Chapter 47
“Seohyuk, is something wrong?”
Tak Yeonho, who noticed that Dan Seohyuk wasn’t following, turned back and asked.
When Seohyuk turned his head toward him, Yoo Chaesong, who was walking beside Yeonho, answered instead.
“It was just someone who looked similar.”
She must have guessed he came back without checking properly, so she explained ahead of time.
Seohyuk briefly admired Chaesong’s sharp, decisive attitude and looked at the two.
“Cho-yeon disappeared.”
“What— disappeared?! But you two were together!”
“I walked a bit ahead to follow you guys, and in that moment she vanished.”
“What do you mean? Th-that sounds like she went missing!”
Yeonho’s face drained of all color. It matched too closely with the last sightings of the people who had already disappeared in Eden-dong.
As the thought that his friend might have gone missing sent Yeonho trembling, Chaesong’s gaze shifted.
“What’s that?”
She was the closest to Macho-yeon and yet she was the calmest one here, trying to assess the situation first.
Seohyuk held out the note.
When Chaesong saw the words Help me, her expression changed.
“This… it’s Choyeon’s handwriting.”
“What?! So she left a rescue message and disappeared?”
“That makes no sense. If she had the presence of mind to write something, she would’ve screamed or made noise.”
“Ah… that’s true.”
At Seohyuk’s cold reasoning, Yeonho nodded immediately.
“I agree. But there’s no way she prepared something like this beforehand, either. This means the situation is not normal.”
Chaesong frowned.
After returning the note to Seohyuk, she peered into the alley.
“There aren’t any CCTVs here, so even if we report it, the police probably won’t be able to help much.”
Seohyuk agreed.
“Because it wasn’t done by a person in the first place.”
“You mean a ghost did it?”
Chaesong frowned again.
“I mean, I was attacked by a ghost… but assuming a ghost caused a chain of kidnappings too? It’s hard to believe. How many people have gone missing already?”
“Chaesong, did you originally not believe in ghosts?”
“Nope. If I hadn’t experienced it myself, I would still refuse to believe.”
A slow sigh escaped her lips. She muttered softly, “Guess today’s studying is ruined,” then turned her head.
Her eyes settled on Seohyuk.
“Let’s look for that woman who gave Hyunwoo the keychain.”
She took out her phone, opened her memo app, and typed quickly. Seohyuk and Yeonho leaned in curiously.
“In the dream, it was mostly just a room, but I did see outside the window too.”
Red brick. A bathhouse. A cracked window.
“I could see the window from where I was.”
“A bathhouse? You saw the sign?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t see the name because part of it was blocked by the wall, but I’m sure it was a white sign with red letters.”
“But just knowing it’s a bathhouse covers way too many places.”
Chaesong nodded, agreeing with Yeonho—but her eyes stayed on Seohyuk.
Right. She wanted him to combine the clues.
“We contacted that urban-legend community and met up here in this alley.”
Seohyuk pointed toward the alley where they assumed Choyeon had disappeared.
“Café Piorum was near her house, so that’s why we came here.”
Their gazes turned to the café next to the alley.
Café Piorum.
“…Then the bathhouse is probably near here too.”
Chaesong murmured that as she slipped her phone back into her pocket, then walked into the café without hesitation.
Yeonho jumped in surprise.
“I thought she’d be super cautious… but Chaesong’s more of an act-first type than I expected.”
“You’re friends. You’re similar.”
“With Choyeon?”
Seohyuk nodded. Yeonho didn’t deny it; he just smiled awkwardly before following her into the café.
It was a quiet café with no customers. The worker looked startled at the sudden arrival of students but still greeted them politely.
“Welcome to Café Piorum.”
“Hello. We came to ask you something.”
After bowing politely, Chaesong approached the worker.
“Is there a red-brick bathhouse around here? Or if not that, have you seen a woman wearing a winter hat and padded coat despite the weather?”
“I don’t know about a woman like that, but there is a bathhouse. Not far from here, but it’s already closed down. Should I recommend another bathhouse instead?”
“No, it’s fine. I just need to know where it is.”
“Near the bathhouse?”
The worker looked confused.
“There’s nothing around there…”
“Huh?”
“It’s a redevelopment zone. Everyone moved out. It’s all empty buildings now.”
“Still, please tell me. We have our reasons.”
Though puzzled, the worker nodded and even drew them a small map on a memo pad.
While Seohyuk watched the worker closely, Yeonho tilted his head.
“What? Did you want to ask something too?”
“…No.”
Seohyuk turned away.
Eventually, with map in hand and after thanking the worker, the three left the café.
“Chaesong, you’re amazing! It feels like things are moving fast with you leading!”
“I usually don’t know much about stuff like this, so I just followed along.”
She added that she normally didn’t step forward unless she was sure, studying the map while walking.
“But right now, finding Choyeon comes first.”
“Were you and Choyeon always close?”
“No. We met when we ended up in the same class this year. It took a while to get close after the semester started.”
“That’s surprising. Choyeon was so active trying to help you when you were in danger, so I thought you two knew each other for a long time.”
Chaesong smiled faintly at Yeonho’s innocent admiration.
“Choyeon is just naturally nosy. That’s how we got close. Not the only reason, but still.”
She didn’t elaborate, but her voice held clear affection for Macho-yeon.
Is it really possible to risk yourself for someone you’ve only known a short time?
Yeonho was simply impressed, but Seohyuk had doubts.
‘…Well, I’m not one to talk.’
He himself hadn’t been able to ignore it when Macho-yeon followed that delivery ghost.
Even though, after he resets, none of them would remember him anyway.
Just like the worker at Café Piorum, who died in the previous loop trying to save Seohyuk even though they’d never met before.
‘They’re the same as Macho-yeon…’
If they die, they won’t remember him anyway. So he should only use them as necessary—don’t get attached.
“Ah! Isn’t it there?!”
They followed Yeonho’s pointing finger.
An old villa building. Red brick. A white sign.
Eden Bathhouse.
“Based on the angle from my dream… It was around here.”
Chaesong stopped walking. The rundown house beside the bathhouse came into view.
“…Wow. It looks like a ghost could pop out any second.”
“Then that means it’s the right place, doesn’t it? None of us ever thought a human was behind this anyway.”
There was no sign of life in the house. The second-floor curtains were drawn tight.
‘I’ve never been here before either.’
Seohyuk walked toward the front door. The metal door was unlocked.
“Since you saw the sign, it should’ve been this floor.”
Chaesong followed, and Yeonho came after them, wide-eyed and curious.
‘It’s surprising they’re not scared.’
Yeonho liked this kind of horror stuff, so he looked excited. Chaesong seemed more afraid of a real criminal showing up than a ghost.
Compared to chaotic, impulsive Macho-yeon, having someone cautious and cooperative around was refreshing.
Clunk.
Without hesitation, Seohyuk opened the second-floor door. Nothing jumped out.
“The room I was in during the dream… it should be that back room. You can see the bathhouse sign from there.”
Chaesong peeked inside and urged him forward. She had no fear, but she was impatient—just like Macho-yeon.
The house, long abandoned, was filthy. They didn’t even bother removing their shoes.
Trash covered the floor. Countless shoeprints. Half-eaten food left to rot. The stench was overwhelming.
“Ugh.”
Chaesong gently patted Yeonho’s back as he gagged.
Ignoring them, Seohyuk went into the room Chaesong described.
“Yeonho.”
“Huh? Yeah, Seohyuk, what is it?”
“If you’ve got a weak stomach, don’t come in here.”
A fallen weapon. Blood splattered across the full-length mirror.
But the worst was the wall.
Countless photos covered it—so many they almost overlapped. It was the cleanest part of the room, yet the most revolting.
“The man with a face attached to the woman’s stomach…”
Chaesong murmured as she stepped inside.
Every picture on the wall was of the same thing:
The corpse of a man.
