The Room You Can't Leave Unless You Do It #2

The mechanical whirring filled the basement like a swarm of angry bees. Wing wing wing wing wing— The noise was so relentless that Seo Gaeul couldn't catch a single wink of sleep.

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She cracked one eye open and shot a glare at Yu Yeoleum, who was pedaling furiously on a cheap exercise bike.

“Hey. It’s too loud. I can’t sleep.”

Gaeul’s irritation flared up like a lit match. That shameless male student Ha Namjin had ignored her request for a TV, yet he’d gone and given this girl workout equipment. The unfairness of it burned.

Do I really have to listen to that damn whirring sound all day long?

That morning, the male student had brought them water and food, casually announcing, “I’m heading into the Great Labyrinth starting today, so I might not be able to come back here for a while.”

Which meant Gaeul would be stuck alone with Yu Yeoleum for twenty-four hours straight.

It would’ve been nice if Ing-ing was here.

Quite some time had passed since that fluffy, cotton-candy-like cloud monster stopped visiting the basement. The reason was simple: every time Yu Yeoleum saw Ing-ing, she’d freak out like a cat with its fur standing on end. The slime had eventually started avoiding the place altogether.

The more Gaeul thought about it, the more she hated Yu Yeoleum.

I never should’ve kidnapped her. And I can’t even return her now.

Wing wing wing wing wing—

The exercise bike kept spinning. Eventually Yu Yeoleum, drenched in sweat, stood up and began stretching. She then grabbed a towel and started wiping herself down—everywhere. The sight made even Gaeul feel a little restless.

Wait, how is she maintaining a body like that after not eating anything for days?

Even as a fellow girl, Gaeul had to admit Yu Yeoleum’s toned, elastic physique was impressive. To a healthy high-school boy in his prime, it would be nothing short of poison.

What if Yu Yeoleum started clumsily wagging her tail while spreading those pheromones with a body like that?

Could that perverted alpha male Ha Namjin really resist the temptation?

If that happened, Yu Yeoleum might seduce him into bringing her all sorts of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠luxuries beyond just exercise equipment, turning this basement into her personal five-star resort. And Gaeul would be left grinding her teeth in jealousy.

Maybe that was exactly what Yu Yeoleum was aiming for.

A girl shamelessly exposing her armpits, chest, and stomach in front of a male student without a hint of embarrassment? Gaeul was almost certain her theory was correct.

She always acts like she’s thinking about nothing, but deep down she’s just plotting how to seduce men and live an easy life? Disgusting. Gives me the creeps.

Deciding she couldn’t just take this lying down, Gaeul began desperately craving a certain Concept. And she succeeded in awakening it.

Perfect!

Gaeul decided to transfer the newly acquired Concept to Yu Yeoleum. Transferring a Concept required a deep understanding of the target, but after spending several days together, she had more or less figured the girl out.

In Gaeul’s eyes, Yu Yeoleum was a thieving cat. The type that pretended to be indifferent while secretly flirting. Like the saying “a quiet cat climbs the stove first,” she acted all innocent, secretly wagging her tail, then suddenly caused a huge mess.

So Gaeul decided to give this thieving cat a new Concept as a set of shackles.

“Yu Yeoleum, there’s a mosquito on your shoulder.”

Slap!

Gaeul touched her shoulder and transferred the Concept at the same time.

“You just wanted to slap my shoulder, didn’t you? How childish.”

“Bleh.”

When Gaeul stuck her tongue out, Yu Yeoleum simply frowned, completely unaware of what was about to happen.

But five seconds later, Yu Yeoleum’s face turned bright red.

“…Huk…!”

She looked down at herself, then immediately dove under the blanket. Watching her, Gaeul couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore.

“Puhahaha! How does it feel? Suddenly embarrassed by your own body? Well? How does it feel?!”

“…What the hell did you do to me?”

“What did I do? I taught you how to be modest as a woman! I gave you the Concept of Chastity!”

“…Chastity?”

Since Gaeul already possessed the Lady Concept, awakening the derivative Concept of ‘chastity’ hadn’t been difficult at all.

Now Yu Yeoleum would be as prim and proper as a daughter-in-law from a noble Joseon family. There was no way she could seduce the male student with that dangerous body anymore.

“You won’t be able to clumsily flirt anymore. Serves you right! Reflect on how un-chaste you’ve been in front of men until now!”

Gaeul couldn’t wait to show Namjin this ridiculous, bashful version of Yu Yeoleum and tease her to death.

She wished that shameless male student Ha Namjin would come back to the basement soon—

Then suddenly, Gaeul got angry at herself.

Why am I waiting for him to come?

Exploration of the Great Labyrinth was said to require a minimum of two people. Teams of four were the most common. Our team was no exception.

The team leader, Jang Hyunah, was a twenty-one-year-old woman with bleached blonde hair that made her look like a flashy flower. She even wore a choker—clearly someone who put a lot of effort into her fashion.

She’s a veteran who possesses a Level 3 Vibration Concept, right?

That Vibration was apparently incredibly useful in the Labyrinth, which was why she’d become an outstanding explorer right after graduating from Youngsa High.

Jang Hyunah pressed her palm to the floor and released a vibration.

Drrrrrrrrrrrr—

“No monsters ahead.”

It seemed to work like a sonar device, detecting the vibrations of monsters.

I suddenly grew curious.

“Vibration noona, how did you end up awakening the Vibration Concept? It seems like a really rare ability.”

It was pure admiration. But instead of Vibration noona, the model girl had a fit and snapped at me.

“Wow, ‘Vibration noona’? What kind of way is that to talk to the team leader? And asking an Awakened about the reason behind their Concept manifestation is extremely rude, don’t you know that?!”

Model girl Jeon Somi still seemed to be holding a grudge over that viral video of her falling flat on her butt because of me. She’d been picking fights over every little thing I said since earlier. It was incredibly annoying.

Soon, team leader Jang Hyunah added,

“Until I finished elementary school, I was really fat. Side effect of some medicine. I thought it’d be nice if my body shook automatically during exercise so I could burn more calories. Understand?”

So she had awakened the Vibration Concept because she wanted something like those vibrating exercise belts that go drdrdr—? That made sense.

While I was nodding in understanding, Jang Hyunah suddenly shot me a look.

“It’s not the perverted reason you’re imagining, so stop being curious and focus on the exploration. Do you think exploring the Great Labyrinth is child’s play? Let your guard down here and you’ll get hurt or die for real.”

The team leader’s authority seemed incredibly strong during these Labyrinth explorations. In fact, Jang Hyunah used that authority to order Baek Yeoul—aka Ppang-daeng-i—around for all sorts of errands.

“Baek Yeoul, there seem to be about three traps ahead. Go check them.”

Baek Yeoul was basically the team’s trap-testing guinea pig. Since she possessed Bad Luck, she was guaranteed to trigger every single trap.

“Kyaaa!”

See? She’d only taken one step when a brick on the floor clicked, and whoosh whoosh whoosh—! Arrows shot out from the ceiling.

Baek Yeoul continued forward with a deathly pale face.

“Huk!”

Click! Flames erupted from the wall. The floor collapsed. All three traps were triggered.

Only then did the team leader and her friend Jeon Somi step on the safe tiles and move forward.

“It’s so annoying having to trigger every single trap because of someone. If we just ignore them they suddenly explode.”

“Exactly, Hyunah. It would’ve been so much easier if Jahyun had come. Why did the school have to stick this kid in our team? So annoying.”

“…….”

Baek Yeoul clenched her fists tightly, clearly upset at being scolded by the active explorer seniors. Her lips twitched like she wanted to talk back.

But whenever Jang Hyunah asked, “Why, got a problem? Want to quit the exploration?” Baek Yeoul could only bite her lip and shake her head furiously.

While exploring the entrance of the Labyrinth in that kind of atmosphere, we came across a fork in the road. Left or right—

After thinking for a long time, the team leader said,

“We’re going left.”

Why left of all places?

“Vibration noona, I think the right path is the correct one?”

“Ugh, damn it! Hey! Ha Namjin! What do you know to talk back to the team leader? Do you even have any Labyrinth exploration experience? We’ve been doing this for over three months already!”

“Somi, that’s enough. Hey. You. Shut up and follow my orders. Here, I’m the king and the president. We’re going left. Got it?”

And so we ended up taking the left path.

But in my eyes, the graffiti on the wall was clearly translated.

And sure enough, the left path was actually blocked. The wall had collapsed, making entry impossible.

“I told you we should go right.”

“Ugh, so unlucky. Why is it collapsed of all things?”

“Guess we have to go back to the right. How can someone be this unlucky?”

The seniors’ eyes all turned to glare at Baek Yeoul. It was as if they were saying the bad-luck girl was the reason they’d chosen the blocked path at the fork.

“If we’d just listened when Namjin said to go right…”

This time, even Baek Yeoul seemed a bit wronged and talked back. The female seniors immediately exploded as if they’d been waiting for it.

“What did you say?”

“Unbelievable.”

I found it unbelievable too. I had no choice but to say what I’d been wanting to say for a while.

“This won’t do. From now on, I’m the team leader. I’m the president and the king, so if you don’t follow my orders, you’ll be punished.”

“Ha? What the hell are you saying? Do you think you can just change the team leader whenever you want? A high-schooler who still has milk on his lips! Don’t cross the line!”

Bonk!

Jeon Somi smacked me on the head with her knuckles. I also believed that those who crossed the line needed to be punished.

“You dare talk back to the Labyrinth President? Namjin Kick!”

I slapped the chihuahua-like barking Jeon Somi across the cheek with my palm. She collapsed on the spot from the sudden strike, then touched her cheek with a bewildered look.

“Y-you crazy bastard! You dare hit a senior’s cheek? You must really want to die! Do you not care what your midterms score is anymore?”

Who cares about doing well on midterms? The world’s going to end in a year anyway. A school diploma won’t even be useful as toilet paper.

“Hyunah! This is unacceptable! Let’s just kick this bastard out! Son of a bitch! He hasn’t even graduated yet! Does he not know how scary active explorers are? How dare he look down on his seniors!”

Jeon Somi was screaming at the top of her lungs. From her words alone, it sounded like she wanted to grab me by the hair, but she didn’t actually rush me—probably because she knew I was the guy who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had captured several Level 3 wanted criminals. All bark and no bite.

At that moment, Jang Hyunah crossed her arms and spoke leisurely.

“Ha Namjin, was it? If you’re so confident, go ahead. Be the team leader.”

“Hey! Jang Hyunah! What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are you saying right now?! Can’t you see I got slapped?! I got slapped across the face!!!”

I thought they were close friends, but apparently not. What even is friendship?

Jang Hyunah slowly narrowed her eyes.

“Ha Namjin, starting this afternoon, you will lead the team and explore the Great Labyrinth. However, if you produce no results, you will have to take responsibility and pay the price. Maybe strip naked and beg for forgiveness on your knees?”

Wanting to see me naked and kneeling—she was definitely a pervert.

“And if I do produce results?”

“Pfft, results? Do you think finding a Bogu is that easy? Even a veteran like me only finds one every few months, if that.”

“If I find a Bogu, there’s one thing I want to ask. Can you answer me? I’m curious what you ate for breakfast during the few days you spent at a hotel with Wang Jahyun last week.”

I planned to extract information about Wang Jahyun and the Je-wang Group from these women. Ultimately, information that could even reach Seo Docheol’s windpipe.

However, model girl Jeon Somi looked greatly flustered and asked me instead.

“What are you talking about? Hyunah met Jahyun last week? What does that mean? Jang Hyunah, didn’t you take vacation last week saying you were going back to your hometown?”

“…What nonsense are you talking about? Why would I meet Jahyun? I went down to the countryside last week.”

When I mentioned the hotel with Wang Jahyun, Jang Hyunah became visibly flustered. The information I’d heard from Ramen noona seemed to be accurate.

Anyway, I left the two seniors who were now giving off a strange atmosphere and looked at the fairy writing engraved on the cafeteria wall.

The bedroom of the Fairy Kingdom’s princess. There had to be at least one Bogu there, right?