Cleaning Supply Closet

‘It opened.’

The padlock on the back door came undone by itself. It wasn’t thanks to a key or a code.

It only opened when a B-flat was played on the recorder. It was a mechanism where a specific player action triggered an unlock event—a very typical feature in RPG Maker games.

A locking system that would be impossible in real life, but now that the lines between reality and the game were blurred, it was perfectly plausible.

‘The guard’s not hiding out there, is he…?’

I peeked my head out and glanced down the hallway. No one was there. Not a trace of the guard.

I stepped out of the classroom cautiously, one step at a time. At that moment, a flurry of messages appeared.

[Tutorial completed]

[You’ve escaped the classroom within the time limit]

[Reward obtained – Status Window]

The appearance of the message meant I had reached a turning point. I could finally breathe.

‘I’m alive…’

It had only been about ten minutes, but it felt like ten years. I took a deep breath, exhausted.

More than joy, what I felt was pure exhaustion. At that moment, I just wanted to collapse in the middle of the hallway.

‘Is it over now?’

I leaned against the wall, trying to calm both body and mind, when suddenly, another message cascaded down.

[Chapter 1 – School]

【Today was an especially exhausting day.
I closed my eyes for a moment, worn out from the fatigue.
And it wasn’t until midnight that I woke up.
From that point on, strange and disturbing things began to happen.
This school, so eerie and grotesque, was no longer the one I knew.
How to put it?
A surreality beyond the limits of the real.
A ghost story.
A bad feeling crept over me.
I felt that if I stayed here, I’d meet a terrible end.
I had to get out of here as soon as possible.】

An unnecessarily long and cringe-worthy narration.

By the way, I didn’t write that. The game’s system came up with it for me.

Thanks for the effort, I guess.

Ding!

[You’ve received a mission]

[Escape the school before dawn]

[Reward: 1 Urban Legend Coin]

[Penalty for failure: death]

As if that weren’t enough, now I had missions. The penalty made sense, but the reward left me puzzled.

Urban Legend Coin?

By the name alone, it sounded like a crypto or an NFT.

Maybe it was some kind of in-game currency. Seems like upon completing a mission, I’d receive an equivalent reward.

‘Come to think of it, I also got a reward for escaping the classroom.’

As soon as I stepped out of the classroom, a message had popped up saying I’d received the status window.

[Status window has been unlocked.]

Having it was nice, but I had no idea how to use it.

‘What if it activates just like the inventory?’

I murmured quietly.

“…Status window.”

Flash.

[Status Window]

Name: Lee Hyun
Age: 17
Title: None
Trait: Calmness
Special Ability: None

This really felt like being a video game character.

Beyond the personal data, the “Title” and “Special Ability” fields were pure game lingo, which made me feel even more disconnected from reality.

Specifically, the “Trait” was set to “Calmness” for some reason.

It must be a passive skill I naturally possessed.

Would it have any actual effect?

Just like with item descriptions, I tapped the screen a couple of times until it changed.

[Calmness]

【Thanks to your long-standing interest in horror movies and games over the years, you’ve developed a certain immunity to the genre.
Even when facing unreal situations

that couldn’t possibly occur in the real world, you’re only unsettled momentarily and quickly manage to keep your cool.

Thanks to this personality, even in unexpected or dangerous situations, you can regain composure and reason your way to a suitable solution.

However, this ability won’t help against terrors that surpass the limits of the human mind.】

‘And what the hell is that supposed to mean…?’

I expected something more spectacular, like a web novel skill, but it was just an exaggerated description of my personality.

Not very different from the results you get in school psychological assessments.

I guess it was assigned to me by default.

Maybe the actually useful skills—the kind you’d expect in a game or novel—would appear under the “Special Ability” field. But I couldn’t check now.

[You have no special abilities.]

Surely, there’d be a way to unlock them in the future.

‘For now, the objective is to escape the school, right?’

True to the linear style of RPG Maker, the mission was simple.

Escape the school. Although I no longer knew whether I was in reality or full-on surreality, for now, I decided to obediently follow the mission instructions.

I started walking down the hallway.

The dark school corridor gave off an eerie vibe, like something might jump out from the shadows at any moment.

‘I wish I had a flashlight…’

[EXIT]

Armed with nothing but the emergency exit sign as a guide, I kept moving forward.

That tiny green light, alone in the darkness, felt oddly unsettling. It felt like I was the only living being in this world.

The air brushing my nose felt heavy.

‘Feels like I’m doing a courage test.’

With this atmosphere, if something suddenly popped out, I’d definitely faint.

‘Come on, bring it.’

Out of sheer fear, my fighting spirit surged. I threw a few air punches.

Jab, jab, hook, uppercut… rage art.

I unleashed a relentless combo straight out of Tekken.

With that mindset, nothing could scare me now.

As I shadow-boxed, I started simulating possible scenarios in my head.

If the guard suddenly came from the right, I’d dodge swiftly and land a combo straight to his temples. I even imagined receiving a citizen’s honor medal, posing for photos with the chief of police.

I also mentally reenacted dozens of other possible scenarios.

That the guard would be waiting for me at the main entrance.

That I’d walk out of the classroom door and he’d greet me with a smile.

That we’d bump into each other while he ran with toast in his mouth.

I considered every possibility. And I reached a conclusion.

‘If I run into him… I run like my life depends on it.’

With my level of objectivity, even in autopilot mode, I saw no way to win.

In almost every simulation, I ended up in pieces. And yes, I mean me, not the guard.

That guy was no longer human. He was a creature beyond reality.

Not for a second did I feel I could beat him in a face-to-face fight. So if I saw him, running was the best option. Even better, not running into him at all.

It wasn’t fear of conflict out of cowardice. I was just terrified.

‘What if he shows up right now?’

I sharpened my hearing. Luckily, there were no footsteps or vibrations. Still, making too much noise could attract him.

I tiptoed forward, cautiously. Like an insect gliding across the surface of water.

Like a ballerina sketching graceful lines across the stage. My feet were fully tense on their tips.

I walked with utter lightness, determined not to make a single decibel of noise. My destination was the main entrance.

It wasn’t far from classroom 1-3, where I had been. If I crossed the main entrance and got to the yard, the school gate would be right there.

And at this hour, there were no teachers on patrol.

‘Come on, quick.’

I quickened my pace, nearly out of breath. I passed classrooms 1-4 and 1-5 until I arrived in front of the main entrance.

That’s when I noticed a sign in the middle of the hallway.

[Use of the main entrance is prohibited]

【Lately, students have been caught trying to use it secretly. For reasons of order and cleanliness, use of the main entrance is forbidden for students. Unauthorized use will result in disciplinary action. Please avoid using it.】

I think that was from a few days ago.

I remember the teacher mentioning it during the morning announcements.

In any case, the main entrance was off-limits for students.

The norm was to use the side doors at the ends of the hallway, even if it was more inconvenient.

But seriously… who cares?

There’s no reason not to use a facility made to be used.

After all, school is a space for students, right? Being forbidden from using an entrance was already absurd. And yet, we were still made to clean the main entrance every day.

Even though we couldn’t use it. Same with the teachers’ lounge—we cleaned that too.

What blatant injustice.

I couldn’t stand by and let this tyranny disguised as a school rule win. I ignored the sign without a second thought.

I walked confidently toward the main entrance. I stomped right over the dividing line between hallway and entryway.

And no teacher came to stop me.

‘What are they going to do if I go in?’

With each firm step, I felt like I was physically rebelling against school authority. Then suddenly, a cold gust of wind swept over me.

An uneasy feeling washed over me.

I turned around to see what it was—and my breath caught.

There, at the end of the hallway I had just walked down—

A bluish figure was running toward me.

‘No way…’

But yes. It was the guard.

‘Shit!’

The guard ran at me with those creepy, contorted movements of arms and legs.

He’d gone from looking like a bent screw to a full-on cyclone.

If this were Dragon Ball, I’d say it was like Cell’s second form.

He almost looked like he was dancing.

As if he had rediscovered the joy of life in his old age, the guard started doing a frenzied popping dance.

He was no longer a human being, but a beast. And there was something odd about his sudden appearance.

‘He didn’t even peek earlier, and now he just shows up?’

I looked down. My body was completely outside the hallway, inside the main entrance area.

‘…Could it be…’

RPG Maker games have events that trigger under certain conditions.

When the player meets specific criteria, a pre-programmed “trigger” activates and moves the story forward.

Like obtaining a certain item, or entering a specific area, an event automatically kicks in.

[Use of the main entrance is prohibited]

…Just like now.

The moment I stepped into the main entrance, the guard appeared. With such perfect timing, it couldn’t be a coincidence.

This damn school was designed so that as soon as you enter the main entrance, the guard starts chasing you.

‘Damn it.’

I’d already assessed the situation. I began looking for an escape route.

I ran straight toward the outer door.

Just past it was the yard. If I followed the designated path, escaping the school would be a breeze.

Clack.

‘What?’

Clack clack.

The door didn’t budge at all.

Looking closely, I saw the handle was wrapped in a thick steel chain.

No need to guess who did that.

‘Fucking guard!’

Clack clack.

The door wouldn’t give an inch. It wasn’t something brute force could fix.

In the end, I had to retreat, running back inside the entrance area. And meanwhile, the guard kept advancing, relentless.

It was like he had two hearts; his stamina was otherworldly.

At that speed, just running would get me caught in seconds. I needed another option to survive.

Desperately, I scanned around for any chance.

‘What’s that?’

I spotted a cleaning closet in one corner. It was covered in dust, like it hadn’t been touched in years.

‘I’ll hide in there!’

Creeeak.

The door was so rusted that just opening it was awful.

It shrieked loudly as it opened, like it was protesting.

A cloud of dust burst out, hitting me right in the face.

Tiny particles floated like white snowflakes and shredded my lungs.

“Cough, cough!”

It was super effective!

The cleaning closet had caught me in a surprise ambush.

I couldn’t breathe, and my vision blurred.

“Fuck…”

It was so filthy and gross it made me gag just thinking about it. But there was no time. The guard had already passed classroom 3 and was heading for 4.

At that rate, he’d reach the main entrance in seconds.

‘Ugh… whatever happens, happens.’

In the end, I crammed myself into that dusty hole they called a cleaning closet.

____

Join the discord! 

https://dsc.gg/indra

____