The Mirror's Vengeance
'What is happening...'
In the midst of the chaotic situation, I rose from my seat to at least get moving.
The most important thing was to finish today's filming without any issues.
Since the clues were gradually coming together, I decided to join up with the members.
When I found the members and staff again, the atmosphere was noticeably different from when we had parted ways earlier.
‘Wow, did they really all drink the coffee I made?’
I hadn't expected them to divide it up like that.
‘This feels like we're shooting a legendary episode in a completely different way...’
While I was briefly amazed by the awakened members, one of them called out.
“By the way, Hak-jin-hyung.”
“Hm?”
“Where is In-hyeok-hyung?”
Asking about the missing Kang In-hyeok made Kwon Hak-jin's expression turn strange.
‘No way...’
I had awakened him myself, yet he had been bitten by a zombie...
“He got bitten by a zombie.”
As soon as I heard the news, a hollow laugh escaped me.
“Really?”
“That's how it happened.”
“Then where is he now?”
Hak-jin pouted his lips and trailed off with a short “Hmm.”
“Well, maybe he's wandering around in a zombie costume.”
I had wanted to stop the situation of wearing zombie costumes even after just a few months of debut.
But it had come to this.
“So the zombie is coming to catch us?”
“Probably.”
The image of Hak-jin in a zombie costume coming to hunt us down was so absurd that I could only laugh hollowly.
Anyway, escaping here before being caught by the zombie was the priority.
To find the password and the location of the exit, I combined all the clues gathered by the other staff.
“Won-woo-ya, is there any feeling at all?”
“Yeah, probably...”
Summarizing, the exit was in a hidden basement. There was likely an entrance and stairs leading down to the underground floor we hadn't found yet.
“And the password is probably this.”
If no clues had been missed, the number that would appear when combined was only one.
“Good. Let's go.”
Before the zombies arrived, we decided to move quickly.
The clues had all been found, and filming was about to end. That meant escape was close.
Nothing had happened yet, but who knew what was in store.
‘What trap they might have prepared at the end.’
I decided to keep my guard up until the very last moment.
* * *
When the elevator reached the floor, a bad feeling washed over me.
A cool sensation that something terrible was about to happen swirled around us.
And as if to confirm my suspicion, the moment the doors opened, zombies appeared in the corridor.
“Kyaaak!”
As soon as the elevator sound reached them, the zombies rushed toward the elevator at terrifying speed, and at the same time, they slammed the close button.
The zombie that had been about to tear us apart was blocked by the elevator door at the last second.
“......”
“......”
The elevator, now filled with screams, fell silent the moment the doors closed.
‘The acting was too real. I actually thought they were real zombies...’
While the elevator remained stationary, we exchanged glances.
“What should we do?”
“......”
“There are zombies right outside, so they come running the second they hear the elevator door open...”
This way, we were all going to die.
It was a fact everyone knew without needing to say it.
“Then someone here has no choice but to be the bait.”
While we stared at each other, wondering who would volunteer, one of the staff members raised their hand.
“I’ll be the bait.”
‘That one who had been running away at an incredible speed to escape the zombies earlier...’
At that speed, even if chased by zombies, there might still be a chance to survive.
But I wasn't sure. In a corridor completely filled with zombies, no matter how well you ran...
“As long as I can save all of you, I don’t care what happens to me.”
Because of the awakening effect, he had forgotten it was filming and was completely immersed in the role.
Thanks to that, even though it was just acting, it briefly felt like a real emergency.
The surroundings turned into a sea of tears. No one was actually crying, but the elevator was filled with the sound of sobbing.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Yeah. This is the last one.”
“There’s not much time left.”
Swept up in that atmosphere, I stood with my head pressed against each other, hugging tightly for a long time.
It was the first time I had hugged so many people in a narrow elevator.
“I won’t forget your sacrifice.”
“...Adios.”
Just as I was starting to feel exhausted, my gaze met Hak-jin’s beside me.
“By the way, hyung.”
“Hm?”
I asked while glancing at him.
“We’ll meet on the way, right?”
“Who?”
“The In-hyeok-hyung who became a zombie.”
Hak-jin rolled his eyes silently for a moment before looking back at me.
“Then there’s no choice.”
“If we meet...”
“Hmm, let’s not pretend we know and just run away.”
“Won’t that look too heartless?”
“Is the heart the problem? The living have to live.”
Yeah. Even I would get annoyed if I saw someone in a zombie costume acting and pretended to recognize them.
Just as the atmosphere was settling, the staff member at the front spoke up.
“As soon as the door opens, I’ll scream and jump out. Use that opening to get out.”
“Got it.”
The staff member who had volunteered as bait approached the elevator door.
Soon, the doors slid open and he screamed, running to the right of the corridor.
Hearing the sound, all the zombies in the corridor began chasing him.
Thanks to that, we barely managed to get out of the elevator safely.
“Alright, quietly... Let’s head this way first.”
Following the cautiously moving staff members, I scanned the surroundings.
A bad feeling came over me. So far, the things Hael had hinted at were more than a couple. Would they really let us escape without any traps?
‘I don’t know what trap they might have set at the end.’
I decided to keep my guard up until the very last moment.
* * *
In the final passage leading underground, we encountered another zombie horde.
This time, the bait strategy didn’t work. The only option was to run.
“Hey, something’s coming from behind! Run! Run fast!”
At that moment, a familiar face appeared.
“?”
It was Kang In-hyeok in a zombie costume.
‘No way...’
Even though it was clearly In-hyeok, I almost backed away unconsciously.
‘Wow, not only his scary face, but with the zombie costume on top, it’s even more terrifying...’
Because of the awakening effect, In-hyeok who would normally get depressed and hesitate even a little was now twisting his body madly while acting as a zombie.
What could I say? I was genuinely curious how he felt after turning into what he had always feared.
“Alright, just a little more and the exit is here!”
Amid escaping the zombie horde, a desperate shout rang out.
The staff members pushed through the narrow passage and blindly ran deeper inside. The rough breathing and clattering footsteps echoed everywhere.
“Aaaak!”
At that moment, one staff member was caught by a zombie, and the horde instantly surrounded his body.
“Go ahead, I got caught!”
The zombies blocked us from all sides so we couldn’t be grabbed, and the other staff members had no choice but to make a ruthless decision and leave them behind.
“Run, quickly!”
“Ah, that’s not it?”
A door that looked like the entrance to the underground appeared far away.
When I found the door, I realized escape was imminent.
‘We’re almost there.’
“Careful, careful, more are coming!”
Bang!
The sound of the door slamming shut and the latch locking echoed through the underground.
Amid the terrifying sound of zombies knocking on the other side, the surviving staff members collapsed to the floor, panting heavily.
“It was really too scary.”
After letting out a sigh, the staff members one by one stood up.
Now, only the final escape remained.
* * *
There was only one door in front of me.
If I opened this door, there should be an exit. Thinking that, I reached for the handle.
But the scene that unfolded before my eyes was completely different from what I had expected.
“...What is this?”
The floor, ceiling, and walls were all filled with mirrors without any gaps.
“Mirrors?”
Wasn’t the background setting supposed to be a bio-research lab? I couldn’t understand why mirrors suddenly appeared at the end.
“Ah, um... First, there is an exit here, right?”
Everyone touched the mirror walls with their fingertips and cautiously advanced forward.
Because everything was mirrors, walking made my stomach churn.
Also, because it was a narrow passage, I felt suffocated for no reason.
‘What is this, really.’
At that moment, Hak-jin walking beside me said in a low voice.
“Something prepared for you, isn’t it?”
“Eh?”
“No, since it’s all mirrors here, no matter where I look, your handsome face is visible.”
At that moment, my steps stopped unconsciously.
‘Wait.’
Suddenly, the words Hael had said to me before came back to mind.
‘Wow, how do you feel living with a face like that from birth? I wonder how you feel every time you wake up and look in the mirror in the morning.’
‘Your face... I’ll trample on that pretty face of yours.’
At that moment, an inexplicable chill crawled slowly up my spine.
Just as I thought, I turned my head.
Kwa-jik—
A diagonal crack appeared on the face reflected in the mirror.
Ching-rang!!!
At the same time as the lights dimmed, with a sharp crack, the mirror shattered and fragments flew in all directions.
While I was startled by the unexpected situation, I barely opened my eyes, breathing heavily. Just before a huge glass fragment flew toward my face, it stopped in mid-air.
‘...Stopped.’
I had successfully stopped it using the time-stop item.
The remaining time was ten seconds. Taking advantage of the lights going out, I moved my body quickly.
And as time resumed, the stopped glass pieces barely missed me, grazed past, hit the wall, and fell.
Soon, a buzzing sound came.
“What?”
“The mirror suddenly broke.”
“What? Why did the mirror break?”
I was curious about that too.
I didn’t know what it was, but this was probably Hael’s doing.
Was he trying to return the favor after I hit his face last time?
‘If it had been a little later, I might have gotten a scar on my face.’
“Won-woo-ya, are you okay? Any injuries?”
Meanwhile, Hak-jin, surprised, kept asking if I was okay while looking at me.
The production crew, also surprised, came running to check my condition.
“Why did the mirror break?”
“I don’t know either.”
Looking at the completely shattered mirror, my fists clenched.
‘Was this what they were aiming for.’
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