Chapter 26
‘There’s no shaking at all?’
I had no idea how much time had passed. When I looked around, the buildings were flying past at incredible speed.
‘Faster than a car, maybe.’
No, it wasn’t just fast. I swallowed hard.
Not only the colors of the buildings but even the people standing along the streets were indistinguishable at this speed—and yet there was no shaking?
It didn’t make sense that even people outside weren’t reacting to this.
‘So they just can’t see it.’
I clenched my clothes tightly again, reminding myself not to let my guard down around such a being.
At that moment, the motorcycle driver, who had remained silent until now, spoke.
[You may relax.]
“Eh?”
[The item you requested will be delivered safely, without any damage.]
The item I requested. In this situation, that must mean me, right…?
‘Could it be that they’re trying to reassure me?’
A ghost? Noticing I was scared and saying that?
No, that couldn’t be. I just opened and closed my mouth awkwardly, unsure what to reply, and then kept it shut.
The wind made no sound, so the driver’s voice was crystal clear—like having a conversation in a quiet room.
Watching the scenery flash by made my stomach churn, so I looked away.
‘Huh?’
My gaze caught a four-leaf clover keychain hanging from the motorcycle handle.
‘Do they like cute things?’
Yeah, keychains should be cute like that. I shook my head, thinking of the keychain that had been the source of the eerie incident I’d gone through not long ago.
I looked around more slowly.
A tiny smile sticker was on the rearview mirror. Now that I noticed, there were also crude flower drawings on the helmet, as if done with a marker.
“…Do you have a child?”
I asked hesitantly.
To say they like cute things seemed unlikely given the childish style of the helmet drawings.
I wondered if ghosts even had families, but it could also be traces from their life.
I regretted asking such a pointless question right after saying it. I should’ve just talked about sports or something ordinary.
[Why do you think that?]
“Uh… because of the sticker on the rearview mirror, and the doodles on the helmet.”
Besides that, the pink helmet didn’t seem like a matter of personal taste either.
“Could it be a princess?”
Their voice answering me didn’t feel frightening, so I gained courage and asked again.
The motorcycle driver remained silent for a moment, then slowly replied.
[Yes.]
[A lovely princess.]
Ah, this time it felt different.
At the end of their calm voice, a longing that couldn’t be hidden.
“If it’s okay, could you tell me about your daughter? I… I really miss my little sister too. If it’s rude, you don’t have to answer.”
A brief silence passed, but the mood wasn’t awkward. The driver continued.
[While I was working, my daughter would always wait alone at home.]
[She sings beautifully. She likes it too.]
Now their voice was dry and emotionless. But unlike before, the driver didn’t give short answers; instead, they spoke in gentle, flowing sentences.
[She likes pink, and for her birthday, she asked me for a microphone as a gift.]
“When is her birthday?”
[In the spring.]
[Until then, I have to work hard.]
Winter was approaching.
Would the motorcycle driver be able to meet their daughter next spring?
‘Did she die too? Or did she survive and is now an adult?’
The courier only asked for gratitude in return. Then was that birthday gift only something spoken of in longing for life past?
I recalled my parents, smiling at me and Chohai when I was a child.
“Your daughter must have loved singing.”
They always smiled.
“But maybe she liked seeing her father smile even more than the singing itself.”
[……]
“That’s just my thought. My little sister did taekwondo, and she’d say that if she worked hard and saw Mom smile, she’d become a taekwondo champion.”
[Is that so.]
[A cute little sister indeed.]
“Yes. She’s my twin and a good little sister who listens to me, so we never fight.”
I was on my way to meet that little sister. Talking about Chohai made me feel gloomy again. I cleared my throat as my voice sank, and the motorcycle slowed.
Finally, the motorcycle stopped.
[We’ve arrived.]
On top of a tall building.
“Arrived… here?”
Here?
[Yes.]
The driver was firm. Not moving anymore, staring at me, as if pressuring me to get off.
I hesitated for a moment and cautiously got off the motorcycle.
‘Where is Chohai?’
A cold dawn wind blew, scattering my hair. I looked around, but the rooftop was empty.
The motorcycle driver hadn’t left yet, so I carefully asked:
“Where is my little sister?”
[The delivery has been completed.]
[The item is in good condition.]
“No! I asked you to take me to my sister!”
There was no way this place had anything to do with Chohai.
Could it really mean she was somewhere inside this building? If so, they would have at least pointed down.
Frowning in confusion, the driver slowly approached and extended a hand in black leather gloves.
[…Be careful.]
“Huh?”
Thunk.
In an instant, my upper body tipped over the rooftop railing. The motorcycle driver had pushed me.
Before I could scream, I began falling.
‘Be careful?’
The driver looked down, then turned and disappeared. A ghost’s warning.
Am I going to die?
No, if the purpose was simply to kill, there would be no need to bring me here.
Besides, a warning must mean there’s something beyond this.
‘So I have to fall like this to meet Chohai?’
Jang Hyunwoo once said that when he fell from the school rooftop against his will, everything seemed slow, and he could see the expressions of Yuchae-song and me.
Exactly as he said.
‘Something’s wrong with the building.’
As I passed by quickly, the interior of the building through the windows appeared unusually clear.
Inside was pitch black. No lights, but countless shadows. They moved as if busy with some task.
One shadow looked out the window.
And the floor below was visible.
The first shadow approached the window. The shadows behind it all turned their gaze to the window.
The next floor came into view.
The shadows behind raised their bodies, sticking close to the window like the black figure in front, hiding their faces.
Falling, floor by floor, the interior changing.
The number of shadows clinging to the glass grew. The first shadow became indistinguishable.
“Wait…!”
Just before my head hit the ground, I lost consciousness.
When I opened my eyes, I was already in an unfamiliar place.
‘Where am I?’
I held my pounding head and slowly sat up.
A dark room. Inside, a bed and desk, and a large round mirror on one side.
“What… is this?”
Then I sensed something moving at incredible speed outside the room.
There were no windows, so I couldn’t see, but it seemed it had already passed.
What was that?
It was oddly creepy.
[Hello, dear visitor!]
A strange voice echoed in the room.
Startled, I looked around and saw a radio next to the mirror. An old item, rare these days.
From it came an overly cheerful female voice.
‘Like a high-energy amusement park employee greeting customers.’
Just being around it made me feel drained.
[Welcome to our Memory Theme Building!]
Memory theme… and a radio.
[Are you looking for something?]
[In our building’s basement is an auction house that sells everything! They deal in rare items, and perhaps you may find what you desire!]
[Ah, could it be that what you want is… a person?]
I knew about this building.
Because it had been a troublesome episode for Dan Seohyeok earlier.
[Don’t worry. We also deal with people! Of course, whether they’re alive, or what condition they’re in… we can’t say! Hehe.]
[Now, please complete the memory game on this floor.]
[Each time you clear a stage, you’ll get closer to the auction house!]
[The current floor is the ‘Spot the Difference’ theme.]
An episode that clarified the fate of one’s parents and had nearly killed Dan Seohyeok twice.
A nostalgic play, an escape-room game.
[Find the differences between the room reflected in the mirror and the actual room!]
[If you answer correctly, the door will open automatically and guide you downstairs.]
[Good luck! Have a pleasant time!]
It might sound like an escape-room café at first.
But it was far from simple or fun.
My face in the mirror turned pale in real time.
Because under the bed in the mirror, a masked figure holding a kitchen knife lurked.
This was a survival game.
