NOVEL NEXT Chapter 213
Song Ah Rin couldn’t believe the situation unfolding before her eyes.
Something felt off.
As she parted ways with the man, she turned to look back and noticed a thread clinging to his back.
A thinness that only someone familiar with threads could detect.
Therefore, Song Ah Rin chased after the man.
Something was strange.
He was definitely walking, but his speed was not just walking.
Following the man, who was moving faster than a run, she reached out her hand.
It was time to call for the prepared help.
“You’re not saying a Containment Object that shows off its gourmet fingers has appeared, right?”
“Nope.”
While running, she replied to the annoying question of the black-haired voice coming through her smartphone.
“So, where do I need to go?”
Calmly, she informed him of the man’s location and said, “I’ll be there in three minutes.”
Three minutes?
As far as she knew, the black-haired guy’s house wasn’t that close.
No. That wasn’t the important thing right now.
Hastily, she hung up and called the next person.
“I’m on my way.”
“Chae Yeon! Hurry!”
The emotionless voice reverberated in her eardrums, and it felt like she shouldn’t have listened to the black-haired guy’s voice on the other end.
Why was he with the black-haired guy again?
No, this wasn’t the time for that.
She quickly wove the thread in her mind.
Thread weaving was a conscious action for her.
She had to handle it delicately since she wasn’t yet accustomed to the control.
The thread she threw latched onto the man’s back.
As Song Ah Rin let out a sigh of relief, she followed behind him.
Now that the thread was attached, she could follow him no matter what happened.
“…This is crazy…”
But that might have been her miscalculation.
Suddenly, numerous threads appeared and began to bind the man.
The amount of thread was diametrically opposed to the number she could handle.
Could Song Ah Rin herself really break through those threads?
There was no need to think.
It was impossible.
Holding onto just one thread, she charged towards the man.
“You crazy bastard…! Just when it looks like it’ll be okay…!”
Gritting her teeth, Song Ah Rin muttered as she pulled the thread, and at that moment, the man flinched, but her resistance didn’t even buy her a second.
She bit her lip.
All she could do was chase after the man with all her might, gripping the thread. That was all.
In the meantime…
“Hah… Hah…”
The man stopped.
Forcing out breaths that reached the chin, she looked ahead.
“…”
She momentarily lost her words at the scene before her.
There stood Song Ah Rin herself.
Wearing a ridiculous hat and clothes that looked like they belonged to a theater company’s chief.
If one only looked at the clothes, she seemed no different from someone merely fooling around in a theater.
“…”
But her eyes were different.
On her expressionless face, there was not a trace of humanity, and her emotionless eyes no longer looked like they could gaze upon a person.
And then, the man was pulled towards her.
“…”
“…”
The two figures. No, one person and one monster talked, and the man was sucked in.
Into the curtain, onto the stage, shrinking down.
“No way!”
Unconsciously, Song Ah Rin shouted and lunged forward.
“…Me?”
Her own self, dressed in ridiculous clothes, looked back at her.
“…Give him back.”
“I’m not the one who called.”
Speaking in the exact same voice as her own, no, the theater company’s chief continued without even showing a hint of surprise at her existence.
“You were drawn in.”
“…What?”
“To be precise, that person—”
-Bam!
Before the theater company chief could finish, a gigantic shockwave struck the monster.
But nonchalantly, swinging an arm, the theater company chief summoned numerous puppets to create a barrier to deflect the attack.
At the same time, a black-haired thread surged toward the monster.
-Crack!
One puppet was pierced by the spike and fell limp, and Yu Da On, staring at the theater company chief with emotionless eyes, turned her head to meet Song Ah Rin’s gaze.
“Hello there!”
She smiled as if nothing had happened.
“…”
“Wow… So this is it. Hmm. The bad A-Rin?”
Muttering as if familiar, Yu Da On looked at the monster blocking her spike.
“I’m much worse-looking than the bad me. Would the illusion still not break when Kim Jae Heon saw me? I’m envious.”
“…What are you?”
The theater company chief grumbled, looking at Yu Da On as if disgusted.
“Hmm. I can understand why the bad A-Rin feels that way!”
Ignoring the gaze, Yu Da On beamed at the theater company chief.
“The bad A-Rin also seems to be overflowing with inferiority complex—”
Before Yu Da On could finish her sentence, numerous threads wrapped around her neck.
-Crack!
With a horrific sound, Yu Da On’s neck twisted ninety degrees.
-Bam!
Simultaneously, another massive shockwave struck the theater company chief, and the broken-necked Yu Da On collapsed to the ground helplessly.
-Crunch…
With the sound of bones reassembling, Yu Da On rubbed her neck and stood up, mumbling.
“Our personalities are quite the same, huh?”
“Good provocation.”
“Thank you!”
Jang Chae Yeon joined in with a calm voice, and Yu Da On smiled brightly at the theater company chief.
“…”
The theater company chief, looking expressionlessly at the three of them, let out a quiet sigh.
“There’s no time for this.”
“…”
“He’s dreaming.”
-Swoosh!
The theater company chief swept their hands, and numerous puppets lunged at them.
“We need to go.”
The theater company chief muttered, and as Jang Chae Yeon swung her hand, the puppets were pushed back, clearing a path.
“Go.”
At her words, Yu Da On and Song Ah Rin ran toward the theater company chief.
The two of them dashed through the multitude of puppets, and the curtains began to close.
If this continued, they’d be late.
Song Ah Rin bit down hard and braced her legs.
“Ha!”
With a cheerful voice, Yu Da On pushed against Song Ah Rin’s back with great force.
Losing her balance, Song Ah Rin’s body lurched forward, and at the same time, as if a gentle wind blew, her body flew ahead.
“You pushed me.”
Jang Chae Yeon’s voice echoed in Song Ah Rin’s eardrums.
“A-Rin! Hurry up!”
Yu Da On smiled as she looked at her.
“You—”
Before Song Ah Rin could finish her words.
“Your job.”
Yu Da On continued, staring intently at her.
“Is to solve your own problems.”
With a voice devoid of any emotion, Yu Da On stated before adding, “I’ll follow you!”
She waved her hand with a smile.
That was the last scene Song Ah Rin witnessed.
*
Calm down.
She had gone through worse situations.
She had experienced drowning in an endless cycle, and witnessed the world’s end looming before her.
Thinking back, she realized she had never experienced turning into a puppet.
In other words,
“…”
It was perplexing.
The biggest issue was that there was no clear way out of the situation.
No. That wasn’t it.
“…”
She was alone.
There were no companions around, and the manual was not in her possession either.
No, let’s not think pessimistically.
Assuming this is on stage, there would be an audience watching the performance.
The question of how and why her body had come to this would be figured out later.
The moment she gives up, it’s all over. She can’t stop thinking.
As she fiddled with the wooden pieces that had fallen from above her head, she sank into thought.
The fortunate part was that she had no threads attached to her body.
Someone. More accurately, the theater company chief wasn’t controlling her.
And that’s what she needed to consider.
A theater company chief who wasn’t controlling her.
In contrast, the host with the threads attached to their body.
What the difference between those two could be?
What made one a perfect puppet while she was not that way?
-Crack!
As she continued to ponder, she heard the sound of a television turning on.
[Hello!]
Before she knew it, the sun was directly overhead.
[Today's lunchtime broadcast. Today is... Oh my.]
The host, who had been yammering away at the screen, covered their mouth as they looked at her.
It would be more accurate to say they took the action of covering their mouth.
[What happened to your hair?!]
They stared at her, still covering their mouth.
“…”
Looking at the screen.
It meant they knew where she was.
Let’s assume that the center area was the studio.
[Excuse me?!]
Then it wouldn’t make sense.
Not for any particular reason.
Thinking about the camera angle makes that clear.
Because the camera wasn’t moving.
Every time she moved, the one turning their head was the host. Not her.
However, there was no camera on the television.
If she thought of it the other way around.
Every time she moved, the gaze followed her.
[Say something! Your body is precious! It's not your body!]
If she moved to the right, they’d move to the right, if she moved to the left, they’d move to the left.
It followed her in real time.
That wasn’t the appearance of someone looking at a camera.
[Have you already lost your ability to speak due to excessive shock...? ]
Ignoring the laughter of the audience, she continued to move.
<...>
They shut their mouth.
[I'm busy right now, so I'll come back later.]
With an annoyed tone, the screen turned off.
This was unexpected.
If only she had checked a little longer.
“…”
She gazed at the television.
Her reflection wasn’t visible on the screen.
“…”
She clenched her fist.
From the wooden hand came a crackling sound.
-Bam!
With that, she slammed her fist down against the screen.
The television shook violently.
-Bam! Bam! Bam!
She continued to pound the television with her fist, until it broke or her hand shattered.
-Crack!
Her finger broke, sending splinters flying up.
A splinter grazed her face, but she didn’t care and kept swinging her fist.
-Crunch!
Before long, her arm’s joint popped out.
The sight itself was horrifically grotesque, but she paid it no mind.
She felt no pain in her hand, and the screen was cracking as well.
With her opposite arm, she began to lean into the screen.
-Bam! Crack!
How many times did she swing her fist?
It was only then that a circular hole appeared in the television.
“…”
She aggressively widened the hole with one arm.
-Crackling…!
Glass shards embedded themselves into her wooden arm, and fragments kept bouncing off her face.
Once she had fully widened the hole, realization dawned upon her.
In the empty space, the host’s puppet lay, the threads cut.
Behind it, there was an empty audience hall and a shabby set piece.
Unlike the intricately made puppets, the set was tossed haphazardly, as if it had been woven by someone without much skill.
Only then did she understand.
Originally, this had been the play the theater company chief was conducting for her.
And for some reason, the theater company chief temporarily vacated their spot.
-Creak… Creak…
Every time she walked, the sound of wooden feet echoed against the ground.
There was no time left.
Before the theater company chief returned, she had to reclaim her body, no matter what.
Urgently, she moved her steps.
Into the unseen realm of darkness.