/
It got a little easier after a while. The new tentacles acted like the ex-chimera had grown a new limb. These tentacles not only lifted me easily but also had a positive effect on Koo Hui-seo’s physical condition. I could hardly believe that the guy was reeling and stumbling about earlier.
His pale complexion had improved a lot as well; he showed no signs of stumbling while running. Furthermore, it seemed like his senses became enhanced after regrowing his tentacles.
“Mother is at the stairs…” He observed a small staircase at the distant end of the corridor before moving by gripping the walls with his tentacles. Then, he climbed out the window and crawled along the outer walls.
Koo Hui-seo’s previous escape attempts from his [nightmare] informed how we left the room and traveled. As soon as the ex-chimera recovered, I asked how he was able to escape this nightmarish trap.
“There are several exits.”
“Several?”
“The key, safely reaching the basement of this mansion… There are various escape methods.” According to him, everything that could be meaningful in this location was an escape hint.
Though now Koo Hui-seo could use his tentacles, it would be a suicide mission to run at the key-bearing monster while carrying me and my broken leg.
Furthermore, Koo Hui-seo said that he had only once recovered the key to wake up from his nightmares. That instance was more like a coincidence as well–the gigantic monster had been asleep.
‘So, there are various conditions to fulfill to wake him up…’
It seemed that there wasn’t one singular method, like passing college entrance exams. One could have good grades or good recommendations–something like that. I thought this was somewhat strange, but that’s what Koo Hui-seo insisted. 1
In addition, Koo Hui-seo had already tried another method, but that resulted in needing to hide and nursing his broken tentacles. He confessed that his negative memories intensified when our blood mixed. While I strangely felt like I was being blamed again, I simply ignored him.
‘If that’s the case, nothing good comes from being involved with Koo Hui-seo for me as well.’
Of course, it was great that we were able to catch Koo Kyungman and enact revenge, but that resulted in trauma I’d never be able to forget. I asked the ex-chimera what his usual escape route was.
He said, “If you go down to the basement without getting caught, there’s a huge door…”
“Right.”
“Once I open that, I wake up.”
Since then, Koo Hui-seo has begun sneaking around the building.
The path to the basement, though, could not be found by just blindly going downstairs. We needed to find the secret passage leading to the underground structure. Honestly, even this aspect was so similar to a dungeon.
So, we went from place to place, touching anything that seemed unusual. During that time, whenever we found a patrolling(?) monster, we hid or ran away. Once again, Koo Hui-seo’s tentacles were a tremendous help here.
‘It’s become hard again…’
When something strange approached us, his tentacles, which fluttered behind him malleably, suddenly became rigid and pointed.
Though I was pressed against those tentacles, the change wasn’t abrupt enough to hurt me; however, it was useful in instantly conveying the presence of something dangerous. I didn’t know how it detected the enemy (perhaps it was instinct); in any case, its monster-detection services were certainly beneficial.
""
I looked at Koo Hui-seo as soon as the tentacles began to harden again. He was picking at the carpet in the hallway. As soon as I gave the signal, his tentacles moved, and we crept up the ceiling.
[Young master, where are you? Young master, the Chairwoman is looking for you…]
A few minutes later, a woman with flowing black hair walked to our original location.
Behind her, drooping shadows–like melted taffy–flickered and moved about like a burning flame. Black hands popped out of the shadows and began groping everywhere in the hallway. If we were still there, it probably would have latched onto our ankles and kept us from running away.
When the unidentified woman disappeared and we lowered ourselves from the ceiling, I asked Koo Hui-seo, “Who was that woman?”
“She was the nanny who took care of me until I was seven years old…” Koo Hui-seo answered placidly. He did not, however, offer up any additional information.
‘Why on earth would a mere nanny be so powerful?’
So,  I asked again, “Why is the nanny appearing in your nightmares?’
“She’d often…hit me when my parents weren’t around…”
“……” Though I somewhat expected that response, I was still struck speechless.
While sneaking around the mansion and avoiding monsters, I had already found out that Koo Hui-seo had a horribly unfortunate past.
The mansion itself was grim and grotesque, but that was nothing compared to the patrolling monsters. In addition to that nanny we had just encountered, there were also young twin monsters that passed by; Koo Hui-seo said that there were his cousins.
The twins had no eyes or noses and only had a slitted smile. They ran at a tremendous speed, the coffin attached behind them clattered as they moved. When I inquired about their presence, the ex-chimera said that they’d meet at his home during the holidays during his childhood. They would lock Koo Hui-seo in a warehouse or some storage box and wouldn’t let him out.
In this nightmare, all the bullies and bullying he encountered appeared as monsters. After confirming this observation, I asked something I had been curious about for a while. “By the way… Didn’t Koo Kyungman harass you?”
“Kyungman-ie?”
“Yes. I feel a bit bad for saying this, but… I thought Koo Kyungman would appear as a monster as well.”
I thought the former Red Dragon guild leader would have been a harsher bully than any of the monsters here, but the guy surprisingly didn’t appear.
Koo Hui-seo wriggled his tentacles and adopted an ambiguous smile. After much thought, he hesitatingly said, “Kyungman-ie…bullied me because he hated me…”
“……? Does that somehow make a difference?”
“There’s a difference between despising me and bullying me for no reason…”
I wondered what he meant by that, but I simply closed my mouth.
We went through the hall and entered another room. The room was cluttered with three laundry racks filled with dusty towels, mops, and other cleaning tools. It felt like a warehouse for the servants.
We scoured the room. Secret passages to basements were usually in unassuming locations.
I asked Koo Hui-seo for specifics on what the passage may look like, but he shook his head. Just like how dreams may be fuzzy and I may not remember everything in detail, he didn’t remember much of the hints he had received in previous nightmares. Therefore, we struggled blindly.
However, while rifling through the towels, Koo Hui-seo continued to talk to me. “Lee-kyung-ssi is the first person to not bully or hate me.”
His deeply moved tone bothered me. A sigh naturally tumbled from my mouth. I wanted to retort, ‘Your childhood was unnatural–a 0.00001 percent chance of a bad hand,’ to soothe the goosebumps that rose all over my arms.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but… I’m not some great person for treating you like this. Koo Hui-seo-ssi’s family was weird…That is to say–“
“Before I met Lee-kyung-ssi, I thought everyone hated me because I was odd…”
My hands paused for a brief moment. This mansion was so miserable I couldn’t possibly retort that the ex-chimera *was indeed* odd. If I were born in this sort of environment, I may not be worse off than Koo Hui-seo, but I wouldn’t have been able to lead a normal life. Or, I’d probably just run away from home… “Koo Hui-seo-ssi, you should have just ran away.”
“Hehe…”
“Or you could have fought back…”
“Of course, I fought a lot as well…” Koo Hui-seo replied with a discouraged tone; it was clear that he didn’t manage to land a proper blow.
I looked back. Koo Hui-seo stood amidst a pile of white towels; the ex-chimera was busy rifling through other locations. However, the tentacles must have sensed my gaze, the ex-chimera quickly met my gaze. “What is it?”
“I’m just wondering if you had anyone you liked…Ah, you’re prohibited from talking about me.”
“Then, no…” Koo Hui-seo replied cheerfully.
“So burdensome.” I didn’t want him to depend on me. So, I cut him off with a metaphorical knife; the ex-chimera simply giggled and smiled.
""
However, before long, his smile vanished. The same was true for me as well. I felt Koo Hui-seo’s tentacles harden again. We scrambled through the window to the outside wall–the door opened just barely afterwards.
Monsters swarmed, pushing against each other, into the room. I couldn’t help but sigh. Until when must we keep playing hide-and-seek?…
“So… Do the monsters usually come to find us this fast? I feel like they’re getting faster.”
“No… It’s a bit too intense this time. It’s as I’ve said: I can’t escape alone this time around…” Koo Hui-seo said, rubbing his head against mine as if he were blaming me.
As I pushed his head away with all my might, I thought, ‘We’re missing something…
Footnotes
Lmao, things might have changed since I was last in Korea, but the entrance exam is a major part of what determines your college entry in Korea… So, Lee-kyung is a little off here haha TT_TT