When Na-yoon found Seo Na-ri, she was curled up on the floor like a caterpillar.
It was as if she wanted to turn away from everything around her.
She had her head in her hands and her body curled up as tightly as possible, while fake versions of her surrounded her in the mirrors.
The fake Seo Na-ris were ceaselessly criticizing her, picking apart the deepest and most painful parts of her heart.
[You know it too, don’t you? That all of this is your fault.]
“No…!”
[If it hadn’t been for you, our family could have been happy.]
[Mom and Dad died blaming you their whole lives. You knew that, right?]
[You’re all alone. And from start to finish, it’s entirely your fault.]
“No… lies… it’s all lies!”
Na-yoon hurried to Seo Na-ri. She started shaking her shoulders as she spoke to her.
“N-Na-ri-ah! Snap out of it! None of this is real!”
However, Seo Na-ri remained curled up and showed no reaction to Na-yoon’s voice.
Her red eyes had become dull and lifeless, like those of a dead fish, and her gaze was fixed not on the present but somewhere deep in the past.
Just like Na-yoon had been only moments earlier.
Na-yoon who didn’t know what to do felt a wave of panic.
What should I do? Should I slap her to snap her out of it?
Without hesitating, Na-yoon slapped Seo Na-ri’s cheeks a few times.
But all that happened was her porcelain-white cheeks turned a flushed red, and still, there was no response.
Is there really no other way?
Suddenly, a memory of a conversation with her group surfaced in Na-yoon’s mind.
Someone had said that it might take the shock of cutting off an arm or a leg to truly snap someone back to reality.
Na-yoon’s pupils trembled as her gaze fell on Seo Na-ri’s slender limbs.
At that moment, she heard Kang-joon’s voice in her mind.
[What exactly do you think you’re doing?]
“Ah! N-No! I would never even think of cutting Na-ri’s limbs off!”
As Na-yoon hastily tried to explain herself, Kang-joon sighed.
[You fool. Think for a second about what could’ve made that kid end up like this.]
“Ah!”
Na-yoon suddenly came to her senses and realized Kang-joon’s intent.
The mirror was attacking Seo Na-ri’s mind.
If that was the case, the solution was simple. All she had to do was break the mirror!
Na-yoon drew her gun from her clothes and aimed it at the mirror.
The fake Seo Na-ri in the reflection sneered, the corners of her mouth curling up as she looked at Na-yoon.
It felt a bit unsettling, as though she were pointing the gun directly at the real Seo Na-ri, but there was no other choice.
Taking a deep breath, Na-yoon pulled the trigger toward the mirror.
Bang!
“Ahh!”
However, the bullet ricocheted off the mirror and lodged itself right in front of Na-yoon’s feet.
If it had been just slightly off, it might have hit her foot.
Na-yoon broke out in cold sweat and spoke in a panicked voice.
“…S-Sir Kang-joon? The mirror’s too sturdy! What should I do now?”
[Why are you asking me about your lack of strength?]
“W-Well, it seems harder for a person to be stronger than a gun… couldn’t you just help me out? For someone like you, breaking a mirror like this would be a piece of cake!”
After a brief silence, Kang-joon finally responded.
[Fine.]
“…Huh, did you just say fine?”
Na-yoon hadn’t expected Kang-joon to actually agree, so she was momentarily stunned when he did.
Why would this indifferent, picky devil, who cared for nothing but his meals, suddenly have a change of heart?
Regardless of what she was thinking, Kang-joon slowly emerged from her shadow.
Ash-gray skin, eyes that seemed to burn with fire, huge horns and wings. He looked intimidating no matter how you looked at him.
Na-yoon had thought that, like her and Seo Na-ri, Kang-joon would also have a reflection in the mirror.
But he didn’t. Strangely enough, none of the mirrors in this place could reflect Kang-joon.
But to him, it made perfect sense.
How could a shallow bowl of water hope to contain the sun?
“Hmm…”
Kang-joon glanced briefly at Seo Na-ri, then casually swept his arm as though brushing away an annoying insect.
With that simple movement, every mirror in the maze shattered with a resounding crash.
“Kyaaaah!”
Na-yoon flinched in surprise at the mirror shards flying everywhere and instinctively ducked.
She assumed that such a careless act would injure her or Seo Na-ri badly but to her surprise,
Once the surroundings quieted down, she checked herself over and found she didn’t have a single scratch.
With a bit of concern, she looked over at Seo Na-ri but her pale skin was flawless as well.
Did… did he protect us? Without even being asked?
Rather than feeling grateful, Na-yoon began to feel a creeping sense of unease.
How much did he plan to take from her later, that he’d offer help so readily now?
Her bank account was already on life support.
She was barely holding on thanks to the secret technique of loans, which was a forbidden technique to new members of society, but if he drained her any further she would have to seriously consider bankruptcy next time.
But Kang-joon who was oblivious to her thoughts looked at the unconscious Seo Na-ri once more and said,
“Handle the rest on your own.”
Then he slipped back into Na-yoon’s shadow.
Staring at the spot where he had disappeared in an instant, Na-yoon stood dazed and confused for a moment before she came to her senses and finally turned to check on Seo Na-ri.
“N-Na-ri-ah! Are you okay? Are you conscious?”
But even though all the mirrors had shattered, Seo Na-ri still hadn’t regained her senses.
“I’m sorry, Mom… Dad… I’m sorry…”
Seo Na-ri remained trapped in her memories of the past.
Though the source of the attack had disappeared, the voices of the false images in the mirrors still held Seo Na-ri’s mind captive.
The pale Seo Na-ri’s weakly muttered words reached Na-yoon’s ears.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t a good daughter… sorry I was born… sorry I couldn’t die instead…”
“…Huh?”
Wh-What on earth is she saying?
She had vaguely suspected that Seo Na-ri might have a difficult family background.
But hearing these words now, it seemed that her past was far more serious than Na-yoon had imagined.
Why should such a young girl, who couldn’t be older than a middle schooler, have to carry thoughts like these?
A surge of anger rose in Na-yoon for reasons she couldn’t quite explain.
She grabbed Seo Na-ri by the shoulders, shook her roughly, and shouted,
“What are you saying? There’s no such thing as a person who deserves to die!”
Na-yoon bit her lip and continued firmly.
“I-I don’t know what happened, but… it’s definitely not your fault! If a kid makes a mistake, it’s the adults who should understand and help… you should never think it’s because of you! If there’s anyone who’s making you feel that way, then I’ll make sure they get what’s coming!”
“Ah…”
A faint light returned to Seo Na-ri’s eyes.
But Na-yoon didn’t notice that and continued speaking.
“W-Well, sure, life will throw a lot of hard things your way… and you might feel like dying a few times… but you have to keep going! Look, even someone like me is alive, right? How can someone as young as you already be thinking about dying?”
“……”
“Na-ri, do you know how many good things you have? Huh? You’re young! You’re pretty! If you went to school, you’d be super popular; nothing like me at all! Kids can be so honest, you know? Pretty kids always have tons of friends and… ugh, no, wait, that’s not what I meant—I, I was trying to say—”
Seo Na-ri quietly spoke up.
“…Unnie, that’s enough.”
“N-Na-ri-ah! You’ve come to your senses!”
Na-yoon was happy that Seo Na-ri seemed to be back to herself, but then she tilted her head in confusion.
What did she just call me? Unnie?
The word made her chest tingle for some reason.
Of course, Na-yoon had a younger sister, so “Unnie” wasn’t an unfamiliar title, but it was the first time she heard it from someone outside her family.
While Na-yoon pondered this, Seo Na-ri stood up lightly and brushed the dust off her clothes. She looked back at Na-yoon and said,
“You saved me, didn’t you, Unnie?”
“Huh? Oh, um… I-I think so?”
“I see. Thank you.”
After giving a small bow, Seo Na-ri glanced around and murmured as if in passing,
“I feel like someone else was here too.”
“Uh?”
Na-yoon’s heart dropped at Seo Na-ri’s indifferent tone.
Could she have… seen something?
In the chaos of the moment, she hadn’t thought much of it, but now it dawned on her just how risky it had been to call out Kang-joon’s name in front of someone else.
Na-yoon broke out in a cold sweat and frantically tried to explain herself.
“Wh-what do you mean, Na-ri? It was just the two of us here, right? Maybe you just saw your reflection wrong?”
“Unnie, take a breath before you speak.”
Seo Na-ri gazed off into the distance for a moment, as if lost in thought, then shook her head and spoke.
“I must’ve been mistaken. It just… felt like I saw someone I missed.”
“Someone you missed?”
“It’s nothing. Should we get out of here?”
The suggestion was a welcome one. She didn’t want to linger any longer in this eerie and creepy place.
Together, Na-yoon and Seo Na-ri began searching for the exit to the mirror maze.
Fortunately, all the mirrors were shattered, so it wasn’t difficult to find the exit.
As they stepped out together, a faint glow gathered around Na-yoon and Seo Na-ri’s wrists and formed into thin bands.
These were their entrance tickets to the theme park.
Since the devil had said that finding just one treasure would allow them to escape, this must have been the item they needed to leave.
Since it was their entrance ticket, maybe all they needed to do was show it at the exit to get out of here.
To be honest, every part of her wanted to just run away now, but a pang of conscience made Na-yoon stop in her tracks.
In the end, Na-yoon reluctantly returned to the plaza with Seo Na-ri by her side.
There, they found Park Seo-jun and Han Min-ho who had gone to a different attraction already waiting.
It seemed they too had successfully completed the treasure hunt.
However, no matter how long they waited, the final team didn’t come back.
Leave a Reply