Chapter 26: The Space We Made, The Space We Had Made, The Space Where We Were-3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 26: The Space We Made, The Space We Had Made, The Space Where We Were-3
9:00 AM.
The Director, bound to his chair, was a bloody pulp. He twitched intermittently, but not a single shred of life remained in him.
Perhaps it was because she had been so immersed for the past hour, but her entire body was drenched in sweat and blood.
"Oh dear, I didn't think this through," she muttered, looking down at her filthy state.
It was almost time for the early birds to start trickling into the office. If she wandered around the halls like this, she was bound to be caught.
"It can't be helped."
She checked the blinds in the Director’s office, which were drawn tight, and sat down on the guest sofa.
Opening the work messenger on her phone, she posted a message in the team chat.
Lee Mina: I have an important announcement to make, so today’s scrum will begin at 11:00 AM.
>
Yun Hye-young: Oh! The traffic is bad, so I think I might be a little late ㅠㅠ
>
Lee Mina: Please make sure you aren't late. This is important, so I need every single person to attend.
>
Lee Mina: I’m sure you wouldn't, but just in case of any recordings, please leave your phones at your desks.
"Whew..."
She swept back her sweat-soaked hair and took a deep breath.
"I miss you, In-ho."
She stared blankly at the ceiling and whispered his name.
*
11:00 AM.
Mina looked down impassively at the Director, who no longer even twitched.
"You're looking quite energetic today, aren't you?"
With a small smirk, she opened her phone again.
Lee Mina: Is everyone gathered?
>
Kim Yu-na: Yes, we're all here~
"Shall we go, then?"
She looked in the mirror and straightened her clothes.
She tied her damp hair back once more and wiped the dried blood from her face with a wet wipe.
Then, she twisted the cap off a large jerrycan she had left in the Director’s office.
The pungent stench of fuel erupted.
Without so much as a flinch at the acrid smell, she began to pour it over the Director.
Glug, glug, glug.
After drenching the entire room in oil, she opened a second jerrycan.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
Dragging the container behind her, she stepped out of the room.
*
In the meeting room, the entire team was waiting for Lee Mina, who had yet to arrive.
"She tells us to gather at eleven and then she’s the one who’s late," Yun Hye-young grumbled, and the others chimed in.
"But what do you think the announcement is about?"
"Probably... telling us to watch our mouths regarding In-ho? She’ll probably tell us not to post anything on Blind or social media."
"Ah... right, that happened."
"It’s so tragic what happened to In-ho. Who could have known there’d be a train accident?"
As Kim Yu-na spoke, Yun Hye-young added, "I was almost the one who went. If I had gone down there like Mina suggested... ugh, I don't even want to think about it."
"Wait, what’s that smell?"
Someone held their nose as a sudden scent wafted in.
"Ugh, what is that?"
The smell spread like a contagion, and everyone wrinkled their noses at the foul odor.
"I'll go see what it is."
Just as Kim Yu-na stood up to open the door—
Rattle.
"Huh?"
Rattle, rattle, rattle.
"The door won't open!"
The door was blocked by something heavy. The people inside the meeting room began to buzz with unease.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, flames erupted.
The heat radiating through the cracks of the door forced everyone to recoil.
"Aaaaah! What is this?!"
"Fire! It's a fire!!"
At the cry of "fire," everyone rushed to the door, pounding on it.
The more they hammered, the more intense the heat became, and their skin began to blister and sear.
"Cough, cough!"
Acrid smoke billowed into the meeting room, and within seconds, the coughing became universal.
"Help me!!"
"Why aren't the sprinklers working?!"
Neither the fire alarm nor the sprinklers triggered.
Trapped in a state of pure panic, the women could do nothing but scream.
"Your phones!"
"We left them all at our desks!"
"Ah! Someone do something!!"
A shrill voice rang out through the chaos.
*
The flames grew fiercer, and most of the people had long since collapsed from the suffocating smoke.
The fire greedily devoured the meeting room, and only a few remained conscious.
"We have to break through the door first."
The door was more than half-burnt by the flames; it looked like it might give way with just a little impact.
"Huh? Oh!"
Yun Hye-young, who had been standing behind everyone else, shoved Seo Seo-rim forward with all her might.
Thud!
"Aaaagh!!"
The sensation of flesh burning—a pain she had never experienced in her life—made Seo Seo-rim scream.
Perhaps the agony was too much; she lost her senses and fainted on the spot.
"It's open."
Thanks to Seo-rim’s sacrifice, the door gave way. Yun Hye-young dashed out of the meeting room, laughing like a madwoman.
Thump!
With a dull sound, Yun Hye-young fell backward.
"Wait, what?"
Not even understanding why she was lying on the floor, Hye-young looked up at the faces of her colleagues who hadn't escaped yet.
Their faces were pale with shock, as if they were looking at a demon risen from hell.
Why are they making those faces?
Before the question could even form, a face appeared over her.
"Good morning, Yun Hye-young."
It was Lee Mina.
For some reason, she was covered in blood.
Hye-young couldn't process the situation.
"Mina... n-nim..."
Then, a fire extinguisher came crashing down on her head.
Crack!
Once.
Crack!
Twice.
Crack!
Three times.
The fire extinguisher slammed into her head repeatedly.
The sound of crushing bone echoed through the burning office.
"Phew. You don't look very well, so you should leave early today."
Setting the fire extinguisher down, Mina spoke with a refreshed tone.
"Mina... nim?"
The remaining team members called out to her.
"Oh? Someone is still conscious. Come on out. I have my own schedule to keep, so I’d like to wrap this up quickly."
She gestured for them to come out, and the few people left in the meeting room began to scramble toward her.
*
Twenty minutes later, the sound of sirens could be heard in the distance.
It seemed her efforts to delay the report as much as possible had worked.
"Whew..."
Rubbing the various scrapes and bruises on her body, she began to walk.
The office was already a sea of fire.
Thick smoke had filled every corner.
A normal person would have lost consciousness long ago.
But because she had already lost her mind, she was able to remain awake.
"It's over now," she said, looking at the fallen employees.
In the end, not a single person had made it off this floor.
She was satisfied with that.
The exit was already blocked. And she had never intended to leave in the first place.
The fire, which had started at the edges of the office, was slowly expanding its territory inward.
She sat down at In-ho’s desk.
She ran her hand over the desk as if stroking someone’s cheek.
"Up we go. You told me I absolutely had to try this, didn't you?"
Clutching the bag of caramel popcorn she had hidden underneath, she turned on her phone and opened the photo gallery.
Photos of the time they spent together.
The medium through which she recalled her happy memories.
As she revived the fragments of the time they shared, a smile spread across her face.
In-ho.
Are you watching?
I wonder if you’d be angry, or if you’d tell me I did a good job...
I’m not really sure.
Oh, but this popcorn is really delicious.
I should have bought it more often.
It would have tasted even better if I’d shared it with you.
You know, I didn't really want much.
I just wanted to keep working with you at this company, just being together like that.
If I was being greedy, maybe living together.
That’s all I wanted.
Because before you came along, my life was colorless.
That’s why I don't want to think about a life without you.
Ah... my head is getting fuzzy.
I must have inhaled too much smoke.
Where was I?
Ah, right.
This space... it’s a space you and I made, isn't it?
The two of us built this organization from nothing, when it was barely even a team.
But if you aren't here, what meaning does this space have?
How ridiculous would it be for someone else to take your place?
So... I decided to destroy it.
Since we’re the ones who built it up, it’s okay if we’re the ones to tear it down, right?
Yes.
The space we made.
The space that holds our time.
The space where our memories piled up.
The space where our traces are engraved.
The space we made, the space we had made, the space where we were.
In-ho, I’m sorry.
I... I don't want to live anymore.
In-ho, I miss you.
As her consciousness faded, she felt as if In-ho was right there beside her.
A warm hand wrapped around her shoulder.
She surrendered herself to that phantom sensation and closed her eyes.
Goodbye.