Trip (10) – Zombie Siege and Piggyback Escape
The uwoooohhh sounds echoing from beyond the door showed no signs of dying down. Were they trying to kill time with the remaining duration like this? And just how much money had they poured into this? I was starting to worry if the haunted house could even stay afloat with the ticket sales. I couldn't tell if those zombies were real people or hyper-realistic dolls, but given how detailed they were, the odds leaned toward actual humans.
"How do we get out?"
Iri noona whimpered, clinging to my arm as I scanned our surroundings with her in tow.
"Hm?"
There was a message on one wall.
Emergency Exit: If zombies attack or you're in an emergency situation, please use this passage.
Beneath the blatantly obvious instructions was a bookshelf prop, complete with an arrow and a "push here" sign.
"It even has an arrow telling you to push it straight ahead, Iri noona?"
I glanced at her, but she was just trembling and staring back at me.
"Got it. I'll push."
Iri noona nodded and took a deep breath. Looked like she was ready to escape. I shoved the bookshelf, revealing a door. It swung open easily, leading to a passageway we hadn't explored yet.
In other words, the haunted house wasn't over. Iri noona's face fell in despair—she got it too. Truth be told, I was scared shitless. Earlier, Gahee noona's total lack of fear had kept me going, but now it was just the two of us. And we were both already traumatized by this place.
"...Iri noona. I know it's tough, but let's hang in there a bit longer."
"Yeah."
Her listless reply spurred us to take one cautious step at a time. The first stretch of hallway was mercifully empty. But the moment we opened the next door, something dropped from the ceiling.
"Eek! Uuugh..."
"Noona, calm down."
By now, I was used to these patterns. I covered Iri noona's eyes and slipped past the corpse doll.
"If you're really scared, Iri noona, just close your eyes and hold onto my shoulder?"
"Huh?"
"You did the same in the ghost house last time."
Even though that one was way tamer, she'd freaked out big time.
"N-No, I'm fine. I can..."
Right then, a severed hand crawled across the floor toward us.
"Ugh..."
In the end, I let her grab my shoulder as we walked. I got startled now and then, but I was getting the hang of it. It'll be fine. Please, just keep the scares at this level.
That desperate wish got thoroughly betrayed when we passed the second room and opened the third door.
"......Taeyang?"
"What do we do?"
The door swung open to reveal zombies surrounding us on all sides.
-Uwoooohhh!!
-Clank
-Clank
Their roars made us both collapse to the floor. The zombies charged straight at us.
"Aaaahhh—!!!!"
We screamed in unison, somehow ending up in each other's arms, begging for our lives.
-Clank
-Clank
But the approaching zombies strained against their chains, unable to get far as they grunted in frustration.
"Ah..."
"L-Let's get out of here first!"
I grabbed Iri noona's hand—her mental state completely shattered—and bolted for the door in the center. As we ran, zombie arms reached out from both sides, brushing against us.
"Open it quick!!"
Iri noona urged me on, but the door wouldn't budge. It was locked.
"Looks like it needs a key!"
"A key?"
Was there anywhere in here that might have one? Iri noona tried looking around too, then squeezed her eyes shut at the sight of the zombies.
"Ah, there! On the coat rack!"
In a blind spot just out of the zombies' reach, a large key ring dangled from a stand. The lighting was suspiciously bright over there—had to be it.
"Iri noona, close your eyes tight and wait here for a sec."
"Ugh... Yeah. Hurry back."
I headed straight for the coat rack. It was a bit high up, but on tiptoes, I could reach. As I grabbed the key, the flailing zombies next to me looked all too real.
"Ugh... Why do they make this stuff so damn realistic?"
The grotesque sight startled me into stepping back—and I tripped.
Thud—
"Ow... shit—"
"Taeyang, you okay?"
"Yeah, noona. Just tripped for a sec."
Iri noona had opened her eyes and was looking my way.
"At least I found the key, so let's get outta here quick."
To reassure her, I held up the key, dusted off my butt, and stood.
"Ngh..."
"Taeyang? What's wrong?"
"Ah, think I twisted my ankle when I slipped."
I couldn't just sit there—especially not with Iri noona freaking out. It hurt like hell, but I wasn't about to show it.
"Hey! Stay right there!"
"Huh? But—"
Suddenly, the cowering Iri noona stood up and approached me.
"Noona, aren't you scared?"
Uwoooohhh—
The zombies clearly terrified her; her face had drained of color. But she shook her head firmly.
"You're hurt. That's worse."
"This kinda sprain's nothing."
Stuff like this happened all the time. But then Iri noona turned her back to me and crouched down.
"Hop on quick. I wanna get the hell outta here."
"What? You're gonna piggyback me?"
"Hurry!"
"Ah, yeah..."
In the end, I climbed onto her back. I figured a third-year middle school boy would be too heavy for a girl, but she stood up effortlessly, mocking my doubts, and headed for the door.
"Ngh... hng!"
"Iri noona..."
The surroundings had to be terrifying, but she ignored the howling zombies on either side and pressed forward.
"Eek—!"
A zombie arm blocked her view for a second, making her yelp, but her arms stayed locked tight around me.
"Y-You're... okay?"
"Yeah, Iri noona. Don't worry about me—just keep going forward."
We finally reached the door. She caught her breath after I handed her the key, then flung it open.
"Looks like nothing's here?"
"Yeah, seems empty."
Thank god—it was just a descending staircase.
"Not too heavy?"
"Taeyang, you need to eat more."
Felt like the roles had flipped between guy and girl. Anyway, we started down the stairs carefully, one step at a time. No scare tactics here, probably for safety reasons. Tripping could mean serious injury.
Thanks to that, the descent was eerily quiet.
"Hang in there a bit longer, Taeyang. It's almost over."
"Yeah."
It was quiet for once, and with the trip giving us this rare alone time, now seemed like a good moment to talk.
"What happened earlier?"
"Earlier?"
"When we split into groups, I said I'd go with you, but you turned me down."
"Oh... It was nothing. Just..."
Iri noona hesitated, then mumbled.
"You two looked close with Gahee... Figured she'd be better company than me."
So she had misunderstood things between me and Gahee noona. I'd noticed her picking Gahee specifically when suggesting pairs.
"So you and I aren't close, then, Iri noona?"
"Th-That's not what I—!"
She stammered, at a loss for words. Just poking to see her reaction, but it was a relief to have the straightforward Iri noona back.
"I was just stepping aside so you could get closer to Gahee!"
I let it slide with a vague "got it." No big underlying issue, at least.
"Phew. I thought you'd started hating me or something."
"As if!!"
"........."
Our footsteps halted. Her voice—louder than usual—echoed everywhere.
"...Iri noona?"
"D-Don't say stupid stuff like that."
"...Sorry."
Had I pissed her off needlessly? From her back, I could see her ears flushed bright red to the tips. Without seeing her face, I couldn't gauge how mad she was.
Or... was it anger?
-Gahee and Iri both seem into you, huh?
-Too bad. Iri's definitely been acting different lately...
Today's events flashed through my mind. I hadn't taken Seonwoo's words seriously, but his smirking comment back at the dorm had that ring of certainty. Juyeon noona had started to bring up something similar about Iri noona, only for Hayan noona to shut it down quietly.
Juyeon noona had even texted me before asking if I was dating Iri, so it wasn't a total shock... But Hayan noona shushing her meant she believed it too.
At this point, it was fair to suspect, right? I worried about making her madder by asking outright, but too many pieces fit.
She'd stopped putting me in headlocks lately, too...
Just test the waters once.
"Haha, easy there. Someone might think you like me or something."
Trembling inside, I let the words out. I swallowed hard, waiting—then our steps stopped again.
"......Iri noona?"
"I'm tired. Let's drop it."
"Huh?"
"Noona's tired. Wanna get back to the dorm already."
"Ah... Yeah."
Her voice sounded oddly deflated as she muttered softly and clammed up.
"......"
Yeah, better leave it for today. She'd been through hell already—time to cut her some slack. Piggybacking me down the stairs had to be exhausting enough.
Plus... even if she did like me, pushing for a confession wouldn't help. I didn't have an answer yet.
I didn't know if I saw her as a girl, or if dating anyone was even feasible right now amid all this. The yanderes piling up in my head made decisions impossible. Felt shitty, like I was stringing her along, but I zipped it for now.
At the bottom of the stairs, the exit appeared. A final surprise waited right in front, but our reactions were surprisingly chill. A little startle, but no screams.
"Here they are~"
"You two are the last ones."
The group was waiting as we emerged.
"Good job, Iri, Taeyang. But..."
"Iri noona, you can put me down now."
"How're you getting back to the dorm like that? Just stay on."
Being carried in front of everyone was embarrassing, but she wouldn't let go. Guess we'd head back like this.
Seeing me on her back, they crowded around.
"You hurt or something?"
"Ah, just a slight ankle twist."
"For real?"
"Got any patches or first-aid stuff?"
"I'm fine, hyung. More than anything, I just wanna crash."
"Yeah, it's late. Let's head back and sleep."
It was already deep into the night. All I wanted was to get to the dorm and pass out.