Chapter 14: Adults thought it was fine (or something like that)

Calm down.

“Hello, my name is Seon Yuhan. I am a companion who shares the same objective as Miss Hwang Juyeon. Right, Miss Hwang Juyeon?”

I spoke calmly, letting out words with confidence.

Being a “companion” does not necessarily mean a coworker.

It can also mean a companion to escape the labyrinth.

“Ah, yes. Of course. We are companions.”

Fortunately, Hwang Juyeon quickly caught on and nodded.

The goose plush fell silent for a moment, like a robot that had run out of battery.

It seemed to be evaluating whether I was really her companion.

Depending on that verdict, it would decide whether I would be killed here again or not.

“Ah! I see!”

After about ten seconds that felt like ten minutes, the cheerful voice of the doll was heard again.

To be honest, I couldn’t let my guard down.

The first time it had also said “Ah, I see” many times before throwing me out. To the afterlife.

“Nice to meet you, Seon Yuhan!”

The goose bent its long neck inward.

**

5-2. Enter as a companion of an employee or someone related to the daycare.

**

“Come in, both of you! The children are waiting!”

Wow. With someone they don’t consider a suspicious outsider, they are terrifyingly kind.

But don’t get confused that does not mean they truly value the children.

The labyrinth is fair, and precisely because of that it is unfair.

It makes no exceptions for the weak or defenseless.

It is petty in that sense.

Of course, that is a very human judgment but I am human.

Well, seen another way, since it also kills the strong equally, is it better than humans who only trample the weak?

I don’t even know anymore.

Anyway.

There may be different rules for children but that does not mean they are meant to protect them.

“Ah…! Hey, little one! Are you okay?!”

See?

It makes no exceptions for being a child. How despicable.

Following Hwang Juyeon, I ran inside.

Only afterward did I think whether we needed the goose’s permission to move.

But what I saw was too unpleasant.

A child about six or seven years old was standing on a round base, with his arms extended theatrically.

The base rotated slowly.

Like a figurine from a music box.

“Eh… do you remember the teacher? A moment ago she did a magic trick for you here.”

The child’s thin limbs trembled, and his small face was distorted by tears.

I didn’t know how long he had been like that, but that was clearly punishment. Abuse.

“Can you hear us? Can you get down?”

The child nodded his head and then shook it.

“Ah…!”

He even struck Hwang Juyeon with his forehead when she tried to lift him, pushing her away forcefully.

Hwang Juyeon held her reddened nose, confused.

I understood what was in the child’s eyes.

Fear.

And that fear was not directed at us.

“Miss Hwang Juyeon, wait a moment.”

I touched her shoulder and looked at the goose.

The doll, with its ridiculous appearance that invites lowering one’s guard, stood upright, pointing at us with its orange beak.

“What should I call you?”

“Oh my, how fun!”

A cheerful laugh came out of its sewn beak.

“Who do you think I am?”

A monster?

A goose plush?

A murderous creature hidden inside that ridiculous costume?

“Well, I am the teacher!”

Of course, why not.

“Teacher, why is that child like that?”

“Ah, are you talking about Jiho?”

That child was like that because of a labyrinth rule.

I had to understand exactly what was happening in order to resolve it.

“Isn’t it obvious? He is learning to become a child who receives love!”

“Could you explain exactly how that method works?”

“Wow! Are you interested in our educational system? How gratifying. Right now we are completely renewing the program because it had many deficiencies.”

“Next time you should eliminate it completely.”

“Excuse me?”

“Eh? I didn’t say anything.”

The goose caught my murmur immediately and slowly moved its neck.

I didn’t know what that gesture meant.

“Anyway, it is very simple. You just have to correct them like this so that the behavior of a loved child is naturally engraved into their body.”

It pointed toward the child, who was still trembling.

“So that they do not cry loudly, do not throw tantrums, do not run nonstop, do not twist their bodies restlessly, nor babble in an incomprehensible way.”

And with a voice full of pride, it added.

“See? This way it is pleasant for adults.”

Of course, you sick bastard.

But, ignoring my disgust, I memorized everything.

Those were the rules that child had to follow in this daycare turned labyrinth.

“I don’t understand why we didn’t use this method before.”

Because that is violence, you bastard.

Children must grow making noise.

They must cry, complain, run.

If it weren’t like that, adults would forget they exist.

They even forget that they themselves were once children.

…And I am not free from that forgetting either.

“But now you can leave your children here calmly. We have eliminated the teachers who did not meet the standard!”

“What?”

“Oh! Sorry. We dismissed them.”

Damn monster.

“Eliminate” or “dismiss” inside the labyrinth, that sounds equally dangerous.

It probably means they died.

“What is the criterion for not being dismissed?”

“That is confidential. It is an internal matter.”

I didn’t expect an answer.

“Then, can we take Jiho now?”

That was the point.

To stop that punishment.

“Mmm… let’s see.”

The goose’s white body moved slightly, as if enjoying the situation.

“Ah! It’s fine! You will be his temporary guardians, so today he can leave early.”

It seemed to allow it but then dropped the bomb.

“There is no need to wait for his mother to finish working. After all, she will not come.”

“What? What exactly do you mean by that?”

I lowered my voice, thinking of the child who was watching us in fear.

“That Jiho’s mother is no longer here.”

The damn goose answered with a smile, as if it wanted us to hear it clearly.

“Ah… now that you mention it… the other children. Where are the other children?”

Hwang Juyeon asked with a nervous voice. Perhaps because she was choosing her words in front of the goose, she used an awkward formal tone.

“But what are you saying, they are here.”

The goose tilted its head and pointed backward.

“There are plenty of Jiho’s friends, don’t you see?”

There was a multitude of dolls there.

The same toys that had previously bitten, stabbed, and killed me.

Hwang Juyeon pointed at the group, horrified.

“Could it be… those are the friends? Th-the children… turned into that?”

The goose did not respond. It just hummed, as if nothing, a familiar lullaby.

The freelance magician’s face turned pale.

And Jiho’s, who already looked like he was about to die from before, even more so.

“The labyrinth…”

I walked past the goose and headed toward the row of lockers.

“It likes to deceive people. Not its function is to deceive. That is how it makes people get lost.”

Kang Hayoon… Kim Minjun… Kim Jiyul…

“It also likes to make people cry. That is how it manages to make them give up.”

Park Junsu… Lee Nayeon… Lee Hyunji…

“I… those things…”

Jiho. Jung Jiho.

Here he is.

I opened the locker. Inside there was a light blue bag with spare clothes and a small backpack.

I closed the empty locker and turned my head.

“Seriously…”

I feel nauseous.

Having to find that bloodstained toy box hidden behind a false wall.

Realizing that what was piled up inside were people.

Imagining that a child who hasn’t even entered elementary school could have witnessed the brutal death of his teacher.

“Jiho.”

The child, completely exhausted, was now in Hwang Juyeon’s arms, crying silently.

He still seemed afraid of the goose, holding back his crying while sobbing.

I gestured with my hand and, carefully, took him from Hwang Juyeon’s arms and carried him.

“We’re leaving here. Okay?”

Even if I was going to comfort him, it had to be outside this place.

I heard his faint crying near my ear. He didn’t respond.

His arms around my neck barely had any strength.

“Hold on tight. Let’s go, Miss Hwang Juyeon.”

Hwang Juyeon nodded, slinging Jiho’s backpack over her shoulder, and I adjusted the child on my back while grabbing the door handle.

“Are you leaving already?”

“Can’t we?”

“You can… you can.”

That “you can” did not sound good at all.

“You don’t know how bored our children will be if their playmate leaves.”

“So what?”

The answer came out rough.

“Hmm.”

The goose, still humming cheerfully, began to approach while wobbling.

The other toys also advanced, step by step.

Small and adorable but I knew very well how bloodthirsty they were.

“How about you stay a little longer to play with them?”

Clack. Clack.

“It’s locked…!”

Hwang Juyeon whispered anxiously.

The child, frightened, tightened his arms a little more around my neck.

Damn it.

I knew it was too easy for them to let us go.

“Play? How? Until when?”

It’s a company daycare… normally they get picked up at six.

Do they intend to keep us until then?

“It really is funny!”

The goose let out a little laugh, and the other toys shook as if laughing along with it.

“Have you never played with children? What do you mean until when…?”

The voice, full of laughter, fell like a death sentence.

“Well, until the children get tired, of course.”