NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27
“Argh!”
I woke up, rubbing my neck.
Even now, I could feel Song Ah Rin’s hands wrapped around it.
As soon as I got up, I glanced at Song Ah Rin beside me.
She lay there, eyes closed, as if in deep sleep.
I poked her shoulder lightly, but there was no sign of her waking up.
Did she survive?
What was that scream I heard before dying?
“…”
What if she was killed by the Red Lady?
‘From now on, those in the audience who have exhausted all their chances will join our lady.’
I recalled what the announcement said.
At that moment, it mentioned “chance,” meaning that people wouldn’t die all at once.
The problem is that I can’t tell how many chances there are.
“…”
For now, let’s think about the information I’ve gathered so far.
I began to contemplate the musical.
A musical without a script.
In other words, the hypothesis that I could end this musical by destroying the script currently seems impossible.
What if Jang Chae Yeon wiped this place out with her psychokinesis?
That wouldn’t work. It doesn’t seem to be a problem that can be solved physically.
I think about the musical and the Red Lady.
Let’s summarize what I’ve experienced so far.
1. The ‘Red Lady’ cannot be seen with the naked eye.
It’s different from information blocking or interference. For some reason, directly looking at the Red Lady inflicted severe damage to my eyes. As if it were a given.
2. Changes in location and the reasons behind them.
When I initially conversed with that girl, the location changed three times. And the Red Lady didn’t appear quickly either.
On the contrary, Song Ah Rin never once mentioned a change of location. Then suddenly, the scene changed.
3. Chances are not just once.
Getting caught and dying once by the lady doesn’t mean that bodies will burst right away like those people. In other words, if I fail again, I will end up dead.
Let’s set aside the third point and focus on the first and second.
It’s neither a different world nor a dream.
What if the place I’m in is inside the musical?
What if a person named ‘Kim Jae Heon’ is pulled into the musical as a character?
Thinking about the conditions for scene transitions in the musical makes some sense.
The progress of the play is fundamentally driven by the dialogue of the characters. Particularly, it is even more so in musicals. Unlike mime, the genre relies heavily on action and dialogue.
It’s a rule of all theater.
The story progresses through interaction, which in turn leads to the resolution of conflicts or the conclusion within the play.
If that’s the case, this musical is among the worst of the worst.
It’s designed to force interactions but intentionally put the audience separately into the musical.
In a story that requires interaction to advance, it’s not easy to proceed through soliloquy.
Then what exactly is the ‘Red Lady’?
What on earth is it that caused my eyes to break the moment I looked at it?
“…”
I still haven’t found any definitive answers on that part.
For now, I’ve decided on the next course of action.
When I enter the play again, I’ll mix dialogue and actions as much as possible to progress the scene.
Afterward, I’ll have to adapt based on the results that emerge.
Not being able to see is driving me crazy, to the point of frustration.
If necessary, I might even have to write down a manual.
According to Song Ah Rin, my manual is supposedly stuck to me for some reason.
…I just hope this isn’t some kind of curse or that it has a will of its own.
I look at Song Ah Rin once more.
She still hasn’t opened her eyes.
Before thinking of ways to end this play, I should first consider how to escape from here. If need be, I’ll have to get Song Ah Rin out first.
What would be the easiest way to escape?
I consider testing the simplest hypothesis.
I jumped up from my seat, and it didn’t take long for a staff member to come to meet me.
“Songniiiim… please come with me…”
“I need the bathroom, urgently.”
“…O-o-okay…”
The employee pointed toward the exit with a hand, and I hurriedly walked in that direction.
The sign reading “Bathroom” caught my eye as I passed it, swiftly heading toward the exit.
The glass door of the theater was right in front of me, and I opened the door and stepped outside.
“…Damn it.”
I clearly opened the door and went outside, but somehow I was back inside the theater again.
I opened the door and stepped out again.
If there were a feeling of going around in a Mobius strip, this would be it.
I glanced at my reflection in the glass door.
Could there be a Critical?
[Critical: 0]
Not a chance.
Quickly giving up, I walked back into the theater.
Song Ah Rin was still sitting there, looking dazed, as if she were deeply asleep.
“…Ugh.”
Soon, Song Ah Rin let out a groan and opened her eyes.
“Are you okay?”
She was the one who brought me back to life after killing me. It seems odd to put it like that, but it’s true, and I couldn’t help but ask with a bit of remorse.
“…Damn it.”
She put her hand on her forehead and bowed her head deeply.
“Song Ah Rin?”
“…I’m fine.”
Her voice trembled.
“What happened?”
“….”
She flinched at my question.
Soon her body began to tremble like a aspen tree.
“…Uh.”
“Yes?”
“…There’s no way to win.”
She looked up at me.
Her expression was filled with despair.
“I couldn’t win no matter what I did. I tried kicking, throwing rocks, even using hidden trump cards, but I couldn’t land a single effective blow.”
“….”
“It’s absurd. As if it were designed so that you could never win in the first place…!”
“….”
I understood her feelings. I’d looked at it myself, and my eyes burst, causing me to be just as bewildered.
I started to speak to comfort her.
I was grateful for her sacrifice for me, and although she was my junior, it felt regretful that I, as a senior in life, couldn’t help her.
Carefully choosing my words, I began to speak slowly.
“Let’s try harder next time.”
“….”
“I thought about various things too, and I’ve come up with some feasible methods.”
“….”
“If something happens next time, I’ll die instead. After all, we need to share tickets to have more chances.”
“….”
“And thank you. Because of you, I survived.”
“….”
Comforting someone is really difficult.
Song Ah Rin lifted her head and sighed.
“You should be the one grateful to me.”
“Huh?”
She looked at me.
“Since I can guess your feelings now, at least I can somewhat feel your true intentions.”
“Oh.”
Then why didn’t she just read my mind?
“That wouldn’t be fun.”
As if she guessed my thoughts, Song Ah Rin replied playfully and smiled.
[The break time starts.]
People start to wake up.
The same commotion as earlier, the same announcement as before.
This time, people began bursting out all at once again.
There were far more people than before.
It felt as if less than 30% of the people were left in the theater now.
Is it to prevent suicide?
If so, how did the others manage to escape? Do they still have chances left?
A bitter taste filled my mouth.
The words I read during the Dream of the Butterfly incident came to mind.
[Humanity's last stronghold.]
“…Ah Rin.”
“Yes?”
“Can you use something like telepathy?”
“…Do you think I can?”
She looked up at me.
“I don’t have that kind of ability. I can just induce a certain level of brainwashing…I can plant suggestions into other people’s minds. That’s all.”
“That should work.”
She stared at me.
“What are you planning?”
“Well, it’s just my hypothesis, but give it a listen.”
I explained the relationship between the musical, the script, and the scenes to her, and she nodded her head slowly as she listened.
“I get what you’re trying to say. The logic seems somewhat reasonable.”
“Somewhat?”
“Since common sense doesn’t apply here, yeah, it might be that we were actually sucked into the musical and became characters. Alright, let’s try to progress the story more dramatically next time.”
She looked straight at me.
“So, what does that have to do with my ability?”
“Let’s plant suggestions in the people.”
“To this many people?”
Her expression frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“As I said, let’s proceed on the assumption that this is a play. Just tell them to do plenty of soliloquies.”
“…Is that enough?”
“And if this really is a musical, there might be other characters as well. Besides the lady.”
“That could be true.”
“If it seems too hard, let’s have them die.”
“…That sounds like what you did to me.”
I nodded at her words, and after looking around, she frowned at the empty seats.
“So many people in here already…”
“….”
“I guess there’s no choice. Just wait.”
Soon, she took a deep breath and began to concentrate with her eyes closed.
A severe headache started throbbing.
Unconsciously, I placed my hand on my temple as the expressions of the people who had been screaming or panicking began to gradually grow dull.
Then, Song Ah Rin exhaled deeply and opened her eyes.
Her complexion had turned extremely pale in such a short time.
“Did you manage a group hypnosis?”
“It’s possible. But afterward, it feels like I’m about to die.”
Nevertheless, her expression was brighter than before.
“With this, people should be able to survive a bit longer, right?”
“I hope so.”
[One minute left until break time ends.]
The break time felt shorter than before.
“Are you ready?”
“Honestly, that last time felt easy for me. But what about you, Song Ah Rin? Are you okay?”
“I’m not okay.”
She replied while pressing her forehead.
“Still, you have to be okay. I’m a management agency employee, after all.”
[Break time is ending.]
Soon, the announcement faded, and the darkness returned to my sight.
*
“Now, let’s pick a topic to converse about.”
In the barren wasteland without a blade of grass, Song Ah Rin looked at me and opened her mouth.
She intentionally waved her arms widely as she gazed at me.
Her lavender hair sparkled under the sunlight.
“Let’s see…”
What story should I share?
“This is a tale from the Cube…”
So once again, the storytelling fell on my shoulders.