This is only my second time here, but it’s still incredible.
I stepped into the director’s private quarters and let out a hollow laugh.
Even someone like me, who knew nothing about liquor, could recognize plenty of the bottles lined up here.
So-and-so-year vintage... some kind of brandy... I could only laugh at the sight of all that alcohol neatly arranged.
"First, I’ll take two bottles to use."
Since I had no idea what was what, I picked out two bottles of imported liquor that seemed to have been stored most carefully.
Thirty-year-old. Thirty-five-year-old.
I didn’t know much, but they probably cost tens of thousands of dollars, maybe more.
Not that it mattered if they didn’t. It wasn’t like I was going to drink them.
Pop!
Gushhh—!!
"Damn, how much is all this worth?"
I opened every liquor bottle in sight and splashed their contents everywhere.
The sensation of turning the director’s money into garbage with a flick of my wrist sent dopamine flooding through me.
The sofa, the wooden table, the floor, even the clothes strewn around.
I drenched every surface until the stench of alcohol became overpowering.
This should be enough.
I put the two expensive bottles I had set aside as gifts into a suitable shopping bag nearby.
Along with some expensive-looking snacks—cheese, biscuits, whatever they were.
Beep—
Splaash!
Frowning at the pungent smell, I opened the door and splashed liquor all the way down the hallway too.
No one would come here at this hour.
The director might return when the event in the banquet hall ended... but whatever. She wouldn’t be coming back anyway.
I don’t really need to burn this far down, though.
Tilting the highest-proof bottle, I slowly soaked the floor from the second basement level all the way up to ground level as if I were pouring oil.
The fourth floor, where the banquet hall was. The second and third floors, where the story rooms were.
Even if they managed to escape the banquet hall, I intended to make sure they could never get out of the building.
Whoosh!
Now for the next step.
After tossing away the empty bottle, I headed straight for the security office.
Carrying gifts those bastards would never be able to afford in their lives, I was going to obtain the means to open and close the iron gates blocking the orphanage.
*
Knock, knock.
How long had it taken me to walk from the banquet hall building at the very back to the entrance?
I had finally arrived at the iron gate.
I knocked on the door of the container that served as the security office.
Creak.
"...What the hell? How are you here? Hey, what time is it?"
"It hasn’t started yet, but..."
Fuck, air this place out once in a while.
I struggled to keep my expression neutral as the guard opened the door.
Starting with the stale cigarette smoke and ending with his musty body odor, the liquor smell from before now seemed like perfume.
"The director sent me."
"...What?"
I smiled at the two men scratching their heads and blinking at me.
I made myself look as innocent as possible, without giving them even the slightest reason to be suspicious.
"She told me to bring this to you..."
I handed over the liquor and snacks I had brought, smiling idiotically.
"...This?"
"What is it?"
They glanced through the bag together and frowned.
Anyone else might have thought they looked suspicious, but I knew better.
I had escaped in reality because these fuckers were morons there too.
"She had you bring this to us?"
"Yes."
"...Hey, this is fucking expensive. Look at this—it’s worth ten million won!!"
I smiled inwardly as the man beside him searched the liquor’s name on his phone.
There was no way guys who built mountains out of cigarettes in the security office of this backwater orphanage were normal.
Between the two of them, they had dozens of criminal convictions.
They knew everything that went on in this orphanage and still chose to work here.
It’s not like they have any pride in their work.
Just like before, when I handed them liquor this way, they would get happily blackout drunk and sleep through the whole thing.
"...Why?"
"I don’t know that far. A guest gave the director something earlier, so maybe that’s why?"
"Hey, there was someone who brought a gift earlier, right?"
"Wasn’t it Chairman Jeong?"
"She told you to rest since nobody can leave during the event anyway."
"..."
The two men seemed to grasp the situation and grinned.
This was not the usual soju or beer. And on the day of the social gathering, it was standard that no one could leave the building.
The gathering was about to start, and one of its main attractions was here?
Carrying expensive imported liquor of unknown origin, no less?
They’ll think it doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not.
If they got caught, or if something happened, they could just blame me.
They did not care in the slightest what happened to the children here. They were the kind of bastards who only cared about enjoying themselves right now.
That fucking mindset is why you two are going to die too, though.
"Damn... Fuck. The one next to it is even more expensive?!"
"...Thanks, kid."
I bowed as he grinned and took the shopping bag.
Slide.
As they immediately started swearing at each other while setting up their drinking session, I turned around and took the key ring hanging beside the doorknob.
Just as expected. It’s still where they kept it before.
In the worst case, I had planned to cause trouble and assault them as a group, so it was a relief that it was where I expected.
*
After hiding the keys in the place we had agreed on, I returned to the dormitory and took the vodka and lighter I had prepared in advance.
I stuffed them into a small bag, then ran back to the banquet hall at full speed.
"Han Seol...!"
"Whew... I’m not late, am I?"
"The director was looking for you... but you’ll probably be okay."
"I’m counting on you, friend."
"...Yeah."
Park Dojun, who had been anxiously fidgeting as the time approached, finally smiled brightly.
I gave a bitter smile at his naive expression and waited for the social gathering to begin.
Click—
Another ten minutes or so passed.
By the time the moon and stars had risen into the night sky...
"Today, for the sake of our Love Orphanage—"
The director, dressed up in a way that did not suit her at all, stepped onto the stage.
I watched coldly as she held the microphone and offered all sorts of thanks, waiting for her to mention me.
"Today, we have prepared a special performance for all of you who have honored us with your presence."
"It’s time. Move up to the front."
Nod.
Gripping my bag, I slowly headed toward the stage.
She continued with one explanation after another about me.
The adults’ eyes turned toward me at the fact that Yu Hyein’s favorite had taken the stage.
"Please welcome him with a big round of applause."
Watching her lower the microphone with a warm, benevolent smile, I climbed onstage and took it from her.
"What’s that you’re carrying?"
"My props. Would you like to inspect them?"
"...Tch. Forget it. Just try ruining this. I’ll make you regret it for the rest of your life."
I boldly shrugged and smiled.
Once the director stepped down, I was left alone onstage, looking over the faces in the banquet hall.
Nervous children. Adults filled with anticipation.
The director glaring at me with a frown, and Park Dojun taking deep breaths to calm himself.
I never expected to be trapped in the Tower of Mindscape for an entire month.
I had barely made it this far. I never imagined I would see those disgusting faces again.
My heart was pounding at the thought of showing hell to those people waiting for my performance.
"Thank you sincerely for once again taking the time to visit our Love Orphanage today."
Standing straight and smiling, I gave the greeting I always gave.
The director glared at me, but I did not care in the slightest and simply grinned back.
"Today, I would like to show our guests a once-in-a-lifetime performance that you will never forget."
Then, smiling brightly like a child, I lightly raised the bag I had brought.
"I need a moment to prepare. Would you be willing to wait just one minute?"
It was an awkward question to answer. As everyone merely exchanged glances, I headed toward the space beside the stage.
A small backstage area with a rear door connected to the emergency stairs and controls for the lights.
Trickle, trickle...
"Ugh..."
I opened the bag, put the lighter in my pocket, and drenched the clothes I was wearing with vodka.
Vodka alone would not make this place burst into flames instantly.
To make it look like a performance, and to create the most spectacular effect possible, I soaked both my shirt and pants in alcohol.
What this is probably doesn’t matter much.
Lotion, oil—whatever.
Those perverted bastards beneath the stage would see it through whatever filter they wanted.
Step.
"First, I’ll show you my sincerity."
Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight of me, drenched in seconds.
I smiled softly when the director tilted her head in confusion.
Slide.
I took off my soaking-wet clothes in front of everyone and neatly folded them beside me.
The orphanage director finally grinned at the sight of me kneeling, and I cursed her inwardly as I picked up the microphone.
She probably thought my sudden wet appearance and the reason I had set my clothes aside were all part of the act.
"I’d like to change the lighting a little. Is that okay?"
Another question that was difficult to answer.
When the adults looked to the director, she nodded as if telling me to do whatever I wanted.
"Since I can’t stand up from where I am, my friend will help me."
Park Dojun, who had been near the stage, slowly climbed up.
We exchanged a brief glance as we passed each other, and he adjusted the lights as we had planned.
Thunk—
"..."
"...What is this?"
Blackout.
Amid the murmuring, I quietly closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
They even boarded up the windows that were originally there with false walls, then covered those with blackout curtains.
Did they at least realize they were doing something shameful?
This room was now in total darkness.
The adults, who could not even bring a phone in for security reasons, had no means of lighting this place.
The murmuring gradually grew louder, and what little vision remained vanished completely.
"Ahh—"
Holding the microphone, I spoke loudly as though testing it.
From now on, I had to buy time for the children to escape.
In this darkness, in a room filling with confusion, the only voice they could hear would draw everyone’s attention.
The moment they heard my voice, everyone here would think this was part of the production.
Part of the special performance I had prepared.
Since I had just taken off my clothes in front of them all, they would not suspect a thing.
Thinking the lights would come back on shortly, they would only stare at the stage where my voice came from.
"...The plane is flying, flying."
I sang with the innocent voice of a child, filling the entire banquet hall.
It was my first time singing before so many people, and for some reason I was incredibly nervous, my heart racing.
"Fly, fly—"
The instant I started singing was the signal to escape.
Even in the darkness, I had positioned them so they could reach out and grab one another’s hands.
So everyone could form a chain all the way to the door. For the past several nights, we had practiced together in the dormitory.
Just go slowly, kids.
If they trusted and relied on one another, they could get out even if they could not see anything.
They were children who had swallowed their tears and held back their screams countless times. Even now, they would cover their mouths and move silently, without making a sound.
"Fly high, fly high, our airplane—"
There was no great reason I had chosen this nursery rhyme.
I had simply picked it for Park Dojun to hear.
It would be strange for a child to sing some weird pop song, and this felt more like an event anyway.
"The airplane I made—"
Thump...!
I smiled when I heard a small sound from the distant spot where the door was.
"Fly, fly—"
Feeling around beside me, I took a lighter from the pocket of the neatly folded clothes.
"Fly high, fly high—"
Then I lit a small flame with the lighter onstage.
"Our airplane—"
I rose from my spot, picked up my alcohol-soaked shirt...
Whoosh—!!!
...lit the end of the garment and threw it onto the nearest table below the stage.
"...!!"
The tablecloth caught fire, and the darkness rapidly brightened.
Once I confirmed that everyone’s attention had shifted from me to the flames, I picked up the pants that remained.
"Aaaahhh!!"
Crash!!
The woman sitting at that table sprang to her feet.
The liquor bottles whose caps had been opened in advance rolled off and fell to the floor from the impact, soaking it thoroughly.
"Park Dojun!!"
"I left the door open!!"
I sprinted toward the rear door connected to the emergency stairs.
After lighting the remaining pants with the lighter, I threw them at the doorway and immediately ran for the emergency stairs.
Bang—!!
I barricaded the door, then raced straight for the first floor.
"Will this really be okay, Han Seol?!"
"Yeah...! That’s not all I prepared!!"
"Aaaahhh!!!"
"Arghhh!!!"
"Help us!! Somebody help us!!"
Listening to the sounds from the banquet hall, barely audible behind us, I shouted.
The countless liquor bottles on the tables.
Normally, they would have been sealed and placed in the middle of each table, but not today.
I had told them in advance to open every cap.
I also had them place the bottles at the edges of the tables, where even a slight impact would send them rolling onto the floor.
And the blackout curtains had been drawn longer than usual to guide the flames.
An enclosed space. Lights that would not turn back on.
With the fire as the only source of light, overlapping screams would plunge them into panic in an instant.
Even a brush against a table in the darkness would send its tablecloth and liquor bottles to the floor, creating fresh fuel.
"What about the door on the other side?!"
"We just have to trust it...!!"
The front door through which the children had escaped would be blocked by the brooms and mops I had made use of yesterday.
It might eventually break open, but it did not need to hold for long.
In a room without even a window, the flames spreading in an instant would soon consume them all.
Even if someone did get out, all we needed was to stall them.
Buying time for the children to escape was enough.
Dash!
"Over there...!!"
"The keys?!"
"I think I got them!!"
When we reached the first floor and rounded the building, I saw the children gathered together, breathing hard.
Just as we had discussed, they had formed pairs or groups of three according to age, tightly holding each other’s hands.
Even the two who had refused to cooperate had made it out safely.
"Don’t just stand there! Everyone follow me!!"
"What about the guards, Han Seol?!"
"They’ll be fine!!"
And if they were not, I would deal with it somehow, so there was no need to worry.
The banquet hall was so sealed that not even smoke could escape.
I looked up at the building, where no one could even tell a fire had broken out, then ran on.
"You only need to use this one and this one!! Got it?!"
"Y-Yeah!!"
Leading everyone, I took the keys we had prepared and gave Park Dojun a quick explanation.
Dash...!
At last, we reached the security office and the first iron gate.
"Han Seol...!!"
Even at that proof, it was too soon for them to have passed out...!
I grimaced at the sight of the guards, their faces bright red as they drank.
"...What are you doing?! Run, now!!"
"What about you, Han Seol?!"
"I’ll buy time, so go open the gate first!!"
I shouted at the children who had stopped, then rushed straight toward the security office.
Bang!
"Hic! W-What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Urp... You little shit...!!"
As the hiccuping guard turned around, I clenched my fists and scanned the room.
The place was cluttered with documents and furniture, leaving little room to move.
Empty liquor bottles lay scattered on the floor, as though they drank here all the time.
One man felt around for a baton while the other staggered toward me with a scowl.
Thud—!!
"Ugh!?"
I shoved the wheeled chair in front of me with all my strength.
Startled by the object suddenly rushing at him, he stupidly fell backward on his ass. As the other man charged at me, I swallowed hard.
Flash!
Thanks, Wiki...!
"You little bastard!!!"
My eyes widened as he shouted, his face blotchy red.
I was not afraid in the least of some bastard like this attacking me.
I had the body of a twelve-year-old, but catching the timing and dodging was no difficult feat.
Whoosh!
"Huh?!"
When his full-powered swing missed, the bastard stumbled forward.
Thump!
"Just go to sleep already...!!"
As he lost control of his momentum and fell forward, I snatched the baton and struck the back of his head with all my strength.
Smack!
"Guhhh..."
"You little shit...!!"
With the strength of a child, it did not make a particularly satisfying sound.
As the man who had first fallen over the chair tried to approach again, I threw away the baton and grabbed onto the cabinet beside me with all my strength.
Please, please...!!
The man who had ducked in fear of the baton started coming toward me again, and I gritted my teeth and pulled for several moments.
"Han Seol!!!"
Park Dojun came back and grabbed the cabinet with me.
"Uh... uh...!?"
Crash—!!
The man who had reached for me was knocked down beneath the metal cabinet, larger than his own body—
"Aaaahhh!!"
"Park Dojun, run!!"
As he screamed with one arm pinned underneath, I grabbed Park Dojun’s arm and ran.
The first gate stood open.
Up ahead, children were turning the key in the second iron gate.
"Huff... huff...!"
Looking at Park Dojun panting beside me, I slowly came to a stop.
"Han Seol?"
"..."
This was enough. There would be no more variables now.
They could walk away and escape well enough without me following along to take care of them.
Rather, the surest way to help them even a little more was to make a report using a phone.
"Go on ahead. I’ll go report this and catch up."
"What?! What are you talking about?!"
"Ordinary police might not be enough. The director and the other adults might have already pulled something."
"Then...!!"
"If the fire gets bigger, the police won’t be able to handle it alone. This whole area is mountains, right? I need to make the fire as big as possible."
I needed to make this as big an issue as possible.
It was not that I did not trust the police, but the firefighters were the ones who had rescued me.
I merely wanted to make it as certain as possible.
And I need to settle things with Yu Hyein too.
I did not know whether that crazy bitch was still in the story room or had already slipped out without a care in the world.
"We said we’d escape together, so why—"
"Dojun."
"...!"
"Thank you for being my friend."
"What are you..."
"You were my only friend. My first and last friend."
"..."
I gave a faint smile as he pressed his lips shut.
It was the first time I had called him by just his given name without his surname.
Because that woman, Yu Hyein, had always called me only "Seol," I had made sure both that others called me by my full name and that I called everyone else by theirs.
"Thank you so much. I was able to endure because you were there."
"Han Seol..."
"I’ll regret for the rest of my life that I couldn’t protect you... I know that doing this here and now has no meaning at all, but..."
"..."
"I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. I’m sorry I was the only one who survived."
Ah, damn it. My emotions were suddenly getting the better of me.
As though I had really become a child again, the sight of my friend standing before me—my friend who had gone on ahead—made my nose sting.
My innocent friend who had wanted to become a pilot had tried to leave this world by his own hand.
And after he was gone, I could not even properly avenge him or apologize. I had survived alone and lived like trash for the rest of my life.
"I’m really... sorry, Dojun."
"..."
Even now, I regretted it too late.
I hated the version of myself that had stayed quiet alone, telling myself it could not be helped and that there was no point.
"I’ll come back, so don’t worry. Go on ahead."
"..."
"Look, they’re all waiting over there. And everything went just like I told you, right? I’m a man who does what he says."
So I forced a smile.
There was no point crying and apologizing now. I only hoped that this imagined version of you could fulfill your dream and live happily with a smile.
Tap.
"I’ll be right back, so go on ahead."
I gave his chest a light push, then turned around and started walking.
Ah, this is so fucking awful.
I did not know what this feeling was.
Everything was just... fucking awful.
I was happy but sad, irritated but joyful.
The fact that I had succeeded this time and the reality that I had not been able to succeed overlapped, leaving me in pain.
"Seol!!"
"..."
"Thank you!!"
I was not actually twelve. I had gone through countless experiences, enough to face death over and over again.
"You have to live happily!!"
"..."
"I’m definitely going to become a pilot, so you definitely have to become rich too!!"
Why was he talking as though we were suddenly saying goodbye?
Did he think I was going off to die? Or did he somehow know the scenario was about to end?
I did not know. I really did not know, but...
Wave—
Watching my dead friend wave with a bright smile, I found myself smiling too.
Goodbye, my friend.
If there was a next time, I hoped we could be friends who laughed together somewhere ordinary.
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