Chapter 183

And so the three came to stand before Room 444.

"What the hell. There's absolutely no description of how we got here."

At Cha Do-hyeon's out-of-nowhere mutter, Kwon Do-heon, who had been examining the number plate of Room 444, turned his head.

"Who are you talking to?"

"The narration."

"Excuse me?"

"It's a thing."

Cha Do-hyeon shrugged as if it were nothing.

"Anyway, finding it wasn't as hard as I expected, was it?"

"Before that, there's something I'm curious about."

"Let's hear it, then."

"Why do we always move in groups of exactly three, including me and sunbae-nim plus an extra person?"

"It's the most stable number, for one~ In labyrinths, you typically move in groups of three."

"Is there a reason?"

"It's the number with the highest survival rate."

There were several reasons, but boiled down to the conclusion, that was it. Cha Do-hyeon folded his fingers one by one as he explained.

"Two is too few, five is too many."

"Why skip four?"

"A lot of countries consider it unlucky."

The number four, you see.

"They say it's because the pronunciation overlaps with the character for death—死—but superstition is superstition."

"In a hotel like this, it's not just superstition."

"Roughly speaking, Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, and partially Singapore…."

"Singapore? Partially?"

"It's Southeast Asia, but the immigrant proportion is high, so it's not a sentiment universally shared, you could say."

"That's oddly specific."

Kwon Do-heon said this while looking at Room 444.

"So this is, what, telling you to die three times?"

"We won't know until we go inside, will we?"

"This man really doesn't hesitate…."

BANG—

Cha Do-hyeon flung the door open without a second thought.

"At least wait for—"

"Oh."

Cha Do-hyeon, having stepped through the door, let out a gasp.

"It's dark."

"Hoot."

"But the path isn't invisible, at least."

Splash.

"Look at this."

As he took a step, a light sound of water accompanied a strange sensation that climbed from his toes.

"There's a stream below."

"……."

Kwon Do-heon, following in after him, forgot his tension for a moment and stared in awe.

"Wow…."

It was not the inside of a room.

It was an abyss, completely sealed off at the threshold of the door, admitting not a single point of light. Within a pitch-black void where neither boundary nor wall could be felt, only the ground beneath their feet glowed as though it belonged to another world entirely.

"This isn't… isn't just water, is it?"

"For a simple stream, it's a bit too luminous, wouldn't you say?"

It looked as if someone had scooped up the Milky Way from the night sky and spilled it across the floor.

"I've seen something like this before, somewhere."

"That bioluminescent plankton thing from the ocean?"

"Yeah, I think that's it."

"Wouldn't this be qualitatively different from that, though?"

Within the faintly blue-glowing liquid, thousands—tens of thousands—of star clusters like silver dust flowed as if alive. Small grains of light collided within currents that resembled the flow of nebulae, flashing like meteors entering the atmosphere.

"But…."

Cha Do-hyeon's lips parted slightly.

"It doesn't look like it belongs to the water ghost, either."

For that, it was too transparent, too clear, too clean.

With every step, gentle ripples spread outward from beneath their feet, and clusters of blue-white light radiated softly in all directions. Something overwhelming and simultaneously so beautiful it stopped the breath was flowing beneath their feet.

"I suppose we follow this."

"Doesn't the genre feel like it shifted away from horror?"

"To what, fantasy?"

"Something like that?"

At that moment, Seome fluttered her wings and took flight.

"Sigh— hoo—"

A bird that shone all the more brilliantly white within the radiant light streaked forward, leaving a comet-like trail. Cha Do-hyeon nodded.

"Follow her, then."

"At least it doesn't seem like a trap."

Having said that, Kwon Do-heon stole a glance below.

"But the depth—I can't really see it…."

"Don't look too much."

"Is there a reason for that too?"

"I said it doesn't seem to belong to the water ghost, but at its core, it's still water and wraiths."

Put simply,

"If you're bewitched, you can end up getting pulled in."

"You're sure about that?"

"There are far too many similar cases."

"That's a shame—it's incredible, but I can't look at it."

"People don't drown so others can admire the view."

"When you put it that way, it's quite chilling."

"Filthy cold, too."

Cha Do-hyeon muttered this as he walked. At the sight, Kwon Do-heon asked.

"You don't look like you're in a good mood."

"I don't like rainy days."

"……?"

"You thought that was random, right?"

So saying, Cha Do-hyeon added.

"So did I."

Why it came to mind now, he couldn't say.

"Looking straight ahead like this, it almost looks like a bridge made of water."

"A stream bridge?"

"Or a Milky Way bridge."

"That's pretty damn incredible."

It took his breath away. Not simply because there was too little oxygen.

"I feel so small…."

It was the pressure of "something" of a magnitude he couldn't begin to comprehend, bearing down on him.

Within the stream below, dozens—hundreds—of galactic nebulae churned in vast whirlpools. Elegant blue-white, transcendent violet, constellations that seemed to blaze in every conceivable hue all squirmed as strangely as a living, colossal organism.

It was hauntingly beautiful, and at the same time, hauntingly immense.

"Is… space… something like this?"

"I told you not to look."

"It wasn't intentional, really."

"With eyes as sharp as yours, you really can get sucked in just like that—take care of yourself while this uncle's looking out for you."

When Kwon Do-heon raised his head, all he could see ahead was Cha Do-hyeon's back. The man said.

"And it's probably closer to the deep sea than to space."

"Why?"

"It's a water ghost."

He added.

"It must have sunk to the bottom."

At those words, Kwon Do-heon's gaze turned downward once more.

Faded stars gathered into a great wave, and that wave became a vast whirlpool that swept through the heart of the cosmos—the sight evoked a single enormous underwater ecosystem.

If the universe were a great abyss, and planets and stars were plankton drifting within it, wouldn't it look just like this? If one were to see the real deep sea, would it truly be more awe-inspiring than this?

"Whose is this?"

"What exactly are you asking?"

"You said it's a water ghost. There's the water ghost I tried to bribe with candy, and then that person called Lee Yeon-woo…."

"That kind of distinction is effectively meaningless."

Cha Do-hyeon went on.

"Water all becomes one in the end."

"……."

Looking again at Cha Do-hyeon's back, Kwon Do-heon asked.

"Where are we right now?"

The fear flickered through his mind—that the Milky Way bridge they stood on might be nothing more than a single teardrop drifting through that vast, cosmic deep, shed by some transcendent being of incomprehensible scale.

A complete isolation and helplessness that ground away reason and rendered human dignity weightless.

"Can we avoid losing our way, in a place like this?"

"We'll just have to trust that hotel staff member."

At Cha Do-hyeon's words, Kwon Do-heon shrugged. And at the end of this path, the softly glowing whirlpools of galaxies gradually coalesced into a single shape.

It soon became a single, transparent "room."

"……."

"……."

Cha Do-hyeon spoke.

"…Ah…."

A space filled with pure, clean water.

"This must have gotten under his skin too."

"Out of nowhere?"

"It'd be scary if the General Manager got angry, wouldn't it?"

"What?"

Kwon Do-heon was startled. It was far more frightening than the darkness had been.

* * *

"I told you, I told you not to."

A mechanical voice.

"I said not to."

"Hello?"

"I told you clearly not to open that goddamn door…."

Watching the black pupils dilate, Coco said.

"Hello."

"I didn't want to show it."

"Yes."

"I'm so furious I could lose my mind."

"Yes."

"Please…."

Truly, soon,

"Why won't things go the way I planned?"

"No."

"Why…?"

It was not far off now.

Coco wanted to play with Yeon-woo.

* * *

What could be heard from every direction was a soft, clear sound of water. Despite the absence of a single light fixture, a bright glow filled the space evenly, strikingly so.

Cha Do-hyeon let drop a brief impression.

"Cozy."

A primal sense of rest, as though floating in a mother's amniotic fluid or stepping into the heart of pristine water. The nerves that had been on edge throughout the labyrinth seemed to ease.

"It's also a rather out-of-place space for a horror hotel."

"When they said Room 444, I was honestly terrified."

"There's something strangely reassuring about it—a safe-zone concept of sorts?"

The sensation that the constant threat to one's life was perfectly blocked.

A feeling of liberation from a "perfect safe zone" never once experienced within the labyrinth overtook his entire body. Kwon Do-heon let out a long breath. The fatigue weighing down his shoulders lightened somewhat.

In the meantime, Cha Do-hyeon, having adjusted to the space, slowly looked up at the ceiling and said in a low voice.

"Hey, kid—look up."

"Oh…."

The ceiling was a transparent water surface, rippling quietly. Beyond those gentle ripples, pure-white fish that looked as though they'd been refined from sunlight swam in formation.

They glided slowly, maintaining a constant law and speed, like the workings of a precise clockwork mechanism or the orbits of celestial bodies.

"What a strange place."

Inside the room, there existed not the faintest speck of chaos nor any impurity like excessive emotion.

It was made of things like an obsessively correct order and a stillness that seemed as though it would never break.

And for that very reason, it was slightly chill, and inspired a touch of reverence.

"We just need to catch one of those."

"Right."

Having answered reflexively, Kwon Do-heon asked again.

"…? Wait, what?"

"I said we just need to catch one."

"What are those?"

"The white fish up there."

"Can those even be caught, physically?"

"That's something we'll find out by trying."

He shrugged.

"I won't be making you do it, of course."

"I seriously almost swore."

"What would you expect of a kid who doesn't even know the basics of the Gaps?"

"That's annoying in its own way—don't you get told you're obnoxious a lot?"

"The historic burden of being exceptional."

Cha Do-hyeon tapped Kwon Do-heon's shoulder and changed the subject.

"You go look for other things. You've got good eyes, right?"

"Well, sure…."

"Wander around every corner of this place with your sunbae-nim and dig up anything that looks like a promising clue. I'm sure something's here, but I can't quite see it."

He continued, unable to tear his eyes from the white fish on the ceiling.

"Looking at the script synopsis, I've got a rough sense, but I'll need to go a bit further to figure out exactly what the 'Hanged Man' has in mind."

"I keep telling you to speak in terms I can understand."

"The protagonist of this episode is you, so you'll be far more efficient at finding things than I would. I'm just an assistant, drafted on commission at best."

"What in the world does that even mean…."

"But this place was a crucial clue."

In terms of flow, that was certain.

"We need to take something from here. That way, you know, that whatever-it's-called…."

"What is it?"

"It feels like the conditions for the happy ending will be met?"

Cha Do-hyeon tilted his head slightly.

"You know how it is. When you're reading a book or something, you think, 'Ah, the next step should be this,' or 'That's a plot thread.' Room 444 seems like one of those."

"……."

Watching him still unable to pull his gaze from the ceiling, Kwon Do-heon spoke up.

"…But why are you looking at it like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's sort of…."

How should he put it? Kwon Do-heon searched for the right word for a moment.

"…Kind of…."

Like the eyes of an adult who, after a very long time, has glimpsed through a shop window the toy he couldn't hold in his hands as a child due to sad circumstances.

"……."

"Hoot."

As if to break the strangely subdued mood, Seome cried out. Taking it as a prompt, Kwon Do-heon nodded and turned away.

"Anyway, I'll look around, so hold onto that thing well."

"Sure thing."

"Don't eat it."

"What kind of talk is that?"

The voice that let out a small laugh was as light as usual. But even as Kwon Do-heon walked away, Cha Do-hyeon kept his eyes fixed on the white fish above the water surface the entire time.

He added this.

"Must be because he's a kid—says the oddest things."

* * *

Cha Do-hyeon was that kind of child.

"Why can't I,"

have more?

Why can't I be satisfied with what I have, like everyone else?

And is that fact, in itself, a sin?

"……."

Because no one gave him an answer, and no one pondered it with him, Cha Do-hyeon began seizing what belonged to others.

By that point, it no longer mattered whether it was a sin or not.