Chapter 2485 – 2485. Devil’S Game
I left the chaotic classroom and stepped into the hallway.
The hallway was spotless, without a single piece of trash. It was similar to the high school I attended years ago, yet different. I glanced back and saw the 3-2 sign on the door.
‘I’m tired.’
Not just physically, but mentally exhausted. It felt like I had escaped from hours of meaningless, repetitive tasks.
Should I go up? Or down?
‘Up is probably the rooftop. There are limited places to run or hide. Let’s go to the first floor.’
I walked down the hallway, looking out the window. Besides the main building, there was an annex. If I were looking for a place to hide, the first floor would be better. There would be more places to escape if needed.
‘I think the first floor has more places to hide.’
Right now, the third floor only has classrooms and hallways. There are only two places to hide in a classroom, and even those are easily visible.
‘Out of the three hours I have to endure, not even ten minutes have passed.’
I sighed and carefully went down to the first floor. There happened to be a nurse’s office, so I went inside.
Creak.
Beds and cabinets came into view. Something felt strange. It seemed like there was a smell. A cosmetic smell, I guess.
‘Is a woman hiding here?’
First, I rummaged through the desk and drawers. Maybe there was something useful.
I found bandages.
I also found medicine. The medicine bottles were labeled in English, so I couldn’t understand them. I don’t know English. I can read it somewhat… but this was too long, I didn’t even want to read it. Even if I did, I wouldn’t know what it meant.
‘I’ll take the bandages… and there’s Madecassol and Albothyl too. Should I take them?’
I was about to take a few when I paused. The empty space in the drawer was particularly unnatural. It was as if someone had just taken something that was there.
‘And the cosmetic smell… is someone hiding here?’
There are only a limited number of places where a person could hide. Inside the cabinet and under the bed. I quietly gripped the kitchen knife in both hands. If they were under the bed, I would only see their legs.
“I know you’re hiding. Come out. I’m not a murderer. I don’t intend to fight.”
If this is really a game, then the goal is survival. There’s no rule that survivors have to fight each other. In a way, survivors are on the same team.
‘The problem is that team killing is possible. There’s always some troll no matter where you go.’
I tightened my grip on the kitchen knife. The person hiding could be a murderer like Jang Hwi-chun.
‘It’s like a horror game. A jump scare where they suddenly attack.’
It was quiet. They didn’t come out. Was I mistaken? I spoke again.
“Did you perhaps receive a suspicious black letter and come here? I received that invitation too. And if I were a murderer, would I be speaking so politely?”
I thought of Jang Hwi-chun, whom I had just killed. He didn’t say a word, which was strange.
“…Stay there.”
A woman’s voice echoed from under the bed. It was quite pleasant to hear.
My body tensed up. Come to think of it, how long has it been since I talked to a woman? Besides the convenience store clerk and the factory ajumma, was it the first time since high school?
With a rustling sound, a woman crawled out from under the hospital bed. Long, flowing hair, a suit jacket and skirt. Her legs were clad in torn stockings and high heels. Under her suit jacket, her blouse was so tight it looked like it would burst.
‘How can she hide under the bed with those breasts?’
I forced my gaze upwards. Her tightly pursed red lips and venomous eyes glared at me. In her delicate hand, she held a pair of scissors. Sharp, silver scissors that were more than enough to kill a person.
“……You’re the one who looks like a murderer?”
“No, this…. There’s a reason.”
I was flustered and lowered the kitchen knives in my hands. I belatedly realized that my clothes were covered in blood. Anyone would think I was a murderer.
Before she could misunderstand further, I explained what had just happened.
“…Jang Hwi-chun was here? That famous murderer Jang Hwi-chun from ten years ago? And you killed Jang Hwi-chun?”
“Yes. His body is on the third floor. If you’re suspicious, go check it out. I’ll stay here.”
“……”
She frowned. It didn’t feel like she was angry. It seemed like she was thinking things over.
“Okay. I’ll believe you. But that doesn’t mean you can come near me.”
“Understood, noona.”
“Who’s your noona?”
“Was it dongsaeng? How old are you?”
Even though she was a beautiful woman, she didn’t seem young. Her clothes were clearly those of an office worker. And she seemed like she had a lot of life experience.
“…Twenty-five.”
“You’re a noona then. I’m Seong Yu-jin. Since we’re in this together, can I drop the formalities?”
“You’re quite shameless, aren’t you?”
I was a bit surprised myself. I used to have trouble talking to the girls in my class. But now, the words just flowed out.
“So, what’s your name? It’s beneficial for us to cooperate here.”
“Shin Do-hyun. Don’t do anything foolish. If you do anything even slightly suspicious, I won’t let it slide.”
What would she do if I didn’t stay still? I barely managed to stop myself from being sarcastic.
“Shin Do-hyun. That’s a rather masculine name.”
“It’s not like your name is feminine either.”
I nodded. The name Yu-jin was quite common. I’ve met two people with the same name so far, and they were both women.
We faced each other warily. We had agreed to cooperate, but we couldn’t trust each other at all.
Thump thump thump thump!
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway.
“Aaaaaaah!”
A man was screaming as he ran away. The sound of footsteps chasing him could be heard, but unlike the man running away, they were calm and quiet.
Shin Do-hyun crawled under the bed. Honestly, it felt a bit cute. In my opinion, hiding under the bed was pointless. It would be better to hide near the window. That way, you could escape through the window if necessary.
I squatted down next to the entrance of the nurse’s office. If they came in, I planned to stab their legs with the kitchen knife and then get up and stab their neck.
My plan didn’t come to fruition. They passed by the nurse’s office in an instant. I cautiously opened the door and checked outside.
A man in black was chasing another man. The man in black threw a kitchen knife at the other man’s back. Fortunately, the man dodged the knife. The chase continued.
‘That back looks like Jang Hwi-chun? No, that can’t be. I killed Jang Hwi-chun.’
Either the dead Jang Hwi-chun had come back to life, or there were multiple Jang Hwi-chuns… Either way, it wasn’t reality.
‘In the first place, the fact that I’m here is a bit different from reality.’
Shin Do-hyun crawled out from under the bed. I couldn’t see her panties through the gap in her stockings. It was dark because no light was coming in. Maybe they were black panties. Well, she was wearing pantyhose, but still.
“Do-hyun, what should we do?”
“…You. You’re quite rude, aren’t you?”
“So, what are we going to do? I think we should move. If we stay here, we’ll eventually get caught.”
Hiding here wasn’t a good idea. The view of the outside from here was limited.
“…Where are we going to go?”
“The annex on the hill. It’s on a hill, so the view is good, and the path is good too. I think it’s much better than staying in this main building.”
“Okay. Let’s do as you say. You go first.”
I opened the door and went out of the nurse’s office. I could feel Shin Do-hyun’s cold gaze on my back. It didn’t feel good to have my back exposed to someone else. What if she stabbed me in the back with the scissors she was holding?
‘But she’s a beauty. I’ll endure it.’
“Why are you going that way? That’s the direction those guys went.”
“If we go the other way, it’s too far. And we need to go through the hallway to avoid being seen.”
“If you’re walking so openly, you’ll be seen through the windows in the hallway.”
“We can see them too. And the hallway faces the playground. If we see something, we can react first.”
“……It feels familiar? Is this not your first time?”
“It’s my first time. There’s no way I’d do something like this often.”
I was surprised myself at how honestly I was speaking. I didn’t know I could do this. And even as I was talking, I was looking around warily.
As we turned a corner in the hallway, we found a corpse in front of the door leading outside. It was a brutally mutilated corpse. Blood and organs were scattered everywhere.
“Ugh….”
Shin Do-hyun covered her mouth with her hand and staggered. Judging by her trembling eyes, she was greatly shocked.
Of course, I was also mentally shocked. Honestly, my stomach was churning. I didn’t want to know what the inside of a human body looked like in this way.
‘I feel like throwing up… but I can’t throw up in front of a woman. That would be embarrassing.’
This is when you have to put on a show.
“That guy went up to the second floor using the stairs next to us. Let’s go to the annex while we have this chance.”
There were bloody footprints leading up to the second floor. Unless they suddenly came down, we wouldn’t run into them.
“You’re calm. What’s your job? Are you perhaps a soldier…?”
“I haven’t served in the military, and I work at a factory.”
“…A meat processing factory?”
“A dish factory.”
My job was to pack and carry the finished dishes.
On the way to the annex, we encountered others. One man who looked like a college student and one boy who looked like a high school student. The high school student was easy to identify because he was wearing a school uniform.
As Shin Do-hyun and I were wary of them, the man who looked like a college student quickly pointed to the annex.
“Are you two also heading to the annex? We don’t have time to stay here, so let’s talk there. If we linger here, the murderer Jang Hwi-chun might notice and follow us.”
The college student was right. We arrived at the annex. The first-floor cafeteria was spacious. We tried to lock the entrance door, but it wouldn’t lock, as if the lock was broken.
“The door here doesn’t lock either.”
“Either?”
I asked back.
“Yes. We were on the second floor of the classroom, and we went to the rooftop first and then came down. The rooftop door was open and wouldn’t lock either. It seems like all the doors here don’t lock.”
I looked at the man again. His impression was ordinary, without any particular features. But he was very calm. It was a stark contrast to the high school student next to him, who was trembling and avoiding my eyes.
The high school student was a lost cause, but this guy seemed quite useful. Of course, not as useful as Shin Do-hyun. Shin Do-hyun was pretty, after all.
“I’m Seong Yu-jin. What’s your name?”
“Yu Jin-myung.”
I extended my hand as a sign of goodwill. My hand was a bit bloody. Yu Jin-myung paused for a moment before taking my hand.
