The Two of Us in the Labyrinth (2)

Lee Si-hyun swept an uneasy look across their surroundings.

"What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the hell? What's going on?"

"I'm sure we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already came this way..."

She pointed ahead.

"That tree, and that rock too. We just saw those a minute ago."

"...We're trapped."

The words came out grim. Lee Si-hyun stared at me.

"Trapped?"

"The space is warped."

"What?"

"No matter how far we walk, we'll just keep looping through the same stretch of forest."

"...Does that even make sense?"

"Whether it makes sense or not, it's happening to us right now."

Lee Si-hyun studied my face for a long moment before she spoke again, quieter this time.

"...Then how do you know that?"

"..."

"You're talking like you knew this was going to happen from the start."

Well — this is the main event of the club activity, after all.

In the original novel, it happened the day they were getting ready to come down the mountain. Seo Yoon-ah realized she'd left something behind at base camp. Kim Jin-hyuk offered to go back with her, and once Lee Si-hyun and Kang Ha-rin saw them leave, they naturally followed.

While the four of them were finding the item and heading back down, they got swept into the twisted forest. Surviving five days of labyrinth waves — that was the original story.

The problem was that the original never specified where the spatial distortion actually started, so I had no idea where the labyrinth's exact location was.

Still, I figured I wouldn't get caught in it this time.

Everything had been following the original from the moment we started the hike, and I'd let my guard down for a second. The one silver lining, at least—

Did they rebalance it because of the headcount?

For some reason, the quest window was telling us to hold out for forty-eight hours.

"I asked how you knew."

She was looking at me with open suspicion. That was when I realized I'd been silent for far too long.

"Don't tell me... you knew this would happen and you brought me here on purpose."

"Don't be ridiculous. I don't know what's going on either."

"The only reason I know what this place is... is because I read about it in a book."

"You read about it in a book?"

"Yeah. I think this is a labyrinth."

"Don't lie to me... I've never once seen you read a book, not since we were kids."

"Believe whatever you want. Think what you like."

I didn't explain any further. I just looked around. A stretch of silence settled between us.

"..."

"...Fine."

"What?"

"I'll trust you. For now."

She let out a small sigh.

"Honestly, I don't know if you're right or not."

Lee Si-hyun glanced around again.

"But this doesn't seem like the time to argue about it."

"So how do we get out?"

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding and huffed a quiet laugh. If she'd kept doubting me even now, I would've been in real trouble. This labyrinth was not something I could clear alone.

"Now we're getting somewhere."

"...So we can get out of here in forty-eight hours."

"And we have to survive four waves that keep getting stronger."

"Time outside the labyrinth is frozen, so we don't have to worry about anyone noticing we're gone?"

I was satisfied with how quickly she'd picked it up.

"That's exactly right."

"Ah — and the first wave hits in five minutes, so get ready."

I passed along the information written on the system window in front of me, word for word.

"W-wait a second."

Lee Si-hyun's expression went rigid.

"Then it's starting any minute now?"

"That's why I said get ready."

"Ah — and here."

I pulled a small packet from my coat.

"Take this."

"...Gum?"

Lee Si-hyun took what I held out and turned it over in her fingers.

"Chew on that before the fight. It'll help you loosen up."

"...Oh. Yeah. Thanks."

It was the same Magic Circulation Gum I'd given Seo Yoon-ah a few hours earlier. I'd bought another pack before the fighting started.

"The first wave should be easy, though."

"So this is basically a warm-up?"

I nodded.

"Yeah. Don't tense up too much."

And then—

The numbers on the system window froze.

A low vibration rolled out from deep inside the forest.

"They're coming."

Lee Si-hyun dropped into a stance at once. The flustered look from a moment ago was gone; she was already set for a fight.

"Kruk?"

Small shadows emerged from the trees. Five goblins in ragged hides.

"You can handle this much, right?"

I glanced at Lee Si-hyun as I asked. She let out a disbelieving little laugh.

"Obviously. What do you take me for?"

A fine spray of water began to rise from her hands. The droplets gathered, pulled into one place, and condensed into a definite shape.

Lee Si-hyun lifted her fingertips, and the compressed lances of water shot toward the goblins.

"Kieeee!!"

The spears punched through their movements with perfect accuracy. All five goblins went down without even managing a proper scream.

I watched quietly from behind her.

"Easy, right?"

"Yeah. It was easier than I expected, honestly."

Lee Si-hyun looked around as she said it. I checked the fallen goblins, then glanced back at the system window.

"Fifteen hours until the next one."

"That's more time than I thought."

"Yeah. So..."

I dropped onto a nearby rock.

"Let's rest for a bit."

We moved to a reasonably clear patch of ground and built a fire from the firewood we'd gathered a little while ago. The kindling caught, and the flames settled into a steady crackle.

"So... roughly forty-five hours left?"

Lee Si-hyun was sitting beside me, staring into the fire as she spoke.

"Yeah, about that."

"That's a lot of time."

"Tell me about it."

The only sound for a while was the wood popping in the flames. Lee Si-hyun watched the fire for a long stretch before she suddenly opened her mouth.

"...Sorry. About earlier."

"About what?"

"Accusing you of bringing me here on purpose."

She looked a little awkward, her eyes still on the campfire.

"I thought about it, and you're stuck here too. That was a pretty awful thing to say."

"Eh, it's fine."

"You're ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not mad?"

"You doubting me isn't exactly a new development."

"...That's because you brought that on yourself, you know."

"Can't argue with that."

Lee Si-hyun let out a small laugh. Another quiet stretch passed before she spoke again.

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"You've really changed a lot lately."

"Me?"

"Yeah."

She hesitated for a moment, then went on.

"Before... whenever you saw me, you'd just keep saying you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠liked me. Asking me to reconsider."

"..."

"Honestly, that was hard on me."

I couldn't say a word. There was nothing to push back against. She was right.

"But you don't do that anymore."

Lee Si-hyun looked at my face and spoke softly.

"So... I think I'm a little glad."

"Talking with you like this, comfortably... it feels like it's been a long time."

Wait.

What did I just hear?

She's glad? Glad to be talking with me like this?

My head couldn't quite keep up. The words had come from so far out of left field that I blinked without meaning to. Lee Si-hyun seemed embarrassed by the silence and turned her gaze back to the fire.

"Why are you staring at me like that."

"I just... didn't expect something like that to come out of your mouth."

"...Want me to take it back?"

"No. Thank you."

"Honestly."

Lee Si-hyun smiled, just a little.

"Come to think of it, it's been a long time since the two of us spent this much time together."

"...Yeah."

Hearing her say that pulled a memory from my previous life to the surface. Back then, spending the whole day stuck to each other's side had been the most natural thing in the world. And then, at some point, even sitting across from each other and talking had become awkward.

"We used to go everywhere together."

"...We did."

"We'd hang out after school, too."

I watched the flames and huffed a quiet laugh.

"Now that I think about it, you used to eat at my house all the time when we were kids."

"...What?"

"My mom setting a place for you was just a given."

"That goes both ways, you know."

Lee Si-hyun looked at me like I had some nerve.

"Do you have any idea how many meals my mom fed you?"

"Okay, I'll give you that one."

She laughed under her breath and turned back to the fire. A strangely comfortable silence settled over us. It only lasted a moment, but it felt like we'd slipped back into the way things used to be.

And then—

Grrrrrowl.

"..."

"..."

A remarkably hearty sound shattered the quiet. I turned my head, slowly. Beside me, Lee Si-hyun's face was going red by degrees.

"...That wasn't me."

"I haven't said anything yet."

"Don't even look at me."

"You hungry?"

"I said I wasn't!"

Grrrrrowl.

"..."

"..."

I couldn't hold it in.

"Pfft."

"Don't laugh!"

"Hey, your stomach's over there agreeing with me."

"You—"

"Hm?"

"Do you actually want to die?"

"Okay, okay."

I stood up, still grinning. Come to think of it, neither of us had eaten a proper meal since the camping trip started.

"Let's eat something."

"...What do we even have?"

"Give me a second."

I opened the shop window right there in front of her.

Let's see here.

I picked out a few things that looked decent to eat and hit purchase. Pulling them out behind her back would only make her more suspicious, so I figured I'd make it look like I was taking them from a subspace instead. The instant the items appeared, I reached out and caught them like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Here."

"...?"

Lee Si-hyun blinked at the food in my hands.

"Where did that come from?"

"Subspace Pouch."

"You had one of those?"

"Something like that."

"No way... even the cheapest ones cost tens of millions of won, don't they?"

"My stocks have been doing pretty well lately."

"..."

The words were already out of my mouth before the thought caught up with me.

Come to think of it, I could use some actual money too.

The only cash I had on hand right now was the five million won Jin-hyuk had given me. I'd stacked a decent amount of points, but those weren't something I could spend in the real world.

Maybe I should actually try growing some seed money while I'm at it.

That was when I noticed Lee Si-hyun watching me, perfectly still.

...What. Did she figure it out?

A twinge of guilt made me glance away.

"What."

"You do stocks too?"

"Started recently."

"That's suspicious."

"Aren't you hungry? You not gonna eat?"

"...I'll eat."

Sure enough — put food in front of someone, and even suspicion takes a back seat.