Chapter 191: Reality Check
Beyond the frame, the exact same scenery came into view.
"...It's the same."
That was what Jang Chae-yeon said as soon as she stepped through the frame.
She was right.
It was an art gallery that looked as if someone had lifted the path we had walked and stamped it right here.
The only difference was...
"...There are more people."
"That's right."
There were far more people inside than before.
However, not a single sound could be heard.
Everyone was focused on appreciating the artwork.
My brow furrowed involuntarily at the bizarre atmosphere of so many people being together, yet no one uttering a word.
"Ms. A-rin."
"They're all the same."
Before I could even voice my question, Song A-rin answered while shaking her head.
"Everyone's too absorbed in viewing to notice."
"I see."
A dream within a dream, and the people continuously viewing this place.
The same background, different people.
In that case, there was only one thing left to try.
"Ms. Daon."
"Ah, shall I do it?"
Yu Daon said in a bright voice, tugging at my arm.
"Let's go!"
"...What's with her, liking death so much."
Song A-rin muttered in a bewildered voice and turned her back.
"You two go. White Hair and I will wait here."
"Understood."
I headed towards a corner with Yu Daon.
Of course, even though it was a corner, it was the same situation with artworks hanging and people gazing at them with rapt expressions.
I pulled a pistol from inside my coat, and Yu Daon nodded, taking the gun and pressing it against her own temple.
"Shall I do it then?"
"Understood."
Yu Daon smiled and pulled the trigger.
-Bang!
With the gunshot, her body crumpled to the floor again.
"Up we go."
I caught her body before she fell.
"...Hmm."
Soon, Yu Daon opened her eyes and looked up at me.
"Ah, you caught me. You didn't have to do that."
"It's only natural."
"..."
Yu Daon looked at me, gave a small laugh, and straightened up.
"Well, first of all... hmm. I didn't feel anything. It didn't even occur to me that it might be a dream."
"I see."
So it's the same.
Fanning myself with my hand against the persistent heat, I looked around.
Why was Yu Daon the only one not hot? Why was everyone else hot except her?
Nothing specific came to mind yet.
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
Yu Daon nodded with a smile, and we came back out together.
"..."
Song A-rin looked at me, then averted her gaze.
"Judging by your expression, it seems there wasn't much of a gain."
"Correct."
"But still... 'It's something only I can do,' right?"
At Yu Daon's words, Song A-rin stared at her for a moment before approaching me.
"The Team Leader might be among the people here."
"Huh, really?"
In response to my question, Song A-rin nodded.
"It's not certain, but I think I heard a voice similar to the Team Leader's."
"His voice?"
"...If you don't concentrate, it's natural you wouldn't hear it amidst so many people."
Song A-rin sighed.
"Anyway, follow me."
"Thank you."
"For what? It's something only I can do."
Song A-rin answered with a sly grin, and Yu Daon, who had been staring at her, nodded and stepped forward to lead the way.
"Then I'll go ahead! There might be something up front."
"Yes, understood."
Should I say she seemed more energetic than before, or more forceful?
With her shoulders tense, Yu Daon moved forward.
"...I know I put you down too, right?"
"You do...?"
"That's also something only I can do."
"That's true...?"
"That's all that matters."
Jang Chae-yeon also followed behind Yu Daon with a satisfied expression.
What on earth were they trying to say?
*
We pushed through the countless people.
The further inside we went, the more people there were, and all of them were staring at one place.
"What are they looking at?"
"Right? I can't see well."
Swept along by the crowd, Yu Daon stood on tiptoe to look ahead, but she couldn't see properly either. I also tried hard to see, but with so many people, nothing was visible.
Then,
"Wait a moment."
"Uh...!"
As Jang Chae-yeon swiftly raised a finger, my body began to float into the air.
"Thank you."
"..."
I turned my gaze away from Jang Chae-yeon, who was nodding with a smile, and looked ahead.
"..."
It was the enormous painting of Aestheticism.
The depiction of Aestheticism sitting with her eyes closed and a benevolent smile.
The mannequin's arms were four in number, and the face I had seen then was smiling as if that time had never happened.
"So beautiful..."
"It's like seeing the truth..."
"My god..."
People muttered with wide eyes.
And then, a semi-transparent window floated before my eyes.
[Title: Self-Portrait]
[Human Skin Canvas, Ink Wash Painting]
[200 X 200 cm]
"...Wow."
A monstrous ego.
No, since it's not human, maybe it's okay to call it an ego, but I was momentarily speechless at the bloated sense of self.
After safely descending from the air, I explained the painting to the three looking at me.
"...Wow."
"Eww."
"..."
For the first time in a while, their reactions were the same.
"Anyway, if the Team Leader is here, the probability of him being here is quite high."
It seemed more likely he'd be where the crowd was concentrated.
"..."
-Tap tap, Jang Chae-yeon poked my shoulder with her finger.
"See. I can do this much too."
Jang Chae-yeon puffed out her chest with a confident expression.
"...Thank you."
Unable to find a place to rest my eyes, I could only offer her my thanks.
*
Finding the Team Leader was easier than expected.
Because among that huge crowd, there was only one person I knew.
The Team Leader was standing there.
Next to him were a student who vaguely resembled the Team Leader, and a kind-looking woman.
His family, perhaps?
"Team Leader!"
Amid the silence, I called out.
Naturally, the Team Leader did not respond.
"Ms. A-rin."
"Got it. But as you know, it won't last long."
Song A-rin nodded, approached the Team Leader, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Gasp!"
The Team Leader's eyes snapped wide open, he shook his head, then looked at me.
"J-Jae-heon. What is this place? And why is it so hot?"
"It's an art gallery."
"An art gallery...?"
The Team Leader blinked, then...
Gasp...
His face turned pale.
"It's strange, Jae-heon."
"What is?"
"Right up until I entered the art gallery, I didn't feel it was dangerous at all..."
"..."
Why hadn't the Team Leader felt it was dangerous?
Frankly, I thought I knew.
What others felt when they saw this painting wasn't fear or a sense of crisis.
It was joy at seeing something beautiful, and awe. Things like that.
So the Team Leader hadn't sensed the danger either.
'Crisis Detection' literally meant detecting a crisis; it didn't predict that the ecstasy offered by art would eventually circle back and become a crisis for oneself.
"I-I still don't think it's strange. That painting is so beautiful... that..."
As the Team Leader looked at the painting, his eyes growing vacant,
-Crunch!
He hurriedly bit his lip with his teeth.
Blood trickled down from the Team Leader's lip, and he turned his head to grab both my shoulders.
"Jae-heon, I don't remember much, but I'll tell you what I can."
"Understood."
"What I saw after entering is exactly the same as the woman depicted in that painting."
The Team Leader nodded and continued.
"And then, that woman waved her hand, and the frame grew enormously large, and we all went inside that frame."
"Understood."
"After that, my memory is patchy, but..."
The Team Leader trailed off.
"If my memory is correct, people went even further inside."
"..."
"And there, I saw it."
"Saw what?"
"A tremendous workshop."
The Team Leader exhaled a breath filled with terror.
"Inside it..."
"Inside it?"
"...Beautiful things were happening."
The Team Leader muttered that and looked ahead.
His gaze was directed back at the painting.
"...It's not getting through."
Song A-rin shook her head and looked at me.
"Even so, for a Management Bureau person, he's holding up remarkably well."
"I know."
We need to get him out quickly.
I looked at the Team Leader, then back at the painting in front of me.
The unresponsive eyes, and the hot air.
"..."
A hypothesis flashed through my mind.
Should I test this?
Let me test one thing first.
"Ms. Daon."
"Yes?"
"You're really not hot at all, right?"
"...That's right?"
Yu Daon nodded.
"How's the temperature for you?"
"Honestly, it's a bit hotter since there are more people now... but it's not extremely hot? Basically, this place is cool..."
Yu Daon trailed off.
"What about you, Ms. A-rin?"
"Hot. Isn't it seriously hot?"
Song A-rin muttered, fanning her collar.
"Ms. Chae-yeon?"
"..."
"...Understood."
I made eye contact with Jang Chae-yeon, who had been unbuttoning her clothes since earlier, and I had nothing more to say.
I drew the pistol.
"Huh, are we doing it again, Mr. Jae-heon?"
"And why are you doing it in front of us again this time?"
Yu Daon blinked, and Song A-rin let out a heavy sigh.
"That's not it."
When I pointed the pistol at my own temple, my hand immediately opened and the pistol fell.
"Are you insane?"
Song A-rin, who had reached out her hand, was staring at me.
"Are you out of your mind? What are you doing!"
"I am perfectly sane right now."
I picked up the pistol again.
"...Listen carefully."
I explained to the others about the dream within a dream.
"..."
Song A-rin's expression hardened, and Jang Chae-yeon's expression also stiffened.
"And what if this isn't a dream? You'd just die."
"We have to take the chance."
It's not like I can shoot Jang Chae-yeon or Song A-rin anyway.
Besides, acting like this just because it's hot is a bit...
"...Damn, if only we had brought that old man for times like this..."
"Old man?"
"You know, the one. The old man from Gangdong who's good at reality checks."
Song A-rin stomped her feet and muttered.
"..."
Now that she mentioned it.
Reality check.
The thing that lets you distinguish whether this is reality or a dream.
I bent my finger.
It didn't bend in a bizarre, dream-like way.
I expected that much.
If it were that easy, someone would have realized it by now.
Something else. For example, what my eyes see—
"..."
My eyes?
I looked at the painting again.
[Title: Self-Portrait]
[Human Skin Canvas, Ink Wash Painting]
[200 X 200 cm]
"..."
I gripped the pistol.
"Hey!"
"Please trust me."
At my words, Song A-rin stopped, and Jang Chae-yeon also looked at me with a worried expression.
"It's alright."
Because I was certain based on what I had just seen.
I pulled the trigger against my temple.
-Bang!
The sound reverberated, a sharp pain followed as something seemed to pierce through my temple, and my vision instantly went black.