NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26
“Ah, come on, do better!”
“I can’t, what should I do?”
Song Ah Rin gripped my head, whining in frustration, but I was just as annoyed.
“I have a terrible migraine…!”
“I can’t just turn my mental barrier on and off…!”
After a brief meeting between me and Song Ah Rin, we concluded that escaping wasn’t an option.
We could technically leave during break time, but we weren’t sure about the limitations, and people were still around.
In the end, the best plan, according to the theory that two heads are better than one, was for us to enter the play together.
I was trying to cooperate as much as possible with Song Ah Rin’s theory that I just needed to sync my mind with hers, but the throbbing in my temples felt like it might tear me apart.
As she sweated profusely and cursed, she shook her head and stepped back.
“Come on, this isn’t working! The mental barrier is ridiculously solid!”
“I only found out recently that I have a mental barrier, you know?”
That’s really unfair.
Song Ah Rin started mumbling something to herself.
She was probably looking for a solution in her own way.
After all, this problem wasn’t one I had to solve.
So, I should first think about what we could do when we got in there.
First, let’s think about the location.
It’s a road, a small village, and a forest.
The biggest problem is that any of this could be wrong.
If that’s the case, then there’s no point in me straining to remember the location.
On the flip side, what did I actually see there?
Surprisingly, nothing at all.
So far, I’ve encountered beings that conceal information, and beings that interact with information, but this was the first time the information itself was invisible.
“…”
On the other hand, if the information inside was invisible?
“Hey, Song Ah Rin.”
“Shut up, I’m thinking.”
How rude.
Should I just leave her?
Leaving her behind, I stood up.
I needed information about what I’d be facing.
At times like this, I should pull out the manual.
I took out the manual from my pocket and began to read.
[Manual for Office Staff]
G. Non-physical Containment Objects
1. The Management Agency manages and monitors various containment objects.
2. Some of these, of course, do not exist physically, and such objects are dealt with much more complicatedly than tangible ones.
3. In such cases, please do contact the Isolation Team, but if the Isolation Team is not around, be sure to heed three major warnings when dealing with them.
3-1. Do not let your guard down. You may have already been tainted or devoured by a containment object without realizing it.
3-2. Stay calm. A clear mind is essential for resolving invisible containment objects.
3-3. Be suspicious. What you think may not be the truth. Doubt every situation and do not make decisions hastily.
I closed the manual with a thud.
“Something invisible… something that harms without being seen.”
A non-physical entity. Information pollution phenomena?
Up until now, everything my eyes had perceived had been tangible, like cubes, entities, and basements.
Conversely, this ‘musical’ might lack substance.
After all, a musical is a script. There wouldn’t be anything visible while performing a script.
“…script?”
Why hadn’t I thought of that?
I jumped up from my seat and glanced around.
If I could find the script and look at it, I might find a more meaningful solution.
“Um…”
I called out to a staff member with a neck twisted at a 90-degree angle.
“Soooonnnniiiee!”
“This play is so much fun; do you happen to have a script?”
“…”
The staff member stared at me for a long moment.
“…Excuse me…”
“Dear customer, we do not have a script.”
Suddenly speaking straight, the staff member continued, “Our ‘Red Lady’ is an unscripted musical, uniquely loved by many customers due to that very peculiarity. Let me reiterate, there is no script.”
“…I understand.”
“…Thaaank youu…”
I slowly nodded, and as if they had never spoken plainly, the staff member began elongating their speech again and walked away.
I can’t tell if there’s a script or not, but at least they didn’t seem interested in showing it.
[Only 2 minutes left until the break ends.]
A voice came through the speaker.
“…Ah, I can’t help it.”
At that moment, Song Ah Rin, who had been mumbling with a fierce expression, sighed and grabbed my sleeve.
“I’ll make it work.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll sync my mind with yours.”
“Isn’t your mental age too young for that?”
“Do you really want to die?”
Song Ah Rin raised her fist. But she’s just a kid. Did I say something wrong?
“Anyway, just tell me what to do.”
“You don’t have to do anything.”
Song Ah Rin sighed and continued.
“I’ll handle everything by myself.”
Soon, she began gesticulating and explaining.
Difficult words swirled in my head, but the conclusion was that the original plan was to use an ‘easy method’ to sync my mind with hers, but the issue was that my mental barrier was too solid.
So we decided to go with the ‘hard method’ of completely aligning her mind with mine.
“So I just need to stay still, right?”
“Yep.”
She frowned and muttered something, then pulled my head closer with her hands, pressing her forehead against mine.
As she locked eyes with me, our foreheads touching, she whispered something.
At that moment, as I was lost in thought about how her violet eyes resembled hypnosis,
[The performance is about to begin. Audience, please take your seats.]
The world went dark.
*
“…Ugh.”
I opened my eyes and looked around.
It was a forest.
Dim light bathed the woods, shrouded in a thick, eerie fog.
“I’m gonna die…”
I heard a familiar voice beside me, and Song Ah Rin was brushing her hair as she stood up.
“Are you okay?”
I doubt it. I thought as I asked, and she glared at me with wide eyes.
“You thought, ‘I’m not okay?’ just now, didn’t you?”
“…How did you know?”
“I synced with your mind. Your thoughts popped up in my head like answers.”
This was why I didn’t want to do this, she grumbled as she brushed off her pants.
“Do you see anything?”
I squinted and looked around.
Not a single translucent window appeared.
“…Nothing.”
“Of course, a conceptual containment object wouldn’t have a physical presence. Got it.”
Tsk, she clicked her tongue and began bending her fingers backward.
“What are you doing?”
“Reality check. I was rushed earlier, so I have to consider the possibility that this is a dream.”
Unfortunately, her fingers couldn’t bend awkwardly.
“This isn’t a dream. If it were another world?”
“If it were another world, we wouldn’t have come back after we died.”
“Good point. So it’s not a dream and not another world; it’s an enigmatic space.”
“Does that kind of thing even exist?”
“It does; that’s why we’re in this mess.”
It’s nice to affirm all hypotheses, but I wish she could tone down that attitude.
Someday I’ll really have to hit her. Or maybe I’ll get Yu Da On to do it; I saw she almost killed Jang Chae Yeon last time.
“…”
“…”
So what do we do now?
“I have no idea.”
“Don’t try to deduce what others are thinking; it’s creepy.”
“Then you should have lowered your mental barrier better. I don’t want to think about you, either.”
Bickering with Song Ah Rin, we began to walk without a destination.
“First, let’s organize our information about ‘Red Lady.'”
“Sounds scary. If we meet her, we’ll definitely be in serious trouble. Anything else?”
“Nothing else.”
So, our goal for now is to escape without encountering the Red Lady or find an exit from this place.
But how the heck are we supposed to find the exit?
“The exit, huh.”
Song Ah Rin rested her chin in her hand and fell deep in thought. I wish she’d stop reading my mind.
“Let’s just walk for now. I mean, it’s not like we have another choice. Do you have a gun?”
I rummaged through my pocket. The only thing that came out was the manual.
“…Why do you have that?”
“Huh?”
“I brought it, but I don’t have it.”
Song Ah Rin replied while patting down her own body.
“That’s odd, isn’t it?”
I kind of wish I knew, too.
“It seems like you don’t know either, so let’s just go. Still, that’s kind of fascinating. Keep it in mind.”
So, saying that, Song Ah Rin walked on, and I couldn’t do anything but follow behind her.
However, the forest path did not seem to end.
This is strange.
“Shouldn’t we see something new if we walk this long?”
“Huh?”
Song Ah Rin replied, puzzled by my words.
“Not for me.”
“Really?”
“I was always wandering near the cliff until the end.”
“…Interesting.”
Just as I finished speaking, the forest changed.
It became a mountainside with a creek.
The fog remained thick, and the eerie feeling was stronger than before.
“Oh, it changed.”
“What? So it really did change?”
Song Ah Rin mumbled, surprised, and while she was looking around,
Plod, plod.
Footsteps began to echo.
“…!”
As if we had made a silent agreement, Song Ah Rin and I exchanged glances.
“Run!”
I shouted, and Song Ah Rin nodded, then started running away from the footsteps.
Plod, plod.
No matter how much we ran, the sound of footsteps did not fade behind us.
Should I take a quick look?
Maybe something might appear in front of my eyes.
“Is that it?!”
Reading my thoughts, Song Ah Rin yelled sharply.
“Do you know what it is?”
“I have no choice!”
If I look, I can find out.
If I don’t look, I won’t know.
That’s the strength and weakness of my eyes.
Quickly, I turned around and stood still, glaring at the source of the sound.
The Red Lady would appear—
[Name: ]
[???]
My vision turned bright red, and something flowed.
The pain arrived with a delay.
Soon, I could see nothing at all.
Someone grabbed the back of my neck and started running.
In the dark, I could only writher in pain.
-Thud.
How long had I been dragged away? Someone threw me down before taking a rough breath.
“Stop it, I told you not to do that…! I said so…!”
It was Song Ah Rin’s voice.
“…”
I heard a sigh, and something climbed onto my belly.
I could hear hot breaths.
Soon, delicate hands wrapped around my neck and began to choke me.
“Urk, ugh…”
“Just hold on a little longer. This isn’t suicide.”
I heard Song Ah Rin’s voice.
If I die, what will happen to her?
“I’ll figure it out on my own.”
Her voice was laced with laughter.
It sounded like pure bravado to anyone.
“I’ve spent more time in the Management Agency than you. You think I can’t handle this?”
“Ugh—”
I was losing breath. Death was creeping closer.
Wait a minute.
Plod, plod.
Footsteps echoed.
‘Don’t forget the exit.’
The voice of the kid I had met earlier came back to me.
Now I finally understood.
Musical, script, and exit.
What she was pointing at wasn’t just empty air.
To finish the script—
“Quickly… die… please…!”
With her desperate voice, my consciousness faded into pain.
Before I died, I think I heard someone scream.