Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Subway (5)
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"...Why pick a fight with a monster?"
"...That's not it, I was just showing them I wasn't scared..."
Bora let out a slightly bewildered laugh.
In the end, it worked, so wasn't that a good thing?
We had now checked pretty much every spot worth investigating. It wasn't the restrooms or the emergency stairs.
"The only places left... are the fire hydrants hidden around here and there."
Park Sunja said it like she was drawing a conclusion.
Yeah, this was our last hope now. Praying that a survivor was tucked away in one of those tiny spaces, we set off once more.
Leaving the commotion at the emergency stairs behind, we began combing through the station interior again.
This time, our target was the fire hydrants.
Fortunately, there was an old schematic on the wall by the platform that looked like it was for emergency evacuation, and we used it to figure out the locations of the hydrants.
It was impossible to check every single one in this massive station, so we decided to prioritize the ones closest to where we'd gotten off the train, and a couple of spots in out-of-the-way corners where a survivor might hide—about two in total for now.
"There it is."
"...Of all places, right next to the station office...!"
The first hydrant we found was at the end of the platform, next to the tightly shut station office.
Tensing up in case we got spotted by the station attendant monster, we crouched low as we approached.
With bated breath, we opened the iron door of the hydrant, but inside was just a dusty, coiled fire hose—no sign of any person.
Hiding our disappointment, we headed to the next spot.
The second hydrant was midway down a dim corridor leading to the transfer passage.
It was definitely more secluded and out of sight than the first one.
That's when we were cautiously approaching it.
"Wait, do you hear something?"
Very faint, but a sound was definitely leaking from inside the hydrant.
"...Hic... Fuck... How long is this gonna go on... Sob..."
It was the sound of a woman sobbing in terror, laced with curses.
Tilting our heads closer, we could hear intermittent sniffles mixed with occasional swearing.
We exchanged glances. Had we finally found her?
Park Sunja signaled us to stay quiet with a hand gesture.
Then she gave a soft knock on the hydrant door: tap tap.
The sobbing inside stopped for a moment, then came heavy, terrified breathing.
"Eek..."
Park Sunja whispered as low as possible, right up against the door crack.
"We're... the White Tiger search team, here on a rescue request. We've come to save you. But making noise right now is dangerous. So... stop crying and calm down, and then we'll open this door and get you out. Got it?"
Whether it was her calm voice that worked, the ragged breathing from inside started to slow bit by bit.
We swallowed dryly, waiting for the survivor inside to fully calm down.
Just as we were about to breathe a sigh of relief, a woman's voice came through—wary, but calmer than before.
"...You guys are really human...? Not like the ones here... monsters pretending to be human?"
Her suspicion was understandable.
Just looking at the monsters roaming this station, plenty of them clumsily mimicked human appearances and behaviors.
In a life-or-death situation, the terror that the rescuers you finally meet might actually be even worse monsters? Totally relatable.
And then the woman inside hit us with the most outlandish question.
"...Name three ingredients in mala tang. Quick."
Mala tang ingredients? In this situation?
I froze for a second, but she seemed dead serious.
It was her desperate test, figuring a monster couldn't answer.
I racked my brain and gave an awkward reply.
"Uh... lamb... or... bok choy...?"
Park Sunja next to me just twitched her lips slightly, clearly drawing a blank.
Looks like she, like me, hadn't had much mala tang in her life.
That's when Bora stepped up like our savior.
"Pork belly and firm tofu, Chinese glass noodles, bean sprouts, cabbage, and plenty of mushrooms..."
Bora rattled off ingredients and her preferences like she was a mala tang spokesperson.
Hard to believe this was the same girl who'd been living in a rural village until recently.
Sensing our stunned looks, she scratched her cheek, a bit embarrassed.
"Ah, haha... After coming up to Seoul... I tried it a lot."
Satisfied with her spot-on answer, a moment later we heard the door unlatch from inside.
And there she was—a young woman with a baby face that still screamed teenager, looking terrified as she appeared before us.
Park Sunja calmly recited the personal details she'd gotten from the support team, and the woman nodded vigorously, confirming she was indeed the rescue target.
Finally, we'd saved the survivor in Hwamun Station.
"Now we just need to get out of here together."
Park Sunja let out a sigh of relief.
But she quickly composed herself and emphasized the station's rules to the rescued woman in a firm tone, like it was non-negotiable.
"But first, there are a few things you must follow. No panicking or trembling no matter what, and don't show any fear toward them. Understand?"
The woman's face was still pale with fright, but she nodded desperately, like she'd grabbed her last lifeline to survive.
Now we had to cross that monster-infested platform once more with our new companion and head to the surface.
The way out of Hwamun Station back to the real world was the same as how we'd entered.
Return to the platform where we'd gotten off the train, and board the next incoming one by walking backward with our backs to it, just like before. Simple in theory, but execution was the problem.
This time, the platform wasn't empty. Quite the opposite.
"So many..."
Bora muttered, biting her lip.
The platform we'd returned to was packed like a rush-hour transfer station, teeming with all sorts of grotesque monsters without room to spare.
We had to weave right through the middle of them, under their gazes, and pull off that bizarre boarding method.
The monsters would surely take massive interest in our weird behavior, and that attention wouldn't be good for us.
"Everyone, stay calm."
"W-We have to go through there?"
The three of us tried to play it cool in our own ways, but the problem was the survivor woman.
She was trembling like a leaf, biting her lower lip so hard to hold back her fear that...
Blood trickled down from her lip.
And at that moment, the monsters' eyes turned blatantly toward us.
I could smell the metallic tang of blood from my nose too.
Was this why we were drawing attention?
As more and more monster gazes piled on and my heart pounded with visions of the worst-case scenario—
"Huh?"
A familiar small shadow approached us. It was that little goblin monster kid we'd bumped into in front of the restroom earlier.
He was holding something in his tiny hand—a pretty big piece of paper.
The goblin toddled right up to me and thrust the paper at me.
"Uuu."
"...What the...? No, seriously, what is this?"
It was a poster. A movie poster.
And when I saw what was on it, my confusion turned to outright shock.
Smack in the center was a dramatic shot of me and Da-ho locked in a tense standoff in Bora's rural home.
Above it, in huge letters: [Now Showing! Tiger Mayhem!]
Below: ridiculous taglines like 'Starring: Monster Newcomer.'
The little goblin pointed back and forth between me on the poster and the real me, going "Uuu! Uuu!" like he was saying, 'This is you, right? Loved the movie!'
That director monster had apparently turned our real ordeal into an entertainment flick for the monster world and released it.
In this absurd situation, I could only let out a disbelieving chuckle.
Bora and Sunja reacted the same.
"I-Is this for real?"
"Look at the corner—we're in it too."
The little goblin was still holding out the Tiger Mayhem poster to me politely with both hands.
His sparkling eyes were full of eager expectation, like he was begging for something.
No way... was this really what he wanted from me?
"An autograph?"
"Uuu!"
At the goblin's gesture, another monster slinked up beside us.
It was like black used oil come to life—a shapeless slime.
As it got closer, a nauseating oil stench hit me like a wall, making my head spin.
Then the little goblin suddenly pointed at the black slime.
"Uuu!"
I cautiously, very cautiously, poked the slime's body with my finger.
Sure enough, sticky black goo stuck to my finger.
I couldn't ignore the goblin's shining eyes or the stares from the other monsters now crowding in to watch.
With a deep sigh, I used the slime's black liquid as ink and scrawled my name roughly in the corner of the poster.
"...There."
I'd meant to write 'Kim Minjun,' but the slippery oil turned it into unreadable worm scribbles.
The little goblin let out a delighted "Uuu! Uuuu!" like he'd gotten the world's greatest treasure.
And the adult goblin standing behind him—probably his parent—bowed politely to me.
Who'd have thought I'd end up signing an autograph for a monster.
Anyway, thanks to this little commotion, the monsters' previously murderous stares seemed to soften just a tad.
The oil smell masked the blood, and by the time I finished signing, the blood on the woman's lip had dried.
Whether thanks to the goblin kid or not, all our fear had eased a bit too.