episode_0017

An ordinary family home. Seven people are sitting at the living room table. On the outside, they look like relatives gathered for the holidays, but the atmosphere is quite the opposite. A dry and dark atmosphere flows through the house.

“So. One of the guys died. One person lost his temper and went missing. This is it.”

“Yes.”

“It’s not a very unexpected thing.”

The name of the bespectacled man who opened the door earlier is Seok Hyeon-min. He is said to be in his late 20s, but he looks five years younger than his youthful face. Aside from that, he has been expressionless since a while ago and is lying down with his chin resting on his face even while talking. I feel like my whole body is saying, ‘I really have an insensitive personality.’

“Those guys went out too quickly. I felt like I was going to die sooner or later. It’s not really your fault, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Ah…yes.”

“Hey. Say it like that.”

The name of the woman with a straight face is Heo Yun. He is also in his late 20s. Previous occupation: nurse. This person is in charge of most of the treatment of the injured.

“Then what? They say he’s dead because he’s dead. What do you say? Even if you keep telling me to take care of myself, I’m going to a dangerous place. What are you going to do?”

“Isn’t that why you said let’s all escape from here together! Are you going to keep talking like this?”

The two people jump out of their seats and get up.

“Don’t fight…Stop fighting…”

Daju tries to stop him with a sullen expression, but his voice only gets louder.

“Is it a joke that other people are risking their efforts to get out? Then you live here forever! Don’t even take a step outside the house!”

“When do you want me to stay home? There’s something that looks suspicious, so why bother touching it?…”

“Whatever this time too. Did you touch a book at the library? The title is . How could you not open it? What else? Did you go out through the emergency exit in Zone Z? Don’t you have to go all the way to find the way out in the first place?”

Seok Hyeon-min spreads out across the desk and scratches his stomach with indifferent words, while Heo Yoon screams in excitement.

“You always hide behind the scenes like that…!”

As the atmosphere became increasingly hostile, Choi Se-rim closed the laptop and stood up.

“Yuni unnie.”

“Serim, please stay for a moment. You have to say what you have to say.”

“Please look at my injured finger.”

“What. Who got hurt?”

Serim Choi silently casts her eyes in my direction.

“Hyeonmin, go get some sleep. You look very tired.”

Seok Hyeon-min leaves the house while scratching his head. The difficult situation was resolved with just a few words. It’s so amazing. How can I speak quietly, but everyone listens?

Yoon slowly unwrapped the bandage wrapped around my finger.

“Ah! Ugh.”

“Oh my god. It’s really swollen. How long has it been since you were injured?”

“About half a day.”

” Stay. I need to start with ice packs.”

“I’ll go!”

Daju wakes up quickly.

“Okay. Daju brings ice. I’ll go and get the medicine chest. I need to put a splint on.”

The two people quickly leave the house.

Now, there are two people left besides me.

Choi Se-rim is looking at the laptop again, and the other one has been silent from the beginning. Not a single word.

“Hey… Hello?”

Swish.

A man waving his wrinkled hand in the air. what? Is it sign language?

Instead, Choi Se-rim speaks.

“You can’t talk about that guy.”

“Ah. Are you deaf?”

“No. I just can’t speak.”

“Yes?”

“Once, when I was lost and wandering here, I found a restaurant by chance, and I was so hungry that I grabbed the food and ate it without even thinking about it. When I came to my senses, I found that everything from my tongue to my throat had completely melted.”

“Ah……”

Only now I can see the scar under the man’s chin. The man smiles as if nothing is wrong. The teeth may have melted together, but most of them are missing.

“Then your name is…”

“I don’t know. It seems like he knows how to write, but he never taught me. Maybe I lost my memory as well.”

“Ah.”

It’s so sad that I can’t think of anything to say.

The man waves his hand again and leaves.

“They say you’re leaving now.”

“Ah. Goodbye…”

Rattling.

“Sister. There must be a lot of people like that here, right?”

“That’s right.”

Todog. Talk.

All I can hear is the sound of my laptop tapping.

The silence continued until Daju and Yoon returned.

“Oppa. I’m putting ice on it here.”

“Thank you.”

“First, apply an ice pack, and once the swelling subsides, apply a splint with a bandage. It’ll take a while to get back together.”

Da-ju holds out a bag of ice, and Yoon prepares it by taking out various things from the first-aid kit. Yoon suddenly looks this way.

“Ah. But why oppa?”

“Yes?”

“Daju calls you oppa.”

“That…”

What kind of reaction will this person have? I’m already getting scared.

The moment you are about to speak. Yoon suddenly claps his hands.

“Ah! ah! ah!!! I knew what it was. You don’t have to say anything. Understand? And if you don’t know something, just feel free to ask.”

Should I keep talking about this? No matter what answer I get, my face gets hot. I’m going crazy with embarrassment.

“That’s it. Now wash your hands and apply a bandage.”

“Ugh!”

The injured index and middle fingers are so swollen that they can no longer stay side by side.

Even if I just put a towel on it, the pain would suddenly rise.

“Hold on a little.”

Disinfect the wound first. Then apply a splint and bandage it. Even though it is called a splint, it is actually a wooden chopstick cut into pieces.

“That’s it. Don’t use that hand for a while, and then we’ll check again in the evening. The end!”

“Thank you.”

Raising the arm, bandages and medical tape. And you can see the finger wrapped with duct tape (I used a little bit of it because it didn’t have enough adhesive).

It would be very uncomfortable because I injured my right hand. Because of the situation, I can’t just sit still…

My mind becomes complicated again.

“That’s right. Daju.”

“Yes?”

Yoon, who was organizing the medicine chest again, suddenly spoke up.

“Can’t I just go to the 11th floor once? When I went to the warehouse, I saw that all the medicine was gone. You can get hurt a lot here, but you can’t do it without medicine.”

“Yes! Of course I will go!”

Daju’s facial expression brightens. It’s like a puppy that was told to go for a walk.

Is it really that good to wander outside? I watched Daju running around for a moment and then spoke.

“Then come with me.”

“Huh? Oppa too?”

“My head is a mess so I need to get some fresh air outside.”

“My hand was also injured. Is it okay?”

“You will carry all the luggage. ”

When I think about how dangerous this place is, I feel more anxious about staying home. Should I say that I am even more impatient because my hand is injured as well? Anyway, I think I need to move a little to relieve my stomach.

Slurp-

After a while. The elevator door opens on the 11th floor.

“Huh?”

“What.”

me too. Daju Island. I couldn’t hide my embarrassment.

The 11th floor, which was originally filled with delivery boxes, now looked completely different.

***

Under the stairs on the 7th floor. emergency exit.

The man tapped the smartphone screen without saying a word.

[Brother, I think the time has come. The location is on the seventh floor. I found the person you asked me to find, and I just saw it.]

Slowly. With poor spelling.

The scar below the man’s neck glistened in the dim light.