There’s Space Behind the Pillar (4)

Translator's Note:

I am pleased to present this bonus chapter, which has been made possible thanks to the wonderful review written by OneHopeSniper.

Please enjoy this bonus chapter as a small token of my appreciation for OneHopeSniper’s contribution to my translation work.

We held our breath like mice hiding in front of a snake.
We pressed our lips tightly, not letting a single breath escape.

About 5 minutes passed like that.

*Rattle, clank… Clack, clack, clack.*

The sound of unnaturally bending joints and high heels disappeared into the dark corner.
But no one moved much or readily opened their mouths.

“I think it’s gone.”

I spoke, trying to lighten the mood and bring everyone back to their senses. Then Jeong Seok also carefully let out his held breath and parted his lips.

“What was that just now? It was too dark to see well. Wasn’t there something pale moving? What would have happened if we hadn’t hidden inside this trash can?”

“Don’t know. Nothing good, I bet.”

I tried to act nonchalant and peeked through the slightly open lid of the trash can.
It was too dark to see much of anything.

I unzipped the bag on my back.
But the trash can was so dark that I couldn’t see anything, making it cumbersome to find things.

“Yang Juhui. You have a lighter, right?”

Delinquents, both male and female, usually carry lighters.
Moreover, as far as I knew, Yang Juhui was a smoker.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Light it up for a second.”

*Click, whoosh*

The zippo lighter Yang Juhui had illuminated the cramped inside of the trash can. How reassuring a flame can be to the human heart.
Of course, everyone’s faces reflected in the lighter flame were stiff with tension.

“Youngwon, look at this talisman.”

*Swish*

I took out a flashlight from my bag, relying on the lighter flame when Yang Juhui and Jeong Seok’s attention was focused on the talisman.

“Having light will help with moving around.”

Since opening the corridor and fighting various ghosts, my bag always had a flashlight in it. It was to prepare for the unexpected and now was that time.

*Click, click*

As I was checking if the flashlight was working properly, someone grabbed my arm. *Tug*

“You want us to get out of here? How about we hide and observe the situation more? I don’t know if it’s because of these talismans, but it seemed like that ghost-like thing earlier didn’t know we were hiding here.”

Jeong Seok suggested staying hidden in this safe trash can.
It could be called an extremely sensible and typical Jeong Seok plan.

But if my thoughts and predictions were correct… it was clear that we probably wouldn’t be able to hide in this trash can for long.
And as if proving my hypothesis, an anomaly occurred.

“Ugh. What’s this smell? Did someone take a dump?”

Yang Juhui was in great distress.
Soon, Jeong Seok also started retching, * Ugh. Ugh* Because an extremely disgusting smell was emanating from inside this trash can.
A terrible stench that made your eyes sting even while holding your breath.
It was as if it harbored some kind of malice, trying to drive us out of this trash can.

“Let’s go out. Get out. Out! I can’t stand it! Bleh!”

Jeong Seok, who had suggested observing the situation from inside the trash can, was the first to get out of the trash can.
Was it because he was raised as a young master? He seemed to have the least tolerance for the stench.
The second was Yang Juhui, who jumped out. *Thump*

“Ugh. Uuugh.”

Yang Juhui was on the verge of throwing up.

I was the only one still somewhat okay because I had anticipated this happening and prepared myself mentally, allowing me to endure longer.

Also, I had the trait of Holding Breath.
It was a trait that allowed me to hold my breath 1.5 times longer than usual, which I rarely had a chance to use in daily life, but…

“……”

In a situation like this, it was a relatively useful ability.
If I could just endure the stinging in my eyes, I might be able to last a bit longer in this safe zone’s stench.

“Puhaa!”

Of course, my lung capacity had its limits, and I, too, had no choice but to jump out of the trash can.
Soon, Jeong Seok, who had been surveying the surroundings from the dark corner, asked me,

“What on earth is going on? Ha Youngwon. Do you know what this is? I’m asking because you seem a bit more composed. If you know anything, explain it all.”

Jeong Seok’s reasoning was rather sharp, even in this situation.
I could be called somewhat of an experienced person in this dark space.
But not knowing how much time we had, I decided to explain briefly.

“We need to find an exit and get out of here. But like the one that passed by earlier, there will be monsters and ghosts, so it won’t be easy to just wander around.”

Even while speaking, I was attentive to our surroundings. I didn’t know when the ghosts and monsters would come here.
What concerned me was the ghost that had just passed by. It was a bit different from the ghosts I had seen in the Nightmare Corridor.

“…It had no face.”

Yang Juhui said in a small voice.

“That ghost earlier. It had no face. It had no head. It was wearing red high heels. Its skin was extremely white. So much that it was clearly visible even in the dark.”

Observing the ghost’s face even in that unnerving situation. Yang Juhui’s courage was indeed remarkable.
A ghost with no face.
Soon, Jeong Seok also chimed in.

“A ghost with no head? Ha Youngwon. Is it a ghost you’ve seen before?”

“No. It’s my first time seeing it, too. Anyway! What I want to say is that in places like this, ghosts roam around. But there are places to hide, like this trash can here and there. Although we can’t stay long.”

Death Floor.
I thought it would be good for us to clearly grasp our goal as we wander through this bizarre space.

“We need to find an exit here. And we need to find my mom too. Let’s focus on these two things. But our top priority is that we need to survive.”

The Nightmare Corridor is a dream.
It meant that even if you die, you get one more chance.

But this bizarre space was not a dream.
If you die, it’s all over.
At least, that’s what I was convinced of.

*Swish*

Then Jeong Seok picked up the cell phone he had left on the floor.

“What are you doing?”

When I asked, Jeong Seok said,

“Earlier, there was definitely a terrible sound, but now it’s quiet. And that high-heeled ghost we met earlier. It didn’t seem interested in the sound this cell phone makes. Because it has no head, it can’t hear?”

*Zzt, zzzt*

Then, the cell phone Jeong Seok picked up started making an unpleasant noise again.

*Clack. Clack.*

And from that corner, the sound of high heels hitting the floor was heard again.

“Let’s avoid it for now! We need to avoid it!”

I led Jeong Seok and Yang Juhui, who seemed to be out of it and fled.

Perhaps because of my experience traversing the Nightmare Corridor or because I had a flashlight, I was able to find the room labeled “A-1” more easily than I thought.

“Let’s go inside for now!”

I didn’t know what kind of room it was, but it seemed much better than aimlessly roaming the corridor without a plan.

“Let’s hide in here! Jeong Seok! What are you doing! I said hide quickly!”

“Wait… That’s it. That’s it! I’m trying to leave the cell phone in this corridor!”

*Screech*

Opening the sliding door and entering, a dusty lab-like space appeared.
The beakers and flasks were filled with red liquid, and a rusty sink dripped gray water. *Drip, drip*

The broken desks and chairs looked eerie, but they seemed like they would make good hiding places.

*Zzt, zzzzzzzt*
*Waaaaah*

…Mom, Mom… Mom….

From the corridor, I constantly heard sounds that pierced my ears.
It was the noise emitted by the cell phone Jeong Seok had left in the corridor.

*Thud, rattle, thud*

When the cell phone noise reached the peak of unpleasantness, a strange shadow began to pass by the glass window of the sliding door.

*Clack, clack, clack.*

Like when we were hiding in the trash can earlier, we pressed our lips tightly and held our breath.

Please.
Please!

Around the time I was desperately wishing in my heart…

*Screech*

The sound of the sliding door opening was heard.

“…!”
“…!”
“…!”

I was greatly startled.

Because when we hid in Classroom 1-4 or the Faculty Office in the Nightmare Corridor, the ghosts couldn’t open those doors. But this place was not the corridor, and this place was neither the faculty office nor a classroom.

It meant that there could be instances where ghosts open the door and come in.
What should we do?
If we encounter a ghost like this, what should we do?

As I was racking my brain to the point of bursting a blood vessel, Yang Juhui took her hand out of her jacket pocket and gripped a box cutter. I didn’t know why she carried such a thing, but the blade that slid out looked quite menacing. *Shink*

I didn’t know what Yang Juhui intended to do with that…
But I prayed that such a thing wouldn’t happen.

Was it because my prayer worked?

*Screech, thud*

The sound of the lab door of A-1 closing was heard.

*Clack. Clack. Clack.*

The strange presence also disappeared far away, and the eerie, spine-chilling noise from the cell phone in the corridor fell silent like a dead mouse.

“According to my guess….”

Jeong Seok’s voice pushed through the silence.

“According to my guess, it seems that when those ghosts approach, the cell phone makes noise. Could it be reacting to some kind of wave or magnetic field the ghosts have?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Haven’t you heard of an EMF meter? There’s a hypothesis that when ghosts appear, they leave behind unspecified electromagnetic fields, and it’s a device that measures that.”

I didn’t know what he was talking about.
But I could understand the core of what Jeong Seok wanted to say.
The cell phone alerts us of a ghost’s approach!

*Swish*

Yang Juhui, who had put the box cutter back in her jacket pocket, asked,

“But what if the ghosts hear the sound coming from that cell phone? They might follow us because of the cell phone noise.”

“That’s why I kind of want to do an experiment…. Honestly, I don’t know.”

Jeong Seok looked a bit disturbed.
It would be stranger to maintain composure in this situation.

Yang Juhui also seemed to have difficulty calming down.

*Screech, thud*

She seemed to be opening and closing the drawers of this lab as if looking for something.

“What are you doing?”

“I thought there might be usable weapons or something. It’ll be more reassuring to hold onto something, you know.”

I see.
Hearing that, it did seem plausible.
But unlike our wishes, there was nothing in the lab that could be used as a weapon.
If Jeong Sojin, who had the trait of [Attentive], were here, would she have been of some help in this situation?

…No.
…If she were here, she would probably push me from behind and run away alone when a ghost appeared.

Rather than speculating about things that hadn’t happened, I decided to do what I could at the moment.
As if my efforts bore fruit, I found a strange object in the lab drawer.

“Oh….”

It was a rolled-up piece of drawing paper. To be exact, it was a torn-out page from a sketchbook.
Unfolding it revealed a drawing done in a clumsy manner.
It looked like a treasure chest.

“This box. Isn’t this it?”

Yang Juhui pointed with her finger to a box placed in the corner of the lab.
It looked like a fairly heavy locker.
It had a lock that opened with a password.
Jeong Seok said,

“The number of possible combinations for a 4-digit password is 10 to the power of 4, so roughly ten thousand.”

Are you serious?
Do we have to fiddle with the lock ten thousand times here?
I wondered if it was even worth the trouble.

If Kim Geonho, who had the [Destroyer] trait, was here… would this effort have been unnecessary?
While thinking that, I carefully looked at the drawing paper depicting this strange box.
There was nothing particularly odd.

Just in case, I looked at the back and saw numbers written on it.

“…Hey. Jeong Seok. Try entering 1126 on the lock.”

“One one two six. One one two six.”

Jeong Seok entered the number.

*Click*

The lock opened.
We opened the box and found one object inside.

“Crayons and a sketchbook?”

I had a feeling I knew where the drawing paper came from.
Yang Juhui reacted,

“Oh, this is a Princess Sketchbook. I really wanted one when I was little. But I never got to buy it. It’s a sketchbook that was discontinued 10 years ago, so I really wanted it….”

‘Princess Sketchbook.’
The sketchbook cover had a princess character that young girls would likely find appealing, and there were reddish-brown stains on it.
Below those stains, there seemed to be writing done with a marker by someone.

‘A-1 ———’

It looked like a name was written, but I couldn’t see the letters because of the stains. Thinking nothing of it, I opened the sketchbook and turned the page.

Then, a drawing of tall buildings and many people gathering for fireworks appeared.
There was an explanation written as well.

Title: Fireworks

It was so fun!

“This looks like the completion ceremony for the Osung Electronics building. It was when I was 6 years old. 10 years ago. When my dad was… still a prosecutor.”

Jeong Seok seemed to recognize the event depicted in the drawing.

A sketchbook was discontinued 10 years ago.
A drawing of 10 years ago.

I see. This sketchbook was used around 10 years ago.
While thinking that, I absentmindedly turned the page.

“…What is this.”

The drawings on the back were as hideous as those expressing the extreme stress of a child.
Some pages were filled with bright red eyes, some had pitch-black scribbles covering the entire page, and some had incomprehensible letters scrawled messily.

However, even such drawings became more organized toward the end.
The remaining 5 pages were all papers depicting a single object.
It was a drawing of an elevator seen from the outside.

Title: Door

Let me out. I want to go out. I want to see Mom… Mom…

…Is the elevator a door? An exit?
A sudden realization hit me, and I recalled the advice from the status window again.

Advice from the [Broken Clock]:

Where there is an entrance, there is also an exit.

Where there is an entrance, there is also an exit.
But… there are cases where the two are not different but the same, right?
There’s also a word called “entrance and exit.”

“Guys. For now, let’s go back to the elevator we rode. On the way, it would be good to retrieve our cell phone.”

We left A-1 and returned to the elevator we had come from.

“You’re saying this is the door?”

Jeong Seok furrowed his brow.
Soon, Yang Juhui pointed with her finger as if she had discovered something.

“Look at this. Doesn’t it look like someone marked this with crayons? Near the elevator door.”

Where Yang Juhui was pointing with her finger, an “X” mark was drawn.
It was in such a low place that you had to bend your waist and knees and lower your head to notice it.

“Ha Youngwon. Yang Juhui. Look at this. There’s another mark here. It’s an arrow.”

Now that I looked, there were marks on the low wall of this corridor, drawn with black crayons.
We probably couldn’t notice it when we first came out of the elevator because we hadn’t taken out the flashlight.
Jeong Seok said,

“The X mark is generally thought of as a sign of rejection or negation. Could it be marking that this elevator is not it? How about we follow the arrow for now?”

I was accepting Jeong Seok’s reasoning in many ways.
That’s when I heard a voice that pierced my ears from far away.

“Ha Youngwon. Over here.”

“…Mom?”

I could tell this was my mom’s voice. Because a son can distinguish his mother’s voice even when ten people are speaking simultaneously.

“Is it really Mom?”

I thought Mom was beyond that dark corner.
The cell phone, which was assumed to react when a ghost approached, was not making any noise.

“Ha Youngwon. Here. Here.”

My heart was filled with relief and longing at my mom’s voice, which I really wanted to hear.
What shattered my feelings was Yang Juhui’s cursing.

“Holy shit, what is that!”

“Here. The exit is here. Mom will go out this exit. Even if you hear Mom’s voice, it’s not Mom. Because Mom already left, so even if you hear this voice, never follow it…”

*Thump, thump, thump*

Something mimicking my mom’s voice exactly came tumbling and rolling towards us.