Chapter 89: The Mountain Lodge
"...Is that a person?"
"It is."
Jang Chae-yeon, who had been checking alongside me, gave a slow nod.
I looked at the man again.
His forehead was deeply sunken in, and the bones throughout his body were crushed, but it was undoubtedly a human.
Did we just kill a person?
A sinking feeling, as if my heart might drop out of my chest, hit me just as Song A-rin shook her head in denial.
"He was a person, but he wasn't alive."
"Huh?"
"There was no consciousness."
Consciousness?
"So, um. There was nothing there to affect in the first place...? It's hard to explain, but it was like a person who can't be hypnotized. Because they lack the mental capacity for it to take hold."
Song A-rin answered vaguely, resting her chin on her hand.
"Like a zombie?"
"Well, it's different from a zombie in many ways, but if you only consider the lack of free will and the destructive nature, then maybe you could say that."
Song A-rin examined the clothes carefully.
"These clothes, though... they're a bit... hmm. Old-fashioned, aren't they?"
"Old-fashioned?"
"They're the old-style Management Bureau uniforms you'd only find by digging through old photo albums or archives."
Song A-rin frowned as she scrutinized the clothing.
"Oh, right."
Yu Daon, who had been poking at my forehead from behind, spoke up.
"His bones were soft."
"Huh?"
"I just slammed into his forehead with all my strength. I got a concussion, but that guy's bones caved in."
"And that's not because your head is just that hard?"
"What a horrible thing to say!"
While Yu Daon glared at Song A-rin, I examined the man again.
Nothing appeared above his head.
Old Management Bureau clothes, and a physical state barely different from a corpse.
Finally, the long scar etched from his head down to his spine.
"...Daon."
"Yes?"
"Doesn't this look familiar to you?"
When I pointed to the scar with my hand, Yu Daon's eyes also went round as she looked at it.
"Huh...?"
"Right?"
"Oh, you're right!"
"...What is it? Stop having your little private conversation and include us."
Song A-rin spoke in a displeased voice, and Jang Chae-yeon also nodded.
"Ah. It's not exactly identical, but..."
"It's like... it's completely similar to the Butterfly's Dream incident..."
As if we'd planned it, Yu Daon and I spoke in unison, and upon hearing this, Jang Chae-yeon blinked and looked at me.
"Butterfly's Dream... are you talking about the Gangseo Branch containment object escape incident?"
"That's right."
"I thought that was resolved?"
"It was."
At least, to my knowledge.
A memory surfaced—of something disappearing into the maw of some black entity amidst a grotesque, chewing sound.
"Ugh."
That's creepy.
"Let's... just go."
"Right. It's not like anything will change if we stay here longer anyway."
I glanced at the corpse.
A corpse still wearing old clothes, showing me nothing.
What had he come here for, and what kind of end had he met?
I looked at Yu Daon, walking ahead as always.
I need to talk to her.
"Daon."
"Oh, Jae-heon! Isn't it dangerous to be up front?"
When I stood next to Yu Daon, she looked at me worriedly.
"You'll protect me well, right?"
"Hehe."
At my words, she laughed happily and met my gaze again.
"Is this about the scar from earlier?"
"Yes."
The scar running from the head down the spine.
The shape of the scar was so similar it was hard to write off as coincidence; I couldn't help but be concerned.
"But there wasn't anything inside him, right?"
"No."
But if a human was used as a shell, something should have been inside, yet after we took him down, nothing happened. I didn't see anything either.
"That's strange..."
"Ah, now that you mention it..."
"Yes?"
An old memory came to mind.
Before Yu Daon entered the isolation room, she had located the mature form by its scent.
I remembered her saying it smelled sweet.
"Didn't you smell anything sweet?"
"Sweet smell...? Ah."
She seemed to understand what I was getting at, narrowing her eyes slightly before shaking her head.
"I didn't smell anything particularly sweet."
"I see."
Something's a bit off.
"..."
"..."
An uncomfortable silence.
Just as I wondered what to say next, Yu Daon opened her mouth.
"Speaking of which, Jae-heon, what did you do when you were little?"
"What did I do? I just played, like any kid."
"Hmm... What kind of child were you? Mischievous? Quiet?"
"Uh..."
Now that you mention it, what kind was I?
"Curious?"
"Well, I guess that fits you, Jae-heon."
Yu Daon nodded.
"What about friends?"
"Of course I had them."
"Do you remember who they were?"
"...Hmm."
The image of a child in a black dress came to mind.
A child who still sometimes talks to me in my head.
Where in the world are you, and what are you doing, that you're sending me telepathic messages?
Unless...
My gaze shifted to the manual I was holding.
"No, not really."
"That can happen too."
Yu Daon said lightly, continuing to walk.
"They say sometimes not remembering is a blessing, right?"
"..."
Just as I thought she might know something and was about to speak,
Ignoring my gaze, Yu Daon looked ahead and stretched out her arm.
"Isn't that a mountain lodge over there?"
"Huh?"
Following her pointing finger, I saw there really was a mountain lodge visible.
"...Why is something like that there?"
It brings back nightmares of company workshops.
"But if it's a place where we can rest, that's good!"
Yu Daon laughed and strode briskly forward. Soon, Jang Chae-yeon and Song A-rin were standing next to me.
"That is a mountain lodge, right?"
"It seems so."
"Why is something like that there?"
I shared Song A-rin's sentiment.
"Chae-yeon, what time is it now?"
"...8 o'clock."
Jang Chae-yeon said, looking at her wristwatch.
Has it gotten that late already?
Walking in the darkness had completely warped my sense of time.
"Then shall we regroup a bit before going? There might be something useful inside the lodge too."
"Fine by me. My legs were starting to ache anyway."
"Mine are fine."
"Don't lie. Your stamina is the worst among the four of us."
"..."
"What are you going to do if I glare at you, huh? Want me to turn you back into a dog?"
"Alright, alright, let's just go inside."
How can they find the energy to bicker like this after a day like this?
I opened the lodge door.
"Look here! It's surprisingly very clean!"
Yu Daon, who had already put her bag down, was looking around.
"It is clean."
"...Except for being a bit old."
"..."
Song A-rin was right.
It was like a very well-maintained mountain lodge from 100 years ago.
Curtains full of unnecessary decorations, a bed large enough for two people to lie down on (though it sagged deeply), four sofas free of mold despite being worn, and finally, a wooden desk.
Apart from the musty smell, it wasn't a bad place.
A desk.
While the others were unpacking and chatting happily, I walked over to the desk.
On an old, yellowed piece of paper, something was written in various different handwritings.
[Management Bureau Mountain Lodge Log]
[1952, Park Young-ho, first to reach the forest. All my companions except me are dead.]
[1961, Kim Jae-ho, reached the lodge during the 9th forest expedition. I have no choice but to lie on the bed and sleep.]
[1972, Lee Seong-hoon, deployed for the 2nd Wedge operation. I miss my mom.]
[1985, Namgoong Hyeon-woo, deployed for the 17th Wedge operation. The situation isn't going well. I'm sorry, Yeon-a, for not being able to protect you.]
[1994, Park Jong-deok, deployed for the 30th Wedge operation. This operation is a failure. I hear bells.]
[2007, Lee Soo-young, deployed for the 46th Wedge operation. I don't want to die. I want to go home.]
[2013, Choi Hyeon-dong, deployed for the 51st Wedge operation. Humanity is doomed. I'm sorry.]
"..."
It was a record of our seniors.
A record consisting entirely of failures.
"There are clothes here too!"
At Yu Daon's words, I turned to look.
She had opened the wardrobe and was looking at the clothes with the other two, chattering excitedly.
"..."
The clothes were folded with almost reverent neatness, without a speck of dust on them.
"Look, from old military uniforms... to suits... there's not a single speck of dust?"
"There are even clothes from our grandfathers' generation. How are they so well preserved?"
The three of them started huddling together and chattering.
I opened the manual.
[Manual for Office Workers]
[Gangseo Branch, Mountain Lodge]
1. If you are on the path to the Wedge, lie down on the sofa and sleep. And pray that luck and willpower accompany you.
2. After sleeping soundly, if you open the drawer, there will be an item you need most. Take that item and depart.
3. Good luck.
After a slight blank space, item 4 unfolded.
4. If you have returned here from the Wedge, lie down on the bed and sleep. There is no need for self-reproach. You did your best.
5. Before falling asleep, if you are able, write down what you wish to say on the paper on the desk. There were others like you, and there will be.
6. Lie down on the bed and close your eyes. Listen to the warm words that reach your ears. Do not be afraid. There will be no pain.
7. You have worked hard.
-Thud!
I closed the manual with a loud sound, and the three of them looked at me.
"...What is it?"
"Let's not sleep on the bed."
"Why? It looks comfortable."
"..."
"What's in the manual—"
"I think it's better if you don't see it."
Song A-rin, sensing my mood, lowered her eyes.
"Alright. No need to make such a serious face."
"...Was there something written in the manual?"
Jang Chae-yeon looked at me worriedly.
"There was, but I'd rather not say."
I shook my head at her words, and Jang Chae-yeon, true to her nature, didn't press further.
After that, sleeping arrangements were prepared in an uneasy silence.
"..."
Lying on the sofa, I stared at the ceiling.
-Tap, tap, tap...
A strange sound reached my ears, and my clear head felt like it was being forcibly dragged into sleep.
Soon, my eyes closed and I fell asleep.
I didn't dream.