⸢ I want to dream. I know I sound pathetic saying that, but I never want to feel the painful loneliness that consumes me ever again. If I can't find happiness despite all my efforts, then my life has no meaning. I want to lose myself in this dream and never come back. ⸥
I was slowly beginning to open my eyes. A blinding light from above was shining down on me, and my ears were ringing. I could hear screaming, crying, and shouts of pain coming from all around. I was lying on my back. I tried to sit up but couldn't move my legs — they were paralyzed. I then tried rolling onto my side, using my arms for support.
Gathering all my strength, I clumsily managed to roll over, gradually opening my eyes completely. People were panicking, running across the room trying to reach the exit. I was in the middle of what looked like a fan event for some obscure K-pop group.
As I regained my senses, that's when I saw it. A glowing screen floated in front of my eyes, suspended in the air. My blood ran cold as I read the text displayed on it.
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[Thread]: Escape from Wanderloch Hall.
Description: Escape before the time runs out.
Time limit: 10 minutes.
Reward: ???
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It looked like some kind of quest, straight out of a novel. Had my wish to live in an absurd world finally come true? I stood up to get a better look around, and that's when it hit me. I was taller than usual. I ran my hands over my face and through my hair.
I didn't recognize myself. A chill ran down my spine. It was like I'd suddenly aged. My long hair had been cut. I also felt stronger, more solid than in my usual frail body.
Another window popped up in front of me.
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Time remaining: 4 minutes and 23 seconds.
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Only about four minutes left to get out of here. I wasn't alone in the room. It was like I had appeared in someone else's life while they were attending a K-pop fan event. As strange as that was, I was someone who embraced the absurd. A bit of nonsense wasn't going to throw me off. Maybe, just maybe, this was the start of a new life for me.
I took a deep breath. Whatever this was — new life or not — I had to find a way out of here. Around me, the concert hall was in chaos.
"Don't push!" Several teenagers shoved each other trying to reach the emergency exits.
"What the hell is this? I'm not going anywhere." Others were skeptical of the floating blue screen's instructions.
"You really think a floating screen like that can be real?"
"But you see the text on it, don't you?!" a woman's voice screamed.
Panic was taking over the venue as people scrambled toward the exit. I started moving toward the top of the bleachers too, aiming for the emergency exit.
Since everyone had stood up at the same time, the line moved slowly, but I managed to push through and reach the top of the bleachers. In front of the wide-open door, people were arguing.
"This is a joke…"
"This is bullshit, I'm telling you!"
Floating above the emergency exit was another window:
[Remaining spots: 10]
I didn't move. I just stood there, watching from across the room. I hated being the center of attention, so I always stayed on the sidelines during incidents like this — like when a teacher didn't show up back in middle school. I'd sit quietly, not drawing attention, waiting for things to go back to normal.
In front of the door, it was hard to see what was happening with all the pushing and yelling. But a group of people seemed to be getting into it.
A man beside me growled in frustration, shoved me aside, and pushed his way through the crowd.
"Let me through!"
He elbowed people out of the way and sprinted toward the door, dodging the arguing group. A mechanical click sounded, and everyone turned to the floating window.
The number had decreased.
[Remaining spots: 9]
What? That meant only nine more people could get out? The hall had 200 seats and at least 100 standing spots. And only nine people were going to make it out. I was on the opposite end of the room — there was no way I'd make it in time. And honestly, this wasn't a situation for someone like me.
Damn it. Wasn't there, in this absurd world, some way for someone like me to slip out unnoticed?
As panic started to rise in my chest, a stabbing pain shot through my skull, and a voice echoed in my head:
「 Now that the number had dropped, panic began to spread. It was every man for himself — whoever made it out first would survive. The rest? Too bad. 」
My head throbbed so badly I grabbed it with both hands, grinding my teeth and massaging my temples. After about ten seconds, the pain faded, but I was still reeling. When I looked up again, everyone had left the bleachers and was now gathered at the door.
They had realized — maybe seeing the number change in real time made it real for them. Only nine more people could leave. A stampede broke out as everyone rushed to the door to be among the lucky ones.
[Remaining spots: 8]
Chaos consumed the room. The numbers on the window dropped rapidly.
[Remaining spots: 4]
[Remaining spots: 3]
"Wait!"
The voice came from a sharply dressed man in his forties.
"What's wrong with you people?! Don't you have any respect for your elders?!"
He turned to a woman around his age — his wife, probably — and held out his hand. Murmurs spread through the crowd as they slowly walked toward the door.
He raised his voice again.
"If anyone deserves priority here, it's the elderly!"
Young voices rang out from the crowd in response.
"Yeah, right, grandpa…"
"You really think we're gonna listen to you?"
The last teenager to shout stepped out of the crowd and pointed at the floating screen.
"Haven't you figured it out? The world we knew is probably gone! So take your bullshit rules and shove 'em!"
"You insolent little—" The old man's face twisted in fury.
He suddenly let go of his wife's hand, shoved her aside, and bolted toward the door. The boy ran after him, but the man was too fast. He reached the door and slipped through.
[Remaining spots: 2]
The boy laughed as he kept running.
"That bastard actually made it."
As he was about to go through, a high school girl burst out of the crowd and body-checked him to the side.
"Stop!"
Wearing a school uniform, she blocked his path.
"You still don't get it? Only two people can pass through this door. We don't know what happens to the rest."
She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a switchblade, her hand trembling as she pointed it at him.
"Jieun unnie..?"
The voice came from a middle school girl in the crowd.
Jieun's voice softened.
"It's okay, Yuna. Come here."
The younger girl slowly approached, and Jieun pushed her toward the door.
"Go through, Yuna."
"But…"
"N-Now!" Her voice trembled, but her eyes — eyes that had clearly seen violence before — didn't even blink.
The girl hesitated, then stepped through the door.
Tick.
[Remaining spots: 1]
Jieun stepped backward toward the door, blade still raised. A heavy silence fell over the room as she prepared to seal the fate of everyone who hadn't yet passed through. Me included. One foot after another, she slipped through, and the screen ticked once more.
Tick.
[Remaining spots: 0]
The two sisters ran off, and the door began to close on its own. Whispering filled the room.
"What do we do now?"
"There has to be another exit, right?"
"You're telling me that was the only emergency door?"
"There's really no way out?"
As the door was halfway closed, a man dashed toward it in desperation. It was almost fully shut — there was barely a gap. Still, he dove for it.
Tick.
The man stood up on the other side and looked at the counter, hesitation in his eyes.
[Remaining spots: -1]
Relieved murmurs spread through the crowd. Maybe we could all get out after all. Maybe the limit was just a test — to see who had the guts to break the rule. But who would make such a test? And why?
No matter what kind of world I had ended up in, it was absurd, that much was certain.
The man who passed through began to laugh hysterically on the other side.
"Hahaha! I knew it was all bullshit! You sheep!"
Emboldened, the braver ones rushed toward the door, still closing. They shoved their way through the narrowing gap, twisting their bodies sideways to squeeze through.
[Remaining spots: -3]
The number flashed in red — as if the system itself was mocking our despair. People pushed and shoved so hard they were being thrown through the door, tumbling over each other on the other side.
[Remaining spots: -8]
Eventually, the gap was too narrow for anyone else to pass. The door shut. From the other side, we could hear shouts of joy. Inside the room, the air turned heavy.
Fweeeeeet!
Suddenly, a shrill whistling sound echoed through the hall. Instinctively, I covered my ears. People screamed in surprise. The sound was coming from the door. As the noise faded, a woman's scream rang out near the door.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
I didn't know why, but everyone suddenly started running — in my direction, away from the door. In the panic, a woman stumbled, her handbag flying into the air. High-pitched screams pierced the chaos. A teenage girl shoved people aside as she ran, while a boy climbed over seats, stepping on those who had fallen.
If this world was truly absurd, then maybe it was time for me to become absurd too. I ran against the wave of panic, elbowing my way through the crowd trying to knock me down. Halfway there, the number of people in front of me thinned out, and I finally caught sight of the door from a distance.
But something was wrong. Someone had spilled a soda in front of it.
As I got closer, I realized the truth.
No. That wasn't soda. A red liquid was seeping from the door's edge. The sharp smell of iron filled my nostrils.
It was blood.
I looked up at the floating window, glowing arrogantly blue above the door.
[Remaining spots: 0]