Omniscient Sunfish (5)

It was my first time riding a helicopter, so whether ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was pure wonder or sheer nerves, I somehow managed not to get airsick. Once we climbed to a certain altitude, though, a faint wave of dizziness washed over me.

Ugh… yeah, that's coming up.

The sudden vertigo turned my stomach in an instant. I squeezed my eyes shut, brow furrowed — and the next thing I knew, we were back on the ground floor.

"Haa… how many more floors do we have to do like this?"

"Yoo Joonghyuk already cleared some of them. It'll go faster than you think."

Lee Jihye glanced at a torn Jurassic Park poster.

"So only the movies with intact posters are still screening?"

"Looks that way. We must've torn this one by clearing it. It was fine earlier."

Jung Heewon studied the shredded poster with open curiosity. Kim Dokja shot the two of them a sidelong look.

"Let's hurry. We have no idea how many films are left."

Taking her cue, we climbed the escalator toward the second floor.

Fortunately, just like with the webtoon floors, every movie poster on the second and third floors was already torn. We breezed straight up to the fourth floor like a car flying through a highway toll gate.

Ah, damn it… do I really have to go in there…

The closer we got to the fourth floor, the greener my face became. A boat. Of all things. I would rather charge a Constellation I'd never even met with nothing but a box cutter.

The moment we stepped onto the fourth floor, system messages rang out.

"Ah, we're fucked…"

Spotlights flooded down. The scenery shifted. When I opened my eyes again, we were standing at the bow of a ship, sea wind whipping across our faces.

"…………Shit."

Dragging us in without so much as a warning. Theater Owner, you shameless, classless son of a bitch…. Maybe it was the seasickness already fraying my nerves, but I found myself cursing the Theater Owner under my breath. And then this bastard—

Crash!

"Urgh…!"

A heavy swell rolled under the hull and the ship lurched. My body answered immediately. I wasn't normally this quick to get sick, but the tension must have accelerated everything. My companions all turned to stare at me in alarm.

"Jinwoo-ssi!? What's wrong all of a sudden…?"

"Hyung, are you okay?"

Jung Heewon and Lee Gilyoung asked, faces full of worry. I forced a bitter smile.

"…I get pretty bad motion sickness… urgh…! Excuse me…!!"

I pushed past my concerned companions, draped myself over the railing, and hung my head over the side, sucking in rough breaths as I fought to keep my stomach down.

"Huff…! Huff…!"

"Uurp… bleeeegh…!"

God, this is the worst. I should have taken motion sickness medicine beforehand. This damn nausea…. Still, emptying my stomach a little seemed to help. As long as the waves didn't get too violent, I figured I could tough it out.

"Haa… haa…."

I drew slow, deep breaths in and out. Belatedly, the sharp salt of the sea filled my nose and mouth, and the night ocean came into view — a full moon floating above the water.

"Jinwoo-ssi? Are you sure you're okay?"

At some point Jung Heewon had come up behind me and started rubbing my back. I turned my head to look at her.

"Oh… that dress looks amazing on you, Heewon-ssi. You're gorgeous."

A long, flowing gown in white and pale seafoam green that set off her porcelain skin perfectly. And the most important detail: the dress made no effort whatsoever to hide her figure — if anything, it put her curves on full display. She'd always been attractive, but right now she was devastating.

"Heh~ Really? Thanks for the compliment, Jinwoo-ssi."

Pleased, Jung Heewon spun in a full circle, her smile bright. The dress rippled around her like ocean waves. The seasickness was miserable, but getting to see Heewon in that dress almost made the suffering worth it.

I must have been staring a little too long, because she gave a small, satisfied laugh, then looked me up and down.

"That outfit looks great on you too, Jinwoo-ssi. Though… I feel like I've seen it somewhere before?"

"Huh?"

At her words I looked down at what I was wearing — and froze.

This is Jack Dawson's outfit from Titanic. This was supposed to be Gilyoung's costume…

Come to think of it, Heewon's dress was wrong too. She was supposed to be in a black-and-red gown. White and pale seafoam green?

I glanced over at the others. Lee Jihye looked the same as usual. Lee Gilyoung was in an ordinary suit instead of Jack Dawson's clothes. And Kim Dokja was wearing the black-and-red flowing dress that should have been Heewon's.

Kim Dokja looks incredible in that too. Why are there so many beautiful women in our party…

"Urgh…!"

I was mid-thought, happily reflecting on how blessed our party was with gorgeous women, when Lee Jihye suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth, sprayed vomit into thin air, and bolted to my side. She grabbed the railing exactly the way I had and hung her head over the edge.

"Oh my… so we've got two people with motion sickness in the party."

Jung Heewon started rubbing Jihye's back the same way she'd rubbed mine. After a long stretch of dry heaving, Lee Jihye looked up with a miserable pout.

"I… I get seasick."

"You're lucky it's just boats. I get sick from everything."

"How bad is it for you, Oppa?"

"I get carsick in regular cars. That should tell you everything."

"So whenever you had to go somewhere far, you must've suffered like cra— urp…!"

"Jihye, it's fine. Just throw up."

"Bleeeegh~!"

"Heewon-ssi, sorry, but could you do my back too…?"

"Got it. Just keep looking at the railing."

With the expression of someone who had transcended all earthly suffering, Jung Heewon diligently pounded both our backs. Once the worst of the dry heaves had passed, Lee Jihye turned her head and asked,

"This movie's the one, right? The ship that sinks."

"Seems like it."

"So do we have to sink the ship?"

"Want me to blow it up with dynamite?"

"Won't we all die too, Oppa?"

"Still better than seasickness."

"Okay, I'll give you that one."

"What do you mean you'll give him that— have both of you completely lost your minds over a little nausea?"

Jung Heewon glared at the two of us.

"But… is Dokja unnie the heroine? Heewon unnie's dress is pretty, but Dokja unnie's looks even fancier somehow."

"Mm… probably, yeah."

"Then Oppa's the male lead?"

"Most likely."

"Oh… that outfit actually suits you pretty well, Oppa."

"Thanks for the compliment, Jihye."

"Hey, don't ruffle my hair! You'll mess it all up!"

"The hat already wrecked it. Doesn't matter."

"Still!"

I plucked the hat off Lee Jihye's head and ruffled her hair with abandon. She shook her head with a sulky little pout that was ridiculously cute. She would've looked amazing in a dress too. Shame I didn't get to see it. I'd have to get her one later.

"Dawson!"

"Hm?"

While we were chatting among ourselves, a slicked-back man in a crisp suit fixed me with a glare.

"Jack Dawson!"

"Isn't that the villain?"

"Seems like it."

And so, armed with a length of rope from who-knows-where, we kidnapped the villain standing in front of us.

"Mmph…! Mmmph…!"

"It's fine. It's just a simple kidnapping. Calm down, buddy."

"Mmmph!!"

All I'd done was gently tell him to relax, and the villain thrashed like a madman. Why did every person I kidnapped always thrash harder the moment I tried to talk to them? I was being perfectly nice about it.

"So what do we do with him? Looks like a plain kidnapping isn't enough to get us to the next floor."

"Yeah. We grabbed him because he's the villain, but…"

Lee Jihye drew her sword.

"Then let's just kill him."

"Mmph…! Mmph!!"

Tears welled in the bound man's eyes as he writhed on the deck.

"The Theater Owner called this a Cider Pass, right? So the answer should be killing guys like this as fast as possible."

Hearing Jihye, Jung Heewon looked down at the struggling villain.

"But… he really does seem like a real person."

"What?"

"This is a movie. But he feels so real."

Kim Dokja stared at Heewon with an expression that was hard to put into words. I knew exactly why she looked like that, so I quietly glanced her way.

"Unnie, is this really the time for sentimental talk? If we don't kill this guy, we die. We're definitely alive — but he's just a 'character.' And a 'villain' who's going to do terrible things, at that. Even if he were a real person, why would we hesitate?"

"…I guess you're right."

Kim Dokja listened to Jihye and Heewon, her face growing thoughtful. Hearing a conversation I'd only ever read in a webtoon play out in real life left me feeling a little complicated too. If I told her that she herself was a character from a webtoon I'd read… what kind of face would she make?

Thud!

While I was lost in thought, Lee Jihye drove her blade into the thrashing man's chest. Blood gushed from the wound. His body went limp on the deck. A moment later, system messages appeared.

"See? That did it. Master's life is on the line — no time to sit around moping!"

Lee Jihye said with a triumphant grin.

"Quick and clean!"

Lee Jihye flashed a grin and shot Kim Dokja and me a thumbs-up.

Following the system messages, we moved to the stern of the ship and immediately crossed over to the next floor.

As we finished climbing the stalled escalator, another system message floated up.

"Huh? A Reward Room? So no movie plays here?"

"Whoa, are all of these items?"

"This must have been a display room for movie props."

My companions fanned out through the Reward Room, voices full of awe as they took in the dazzling array of items. Then Jung Heewon suddenly cried out at the sight of a particular sword.

"Hah, look at this sword!"

She clearly adored the sword inside the glass case. Eyes sparkling, she carefully lifted it free and drew the blade from its scabbard.

"Wow…. This is incredible. The edge is perfect, and it's so light!"

"You've finally got a proper sword, Heewon-ssi."

"Congratulations, Heewon-ssi."

A faint flush colored her cheeks as she gazed dreamily at the blade. Kim Dokja and I both offered our congratulations.

"Hey, Oppa."

"Hm?"

Lee Jihye called out to me. What did she want all of a sudden?

"Why is Heewon unnie so happy about that sword?"

"Remember when you and Heewon-ssi talked about swords right before we entered the hidden dungeon?"

"Yeah, of course I remember."

"Well, at the time, Heewon-ssi was carrying a really shabby blade."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah. That's why she hid it off ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the side. Your sword looked amazing, and hers looked like junk by comparison."

"Ahh~ So that's why she stashed it earlier?"

"The sword your master gave you is top-tier. She was probably feeling a little self-conscious carrying around a knife made of monster bone."

"I se— uh, sorry, Oppa."

"Sorry for what?"

Swoosh—.

"Huh?"

Lee Jihye was suddenly apologizing to me. I looked at her in confusion — and something soft and warm brushed my ear. Then it twisted. Hard. I screamed at the sudden pain.

"Ack! What the—?!"

"Jinwoo-ssi?"

"Hee— Heewon-ssi? Why are you suddenly— my ear…?"

It was Jung Heewon twisting my ear. Had she overheard…? I asked in a trembling voice.

"H-Heewon-ssi? Why are you suddenly grabbing my ear…"

"You seriously don't know? Why would you tell Jihye that?! Do you have any idea how embarrassing that is?!"

"Ack! I'm sorry! But there was no real reason to hide it— ngh!"

She put more force into the twist. The silent message was clear: don't talk back.

"Are you sorry, or aren't you?"

"I-I'm sorry! So please, my ear—!"

Jung Heewon looked down at my pain-twisted face for a moment, then let go.

"Guh…!"

I clutched my burning, throbbing ear. Last time it was Yoo Sangah; this time it was Jung Heewon. Why did they always go for the ears?

She shot a glare at me as I writhed, then walked over to Kim Dokja with a smile.

"It's such a shame we can only take two things each from this treasure vault."

"Heewon-ssi, please pick up something useful for Sangah-ssi. I'll find something for Hyunsung-ssi."

"Urgh… what about me, Dokja-ssi?"

"Jinwoo-ssi, please choose items for yourself. Aside from your gun, you don't really have proper gear, so that would be better for you."

"Thanks, Dokja-ssi."

I thanked Kim Dokja for the consideration and started looking around for items to pick — when a familiar voice cut through the room.

"Argh, why won't this thing come out!"

I turned my head. In the corner of the Reward Room, Lee Jihye was straining with everything she had to pull free some item. Thanks to her, Oppa had nearly had his ear ripped off by Heewon — and here she was, casually trying to yank out a hammer.

Kim Dokja watched Jihye wrestling with the hammer, smiled, and walked over.

"Isn't that something only a special person can use?"

"Damn it, I am special!"

Jihye raised her voice, clearly stung. Just then, Lee Gilyoung — who had put on a hat-shaped item from the Reward Room — wandered over beside her and reached for the Mjolnir she'd been struggling with.

"Hey, kid! That's mi—"

Shunk.

"What?!"

Unlike Jihye, Lee Gilyoung pulled Mjolnir free with almost no effort. Jihye stared at him — and at the hammer resting lightly in his hand — in utter desolation.

"Noona, can I keep this?"

"Sure. It suits you."

Lee Jihye looked back and forth between Heewon's new sword and Gilyoung's Mjolnir with the same hollow expression.

"I'm the only one who's unlucky… just me…"

"Tsk tsk…."

I ruffled the hair of the thoroughly dejected Jihye as I walked past. Everyone except Kim Dokja and me had already finished choosing their items. I needed to hurry up too.

"Hmm… is there anything worth picking around here?"

The Reward Room was a collection of equipment, costumes, and stage props used by protagonists from all kinds of films. The variety was impressive, but finding something I actually needed right now was surprisingly hard.

"Oh? This looks good."

After wandering the room for a while, I finally spotted something promising.

"You're my first pick."

I read Gleipnir's item description, smiled in satisfaction, and lifted it from the glass case. The chain swayed with a metallic clink-clink as the links knocked together.

"You — go into your dedicated subspace."

Woom.

The instant the words left my mouth, golden ripples shimmered in midair, and Gleipnir slipped neatly into the waves. I let out a small sound of admiration.

Pretty useful haul. Now, for the second one… hmm?

As I scanned the room, a one-handed sword inside a glass case caught my eye. I walked over and checked the item information.

"Not bad. You're my final pick."