Chapter 4: Zero, film, beginning, 10 minutes before
MZY6g“Mr. Choi Jaeha! We have to get out!”Z7Dm4mn
ydPULPu“Huh, huh?”1rTxHL
UaOA blackout and yet the lights turn on?APcUMeD
g3xThat’s not normal.pVmK2
E5QMdpXAs soon as the stage lights came on, I instinctively knew something had begun and opened the front door of the auditorium.WRwEy
zxp54Clack.zvEbL
7g0B“Damn it!”SlTjp
3seThe door was locked.Qvjwl
rOWiwOI should have known.hKjjbl
VYJqA maze is like this.gwIS4fJ
N52b3“What? It’s locked? Then the other one?”gs7zmE
v2ryChoi Jaeha, pale, ran toward the other front door.7Eipo
Hq46J“This one is locked too!”MXgJ
qpiHAI“Let’s try the back!”TT0bLFl
S4hu5eBoth of us started going up the stairs at the sides of the seats.ke9
wfkaThe auditorium occupied two floors, the second and the third, so the back door connected to the third floor.qrkWF8Z
qYBRattle, slide.kZlq
6bPAs we ran up the stairs at full speed, wearing down our knees, a white screen descended over the stage.oz3wl
oM2m“It’s locked here too! Mr. Seon Yuhan, what about yours?!”5Viw3E
1N6“Here too!”JLQ4UW
tsEZy“What do we do? What do we do? What are we supposed to do?!”01yw
uzMQwChoi Jaeha suddenly came up to me and shook me by the shoulders.yQro
bzQVG“You brought me here!”HlQgH
zBWHbJIt was true that I had brought him to the auditorium because I didn’t trust the hallway, so I had nothing to say.4JaJRB7
aJOv“If I die here, it’ll be your res—”91vOea
w2pQXFw「We, l, co, me, de, ar, es, ti, ma, ted, au, di, en, ce!」595nE
MI6The voice from the speakers interrupted his shout.3bHJmyk
tjd「The, film, wi, ll, be, gin, sho, rt, ly, ple, ase, ta, ke, you, r, sea, ts.」Hj2
kHAx5It was a grotesque voice.5yV
CWKfqAPAs if each syllable had been assembled from different places tone, gender, and age constantly changed.LGo475C
WVdjsr“What… what is this now?”8Cr
Lf4R“Let’s sit down first.”dd6
sNVd“No! What if spikes suddenly come out of the seat or something like that?”xU6F
iPRmFWhat kind of movies has this guy been watching?wYj9d
Jc4AIaz“Please. Mazes work with rules.”YjT0
g3H“Let go of me! If you want, sit down yourself!”w8gRmgR
FTuChoi Jaeha freed himself from my hand and pressed himself against the closed back door.dlvSl
ZuaGl「Du, rin, g, the, pro, jec, tion, mo, vi, ng, is, pro, hi, bi, ted, due, to, ri, sk, of, ac, ci, dents.」KEA9Vi
jn3VZML“Mr. Choi Jaeha, please do what it says! We don’t know what will happen if we don’t!”GswFfwD
08oyGe“I said no!”2xcugiW
DujJI was about to insist when another voice forced me to stop.a53v9NI
IOT「For, a, ple, a, sant, ex, pe, rien, ce, ple, ase, a, voi, d, ta, lking, and, si, len, ce, or, turn, off, you, r, pho, nes.」xatRF7
r5sHIt was a typical warning against illegal recordings.Mat50
I4Z「To, mi, ni, mi, ze, dis, tur, ban, ces, le, a, ving, is, not, al, lo, wed, from, 10, mi, nu, tes, be, fo, re, un, til, the, end, of, the, film.」Lffc
28JI set my phone to silent and looked at the time.yIkTV6
0nW「En, joy, the, pro, jec, tion.」NlZ
GVja3:45.fxRyU0
q0iThe film starts at 3:55.Gmi
hnxJ8roI took that moment to try to seat Choi Jaeha.g89
mtf“Mr. Choi Jaeha, I’m sorry for bringing you here, but we’re in the same situation.
As I told you, mazes work with rules. If they are not followed, you die. The problem is not knowing what they are. But here they are telling them to us, so it is relatively safe. Besides, you were saved from the elevator thanks to me. Trust me one more time. I have no reason to put you in danger. And if it’s a film, it will last at least an hour. Are you going to stay standing all that time? It’s better to sit and conserve energy. Please, follow the instructions…”7bKu
lXldh“T-to hell with it! Fine, fine.”WiT6
h9IgoaQThe annoying accountant finally sat down in the last row behind me.S1Tccp
oSiIt seemed he simply didn’t want to keep standing.Z7U
2IUWell, as long as we don’t end up as corpses, it doesn’t matter.stZI
TZjYpNFlash.owx
B4rHWOvThe screen suddenly lit up.m8ymgwO
tEoNRMHuh?YhO
sjY2It’s not the start time yet.Q15e3
lJOxO「The taste of memories! Nectar!」CCHgifk
jTltA video with noise, as if recorded on old film.dgK21J
KjeLdjBA can with arms and legs, with a sweet voice.6ddt
AdVoIt opens the can, drinks it in one go, and exclaims in satisfaction.8XtC
gXu…It was an advertisement.FwfhkKW
bhyBut it had problems.zpkk
YWH5fFirst, everything looked distorted, as if generated by a faulty AI.k8SX
c6YThe shapes blended and deformed grotesquely.TAj
dpGj0L2The only clear thing was the “Nectar” can.ilVuXAO
XRwt8“Huh, that—?”lcH6VQ
XLY8u5“Shh…!”KqaO
aNQwi0Second, Nectar is a labyrinth artifact.57xlc
EkfVyQ5An object that causes strange phenomena.JQc
FEHaQGNIn this case, it changes flavor depending on who drinks it.MW2
udHXvIt tastes like the most cherished memory.4Lc
oijwoY「The taste of the kimchi my mother made!」386
2kQdwSound of swallowing.jgag
XIUsA female figure, a young man, and something red merge.Ko6yeQH
vsg7RFScene change.cKo2Hl
zhtvLV「The taste of the jajangmyeon I ate in secret!」Ss3A9dq
oXAAnother grotesque fusion.m2Fp
1WtiKScene change.rGE3
4yCXa2b「The legendary liquor of 13,7910 years!」PnjRW
ZE7aXPqMore unnatural fusion.ZflIz
psxScene change.Jqo6kT
gCCfZy「The porridge I licked in the basement!」ab0I
3peSomething that one wishes were not human mixes with something one wishes were food.DuHx
MlgScene change.8ih0q
vfrm「Drink your memories! Nectar!」1lo9nUs
13F5WIt is, basically, a drug.XB8L5YG
eHgvLOOVery valuable, because it allows experiencing flavors from the past.4S9D2F
SqLk8ZOBut in reality it is a trap of the labyrinth.QuGpTO
mtVXE6Outside the labyrinth, maybe.lFU
G8xBut inside, you must never drink it.xnpfz
WkcVhpPEspecially in an invasive one.oeqBH2
LA7dThe labyrinth seeks to keep you.ouQqig
U0fclt「Remember! Eating is law. Law is consumption. Consumption is Nectar!」lju
dryThe music faded.XTMG5
ce8oFlash.MBR
QtXThe screen changed again.5qVAA37
1IssA bipedal bull-shaped character appeared.vsof8GA
Udj7f9J“Hello, I’m Mimi. Oh, hey!”VxzZu
HF0Mimi or crazy?ULdc
flARETZHe opened his eyes and pointed forward.WS4In
JHnjAs if pointing at the audience.kfV3oOm
glHVt“You, in row H seat 7!”T93
xmxIIt can’t be…?fb6Ari
dVEwswAI lowered my gaze to check my seat number.8id
bWi“Yes, you. This… ah, your name is Seon Yuhan?”UCLG
opRnkAs if this were a children’s game.X0mEM
u6QolThe bull-headed figure muttered that and let out a mocking laugh.0n9Fjnp
BKOag“But you look quite grown up, huh? Ugh, though you’re a bit disgusting.”mkte
abfVwWHe made a face as if he had bitten into something unpleasant.eDTlqc
baDpk7cDamn labyrinth.k8Db
beQThat is nothing more than a “person” created by the labyrinth so that humans can understand it.MkpGpy
BCYoNCThere is no malice there. It is just a mechanical output.OuMYBt
BTYEven so no, precisely because of that, I responded with the same expression.AxD6Y9f
beI6“Anyway, Mr. Seon Yuhan. Do you know the Tarae Diary?”wUSlVbK
ddwHXBThe mini minotaur extended its hand with a “ta-dá,” and the image of a reddish-brown leather notebook with an elegant design appeared.eqOnx
eSW3Y“It’s a work planner given to all employees of the Tarae Group!”lpDE
PawwCurrent Sports Agency, Future Entertainment, Yuwi Guild, Tarae Holdings.0gZKam
yiZA total of four logos appeared on the screen.NVm9ltW
00kq8“And on the second floor of the Tarae building, in the ‘TARAE’ merchandise store, only for today! A special event is being held where even regular customers can purchase the Tarae Diary!”bk5
BbTjCaBut what does that have to do with anything?gEA0iS
l2nDWhy are they advertising something like this?B1AF
Kt9wrThere must be a reason.fFObvn
EZz8sMlEverything must be a clue.ghp
bqb“Ah, by the way, on the first page are the details of each floor of the Tarae building.”yHF
VDINo, I mean, what do I need that for?DsXj4
SESvpQRI just need to find a way to go down to the first floor and get out of here without looking back.6htTv
FdELR2sAh.gEeE
toN7Wait.81hqtAm
mRJA chilling sensation ran down my spine.PpBGc1U
T5EcsMpCould it be that…?R6z9
0cBhP0uThe horned bull head smiled like a salesperson who had just made an incentivized sale.nLo
vuTNMy heart began to beat faster.vdi
k8ZHg“Now then, the movie begins!”CG4oeF
d8dKpI didn’t have time to organize my thoughts.Jcihyh
1rLvClack!6dJG9J
mZ1YdAll the stage lights went out and the screen lit up again.76M
EmkI turned around.496
bP4RgKUThe projector was still off from before.Vx9EM9
5hzm[Production / Presentation / Distribution: Labyrinth Pictures Co., Ltd.]v2Py
cDGFFAAnd even so, the screen displayed the image perfectly.iNiDA
AC9[Will spring come to Seonghwa High School as well?]zKUm
ZC9lNsbA title with an elegant font.oLgmgo0
9R9The moment I saw it, my blood ran cold.1sI7
AXs“Huh? Seonghwa, ah—”payFeIg
tr7wTChoi Jaeha fell silent when he saw my insistent gesture.8EtH
KgJ6I looked back at the screen.e9Dqh
TAsirhUThe hand with which I was gripping the armrest was sweating.mz6
mkXtm「Hey. What’s for lunch today?」zGgV
RvF「Kimchi duruchigi.」T36o
FAVb「Oh! Duruchigi! I’m going to serve myself a lot. What else?」mTP
ANmBz「Tofu, seaweed salad, steamed egg, black bean rice, and bean sprout soup.」Gq491b
IVG「Ugh, I hate bean rice.」5yak
Cww9ESeonghwa High School was the most famous in the country.eVOX69
LSdM「Hey, but what’s with that guy? What kind of weirdo is that now?」6vg1
gZRwBzx「Hey guys, aren’t you tired of self-study? If you’re going to keep talking, then I’ll continue the class.」BtT
nk2i「Ah, teacher, it’s not that… there’s someone standing outside the door. He’s wearing a strange mask.」ag0I
yaYglN「Huh? ……Did you come for something? But in front of the teacher you should take that off—」IeMJF
sk5s「—Aaaaaaaah!」ETA9ZY
OywKbAn invasive maze that was resolved with the death of more than 200 students and faculty.9oE3
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