Chapter 251
It got a little easier after a while. The new tentacles acted like the ex-chira had grown a new limb. These tentacles not only lifted 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 seed like his senses beca 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] inford how we left the room and traveled. As soon as the ex-chira recovered, I asked how he was able to escape this nightmarish trap.
“There are several exits.”
“Several?”
“The key, safely reaching the basent of this mansion… There are various escape thods.” According to him, everything that could be aningful 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 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 seed that there wasn’t one singular thod, like passing college entrance exams. One could have good grades or good recomndations–sothing like that. I thought this was sowhat strange, but that’s what Koo Hui-seo insisted. 1
In addition, Koo Hui-seo had already tried another thod, but that resulted in needing to hide and nursing his broken tentacles. He confessed that his negative mories intensified when our blood mixed. While I strangely felt like I was being blad again, I simply ignored him.
‘If that’s the case, nothing good cos from being involved with Koo Hui-seo for 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-chira what his usual escape route was.
He said, “If you go down to the basent 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 basent, 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 seed unusual. During that ti, whenever we found a patrolling(?) monster, we hid or ran away. Once again, Koo Hui-seo’s tentacles were a trendous help here.
‘It’s beco hard again…’
When sothing strange approached us, his tentacles, which fluttered behind him malleably, suddenly beca rigid and pointed.
Though I was pressed against those tentacles, the change wasn’t abrupt enough to hurt ; however, it was useful in instantly conveying the presence of sothing 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 lted taffy–flickered and moved about like a burning fla. 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 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 re nanny be so powerful?’
So, I asked again, “Why is the nanny appearing in your nightmares?’
“She’d often…hit when my parents weren’t around…”
“……” Though I sowhat 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 trendous speed, the coffin attached behind them clattered as they moved. When I inquired about their presence, the ex-chira said that they’d et at his ho during the holidays during his childhood. They would lock Koo Hui-seo in a warehouse or so 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 sothing 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 forr 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 because he hated …”
“……? Does that sohow make a difference?”
“There’s a difference between despising and bullying for no reason…”
I wondered what he ant 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 basents 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 rember everything in detail, he didn’t rember 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 . “Lee-kyung-ssi is the first person to not bully or hate .”
His deeply moved tone bothered . 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 so great person for treating you like this. Koo Hui-seo-ssi’s family was weird…That is to say–“
“Before I t Lee-kyung-ssi, I thought everyone hated because I was odd…”
My hands paused for a brief mont. This mansion was so miserable I couldn’t possibly retort that the ex-chira *was indeed* odd. If I were born in this sort of environnt, 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 ho… “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-chira was busy rifling through other locations. However, the tentacles must have sensed my gaze, the ex-chira quickly t my gaze. “What is it?”
“I’m just wondering if you had anyone you liked…Ah, you’re prohibited from talking about .”
“Then, no…” Koo Hui-seo replied cheerfully.
“So burdenso.” I didn’t want him to depend on . So, I cut him off with a taphorical knife; the ex-chira simply giggled and smiled.
However, before long, his smile vanished. The sa was true for 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 sward, 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 co to find us this fast? I feel like they’re getting faster.”
“No… It’s a bit too intense this ti. It’s as I’ve said: I can’t escape alone this ti around…” Koo Hui-seo said, rubbing his head against mine as if he were blaming .
As I pushed his head away with all my might, I thought, ‘We’re missing sothing…’
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TL: His childhood D:
The fact that he ntally classifies Koo Kyungman as ‘not a nightmare’ because he had a “good” reason to bully him…. oh my god.
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