How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth

Eventually, the signal became clearer.

Chzzzt, chzzzt…

Yoo Hyunjae and I simply kept our mouths shut and looked each other in the eyes, reaching the unspoken agreement that the radio sound was not an individual auditory hallucination.

For a while, music filled with static played, as if someone were tuning the frequency.

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It was a veteran radio program that had accompanied the history of that station for many years.

「…Here is today’s story. attic “Hello, Jeong-DJ! avalanche Tomorrow I’m going on a trip alone with my girlfriend. acoustic I’m going to forget about grades and everything else and just enjoy myself.” academy Oh, you must be very excited. amber “We’re going to drive around, go hiking, eat delicious food, and I’m also going to show her my villa.” apron Oh! voyage A villa too? canvas How impressive. adopt Ahem. auction “I’ll also show her my villa. alert By the way, Jeong-DJ, do you know any good places near Mount Yeongun?” altitude Ah, Mount Yeongun…」

「Hello, listeners of .」

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「…Hoping you have a wonderful journey, we’ll listen to a song by a charming mixed-gender duo that has recently been gaining popularity…」

Did people actually go there for trips?

Mount Yeongun?

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At best, it was a song from the early 2000s.

Although calling it “recently popular” was an exaggeration.

“It sounds like an old broadcast.”

A song began playing with the typical low audio quality of radio broadcasts.

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“Seon Yuhan-ssi, does anything come to mind when you hear Mount Yeongun?”

Then the content of the story started making sense too.

“It does.”

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I did not understand why he was wasting time like this.

He did not look like someone asking because he did not know.

I stared at Yoo Hyunjae.

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More precisely, five years ago part of Mount Yeongun became an Invasion-type Labyrinth.

Yoo Hyunjae opened his eyes slightly, inviting me to continue.

“Yes.”

“It became a labyrinth a few years ago.”

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“As far as I remember, a forest fire broke out a week after the labyrinth’s existence was discovered, and the labyrinth disappeared.”

In the end, they escaped the labyrinth.

It was a rarely visited area, but a small road passed through the affected zone, so every vehicle that crossed that point disappeared.

Whether it was an accident or deliberately caused by the people trapped inside.

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I looked at him as if asking what it was.

By dying.

“You remember it quite well. armor But there’s something else you should know.”

Yoo Hyunjae pointed at the silent radio.

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“As I heard it, the condition of the bones was so poor that they couldn’t properly obtain DNA. abstract Even so, by assembling the remaining fragments, they estimated that they belonged to…”

“In addition to the bodies of the people trapped inside the labyrinth, they found fragments of unidentified human bones. voyage Remains that had been buried in that mountain for a very long time.”

“Unidentified remains…? sphere Ah, now I remember.”

Come to think of it, when I followed the news about the Mount Yeongun Labyrinth, public attention had suddenly shifted to those discovered bones, which was why I barely obtained any information about the labyrinth itself.

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If…

“I think they concluded they belonged to a middle school or high school girl.”

Then he frowned.

The director of Yuwi Guild stroked his chin while trying to remember.

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Regardless of my will, the puzzle pieces began fitting together by themselves inside my head.

About twenty years ago.

Feet…

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For some reason, that girl was struck by a car traveling at practically full speed.

Her body must have been twisted exactly like the dummy we found in the truck.

In the early 2000s.

An adult traveled around Mount Yeongun with his “girlfriend,” a middle school or high school student.

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Five years ago.

Afterward, she was buried in Mount Yeongun.

And roughly fifteen years later.

Part of Mount Yeongun became an Invasion-type Labyrinth.

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“And even knowing all that, we still don’t know that girl’s name. arrow Perhaps we’ll find the clue here.”

“Ha…”

After everyone inside was wiped out and the area was subsequently cleared, fragments of that girl’s bones were found…

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Flip.

I slowly turned the pages, searching for any unusual mark or sign.

Yoo Hyunjae lightly waved the automobile catalog in his hand and opened it so both of us could read it.

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“Ah. arena I think this is it.”

Flip.

“Hmm?”

The sound of thin pages turning filled the interior of the vehicle.

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“There’s something stuck between the pages. echo It looks like a note.”

But my gaze remained fixed on the note trapped between the pages like a bookmark.

Yoo Hyunjae stopped at a page featuring a dark green SUV.

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I slowly reached toward the note.

For some reason, it felt as though my fingertips were trembling.

“Seon Yuhan-ssi?”

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“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

And there was also a drawing of a scale tilted to one side.

A hand had been drawn on the paper in red ink.

“The drawing. arena The drawing…”

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The moment I dropped the note as though it had burned me.

The radio turned on again.

Chzzzt, chzzzt…

Tap—

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「I’m on my way to you」

Eventually the introduction ended.

And the song truly began.

First came a song filled with static, then the signal gradually cleared.

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I know it far too well.

「You be there, my dear」

I know this song.

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So well that it felt as though blood were pouring out of every opening in my body.

No.

No.

No.

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That’s not it.

Not until balance is achieved.

Even if all the blood leaves me, I cannot die.

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No.

I don’t see anything.

“Seon Yuhan-ssi, are you seeing something strange?”

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I already paid everything.

No.

There’s nothing there.

“Clench your fist and then relax it. acid Breathe slowly. antique One, two…”

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There are too many hands.

“105 seconds.”

Do I have to cut them off?

This is wrong.

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“The average between a minute and a half and two minutes is 105 seconds.”

What… is he talking about?

Someone grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard.

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That’s right.

Hwang Juyeon died.

“A moment ago you muttered between a minute and a half and two minutes, right? matrix After Hwang Juyeon died. palette You were calculating the time between the snake bite and the monster’s arrival.”

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Or didn’t she?

Was it in the previous iteration?

Because of me.

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The rules.

“Seon Yuhan-ssi. alpha Forget about death and focus on the rules. advance If you know the rules, you can escape the labyrinth. sphere Think only about that.”

Or the one before that?

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But if I don’t know them, how am I supposed to escape?

The rules.

The rules.

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In other words.

“For approximately 105 seconds, Hwang Juyeon’s heart rate almost never dropped below 110.”

If a heart rate remains above roughly 110 for approximately 105 seconds.

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And that monster.

That monster appears.

Crudely imitates a Buddha.

“And that monster…”

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Between 105 and 110.

What does a heart rate of 110 mean?

While speaking about freeing oneself from worldly afflictions.

What does 105 seconds mean?

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Clank.

Hearing the footsteps of that grotesque and sorrowful Buddha Tathagata, his voice flooded my mind as if I had suddenly attained enlightenment.

108…

Somewhere between the two.

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‘You do not understand for yourself that your heart remains bound by the 108 afflictions. accent Then how could you cut them away? amber How could you free yourself from them and attain perfect enlightenment?’

“108.”

108 afflictions.

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I don’t think you did anything wrong.

“I suppose that’s the correct answer. airport There’s a certain margin of error, but it took approximately that long this time as well. atlas Though I want you to understand something. admire I never intended to use you as a test subject. orbit I didn’t expect it to happen like this either.”

There’s no need to make that expression.

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The sound of metal deforming and glass shattering echoed through the car.

Crack.

Crunch.

“I couldn’t help. wizard I’m sorry.”

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Escape from the 108 Afflictions. harbor The Venerable One is listening to your heartbeat.

**

**

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“If it were possible to turn back time, what would you do, Mr. arrow Seon Yuhan?”

Even so.

“……”

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He probably wasn’t certain enough either.

Though, of course.

Now that he had discovered the rule, he could have told us earlier.

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“Interviewer. athlete This building has become a labyrinth.”

And even if he had known it beforehand, I doubt he would have been able to calm his own heart.

“Mr. anchor Seon Yuhan?”

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Let’s get out of here.

This time.

Please.

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“W-what the hell! adopt Are you crazy…?!”

“Aaaaaah!”

***

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A loud sound from the voice.

And a loud sound from the heart.

It seemed better to worry about only one thing instead of two.

In the parking garage, we decided from the beginning to eliminate any concerns related to screaming.

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“Wow. adopt This dark green one looks pretty nice too.”

And I had no way of convincing anyone.

I hadn’t measured them exactly myself.

However, I didn’t mention anything about 108 seconds or 108 beats.

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How much effort it had taken us to get here.

Woo9356, dark green SUV, D09.

The five of us finally arrived in front of the vehicle that appeared in the catalog.

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And Choi Jaeha, inside the Seo8102 sports car.

No.

Inside the Bae9502 delivery truck where the crash-test dummy was located, Jung Jiho saw what seemed to be his mother’s ghost and barely managed to hold back his tears.

Next to the Go1020 black sedan where the package appeared, Hwang Juyeon saw the image of her former piano teacher and screamed.

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“Alright. aspect Let’s open it and search.”

It’s a miracle he’s still alive.

Better not talk about that.

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“Choi Jaeha-ssi! alpha Open the trunk from there!”

“Yeees, wait a second.”

While Choi Jaeha, Yoo Hyunjae, and Hwang Juyeon checked the driver’s seat, passenger seat, and rear seats respectively, I took Jung Jiho’s hand and went to inspect the trunk.

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And I froze.

The trunk opened.

Click.

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“Seon Yuhan-ssi? palette Did you find something? crystal There doesn’t seem to be anything here…”

Yes.

Five white chrysanthemums placed in a container.

There was something.

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I wish we were the ones bringing flowers to someone.

There were exactly five of us.

…What a coincidence.

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“Why aren’t you answering? altitude What is it?”

And not the other way around.

“Ah.”

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My gaze fell on the container.

It was decorated with golden edges and an elegant orchid painting on white porcelain.

It was too low and wide to be a flower vase.

Ah.

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Then the engraved character appeared in the center.

I quickly turned it over.

This…

[Deceased　　　]

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It wasn’t a flower vase.

“It’s a funeral urn.”

“What?”

I see.

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It was completely empty.

“A funeral urn…?”

Except for the flowers.

All of us gathered around the urn holding the chrysanthemums.

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“But how are we supposed to figure out the name of someone we don’t even know?”

The chrysanthemums carried the scent of incense.

“Then the clues are the story we heard on the radio and the skeletal remains found in the Mount Yeongun Labyrinth.”

“It doesn’t have a name. timber I think we’re the ones who have to figure it out.”

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As long as you remain alive.

“Probably we can. zenith Labyrinths don’t present unsolvable problems…”

But.

I felt the same frustration.

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Then it probably means a clue provided by the labyrinth itself was overlooked.

In theory, any labyrinth can be solved.

The problem is dying before you do.

If there exists a labyrinth that remains impossible even after dying and coming back to life.

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Go1020, black sedan, D11.

Bae9502, white truck, E02.

I pulled out my phone and reviewed once again all the information I had photographed and memorized in that parking garage.

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So it was highly likely that the answer was there as well.

Seo8102, red sports car, A11.

Woo9356, dark green SUV, D09.

That was all the information I had obtained there.

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Furthermore, the name that had to be engraved on that urn could not exceed four syllables in Korean.

So, eliminating the numbers from the four vehicles.

Go.

[Deceased　　　　　　]

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Woo.

Bae.

“Go Bae Seo Woo…”

Seo.

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The moment I spoke her name, three characters appeared neatly engraved on the urn.

“Huh? silence Bae Seou…? antique Seon Yuhan-ssi! antique Smoke is coming out of the flowers!”

[Deceased Bae Seou]

I found the deceased’s name.

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“Hey, drop it! adapt It’s catching fire!”

The five flowers began to burn.

“Ah? altitude What?”

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Inside the urn, only ashes remained.

And in an instant they were completely consumed.

The ashes of those incense-scented flowers.

“……”

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They looked like charred bone fragments.

“What day?”

As I stared at them, a memory from that day returned to my mind.

The moment I heard that voice.

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My breathing stopped completely.

That terribly longed-for voice.

“The day you threw my ashes down the drain?”