Confidence in Doubt

We glanced at each other without saying a word and immediately turned on the recorder.

The familiar crackling static.

And the voice that seeped out... also the familiar voice of a woman.

— I don't know if anyone will hear this...

— Just in case... I'm leaving it here.

— If you've come this far, no matter what your purpose, I'm sure you're trapped in this water park too.

— I'll put everything I've learned here first.

— Let me start with the most important thing.

The voice was exactly the same, same flow, same content. Even the tone, the timing of breathing... It was so identical that it could only be said there were two recorders perfectly cloned, giving me goosebumps.

The following content was similar.

The more I thought about it, the colder my spine became.

And the recording hadn't ended yet.

Click...

— And... there's something even more dangerous. The monster in the water.

— If that thing starts moving... it means you've already violated the water park's usage ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rules, so there's no way to survive.

After that, no more voice followed.

A long silence that made it seem like the recording had stopped.

After hesitating for a long time, a very small voice followed.

— ......As long as it's not abandoning the colleague and running away.

The woman who muttered said, then took a breath again.

— Regarding escape...

A faint tremor in the woman's voice was conveyed.

I held my breath even more.

The thing we wanted to know most right now: how to escape this place.

The answer was...

— Impossible.

It came back too abruptly.

— Sorry. For saying this.

Click...

— But really... it's impossible. Hic... ugh.

The woman who was trying to continue talking started sobbing, unable to hold back her emotions.

— What I can do... I've done everything. Really... I've done everything I can.

— I thought I could get out. I thought I found a way...

— If I could just do a little more... it seemed like I could really get out.

— But I couldn't go any further from there.

— Sorry....... Sorry. Mom and Dad... Sejeong-ah, sorry. Jiyeong-ah... I'm sorry for leaving you alone.

After that, apologies and sobs that couldn't be attributed to anyone continued for a while.

I and Yuna, listening to this recording, didn't say a word.

We had nothing to say.

Hearing the despair of someone we didn't know, close to their end, in silence... really wasn't pleasant.

After a while, the woman's sobs gradually subsided.

Hoo...

A long sigh was heard, as if clearing her throat.

And.

— Still, the food here is edible. The food in the vending machines or rest areas... at least the ones I've tried are okay.

— The water is fine as long as it's not black water.

— And... and what else is there?

A voice trying hard to leave something else, then suddenly.

Knock knock.

A sound of knocking on the door came from beyond the recorder.

The recording ended with the woman swallowing her breath.

"......"

"......"

We each organized what we heard in our minds.

Then Yuna said cautiously.

"......This is really the same?"

"I don't know."

Thinking about what we've experienced so far, we couldn't blindly believe it was in the recorder.

After all, the recorder we found first was something made to deceive us.

"Still......"

I looked at the recorder and continued.

"The circumstantial evidence suggests it's probably real."

At least it wasn't blatantly trying to lure us like the first recording.

There was no content like who to trust, who to suspect, where to go...

At that moment, Yuna said, as if recalling the content of the recorder.

"......What is the 'usage rules of the water park'?"

Yuna seemed most concerned about the water monster.

After all, even just hearing the explanation, it was a terrifying thing.

But it doesn't move well, and it only happens when you violate the water park's usage rules.

"......Is it really talking about the usage rules of this water park?"

As I muttered, Yuna tilted her head with a subtle expression.

"I think that's strange too. Normally, the usage rules of a water park apply when customers come during the day, right?"

That also made sense.

Like, don't run around the pool, no diving... those would be called usage rules.

But now it was night.

I didn't know the exact time, but in the pitch-dark water park, the ones roaming around were not customers but monsters.

In such a situation, did the ordinary water park usage rules still apply?

Or was there some other rule we didn't know about?

I couldn't be sure right now.

I thought for a moment, then opened my mouth, thinking it might change the slightly deflated atmosphere a bit.

"Well, thinking the opposite might be good too."

"......What?"

"If it's something that only comes out when you violate the rules, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it means if you find out that rule and follow it, you might not have to deal with it at all."

Yuna looked at me for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"......That also makes sense."

Although the words were like that.

Both of us had a behind-the-scenes remark that we didn't bother to say out loud.

That we still didn't know what that rule was.

I didn't add that part either.

No need to pour cold water on the small positive note we had.

"Should we conserve our stamina just in case?"

Yuna suggested that.

Both Yuna and I agreed that there would be more monsters on the first floor.

When Yuna peeked through the first floor door, she said there was none, but that was just a quick look at the corridor.

Considering the scale of the first floor, there would be incomparably more monsters than the basement 1st floor.

So, it seemed better to rest and go. We had exerted a lot of strength.

Originally, we planned to stop by the lost and found to pick up necessary items and then go up to the first floor.

But unexpectedly, we found a new recorder, and both of us had too much on our minds.

I guess our heads got tired before our bodies.

In the end, we decided to return to the rest area and rest for a while.

"Are you going to sleep?"

To Yuna's question, I rubbed my sore arm and answered.

"If I sleep and wake up, the muscle soreness might get worse. Who knows what might happen while sleeping."

"Yeah, that's right."

But agreeing to rest a bit was fine.

We decided to take off the protective suits we were wearing and rest.

Because it was a water park, the inside of the building always had a damp humidity.

On top of that, walking around in thick protective suits, the condition was no joke.

"Ah, it's suffocating."

Yuna quickly took off the protective suit as if waiting for it.

While I was barely pulling out one arm, she had already taken off the protective suit, thrown it on the floor, and was sitting down to rest.

Yuna was wearing a black sleeveless t-shirt and short shorts underneath the protective suit.

Actually, when we first met, she was wearing a training jersey over it, not much different, but because it was clinging to her body with sweat, it looked more mysterious.

After all, her figure was amazing.

The skin on her arms, which were pulling the sleeves this way and that, glistened a lot.

...Was she thinking I wouldn't see in the dark?

I stared more, then pulled my gaze away, thinking she might notice, and focused on taking off my own protective suit.

Since it was hard to put on, it wouldn't be easy to take off.

It was even worse because it was sweaty.

'How did Yuna take it off so quickly?'

While I was struggling to untie the drawstrings.

Suddenly, Yuna's voice came from beside me.

"Should I... help you?"

The voice was oddly lacking in confidence even though she spoke up, but I shook my head.

"No, it's okay."

I could be slower putting on and taking off than her, but extending a hand to this would prick my conscience.

After struggling a bit more, the top part finally came off.

Since I was only wearing a black t-shirt, even though there was no wind, it suddenly felt cool as if a breeze had swept through.

I grabbed the hem ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of my clinging t-shirt and shook it off.

"Hey."

Yuna suddenly opened her mouth.

"Huh?"

"Um... we have adapted really well to the darkness now, right? We can see better than we think..."

Yuna said something fresh.

...No, it wasn't fresh, she was giving me a hint?

I might have felt the gaze I was staring with.

"...Yeah. I'll be careful."

"Eh, eh... if it's uncomfortable, should I turn my gaze away?"

Her head tilted to the side.

"Why are you uncomfortable?"

"No, no. Ah... did I show that I was too conscious? Haha... sorry."

So, it seemed like she was worried that her own gaze might be uncomfortable, not that my gaze was.

'...Why?'

Actually, this was a part that had been nagging at me like a thorn in the corner for a while.

Differences in perceptions or something.

'......Is this really a world where common sense is twisted?'

Like a man and woman swapping places or something.

I looked at Yuna. She was sitting with her head turned to the opposite side as if deliberately showing that she didn't want to be seen.

Even that look was familiar if I thought it was a man turning away from a woman changing clothes out of awareness...

I suddenly opened my mouth.

"Yuna."

"Yeah. What?"

"Could you help me take off these pants?"

"Pants...?"

"Yeah. They stick to me because of sweat, so it's hard to take them off alone."

"......"

She hesitated, then cleared her throat.

"Hmm, then do you want me to look?"

That reaction added certainty to my suspicion.

"Look."

"...Yeah."

Yuna cautiously approached in front of me.

The drawstrings at the waist and ankles were already untied.

All that was left was to grab the hem of the protective suit's pants, and I would pull one leg out at a time.

"Should I hold here?"

Yuna asked, lowering her body.

"Yeah. There."

She held the end of the protective suit with both hands, and I pulled out her legs.

In the process, Yuna's face naturally came close to the area below my waist.

Even though I said it was okay, Yuna was desperately turning her gaze to the side.

If she hadn't touched a male creature in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her life, this reaction wouldn't make sense.

It couldn't be because of her appearance.

After gaining some confidence, I somehow pulled out one leg.

And just as I was about to pull out the other leg.

Thud.

The toe caught inside the pants.

"Eh..."

The leg caught, and the center of my body shifted backward.

"Eh?"

"Wait!"

Yuna, who almost fell, jumped up and grabbed me.

"Hoo, thanks."

"......"

Yuna's face was right in front of me at the close distance.

Strands of hair stuck to her sweaty forehead and cheeks.

Her rough breathing and widened eyes from surprise.

Even the way she swallowed her saliva was clearly visible.

I deliberately asked as if I didn't know.

"Yuna."

"...Yeah?"

"Your face is really red. Are you sick somewhere?"