It seemed like this was a 'rest' car, so to speak, there's only been one announcement since we arrived, but not everyone was relaxed..
Which was reasonable, not that long ago a lot of people died when they became relaxed, though I doubt any one of us wanted to eat after watching all that gore.
fshhh..
The idly thrum of running water accompanied my wandering thoughts that escaped me just as quickly as the muddled red-tinged water going down the drain,
The design of this car was different, luckily there was a bathroom, seeing myself in the mirror was a bit..
'I look terrible..'
No wonder I was getting off looks, my face was so pale I looked like I was going to keel over at any moment, sweat sticking my bangs to my face, picking at the strands that were matted with dried blood only made me cringe,
There wasn't much to work with so I washed the blood off my head in the sink before it could dry any more than it already had, but it was like I had assumed,
It had healed, all of it, the only thing that remained as proof of his happening was the blood,
Knock knock
The door rattled slightly, I shook the water off my hands as I turned, hand pausing just before the lock,
"Kim Hyunjin.. you've been inside for a while so I feel inclined to observe your condition"
Despite the sound it didn't particularly sound like Yeong Siyun, it was lower, it sounded more like a croak than anything else,
"Yeong Siyun, i'm fine, head injuries tend to bleed a lot more than they seem",
But despite my assurance the knocking continued, each one harder than the last "I insist. It wouldn't benefit any of us if you were to die in the bathroom with the door locked."
Isn't this quite intense for a field test..?
A lot of people have already died, 'What kind of company kills all of its new employees???'
First the ticket inspector and now a monster mimicking Yeon Siyun to get me to open the door, what the hell are normal employees going through?
Has it already killed the others?
Bang!
Bang!
'Ugh, I don't want to see dead bodies anymore..'
The door shook against its frame as the monster-parading as Yeong Siyun made an inhuman sound, a low, growling snarl, "Kim Hyunjin.. Open the door"
My heart is pounding in my chest.. but I don't feel scared at all
Surprisingly, given everything that's happened, the thought of looking at all that gore makes me feel sick.. let alone remembering how much I've seen in such a short amount of time,
—You shouldn't open that.
I want to.
—Don't.
Why shouldn't I?
—Don't.
I can feel myself growing increasingly annoyed. Why should I listen, for all I know this might just be why I've been losing control of my body,
Bang!
The lock unlatches, the door opens, and the hallway was filled with a cold, murky darkness,
?
"I thought you wanted to check my condition, Yeong Siyun-nim",
Ah.. this is probably so stupid, a mistake that could kill me, but oddly enough,
I feel like I won't die.
—You will.
I won't.
—You Will.
I bit my lip, steeling myself as a bone-chilling air filled the bathroom, the bulb flickered, my hands felt so cold, but they're not shaking,
In front of him was only emptiness, but a figure, a shadow, seemed to seep past the darkness and into the restroom, the coldness growing thicker by the second, the light flickering more and more violently the closer it got,
Too close for comfort.
My heart beat like it was trying to burst out of my ribs, each one louder than the last, snuffing out everything else.
A towering shadow, vaguely human but warped, loomed over me, Its form shifted like fog-given shape, I had to crane my neck up to even see what might've mimicked a head,
Hah..
Why is this actually sort of exciting..?
"Well? Did you actually need something, Yeong Siyun-nim"[1]
It felt weird to speak to a monster that was, very poorly, pretending to be a… friend,
Were we friends?
Maybe, i'm not sure yet.
It actually seemed to be confused on what to do, it just stood ominously as the light flickered, was this one harmless?
Or maybe I hadn't broken any rules to justify being killed?
If so, what were the rules? And were they different from the first car?
No, they'd announce the rules then, wouldn't they?
I attempted to awkwardly shuffle past the monster, "anyways I'm finished in here if—" then a dark, cold hand grabbed me, fingers stretching over my arm, grasping it tightly.
Ah…
I couldn't even react before it grabbed me.
What had I done that it suddenly wanted to kill me now?
Swallowing back nervousness dryly, I tried to play along even more,
"Is something the matter?"
But I wasn't expecting the darkness to creep closer to my face, waiting to presumably swallow me whole.
I stared for a moment, the silence making me tense slightly, of course this was a terrible idea, what was wrong with me and this sudden fearlessness?
Even when i'm about to be killed all I can feel aside from adrenaline is excitement.
The shadow remained still, but now that it was closer, I noticed how I still couldn't make out any distinct features, but I could feel its eyes on me, similar to the mannequin-like people from before, but different,
Because it wasn't pretending to be human, at least not in appearances.
Even more so, I can't hear the voice anymore,
"Unless you say something, I'll just assume that you're fine", I reached up to the hands on my arm, trying to peel its fingers off, its skin(?) was deathly chilled to the touch, its grip too strong.
But before it could do… whatever it had been planning to, it was interrupted by the real Yeong Siyun, immediately vanishing like smoke, the light stopped flickering and returned to its previous state,
Like nothing happened, the only proof od it's happening being the forming bruising on my arm .
"…Kim Hyunjin.. Are you finished in there?" The long-haired woman blinked, peering into the open door,
Now that I was hearing her voice again she really did speak slowly,
"Yes, has anything changed?" she backed up to give me room as I stepped out of the restroom
Her eyes narrowed slightly, looking me over once, "No.. did something happen?", Ah.. she's so intuitive isn't she?
So cool
It should be fine, the monster didn't seem like the type that killed unless specific conditions are met, what are the chances someone meets them by accident,
"No, Why?" She tilted her head slightly, I couldn't tell whether or not she believed because of her blank expression,
She stayed silent, staring at me like she wanted to ask something, "…nothing.. I was just curious since you were talking to yourself.."
Without hearing my response she turned around and walked back to her seat, answering a question Baek Siyun had asked her,
…
After a moment I also returned to my seat,
'ahh… she's not angry with me, is she?'
[Dun~~Da~Dun~~]
[Ehkerm, Mhm, Pardon me, Soon A Staff member will deliver Food and beverages, If you prefer not to eat now, you may save your meal ticket for another time]
Compared to before they appeared right away, A woman in a typical hostess uniform pushing a trolley filled with sealed foods and snacks, smiling wide with a professional smile,
Teeth yellow, her skin was abnormally pale and discolored, so thin her skin stretched over her bones, face gaunt and large bags under her eyes, nails sharply overgrown, dirty like she'd been clawing at dirt, "Good evening. Would you like to use your meal ticket?"
Her mouth moved stiffly when she spoke, like her jaw was struggling against the rigor mortis setting in.
She leaned over, she wasn't as tall as the Inspector so it was less intimidating as she questioned the mousy faced woman who flinched, shaking her head, "nh.. no.."
Nothing happened other than her smile straining. and she moved on, pushing the trolley to stop in front of Baek Siyun, who seemed equally unsettled as he did seem digusted, rejecting her offer before she could finish speaking, making her turn her head to me instead, her haggard smile even tighter than before.
"Good evening. Would you like to use your meal ticket?"
I was tempted, but it was probably monster food, wasn't it? Just because we weren't being outright attacked this time around didn't mean this was safe, the shadow was.. different, just very insistent if anything,
'Even though i have no clue what it wanted'
Unfortunately.. it would've been cool if the food had interesting effects that wouldn't just end up killing me,
"I don't have an appetite quite yet." I murmured out, watching her eye twitch faintly, skeletal jaw tightening, before she moved on to Yeong Siyun, repeating the question once more,
"Good evening. Would you like to use your meal ticket?"
"I don't… but you can use it for yourself if you want to eat." She said blandly, catching her off guard, putting the ticket in the Woman's hand, "thank you for your hard work." She murmured leaning her head on her hand,
"..I see." The woman clenched her jaw so tightly, her teeth cracked, blood pouring down her blackened gums as she continued to smile, turning around and pushing the untouched trolley until she too disappeared,
"It must be a bit difficult for you.."
"...?"
Yeong Siyun spoke with a utterly blank expression.
"You're a bit odd.."
..eh?
It feels a bit worse coming from her.
"…you look at all the monsters with such intriuge.. but.. people dying really sets you off..", she murmured, tapping her chin twice,
"Do you really think so?", i didn't think so, it's hard to think about the monsters with that much gore in front of them,
"..Who knows.." she turned her head away again, "I've been thinking about this field test in my own way too..."
"What have you been thinking about Yeong Siyun-ssi?"[2]the flat-haired man turned around in his seat,
"Well.. there'd be hundreds of train coming and going from the platform.. it would be impossible to figure out which train is the right one without hindsight, it's impossible" she blinked blankly,
"Yes, but.. why would they do that?" The timid man murmured, brows furrowed,
"They wouldn't," I shrugged loosely, "from everything we've seen it's obvious they prioritize quality, they wouldn't make a test impossible if they wanted the best employees"
The long-haired woman nodded. "So it's not impossible.. we're just thinking about this wrong.."
She tilted her head slightly,
"What if there is no 'right' train?"
hm..
It makes more sense that way, instead of there being one 'safe' train amidst hundreds, what if all of them were dangerous, but the risks were lower and higher depending on which train you boarded?
Unlike in the second train where people were murdered immediately, Ours not only had rules been applied, not all of the monsters attacked them outright.
"Instead of choosing a train that has no danger… What if the answer is in which train is easier to survive?"
[1] Nim; an honorific suffix used to show respect, similar to addressing someone as "Mr.", "Ms.", or "Sir;Ma;am" in English. It;s typically added after names or titles, especially when addressing someone older or of higher status
[2] ssi; a polite honorific used after a person;s name, similar to "Mr.", "Mrs.", or "Ms." in English. It;s used to show respect when addressing someone you;re not close to or who might be older than you, or when addressing someone with similar social status. It;s a common way to address strangers or colleagues.