Chapter 324
Chapter 324
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Trick
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I step forward as if to hide Jang Chaeyeon.
"Uh...?"
Jang Chaeyeon mutters in a bewildered voice as she stands behind me, and the branch manager and I stand side by side, facing the Aestheticist.
It wasn't because I was stronger than Jang Chaeyeon.
I recall the first time I met the Aestheticist.
Yoo Daon and Song Arin, who were self-harming, and Jang Chaeyeon, whom she had knocked out.
If Jang Chaeyeon suddenly fell into delirium, that would be a problem in itself.
Whether standing in front could stop it was another matter entirely.
"Kim Jaeheon, step back."
"Stepping back won't change anything."
The branch manager whispers to me, and the Aestheticist smirks as she opens her mouth.
...
She looks at the Aestheticist, and the Aestheticist looks back at the branch manager.
"Long time no see, Ok-"
-Bam!
The moment the Aestheticist opens her mouth, the branch manager swings her arm roughly, and with the sound of air tearing, something rushes toward the Aestheticist.
"Oh my."
And then, as if it were nothing, the Aestheticist tilts her head slightly to the side, and an immense pressure of wind grazes past her hair.
Her black hair flutters.
"Scary."
...
"I get it, don't look at me like that."
Watching the two, they seem to know each other.
Come to think of it, since both have lived a long time, it would be stranger if they didn't.
The branch manager clenches her fist, and I stand still, keeping Jang Chaeyeon behind me.
Should we fight like this?
If we bring the others, it might work.
No matter how much it's the Aestheticist, with us and the branch manager, we could-
"Kim Jaeheon."
"Yes."
The branch manager whispers from beside me.
"Run."
"Yes?"
"I said run."
"There's no need to-"
"We can't win if we fight now."
The branch manager's voice is filled with conviction.
Why?
"Do you think that's alone?"
"...Ah."
Right.
Our goal isn't just to kill the Aestheticist, but more importantly, to first deal with Jang Chaeyeon's sister.
"Then just stay here and-"
"She won't let us."
The branch manager doesn't take her eyes off the Aestheticist.
We have to end it here somehow-
"Kim Jaeheon."
"Yes."
"Do you trust me?"
The branch manager suddenly says this, and I stay silent, unsure what to say.
"Uh..."
"Then trust me."
...
After speaking confidently, she steps forward one step.
The branch manager is suggesting it to me.
Go separately, eliminate Jang Chaeyeon's sister, and then regroup.
"Let's go, Chaeyeon."
"Oh my. You're just leaving right away?"
The Aestheticist tilts her head, and seeing that, the branch manager clicks her tongue and steps forward to block me.
But I knew.
"It's fine."
"Huh?"
The Aestheticist tilts her head, and with Jang Chaeyeon behind me, I continue backing away.
"Because you won't catch us."
"Oh my."
The Aestheticist narrows her eyes, and the branch manager looks back at the Aestheticist.
"Why do you think that?"
"You came all this way just to see two pieces and then catch us?"
This isn't a prediction.
It's a certainty.
One that will harm me someday, but not now.
At least not until I reach the top floor of this hotel, or even further.
"...I really like that."
The Aestheticist looks at me and twists her lips upward.
"And I like that you keep looking straight at me without fear."
-Thud!
The branch manager stomps her foot, and the floor caves in.
"Kim Jaeheon."
"Yes."
The branch manager glances slightly at me.
She nods.
The branch manager must have her own thoughts.
She's lived longer than me and fought more when it comes to combat, so she knows more about the Aestheticist than I do.
By the time she says that, I've already retreated back.
I kick the door with my foot, it opens, and three pairs of hands reach out, grab Jang Chaeyeon, and pull her in.
The last sight before the door closes is the branch manager letting out a deep sigh.
*
With the door closed, only one person and one monster remain.
Gangseo Branch Manager Lee Haneul straightens her posture.
The man seemed to understand what she had said.
And the Aestheticist seemed to understand it too.
"What do you think those kids will do when they see the masterpieces?"
"Destroy them, probably."
Lee Haneul answers indifferently, and the Aestheticist, who asked the question, laughs as if it's amusing.
"I could just summon my masterpieces here."
"You won't."
"Ah, that kid really made everyone get to know me so well."
The Aestheticist shakes her head with a grievance.
Lee Haneul understood what the man who had been by her side until just now had said. That's why she knew the Aestheticist wouldn't kill her here.
But she wouldn't kill her, that's all.
She should've just gone together on a day when the headquarters chief was off.
Lee Haneul mentally calculates the headquarters chief's schedule and lets out a deep sigh.
Then she'd have to wait at least seven years. The kids wouldn't wait anyway.
She clenches her fist, and the Aestheticist widens her eyes.
"You're really going to fight?"
"If we don't fight here, it feels like you'll go after my subordinates."
"That's not it."
The Aestheticist laughs at Lee Haneul's words.
"I moved just to play with you because it'd be no fun with you around. Why is an adult getting involved in the kids' game?"
"Try getting your heart pierced by those kids once, then you'll come to your senses."
"That wouldn't be bad either."
"I'll just smash you here and head home."
Hoo. She inhales deeply, clenches her fist, and stomps her foot.
-Boom!
Lee Haneul's fist cuts through the air at the speed of light.
*
"What's going on?"
Song Arin looks at me and Jang Chaeyeon in confusion.
"Wait a moment. Chaeyeon, explain."
Now wasn't the time for explanations.
I hurriedly open the guide.
[Inspiration Hotel Survival Guide]
[1st Floor]
1. Clearing three rooms will create the condition to climb the stairs.
2. Clearing means obtaining the corresponding result from each room.
What nonsense, I think for a moment, but recall what just happened.
In room 101, we saved a man with a bead in his eye, in 102, a person with their mouth sewn shut.
Conversely, we left 103 without gaining anything.
So two clearances?
The next item...
"...Heh."
Ridiculous.
There was no item 3.
"Do you know anything?"
I pull out the manual from my pocket and ask, but it doesn't open.
Either it doesn't know, I shouldn't know, or it doesn't want to tell. Either way, it means nothing to tell me.
In the meantime, the three who heard the explanation from Jang Chaeyeon look at me.
"...Are you sure we don't need to go in?"
"It's what the branch manager said."
"She might have lost her judgment due to old age."
"Daon has a point, but right now, I think it's experience from years."
Yoo Daon steps back without a word, and we start moving again.
Much faster and tenser than before.
Except for one person.
"You seem relieved?"
"Me? I'm always the same."
"Yeah."
I ignore Song Arin and Yoo Daon's conversation with one ear and turn my gaze forward.
A sign reading <104> comes into view.
This one has a sign too.
[One gender only.]
...
...
We all look at the sign.
"I'll go alone-"
"No."
"Shut up."
Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin cut me off, and after a brief silence, Yoo Daon mutters seriously.
"If it's one gender, we don't all need to go in, right?"
"Yeah."
Ailin crosses her arms and nods.
"No need. As long as Kim Jaeheon doesn't go in."
...
The four exchange glances briefly, and Ailin and Song Arin's eyes meet.
"You and the black hair go."
"Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon can go."
...
...
The two speak at the same time, look at each other again, then at me.
They've decided the combination, but who goes? their eyes say.
"...Could Ailin and Daon go?"
In the end, I was the one making the decision again.
Ailin clicks her tongue lightly, and Yoo Daon groans before stepping forward.
"We'll be right back."
"I'll finish it quick!"
The two open the door and enter.
Yoo Daon grabs the doorknob,
"...Huh?"
She pulls with force to close it, but the door doesn't budge.
"Huh...? Nngh...!"
Yoo Daon squeezes her eyes shut and pulls, but the door won't close.
"Move."
Jang Chaeyeon reaches out, and a creaking sound comes from the door, but it still doesn't move.
"Just go in."
Song Arin waves her hand dismissively, and Yoo Daon and Ailin exchange glances, walk in, and come back out.
"There's nothing."
"It's just a hotel room."
...
...
...
Me, Song Arin, and Ailin exchange looks.
"I think..."
"The room activates when the door closes?"
"Yeah."
"And to close that door, all four of us need to go in?"
"Yes."
Song Arin and Ailin, who voiced their opinions, sigh in annoyance.
"Call if something happens."
"It's fine. We can hold out once. They can't come out anyway, right?"
"I'll smash it."
"Don't talk nonsense."
Thinking about it, both the branch manager and I brought people out except from 103.
The four exchange glances, then walk into the room with really reluctant expressions.
Yoo Daon at the front, Ailin at the back.
"...We're going."
And Ailin waves at me before closing the door.
-Creak... Bam!
The sound of the door closing echoes, and silence remains.
...
Did they go?
After confirming the two left, I turn around.
Eyes and mouth.
...
I look above their heads.
[Name: Park Hoo-young]
[Age: 29]
[Talent: X]
[Abilities: X]
[Background: This man, who visited to find video content, does not know why he is still alive.]
[Weakness: An ordinary person. Attack vital points to kill.]
[Name: Oh Min-jae]
[Age: 27]
[Talent: X]
[Abilities: X]
[Background: He has lived a very wicked life but has never committed murder yet.]
[Weakness: An ordinary person. Attack vital points to kill.]
The two look at me.
I've felt the discomfort since the beginning, and now I know.
-Click!
I draw my gun and aim at the two, who stare at me blankly.
-Bang!
I pull the trigger.