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“I thought you would come looking for us… but I didn’t expect you to find us this quickly.”

The reactions of the two were nothing short of dramatic.

Song Ah Rin, showing her first glimpse of happiness while tied up with balloon strings at her wrists.

“…That was hard.”

“I was the one who had it tough, you white-haired lunatic!”

And Jang Chae Yeon, letting out a low sigh as she approached me.

Perhaps she wasn’t really happy to see me but just didn’t like the situation?

“How can you even fight like this in a place you don’t even know?”

“That idiot is acting like a fool!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t be trying to act like a genius when you’re clearly not?”

I had no idea what to say in this atmosphere. What should I do?

“…What about Da On? And the Team Leader?”

“…”

The argument between the two paused for a moment.

“They should be coming out soon.”

“Slowly?”

“As you know, we need to draw tickets.”

Song Ah Rin pulled out an escape ticket shining with a golden light from her pocket.

“You got that in the gunfight too, right?”

“Yes. I sent the others, though.”

“Others…?”

Song Ah Rin murmured in confusion and her gaze landed on Aileen, who was beside me.

“…Is that the Response Team leader—”

“It’s Aileen.”

“…You brought the Response Team too?”

“Why would I come alone?”

“…”

Song Ah Rin quietly looked at her before shrugging her shoulders.

“So, you don’t have any tickets at all?”

“None.”

“But don’t worry. We’ve collected three tickets!”

With a smug grin, Song Ah Rin pulled out another ticket from her pocket.

“That’s two tickets, though?”

“One will be taken by the black-haired person soon.”

“Good. Then if we go in, we’ll manage to get another one from the attraction?”

As I pointed to Aileen with my thumb, a moment of silence fell.

Soon, Jang Chae Yeon frowned slightly and spoke to me.

“I can go with you.”

“What a bunch of nonsense.”

After hearing her, Song Ah Rin sighed deeply and glared at Jang Chae Yeon with wide eyes.

“If you hadn’t just been using your abilities mindlessly and had watched carefully, we could’ve escaped much easier!”

“It wasn’t me who was trembling in fear, doing nothing in the dark.”

“And can you even explain anything properly, with your poor communication skills?”

“…”

“Well.”

This atmosphere was seriously tense.

“Is this what your team is usually like?”

“No.”

At this rate, they seemed to be genuinely fighting, so I hurriedly stepped between them.

“First, let’s get the explanation. And we can think about Da On and the Team Leader’s arrival when they show up.”

“…Alright.”

Taking a small breath, Song Ah Rin began to explain.

According to her, we would ride an attraction called Cheonlima, which was a two-person train.

And we were to just look around… or so she claimed.

“Of course, it’s not just a simple sightseeing trip.”

With a raised index finger, Song Ah Rin continued.

“Something will be following us from behind, and you’ll feel this compulsive need to look at it.”

“And if I do look?”

“Well, me and the white-haired one managed to avoid it. However, when the white-haired one suddenly pushed me with telekinesis… I couldn’t confirm it properly.”

Song Ah Rin glared at Jang Chae Yeon and tapped her temple with her finger.

So they managed to mesmerize her.

“Then, isn’t it dangerous for the Team Leader and Da On?”

Looking at her with the question of whether it was really necessary to pair those two together, she averted her gaze, as if defending herself, and continued speaking.

“No, but we had no choice. Among us, she’s the only one who can survive anything. …And, well, the Team Leader has some luck too.”

“That’s true.”

Honestly, I didn’t think Song Ah Rin would want to team up with Jang Chae Yeon willingly.

“In that case, it’d be better for me and Song Ah Rin to team up.”

Given the mental effects, she was likely to handle things better.

“Right?”

With a confident expression, Song Ah Rin nodded.

Though Jang Chae Yeon didn’t say anything, it was evident from her expression that she was displeased.

“But… why are you two not coming anymore?”

It felt like quite some time had passed.

Both of them remained silent, exchanging glances.

“…I’ll go in first. Song Ah Rin, please come with me.”

I didn’t think merely obtaining a ticket would be the end.

Because I still couldn’t see Da On and the Team Leader at all.

“Would it be okay if I didn’t go along?”

“Aileen…?”

“I’m just a regular person.”

Song Ah Rin replied coldly, shaking her head.

“I appreciate you coming this far, and I think it’s amazing. However, this is a mental thing. I hope you can be more helpful when the time comes later.”

“That’s true.”

She slowly nodded her head.

“The entrance is here.”

Song Ah Rin pointed at the iron door with her finger.

“Alright, then I’m going—Ah!”

As she confidently opened the door and stepped inside, she bumped her nose against an invisible wall and let out a squeak.

“Ugh…”

Her face turning bright red, she rubbed her nose, and I mimicked her by reaching out to open the door.

-Creeeak…

The door opened naturally.

“The door opens just fine?”

“…Uh…?”

The girl, who was rubbing her nose, touched the door with a blank expression.

With a ‘thud!’ sound, it was as if her hand was blocked by something, preventing her from moving forward anymore.

“…Is it possible that retries aren’t allowed?”

“That could be the case.”

Were they not accepting any more participants?

“Then… it looks like only one person can go?”

My gaze shifted to Aileen, who shrugged her shoulders and responded.

“Okay. I’ll give it a try.”

“That seems to be your best option.”

Was our deduction right? As she stretched out her hand, it smoothly entered the door as if there was nothing there.

“…It seems we both have to go.”

“…It can’t be helped.”

Song Ah Rin sighed.

“I’d like to tell you more, but I’ll reiterate—”

“I got it.”

Seeing Jang Chae Yeon’s expression looking fierce, I quickly cut off Song Ah Rin’s words.

“It’s fine. I can handle this mental attack too.”

“…Alright. We’ll see you later.”

“Be careful.”

Song Ah Rin nodded, watching Jang Chae Yeon wave her hand as they stepped inside.

“Did you just smile?”

“No.”

“Stop joking. You smiled.”

“I didn’t.”

“I’m really going to—”

Their voices were swallowed by the sound of the door closing.

“…They seem to get along well.”

“It’s not that pleasant, though.”

I couldn’t help but respond to Aileen, who spoke with an astonished tone.

*

The inside of the attraction was cleaner than expected.

With pictures suggesting the West’s wilderness, scenes of trains played continuously.

In front of that was a small train-shaped ride with a safety bar.

Designed for only two people to ride.

On the opposite side, there was an exit, where a faceless figure stood in a mechanical pose.

Would they be handing us tickets after it ends?

There was still no sign of something arriving.

Had something happened to Da On or the Team Leader? Unless something had gone wrong, they should’ve been here by now.

“…Let’s ride quickly.”

With a nervous heart, I hopped into the attraction.

Outside of me and Song Ah Rin, there were virtually no one else with resistance to mental attacks.

Still, nothing was visible.

<Departure!>

The mechanical voice of the woman I heard earlier echoed in my ears as the attraction commenced its slow departure.

“You’ve probably heard, but they say you’ll feel something behind you.”

“Usually, that kind of feeling means if you turn around, something’s bound to happen. I’ll be cautious too.”

“And if something happens, just let me know. Well… maybe I could block your ears, or…”

“Or you’re thinking of breaking a finger?”

She glanced at my fingers and chuckled softly.

“Not really…”

“I’ve done this plenty of times. I’m fine.”

She shrugged her shoulders.

The attraction began to move slowly.

After passing through a dark tunnel, soon what appeared before us was—

“…A mascot suit?”

A multitude of mascot suits.

Including the sightless bunny suit I had seen before, an earless puppy suit, and finally, a duck suit with a bizarrely wide-open mouth, five mascot suits were staring back at us.

“…Those things are moving their gaze.”

Calmly inspecting the mascot suits, Aileen spoke softly.

“Don’t look too closely. And don’t take your eyes off of them.”

Isn’t this a contradictory statement? While I thought that, I glanced subtly at the mascot suits, following Aileen’s lead.

As the attraction began to move slowly past the mascots,

At that moment, as a pain struck my temple, Aileen grabbed my wrist.

“…I can feel it.”

“Seems that way.”

The throbbing in my head indicated that she too sensed something.

“Something is chasing us from behind. Be careful. I can hear a sound.”

I strained my ears.

Nothing could be heard.

“It’s not chasing us.”

Rubbing my throbbing temple, I replied to her.

“No, nothing is pursuing us. But still… I feel something is following us.”

She began to ramble.

“If we don’t check right now, it feels like we’ll be in big trouble.”

“Get a grip.”

“I hear a sound.”

“Aileen.”

“I hear a sound!”

I firmly grabbed her neck from behind to restrain her.

“If you turn your head, we’re dead.”

She bit her lips hard.

The attraction began to slowly move forward with a rattling sound.

Soon, something familiar yet foreign appeared before us.

“…”

There was only one person on that attraction.

A large man was blocking his ears with both hands, mumbling the same phrase repeatedly.

“I can’t hear it. I can’t hear it. I can’t hear it…”

That voice was recognizable.

“…Team Leader?”

Upon my words, the Team Leader jolted in surprise and turned to look.

“You… how did you get here…”

“I came looking for you. …Where’s Da On?”

“…..Over there!”

The Team Leader pointed ahead with his finger.

On a wooden stage, Yu Da On was dancing with a bright smile.

With elegance resembling the ladies from old films, she moved gracefully while dancing.

The only difference was, blood was incessantly flowing from her ankles.

Her mouth was twisted grotesquely wide in a laugh.

Soon, a translucent window appeared above her head.

[Name: Yu Da On]

[Age: 23]

[Specialty: Immortality]

[Talent: Regeneration (Undetermined)]

[Background: She enjoys dancing so much!]

[Weakness: When a machine breaks, adults would solve it by hitting it with their palms.]

Hitting the machine?

Rubbing my throbbing temple, I fell deep into thought.

“Ah-ha, ah-ha-ha! Ah-ha-ha-ha!”

Yu Da On’s joyful laughter echoed in my eardrums.

Letting out a small sigh, I rolled up my sleeves.

I need to fix this.