Escaping the Mystery Hotel

- Kim Ahri

- Ring! Ring!

I woke up to the loud sound of my alarm.

I yawned and dawdled in bed for a while but eventually got up and left the room.

As always, I had a hearty breakfast, received a warm send-off from my mom, and left for school.

It was a peaceful routine that seemed like it could go on forever.

As I stepped out the door, Daseul appeared as usual.

"Ahri!"

"Yeah. Yawn~ I'm yawning so much."

"Are you really sleepy?"

"Not really, just a bit. Ah~ I wish I didn't have to go to school."

"Is your head not hurting these days?"

"My head?"

"You’ve been clutching your head several times a day lately, and then you’d say something felt strange."

"Did I? I think I'm fine today."

"Take some medicine, just in case."

Luckily, I made it to school without being late.

As soon as I opened my shoe locker—

- Crash!

"..."

Letters spilled out as soon as I opened it.

Daseul looked at me in disbelief, "Did you open it in front of me just to brag?"

"I should put a lock on it to stop people from putting weird stuff in there."

"Then they'll just stuff it into your desk whenever you're away."

"..."

Daseul and I roughly cleared out the trash from the locker.

While we were cleaning up, I heard a voice calling me from across the hall.

"Hi! You're Ahri, right?"

It was the senior I met last week.

Was her name Yu Songee?

She was carrying a birdcage.

"Hello~. You brought the parrot again today?"

It's a bit strange.

Is it okay to bring animals to school like this?

"Yeah! The teacher gave permission. Isn't he cute?"

The teacher gave permission?

What kind of school is this?

Suppressing my astonishment, I looked at the birdcage the senior was holding.

What is this?

Did I see it wrong?

The parrot in the cage seemed to be wearing some sort of straitjacket.

His name is Perro, right?

Perro looked at me from outside the cage and cried sadly.

"What's with the outfit?"

"Oh, Perro kept causing trouble, so we put it on for training. He's safe now."

When the senior put her hand in the cage, Perro quietly lowered his head.

There was an unsettling vibe when the senior said, “He's safe now.”

A different—somewhat domineering—vibe.

The parrot seemed to be afraid of its owner.

“...”

What a strange thought.

It’s not like I Know this person well enough to comment on her usual demeanor.

And I definitely can't read a parrot's mind.

Today, as usual, the dull classes dragged on until lunchtime.

Yawn!

I wish I could just burn this school down!

As I lay on my desk, rolling around, my friends gathered around and started chatting.

As always, the topic was the hit drama, “You Who Fell from the Sky”.

Has it been about two weeks since it started airing?

The drama was a huge hit, worthy of being called a national sensation.

The actress at the center of the buzz, Elena, was appearing in various commercials every day.

I shouldn't know a celebrity like that, but strangely, I felt a sense of familiarity whenever I saw her.

Ugh~ I'm bored.

I think I’ve longed for this kind of peace, but now that it’s actually here, life just feels so boring.

“…”

Another strange thought.

It's not like I've ever been on some kind of grand adventure.

Sighing, I heard a loud noise and looked out the window.

There was a group of boisterous male students outside.

One student in the center had a cast on his leg. He was most likely just discharged from the hospital.

They were laughing and joking around with the cast, looking pretty friendly.

“…!”

I made eye contact with the student in the cast.

The moment our eyes met, I felt a strange sense of familiarity and friendliness, something I'd experienced several times before.

The other person seemed puzzled, tilting his head.

- DING DONG!

The bell signaling the end of lunchtime brought me back to my senses, and I turned away.

***At the end of the school day, Daseul and some of my other friends came up to me.

"Have you seen any movies lately?"

"Movies? I can't remember. It feels like it's been ages."

"Then let's watch a movie tonight!"

With that, the others started chatting and laughing.

"What movie?"

"'The Secret of Esper Ho'! Have you heard of it?"

“…”

Just hearing the title gave me an ominous feeling.

"The title alone feels really weird. It sounds like the ship will definitely sink."

"You've heard of it, right? It's trending with ten million views already."

"No, this is the first time I've heard of it. Is it famous?"

"Yeah! The lead actress from 'YWFS' starred in it."

"What’s YWFS?"

"You Who Fell from the Sky!"

"Don't use weird abbreviations. I didn't understand."

"You're such an oldie~"

That remark annoyed me, so I kicked Daseul's chair.

She kicked mine right back, and after we both tumbled to the floor one after the other, we continued our conversation.

"But when did the drama actress have time to film a movie?"

Daseul just tilted her head without answering.

Shooting a hit drama and a ten-million-view movie simultaneously?

Logically, the movie must have been filmed first.

But how could an actress, famous for a drama, be the lead in a blockbuster movie filmed before the drama?

Something didn’t add up—

I stopped thinking about it.

What do I know about the life of a celebrity?

She might have been famous abroad before becoming popular in Korea.

Today's school day ended without anything special.

I hope the movie tonight is fun!

***“The Secret of Esper Ho” was, disappointingly, just an ordinary romance movie.

Honestly, the story was predictable and lacked any real substance. It probably succeeded due to the leads being overwhelmingly attractive.

It felt a lot like “Titanic”, with the addition of a captain who controlled zombies.

Thinking about it, that was a significant change in genre.

I dozed off for nearly half the run time, and the movie was almost over by the time the final climax was introduced.

“…”

"Wow~ that was fun!"

"Elena is such a goddess! She was so beautiful."

"Do you think Ahri will star in a movie like that someday?"

"What did you think, Ahri?"

My friends jokingly nudged me.

"..."

"Ahri?"

"Ahri is crying?"

"Was it that emotional? The ending was great."

"I almost cried when the lead's mom sacrificed herself to save her."

"Ahri?"

I snapped back to reality.

I began to wake from a long dream.

I had forgotten something I should never forget.

As I stood up and looked around, I saw my puzzled friends.

Students in Japanese school uniforms and beret-like student caps.

It's abnormal.

Such uniforms vanished over 40 years ago.

I ran out of the movie theater.

I heard voices calling me from behind, but I didn't care.

I didn't feel like talking to my “friends” anymore.

It wasn't worth it.

As I walked down the street, I noticed groups of people chatting everywhere.

It's abnormal.

The Red Plague, which failed to be quarantined early, resulted in 30 million deaths worldwide.

Since then, it has been rare to see random citizens meeting without masks and gloves.

As I walked slowly down the street, I noticed more and more abnormalities.

The food alley was full of pubs and izakayas¹ in every zone.

An alcohol-borne fungal parasite caused over 400,000 deaths in Korea alone.

Since then, 70% of bars nationwide have closed.

Alcohol is now strictly controlled throughout the manufacturing and distribution process.

I turned my gaze to see street preachers shouting about believing in Jesus to avoid hell.

In the Peninsula, seven self-proclaimed reincarnations of Jesus Christ summoned the “Heavenly Envoy” in Gwanak-gu.

Since then, street evangelism, especially those that involved offering money and goods to gather people, has been strongly policed.

Looking at the building with the movie theater, the exterior was spotless, with no visible robots.

After predatory pigeons from China proliferated throughout Korea, buildings became high-risk areas for their nests.

Since then, most buildings of a certain size have used surveillance drones to prevent predatory pigeon nests.

There was a common factor among the abnormal points in this strange world.

A scenery that was natural in the old world.

Scenes unaffected by social changes caused by uncontrolled chaotic disasters!

Walking home, I looked at the night sky one last time.

The bright full moon in the night sky confirmed my suspicions.

Because the moon no longer exists in the real world.

***I found myself in front of my house after walking absentmindedly for a long time.

“...”

I just need to go inside.

If I just open the door and go inside, talk to Mom, and forget today's strange memories…

I grabbed the doorknob.

Why have I been thinking strange things all day?

Just open this door… that's all I need to do.

At home, there was the “good mom” I had always dreamed of, and at school, there were friends who made me laugh just by looking at them.

It was embarrassing to say it, but I was pretty!

Maybe I could even become a celebrity, meet someone handsome and wonderful, and live a happy life.

If I stay here, I can achieve everything.

This is the ideal life, my perfect life.

I sat down in confusion.

After some time, I heard the voice I longed for on the other side of the door.

"What are you doing outside?"

"Mom..."

"Do you have something on your mind?"

"I don't know what to do."

"You don't know what to do? Do you have several options? In such cases, always return to the basics."

"The basics?"

"The one thing you must achieve. Leave only that one goal and forget the rest."

The one thing I must achieve.

Unclear thoughts began to stir in my mind.

I stood up, holding onto my trembling legs.

Forcing my reluctant mouth to open.

"I'm going back to save the 'real' you."

Instead of answering, the woman beyond the wall threw an object into the place where milk was delivered.

It was a smartphone.

Holding the dark smartphone, I stood up, and Mom spoke for the last time.

"I love you."

I didn't reply.

The person who will hear my answer is still waiting for me!

***Late at night, nearing midnight, I stared at the smartphone in my hand.

How did I authenticate it?

I remembered.

I placed my left pinky finger on it, and the screen shook like it was lagging.

Then my right thumb.

The screen opened, and the “Administration Bureau Application” started.

Welcome, Agent Kim Ahri. Please click the desired service...

I skipped that and pressed 1, 3, and 2 in order.

Directing you to the nearest Administration Bureau headquarters.

Barum Publishing.

It's not far.

I looked up at the night sky again.

The moon’s radiant light, no longer present in reality, bathed the ground below.

Did I miss that beautiful sight?

Sighing, I walked into the street.

Tonight, I woke up from the false world.

1. Informal Japanese bar that serves alcoholic drinks and snacks. Izakaya are casual places for after-work drinking.