Chapter 70
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 70
The exit of the haunted house. As Eun-ji emerged, an employee standing there greeted her with a smile.
“Thank you for visiting!”
A cheerful tone.
In response, Eun-ji gave a slight nod and started walking.
Heh, that was fun.
The ice rink had been fun, but the amusement park was much better.
The Viking ship, the roller coaster, even that octopus-looking ride that spun around as it dropped—it was all fun.
She’d been startled by the ghosts that popped out in the haunted house, but it was still fun, so she could find it in her heart to forgive them.
“Hee-hee~”
Eun-ji hummed as she walked, her steps quick.
She was busy wondering what to ride next when…
“Ah.”
She stopped, suddenly remembering something she had forgotten.
I have to get my attendant first.
An old, weak attendant. How pathetic. But since she was a kind-hearted princess…
Where is he…
He was on this bench.
Thinking this, she scanned the area around the bench, but there wasn't a trace of Dokyun to be seen. A sense of unease crept over her, and she opened her mouth to call his name.
“Attendant?”
She called out softly, but there was no reply.
Where did he go?
She looked around, but there was no one who looked like Dokyun.
“Hey, where are you?”
Thinking he might be hiding somewhere, she called out once more, but he was still nowhere in sight.
As the silence stretched on, she felt her mood begin to sour. She called for Dokyun again, a little louder this time.
“Attendant!”
Again, only silence answered.
Did he… run away?
The sudden thought made her brow furrow, and irritation began to spread across her face.
Squeeze—!
Veins bulged on her clenched fist.
“Hey, this isn't funny! Come out now!”
She shouted, her voice rising, but he still didn’t appear.
However.
“What the…”
“Pfft, did you hear that? She said ‘attendant.’”
“What a weirdo…”
Whispers started to drift from the people nearby.
Feeling that something was wrong, Eun-ji lifted her head and scanned her surroundings. A crowd had gathered, and they were all staring at her.
“Hk…!”
She felt herself shrink back. Her head lowered slightly, and her mood worsened.
Step.
Without realizing it, her feet began to back away on their own.
Her face flushed, burning hot.
A suffocating feeling washed over her, and a small mumble escaped her lips.
“Attendant…”
Her spirits began to sink at the thought of Dokyun disappearing without a word. Then, a single possibility flashed through her mind.
Did he… abandon me?
Was she abandoned?
The moment she had that thought, her breath caught in her throat.
Huh?
She had been fine just a moment ago, but now a wave of nausea churned in her stomach.
What’s happening to me?
Was it because she’d ridden too many rides? The churning intensified, and she felt her breathing grow ragged.
Perhaps because of that, the voices of the people around her amplified the unpleasant sensation. She wanted to block them out, so she covered her ears, but…
“—”
“—”
“—”
The sounds didn’t stop. They continued to grate on her nerves.
Squeeze—.
Her chest tightened, but she was afraid that if she pounded on it, the sounds would only get louder. She couldn't bring herself to take her hands away from her ears and instead curled into a ball.
“—”
“—”
“—”
The muffled sounds kept beating against her covered ears, and the dizziness grew worse.
Why…?
This had never happened before. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
That thought began to consume her mind. The churning sensation made her vision start to waver, and then—
Piiiiing—.
The world twisted with a piercing noise.
“Uh…”
A stupid sound escaped her lips.
She cautiously lifted her head and looked around. The familiar scenery of the amusement park began to flicker, a strange space superimposing itself over it with a crackle of static.
The figures of the people around her wavered, and black, shadow-like things overlapped them.
Then, unfamiliar voices began to echo in her head.
[How pitiful…]
[…now…]
The voices that had been muffled just moments before began to take shape inside her mind, carrying a bizarre resonance.
“Gasp…!”
She sucked in a sharp breath. The dizziness was so intense it was hard to stand properly.
“Hah, heuh…!”
Her breathing grew more and more frantic as the strange voices began to fill her head.
[…iful…]
[Then… what about…]
Thump.
A suffocating pain seized her, as if her breathing had stopped.
She moved her hands from her ears to her chest.
“Hey, she looks like she’s in trouble.”
“Shouldn’t someone call for help?”
The voices pierced through her ears again.
“Ah, ah…”
Suddenly, her body began to tremble.
And so.
I’m scared…
She was terrified.
The stares, the voices, the churning sensation—it was all so terrifying.
She had to run. This place was dangerous. She didn’t know why, but it was dangerous.
Stumble. Stumble.
Her feet began to move.
Thump-thump-thump.
She broke into a sprint.
*
Dokyun walked with a drink in each hand.
Ugh…
There are so damn many people.
Maybe staying home on Christmas really is the best option. He let out a sigh, thinking that if it hadn’t been for Eun-seol’s request, he would have spent the whole day cooped up in his room reading web novels.
Soon, he arrived back at the bench, which was still empty. A small question bloomed in his mind.
She’s not back yet?
She’s sure taking her time. What’s so fun about that creepy place anyway?
With that thought, Dokyun sat on the bench and began to wait for Eun-ji, sipping the coffee in his right hand.
About ten minutes passed.
Still not out?
Sensing something was off, Dokyun lifted his head and looked toward the haunted house.
It was strange.
No matter how long the haunted house was, could someone really be in there for this long? As that thought crossed his mind, a baseless sense of dread began to grow, and he shot to his feet.
He immediately walked toward the haunted house exit and approached an employee. He described what Eun-ji looked like and asked if they had seen her.
“Ah.”
The employee replied.
“She left a long time ago.”
He had just delivered some very bad news to Dokyun.
“Ah… thank you.”
Dokyun turned and walked away from the employee, feeling a cold sweat trickle down his back.
So…
In that short time, the kid had gotten lost.
“Shit.”
He was so fucked.
Had he let his guard down? He hadn't considered that the kid might wander off on her own. It was clearly his mistake.
Feeling his heart pound, Dokyun hurried away.
It was an unexpected accident, but he had to stay calm. He had to think calmly and rationally about what to do.
First things first.
The Lost Child Center. He would go there first and look for the kid. If she wasn’t there, he’d ask for an announcement.
His mind made up, Dokyun quickened his pace. His walk turned into a run, and soon he arrived at the Lost Child Center.
He burst through the door and scanned the room, but Eun-ji was nowhere to be seen.
“Can I help you?”
An employee approached Dokyun, who had just flung the door open.
“Ah, I’m sorry, but I’ve lost someone. Could I possibly ask for an announcement?”
“Oh, of course. What is her appearance and age?” the employee asked in return.
As he was about to answer, Dokyun felt his face flush beet red.
“…Well, she’s twenty-two.”
He’d forgotten a crucial fact because the person inside was a little kid. The person he was looking for was a grown woman.
As he continued his explanation, Dokyun’s face grew redder and redder. The employee watching him let out a small laugh and reassured him.
“It seems you can’t get in touch with the person you’re looking for. This happens from time to time. Would you like to wait here?”
“Yes, thank you…”
Dokyun bowed his head deeply and thanked her. After watching the employee make the announcement, he sat in the center for a moment, but the anxiety refused to go away. He got up again and spoke to the employee.
“Could I get the number for this place? I think I need to go out and look for her.”
“Ah, yes.”
The employee nodded, jotted down the number on a slip of paper, and handed it to him. Dokyun took it, bowed his thanks, and went back outside.
He could have just sat there and waited, but for some reason, he couldn’t stay still.
A baseless anxiety was welling up inside him, growing larger and larger, filling him with the thought that he had to do something. Unable to just wait, Dokyun began to walk, his steps quick and urgent.
*
The sounds wouldn’t stop.
She thought they would all stop if she went somewhere without people, so she had run to the most secluded corner she could find, but the sounds wouldn’t stop.
[…is go…ing…]
[Then… I guess…]
The choppy, incomprehensible words kept digging into her mind.
A lump formed in her throat, and tears suddenly welled in her eyes. She mumbled without thinking.
“Sister…”
She thought of her sister.
“Attendannnt…”
She thought of her useless attendant.
Was she abandoned? Did he really leave her? Was he angry because she was so mean, because she kept teasing him?
The thought of being all alone made the rims of her eyes grow so hot they felt like they were burning, and tears began to stream down.
The tears rolling down her cheeks were so hot she wanted to wipe them away, but if she took her hands from her ears, she was afraid the strange sounds would get even louder. She couldn’t move them.
Her heart was pounding so hard she was terrified it would burst.
[—]
[—]
[—]
She pressed her hands tighter against her ears, and the sounds became more muffled, turning into a grating, screeching noise.
“Hnngh…”
It was strange. So strange and scary.
This had never happened before. She didn’t know these voices.
The strange place that flickered and superimposed itself over her vision was a place she didn’t know.
Her vision kept twisting, and the sounds kept coming.
“Hnngh…”
A groan escaped through her clenched teeth.
She didn’t want to see it, so she closed her eyes, but she still saw it. She didn’t want to hear it, so she covered her ears, but she still heard it.
Her stomach kept churning, and her heart kept pounding.
“Where did you gooo…”
A sound that was almost a sob escaped her, and her eyes, now hot enough to burst, began to sting with a sharp pain.
“Hic… Waaah…”
Her jaw trembled and parted, letting out a sob.
If it was going to be like this, she just wanted to go back inside, to fall asleep, but she couldn’t even do that.
It was as if she was blocked by some kind of wall; no matter how hard she struggled, it wouldn’t happen.
Kiiiiiing—.
An eerie sound was added to the mix.
[—]
[—]
[—]
The nausea grew even worse.
“Ugh… Hnngh…”
Her breath caught in her throat, and she grew dizzy. Her crouched body began to sway.
The whole world was warping, and she was terrified she was going to die.
The swaying grew more violent, and the strange place that kept replaying with a crackle of static became clearer and clearer.
[And so…]
[…the…]
[That person… because…]
Sounds pounded against her head.
Screeeeeech—!
All sorts of horrifying noises overlapped.
“Stooop…”
A plea escaped her lips. The sobs wracked her entire body, and in that moment—
“Go Eun-ji!”
Stop—.
The churning stopped.
At the sound of the voice, she cautiously lifted her head. There, she saw the person she had been desperately searching for.
His huge, bear-like frame was heaving as he gasped for breath. His face was twisted into a fierce scowl.
“Uh…”
It was her attendant.
Thump—.
He strode over, grabbed her by the shoulders, and shook her. The static-filled scenery vanished.
“What are you doing here?! I was so…”
As her attendant spoke, the strange, screeching noise disappeared.
The tension snapped. The breath that had been trapped in her lungs rushed in, and the tears that had only been trickling before finally burst forth.
“WAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
“Huh? Hey, no!”
She heard his panicked voice, but more than that, she was so relieved that the strange sounds were finally gone that the tears just kept coming.
“WAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
“N-No… Hey! Stop it!”
Her tears wouldn’t stop, so she hugged her attendant tightly. He patted her back, and the gesture was so reassuring that her sobs only grew louder.
But, even so, she was angry.
She was so happy to see him, but she was so angry.
“Where did you go?!”
She screamed.