B1 - Prison (5)

I tore off a bite-sized piece of bread.

“This should be enough, right?”
“Do you think it’ll work…?”
“Yeah. Cheese would’ve been better.”
“This isn’t the time for jokes!”
“Rats have a keen sense of smell. Once it catches the scent, it’ll come out.”

The so-called lure operation.
We’d use bait to draw the rat out. I moved up to the bars and shone the flashlight into the corner.
A scratching noise came from inside. The rat was still hiding in the hole. Now was our chance, before it wandered off somewhere.

“Here goes.”

I aimed for the entrance and tossed the piece of bread. It arced through the air and landed right in front of the hole.

“I’m turning off the flashlight.”

Click-
Darkness swallowed the basement.
I even cut the light so the rat would lower its guard. After a short wait, I heard something rustling.
The rat had caught the scent of the bread and was searching for it. We held our breath and waited silently in the dark.

“I think it’s coming…”
“Shh. It’ll run if it hears us.”

Squeak, squeak-!
The rat poked its head out, sniffing. It was too dark to see clearly, but its silhouette was unmistakable.

Ugh.
It was disgusting no matter how many times I saw it. My skin prickled from head to toe as goosebumps broke out all over me.
Han Gyeong-ah clamped both hands over her mouth to keep herself from screaming. Her heart was pounding so hard she looked ready to faint.

‘Hang in there just a little longer, Gyeong-ah.’

Squeak, squeak?
The rat cautiously crept out and circled the piece of bread.
That’s it. You must be hungry, so take the bread and get lost.
Then it opened its mouth to bite into the bread,

Clink-
and whatever it had been holding dropped to the floor. From the sharp metallic sound, it had to be made of metal.
The rat promptly snatched up the bread and disappeared without a care in the world.

“…Got it.”

The operation was a success. Han Gyeong-ah darted over and quickly blocked the hole with the book she’d been reading yesterday.

“Phew…”

Still shaken, she trembled all over.

“Good job. You held it together.”
“That thing was disgusting! Seriously!!”

At last, we could breathe again.
I turned on the flashlight and shone it over the place where the rat had been.
Instead of the bread, a key lay on the floor.

“Is this what you said the rat was carrying?”
“Yeah. Guess it was glinting because it was a key.”

Han Gyeong-ah steadied her breathing and picked up the key.
It was slightly rusty, but it didn’t look damaged enough to keep it from working.
A key, huh.
It was obviously an important clue.

“What could this open…?”
“There’s exactly one place around here that needs a key.”

I tapped the iron bars.
More precisely, the padlock holding the latch shut.
Han Gyeong-ah froze with the key in her hand. It was exactly the reaction I’d expected.
Whatever temporary cooperation we’d established, our relationship was still terrible.

Kim Yohan and Han Gyeong-ah.
The bad blood between them had begun in Chapter 1 and stubbornly lingered.
Their personalities were fundamentally incompatible.
She was righteous, exemplary, and someone others looked up to.
He was a selfish, rotten, conscienceless, despicable piece of trash.
They were natural enemies.
Han Gyeong-ah had been keeping Kim Yohan under strict surveillance from the start.
Under those circumstances, there was no way she’d casually let him out of his cell.
This was where things got important.
Either convince her or stay locked up in this prison, quiet as a mouse.
The latter didn’t appeal to me, so my choice was obvious.

“Gyeong-ah, what will you do?”

Han Gyeong-ah said nothing. She fell deep into thought.
Then, apparently having made her decision, she inserted the key into the padlock.

‘Huh?’

“Gyeong-ah?”

Click-
The key fit perfectly, and the padlock securing the latch popped open.

Creeeak-
The iron-barred door that had held firm for more than a week swung open with surprising ease.

“Come out.”
“…You’re serious?”

This wasn’t what I’d expected at all. Gyeong-ah wasn’t the type to do this…
Who are you?
Did you eat something weird upstairs?
When I stared at her in confusion, she folded her arms as if asking what my problem was.

“What? You don’t wanna come out?”
“No… It’s not that.”

I’d expected us to argue back and forth over whether she’d let me out,
until she reluctantly gave in.

“What brought this on?”
“It’s simple. Nothing brought it on. I just made a rational decision.”

Han Gyeong-ah snapped back.

“Frankly, you deserve to be locked in here.”
“…”
“Your very presence makes everyone nervous. I don’t need to explain why, do I?”
“I know.”
“But the situation’s changed. This place clearly isn’t normal…”

She had gotten remarkably close to the true nature of the Tower. Not because of police intuition, but because of what she’d experienced herself.

“If you’re left alone in a place like this, something terrible could happen.”
“So you’ll keep me close and watch me to make sure nothing happens to me?”
“…Something like that.”

It struck me again just how righteous and responsible she was.
She was even willing to protect a piece of trash like Kim Yohan.

‘Even though she hates me, she keeps her personal feelings separate from what she thinks is right.’

I’d misunderstood Han Gyeong-ah until now.
I’d thought she was just rigid, stubborn, and inflexible.
But her principles were firm. She put what was right above her personal feelings.

“Not a bad decision.”
“But there’s a condition.”
“A condition?”

Han Gyeong-ah cleared her throat and raised one slender finger.

“Do not act on your own without my permission. Ever.”

Don’t cause trouble. Behave yourself.
She sounded as strict and firm as a teacher lecturing a seven-year-old.

“Remember that. I still don’t trust you.”

She shot me a glare and rested a hand at her waist. Try anything funny and she’d go bang bang with the handgun.
That was basically the threat. Not that I could do anything even if I wanted to.
And I didn’t.

“I’ll behave.”
“You certainly know how to talk…”

Han Gyeong-ah shook her head. Her attitude toward me had definitely changed in some subtle way.

‘Maybe she’s gotten a little nicer?’

At first, she’d looked at me like I was an insect, but now she seemed slightly more tolerant.
Maybe something had changed while we’d spent the night together.
I remembered a certain cowardly Miss Han bursting into tears with a ‘Waaaaah!!’ the moment she came down here.
What was this called again?
The suspension-bridge effect?
She seemed a little softer toward me, but she was still on guard.
I decided to wait and see, then started walking.
One step. Two steps. Three.
After only a few paces,
I was finally out of the cell I’d wanted so desperately to escape.
Beyond the suffocating enclosure, the open corridor spread out before me.

‘…I’m out.’

It happened in an instant.
I didn’t even feel happy or moved. Mostly, I was stunned by how anticlimactically easy the jailbreak had been.

“What’s with that look? You’ve only been locked up for a day.”
“You wouldn’t understand…”

I looked back at the cell I’d practically lived in like it was my home. From the outside, it looked like an animal cage.
Cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, stagnant water reeking of rot, walls buried under dust…
Every corner was etched vividly into my memory. I couldn’t believe I’d endured it as long as I had.
Had I grown a little attached to it…? Like hell. I was itching to get as far away from this place as possible.

“Where to?”
“Let’s go to the elevator. It’ll be easier for you to understand once you see what’s going on.”

Han Gyeong-ah gestured west.

“Go on. You first.”
“You’re not going first?”
“I’ll follow behind.”
“Then why does it matter who goes first?”
“You never know. You might take advantage of an opening and attack me.”

What does she think I am?
She still hadn’t let go of her suspicions. She was thorough enough not to casually turn her back on me.

“Just move! That’s an order!”
“Yeah, yeah…”

I took the lead and headed down the corridor toward the elevator.
She followed at a fixed distance behind me.

‘Isn’t she a little close…?’

I could feel her soft breathing against the back of my head. Every now and then, I heard her flinch or let out a tiny sound.

“Gyeong-ah, are you scared?”
“I-I’m not scared at all!”

So she was terrified.
Her voice was trembling with fear. Maybe she wanted me around less for surveillance and more because she was afraid of being alone.
The memory of Floor 1 in the dead of night must still be haunting her.
When we reached the end of the corridor, the elevator came into view. A message glowed clearly in red.

[Out of Order]

I tried pressing the button, but nothing happened.

Click-

“Still nothing.”
“It’s been like this ever since I woke up…”

I’d escaped the cell, but we were still trapped underground.
The elevator was part of the Tower.
There was no way this was just an ordinary mechanical failure.

“Strange…”

Was it a power problem?
I looked back down the corridor we’d just come through.

“Gyeong-ah, do you remember the layout of B1?”
“Give me a second…”

Han Gyeong-ah rummaged through her uniform pocket and pulled out her notebook.
When she opened it, there was a floor plan of B1 drawn inside.

“I drew a map of B1 earlier, just in case it ever came in handy.”

Of course someone as meticulous as her had prepared something like this.
She was endearingly competent.
I was familiar with most of the locations marked there too.
After all, B1 had been one of the main settings of Chapter 1 in 「Tower Death Game」.
Memories from playing the game came flooding back.
And among them,
there was one place we’d never visited in Chapter 1.
The Power Room.

-Power Room? It looks like this is where they control the electricity.
-Authorized Personnel Only… Looks dangerous. Let’s not go in recklessly. We should check somewhere else first.

I pointed to ‘Power Room’ on the floor plan.

“There might be an emergency power system in the Power Room that can restore power to the elevator.”
“That does make sense…”

This was an emergency.
Who cared about Authorized Personnel Only now?
The decision was easy. I headed for the Power Room with Han Gyeong-ah guiding me from behind.

“Keep going, then turn left at the fork.”

The corridor was eerie.
It wasn’t pitch-black, but the dim gloom left only our lonely footsteps echoing around us.

“How much farther?”
“We’re almost there.”

We were about halfway there when a shrill burst of laughter rang out from somewhere.

-Kyahahaha!

“Aaaaaagh!!”

Han Gyeong-ah screamed and threw her arms around me.
Because I’d carelessly left my back exposed, she’d managed to latch onto me from behind.
Creak.
It felt like my ribs were about to crack.

“…Can’t breathe.”
“W-W-W-What was that just now?! That weird laughing sound…”

I looked behind us.
I could see the cell I’d been trapped in until a moment ago. Its half-open barred door creaked in the breeze.

-Kyahahaha!
It made an unpleasant sound eerily similar to a ghost cackling.

“Gyeong-ah, it’s just a sound. You don’t need to be scared. Also, I can’t breathe, so could you let go…?”

I barely managed to pry her off me as she compressed my chest like she was performing the Heimlich maneuver on someone who wasn’t even choking.
Han Gyeong-ah flushed, apparently embarrassed that such a harmless noise had scared her.

“Th-That’s why… you should close doors properly behind you!!”
“…Sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.”

I decided not to tease her about it. That seemed kinder to cowardly Gyeong-ah.
I dipped my head and kept walking.
Before long, we reached our destination. A large steel door stood before us.
A plaque was mounted beside the entrance.

[Power Room]
【Authorized Personnel Only】

We’d found the right place.
This was the Power Room.

“Shall we go in?”
“Be careful. There might be something strange inside, like what happened on Floor 1…”

After steeling ourselves, we stepped inside.