Episode 403:
The body of an art teacher submerged in the water that filled the lane began to break with a crackling sound.
“…!”
The art teacher must have come to her senses only when I broke down, and tried to get out of the water with a shocked look on her face. It was chasing Lee Jae-heon happily even in the black water where he couldn’t breathe, but due to breathing and other problems, it wanted to get out of the water. The gestures became more desperate.
Lee Jae-heon was not the type to just sit there and watch.
Sigh-!!
“!!”
Although the situation was becoming a monster, it was not a completely unexpected variable.
This time, the art teacher whose leg was caught by Lee Jae-heon looked back at him with a shocked face. The speed was slow, perhaps due to the action of water, but it was turning into a plaster monster anyway. It was an expression that he never expected to find himself in an urgent situation where he would turn into a monster.
‘It’s a mess.’
Jaeheon Lee grinned at that monster. The smile that was brighter than the monster-like art teacher’s face, more pale than the corpses swimming in the black water, was like a water ghost that appears in a folktale.
‘How dare you?’
In the black water outside the lane, I could feel the gazes of Jaeheon Lee fidgeting and screaming, but it didn’t matter. It has no intention of dying or letting go of its prey.
Jaeheon Lee opened his mouth and laughed as he saw the art teacher going beyond absurdity to anger. All the remaining breath escaped me, but even that was pleasant. Perhaps because I sensed the end as my body was slowly breaking apart, I did not avoid the art teacher who was reaching out to me with anger.
Instead, I caught it.
‘I will kill you at least.’
The target is the monster’s two legs.
At least that much will go away.
* * *
Perhaps because it was the art teacher’s resignation that had the greatest influence on Eonhak High School, when it started causing trouble, the entire school began to become chaotic. Strange situations are occurring, such as student monsters being restless in class or teacher monsters running away to the grade room.
Garam Yoon, who was waiting on the third floor, comforted Woo Wooyoung, who was anxious.
“Well, something feels strange….”
“Calm down, Jooyoung. “It doesn’t look like anyone has died yet.”
“….”
Woo Woo-young looked at Yoon Gar-ram with a strange gaze.
“…They said that if someone dies, you will know right away.”
Despite this strange environment, miraculously, none of the survivors died. The information that ‘when a person dies, everyone can know’ may have come from the mouth of experienced person Lee Jae-heon, but it was still a distant story for Woo Joo-young.
“If someone has died and we haven’t found out yet… what should we do?”
“No, not only Jooyoung, I couldn’t feel it either. “It’ll be okay.”
While we were talking in the lobby on the third floor, Munsan, who was watching from outside, approached us.
“It’s a little messy up there.”
“ah.”
I heard things like familiar voices shouting and fast running footsteps. Mixed with the already bustling sounds of monsters, the atmosphere in the atmosphere became even more uneasy.
“…It’s a good thing that the monsters don’t fight because of the situation, but… I’m still uneasy.”
Seeing Munsan-gun’s face filled with worry, Yoon Garam opened his mouth again to comfort him. No matter how messy and unstable the upstairs is, you have to stay in your place.
But first, Munsan-gun made an unexpected proposal.
“So Da-hoon and Woo Joo-young were wondering if it would be a good idea to go to the first floor.”
“…Dahun and Jooyoung?”
“There is no need to join the class anymore, and if there are only two people, isn’t that enough to fill the minimum number of people? If it’s okay with you, I don’t think there will be any problem if only President Garam Yoon and I remain.”
“Hmm…”
Yoon Garam nodded after seeing the pale-faced Woo Joo-young and the embarrassed Park Da-hoon.
“That would be nice.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Yun Garam thought deeply about Munsan-gun’s gratitude.
‘This side isn’t easy either.’
If one were to name a person who suffered from a sacrificial disease, the survivors would definitely think of Lee Jae-heon, but in Yoon Garam’s opinion, Munsan-gun was also one of those people. Even now, the saying is, ‘It’s almost over, so go first.’ Anyway, if things go wrong, won’t the people on the third floor die first? It was no different from saying I would die in your place.
In the end, I wondered if there was anything to be thankful for since he was going to stay in a dangerous place, but Yoon Garam just smiled and nodded. I felt like I would feel more at ease if Woo Joo-young were in a safer place.
“Did you hear, Mr. Jooyoung? “How about you go down to the first floor?”
“yes yes? No, but having only two people left here is a bit…”
Moonsan-gun interjected with Woo Joo-young, who was showing reluctance.
“I was very worried that only students remained on the first floor. “The only ones left are Dayoung and Jiho, so I think they’ll need an adult to protect them if something happens.”
“Uh…”
“And Dahun… right? Your sister is probably worried about you a lot. Why don’t you go and reassure him?”
Munsan-gun’s voice did not tremble even though he was watching me as if he thought I was doing something presumptuous. As Park Da-hoon stared at the scene with narrowed eyes, Munsan-gun sweated profusely. Although he was smiling, no matter how you look at him, he couldn’t be said to be energetic.
However, Moon San-gun’s words, whose true intentions were clearly visible, had some validity to them, so Woo Joo-young and Park Da-hoon were convinced and went down. There was no one among them who would criticize them for stepping out of a dangerous place.
“….”
“…over there….”
When they were alone, Munsan-gun asked Yoon Garam.
“Shall we press the elevator?”
“…yes?”
“I feel like I can sing it somehow.”
Perhaps due to the stability of most of the returnees, Munsan-gun displayed its abilities to the fullest in this episode. They called an elevator that went up from the 3rd floor to the 4th floor and sent a search team up to the 4th floor. They didn’t get caught by the monster students or teachers, so they went out to watch.
So, although he understood what Munsan said about calling an elevator, Garam Yoon blinked because he couldn’t understand his exact intention.
“Why the elevator…?”
Because there were people waiting on each floor, you could go back and forth between floors as many times as you wanted, even without the elevator. Still, there was something strange about Munsan’s words about calling for an elevator.
When Yoon Garam was puzzled, Munsangun answered.
“Because I won’t be caught by monsters. I’ll be waiting on the 3rd floor, so CEO Garam Yoon is waiting in the elevator… isn’t that a bit much? “I’m worried that the whole school is becoming a mess.”
“….”
“Because no one touches the inside of the elevator….”
Suddenly, Garam Yoon remembered Lee Jae-heon, who would look upset whenever he talked to Munsan-gun. Indeed, it is a different kind of sacrificial spirit from Lee Jae-heon. Garam Yoon laughed as he thought foolishly that perhaps Lee Jae-heon’s feelings toward Munsan-gun were also a type of homophobia.
“I heard teacher monsters can call the elevator. “What are you going to do if you stay inside and get taken somewhere else?”
“iced coffee…! sorry.”
“No, rather, I have a favor to ask.”
Garam Yoon asked, looking at the stairs going up to the fourth floor.
“Can you please stay here alone?”
“Then what about President Garam Yoon…?”
“for a moment.”
She pointed up with her finger.
“I want to come see you.”
There was a commotion from earlier, so I was curious about what was going on.
* * *
“Mr. Lee Jae-heon…!”
The water was so black that it was hard to see, but I could vaguely see Lee Jae-heon being caught by the monster and falling into the lane. In fact, even if the survivors hadn’t invaded, they would have easily escaped from the monster’s hands, but no one knew that because visibility was poor.
What Hong Gyeong-jun and others see is a sacrificial spirit that all alone lures a monster and falls into the water. That was it.
“shit!”
“Wow, detective, do you even swear?”
“Shut up, please!”
Hong Gyeong-jun, who was feverish, criticized Song In-myeong.
His face looked as if it would not be strange if he grabbed him by the collar, but he did not commit any violence, just shaking his clenched fist. The other hand was just holding the pool door tightly.
“Are you just saying that’s an excuse? Jae-heon Lee put someone in such limbo just because he asked for it? “I don’t know if I can see that the monster has captured me!”
“It wasn’t an excuse in the first place, it was a fact, damn it…”
Song In-myeong shrugged his shoulders.
“I was just doing you a favor. Is that wrong?”
“That’s what you mean…! What we asked was for you, Song In-myeong, to share Lee Jae-heon’s burden! But what? Jaeheon Lee wanted to do it alone? And then when you die, if you turn into a monster, how will you take responsibility for it?”
“Mr. Ha, you old man.”
Seeing Song In-myeong picking his ears with his face scrunched up, it didn’t seem like anyone would be able to communicate with him. Hong Gyeong-jun was stupid to ask this guy to come to his senses. If Song In-myeong was left alone, he might run away or interfere with work, so we stayed outside the swimming pool, but he was very uncomfortable.
In-ho Jeong and Vivian went into the pool and seemed to be trying their best to pull Jae-heon Lee out of the lane, but they couldn’t see it too, so Hong Kyung-jun narrowed his eyes. It didn’t make me see any better, but it was an unavoidable reflex.
“Why does it take so long to get him out?…”
I looked into the black water with a nervous mind, but the blurry images of Jeong In-ho and Vivian could not easily get Lee Jae-heon out. I was about to think that it might be because of the art teacher’s strong resistance.
Vivian hesitated and stepped back, and Jeong In-ho, who had been reaching out towards Lane, leaned forward even more urgently. It was as if something had caught it and was being pulled out.
“….”
“Is he dead?”
“Shut up, please…”
“Okay.”
“….”
Next to him, Song In-myeong was scratching his nerves, and in front of him, it was difficult to even check whether things were going properly. He felt a presence behind him.
It was Garam Yoon.
“Detective…?”
“…Mr. Yoon Garam.”
“Where is the manager?”
“…That….”
When I couldn’t answer, Yoon Garam quietly came up and stuck at the entrance to the swimming pool.
“…This is the swimming pool.”
“….”
“Is the manager inside?”
“…yes.”
“I see.”
Contrary to his quiet voice, Yoon Garam went straight into the swimming pool.
“! for a moment…!”
A gurgling noise along with the black water penetrates my brain.
“….”
It wasn’t that much of a concern, but it was extremely unpleasant.
Yoon Garam, who walked straight inside without listening to Hong Gyeongjun’s attempts to stop her, soon found Vivian on the verge of suffocation inside. She turned to look at Jeong In-ho, who was so pale that she didn’t even notice that her breath was continuously escaping through her nose and mouth.
And I could understand why I was so anxious the whole time I was waiting on the third floor.
‘…ah.’
What Jeong In-ho was holding on to was Lee Jae-heon, who had turned into a plaster monster.
“….”
Sigh.
Without another thought, Garam Yoon entered the lane and dragged the art teacher, who was struggling with a broken leg in the water, out of the lane. It was snatched by a strong force and struggled back and forth as if it was very angry, but it was no use. Garam Yoon had a strong side to the monsters of the underworld.
Vivian covered her mouth with her hand as if embarrassed by her behavior, but In-ho Jeong did not send a scolding look at Gar-ram Yoon.
“….”
“….”
I was just sharing my complicated feelings.
When the final boss dies, the survivors exit the other world and return to reality.
“…Ugh.”
It does not include dead people.
When the art teacher, who is presumed to be the final boss, dies, what will happen to Lee Jae-heon, who becomes a monster? It seemed unlikely that he, who had become a plaster monster and part of the other world, would be able to return to reality together. Garam Yoon and Inho Jeong were each hugging the monster, even as they became increasingly pale due to shortness of breath.
The art teacher caught by Garam Yoon struggled like crazy, but the white monster that Inho Jeong pulled up did not move at all. Perhaps because of the pitch black water, my hair turned pitch black. I felt frustrated.
“….”
“….”
I feel nauseous.
It felt like the sound of my pounding heart was spreading all over the black water.
“…!”
Song In-myeong, who didn’t know when he arrived, kicked Lee Jae-heon, who was in plaster, and made him fall back into the lane.
Jeong In-ho reflexively swung the pipe at Song In-myeong, but there was no way he could beat the fresh-faced serial killer as he was exhausted from lack of oxygen and auditory hallucinations that were confusing his head. Song In-myeong, who was shrugging his shoulders while simply blocking Jung In-ho’s weapon, waved one hand.
‘With that guy.’
Pointing to Lee Jae-heon, who fell into deep water.
‘I.’
Pointing that finger at Song In-myeong himself.
‘promise.’
He clenched his fist and showed only his little finger. It was a hand gesture that meant a promise.
‘okay?’
It’s absurd.
When Jeong In-ho saw his fingers curled as if to understand, his head went cold and his heart dropped. Song In-myeong ignored him and calmly admired the inside of the lane. His expression, which had been watching with a languid smile, soon hardened.
Song In-myeong, who was looking inside with an expressionless face, opened his eyes wide and looked back at Jeong In-ho.
“….”
When In-ho Jeong looked down at Lane.
Jaeheon Lee shook off the plaster pieces from his body and crawled out of the lane.
“…!”
“!? …!!”
The survivors gaped as if they had a lot to say, but as soon as they got out of the lane, Jaeheon Lee quickly moved his feet and left the pool. A speed beyond that of a human that is usually difficult to see. It didn’t look like he was in a hurry as he was covering his mouth and nose with his hands.
I heard Lee Jae-heon, who went outside the swimming pool, cough a few times and shout, ‘Cough, cough, cough…!’
“…Eonhak High School will be demolished, damn it!!”
It was the desperate cry of a person in power who was harshly criticized by the underworld.
* * *
3rd floor lobby, Munsan-gun.
“―Eonhak High School is going to be demolished, damn it!!”
“…oh.”
Jaeheon Lee is alive.
Wow, I’m glad.
(Continued in the next part)