The Room You Can't Leave Unless You Do It 2
The elderly man had snow-white hair and a face deeply etched with wrinkles.
Yet his eyes burned with a sharp, piercing intensity as he issued orders to his secretary.
“That will be all. From now on, proceed through Team Leader Lee Seo-ha.”
“...Director, are you truly going to move forward with this? Seo Da-hee is a crucial asset for Project Amber. Isn’t this method far too dangerous?”
The secretary asked with clear concern, but the Director answered as if the matter were trivial.
“Precisely because it’s dangerous, we do it this way. Abilities manifest and evolve according to one’s most desperate wishes. If she performs well in the exploration team, she’ll naturally transform into the perfect test subject we need… Besides, there’s no need to worry too much. We’ve attached that Anomaly Hunter as insurance, haven’t we? He may be injured, but he’s still quite useful. Don’t spare any support for the Anomaly Hunter. He’s a card we must use until the time is right. You may go now.”
“Understood. I will proceed exactly as instructed.”
Once the secretary had left, the Director turned his gaze to Seo Da-hee’s profile resting on the desk.
“A Charm ability potent enough to captivate even anomalies… If we use Agent Seo Da-hee as bait, we might be able to eradicate the anomalies within the Nest with ease… But in the process, her mind will inevitably shatter.”
The Director then picked up Kang Jin-cheon’s profile.
“Therefore, Anomaly Hunter, your role is…”
While the exploration team moved forward, Seo Da-hee kept stealing glances at Kang Jin-cheon.
The way he dispatched the terrifying Wandering Species with a single strike truly befitted his title as the Anomaly Hunter. It was hard to believe this was the skill of a man who had retired due to injury…
He was just… so cool. And he was already incredibly handsome to begin with…
“Da-hee, is something wrong?”
Had he noticed her gaze?
Jin-cheon Sunbae, sword slung across his back, turned and spoke to her.
“N-no… It’s nothing…”
She lowered her eyes and mumbled vaguely in response.
“Really? If anything comes up, just tell me.”
“Yes…”
He was kind and gentle.
Without him, she would never have adapted to life in the personnel department.
…She had feelings for him. If she were with him, she felt she could overcome the pain of her past and move forward.
But at the same time, another thought always crept in.
What if the kindness Jin-cheon Sunbae shows me is only because of my Charm ability? What if all that goodwill is nothing more than an artificial effect of my power?
The moment that thought crossed her mind, her chest tightened and her breath caught.
…It had already been nearly a year since she started tormenting herself with these worries.
What did she really want?
…Wouldn’t it be easier to just use her ability aggressively and steal his heart?
“Hah…!!”
“Da-hee? What’s wrong? That’s strange—there aren’t any anomalies nearby…”
She had just entertained a truly shameful thought.
To try and forcibly captivate someone’s heart… that was the worst thing imaginable.
It was unforgivable…
Thinking that, Da-hee forced herself to answer.
“No, it’s nothing… really nothing, Jin-cheon Sunbae.”
She looked at him with a fragile, precarious smile.
“…”
Unnoticed by either of them, Team Leader Lee Seo-ha was watching the pair with a steady, piercing gaze.
“…This is the place.”
Before we knew it, we had arrived in front of the Monua Department Store.
“Then let’s head inside.”
At Team Leader Lee Seo-ha’s instruction, we stepped into the building.
The moment we did, the scenery before our eyes melted away, replaced by an entirely new landscape.
What appeared was a bustling city street from the past—untouched by ruin.
Countless people walked the streets as if it were perfectly ordinary.
Except none of them had noses or mouths.
“…! This is… a Nest…!”
Team Leader Lee Seo-ha whispered to me, her voice laced with alarm.
I quickly looked toward where Da-hee had been standing.
But she was gone.
“What the…!”
Even upon entering a Nest, there had never been a recorded case of team members being displaced so abruptly…!
“…It appears Agent Seo Da-hee’s awakened Charm ability has created an unforeseen variable. We must locate her immediately.”
Of course, finding her in such a vast city would normally be nearly impossible.
If I didn’t possess my particular abilities, that is.
I immediately activated my X-Ray Vision and Clairvoyance to locate Da-hee.
“…! Found her.”
But what I saw was far from ordinary.
Da-hee, her face flushed bright red, wearing a cheap, body-hugging cow-print bikini…
The sight was so provocative I nearly closed my eyes on instinct.
“…She’s currently trapped inside a hotel. It’s quite a distance from here. We need to hurry.”
I barely managed to regain my composure and began moving to guide Team Leader Lee Seo-ha toward the hotel where Da-hee was located.
“Hold on, Jin-cheon. I understand you’re anxious, but we should read this Rules Sheet first.”
“…Right. I almost made a critical mistake.”
I had nearly gotten myself killed before I could even rescue Da-hee.
…Yes, I had to admit it. I was extremely rattled right now.
Ever since I had seen Da-hee’s bare body—the one she always kept hidden beneath her formal suit—my heart refused to stop racing.
What the hell is wrong with you, Kang Jin-cheon…!
In a Nest crawling with anomalies that could take your life the moment you let your guard down, what kind of pathetic behavior was this?
At that moment, I was grateful that Team Leader Lee Seo-ha was with me.
1. Never make loud noises. The visually impaired ■■ rely solely on hearing to hunt. Loud sounds act as perfect beacons for them. If you drop something and cause noise, lie flat on the floor and hold your breath within three seconds. Noise pollution agitates ■■ and will kill you.
2. Never run. The ■■’s dynamic vision far exceeds human imagination. Anything that moves faster than ■■■ is perceived as ‘living prey,’ and humans can never match that speed. No matter how urgent the situation, always walk at a steady, calm pace.
3. Even if you see people on the street after 9 PM, never acknowledge them. Residents of ■■ City do not walk around at that hour. If your eyes meet, immediately lower your head and wait until they pass.
4. If you smell a strong ‘scent of rain’ in an alleyway, stop immediately and turn back. According to the ■■ City weather forecast, there is no rain expected for the next week. That pungent smell is not rain—it is the scent of ■■ bodily fluids.
5. Never walk under red streetlights. All streetlights in ■■ City are white or yellow. If you see a red streetlight ahead, it is an ■■ mimicking the form of a lamp post.
6. If you look in a mirror and your pupils have turned purple, go to the health center immediately. However, while heading there, never look at any reflective surface—including mirrors or windows—that might show your reflection again.
7. Never scream. Even if your companion is dragged away or dies instantly right beside you, do not scream or cry out. Remember Rule 1. Grief and fear will only turn one death into two.
8. After 11 PM, completely cover all windows with black cloth or blackout curtains. The knocking you hear at night is not the wind. Even if you hear a voice saying “Open the door,” never be deceived.
9. This Rules Sheet only contains eight rules. If you are reading Rule 9, you have already entered the cognitive contamination range of ■■. Burn this paper immediately and constantly remind yourself who you are—without speaking aloud.
