episode_0018

The clue points to the ‘head’.

In the diary, notes, and photos, a common clue appeared in all of them.

I looked around the head of the small bear doll and realized that this was not it.

“Ji, Jina!?”

Ignoring the startled call of Yi Se-ah,

I cautiously approached the monster bear doll tied in the center of the room.

Looking at the neck part of the doll costume, I confidently and carefully pulled the ear from a distance.

And there it was, the head part that came off smoothly and softly.

Inside it, instead of a human head, there was a key card.

It was the card that could get us out of this room.

Even though I knew that the wriggling bear doll with its head pulled off was staged, it was still grotesque.

Reflexively checking the timer, there was about 2 minutes left.

The ceiling was also coming down a lot.

“Let’s get out quickly!”

[■■■──! ■■─!]

Without realizing it, we left behind the bear doll that was almost free from its chains and trying to chase us, and ran away.

Sending Yoon Ji-woo, who was running ahead of me, and pushing the backs of the girls following behind, I sent them out one by one.

“Panting… pant.”

“Is it over? Phew….”

Finally, I held up the swaying Lee So-yoon to prevent her from falling, pulled her out of the room, and slammed the door shut.

“T-Thank you.”

It’s over.

It was a short 30 minutes, but it was really a nerve-wracking time.

To the me from 30 minutes ago,

I want to praise the choice of persuading Yoon Ji-woo to go in with a low difficulty level.

Anyway, it was a refreshing experience.

It was my first time at a horror escape room café, and the fact that the ceiling was coming down and monsters were coming out… It was a truly spectacular experience.

Clap clap!

From beside us, where we were catching our breath, we heard applause.

“Congratulations…. You escaped quickly…. Do you have a lot of experience with escape rooms…?”

The person who approached us was a staff member.

“Oh. Thank you. It’s our first time today. Haha….”

“Oh my. You’re very smart….”

Following the staff’s guidance, we returned to the lobby.

“Would you like to receive a commemorative photo and card…?”

“Yes!”

Yoon Ji-woo, who had regained her energy, replied.

In the commemorative photo taken by the staff, the exhausted Seong Yu-rin and Lee So-yoon stood out.

“Ugh. It was so scary….”

Lee So-yoon readily admitted that it was scary.

“It wasn’t that big of a deal, was it?”

“Lies. You were shaking and hugging each other.”

“Ugh.”

Seong Yu-rin, who was boasting for no reason, was shot down by Hong Yeon-seo’s jab.

After waiting for a moment, the staff handed us back our phones and commemorative cards.

The coated card had a design similar to a business card.

It had the name of the store and a creepy design of the bear doll, the concept of the room we cleared, drawn on it.

Below that was the time we cleared written on the card.

“Oh. It would be fun to collect these.”

Yoon Ji-woo said as she looked at the card.

“I won’t come again….”

The women’s refusal made the staff member listening next to us look disappointed.

We said goodbye to the staff member and went outside.

After being inside the dark-themed interior, the bright sun welcomed us as we stepped outside.

“Has the rain stopped?”

Hong Yeon-seo reached out her hand outside the roof to check if it was raining.

“Yeah, just a moment ago we were in the dark, so it feels strange coming out.”

“…Like coming out of a movie theater? You know.”

I know that feeling too.

It makes you want to stretch, doesn’t it?

Since it was too early to wander around, we entered a nearby café to avoid any more mishaps.

The attention of the people around us was drawn to the procession of beautiful men and women.

It was fine when there were few people before we came here,

But now that the weather was clear and we were in the city, the surroundings were bustling.

After finding a seat in the café, I urged everyone to split the bill with Dutch pay to avoid any more accidents.

“I’ll pay for it, so just send me your share.”

The guys seemed reluctant to fight again, so they obediently tapped on their phones.

After a while, our drinks were ready, and I went to pick them up with Yoon Jiwoo.

Looking at the drinks, each one had ordered something unique.

Yoon Jiwoo had a Java Chip Frappe, Yoo Isae had a Sweet Potato Latte, Lee Soyun had a Strawberry Smoothie, Sung Yurin had an Americano, and Hong Yeonseo had a Grapefruit Ade.

Everyone ordered something that suited them.

By the way, I got a hot chocolate.

Well, how about hot chocolate?

After the drinks, we also got a few slices of cake.

Surprisingly, Hong Yeonseo was nibbling on desserts. She said she was getting fat…

I wondered if worrying about desserts was a problem, but thinking further made me feel uneasy, so I stopped.

As I sipped on my hot chocolate and leaned back in my chair, memories of the escape room cafe slowly faded like a dream.

I rested my back against the chair and casually listened to the kids’ conversation.

“Jina, aren’t you going to eat the cake?”

Isae, who was sitting across from me, asked, looking at me.

Then, Hong Yeonseo, who was sitting next to me, cut a piece of cake with a fork and handed it to me with a bright smile in her eyes.

“Here. Ah~”

…

It feels like the temperature has dropped a bit.

Did they already turn on the air conditioning?

“I’ll just eat…. Ah….”

As Hong Yeonseo’s smile deepened, I couldn’t refuse and obediently ate the cake she offered.

…The tiramisu cake that Hong Yeonseo fed me blended with the hot chocolate, making it incredibly sweet.

* * *

We chatted in the cafe for a long time.

Am I the only one getting tired? That Yoon Jiwoo guy is chatting so well among the girls.

Yoon Jiwoo was still lively, like a fully charged battery, and the girls seemed to have easily overcome the aftermath of the escape room cafe.

My body is fine, but my head is tired.

“Let’s go to the karaoke, karaoke!”

Hong Yeonseo shouted excitedly.

Karaoke in broad daylight….

But at least it’s not something too active.

Listening to the kids’ conversation, they mentioned that the weather was getting warmer, but there was still a lot of dew, so they advised not to play outdoors.

We left the cafe and found a time-limited karaoke in the city.

It’s a familiar place we used to go to with Yoon Jiwoo’s group.

We greeted the owner and entered a spacious room.

…By the way, I was the one who collected the money.

Anyway. The reason we often come to this karaoke is solely because of me,

It’s because there is a room with a mat.

The mat covers a larger area where seats would be, allowing you to lie down comfortably.

I remember being surprised the first time I saw this type of room when I came here in middle school.

There probably aren’t rooms like this in Korea in my past life.

“Ah… comfortable.”

I came in first and lay down against the wall.

Isae and Soyun came in behind me and sat next to me.

Yurin, who came in after them, looked around the room with a curious expression.

“Is this your first time at a karaoke?”

“Yeah. Today, I’m experiencing a lot of new things.”

Yurin, who smiled brightly, seemed genuinely happy.

After a while, Yoon Jiwoo and Hong Yeonseo came in with a tray of drinks.

Before entering the room, the two losers played rock-paper-scissors, and they both brought drinks.

The drinks turned out to be unlimited refill drinks for the duration of the karaoke session.

Some may know, but this format is similar to the karaoke format in Japan in my past life.

It’s a place where the culture of love comedy and the merged culture are subtly revealed.

“Oh! The facilities are clean here?”

Hong Yeonseo, who was visiting for the first time, exclaimed in admiration.

It’s not for no reason that we don’t come here often.

Well then.

Let’s set the mood. Yoon Jiwoo!

In a dark room, the bright lights illuminated Seo Euijin’s face.

Singing a gentle ballad, Seo Euijin’s deep voice matched well with the pleasant melody, delighting everyone.

And then, Hong Yeonseo found herself involuntarily drawn to Euijin as he sang.

At first…

It was merely a simple curiosity and sympathy that led to an interest in Euijin.

From the day of the entrance ceremony, his comical appearance with balloons hanging around was amusing, and she found herself getting tangled up in teasing him and eventually becoming friends with him.

After that, it was all just playful banter.

As she became closer with Seo Euijin and his friends.

Subtly, amidst the two girls who seemed to like Euijin.

It was the fun of experiencing jealousy for the first time that made her want to cling to him and tease him more.

Days passed as they got to know each other, until she found herself falling for Seo Euijin like an addiction.

“Was I always this easy of a girl?”

She thought to herself, to the point where she questioned her own thoughts.

It wasn’t just his outstanding appearance or abilities that turned her curiosity into affection.

Naturally emanating care and manners, and a kind personality that didn’t show any dislike…

And somewhere, the maturity that set him apart from his peers made that care feel natural.

To the point where she could understand why women who wouldn’t easily fall for someone were deeply infatuated with him.

“Other than his laid-back personality, he has nothing but strengths… No, even that personality now feels charming.”

Sitting on the mat, leaning forward with her chin resting on her hand on the table, Hong Yeonseo gazed at Seo Euijin and thought to herself.

Before she knew it, she seemed to have developed feelings for him beyond mere curiosity…

* * *

Time flew by quickly in the karaoke room.

Until evening, we joyfully played around with the retort meals we ordered at the karaoke.

Well, everyone except me.

I quietly sang my turn, so I guess I enjoyed it by indulging in the unlimited hot chocolate.

Surprisingly, Seong Yurin, who had no previous contact with such things, sang really well.

Her refreshing voice, fitting her appearance, echoed through the karaoke room.

To the point where if you heard it from another room, you might mistake her for a professional singer.

Just as I was starting to get tired of it, the time ended appropriately, allowing us to leave the karaoke feeling good.

“Today was fun, right?”

Hong Yeonseo said, spinning the duffel bag around.

That guy is still full of energy.

“Yeah. Let’s hang out together again.”

Yoon Jiwu replied with a smile.

“I’ll pass…”

“What’s wrong? Seo Euijin, did you not have fun today?”

“No. It was fun, but I have a disease where I die if I stay outside for too long.”

“What disease is that? Pfft.”

Did I say something funny? I’m serious.

I feel like my energy is draining out of me in real-time.

Let’s go home quickly and take a shower and lie down…

After parting ways with Hong Yeonseo in the city center, we headed towards the old town.

She really hates going alone.

Of course, everyone offered to walk to the dorms, but Hong Yeonseo still refused.

As usual.

I bid farewell to Yoon Jiwu and Lee Saeah in front of their house, and dropped off Lee Soyun at her house.

Seong Yurin and I walked to our house together.

“Did you have fun today?”

Seong Yurin, who had experienced many new things, expressed her hope that those experiences were enjoyable, asking me that question.

Looking at me for a moment after hearing my words, Seong Yurin turned her gaze forward again and smiled brightly.

“Yes. It was so, so much fun. Not just today, but ever since I met you and everyone.”

In her smile filled with happiness, I also felt a sense of joy.

“Yeah. That’s good.”

“Bringing up the idea of becoming friends with you. It seems like a good decision.”

“I’m glad I became friends with you too.”

“Ugh.”

“…What’s with that reaction.”

“No, it’s nothing. It’s no big deal.”

Continuing our small talk, we parted ways in front of the house.

As I watched Seong Yurin walk away from me,

Her bright golden hair shining in the sunset light,

It glowed brighter than ever before.