Floor 1 - Hotel (3)

It was well past evening.
Han Gyeong-ah kept rushing out of the room and back in, then out and in again.
She’d been doing it for hours.
She was restless as a puppy that had gotten into trouble behind its owner’s back.
The people who had gone to Floor 2 still hadn’t come back. Hours had passed without a word from them.
Even then, she apparently couldn’t bring herself to ease up on watching me, so she kept going back and forth between the lobby and the room.
I got a front-row seat to her growing anxiety in real time.

“That’s strange. They should’ve come down from Floor 2 by now…”
“Gyeong-ah.”
“What if something happened to the others…”
“Gyeong-ah!”
“You scared me! Why would you suddenly shout like that? I thought my heart was going to stop…”

Then answer me the first time.

“I know you’re worried, but calm down. Panicking isn’t going to solve anything.”
“B-But…”

Han Gyeong-ah lowered her head.
She looked deeply troubled by the thought that the others might be in danger.

Knock, knock-
“Unni, are you in there?”
“Huh?! It’s open!”

Right on cue, Kang Se-rim came to the room. The moment she stepped inside, she shot me a piercing glare.
Then she stopped even looking at me and treated me like I was invisible.

“It’s already nine.”

True to her delinquent look, contempt for losers must have been her passive ability. Was this why everyone preferred experienced hires?

“I’ve been waiting for an hour, but nobody’s come back… Something must’ve happened on Floor 2.”

So that was why she’d come.
Han Gyeong-ah seemed to agree, because she nodded grimly.

“I think so too. I don’t want to admit it, but…”

Honestly, I had the same feeling.
A few hours would’ve been one thing, but there was still no word from them this late at night.
I couldn’t know exactly what, but something had probably happened.

“Then let’s go up too! There’s no reason to keep waiting!”

Kang Se-rim was practically bursting with impatience.
True to her age, the high schooler was fiery and bold.
Han Gyeong-ah tried to calm her down.

“No. This is exactly when acting recklessly is dangerous.”

Even as she said that, anxiety clouded her eyes.
In truth, she probably wanted to go to Floor 2 more than anyone.
She was an exemplary police officer with a strong sense of justice and a sense of duty to protect others.
But right now, she was powerless. She seemed to think herself pathetic for being unable to do anything.

‘Being too good-hearted can be a problem too.’

At this rate, she’d spend forever agonizing without deciding anything. Seeing her hesitate, I offered my opinion.

“I think Kang Se-rim’s right.”
“Shut up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”

Kids these days were terrifying.
Couldn’t even get a word in.
I obediently shut my mouth in the face of Kang Se-rim’s hostility.

“What did you just say?”
“Huh?”
“No…! Before that!”
“That going up to Floor 2 would be better than waiting.”

I recalled the message I’d seen when I first arrived on Floor 1.

According to the description, the hotel was a Residential Area where safety was guaranteed.
If we simply stayed put, there shouldn’t be any danger here.
But blindly waiting wasn’t necessarily the right answer.
We’d only be wasting time.
Like I’d said before, no rescue team was ever coming.
Whatever was waiting upstairs, we had to move forward and find out.
Unless we planned to give up and live here forever.

“A ship is safest in harbor, but that’s not what a ship exists for, is it?”

As far as I knew, I had to reach the top of the Tower to return to reality.
Besides, Han Gyeong-ah had plenty of reason to act too.
If I remembered right, the critical window in a typical missing-person case was somewhere around forty-eight hours.
If she wanted to maximize their chances of finding everyone safe, it would be better to go to Floor 2 before it was too late.

“That’s what I think.”

I laid out one argument after another. Even without a script, the words flowed effortlessly.
Was it thanks to my Silver Tongue Trait?
It seemed Kim Yohan’s Trait applied to me too.
Han Gyeong-ah fell silent in thought.
Kang Se-rim, meanwhile, gave me a displeased look.
Apparently, she didn’t like that I’d taken her side.
If anything, she hated it even more because I was making sense. She clearly didn’t want to admit I’d helped her.

“Damn it…”

Coming from her, that sounded like high praise.
Han Gyeong-ah finally nodded, having made her decision.

“All right. We’ll go up to Floor 2 too. The others might be in danger.”
“Okay.”
“But on one condition.”

She pointed at her wristwatch. It was already late at night, edging toward the early hours.
“It’s too late tonight. We’re already well past evening… and it’ll be the middle of the night soon.”

Fair point.
It was too late now.
Charging upstairs without preparation would be pushing it.
We needed our strength, and we’d think more clearly after a good night’s sleep.

“They might come back down during the night… So let’s wait until morning and leave then.”
“Sounds good. Not a bad idea.”
“If that’s what you want, unni…”

Kang Se-rim agreed readily.
If I’d been the one suggesting it, she probably would’ve argued just to spite me.
First impressions really were important.
And so we made our plans for the next day.
A little later, once it got late, Kang Se-rim headed back, leaving just the two of us in the room again.
With bedtime approaching, something occurred to me.

“Gyeong-ah, am I sleeping here?”
“Of course.”

Han Gyeong-ah answered as though I’d asked the most obvious question in the world.

“What about you?”
“I’m sleeping here too. I can’t stop keeping watch on you.”
“You’re okay sleeping in the same room with some man?”
“You’re not a man. You’re a criminal, so it’s fine.”

Wouldn’t that make it more dangerous?
I wasn’t convinced by her logic, but she was firm about it.
Click-
She secured the cuff around my wrist to the sofa, firmly anchoring my left hand and restricting my movement.

“You sleep here.”
“Right. Of course…”

I hadn’t been thinking anything weird. So why did I feel disappointed?
Paying for Kim Yohan’s sins was bitter and cruel.

“What’s with that face? Is something wrong?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Seriously… Don’t do anything stupid. Just behave yourself.”

With that, Han Gyeong-ah disappeared somewhere.
A moment later, I heard the steady rush of water.

‘Guess she’s taking a shower.’

Thinking about it, she’d had the roughest day of anyone.
From before dawn until now.
So much had happened in a single day. It was impressive that Gyeong-ah hadn’t broken down under it all.

‘That aside…’

Shhhhh-
I stared up at the ceiling, but the sound of running water kept reaching my ears. The room was so quiet that it came through with uncomfortable clarity.
Before long, I started noticing other sounds too.
After the shower came the wet squelch of shampoo being squeezed out.
Then the soft rubbing sound of what was probably a towel drying her body.
I could only hear it, but my imagination filled in the scene anyway, making things unbearably awkward.

“Ahem.”

I cleared my throat a few times to shake off the awkwardness, then stretched my shoulders and neck…
I even sang the national anthem in an attempt to purge the distracting thoughts.
But the impure desires lurking in my mind kept feeding my useless imagination.

‘Please hurry up…’

After an agonizing stretch of time, the water finally stopped.
Han Gyeong-ah returned, apparently finished with her shower.
She’d changed into fresh clothes, her hair still wet.
Combined with the shameful thoughts I’d just been having, the sight hit me with devastating force.
The guilty feeling was too much, and I couldn’t bring myself to meet her eyes.

“Why are you suddenly burying your face in the sofa…? Are you sick?”
“Gyeong-ah, be more careful next time.”
“What?”
“It’s bad for my heart.”

She looked completely baffled.

“Instead of talking nonsense, get some sleep. We might have to leave early tomorrow morning.”
“…All right.”

I answered sluggishly and slumped onto the sofa.
It was too short for me, so my legs stuck out a little, but compared to the basement, it might as well have been a luxury bed.
It felt like floating on a soft cloud. Just lying there in such comfort made drowsiness wash over me.
My first night after finally escaping the basement.
For the first time since I’d found myself inside 「Tower Death Game」, I felt at peace.
The days I’d spent starving with neither future nor hope,
the dank, moldy stench that felt like it would give me tuberculosis,
the prison floor cold enough to freeze me to death and hard enough to wreck my back,
had all of it been buildup for this moment? I’d never felt so warm and peaceful.

‘This is fucking amazing.’

As if all the exhaustion I’d accumulated finally burst free at once, I sank into a deep sleep.
It was the first time I’d slept through the night without waking.

**

**

When morning came, my eyes opened on their own. Not because my back ached or my body was shivering from the cold.
Nor because of maddening, unbearable hunger. Above me was a ceiling decorated with elegant fixtures.
I sat up and tried to stretch my stiff body, only for my wrist to jerk tight and pull me back onto the sofa.

“Urgh.”

Oh, right. The handcuffs…
I sluggishly looked around.
Gyeong-ah was already neatly dressed in her police uniform, adjusting the final details of her appearance.

“You’re awake?”
“What… You’re up early.”
“I’m a police officer.”

Did all police officers wake up early?
I had no idea, but since an actual officer said so, I supposed they did. Han Gyeong-ah finished dressing without a wrinkle out of place.
As meticulous as she was about everything else, she was equally disciplined about taking care of herself.
I didn’t have much to prepare.
I dragged myself up, splashed some water on my face, and checked that the cuffs were still securely fastened.

Clink-
Mm. Perfect.

“Did anyone come down during the night?”
“No… I checked as soon as it got light, but nothing had changed. We can’t keep ignoring this now.”

So nobody had come back after all.
It was finally time for us to go up ourselves.
Once we were ready, we left the room and headed for the restaurant.
A familiar face was there.
The exhausted-looking man was eating alone.

“Good morning.”
“Not really.”

Lee Sa-hyuk answered halfheartedly. Consistent as ever.
Han Gyeong-ah could’ve given up by now, but she stubbornly kept trying to make conversation.

“Nothing happened overnight?”
“No.”
“We’re going up to Floor 2 today too, like the others.”
“Okay.”
“Would you like to come with us?”
“No.”

The apathetic one-word answers continued.
It was enough to make me wonder whether the man possessed any social skills at all.

“We’ll be heading up soon, so let us know if you change your mind.”
“Sure. I’ll think about it.”

Meaning he’d do exactly that and nothing more.
The conversation went nowhere, and we eventually left the restaurant. Han Gyeong-ah muttered regretfully to herself.

“It would be nice if Sa-hyuk came with us… Why does he always keep his distance and stay by himself?”
“Maybe he’s just not the type who likes being around people.”

The kind of person who was simply more comfortable alone than dealing with others.
Someone who’d rather handle everything himself, even if it was harder, than cooperate with a group.
Lee Sa-hyuk didn’t care what anyone thought and did everything entirely his own way.

“But being alone could be dangerous…”
“If he ever needs help, he’ll come to us.”

Not that I expected that to happen.
When we reached the lobby, Kang Se-rim was waiting for us.
The moment she saw me, she scowled and sharply turned her head away.

“Morning.”
“Fuck off.”

We exchanged warm morning greetings. In high-school-girl language, apparently that meant, ‘Morning, sleep well?’

“Sorry we’re late. I was talking to Sa-hyuk.”
“Don’t even get me started on that old guy. You can’t talk to him, and all he does is chain-smoke… He reeks so badly I don’t even want to go near him!”

Kang Se-rim shuddered in disgust. Apparently, she’d had enough of Lee Sa-hyuk’s trademark one-word conversations.

‘So she doesn’t smoke. That’s actually surprising.’

I’d assumed it so naturally that the opposite almost felt like a twist. Looking like a delinquent didn’t necessarily mean she actually acted like one.
Then again, imagining a tiny kid like her sitting around with a cigarette hanging from her lips did look a little strange.
Anyway, we waited for the elevator.

“Se-rim, are you ready?”
“I’ve been ready forever.”

Apparently, I ranked somewhere around excess baggage, because nobody bothered asking me.
My miserable lot in life brought tears to my eyes. Not that I’d have had anything to say even if they’d given me a say.

Ding-!
Right on cue, the cheerful chime rang out. The elevator had arrived.

“All right, let’s get in.”

Fully prepared, we slowly stepped inside.
The elevator lurched into motion as the 2F button was pressed.
The shrill scrape of metal echoed along the walls.
The heavy mechanical noise heightened the tension even further.
This was unknown territory. None of us knew what awaited us there.
But one thing was certain. It wouldn’t be an ordinary place.
If anything, it would be worse, not better. So there was only one thing we could do.
Whatever kind of place was waiting for us, we’d simply have to do our best.

**