Chapter 21

Chapter 21. VIP Lounge (1)

[21. A happy tea time is prepared every hour on the hour in the VIP Lounge. Guests who enjoy a pleasant 10-minute conversation with Ellis may receive a complimentary hotel stay.]

Su-myeon rubbed his tired forehead.

It would've been trouble if Han-su had ended up somewhere dangerous, but they'd found him regardless.

Su-myeon decided to focus on that fact for now.

If Han-su was within their line of sight, it meant they could do something about the situation.

"…Ellis?"

Ha-min read the newly appeared rule and spoke in a startled voice.

Between irregular pillars and checkered tiles sat a long Western-style banquet table, looking like something straight out of a foreign film.

He pointed at the figure seated at the very head of the table — broadcasting its position and presence as though declaring itself the host of this tea party.

"Wait, that's supposed to be Ellis?"

It looked as though every depiction of Alice from every piece of media had been mashed together into one.

Dozens of heads and dozens of limbs were stuck haphazardly to each other, forming a single mass.

It was wrapped in white lace that could barely be called clothing, concealing a grotesque form.

The blonde hair growing from it stretched all the way up to the ceiling like the strings of a marionette.

"What the hell is——"

"Shh."

Before Ha-min could cross a line, Su-myeon warned him.

"Could you turn on the flashlight?"

He gestured to Du-pal, who swallowed hard and switched on the flashlight with trembling hands.

Since the table area was brightly lit as though under a spotlight, the stairway where they stood was relatively dark and hard to see.

Du-pal quickly caught Su-myeon's intent and swept the light across their surroundings.

That's when they saw the ears attached to the walls.

'Watch what you say.'

Su-myeon mouthed the words silently, and the group — pale-faced — nodded.

By then, those at the distant table had clearly taken notice of the group.

"Guests!"

"New guests!"

"Welcome to Ellis's tea party!"

Before they could even collect themselves, bipedal mice appeared in a swarm, surrounding the group and chattering excitedly.

Where they'd come from was anyone's guess, but Su-myeon did his best to recall the strategies from the game he'd played in the past.

On other floors, bending the rules a little or taking detours was fine as long as you reached the destination.

But this floor was different.

Su-myeon needed to steer the situation in the direction he knew as much as possible.

"We'd appreciate an escort."

When Su-myeon spoke first, the mice squealed with excitement.

"This way!"

"A gentleman with manners!"

"Welcome!"

Following the mice as they swarmed in to guide the group, Ju-hee spoke in the calmest voice she could manage.

"They're… actually kind of cute, at least."

The brief silence in the middle probably omitted "compared to everything else," but to some extent, Su-myeon agreed with her.

The closer they got to the table, the more visible the abominations became, grotesque creatures made of raw flesh and gelatinous slime, each occupying a seat.

Compared to those, the scruffy little mice were definitely on the cuter side.

"Guests, right this way!"

At the table, the group was guided to seats slightly separated from one another.

As if deliberately arranged that way, the mice never seated them together.

"…I'm sorry for the trouble."

At least Su-myeon's seat was close to Han-su, who sat with his head bowed low.

Surrounded by things that reeked and towered, things whose very nature defied comprehension — hearing Han-su's voice, unchanged from its usual tone, brought some measure of relief.

He didn't appear to be under any kind of spell.

"You can check your Heartphone."

Su-myeon said this briefly for Han-su's benefit, since the man hadn't read any of the messages Su-myeon had been sending.

Han-su had personally witnessed the Red Queen destroying other people's Heartphones and declaring them beyond recovery.

That must have been why he'd been keeping it pocketed entirely — as a precaution.

Even now, it was only after Su-myeon took out his own Heartphone and made a show of sending a message that Han-su finally, with trembling hands, pulled it from his pocket.

[Are you hurt anywhere?]

When Su-myeon sent the message, Han-su finally replied.

[No]

[I'm sorry]

Su-myeon sighed briefly after reading the chat.

He'd been trying not to seem too familiar with the Heartphone, but it couldn't be helped.

Su-myeon added Young-cheol's code — which he'd already known — as a friend and created a group chat.

Ding ding ding ding.

Just as everyone had taken their seats, the clear sound of a teaspoon tapping a glass cup rang out.

"It's been a while since so many guests came to the tea party. Welcome, everyone."

Ellis had a bright, girlish voice that didn't match her massive, grotesque body at all.

He briefly wondered which of those dozens of heads was doing the talking, but he had no desire to find out.

While every monster's gaze turned toward Ellis, Su-myeon's fingers moved rapidly.

[Su-myeon: Don't eat anything.]

[Su-myeon: Always answer when spoken to. Say anything.]

[Su-myeon: You have to respond no matter what.]

Failing to participate sincerely enough would mean failing the prerequisite condition of "a happy tea party."

So they had to participate to some degree — but becoming too enthusiastic and winning Ellis's favor would be equally disastrous.

That was why Su-myeon added one more crucial point.

[Su-myeon: It doesn't have to make sense]

[Su-myeon: No, it HAS to not make sense]

After hastily rattling off the precautions, he felt oddly like he was the one setting the rules.

Strange, but necessary — there was no other way to establish the key points this quickly.

The tea party had already begun, and the time was exactly 10 o'clock.

"The tea party lasts only 10 minutes. It's not a long time, but I hope you all enjoy yourselves!"

Ellis spoke in her bright, lilting voice, as if she found the brevity regrettable.

But it wouldn't go as she described.

[Han-su: She said the same thing when I first arrived.]

[Han-su: But the time doesn't change.]

Ellis made a show of pointing to the hourglass, but not a single grain of sand was falling inside it.

Time here was not an absolute concept.

If they did nothing, time would not pass, meaning those 10 minutes could stretch into something close to eternity.

'If I play along too well with what Ellis says in an attempt to make progress, that's a problem too. I might end up getting a complimentary stay and being forced to remain here.'

So more than ever, they had to be careful with every word and action.

Not offend Ellis in the slightest, yet never win her favor.

And simultaneously, find the condition that would make the hourglass flow again.

[Du-pal: We can't eat?]

Du-pal asked amid all of it.

But in a situation like this, it was actually something that needed confirming.

Absurdly, the food piled across the table all looked incredibly appetizing.

Even more absurdly, despite the Western "tea party" theme, every dish was the kind of thing that would drive Koreans crazy.

On top of that, the seating seemed arranged to match each person's food preferences.

[Young-cheol: This is cruel.]

Kimchi stew and rolled omelette sat in front of Young-cheol alongside a bowl of white rice.

Near Ju-hee and Du-pal's side were freshly grilled pork belly and soju, still looking piping hot.

And near Su-myeon, Han-su, and Ha-min sat every variety of fried chicken imaginable.

The blatantly tempting menu was suspicious enough that everyone forced themselves to look away from the table.

At least no one in the group was starving — that was a small mercy.

Before the silence could stretch too long, Su-myeon spoke first.

"Our companion who arrived ahead of us is seated over there. I'm glad he was already having a good time."

"Companion…?"

At Su-myeon's words, the pitch-black mass sitting beside Han-su suddenly reacted.

Something so dark it could have been mistaken for a shadow began to squirm.

"My…… friend……."

The writhing mass leaned toward Han-su.

"He said…… he'd be my friend……."

…Han-su didn't seem like the type to get that chummy.

But rather than respond coldly, Su-myeon decided to play along.

Stirring up trouble at the tea party and drawing Ellis's attention wasn't a good move either.

"Just because he's with us doesn't mean he can't also be your friend. He can be both, can't he?"

Han-su took the cue, kept his mouth shut, and nodded.

Besides, Su-myeon knew what that black mass was.

It was a person who had been trapped here too long and lost their sense of self.

If they made a wrong move, they wouldn't die — but they might end up the same way.

Failing to make the hourglass flow, or participating too enthusiastically and receiving an indefinite stay from Ellis. Among other possibilities.

"I thought…… he was alone like me………."

Somewhat disappointed but apparently convinced by Su-myeon's words and Han-su's nod, the mass gave a slow nod of its own.

"Still…… if we're friends…… that's good……."

As though struggling to recall a language long forgotten.

Its slow speech reminded Su-myeon of the Cheshire Cat he'd encountered before.

Where had that vanished cat plushie gone?

Ellis, who had been listening to the conversation, cut in with an intrigued voice.

"Quite the popular guest, aren't you?"

"The Pool yesterday was wonderful. I've never been to such a nice pool before."

Su-myeon didn't miss a beat, responding with a perfectly polite non sequitur.

Ellis's dozens of heads swiveled to look at him.

Eyes of varied greens and blues.

Glassy doll-like eyes that glistened without blinking locked onto him, and Su-myeon felt his entire body go rigid.

"Then how about staying a little longer?"

"Time really flies. It's already been so long since we arrived."

At Su-myeon's mention of time, a sudden silence fell.

A startling stillness descended.

For a moment it was so quiet that the faint electrical hum of the fluorescent lights overhead became audible.

Shhhhhh.

The sound of sand pouring through Ellis's stalled hourglass rang out with stark clarity.

[AM 10:01]

It felt as though far more than 10 minutes had passed since they entered this room, but such subjective impressions meant nothing here.

They had barely managed to let one minute pass.

"……."

Even so, everyone felt a small measure of relief at the fact that the hourglass had moved at all.

At the same time, having realized that moving the clock required meeting a condition, their eyes darted about in thought.

Su-myeon's first answer had produced no reaction. Only the second had moved time forward.

What was the condition?

While everyone was lost in thought, Ellis extended something toward Su-myeon's glass — more tentacle than hand, and filled it to the brim.

A pretty crimson liquid trickled into the teacup.

"I had no idea so much time had already passed. Not even in my dreams."

Su-myeon bit his lip at Ellis's words.

He had to engage in conversation while avoiding her favor as much as possible.

Picking up the cup she'd just filled, Su-myeon offered a remark that had nothing to do with what she'd said.

"Oh, the tea's gone a bit cold. It must've been a while since you brewed it."

When Su-myeon managed another suitable answer, the group's eyes snapped back to the hourglass.

Tension stretched across mere seconds.

Shhhhhh.

Once more, sand fell through the hourglass.

[AM 10:02]