Chapter 53.1

Chapter 53.1

Baek Saheon opened his eyes.

Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that he hadn’t slept a wink.

‘Fucking hell.’

Ever since entering ‘Horizon Mountain Lodge’, his nerves had been on edge, searching for a way to leave this place alive and intact.

Half of his efforts were spent trying to stay on Kim Soleum’s good side, carefully walking on eggshells to gauge the guy’s mood.

‘Son of a bitch.’

He felt no shame about it—it was necessary for survival.

...Even now, as he debated whether to visit Kim Soleum’s room, it was for the same reason.

‘I need information, anything I can use.’

That lunatic definitely knew something. Baek Saheon was convinced he needed to extract that knowledge to secure a trump card for his survival.

But...

“......”

Was Kim Soleum really a lunatic?

More specifically, why had he... saved him?

Baek Saheon already knew the truth. There had been multiple opportunities at the exhibition for Kim Soleum to kill him or use him as a scapegoat, but he hadn’t.

Sure, he had been messed with a few times, but in the end...

‘No!’

He probably did it for fun. It’s only because keeping me alive would make things more unpredictable and entertaining for that bastard!

Baek Saheon jumped to that conclusion. He’d never encountered such a madman in his life before.

‘...Even so, I doubt he’d lie about something important.’

With a strange sort of faith, he opened his door—

Something stood in front of it.

“......!!”

The now-darkened lodge was steeped in shadows, making it difficult to recognize the figure immediately.

A man of similar height to himself.

...It was Kim Soleum.

‘Shit!’

Startled, but strangely relieved.

Better him than a stranger. At least Kim Soleum wouldn’t try to kill him.

“Hey...”

But as Baek Saheon’s eyes adjusted to the dim light, he noticed something in Kim Soleum’s hand.

An axe.

“......”

‘What?’

An axe?

He almost rubbed his one remaining eye in disbelief before a plausible explanation struck him.

“That’s... for self-defense against the killer, right...?”

But then, another thought entered Baek Saheon’s mind.

* * *

A person they had talked to just yesterday.

As the realization set in, cries and screams filled the room again.

“Call 119 right now!”

“What the hell is this?! Fuuuuck!!”

“I told you these old kitchens were dangerous! One small fire and look what happens!”

But in their hearts, a small voice whispered doubts.

‘Was it really an accident?’

Could a fire burn only a person, leaving everything else untouched... and in such a horrific state?

‘Could it be...’

Still in a state of panic, the group scrambled for their phones.

And moments later—

A collective chill ran down their spines.

“T-The phone isn’t working. There’s no dial tone!”

“Where’s the caretaker? Someone just died here!”

But the caretaker, who had promised to take good care of them, was nowhere to be found, as if he’d vanished into thin air.

The dark, rain-soaked mountain surrounding the lodge.

Inside the lodge, only the group and the humming remained...

“......”

“......”

Hmm, hmm-hmm, hmmmm, hmm-hmm-hmm.

Outside, an unrelenting downpour lashed the area, and there were signs that a landslide had occurred overnight, burying the bus stop in debris.

“The road... it’s completely buried.”

“My car!!”

That’s when the group began to realize.

Hmm, hmm-hmm, hmmmm, hmm-hmm-hmm.

Something was seriously wrong.

“I-I swear, that thing... it was moving earlier.”

“......”

Near the hearth where the charred remains lay, a small, old analog cassette player emitted the humming sound.

Hmm, hmm-hmm, hmmmm, hmm...

Click.

One of the students switched off the cassette player and pulled something from inside it.

A worn ivory-colored tape.

“......!”

The pale-faced office worker shakily pulled out his notebook, his trembling hands scribbling quickly.

[This looks like the cassette Baek Saheon had...]

“O-Oh my God.”

And that’s when the nightmare truly began.