On the second floor—
Go Yeongeun, now accustomed to the process, posed her question to the usher machine.
“Have guests who finished viewing the exhibition on this floor gone downstairs?”
Nod.
“……!”
It was over.
This essentially provided the answer they were looking for.
‘If the exit is on the ground floor and below the second floor…’
The only possibility left was the first floor.
“Then, if we just go to the first floor and ask for the location of the entrance…!”“Let’s hurry!”
“Yes!”
For the first time, Go Yeongeun and Baek Saheon were in complete agreement.
‘So the entrance really is on the first floor, just like modern logic would suggest. What a coincidence that everything lined up this way.’
A faint sense of exhaustion crept in at the thought of how roundabout their journey had been, but the excitement of finally finding the exit outweighed it. I hastened my pace.
All that remained was to pinpoint the entrance and relay the information to my superiors waiting on the terrace.
– Oh dear, is your exhibition tour over already? That’s a shame. It seems like you’ve barely seen five of the halls.
Hoho. Keep looking, and you might lose your eyes, nose, or mouth.
You might faint before then too!
‘Even now, the three of us are sticking together under the candlelight to survive.’
I tapped the pocket where I kept Braun, as if soothing him, and continued walking.
Go Yeongeun, carrying the candle, walked with renewed confidence. That determination didn’t falter, even when she faced the usher machine on the first floor. Her desire to leave seemed to overpower any lingering fear.
“Hello!”
Once again, the machine, influenced by the candle, responded politely. Taking a deep breath, Go Yeongeun made a firm request.
“Please guide us to the entrance!”
But…
……
Silence.
The machine remained motionless.
“……?”
No response.
“N-No way…”
With a face turning ashen, Go Yeongeun glanced nervously at the candle, as if worried it had lost its power.
The flame flickered steadily, still shining brightly.
After checking it a few more times, she spoke again in a trembling voice.
“Please… guide us to the entrance.”
Again, silence.
“……”
“……”
The atmosphere dropped to a glacial temperature.
‘We’re fucked.’
I broke the silence.
“…Ms. Goral.”
“Y-Yes…”
“Ask it like this.”
I recited a familiar phrase, and Go Yeongeun’s expression darkened as she repeated it.
“Have guests who finished viewing the exhibition on this first floor gone… downstairs? If yes, please nod.”
Nod.
“……!!”
The usher machine’s answers conflicted.
“Why…”
Go Yeongeun swallowed hard.
“But the usher machine on the basement floor clearly said people went up…!”
“That’s correct.”
A chill ran down my spine.
‘What the hell is going on?’
The statements didn’t add up.
In the basement, it said to go up, yet on the ground floor, it said to go down. Even if there were multiple exits nearby, this blatant contradiction made no sense.
‘That does explain why so few survivors are mentioned in the <Dark Exploration Records>, despite the exit being obviously on the first floor.’
“Instead of wasting time repeating the same question, let’s just go to the basement and ask directly. We still have candlelight left, so let’s not waste it.”
“…Ah.”
Urged by Baek Saheon, we started looking for the stairs to the basement.
The path leading down felt unnaturally long and heavy…
And the result?
Nod.
“They said to go up? Damn it…”
The same response as before.
According to the usher machine, visitors who finished viewing the exhibition on the basement floor had indeed gone upstairs.
“……”
“……”
Even Baek Saheon fell silent.
Everyone’s thoughts were tangled.
“Excuse me.”
Go Yeongeun lowered her head.
“Do you think… maybe there isn’t an exit at all?”
“……!”
“This could just be a place that tricks and torments people, giving them false hope to make their suffering worse… There are so many ghost stories like that.”
That was true.
But not this time.
“No, there’s definitely an exit.”
I wasn’t saying this just because I had read the <Dark Exploration Records>.
“Do you remember? Before coming in here, we were given a brief manual.”
Though the information had been corrupted and turned into an exhibition invitation, it still applied.
“An exit record exists because someone succeeded in escaping. That’s how this became a registered Darkness under Daydream Inc.”
“Ah…!”
Go Yeongeun raised her head.
“You’re right. That makes sense.”
Taking a deep breath, she spoke again, her voice steadier.
“Huu! I’m sorry. In times like this, it’s important not to get lost in emotion. There must be a solution.”
“Yes.”
It might look like a contradiction, but there was something we hadn’t figured out yet.
Just as we were deep in thought…
“Hey.”
Baek Saheon spoke, looking at me with a peculiar expression.
“Your doll.”
“Braun?”
“Yeah. What does… Braun say?”
– I’m waiting for my brilliant friend ’s answer!
Of course, that wasn’t because Baek Saheon thought Braun could actually speak. He probably asked because he thought I was a lunatic for talking to a little plushie.
‘I get it, you want some unconventional ideas.’
I deliberately stared at Baek Saheon before responding.
“How would a doll talk?”
“……”
“Think before you speak, yeah?”
Baek Saheon clenched his fist tightly.
“But throwing out ideas like this isn’t a bad thought.”
“……!”
“Ms. Goral, do you have any ideas?”
“Ah, umm…”
“As positively as possible. Let’s assume there’s definitely an exit nearby.”
“Then… a secret space, maybe?”
Go Yeongeun furrowed her brow.
“Like how attics are sometimes above the top floor, maybe there’s another space between the basement and the ground floors? A parking lot, perhaps…”
There’s no record of such a secret space in this exhibition hall. But it’s still a possibility.
After all, experiencing something firsthand is different from reading about it. Sometimes, even with prior knowledge, things don’t match up perfectly.
‘We didn’t know the window was actually a terrace door, after all.’
But… I felt the exit would be in a more obvious location.
‘Conceptually, it’s strange for an official pathway to be in a secret space.’
So, the exit likely exists in plain sight, but we’re failing to notice it due to biases, thought patterns, or cultural factors…
“……!”
Wait a moment.
“M-Mr. Roe Deer?”
I stood up abruptly.
Baek Saheon looked at me in surprise, and Go Yeongeun, unable to turn around due to the candle’s effect, glanced downward anxiously.
“Do you have enough stamina to go up and down the stairs a few more times?”
“What?”
“I-I think so.”
“Then let’s move.”
“Huh?”
I got to my feet.
“We need to climb to the top floor.”
“……??”