Episode 297
‘This is how it happens.’
While the students who returned from Building B were shocked to see Kang Min-ah, Lee Jae-heon recalled a story from a novel. As it was, it was Yoon Garam, not Kang Minah, who should have lost her wrist. As I watched the reality gradually change from the novel, I sometimes felt a strange feeling.
It seems that my presence caused things to go wrong and cause Kang Min-ah to get hurt…
“…Aisssi.”
Jaeheon Lee slapped me in the face.
“Director Boo?!”
“I have something to think about for a moment.”
“If you’re going to lie, do it with sincerity!”
“Someone put a dent in the manager’s words.”
Even as he said that, Lee Jae-heon internally lamented.
‘It looks like the situation may come and go.’
It wasn’t Lee Jae-heon’s fault that Kang Min-ah cut off her hand. It wasn’t Lee Jae-heon’s fault that I was reminded of my past life, so why do I blame him? Seeing such foolish thoughts, I guess my mental strength is slowly declining.
There was no color in the visible scenery of the school.
“Why did someone who wasn’t feeling well all of a sudden…”
“Oh, I said I had something to think about. Are you going to keep talking back?”
“… Manager…”
I could feel Jeong In-ho looking at me as if I was dumbfounded, but I couldn’t reveal Lee Jae-heon’s condition here. Haven’t many people already lost the energy and will to explore schools? It would be much more efficient for Lee Jae-heon to go up to the second or third floor than to put Kang Min-ah on the second or third floor, but if this situation is discovered, they will decide to leave school altogether.
‘But that’s not possible.’
If that happened, I didn’t know when I would be able to go back to school. Then, confirmation of the escape monster will be delayed, and as a result, the time to return to reality will also be delayed.
‘Lee Jae-hyung will soon connect Song In-myeong with the industry, but it’s only true if someone other than me gets the connection. ‘If the face I saw in the mirror from my past life was acting as a mannequin in real life, there’s no way that bastard could move as I want.’
After organizing his thoughts, Lee Jae-heon checked the stairs and opened his mouth.
“Let me summarize.”
“Boss?”
“The plaster statues placed in the lobby or hallway have the function of turning nearby survivors into monsters. It was okay at first, but after a certain period of time, it seemed to slowly get plastered, but seeing as Kang Min-ah cut off her hand on purpose, it seemed like it was spreading not only to that area but also to other places. If you cut it out, it will no longer turn into a monster. “Just nod your head to see if it’s correct, Kang Min-ah.”
Kang Min-ah, who was listening to Lee Jae-heon while holding her arms tightly, nodded her head with difficulty, and Lee Jae-heon, who confirmed the weak movement, asked again.
“It seems like there was a long time between when he first hid and when he turned into a monster. Were there any other signs? “The time is displayed on your wrist like when you’re hiding in the bathroom.”
“No… no, I’m not sure… I don’t have the presence of mind to check…”
“I see. It’s okay. Just by coming out alive, you’ve done enough. “This is valuable information that you sacrificed your whole body to obtain, so I will use it with gratitude.”
Jaeheon Lee checked the stairs once again and opened his mouth.
“Then let’s go up before it’s too late. There isn’t much time until school ends anyway. “I think I’ll have to move quickly to check out the art room and then go back.”
“That’s true, but…”
Jeong In-ho, who was muttering softly as if he was going to say something, soon nodded.
“…I see, I guess I should go up there first. “You never know when the situation of Mr. Garam Yoon and Mr. Seongyoon Ha may worsen.”
Even though I hid from the plaster statue, there was no good point in hiding for a long time, even in the lobby, as I couldn’t see how far the plaster statue’s repercussions would extend.
“It feels like we’re pushing more and more people into the classroom.”
“Does this mean we have to die in the classroom?”
“Rather than that… I think he has a strong intention of wanting to harass me in some way…”
Hong Gyeong-jun shrugged his shoulders and continued.
“Let’s go up. “It is true that we cannot say that we have a lot of time.”
The class currently in progress is the 5th period. Considering that I had to somehow get a ticket to use the elevator from the second floor and up and go up step by step, it would have been difficult to get out during this dismissal time, but even if I had about 11 hours, it wasn’t a very leisurely situation.
“The moment you enter the classroom, an hour is just wasted.”
“That one hour is not just one hour. “I would just lose my mental strength…”
“There is no guarantee that you will be able to receive a pass right away just by taking the class.”
“You only get 10 chances.”
Considering that the dismissal time is only one minute, you have to check the art room on the 4th floor and then come back down to the 1st floor and wait. Otherwise, I would have to stay inside the school for another 8 periods. I couldn’t create such a terrible situation.
“…ah.”
At that moment, the bell rang, ending the fifth period.
The survivors hid from the teacher monster moving to their respective grade rooms and then quickly climbed to the second floor. Fortunately, Yoon Garam and Ha Seongyoon on the second floor were safe, probably because they did not encounter the teacher monster.
Ha Seong-yoon said while shaking off the dust on the doctor’s gown.
“I think it’s okay if I keep this distance from the plaster statue and avoid it. About 1m?”
As Ha Seong-yoon said, those who were hiding from the plaster statues did not get plastered like they did during Kang Min-ah’s time. He said there were no separate premonitory symptoms.
“However, if you were close to the plaster with the eyes, the teacher monster would come and go from time to time. Garam was fine, but that was the case for me. “I don’t know what the principle is, but I think it tells the approximate location of hidden survivors.”
“That’s roughly… So you’re not sharing your perspective?”
“It didn’t seem like they were telling us that clearly. If you even see it stop by for a moment and disappear again… I don’t know, isn’t it just a detector that malfunctions easily? “Seeing as the teacher monster didn’t stay still, it seemed like the monsters weren’t sure about it unless it was hiding very close to the plaster statue.”
“Thank goodness. They say there is at least a hole to breathe…”
This time, the people who came up to the second floor were Da-hoon Park, Jae-heon Lee, In-ho Jeong, and Gyeong-jun Hong, and the total number of people currently gathered on the second floor was six. Kang Min-ah was hiding with Seong Ji-ho in the bathroom of Building B, and Kim Ki-jeong was hiding in the bathroom of Building A.
“You remember, right? Lee Jae-heon and I are on the same team, Jeong In-ho and Ha Seong-yoon are on the same team.”
“I remember it well, don’t worry.”
Jeong In-ho smiled neatly at Hong Gyeong-jun’s words, and Lee Jae-heon thought to himself as he watched the scene.
‘When will these bastards become friends?’
In order to get a ticket to use the elevator, there is no other way than taking a class, and since there are not many opportunities given to go up to the 4th floor, we decided to split up the number of people and take the class. The two teams that were divided in that way were Jeong In-ho and Ha Seong-yoon’s team, and Lee Jae-heon and Hong Gyeong-jun’s team, but Jung In-ho probably found Hong Gyeong-jun untrustworthy.
“…Um, what….”
Lee Jae-heon said, handing a cell phone to Park Da-hoon and Yoon Gar-ram.
“Our team will call Da-hoon, and the team over there will call Gar-ram Yoon. We will investigate the situation as best as we can and then contact you, so please assume that there are no monsters nearby. “If it’s really urgent, just pick it up and hang up right away.”
When I made a call, the music didn’t start right away. It starts ringing 1-2 seconds after the caller is displayed on the screen, but if I receive a call before that and turn it off right away, even the teacher monster didn’t notice.
“In that case, we will stay in the classroom until recess and then take one last call. If you receive it then and then immediately cut off contact, you will still be in that classroom for one more period. “Don’t overdo it and answer the call right away when you see the call.”
“Yes, I remember it well.”
“Okay…”
Lee Jae-heon, who was looking at Park Da-hoon and Yoon Ga-ram, wiped the corners of his mouth and said.
“I will leave it up to you.”
“Do not worry. “You know I’m good at my job.”
“I have no problem either.”
Lee Jae-heon narrowed his eyes at Yoon Garam and Park Da-hoon’s response.
“Of course I know. “It meant not to get hurt.”
“…and the manager too.”
Garam Yoon, who waved his hands with a gentle smile resembling Ha Seongyoon, soon hid Park Dahoon behind the bookshelf and himself again under the chair. And before we could even confirm that, the two search teams that would be taking the class were divided.
“See you later.”
“If possible, don’t make any phone calls.”
“I know that much.”
Team In-Ho Jeong and Seong-Yoon Ha decided to visit classrooms in Building B, while Team Jae-Heon Lee and Kyung-Jun Hong decided to visit classrooms in Building A. It was a decision that took into consideration Lee Jae-heon, who was in poor condition. They entered class 1 in building A and class 12 in building B, respectively, and secured their seats.
So, it means that the student monster was pushed away.
“…I’m worried about student Park Da-hoon and President Yoon.”
“It’ll be okay, I guess…”
Hong Gyeong-jun and Lee Jae-heon sat down, carefully checking whether or not there was a cell phone in the drawer.
“But I heard that there are definitely student bodies, but I can’t see them.”
“The same goes for the student monsters roaming the hallways. It was said that In-ho Jeong escaped with the students and pushed many of them out into the hallway. Where did everyone go…” “
Could it be that the broken plaster mannequins in the hallway were really the student monsters that were pushed out before?”
“I… I’m not sure yet.”
Seeing the student monsters that had just been pushed out walking around the hallways, it didn’t seem like much would change if they were pushed out right away, but I had to be nervous when I saw that the student monsters that were pushed out when I first escaped from the school were nowhere to be seen. It was an issue that needed to be considered from their perspective, as they had to be wary of unknown variables.
At that time, the teacher monster opened the front door and came in.
“….”
“….”
Immediately after that, as the class bell rang as if it was a given, Lee Jae-heon and Hong Gyeong-jun fell silent. It wasn’t because I was conscious of the rule, ‘You must be quiet during class.’
‘…It’s frustrating.’
I felt my mind slowly melting under the great pressure of school in the other world. The weight of it made me automatically close my mouth.
The teacher stares at the students in silence, and the students also stare at the empty blackboard in silence and take notes. Lee Jae-heon had also taken out a textbook from his drawer because he had to get an elevator ticket and be visible to the teacher monster, but…
“…sigh….”
He let out a very low, faint breath.
‘Why is this damn book such a mess?’
The textbook did not include things that students commonly study these days, such as English or Korean math. What looked like a normal textbook on the outside was none other than a book of thoughts that Lee Jae-heon had been educated in at the facility in his previous life.
“….”
He raised his head and made eye contact with the teacher monster looking this way.
‘…watching me…’
Maybe it was an opportunity. A chance to get noticed by the teacher monster and rip off the ticket. If I could get a ticket right here, I would be able to quickly secure the safety of other survivors waiting on the second floor. Lee Jae-heon ignored his churning stomach and took out a pen from the drawer.
Those who teach are always generous to those who want to learn.
“…Tsk.”
I was already out of breath.
* * *
“Mr. Munsan?”
“…Ah, Teacher Yunbyeol Lee.”
Munsan-gun asked Lee Yun-byeol, who came to his side.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I guess that’s what I’m asking…”
“Yes?”
“You were looking towards the school earlier.”
“…Oh, that’s right.”
Lee Yun-byeol looked worried at his vague answer.
“Are you okay?”
“….”
At those words, Munsan, who had been quietly looking at the school, slowly opened his lips.
“…yes I’m okay.”
“Then why…”
“Just.”
Munsan-gun muttered.
“I heard a sound.”
A loud noise.
I heard students talking.
