– ‘This is your sole means of escape.’
– ‘You, foolish one, ensnared by the changgwi and led into Sangun-nim’s tomb! Darkness looms before you, and a ghost clings upon your back.’
– ‘Do not answer. Do not unbar the door. Purify your body and endure until the full moon rises, and go to the shrine to perform the ritual.’
– ‘Then you shall live to see the sun rise. However…’
– ‘The changgwi shall relentlessly pursue anyone it deems worthy prey. You, who has already been ensnared by the tiger, can never escape.’
– ‘The ghost shall linger at your doorstep, at your bedside as you sleep.’
– ‘The sacrifice must have reasoning, warm blood, and a voice. Only then can the changgwi be deceived.’
– ‘Offer the sacrifice, and follow the moonlit path to a small pit of serpents.’
– ‘This is your sole means of escape. There is no other way.’
– That’s the end. Fascinating, isn’t it?
I closed the book, my hands frozen.
‘…So that’s what it was.’
In the exploration record, it was only described in a line or two: A sacrifice was chosen by drawing lots, and when the chosen one refused, they were tied to a post and dragged away.
But looking at it directly… the eerie, unsettling weight of the words pressed down on me.
Just then, something tucked into the final page of the book slipped out.
It was a small paper card.
When I picked it up, I saw hurried handwriting scrawled on the back.
I flipped the card over.
Department of History, Joo Kang University
Could this be someone who had read the book before me?
In the meantime, Section Chief Lee, who could read classical Chinese, seemed to be stumbling through the text on his own.
And then he froze in terror.
“犧牲物… T-This! Doesn’t this mean one person has to be sacrificed?”
“Right! If just one of us dies, the rest can survive!”
Section Chief Lee began rubbing his palms anxiously, his eyes darting around.
“Buuut, uh, if we d-don’t do it, we’ll all die anyway, so…”
“…Wouldn’t it be enough if the right person died? Someone who likely wouldn’t make it out anyway, right?”
Is that a self-introduction?
But as I glanced down, I noticed the look on Section Chief Lee’s face.
“To be honest! One of those kids… if you hadn’t arrived, they’d probably all be dead anyway! We should focus on getting ourselves out of here!”
“If just one of them dies and the rest of us get out alive, well, isn’t that still a good thing?”
I never thought I’d hear this kind of talk in real life.
Given that he’s been trapped here for a week, consumed by the fear of death and panic, I could understand his desperation, but…
‘Still, I can’t agree to that kind of talk.’
I glanced at the text in classical Chinese.
“This book specifies a sentient being with intellect as the sacrifice.”
I tilted my head slightly.
“Can a child who hasn’t even reached adulthood be considered a fully sentient being?”
I stared steadily at Section Chief Lee.
“It’s adults who would qualify as sacrifices, don’t you think? Which means… there’s only one option.”
Section Chief Lee, sweating profusely, his pupils quivering, opened his mouth to speak.
“I’m the only eligible person here. Excluding the kids and you, Section Chief Lee, who’ve been trapped here for a week and are mentally unstable.”
“But I don’t want to die. I’ll look for another way.”
I resumed examining the book.
After a long silence.
“That, um… I’m sorry.”
“Talking about sacrificing the kids… what kind of person am I to even say such a thing… ha, hahaha…”
Section Chief Lee sat down, looking utterly defeated.
“On the first night, it was my father…”
He had passed away in his hospital bed from cancer, but I hadn’t been able to be there when he died because of work.
“Then my father, crying, called out, ‘Byeongjin-ah, let me see your face,’ asking me to open the door.”
“I held my head and resisted, and then the ghost started hurling all sorts of insults and jeers at me… all in my father’s voice.”
Section Chief Lee buried his face in his hands.
“Every single night, it’s someone else—a dead family member, friend, neighbor—coming to visit, calling out in their voices!”
His beloved uncle, his aunt, his cousin who died in an accident, his college friends, and even the neighbor’s child who was kidnapped and went missing…
“All of them, everyone I’ve known, anyone who’s died… it’s as if they’re all pulled out from the depths. I can barely hold on to my sanity… If hell exists, it’s right here.”
Come to think of it, the middle schoolers hadn’t even known there was a ghost knocking on the door.
And they’d been here for two days.
‘Has he practically been standing guard by the door?’
Whether it was intentional, accidental, or due to some ghostly influence, his actions had, in a way, shielded the kids’ mental state. It felt strangely poignant.
I looked at Section Chief Lee for a moment before nodding.
“If this place is hell, then all the more reason to escape it.”
“I’ll study this book more closely and…”
Both Section Chief Lee and I turned to face the door simultaneously.
The voice had returned.