Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 110. Promise for the Future
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I'm not the type who has nightmares often.
Thanks to my poor imagination, even the patterns in my dreams are surprisingly similar.
Being chased by something, or getting murdered.
And the current situation was the epitome of a nightmare.
"Huff... huff..."
I push through the foul mass of flesh, running endlessly.
"Hah... sob..."
"..."
"Hoo..."
I glance at the other three people running alongside.
Everyone except Yoo Daon was in bad shape.
Song Arin, moving her legs while suppressing pained groans,
Jang Chaeyeon, staggering as if dizzy.
Just running away like this wouldn't solve anything.
First send those two to the next gallery, then we follow...
"Daon."
"Yes, Jaeheon."
"We'll buy some time..."
"No."
Before I could finish, Jang Chaeyeon cut in with a firm refusal.
"Then you two..."
"Whatever, do your best..."
"Anyway, the moment we separate, there's no way to survive."
Jang Chaeyeon looks straight at me.
"Let's find a way out."
Our eyes meet, and she smiles reassuringly.
"...I have one idea."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Song Arin muttered while repeatedly taking deep breaths in and out.
"You all know. That thing transcends our common sense."
At least for now.
We'd thrown everything we had at that monster, only to realize it didn't work.
The problem starts with the fact that I'm the only one who can stay sane with it nearby.
"I'll find the exit."
"How?"
Jang Chaeyeon looks at me with a puzzled expression.
"By talking."
I pull the manual from my pocket, and it opens naturally.
[Office Manual]
[Containment Object - Aestheticist]
[Warning: This object is extremely dangerous. Approaching it causes mental corruption, and no ordinary Management Bureau employee can survive.]
1. Run away as much as possible.
2. If you can't run, keep your distance and surrender to madness.
3. If even that offers no path to survival, you'll face an eternal end worse than death.
4. Die before then. Sorry we couldn't help.
Holding the manual, I look at the three of them.
"Let's not be afraid."
That's what the Aestheticist wants, after all.
-Clack, clack.
Footsteps approach.
The same headache surges in, and my expression naturally frowns.
"You didn't get very far, huh?"
The Aestheticist appears, voice friendly like meeting an old friend.
"Ugh..."
Yoo Daon clutches her forehead and groans.
"Any reason you didn't run?"
"Even if we did, no guarantee we'd find the exit."
"And?"
"I'm here for the exit."
A smile spreads across the freckled face.
"How? What makes you think I'd trust you?"
Trust.
"It's not trusting me."
"Oh my."
"It's your curiosity I'm trusting."
The Aestheticist smiles delightedly at my words.
"What do you mean?"
"You're letting it slide right now."
I nod toward the three still standing fine beside me.
Unlike before, they're all relatively okay.
"Right. I was curious what our friend would think of next."
It meets my eyes with a chilling curve.
"What were you thinking to make you wait for me?"
"..."
Hoo. I take a deep breath.
"You said art is humanity itself."
"I did."
"Then I've shown you everything I can."
I don't know much about art.
Which is why I could tell what this thing wanted.
That people are art. And me, unafraid of it.
To this thing thirsting for twisted art, I must be quite the stimulus.
"Let me live this time, and next you'll see even more art?"
"Even though you'll come to kill me?"
The Aestheticist smiles, and I nod back at it.
"That pain of creation too."
"Oh my."
It smiles softly.
"Honestly, not a perfect answer."
"..."
"But I like it."
The Aestheticist waves its hand.
Rumble echoes from afar.
"Then I'll look forward to it."
It winks at me.
"Since we made such a fun promise, how about Q&A time?"
Q&A?
What could I possibly wonder about this thing...
"For instance, a kid like you."
The Aestheticist points at one person.
"..."
Jang Chaeyeon stares fixedly at the Aestheticist.
"You must have questions for me."
At its words, Jang Chaeyeon's eyes widen as if realizing something.
"...Aren't killers supposed to forget their victims?"
"Have you ever seen a creator forget their artwork?"
Jang Chaeyeon mutters softly, and the Aestheticist laughs delightedly in response.
"So who are you looking for? Your sister?"
"..."
Jang Chaeyeon glares at the Aestheticist.
Her eyes burn with hatred I'd never seen before.
"Where."
"Sigh, that expression's gotten old. So tiresome."
The Aestheticist continues with a playful smile.
"Your sister's a fine piece now, on display in the gallery."
Jang Chaeyeon's face crumples instantly.
The hatred vanishes, leaving only terror and despair.
"...Where..."
"Not this gallery. The one I put the most care into."
Jang Chaeyeon's hands tremble, and Song Arin grabs her wrist.
"White hair."
"...I know."
At Song Arin's calm words, Jang Chaeyeon replies softly and pulls her hand away.
The Aestheticist, watching amusedly, continues.
"If you're invited there, or can get there, you'll meet."
"..."
"That enough?"
With a whoosh, it turns.
"Hope next time you're finer material."
A foul paint smell spreads, and when I blink, only red paint splatters the floor.
"...Hah..."
Tension releases, my legs nearly buckling, but I force myself to check the others.
"We survived, somehow."
"..."
Yoo Daon and Song Arin nod.
"Chaeyeon... you okay?"
"...Yeah, I'm fine."
Jang Chaeyeon nods at my words.
"I'll find her someday."
Her eyes seem to flicker with dark flames.
"But where's the exit?"
"I heard it from back there earlier."
"Then let's go. My arm hurts."
At Song Arin's casual words, we all start walking.
"..."
Silence follows.
No one speaks first.
"It's really insanely strong."
Yoo Daon breaks the silence.
"Yeah, how does the Management Bureau survive fighting things like that?"
"I'm curious about that too."
Even if it's humanity's last bastion, how do they beat that?
"I'll kill it someday."
Jang Chaeyeon cuts in softly amid our murmurs.
"Definitely."
Her resolute words leave us speechless.
*
The exit was easy to spot.
Countless people stood in line, pointing to one spot, where an ornate door waited at the end of their fingers.
I scan the people.
[Name: People]
[Age: Created 6 years ago]
[Talents: None]
[Abilities: None]
[Background: They are merely signposts.]
[Weaknesses: -]
They were people too.
"That's the exit, right?"
"Hope so."
Replying to Yoo Daon's mutter, I reach for the door.
As soon as I grasp the handle, a translucent window pops up.
[Critical: 0->2]
A foul paint smell greets us,
and...
"Wha..."
We're suddenly in front of the HR Team office.
"What the hell is this, kids!"
The Team Leader bursts in, shocked.
He scans us sharply, then rushes to Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon, yelling urgently.
"Compound fractures plus shock. Call medical now! Especially our maknae!"
"My ears are ringing..."
Supporting the muttering Song Arin—who's covering one ear with her hand—I feel something odd in my pocket and pull it out.
[Looking forward to the day we meet again.]
A note in elegant handwriting sits in my pocket.
It reeks of paint.
*
Upon hearing I'd been captured by the Aestheticist, the Kangseo Branch Chief sighed deeply and said to me,
"I'm really trying to let you rest, you know? Don't make me look bad like this."
Then she agonized for minutes before looking at me solemnly.
"Suspension."
"Huh?"
Suspension? What did I do wrong?
"No, not that kind."
The branch chief waves her hands hurriedly.
"Where's your hometown?"
"Uh... not far."
I'm no country bumpkin—just an office worker living independently.
"Good."
She smiles satisfied.
"Call your parents and say you're visiting after ages."
"Uh..."
"Don't look at me like that. I'm getting chewed out from above too? They told me to let you rest, but you keep working—it's harassment, they say."
She complains with a wronged expression, then beams.
"So hole up at your folks' place, breathe, surf the net. You know, that thing kids do lying down without sleeping..."
"Smartphone?"
"Right, smartphone!"
Thud. She slaps a white paper on the desk and scribbles.
[Employee Kim Jaeheon will take leave.]
She tucks the crudely written note into my arms with a smile.
"Give this to the HR Team Leader."
"...Uh..."
"Got it?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure."
No reason to refuse vacation.
"And tell your teammates to rest at home too."
"Yes, got it."
Who'd turn down time off?
"Have a good trip!"
With her wave, my sudden hometown vacation begins.
*
"Mom~ I washed all the lettuce!"
Yoo Daon beams, flushed and happy.
"Grill's ready too."
Jang Chaeyeon smiles softly as she sets up the grill,
"Ugh... M-M-M-Mom... side dishes too..."
Song Arin, arm in a cast, face beet red, stammers repeatedly as she sets out sides.
"No, why. What the hell."
"Oppa, hands are idle?"
"I'm doing it..."
At my sister's sharp remark, I move my hands again, staring blankly at the three prepping food in our home.
They're chattering lively and happily.
How did it end up like this?