booktalesy Chapter 342: Concert (6)
Chapter 342: Concert (6)
Chapter 342: Concert (6)
The corridor where Jin-Sung ran into was dark.
"Huff... Huff, why, why are we doing this?" Lee Jin-Sung panted heavily as he barricaded the door with his body, suddenly looking stricken. He turned his gaze to the camera filming him. "Everyone, I’m very scared right now..."
There wasn’t anything inherently frightening about the situation, yet the mere fact that it involved being chased was enough to terrify the easily spooked Lee Jin-Sung. On top of that, the echoes of other members’ screams, the menacing footsteps of the special forces, and the recent elimination of Suh Hyun-Woo amplified his fear.
Indeed, a significant source of his panic was witnessing Suh Hyun-Woo being eliminated right before his eyes. As they were fleeing, the ominous stomping of the special forces had abruptly ceased. Turning back, he saw Suh Hyun-Woo had fallen with numerous special forces swarming over him like a horde of zombies. Lee Jin-Sung had felt a chill run down his spine and his blood had turned to ice.
This was no ordinary game. If he got caught, he might endure the horrific fate his member had faced.
"Oh, I absolutely hate this." Lee Jin-Sung trembled and rubbed his arms as a wave of goosebumps swept over him. He continued speaking to the phone’s camera while surveying his surroundings. "Listen up, everyone, I can hear footsteps outside, but I will venture out again once they stop."
The stairwell was pitch-dark with only the green glow of an emergency light piercing the gloom.
"..."
It was eerie.
Lee Jin-Sung recognized this scene from the thriller dramas the old crew loved. They always featured someone in a desperate chase like this...
"Ugh..." He swallowed nervously, almost laughing at the irony. Engaging in such thoughts during filming was ludicrous. It was something he’d never confess to the other members.
‘Being here is terrifying enough!'
How can the world be filled with so many frightening things?
Just as he imagined a scene from a thriller drama, he found himself wishing to confront the special forces instead. This place was too dark and damp, emitting an ominous vibe as if something sinister might emerge any second. If he heard even a slight sound of footsteps while he waited... he knew he wouldn’t be able to stand it.
Jin-Sung suppressed the instinct to look toward the even darker and more frightening staircase below, and remained focused on the door and the camera amidst palpable tension.
Thump, thump—
Silence enveloped him, his nerves on edge, unprepared to detect any sign.
Clunk!
"Jin-Sung?"
"Eeeeeek!!!" Lee Jin-Sung screamed at the top of his lungs as Park Yoon-Chan entered through the emergency exit. His shriek echoed through the room.
"Why are you screaming? What’s up?" Park Yoon-Chan got startled and stepped back.
Recognizing his fellow bandmate, Lee Jin-Sung finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly approached him. "Hyung! I've missed you so much, gosh! I can't remember a time when I wanted to see you more!"
"What were you up to here?"
"Hiding! Hyung, we’re in big trouble. Suh Hyun-Woo hyung got caught."
"Suh Hyun-Woo hyung?" Park Yoon-Chan scanned the desolate third-floor corridor, then helped Lee Jin-Sung to his feet. "Let's head out. Joo-Han hyung said he has found all the clues and abilities."
"Really? That quick?" Lee Jin-Sung’s face lit up with excitement, and Park Yoon-Chan nodded with a slight smile.
"It seems you were really scared. Have you been hiding here all this time?"
"...Not exactly! I did a bit of scouting around!" He hadn’t discovered anything, though, given how tense he had been about the situation outside.
"We will have to look elsewhere. We are not a hundred percent sure if it’s going to be there."
"There's not much time left, so we need to split up and look. That's the most likely place."
Lee Jin-Sung hesitated for a while but eventually nodded. "Okay. I’ll do it."
Now that the same-aged duo consisting of Suh Hyun-Woo and Goh Yoo-Joon, the fastest runners, was not around, Lee Jin-Sung was indeed the fastest remaining member. Although it was true that he had mostly given up on finding clues and abilities in the latter half of the game and had just run as fast as he could.
"I’ll do it!" Lee Jin-Sung looked at Kang Joo-Han and Park Yoon-Chan. Overcoming his fear was better than the powerless and frail pair consisting of Kang Joo-Han and Park Yoon-Chan getting caught and Jin-Sung having to escape alone!
"Jin-Sung, you’re so cool!"
Encouraged by Kang Joo-Han's praise, Lee Jin-Sung stood up, ignited with a sense of justice to lead the game to victory.
Jingle-
"...Huh?"
‘Was that a jingling sound, or did I imagine that?’
Anyway, Lee Jin-Sung was about to head out. "I will go check it out, so you guys be careful and visit the other locations."
"Sure~"
Lee Jin-Sung looked around and stepped outside. Just a while before, there had been so many special forces on the second floor, but strangely, now they were scarcely visible.
‘Is it because we’re in the latter half of the game, so fewer people are around?'
This was rather fortunate. It would be much easier to go up to the emergency exit.
"Hmm, by the way, where is this emergency exit supposed to be? It wasn't there when I went earlier," Lee Jin-Sung said while recording.
He hadn't just stayed in one spot by the emergency exit. Even though he was running away, his conscience wouldn't let him stay still, so he had wandered through several corridors within the emergency exits. At that time, there was no place that really made him think there was a key hidden there.
"Anyway, I’ll go check it out."
Leaving his puzzlement behind, Lee Jin-Sung arrived at the emergency exit on the third floor.
The atmosphere was dark and damp as expected. The only sounds were his footsteps and breathing as he climbed the stairs.
The ambiance made him feel as if something, be it a ghost or a person, might appear at any moment... Even with all his determination, it was a disconcerting feeling that even Jin-Sung found difficult to manage.
"Ah, I should have come with Hyun-Woo or Yoon-Chan hyung. It's less scary with them around."
Being with the members who said they didn’t believe in ghosts usually made things less frightening and sped up the process.
"I'm scared, really scared, everyone."
The only thing occasionally visible was the green light of the emergency exit. Beyond that, complete darkness. Jin-Sung was nervously talking to his phone and searching around the emergency exit on the third floor.
"Hello. Jin-Sung?"
"...!"
He heard a voice from the floor below the emergency exit. Was there just one person? Or more? Anyway, someone was coming up the stairs to meet Jin-Sung.