at her, I’m so dumbfounded I don’t know what to say.

“No. Why are you having such a sudden meltdown?”

“I don’t know either…”

I shouldn’t feel this way, but…

I feel a bit sorry for her.

“Yoon Daju.”

I called her name with the most solemn voice I could muster.

Though all I could really do was lower my tone.

“Yes, oppa.”

“No. Outside, call me unni.”

“Yes, unni.”

“How long did you say you’ve been here?”

“I don’t remember well. But I think I’ve been here for several years. I’m not sure.”

“I see. Not just a couple of months, but years. If you’ve been here that long, it must have been really tough. It’s understandable if your mind is a bit off. Still, I’m glad it only went as far as crossing the line with jokes.”

Seeing Daju now openly crying, I couldn’t help but soften.

“You’re actually pretty nice.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Unni…”

Daju threw herself into my arms.

For a moment, I considered dodging, but decided to let it happen.

I felt her warm tears soaking through my clothes, then reached out to gently pat her head.

“Unniiii…”

“That’s enough.”

End of story.

I pushed Yoon Daju away firmly.

“I’m going to eat now.”

“Ah. Just a little longer, please.”

“No.”

I ruthlessly pushed away the clingy Daju and walked out into the hallway.

There’s a designated place where we all eat together.

We just call it the “dining hall,” a particularly spacious room in the middle of the corridor where we gather to grill meat or cook meals.

When I reached my destination and opened the front door, Choi Serim was right in front of me.

“Dabin, you’re here?”

Choi Serim greeted me with a gentle voice.

“Daju’s here too. But Dabin, why do you look like that?”

I flinched involuntarily.

“It’s nothing. I just had a dream, and you were in it, unni. So…”

“I see.”

I let my words trail off after “so.”

Usually, the other person would say something and move on, but Choi Serim just listened quietly.

“So I was surprised.”

“Ah. You had a dream?”

“Yes.”

“Not a good one, I guess.”

“Yeah, I suppose.”

A strange look settled on me.

The atmosphere suggests she wants to say something, but Choi Serim doesn’t utter a word.

Instead, a chirpy voice cuts in.

“Noona. Why are you so late?”

It’s Jung Haewon, chopping onions in the kitchen.

Is it because he’s a high schooler?

Despite having nearly died just hours ago, he looks completely fine.

“I was sleeping, why? Did you look as tired as me?”

I retorted and sat down on the sofa.

“By the way, you know how to cook?”

“Yes. I used to cook a lot in the runaway family.”

Hmm.

That must be it.

When runaway teenagers gather to work part-time jobs, rent a place, and live together.

I’ve seen documentaries about the problems with theft, assault, or even prostitution.

I was about to say “That’s something to be proud of,” but it seemed like crossing a line, so I stopped myself.

Feeling awkward just sitting around, I got up and peeked into the kitchen.

Heo Yoon was stir-frying chicken at the stove.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Dabin, you cook too?”

“I lived alone, so I can do most things.”

“Well, we’re almost done here, so help Serim and Daju set the table.”

“Sure!”

Yoon Daju brings a bunch of spoons and lays them out on the table.

Choi Serim is wiping the table with a cloth.

I grabbed some appropriate dishes and placed them on the table.

The menu is dakdoritang (spicy chicken stew). Whether it’s stir-fried or stewed, I don’t really know the difference, but it’s delicious anyway.

“It would’ve been nice if we had potatoes.”

During the meal, Jung Haewon muttered this, and Yoon Daju made a small gagging sound.

“Huh? What’s wrong with you?”

Even when I asked, she just shook her head repeatedly.

“Ugh… potatoes.”

“What’s going on?”

Heo Yoon answered for her.

“Daju really hates potatoes. That’s why I deliberately left them out.”

“Is it a disorder to react like that just from hearing the word?”

“I guess so. But what can we do if she hates them?”

“Stop talking about potatoes…”

I don’t know what happened, but it’s clear she’s been through something terrible.

While the potato talk continued, Daju put down her chopsticks and suffered visibly.

“Make it stop…”

“I’m sorry, noona.”

When Jung Haewon apologized, Seok Hyunmin, who had been listening quietly, added a comment.

“You should have told me beforehand.”

From the side, Heo Yoon smacked Hyunmin on the back.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

“Ow! I finished eating! That sound was just my saliva!”

Meanwhile, Yoon Daju smiled awkwardly at Jung Haewon.

“Don’t apologize. It’s just me being weird.”

“Yes, noona. But I really didn’t know.”

“Of course you wouldn’t know. How long have you been here? Don’t worry about it. Haewon, you can eat all the potatoes *urgh* potatoes you want! Don’t mind me, eat them now if you want. Pota…”

As Yoon Daju continued talking, it was almost absurd to watch.

Every time she said “potato,” her clenched hand twitched.

“Anyway. You understand?”

A bead of cold sweat ran down Daju’s cheek.

“Yes…”

Jung Haewon nodded with a stiff expression.

That Yoon Daju, who crossed the line with me and even threatened me, is completely different in front of Jung Haewon.

Is it because he’s a guy? Or because he’s younger?

Probably the latter.

Someone like Yoon Daju wouldn’t be so nervous around a guy.

Anyway, now I know Yoon Daju the crazy girl’s weakness.

If she comes to bother me in the future, should I just shout “potato”?

Or should I make a charm with potatoes and wear it around my neck?

After entertaining all sorts of thoughts in my head, I eventually stopped.

I can’t become a monster just to deal with another monster.

It’s really wrong to use this against her when I don’t even know what happened between Daju and potatoes.

But I am curious.

It’s not just disliking the food; she seems terrified of potatoes themselves. What could have happened to make someone react like that?

Late dawn. My eyes opened on their own.

It was dark around me, and I could only tell one thing for sure.

Either I slept in a bad position, or my neck and back were about to break.

“Ow.”

My thighs hurt too.

I got up from the bed and walked to the light switch.

“Urgh. Ack.”

My muscles were so knotted that I groaned with every movement.

“Ugh.”

Could sleeping in a bad position really cause this much pain?

It feels like I’ve been beaten all over.

It didn’t take long to find the cause.

I stood with my hand on the switch, staring at the ridiculous sight.

There was a hill rising in the middle of the room.

The mattress surface was bulging unevenly, with only the spot where I had been lying sunken in.

What is this?

When I tapped the bed, I heard a rumbling sound of something collapsing inside.

There seemed to be something in there. It’s a shame, but I had no choice. I brought kitchen scissors and tore open the mattress cover.

“Huh.”

I couldn’t help but gasp.

The mattress was filled with large, lumpy potatoes.

My body ached, and I was dying of sleepiness, but there was no way to make sense of what was happening before my eyes.

I stumbled to the front door and opened it.

Out in the hallway, I saw Yoon Daju crouching in the distance.

“Uuuugh.”

“Hey. Yoon Daju?”

“Uuuugh.”

“Hey! Yoon Daju!”

When I shouted at the top of my lungs, she finally looked up.

“Oppa…?”

Then she ran over and tackled me.

“Oppa help me please there are too many potatoes potatoes!!!”

“Yoon Daju. What are you talking about?”

I grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

But Daju just buried her face in my sleeve and continued crying. Warm tears soaked through to my skin.

“I can’t take it anymore…”

“Get a grip. Do you know what happened to the others?”

Daju just kept crying silently. She seemed like she’d be in this state for a while.

“Hey. Wait here and rest. I’ll go check and come back.”

“No! Please take me with you.”

“But you…!”

“Please.”

“…Fine.”

I dragged Yoon Daju through the corridor.

We checked every apartment, but there was no one besides me and Daju.

There were only a few potatoes rolling around in the apartments, and each time Daju saw one, she would jump in fright and tremble.

“I hate potatoes. Potatoes are scary…”

“The people couldn’t have turned into potatoes, right?”

We returned to apartment 704 first.

After pushing all the potatoes rolling on the floor into the bedroom, I waited for Daju to calm down.

“Uuugh *hiccup* uhuugh.”

“Are you feeling a bit better now?”

“Yes, oppa. No, wait. Should I call you unni?”

“Just call me oppa when it’s just the two of us. That’s not important right now. Do you know what happened to the others?”

Daju nodded vigorously.

“Then, did people possibly turn into potatoes—”

“Aaah!”

Daju clutched her head in agony.

“Okay, I get it. Maybe people didn’t turn into, you know, those things?”

“Right. That’s definitely not it. I’ve never seen that happen.”

“Do you know why this place became like this?”

“I don’t know. But I’ve stayed in a similar place before. But this is the 7th floor. How could this happen?”

Her answer was rambling, but I understood the gist of it.

I organized what Daju had said and fell into thought.

“There was a similar place.”

“7P12th floor. I was trapped there.”

“Were there a lot of… those things there too?”

“Yes.”

“Just rest for a bit. Let me think.”

I have no idea what’s going on, but I feel like I need something sweet to help my brain work.

First, I brought a dining chair and stood on it. Then I took out a cookie from the cupboard and put it in my mouth.

It tastes like potato.

A soft yet crispy potato flavor.