Chapter 37
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Busted
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Busted.
Was it in the science lab?
I remember getting lost in those intestine-like vents and collapsing from exhaustion.
Back then, I had a strange, inexplicable dream.
It was an awful, bizarre one at that.
A dream where Dayeon woke me up in bed and even made me breakfast.
It was utterly nonsensical.
They say dreams reflect the subconscious hidden deep within your mind, don't they?
In that case, it was definitely a nightmare.
I must have had sleep paralysis from encountering so many ghosts in this school.
There's no other way to explain the horrific scenario of living like newlyweds with Dayeon.
Anyway, the most unsettling part was the end of the dream. The last thing the dream-Dayeon said was seared into my mind.
-Promise you'll never abandon me.
Even if dreams are just illusions based on my subconscious, those words somehow felt like the real Dayeon was speaking to me.
Was that why?
I really wanted to escape with her.
Even though Dayeon always went out of her way to be annoying, I'd grown fond of her.
When we reunited in the broadcasting room, I vowed we would escape this school together.
But reality was different from my expectations. Dayeon had betrayed me in the last playthrough.
What on earth had happened? I watched the monitor, determined to find out the reason.
I watched Dayeon closely as she walked down the hall toward the broadcasting room. And then, I couldn't help but be horrified.
“What is that?”
A sinister shadow fell across the hallway behind her.
A hand shot out from a blind spot, a location hidden from the CCTV camera.
The hand, appearing from nowhere, lunged for Dayeon with forceful, menacing movements.
On her way to the broadcasting room, Dayeon was caught, unable to move. In the blink of an eye, she vanished into the CCTV's blind spot on the second-floor hallway.
“...What the.”
I couldn't believe what had just happened in an instant.
I tried to see what was going on, but of all places, it had to be a blind spot. I frantically scanned the other monitors.
They couldn't have gone far. I searched every single monitor lined up before me.
“Found her!”
It didn't take long to find Dayeon. But she didn't look like she was in good shape.
She was collapsed on the floor as if she'd fainted. And there was an uninvited guest with her.
I wondered who it was, and it turned out to be someone completely unexpected.
“...It's the security guard.”
To my surprise, it was the security guard. He was forcefully dragging the unconscious Dayeon somewhere.
Looking back, the hand that had shot out was identical to the guard's.
The person who had abducted Dayeon was none other than the security guard.
“That bastard...!”
Rage boiled up inside me. I gripped the monitor showing Dayeon and the guard.
I wanted to rush over there right this second.
But acting rashly would be dangerous. All I could do was sit back and watch helplessly.
“Dammit.”
Dragged by the guard, Dayeon arrived at a certain location. It was the main entrance.
The guard fumbled in his clothes and pulled out a key. He unlocked the padlock on the basement stairs.
The shutter blocking the basement stairs opened wide.
No way.
A chill ran down my spine.
I tried to shake off the ominous thought, but the guard's movements continued fluidly.
The scene that unfolded next was exactly as I'd feared. With the collapsed Dayeon on his back, the guard disappeared into the basement.
“...”
All I could do was watch their retreating figures disappear. I looked around at the other monitors, trying to see what was happening in the basement.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find them.
Of all things, there were no CCTV cameras in the basement. And because of that, I lost Dayeon.
“Dammit...”
Furious, I slammed my fist against the wall.
I unknowingly clenched my teeth.
This was the scene from the CCTV monitor I hadn't seen in the last playthrough.
The shock of it was hard to overcome.
The truth was, Dayeon had been abducted by the security guard and trapped in the basement. It was completely different from what I had originally thought.
I suddenly recalled the events of the last playthrough.
The image of Dayeon hacking the guard to pieces with an axe in the basement flickered in my mind.
At the time, I thought it was an imposter pretending to be Dayeon, but based on the circumstances so far, a nagging suspicion began to grow.
Was the Dayeon from back then really a fake?
“It can't be...”
Back then, seeing Dayeon in the basement before me, I was certain she was a fake.
But what about now?
In truth, Dayeon had already been confined to the basement while I wasn't looking. With this new information, I couldn't be sure she was a fake—in fact, it was the opposite.
The Dayeon I first encountered in the basement must have been the real one.
“No way.”
No, if I think about it carefully, it makes sense. The real one and the fake one were swapped at some point.
Moreover, Dayeon and the guard had appeared in the basement out of nowhere.
If that was the result of the guard's abduction, it was perfectly understandable.
So that's what happened.
All the evidence pointed to one fact.
But one question remained.
“Why did she try to kill me?”
I remembered when the lights came on in the basement classroom. Dayeon had pointed an axe at my neck.
The feeling of the cold, sharp axe blade pressing against my throat was still vivid.
That Dayeon was radiating bloodlust and had undoubtedly tried to kill me.
On the other hand, I didn't sense any malice from her. She even said she was sorry.
That only deepened the mystery.
What was her purpose in trying to kill me?
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't figure it out. First, I needed to meet up with Dayeon.
I needed to hear the full story, to find out what secret she was hiding.
Just as I was organizing my thoughts.
*Creeak.*
The broadcasting room door swung wide open. Startled, I spun around.
The chair that had been acting as a latch was teetering over.
It must have collapsed from the continuous impacts on the other side.
‘When did...’
I'd been so focused on the CCTV monitors that I hadn't noticed at all. Thanks to that, someone quietly revealed themselves in the broadcasting room.
“Hi.”
...It was Dayeon.
Of course, there was no way she was the real one. I was certain, based on my deductions so far.
“You look serious. Is something wrong?”
This one was the fake. The memories of the last playthrough told me as much.
Not only had she calmly deceived me, but she had even gone so far as to murder Dayeon.
I could never forgive her.
Filled with rage, I grabbed her by the collar.
“Heeh, how aggressive.”
“Cut the crap and give Jin Dayeon back.”
“Hmm? I'm right here.”
The fake tilted her head as if to ask what I was talking about. Her audacity made me sick.
“I said give her back before I get tired of your nonsense.”
“What's wrong? You're acting strange all of a sudden. It's like you're a different person.”
“That's you, you fake bitch.”
The fake stared at me blankly. Then, she gave a meaningful smile.
I wasn't seeing things. Her lips curved into a line. She was definitely ‘smiling’.
“You...”
“Heeh, have you never seen someone smile before?”
The fake grabbed the hand that was holding her collar.
With a strength that was hard to believe belonged to a person, she pried my hand away.
“Do you really think I'm a fake? You must have some basis for thinking that, right?”
“Every single thing you're doing right now is the proof you're a fake. Spill it while I'm asking nicely.”
“Hmm, I'm afraid that's not enough. I can't trust your words.”
“What?”
Despite my aggressive approach, the fake didn't reveal her identity.
Instead, she acted shamelessly.
She dismissed my words as lies and started to blame me instead.
“Show me the reason why I'm a fake. I won't believe you until you do.”
“What a load of crap...”
“Heeh, a grumpy personality isn't my type. You fail the gentleman test. Minus one point.”
She was impossibly nonchalant.
It was absurd. Did she even realize the situation she was in?
It seemed she would maintain this attitude until I proved she was a fake.
I was getting irritated. I felt like I was being played right into the palm of her hand.
‘As if I have any proof...’
I opened my item window. The items I'd acquired so far appeared in a list.
[ITEM]
1. Book That Kills You When Read
2. Jin Dayeon's Award
3. Jin Dayeon's Photo
4. Jin Dayeon's Gym Clothes
5. Jin Dayeon's Recorder
6. Can of Coke
7. Diary
8. Ink x1
Is she telling me to present an item from this list that proves she's a fake?
I wasn't sure. But backed into a corner like this, I couldn't afford to waste time.
‘This should do it.’
After careful consideration, I chose an item.
I shoved it in the face of the fake, who was acting all relaxed and clueless.
“Here, look at this.”
“Hmm?”
It was ‘Jin Dayeon's Award’.
[Jin Dayeon's Award]
【A reward for getting Dayeon's quiz right. A cute drawing of 'Good Job!' is on it.】
The fake took the item. She stared at it intently, then tilted her head.
“What's this?”
She looked like she'd never seen it before.
Of course. She wasn't Dayeon.
This was an item Dayeon had given me as a gift.
There was no way a fake, who could do nothing but mimic, would know about it.
“The fact that you don't know what this is proves you're a fake. You fake bitch. Stop trying to deny it and confess. What are you?”
“Hmm.”
The fake fell silent, as if I'd hit a nerve. She slowly lifted her head and looked at me. And then,
“Busted, huh?”
She smiled, her mouth and eyes stretching wide, as if they would tear.
“Goddammit...”
The fake's face twisted grotesquely. The sight was so bizarre it made me want to curse.
A disgusting, unpleasant laugh echoed through the room. The sound was so grotesque it made my head ring.
“Shut up, you're being loud.”
“Oh my, how scary.”
The fake grinned. She cackled as if my anger was amusing.
Then she twirled on the spot. She didn't show a single sign of anxiety.
“Not bad. I guess you're qualified, then.”
In fact, she looked even more relaxed than before. It was as if she was proud of me for exposing her identity.
“Stop changing the subject and answer my question.”
“I don't want to. I'm leaving now.”
The fake smiled sweetly at me and murmured softly.
“Test passed.”
And then, the fake's body began to melt like ice cream, dripping down. A red puddle formed beneath her.
“...That's blood.”
A gruesome, metallic smell stung my nostrils.
The fake was gone without a trace.
She had vanished messily, leaving only a stain behind.
“Dammit.”
I was furious that I'd let the fake get away right in front of me. I'd wanted to see this through to the end.
I quickly cleared my head. I didn't have time to stand here fuming.
I had to find Dayeon and meet up with her quickly.
Now that the fake was on the loose, it was dangerous for her to be wandering around alone.
I immediately ran to the main entrance, where the basement stairs were.
**
Lonely.
Hurts.
And I realized.
It's a dream.
I jumped from the roof.
I woke up.
I opened my eyes.
I was sleeping on the floor.
I looked around.
It was dark.
“Where am I?”
Strange.
I was going to the broadcasting room.
It wasn't teleportation.
It wasn't sleepwalking.
Then what was it?
I was confused.
“Where is this place?”
I glanced around.
I saw a steel plate.
It was the entrance to the basement stairs.
“...So that's what happened.”
I figured out the situation.
My assessment was quick.
I got up.
“Let's go forward.”
And so, Dayeon headed into the basement corridor.