NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 190
I’m not particularly afraid of the dark,
But…
‘Some of the staff are missing…’
Director Jeong definitely said this is courage training.
Usually, courage training involves something popping out to scare you in the dark, right?
It’s not that scary, but…
Hmm, how should I say this…? Anyway, it’s not scary, but it’s a bit unsettling.
“Okay, then Rookiez members, please team up in pairs!”
At the suggestion of pairing up, my mind started racing.
‘First, Hye-jeong and Yoo-jin will probably be scared of this kind of thing, so they might not be reliable…’
Na Han-na and Yoo Seol, Park Yoo-jung are definitely not going to be scared.
Just as I thought about avoiding Lee Hye-jeong and Seo Yoo-jin, it happened.
“Shall we divide into rooms?”
“……!”
If we go by room, I would have to go with Seo Yoo-jin, who looks like a scaredy-cat.
“Wait, wait…!!”
I flinched and raised my hand to stop Park Yoo-jung’s words.
“What is it, unnie?”
“Um, how about we pair up differently instead of by room?”
“……?”
At my sudden suggestion, Seo Yoo-jin clung to my arm and asked sadly.
“Why, unnie? Is it because you don’t want to pair with me?”
“No, it’s not that…”
I fidgeted while petting Seo Yoo-jin to calm her down, and Park Yoo-jung, who was watching suspiciously, asked me.
“Unnie, is it because you’re scared?”
“Scared? Of what? Me? No way.”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
…Oh dear.
I got carried away and answered when I shouldn’t have.
Thanks to that, all the members looked at me suspiciously.
Fortunately, as the silence dragged on, Director Jeong suggested an alternative.
“If you’re having trouble deciding, how about making a draw?”
At Director Jeong’s suggestion, we decided to pair up by drawing lots.
And my pair is…
“Who picked a circle?”
“Me, me…!!”
It was none other than Yoo Seol.
To be paired with Yoo Seol, who obviously wouldn’t be scared at all…
“Unnie! It’s me, me! I’m your partner!”
I tried to act calm on the outside while quietly cheering in my head.
1st Team: Park Yoo-jung & Na Han-na
2nd Team: Ha Ye-rin & Yoo Seol
3rd Team: Lee Hye-jeong & Seo Yoo-jin
After sending off the 1st team, 20 minutes later, the 2nd team Ha Ye-rin and Yoo Seol also received their departure orders from Director Jeong.
“Okay, Ye-rin and Seol, it’s time to go. You haven’t forgotten the mission, have you? You need to find and bring three Rookiez albums from three abandoned houses. The mission sheet at the abandoned house will tell you how to find the albums.”
“Unnie, fighting!”
“Be careful!”
Yoo Seol and Ha Ye-rin slowly moved forward with the encouragement of the 3rd team, Lee Hye-jeong, and Seo Yoo-jin.
As soon as they stepped out of the base camp, darkness engulfed their surroundings.
gulp.
Thanks to that, Yoo Seol, holding the flashlight, couldn’t help but feel nervous.
But there was someone who looked like they were a hundred times more nervous.
“……Ye-rin?”
“……Yes?”
“If you’re like that, unnie can’t walk properly.”
Yoo Seol was just under 160 cm, while Ha Ye-rin was just under 175 cm.
With Ha Ye-rin, who was 15 cm taller, almost clinging to Yoo Seol’s back, it was bound to be difficult to walk.
Yoo Seol, puzzled, asked Ha Ye-rin…
“…Ye-rin, are you scared?”
“No?”
shiver.
Ha Ye-rin answered with her body.
Yoo Seol, with a wry smile, took Ha Ye-rin’s hand and moved forward.
“Ye-rin, ghosts don’t exist, and even if something appears, it’s probably staff in disguise, so what’s there to be afraid of?”
“No… it’s not that scary…”
At Yoo Seol’s words, Ha Ye-rin hesitated before responding.
“If something suddenly pops out and scares me, I’ll get goosebumps all over, my heart will race, and I’ll lose my mind… so I don’t like it…”
“……”
Isn’t that usually how you express being scared?
It seems Ha Ye-rin didn’t want to admit she was scared due to her pride.
Yoo Seol, feeling mischievous, teased her.
“Then, Ye-rin. You just dislike it but you’re not scared, right?”
“Th-that’s right.”
“Actually, unnie is scared of this kind of stuff. How about you lead the way instead of me?”
“……!”
Before Ha Ye-rin could say anything, Yoo Seol handed the flashlight to her and nudged her forward.
With no choice but to lead, Ha Ye-rin looked at Yoo Seol with a sad expression, but…
“Unnie…”
“What? You said you weren’t scared, right?”
“……”
Yoo Seol didn’t seem willing to spare Ha Ye-rin any sympathy.
So, Ha Ye-rin, feeling like she was eating mustard, stood up and walked ahead, and not long after, the two reached the first abandoned house.
“This is….”
“Yeah, it seems to be the first place?”
The first abandoned house was a wreck, to the point where the Rookiez’s base camp looked decent in comparison.
The doors were completely torn off, and half the roof was blown away, looking like it had been bombed.
As the two were nervously examining the exterior of the abandoned house, it happened.
Kyaaaaaaa-!!
“……!!”
They both flinched at the scream heard from afar.
They soon realized whose scream it was.
“…Please tell me it’s not Han-na?”
“…It seems like it.”
It was probably Han-na and Park Yoo-jung, who were visiting the second abandoned house by now.
Hearing Han-na scream like that, someone who usually seemed so indifferent…
Thanks to that, the two were even more on edge as they approached the abandoned house.
Just then, something caught their eye.
“Uh? That looks like…”
“It seems to be a mission sheet. Let’s pick it up.”
The two found a mission sheet on the ground at the entrance of the abandoned house and read it…
[The person holding the flashlight should enter the bathroom and gaze into the mirror for 30 seconds. The other person must stay here to guard.]
“……”
“……”
They froze.
Ha Ye-rin, in an attempt to subtly place the flashlight in Yoo Seol’s back pocket, got caught.
“…Ye-rin, what are you doing sneakily like that?”
“Uh, unnie… you were holding the flashlight originally… I’m just giving it back.”
“Hey, you were holding it from the middle. Hurry and go in.”
They bickered over who the flashlight belonged to, but ultimately, Ha Ye-rin, who succumbed to Yoo Seol’s logic, entered the abandoned house.
‘Ah… I really don’t want to do this…’
Ha Ye-rin carefully stepped inside in a crouched position.
Then she spotted a bathroom that gave off a much creepier vibe than the rest.
It was a place she really didn’t want to enter, but… she had to…
Ha Ye-rin slowly walked in, looking for the broken mirror mentioned in the mission sheet.
‘Gaze into this for 30 seconds…’
There are times when I feel that way.
Like this space… it feels as if there’s someone else here besides myself.
Feeling this, Ha Ye-rin carefully inspected the bathroom to ensure no one was there.
Only after confirming that she was alone did she begin to gaze into the mirror.
The mirror looked ordinary aside from its broken edges, yet Ha Ye-rin remained on high alert.
‘Something’s definitely going to pop out of this mirror…! One hundred percent…!’
There must be a reason they said to look into the mirror for 30 seconds.
Ha Ye-rin instinctively knew that something would jump out from within.
And then….
‘If you’re coming out, then come on.’
Grinding her teeth, she focused on the reflection of herself in the mirror.
No matter how scary it might be… with this determination and patience, she started to feel a little braver.
But….
thump.
The crisis came from an unexpected place.
“……”
Around 10 seconds after she started gazing into the mirror, Ha Ye-rin felt a strange sensation from below and slowly looked down.
What she saw was….
“……”
A white hand that had suddenly appeared from somewhere and was gripping her ankle.
1 hour later
“It was more fun than I expected. Right?”
“Yeah, it was my first time doing something like this, and it was a blast!”
Surprisingly, the team that was the least scared during the courage training was the 3rd team, comprised of Lee Hye-jeong and Seo Yoo-jin.
While the 1st and 2nd teams were filled with screams, the two from the 3rd team finished the courage training feeling pure amusement and thrill as they returned to the base camp.
“Hmm…?”
“Wow…, are you guys alright?”
They were greeted at the base camp by other members who looked drained.
Of course, the most serious one was….
“Yeah, we’re fine. Did you two not get scared?”
“…Yes, we were okay. But what about Ye-rin unnie?”
“Oh, Ye-rin is over there…”
“…Gasp.”
“Is Ye-rin dead…?”
There was Ha Ye-rin, lying in a corner like a corpse in a half-dead state.
“Unnie…!”
“Ye-rin…! Are you okay?”
“……”
Even in response to their questions, Ha Ye-rin stared vacantly at the wall like someone who had received a great shock.
“Ye-rin? …What’s wrong? Why aren’t you speaking?”
“We don’t know either. She’s been like that since earlier.”
Everyone’s gaze turned to Yoo Seol, who was in the same team as Ha Ye-rin.
As everyone looked at her curiously, Yoo Seol, imagining something that happened earlier, started laughing out loud.
And then….
“Hehe, you know, during courage training, Ye-rin… ”
“Unnie…!”
Finally, Ha Ye-rin snapped back to reality and stopped Yoo Seol.
“Don’t say it…”
“Hit! I want to say it!”
“If you do…”
“What are you going to do if I say it?”
“…If you say it, I’ll hate you.”
“Then I guess I won’t say it.”
Yoo Seol chuckled cutely and shrugged to the members.
“Ye-rin says not to say it.”
“Ah…”
“I guess there’s no helping it. Let everyone check during the broadcast.”
“…And don’t watch the broadcast. I’ll check everyone’s phones.”
Just then, while Ha Ye-rin was putting on a show for the members…
“Wow~ everyone! You did great!”
Thanks to Ha Ye-rin, Director Jeong, who had secured surprisingly much screen time, returned to the base camp, smiling brightly.
Ha Ye-rin dashed towards Director Jeong.
“Thanks to you all….”
“Director Jeong…!”
She grabbed his shoulders and said earnestly.
“Please edit my parts out…”
“…Huh?”
“You’re checking the footage on the way back, right…? Please edit my parts out…”
At Ha Ye-rin’s desperate request, Director Jeong tilted his head as if he didn’t understand anything.
“Which part do you want me to edit…? Are you talking about the part where Ye-rin cried?”
“Kyaah…! If you say that…”
At Director Jeong’s shocking remark, Ha Ye-rin hurriedly covered his mouth, but once words have left your mouth, you can’t take them back.
As Ha Ye-rin blushed and turned around…
“Hahaha! Unnie cried?!”
“Haha! Ye-rin is so cute~”
“Hehe, 19 is just the right age to be scared of ghosts.”
“Ah~ So that’s why Ye-rin cuddles with Yoo-jin every night, huh? Hahaha!”
The members were already in stitches, laughing uproariously and teasing Ha Ye-rin.