Revenant Resonance Ch 8

Chapter 8

“Right. I have to use the stairs on the opposite side if I want to get to the fourth floor.”

“Hmm?”

“It was written like that in the manual.”

Yu Jiha took out the manual and pointed to item number three, but Je Ilheon frowned slightly, his gaze not on the booklet but somewhere vague.

“Where were you planning to go?”

“They said the locker in the sixth-floor changing room is safe.”

“Oh, that place?”

Je Ilheon’s eyes narrowed meaningfully, and Yu Jiha flinched for no reason. He had a bad feeling. It felt like the prelude to something… BDSM-like.

“Are you into that kind of thing?”

“Huh? W-what do you mean?”

“The cabinet, the cabinet. It’s an extremely tight and sealed space.”

“……?”

“If one person goes in, it’s stuffy but you can manage. But if two people go in? Then you’re completely stuck. Crushed against each other.”

“……!”

“In a hot, enclosed space, your breathing touches the other guy, and his breathing brushes over your skin. The heat keeps rising from the body temperature, your breath gets shallower because of the heat, and even though you’re drenched in sweat, you can’t help but be pressed together, which makes it even hotter—a vicious cycle. It almost feels like your human rights are being trampled.”

“…….”

“If that kind of play is your thing, I won’t stop you, but wouldn’t it be better to go in with your partner instead of some older guy like me? After all, whether they like it or not, men are creatures that physically react when stimulated…”

“N-no, no! That’s not it!”

Yu Jiha frantically waved his hands, almost yelling. He had been thinking about escaping with all his might to survive, but the idea of being trapped in a human-rights-violating box just waiting to be rescued—he hadn’t imagined that scenario. More than anything, being in a cabinet with a man he barely knew and having, that, physical reaction… he’d want to die on the spot.

“Don’t you have a partner here?”

“Not here, not outside either!”

“That’s a shame.”

Without realizing it, Yu Jiha replied comfortably, swept into Je Ilheon’s pace, forgetting how scared he had been just moments ago.

“You made that sound so real—have you actually been trapped in one before?”

“Not me. It was some juniors of mine. They used to treat each other like total strangers, then one day I got a wedding invitation.”

He never wanted to know what happened inside that human-rights-violating box that led to marriage.

“Do you know any other way out besides the cabinet?”

“The parking lot. Isn’t it in the manual?”

“Uh, it said you need to be guided by the nurse monster to get there.”

“I’ve been there before, so I know the way.”

“Ah, I see.”

Well then, there’s no reason to get my human rights violated. The conclusion was clear, but something in his heart felt caught on a hook as he followed behind.

Maybe sensing his unease, Je Ilheon turned around.

“Did you leave something behind? Want to go back for it?”

“Just… I’m starting to think the cabinet might actually be dangerous. Even without the nurse who came out with me, there are still six people. There’s no way that tiny cabinet can fit everyone. And if the monsters chase them into the changing room, it’ll be a disaster.”

“…….”

“But then, for me to just escape safely by following you… it feels wrong somehow.”

Je Ilheon tilted his head slightly as he listened silently.

“You only just met those people today, right?”

“One of them’s a senior from school, but… yeah, mostly.”

“Hmm. So what, you want me to go save them?”

“Wh-what? You? N-no, I wasn’t trying to ask you for anything, really!”

Yu Jiha flailed again in panic. If he could do something himself, that was one thing, but how could he put such a heavy burden on someone else?

“But you’re worried about them, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

“Then how about this? I’ve got the ability to save them, but no motivation. You’re the opposite of me. So how are you going to motivate me?”

“Uh… by giving you something you want?”

“Like what?”

Suddenly, his mind went completely blank. Only one thing came to mind that he could possibly offer in this situation. Yu Jiha weighed the lives of the others and his own conscience, then tightly shut his eyes and leaned his cheek forward—the cheek the man had touched earlier.

“P-please don’t bite too hard! If you’re going to nibble, a little piece is enough, right? But I really don’t taste good.”

“……”

“N-not enough? Then maybe just a bit more…? But only enough that it could be fixed with skin graft surgery, okay?”

“……”

He was too silent. Yu Jiha peeked up through one eye and saw the man’s face frozen in a stiff expression. Had he crossed a line, making demands about how much could be eaten when he was the one asking? His heart pounded with anxiety.

Then suddenly, the man clapped a hand over his own mouth and started trembling with laughter, trying to suppress it. That blank expression had been him holding in laughter all along.

By the time Yu Jiha’s cheeks were burning with embarrassment, the man finally straightened up and leaned in. His breath brushed across Yu Jiha’s cheek.

Smooch.

“……?!”

“That’s enough of a taste. In exchange, you’ll grant me a wish later. Got it?”

Wh-what just happened? What WAS that?!

Yu Jiha stood frozen, his mind bleached white with confusion, while Je Ilheon casually slung an arm around his shoulders. He only came to his senses when they reached a spot where they could see the elevator.

“If you’re scared, want another kiss?”

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you very much!”

He hastily clutched his cheek and backed away. Je Ilheon burst into laughter again. Honestly, getting a chunk bitten off might have been less humiliating. Still laughing, the man had Yu Jiha hide around the corner and stood in front of him protectively.

All of this was the price of offering his first kiss since elementary school.

Yu Jiha’s heart, fluttering in anxiety over what would happen next, turned to horror. Je Ilheon raised his arm—and bit into the inside of his own wrist.

As Yu Jiha watched in disbelief, he slammed his bleeding fist into the glass door of a fire hose cabinet embedded in the hallway wall. The monstrous object the group couldn’t even budge shattered with a crash. As shards flew, the hospital building rumbled.

The floor and pillars of the hospital moved as if each part was a separate living creature. Yu Jiha screamed and collapsed. In the distance, a shriek rang out—likely from a monster.

Only Je Ilheon remained calm as he picked up the fire axe with his blood-drenched hand and explained:

“The regular monsters—the nurses and doctors—they’re part of the hospital itself. When the building gets damaged, they’re forced to return to the core. So now all we have to deal with are the patient-type monsters that show up because of this ruckus. If we take care of them, the others will be safe even without escaping.”

“You could’ve told me that bef—ugh!”

The floor heaved again, and nausea surged up his throat. He clamped a hand over his mouth to keep from throwing up. And before he could fully understand what it meant to “take care of the monsters”—

It appeared.

『MYDRIIIINKKKKKK! You were HEREEEEE! HAND OVER MY BOOZE RIIIIIGHTNOWWWW!』

The alcoholic burst through the elevator doors, immediately recoiling when he saw Je Ilheon.

『W-W-WAIIIIIT! C-C-CAN’TWETALK!? HOWAREYOUHERE!? SHOULDN’TYOUBEDEAD!?』

“It’s been a while. I figured your brain cells were all destroyed from drinking nonstop, but looks like you still recognize me. Oh right, did you ever have brain cells to begin with?”

『IDON’THAVETIMEFORYOU! I’LLJUSTLEAVEQUIETLY—』

“Not happening. I’m shutting this place down. Let your friends know it’s first come, first served. The sooner they come, the less painful their deaths.”

Je Ilheon raised the fire axe, and the alcoholic monster was split in two before it could scream. Its body melted into a viscous liquid on the floor, reeking of alcohol so strong it made Yu Jiha’s nose wrinkle.

Je Ilheon casually stepped over the mess and shrugged at Yu Jiha, who stood slack-jawed.

“That one was weak. Just shoot it and it dies.”

“Ha, ha ha… y-yeah…”

So what did that make me, who nearly died running from that thing…? Yu Jiha’s shoulders slumped.

Then came a loud thud as the wall trembled, and a huge, musclebound monster appeared. Its sickly sweet scent mixed with the booze, making it even more nauseating. Yu Jiha was too drained to even react to the frilly dress the creature wore.

“Oh hey, Yongcheol. Still alive?”

『MYNAMEISYONGSOONNNNN!』

“Right, Yongcheol. I told you, if you want to cross-dress, at least shave your chest hair and beard. You didn’t listen, huh?”

『YOURENOTRUININGMYTEAPARTYAGAAAAIN!』

The delusional brute hurled a human arm he’d been holding. Je Ilheon gripped his axe tighter and stepped forward.

“Yu Jiha, close your eyes. You don’t want to see this part.”

Yu Jiha, dazed, didn’t heed the warning in time—and saw it all.