There’s Space Behind the Pillar (2)
Mom got trapped in the elevator.
My vision went dark in many ways.
Mom, I told you not to take the house elevator.
Mom: What house?
Mom: It's not a house, I'm trapped inside the company elevator.
Mom: Being trapped alone is kinda scary ㅠㅠㅠ
Mom: But since I'm getting off work early today, I should be able to get home by evening haha.
On the day the strange elevator appeared in my house, the incident of Mom getting trapped in the company elevator occurred.
It could be seen as a simple coincidence, but my instincts, honed through various events, told me there was a deep connection between the two.
Mom: Wow lol the elevator arrived at the 4th floor lol See you later
Mom: But it's so deserted here.. My phone battery is dead too
Mom sent me a message saying she had arrived on the 4th floor.
Was it just a simple malfunction?
The tension in my heart, which had been stretched to its limit like a balloon, eased slightly.
Mom: Photo
While preparing for the next class, I received a photo from Mom.
It seemed to be a photo taken outside the open door from inside the elevator.
Beyond the open elevator door, I could see a rather dim interior.
Isn’t it too dark outside?
I had an uneasy feeling for some reason.
“What’s wrong? Is Jeong Sojin annoying you with messages?”
Noticing my uneasiness, Yang Juhui, who was sitting behind me, poked my back with her finger. *Poke.*
“My mom was trapped alone in an elevator and ended up getting off on the 4th floor. Look at this photo. Isn’t it too dark and strange? It looks just like some warehouse.”
I showed the photo on my phone to Yang Juhui.
I thought if we shared the problem I was agonizing over, some of the weight would be divided.
“Oh. This is weird. Look below the number 4 written here.”
Yang Juhui touched my phone with her thin, pale finger.
*Swipe.*
When she zoomed in on the photo, there was indeed a strange part, just as Yang Juhui said.
The number 4 is written on the panel, indicating the floor.
Right below it, the words “Over Capacity” were clearly imprinted in red letters.
“Your mom. Didn’t you say she was trapped alone in the elevator?”
Overcapacity in an elevator, she rode alone.
It could simply be due to an elevator malfunction, but I couldn’t calm down at all!
Mom, for now, don't get off on the 4th floor and go to another floor.
Mom
Mom, don't get off and stay still
Mom, answer answer answer
Check please
Photo
Gift card
Ha Youngwon sent you a gift card.
Read it please
There was no reply from Mom.
From the beginning, the message confirmation mark ‘1’ didn’t disappear.
I immediately called Mom.
The phone is turned off...
“……”
Ah, shit, come to think of it, she said her battery was dead!
I couldn’t calm down.
“…Hey. Juhui. What class did we have for 2nd period?”
“The next class is Korean, why?”
If it’s Korean, then it’s Kang Haneul’s class.
There’s always a silver lining.
“Juhui. I think I’ll have to skip class.”
“What? Hey! What is it!”
I ran towards the hallway.
*Click, click*
Soon, I met Kang Haneul, who was walking down the hallway, making loud heel sounds.
“Teacher. I think my mother is in a critical condition, so can I be absent from class? Teacher. It’s really urgent! Teacher! Miss! It’s urgent!”
“Youngwon. What are you talking about all of a sudden? Your mother is in critical condition.”
“Teacher! Please, I beg you!”
*Thud*
I turned my back and ran.
From behind, I heard the teacher calling my name, “Youngwon~,” but my legs kept running like a truck with broken brakes.
Just as I was about to exit the school gate.
The school guard, who was holding a golf club and practicing his swing, saw me at the front gate and shouted.
“Hey! It’s class time! Where are you going! What grade and class are you!”
“I have to go! My mom is in critical condition! My mom!”
“Your mom? That’s a pitiful situation, but did you get permission from your teacher? If you have a teacher’s permission slip, I can let you go right away, but if you don’t have one, go get it. There are many kids who lie and leave without permission.”
Do I need something like that to go out of school during class?
I never skipped class or left early, so I didn’t know.
What should I do?
Should I go back and get it?
As I was catching my breath from running too fast, someone waved their hand from far away.
“Hey. Ha Youngwon. You left this behind.”
It was the vice class president, Jeong Seok.
Jeong Seok came over and held two pieces of paper that said, “Early Dismissal Permit.”
Due to the reason below, ‘Ha Youngwon’ is permitted early dismissal
Family Emergency
Signature - Kang Haneul
It was Kang Haneul’s early dismissal permit!
It was quite fortunate that Jeong Seok brought this.
Jeong Seok also had one of his own.
Due to the reason below, ‘Jeong Seok’ is permitted early dismissal
Doctor’s Appointment
Signature - Kang Haneul
The handwriting was very neat, as if it were printed on a computer.
Jeong Seok definitely wrote it.
Did he forge the dismissal slip! Smart thinking!
The school guard narrowed his eyes.
“I know Kang Haneul very well. She writes very beautifully. The handwriting here is also written very well. These days, there aren’t many people who write by hand since there are computers and all.”
*Rrring*
Then the school guard’s phone rang.
“Oh my. It’s a call from Kang Haneul.”
A call from Kang Haneul?
What if she finds out we didn’t get permission to leave early!
Should we just run away!
“Yes! This is Kang Mandeuk! Yes. There are two students here at the front gate who say they have permission from you to leave early. Yes. Ha Youngwon. And Jeong Seok. Ah… yes. Assignment. Yes. I understand.”
*Click*
The school guard hung up the phone.
“Oh my, students. Sorry for holding you up. It must be so urgent! Kang Haneul said she’ll send the assignments you’ll miss by email since you’re leaving class early today.”
“Seok! Let’s go!”
Jeong Seok and I left the school just like that.
When we entered the alley, and the school was out of sight, Jeong Seok asked me.
“What’s going on? Is it because of the elevator?”
“I’ll explain on the way. First, we need to catch a taxi and go to my mom’s company.”
“Hey! Why did you come out so late!”
Someone approached me as I was about to turn on the app to catch a taxi.
It was Yang Juhui.
Jeong Seok asked.
“Did you leave early too?”
“No? I came out through the hole in the fence.”
So there’s a hole in the school fence.
As expected, people who have skipped class before are good at it.
“Is this your mother’s company?”
Jeong Seok marveled at the towering building.
It was because the headquarters of Osung Electronics, located in Gaeryong Metropolitan City, flaunted its majestic appearance.
“Wow. How many floors are there?”
Yang Juhui also raised her chin all the way up as if greatly overwhelmed.
Yang Juhui moved her fingers as if directly counting the floors with her eyes.
Jeong Seok remarked.
“As far as I know, it’s 100 floors. When the building completion ceremony was held before, my dad participated. I was there too. But I didn’t know your mother worked at Osung Electronics. The average annual salary here is 200 million won.”
It seemed quite unbelievable to Jeong Seok that my mother worked at Osung Electronics but lived in a house with no elevator and full of cockroaches.
It was my first time coming to my mother’s company, so I was honestly dazed, too.
Mom didn’t talk much about the new company she started working for.
An average annual salary of 200 million won!
“Hey. Is this the time to be discussing that? Let’s go quickly!”
At Yang Juhui’s words, Jeong Seok and I also came to our senses.
We slowly walked into the gleaming building, and as soon as the students in uniforms entered, people in the 1st-floor lobby shifted their gazes to us all at once.
Weekday afternoon.
A time when office workers are busy working.
Lunchtime when students should be cooped up in school like chicks in a chicken coop.
Our existence, walking in the company in uniforms, was already extraordinary.
“Kids, what’s going on?”
A pretty and kind-looking unnie smiled at us from the information desk.
As the representative of the kids, I spoke up.
“Hello. My name is Ha Youngwon. Is there someone named Ha Chaeyeon working here? She’s my mother, and I really want to meet her because it’s urgent! It’s urgent! Really!”
“Ha Chaeyeon… Ha Chaeyeon… Do you mean Ha Chaeyeon from the planning team? Or…”
“Planning? My mom is a janitor. As far as I know, she’s on the facilities team!”
“Ah, that janitor unnie? But as far as I know, the Ha Chaeyeon on the facilities team is thirty-four this year. Does she have a high school son? You go to Yeongji High School, right?”
“It’s really urgent! Did you hear anything about the elevator being out of order?”
“Malfunction? I didn’t hear anything like that. But are you really Ha Chaeyeon’s son? No way, right? You have the same last name as your mother even though you’re mother and son. Who are you?”
“Ah shit, this is so frustrating! Hey! Ha Youngwon! Just come here!”
*Stomp stomp!*
Yang Juhui ran off somewhere, waving her long legs under her skirt.
The desk unnie shouted, “Hey! Where are you going!” as if startled, but Yang Juhui couldn’t be stopped.
Yang Juhui was pressing all the elevators she could see.
*Ding ding ding*
Yang Juhui entered the elevators that arrived one by one.
“What. There’s no 4th floor here? They’re all F floors. In the case of the 44th floor, it’s even FF floor! What kind of elevators are these?”
The elevators at Osung Electronics’ headquarters changed all the numbers 4 to F.
Didn’t Mom say the elevator she took stopped on the 4th floor?
“This won’t do! Let’s go directly to the 4th floor!”
*Stomp stomp!*
Yang Juhui ran with all her might, and Jeong Seok and I followed. But Yang Juhui was too fast, and just following her made me so out of breath I thought I would die.
With that feeling, we arrived at the F floor, which was decorated with colorful, shining large TVs. It was completely different from the photo Mom sent.
How did this happen!
The situation had hit a snag.
In the distance, men who seemed to be the building’s security guards were approaching us.
“Hey! You kids! How did you get here!”
“Ahjussi! Has there been any report of an elevator malfunction?”
“Elevator? I haven’t heard anything like that. Team Leader Kim, have you heard anything?”
“No. I haven’t either… But who are you guys? That’s a Yeongji High School uniform, right?”
There was no report of an elevator malfunction.
Mom definitely arrived on the 4th floor through a malfunctioning elevator…
I hesitated for a moment, and then Jeong Seok, who had been following and staying silent, spoke up.
“Youngwon. I think there’s nowhere else but there. Let’s get out of here. I feel like staying here is just a waste of time. You’ve also noticed by now, haven’t you.”
You’re right.
It’s a waste of time to stay here.
“Taxi!”
I caught a taxi driving around in front of the company and immediately called out my home address.
“Ajussi! Please go to Taekwang Housing at this address! Quickly! Hurry!”
*Vroom*
After the taxi drove for about 20 minutes, it arrived in front of the villa.
“Ah, fuck! In the end, we came here! In the end!”
*Riiip, riiiip! Crackle!*
As soon as I entered the house, I stood in front of the elevator covered in tape and ripped off all the tape and paper.
*Ding*
The elevator soon arrived on the 1st floor.
“The door is opening.”
*Clunk* *Whirr*
The elevator door opened, and a bright light came out.
It was an ordinary everyday scene. That’s why it felt eerily frightening and gave me chills.
Like an antlion that lures and devours unsuspecting people. As if devouring people was in its nature.
“What should I do! I have to go in here with a clear mind! Guys! Give me courage!”
This was the mouth of a lion.
Do I have to bet even though I know it’s a game I’m bound to lose?
I’m not a gambling addict like Kim Youngho!
“Hey, you scaredy-cats. Just wait and see!”
*Step*
Then Yang Juhui moved her feet.
“Hey, hey!”
“Uh…”
Before Jeong Seok and I could stop her, Yang Juhui walked right into the elevator and said,
“There’s a 4th floor here! No… The problem isn’t that there’s a 4th floor, but all the buttons have the number 4 written on them? This elevator only has the 4th floor!”