CH 93

“What do you mean, no? Did you suddenly get your hopes up after seeing the elevator?” Seogeung jeered.

I didn’t answer but merely gnawed on my lips. I was anxious. I could hear the elevator coming up.

“Sorry, but you and I should split up here. I don’t plan on taking you to the exit,” Seogeung announced.

Maybe because he uncovered a secret that nobody else did, Seogeung’s face was filled with glee that I had never seen before. His face was tainted with self-serving greed. He gripped the knife in his hand and said, looking at me, “Being trapped in here suits you. Lame loser. What—Yeonseon or something? Your manager said so, right? That you get it up when you see Yeonseon?”

“…”

“Was he talking about Yeonseon Ham, the one who died in a car accident? That b*stard was the same as you?” He spat on the floor. “Bah, you f*ckers. Him, kicking the bucket from an accident! Think of it as divine retribution…!”

He was too busy spitting out insults while glaring at me that he failed to notice that I was staying quiet on purpose. He also didn’t realize that the elevator coming up from behind him wasn’t his shining vessel of hope.

I glanced at Raehee anxiously. Raehee hung her head and merely wept. Fortunately, the kitchen knife was now slightly off her neck. It didn’t seem like Seogeung would accidentally stab her as he tossed about.

Ding.

The clear and pleasant sound indicating that the elevator arrived rang out. The door opened. Bright light poured out of the elevator, incomparable to the luminosity of the flashlight in Seogeung’s hand. Detecting the light, Seogeung smiled broadly and turned around. He seemed to envision a future as bright as that light.

Then…

“Arrrghhhh!” He let out a terrible scream, grabbing his face with both hands. He fell backward like he was pushed by a hefty force. At the same time, there was a horrible crunching sound of something breaking, and along with it, a fountain of deep red blood spouted from his face. The heavy spurt of blood stained the mirror on the inner walls of the elevator with its color.

“Argh! Ack!” He writhed on the ground, shrieking in pain. He scratched at his face from the pain of his flesh being ripped off but grasped at nothing. I heard his bones grinding and his eyeballs exploding. His mouth filled with blood, and his screams started to diminish to gurgles. Blub, blub. Seogeung roared like a drowning man.

He had long let go of his flashlight and knife. Raehee was free.

Due to Seogeung’s convulsive flailing, she was flung onto the floor. She had barely managed to obtain freedom but was soon petrified in place.

“Ah…. Ah, ah…” Her eyes were glued to Seogeung, who was thrashing under the bright light of the elevator. The unfolding grotesque scene paralyzed her. Her terrified face was red from the spray of Seogeung’s blood.

“Ah, ah…” Beads of tears and sweat mixed with the blood of another person and dripped on the floor. She seemed to want to scream between her ragged panting.

“Run!” I grabbed her arm and yanked her toward me before she had the chance to let out an ear-piercing scream. She wasn’t fully back to her senses, yet she got up and hastily ran with me. The elevator door must have been closing as the golden ray of light slowly grew narrower.

Then we heard it—the unearthly sounds that filled the now-dark spacious room.

Creak! Screech, creak!

We couldn’t hear Seogeung at all now. We knew what that silence meant. A sharp screeching sound came after us from behind. Devouring Seogeung wasn’t enough for it because it chased after us and began closing in. Creak! Raehee couldn’t match my speed, and I heard her panting from behind. At this rate, it seemed like both she and I would be caught.

Just then, I saw a door.

“Over there!” I shouted.

Whether that door led to a trap or not didn’t matter. We would die if we stayed here. In that case, it was better to die while running away. I opened the door and threw Raehee in before I followed. I slammed the door shut and pushed the lock on the knob.

Bang! Creak! Screech! Rattle!

Fortunately, the door was a normal wooden door with no glass. The thing that was chasing us slammed against the door and scratched at its surface. Scratch, screech. The sound of nails scraping the surface was deafening. The wooden door rattled uncontrollably along with the scratching. I warily stared at the door as I slowly stepped away.