NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 252
The place where the scream was heard was completely lit up.
Since there were no lights on outside the hospital, it was likely that this area wasn’t originally illuminated either.
From somewhere that had been silent until just moments ago, the sound of footsteps began to echo.
“Eek!”
At the sound of that short scream, Ha Neul, Sua, and Sohee quickened their steps. They didn’t have time to say anything; all they could think about was Sara.
“Hey, wait a minute!”
As they rushed up, a deep male voice called out from the side. Although a person’s voice doesn’t always reflect their profession, the three felt strangely that this voice didn’t sound like that of a medical professional.
“Hey, catch them!”
Upon hearing that, the three of them ran even faster. Like a bunch of crazies.
Thud! Someone fell over. There was a man jumping in front, and Ha Neul put all her strength into leaping away.
“Oof!”
Diving beneath the flailing arm of the man, Ha Neul skidded along the floor and quickly turned to look back.
“Ah!”
Sua, who was at the very back, was grabbed by some man.
“Wait, calm down for a second—!”
Soehee’s fist swung at the man’s face. The man barely managed to dodge the punch, but that meant Sua was now being pulled forward.
“Go ahead!”
Soehee shouted. Ha Neul couldn’t respond and quickly turned around to run again.
Something serious was happening.
Where had all the police gone? What the heck were those guys doing? There was no time to think about that.
Once again, a thud echoed ahead as something fell to the floor.
Her heart raced even more. Using every bit of remaining energy, she pushed her running skills to the limit, honed from nearly daily practice during the semester.
At the end of the hallway, Sara’s hospital room came into view, surrounded by a group of men. The corridor was brightly lit.
Beyond those men, there was another thud as something fell, and—
“Where the heck…!”
A woman screamed.
Could it be Na-kyung’s men? Was Sara in danger right now?
A few of the men turned when they heard Ha Neul’s footsteps. When their eyes met, they showed incredibly shocked expressions.
“Ah, wait, student…!”
But she had no intention of stopping in response to that.
She ran with all her might, barely dodging the swinging hands. Skidding across the floor again, she kicked off the ground and rose. Her body staggered as if it would fall at any moment, but she didn’t care. As long as she could just get into the hospital room—
She spotted an open door ahead. There was a man standing with his back to her in front of that door.
“Wait, Yang Hye-in!”
Only after she leapt at the man did she hear those words.
…Why is that name coming up now?
“Ugh!”
Suddenly pushed by Min Ha Neul from behind, the man staggered heavily. He didn’t fall, but his shoulder lurched forward enough to create a narrow gap for someone to shove into the hospital room.
Ha Neul’s body slid past the man’s tilted form and squeezed through the opening.
“Oof!”
Though she crashed onto the hard floor, she quickly got back up. Every part of her body ached from hitting the stiff ground.
“Sara!”
And then she quickly shouted that out…
But for some reason, she finally realized that the atmosphere in the hospital room was off.
It wasn’t strange that Sara was sitting against the wall, as sometimes the strength in one’s legs just gives out after a sudden scare.
“Ha Neul…?”
Sara had wide eyes, looking up at Ha Neul.
“…Uh…”
But everything else was strange.
“Yoo Ha-neul?”
The person in front of the hospital room stared blankly at Ha Neul and asked. When Ha Neul turned to follow the voice, she saw a young detective who had disguised himself as Sara’s doctor to enter the hospital.
“Ugh…”
She heard a soft sniffle and turned her gaze down to see two women tangled together on the floor.
No, looking again, it wasn’t quite that they were tangled. One woman was lying down while the other was perched on top.
The one lying down was Choi Na-kyung. She trembled violently, covering her face with both arms, looking extremely fragile. If anything, she seemed thinner than the last time Ha Neul had seen her, indicating she hadn’t been taking care of herself. Although that hadn’t been Ha Neul’s area of concern.
The one perched on top was…
It was none other than Yang Hye-in.
Dressed in a maid outfit without an apron, Yang Hye-in had her fist raised, ready to slam it down on Choi Na-kyung’s face. Her gaze was utterly still.
Choi Na-kyung didn’t look like she had been hit yet, and her arms were free, but Ha Neul felt there was no way she could push Yang Hye-in off in her current state.
…Was what she learned in self-defense class actually a killing technique?
Even in this situation, such thoughts crossed her mind.
“Ha Neul, why are you here right now?”
Sara asked, looking somewhat dazed as she gazed up at Ha Neul.
“Uh…”
I think I came here after going to Yang Hye-in’s room and finding nobody there. On the way here, there were so many people that I didn’t even think those were the cops lurking around and just jumped right in.
…There was no way she could say that.
“Ah…”
Only then did the reality of the situation hit Ha Neul, and her face turned beet red.
She covered her face with both hands and huddled down on the spot.
*
“…”
About ten minutes later.
The situation had roughly settled down, and Na-kyung had been taken away by the police. Since both Sara and Choi Na-kyung had been so surprised, it seemed they weren’t ready to say anything to each other.
Having no reason to stay in the psychiatric hospital anymore, Sara returned to the hotel where their group was staying. They had rented two rooms, but the place where all five of them were gathered was just one.
Sara sat on the bed, arms crossed, with an expression that was a mix of confusion and disbelief.
In front of her, Ha Neul, Sohee, Sua, and Yang Hye-in were all kneeling in a line. It wasn’t unusual for Ha Neul, Sohee, and Sua to be kneeling like that, but it felt entirely off seeing Yang Hye-in in this situation. She was someone who wouldn’t normally show this side of herself, after all, especially since there was a considerable age gap between her and the other three.
“What were you all thinking being there?”
“…”
Except for Yang Hye-in, who was looking straight up at Sara, the others exchanged incredibly bashful glances and said nothing.
“…Let’s start with you, Yang Hye-in.”
In the end, when no one answered, Sara looked at Yang Hye-in, who was still looking up at her. Perhaps she thought it would be easiest to get a response out of her.
“Just when do you think you snuck in there?”
Actually, she seemed to have asked that to emphasize the strong impression Yang Hye-in left behind. After all, the other three would have had their reasons clear to them.
Yang Hye-in’s intentions were just as clear, but…
There’s a huge difference between having clear intentions and actually executing them.
“It was after all the hospital staff had gone home.”
“…You mean you snuck in there?”
“The hospital door wasn’t locked.”
“Well, that much is obvious! Na-kyung’s side couldn’t be allowed to get suspicious! They had to pretend to be listening to those people in the hospital!”
Sara expressed disbelief.
“You didn’t get caught at all on your way there? In that outfit?”
Although she didn’t have an apron, it was still a striking outfit. Plus, the skirt was pretty long and black, making it impossible not to stand out.
“I tried not to get caught.”
“No, does it work just by trying…?”
It wasn’t obvious, but the place was crawling with police all around. How in the world had Yang Hye-in managed to sneak in without being caught? That was something only Yang Hye-in would know.
“Were you perhaps a former special forces agent or something?”
“No. I only learned a bit of self-defense before I started working.”
“A bit?”
Sara feigned wiping her face, still trying to comprehend Yang Hye-in’s words.
“…Anyway, that means you were hiding in the corner since you entered that room, right?”
“Yes. The lady who was sleeping was defenseless.”
“You knew that if I screamed, the police would come in, right?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t you hear the sounds of Choi Na-kyung’s men being taken down outside the hospital room?”
“I heard that just minutes before Choi Na-kyung herself came in.”
Both Sara and Ha Neul knew that once either of them fell asleep, they wouldn’t wake up easily. They probably wouldn’t stir even for that kind of noise.
“…”
In the end, Sara didn’t fully understand the situation, but…