In the House (1)

"Please follow me, everyone."

Yu Ji-in led the way. She walked down the corridor of the space station, and the heavy metal gates slid open in perfect sync with her footsteps.

Ssshhk!

It was a scene straight out of a movie.

"Whoa, that is so cool," Im Hae-jun marveled, his mouth slightly agape.

Lee Jun-ho, Seo Ji-woo, and even Kate looked wide-eyed, as if it were their first time seeing anything like this.

"Now, our starting point is right here."

They arrived at a spacious area.

Rows of oval capsules lined the room—the hibernation chamber of the space station.

"This is the life support sector," Yu Ji-in explained. "These are hibernation capsules. You might have seen them a lot in sci-fi movies."

They were just large enough to fit a single person. Usually, sci-fi was associated with aliens.

"You will all enter the labyrinth from inside these capsules."

"Whew. I'm getting nervous, Hyung," Im Hae-jun said.

The "Hyung" he was referring to wasn't me. It was Kang Hyun. Usually, when Hae-jun addressed me, he called me Ssaboo.

"Indeed," Kang Hyun replied, then turned to me. "How about you, Hyung?"

I quietly looked at Kang Hyun.

I forced a smile. "It should be fun."

"Everyone, please change into your hibernation suits in the private changing rooms and enter your capsules~"

Yu Ji-in pointed to the men's and women's changing rooms on the left and right. The explorers went inside, changed, and came back out. Everyone was wearing identical spaceship jumpsuits.

"Wow~ Ji-woo, how do you look so good even in something like this~?"

"Really~? You look absolutely gorgeous too, Hwa-rim~"

Yoon Hwa-rim and Seo Ji-woo were having a mini fashion show, while...

"Oh~ Jong-su, that fit is insane~ You look like a Thom Browne model~"

"Ahem. No, no, I've gained some weight~ I hope I don't rip this... You watch out too. Your back looks like it's about to burst."

"No way~ I've got lean muscle..."

Lee Jong-su and Kim Dong-ha were also putting on a ridiculous show, complimenting each other while flexing their muscles as hard as they could.

On the other hand, Kate kept tugging at her sleeves as if the clothes were uncomfortable, and Im Hae-jun tilted his head as he looked at his own arms and legs.

"Ssaboo. Isn't this way too big, even for me?"

"Just wear it..."

Now that he mentioned it, it really was too big. There were almost two handspans of extra fabric dangling.

"Did you swap with someone?"

"Maybe..."

Im Hae-jun dragged his pants along the floor, his brow furrowing. "If it's a spacesuit, shouldn't it have an auto-fit function or something?"

"...Oh? Hey, I think you swapped with her."

I pointed at Ryu Yeon-hwa. She had suddenly appeared in a skin-tight suit, awkwardly waddling while trying to pull down the hem.

"Oh! Yeon-hwa Hyung!"

Im Hae-jun ran over. Ryu Yeon-hwa let out a sigh of relief, looking incredibly glad.

"Everyone, please hand over your personal belongings. Personal items ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cannot be used in this labyrinth."

Yu Ji-in suddenly made a devastating announcement. I flinched and looked back at her. Our eyes met. Both of our gazes immediately fell to my cane.

"...Don't worry. Each of you will be provided with an equipment box containing suitable gear."

"Phew."

Thank goodness.

Before I knew it, Im Hae-jun had changed his clothes and returned.

"Whew~ Now this fits right."

Looking satisfied, he posed like an astronaut in front of the mirror.

"Everyone, please enter your capsules. We will be departing shortly."

At Yu Ji-in's words, everyone stood before their capsules with tense expressions.

Ssssshk!

The hibernation capsules opened. Feeling as though I were stepping into a coffin, I climbed inside and lay down.

Warm water slowly began to fill the capsule. It didn't feel bad. In fact, it felt warm and cozy.

"Oh..."

I'd heard that taking a warm shower in the dead of winter releases oxytocin, but this felt about ten times better.

Drowsiness washed over me.

Without delay, I activated Dream Bubble. A tiny bubble floated up inside the capsule.

I opened my eyes.

"Gasp...!"

I gasped for air, clutching my chest as I panted.

"Haa, haa, haa..."

I blankly scanned my surroundings.

I was wearing the spacesuit, and I was still inside the capsule.

Sssssshhhk.

The capsule slid open.

I tried to step onto the ground with both legs, but immediately collapsed.

"Argh!"

My left leg. A severe, throbbing pain shot through my knee.

"Ugh... damn it..."

Was this a side effect of hibernation?

After rolling around on the floor for a while, I managed to push myself up.

"...Where is it?"

She said they prepared a cane.

Right next to the capsule was an equipment box. It required fingerprint recognition.

Inside the box were cold weapons like swords, spears, and bows, along with a pistol and a cane.

Instinctively, I grabbed the pistol first, then pulled out the cane.

"It's not bullet-based."

The pistol was magic-charging. When magic was channeled into the cylinder, it refined the energy into bullet-like projectiles. This was actually better.

Only then did I take in my surroundings.

It was a workshop-like space, with nothing but my hibernation capsule sitting solitary in the room. In other words, I was completely alone.

Even though fifty of us had entered together.

"You're awake."

A sudden presence made itself known. I raised my pistol and aimed it at the source. I saw a woman dressed in work clothes.

"Quite a violent explorer, aren't you?"

"...Who are you?"

"I'm Julione. The supervisor who took you in."

She had a rather irritable impression. She looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties. Unlike Kate's, her unkempt blonde hair was dry and frizzy like dog fur, and the deep wrinkles around her eyes made her look incredibly tired.

"Take this. It's a terminal."

She handed over a device. I slipped it into my pocket for now and asked, "Where are we?"

"Where do you think? Sector A2199 of the Romulus M31 galaxy cluster. Right ascension 0 hours 45 minutes, declination 41.3 degrees."

"That means absolutely nothing to me."

"I guess you haven't downloaded the data yet."

I don't even know what "downloading" means.

I spotted a laptop sitting on a shelf in the corner.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"These kinds of things usually hold clues."

I walked over, leaning on my cane. Julione looked displeased as she watched my limping leg.

*Click.*

I turned on the laptop.