There's Space Behind the Pillar #2
Mom was trapped in the elevator. My vision went dark in more ways than one.
「Mom: I told you not to ride the villa elevator!」
「Mom: What's a villa?」
「Mom: It's not the villa, it's the company elevator?」
「Mom: It's a little scary being trapped alone here 」
「Mom: Still, I get to leave work early today, so I should be home for dinner 」
On the very day that bizarre elevator appeared in our villa, Mom got trapped in her company's elevator. It could have been a simple coincidence, but after everything I'd been through, my instincts told me the two events were deeply connected.
「Mom: Oh The elevator just arrived at the 4th floor See you later」
「Mom: But it's freezing in here My phone's almost dead too」
Mom messaged that she'd reached the fourth floor. Maybe it really was just a normal malfunction. The balloon of tension inside me deflated a little.
While I was getting ready for the next class, a photo arrived from Mom. It looked like she'd taken it from inside the elevator, looking out through the open doors. Beyond the open elevator doors was a rather dark interior. Was it really that dark outside? An uneasy feeling crept over me.
“What's wrong? Is Jeong Sojin bothering you with messages again?”
Yang Ju-hui poked my back with her finger, having noticed how anxious I looked.
“My mom got trapped alone in an elevator and just got out on the fourth floor. Look at this photo. Doesn't it seem way too dark and weird? Like some kind of storage room.”
I showed Yang Ju-hui the photo on my phone. Sharing the problem with someone else might lighten the load a little.
“Yeah. This is strange. Look under the number 4.”
Yang Ju-hui touched the phone with her pale, slender finger. When she zoomed in, there it was—just like she'd said. Below the floor number panel showing “4,” bright red text clearly read: 「Capacity Exceeded」.
“Didn't you say your mom was alone in the elevator?”
Capacity exceeded in an elevator with only one person? It could have been a simple malfunction, but I couldn't calm down at all.
No reply from Mom. The message read receipt never even changed from “1.” I immediately called her.
— The phone is turned off….
“……”
Ah, damn it. She did say her battery was dead!
I couldn't calm down at all.
“…Hey. Ju-hui. What class is second period?”
“Next is Korean, right?”
Korean class meant Kang Haneul. Even when the ceiling collapses, there's always a way out!
“Ju-hui. I think I have to skip class.”
“What? Hey! What's going on!”
I bolted toward the hallway. Click, click. Soon I ran into Kang Haneul, who was walking down the corridor in her high heels.
“Teacher. My mom seems to be in trouble, so could I skip class? Teacher, it's really urgent! Teacher! Ma'am! It's an emergency!”
“Yeong-won. What are you talking about all of a sudden? Your mother is in trouble?”
“Teacher! Please!”
Pat. I spun around and ran. Behind me I could hear the teacher calling, “Yeong-won~,” but my legs kept going like a truck with broken brakes.
Just as I was about to leave through the school gate, the security guard who had been practicing his golf swing spotted me and shouted.
“Hey! It's class time! Where do you think you're going? What grade and class are you in?”
“I have to go! My mom's in critical condition! My mom!”
“Your mom? That's unfortunate, but did you get permission from a teacher? If you have a signed leave form I can let you go right away, otherwise go get one. Too many kids lie and skip without permission.”
So you needed that kind of thing to leave during class. I'd never tried skipping before, so I didn't know.
What now? Should I go back and get it? While I was catching my breath after running so hard, someone waved from a distance.
“Hey, Ha Yeong-won. You forgot this.”
It was Jeong Seok, the vice class president. He was holding two sheets of paper that read “Early Leave Permit” and handed one to me.
「The early leave of student 'Ha Yeong-won' is hereby permitted for the following reason」
「Family emergency」
「Signature - Kang Haneul」
It was Kang Haneul's early leave permit! Jeong Seok had brought it. He had one for himself too.
「The early leave of student 'Jeong Seok' is hereby permitted for the following reason」
「Hospital appointment」
「Signature - Kang Haneul」
The handwriting was perfectly neat—almost like it had been printed by a computer. It was obviously Jeong Seok's work. Had he forged the leave forms? What a genius!
The security guard narrowed his eyes.
“Kang Haneul? I know her well. She has beautiful handwriting. These forms are written nicely too. Not many people write by hand these days with all the computers around.”
Ring ring ring. Just then, the guard's phone rang.
“Oh, it's a call from Teacher Kang Haneul.”
A call from Kang Haneul? What if she realized we hadn't actually gotten permission?
Should we just run for it?
“Yes! This is Kang Man-deuk! Ah, there are two students here at the gate who say they have permission to leave early. Yes. Ha Yeong-won. And Jeong Seok. Ah… yes. Homework. Understood.”
Click.
The guard hung up.
“Sorry for holding you kids up. There are just so many brats who lie and try to sneak out. Teacher Kang said she'll send homework by email for the classes you miss today.”
“Seok! Let's go!”
Jeong Seok and I slipped out of school. Once we were in an alley and the school was out of sight, he asked,
“What's going on? Is it because of the elevator?”
“I'll explain on the way. First we need to grab a taxi and get to my mom's company.”
“Hey! Why are you so late!”
While I was opening the taxi app, someone approached. It was Yang Ju-hui.
Jeong Seok asked, “You skipped too?”
“Nope? I crawled through the hole in the school wall.”
So there really was a hole in the school wall. As expected, people who skipped class knew all the tricks.
# # #
“This is your mom's company?”
Jeong Seok stared up in awe at the towering building. Osung Electronics' headquarters in Gaeryong Metropolitan City looked incredibly imposing.
“Wow. How many floors does it have?”
Yang Ju-hui was so overwhelmed she tilted her head all the way back, counting the floors with her finger.
Jeong Seok said, “I heard it's 100 floors. My dad attended the completion ceremony back then. I was there too. I didn't know Yeong-won's mom worked at Osung Electronics. The average salary here is 200 million won a year.”
Jeong Seok seemed unable to believe that Mom worked at Osung Electronics yet lived in a roach-infested villa without even a proper elevator. Honestly, this was my first time visiting her company too—M om never talked much about her new workplace.
Two hundred million won average salary!
“Hey. Is now really the time to worry about that? Let's go!”
At Yang Ju-hui's words, both Jeong Seok and I snapped back to attention. We walked into the gleaming building. The moment three students in school uniforms entered, everyone in the first-floor lobby turned to stare. It was a weekday afternoon—prime working hours. Students in uniforms were supposed to be stuck in school like chicks in a coop. Our presence walking through the company grounds was already abnormal.
“Kids, what brings you here?”
A pretty, friendly-looking woman at the reception desk smiled at us.
I spoke as the group's representative.
“Hello. My name is Ha Yeong-won. Does someone named Ha Chae-yeon work here? She's my mom, and something urgent came up—I really need to see her! It's an emergency! Seriously!”
“Ha Chae-yeon… Ha Chae-yeon…. Are you looking for the Ha Chae-yeon in the planning team? Or….”
“Planning? My mom's a cleaner. I heard she's in the facilities team!”
“Ah, that cleaner lady? But the Ha Chae-yeon in facilities is thirty-four this year. She has a high school son? You're a student at Yeongji High, right?”
“It's really urgent! Have you heard anything about an elevator malfunction?”
“Malfunction? I haven't heard anything like that. More importantly, are you really Ha Chae-yeon's son? No, wait—if you're mother and son, why do you have the same last name? Who are you?”
“Ugh, this is so frustrating! Hey! Ha Yeong-won! Just come here!”
Whoosh! Yang Ju-hui swung her long legs from under her skirt and sprinted off somewhere. The receptionist called out in surprise, “Hey! Where are you going!” but couldn't stop her.
Yang Ju-hui started pressing every elevator button in sight.
Ding ding ding. Elevators arrived one after another and she stepped inside each one.
“What the—there's no fourth floor here? They're all F floors. Even the 44th floor is FF! What kind of messed-up elevators are these?”
Osung Electronics' elevators had replaced every “4” with “F.” But Mom had clearly said her elevator stopped on the fourth floor.
“This won't work! Let's go straight to the fourth floor!”
Whoosh! Yang Ju-hui took off running, and Jeong Seok and I followed. But she was too fast—I was already gasping for breath just trying to keep up.
When we arrived at the F floor, it was filled with colorful, glowing large-screen TVs. Nothing like the photo Mom had sent. What on earth was going on?
The situation had hit a dead end. In the distance, security guards were approaching us.
“Hey! You kids! How did you get up here?”
“Sir! Have you received any reports about an elevator malfunction?”
“Elevator? Haven't heard anything. Did you hear anything, Team Leader Kim?”
“No, I haven't…. More importantly, who are you kids? That's a Yeongji High uniform, isn't it?”
No reports of an elevator malfunction. But Mom had definitely reached the fourth floor through a broken elevator….
While I hesitated, Jeong Seok—who had been silently following—spoke up.
“Yeong-won. I think that's the only possibility left. Let's get out of here. Staying here is just wasting time. You've probably figured it out by now too.”
He was right. Staying here was pointless.
“Taxi!”
I flagged down a taxi in front of the company and immediately gave our villa's address.
“Sir! Please take us to Taegwang Villa at this address! Hurry! Hurry!”
Vroom.
After about twenty minutes, the taxi pulled up in front of the villa.
“Damn it! We ended up here after all! In the end!”
Rip! Tear!Crackle!
The moment I entered the villa, I stood in front of the elevator covered in tape and ripped everything off.
Ding.
The elevator arrived on the first floor.
「The doors are opening.」
Clunk.Whirr.
The elevator doors opened, revealing bright lights. It looked like an ordinary, everyday scene. That only made the chill of fear and goosebumps worse. It was like an antlion pit luring in unsuspecting people to devour them. Like something that killed and ate people while pretending to be completely normal.
“What do we do! I have to go in there with a clear head! Guys! Give me courage!”
This was the lion's den. Even knowing it was a losing game, did I still have to place my bet? I wasn't even a gambling addict like Kim Yeong-ho!
“You cowards. Just wait!”
Step.
Yang Ju-hui moved forward.
“H-hey!”
“Uh…”
Before Jeong Seok or I could stop her, Yang Ju-hui stepped into the elevator and said,
“There's a fourth floor here! No… the problem isn't that there's a fourth floor. Every single button says 4. This elevator only has a fourth floor!”