Chapter 280
Chapter 280
Alone in the darkness, my sight and smell sealed off...
Fragmented thoughts drifted through my mind.
‘Alone.’
Having to live alone meant being responsible for everything myself.
Contracts, registrations, payments, even late fees—the responsibility for every action and mistake demanded by society rested solely on me.
The risks and pain resulting from my judgments and actions were mine alone to bear.
I couldn't share them with anyone. I didn't have that option.
‘It’s fine.’
But you get used to this after a few years.
It wasn't like I was the only person living this way. It meant that even when shitty or overwhelming things happened, I could manage to get by.
‘It was manageable.’
But what about situations I couldn't handle...? Don't those moments eventually come for everyone?
‘I can’t guarantee they’ll never happen.’
Just like what happened to my parents... when a sudden disaster strikes, for instance...
If a fire were to break out.
And if I happened to be sleeping, or injured, or sick at that moment... if I were in a helpless state where I could do nothing?
‘There are too many holes.’
If I let my guard down, I die.
Drip.
Cold sweat fell onto my foot... no, it was strange that I could feel a single drop of liquid on my shoe so heavily.
‘Is this real?’
The air smelled acrid.
But even if I tried to check, I couldn't see any—
"Park Moon-dae!"
Suddenly, a voice cut through the silence.
Then, something landed on my shoulder. ...It felt like a hand.
A hand that wasn't mine.
"Are you okay? Stop for a second."
Was I walking?
"Yes."
The answer popped out reflexively.
I took a deep breath and stopped in my tracks. Then, I said something I hadn't even been asked.
"I thought there was a fire..."
"I know. I think they triggered some effects because the time limit for the escape is getting close."
Effects.
‘Right.’
To heighten the atmosphere at the end, they could easily create effects like a building collapsing. I lifted my head.
Light was leaking from the corner of the passage ahead. It was the blue glow of an exit sign.
"Ah."
I had already walked out of the pitch-black section.
I just hadn't realized it.
Now that my ears were open, I could finally hear the blaring sirens, the distant sounds of zombies, and the artificial noise of collapsing structures.
"You must have been startled, going at it alone. I'm glad I followed you."
The owner of the hand was Ryu Cheong-woo, who was smiling sheepishly. The guy holding the laser gun had caught up to me in an instant.
I let out a short laugh.
"Yeah. It's reassuring."
The useless thoughts vanished.
‘What kind of idiocy was that in the middle of filming?’
The things I worried about hadn't happened.
And even if they did, I could handle them. Because here, I wasn't just one person.
"Right."
Ryu Cheong-woo seemed to be checking my face, then he lightly patted my back and nodded.
"If we're moving, it's better to have a weapon. Let's go together."
"True. Thank you."
There really was no more time.
I clicked my tongue inwardly, thinking about the time I'd wasted being deceived by my own idle thoughts.
Then I started running again. Ryu Cheong-woo followed right behind me.
"Where are we going?"
"The room with the ventilation shaft."
"Ah, the room where I found this laser gun. You're going to search there again?"
"No."
I answered quickly.
"I'm going back to the starting room using that."
"...Why there?"
"There were no tricks in the starting room, so I thought it might have a different meaning."
We just had to find the ventilation shaft and get out.
Even that was a clumsy setup where the production crew just hid it. It wasn't even part of the original curriculum this lab was supposed to be running.
‘The layout only makes sense if there's a trick in that space too.’
Ryu Cheong-woo and I passed an actor passionately playing a zombie corpse and moved up the stairs through the emergency exit.
The room was right above us. Conscious of the camera, I spoke quickly.
"When I first saw the word 'Pass' on the back door, the first thing I thought of was an ID card."
"An ID card?"
"Yes. It's easy to associate access passes for a lab like this with something like an ID card. But none of the people we met were wearing cards around their necks."
I recalled the group interview.
Whether it was on the neck or chest of the expert conducting the interview, there was no lanyard.
"In that case, wouldn't they have carried it in their coat pocket?"
"...!"
And during the process, we had seen one particular piece of clothing very impressively.
I opened the door, passed the mannequins, and climbed into the ventilation shaft.
Thanks to having moved the cabinet beforehand, I only had to carefully step over the actor playing the corpse.
Then I remembered.
The very first signal that this content had shifted genres from a psychological test to a zombie escape.
—Ugh!
"Back then, when the counselor fell into the hallway, their white lab coat got caught in the door."
And naturally, we had no choice but to witness that with a great deal of shock and focus.
"The reason they went out of their way to show that coat getting caught there... isn't it because the most important answer is right there?"
With near certainty, I reached the end of the ventilation shaft and lowered my feet.
‘I see it.’
Right across from me, pinned under the iron door we had first descended through, was the lab coat.
I immediately ran over, crouched down, and searched the white coat.
I felt a square piece of plastic through the fabric of the front pocket.
‘There it is.’
I smiled.
"The pass was here all along."
I pulled an ID card out of the pocket, printed with the person's face and position.
On the back, I could see the words 'Also serves as a Pass' written clearly in small letters.
"As expected, Moon-dae is smart."
I heard Ryu Cheong-woo's voice of admiration.
I put the ID card in my pocket and turned my head.
"It's not really that—"
Click.
"......?"
The muzzle of a laser gun was thrust in front of my face.
The very laser gun Ryu Cheong-woo had been holding—no, was still holding.
‘What?’
I moved only my eyes to look up at Ryu Cheong-woo.
He spoke to me with a slightly troubled expression.
"I'll have to take that ID card, Moon-dae."
"......"
I paused for a moment, organized my logic, and opened my mouth.
"Whether I have it or you have it, opening the back door should be the same anyway."
"No, our goals are different."
Ryu Cheong-woo kindly added an explanation.
"Your goal is to escape. Mine is to stop you."
"...!!"
"Um... to put it simply, I'm the villain. That's how it turned out."
What kind of bullshit is this?
‘The guy who contributed the most to the escape so far?’
The benefits we gained thanks to his marksmanship were... wait.
Ryu Cheong-woo's actions flashed through my mind in an instant.
—Sorry, but could you pull the cabinet just a little bit? I'll use my head.
That guy wasted two shots of the laser gun's battery on the zombie in the ventilation shaft.
He had volunteered and shot the arm out of nowhere without asking for any consent.
And he always asked whether to shoot even in sections where it wasn't necessary.
‘So he was wasting time even in sections where we didn't need to use it...’
In the first place, the escape route of this lab was designed so that it was possible to move through stealth without using weapons...
In other words, the only things we gained from this bastard holding the gun were peace of mind and wasted time.
‘Wow...’
I totally got baited.
I shook my head at the production crew's cleverness and stared at Ryu Cheong-woo.
‘Is there time to hear why he was selected or what his background story is?’
No. Tell them to put that in the interview.
I got straight to the point.
"That's only supposed to work on zombies."
Ryu Cheong-woo replied nonchalantly.
"No. The instruction manual said it's dual-purpose."
"Ah."
It didn't matter if that was true or not. The threat of the gun was sufficient based on the possibility alone.
If I got hit, I was out, and then there would be no more chance of escape.
Because Ryu Cheong-woo could just disappear with the ID card.
‘This is tough.’
How many minutes were left?
Conveniently, there was a time countdown on a large screen in this area.
[00 : 05 : 19]
...It was a perfect route for maximum immersion in the ending.
‘5 minutes.’
It was cutting it close.
I let out a sigh and raised my hands.
"...Wait a moment. I'll take out the card."
"Sure."
I put my hand into the largest pocket of my coat.
And as soon as I grabbed the object, I pulled it out in an instant and aimed it at Ryu Cheong-woo.
"That's good to hear. Since you said it works on humans too."
It was a laser gun.
The very first laser gun I had found, the one I'd taken from the hand of the security officer who had ended his life as a zombie.
Ryu Cheong-woo spoke with a face mixed with surprise and wonder.
"The battery..."
"It has some."
Since everyone saw Ryu Cheong-woo take the laser gun with 12 shots left, they subconsciously assumed this one was empty and moved on.
But they were wrong.
Because I had checked.
"It had exactly one shot left."
There was just enough of a gauge left for one shot.
I had been a public service worker, but I figured someone who had at least been to boot camp would be better off holding it, so I'd kept it.
Now that I was holding it, it didn't feel very realistic, so I didn't think it would mean much, but...
‘Because we didn't need two guns while progressing.’
Since Ryu Cheong-woo was enough, interest in it had faded.
"Hmm."
Ryu Cheong-woo gave a bitter smile as if he had a headache. He looked like he'd been caught in a trap.
But soon, he nodded as if he'd realized something.
"Moon-dae. But even if we're just in a standoff like this, doesn't that mean you can't use the ID card anyway? You can't take it to the back door."
"...!"
"Then this doesn't seem to mean much either..."
He was right.
‘I should have shot him as soon as I pulled it out.’
I was worried that if what he said was a lie, it would turn into a messy brawl unsuitable for an idol's self-produced content, but I'd forgotten that Ryu Cheong-woo wasn't the type of guy to lie about something like that.
‘Should I shoot now, then?’
I didn't know if I could shoot faster than him... and that guy had two shots left.
It was a moment of deliberation.
Thud, thud, thud!
"Moon-dae hyung! Cheong-woo hyung!"
"...!"
The ventilation shaft across from us opened hurriedly with a loud noise.
And cheerful voices rang out.
"I was right! They're here!"
"Oh~ for real!"
"W-we're here—"
The guys who were about to wave brightly while crawling out of the shaft froze when they saw the situation.
"Uh, uh, uh."
Two members aiming laser guns at each other.
"What's going on!"
I spoke without realizing it.
"Why are you guys all the way here..."
I thought they'd be waiting in front of the door?
"I mean, of course we'd follow you when you're running off alone!"
"That's right!"
"Yeah, because we were worried..."
I felt like I'd been hit over the head for some reason as I looked at them.
‘I ran alone because there was no time... and I couldn't explain.’
Then... would they have followed me even if I'd just told them to run without an explanation?
‘Yes. And that would have made for a better shot for the filming too.’
My inner voice answered of its own accord. I smiled despite myself.
‘I guess it'll still take some time to fix this habit.’
However, there was one guy who was dead serious. Kim Rae-bin's pupils were trembling as he looked back and forth between me and Ryu Cheong-woo.
"Internal division in our team, which should be a community of destiny until our escape..."
"......"
I needed to clear up the misunderstanding first.
I spoke immediately.
"I just found the pass in this lab coat, and Cheong-woo hyung tried to take it. Turns out he was a spy."
Then I pulled the ID card out of my pocket and waved it.
"No way!"
"Heok! Cheong-woo hyung did?!"
"I knew it! It was in the coat... no, then we have to take him down right now!"
The atmosphere flipped again in an instant.
And since we had the numbers, it was as good as won.
‘The remaining 4 minutes are enough to escape.’
But at that moment, a chilling thought occurred to me.
Wait, do these guys have any reason to believe my words unconditionally? In a situation where two people with guns are aiming at each other?
In fact, doesn't it look more suspicious that I, who hadn't stepped forward until now, am holding a gun?
‘If Ryu Cheong-woo says the opposite—that I tried to backstab him and he's stopping me...’
"Haha."
...It seemed like that wouldn't happen. Looking at Ryu Cheong-woo's expression, it practically had 'I'm caught' written on it.
Then again, he was the type of guy who would rather lose than use a method like that.
"Hmm. I guess this won't work. I surrender."
Ryu Cheong-woo smiled with a somewhat proud face, put down his laser gun, and raised his hands.
"Woooooah!"
The members immediately rushed over, confiscated Ryu Cheong-woo's laser gun, and let out cheers and screams. They seemed to find the last-minute twist thrilling.
"We're escaping!"
"No, we have to run first!"
"That's right!"
They started running toward the back door while playfully threatening Ryu Cheong-woo.
And as for the problematic ID card...
Beep.
"It's opening!"
"Yes...!"
It worked successfully. I stepped outside into the open air with the guys, who were putting their arms around my shoulders.
The sun was setting.
A gust of wind brushed against my face.
"Escape successful with 29 seconds left!"
"We're insane!"
I went along with their celebration. Honestly, it was refreshing.
After chatting for a while about the behind-the-scenes and what we'd experienced.
"Ah~ everyone, great job!"
"Ugh! Seriously!"
The production crew we met again were grinning ear to ear.
Moreover, the cameras were still rolling, as if they wanted to capture us being annoyed. They were something else.
"Who made Cheong-woo hyung betray us? Isn't that too much for our leader hyung~?"
"No, Cheong-woo said he enjoyed it too!"
"Haha, no I didn't."
"Cheong-woo, how could you betray us like that!"
A few minutes of playful and funny accusations followed, and then the main point came up.
"So, who are our roommates?!"
"Yeah, I'm curious how that's decided."
Right, that was the original purpose of all this chaos. We looked at the production crew, waiting for a proper answer.
"That is..."
The PD gave a wide grin.
"Please check it out while watching the first episode's broadcast~!"
"Oh, come on!!"
And so, TeSTAR danced in the palm of the production crew's hands until the very end.
...It was fun, so I'll let it slide.
A few days after TeSTAR finished that eventful filming.
Fans checked a fan-service video that had been uploaded out of the blue on WeTube.
However, it was quite extraordinary for a roommate series.
["You said it was a psychological test! You said it was a consultation!" Sorry, it's a fake! <TeSTAR Roommate> Part 4 is stained with zombies...☆ Season 4 ep.1]
The thumbnail showed Kim Rae-bin and Keun Se-jin screaming.
"...??"
A graduate student who had accessed WeTube after seeing the notification was momentarily confused while looking at it, but soon burst into laughter and clicked the title.
"Haha!!"
Her heart swelled with anticipation!