Alone in a closed field of vision and the smell…
Random thoughts came and went in my head.
'Alone.'
Having to live alone means you have to know everything and take responsibility.
I was responsible for all actions and mistakes that society demanded, from contracts, reports, payments, and overdue payments.
The risk and pain of my judgments and actions were all mine.
It couldn't be shared with anyone. Because I didn't have an option.
'It's okay.'
But I got used to it after a few years.
I wasn't the only one who lived like this. I could still manage to live even if something shitty or difficult happened.
'I could handle it.'
However, situations that couldn't be dealt with… wouldn't there be certain situations that I wouldn't be able to deal with?
'I can't guarantee that it'll never come.'
Just like what happened to my parents… When a sudden disaster happens, I…
If there was a fire.
If I was sleeping, injured, or sick during that time… What if I was helpless and couldn't do anything?
'There are too many holes.'
If I am careless, I will die.
Dduk.
A cold sweat fell on my foot… No, it was strange that I could feel a drop of liquid on my shoe so heavy.
'Is it real?'
The smell was acrid.
But when I tried to check, nothing was visible…
"Park Moondae!"
Suddenly, a voice broke through the silence.
And something came up on my shoulder. … It seemed to be a hand.
It was someone else's hand, not mine.
"Are you okay? Just stop for now."
Was I walking?
"Yes."
The answer came out reflexively.
I took a deep breath and stopped.
And I said something without asking.
"I thought there was a fire… ."
"Yes, it seems to have happened because the escape time limit was approaching."
An effect.
'Yes.'
To liven up the atmosphere at the end, they could create effects like collapsing buildings. I looked up.
Light was leaking from the corner of the hall in front of me. It was the blue light of the emergency exit.
"Ah."
I had already walked out of the darkest section of darkness.
I just didn't know.
Only then could I hear loud sirens, distant zombies, and artificial collapses in my ears.
"You must have been surprised on your way alone. I'm glad I followed you."
And the owner of the hand was Ryu Chungwoo, smiling shyly. The guy with the laser gun chased me in an instant.
I chuckled.
"Yes. That's good."
The useless thoughts went away.
'What kind of stupidity is this during filming?'
Nothing to worry about happened.
And even if it happened, I could deal with it. Because I wasn't the only one here.
"Okay."
Ryu Chungwoo seemed to check my face, then lightly patted my back and nodded.
"If you're going to move, you better have a weapon. Come with me."
"Yes. Thank you."
We really didn't have time anymore.
I clicked my tongue inwardly, recalling the time I had wasted fooling around with thoughts.
And started running again. Ryu Chungwoo immediately followed.
"Where are you going?"
"The room with the vent."
"Ah, the room where we found this laser gun. Would you like to look there again?"
"No."
I answered quickly.
"I'm going to go back to the first room with that."
"….. Why that room?"
"Since there were no tricks in the starting room, I think it must have a different meaning."
All we had to do was find a vent and get out.
Even that was a clumsy composition that the production team covered. It wasn't even the curriculum that was originally operated by this institute.
'There must be a trick in that space to make the composition right.'
Ryu Chungwoo and I passed the actor performing a zombie corpse, and moved up the stairs through the emergency exit.
Up there was that room. Being conscious of the camera, I spoke quickly.
"When I first saw the word 'pass' on the back door, the first thing I thought of was ID."
"ID?"
"Yes. It's easy to think of an ID card for a pass to a research institute like this. However, everyone we met was not wearing a card around their neck."
I remembered the time of the group interview.
There was no strap on either the neck or chest of the expert conducting the interview.
"In that case, wouldn't they have put it in their clothes pocket?"
"… !"
And we were very impressed with one piece of clothing in the process.
I open the door, passed the mannequin, and climbed into the vent.
Because the cabinets were removed in advance, only the actors who were actively performing the corpses had to be carefully crossed.
And I remembered.
This content was the first signal that the genre had changed from a psychological test to a zombie escape.
- Aaackk!
"At that time, the counselor fell down the hallway and his white coat got caught on the door."
And, of course, we couldn't help but watch it with great shocking attention.
"The reason they showed us that the gown was hanging there… Isn't it because there is the most important correct answer there?"
With almost certainty, I reached the end of the vent and put my foot down.
'I can see it.'
Directly across from me, the gown under the first iron door that went down.
I ran right over, lowered my stance, and searched for his white coat.
A square plastic touched the fabric of the front pocket.
'Yes.'
I laughed.
"The pass has always been here."
Then, I took out an ID card with the person's face and title from his pocket.
On the back of the card, I could see that it had even been written in small letters that read, "Used as a pass."
"As expected, Moondae is smart."
I could hear the sound of admiration from Ryu Chungwoo.
I put the ID card in my pocket and turned my head.
"Not really…"
Pop.
"… …?"
The tip of the laser gun was pointed in front of my eyes.
The laser gun Ryu Chungwoo was holding, no, he was still holding it.
'What?'
I only moved my eyes and looked up at Ryu Chungwoo.
He spoke to me with a slightly embarrassed face.
"I need you to give me that ID card, Moondae."
"… …"
I paused for a while, then organized my logic and opened my mouth.
"Whether it's me or hyung, opening the door from the back door will be the same anyway."
"No, because we have different goals."
Ryu Chungwoo kindly added an explanation.
"You will escape. I will block you guys."
"… !!"
"Hmm… In other words, I'm the villain. That's what happened."
No, what bullshit was this?
'Who contributed the most to the escape so far?'
The benefits we gained from that marksmanship… wait a minute.
In an instant, Ryu Chungwoo's actions passed through my mind.
- Excuse me, could you pull the cabinet away a little bit? I'll shoot it in the head.
That bastard, he wasted two shots of the laser gun's battery on a zombie in the vent.
He applied himself and shot the zombie's arm without asking for any consent.
And he was always shooting in sections where shooting wasn't necessary.
'So, he wasted time even in the section where he didn't need to use it…'
In the first place, the escape route of this laboratory was made to be able to move by covert maneuver without using a weapon…
In other words, the only thing good about this bastard holding a gun was peace of mind and a waste of time.
'Wow…'
I had been completely tricked.
I stuck out my tongue at the production team and looked at Ryu Chungwoo.
'Should I ask him why he was selected and what his background story is like?'
There was no such thing. Tell them to put that in an interview.
I got straight to the point.
"That only works for zombies."
Ryu Chungwoo calmly replied.
"No. It was written in the instruction manual that it could be used for both."
"Ah."
I didn't care if that was real or not. The gun's power was sufficient with the possibility alone.
If I get hit, then I would be out, and then there would be no chance of escaping.
It was enough for Ryu Chungwoo to disappear with the ID card.
'It's tough.'
How many minutes were left?
Coincidentally, there was a time countdown on the large screen.
[00:05:19]
… It was a great way to make the ending immersive.
'5 minutes.'
It was close.
I sighed and raised my hand.
"….. Wait a minute. I will take out the card."
"Okay."
I put my hand into the biggest pocket of my coat.
And as soon as I grabbed the object, I quickly pulled it out and aimed it at Ryu Chungwoo.
"That's great. It works for people too."
It was a laser gun.
It was the first laser gun I found that I snatched from the hands of the security officer who died as a zombie.
Ryu Chungwoo opened his mouth with a mixture of surprise and doubt.
"The battery…"
"There is one."
Everyone subconsciously thought that there would be none because Ryu Chungwoo was carrying a 12-shot laser gun.
No.
I checked.
"There is only one round left."
There was only enough left to shoot once.
I did social service, but I thought it would be better to go to the training center, so was taking care of it.
Now that I thought about it, it didn't seem to mean much because it wasn't that similar to the real thing.
'Because I didn't need two guns during the process.'
Ryu Chungwoo alone was enough, so interest faded.
"Mmm."
Ryu Chungwoo smiled bitterly as if he was in trouble. He had a face that looked like he was involved.
But soon, as if realizing something, he nodded his head.
"Moondae. But if we're confronting each other like this, will you still be able to use the ID card? You can't take it out the back door."
"… !"
"Then, this doesn't seem to mean much…"
That was right.
'I should have shot him as soon as I took it out.'
I was worried that if that was a lie, there would be a dog fight and the content would not be like an idol's own content, but I forgot that Ryu Chungwoo was not the kind of person who would lie about such a thing.
'Then, can I shoot now?'
I didn't know if I could shoot earlier than that bastard… And that guy had two rounds left.
It was a moment to ponder.
Teodeodeong!
"Moondae hyung! Chungwoo hyung!"
"… !"
The vent on the opposite side opened hastily with a loud sound.
And cheerful voices were heard.
"I was right! Here you are!"
"Oh, really!"
"W-we're here…"
The guys who were about to wave their hands brightly as they climbed out of the vents froze as they saw the situation.
"Uh, uh, uh."
The two members aimed laser guns at each other.
"What's happening!"
I opened my mouth unconsciously.
"Why are you here…"
I thought they'd be waiting at the door?
"No, of course, you ran alone, so we had to follow you!"
"That's right!"
"Yes, we were worried…."
I looked at them somehow as if I had been beaten.
'I didn't have time… I ran alone because I couldn't explain.'
Then… At that time, if I just told them to run without explanation, would they have followed me?
'Yes. And that would have made the picture better.'
The inner voice responded in its own way. I laughed involuntarily.
I'II still need some time to fix the habit.'
However, some people were serious on their own. Kim Raebin looked at me and Ryu Chungwoo with his pupils trembling.
"There is an internal division in our team, which has to go to the community of destiny until the escape…"
"… …"
I needed to clear up the misunderstanding.
I opened my mouth right away.
"I just found the pass in this gown, but Chungwoo hyung tried to steal it. He was actually a spy."
Then I took my ID card out of my pocket and shook it.
"Oh my God!"
"Huh! Chungwoo hyung!"
"Wow! It was in a gown… No, then we have to subdue him now!"
In an instant, the mood changed again.
And since the number of people had increased, it was as good as winning.
'The remaining 4 minutes are enough to escape.'
But at that moment, I felt a little cheap.
But would these guys believe me no matter what? What about the two people with guns pointed at each other?
Didn't it seem even more strange that I, who hadn't stepped forward in the past, had a gun?
'If Ryu Chungwoo, on the contrary, said that I tried to stab him in the back and he himself was blocking me…'
"Haha."
… That didn't seem to happen. Looking at Ryu Chungwoo's expression, it was like he was saying 'I got caught'.
Well, I would rather lose than use that way.
"Well, this won't work. I will surrender."
Ryu Chungwoo put down the laser gun and raised his hand with a slightly proud smile.
"Whoa!"
The members ran right away and retrieved Ryu Chungwoo's laser gun, exclaiming and screaming. The twist at the end seemed thrilling.
"We're escaping!"
"No, we have to run first!"
"That's right!"
Then, playfully threatening Ryu Chungwoo, we started running to the back door.
And the ID card in question…
- Tirik.
"It opened!"
"Good… !"
It worked successfully. I went out into the open air with a group of guys who put their arms around my shoulders.
The sun was setting.
The wind blew in my face.
"Successfully escaped with 29 seconds left!"
"We're crazy!"
I was obedient to their ceremony. Honestly, it was cool.
After talking about what happened with the behind-the-scenes for a while…
"Ah~ everyone worked hard!"
"Yes! Really!"
The production crew who we met again were grinning.
Besides, the camera was still running, probably trying to take pictures of us who were pissed off. They were great guys.
"Who made Chungwoo hyung betray us? Isn't it too much for our leader hyung~?"
"No, Chungwoo-ssi also enjoyed it, right?"
"Haha, that's not true."
"Chungwoo-ssi, you betrayed me!"
A few minutes of playful and funny criticism ensued, and the main point came.
"So, who are our roommates?"
"Mhm, that's right. I wonder how it will be decided?"
Yes, that was the original purpose of this uproar. We looked at the crew, waiting for an appropriate answer.
"That…"
The PD smiled broadly.
"Please check it out while watching episode 1~"
"Oh, really!!"
That was how TeStar played in the hands of the production crew until the end.
… It was fun, so let's move on.
• * *
It was a few days after TeStar finished the shoot after twists and turns.
Fans checked the video for fan service that was posted on WeTube.
However, it was quite extraordinary for a roommate series.
["It's a psychological test! It's a consultation!" I'm sorry, Fake!
The thumbnail was Kim Raebin and Keun Sejin screaming.
"… ??"
The graduate student who saw the notification and accessed WeTube was embarrassed for a moment, and then clicked on the title with a burst of laughter.
"Haha!!"
Her heart swelled with anticipation!