The Beast Cloaked in White (2)

"The Curator's gone."

"That creepy-looking thing — good riddance."

The Curator had vanished after conjuring our Leaflets. Ko Gyumin stroked his chin and read the words inscribed on his at a leisurely pace.

"Sounds like pansori. I think they were going for that aniri feel?"

"Aniri?"

"Simply put, it's like a narrator's commentary. Guess you didn't know this one, Kim?"

"No. Not the terminology, at least…."

"Haha, well then. Guess this old man's useful for something."

If I used the Docent skill, there's probably an aniri entry under the pansori category…. But I'll just keep my mouth shut.

It was true that Ko Gyumin knew far more about pansori than I did. He looked quietly proud, one corner of his mouth curling upward. Even his smile didn't come across as particularly gentle, but he was pleased with himself, so I supposed that was what mattered. It was as if he'd briefly forgotten how he'd once shuddered at the mere mention of pansori.

"Most of it's just exposition. The only real hint is that we die if the sun passes three times."

"Cross-referencing that with what the skeleton monster said, we die once the sun sets three times, right?"

"That's it. And if we get past the one cloaked in white, a beast big as a house will descend, and we can defeat the skeleton monster. That's about the size of it. No need to memorize any of it."

Not that I needed to memorize anything — the Docent ability had already stored it all in my head.

"You two, do you see that?"

Ko Gyumin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and I turned our heads toward where Jang Siwoon was pointing. A cave had appeared. Its interior was pitch-black; we couldn't tell what was inside, or how deep it went.

"A cave. Like on the first floor, I'd assume they've made it so the darkness doesn't actually matter?"

"Can't be sure of that. The sun's about to set anyway, so should we sleep outside tonight?"

"Hmm. If we waste tonight out here, won't the deadline get far too tight?"

They said three suns means quest failure — starting the quest in the afternoon feels like a bit much, doesn't it?

"Then let's go in now. We've already seen everything scary this place has to offer — what's left to be afraid of?"

"I'm still scared, though."

"Kim, young people shouldn't have that much nerve~ …Honestly, I feel the same."

Once Ko Gyumin started talking, we drifted into small talk that had nothing to do with our situation. Still, fear or not, we'd have to go into that cave eventually.

"Meow."

Just then, a long-missed cry sounded behind us. My eyes lit up as I turned around.

Every one of the cats that had bolted earlier was standing there together.

"You're back?!"

"We have come to bring food to the visitors who shall be exploring the cave."

The three cats at the front handed us provisions with their soft little paws. Each one was a fruit that resembled a wild raspberry.

Shff—

The moment the fruit touched my hand, my Leaflet sprang into view. Judging by the item information, it seemed safe to eat. Of course, since I had no idea how long we'd be inside the cave, I'd better save it for when I was hungrier than I was now.

"Mm, this is actually pretty good?"

Ko ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Gyumin had already popped one of the berries into his mouth. At once, new text appeared on the Leaflet floating in front of him.

"What's this supposed to mean now?"

"…I think the ink refers to your health?"

"Then why not just call it health? Skills are Perks, the statue's the Curator. Everything gets a new name around here."

"Probably for the sake of the museum concept."

While Ko Gyumin and I were going back and forth, the cats held out even more berries to us.

"We shall store the rest in your item slots."

Shff—

The data of the fruit in the cat's paw dissolved and broke apart. And on the newly opened Leaflet, the berry appeared as a simple pen-sketch item icon.

"Whenever you wish, you may summon your own Leaflet and take them out."

"What. That's allowed too? It's exactly like a game."

"Of course it is! This is the Museum of Wishes — a tower where anything is possible!"

The cats waved their two front paws and danced. For a system built by this tower, they were absurdly cute. Damn it.

"Hey, Kim. Time to go."

"Oh…, right."

Ko Gyumin dragged me away while my attention was still glued to the cats. We said our farewells and were about to enter the cave when—

"Ah! We nearly forgot the parting gift for our visitors~!"

One cat tapped its forehead with a paw and laughed. Then, like a magician, it produced a small box from behind its back.

"What's this?"

"A gift~ You may open the lid once one night has passed! And the gifts inside cannot be traded between visitors~"

Three boxes vanished, one into each of our Leaflets. Since they couldn't be opened until a night had passed, they seemed to hold something more important than the berries had.

Having apparently finished supplying us at last, the cats waved their paws at us in farewell.

"Thank you."

"You're most welcome. Best of luck~"

"Luck~!"

We walked into the cave under the cats' cheery goodbyes. As we slowly made our way into the darkness, the meowing gradually faded behind us.

Contrary to our worries, the cave wasn't particularly dark this time either. Small holes had been drilled into the cave ceiling on purpose.

Even as we walked, the little shafts of opening followed us deeper in. Probably meant to show us how much time has passed. Moonlight comes through too, so no need to worry about the dark.

"I think we should sleep here if we can. They laid out artificial mats over here."

The spot Ko Gyumin had chosen was, just as he said, unusually dry for a cave floor.

We haven't walked that far in from the entrance yet, though….

I stole a discreet glance at Jang Siwoon. She who could traverse even slippery cave floors with ease was trailing behind me at a sluggish crawl.

"…Right. Everyone's been worn down since the first floor, so let's get some rest and recover here."

It feels like the real quest will only begin once we open the boxes the cats gave us, anyway.

"Okay. Sure. Then."

At my words, Jang Siwoon gave only a barely perceptible nod, her head hanging low. No blankets, no sleeping bags. But we were inside the tower, so surely our bodies wouldn't ache just from sleeping on stone.

"……."

"……."

Ko Gyumin and I had deliberately settled a good distance away from her. We'd made space out of consideration, but it only seemed to leave her sinking deeper into her own gloom.

For Jang Siwoon of all people to be that deflated. The shock of facing that skeleton must have been worse than I thought.

She was caught in a vice of instinctive terror and couldn't wrench herself free. She'd been through plenty of horrible things since the first floor — but never before had something so grotesque nearly seized her and swallowed her whole, like it had just now.

"Um…, Siwoon. Are you okay?"

"No."

"Right."

The conversation was severed with surgical precision. I'd asked out of genuine worry for her state, and now I felt deeply awkward. Well — I'd more or less expected that kind of answer.

"Leave her. Leave it. Unless you're truly close to someone, it's better in moments like this to let them chew on it alone. In the end, life is a solo act."

Ko Gyumin waved me off. He seemed to be telling me to mind my own business….

But if she keeps feeling this low, Jang Siwoon's physical performance might suffer, you know.

Just as I was fretting over what trouble might come of it—

"Hnn…, sob…."

-!!

Jang Siwoon buried her face in her knees and began to weep. The sound of tears and mucus pouring out of her turned my blood to ice. Don't tell me… I made her cry? A student much younger than me?

"Whoa. You made her cry, Kim."

"It might have been you, Teacher Ko…!"

Ko Gyumin had, at some point, taken a careful step backward and gone fully into spectator mode. I felt like I'd become the villain of the scene.

W-what do I do? I've never comforted anyone in my life. What if I say the wrong thing and only hurt her more—

The only conversations I'd ever had were the perfunctory exchanges of office life. I had never made anyone laugh, and never made anyone cry.

"Life is really fucking shit…."

In the end, even profanity spilled out of Jang Siwoon's mouth. At least she hadn't called me a piece of shit — small mercies.

She wiped her tear-soaked face with the back of her hand. I kept tensely watching her expression. She wasn't glaring at me, at least.

"Damn it…. hic, sob…. Nothing in my life ever goes right."

"Well, this place only collects people whose lives never went right."

"……."

Ko Gyumin tossed out light, offhand consolations without paying her much mind. But they were sound truths, all the same, and Jang Siwoon gradually steadied herself as she listened. This time, Ko Gyumin thrust a thumb up at her.

"Still, your name is Jjang-shi-un, isn't it? 'Super easy'! Your luck will live up to it soon enough!"

What kind of comfort is that….

Even I, hardly a master of communication, knew that was a misfire. Ko Gyumin's dad joke sent the temperature of the cave plummeting.

"I've heard that lame joke way too many times already."

"Oh, you have?"

"Old guys love their dad jokes. There's no shortage of them."

"We old-timers genuinely find this stuff funny. That's the tragedy of it."

Ko Gyumin was good at self-reflection, at least. He committed the sin, then critiqued it and conceded the point.

"When I was a kid, life really did come easy, just like the name. hic…. Just let me keep coasting for once, come on—"

Jang Siwoon sniffled and grumbled to herself. I almost told her that my life hadn't come easy since childhood either. But unspooling a thread of self-pitying consolation like that would have done nothing for her. All I could do was wait until she'd calmed down.

"Hck…!!"

Just then, a centipede a hand-span long appeared at my feet. Its countless legs writhed and rippled. That revolting shape launched my body straight up like a spring.

CRUNCH—

"AAAAGH!!!"

Jang Siwoon had stomped the centipede flat with her shoe, then ground it against the floor for good measure, finishing the kill. Data shards scattered from beneath her sole. When I recoiled in horror and cringed away, she let out a snort of laughter.

"What are you freaking out over a bug for?"

"It's a centipede…."

"You're way bigger than it is."

"But it's so hideous to look at, and there isn't a single beautiful thing about it…. That's just my personal opinion, of course."

As I babbled in my agitation, the corner of Jang Siwoon's mouth twitched.

"You really are a strange one."

You're not exactly normal yourself….

She'd been paralyzed with fear in front of the skeleton monster, yet she'd stamped a centipede to death without a moment's hesitation. I knew, of course, that I was being absurdly sentimental in trying to weigh those two situations against each other….

While Jang Siwoon and I failed to understand each other in the slightest, Ko Gyumin was still snickering away in spectator mode.

The next day, we opened our boxes the moment we woke.

"Alright, everyone, let's open them together. If I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had to guess, there's a weapon or some other item inside?"

"I just hope nothing dangerous pops out."

Jang Siwoon's voice as she traded words with Ko Gyumin was noticeably brighter. Whatever the case, she seemed to have worked through things in her own way, which was a relief.

"The cats have played the good guys all along, so it should be fine."

At my words, everyone nodded and laid a hand on their box lids. Then we counted off a signal together.

"One, two, three."

Shff—

A blade?!

Just as we'd predicted, a weapon had emerged from the box. One that by appearance suited Ko Gyumin, and by practicality suited Jang Siwoon — and yet it had come to me. Puzzled, I held up my dagger and checked the other two tools.

"This one won't even let us keep it hidden from each other. What is that even supposed to mean?"

"I think it means it can only be rung once, and it keeps the target silent for 60 seconds?"

"Only once?"

At my reading of it, Jang Siwoon's mouth twisted sideways. Unlike my dagger, hers came with restrictions — and she clearly didn't like it.

A dagger, a bell, and a fan. All three were tools bearing distinctly Eastern patterns and forms.

"Tch, a fan that screams pansori again? And why is the description like this?"

"For some reason, that riddle of a description makes me think it'll be the most important item of the three."

"Yeah, I think Kim's got a point."

"That's the fan used in pansori performances, right?"

"Yeah, it is."

Ko Gyumin seemed to have realized something; a grin spread across his face as he stroked his chin.

"A white hide, a bell, and a cave. I think I've got a rough idea of what we're dealing with?"

"Really?"

"My knowledge of Eastern folklore isn't bad."

Jang Siwoon and I widened our eyes and looked up at him. Ko Gyumin cleared his throat and went on.

"Isn't it the Jangsanbeom? I'd thought about using it as material for a fusion production once."

"Ah!"

The Jangsanbeom. I'd heard of it too. A modern Korean monster, one that—

At that very moment, two enormous holes opened up in the cave wall. Darkness unfurled within them, and they became tunnels leading who knew where.

"If it's the Jangsanbeom, then that's the— AAAAGH!!"

Jang Siwoon let out a scream as she was sucked into one of the holes. Swept up as if by a whirlwind, she vanished into the darkness at terrifying speed.

"AAAAH!!"

This time it was Ko Gyumin who was pulled into the hole on the opposite side.

-!!

In an instant, I was left standing alone and frozen between two diverging paths. Not a single sound of the two who had disappeared into the darkness reached my ears.

"Siwoon!! Teacher Ko!!"

They can't be dead… right?

No. If I read this exquisitely cruel timing correctly—

"…This is the Jangsanbeom's doing."