Chapter 100
“What is this all of a sudden?”
“Is it a blackout?”
“But the other buildings look fine. Maybe it’s just this café.”
The people inside the café began to stir. As the voices grew louder, an obviously flustered part-time worker could be seen making a phone call.
Calling the owner, maybe.
Ah—right. Phones.
Dan Seohyuk and I simultaneously looked down at our phones, whose screens were still lit.
“…A call?”
Not chatting?
When I refreshed the page, a familiar message appeared.
I swallowed.
“How are we supposed to call?” I asked.
Just as Dan Seohyuk frowned in confusion—
Bzzz.
My phone vibrated.
Caller ID: Restricted.
Given the circumstances, it had to be the owner of that comment. Dan Seohyuk reached for my phone, intending to answer it for me.
The call immediately cut off, as if it had been waiting for that.
“What the—?”
As Seohyuk withdrew his hand in surprise, the phone vibrated again.
Bzzz.
Once more, a call from a restricted number.
Millie said.
Are you seriously watching me or something?
Just like last time—how did it even know Seohyuk was about to answer for me?
I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again, signaling to the apologetic-looking Seohyuk that it was fine. Reluctantly, I picked up my phone.
Since there were other customers around, I couldn’t use speakerphone. I pressed the call button and brought the phone to my ear.
The voice was raspy and distorted, so strange I couldn’t even tell its gender.
I swallowed and listened in silence.
The community ghost spoke. Behind that voice, I heard someone snickering.
I couldn’t tell if it was one person, two people, or many.
No, seriously—why do ghosts always know my name when I never told them?
I squeezed my eyes shut, then slowly replied.
“…I didn’t think you’d actually call.”
“Yes. That’s how it’s always been until now.”
“…Curious about what?”
That’s not exactly by choice, you know…
I flinched.
It even knows about that?
I glanced down at the bracelet on my wrist, only moving my eyes. Dan Seohyuk looked at me with concern, as if asking what was wrong.
I waved my hand slightly to show I was fine.
“…Where are you watching us from?”
“My phone camera?”
So it was just a perfectly timed coincidence.
“Excuse me.”
A man carrying a tray approached our table—probably bringing the drinks we had ordered just before the blackout.
“Sorry, but until the lights come back on, I’ll just set this tray down here for a moment.”
“Sure,” Dan Seohyuk replied for me.
To him, it probably looked like an empty seat—but coincidentally, the man placed the tray on the table right in front of Millie.
Millie stared expressionlessly at the strawberry yogurt drink set before him.
It was such a mismatched sight.
I glanced at the man in a cap standing nearby, who looked troubled, and answered quietly.
“Yes.”
“But… you’re not planning on telling my friend directly, are you?”
The community ghost laughed. If it had wanted to tell Dan Seohyuk, it would have answered him back when he used the community long ago.
“Why… were you waiting for me to contact you?”
“…That’s not exactly an answer that makes me happy.”
The hoarse voice burst into laughter, sounding like it might run out of breath.
The man in the cap glanced over at us. Judging by Dan Seohyuk’s frustrated expression, he couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation.
Does my side of the conversation sound weird?
Pretending not to notice the stares, I continued.
“So, can you tell me?”
What did that mean?
Was it saying that even if we failed to find them this time, I could never ask about Dan Seohyuk’s parents again?
“I understand.”
I replied uneasily. I couldn’t understand why it felt the need to say that.
I was about to ask what that meant—
Boom!
“W-What was that just now?”
“Didn’t the building shake?”
The café erupted into chaos again.
The building shook, as if there had been an earthquake.
“Just a moment!”
The man in the cap hurried somewhere. The people near the entrance, shocked, ran toward the café door.
Clatter!
No matter how many people clung to it and struggled, the door wouldn’t open.
“What is this?! Why won’t the door open?!”
“Hey! The door won’t open! Is there no one outside?!”
“Aah! Why does the building keep shaking? T-The other buildings look totally fine!”
This is bad.
The crowd’s anxiety was spreading.
“Peanut, get up first.”
Dan Seohyuk stood and pulled me up by the hand. I still couldn’t bring myself to take the phone away from my ear.
“What? What does that mean?”
“Wait, what do you mean by—!”
Rumble—!
The building shook violently. Screams erupted from all directions at once.
Glasses and dishes fell from the tables, shattering loudly. The lights hanging from the ceiling crashed down and broke apart on the floor.
“Damn it.”
Judging that he couldn’t reach the door through the rain of falling debris, Dan Seohyuk pulled me into his arms. Before I could say anything, he covered my head with one hand and dragged me under a table.
“Everyone, get under the tables!”
The familiar voice belonged to the man in the cap who had come to our table earlier. He was standing near the café entrance, holding a chair.
While everyone else hid from the falling furniture and debris, he didn’t take cover.
He even swung the chair at the glass door!
Crash—!
The glass isn’t breaking?
Despite his efforts, the glass didn’t crack. Other people followed his lead, throwing chairs and heavy objects at the doors and windows—but not a single scratch appeared.
What on earth is going on?
Stunned, I blankly looked around the café, wondering if this was all a dream.
It felt too unreal. This hellish situation had unfolded so suddenly.
“Don’t worry too much.”
Dan Seohyuk’s voice came from above me, trying to soothe me. I looked around for Millie, but he had already disappeared again.
Are we going to die here?
Instinctively, I felt that this wasn’t the end.
Someone screamed that cracks were forming in the ceiling.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion.
Cracks spread across the walls, the floor, the ceiling. As if the lights weren’t enough, chunks of the ceiling began to fall as well.
Crash—!
With a sound like thunder—or an explosion—the building collapsed.
Even though he must have known it was already too late, Dan Seohyuk pulled me tightly into his arms again and again.
Over his shoulder, I locked eyes with someone.
At some point, Red was standing blankly at the café entrance.
A voice that shouldn’t have been audible at that distance rang out as vividly as if it were right beside me.
A reproachful voice.
With the image of Red’s face—tears of blood streaming down—burned into my mind, everything went black in an instant.
“Hngh!”
I gasped for air, like someone who had been holding their breath for too long.
Drenched in cold sweat, I slowly looked toward whoever—or whatever—had called me.
Across the alley, passing leisurely through cars as if they weren’t there, Red approached me.
The scene was exactly the same as one I had seen recently—so much so that I wondered if I was dreaming.
The lines, too… were familiar.
What is this?
Had I fallen asleep standing up?
I couldn’t even think to wipe the sweat pouring down my face as I hurriedly looked around.
Then my eyes met Dan Seohyuk’s. Unlike me, he looked completely calm.
“Dan Seohyuk?”
“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“No, we just… a moment ago…”
“A moment ago what? You suddenly spaced out—I was worried.”
Spaced out? Me?
We were just in a café. And then the building collapsed…
Or was that a dream?
Did I really fall asleep standing up?
That can’t be right…
And yet, everything I was seeing, hearing, and feeling right now was far too vivid.
Red was still smiling brightly as he looked up at me.
