Chapter 58
Eden East, Eden Villa, evening.
“Haah…”
“Why are you sighing like the ground’s swallowing you when you were the one who said we should come?”
I never expected we’d come here again.
Dan Seo‑hyuk, my companion, gave me a look of disbelief.
“So… why did I even say we should come here?”
“I can’t believe it.”
We stood in front of the door to Eden Villa.
Based on past experience, once we step inside, there’s no way we could talk leisurely. So we spoke in advance.
“How do we get to the basement? I don’t see any stairs going down.”
I checked again just in case, but as expected, there were only stairs going up.
Even the elevator buttons only had an ‘up’ option.
What am I supposed to do?
“If you want to go to the basement, you have to use the elevator. There’s a button inside to go down.”
“Oh… have you been down there before?”
Dan Seo‑hyuk stared at me silently.
Why… why like that?
“You’ve been making me curious since last time.”
“Huh?”
“Are you saying that because you know something?”
Sharp. I guess I was too obvious.
“Huh? You have to tell me what the ‘something’ is before I can answer.”
“I told you last time, when I escaped here, I hid in an empty house.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“But now you casually ask, ‘have you been down before?’ I survived the escape room with surprisingly little trouble…”
I definitely couldn’t say, I was referencing how you struggled in the original story.
And I can’t tell him I’ve looped back in time.
Maybe if he said it first, I could.
But I didn’t reveal that even to my first companion, Tak Yeonho. Why would I tell him?
No reason to be honest with someone holding a secret. He probably wouldn’t believe me anyway.
“Millie’s been helping a lot.”
I muttered that, and Dan Seo‑hyuk’s expression became peculiar.
Of course, as someone who hadn’t met this ghost, he couldn’t know how to react.
Before he could pick apart my words, I changed the topic.
“But isn’t there a ghost inside the elevator? Last time, something came out of its arm, remember?”
“…If you press the elevator button and ride as a ‘guest,’ it won’t attack. But you must remember one thing.”
I tilted my head. The only thing I remembered from the original story was that they played hide-and-seek all day.
I briefly regretted underestimating hide‑and‑seek in the past.
“When you ride the elevator, you have to hold your breath until you reach the basement. Don’t breathe at all.”
“What happens if we breathe?”
“I don’t know.”
Dan Seo‑hyuk opened the door to Eden Villa. No proper answer, just action!
He gestured for me to follow him into the pitch-black villa with the lights off.
As I looked back, the doorknob had already vanished.
Dan Seo‑hyuk was already standing in front of the elevator, pressing a button.
[1st Floor]
He glanced at me. He meant to tell me to hold my breath.
Okay… holding my breath for a moment should be fine.
[Door opens]
The elevator doors on the first floor opened slowly.
But then I saw what filled the elevator and felt my blood run cold.
Wh-what is all that?
The elevator was packed with countless mannequins.
Some had hair, some didn’t. Some were painted to look alive. But all were lifeless, with pronounced jointed bodies.
I followed Dan Seo‑hyuk inside.
So the arms I saw before… were from mannequins, not ghosts?
But the arms I saw back then were creepier.
[Basement]
Dan Seo‑hyuk pressed a button, and a voice announced the floor.
As he said, there was a button to go down.
One button below the first floor, unmarked. That must have been it.
He’s not saying how many floors down it is.
Clunk.
The elevator descended. Down, further down, endlessly down.
How long do I have to hold my breath?
I thought it would be just a short moment!
I covered my mouth with my hand as it became harder. When I glanced at Seo‑hyuk…
The mannequins behind me, reflected in a mirror, were all staring at me.
“Eek!”
I gasped by accident. Seo‑hyuk’s eyes went wide.
No, I swear it wasn’t on purpose!
The mannequins in the mirror grinned, like they were pleased.
[Basement]
[Basement]
The repeated announcement changed.
[Falling]
Then the elevator began plummeting at insane speed.
It felt like we’d crash into the floor, but we just kept falling endlessly.
“Damn it!”
Even Dan Seo‑hyuk, unable to hold his breath, frowned and cursed.
Bang!
With a jarring impact as if the elevator might break, I lost consciousness.
“Hey, wake up.”
Someone slapped my cheek, not painfully, but in a grossly unpleasant way.
“Ugh…”
I groaned and opened my eyes, meeting dark eyes.
I almost screamed thinking it was a ghost, but someone covered my mouth.
Dan Seo‑hyuk.
Seeing a familiar face, I relaxed and nodded quickly. He removed his hand.
He gestured silently somewhere and whispered:
“Still hasn’t noticed us.”
I frantically looked around. It was dark.
I remember the elevator falling…
Did we reach the intended basement, or did we end up somewhere else because I couldn’t hold my breath?
I glanced at Seo‑hyuk. He seemed calm, so maybe we reached the right place.
But the place was nothing like I expected. Not a basement like a parking garage or storage—more like ruins.
Old pillars supported parts of the building, and trash was piled like a mountain in the corners.
Ugh… the smell…
I covered my nose and mouth. The stench came from the trash.
Windows were oddly present for a basement, but the outside was pitch black. It must be night; no moonlight, just dark.
Why would a place like this be in a basement?
Then I spotted the being Dan Seo‑hyuk had mentioned.
[Oppa, where are you?]
A little girl holding a pale, doll‑like object looked around as if searching for something. Her eyes were covered with white bandages, hiding what she sought.
Her eye area was stained red, like crying blood.
That’s the hide-and-seek ghost from the original story.
She padded barefoot across the floor. Her pink dress was worn but still had a charming design.
Dan Seo‑hyuk silently extended his hand. I nodded and took it.
We moved quietly from behind a huge pile of trash.
Swish, swish…
Each time the girl moved, the object she held dragged along, making a heavy sound.
[Playing hide-and-seek?]
She didn’t seem to hear our whispers, so her hearing must not be great.
She must be a ghost too… right?
I swallowed hard.
But the sound of dragging is so heavy… is that right?
I slowly peeked through the trash at the girl. What she held wasn’t a doll.
It was a plaster-like head, completely devoid of color.
The hair was in her hand.
Damn.
I felt a chill down my spine.
If that ghost notices us, my head might be next.
She seems to have realized we’re here… or not?
[If we’re playing hide-and-seek…]
[I’m ‘it’?]
The girl jumped excitedly in place.
[Hide, hide… hair, show.]
[Hide, hide… hair, show.]
She clapped and hummed, echoing through the basement. With her arms and legs moving, she looked like an innocent child playing a game.
[Hide, hide! I can see your hair!]
[Hehe.]
[Oppa, are you hiding?]
She swung the object she mistook for a doll.
I scowled and prepared to follow Dan Seo‑hyuk further.
[Pretty sister, are you hiding too?]
Her words made my heart sink.
