Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Happy Playroom (1)

[11. Please keep the playroom bright at all times.]

Thanks to that, Su-myeon was able to use the vouchers he had received to buy useful items and hand them out to his companions without any disagreement.

No matter how many good things he carried around by himself, he only had two hands and one body he could move. If his companions were also properly equipped with items, he would have more ways to keep himself alive too.

Taking comfort in that, Su-myeon let out a sigh, exhausted from the long weapon-shopping session.

“Everyone, if you forget all the damn suffering I went through for this, then seriously…….”

“Never! I’ll never forget! I’ll definitely repay this debt. I promise!”

When Ju-hee stepped forward and noisily expressed her gratitude, the others also nodded along.

“……You all really promised, right?”

Su-myeon did not miss the chance to add one more word.

In this Ellis Hotel, the meaning of a promise was not light, so having four or five people each owe him a debt was not a bad result.

“With what’s left, let’s buy some medicine and food.”

Since they were at it, they might as well rest a little and continue tomorrow.

The group, who had each obtained what they needed with his help, obediently agreed with Su-myeon’s words.

To spend another day here, they had to pass midnight again.

“Those rules are all still in effect today too, right?”

No one particularly answered Ju-hee’s question, but no one dared to doubt the rules.

[4. At midnight, the lights will be turned off for approximately one minute for an inspection of the lighting system. During the blackout, please stop moving and remain quiet to prevent unexpected accidents.]

Because they remembered what had happened to Cheol-su, everyone spent the one minute at midnight clearly tense, holding on to each other.

“…….”

They managed to pass midnight without incident, but if there was a problem, it was that all four of them were clinging to Su-myeon’s hands and arms.

Su-myeon felt extremely uncomfortable and uneasy, but for now, he consoled himself with the fact that they had gotten through that one minute safely.

Then Su-myeon missed the everyday life of sleeping with both legs stretched out on a comfortable bed as he tried to sleep on the uncomfortable floor.

[Balance: 60,073,100 won]

And the next day.

Su-myeon quietly put away his phone after checking the remaining vouchers.

The other companions had emptied out the newly recharged vouchers early in the morning and bought their own medicine and food.

However, Su-myeon deliberately did not reveal his generous remaining balance.

“Then, should we go up to the next floor now?”

At Ha-min’s question, everyone looked at Su-myeon.

Ah! This is so much pressure!

Su-myeon despaired when he realized that even Han-su was looking at him, then said,

“……I guess we should. Everyone saw the stairs going up, right?”

Since the Shopping Mall was simply laid out, it was not difficult to find the stairs.

However, unlike before, Su-myeon took a moment to breathe deeply in front of the stairs before him.

“We will go up.”

With Han-su speaking solemnly at the lead, the group climbed up to the sixth basement floor.

The sixth basement floor.

In truth, it was the floor Su-myeon hated the most in this hotel.

Leaving aside difficulty, it was the most mentally uncomfortable floor.

“The atmosphere is different again.”

After climbing the stairs, Ju-hee turned her gaze and examined the excessively colorful surroundings.

As always, there was a sign posted at the entrance.

[KIDS CLUB]

Ha ha ha ha.

Tee-hee-hee.

At the same time, children’s laughter and cheerful background music began to ring out from every direction.

Right. Damn it.

This is exactly why I hate this floor!

More than anything else, Su-myeon found monsters in the form of children the creepiest and most unpleasant.

Primary-colored structures on all sides made his eyes dizzy.

Bright fluorescent lights shone down on the endless play equipment.

Ha ha ha ha.

Laughter with no visible source, as though it were being played through speakers.

In contrast to the dazzling, colorful, and bright surroundings, the fact that there was no sign of anyone at all gave the place a bizarre atmosphere.

“This gives me chills…….”

Everyone agreed with Ju-hee’s mutter and slowly moved forward.

Horizontal bars, jungle gyms, seesaws, swings, and other things meant for children lined both sides.

The old fluorescent lights gave off a strange light-green hue, and the odd humidity made their shoulders shrink in.

Should we get through this as quickly as possible?

Su-myeon lowered his gaze as if checking the rules written on the Heartphone and fell into thought.

Just then, a ball pit filled with colorful balls appeared, and groans escaped from the group.

“Ugh.”

“This is the worst…….”

Su-myeon raised his head in surprise when he felt Ha-min grab his clothes.

“Su-myeon, then…… this place is dangerous too, right?”

Inside the ball pit, a single arm was sticking out all by itself.

The small, white, slightly dried-out child’s arm was stretched straight toward the air, its fingers occasionally twitching.

It looked as though a child had accidentally fallen in.

And still, the children’s laughter rang noisily around them.

“Obviously. Don’t touch anything.”

Only then did Su-myeon confirm that the group was all shrunken with fear, following closely behind him.

At least Han-su was walking at the very front.

“Should we find the stairs to the next floor like this?”

“……I suppose so.”

After giving Han-su an uncertain answer, Su-myeon briefly looked up.

Just then, the lights flickered.

“Please, just don’t go out…….”

“Don’t say things like that!”

When Du-pal, who was walking in the middle, muttered, Ha-min instantly shouted.

The group’s ordinary noise actually helped relieve the tension.

Trying not to lose his sense of reality, Su-myeon looked carefully around him.

(^-^)

He saw Cheshire’s playful emoticon still following them.

This place remained unpleasant, but he already knew how to get through it anyway.

The only thing that could become an exception right now was.

That cat….

Even if Cheshire did not immediately seem hostile to him, it was still difficult to feel at ease.

The place they arrived at just then was a small ice cream shop decorated like a lounge.

The chairs and tables were child-sized and looked extremely uncomfortable, and the shop itself was empty.

Together with the surroundings, which were bizarrely clean without even a single speck of dust, there was a sense of wrongness mixed in.

“Let’s reorganize the situation here for a bit.”

When Su-myeon stopped for a moment and looked around, Han-su halted the group.

Everyone had obtained basic supplies on the floor below, and each of them was carrying a bag.

They all had Heartphones, but Su-myeon deliberately did not teach them how to use the Inventory.

They had not built up enough trust yet, so there was no telling what they might hide inside.

“I’m going to look around for a moment.”

At Su-myeon’s words, Han-su naturally moved to follow him.

“I will go with you.”

“No.”

Su-myeon immediately rejected his offer and whispered quietly.

“We need someone to watch them so no one makes a mistake.”

Everything that had happened so far had been caused by others making unexpected, rash moves.

No matter how much Su-myeon warned them, he could not control everyone.

It was only something he said to separate Han-su from him, but it was a valid reason.

“……That makes sense. I understand.”

Han-su accepted Su-myeon’s words and stepped back.

Seeing Han-su stand there almost as if he were monitoring the others, Su-myeon slowly moved away from the group.

Since he had said this much, Han-su probably would not interfere whenever Su-myeon acted alone in the future either.

“…….”

After vaguely waving at Ju-hee, who was looking at him with concern, Su-myeon moved his feet.

The children’s laughter, which he had slowly grown used to, became louder as he headed farther inside.

As he went deeper, the sound of light footsteps was added, as though children were running around and playing.

However, there were no children visible to the eye.

“Phew…….”

A full-fledged kids’ café.

A space with giant slides scattered throughout and a high ceiling.

In contrast to the bright scenery and sounds, there was no moving living creature in sight.

Amid that sense of dissonance, Su-myeon asked the emoticon chasing after him,

“Um. Cheshire……? Are you following me?”

It felt quite strange to talk to a wall.

Thankfully, however, it did not seem to be an act of madness, as Cheshire slid his head out from the wall.

“You can see me?”

“…….”

It was probably a ghost’s staple line in a horror story.

But hearing that from a cute-looking black cat doll made Su-myeon momentarily lose his words.

“Of course…… No, more importantly.”

At times like this, if he answered every question politely, he would be swept along by an unidentified being before he knew it.

Su-myeon turned the flow of the conversation toward himself.

“Why do you keep following me? I already received the item, and I don’t have any Rose Coins left now.”

“Why can’t I follow you?”

Su-myeon lost his words again.

Just where should he even begin explaining this?

Would Cheshire understand if he explained?

Was attempting this conversation itself a mistake?

Just as Su-myeon felt that the pupils of the black cat doll, whose eyes were opened round, had suddenly grown larger, Cheshire was the one who broke the brief silence first.

“I was trying to help……?”

Cheshire still spoke slowly.

His awkward, halting voice continued at a sluggish pace, as though conversation itself was unfamiliar to him.

“But you already know the way. How to get out of here.”

Cheshire looked at Su-myeon with a face that truly seemed unable to understand.

He even revealed his purpose obediently, as though trying to prove that he was cooperating with Su-myeon.

“Why aren’t you leaving right away? I was curious, so I followed you.”

Cheshire had watched, however briefly, as Su-myeon resolved the situation.

If Su-myeon wanted to escape alone as quickly as possible, it did not seem impossible.

And that was true.

If he chose to abandon the entire group now, he could leave this place immediately.

But….

“I can’t run away by myself.”

“Why? Do you have to go together with the others?”

At Cheshire’s immediate question, Su-myeon scratched the spot between his brows.

“I mean, I can’t just abandon them, can I?”

If he left them behind like this, would they all die?

And among them, if Han-su, the protagonist of this game, died in particular, what would happen to Su-myeon?

If the game had become reality, did the logic of reality come first, or did the rules of the game come first?

But before all those complicated thoughts.

“A person shouldn’t do that.”

A strange life-form.

No, was it even a life-form?

In any case, Su-myeon did not know whether teaching basic ethics to a monster had any meaning.

He simply gave the most basic and fundamental answer in a short sentence.

At those words, Cheshire tilted his head.

The movement of his head, which did not stop at tilting and nearly bent completely, was bizarre.

“A person shouldn’t do that?”

“Yes.”

As he answered, Su-myeon looked behind Cheshire.

He saw a familiar blue staircase that he knew well.

However, it was not a staircase leading to an upper floor, but stairs that climbed up a slide inside the kids’ café.

“But that one earlier did it.”

By “that one,” Cheshire was probably referring to Ki San-hyeok.

A bastard who treated other people like tools.

After briefly searching the surroundings, Su-myeon shrugged.

“That’s why we say bastards like that are worse than beasts. I’m at least a better person than that.”

After thinking again at Su-myeon’s words, Cheshire slid back behind the wall just like that.

This time, no emoticon appeared either.

Is he gone……?

To be honest, Su-myeon had also hoped for some meaningful help or an item.

However, Cheshire losing interest entirely and disappearing was not a bad result either.

It was better not to have any unexpected variables.

He had driven away the monstrous entity that had been stalking him, so his primary objective was achieved.

On top of that, he had confirmed the route, so his search of the surroundings was also complete.

SQUELCH, SCRAPE.

As Su-myeon turned around, intending to go back to the group, a more realistic sound reached his ears.

It was not the laughter, music, or light footsteps that had been constantly ringing out, but a sticky, wet sound of friction.

As though something enormous was being dragged along…

“Su-myeon!”

And an ominously urgent voice followed.

Fortunately, the voice calling him belonged to Ju-hee.

But more than that sound, the owner of that slow, sticky noise seized Su-myeon’s gaze.

Something began to appear beyond the large slide.