Episode 509:
Park Da-young is quick to admit that Song In-myeong was truly and truly terrible, but objectively the current situation is not that bad.
“Now look. This is the Sea Treasure Museum, just walk straight down one street. It doesn’t seem like there are any monsters, but it’s full of water, so having to hold your breath would be a bit of a hassle. There is a treasure chest beyond the glass wall on either side, but I couldn’t figure out what its role was even in the last episode. What is certain is that if you just pass by without doing anything, there will be no problems.”
“Oh yeah…”
“The problem is those little guys, there’s nothing we can do about it. There is no answer other than just covering their noses and walking quickly… If you understand, prepare your mind in advance. “It was really troublesome last time when they lost their senses and were struggling.”
Once Song In-myeong made up his mind, his cooperation was very useful.
The ‘Sea Treasure Hall’, which can be found after passing the cafe, is a long hallway filled with water. Although the width on both sides was narrow, the ceiling was so high that you couldn’t see the end, and beyond the glass wall on the side was empty except for a treasure chest, so it felt like we were fish in a tank.
Be prepared to hold your breath and prepare your children’s minds. Thanks to some other advice, passing through the ‘Sea Treasure Hall’ was easy.
“That’s right, and…”
said Song In-myeong, who was catching his breath after getting out of the water of the ‘Sea Treasure Museum’.
“I don’t know what rule it was, but you.”
“…? Me?”
“Yes, Park Dayoung, you. “You were put on display as soon as you entered the concert hall?”
“What…?”
Park Da-young, who was about to crumple her face as if asking what nonsense, soon understood what Song In-myeong meant. Park Da-young straightened her wrinkled eyebrows and nodded.
“You said I became a monster?”
“Yeah, that one. It was put on display as soon as we entered the concert hall after passing through the undersea tunnel, but when the time limit was exceeded, it turned into a monster. “It seems to have a mermaid motif, but your brother was mesmerized as soon as he saw it, right?”
“How do I know the time limit?”
“Because water filled the glass box you were trapped in. It was faster than I thought. After the water was full and he drowned, he became a monster not long after…”
Song In-myeong continued in a calm tone for mentioning the death and transformation of a person.
“So be careful? “I don’t know if this can be prevented by being careful, but it tells you to at least prepare your mind.”
“Then why didn’t you just tell me?”
Park Da-young gave Song In-myeong the choice. This was because the faces of Park Da-hoon and Jang Seo-ah, who were listening next to each other, turned white. It was an ordinary reaction of ordinary people who heard the end of Dong-Ajul, the only person they could rely on.
Minhong Choi’s eyes twinkled as if he was very surprised and intrigued.
“Can you fish, sister?”
“…At least tell me I’m a mermaid.”
“Mermaid? Prince?”
“I guess that’s probably what happened.”
“Wow, awesome. Wow….”
“Haha.”
Park Da-young, unable to withstand the child’s look of pure envy, avoided Choi Min-hong’s gaze. I can’t believe I reacted like this even though I had clearly heard that I could only become a mermaid after I died. There were times when she worried about this child’s future.
Park Da-young, who blocked the gaze of the survivors pouring in with her hand, asked Song In-myeong.
“You have no idea why exactly that happened?”
Even though she heard about her death, Park Da-young was not greatly affected. This was something that did not happen in the current timeline anyway, and it was more beneficial to find a solution during a time of confusion.
Song In-myeong responded to her reaction by rolling his eyes.
“It’s not like there’s anything missing at all, but you were in a lot of tatters back then, right?”
“If I was the only one selected with a serious injury… would the first place be decided based on the severity of the injury and put on display?”
“I can’t think of any further conditions at the moment.”
“…Then who on earth will be on display this time?”
Song In-myeong was mainly responsible for his injuries, but even those injuries were treated at the cafe and he was fine. It was a very hopeful situation, but as Song In-myeong said, the future became a little unclear.
Dayoung Park looked around at the survivors and said.
“We’re all perfectly fine.”
“Hmm…”
Song In-myeong gently massaged the back of his neck and spat out another hypothesis.
“Or maybe only grown women are trapped.”
“A grown woman? “I’m a high school student?”
“When you’re 19, you’re almost an adult. No, honestly, I don’t think this is a certain condition…”
Song In-myeong, who continued speaking, looked Park Da-young up and down. Although the gaze did not show any impure intentions, Park Da-young felt uncomfortable. It was because it was a gaze that did not treat the other person as a human being.
He looks at me and thinks of something, but what comes to mind is not a human being, but a statue or a painting…
“You said you became a mermaid.”
Park Da-young nodded at Song In-myeong’s words.
“…Yes?”
“What is a fairy tale? The Little Mermaid? Don’t all the mermaids there have the bodies of adult women? There were many other mermaids in the tank containing the box you were trapped in. “They all had female bodies.”
“What do you want to say?”
“I thought it was a structure that turns fully grown women into mermaids.”
Song In-myeong, who said that, stuck out his tongue as if he was disgusted just thinking about it.
“Honestly, I don’t even want to see male mermaids. Neither I nor Park Da-hoon were locked up. I don’t know what would have happened to the man, but to put it bluntly, can’t you imagine? Male mermaid? “Is that a creature that can exist in the world?”
“Are you going to kick my brother?”
“What kind of nonsense is this… Can’t you read the context of what I’m saying? Why am I being asked to criticize my younger brother here? “I said this because I thought that in this aquarium, women are the only ones who turn into mermaids because the rules of the underworld are made based on thoughts and I can’t imagine male mermaids.”
As we roared at each other and exchanged productive conversations for the future, we arrived at the entrance of the ‘undersea tunnel’ in an instant. It was a similar structure to the previous one, but this time the place they would be walking through was not a water tank.
‘It’s much wider than the Sea Treasure Hall.’
Behind the survivors who were sighing in relief that they no longer had to hold their breath, Song In-myeong glanced down the opposite hallway. Park Da-hoon asked as he watched to see if something was coming.
“…What’s coming over there?”
“uh? no? “He’s not coming?”
“….”
“I’m really not coming. “Do you think I’m going to come and stab you in the back now?”
Song In-myeong said, waving his hand.
“In the last episode, a monster chased me like crazy. I felt awkward because that bastard wasn’t following me, so I checked. “I can’t hear any sound, so I guess there’s no problem so far.”
“A monster?”
“There’s that cub I saw at the feeding experience corner. Don’t you remember? “That thing that looked like a biological slime that escaped from the lab by mistake… that fish monster with a wrinkled face.”
“Oh, he.”
“Yeah, him.”
Jang Seo-ah, who had been quiet, added her words.
“…Blob Fish….”
“Yes, it looked like that. “It was a monster that resembled a blob fish that was dragged out of the water.”
As Song In-myeong nodded obediently, Jang Seo-ah hugged Park Da-young’s leg more tightly.
“It was gross.”
Dayoung Park agreed with a solemn face.
“It was gross… There are a lot of terrible monsters in the world.”
“I guess I’m glad it doesn’t exist in real life.”
Even Park Da-hoon agreed, but Choi Min-hong tilted his head.
“It was cute?”
“What’s scarier is that this doesn’t seem like a bluff.”
“Am I scared?”
“If you do well…?”
As Park Da-hoon and Choi Min-hong began to chat, Song In-myeong intervened.
“Move slowly, right? There won’t be any problem in the undersea tunnel as all you have to do is walk without anything. “Let’s go quickly before his condition gets worse.”
“Oh yes, that’s right.”
Looking at her younger brother nodding, Park Da-young narrowed her eyes with a strange confusion.
‘That bastard is helpful, but he’s annoying me for no reason…’
Anyway, he’s like a bastard who gets annoyed even when he just takes a breath.
The sight of my rabbit-like younger brother and a shitty serial killer having a casual conversation was very harmful to my mind.
As Song In-myeong said, the ‘undersea tunnel’, the last corner before the concert hall, was devoid of any threat.
“…Has it gotten a little bigger?”
“what?”
“An undersea tunnel. Except for something strangely unpleasant, the structure is similar to a real aquarium, but it seems to be bigger overall. The ceiling is also higher.”
“That’s… right.”
Park Da-hoon nodded at my sister’s words. Not only did it grow in size, but I also felt an inexplicable sense of intimidation. It was a little different from the pressure I usually felt in the underworld.
Should I say that it feels like my brain is broken, unable to recognize something so big?
“Anyway, it doesn’t really seem like there’s a threat…”
“Really?”
The siblings passed through the tunnel, each taking care of a kindergarten student.
Park Da-hoon felt a strange feeling and looked beyond the glass wall where an unknown monster was passing by. Unlike the heavy air that felt like it was being torn to shreds by something large, I couldn’t help but feel that it was ‘beautiful’.
‘…When I first saw a scene like this, I thought I was going crazy.’
Was it at the park sometime? It reminded me of Mirror Lake, which illuminates the pure white sky during the day and emits scattered light at night. That was the first time I realized that too much wonder can turn into fear.
But now it wasn’t that surprising or scary. The same goes for water scales that wave unrealistically, as if they were clumsily woven fabrics overlapping, and underwater monsters that swim with strange sparkles.
“….”
When I look at it, I feel dizzy.
As I walked through the tunnel in a daze, I arrived at the concert hall in no time.
Song In-myeong opened his mouth.
“Now, prepare your hearts.”
This was because they did not know who might be trapped in the glass box.
Dayoung Park cursed with her eyes and said.
“You could be trapped.”
“My gut is screaming. First of all, it’s not me.”
“Me neither.”
In response to the conversation between Song In-myeong and Park Da-young, Park Da-hoon wrinkled his face and asked.
“Then it’s me…? “How on earth do you know such intuition?”
“Oh, that person keeps acting unlucky.”
“What are you talking about?”
Song In-myeong snorted at that.
“What do you mean, I don’t have any intuition or anything, but I was annoyed at the way I was talking so I just barked at you.”
“Who is barking at whom?”
“Why do you find these guys cute? “They are carnivorous chicks who bite, tear, chew, enjoy, and taste, even if they are serial killers.”
“Don’t be damned, I’m naturally cute.”
“Is it true that you have such high self-esteem?”
It was Song In-myeong who spoke, but Park Da-hoon also looked down at his older sister with a hint of disgust. Park Da-young smiled softly and asked at that irreverent gaze.
“Are you starting a fight?”
“You started the dispute first.”
“Yes, your face.”
“I guess I’m crazy…”
After shaking off some of the tension by arguing like that, they said with solemn faces.
“Let’s search the room first before we drown. uh? okay? “Let’s find a way to save whoever is trapped and get them out.”
“Everyone, remember that room number 7 is not open. “We have to search room 8 first.”
As soon as I step into the concert hall, reviewing the information I got from Song In-myeong.
“….”
“…No, what….”
It was confirmed that Park Da-hoon was trapped in a glass box.
It was a very unexpected situation.
I thought that the reason Park Da-young was trapped and displayed in the last episode was because she was the person with the most injuries, but it was because Park Da-hoon, who is currently trapped, was not injured at all.
“Why did it become like this?”
“Why is Park Da-hoon suddenly there…”
“I don’t know anything about this, so don’t say anything. I really don’t know. “You don’t get locked up just because you get hurt a lot. Let’s see if there are any rules.”
If a sane Lee Jae-heon had been next to him, he would have explained, ‘Each theme zone has conditions for being exhibited, and it seems that Park Da-hoon met the conditions by looking at monsters in an undersea tunnel for too long.’ But that didn’t happen.
Song In-myeong was disgusted.
“I don’t think I’m a good male mermaid.”
“Are you going to kick my brother?”
“This is my younger brother, and I have no intention of thinking of that bastard as beautiful.”
“Are you looking at my younger brother?”
“I don’t understand, you Park bastards…”
He knew how the mermaid monsters in that tank attacked the mind.
Regardless of objective judgment, they made people think that mermaids are unconditionally ‘beautiful’. That was the reason Song In-myeong saw Park Da-young as a mermaid in the last episode and thought she was ‘beautiful’.
Park Da-hoon, who was trapped in a glass box, was covering his face with both hands as if he was feeling ashamed.
“Hey, your little brother is crying.”
Park Da-young, whose eyes turned purple, responded to Song In-myeong’s words with a face reminiscent of a Tibetan fox.
“I’m just trying to embarrass myself by not crying.”
“suddenly?”
“Things like that happen, too.”
“Uh… that could be possible.”
Song In-myeong, who was closely observing Park Da-hoon in the glass box, spoke.
“The good thing is that the water is rising not as fast as last time.”
“Oh yeah?”
“As soon as you entered, the water filled so quickly that you could see it. Does the speed at which the water fills change depending on the state of the person inside? “I need to find more information to find out the exact details…”
Song In-myeong glanced at room 10, which he had not checked in the previous episode, and soon found someone.
“…Director Jeong Eun-woo!”
“…?”
Jeong Eun-woo, a man with a gentle appearance who was waiting in front of room 6, turned around and saw Song In-myeong.
Unlike the faint smile that seemed to be a habit, his eyes showed surprise.
“…Author Song In-myeong?”
“It’s nice to meet you like this.”
“This is an amazing coincidence. “How did you get here?”
The expression of Park Da-young, who was behind Song In-myeong, became subtle as the other person gave a gentle greeting as if they had met by chance in a real-life aquarium.
I heard in advance that he was the secretary of this party, but he didn’t seem to be in his right mind.
‘…that human being who killed all the kindergarten students just because he was ordered to…’
No, now was not the time to think about this and that.
Park Da-young, who had no intention of wasting time with small talk since Park Da-hoon was trapped, asked impatiently.
“Hey, Jeong Eun-woo…? “I heard you’re with Mr. Lee Jae-heon.”
“Ah, you are the high school student that Director Lee Jae-heon mentioned. nice to meet you “My name is Jeong Eun-woo.”
“Nice to meet you… Yes, it’s nice to meet you, but where are you going and is Jeong Eun-woo alone?”
“If you are the manager.”
Eunwoo Jeong pointed to the inside of room number 6 with his hand.
“You just went in there to get something inside.”
“…Did you just send your uncle? Now that I think about it, Eun-Woo Jeong’s body is clean, right? “I guess you haven’t been working?”
“I know you’re angry that only the manager has to do the work, but it’s the manager who made me wait here.”
“No…”
Park Da-young became sensitive because she didn’t know when her younger brother would drown. I couldn’t bear to curse while holding the hands of kindergarten students, so I was choosing my words.
The sound of trotting footsteps was heard from inside room number 6.
“Ah, uncle…”
Park Da-young, who had turned her gaze toward the inside of the room in joy, soon stiffened.
“….”
“…Uncle?”
Slosh.
The blood on the shoes rubs against each other and makes noise.
Lee Jae-heon, blushing bright red, came out of the room and stood in front of Park Da-young.
“….”
“….”
He hesitated.
Dayoung Park stepped back.
‘…what?’
It was clearly Jaeheon Lee, but I felt like something wasn’t right.
Dayoung Park racked her brain to think about what was so different, but she couldn’t come up with a suitable answer.
Although I was hurt a bit badly, it was the same as usual, and I wasn’t unfamiliar with the change in my face or the expressionless face.
“….”
Then why do I feel this threat?
Dayoung Park saw gray, empty eyes. Unlike the blurry focus, the gaze was clear, as if the remaining ash had been placed inside a round, smooth glass bead.
Park Da-young, unable to bear the unfamiliar feeling, opened her mouth.
“Um… uncle.”
“you.”
Jaeheon Lee, who was also observing Dayoung Park, asked.
“Who was it?”
“…Uh….”
“Do you want to tell me?”
Gently and politely.
A large, blood-covered hand stroked Park Da-young’s cheek.
“Huh? Dayoung.”
(Continued in the next part)
