WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 47: Room 104, Curse Room - ‘Hotel High, the Prestigious Academy’ (7) - A-ri (Final)
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Day broke.
The consciousness that had wandered like a ghost seeped back into my body. The clumsy remnant of consciousness left behind slowly faded, and “I” regained control of my body. It was dawn, but I went outside immediately. Had Ga-in been waiting? Ga-in was nearby. Together, we went over our final plan for this room.
Today, I was going to burn this annoying school to the ground.
* * *
Ding, dong, dang, dong!
I'd confidently declared that morning that I would burn the school down, but in truth, the plan could only begin after classes ended. When you're about to do something serious, your odds of success are better if you wait until night falls and fewer people are around.
So I quietly attended class until the end of the day. Ga-in was horrified at the thought of experiencing senior year twice, but honestly, that was funny.
I've graduated high school at least ten times~!
Thanks to that, I got pretty good at studying. Though I think anyone would get good after attending high school ten times.
Thunk!
Coffee again.
At first, the students only went after Song-i because she looked like an easier target. Since yesterday, though, they'd started leaving things on my desk too. Honestly, it was funny every time. Did they know they were being reused as actors after losing at the hotel? They were probably happier not knowing.
As I flipped through my books and pretended to study, Seung-yeop and Song-i approached. They naturally started talking to me about this and that, but when Seung-yeop saw the coffee on my desk, his eyes widened.
Was Seung-yeop going to pick a fight if I told him who gave it to me?
It was ridiculous no matter how many times I saw it. I knew they were both fake, yet they acted like this. Then again, they didn't know they were fake. Maybe it wasn't funny at all, but a terrible tragedy.
I turned my head. Elena and Ga-in were both absent today. Elena had been killed by the angel without leaving behind a “fake,” so the school would probably come up with some excuse soon. As for Ga-in...
Was Ga-in doing okay? Ga-in was the last survivor left in this hopeless place alongside me. In some ways, Ga-in had taken on a more important and difficult role than I had.
I'd felt it back at the mansion too. I couldn't tell if Ga-in was normally smart, but every now and then, Ga-in could be surprisingly sharp.
That morning had been one of those times.
* * *
“I've had a vague thought for the past few days, but after seeing Elena's fight and the police yesterday, I became sure of it.”
“I think we're thinking something similar, so you go first, Ga-in.”
“This school cares far more about what the outside world thinks than we expected. Its fundamental goal is to send huge numbers of people to the Old School Building and do ‘something,’ but to do that ‘something,’ it established a college-prep school, actually provides college-prep education, and bought a huge amount of land.”
“To add to that, after pulling that insane stunt yesterday, they suddenly cleaned up by staging the scene and leaving it to the police to rule it a traffic accident. Like they're trying to handle it as naturally as possible. So...”
“As if there's a Management Bureau outside.”
“As if there's a Management Bureau outside.”
“We really are on the same wavelength. Anyway, even if we don't realize it, this ‘stage’ has an organization like the Management Bureau, one that could supposedly even hunt angels. That's why even something like an ‘angel’ hides its tracks so thoroughly.”
“I felt that much yesterday too. But does it matter? We can't contact the Management Bureau anyway.”
“A-ri, can't you do it? You said you're a Management Bureau agent.”
“When I was outside, I could contact the real Management Bureau. I can't contact the ‘fake Management Bureau’ in Room 104.”
“That doesn't matter. We have an alternative.”
“An alternative?”
“You saw it yesterday. The police.”
“...So we're going to report it to the police and ask them to save us?”
“That won't be enough. To the police, we're just students at an ordinary school, right? If we suddenly ask them to save us, they'll think it's a prank call. And even if they come, only one officer will show up. If only a few come, this school can just suppress their minds or replace them too.”
“...”
“We need to cause a major incident. Then we'll report it to the police ourselves. Something huge enough to bring dozens, even hundreds of officers. Would a secret cult really try to kill or replace dozens of police officers? Could they hide that from the outside world? This school thinks we've been mentally controlled. I think they'll just send us outside and give up on us.”
“Then the two of us can torch the school together.”
“No. You can do it.”
“What about you?”
“I'll cover the biggest hole in this plan.”
* * *
Once we laid it out, it wasn't much of a plan. I just had to wreck the school however I wanted, draw in dozens of police officers, and get arrested. Once I was arrested, that would paradoxically count as escape. It might count because I'd be far away from the school, or because if I got locked in juvenile detention, I would no longer have to go to the Old School Building.
It was a plan that would make the cult give up on one or two students the angel had personally brainwashed yesterday, rather than take the enormous risk of killing or replacing all those police officers.
Thinking about it now, was it the first day? Seung-yeop had said something stupid about beating up the teachers together, and I'd scolded Seung-yeop. Yet the escape plan we ultimately came up with was to wreck the school. After all that, had the thing Seung-yeop casually tossed out been close to the real answer? When I got out, I should pat Seung-yeop's head or something.
As for how solid the plan was...
I didn't know.
Even at a glance, I could see several holes. Our theory about how the cult operated was really just speculation piled on speculation. The biggest flaw was that Ga-in had gone to stop it personally, but I wasn't even sure Ga-in could.
Still, what else could we do?
If we weren't going to sit still and die, we had to do something. I'd already made up my mind when I came back into the hotel.
The odds of getting out alive again were lower than the odds of dying miserably.
Even so, I came back to save something more precious than my life.
* * *
The sun was setting.
Ah, was that not it?
After class, I went to the dormitory and grabbed a candle lighter and Capsaicin spray. It wasn't curfew yet, so there was no problem returning to the school. What should I burn? The teachers' office, of course!
Creeeak, click!
“Oh? A-ri? Students aren't allowed to come to the teachers' office whenever they want.”
“I'm sorry. There's a problem I can't solve no matter how hard I try. Could I ask you just one question?”
“Honestly... You should've asked after class. What subject is it?”
“Math.”
“Hmm. Come in.”
There were six or seven teachers inside the office. In the far right corner, the math teacher was sitting.
“You have a question? What problem is it? You came empty-handed without even bringing a book?”
Sorry, but I don't need a book. My head nearly exploded solving your problems the other day~!
Ssssssssh!
“Aaaaaaagh! Aaaaaaagh!”
“Hey! What is this?”
“Teacher Han! What the-”
“No! A-ri? What is that in your hand-”
Ssssssssh! Ssssssssh!
When I sprayed it everywhere, most of the teachers collapsed. Shouting, screaming. This was really fun. Why had I gone through high school more than ten times without ever thinking of wrecking one? If I had to attend again, I should definitely wreck a school outside too.
One of the male teachers threw his shirt over his head and charged at me. I casually met his eyes. The charging teacher immediately turned around and began punching another teacher. Compared to Song-i's bracelet, this was a far inferior power that also cost me blood, but ordinary people were still nothing.
The teachers were dealt with, more or less...
The teachers' office really did have a lot of books. I took out the lighter.
* * *
Ah. So warm.
I didn't know what season it was, but the weather at Hotel High had been pretty chilly. Since I'd made plenty of bonfires for the school, it had become very warm. Everyone would understand how much I loved this school, right?
After dealing with the teachers' office and repeating the same thing around three more times, the entire school was filled with noise. Fire alarms blared everywhere. People were too busy running away to think. I took out the phone I'd picked up earlier.
112.
“Gangdong Police Station. What is your emergency?”
“The school is burning~!”
“What? Please explain exactly-”
“I'm burning the whole school down, you see?”
“Ha! How old are you, prank calling- Beep. Student, who are you?”
The person on the line suddenly changed. Someone else had reported it too.
“The school was cold, so I'm warming it up. I'm burning the fifth classroom now, so everyone come warm yourselves by the fire~!”
Click.
That should be enough. Fire trucks and several police officers would probably arrive soon.
* * *
The biggest flaw in the escape plan.
‘Before the police intervene, the angel or the cult's strike team might intervene first, subdue us, and end everything inside the school.’
That flaw seemed to be resolved in the end. It looked like Ga-in was doing well at the Old School Building.
At this rate, our escape would succeed without trouble. The thought of getting out made me worry. After Song-i, even Ga-in had clearly begun to suspect me and warn me. Once we got out, I would probably be grilled in a hearing for half a day. I'd always known a time like this would come eventually.
I should think about how to answer.
By the time I had wrecked around seven classrooms, the police and fire trucks arrived. At a glance, it looked like at least a hundred outsiders had come. Even the cultists wouldn't have a solution for this. I didn't have a hobby of getting shot, so I silently raised both hands.
* * *
It took longer than expected for my escape to be recognized. At least I learned exactly what the escape condition was.
It seemed to be ‘the complete elimination of any possibility of being dragged to the Old School Building.’
Tap. Tap.
“Student Kim A-ri. Are you not going to cooperate with the trial?”
Please, Judge. Just sentence me already. I want to get out soon!
“Can't you hear me? Do you take this court for a joke? Why did you commit arson at the school?”
“How many times are you going to ask? I told you. I told you already. I started a fire because it was cold.”
“Do you call that an answer? What on earth...”
“Your Honor. As you can see, the defendant is not in her right mind. After suffering for a long time in the oppressive atmosphere of a college-prep school, she developed mental problems-”
“Lawyer, shut your mouth. I've told you to shut up at least five times.”
“As you can see, she is not in her right mind. The defendant is still young. If she recovers through treatment from a doctor rather than juvenile detention, then in the future, society-”
“Oh, please stop talking bullshit. I'm telling you, I'll burn this whole damn society down!”
This was getting exhausting. Once the police took me away, I'd thought the escape would be judged because I was physically far from the school. But physical distance alone wasn't enough to escape this room. Did I have to be definitively placed somewhere other than the school until graduation, probably juvenile detention or a hospital, so that the possibility of returning to school disappeared completely?
Thanks to that, everyone else was probably dead and resting while I'd been suffering alone for nearly a month.
Ga-in was probably dead too. That made me even angrier. Wasn't it weird how, whenever Ga-in and I were the only ones left, I ended up doing all the suffering? And after all this, it looked like they were going to hold a hearing about me once we got outside?
I couldn't take it anymore and threw the pen in front of me.
Smack!
Bullseye!
“What on earth are you doing?!”
“That hurt, right? Please throw that in with my sentence.”
That day, I was sentenced to eleven years in prison, probably because arson, assault, murder, and the crime of hitting a judge in the head were all added together. Wow! I set fires, killed people, and hit a judge in the head, but only eleven years? Korean sentences are way too light!
/You have successfully escaped!
Arson, murder, assault, battery. You committed every crime there is! What on earth were you doing? Did you really hate the school that much? Still, it's all right! The hotel was greatly impressed by your ruthlessness and decisiveness. These qualities are also necessary in overcoming trials.
You have now completely escaped the mysterious ritual being conducted by the cult.
You have escaped the curse. However, you sense that the Source of the Curse remains.
...
...
...
...
A companion has successfully escaped! Congratulations! Since an escapee has emerged, all members will return safely./
Footnotes:
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