Remembering Sisyphus (6)
“We need to cause a disturbance!”
I shouted.
The two of them turned toward me, their faces frozen in confusion, not even uttering a word.
It was an expression that said, Go ahead and try it, if you dare.
What reflected in their eyes was deep exhaustion, the shadow cast over a gloomy valley of death.
I ignored it. It wasn't important or urgent.
I shouted again.
“The pamphlet! Everything written there actually happened! People who acted like instruments turned into instruments. The conductor really did a 'performance,' and the dead ones were all furious!”
A faint light pierced the shadows in their eyes. Ko Kyung-min spoke up.
“……What do you mean?”
“We survived. Why? Because we followed the rules? No! We didn't survive by following the precautions. We survived because we broke them!”
The woman with wide eyes flinched in shock and hurriedly unfolded her pamphlet to check it.
I continued explaining to Ko Kyung-min.
“Out of all the precautions, there's only one we didn't break. …Number 5. Read it. It mentions 'ejection measures.'”
“It's there……!”
The woman muttered, her face buried in the pamphlet.
I flashed a businesslike smile.
“The escape method was written right there. We've been overthinking it this whole time.”
“But……”
Ko Kyung-min murmured.
“Isn't it a bit strange? There were disturbances during intermission too. Just before, at the exit, wasn't there something like that?”
It was a good point.
We had already broken the silence. We shouted, grappled, caused a commotion.
But that was……
Any disturbance beyond a certain level during intermission qualifies as grounds for 'ejection,' and Gudaeri Municipal Concert Hall assumes no responsibility for any financial damages related to this!
“Of course. That wasn't breaking 'silence.' It was just the chatter or movement allowed during intermission.”
Talking to the person next to you or heading to the exit couldn't exactly be called a 'disturbance.'
“So what we need to do is……”
That's when it happened. The woman's eyes bulged wide, and she suddenly bellowed.
“Y-you, y-you, you fucking b-b-b-bastards! S-stop this, this goddamn c-concert, you m-motherf-fuckers—!”
Her scream echoed through the concert hall.
I turned to her in surprise, and she flinched, bowing her head in embarrassment.
Wait, we can't freeze up here.
I smiled warmly.
“……Exactly that. We need to figure out what the concert hall considers a 'disturbance.'”
“I see. Good. What should I do?”
“First……”
I gazed at the concert hall, muffled by its soundproofing. Her shout had been loud, but not quite a disturbance.
“Let's test it. Shout as loud as you can.”
Ko Kyung-min nodded. Then he took a deep breath.
His shirt swelled as if it might burst. The buttons strained and trembled.
I hurriedly plugged my ears. That's when it hit.
—!
ROAR OF A BEAST
Ko Kyung-min's roar was less human scream and more beastly bellow. Even with my ears plugged, my eardrums throbbed.
And I was the only one who'd plugged mine. The woman jumped in fright, then jammed her fingers into her ears.
“……”
The roar ended. Nothing happened. I cautiously removed my hands from my ears.
“Failure. Volume isn't the key.”
Ko Kyung-min muttered calmly, flexing his hands and scanning the surroundings.
“What next?”
The question was directed at me.
The test was done. The 'disturbance' in the precautions wasn't the dictionary definition.
I pondered briefly, then muttered.
“We should focus on the word itself.”
“The word itself?”
“Yes. The precise terminology.”
“Terminology……”
The answer came from the woman.
“D-d-disturbance. D-disturbance……”
Ko Kyung-min stared at her. His rugged face made even a glance feel like a glare.
“Eek—.”
She flinched and bowed her head again, right on cue.
“……?”
Ko Kyung-min tilted his head. Communication was impossible. Looked like I had to lead the conversation.
“The dictionary meaning of disturbance is a noisy uprising by a group.”
“Exactly what we just did. But that's not what it means here, right?”
The woman nodded vigorously. I grinned in agreement.
“Right. Here, 'disturbance' doesn't mean the dictionary sense. It means the legal sense of disturbance.”
“Legal disturbance?”
“Assault, threats, destructive acts, disorder accompanied by property damage.”
Ko Kyung-min's eyes widened.
“Ko Kyung-min, draw your sword.”
His eyes sharpened. He'd caught the implication.
“If it goes wrong?”
He dies. And so do we.
Of course, I had my persuasion ready. I'm a thorough businessman, even here.
“……We all know it, don't we? If we stay like this, we're dead. Better to try something than sit and wait for certain death, right?”
Think value, not price.
A fixer like Ko Kyung-min, who'd survived countless battlefields, would understand better than anyone.
“……”
Silence fell. No one spoke. In the quiet, Ko Kyung-min gripped the air.
“Fine. Rational.”
Shing—.
He slowly drew his blade. The sharp glint of metal dazzled the eyes.
“Just like a Mirae employee. Should've cooperated sooner.”
His thick lips curved into a smile.
“I'll trust you. And I promise—if it goes wrong, I won't blame you.”
I smiled back at him.
Ko Kyung-min stood, sword in hand, and moved from our row to the aisle seats.
“Here goes.”
He steadied his breath and assumed an overhead kendo stance.
“Hup—!”
He swung at the seat. Cotton and fabric scraps flew through the air.
Cleanly bisected. He shook off the blade like flowing water.
And then.
Click—.
The announcement followed right on cue.
Announcement: A disturbance has been confirmed in the concert hall. Please remain calm, stay seated, and wait.
The lights flickered. Ko Kyung-min looked up. They flickered again, like blinking eyes.
Flicker.
Ko Kyung-min vanished.
Announcement: The audience member who caused the disturbance has been 'ejected.' Please relax and await the next movement.
No blood. No screams. No death.
He just disappeared.
Success?
I wasn't sure. He was simply gone. No one knew where.
Back to the training room?
Or adrift somewhere unknown.
At least he's not dead immediately.
Then all we can do is trust it.
I squeezed my eyes shut. A sigh escaped. But only for a moment. I opened them and forced a confident voice.
“Success.”
“H-he, he got out?”
“Yes. Property damage counts as a disturbance, luckily.”
The woman swallowed hard. Then, as if it just hit her, she cried out.
“W-w-wait! Th-then, wh-what about us?”
No explanation needed. I could guess.
She was worried how we'd cause more damage now that the only one with a sword was gone.
No problem.
That was the core of my plan.
“It's fine.”
One gone, but no certainty of safety yet.
“Disturbance isn't just property damage.”
I acknowledge this anomaly has its own twisted logic, but……
“'Violence' is still an option.”
A true businessman tests even a stone bridge before crossing.
Can't be truly sure until at least two are sent first.
“Give me your hands. Both of them.”
The woman hesitantly extended her hands.
I guided them to my throat and applied slight pressure.
“Choke me. As hard as you can.”
Tears welled in her eyes as she trembled. She needed a push.
“We have to. Intermission's almost over.”
Announcement……
The announcement blared perfectly timed, its eerie voice heralding the start of the third movement.
The kind of voice that steels even the timid and cowardly.
“See? Now—ugh—!”
Her grip dug into my throat. My airway constricted, vision blackening.
I instinctively flailed at the air. She didn't let go.
Damn, bold for someone who was shaking. Hurry up with the announcement……
Announcement: A disturbance has been confirmed in the concert hall. Please remain calm, stay seated, and wait.
Flicker. Darkness closed in. Lights or oxygen deprivation? Unclear.
Flicker. Darkness again. A comedic interplay of blackout and strobe.
Flicker.
“Kehk—! Cough, cough, cough—! Heok, heok……”
The pressure on my throat released. The woman vanished. No scream this time either. No blood, no spinal fragments or flesh chunks.
Announcement: The audience member who caused the disturbance has been 'ejected.' Please relax and await the next movement.
The performance will resume shortly. Please take your seats.
Back-to-back announcements.
Violence worked. Property damage worked. And I survived alone here.
Perfect.
Time to escape.
Violence is out. No strength to break a chair.
But.
The method is simple.
I gripped the chair's armrest.
More precisely, the lamp attached to it.
“If it's property damage, this counts too, right?”
Amid the clattering of instruments rehearsing.
Just before the performance began, I yanked out the lamp.
***
“Bravo—!”
Kang Mi-young, the section chief, opened her eyes with that cry.
The scene from her specialty, Clairvoyance, faded, revealing the stark training room.
Most seats were occupied.
Of course, mostly by corpses slumped over their desks…… but three were alive.
She swept aside the thank-you card on Oh Sung-jin's desk—reading Thank you for your continued instrument rentals. As a token of appreciation, we present this souvenir. —Gudaeri Municipal Concert Hall—and plopped her butt down there.
Thank you for your continued instrument rentals. As a token of appreciation, we present this souvenir.
—Gudaeri Municipal Concert Hall
His dazed, unfocused eyes turned to Section Chief Kang Mi-young.
She grinned, pinched his cheeks, and met his gaze.
“You're the real deal! Sung-jin, wanna join our department?”