002. Tutorial Begins (2)
“What was that? Did a gas explosion happen somewhere?”
There was a huge boom, but it was impossible to tell where the sound came from. People’s attention shifted from Woo Jeongwoo to the loud noise. Everyone looked around trying to find the source of the sound, but nothing could be found.
“Shouldn’t we report this?”
“How would we know where it came from? A bus tire probably burst. I heard one burst before, and it was crazy loud.”
“Wait, does it look like there’s smoke coming from over there?”
While people’s attention was diverted, Shin Jaehee quickly grabbed the crazy guy—that is, Woo Jeongwoo.
“Hey, you crazy bastard! Come on, let’s go! Please come to your senses now!”
“No! I can’t go yet!”
“Oh, really! You crazy fucker! Come right now before I kill you!”
Afraid of drawing people’s attention again, Jaehee gritted his teeth and whispered to Jeongwoo. He didn’t know what was happening, but his only thought was to use this opportunity to get that guy out of here.
It wasn’t like dealing with a five-year-old begging for a toy—this full-grown man was stubbornly refusing to move, planting both feet firmly on the ground. Jaehee felt rage rising to the top of his head. He felt like he needed to hit him a few times to feel better.
“If it’s dying by your hand, I’m fine with it anytime, but I can’t do that now! Jaehee!”
“You crazy bastard, don’t call my name!”
Jaehee covered the mouth of the guy who was calling his name with such passionate eyes. He was horrified at the thought that others might have heard.
This goddamn bastard!
If he were in his right mind, Jaehee would curse him thoroughly, but he couldn’t be too harsh on someone who was mentally unwell.
“Listen carefully! Shin Jaehee!”
“I told you not to say my name!”
“It’s about to begin.”
Shin Jaehee closed his mouth as he looked at Jeongwoo’s glistening eyes. Woo Jeongwoo’s eyes were not those of someone who would listen to whatever he said. Finally, Shin Jaehee sighed and decided to humor Jeongwoo.
“What’s about to begin?”
Right. Come to think of it, his maternal grandmother had been like this too.
Looking at Jeongwoo suddenly reminded him of his maternal grandmother who had passed away a few years ago. His once sharp-witted grandmother had started behaving incomprehensibly shortly before she died. One day, she suddenly packed her bags in the middle of the night, insisting she needed to go to school, and sometimes she called Jaehee by his grandfather’s name, addressing him as “honey.” Whenever his grandmother acted that way, the most effective solution was to go along with whatever situation she was describing. If she said she needed to go to school, tell her school was closed due to rain; if she called him “honey,” pretend to be grandfather and gently urge her to go to sleep.
Recalling those memories, Jaehee tried to calm his anger and looked at Woo Jeongwoo.
“Jeongwoo, Woo Jeongwoo. I need to understand so I can help you. Stop throwing a tantrum like a child. This place is dangerous, so let’s get away from here and talk. Okay?”
“Jaehee, listen carefully. No matter what happens, stay calm… I’ll protect you no matter what I have to do, so don’t worry. But absolutely—”
“Yes, yes. I understand.”
“Don’t eat anything. Or drink anything. Absolutely. Got it? Promise me.”
“Huh? Don’t do what? Don’t drink?”
“Don’t eat or drink anything! Everything they say in there is nonsense. Don’t believe anything. No, you don’t even have to listen. I’ll tell you everything you need to know. Understand?”
Unaware that Jaehee was treating him like a dementia patient, Jeongwoo looked at Jaehee with a deadly serious expression.
It was both touching and amusing that even in his deranged state, he was so passionately trying to protect Jaehee. Shin Jaehee nodded and smiled, then looked at Jeongwoo with a bitter expression. What could have caused this? A guy who had everything—a wealthy and happy family environment, exceptional intelligence, and good relationships with friends.
Perhaps sensing that Jaehee was responding halfheartedly, Jeongwoo urgently grabbed Jaehee’s shoulders. As if he wouldn’t let go until Jaehee promised not to eat anything.
“Just don’t eat anything when we go in there! And don’t drink anything! No matter how thirsty or hungry you get! Absolutely not!”
“Where is ‘in there’?”
Jeongwoo pointed somewhere with his finger. Frowning, Jaehee followed Jeongwoo’s hand and saw the pitch-black night sky.
“Hey, you crazy bastard! Where exactly are you planning to go?”
Shin Jaehee’s resolution to humor Jeongwoo vanished instantly, and he found himself shouting before he knew it. Just then, another massive boom sounded.
This time it wasn’t just noise—the ground shook violently as if an earthquake had hit.
“W-what! What’s happening? Is it an earthquake? Or that gas explosion from earlier?”
“Could it be war? Did North Korea launch something?”
A loud siren blared—it was impossible to tell if it was a police car or an ambulance. The ground cracked, and buildings swayed. Screams erupted continuously from everywhere. It was complete chaos.
“W-what is this?”
“Wake up! It’s about to begin! Look ahead!”
Now was not the time to worry about Jeongwoo or other people’s eyes. Buildings were shaking, and the ground was splitting. With each tremor, explosions large and small erupted. Glass shattered from high-rise buildings, raining down below.
Was it a terrorist attack? Or had war broken out?
What about home? Would his home be safe?
All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind in that brief moment. Emergency sirens started to sound.
“Cough, cough… What on earth… What’s happening?”
He already felt half out of his mind. Dust poured down, making it hard to see and difficult to breathe. At that moment, Jeongwoo spread his trench coat wide and held it over both his and Shin Jaehee’s heads. Thanks to the coat, the two of them were able to avoid the sand and dust.
“Look ahead!”
Woo Jeongwoo grabbed the half-dazed Shin Jaehee and shook him.
Even through the hazy dust, Shin Jaehee stared at Woo Jeongwoo, who was strangely calm.
When he turned his gaze in the direction Jeongwoo indicated, he saw a huge black hole.
If it had been on the ground, he would have thought it was a sinkhole, but since it was hovering above the ground, he could only describe it as a giant hole.
Facing the black hole that looked as if it had cut through space itself made him nauseous. It was hard to explain why, but seeing that black thing made his hands tremble and his head spin. It was an instinctive, animalistic revulsion.
The hole had black wisps rising around it, like flickering flames.
Something was wrong.
Like a broken person, Jaehee shook his head, muttering, “This isn’t right, this is wrong.” He couldn’t explain it logically or understand it, but he felt that the black thing was an ominous presence that shouldn’t exist in this world.
Just then, Jeongwoo shouted again.
“Shin Jaehee! Snap out of it! We need to go in there now!”
Jeongwoo removed the coat he had spread over their heads. The acrid dust rose, causing Jaehee to break into a fit of coughing.
“You’re the one who needs to snap out of it! Where do you think you’re going?”
“In there—we have to go in!”
“Hey, are you crazy? Wake up!”
Shin Jaehee wished he could open the guy’s head and look inside if possible. Even if he was pretending to be crazy, wasn’t it time to come back to his senses now?
“There’s no time, I can only say this once. Listen carefully. The moment we go in, we’ll be dropped in different places. It would be best if you stayed still without moving, but if that’s not possible, you can move. I’ll find you. The most important thing to remember is that no matter what happens, you must not eat anything in there. Got it? Don’t eat anything.”
“What are you talking about, you crazy bastard? I’m telling you I have no intention of going in there!”
“Don’t worry about anything else. I’ll take care of everything. Whatever you see in there, no matter what appears, it’s all an illusion and fake with no substance. Just remember that.”
The black hole was growing larger, ruthlessly swallowing everything around it.
It looked like a greedy predator. The fact that it made no sound made it even more frightening.
People screamed and ran away.
“Anyway, that thing won’t stop until it’s eaten everything it wants. Running away is useless.”
That doesn’t mean we should jump into danger first, right?
But before Jaehee could voice his protest, Woo Jeongwoo grabbed him and started running.
“You crazy bastard! If you want to die, die alone!”
Jeongwoo ran at full speed while carrying an adult man who was struggling not to go.
Was this crazy guy always this strong, or had Jeongwoo gotten stronger?
People disappeared into the hole without leaving even a scream behind. The hole seemed about to swallow not just people but everything soon.
At that moment, his eyes met Jeongwoo’s. Surprisingly, Woo Jeongwoo was smiling at Jaehee. What rose in his eyes was vivid ecstasy. It felt as if time was flowing slowly. The chilling heat and the gleaming eyes of madness constricted Jaehee’s body.
Soon after, the ominous black darkness completely enveloped the two of them, and Jaehee’s consciousness began to fade. Before his consciousness completely disappeared, he saw some letters before his eyes, but his fading awareness prevented him from recognizing them properly. The last thing that remained in his mind was Woo Jeongwoo’s face, smiling at him with the collapsing world behind them.
[…Connection confirmed
Moving to the tutorial stage.
Notice to candidates: All candidates must prove their capabilities in the tutorial stage.
Sponsors can support each candidate based on their observed capabilities.
All actions in the tutorial will be scored and used for capability assessment……..]
