Clothing Warehouse - "Gazes That Love You" (3)
“Huh? Huh? Team Leader! The exit... the exit's blocked!”
Ju Se-yoon whipped his head around at the frantic scream from the intern trailing at the rear. The shimmering entrance they'd just walked through had vanished without a trace. In its place stood a dull gray concrete wall.
“What the hell? Where'd the door go?”
“It was definitely open just a moment ago! It disappeared the second we came in!”
“Isn't this a trap? Are we trapped?!”
Terror crept into the interns' voices. Ju Se-yoon furrowed his brow and pressed a hand against the wall. It was cold and hard. No illusion.
“Don't make a fuss.”
He barked the order in a low, gravelly tone.
“Entrances sealing shut is a common dungeon pattern. It's a gimmick that blocks retreat once you enter the boss room. Didn't they teach you that in training?”
“Ah... yeah, you're right.”
“Does that mean... this is the boss room?”
The interns finally took in their surroundings, their eyes widening in disbelief.
“But... for a boss room, it's kinda...”
“What is this, some clothing warehouse?”
They weren't wrong. The ceiling loomed dizzyingly high, and the vast space stretched on endlessly, filled with rusted metal racks tangled like a maze. No windows anywhere, yet the area glowed with an eerie brightness. The light source was impossible to pinpoint, but a pale, incandescent haze filled the void, like fluorescent bulbs left flickering.
And between those racks stood hundreds of mannequins.
“Ugh... these things look creepy.”
One intern fiddled with a mannequin's collar.
“The clothes are all different too. Suit over here, wedding dress there? Ew, this torn school uniform's got what looks like bloodstains.”
“Hey, don't touch it. Bad luck.”
“No, come on, it's ridiculous. Mannequins in a goblin dungeon? Like the goblins are putting on a fashion show or something.”
The tension eased a bit, and the interns exchanged nervous chuckles and jokes. No monsters in sight, just dusty old clothes—their guard slipped. But Ju Se-yoon couldn't shake the unease gnawing at him.
The atmosphere feels all wrong.
No mana signatures. No killing intent. Just silence, thick with the scent of dust. That stillness grated on his nerves more than any threat.
“Enough chatter. We're moving.”
Ju Se-yoon drew his sword and issued the command.
“The door sealing means we have to meet the clear condition to get out. There's a core or boss somewhere in this space. Find it, destroy it, and the door reopens.”
“As expected of the team leader. Quick thinking.”
“We'll follow your lead then!”
Ju Se-yoon took point, stepping into the aisle between the racks. Thud, thud. How long had they walked? An endless forest of clothing. The mannequins stood in rigid ranks along both sides, like soldiers awaiting inspection.
“Team Leader...”
One of the female interns following behind called out in a trembling voice.
“What's wrong?”
“Doesn't this feel... off?”
“Off how? It's just mannequins.”
“No, not that... it's...”
The intern scanned the surroundings with wide, frightened eyes.
“The ones near the entrance were all facing forward, right? But the deeper we go... these things...”
“These things what?”
“It feels like they're watching us.”
“What?”
Ju Se-yoon let out a scoff.
“What are you talking about? Wooden blocks without eyes—what could they possibly see?”
“Not the gaze, the angle of their heads.”
The intern pointed at the mannequin right beside them. One with a face painted in red floral patterns.
“Look at this. Body's facing that way, but its head... it's twisted toward us, just a bit.”
“......”
Ju Se-yoon's eyes shifted to the mannequin's face. Blank, featureless. Smeared with grotesque scribbles. Sure enough, its head was canted ever so slightly to the left—toward the aisle where they stood.
“Coincidence. That's how it was made.”
“Then what about that one? And the one behind it, next to it... they're all turned toward us.”
Ju Se-yoon hurriedly glanced around. Now he saw it. Dozens of mannequins. Suits, dresses, work clothes—all different outfits. But every head was subtly twisted, as if by silent agreement, toward the depths of the aisle. Straight at Ju Se-yoon and the interns.
Like they were staring at the passersby with eyeless sockets.
“...It's your imagination.”
Ju Se-yoon forced strength into his voice.
“Ignore it and keep moving. We can't linger here.”
“Yes, got it.”
The group's pace quickened. But they didn't notice. As they turned their backs and hurried on, the mannequins behind them twisted their heads just a fraction more. Silently.
“Damn it, where the hell does this end?”
Ju Se-yoon kicked a rack in frustration. The rusted metal frame clanged hollowly, but nothing changed. Same scenery no matter how far they walked. Dusty rags, moldy stench, endless ranks of mannequins.
“Team leader... we've been walking for like 30 minutes straight.”
“Are we lost? Feels like we're passing the same spots...”
Boredom had turned to anxiety on the interns' faces. No treasure, not even a glimpse of a monster. Just suffocating silence and that prickling gaze bearing down.
Swish...
“Huh?”
Someone turned.
“Did you hear that just now?”
“Hear what? Just clothes brushing.”
“No, not fabric... something hard clunking. Like clack, clack.”
“Quit scaring people. Place is creepy enough.”
As the hunters exchanged uneasy glances and muttered, another odd sound echoed from the shadows behind.
Creeeak. Thud.
The faint grind of stiff joints twisting.
“Eek...”
Oh Min-ji, the intern at the rear, clamped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes quivered with terror.
“Team leader...”
“What now? Seriously.”
Ju Se-yoon turned with an irritated glare.
“That... red dress mannequin from the entrance.”
Oh Min-ji pointed a shaking finger backward.
“Why does it feel like... it's following us?”
“What?”
Ju Se-yoon's gaze followed her finger. Far down the shadowed aisle, about 50 meters away. Amid the crowd of mannequins stood one that popped—a red long dress, floral face glaringly vivid.
“That one?”
“Yes, yes. It was right by the entrance when we came in. It was 100 meters back before... but now it's closer.”
Oh Min-ji looked ready to burst into tears. But Ju Se-yoon just snorted, brow furrowed.
“You're imagining it. Hundreds of these things—who says there can't be duplicates?”
“B-but...”
“Get a grip. Don't let fear make you see ghosts.”
Ju Se-yoon turned away coldly. But Oh Min-ji couldn't look away. In her memory, that floral-faced red dress had been right next to the entrance. How had it gotten all the way there? Without a sound while they walked?
“Cough, cough.”
Maybe the stale air— the male intern beside her hacked dryly.
“Ugh, dust is brutal. Should've brought masks.”
“Quiet. Sound echoes.”
Ju Se-yoon warned, but biology didn't care. The intern's nose twitched.
“Achoo!”
He ducked his head for a massive sneeze, eyes squeezed shut reflexively. In that split second.
Five shadows lunged from nowhere and swarmed him.
“Wh-what...!”
No time for a scream. The mannequins closed in silently, floral faces grinning as they seized his head and limbs. Then, like wringing laundry, they twisted mercilessly.
Crack! Snap!
The gruesome rupture echoed raw. Bones splintering like green wood, muscles tearing.
“Gaaah...!”
“What was that sound?!”
Ju Se-yoon and the others ahead jolted back in shock. Thud. The moment their eyes landed, silence crashed down like a lie. The frantic shadows froze mid-motion.
But the scene they beheld was hell itself.
“...Ah, aaaah...”
Oh Min-ji collapsed, legs giving out. Before her, five mannequins tangled together. Locked in an embrace around the male intern, like lovers caught cuddling. But the man in their arms was mangled. Neck wrenched 180 degrees to face backward, arms and legs twisted into grotesque pretzels.
Squish, drip.
Dark red blood oozed from the mangled torso, pattering to the floor. Yet the mannequins stood stock-still. Like kids playing Red Light, Green Light, busted mid-game. The red floral faces on their painted grins, now blood-smeared, laughed even brighter.