Chapter 35: How Many Funerals Has It Been Now?

“If it were possible to turn back time, what would you do, Mr. Seon Yuhan?”

**

[Deceased: 　　　]

I led Choi Jaeha, Hwang Juyeon, Jung Jiho, and Yoo Hyunjae through the B5 basement parking lot and quickly found Bae Seou’s funeral urn.

It wasn’t difficult.

We only had to pretend we were following what was written in the diary.

[Deceased: Bae Seou]

“Huh? Bae Seou…? Huh? Huh…?”

Fwoosh.

Five flowers burst into flames on their own and turned to ashes.

“T-this…”

Hwang Juyeon watched the scene in confusion before moving her lips.

“What is it? Do you see something? Or hear something?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that… I don’t know whether I should say it or not. I’m not completely sure either.”

What was she suddenly talking about?

Honestly, at that moment my head was completely occupied with the idea of clearing that game.

After all, everything was random.

And many of the penalties weren’t fatal.

I was only thinking.

‘This time I have to win.’

Nothing else.

But a single sentence from Hwang Juyeon, spoken while carefully pointing at the urn, erased all those absurd thoughts at once.

“I think I know this person. Bae Seou.”

“…What?”

What was she suddenly talking about?

No, wait.

Then why hadn’t she said something like that before…?

Ah.

Because we had never been in a situation where she could.

The first time, I was the one who heard that strange voice and ran toward the emergency stairs.

The next time, Choi Jaeha had just died.

And after that.

I had completely abandoned Hwang Juyeon.

Obsessed with the game.

“When I saw the name in the diary, it felt familiar. And when we heard on the radio about the unidentified skeleton found in the Yeongun Mountain Labyrinth. But I couldn’t remember properly. I couldn’t connect the pieces.”

The piano teacher continued speaking while nervously moving her slender fingers.

“There was a girl named Bae Seou who disappeared. About twenty years ago. I was in middle school. We went to the same church. Though only for a short while.”

“Ah…”

“After that, I stopped going for various reasons, so I lost contact with her. But I think that Bae Seou and this Bae Seou are the same person…”

Wait.

The church?

Then the cross?

I remembered the cross-shaped pendant inside that delivery box.

And how using that cross as a clue had led me to search for the car with the cross ornament, which ended up causing Hwang Juyeon’s death.

Hadn’t it been a trap?

No.

That wasn’t it.

The real clue connected to “Bae Seou” was the shipping label.

Not the cross inside.

“Ah. The emblem.”

Yoo Hyunjae said, slightly raising his eyebrows.

“I mean the emblem on the sedan that the snake entered. There was a cross drawn next to the snake. Maybe that was also a clue.”

“Ah, I suppose so. Sorry for not realizing it sooner…”

At this point, it could no longer be a coincidence.

They didn’t know because they had never opened the box to see what was inside.

But I did.

“Still, I’m glad we figured it out… Well, shall we go down? I think the next floor was the 14th, right?”

Hwang Juyeon quickly changed the subject, as if trying to hold back her emotions.

But I decided to remember it.

Because that cross.

Might be a clue to finding the culprit.

***

[NeoSoft]

By now, the image of the game company office plunged into a blackout felt familiar.

“Uh… hello…”

A living Lee Jinsu did not.

I had only seen him once.

He has a tongue, he has hair, and he has ears.

It looks like he’s missing a few fingers and part of a leg.

But in any case, he’s alive.

“Ah. You came down from the parking lot…? My coworker and I were playing this game and… ah. We had another coworker too, but he died, so we moved him to the director’s office over there…”

He felt strangely similar and yet different from the man who calmly confessed to killing his coworker and refused to quit the game simply because he found it fun.

He wasn’t cold.

But he wasn’t energetic either.

He had deep dark circles under his eyes and a gloomy expression.

And he barely showed any emotion.

Ding.

As we exchanged brief introductions, a familiar pop-up window appeared on Lee Jinsu’s monitor.

【Hello, binary! It looks like you’re happily enjoying 《Lost In HAPPYLAND》 by LabyrinSoft! How about inviting some new friends to share happiness?】

【▶ Invite】

Lee Jinsu sighed while holding the mouse.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to invite you. There’s no other way…”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

【Invitation Complete!】

Five screens lit up, including Jung Jiho’s, who received a new handheld console.

【Enter Your Name】

【＿＿＿＿】

“Be careful with that… I’m not completely sure, but I think it’s played in the order that names are entered…”

Lee Jinsu began explaining everything he knew in a quiet, subdued voice.

That it was probably possible to quit by pressing EXIT, though he wasn’t sure.

And that pressing CONTINUE caused a random body part to be lost.

“But you can also lose something like your heart and die. My coworker died that way…”

As I carefully watched Lee Jinsu’s eyes as he vaguely finished the sentence, I realized something.

I realized which option he would choose between CONTINUE and EXIT.

Suppressing a slight anger, I looked at the monitor of the man who wanted to die.

【What is your name?】

【▶ Kim Jinwoo】

【▶ kmj1234】

【▶ Yoo Min】

【▶ binary】

【▶ I forgot】

It was exactly something I wanted to ask.

“Those names… are they IDs of people you know?”

Lee Jinsu slowly nodded.

“They seem to be people from our office. Actually, when we first saw them, my coworker and I talked about it. We thought maybe it was like an instance dungeon. Honestly, I wish it were. At least that would mean they’re not all dead and are still alive somewhere.”

“Uh…”

Hwang Juyeon spoke timidly.

“Instance? What does that mean?”

“An instance dungeon.”

“Yes, but what exactly does that mean?”

“Oh… ah…”

The NeoSoft employee froze for a moment before briefly explaining the concept of instance dungeons, player parties, and his own theories.

“Ah. So, in gaming terms, we’re a party. And the people who disappeared belong to other parties and are trapped in labyrinths identical to this one?”

“Yes. Something like that…”

While the teacher and the model student conversed, the first person I thought of was the interviewer.

The idea that the missing people were still alive somewhere not being just my own hypothesis was good news.

But the fact that I couldn’t find them without surviving myself was very bad news.

“Ah…”

Lee Jinsu’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I looked back at the monitor.

【What a shame! There was a better driver than you. You are no longer in a condition to enjoy happiness. But you can still be happy.】

【CONTINUE】

【EXIT】

“No. Wait a second…”

【CONTINUE!】

“What the hell…? You… Ha…”

I had never managed to beat this damn man’s speed.

For a moment, I grabbed Lee Jinsu by the collar of his hoodie and then let go.

【Don’t worry! It won’t hurt. A small contribution will make you happy: Lung】

Getting angry at someone who was about to die was pointless.

The entire time I watched Lee Jinsu die, suffocating with a pale blue face, just as it had happened to me once before, I had to curl up as if trying to hide my entire body.

You’re going to find peace all by yourself?

I can’t even die.

I’m not allowed to die.

Why do you get to rest?

Only to suppress that irrational anger.

…

【Don’t worry! It will hurt. A small curse will make you unhappy: Liver】

“Ha…”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine… Just a little dizzy.”

“Dizzy? Then this… No, would some medicine help? Ah, Mr. Seon Yuhan, you’re not going to die, right?”

“I’m not going to die… My head is just ringing a little.”

“Huh? Ah. Right. I’ll be quieter.”

Fortunately, it seemed that only part of my liver had disappeared and not something fatal.

【Lost In HAPPYLAND】

【CLOSED】

All of our screens changed at the same time.

“Wow! It really ended! It’s over! Look! The door opened! Come on, qui—! No, wait. Mr. Seon Yuhan, sit in that chair. I’ll push you.”

“I already told you I’m fine…”

The huge accountant in his thirties was jumping around in delight like a small child.

Meanwhile, the actual child remained still behind Hwang Juyeon, clutching the edge of her clothes.

I knew Jung Jiho was looking at me with concern.

And I pretended not to notice.

Children’s eyes sometimes pierce through the world like sharp ice or needles.

I didn’t want to know exactly what he saw in me that frightened him.

“I can really walk.”

While I was arguing with Choi Jaeha about whether I should sit in the chair or not—

Click. Bzzzz.

“Ah! You scared me!”

Suddenly, the multifunction printer against the wall started operating.

Shhk…

Scratch…

“It’s printing something. Looks like a photograph…”

Yoo Hyunjae, who was closest, tilted his head as he watched the page come out.

Shhk…

Scrape…

We all gathered around the A4 sheet.

“It looks like those photos they automatically take when you come down from a roller coaster.”

The printed image was very low quality, as though a Polaroid photograph had been scanned.

An old six-seat roller coaster wrapped in shadows.

In the background, the rails could be faintly seen along with a completely black night sky.

And beneath the photograph was a caption written in an adorable font.

[One of Seon Yuhan’s Happiest Moments]

“Seon…? Wait. Why does it say it belongs to Mr. Seon Yuhan? There’s nobody in the picture.”

“That’s true.”

I took the sheet and carefully examined the image.

“I’ll keep it, just in case.”

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here first. But Mr. Seon Yuhan, are you really okay? You still look terrible.”

“Yes. I’m really fine.”

I folded the photograph and slipped it into my pants pocket while hiding the trembling of my hands.

Because I knew.

I knew that my eyes had met the eyes of the person in that photograph…

***

“What do you think the next floor will be…?”

“Yeah. Mr. Seon Yuhan, there wasn’t anything after the 14th floor in the diary, right?”

“No.”

“Then maybe this is the last one. Hopefully.”

Their voices echoed through the hallway descending from the emergency exit on the 14th floor.

Clank.

We opened an emergency exit door that indicated Floor 13 on the inside, even though we knew it probably did not lead to Floor 13.

“What?”

“Uh… why…?”

We came out onto the 14th floor again.

“Maybe…”

“…there was some kind of mistake. Let’s try going down again—”

“—Mr. Seon Yuhan.”

Yoo Hyunjae’s deep voice pierced into my back when I tried to deny reality.

“Labyrinths do not make mistakes. That is something humans do.”

Suddenly, all strength left my body.

“M-Mr. Seon Yuhan!”

Then…

Had everything I did in Happyland been meaningless?

Had all that sacrifice of my organs been for nothing?

All that time I spent forgetting them?

Losing myself?

Trying to abandon my own name?

…Please.

Tell me it wasn’t.