Chapter 33
The reason I’m heading to the auction house is simple.
To find out where Macho-hae is? No, I know I won’t be able to find him in such a short time like fifteen minutes.
I’m not aiming that far anyway.
The novel didn’t explain what danger lies inside the auction house. But during this fifteen-minute grace period where nothing can threaten me, I want to scout it out in advance.
If I know what’s there, I can prepare for it.
Even this ghost story was like that. If I hadn’t read the novel where Dan Seo-hyuk appeared, I would’ve died long ago.
Damn it, if I knew I’d get involved personally like this, I should’ve read it until the end!
Ugh, there’s no point regretting it now—but still, it stings!
No, focus. Eyes forward.
I don’t know how far down I’ve come.
From the beginning, I planned to play the Truth Game only once, without being greedy, so I kept going down the stairs.
Sweat poured down like rain.
[Hmm?]
The child chased after me barefoot, tilting his head as he pointed at the black box in my hand.
He must be asking when I’m going to hide the treasure.
I didn’t even have the strength to respond.
How much time has passed?
As if reading my mind, the child spoke.
[8 minutes have passed.]
Was that his voice?
It felt more like the sound was echoing directly in my mind.
He said he had no tongue, right?
So that must be how he communicates. I don’t know for sure.
[Where?]
The child asked again, reverberating inside my head. I ignored him.
[Basement?]
[Auction house?]
[Hmm.]
[Impossible.]
How far do I have to go?
My lungs felt like they were about to burst.
“Huff… huff…”
And every time I went down a flight, bizarre creatures peeked out through slightly opened doors.
I didn’t make eye contact, but I could tell—they were the ghosts preparing for the upcoming games.
Are they watching with excitement, wondering how they’ll toy with me next?
[Impossible.]
The child spoke again.
[Auction house impossible.]
[Basement impossible.]
So it’s a place that is absolutely unreachable within these fifteen minutes?
I clenched my teeth and turned to glare at the child—
[Now, now.]
[I said it’s impossible.]
He stood there holding the radio.
My vision began to fade to white.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the room.
[You’re all much better at finding treasure than I expected!]
The room was noisy. I was lying down.
Feeling clueless, I slowly surveyed the area.
Some participants looked thrilled. Each held a box.
Red box, pink box, yellow box… black box.
…Black box?
“……”
The participant holding it was a male student wearing glasses.
He met my gaze, as if he’d been watching me even before I woke up.
I don’t remember hiding that…
[Alright, everyone, open the lids of the treasures you retrieved!]
Excited participants popped their boxes open.
Inside were various body parts:
Ears, big toes, pinky fingers, and… a tiny patch of skin with a bit of hair?
…What?
Which body part is that?
As I stared in confusion, one woman suddenly clutched her eyes in agony.
“Aaaagh, my eyelids…! I only said it jokingly!”
So those were eyelids. The hairs had been eyelashes.
She screamed and removed her hands.
Gasp!
Her eyelids were gone, and her huge exposed eyes looked horrifying.
Like the legend of Bodhidharma, who supposedly cut off his eyelids because they interfered with meditation.
But this participant looked even scarier.
“It’s so bright—it hurts! Aaaaaagh!”
[Oh my.]
[It seems your treasure has already been stolen. A little pain makes the game even more enjoyable. Isn’t everyone more excited now?]
The cheerful announcer’s voice echoed in the room.
Thud!
The eyelid-less woman, unable to see properly, crashed into a wall and rolled across the floor.
[Hahaha! Crawling on the floor like that—she looks less like a human and more like a centipede!]
[Oh, a centipede?]
[That gives me an idea! Perhaps we could assemble a human centipede using our auction items. Thank you for the inspiration!]
His unusually cheerful tone made everything even more surreal.
This is hard to watch.
Whenever the woman accidentally moved her hand, her huge bloodshot eyes were exposed again. Some participants turned away. So did I.
Never offer anything involving skin.
As I was silently vowing to myself, someone approached.
“This was dropped in front of the door.”
It was the boy with glasses holding the black box.
Why is a ghost talking to me?
I stared at him cautiously.
He handed the box toward me.
So he found it? That must mean I officially lost my treasure.
Maybe it was punishment for trying to sneak into the auction house.
I turned to glare at the child wearing the black cloth, and he quickly shook his head.
“You should hide it properly next time.”
“…I’ll handle it myself.”
“So prickly.”
He lightly tapped my shoulder.
“But still, I’m your lifesaver.”
My lifesaver? Well, he did help during the Mind-Reading Game…
Can ghosts even talk like this?
Something felt off.
“You… how did you get here?”
I avoided directly asking, Are you alive?
Maybe he was someone like me—forced into the games.
He stared blankly, then slowly spoke.
“I don’t know.”
“…What?”
“I don’t remember anything.”
He looked around the room.
“I don’t think anyone here is normal. Maybe there are others who forgot like me.”
“What do you mean? Are you saying you’re a human too?”
“I woke up and I was here. I know it’s strange, but at the same time… it feels natural.”
Whether people are injured or dead…
He looked down at his own hand. His wrist was twisted, palm and back of hand reversed—far from human.
“Like this.”
“…I don’t understand.”
“You don’t need to. We don’t either.”
“Then why help me?”
“Who knows? I don’t know that either.”
He tilted his head before continuing.
“I just… wanted to.”
Such a strange answer.
It didn’t feel like pity or concern. Then what?
“This time, hide it well. Offer something appropriate.”
His gaze landed on my left hand.
…Right. Whether I lose one finger or two, it’s still better than losing another body part.
[Congratulations to those who found treasures!]
[You may escape or stay and enjoy watching further games!]
[Those whose treasures were discovered, please whisper the next treasure into the box.]
I whispered “left index finger” into my box.
Then someone raised their hand—the eyelid-less woman.
[Yes, participant, what is your question?]
“Can it be someone else’s body part instead of mine? Like… a family member?”
[Oh.]
[What a creative question.]
[Since it wouldn’t be yours, one part wouldn’t be enough. But perhaps… two internal organs would qualify.]
[Would that be acceptable? Hehehe.]
“I accept!”
Accept what?! What does she mean?!
There’s no way someone like that is human…
Even while pressing down her bulging eyes, she whispered into the box.
I couldn’t hear it—and didn’t want to.
Sacrificing family in her place? And internal organs—two of them?
She’s a ghost. Something like that cannot be a human.
I tightly shut my eyes.
After everyone finished, the hiding period began again.
“Good luck.”
The boy with glasses whispered as he passed by. The child in the black cloth tilted his head at the two of us.
“You probably fainted because the place you wanted to go was forbidden.”
The basement auction house.
I thought it was a good plan…
“I’ll give you a hint.”
“A hint…?”
“Winners can escape or watch further games.”
Participants began heading out to hide again.
“And watching includes following others who are hiding their treasure.”
Ah.
So he’s telling me there’s a safer way to scout by tailing others.
Even if they don’t go all the way to the basement, it’s still useful.
Especially for someone like me who wants to survive.
“Why tell me this?”
I glanced at the child in black cloth listening.
“You might get hurt otherwise.”
“We’re always in danger anyway.”
He shrugged lightly.
“As long as you don’t get dragged somewhere unknown.”
Was he referring to the mysterious place where the grandmother-role participant disappeared during the finger-counting game?
I asked what was there, and he shook his head.
“No idea.”
“Well, as long as you don’t defy the rules, you’ll be fine.”
Then he simply walked off and lay in a corner.
What a total lone wolf.
Strangely, he reminded me of Macho-hae—though visually they were nothing alike.
[Next participant, it’s time to hide your treasure!]
[Hide it properly, okay? Hehe.]
[Don’t wander into strange places again.]
That was a direct warning.
I sighed quietly and exited the room with the child in black cloth.
