Chapter 32: The Lucky Unfortunate
d8CGDRj“Mr. Seon Yuhan. That was… a gunshot, right?”Pgghn
wg1“Why is there someone with a gun? Is it because it’s a game?”4qci1X
Jzxzhh“Ah! It must be an agent sent by the Labyrinth Management Bureau!”G08
a2ZRdL“I thought they stopped doing that. Since Dalumul-ri, ten years ago. Happyland was eight years ago.”JyO9q
ZIqqAs I listened to the conversation between Choi Jaeha and Hwang Juyeon, I forcibly loosened my grip on the phone.sudgxFh
ktoa6mGThose bastards from the Labyrinth Management Bureau.oZ36N
AgGVAsI knew they would never abandon that habit.cE1
DQqThey know perfectly well that anyone who enters an invasion-type labyrinth will probably die, and yet they still send people in to gather data, increasing the body count.0i3sx
OG6JX9sAlthough, judging by the movie, four years ago they did not send agents into Seonghwa High School.Hu31Az7
KWuAh.IbCX
qTvGThough in that case, there was that incident where the parents sneaked in.LCVGuW
QiXSurprisingly, it happened during a period when government control became “more relaxed.”zbgnsH
6QtQ“Well, they probably said one thing and did another. Otherwise, why would a gun appear? And from the description, it doesn’t sound like a pistol or a rifle. It sounds more like a heavy machine gun. That’s something that’s hard to see even in the military. You can’t even carry one by yourself. They deliberately sent it in there.”L6m3
kNm0aX“Ah, really…? But then, after going that far… they still couldn’t even let it become known…”xKmSf
4Nh8oyWere those parents unknowingly encouraged to infiltrate the labyrinth, and the authorities simply allowed it?zlK
WcxqOr was there some kind of agreement?Tz7n
4mCWith the few scenes shown in the movie, it was impossible to know.uIYhDSY
kL1q6Either way, the Labyrinth Management Bureau had taken the special characteristics of a school into consideration.EXPxR
6yBZPerhaps they concluded that parents would fit better there than armed special agents.tqdPfO
kVJOShould I consider that an improvement?4w1hD
v5Y“I have certain connections with the Labyrinth Management Bureau due to business reasons.”ZyfKrs
MEPwMFmThe director of Yuwi Guild feigned modesty with a dry voice.XRtv4DV
BnLPM2E“It is a place that has a tendency not to be honest. Very similar to a labyrinth.”WX3f
gbWThen they might try to enter here as well.ZWl
ZpZAZ7After all, since this was a guild building, it would not be strange for agents from the Labyrinth Management Bureau to come and go.4TI
ToTCAlthough the chances of them ending up as corpses were still much higher.fx9bH
Zsac3Especially now that all the floors were mixed together.MvC
0MV1OyQ【CONTINUE】GdUsI
NfSu【EXIT】DnPoyew
FfMRVz“Then I’ll keep going.”6KewZR
PSozI“Hey, no, wait…”0e1AWj
dNJl6MChoi Jaeha alternated his gaze between my heel-less right foot and my face, unsure of what to say.MzQuD
yvmbo“Look, I’ve thought about it. For me, honestly, one time was already enough. No, more than enough…”9YYsCiE
ZxATWkThe accountant lowered his head with an embarrassed expression before speaking with difficulty.xmHXNn
SHHRp“So, Mr. Seon Yuhan.”tEO0Z
0Ba6yBy【CONTINUE!】xiHFe
kjvCxJ“You crazy bastard.”Erfvt
1sjU【The wise decision of someone like you never wastes an opportunity to be happy.】bPO5
105“You’re going to drive me insane, you crazy bastard!”Xr1
yaQr“Why… why are you hitting me…?”uzy3Re
i7l7“For God’s sake! Doesn’t it hurt? Aren’t you scared? You could end up dead like that man earlier! And even if you don’t die, you could end up permanently disabled!”h2KpSl9
bOz【But happiness always comes at a price!】kEbNOyn
UckIfAfraid?Klfg
uPte3gOf what?Cs4X
pm6ZKOf dying?wAZ
aBppWOf living?Ubc
PZJqHDWas there something I was supposed to fear?JRq
WkrBecoming an “incomplete” being?1A5yRU
njx“Ha. Look at that expression. What the hell is wrong with you? How can you smile at a time like this? You… you really aren’t normal.”dMr
KeU31My honorary title of normal person was officially revoked.c9osdt
IHjIn the end, I had made no progress at all.R38Wzi
pdCmH8“You look completely normal. Then why the hell are you like this? It’s terrifying, seriously…”PsZQ1q
KZ2J“Because.”E2mfetW
KZW9“What?”hxMRCs
WAK2That was exactly the question I had always screamed like a desperate cry.t7llc
BkqAt this world.aN1w
yspkfiAt this life.2gKkC8R
iX7peBut I had never received an answer.WkA
TYiZAnd because of that, I had none to give either.oFVnbA
wuk43【Don’t worry! It won’t hurt. A small contribution will make you happy: Bronchi】Mv7nhjg
bCID0T3“Ghk… huff…”4e5FPc
eXLRrhIt was an extremely strange sensation.C0J
sdp4LI could feel the air passing clearly through my throat.2oTMrFr
Nzv5But my chest would not expand.d0ZyP
6NdAkw5“Hah… huff…”2XDu
TSHANo matter how much I inhaled.eY06aN2
edRqcsjNo matter how much air I sucked in until my mouth became completely dry.zzFh
PCxC4aLIt was like a thirst that could never be quenched.C9Iopu
UflPt2M“W-what do we do…?”CPGF3r
VZpr“…It has to reach the lungs…”DyJAjn
qzje“…Yuhan… Mr. Seon Yuhan…”psEMN
0Fiap7RInside my chest was a void as deep as a well.y4RMo
4KM4OAnd inside that empty well…6u51
iJvXqThere were too many deaths.6uF6sl
TEPDFFT***FrjKu
NMJMJV“If it were possible to turn back time, what would you do, Mr. Seon Yuhan?”FEqVXx5
l09“Hah… huff…”jhnRIb
JJ8VqTUI gasped desperately.DwoD
TtP3JAs if it were the first breath of my life.ggj
HSKav8As if I were breathing in the world for the first time.Tw1ARx
p30As if I would never be able to do it again.W5Xm
44o76As if it were my last breath.4uUhfGk
AOeM“Mr. Seon Yuhan? Are you okay? What’s wrong all of a sudden? Can you speak?”7ffFdBm
xzksvD“Yes… yes.”IzAelu
tukSY3I stood up while supporting myself on the interviewer, who had approached in concern to examine me.AvWuM
gR6NUD“Interviewer.”6N4
C0eam“Yes?”vzu
Bkyd2“This building… has become a labyrinth.”Nk0
sEWCgU***0mOb
r849h7Before stripping away the librarian’s shell in Will You Come to the Bookstore?, and before heading to Saenal Daycare, where Hwang Juyeon and Choi Jaeha were already waiting for me.i2Dr6
HHq7u4I took a moment to check the Tarae Diary.QJd3
9br[∃, 2, ⒝5, 14]5pehkc
bssEMJ[㉳ㅣSeou]QBb7iz
aCDf“What a thing…”UcCEzEB
qrcSeriously.KEbx
IQaTEIt had everything.VAmvN2K
X0EZVThe horrifying mechanical voice of Administrator Tarae replayed in my head.S11PioL
a60OSQ‘SeonYuhanSeonYuhanSeonYuhandearestcustomer aslongasyouwantit itwillbeyours anytime anywhere inanyway however anydamagescausedduringthisspecialdeliveryprocessarecompletelynatural andTaraeassumesnoresponsibility whatsoever wouldyouliketopurchaseitrightnow?’1aq
isYVgIt had said that damage could occur during delivery.JJywMs
EQYsHAnd, indeed, the shape of the letters was gradually becoming distorted.tQ9BDWF
KGprThe same thing was happening to the record of the Lost In HAPPYLAND scripts that I had written in a separate section at the end.c697
32eguOIt was natural that the handwriting had changed.lKkFB
rDPh3MIt looked as though something that was not human had tried to “draw” an imitation of my handwriting.Xhv7
SvSOrLI suppose at least no one would ask why the handwriting was exactly the same.MMvp3sS
QktTc“Ha…”9k48cj
XjnI closed the diary and headed toward the daycare.ZjQo
tkArUThere was still a long way to go.MgDE7
WKe3Nw***0N4x
Nwc1O“Wow, so what was written in that diary really was the floors… It really was B5… Then the next one is the 14th floor?”rvIi
kMDYIRight after taking Jung Jiho out of the daycare on the second floor, I had shown the Tarae Diary to Hwang Juyeon and Choi Jaeha.nZU
IXSCI had to show it to them before reaching NeoSoft.TopLruY
swYi0DAfter that, there would no longer be a natural opportunity to “discover” it.D8RVH
2wL9wpl“It’s quite a peculiar artifact.”rf1xxY
pY10DAoAs expected, I also showed it to Yoo Hyunjae while he was still nauseous in the parking garage.Xwd
vVN“You say you found this in Will You Come to the Bookstore?”yJu1tW
UWmXd“Yes. I went to look for the person from the library, but there was no one there. This was just lying on the floor. I thought it might be a clue.”mQG
oHmBI gave him exactly the same explanation I had given Hwang Juyeon and Choi Jaeha.2hYxO
ADo3lf“Librarian?”0mlti
ufpkQlcYoo Hyunjae’s eyebrows rose slightly.Io7LqT
A3u“There is no librarian in our library.”TTR
oZ25r“What? That can’t be true!”pmM
PqQqHwang Juyeon’s voice cracked.6H9Zuy
hYY2oQR“Of course there was one. We even talked to her…”cdw
A1A“Was there a librarian before the labyrinthization began? Because if so, I find that even more terrifying.”L8JdbhB
qU9“Uh… Now that I think about it, no. At first there was nobody at the desk. When I came out because of the fire alarm, she was already there, so I assumed she had just stepped away for a moment. It seemed perfectly normal.”F7eU
hhcjwm7And so that small unsettling mystery was resolved for those who did not know the whole story.MUMIR9
3DaAfterward, Choi Jaeha died.nsWgmA
D7pWithout even getting to see Bae Seou’s funeral urn.dH79M
WKRV“…Brother-in-law?”uSsJp
xsGDRpThis time it wasn’t because of his niece.f6u5G
hvTfIt was because of his brother-in-law.PsWxU
vtJI didn’t understand exactly why, because he kept babbling incoherently.YCDbrIB
aIzfkdBut he was so furious that no one could calm him down.hpYH
rprRdH【Bae Seou】uXQ7Z
uzkNwozFwoosh.LHpZK
l5xUI silently watched the four chrysanthemum flowers burn away on their own.644nD
JOICounting how many white chrysanthemums had never even gotten the chance to burn.UO68l
IV6VB***gSMvXF
AvkDg2X【NeoSoft】20zLU
xjYJ3dThe dark atmosphere of the game company, immersed in a blackout, was not very different from before.weJdc
zB9kVBut…mp30fZ
mkGhY“Ah…”5pRb
G5qbLee Jinsu was very different.czdLN
ciLITGHe was no longer bald.x7a
9pigpLHe had a thick, messy head of hair.effXw
F2UAnd he was missing an ear that had previously been exactly where it belonged.NS9jDG
KzZ“I think… he’s dead.”Kyp
V0AIEoAnd above all.BMc
D10He was dead.Lbjmj
5bsWe had arrived at NeoSoft at roughly the same time as before.20BHN
7GhMSqThe fact that the missing parts were completely different proved that the penalties were entirely random.qtIl1
gUjgI84Ding!Kfymgl
xBA♫ Ta-ra-ran, tan, ta-tan… ♫iFc1
ULdpro【Lost In HAPPYLAND】CUVzh
Xg6nmu【ENTER】fnSez
29kCnMSThe screens of my phone, Hwang Juyeon’s phone, and Yoo Hyunjae’s phone lit up.d5vwk
TfKPoAnd a handheld console dropped in front of Jung Jiho.HzNh
9uwFd【Enter your name】wysO
6sInz【＿＿＿＿】TpFz6D
dTN2“This also matches exactly what was written in the diary…”8oeE
UYQfLee Jinsu was no longer there to explain it.wH8Y
kxy4cBut all the information he had given us in the previous cycle had already been recorded.XKci
zlttJzK“‘Does the play order depend on the order in which names are entered?’ There’s a question mark.”eudB0Y
jvIYoo Hyunjae read the notes with interest.PBc8V
T39“It seems he wasn’t completely sure. For a labyrinth artifact… it feels surprisingly human.”l65ff
HpuCG7eOf course.oqC
7eyBecause after my death, I had no way of confirming what happened.Je8
mDXxAnd because it really had been written by a person.rosVfWI
ZlY2nIW“For now, let’s assume it works according to entry order. I’ll go first. Jiho will go last.”fcBTc
auJovQ“You’re going first? It’s dangerous.”34mk6A
ZUUy“If you’re going to get hit anyway, it’s better to take the first hit sooner rather than later.”PWQAp
8W6mCEHonestly.8XyR
sYUI was grateful.1LY0
rjNtUiWAnd quite surprised.LNDV
CsYk“Then I’ll go after you.”rks
reTRI had assumed I would be first again.odos
8SnlI would never have put Hwang Juyeon or Jung Jiho ahead of me.yTatjN
iBuE7kAnd I had never imagined Yoo Hyunjae would volunteer.ySD9YNL
OQfCN9z“Ah. Then it really does work according to entry order.”Pit9WIP
LllP【Welcome to the land of happiness, Happyland!】zz1d
awlXBPYoo Hyunjae’s game started first.297Ki
M8DNt【Don’t worry! It won’t hurt. A small contribution will make you happy: Arm】j0jNW
Ptsj5gThunk…0dgu8
UaVtiCCrack!wC86aGP
N8CZA ring more expensive than my monthly salary and a watch more expensive than my yearly income fell to the floor.XW30L
V0H“Wow.”WNDEkhE
r0lWYoo Hyunjae picked up the ring that had rolled across the floor and put it back on his right pinky finger.c2KA
FKocwkSurprisingly, using only one hand.Cq22aPn
sBUeThe left sleeve of his jacket hung empty from the wrist to the elbow.BaFG
QZBmPpN“Are you okay? The watch… do you want me to put it back on? Although the glass broke…”PAV
icv“No, it’s fine. Thank you.”Vd7Sq
7QFAsdYoo Hyunjae placed the watch on a nearby desk.cndaby
wY2fHP“It feels unreal.”cYTshG
AVUvHe stared for a long time at the empty space where his arm had been.ZyRxM
EBM“Because it doesn’t hurt.”WP3
KDYBThen he murmured,QqhK
qToN“Although that’s usually exactly what makes it dangerous.”G1TKt
om3dsYc【You have finished resting. Now it’s time to be happy again!】16X9jE
wiZThe game continued.BZQ
kkhPtNBOOOOM!b4F
smil2YSplaaash!gE7
QK3r【What a shame! A trap hidden beneath the water has exploded. You are no longer in a condition to enjoy happiness. But you can still be happy.】l4VFoJ
HqPp9“It seems they planted an explosive trap.”MRSY2
mIlWRYoo Hyunjae shook his head as he looked at his screen.BhJjz
axasHe had avoided the machine gun in the Haunted House.qPs
7g4Only to end up running into an explosive trap in the Waterfall Ride.vaAjR
FeFqI quickly took notes in the diary.UBZ4
aD2XZSoon it would be my turn.zf8X
rcgyuD【CONTINUE】SidINb1
x2dmt6【EXIT】tuQumxV
tbVBkDAfter confirming that I had finished writing, Yoo Hyunjae brought the index finger of his remaining hand toward the screen.Oa5ae
SjEZ【CONTINUE!】FrGdhs
7dEnwuF“…Huh?”lpG
hMr9He chose to continue.rGfMl2q
oEd8QGNot quit.FU7kgnY
QpQdc“What…? Why…?”GiK8URd
csaj5“Because it’s obvious.”wPwyuF
Wqm【The wise decision of someone like you never wastes an opportunity to be happy.】UYh4
IaHo“Because I want to live.”8vd
4YMQA dry.LqtHW
UAfAnd desperate.VEHrec
rLlDeclaration.XjerA6
sE8PHe wanted to live so badly.Po151v
KN5oEven after losing half an arm.MHK
bpaINDEven if he might lose something even more important.s83
DqF“Because I want to get out.”sBoMmIv
oezeBRThat was how desperately he wanted to escape.aXM
CUWFrom a labyrinth.WCbLVe
lrWdn“I’m not very good at these kinds of games.”Tm0
c0fL“Then why don’t you quit…?”Lt8fNAx
RXtNFFI had been certain he would withdraw.ZIdWL
8SXZI thought playing first once was already more than enough.xDs8H
2XpQc“But I like gambling a little.”rg65
aC83jOAh.khxRjaP
QiWNow I understood why Choi Jaeha had smacked me on the back earlier.dgjoKN1
TSiP“And this seems like a bet worth taking.”mgw
hcBdk【But happiness always comes at a price!】IAVw
wsflYRl“Normally, I’m lucky.”UZXa
Q6GA faint smile appeared on Yoo Hyunjae’s lips.sUaw
b8R【Don’t worry! It won’t hurt. A small contribution will make you happy: Bones】44sk
WT7And then.NWEFu
34INYoo Hyunjae’s body collapsed.ucH
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