Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Happiness General Hospital Horror (12)
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The shock from moments ago burrowed into every part of my body.
A bone-shattering pain shot through my back, but thanks to it, my body was flung toward the emergency room exit.
Thud—!
My body sprawled across the corridor floor, and the cold metal bit into my skin. My vision flickered white for a moment, but I didn't stop.
The instant I pushed off the floor and stood, a guttural roar echoed from behind.
“Paa—tieeent!!!”
Emergency room entrance.
A massive figure clutched the wall, jerking forward as if shoving its body out.
Its torn-wide mouth gaped open, rage vibrating through the air as it strained to reach me.
I had already escaped its territory.
All it could do was scream.
Panting, I forced myself to my feet.
Ignoring the pain in my ankle and knee, I stepped forward. There was no time to hesitate.
That's when I spotted a middle-aged man at the edge of my vision.
He stared at me with a shocked expression.
I rushed straight to him.
In his hand was the paper I had given him.
Several sheets had already been torn off the end, leaving just one final sheet pinched between his fingers.
“…You held out well.”
My voice came out hoarse and cracked.
The man nodded with panicked eyes.
He set the child he had been cradling down on the floor.
The child looked up.
Focus slowly gathered in the child's once-empty eyes, and a faint tremble escaped its lips.
“Daddy.”
The middle-aged man's eyes shook violently.
“B-Boram…?”
In that instant, silence fell as if all sound had ceased.
In the stillness so deep even breaths seemed stifled, the child and father gazed at each other.
The man's face crumpled in disbelief. Joy and fear spread across his features simultaneously.
And—
A chilling rumble tore through the world like it was ripping apart.
[The horror tale acts to punish the being that ignored the rules.]
The alert window flashed red, covering my vision.
At the same time, something shattered at the end of the corridor.
It felt as if the entire hospital—walls, ceiling, everything—was pressing down with malice.
[Crazy Woman]: …What the hell is this? There's a pattern like this?
[파천황]: The horror tale changed its method.
[Not Human]: …Fuck.
[Due to repeated rule violations, the rule constraints are temporarily lifted.]
The emergency room door shattered.
The metal plate tore like paper and flew out, as a massive shadow crawled into the corridor.
Nurse anomaly.
The entity that had been bound to the entrance boundary until now.
But with the new rule, its constraint vanished.
Freed from the horror tale's chains, the monster took a step forward.
Thud—!
Thud—!
With each footfall, more footsteps joined from the end of the corridor.
Guard anomalies.
Empty eye sockets gleaming, they filled the corridor one by one, two by two.
One, two, three, four, five…
Soon, counting lost meaning.
The ground quaked.
As if the building floated on a vast sea, the entire floor rippled and shook.
Bang—!
Something slammed down from the ceiling, splitting open a long crack amid the debris.
And from within…
A white-coated anomaly with six arms.
Its aura differed from the others.
I knew at a glance it was a higher existence.
Hospital director.
The master of this hospital and the core of this horror tale had revealed itself.
Reflexively, I grabbed the middle-aged man's arm.
“We have to get out! Right now—”
But he shook his head.
“I'm already done for. I can feel my life slipping away.”
Even as he spoke, he didn't look like a man facing death.
His face was weary with fatigue, but his eyes shone with an eerily clear light.
Bang—!
The ceiling crumbled again, fully revealing the hospital director.
Yet he continued calmly.
“In truth…I knew the moment I first saw her. That this child wasn't really Boram. Would a father not recognize his own daughter? But…”
His gaze lingered on the little one beside him.
He placed a hand on her head and gently stroked her hair; the child clasped his hand tightly with both of hers.
“If this child was made in Boram's image…then she's my child too. Someone I must protect.”
The man's voice trembled. But within that tremor lay conviction.
Until now, I had seen him merely as part of the rules.
But here was a father, lost in his desperate wanderings to save his daughter, trapped in this place—not an anomaly.
“…I'm glad. And now I know what I must do.”
He chuckled lowly.
It wasn't resignation; it was the look of someone who had solidified a resolve.
“Do you know? In the past, I was—embarrassingly—a pretty successful lawyer. At a massive firm. My days were filled with lawsuits and contracts.”
“…Too busy with work as an excuse, I never properly played the role of dad. As a father, I was probably a total failure.”
The guard anomalies approached from behind, but he didn't blink.
Instead, he steadied his breath and continued.
“Even so…”
He let out a soft chuckle.
Pausing, he closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, no trace of regret remained.
“As a lawyer, I never once took a loss.”
In that moment, a chilling edge crept into the man's voice.
The neighborly uncle vibe vanished.
His tone was calm, yet it carried a persuasive force, like a lawyer certain of victory in court.
His eyes gleamed coldly.
“I made a contract with the horror tale. Wishing for my daughter to be healthy. But I didn't act rashly. Contracts always have clauses and penalties. If breached, responsibility follows. I always confirmed that before stamping my seal. With a proper notary, of course. Same back then. Principles and rules—that's how I lived as a lawyer.”
He looked up at the corridor lights.
“Ever wonder why this building is lit up so excessively? Day and night without distinction, blazing like a city that never sleeps.”
He caught his breath, then murmured lowly.
“…Time to collect the price.”
Thud—
The space warped and vibrated.
[…The world recognizes the contract between the horror tale and the human.]
[Current contractor ‘Kim Myung-hoon’s’ stipulated price ‘Kim Boram’ does not exist in this space.]
[Penalty for horror tale’s contract breach is imposed.]
The man lifted his head firmly.
His speech had revived the cold precision of his days at the massive firm.
“Is changing the price possible?”
[Changing the price is possible.]
“Then I change the price. And I demand immediate payment for the 13 years of overdue price from the contract breach.”
The system responded promptly.
[Request received.]
[Confirming contractor ‘Kim Myung-hoon’s’ demand.]
[Price change: 13 years overdue, immediate substitute payment]
[Approved.]
“…The price is this building's button.”
White light gathered in his palm, soon forming a round, smooth button.
An object that glowed on its own.
The man lifted it with a smile.
“I'm no monster. …I'm a living human.”
The button was placed in my hand.
His rough, calloused hand grasped mine.
The child's hand overlapped on top.
Click—
My fist clenched, and the button pressed with a small sound.
“Let me die as a human at the end… Truly. Truly… thank you….”
In that instant, the hospital's blaze-like lights went out.
Pitch-black darkness.
Thud… Thud…
The guard anomalies still approached.
At first, no change seemed apparent.
However—
The change was simply invisible to my eyes.
The floor split, and a massive hand surged from the black fissure.
Grab—!
One anomaly was snatched into the air.
The guard anomaly's empty sockets flashed as it swung its arms in resistance.
Bang! Bang!
The impacts hammered like metal walls, but they meant nothing.
The hand dragged the anomaly mercilessly into the floor without a tremor.
Its struggles were like a beast thrashing in quicksand—futile, breaking as it sank.
Dragged by the arms, it was swallowed whole.
Soon, from deep below, something shattered into pieces.
Crunch!
Like bones splitting, or a can crumpling.
In that moment, the air grew heavier.
Another hand rose from the floor.
Grab—!
Grab—!
Endless hands emerged, pulling the guard anomalies one by one, clearing the corridor.
Then—
Thud! Thud!
Familiar footsteps approached.
The nurse anomaly guarding the entrance.
Empty sockets, torn-wide mouth—the source of overwhelming dread until now.
It staggered toward me.
“Paa—tieeent!!!”
I reflexively backed away.
But—
Bang!
The floor beneath its feet cracked.
A hand shot from the darkness, seizing the nurse anomaly's waist.
“───!!!”
It flailed its arms in resistance, but unlike its overpowering presence, its strength merely sliced air.
Unlike the guards, it was yanked away lightly, like a worthless doll.
Bang, Bang!
Its struggles didn't last.
The floor fissure closed, swallowing the nurse anomaly's form whole.
A moment of silence.
The terror that blanketed the corridor vanished all too anticlimactically.
Crunch—
The guard anomalies, vast as an army, dwindled visibly one by one.
Soon, the hospital director revealed itself.