The Room You Can't Leave Without Doing It #4
Jeon Somi and Jang Hyunah were trapped in one room together. How many hours had passed? They'd pounded on the walls and shouted in every direction, but not a single reply came back.
“Those crazy bastards, locking up their seniors? When I get out, they're all dead for real.”
Jeon Somi spat out curses that bordered on actual hexes aimed at Ha Namjin and Baek Yeoul. But Jang Hyunah scolded her.
“You're making me nervous, so just shut up already. Stop wasting energy for no reason. You never know how to stay quiet when something happens.”
“What? What did you just say? What do I never do?”
Her mood completely ruined, Jeon Somi couldn't hold back. The resentment toward Jang Hyunah that had piled up all day exploded in an instant.
“Hey, if we're being real, isn't this partly your fault too? You just had to hand the team leader position over to Ha Namjin and now look at this mess. When we get out, you better take responsibility. I'm telling Ja-hyun everything that happened today.”
“Pfft.”
“You're laughing? Hey, did you just laugh at me? You're mocking me!”
“No, I wasn't mocking you. Something funny just popped into my head. You know I laugh to myself sometimes, right? Pfft—.”
“What the hell are you even saying? That's why you have no luck with guys. What kind of outdated fourth-dimensional concept is that? That trend died years ago!”
Jeon Somi was just irritated by the whole situation. She felt like she wouldn't feel better until she sank her nails into Jang Hyunah and scratched her good, but listening to the constant nagging was starting to piss Jang Hyunah off too.
“Must be nice having so many guys after you, huh? Too bad you can't keep any of them and they all dump you right away. Isn't that because they all get sick of you?”
“What the hell, you crazy gold-digging bitch! The one who got sick of someone was probably your dad! He got tired of you and your mom so fast he went and cheated and ran off!”
“You've said enough…!?”
Bringing up her father was where Jang Hyunah reached the limit of her patience. She had always known that Jeon Somi secretly looked down on her and treated her like some servant. It was hilarious. The audacity to look down on her.
“You're the one who doesn't know anything but still acts so high and mighty. Have you ever spent the night with Ja-hyun, just the two of you? No, right? Has he ever confided his secrets to you? Do you even know what the Level 0 files are?”
“W-what…”
Jeon Somi was stunned by the unexpected counterattack. Jang Hyunah felt immense satisfaction from revealing information only she knew. It felt like all the frustration clogging her chest was melting away.
“Jeon Somi, try having some self-awareness. Tone down that short temper and the way you blab everything that comes to mind. That's why Ja-hyun gets tired of you so fast.”
“Ughhh…”
“Ja-hyun told me. He said your face is pretty, but once he actually dated you, your head was so empty it wasn't fun at all. If you're singing about wanting to be the daughter-in-law of a chaebol family, shouldn't you at least build up some culture to match?”
The extroverted Jeon Somi preferred hanging out with friends, drinking, partying, and showing herself off far more than reading books or cultivating any refinement. Even though she was an Awakened, she was only a twenty-year-old fresh into society, so enjoying the present was only natural.
Wang Ja-hyun, you said you liked me just the way I am! You said hanging out with me was so fun that you didn't even think about your worries!
While Jeon Somi was wallowing in those sad thoughts, Jang Hyunah was thinking about Wang Ja-hyun.
—Hyunah, I like how you treat me like a normal guy. Most girls are so busy trying to look good in front of me that it's obvious and not fun at all.
—I've never really been interested in dating or anything like that. And what do you mean, 'man'? You haven't even graduated school yet. I'm older than you. Call me Noona.
The two of them had become close quickly. After some time passed, Wang Ja-hyun even started opening up to Jang Hyunah about various things.
—My father entrusted me with the Level 0 confidential files instead of my older brothers or sister. He said if I'm the one who's going to inherit the throne someday, there are many things I need to know.
He had always acted strong and worn the shell of an extrovert, but at that moment, Wang Ja-hyun had been trembling. He looked terrified.
“Honestly, I wasn't interested in dating at all, but seeing him struggling like that made some kind of protective instinct kick in. It was last Christmas.”
“Last Christmas…!?”
Jeon Somi remembered how Wang Ja-hyun had said he couldn't meet her on Christmas because of a family meeting at the Emperor Group.
It was a lie!
She couldn't accept it. Wang Ja-hyun and Jang Hyunah. The fact that the two of them had betrayed her made her furious.
That was exactly when it happened.
Rattle—.
The door that had stayed shut for so long opened, and Ha Namjin appeared.
“Okay, that's enough. From now on, tell me what those Level 0 files are. Just so you know, if you try anything funny, you'll all be stuck here. I can turn this place into the Room You Can't Leave Without Doing It.”
The Room You Can't Leave Without Doing It has been activated.
It was late afternoon. I entered the Great Labyrinth at Youngsa High again.
“Our team’s seniors are still inside the labyrinth. Jang Hyunah and Jeon Somi. Neither of them has a departure record yet, right? I need to meet them and give them some triangle kimbap.”
The labyrinth entry and exit staff let me through with a free pass, no questions asked. As I approached the Fairy Princess’s Room, I could hear murmuring voices coming from beyond the cold stone door. I pressed my ear against the stone wall and listened. The sound of Jang Hyunah and Jeon Somi fighting came through crystal clear. I’d gotten the keyword I wanted too. Level 0 confidential files. So the secrets about the Emperor Group weren’t known by Jeon Somi after all—it was Jang Hyunah.
“You guys must be tired from being locked up. I brought drinks and triangle kimbap, so share them.”
“Give it here!”
Whoosh—!
Like a feral weasel, Jeon Somi snatched the cola from my hand. She cracked it open with a hiss and chugged the whole thing straight from the can. She didn’t leave a single drop for Jang Hyunah.
“Hey, why are you drinking it all by yourself?”
Jang Hyunah glared at her, but Jeon Somi just let out a loud burp on purpose.
If I left them like this they’d start fighting again, so I decided to cut in first.
“Jang Hyunah, if you know anything about those ‘Level 0 files’ you mentioned, you’d better tell me.”
“Why should I tell you?”
“Because if you don’t, you’ll be stuck in here with Jeon Somi for the rest of your life. Is there any reason you should suffer that kind of humiliation for Wang Ja-hyun? You don’t owe him that much loyalty, do you?”
“Loyalty? Pfft—. How funny. We’re in love.”
Love, huh. I liked love too. Everything I was doing right now was because of my love for Seo Gaeul. In that case, how about this?
I pulled some photos out of my pocket and tossed them on the floor.
“That Wang Ja-hyun guy is something else. Must be because he’s as good-looking as me—girls can’t get enough of him. Actresses, internet streamers, Olympic medalists… he didn’t discriminate.”
These were photos that the Seonam Group’s newspaper had tried to run last week. They showed a male student in school uniform with countless different women. The Ramen Lady had received them from Chairman Seo Docheol and passed them on to me.
“T-this is…”
“That son of a bitch Wang Ja-hyun! He said he cut off contact with all those girls and was only seeing me!”
The faces of Jang Hyunah and Jeon Somi, who were looking at the photos, flushed bright red before turning deathly pale. The change was pretty entertaining.
“Just so you know, there’s one girl who could actually be called his ‘girlfriend.’ She’s the only one Wang Ja-hyun ever invited to his house.”
Flip—.
I pulled out one more photo from my chest pocket. The girls’ reactions immediately got loud.
“…Ja-hyun invited her to his house?”
“H-he told me never to come over because his parents and family members were always there! Give me that photo!”
Jeon Somi lunged at me. I’d expected it, so the moment I raised my hand to slap her cheek, something strange happened.
Slip—.
My palm just slid right past her cheek. It felt more like I’d brushed against something incredibly slick. Was it because of her concept, Slipperiness?
Jeon Somi, who had snatched the photo from my hand, shouted.
“T-this woman is Jin Eunbyeol! From the Samjin Group!”
Ten years ago, before the Seonam Group rose to power, the Samjin Group had been the top company in the business world. In other words, they were a powerhouse from the old era before concepts like ‘Awakened’ existed. And Jin Eunbyeol was the daughter of that Samjin Group’s vice chairman. To add to her special background, she could be called the current president’s goddaughter or niece.
“Birds of a feather flock together, I guess. No matter how much a crayfish and a crab brag in a ditch, a crane only meets another crane. To Wang Ja-hyun, you two were just something to kill time with.”
“Not me. I’m the only one who knows about the Level 0 files.”
Jang Hyunah wore a stubborn expression, as if trying to show some pride. I asked her,
“So do you actually know exactly what’s in them?”
“……”
She didn’t. I figured as much. Looked like pulling useful information out of her was a no-go. Time for Plan B.
“Cooperate with me. The truth is, I only have business with Wang Ja-hyun, the prime suspect in Seo Gaeul’s kidnapping. Give me a natural opportunity to approach him.”
Jeon Somi and Jang Hyunah were, at the very least, in the position of Wang Ja-hyun’s secret lovers. Even if they weren’t much to look at, they held the keys to getting close to him. It might not be the key to a supercar, but it should at least open a bike lock. So all I had to do was ride the bicycle they prepared for me, smoothly approach Wang Ja-hyun, dig up the Emperor Group’s secrets, and hand them over to Seo Docheol.
“…Why should we cooperate with you?”
But Jang Hyunah was still being stubborn. She didn’t seem to understand her own situation. Surprisingly, the model-like Jeon Somi seemed to catch on faster.
“I-I can help! Wang Ja-hyun and Jin Eunbyeol? I’m not letting those trashy bastards get away with this! Playing with my pure heart? I’m getting revenge! Revenge! Namjin-ah! I’ll cooperate!”
“Okay. Then only the model girl gets to leave this room. I don’t need two helpers. In that case, Jeon Somi, you’ll have to take care of managing Jang Hyunah from now on. Just so you know, I was planning to keep her locked in here for about half a year.”
I could let her out right before the world ended. Jang Hyunah, however, looked completely panicked.
“Are you insane? Locking someone up for half a year? That’s kidnapping! It’s a crime! Do you want to go to prison? If I disappear, you think people will just sit still?”
“They will. Seo Gaeul and Yu Yeoleum disappeared and the world is still running just fine, isn’t it? And look into my eyes. Do I look like the kind of guy who says empty threats?”
I stared at Jang Hyunah with eyes full of passion and love. Sensing some kind of sincerity in my gaze, she shouted at Jeon Somi with a heavily tense expression.
“Hey! Jeon Somi! You don’t have to listen to this guy!”
“Fuck off, you crazy bitch! You’re the same! If you’re so confident, why don’t you try attacking Ha Namjin with that vibrating punch of yours!? In reality you’re just a coward who doesn’t even have the guts to fight!”
It looked like Jeon Somi had already made up her mind. Good. Long-term pawn secured.
“…Coward? Me?”
Vrrrr—.
Jang Hyunah’s vibrating fist. Was she seriously thinking of charging at me like a madwoman? Just what I wanted.
“If you want to come at me, go ahead. By the way, have you heard of the Testicle Crusher, Ha Namjin? Every guy who came at me ended up with their balls swollen. What do you think I’d do to a girl? If you’re curious, come and find out.”
“……”
“…Fine! I get it. I’ll help. All I have to do is help you approach him, right? I’m not submitting because of your threats, Ha Namjin. I’m doing this of my own free will. I’ll do it. But leave Jeon Somi out. She has zero talent at anything. She’ll only ruin it.”
“What the hell are you saying, you crazy bitch! You just stay locked up in here!”
Now that Jang Hyunah had changed her mind and agreed to cooperate, the two of them were tangled up fighting again. I clapped my hands loudly to get everyone’s attention.
“From now on, this is the Room You Can Only Leave After Apologizing. Sincerely apologize for all the wrongs you did to me and Baek Yeoul. I’ll let out whichever one of you shows more ‘sincerity.’”
I lifted my phone camera and started recording a video.
“Just like you two demanded of me earlier, take off your clothes and do a dogeza in front of the camera.”