Chapter 99

Making up my mind, I slowly stepped down the stairs.

The stairs are not deep; I reached a door after taking only a few steps. It seems that you can reach the basement only if you open this door.

Light streamed in through the crack of the open door behind me, allowing me to read the sign on the basement door.

“Door?”

Of course it’s a door. Isn’t it usually written like basement or warehouse?

Feeling puzzled, I quietly turned the doorknob.

-click, click.

As expected, the door does not open. Should I ask Jenas? He probably won’t tell me anything, but I’ll give it a try when he gets home.

I climbed the stairs quietly. Just in case Jenas would return sooner than expected, I looked around, checked out the window once, and went up to the second floor.

The second floor still smelled awful. I covered my nose and slowly walked down the hallway on the second floor nervously.

I can see the stairs leading to the third floor at the end of the second floor.

Even though at this time the morning sun was shining brightly, the hallway on the second floor with two small windows was exceptionally dark.

As I checked yesterday, all the doors were open, and there was nothing special.

I finally started going up the stairs, and once I got to the third floor, I found a strange door next to the staircase.

“What is this?”

A strong stench came from there.

I pondered for a while. Is it really right to open this door? Regardless of right or wrong, I was literally scared.

‘I hate horror.’

I swallowed dry saliva and roughly wiped the sweat from my palms onto my clothes. Then, very nervously, I slowly turned the doorknob.

-click, click.

The door is firmly locked. I don’t know why I’m so relieved.

I sighed and stepped back and found a sign on the door. It was full of dust, so I roughly brushed it off with my hand.

Sealed

There are such words written on the door.

“Break room? Sealed?”

It’s very suspicious.

“Why are there so many suspicious things here?”

I got chills for nothing, so I quickly turned around and looked around the third floor.

Fortunately, the third floor was much brighter than the second. There were many big windows in the hallway, so the sunlight was pouring in.

However, the brightness of the hallway did not reduce the eerie atmosphere. Somehow, the third floor felt colder than the second.

How can you feel cold in this tropical climate? That too when the sun rises.

For some reason, I felt goosebumps that made my hair stand on end.

I calmly scanned the hallway. The third floor, like the second, is full of rubbish on the floor and is very messy.

“Damn it, all the doors are closed here.”

I took a few deep breaths. It took a lot of courage to open a closed door because I had no idea what was waiting for me inside.

There are a total of four doors.

The first room is empty; no bed, and no wardrobe.

While there was a sense of relief, I was also worried that I might not be able to get any useful information.

“I wish I got some information…….”

In front of the second door, I took a deep breath and turned the doorknob.

-thud.

The sound behind the door stopped me from moving. Damn, what the fuxk is that?

I quietly pulled my hand away from the doorknob. I can’t possibly open this door. In the end, I decided to skip the second room.

And it was when I opened the third door and checked that there was nothing special inside–

-kuaang!

“Ah, fuxk! What the fuxk, that scared me!”

The second door opened violently. Startled, I fell to the floor.

My heart almost jumped out. I put my hand on my chest and took a few deep breaths to make sure my heart was okay.

The second door was wide open.

At that moment, my whole body stiffened and I couldn’t move. Fear overwhelmed my mind and my body trembled.

Now I know why horror movie protagonists can’t just run right away when faced with a crisis.

‘Damn, I’m scared!!’

But fortunately, nothing came out through the open door. Only the cold air lingered in the hallway, and I slowly got up.

The door seems to have opened because of the strong wind. I think it would be better for my mental health to believe so.

‘But I guess I’ll have to look around the room.’

I firmly gripped the wooden knife in my hand and slowly approached the second door. Then I quietly peek inside.

There is one bed and one cupboard in the room. There is also a desk in front of the window. The room wasn’t dark because of the window, but it still gave off a very gloomy atmosphere.

While the other rooms are messy with rubbish, this room is very tidy. It’s just dusty, and it looks like a room someone used to live in.

Looking around, I saw something lying on the floor in front of the desk. It looks like a notebook. The sound I just heard was like something falling to the floor. Was that the book?

I slowly entered the room. Although the room was bright with sunlight, the air was cool and the atmosphere was gloomy.

“Is it a diary?”

I slowly picked up the book and opened it. It was full of dust, so I roughly brushed it off with my hand and skimmed through the writing.

The book is full of notes written in someone’s elegant handwriting. And among the unrecognizable letters, there was a sentence that clearly caught my eye.

I must die.

For a moment, I was horrified and paused. There is another sentence written under it.

Everyone is dead. Should I live? I don’t think I can escape from the island. Forever.

Who wrote this? Was it written by Jenas? Or by his dead friends? I turned the page of the book.

I feel like I’m slowly losing myself. So I decided to record what I’ve been through so far.

I don’t think this book I’m reading is the record this person is talking about. I think there’s a separate book…….

I turned to the next page.

Thanks to Jenas, I completely recovered from the poison. The reason why we went crazy was that red flower, Tentathionem.

-thud.

I dropped the book I was holding, and I blankly stared at it.

I didn’t see it wrong. First of all, it’s clear that the person who wrote this is not Jenas. And he definitely mentioned that he had been infected with Tentathionem.

Strangely, I keep thinking of the original novel.

The author also wrote, “The reason why we went crazy was because of Tentathionem.” Although my memory is a bit hazy, I definitely remember that Yuanna spoke exactly like that in the original novel.

– The reason why we went crazy was because of that flower. –

I think there was such a line. I don’t know why I remembered it all of a sudden, but maybe that’s why the lines written in the book gave me a strange sense of deja vu.

I picked up the book slowly again and carefully turned to the next page.

She told me how to undo everything. And I got the key from her. She said it is the key to open all the doors.

‘She? Who is she?’

Is the key the same as Yuanna’s key?

I keep thinking of Yuanna. Oddly enough.

I flashed through the next page.

I’m going to leave today to find the place she told me about. I will rest there. I think I can probably finish the book I’m writing for my records there.

I turned to the next page again.

What’s more important than survival is that I don’t forget who I am. I engraved deep into my heart what she said to me.

My legs lose strength.

I ended up sitting on the floor holding the book.

“Things more important than survival.”

It was the title of a novel I picked up on the street when I was Lee Jin-ju. Is this really a coincidence?

‘Who else is the ‘she’ mentioned in this book?’

There are certain circumstances, but there are no clear clues to confirm that the owner of this book is Yuanna.

‘I’m running out of time, I’ll just take this.’

I hastily put the book into my crossbody bag. Then I turned my back and saw a shadow through the open door.

‘……fuxk.’