Chapter 21: Reunion

“Cgh, aaagh……! Ugh, whyyy……?”

I don’t regret it.

“Khk! I-I’m sor…….”

I don’t regret it.

“Ghk, ugh…….”

There’s no way I regret it.

“Ugh, uuk…….”

So this is nothing more than a physiological nausea.

Toward that disgusting monster wearing human skin.

“Ha…… ah…….”

3:50 p.m.

The reading club did not begin.

No human died.

And no one was forgotten.

Finally.

Silence came to the library.

***

“¡Oh! Hello!”

“Ah, Seon Yuhan……! You’re safe!”

“What’s wrong with you? Why did you take so long? I seriously thought you’d abandoned us!”

When I entered Saenal Daycare, a monster shaped like a doll and two humans greeted me one after another.

First I confirmed that Jung Jiho was safe, resting against the wall, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Then I took Jiho’s bag with his spare clothes out of the locker.

“…….”

Inside the toy box hidden behind the fake panel, the “fired” teacher was still there, folded up and arranged grotesquely.

Just as I expected.

“Seon Yuhan, what are you doing over there?”

Judging by the way Choi Jaeha and Hwang Juyeon were acting, it seemed they knew nothing about the teacher.

Everything had probably happened right after the place turned into a labyrinth.

“Come quickly! Don’t just stand there! Can’t you see I’m dying over here?”

Since the goose teacher had already recognized those two as companions, I also joined the “slaughter.”

The “slaughter” had evolved one level beyond the clumsy choreography show I did before.

Now it included ball games.

Basically, we were playing something similar to soccer, but every time Hwang Juyeon’s piano accompaniment sounded, everyone had to stop immediately and dance along with the lyrics of the song.

“Huff… I used this method when my nephews were little, but children’s energy is no joke. If you want them to fall asleep even a little faster, you really have to…… huff…….”

The sounds of joints cracking filled the entire daycare, both from people and toys.

Two men dressed in black seriously dancing to children’s songs together with toys, and yet there was nothing funny about it.

“By the way…… there really wasn’t anyone in the library……?”

When Hwang Juyeon stopped playing, the ball game started again.

“No. That’s why I ended up searching other places too and got delayed a bit.”

“Ah……. then, where did she go……?”

The piano teacher’s expression darkened as both hands rested motionless on the keys.

“I think she disappeared.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was in the middle of the interview with the interviewer when it happened. She disappeared right in front of my eyes.”

Pang!

I lightly kicked the ball coming toward me and sent it toward Choi Jaeha.

“Since the other children aren’t here either, I think everything happened almost at the same time right after the place turned into a labyrinth.”

“What do you mean the children aren’t here?”

Suddenly the ridiculous goose doll interrupted with a sharp, almost indignant voice.

“But our children are right here, playing so happily!”

As if ice water had been thrown over them, everyone’s expressions stiffened.

Hwang Juyeon.

Choi Jaeha.

Even Jung Jiho.

Everyone turned pale.

“Don’t tell me all these toys are……?”

“Don’t believe them.”

Without caring, I took the ball away from a robot and passed it to Choi Jaeha.

“There’s no need to take everything labyrinth monsters say literally. Lying is practically their hobby.”

“Hey, hey. Why are you saying that in front of them……?”

Choi Jaeha lightly hit my shoulder while nervously looking at the goose teacher.

“Ah, this shouldn’t be a problem. Though I’m sorry for scaring you.”

Last time, when I said something similar, the goose teacher did not try to stop me.

He didn’t even deny it.

Just as I thought, according to the rules of this place, those toys could not kill me right now.

Annoying the goose teacher posed no danger.

Then the condition for clearing Saenal Daycare must be……

Not being a complete outsider to the daycare and playing safely and healthily with the toys until they got tired.

Something like that.

“Then…… does that mean those children didn’t die……? I mean, something like that didn’t happen, right?”

Hwang Juyeon’s fingers began moving again.

The melody was sad, very different from the cheerful lyrics of the children’s song.

“I don’t think so.”

I silently listened to the song the toys were singing while moving my arms and legs.

“The labyrinth doesn’t like people dying too much.”

“Huh? What does that mean……?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

The moment the accompaniment stopped briefly, the ball began bouncing back and forth again.

“What the labyrinth likes is for people to get lost inside it. And in order to get lost, they first have to stay alive.”

The black pupils of the goose doll were fixed on me.

“That’s why it doesn’t waste people by killing them all at once without even giving them the chance to get lost.”

Choi Jaeha nodded as if he understood, but then abruptly turned toward me.

“But you… what kind of person are you to talk so confidently? You said you came for an interview at Yuwi Guild. You’re not some Red Snake, are you? Though… do the Red Snakes also do interviews like office workers?”

“No. I’m just……”

I laughed in disbelief.

“Someone who won the lottery twice.”

“Huh? Really? No way!”

“Yes. It’s a lie.”

“Ah, seriously. What a weird guy.”

I heard someone holding back a laugh.

When I turned my head, the freelance magician’s upper lip had stretched as she tried to suppress her laughter.

Choi Jaeha puffed out his cheeks, but in the end he also started smiling.

And Hwang Juyeon kept playing the piano with effort, trying to wipe the laughter from her face.

The labyrinth is a strange place.

No.

Humans are the strange ones.

Even when they are in a situation where they clearly should not be able to laugh, if something funny appears, they end up laughing anyway.

That’s why, the instant I realized the expression I had on my face, it felt as if my heart froze and I became completely motionless.

The labyrinth must not become a place where people can laugh.

The labyrinth must be a place filled only with painful memories.

Because if it is a place where laughter exists.

If happy memories exist there.

Then……

wouldn’t you end up wishing to never escape?

Wouldn’t you end up wanting to return to the labyrinth?

So I……

“……the child is left alone…….”

The toys stopped playing with the ball and began swaying while lying on the floor to the gentle rhythm of the lullaby.

Soon after, soft snores began to be heard.

“Thank you for playing so well with our children. Have a safe trip, dear guardians. Goodbye, Jiho.”

And so we escaped from Woorisaenal Daycare.

**

If you have to play with the children, choose active games such as ball games or choreographies.

**

“Let’s try going down one more time. Maybe saving Jiho was the condition.”

As soon as we left the daycare, I naturally guided the group toward the emergency stairs.

Even though I had taken care of the traces, it had been far too improvised.

I had to avoid at all costs letting them pay attention to the library.

“Ah, right. It could be.”

“Jiho, aren’t you tired? Can you walk?”

Jung Jiho nodded softly at Hwang Juyeon’s question.

As I watched that, something suddenly came to mind.

“Don’t you need to use the bathroom or anything? Maybe it would be better to go now. You could also change your clothes.”

Unless the floor below was truly the first floor, there was no way to know how much farther we would have to go.

The fact that the floors were mixed was practically proof that the first floor was the labyrinth’s exit.

But the problem was not knowing whether we had to go up or down to reach it.

For now, the best option was to keep descending in one direction.

And if the first floor did not appear, then try going upward.

“Bah, can’t he just go to the bathroom after we get out?”

Well, if he really couldn’t hold it, then it couldn’t be helped. The accountant added that defensively.

Jiho also shook his head as if saying he was fine and pointed toward the emergency door.

From his expression, it was impossible to tell whether he was simply anxious about being trapped in the labyrinth or merely watching the adults closely.

“Hey, I don’t want to ruin the mood either, but…….”

“Then don’t ruin it.”

“Huh?”

“Now every time you try to say something serious, I suddenly get scared to death. I think I’m traumatized.”

The huge accountant started shaking his head while covering his ears.

“Aaaaaah, I’m not listening, aaaah.”

Wow.

I genuinely felt overwhelmed.

By the embarrassing spectacle of a grown man.

As expected, people who exchange business cards inside a labyrinth are on another level.

I opened my mouth an instant before silently shifting my gaze toward Hwang Juyeon and Jung Jiho.

“There’s no guarantee…… that the next floor will be the first floor.”

In the end, I had to ruin their mood.

It would be much worse for them to get their hopes up too high and then suddenly run into a dark Basement Five.

It was better for them to prepare themselves now.

“If it’s a labyrinth this large…… I think we should be prepared for anything.”

But seeing their expressions made me feel as though I had handed them a death sentence.

I found it difficult to look them directly in the eyes.

As if everything were my fault.

Do police officers who announce the death of someone’s parents feel something similar?

“Haa…….”

Hwang Juyeon let out a long sigh and stayed silent for a moment.

“Well, it’s an invasion-type labyrinth…… so it couldn’t be easy. I understand what you mean. We lose nothing by preparing ourselves mentally. If we find the first floor, great. And if not… then it can’t be helped. Right?”

The freelance magician lightly hit Choi Jaeha, who had already lowered his hands.

Only then did his sulky expression finally collapse.

“Huh, uaaaaaah……. What kind of misfortune is this……? No, wait.”

Choi Jaeha abruptly raised his head.

“It’s still not certain, right? We won’t know until we go down. Right? Isn’t that so?”

The accountant gently patted Jung Jiho’s head, seeking approval.

The child, who only moved his round eyes from side to side, tilted his head ambiguously.

“See? You think so too, right? That guy is way too negative.”

And so, together, we opened the emergency door to the first floor.

“Basement Five? No, this can’t be…….”

The optimist Choi Jaeha denied reality.

***

“But it’s dark only because there’s no electricity, right? Even with the flashlights on, this feels claustrophobic.”

“Jiho, hold the teacher’s hand tightly.”

“If it gets hard to walk later, tell me. I’ll carry you.”

As soon as we entered Basement Five, each of us turned on our phone flashlights and we started moving forward.

Then.

“Khk, ugh…….”

“W-what was that? Who’s there?”

From somewhere, the sound of someone emptying a stomach that probably no longer had anything left inside echoed again.

I think I knew who it was.

“Excuse me, is someone there? Are you alright?”

“Khm. I’m fine.”

We slowly approached while shining our lights ahead, and the figure of a man lightly shielding the light with one hand appeared.

“Eh, that man…….”

Just as I expected.

It was Director Yoo Hyunjae.

“Let’s reduce the light to the minimum after introducing ourselves. Since there are several of us, turning everything off would actually be even more dangerous.”

That was the first thing Yoo Hyunjae said upon meeting the four of us.

“Understood, Director.”

When I answered respectfully, his reddened eyes naturally settled on me.

As if dividing time itself, he observed me for an instant so long it felt eternal.

Yes, as if…….

“Have we met before?”

As if he were trying to find me within his memories.