Doha, who had passed through the corridor stuck to Yunbeom’s back like gum, found himself standing in front of the principal’s office located at the end of the second-floor hallway before he knew it.
“Let’s go in.”
Yunbeom opened the door wide without any fear. Creak-. Along with an eerie sound, stale air mixed with mold rushed in. Doha unknowingly gripped Yunbeom’s clothes tighter.
“Hey, you’re stretching my clothes. Let go.”
“Just a moment. I’m directionally challenged. Directionally challenged.”
Yunbeom snorted at the excuse that it wasn’t because he was scared but because he didn’t know the way.
Doha hesitantly shone his flashlight. Old leather sofa, dusty desk, and black-and-white photos of past principals hanging on the wall. The feeling that the eyes of the people in the photos were moving must be his imagination, right?
“Let’s search quickly. We don’t have time.”
Yunbeom strode in and started rummaging through the desk drawers first. Doha peeked around the bookshelf placed as close to the entrance as possible.
“Is there anything……”
Old file binders were stuck in the bookshelf. When he tapped one, dust rose up with a poof. While scanning the bookshelf while coughing, Doha’s gaze stopped on the wall behind the bookshelf. Unlike other places, there was a part where the wallpaper was slightly torn away. And through that gap, something like a faint hinge could be seen.
‘Huh?’
Out of curiosity, Doha slid the bookshelf to the side. It was stiff, but when he applied force, the bookshelf moved. What was finally revealed was not a wall but a small door. A secret door painted the same color as the wallpaper so you wouldn’t notice it at first glance.
‘This looks like a hint!’
Doha rejoiced. There’s no way there wouldn’t be an item in a hidden space like this. He was about to call Yunbeom when he heard the sound of drawers being opened and closed as if they’d break from over there.
“Ah, it’s not here. It’s not here! Where did they really hide it?”
Yunbeom was already crawling under the desk, having his own battle. Should he check first? Doha carefully slid the secret door to the side. The door wasn’t locked. The door slid open smoothly, and inside was pitch-black darkness. When he shone the flashlight, he could see a space like a narrow storage room. Several old boxes were stacked up.
“Oh.”
Doha bent down and went inside. It was the moment he stepped in and put his body completely inside the room.
Drrrk-.
The door closed behind him. The door closed by itself even though there was no wind and no one pushed it. Doha was startled and turned around.
“Huh?”
He tried to open the door by sliding it to the side, but it wouldn’t budge. It seemed to be a structure that couldn’t be opened from the inside.
“Yunbeom-ah!”
Doha pounded on the door, but whether it was soundproofed well, there was no response from outside.
“I’m trapped! Try opening the door!”
Outside was quiet. No, to be precise, only the sound of Yunbeom grumbling to himself could be heard very faintly.
“No, why are there so few hints? Is it really here?”
Yunbeom finished searching under the desk, stood up, and straightened his back.
“Hey, Baek Doha. Did you find any…… huh?”
When Yunbeom turned his head, there was no one in front of the bookshelf.
“What. Where’d he go?”
Yunbeom scratched his head while looking around the principal’s office. He thought he might not have noticed Doha leaving the principal’s office because of the bustling atmosphere with the production staff holding cameras.
“He was about to die of fear.”
Did he go to the bathroom or something? Yunbeom thought nothing of it and opened the principal’s office door and went out to the hallway.
“Hey! You’re leaving without saying anything?”
Yunbeom’s voice gradually got farther away.
Doha, who heard that sound, was dumbfounded. Screwed. Perfectly isolated. He was left alone in this narrow, dark space with nothing to rely on but a flashlight.
“Haah……”
Doha leaned his back against the door and sat down. He didn’t have claustrophobia or anything, but this situation was enough to make anyone feel fear. Moreover, a perfect sealed room without even a single window. The smell of dust and damp humidity pierced his lungs.
‘For now…… should I look for hints?’
Since he couldn’t get out anyway, he thought it would be better to do something rather than just sitting there blankly. Doha held up the flashlight and rummaged through the stacked boxes. Old textbooks, gym clothes, chalkboard erasers…… Just junk.
“What. A dud?”
Then, he saw a small note lying in the corner of the floor. Doha quickly picked up the note.
[First floor music room. Press the piano keys.]
Below the note was sheet music. It seemed he had obtained a good hint.
Now he just needed to get out. But he couldn’t get out. He carefully put the hint note in his pocket and was about to try knocking on the door again.
Thud, thud, thud.
That’s when it happened. Before Doha could knock, the sound of knocking on the door came from the other side.
“……!”
Doha held his breath. Did Yunbeom come back?
“Yunbeom-ah?”
There was no answer.
Thud, thud, thud.
The sound of knocking on the door was heard again. This time louder and heavier than before. To call it the sound of a person knocking, it was somehow regular and mechanical. Why does this feel so creepy?
“Who is it……?”
His voice trembled. Cold sweat ran down his back. Please let it be the production staff. Or let it be Yunbeom playing a prank.
He knew all of this was just filming, but he couldn’t help the fear rising because of the eerie atmosphere.
Creeak-.
The sound of the door being forced open was heard. Doha shone the flashlight toward the door and backed away. The door began to open very slowly, showing a gap. Creak, screech-. Through that gap, a single glinting eyeball could be seen.
“Uwaaaaah!”
Doha screamed and hid his body behind a box. His heart felt like it had fallen out and was rolling on the floor.
Please go away, please. While he was reciting prayers inwardly, ‘that thing’ that came in through the door gap hesitated and opened its mouth.
“Um…… Doha-ssi?”
Huh? For a ghost, the voice was too human. Moreover, it was a strangely familiar voice. Doha slightly straightened his body that had been curled up tight and peeked at the door through his fingers. The face illuminated by the flashlight wasn’t a pale ghost.
“……Huh?”
A man wearing a black cap pressed down and an employee ID card hanging around his neck. He stood holding the door handle he had forced open with an awkward expression.
“Ah, this door seemed to be broken……”
The man smiled awkwardly and opened the door wide. With a creaking noise, when the door opened completely, the hallway lighting poured into the storage room. Only then did Doha recognize the man’s identity.
“Oh, Jeonghyeon-ssi?”
It was Kim Jeonghyeon from the sound team staff, whom he had met in the music broadcast waiting room recently and had also run into a few times before that. Doha’s legs almost gave out from relief and he nearly sat down, but he barely held on by grabbing the corner of the desk.
“Ah, oh, hello.”
Doha gave an awkward greeting. Jeonghyeon let out a sigh of relief after confirming Doha was safe.
“I’m sorry for startling you. I saw the door was locked……”
Jeonghyeon tapped the doorframe with his hand.
“The facilities are old, so the latch seems to have locked itself. If I just left it, you would have stayed trapped……”
“Ah…… I see.”
Doha stroked his chest. That was really close. If Jeonghyeon hadn’t discovered him, he might have been trapped in this narrow dust pit until Yunbeom came, or rather until filming ended.
“Thank you for saving me. I really got scared.”
“Not at all…… Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No. I’m fine. Except for screaming.”
When Doha laughed heartily, Jeonghyeon flinched.
“But what brings you here?”
Doha asked while brushing the dust off his clothes. He was definitely someone who worked with the Battle Crown team, so it was puzzling that he was at a variety show filming location at an abandoned school in the mountains out of the blue.
“Ah…… I came to support the Play Play team this time……”
Jeonghyeon smiled shyly and showed the audio equipment attached to his waist.
“Oh, I see.”
Doha nodded and headed toward the secret storage door. Then Jeonghyeon flinched and stepped aside.
“Our connection runs pretty deep.”
Doha said casually. At those words, Jeonghyeon’s eyes widened round.
“Ah, yes, yes. I also…… think so……”
Jeonghyeon lowered his head and scratched his neck. The tips of his ears, with his face deeply lowered, were red.
Was it because it was night and the day was chilly? Doha thought nothing of it and looked around. He could see the production staff, and the voices of the cast members echoed from the hallway. He felt relieved.
“Can I check the belt pack again? When you fell earlier, there was a sound……”
“Huh? Really?”
Doha obediently stood in front of Jeonghyeon. He had become accustomed to entrusting his body to someone. As he stood still waiting for Jeonghyeon’s touch, he slowly moved his hand.
Jeonghyeon checked the wireless transmitter worn at the waist. As if something wasn’t normal, he fiddled with it for a while.
“The light isn’t coming on.”
“There seems to be a problem. I’m sorry.”
He felt awkward thinking he might have broken it while falling.
“I’ll change it to another one for you.”
“Ah, okay.”
Jeonghyeon removed the transmitter attached to his waist and moved his feet. Doha followed him walking.
