CH 316

In this way, all team members were able to gather safely without any injuries. It would be great if I could found Fox now.

After exiting the underground and returning to the mansion’s central hall, we talked about trying to figure out where the witch might be.

“There is one suspicious place.”

Ha Tae-heon was wearing the same party clothes he was wearing at the end of the Cinderella fairy tale, just like me. It was said that he was in this mansion from the moment he opened his eyes, waking up at the same time as I woke up.

Ha Tae-heon, who took care of the dolls in the mansion and looked around the mansion, met Kwon Jeong-han in the underground where he went down to the last and continued to protect him.

“Where is that?”

“If you go up the stairs in the middle, you will find a hallway. At the end of it, there’s a huge door, which has never been opened.”

At that explanation, I turned my attention to Kim Woo-jin. As expected, Kim Woo-jin nodded with an expression that he knew where it was.

“That’s the largest room in the mansion. It was mainly used for meetings.”

“I have been to all the rooms inside the mansion. That’s the only place I haven’t checked.”

“All right. We have to go there first.”

We moved to the place that Ha Tae-heon pointed out. As we climbed the stairs and entered the hallway, dozens of dolls crawled out of the darkness and blocked our way.

Park Geon-ho, who saw the tightly packed dolls, whistled and said as he heard a hwiik sound.

“It looks like there’s something out there for sure.”

“Everyone, be careful.”

Unlike the dolls I encountered in the underground, I felt A-rank and S-rank energy from these dolls.

The faces seen above the mask strangely resembled the team members. They were the same dolls I encountered when I first came to Rapunzel Tower. They would be faster and stronger than the doll without any energy.

“They are stronger than before. You two, stand behind me.”

I sent Min Ah-rin and Kwon Jeong-han behind me while raising my energy. Huung, a strong wind from me wrapped around Cheon Sa-yeon, Ha Tae-heon, Park Geon-ho, and Kim Woo-jin, who were standing in front of me.

Kkigik, gik.

Sensing the energy emanating from us, the dolls twisted their joints grotesquely and raised the weapons they held in their hands. Cheon Sa-yeon and Ha Tae-heon with their long swords jumped out at the same time.

Kwajijik! Kwajik!

The sound of dolls breaking and collapsing filled the hallway. The two SS-rank people in the lead broke through the road and the other team members blocked the dolls from the right and left.

The dolls filled in the limited space of the hallway melted at an incredible speed by Cheon Sa-yeon’s constantly burning blood ability. For Cheon Sa-yeon, there was no better situation than a large number of enemies gathered in one space.

Between the flying black ashes and the collapsing doll corps, the huge door that Ha Tae-heon told of appeared. Min Ah-rin, who followed me well without falling behind, shouted.

“More dolls are coming!”

A new group of dolls came up the stairs we had passed. I used my energy one more time, clicking my tongue at the number that looked bigger than the group of dolls in the hallway.

“We can’t come back now. Let’s get through the door quickly!”

Since each position had already been decided, it would be more dangerous to change the formation now. The team members who listened to me speeded up the processing of the dolls even more.

We barely arrived at the door to avoid the surging dolls and opened it without delay. In the middle of nowhere, Cheon Sa-yeon and Ha Tae-heon entered first through the gap that the thick door opened tightly.

“Go!”

I was the last to enter after sending Min Ah-rin and Kwon Jeong-han through the door, blocking the doll’s attack with the wind. As soon as I entered the room, Ha Tae-heon, who was waiting for me, immediately closed the door.

Kuung!

At the end of the heavy sound of the door closing, the cold silence fell. The dolls who were chasing right behind us didn’t break the door.

“Is everyone okay?”

“Yes.”

Min Ah-rin sighed in relief through the thick darkness that fell in the room. Fortunately, no other team members were injured.

“I didn’t know there were still so many left.”

“What should we do now? It looks like an empty room with nothing here.”

Park Geon-ho, who frowned, looked around and said.

As an A-rank, I couldn’t see anything other than the team members in front of me because it was dark. Was it the same for S-rank Park Geon-ho? I had a strange premonition.

“Ha Tae-heon-ssi, maybe…”

It was at that time that SS-rank Ha Tae-heon and Cheon Sa-yeon were trying to see what they could see. A laughter was heard from somewhere.

/“Stupid people.”/

“……!”

“You’re naive to come all the way here.”

Abel’s mocking voice was quiet after a ahaha, the ridicule ended with silence. Chilling goosebumps ran through my spine.

“Be careful! Abel…”

I hurriedly raised my head and looked around, but I couldn’t finish my words and shut my lips.

I was the only one standing in the pitch-black darkness. Just a moment ago, Min Ah-rin and the team members were standing right in front of me.

Everything was black as if I was closing my eyes. Even when I raised my hands and reached out in front of me, I couldn’t see anything, so fear came over me. A cold sweat on my temples ran down my chin.

Haa…

The sound of my breathing echoed in my ears. I couldn’t hold onto the mind that was so hazy.

‘No…’

Everyone here is in danger… No, wait, I’m, the hell, here…

Just like my eyes, everything in my head was erased and darkness filled in.

‘What are you doing here…’

My thought was cut off. I closed my eyes and a familiar voice called out my name.

“Kwon Se-hyun.”

I slowly opened my closed eyes at the call. All the senses that were faint as if in a dream became clear in an instant.

The strong smell of whiskey brushing the tip of my nose. A cool glass in one hand. Clatter, the sound of ice shaking. When I realized everything one by one, there was nothing that wasn’t clear, even the heat on the nape of my neck.

“A good time. You even doze off after drinking with me.”

“…I’m sorry.”

I just closed my eyes for a moment, but what did he say?

When I apologized by muttering swear words inside, the other person smiled with an expression that he knew everything I was thinking.

“You have to get your mind right.”

“……”

“You’re drinking with me, Se-hyun-ah.”

“It was because my eyes were uncomfortable for a while. I’m not drunk.”

“I know.”

Yoo Shi-hyuk put the glass he was holding down on the table. Unlike my glass with one large ice cube, it was a glass with only alcohol.

“You think I’m asking because I don’t know if you’re drunk or not?”

“No, Sir.”

The silver eyes staring right at me shone like jewels under the light. When I saw his red lips slightly raised, I felt stuffy as if something was stuck in my throat.

When I was nervous and couldn’t answer, he closed his eyes and raised the glass again.

“Well, it’s obvious when you’re drunk.”

“Is that so?”

There were countless times when Yoo Shi-hyuk and I drank alone. Starting from the year I just turned 20, if I write it down, it was once every two or three months, if it was a lot, it was several times a month, so there was no meaning in counting.

So, of course, there were many times when I drank enough to cut off the memory. Especially when I first started drinking at the age of 20 and 21, I was trying to drink at the speed of Yoo Shi-hyuk, but I was overworked and collapsed.

Now, Yoo Shi-hyuk didn’t force me too much and I drank as much as I could, so there were fewer cases of memory being cut, but… that didn’t mean this time was just comfortable.

‘He’s going to tell me to sleep today.’

I took a sip of alcohol and checked the time with the watch I wore on my wrist. It was past midnight and heading toward one o’clock in the morning.

It was nothing new. Because I came here enough to have my own room in Yoo Shi-hyuk’s house. But why…

‘Am I feeling nervous?’

Drinking alone with Yoo Shi-hyuk was a little burdensome, but it wasn’t to the point where I was so nervous as I had been doing it a lot. Even though my head knew it, my chest kept tightening.

“Let’s continue what we were talking about earlier.”

“……”

“Recently, President Kim has been very interested in you.”

Tik, tik. The ticking of the second hand of the watch was strangely loud. Swallowing my dry saliva, I forcibly swallowed the breath that was getting rough with anxiety. Why couldn’t I calm down? I touched my chest without realizing it while feeling nauseous.

“It’s obvious why that woman is interested in you… I wonder what you think.”

“……”

“Kwon Se-hyun.”

“…yes?”

Gasp, I flinched my shoulders and shook my head. Without realizing it, I missed Yoo Shi-hyuk’s words.

Yoo Shi-hyuk, who sat across from me and rubbed his chin, had already hardened his expression. I’m doomed…

“No, that… um…”

As I stuttered and opened my mouth in embarrassment, Yoo Shi-hyuk raised one eyebrow as if to say something.

“I’m sorry. I… can’t remember who President Kim is.”

It was an excuse so poor that there was nothing to say even if I was grabbed by neck and thrown to the floor.

“Hm.”

Contrary to my expectations, Yoo Shi-hyuk, who heard the answer, relaxed his hardened face without showing a sign of displeasure.

“Yeah. You’re saying that you don’t care so much that you don’t even remember who President Kim is?”

“…yes.”

“Then there’s nothing I can do.”

I didn’t know what couldn’t be helped, but I was glad that Yoo Shi-hyuk seemed to be in a good mood anyway.

I sighed secretly so that he didn’t know and Yoo Shi-hyuk got up.

“Don’t you want more?”

“You want me to sit and watch you lose your mind? Do I look so free like that?”

There was nothing to refute, so I awkwardly touched the nape of my neck and got up after him. It was Yoo Shi-hyuk who stopped me from trying to clean things up.

“Leave it be. Let people do it.”

“I’ll just put the glass to the kitchen.”

“Anyway, you don’t listen badly.”

Unlike his harsh words, Yoo Shi-hyuk put a cigarette into his mouth with a smile on his face. It was like permission.

It was at that moment when Yoo Shi-hyuk and I were about to head to the kitchen with the used glasses.

/“….up”/

“Yes?”

When I looked back, reflexively responding to the faint voice, Yoo Shi-hyuk gave a strange reaction.

“What.”

“I think you just called me.”

“I never called.”

Did I hear it wrong? But obviously…

“Kwon Se-hyun. Did you take any medicine without me knowing?

“I didn’t.”

With a frown, Yoo Shi-hyuk put the cigarette he had in his mouth back and approached me. A bitter scent wafted from him as he was so close that I could feel his breath.

/“…wake up.”/

At the same time, the voice was heard again.

I shifted my gaze to the direction the voice came from. The light had turned off and a white light could be seen from the other side of the dark living room.