“Left? Or right?”
Having failed to gather any useful information at the table, the two decided to move elsewhere and continue their search. Normally, Sa-yoon preferred splitting up in situations like this. But what could he do when the kid was scared? The only option was for them to take one side each and search together.
To Sa-yoon’s left, there was an area sectioned off by a pet fence, while to his right, a bookshelf was crammed full of books. Shin-jae glanced back and forth between the two before finally making up his mind.
“Right.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
The space wasn’t very wide, so after just three steps, they reached the bookshelf. It was a five-tiered shelf, filled haphazardly with books of all kinds—novels, academic texts, and volumes of various sizes, thicknesses, and subjects.
Sa-yoon methodically scanned the books from the topmost row, examining them one by one. In cases where participants could disturb the arrangement, the original order usually wasn’t too significant.
The first letter of each title? No, maybe they were organized by size or publication year? But in a dimly lit place like this, it didn’t seem like that kind of systematic approach had been used.
“Hyung, this book is the only one placed upside down.”
While Sa-yoon was busy deciphering potential hints, Shin-jae had already pulled out one of the books. And the moment he did—
Shhhhhh!
A fierce gust of wind blasted out from the empty space where the book had been, hitting Shin-jae full in the face. He yelped and leapt backward in surprise, looking exactly like Sesame had the other day when it discovered a cricket.
Sa-yoon, not missing a beat, made an exaggerated “Whoa!” and stepped back in mock surprise. In the past, when his peers got scared, it only irritated him. But seeing Shin-jae react that way just seemed… kind of cute.
Was it the age gap?
No. It was probably because, unlike those other guys, Shin-jae wasn’t screaming like a pterodactyl, whining, or making a huge fuss about it.
“Haa…”
Meanwhile, Shin-jae wiped his face with a deep sigh, utterly spent. This was hell. He had never once, in his entire life, willingly paid money to watch a horror movie. But when Sa-yoon’s eyes had lit up with excitement, saying, Let’s check it out!, how could he possibly refuse?
The eerie background music was bad enough, but the unexpected jump scares made him feel like he was losing ten years off his lifespan each time. And since he’d walked into this place of his own volition, there was no one to blame but himself.
On the other hand, Sa-yoon was practically thriving in this environment. While Shin-jae flinched and jumped every time something popped out, Sa-yoon remained completely unfazed. In fact, he even reached out to touch and poke the horrifying things that appeared.
How the hell does he do that?
The room they entered after rounding the short corridor was the very definition of eerie. Just thinking about having to search through every inch of it made Shin-jae want to pass out on the spot. Why the hell do people actually pay for this? If anything, they should be paying him to go through this nightmare.
While he was lost in those thoughts, Sa-yoon had already moved to the center of the room, rummaging through the props and casually commenting on their craftsmanship. He was even humming along to the creepy background music playing on loop. At this point, Shin-jae almost had to admire him. There was no doubt—some part of Sa-yoon’s brain, the part responsible for feeling fear, had to be completely numb.
While Shin-jae was still locked in a desperate battle with his own terror, Sa-yoon was busy examining a book he had picked up.
“Oh.”
Tucked between the pages of a thin book was a single card. It was one of the tarot cards that had been scattered across the table earlier.
When Sa-yoon shone his flashlight over it, the dim light revealed an illustration of a naked man and woman standing side by side. Below them, words were printed in English.
[LOVER]
He returned to the table and placed the card among the others.
“…What is this supposed to mean?”
Since they weren’t standard playing cards, they couldn’t be neatly arranged in order, and there didn’t seem to be any clear pattern among the scattered ones.
Time was steadily ticking away as he pondered the puzzle. Sa-yoon wasn’t particularly obsessed with records, but he did want to avoid putting an inexperienced newbie through the frustration of a time-over.
His gaze landed on a cabinet near the exit. That? Or maybe the pet fence right next to it? Before he could decide, Shin-jae suddenly tugged on his hand.
“Hyung, let’s check that first.”
“Think so?”
Now that he thought about it… ever since they had started holding hands, Shin-jae had been oddly proactive. Sa-yoon tilted his head in curiosity but followed after him without question.
Inside the pet fence, two black boxes were resting on the floor. Each was covered in a pitch-black cloth, with a hole cut out in the center.
“Looks like one of those things.”
“…Yeah.”
Anyone could tell at a glance—it was a challenge where they had to stick their hands inside and pull something out.
“Let go for a sec.”
There was no doubt that some kind of device was rigged inside. Instead of making the more skittish Shin-jae do it, Sa-yoon was prepared to use both of his hands. He loosened his grip, but instead of letting go, Shin-jae only held on tighter.
“I’ll take the right one.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
His voice carried a firm determination.
“Alright, then.”
Oh? Pretty brave. Sa-yoon gave a small nod in approval, then calmly reached his hand into the left box in front of him.
As expected, the sensation was bizarre. The moment Shin-jae copied Sa-yoon and reached in, he immediately yanked his hand out and shook it off.
“Ugh, there’s something weird in there. Is it supposed to be like this?”
“Yeah. What does it feel like?”
“It’s wet and squishy.”
They wouldn’t have put something like live octopus in here… right?
“Does it have suction cups?”
At that, Shin-jae gave him a weird look. For reference, Sa-yoon’s box only contained fruit peels.
While Sa-yoon continued feeling around inside his box, Shin-jae cautiously slid his hand back in. His brows furrowed deeply—whatever was in there had to be much worse than just fruit peels.
“Let’s do it together.”
Having already found the hint in his own box, Sa-yoon reached into Shin-jae’s. His fingers brushed against something soft, damp, and pliant.
“Oh, it’s just slime.”
He must have been messing around with it for too long—it had already warmed up. He dug his fingers in deeper, stirring it around quickly, making a thick, sloshing noise.
From both boxes, they pulled out a total of seven Korean letter tiles.
「ㄴ」 「ㅅ」 「ㅂ」 「ㅌ」 「ㅣ」 「ㅏ」 「ㅣ」
“Let’s put them together.”
Just as they turned their backs to the boxes and crouched down to piece the letters together, the tablecloth, which had been still until now, suddenly rustled.
Then, a figure in a hanbok burst out from underneath.
“Grhkk… guh-uhhhkk.”
“AH!”
As the ghost let out a guttural wail and scuttled toward them on all fours, Sa-yoon simply watched with mild curiosity.
Then, without warning, something yanked his upper body back with a strong force.
At the same time, something fluttered down over his head like flower petals.
“Ow.”
A letter tile smacked him right on the crown of his head, making him squint one eye in pain. Shin-jae, in his panic, had hurled the letter pieces and latched onto him in terror.
“Uuuugh…!”
When the ghost let out another raspy groan, the arms around him tightened even more.
Oh, right. He’s scared of this kind of stuff.
Sa-yoon raised a hand and patted Shin-jae’s head, his face buried against his shoulder. Meanwhile, the ghost had crawled up close and was now staring directly at them.
In the darkness, its pupils looked much smaller due to special lenses.
“Whoa. The makeup is incredible. It looks so real.”
At his words, the ghost, wearing black lipstick, opened its mouth wide and tilted its head to the left.
As it silently stared at him, Sa-yoon carefully examined its face.
The pale skin, the long, gaping wound across its cheek, the dried blood streaking down—it was impressively realistic. This level of detail was on par with theater makeup.
Ever since the first haunted house got a reputation for being underwhelming a few years back, it seemed like they had really put in some effort this time.
He’d have to ask who was in charge of the makeup for this booth once they got out.
Sa-yoon, still unfazed, simply raised his fist.
“It must be hot and exhausting in there. You’re working hard.”
Fighting.
As he offered his encouragement again, the ghost hesitated, then slowly retreated. Without breaking eye contact with Sa-yoon, it slinked backward and disappeared into the table, as if being sucked inside. Just from the way it moved, it was obvious how much practice had gone into that performance.
This is just a department event, so they’re probably doing this unpaid… They’re putting in so much effort.
Feeling a twinge of sympathy, Sa-yoon finally noticed the arms still tightly wrapped around his waist and gave them a reassuring pat.
“Shin-jae.”
No response.
Sa-yoon stayed still, gently rubbing the back of Shin-jae’s hand as he clung to him. After a few seconds, he tried again.
“Shin-jae, baby.”
The way he had his face buried against Sa-yoon’s shoulder made him seem no different from a frightened child. I really messed up bringing him here when he’s this scared.
“…Did it leave?”
“Yeah, it’s gone now.”
As Shin-jae slightly lifted his head, their eyes met at an uncomfortably close distance. In the dim light, his naturally light brown irises looked even darker, reflecting the surrounding shadows.
Sa-yoon found himself watching, almost entranced, as Shin-jae blinked slowly, his eyes briefly disappearing and reappearing behind his lashes. Come to think of it, was this his first escape room?
“Have you ever been to a haunted house before?”
Shin-jae shook his head, his soft bangs brushing against Sa-yoon’s chin, tickling him. Sa-yoon let out a quiet sigh.
“I see. That’s on me, then. I’ll get us out of here quickly.”
It’s not like this is a full-on amusement park horror attraction. There should only be one or two puzzles left.
With that thought, he started arranging the letter pieces again when Shin-jae suddenly spoke.
“The cabinet.”
“Huh?”
“This one.”
Still pressed against Sa-yoon’s back, Shin-jae reached out and began arranging the pieces himself.
「캐」 「비」 「닛」
Scaredy-cat shin-jae and nonchalant sa-yoon lmao also also the way sa-yoon naturally call shin-jae ‘baby’ is so cute