A Death Trap on Wheels

Min-hye's studio apartment.

Only bones remained of the chicken, and the beer cans were empty, but our brains were spinning faster than ever. Through the recent incident, we had realized a crucial fact: the world performed Self-Correction to fill in the logical gaps of my scenarios.

In other words, some of the trash-tier scripts we would face in the future would be far more cunning and vicious than I remembered.

I tapped my finger against the new title I had taped to the wall: Road Rage.

"Alright, enough small talk. Let's start the briefing."

Deok-hoo pushed up his glasses, and Se-yeon opened a new notepad on her tablet.

Min-hye rested her chin in her hands, looking on with curiosity.

"This scenario is a 2.5-star rating. The original title is Fury of the Granzizer."

"Fury of the Granzizer? The title sounds so cheap..."

Min-hye giggled.

"It's got that B-movie vibe. First, let's look at the urban legend it's based on. You've all heard of the 'cursed car' rumors, right?"

I pulled up some reference photos I had prepared on my laptop screen.

They were pictures of dusty luxury sedans abandoned in the corners of used car lots.

"In the used car market, ridiculously cheap listings pop up from time to time. Luxury sedans selling for half, or even a tenth, of their market value. The dealers make excuses like 'quick sale,' but those cars actually share a common thread."

"Like what?"

I lowered my voice.

"The previous owner committed suicide inside by burning coal briquettes, or died in a horrific traffic accident that left them unrecognizable. On the outside, they look perfectly fine after repairs, but the resentment of the dead is deeply embedded within. That's the core of the cursed car legend."

"Ugh... that's so creepy. Who would buy something like that?"

Deok-hoo shuddered.

"Exactly. Any normal person would avoid it out of sheer discomfort. But those blinded by greed, or those who firmly believe a machine is just a machine, can't resist the temptation. And the people who buy those cars... they either die in unexplained accidents or go completely mad within a few days. That's the crux of the legend."

I scrolled to the next slide.

This was where the real story began.

"Now, up to here, it's just a common urban legend. I took that, added some characters and a specific situation, and adapted it into a thriller movie script."

The main settings of the synopsis I wrote appeared on the screen.

"The protagonist of my script is a middle-aged professor named 'Park Jinchul.'"

"Park Jinchul? Isn't that our professor?"

Se-yeon tilted her head.

"Just listen. Here's the setup. He's an English literature professor at a prestigious university and an extreme rationalist. He doesn't believe in anything he can't see. He only worships logic, science, and facts. One day, at a used car lot in Incheon, he finds a black Granzizer from the early-to-mid 2000s in pristine condition."

I continued my explanation with a mock-serious expression.

"The price? A mere 800,000 won."

"That's it?"

"That's just the setting in the script. It shows how old the model is. Anyway, even the dealer is reluctant to sell it, but our protagonist just scoffs. 'Ghosts? What nonsense. A car is nothing more than an internal combustion engine. It's just a lump of machinery that runs fine as long as it's maintained. How could a ghost possess that?' And so, he buys the car for dirt cheap and drives home in triumph."

"Wow... you really set up a massive death flag."

Deok-hoo clicked his tongue.

"The real problem is the identity of the ghost possessing the car. It's not just some simple suicide spirit."

I brought up a keyword written in red on the screen.

"The previous owner of this car was a hot-tempered gangster who made a habit of reckless driving. While engaging in road rage on the highway, he was sucked under a truck and died a gruesome death. Because ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of that, this car is steeped in an obsession with anger and speed."

"So... what happens next?"

"The professor, who is usually polite and meticulous, completely changes the moment he grips the steering wheel. His suppressed inner anger resonates with the ghost's madness. He starts spewing curses, speeding, and itching to rear-end the car in front of him."

I explained the climax of the script.

"When midnight on Monday strikes... basically, when the day comes, the car slips completely out of the driver's control. The doors lock, and the brakes fail. The navigation system starts announcing that they've veered off course and that their destination is a cliff. It becomes a moving coffin, driving its passenger straight to their death."

I took a breath after finishing the briefing.

Proud of the highly engaging setup, I gauged my team's reactions.

But their reactions were peculiar.

Instead of being gripped by fear, the three of them were exchanging glances with strange, knowing smiles.

"...What? Is something weird? I mean, yeah, it's a low-rated script, so it might be a bit odd, but you don't have to look at me like that..."

Min-hye chuckled and spoke up.

"Sunbae."

"Yeah?"

"You said the protagonist's name is Park Jinchul, right? And his job is a professor, he's meticulous, doesn't believe in ghosts, and is a stubborn old boomer who only cares about logic?"

"Uh, yeah... pretty much."

"That... isn't just a coincidence of sharing a name with Professor Park Jinchul from our department, is it?"

At Min-hye's pointing out, Deok-hoo snickered and clapped his hands.

Se-yeon also nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. Even the name is identical. The details are too specific, too. Like how he considers repairing old things a virtue, or his habit of lecturing people about 'mechanical mechanisms.'"

My team members narrowed their eyes. It was a playful interrogation directed at me.

"Sunbae... be honest."

Min-hye approached me with a mischievous grin.

"You're still incredibly salty about getting a C+ from the professor, aren't you? Just admit you made him the protagonist to get petty revenge in your script. We'll understand."

"Wow, Hyung, you're a terrifying person."

Deok-hoo pretended to shrink back in fear.

"If you don't like someone, you just throw them in a car and push them off a cliff. I better stay on your good side. Otherwise, I might end up as 'Otaku A' who gets blended in a mixer in your next script."

"No... stop exaggerating."

I waved my hands dismissively.

"The assignment back then was 'Observe people around you to create a three-dimensional character'! The professor just had an incredibly strong personality. I only used him as a model. I obviously didn't write it to actually kill him..."

"Oh, really?"

Se-yeon pushed up her glasses and offered a cold analysis.

"Even if you use someone as a model, you usually change their name. But using his real name? This can be seen as an expression of deep-seated hostility from your subconscious, or perhaps a desire for control—a need to make this person move exactly as you wish, at least within your own script."

"Sigh... fine, whatever. Think what you want."

Of course... I couldn't deny that when I was writing the script, on the night I was hurting from the professor's harsh criticism, there might have been a tiny, microscopic speck of resentment. A fleeting thought of, 'Ugh, I hope a ghost teaches him a lesson.'

But who could have known that it would return to haunt me as reality?

"Anyway!"

I cleared my throat to steer the conversation back on track.

"My intentions don't matter. What matters is that the system selected this scenario, which means our target is clear."

I wrote the names in large letters on the whiteboard.

"There are two major hurdles for this mission."

"First, our stage is a moving closed room. It's not fixed to a specific location; the stage is a road where cars speed at 100 km/h. It'll be much harder for us to control."

"True. Just keeping up with it will be a challenge."

Deok-hoo nodded worriedly.

"And second, the victim is Professor Park."

Everyone let out a collective sigh at my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠words.

"Ah... that really is the biggest problem."

Min-hye pressed her hand to her forehead.

"He's incredibly stubborn. I can already picture what he'd say if we went up to him and told him not to drive because his car is possessed."

"'Have you all lost your minds? Do you want an F?' He'd definitely say something like that."

"Exactly. That's why we have to prepare countermeasures for this car behind his back, or in a way he can't refuse."

I began writing down solutions on the whiteboard.

Deok-hoo spoke up.

"That's impossible in such a short timeframe."

"Right?"

"It's not something we can pull off. Rather than that, shouldn't securing a physical escape route be our priority?"

"Exactly. If the car doors lock, he won't be able to open them from the inside, so we need to break the glass. An emergency hammer, and a fire extinguisher just in case of a fire. Those are absolute essentials."

"We're helping the professor escape."

Se-yeon added to my words.

"The key will be placing them inside his car naturally."

And then.

"Salt and talismans. They worked during the laundromat incident. Let's hide them under the driver's seat or in the trunk ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this time too. We need to weaken the ghost's power as much as possible."

"Sounds good!"

And finally.

"What if our prevention fails and the car goes wild? We'll have to chase it down and stop it. Deok-hoo, you have your family's van, right? Get it serviced. If it breaks down mid-chase, we're done for."

"Wow, we have a mountain of work to do."

Min-hye stretched.

"Still, at least we know exactly who the target is and what the car is. It's better than last time when we had to start from scratch, right?"

"Yeah. And we have a week."

I clenched my fist.

"Let's head to school tomorrow. We'll check out the professor's car first and draw up a plan on how to approach him."

"Understood! Oh, but Hyung."

Deok-hoo asked as if suddenly remembering something.

"We can use that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠again this time, right?"

"Yeah. We can."

"Then can't we just write something simple, like 'the car won't start'? That way, he won't even be able to set off."

It was a simple yet brilliant idea from Deok-hoo.

I shook my head.

"Do you think it'll be that easy? Don't you remember? When we tried to cut the power during the laundromat incident and failed."

A painful memory resurfaced.

"This car will be the same. If it runs on grudges instead of an engine, the wheels might spin even if the ignition is dead. Besides, if we write an overly absurd setting, the system will trigger Self-Correction and create an even more horrific variable."

"Ah... right. Self-Correction."

Deok-hoo backed down.

"We have to use our revisions carefully. As a joker card that can turn the tables at a decisive moment without disrupting the flow of the story."

"Same goes for the other options."

I visualized the scenario in my head.

A runaway car. A screaming professor. And us, hot on their tail.

This stage was the road. Speed was everything.

"This is going to be fun," I muttered to myself.

A mission to rescue a stubborn old character I created from a cursed car I also created.

"Alright, let's wrap it up for today. Get some good sleep, everyone. Starting tomorrow, we go into professor-stalking mode."

"Got it!"

My team members stood up.

Watching their backs as they left the hideout, I closed my laptop.

What kind of crazy race would unfold this time?