I Became the Hidden Mastermind

025 – There’s space behind the pillar #2

025 – There’s space behind the pillar #2

Mom is trapped in the elevator.

Everything went dark in front of my eyes in many ways.

“I told you not to take the villa elevator, Mom.”

“Mom’s in Trouble: Not a Villa”

“Mom’s in Trouble: Isn’t it the company elevator, not a villa?”

“Mom’s in Trouble: It’s a bit scary being stuck aloneㅠㅠㅠ”

“Mom’s in Trouble: But since I’ll finish work early today, I should be able to go home early for dinnerㅎㅎ”

On the day a strange elevator appeared in my apartment building, my mom got trapped in the company elevator. It could have been a simple coincidence, but my intuition, honed by various incidents, hinted at a deep connection between the two.

“Mom’s in Trouble: Lol, elevator arrived on the 4th floorㅋㅋ Let’s see later.”

“Mom’s in Trouble: But it’s so chilly here, and my phone battery is dead.”

My mom sent me a message saying she had arrived on the 4th floor. Was it just a malfunction?

My anxious heart, stretched to its limit like a balloon, began to loosen a bit.

“Mom’s in Trouble: Photo”

While preparing for the next class, I received a photo from my mom. It seemed to be a picture taken outside the open door of the elevator.

Beyond the open elevator door, there seemed to be a quite dim interior.

Isn’t it too dark outside?

I felt a sense of unease for some reason.

“Why is that? Did Jung Sojin bother you with a text?”

Seemingly noticing my unease, Yang Ju-hee, who was sitting behind me, poked my back with her finger.

“My mom got stuck alone in the elevator and ended up getting off on the 4th floor. Look at this picture. Doesn’t it look too dark and strange? It’s like some kind of warehouse, isn’t it.”

I showed Yang Joo-hee the photo on my phone.

I thought that if we shared the problem we were both suffering from, the burden would be somewhat divided.

“Oh. This is strange. Look below the number 4 here.”

Yang Joo-hee touched the phone with her pale, slender finger.

Zooming in on the photo, there was indeed something strange, just as Yang Joo-hee had said.

The number 4 written on the panel indicating the floor.

Below it, the words “Exceeding Capacity” were clearly engraved in red.

“Didn’t your mom say she was trapped alone in the elevator?”

Exceeding capacity in an elevator she rode alone.

It could simply be due to an elevator malfunction, but I couldn’t calm down at all!

“Mom, don’t get off on the 4th floor. Go to a different floor.”

“Mom.”

“Mom, don’t get off and just stay put.”

“Mom, answer, answer me, answer.”

“Check it out.”

“Photo.”

“Gift card.”

“Young-won Ha has sent a gift card.”

“Read it.”

Mom hasn’t replied.

There’s still no sign of the ‘1’ indicating a message read.

I immediately called Mom.

“The phone is turned off…”

“……”

Oh, darn it. Come to think of it, she did say the battery was low!

I couldn’t calm down easily.

“Hey. Joohee. What time is the second period?”

“It’s Korean class next.”

If it’s Korean, it’s Teacher Kang Haneul.

There must be a hole to escape even if the ceiling collapses!

“Joohee. I think we might have to skip class.”

“What? Hey! What’s going on!”

I dashed towards the corridor.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

Soon, I could encounter Teacher Kang Haneul, walking down the corridor with high-heeled footsteps.

“Teacher, my mother seems to be in an emergency. Can I skip class? Teacher, it’s really urgent! Teacher! Please!”

“Yeongwon. What’s all of a sudden? Your mother is in an emergency?”

“Teacher! Please, I’m begging you!”

Snap-.

I turned around just like that.

From behind, I heard the teacher calling my name, “Youngwon~,” but my legs kept running like a truck with a faulty brake.

It was when I was about to exit the school gate.

The school’s golf instructor, holding a golf club and practicing his swing, saw me from the main gate and shouted, “Hey! It’s class time! Where are you going? What grade and class are you in?”

“I have to go! My mom is seriously ill! My mom!”

“Your mom? That’s a serious matter. Did you get permission from the teacher by any chance? If you have permission, I can let you go right away, but if not, go get it. Many students lie and leave without permission.”

Do you need permission to go outside the school during class time?

I had never tried leaving early or skipping class before, so I didn’t know.

What should I do?

Should I go back and get it?

When I was panting desperately, someone waved their hand in the distance.

“Hey, Hayoungwon. Drop this and go.”

It was Jeongseok, the class monitor.

Jeongseok came over with two pieces of paper that said “Early Departure Permit for Hayoungwon” and handed one to me.

“Permitting the early departure of student ‘Hayoungwon’ for the following reasons: ‘Family emergency.’ – Signed, Kang Haneul.”

A permit for early departure from Teacher Kang Haneul!

I was really lucky that Jeongseok brought this.

There was a note.

“Permission granted for early departure of student ‘jeong seog’ due to the following reasons:”

“Hospital appointment”

“Signature – gang ha neul”

The handwriting was very neat.

It seemed like it was printed from a computer, but it was definitely written by jeong seog.

Could it be that he forged the early departure note? How clever!

Mr. Suwi opened his narrow eyes.

“If it’s Teacher gang ha neul, I know him well. He has such beautiful handwriting. The handwriting written here is also very well done. Nowadays, with computers and all, there aren’t many people who can write well by hand.”

Ring ring.

At that moment, Mr. Suwi’s phone rang.

“Oh my. It’s a call for Teacher gang ha neul.”

A call for Teacher gang ha neul?

What if he finds out that we didn’t get permission for early departure!

Should I just run away!

“Yes! This is 강만득! Yes. There are two students at the school gate who say they got permission from the teacher to leave early. Yes. Hayoungwon and jeong seog. Ah…yes. It’s for an assignment. Okay. I understand.”

Click.

Mr. Suwi hung up the phone.

“Oh, students. I’m sorry for keeping you so late. There are so many students who lie and run away while causing trouble! Teacher gang ha neul said he’ll send the assignment by email for the class he missed today.”

“Seok-ah! Let’s go!”

Me and Jungseok left the school as it is.

As we turned into an alley where the school couldn’t be seen, Jungseok asked me.

“What’s going on? Is it because of the elevator?”

“I’ll explain on the way. First, we need to catch a taxi and go to my mom’s company.”

“Hey! Why did you come out so late!”

As I was trying to catch a taxi with the app turned on, someone approached me.

It was Yang Ju-hee.

Jungseok asked her.

“Did you leave early too?”

“No? I came out through a hole in the wall.”

There’s a hole in the school wall.

Indeed, those who have skipped classes seem to be good at it.

# # #

“Is this your mother’s company?”

Jungseok exclaimed as he looked at the towering building.

The headquarters of Oseong Electronics, located in Gaeryong City, exuded a grand and imposing presence.

“Wow. How many floors does it have?”

Yang Ju-hee also raised her chin as if she were overwhelmed.

She seemed to be counting the floors with her eyes or tapping her fingers.

Jungseok said a word.

“I heard it’s 100 floors. My dad participated in the building completion ceremony a while back. I was there too. I had no idea Youngwon’s mom works at Osung Electronics. The average salary here is 200 million.”

It was hard to believe that Youngwon’s mom works at Osung Electronics, yet they live in a villa with no elevator and a plethora of cockroaches.

It was my first time visiting my mom’s workplace, so I was honestly taken aback.

Mom didn’t talk much about her new job.

An average salary of 200 million!

“Hey, is this the time to discuss that? Let’s go quickly!”

I snapped back to reality with Yang Ju-hee’s words.

We walked slowly into the sparkling building, and as students in school uniforms entered, the people in the lobby on the first floor immediately turned their attention.

Weekday afternoon.

A time when office workers would be diligently working.

Students in school uniforms should typically be confined to school, like chicks in a coop.

Our presence, leaving the courtyard and walking towards the company, was extraordinary in itself.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

A pretty and friendly lady at the reception desk smiled at us.

I spoke up as the representative of the kids.

“Hello. I’m Hayoungwon. Is there a person named Hachaeyeon working here? She’s our mom, and we urgently need to meet her! It’s urgent! Really!”

“Hachaeyeon… Hachaeyeon… Are you talking about the Hachaeyeon in the planning team? Or…”

“Planning? Our mom is a janitor. From what I’ve heard, she’s in the facilities team!”

“Oh, the janitor sister? But the Hachaeyeon in the facilities team is 34 this year. Do you have a high school student son? Are you a student, Youngji?”

“It’s really urgent! Have you heard anything about the elevator being out of order?”

“Malfunction? I haven’t heard such a thing. More importantly, are you really Hachae-yeon’s son? No, right? You and your mom have the same last name. Who are you?”

“Ah, this is so frustrating! Hey! Hayoungwon! Just come here!”

Bang!

Yang Ju-hee ran somewhere, waving her long legs under her skirt.

The desk sister exclaimed in surprise, “Hey! Where are you going?” but couldn’t stop Yang Ju-hee.

Yang Ju-hee was pressing all the visible elevators.

Ding, ding, ding.

Yang Ju-hee entered the arriving elevators one by one.

“What’s this? There’s no 4th floor here? It’s all F floors. In the case of the 44th floor, it’s completely FF floor! Why are there elevators like this?”

The elevators at the Oseong Electronics headquarters changed all the numbers 4 to F.

Didn’t Mom say the elevator she took stopped at the 4th floor?

“This won’t do! Let’s go to the 4th floor ourselves!”

Bang!

Yang Ju-hee jumped with all her might, and I followed behind. But Yang Ju-hee was too fast, and just following her made me out of breath to the point of almost dying.

The F floor we arrived at with that feeling was a place decorated with large, colorful TVs. It was completely different from the picture Mom sent.

What on earth is going on here!

The situation had become a quagmire.

In the distance, the security guards of the building were also approaching us.

“Hey, you guys! How did you get here?”

“Sir! Did anyone report an elevator malfunction?”

“Elevator? I haven’t heard of that. Did Kim Ju-im happen to hear?”

“No. I… By the way, who are you guys? Is that a uniform you’re wearing?”

No elevator malfunction report.

Mom definitely arrived on the 4th floor through a malfunctioning elevator…

As I hesitated for a moment, Jeong-seok, who had been following me in silence, spoke.

“Eun-won, it seems like there’s nothing else there. Let’s get out of here. It seems like a waste of time to stay here. You must have noticed too.”

He’s right.

Staying here is just a waste of time.

“Taxi!”

I hailed a taxi roaming in front of the company and immediately gave our home address.

“Sir! Please go to Taekwang Villa at this address! Quickly! Hurry!”

Vroom-.

After about 20 minutes of driving, the taxi arrived in front of the villa.

“Ah, darn it! We ended up here after all! Finally!”

Zzzeek, jjeo-eok-! Zziji-jik!

As soon as I entered the villa, I stood in front of the elevator with tape all over it and removed the tape and paper.

Ding-.

The elevator arrived on the 1st floor soon.

“The door opens.”

Swoosh-. Woo-woong-.

The elevator door opened, and a bright light poured in.

It was an ordinary, everyday scene. Therefore, an eerie fear and chill were felt even more intensely.

Like an ant hell that lures in unsuspecting people and devours them. It seemed to effortlessly play the role of killing and devouring people while pretending to know nothing.

“What should I do! I have to go in here with a clear mind! Hey, guys! Give me courage!”

It was like the jaws of a lion.

Should I bet even though I know it’s a game I can’t win?

I’m not a gambler like Kim Young-ho!

“Oh, you scaredy-cats. Just wait and see!”

Thunk-.

At that moment, Yang Ju-hee took a step.

“Hey!”

“Uh….”

Without giving me and Jung-seok a chance to stop her, Yang Ju-hee calmly stepped into the elevator and said,

“There’s a fourth floor here! No…, the problem isn’t that there’s a fourth floor, but all the numbers on the buttons are written as 4? There’s only the fourth floor in this elevator!”