Chapter 3

The Art center was decorated with a shopping mall on the top floor except for the stage of the multi-story concert hall, so there was also a restaurant area.

However, by the time I arrived, most of the signs were closed and most of the lights were off.

I managed to find a ramen restaurant with half an hour left until closing and sat down. I instinctively felt the part-timer swearing with his eyes, but I tried to ignore it because my stomach was rumbling.

“Hey, where’s the bathroom?”

“If you go straight from here, it’s next to the elevator.”

“Thank you.”

When I left the store, I went to the bathroom after eating the hot ramen for 10 minutes.

However, while I was washing my hands after finishing my work, I heard a strange sound from the compartment next to where I was.

“Ugh, uh…….”

“……What is it?”

I ignored it and was drying my hands on the hand dryer, but the voice kept bothering my ears.

I wondered if he was groaning because it hurt, but since it was coming from the bathroom compartment, I thought it might be because he was struggling with a lot of strength.

I hesitated for a long time and then approached the bathroom compartment where I could hear the voice and politely knocked on the door twice.

knock, knock.

“Excuse me…… Are you alright?”

“…….”

At that moment, the moaning that had been leaking out suddenly died down as if it never had happened.

I stood in front of it for about 30 seconds, just in case, but the bathroom, which was only occupied by me and the person in it, was silent, and the groan was no longer heard.

‘·…Oh. You were trying hard, but I guess I interrupted you…….’

Feeling embarrassed, I said, “I’m sorry…….” I tried to get out of the bathroom, muttering quietly.

It was then.

The faint pleading leaked through the closed door of the bathroom.

“Sa, save me…… Gagg.”

……What?

“What?”

I thought I heard it wrong, so I turned and stepped back inside.

However, as I approached the toilet compartment in question, silence began again as before.

What’s this? What’s going on?

I might let it go if it’s a joke, but…… How should I say it? I felt a little dreary.

‘He asked to be saved.’

These may be words that can be overlooked, but on the other hand, they are extremely scary.

“Mmmp.”

But at that moment, a low groan came out of the bathroom, as if the mouth had been forcibly blocked.

In an instant, a chill went down my spine.

My rich imagination would occasionally play out in the wrong places, and this time, too.

At the moment, I thought maybe there was not just one person in this bathroom compartment.

‘By any chance…Isn’t someone covering his mouth?’

“Hey, over there! There’s something wrong inside, right?!”

I banged on the closed bathroom door again and shouted.

I tried to force the door open, but it was locked tightly, so it didn’t budge, and even though I made the fuss, there was silence in the partition again.

“Sir! If you’re inside, please knock twice! If you don’t knock, I’ll call the police!”

Maybe the other person is embarrassed and doesn’t reply on purpose. Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable if someone you don’t know comes and knocks on the door when he is doing his business for a long time?

But I firmly believed in the imagination I had unfolded, and I was possessed by courage from an unknown place.

And as if to prove it, as soon as I finished speaking.

Thud Thud–!

Suddenly, he knocked on the door twice as if he were going to smash it from inside.

I stayed close to the door because I was worried, but I was so surprised by the sudden noise that I took a couple of steps back.

It was a violent knock, as if telling me to stop bothering him and to go away.

“Oh, yes……. I’m so sorry…….”

I crouched sharply and tried to move to get out of the bathroom, but stopped again.

As expected…… No matter how much I think about it, something was weird.

The faintly heard “Save me……” and also the groan as if he was holding his breath. The strangely lifeless voice stuck to my ears and did not leave.

In the end, I still can’t say if this is right, but I stood in front of the toilet compartment in question.

Then, in a cautious voice, I asked the question.

“Well, hey, I think I’m crazy too…… You’re sure everything’s okay, aren’t you?”

Thud—!

Then, inside the compartment, he hit the door harder than before, as if he was annoyed.

It was unusual to see the door shake so hard even though it was hit so hard. If that person came out, there might be a situation where I had to call the police for a different reason.

But still, I realized something wasn’t right.

Just now, just before…… Because when the other person hit the door hard! It was near my head.

Maybe it doesn’t mean much, but it was weird somewhere.

‘Why are you standing? You have to sit on the toilet when you’re doing business…’

I stared at the door, suspiciously.

And at that moment, my heart sank. It was because of a figure looming through the door.

Of course, I can’t be sure of what I saw through the narrow gap, but the figure in the bathroom compartment was clearly standing in a suit with his back turned.

It was very unnatural for a man to do business in the bathroom compartment.

“Hey, Ho, do you happen to…… Can you speak?”

Thud—!

“No, because if you tell me to go, I’ll go……. Just say something, sir, okay?”

Then the fist-punching of the door as if it was going to be broken down stopped. Then, the inside of the bathroom became breathtakingly silent.

What broke the silence hat lasted for a while was something I never expected.

“……Run.”

“What?”

“Run…….”

Inside the partition, the voice I heard earlier was telling me to run away.

My body began to tremble with fear for an unknown reason. A feeling of fear creeped up my spine.

As if my courage had been for naught, I faltered and retreated without realizing it. However, I was unable to take a few steps and collapsed on the floor because my legs were weak.

I regretted it for a moment. ……I should’ve just left earlier! I shouldn’t have been foolish!

However, it is too late to regret. The bathroom door, which had been tightly closed, began to open slowly like a scene from a horror movie.

“Ugh, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…….”

Soon, a man slowly pushed out the bathroom door with his back turned.

In the meantime, the man did not move at all. His feet were not even attached to the ground when he exited the compartment.

However, it was only after he completely left the bathroom compartment that I found out how he came out of the door.

The man wasn’t floating in the air without anything. There was something behind him that could not be considered a human.

So the man was pulled up in the air by something.

“Ugh, Ugh, Ugh. Run…….”

I was still only looking at the man’s back, but I realized what this situation was like just by hearing that voice that was strangled and cut off.

‘Monster…’

The things that appeared on the news all the time but I didn’t think was a big deal, the unknown fear that I thought had nothing to do with me unfolded before my eyes.

The man in the suit, whose name I didn’t even know, was slowly being strangled to death, caught by that monster.

It’s not that he didn’t answer my question, it’s because he couldn’t.

“Crazy……!”

After understanding the situation, I crouched on all fours and moved toward the entrance to the bathroom, listening to the sound of my heart exploding around my ears. It was an instinctive movement.

At the same time, my throat instinctively let out a scream.

“Aaaah! Save me! A monster, a monster has appeared! Help me!”

However, all the stores near the bathroom were closed.

Furthermore, there was nothing around the bathroom except for the light from the bathroom. The smooth marble floor and the sole of my shoes made a squeak.

How did the monster appear in the middle of Seoul? How……? It just happened to be right in front of me……!’

A feeling of resentment welled up that I didn’t know who it was directed at. When I heard something stomping on the ground from the inside of the bathroom, I came to my senses again.

I thought of the store where I had ramen a while ago and like lightning ran towards it.

“Save me! Save me!”

Desperate for someone to hear my voice, I shouted to the point where blood ran in my throat.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***