Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Fulfilling Desires
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Jang Chaeyeon's fist slammed into Yoo Daon's head.
*Thwack!*
"It hurts!"
"Huff... huff..."
Yoo Daon clutched her head and grumbled in annoyance, while Jang Chaeyeon panted for breath.
"Why... aren't you crying?"
To me, it looked like Jang Chaeyeon was the one about to cry.
She gripped her swollen red right hand, staring at Yoo Daon with a wronged expression.
"What can I do if no tears come out?"
On the other hand, Yoo Daon just held her own head, gazing back at Jang Chaeyeon with a calm expression.
At this point, maybe Yoo Daon's head was the one tormenting Jang Chaeyeon's hand?
"No, but why did you even want that?"
"...I got hit too."
Right.
I recalled Yoo Daon's hand plunging straight into Jang Chaeyeon's head on the subway.
Anyway, I needed to resolve this somehow.
That's what valuable talent is for, isn't it?
I looked at Song Arin and nodded toward Yoo Daon with my chin.
"Make her cry."
"I was wondering when you'd ask. Finally."
Song Arin let out a deep sigh and stepped forward.
Using someone with hypnosis powers just to make one girl cry.
"Hey. Stay still for a sec."
"Okay."
At Song Arin's words, Yoo Daon sat quietly and closed her eyes.
Soon, tears began to trickle from her eyes.
"Hit her."
At my words, Jang Chaeyeon raised her hand again and struck Yoo Daon's head.
*Thwack!*
That crisp sound I was getting tired of rang out.
All four of our eyes turned to the signboard.
[First: Give her a knuckle rap until Yoo Daon cries.]
Surprisingly, nothing had changed at all.
"It's so strict. Hypnosis tears don't count as real crying?"
Song Arin grumbled irritably and kicked at the innocent floor.
"Hmm."
I turned my eyes to Yoo Daon.
[Name: Yoo Daon]
[Age: 23]
[Specialty: Immortality]
[Talent: Regeneration (Undefined)]
[Background: Unable to die, she has left her unfortunate past behind and now shines as a member of the HR Team. She will do her utmost to live up to the expectations of those who believe in her.]
[Weakness: Impossible with you as you are now.]
Not helpful at all.
Was there some more useful method?
Even if I look like this, I'm a guy. Maybe if I punched her, something would change.
I walked toward Yoo Daon, who was tussling with Jang Chaeyeon.
*Thwack!*
The same crisp sound echoed out.
"...?"
Yoo Daon widened her eyes and looked at me.
"Huh...?"
It was the kind of expression you'd see on someone stabbed by a trusted subordinate.
Dazedly staring at me, tears began to well up and fall from her eyes.
"Huh? Huh?"
Yoo Daon blinked, frantically wiping the wildly flowing tears with her sleeve.
"Why is this happening? Huh? I'm really sorry. Huh?"
Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin's gazes pierced into me.
"...Uh, well. Um. Sorry."
The guilt was no joke.
I crouched down, facing Yoo Daon, and diligently wiped her streaming tears with my suit sleeve.
"I'm really sorry. Did it hurt?"
"No, it doesn't hurt at all. Pain is something I'm really used to anyway."
Yoo Daon spoke in a nonchalant voice as she kept wiping her flowing tears.
"My mood feels really weird."
"I'm sorry."
"..."
"..."
"Hey, trash. I don't know what happened, but it's done for now."
As the atmosphere headed toward disaster, thankfully Song Arin wedged herself between me and Yoo Daon, pointing at the signboard with her hand.
The words on the signboard vanished, and the next ones began to appear.
[Second: Receive praise for doing well.]
What the hell is this now?
This time, I couldn't even tell who it was referring to.
Me? Was I the one thirsting for praise?
I looked at Yoo Daon.
She was looking back at me with the exact same expression.
Jang Chaeyeon was already done, so not her.
"..."
"..."
Our gazes turned to Song Arin, who was staring at the floor with a flushed red face.
"...Shut up."
"Surprisingly, none of us three have said anything yet."
"I said shut up."
Song Arin glared at me, and immediately my temple started throbbing.
"Ah, damn it, don't use mind control on people!"
"You're not shutting up!"
"When did I even say anything!"
"You're talking right n—"
"Good job!"
Yoo Daon's sudden voice cut off both me and Song Arin mid-sentence.
Yoo Daon was clapping her hands enthusiastically.
"You've come this far at such a young age. Good job! Really, good job."
Then I should play along.
"As expected, you're amazing, Song Arin. Thanks to you, we survived the musical."
I paused my words and started clapping to match Yoo Daon's rhythm.
Song Arin's face was turning redder, now matching her purple hair color.
"You guys really want to d—"
"The signboard changed."
At Jang Chaeyeon's dry voice, all three of us turned to look at the signboard, and sure enough, the text was fading away.
It unlocks after just two bits of praise.
Song Arin clenched her fists and stormed over to the wall, starting to punch it furiously. The rest of us had no choice but to lean in toward the signboard again.
[Third: Reunite with a friend you haven't seen in a long time.]
A friend I haven't seen in a long time...
"You?"
"I... don't have that many friends."
Yoo Daon shook her head with a troubled expression at Jang Chaeyeon's question.
Both their gazes turned to me.
"I think it's me."
Reunite with a friend I haven't seen in a long time.
I recalled what happened in the musical.
'I'm always watching from close by.'
That voice lingered in my head like an auditory hallucination.
But how was I supposed to meet that guy?
According to the manual, this room wouldn't let you out until you fulfilled a realizable desire.
In other words, theoretically, meeting that guy again was something fully possible in this room.
But how?
My head started to ache.
Always watching from close by? How?
Even if by some chance they really were nearby, how do I call them out?
I narrowed my eyes and scanned the surroundings, looking up.
One person banging their head against the wall, two people staring blankly at me.
Nothing else in sight, of course.
I thought back to the situation when I met that guy.
Inside the musical, during the time of assimilation with the containment object.
Nothing else came to mind.
I pulled out my handgun from my pocket.
Before the others could react, I fired a few shots at the ceiling.
Gunshots echoed through the sealed room.
And then, a familiar mechanical voice I'd heard once before filled the room.
[Threat to containment objects and containment chamber detected. Commencing forced suppression.]
"Hey, are you insane—!"
Song Arin, who had been banging her head on the wall, looked at me with an urgent expression. Jang Chaeyeon positioned herself in front of me as if sensing something, and Yoo Daon dashed to the front with a sharp look, spreading her arms wide.
*Shhh!*
A chilling aura descended.
An overwhelming presence I hadn't felt since the Butterfly's Dream incident.
I desperately rolled my eyes toward that empty air—
And locked eyes with a little girl in a black dress, standing there with her arms crossed, looking at me.
"Why are your methods always so extreme, from way back when?"
The child spoke in a scolding tone, then turned around, bowed her head slightly to the darkness behind her.
The darkness writhed and then vanished completely.
"...Don't do this again next time. You'll get punished harshly for real."
Still in that scolding tone toward a child, she spoke, then
she disappeared.
"...Did you see it?"
No one answered.
Song Arin was still looking at me with a tense expression, Jang Chaeyeon stood resolute in the same pose in front of me, and Yoo Daon had her arms spread wide up front.
It felt like time had stopped.
It wasn't just a feeling.
Time had truly stopped.
Soon, the three of them resumed moving,
"...What?"
"It's gone."
"Huh...?"
All three looked up at the ceiling with puzzled expressions.
The signboard's text began to fade.
"Alright, anyway, we solved it, right?"
Ignoring the three suspicious stares directed at me, I checked the next text engraving on the signboard.
[Fourth - Acti→]
The letters vanished before they could fully form, and the door opened just like that.
Yoo Daon smiled brightly.
"It's over!"
Did the door open before the text even finished engraving?
"You have no desires?"
She wasn't some living Buddha—was this even sane?
At my question, Yoo Daon smiled softly and replied.
"I told you. I'm happiest right now. What desires would I have?"
And so, the incident in the room you couldn't leave without satisfying your desires surprisingly quickly came to an end.
But somehow, even more nagging doubts had cropped up.
What exactly was that child? More than that, Yoo Daon's calmly smiling face wouldn't leave my mind.
I needed to head back and sort out the information.
*
But the moment I got back to my seat, Team Leader's voice rang out.
"Kids, go on a workshop."
"Pardon?"
"No, there's a nice mountain lodge on the East Coast. Workshop—sounds good, right?"
This uncle trying to sell us out again—
"No way, I hate it! I like work!"
"I'll go too."
"The workshop's gonna be fun. Should we get some meat?"
My worries evaporated in an instant.
Nothing bad will happen! We'll just go and have a blast!
...Right?
