Episode 16 – Room 102, The Cursed Room – 'House of Horror' (2)
Episode 16 – Room 102, The Cursed Room – 'House of Horror' (2)
[User: Han Gain (Jihye)
Date: Day 5
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room – House of Horror)
Sage's Advice: 3]
"Everyone, are you ready?"
Fearing that someone might have heard the 'worst behind-the-scenes talk' we had just done, everyone managed their expressions as if they had been casually chatting with nothing happening, then went out.
"Of course, we're all already prepared. The atmosphere of the mansion is so nice that while having this and that conversation, it feels like time passes quickly."
The atmosphere of the mansion was so nice that we discussed how and where we might die for 30 minutes.
"Haha, the scenery of the mansion is something the elderly master always cherished as well. It seems everyone is dressed comfortably for hiking, so I shall guide you."
Day 1 of arriving at the mansion, hiking began as the first schedule.
It's a somewhat eerie mountain.
Is it because there are many unfamiliar trees? Or is it because I'm looking at everything filled with prejudice?
Everything from one to ten is suspicious.
I wasn't the only one with this problem; others were also glancing around, busy keeping watch on their surroundings.
Perhaps because of this, our stamina dropped faster due to the tension, and by the time we reached the middle of the mountain, everyone except Jincheol oppa started showing clear signs of exhaustion.
"I think it would be best to take a short rest around here."
As expected, everyone accepted the old man's proposal, who climbed the mountain like a walk without shedding a single drop of sweat, even more so than Jincheol oppa.
"If you don't have anything particular to do, would you like to hear about the mansion?"
Of course, there was nothing to do, and a story about the mansion. There might be a 'hint for the strategy' in it.
"Oh my! Of course. I was always curious whenever I heard stories about uncle's mansion.
The atmosphere of this mountain alone is extraordinary, so is there something special about it after all?"
"Hehe, special, special... Rather than being special, there was a dispute related to land ownership."
A suddenly realistic story.
I was thinking of an occult story like someone filled with hatred dying 300 years ago, but a very 21st-century story came out.
"In practice, the mansion and most of the surrounding land belong to the elderly master. However... unlike the master's position, the law is not simple.
Some areas are strictly difficult to consider as the master's property."
"If it's not uncle's property, then whose?"
"For example, beyond the middle of this mountain, from the summit to the opposite side is government property. The nearby cathedral is now half-ruined, but it still belongs to the Catholic Church.
Besides that, there are quite a few ambiguous lands such as a small farm outside the garden and a shrine whose origins I'm not sure of."
"Then, should we not enter those areas?"
"Actually, it doesn't really matter. I said that practically most of it is the master's property, right?
The legal owners don't manage them at all... So you don't need to worry about that."
The opposite side of the mountain, the cathedral, the farm outside the garden, a shrine somewhere. Those areas are not owned by the mansion.
I memorized them. I don't know what it means, but... it must have some significance.
"The area near the summit has really great scenery. I make sure to step on the summit and come down at least once every 2 or 3 days.
When I look around the area from the summit... I feel like the world's turbid energy disappears."
"Hehe, the master has good stamina too. It wouldn't be easy to go all the way to the summit."
"Since I live nearby and always climb, I've gained a lot of know-how, so it's doable."
Light small talk. However, an inexplicably tense atmosphere.
Like that, we struggled and climbed to the summit. The scenery of the summit wasn't bad, just as the butler had confidently claimed.
It wasn't quite a spectacular view, but there was a feeling of openness, so for a neighborhood mountain, this could be considered quite good.
On the way down, the butler asked a question about meals.
"What are your thoughts on dinner? Originally, I could prepare a meal at the mansion,
but since college students have gathered, I thought you might want to stay like camping, so I could arrange a spot by the valley for you."
There was no need to exchange opinions. As soon as I heard that proposal, I thought that camping would be better, if only to stay away from the 'butler and maid' and have time just for ourselves. Of course, Eunsol unnie's thoughts were no different.
"Oh my, thank you, Butler. I think it would be a bit more comfortable for us to hang out among ourselves.
We would appreciate it if you could prepare a spot by the valley."
"I will do so."
After coming down from the mountain and returning to the mansion, everyone first looked for the missing Seungyeop.
Of course, it seemed like he was cluelessly chasing after a girl, but still, wasn't that concerning?
This was a place where someone could easily die without anyone knowing.
Fortunately, finding Seungyeop wasn't difficult.
To be precise, shortly after we arrived, a girl appearing cutely dressed in a maid outfit unbefitting her age came out and greeted us, and next to her, Seungyeop was panting heavily as if he were about to stop breathing.
Jincheol oppa had an expression like he wanted to say something, but everyone was too exhausted to drag it out.
So everyone went into the mansion to rest without wasting time.
After taking an appropriate rest, the camping spot by the valley.
Fortunately, the path to the valley wasn't rough, and upon arriving, not only a grill perfect for roasting meat but also various beef, pork, and vegetables were already prepared.
No matter how scared of the mansion we were, aren't people bound to weaken in front of meat! Everyone naturally relaxed, and their expressions softened too.
Jincheol oppa, who had been ready to give Seungyeop a severe scolding as soon as he saw him, must have not wanted to ruin the atmosphere, so he just settled it with a flick to the head and a word or two.
"Whew... This place... really doesn't seem to make you suffer when it comes to food at least. That alone is truly a relief. They make you suffer to death but feed you well. If it weren't for that, we would have all collapsed long ago."
Oppa, who naturally went to the grill and picked up the tongs, also said a word.
"Oh my, the marbling on this beef is no joke. The pork looks nicely meaty too."
"This seems to be lamb. It's my first time having it since coming to Korea... It's really been a while."
The atmosphere became warm and relaxed.
And then, the hearing began.
"Seungyeop, so did you see anything while following Ari around?
Just in case, if you only looked at Ari's face and couldn't see anything, or if you say things like Ari was really pretty, you're going to starve today."
"Gasp... What are you saying, noona. I just thought that getting close would be the best way to gauge the mansion's atmosphere, so I just helped out."
No one believed him, but no one bothered to press further.
"Alright then, so did you see anything or not."
"It's not that I saw something... but the mansion seems a bit strange. From what I briefly felt, two things?
First of all, the mansion is really large... but having only two people managing it was strange in itself."
"That is really strange. It's not just the house being big, but the mansion's land is enormously vast, starting from the surrounding garden. Only two people. And one of them is a young kid."
"Also, they didn't stop me from going to other parts of the mansion, but they didn't let me go to the 'study'. This definitely means something is there."
"Well, at least he didn't just play around the whole time. There's no one there, and they prevent you from going to the study... Hmm, what do you think?"
"Well... With just this, nothing immediately comes to mind. Should I try forcing my way into the study once? Whatever happens, in the setting, I'm the 'master's' beloved niece, so would the servants be able to come at me strongly?"
"Isn't that too dangerous?"
"Well, if something goes wrong, the remaining people can survive well and save me."
At those words, too murderous to be considered a spontaneous joke, everyone fell silent.
"Ahaha, why's the atmosphere like this? I just said it. I'll stop if it seems dangerous.
But... if we don't do anything because we don't know what to do, the other side will just strike first.
So doing nothing seems safe, but it's actually the most dangerous action. That's my theory."
Did unnie gain more confidence as her body became younger?
Whatever the case, we still know too little about this mansion to form any opinion.
In the end, the meal ended with only the meat being deliciously eaten.
The meat was certainly delicious, but... when the meeting yielded no results, even the expression of Seungyeop, who seemed the most thoughtless among the group, started to darken.
Caw! Caw!
A chilling cry.
As the sound of a crow rang out as if announcing that today's meeting was over, we wordlessly stood up and returned to the mansion.
Late at night.
In the end, there was no significant gain from dinner or the brief conversation that followed.
Before we knew it, everyone was exhausted and entered their respective rooms with drained expressions.
What should we do? Truly, the world is a bizarre place.
After experiencing various problems in Russia, I came to Korea with my family and settled down for nearly 6 years...
During that time, there were no particularly serious problems.
Living here, there were pros and cons, but at least Korea belonged to the fairly safe countries.
But to experience something like this...
It's a thought I have every night, but being in such an eerie mansion makes me have those gloomy thoughts again.
Tap tap
Tap tap
My heart beats violently. Footsteps. Not that loud. At this hour?
If it were a safe place, I wouldn't have thought much of it, but right now, this is probably the most eerie place in the world.
Quietly – I slipped a knife I had picked up after dinner, which I had been using to cut meat, into my sleeve.
Even if something happened, if I fought, someone from around would come to help.
The footsteps approached the door.
Elena, ready to scream with all her might if something went wrong, flung the door open.
"Oh my!"
A mistake. The other party wasn't some unidentified monster. Feeling the tension suddenly release at the familiar face, Elena put the knife back inside her sleeve.
"Late at night? Do you have something to say?"
It was nothing special. The mansion was too eerie, and being alone made her mind complicated.
I fully understand. Elena herself was in exactly that state.
So to calm her mind a bit, we brought up meaningless personal talk and spent some light time together.
If we kept doing this, today's long and eerie night would pass more comfortably than expected.
The next morning,
We found Elena's corpse.