Chapter 27: Conflagration
qPCChzzzt, chzzzt…FhiZoJ8
zK6vd4WYoo Hyunjae and I simply kept our mouths shut and looked each other in the eyes, reaching the unspoken agreement that the radio sound was not an individual auditory hallucination.QjRGZh5
M6rBFor a while, music filled with static played, as if someone were tuning the frequency.sc3SubR
KhwRz6pEventually, the signal became clearer.xgq
SXKsf「Hello, listeners of .」AZrOOA
ZMsXLIt was a veteran radio program that had accompanied the history of that station for many years.Gp6
lpq「…Here is today’s story. “Hello, Jeong-DJ! Tomorrow I’m going on a trip alone with my girlfriend. I’m going to forget about grades and everything else and just enjoy myself.” Oh, you must be very excited. “We’re going to drive around, go hiking, eat delicious food, and I’m also going to show her my villa.” Oh! A villa too? How impressive. Ahem. “I’ll also show her my villa. By the way, Jeong-DJ, do you know any good places near Mount Yeongun?” Ah, Mount Yeongun…」YE7GO6A
PO8LnIMount Yeongun?REM
BGjW0p9Did people actually go there for trips?c4s
eFDs「…Hoping you have a wonderful journey, we’ll listen to a song by a charming mixed-gender duo that has recently been gaining popularity…」78aXxyG
NKlA song began playing with the typical low audio quality of radio broadcasts.nQAF
Yv7ajeAlthough calling it “recently popular” was an exaggeration.eFAi1I
16LAt best, it was a song from the early 2000s.RWK8
kuN4“It sounds like an old broadcast.”8o064
3yXAhw“It does.”cCW3Jq
WJaThen the content of the story started making sense too.7ysR
72sZivk“Seon Yuhan-ssi, does anything come to mind when you hear Mount Yeongun?”6GcvDOv
PRhtTI stared at Yoo Hyunjae.wYOO
up1CLHHe did not look like someone asking because he did not know.wM75F
dZ20lpEI did not understand why he was wasting time like this.4ro0
eO7ae“Yes.”ayB7vwu
SZIYoo Hyunjae opened his eyes slightly, inviting me to continue.m8JQKy
lxf5l“It became a labyrinth a few years ago.”8DKt
IyRknMore precisely, five years ago part of Mount Yeongun became an Invasion-type Labyrinth.8Q0cRa9
7p4wgWIt was a rarely visited area, but a small road passed through the affected zone, so every vehicle that crossed that point disappeared.cxUYw
FDVHqcd“As far as I remember, a forest fire broke out a week after the labyrinth’s existence was discovered, and the labyrinth disappeared.”NtoefnU
4WOK62Whether it was an accident or deliberately caused by the people trapped inside.7S5vJWM
DjRiqIn the end, they escaped the labyrinth.n6yju7
vz0xRBy dying.JJsvx
UM4QtGg“You remember it quite well. But there’s something else you should know.”cQ2
YC875I looked at him as if asking what it was.mfT
8kYYGOvYoo Hyunjae pointed at the silent radio.Tbmtg8Q
WGc96“In addition to the bodies of the people trapped inside the labyrinth, they found fragments of unidentified human bones. Remains that had been buried in that mountain for a very long time.”RQVX
eOFn“Unidentified remains…? Ah, now I remember.”ZmrkdP
EQeuhWtCome to think of it, when I followed the news about the Mount Yeongun Labyrinth, public attention had suddenly shifted to those discovered bones, which was why I barely obtained any information about the labyrinth itself.2fD
9v8g“As I heard it, the condition of the bones was so poor that they couldn’t properly obtain DNA. Even so, by assembling the remaining fragments, they estimated that they belonged to…”z9Yyc
207C9The director of Yuwi Guild stroked his chin while trying to remember.lFF
frllThen he frowned.qqMwZO
A8oygBs“I think they concluded they belonged to a middle school or high school girl.”vvUM
jqoMbIf…mC5QE
0eyIP7Feet…NpZN
z9woELRegardless of my will, the puzzle pieces began fitting together by themselves inside my head.VCy9
gaQeMAbout twenty years ago.FMdJ51
NYSQsBIn the early 2000s.sUMy
nRLAn adult traveled around Mount Yeongun with his “girlfriend,” a middle school or high school student.jnujg
XRssatFor some reason, that girl was struck by a car traveling at practically full speed.KLIBGX
ihkzaEHer body must have been twisted exactly like the dummy we found in the truck.HSHh8
DSqpVAfterward, she was buried in Mount Yeongun.8hy3t
oNrENJSAnd roughly fifteen years later.r1T7k
gaADGcFive years ago.RdA5h
d4DPart of Mount Yeongun became an Invasion-type Labyrinth.cd6OFQ
YmidAfter everyone inside was wiped out and the area was subsequently cleared, fragments of that girl’s bones were found…PNB
abcnFC“Ha…”ayJR
Rk76“And even knowing all that, we still don’t know that girl’s name. Perhaps we’ll find the clue here.”k5ySf
PwPUDhCYoo Hyunjae lightly waved the automobile catalog in his hand and opened it so both of us could read it.amiU
GJoE1I slowly turned the pages, searching for any unusual mark or sign.Zcjt
NyhFlip.9xI
iR1Flip.PElFRW
7kJYLBThe sound of thin pages turning filled the interior of the vehicle.1Vk
aLg“Ah. I think this is it.”jV6y
C2tR“Hmm?”9lKaSl9
yFZn“There’s something stuck between the pages. It looks like a note.”fj5kwF
vsYMYoo Hyunjae stopped at a page featuring a dark green SUV.yRq38E
us1Q7B6But my gaze remained fixed on the note trapped between the pages like a bookmark.Pt4fgV
20IP5“Seon Yuhan-ssi?”m2jeUB1
XXfI slowly reached toward the note.QpvHW
BSP0GyFor some reason, it felt as though my fingertips were trembling.Sd5V
kfjVnm“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”ZEWFX
IyVQdzs“The drawing. The drawing…”3e0O
NtBwA hand had been drawn on the paper in red ink.IT3SX1e
zewaOAnd there was also a drawing of a scale tilted to one side.8QpYeDQ
bDkHTap—WRy
31RbThe moment I dropped the note as though it had burned me.IBpNrDf
vD4e6UNChzzzt, chzzzt…IKg91o
fnJQiOnThe radio turned on again.O81m
w3CRFirst came a song filled with static, then the signal gradually cleared.6Fc2qq
ogqF1Eventually the introduction ended.WRD7JF
yr2p「I’m on my way to you」0oT
OUiZUSpAnd the song truly began.VlvpyM
wtN「You be there, my dear」1Um
QehI know this song.wp9jcN
CqHzVgI know it far too well.JUUxZqz
zT7So well that it felt as though blood were pouring out of every opening in my body.43Na
8WpUNo.o5vh1
HFWJNo.NC8sD0S
gNtsimNo.wACs
u6hbThat’s not it.vEutN
fc2V4Even if all the blood leaves me, I cannot die.79ZX
2kANot until balance is achieved.cEv4do
5ii9jb“Seon Yuhan-ssi, are you seeing something strange?”4G8U5Zi
ojjFwEI don’t see anything.bIsPIN
JhBgYcNo.zyk
TngSRCThere’s nothing there.BGvQq
qZuaMEI already paid everything.COBREZu
IoUw“Clench your fist and then relax it. Breathe slowly. One, two…”vH5JGV7
nQz3p9hNo.LDIHQ0
f5aT9chThis is wrong.icL
getThere are too many hands.1fkKl
H2TGuVuDo I have to cut them off?3xTJB
K4492“105 seconds.”LuwII
LulkPiSomeone grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard.SBf16
TYQ“The average between a minute and a half and two minutes is 105 seconds.”avIA94w
ScQhmWhat… is he talking about?nmNSN8
yecFi0“A moment ago you muttered between a minute and a half and two minutes, right? After Hwang Juyeon died. You were calculating the time between the snake bite and the monster’s arrival.”GNR
vU8rL73That’s right.aetUwrj
cNPzHwang Juyeon died.JiCI
S4Dy0g1Because of me.kqc5La
8J2FLOr didn’t she?QaUqNM
rHRXWas it in the previous iteration?Rzx6vz
uxMFOr the one before that?s1kwk
Ydl“Seon Yuhan-ssi. Forget about death and focus on the rules. If you know the rules, you can escape the labyrinth. Think only about that.”M2W
LpyThe rules.1FeueLt
sDYVThe rules.njv6G
ThWWVCThe rules.tqCJOww
riJBut if I don’t know them, how am I supposed to escape?JyYCSP
TMwU6q0“For approximately 105 seconds, Hwang Juyeon’s heart rate almost never dropped below 110.”nUcHo
02YIn other words.0bEtP
FlQDLBWIf a heart rate remains above roughly 110 for approximately 105 seconds.rkI
6vKThat monster appears.MpH3XNy
MEQGC4V“And that monster…”obDS
Yt5bbM3And that monster.qQI
CN1AanCrudely imitates a Buddha.ENw7DND
6oY0RmWhile speaking about freeing oneself from worldly afflictions.nyA
oO3DWhat does 105 seconds mean?EZIET
rsJydSOWhat does a heart rate of 110 mean?xRF7
LdkBetween 105 and 110.pyTvzqa
L7CaQINSomewhere between the two.2WoQgej
V6Y108…9Ntg
oSYfClank.nfP
gsVEdHearing the footsteps of that grotesque and sorrowful Buddha Tathagata, his voice flooded my mind as if I had suddenly attained enlightenment.BY6fWor
ivcEvX‘You do not understand for yourself that your heart remains bound by the 108 afflictions. Then how could you cut them away? How could you free yourself from them and attain perfect enlightenment?’7eb
mQqONAy108 afflictions.Tnbj
zDY1“108.”DZ0V
XgL“I suppose that’s the correct answer. There’s a certain margin of error, but it took approximately that long this time as well. Though I want you to understand something. I never intended to use you as a test subject. I didn’t expect it to happen like this either.”h9p
0cceThere’s no need to make that expression.4jpsl
jAE1CI don’t think you did anything wrong.OWiX84
pRSL“I couldn’t help. I’m sorry.”ffFquxN
SSYECrunch.DTXKbhb
L218U50Crack.lBum
ne8The sound of metal deforming and glass shattering echoed through the car.yfM
hufelL**QQBCcU
fR9Escape from the 108 Afflictions. The Venerable One is listening to your heartbeat.IfKx
N62T5eF**0wM
nJ6GQX“If it were possible to turn back time, what would you do, Mr. Seon Yuhan?”NxWW
JEnZ3“……”QIQ
C2M3rWEven so.fptJjRv
PAdNow that he had discovered the rule, he could have told us earlier.JtLD
GdkPThough, of course.7kk
ebO3MzHe probably wasn’t certain enough either.rBL0jd1
DUxiFAnd even if he had known it beforehand, I doubt he would have been able to calm his own heart.aDA7
KMDxZ“Mr. Seon Yuhan?”mXdFKZ
s7kBRT“Interviewer. This building has become a labyrinth.”a1Yj
Ph9tidThis time.GHTYFH9
Yl5gj0DPlease.yv2Z7
EYovLet’s get out of here.h6N
Xs2V***GBFZkZ
38AcP8“Aaaaaah!”542LImh
Dg3PuGr“W-what the hell! Are you crazy…?!”4XUc
61rKU3xIn the parking garage, we decided from the beginning to eliminate any concerns related to screaming.vebD7W
XxeCA loud sound from the voice.RCAFs
MbbAnd a loud sound from the heart.aI3
zAnIt seemed better to worry about only one thing instead of two.w1G
VoC3SHowever, I didn’t mention anything about 108 seconds or 108 beats.8QDy
VdMlFTI hadn’t measured them exactly myself.ukLNjXu
OptWAELAnd I had no way of convincing anyone.bb41
ZvI“Wow. This dark green one looks pretty nice too.”09yV
tVrdNRhThe five of us finally arrived in front of the vehicle that appeared in the catalog.ueEKEk
LukjlQWoo9356, dark green SUV, D09.S4z5
pP1c5HlHow much effort it had taken us to get here.LahwAx
3xZNg5Next to the Go1020 black sedan where the package appeared, Hwang Juyeon saw the image of her former piano teacher and screamed.dJM2c
en7CnXInside the Bae9502 delivery truck where the crash-test dummy was located, Jung Jiho saw what seemed to be his mother’s ghost and barely managed to hold back his tears.OiDB
bWrcLo3And Choi Jaeha, inside the Seo8102 sports car.Mn6U
3XqZcNo.1v3
rQBZ3UtBetter not talk about that.qZd03
lPV6RwJIt’s a miracle he’s still alive.4Uaj
VOy1MZ“Alright. Let’s open it and search.”ir6cGW
5NtFjDWhile Choi Jaeha, Yoo Hyunjae, and Hwang Juyeon checked the driver’s seat, passenger seat, and rear seats respectively, I took Jung Jiho’s hand and went to inspect the trunk.NGFlB
DSmpMm“Choi Jaeha-ssi! Open the trunk from there!”PlKyD8R
QIcphkM“Yeees, wait a second.”Idgo
ehPLBJWClick.ok3jLHj
6qmThe trunk opened.Pi2mx0
aC2UrAnd I froze.mb1Us
8CXhSGb“Seon Yuhan-ssi? Did you find something? There doesn’t seem to be anything here…”qx3gk
XqJQd9EYes.1TN
JoBThere was something.MgvKQkx
kiID1Five white chrysanthemums placed in a container.0KgCs
BitD6p…What a coincidence.P44
DhiThere were exactly five of us.GTkkv
qstgzI wish we were the ones bringing flowers to someone.PDPlOX
Ic6OAnd not the other way around.WpyfV4
nA4vd“Why aren’t you answering? What is it?”kxx
OeUrOD“Ah.”d466
2r1DYwMy gaze fell on the container.hRR1pzc
jiy5PekIt was too low and wide to be a flower vase.2geGf
P8f3RBnIt was decorated with golden edges and an elegant orchid painting on white porcelain.TWp
q7fjAh.nTj5
lDXrThis…rjvnJ
KJ3I quickly turned it over.zAehG
VBUjThen the engraved character appeared in the center.GQyY
CLaasNT[Deceased ]PzU
U1q8I see.nblK
oCkLXnIt wasn’t a flower vase.s8VNhd
OKrU56“It’s a funeral urn.”1ECI
iBz“What?”d4RuUj
9c2VYzU“A funeral urn…?”uwRv3D
NAbV4GAll of us gathered around the urn holding the chrysanthemums.TtWhl1
RPKLMBHIt was completely empty.EuqN9q
YATExcept for the flowers.7qU
XM0PVXThe chrysanthemums carried the scent of incense.8iuSlc
MoEq3L“It doesn’t have a name. I think we’re the ones who have to figure it out.”CcZ
HQj6DI“Then the clues are the story we heard on the radio and the skeletal remains found in the Mount Yeongun Labyrinth.”ccY
9E3zF“But how are we supposed to figure out the name of someone we don’t even know?”qdsBZ
OHGI felt the same frustration.0Vw
lPmrfkoBut.jDnh
eTWYocH“Probably we can. Labyrinths don’t present unsolvable problems…”w3byp
u6pDAOAs long as you remain alive.7GF
VJ7AIn theory, any labyrinth can be solved.MzL6Yp0
zGbxmooThe problem is dying before you do.Oe7vQy
l9IIf there exists a labyrinth that remains impossible even after dying and coming back to life.5f4Tx
Ktxx4KThen it probably means a clue provided by the labyrinth itself was overlooked.z9dniZ
mdNH97HI pulled out my phone and reviewed once again all the information I had photographed and memorized in that parking garage.OE3ASzl
OXGHGo1020, black sedan, D11.oFDxS
BUtSBae9502, white truck, E02.NuyC7
tM2qrJdSeo8102, red sports car, A11.tL8qA4
iLPWoo9356, dark green SUV, D09.2VRal
OcpdVYThat was all the information I had obtained there.jkQ
6XJdzSo it was highly likely that the answer was there as well.9gv9
VCgU40U[Deceased ]g9ECR
VRM053Furthermore, the name that had to be engraved on that urn could not exceed four syllables in Korean.jCOLWI
qSRPcBgSo, eliminating the numbers from the four vehicles.4ad2u
F2ADayGo.7qd
BvhBae.sTzd
ex2BnVSeo.oPkeKL
8IWxWoo.Mi4u
omcLlIl“Go Bae Seo Woo…”sGl
4E1I found the deceased’s name.YtKtm7K
9Ga[Deceased Bae Seou]y0Zj
el63Mb0The moment I spoke her name, three characters appeared neatly engraved on the urn.CXTk
yiOim“Huh? Bae Seou…? Seon Yuhan-ssi! Smoke is coming out of the flowers!”S0rwtJt
nuu“Ah? What?”xaMbJHF
tw7NsWH“Hey, drop it! It’s catching fire!”azd9vU
3MyAGxTThe five flowers began to burn.yJ9yN
O2qAnd in an instant they were completely consumed.JjXT
ZX3Hbb“……”QDu83
y9F4dqnInside the urn, only ashes remained.cjO803
XSHThe ashes of those incense-scented flowers.dZf93
t9gyz5lThey looked like charred bone fragments.QML7
zzA6e5As I stared at them, a memory from that day returned to my mind.eeucBTC
rCc2“What day?”mjKho
sGkThe moment I heard that voice.fThb
hhtniHXThat terribly longed-for voice.nJDOqUz
d7lbDb“The day you threw my ashes down the drain?”9bMg
zfpzgIMy breathing stopped completely.0eV
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