I Guess I Was Lucky

The place we arrived is an old gray building.

I thought about it when I played the game, but it's a very desolate building.

The shape is like a cube, and there are no graffiti, windows, or even the name of the building present.

I think it's probably because the creators made it a little rough. Get to work, developers.

There is only one entrance. The front door. Ha-rim approaches and turns the doorknob.

Click.

[It doesn't open. I think I need a key.]

I got out of the mirror and tried to break down the door, feeling as if such a message would appear in the game.

"Ella wait!"

Ha-rim stopped me and took out a key from her bag.

As expected from a playable character... Her item picking skills are top-notch.

I didn't care and took a kicking stance.

"Why are you trying to break the door when we have the key?!"

You wouldn't know. The feeling of having to go through puzzles or riddles while rummaging through every nook and cranny of the stage to open a locked door.

Click!

While Suho stopped me, Ha-rim opened the door with the key.

Unbelievable!

When I looked at Ha-rim with my eyes trembling from the feeling of betrayal, she avoided my gaze.

"The door... I don't think you need to break it!"

Impossible.

We entered the building.

Unlike the stark exterior, there were quite a few decent pieces of furniture inside.

There are a lot of familiar furniture that would be commonly used in a normal home, so it gives a sense of alienation.

The building has three floors. And on each floor, there are three rooms with doors on the left and right, and each place is decorated like a child's bedroom.

The three mirrors brought by the children were placed on each floor. This made it easier for me to supervise.

I didn't forget to check each room before starting. Also, it would be difficult for any spiders to come out.

No cobwebs or anything. It's clear.

Sandman and Boogeyman.

Sandman is an entity who encourages sleep and is known to help people do that by sprinkling sand in their eyes.

They may not be evil in the folklore, but the unknown has always evoked fear.

Next, the Boogeyman is a monster who mainly targets children, scaring them by hiding behind doors, inside closets, and under beds.

An imaginary entity created by adults to scare kids. It is no exaggeration to say that they are the main enemies of children.

"Are your hearts ready? If so, turn on that music box."

When Ha-rim opened the lid of the music box on top of the drawer, the music starts playing by itself.

A song to put children to sleep. It makes me feel uncomfortable because the ghost is actually forcing me to sleep.

Blink. Blink.

The lights used to illuminate the inside of the building flickers and then completely turn off.

Instead, glowing sun and moon-shaped stickers stuck to the wallpaper revealed the inside.

Squeak...

The door to the backmost room on the first floor opens. There stood an old man with bloodshot eyes in pajamas.

It's Sandman.

The Sandman had a beard that was so thick that it hid his face, and he put his hand inside the beard and pulled out an hourglass.

He placed it in the hallway. Then went back to his room.

An hourglass placed in a conspicuous place.

"Get in position."

Ha-rim stood in front of the door and the children each picked up a piece of furniture that could be used as a weapon.

A grain of sand fell in the hourglass.

"Start."

Sand slowly rises from the bottom.

POV Switch - Ha-rim

There are a total of five rooms on this floor. Among them, we have to find the Boogeyman and Sandman who are hiding.

I opened the notebook. The strategy that Ella had told me was written down.

On the first floor, Sandman's hiding place is the bed in the room with the sun pattern on it.

I opened the door and removed the blanket from the bed.

Sandman, who was hiding, glared resentfully with red bloodshot eyes.

I swallowed my saliva. The resentment was so deep that I couldn't see the depth, so it was hard to endure it.

Then, Sandman didn't do anything, turned invisible and disappeared.

And suddenly drowsiness pours in.

It feels like if I fall asleep now, I will never wake up.

The sound of the music box urges me to sleep.

I staggered outside. Next, I went into the room where the moon, lantern, and bonfire were drawn.

The Boogeyman's hiding place is under the bed opposite to Sandman's. Because of my hazy mind, I could put my face under the bed without hesitation.

There was a man with a pale face and a wide smile. His limbs were unusually long, making him look like an insect.

Rather than hidden under the bed, it looked like he was crumpled.

[-!!!!!!]

He suddenly screamed. My hazy mind gets startled and wakes up.

After the boogeyman screamed, he ran upstairs on all fours.

Thumpthump.

My startled heart starts beating faster and faster. As if it will explode!

I chased after the Boogeyman and headed upstairs.

The sand in my feet hinders my running. When I looked closely, it was a hand made of sand. In addition, little by little it took on a human form.

Puck!

Suho blocks the sand hand holding my leg with his shield.

It was obviously sand, so there would be no damage, but it seemed to be in pain.

Kyeong-min and Eun-jeong were also holding furniture and blocking the sand creatures as much as possible.

I didn't miss the chance and ran.

-Jingle.

Eun-jeong saw me running and rang the bell to lighten my body. Running is much better now.

Second floor.

We have to find the Sandman again.

If I find Sandman, I will fall into a sleep from which I will not wake up. Before that happens, find the Boogeyman and wake up.

And when I meet the Boogeyman, my startled heart beats fast and bursts. I need to do this repetitive task of finding Sandman again and calming down.

In the notebook, Sandman is in the closet of the room with the picture of a pillow. I opened it.

This time, the Sandman terrifyingly crumples his face.

Tears of blood were flowing from his eyes.

As he tore the pillow he had brought to sleep, he glared at me as if to warn that he would kill me if I disturbed his sleep again, then disappeared once more.

Drowsiness pours.

When I left the room, the members were also on the second floor.

The stairs are blocked by a human figure.

I met Ella's eyes in the mirror placed on the second floor. It was a pretty smiling face. I guess I'm doing well.

But I have to hurry. The next room is a bedroom with the picture of an alarm clock.

Entering the room, I opened the box placed in a corner. There was a crumpled Boogeyman there.

Kideugkideug.1

[-!!!!!!]

A scream that hurts the eardrum.

I wake up from sleepiness.

The Boogeyman jumps out of the box and runs upstairs.

I follow him without hesitation.

Third floor.

This time, out of the six rooms, two doors were quietly opened.

At first glance, it looked like the Sandman and the Boogeyman forgot to close the door as they entered.

I opened the notebook.

3rd floor. Ignore the open doors. Reveal the hidden 7th door.

As written, I entered and exited the first room on the left three times and entered and exited the second room on the right once.

The room I came out of has turned into a plain wall. It was the same every other door, but instead there was a trapdoor at the end of the hallway.

I glanced at the mirror on the third floor and opened the trapdoor. It was deep like a sewer, and I wouldn't go down even as a joke.

I heard a strange sound from the bottom of the dark and listened.

[Death to the child who disturbed sleep.]

[Death to the child who does not sleep.]

A figure with a large body was slowly climbing up.

A black spherical monster with the Sandman and Boogeyman's faces wriggles and runs towards me.

Looking at it, it has black legs.

It drags the slimy mucus and tries to catch me with its eight pairs of legs!

[Kiaaaaakk!!!]

The gap between the two faces widened, and a long tongue emerged from it.

I had a bad feeling about it.

I freaked out and took a step back.

The monster burst out of the trapdoor and ran towards me. It planned to swallow me in one bite while opening its mouth.

"If you're hungry, would you like to eat this?"

Ella jumped out from behind me and threw the cherry ice cream at it. The monster gulps it down.

It started convulsing like hydrochloric acid had been poured into its mouth.

[Kieeeeekk!!!]

Ella, did you try to eat that? I stared at her with my tired eyes.

It even made me wonder if the monster was stabbed too.

Ella walked lightly and slashed the Sandman and Boogeyman's faces off with her knife.

Dark red blood gushed out.

Urgh. How could Ella do such a cruel thing so calmly?

"Ha-rim. Give me the notebook."

I handed it to Ella. She rubbed it against the blood. The notebook was dyed red.

Seeing that, Ella muttered, "There's not much blood".

The monster turned into smoke and was absorbed into Ella's body. According to her, the time to be active outside became longer. What's the principle?

Step. Step.

One by one, the members come up to the third floor. After defeating the monster, the sand seems to have disappeared as well.

Ella said that today is over, so we should go back. I'm glad there are no surprises this time!

Now all that remains is to return to school and relieve our mental exhaustion.

POV Switch - Ella

I looked at the red notebook in my hand and made a satisfied expression. I didn't do a lot this time.

I didn't intervene except for the last second to build up the children's experience, and they did a really good job.

In particular, the gimmick that Ha-rim experienced is easy to make mistakes, but it's really reliable to know they can deal with it.

We started going back the way we came.

There were no unexpected situations, so I felt good today.

I feel good, and I don't think I've materialized much. Shall we step out of the mirror and guide the children this time?

I stepped out and enjoyed the fresh air. I told the kids that I was leading the way.

"Ella~ Don't go too fast!" said Ha-rim anxiously. I don't know who is worried about whom.

I gave a small warning and passed the fork in the road we had seen previously.

"..."

And there was something that shouldn't have been there.

...

I gave a hand signal to stop and wait behind my back without being obvious. Ha-rim, who noticed it, stops the group.

There is a sense of tension.

I glanced at the children to see if they had stopped and turned my gaze back to "her".

A little girl wearing a hat decorated with sunflowers.

She was staring at me with a blank expression.

Oh god why is she outside the boss stage.

I stay quiet.

She tilts her head at my silence.

"Hello Ella."

I forced a smile and replied.

"...Hi Mary."