episode_0020

‘Don’t get caught? It’s not like I’m hiding..’

The fourth rule is don’t get caught by them.

It felt like I was playing a horror game that was an exquisite mix of tag and hide-and-seek that I used to play as a child.

“..Hyesung Guild Leader? Where are we going?”

“Find out what’s there.”

“Can’t I just go into another house and hide?”

She walked a little further without saying a word and then tore off a piece of yellow paper that had been taped to the front door of a house.

“Now. You can’t go into the house. Follow me.”

Fifth rule.

Never enter the house at night.

“Ah.. I guess I shouldn’t go into the house.”

So without much thought, I started walking after her.

I don’t know how many hours we’ve been walking, but we stop when we hear something like a mannequin walking, and sometimes when we hear it walking towards us, we go into a nearby alley and hide.

Every time, the exquisite sound of joints giggling makes me realize that they are definitely not people.

Every time I realize that creepy truth.

I felt like I was running away from sleep.

Luckily, I didn’t feel particularly tired because I had no choice but to fall asleep while I fainted earlier.

So he goes around looking for the yellow rule, hides behind the walls of each house, and stands in front of a certain house.

“Found it.”

As she said to herself that she had found something, I also looked around the wall of that house and saw that it was a house with a nameplate that I had not seen before in any other house.

The nameplate had letters written on it that I had never seen before, but I knew it was the letters Pensher.

That’s because the name on my ring was written exactly the same as the name on it, without a single error.

‘Is this the house where Mr. Pensher lived?’

For reference, there are a total of nine rules we have collected so far.

Sixth rule.

Don’t make loud noises.

Although they have no ears, they know how to hear sounds.

Seventh rule.

They learn day by day.

Ninth rule.

Use your phone battery sparingly.

Tenth rule.

As you may have realized by now, this is a place where no one but you can enter.

Survive for a week on your own.

It was a piece of paper with the ninth and tenth rules written on it instead of the eighth rule, but it was surprising that I had found the rule paper in such a strange order in the first place.

Every time she found a piece of paper, she glanced at it for a moment and passed it to me, so I was worried that Suyeon had memorized the rules properly.

‘Phew… Is it really right for me to care because he’s really a stranger to me now?’

I don’t know how to deal with her.

‘Please don’t forgive me…’

Not even family anymore.

I don’t love her as much as I used to.

The feelings that remain now are the subtle feelings of family that we used to have, and they are still preventing me from letting go of the lingering feelings I have for her.

I used to think that way.

She will become independent from me someday.

Whether it’s finding a job or getting married.

I just thought that the time had come earlier than expected and that the resulting breakup had been worse than expected.

Even in my heart, I was wondering what to do with her.

“I will survive here today.”

Suyeon still spoke in a whispering voice.

It was dark around here and we couldn’t hear any sounds other than the occasional sound of someone other than us walking, so no matter how softly she whispered, there was no problem in hearing her voice.

So we sat as if hiding behind the wall of Penscher’s house.

When would morning come? Since there was no sign of morning coming, I just sat a little away from her and repeated the rules.

‘Don’t make loud noises… doesn’t that just mean you don’t shout? ‘What are they doing that they know how to hear when they don’t have ears?’

‘You said you learn every day, right? Hmm… I guess it’s similar to how the shadows in the underground parking lot got more clever the further down you went?’

finally

‘Saving your phone battery..?’

Although I could roughly understand the other parts, I did not understand the ninth part.

‘Are you saying I shouldn’t use a flashlight?’

I picked up my phone and looked at the remaining battery.

37%

Since I lost consciousness yesterday and was in the hospital, I didn’t have time to recharge the battery.

I thought about turning on the flashlight, but I didn’t bother to take the gamble because I thought it would be a big problem if there was a rule that we couldn’t find that said not to turn on the flashlight.

And then suddenly.

‘ah..?’

A very creepy hypothesis came to mind.

Floor 0 and 1 We always clear the tower in one day and return home using the system app.

‘Rule 10… No one can come here but you…’

From the beginning, the second floor of the tower was designed to be cleared only by one person.

I was a unique case, having been forced through the hallmarks of chivalry, and no one could enter this place by normal means.

‘What if… the battery runs out…?’

Even if you clear the second floor of the tower, you cannot return home.

If it were on the 0th and 1st floors, someone could have brought an auxiliary battery… but that’s not the case here.

Since it is a space where only one person can exist, even if the only person left clears this damn second floor.

He had to be trapped on the second floor forever.

Oh my, I got goosebumps.

Still, I felt fortunate.

‘Phew.. I can just use the driver and go out, and even if Suyeon doesn’t have any batteries, I can bring her an auxiliary battery.

Cheonhwi was secretly happy at the thought that he could achieve his dream of becoming a top delivery man.

It was then.

This time, I heard someone walking outside the fence.

Jump and jump.

If you listen closely, you can hear not only the sound of walking, but also a small creaking sound of joints.

This time, I just tried to quietly wait for the unknown owner of the footsteps to disappear…

“Ecchu!”

“!!”

Suyeon, who was next to me, sneezed.

That…

The sound of footsteps stopped.

The sound of footsteps coming directly from behind the wall becomes quiet as if it has stopped in place.

I looked at Suyeon with a thoughtful face, but she rummaged through the bag she was wearing as if it didn’t matter.

Soon after.

Jerk. Jerk. Jerk. Jerk.

The sound of walking at a fast pace, very different from the slow pace we used to walk, as if he knew where we were.

Although the sound seemed to be moving away from us, it was mysteriously directed towards the front gate of the Penscher’s house.

Jump, jump, jump! Squeak!

As I opened the door so hard, the fence door opened with a clanging sound.

As I was looking at the place in a nervous state, something had entered the wall before I realized it.

It was hard to see unless you looked closely, but it looked exactly like a person…

‘mannequin..?’

It was a mannequin.

I was watching the movement of the mannequin with my eyes wide open in fear that soon came upon me.

I don’t know why, but the mannequin standing at the front door was not moving.

A moment when my heart felt like it was going to burst, and I was wondering what to do with that monster.

Cheeik.

A sound like a can being opened was heard from behind.

Gulp.

Immediately followed by the sound of drinking a can of beverage.

Swish~ ting!

The finished can of coffee flew away and hit the black mannequin.

“Second rule: Never take your eyes off.”

“Ah..”

“There are things that can’t move if you look at them.”

‘Oh, that’s why it wasn’t moving.’

As questions about the immobile mannequin are resolved,

The lights flashed on, illuminating the village.

I was dazzled by the suddenly bright world, so I narrowed my eyes for a moment and looked at the mannequin in front of me.

“What is it?”

A black mannequin disappears into ashes with a voice that grows louder without my knowledge.

‘When the light turns on, it disappears.’

It wasn’t bad because I was able to learn new facts, and I could instinctively know that it was morning when the lights were turned on.

“Follow me in.”

After briefly lifting my phone to check its battery, I followed Suyeon into what seemed to be Pensher’s house.

There was a yellow rule paper and a white piece of paper that looked very worn and had unrecognizable writing on it.

Soo-yeon went to look at the worn-out rule paper, and I read the paper with the rules written on it.

Eleventh rule.

Every night gets longer.

Twelfth rule.

Don’t fall asleep.

“Here is the twelfth rule..”

Unable to finish my words, I felt the familiar shock at the back of my throat and fainted again, as if I were falling asleep.

Tuk-tuk.

This time, I woke up to the slight shock I felt on my cheek.

“Wake up.”

It was dark.

Night came again, and for some reason, I touched her moist lips and asked her a question.

“Twelfth rule.. I told you not to sleep, but why do you keep making me sleep?”

“Because even if you stay awake, it won’t help you.”

She naturally opened a can of coffee and drank it.

“I have to leave quickly, so follow me.”

This time too, I had no choice but to follow Suyeon outside.

As soon as I opened the door, there was a yellow piece of paper lying on the floor with rules written on it that weren’t there when I came in.

Thirteenth rule.

You have to survive here for a week.

It may be lonely and difficult, but if it’s difficult, just commit suicide.

That is the least painful way to die.

The contents of the eerie paper and the eerie truth I learned.

You have to stay here for a week, and today is your second day here.