Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 135
Only Krnovel
Episode 135 – No. 107, The Gateway Room – ‘Perfect Life’ (26)
– Kim Ari
— Tiririring! Tiririring!
I woke up from bed listening to the loud alarm.
I yawned and lingered in bed for a while, but eventually I couldn’t put it off any longer and left the room.
As always, I had a hearty breakfast, was sent off to school by my mom, and went to school!
A peaceful daily life that seems like it could go on forever repeats itself.
When I left the door of the house, Daseul appeared as if it was natural.
“Ari!”
“huh. Haaaaam~ I’m yawning a lot.”
“Are you very sleepy?”
“Not much, but a little. “Ah, I want to stop going to school.”
“Don’t you have a headache these days?”
“head?”
“You’ve been holding your head several times a day for the past few days. “Something is strange. Something is strange.”
“Is that so? “I think you’re okay today?”
“At least take some medicine.”
Fortunately, I was able to arrive at school without being late.
As soon as you enter, open the shoe cabinet –
— Boom!
“…”
As soon as I opened it, letters poured in. Daseul was dumbfounded when she saw that.
“Did you open this in front of me to show off to me?”
“I need to lock it up.” “You have to stop putting strange things in it.”
“Then won’t the boys be stuffing you in the drawer every time you’re away?”
“…”
Daseul and I roughly threw away all the trash in the shoe cabinet.
While I was taking out the trash for a while, I heard a voice calling me from across the street.
“hi! “You said Ari, right?”
This is the second year senior I met last week. Was his name Yu Song? A female student appeared holding a birdcage in one hand.
“hello~. “You came with a parrot today too?”
It’s a little strange. Is it okay to bring an animal to school like that?
“huh! The teacher gave permission. “It’s so cute, right?”
Does the teacher even allow it? What kind of school is this?
I suppressed my bewilderment and looked at the birdcage my senior was holding.
what? Did I see it wrong?
The parrot in the cage was wearing strange clothing that looked like a small straitjacket.
Did you say your name was Pero? Pero came to the outside of the cage, looked at me, and cried somewhat sadly.
“What are these clothes?”
“Oh, Pero keeps having accidents, so I put it on for educational purposes. “It’s safe now.”
When the senior’s hand entered the cage, Pero just quietly lowered his head.
I felt something strange about the senior who said, ‘It’s safe now.’
Different from usual – somewhat self-righteous atmosphere.
The parrot seemed to be afraid of its owner.
…
That’s a strange thought.
In the first place, I don’t know anyone well enough to say something ‘different from usual’.
I’m not the kind of person who can read a parrot’s mind.
Today too, lunch time has arrived after another boring class.
Haaam! It would be a good idea to burn this damn school down!
As I was rolling around on my desk, my friends came up to me and started talking to me.
As always, the topic of conversation was the popular drama, ‘My Love Who Fell from the Sky.’
Has it been about two weeks since it started airing?
The drama was such a hit that it was worthy of being called a national drama.
Elena, the actress at the center of the fire, now appears daily in several commercials.
There was no way I knew such an entertainment star, but it was strange because I felt a sense of familiarity every time I saw him.
Ah, it’s boring.
I guess I was hoping for this kind of peaceful atmosphere, but when peace finally came, life became boring.
…
That’s a strange thought. As if I had experienced some great adventure.
As I was sighing, I heard a loud noise and looked out the window.
Outside, many male students were seen in a noisy atmosphere.
The student standing in the center had his leg in a cast, and it looked like he had been discharged from the hospital.
They seemed to be getting along quite well, giggling amongst themselves and playing with the cast.
!
In an instant, our eyes met the student standing in the center.
The moment we encountered each other, I felt a strange sense of familiarity and closeness that I had experienced many times before. The other person also tilted his head as if something was strange.
— Ding dong dang dong!
I belatedly came to my senses and looked away when I heard the bell ringing, signaling the end of lunch hour.
*
When today’s school day was over, Daseul and other friends approached.
“Have you ever seen a movie these days?”
“movie? I don’t really remember. “It seems very old, doesn’t it?”
“Then let’s watch a movie tonight!”
With those words, the kids all started chattering and laughing.
“What movie is it?”
“’Secret of the Esper’! “You’ve heard of it, right?”
… Strangely, as soon as I heard the title, I had a very ominous feeling.
“Just hearing the title gives me a very strange feeling. “Do you think the ship will definitely sink?”
“You’ve heard of it, right? “There’s a lot of buzz these days about reaching 10 million viewers.”
“No, this is the first time I’ve heard it. “Is it a famous movie?”
“huh! “I heard the female protagonist took the picture.”
“What are you doing again?”
“You who fell from the sky!”
“no… . Don’t use weird abbreviations. “You didn’t understand.”
“I thought it was perfect~”
As soon as I heard that, I felt really bad and kicked Da-seul’s chair.
Daseul immediately kicked my chair, and after we both fell on the floor, we started talking again.
“But when did the female lead in the drama film a movie again?”
Daseul only tilted his head and did not respond.
Did you also film a 10 million movie while filming a hit drama? Did you shoot the movie earlier due to time constraints?
But, as an actress who first became famous through a drama, how can she become the female lead in a blockbuster movie that was filmed before the drama? Logically something strange –
I stopped thinking.
How should I know about the lives of celebrities? Since he is a foreigner, he may have already been famous abroad even before he became popular in Korea.
Today’s school ended uneventfully and without much fun. I hope the movie in the evening is fun!
*
Disappointingly, ‘The Secret of the Esper’ was just an ordinary melodrama.
To be honest, the story is obvious and nothing special, but isn’t it a success because the main characters are handsome and pretty?
The overall story is very similar to the Titanic I saw before.
How about adding a zombie-mongering captain in the middle?
Now that I think about it, that is such a big change.
The movie was almost over while I was half asleep. And then the final climax came.
…
“Wow, that was fun!”
“You really are a goddess! “Elena was really pretty.”
“Wouldn’t Ari come out with a movie like that in the future?”
“What do you think Ari?”
The kids who were talking playfully poked me.
“…”
“Ari?”
“Is Ari crying?”
“Was it to the point of crying? “The second half was great, though.”
“I almost cried when the heroine’s mother drowned, leaving only the heroine to escape.”
“Ari?”
I come to my senses.
I started to wake up from a long dream.
I had forgotten for a long time a memory that should never be forgotten.
When I stood up and looked around, I saw my friends looking puzzled.
Children wearing now-familiar Gakuran-style school uniforms and student hats that resemble baker’s hats.
It’s abnormal.
It has been over 40 years since those school uniforms disappeared.
I ran out of the movie theater. I heard a voice calling me from behind, but I didn’t pay any attention.
I didn’t feel like talking to my friends anymore. Because it’s not worth it.
When I looked around, the streets were full of people talking in groups of twos and threes.
It’s abnormal.
The Red Plague outbreak, which failed to be contained early, caused up to 30 million victims worldwide.
After that, it was not uncommon for such an unspecified number of citizens to meet without wearing masks and gloves.
As I slowly walked down the street, I discovered more and more abnormalities.
Every section of the food alley was full of pubs and izakayas.
Fungal parasites that reproduce through alcohol have caused more than 400,000 victims in Korea alone.
After that, 70% of bars across the country disappeared. Now, alcohol is distributed only in an environment where strict control is maintained throughout the manufacturing and distribution process.
As I looked around, I saw religious people everywhere shouting that if you don’t believe in Jesus, you will go to hell.
On the peninsula alone, seven self-proclaimed Second Coming Jesus called ‘those who speak to heaven’ in Gwanak-gu.
After that, street evangelism, especially the form of evangelism that gathers people by offering money or valuables, was strongly controlled by the police.
When I looked at the building where the movie theater was located, the exterior wall of the building was clean and there were no robots in sight.
After predatory pigeons that originated in China began to breed throughout Korea, all places where pigeons might nest became places of caution.
Afterwards, most buildings above a certain size use autonomous surveillance drones on the outside to prevent nests of predatory pigeons from forming.
The abnormalities of this strange world had one thing in common.
Natural scenery in a world long ago.
However, these scenes do not reflect the current social changes brought about by chaotic disasters that failed to be controlled!
As I walked home, I looked at the night sky for the last time.
The white full moon lit up the night sky, turning my doubts into certainty.
Because there is no more moon in the real world.
*
As I walked and walked in a daze, I found myself arriving in front of the house.
…
Just go in.
If you just open the door and enter the house, meet and talk with your mom, you will forget all the strange memories of today.
I grabbed the doorknob with my hand.
Once you open this door, just open it and go in.
Why am I thinking strange thoughts all day?
At home, I have the ‘good mother’ I dreamed of, and at school, I have friends who make me smile just by looking at them.
I’m embarrassed to say it with my own mouth, but I’m pretty! Maybe she could become a celebrity, maybe she could meet a handsome and wonderful person one day and live a happy life.
If you stay here, you can definitely achieve everything.
This is my perfect life, the idea of my life.
I sat down in confusion. I heard a voice I missed so much on the other side of the door.
“What are you doing without coming in?”
“mom… .”
“Are you worried about something?”
“I’m not sure what to do.”
“Not sure what to do? Are there multiple options? “In times like that, always go back to the basics.”
“basic?”
“What you must achieve. Just stick to that one goal and forget about the rest.”
Something that must be accomplished.
More and more unclear information began to boil in my mind.
I stood up holding my shaking legs.
I forced my mouth that wouldn’t open.
“I came back to save the ‘real’ you.”
Instead of answering, the woman on the other side of the wall threw an object at the place where the milk came in.
The moment I stood up holding that object, my dark-colored smartphone, my mother spoke for the last time.
“love you.”
There was no answer.
Because the person who will hear my answer is still waiting for me!
*
It was late, nearing midnight, and I looked at the smartphone in one hand.
How did you authenticate it? It soon occurred to me.
When I put my left little finger on it, the screen shook as if the smartphone was laggy. This time, the right thumb.
At the same time, the screen unfolded and the ‘Administrative Bureau application’ began to operate.
/Welcome to Agent Kim Ari. Click on the desired service -/
I skipped right away and pressed 1 3 2 in that order.
/I will guide you to the nearby management bureau headquarters./
‘Barum Publishing Company’.
It’s not that far. I looked up at the night sky again.
The brilliance of the moon, now unreal, covered the earth with kindness.
Did I miss that beautiful sight?
I sighed and went to the side of the road.
Tonight, I wake up in a world of lies.
See next episode