episode_0014

I entered the escape room cafe with Shim Chae-ah.

“Is there a room available for us right now?”

“Just the two of you? One moment, please.”

The staff member tapped on the computer briefly.

“You can enter the Wizard’s Mirror theme room right away.”

“I’ll go with that. Oh, by the way, can we leave our bags here?”

I entrusted our bags to the staff and received basic instructions. Through an old smartphone, we could access hints, call for help, and see the time limit. After signing a nondisclosure agreement, we ventured down a dark corridor.

“You can start whenever you’re ready.”

I stepped into a room adorned with three glowing magic beads, shelves filled with books, a large map, and eerie paintings. The staff set a timer on the smartphone and left the room.

“Let’s begin. …Click, clack!”

As I tried to explore the room, my throat suddenly tightened.

“Why are you doing that?”

“Keh… I thought I heard something.”

I casually brushed off Shim Chae-ah’s question.

“Damn it… What was that just now?”

For a moment, I felt a sharp blade approaching, as if slicing my throat.

The vivid yet surreal experience sent shivers down my spine.

“But… I thought this was supposed to be the Wizard’s ‘Mirror,’ yet there’s no mirror in sight?”

Shim Chae-ah expressed her doubt.

“…Indeed.”

The room’s dim lighting created a somber atmosphere. However, in the middle of the room, the three magic beads illuminated the surroundings.

“Purple, green, orange beads…”

Honestly, clearing the room didn’t interest me much. What truly captivated me were Shim Chae-ah’s exposed collarbone, slender waist beside her belly button, subtle hint of a belly, and the well-shaped legs peeking out from under her shorts. I pretended to focus on solving the puzzle while secretly admiring her body.

“Her figure is enough to make anyone tremble involuntarily.”

Having been concealed under a thick hoodie all this time, the tension had risen.

“We’re probably around the same age. Should I start a conversation?”

Before the escape room challenge, I wanted to chat more comfortably.

“…Yeah, but have you noticed the alphabets scattered throughout the map?”

Unlike how she maintained distance from peers at school, Shim Chae-ah seemed completely at ease closing the gap between us outside.

“…I can see her sternum.”

To avoid suspicion, she wasn’t just idling around. She even calculated the number of animal heads in the bizarre paintings to unlock the drawer beneath the bookshelf.

“A card?”

“It seems like we need to swipe the card on the terminal under the magic bead.”

“Folded belly… She must be a type O.”

The card inside the drawer was green.

So, I swiped the card on the terminal under the green magic bead. The bead turned purple. Next, I combined the alphabets found on the map in cardinal directions to unlock the alphabet-locked book. Inside the book, there hid an orange card. Similarly, I swiped the card on the terminal under the orange magic bead.

Flash!

All the beads in the room emitted a deep violet light.

Suddenly, the lights went out, and the bookshelf opened.

“…Blinding.”

A new stage awaited us.

“This room is filled with mirrors everywhere.”

Shim Chae-ah entered the mirror room first.

This stage required finding distant, alien-like small lights in the mirrors, then rearranging the floor tiles to push the mirrors aside.

I spent a long time touching the tiles before collapsing in discomfort.

“It’s too disorienting here…”

The endless reflections in the mirrors made me feel nauseous. Thanks to the central platform, I didn’t get lost.

“Are you okay? Can’t get up?”

Seeing me lying on the platform, Shim Chae-ah seemed quite concerned.

“…You seem fine.”

“I don’t usually get motion sickness or anything.”

” …”

Seeing me struggle excessively, Shim Chae-ah decided to use hints, which she hadn’t used until now.

At the end of the mirror, there was a mysterious wooden door.

“I have found the essence of magic. You are truly a wizard!”

The sound of cheering trumpets echoed.

Thanks to that, my head spun even more.

As soon as I stepped outside, I shouted, “You call this a stage? Manager, come out!”

“Cu-customer?”

“Just kidding.”

90% truth and 10% joke.

If I were to meet the stage producer in person, I would kick them in the face without hesitation.

“…Are you really okay?”

“Shh. Actually, my nausea has already subsided, but I wanted to vent a bit.”

“…”

It was a bewildered expression.

With the unsatisfactory room escape coming to an end, there was no longer any reason to hold onto Sim Chae-ah.

“Goodbye.”

“Wait, before you go, I have a question.”

“?”

“Imagine… if a bird fell in front of your house, with both wings and legs injured, unable to even eat due to a broken neck. …But it’s still alive, although it will die within a few days. Right now, it’s breathing and alive. What would you do with that bird?”

‘Is this a question about compassion and empathy… or is it asking about ending a life in pain?’

“…I would probably put it out of its misery. As long as the bird hasn’t given up on living and still has the will to survive, wouldn’t it be right to watch over it until the end?”

“Haha.”

“Huh?”

“Well, today was fun. Come to Nongdulim Station next weekend as promised.”

“Got it.”

I enjoyed a feast for the eyes with Sim Chae-ah’s figure. It was very satisfying.

—

After working at the escape room cafe for a year, part-timer Park Hana blushed at what had just happened.

“Oh my goodness…”

At first, she thought celebrities had entered the store. A refined beauty with a subtle charm and a top 0.01% body in funky style. If I were a man, I might have confessed as soon as I met her.

“Why does her voice sound so seductive…”

The refined beauty had a delicate soprano voice but spoke in a rough, masculine manner, which added to her unique charm.

“But doesn’t she know there are CCTV cameras in the escape room cafe?”

A bit embarrassed, she kept stealing glances at the exceptionally good-looking customers.

“One seems to steal glances at the body, while the other pretends not to and subtly steals glances at the face… Could they be dating?”

As she pondered the idea of a beautiful lesbian couple, her mouth watered.

“…Surprisingly, lesbians know women’s bodies well and apparently are good at sex…”

As she imagined scenes of the refined beauty passionately kissing another woman, her body tingled slightly.

Secretly, the part-timer touched her clitoris. She was so sexually aroused that she forgot about the CCTV watching her.

Later, she was caught masturbating on CCTV by the owner and was forced into sex under threat, leading to her moral corruption.

Exactly 10 years later, having given birth to five children, the part-timer was praised by the local elderly as a patriot.

—

Thump thump thump.

In the deep recesses of the chandelier,

This is Im Yuna’s domain.

“…What did you say?”

As soon as she opened her mouth, the predator from the depths of the abyss consumed her senses.

“…It’s nothing.”

She didn’t understand what had happened.

After returning home and organizing the clothes she had bought, as she was about to blow on the rice in her ramen broth, her body floated in mid-air and teleported to Im Yuna’s abode in an instant.

“It’s ramen with eggs and green onions!!”

Feeling helpless, her hands and feet trembled.

“You mentioned studying collective behavior before, right?”

“Yes.”

“Have you done anything else separately?”

When Im Yuna waved her hand, the black butler appeared and served refreshments.

‘…So she wants me to tell a story.’

She quickly caught on to the hint.

“Goblins can’t distinguish human genders, so even if a man looks delicate…”

“Aulbear has a bird’s head, you know? I saw it by chance before and thought it was a collection of rabbit droppings…”

“Some organization with peculiar desires breeds slimes to reduce toxicity, like an onahole…”

They created an entertaining story using their fantasy imagination. In case anyone tried to stop them saying, ‘That’s not it,’ they planned to laugh it off as a joke. Surprisingly, there was no significant pushback.

‘…Was my persuasion unexpectedly effective?’

“Tell me more.”

It had been several hours already. Im Yuna cast an endless ‘please’ like a child asking for a fairy tale book.

“It’s about monster byproducts…”

Running out of things to say, I unraveled a gaming anecdote based on RPG games.

“Hehehe.”

…Luckily, Im Yuna seemed quite satisfied.

As I kept talking unilaterally, my energy drained rapidly. Taking a breather, I threw a question back at Im Yuna.

“Yuna Sereteti, didn’t you feel lonely coming alone to this remote place?”

“…But now you’re here.”

“Hahaha… What’s the reason for attending Queen Bartz School?”

“I don’t know.”

‘This pair, so brief in their responses.’

Still, the atmosphere wasn’t too bad.

Curious about something, I asked a question.

“I felt like my throat was being slit earlier. Do you happen to know why?”

” …”

“Hey, Im Yuna?”

“…Stop talking nonsense!”

“???”

‘Why is she acting like this?’

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, get lost right now. I don’t want to see your face.”

Im Yuna hastily opened a portal.

“…Fine.”

‘Great!’

I didn’t know the reason, but there was no reason to miss the chance to escape.

Concealing my exhilarating true feelings and feeling somewhat disappointed, I dragged my feet into the mist.

* * *

Back home, I wiped away tears.

“My instant noodles have gone bad…”

The red broth had turned into something resembling animal intestines.

Gurgle.

“Ugh… I’m so hungry.”

With no intention to cook at this point, I filled my stomach with some random snacks at home.

“Crunch crunch… Oh, how pitiful.”

My hunger made me too weak to even muster enthusiasm.

“I should have eaten more snacks…”

Too engrossed in storytelling, I couldn’t even touch the food.

Rather than staying hungry, it was better to go to bed early. I lay down on my Jenny Six Deluxe bed.

“As expected, the Jenny Six Deluxe bed! Top-notch comfort!”

It was a good decision to splurge on it this time instead of sleeping on a mat on the floor.

“There are so many crazy people in this world.”

…I intended to sleep, but suddenly found myself chuckling while looking at my smartphone.

[Day before military enlistment: 4th-year student terrorizes chat group by posting photos of his genitals.]

[Self-harm incidents surge 100 times after the passage of the Minsuk Law!]

Especially shocking was the story of a 50-year-old woman scamming five men in their 30s for marriage.

The comment section was a mess…

– How well did she do it to get that much money?

– Haha, nerds getting excited.

– Legendary 50-year-old sex video leaked! Watch it now ➜ (nnn.ndgesg.com)

It felt like peeking into society’s garbage bin.

“I guess the internet is just like the real world in every way.”

Normally, I would have frowned, but in my current situation stranded on a deserted island, even this felt somewhat comforting.

“But all the manga and adult film stars I liked have disappeared… Oh man… I miss them.”

Thinking of them, I held a memorial service for the memories from the old world.

“Alalalalala”

I lit a large scented candle I found in the kitchen drawer.

I didn’t know why it was there, but thanks to it, I could conduct a quality memorial service.

“May the deceased rest in peace with an action beam…”

Finishing with a half-hearted salute, I concluded the service. Well, there might be new connections awaiting in the future, right?

“Now, let’s really sleep… Huh? Wait, something feels off.”

In the familiar surroundings of my half-baked house, something unfamiliar crept in.

“What could it be…”

The ceiling is uneven? I can’t explain it logically, but it felt off.

“Could it be… a mouse?!!”

My heart pounded. Not a metaphor, but quite literally.

“Knock on it. Then it will open.”

I tapped the most peculiar part of the ceiling with my hand. After a few taps, my hand sank in deeply.

“Ouch… Did I break it..”

Worried about getting caught by the landlord, I discovered a small shadow inside the ceiling.

I brought a chair, climbed up, and reached into the ceiling. Suddenly. I grabbed a small object and pulled it out.

“This… a camera?!!”

Its identity was a tiny camera with only a narrow lens.

“When on earth…”