Chapter 15 (2/2)
Seeing Seol's expression, Yi Sung-Jin quickly shook his head.
”No, no! Hang on! It's definitely her! Her hair, her dress, everything….” (Yi SUng-Jin)
Yi Sung-Jin sounded frantic and confused, but his words did make Seol think for a minute. Then, a thought of Could it be? brushed past his brain.
”Was it really Miss Yi Surl-Ah?” (Seol)
”Yes!! Her…. appearance, it was a bit weird, but, but, she told me to quickly get out of there, and….” (Yi Sung-Jin)
You son of a….
Seol somehow managed to swallow down the rising tide of curse words.
'The so-called Deceased are actually the people who died earlier in the day, aren't they?' (Seol)
If what Yi Sung-Jin said was correct, then this could be the only explanation.
[The lock of the sixth floor entrance has been disabled.] [The gate will be activated in 30 minutes' time.] [The second floor metal barriers have been disabled.]
It was then, alarm bells began ringing out loudly from their smartphones.
”W, what the h.e.l.l?” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
Hyun Sahng-Min cried out in shock after checking out these rather unexpected messages.
”What the f*ck!! Which insane motherf*cker did this?!” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
”What, what happened?” (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)
s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah asked Seol, but obviously, he too had no idea. Only that, his gut feeling was busy telling him that this wasn't the end - that there was more trouble yet to come.
'No. It'll be fine.' (Seol)
The situation had suddenly turned a little chaotic, but Seol quietly controlled his emotions to calm them down. Running around like a headless chicken would only intensify the level of confusion. Besides, didn't he already make preparations for events such as this one?
For now, he decided to put aside the unanswered questions; there was something he needed to confirm first, although he thought that his suspicions might not be correct.
”Were you the one screaming just now, Mister Yi Sung-Jin?” (Seol)
”Eh? N, no. Not me. Right, I also came here after hearing that….” (Yi Sung-Jin)
”I, I thought it was a woman's voice….” (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)
s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah anxiously spoke up.
”In any case, it's not this kid, so what are we going to do next?” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
Hyun Sahng-Min gritted his teeth.
”If we're going to search, then we should split up. Or, we go back right now.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
Seol had found one of the two people on his mind, so going back to the safe zone now - to the cla.s.sroom 3-1 - didn't sound like a bad idea.
”How about we split up into two groups of two and three? I mean, things could get dangerous.” (Yi Sung-Jin)
Seol was going to suggest going back, but then, Yi Sung-Jin took the initiative first and voiced his opinion. Seol looked at the boy with a surprised expression, and Yi Sung-Jin became somewhat sheepish.
”Ohh, I, uh… I also want to help you.” (Yi Sung-Jin)
”It's past midnight, thus things will definitely get dangerous. Also, the sixth floor access has been granted as well. Returning to the safe zone might not be such a bad idea.” (Seol)
”No. It's just that, I think my noona wanted to me to find something….” (Yi Sung-Jin)
Although he said that, Yi Sung-Jin's voice suggested that he wasn't entirely convinced of it himself.
'Find something?' (Seol)
Seol's gaze sharpened. The surroundings became dyed in green. However, the colour from one single spot dissipated almost immediately. The spot with no colour whatsoever was the girl's toilet.
The light was switched off inside the toilet; Seol confirmed a spot of blood on the floor right in front of the door. He slowly pushed it open. As if his senses were already familiarised with it, his nose reacted to the faint whiff of blood in the air.
By turning on the light, the group could see the interior of the bathroom quite clearly.
”Yun Seo-Rah?”
The figure collapsed on the bathroom floor was none other than Yun Seo-Rah. Her huddled and crumpled body was shaking and convulsing uncontrollably.
Seol got closer to her and ended up frowning deeply from what he saw. Even Hyun Sahng-Min issued a stunned gasp.
”What the f*ck…. What happened to her arm…?” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
It was just as he said - Yun Seo-Rah's right forearm was completely mangled. As if someone stabbed a knife and then went to town on the limb, the flesh on her arm was utterly torn up and destroyed. The bleeding was quite considerable, too, and even her bones were visible to the naked eye.
”Miss Yun Seo-Rah? Miss Yun Seo-Rah!!” (Seol)
Seol called out her name, but she didn't respond, simply convulsing over and over again.
”Please, move aside!” (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)
s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah hurriedly knelt down and took off her s.h.i.+rt. She ripped her top up, then proceeded to wrap the fabric around Yun Seo-Rah's shoulder and under her arm, and then securely tightened it. Her movements were well-practiced and quick, as if she had performed actions like this countless times before. She then pushed open Yun Seo-Rah's eyelids and checked the eyes. A deep frown etched on her forehead.
”She's going through shock. She will die soon if we let her be like this.” (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)
”S, she will die?!”
”Yes! We need to do something! Anything!” (s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah)
s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah shouted out while repeatedly opening and closing Yun Seo-Rah's hand. However, Hyun Sahng-Min was comparatively calm as he spoke up.
”Since you did the treasure hunt, you should know it by now - there ain't no infirmary on either the fourth or fifth floor.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
”The item draw.” (Seol)
Seol spoke up and the attention of the three rapidly dawned on him. Now that they thought about it, 'medical supplies' was one of the listed items on the draw machine.
”What do we need to draw from there?” (Seol)
Only after asking this question, Seol realised that it was a wrong one. From the onset, no one knew what would come out of the machine.
”I'll go and bring whatever comes out.” (Seol)
Seol stood up while slinging his bag over his shoulder.
”What? You going alone?” (Hyun Sahn-Min)
”What's the matter?” (Seol)
”Let's not do it that way. How about this? This kiddo here and Miss will move Yun Seo-Rah over to the safe zone. Meanwhile, you spin that d.a.m.n draw machine, and if we think we got the right c.r.a.p, I'll take it back to the safe zone. I'll act as the go-between if it needs be.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
Seol found this suggestion quite logical, so, although he knew time was of essence, he still nodded his head in appreciation. He was inwardly surprised as well - now that the metal barriers on the second floor were gone, that Gaeg-gwi monster would definitely show up sooner or later. Even then, Hyun Sahng-Min was keeping his promise.
”Let's hurry up!” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
Hyun Sahng-Min pushed Seol's back.
Entrusting Yun Seo-Rah to the remaining two, Seol and Hyun Sahng-Min headed straight to the library. Perhaps fortunately, they didn't run into the Deceased or other people.
Unfortunately, though - the medical supplies didn't want to come out. They got to draw plenty of food and daily necessities. They even ended up receiving the 'note from the Guide', too. Some time later, all they had to show for their effort was a couple of rolls of gauze, a bottle of antiseptic, and some ointments, etc, etc. They were neither here nor there.
”Let me just take these along for now. What about you?” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
”Go on ahead.” (Seol)
”Okay. Don't strain yourself, though. Ah, right. As soon as I deliver these, I'll come back here right away. If I don't show up within two minutes, then that means something bad has happened to me.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
”Don't worry, I'll rescue you.” (Seol)
”Hah! Well, thanks for the sentiment, but I'm not playing here. I'm being serious.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
Hyun Sahng-Min was indeed dead serious, and he left the library like a streak of lightning.
Seol concentrated on drawing from the machine. He was quite confident that he'd be able to kill this Gaeg-gwi monster if it showed up. Right now, he wanted to procure medical supplies if it meant he could help just a bit more.
If Yun Seo-Rah died, then that would be the end of the road there.
He thought like this and continued to move his hands without rest - until his movements suddenly came to a halt.
'….Why am I doing this?' (Seol)
She was a complete stranger to him. So, what did it matter if she died or not? Sure, it'd be a pity if she did die, but was there a reason for him to go this far? While wasting his hard-earned coins, even?
He couldn't understand it. He thought that it'd be nice if he activated the Future Vision right about now. Seol hesitated, yet returned to spinning the draw machine.
And so, he finally got his hands on some rolls of compression bandages, a hemostat, as well as vials of morphine. But then….
Seol realised that something was off. He thought that it was already well past the two minute mark, yet Hyun Sahng-Min hadn't returned.
Seol felt a certain sense of anxiety creeping in - after all, he thought that Hyun Sahng-Min was joking around and thus, didn't pay attention back then.
Now that he more or less got what he needed, Seol put them all in the bag and left the library.
When he climbed down the staircase and arrived on the fourth floor, he ended up running into quite an unexpected sight.
< 15.=”” a=”” dangerous=”” treasure=”” hunt=”” (3)=””> Fin.