Chapter 179

The most-watched courage test video wasn’t from any of the debut-line trainees.

It was the team that included Lee Chae Hyuk, the one who, apparently, ran every morning around the trainee dorm facility.

In the footage, Lee Chae Hyuk could be seen dragging a sobbing Tsubasa down the forbidden path, loudly declaring:

— “Come on, Tsubasa! I promise, the treasure’s this way. I run past here every day, I know there’s a giant tree up ahead. That’s totally where they’d hide something!”

— “You’re not wrong! But—Chae Hyuk! That path feels cursed! Like a monster will come out! I’m not going! I’m not!!”

— “There’s no such thing as monsters, Tsubasa. What you’re seeing is just your lack of muscles.”

— “Liar! We saw the clue, remember?! This place used to secretly manufacture mannequins and had a massive accident! There are definitely vengeful spirits here! And it’s even darker down that road!”

— “It’s night! Of course it’s dark!”

In the end, Chae Hyuk was right.

If you collected every clue and followed the full storyline, you’d end up at that giant tree he mentioned.

The final treasure, a box gripped in the hand of a creepily dressed mannequin, waited beneath it.

If you weren’t spooked by the horror props, picked up each clue, and connected the dots quickly, it would take about 30 minutes to finish.

But if you deviated even slightly?

It could take much longer.

However.

If you cut through the X-marked path straight to the tree from the opposite direction, you could skip everything and go straight to the prize.

How long would it take to get there? It’d only take… maybe fifteen minutes?

Of course, there was a reason the map told you not to go that way.

— “Chaehyuuuuk… Look! There are so many mannequins… I want to go back… I swear one’s going to come alive…”

— “Tsubasa, if you go alone, you won’t have a flashlight. If we die, we die together.”

— “I don’t want to die—AAAH! IT MOVED! I SWEAR IT MOVED! 助けて (Help me)!”

— “Wait! Tsubasa, no! Don’t hit me—hit them! Agh! Agh!!”

Naturally, all of the best-crafted props were piled up along the forbidden route.

“In my opinion, even if we don’t read all the clues, I think we can head this way and get the treasure right away. …Though it’ll be pretty scary.”

“…. Yeah… Yeah, I think so too. If it’s the Targeting Star production team, that totally sounds like something they’d do.”

Spend the time to get all the content, or brave the fear and go for a quick one-shot-one-kill.

“……”

“……”

Jae Ha’s and my eyes met.

And as if we were synced, we nodded at the same time.

We chose the latter. Move fast, and in the process, try to figure out what happened to Liu Wei and Li Ming Shen.

“Then let’s go, hyung.”

“…Yeah. Let’s go.”

After exchanging a look with Jae Ha hyung, who was now wearing my hoodie and had that solemn expression on his face, I bolted toward the path clearly marked with <!! X !!> in bold paper.

One thin beam of flashlight pierced the pitch-dark path ahead.

Heeeeeeeee—

The eerie BGM we’d been hearing this whole time? It got louder the deeper we went. I guess this was the source.

And the mannequins lined up beside the path? The quality was enough to make your skin crawl.

Shhhhhhh—

Rain falling only added to the haunted vibe. Like, seriously, did they hold a ritual before filming or something?

And the cherry on top of this spectacle…

Keek—kikiig—giig—

“M-Manequin’s moving!”

“Hyung, it’s a person! Let’s greet them! One, two!”

“Hello! I’m Son Jae Ha!”

“I’m Kim Chunyong!”

“Guh, uh… Uh, ugh?”

Startled by our loud greetings, the costumed staff member wobbled, bringing their outstretched hand to their own cheek in confusion.

“Gueeeh, wait, guehh…”

I mean, we were supposed to scream and freak out, but here we were, dashing full-speed with handycams toward our goal. No wonder they were confused.

“You’re working hard in the rain! Thank you!”

So yeah, that greeting? Consider it a service.

We ran for maybe three more minutes.

I couldn’t remember perfectly, but if I recalled correctly, somewhere around here…

“Chunyong. Wait. I think… that’s it.”

Even with his good stamina, Jae Ha hyung was panting hard as he grabbed my shoulder.

Yeah. That looked like the treasure to me too.

Beneath a tree that was maybe 1.5 times larger than the others, there it was.

A slightly soaked paper box clutched in the hand of a mannequin popping out from the shadows.

Even that kind of detail—top-notch execution.

“…Huff.”

As I picked up the box, the final reward for today’s mission, our benefit, and straightened my back, I heard Jae Ha hyung’s voice right next to me.

I quickly turned around, looking around in alarm.

“Hyung? What is it?”

“Ah, no. It’s just… your hair. It’s red, right? And with the rain, I think it bled onto your clothes. Ah—sorry, it just popped into my head, ha…”

Oh, come on.

“Ha—haha! Sorry. I don’t know why, but this is hilarious. Running through the rain, greeting the staff, ah…”

Maybe it really was funny because Jae Ha hyung started laughing, clapping my shoulder.

Well, thinking about it now, it was kind of ridiculous. But still.

Funny thing is, even during our Arrows days, I’d never really had this kind of moment with Jae Ha hyung.

When it rained, he rarely left the dorm, and I… was out chasing soju with green onion pancakes.

Maybe this was our first proper rainy day together.

Without meaning to, I found myself getting a little sentimental.

I shouldn’t have, considering the situation.

Suddenly, my face tensed, and I grabbed Jae Ha hyung’s shoulder.

“…Chunyong? Are you mad?”

Startled by my sudden expression, Jae Ha hyung looked visibly flustered.

But I shook my head and quietly brought a finger to my lips.

Then I pointed carefully toward the lower side of the woods, past the large tree.

“……”

And just like that, Jae Ha hyung’s face stiffened too.

This was why we’d chosen to ignore the map and sprint down the forbidden path to grab the treasure. Because…

“I told you it wasn’t true, but you won’t even listen. So what do you expect me to say? Is this a joke to you?!”

“别撒谎. (Don’t lie.)”

“Lie? What lie am I supposedly telling?!”

That reason was standing just beyond the trail, in the rain—Liu Wei and Li Ming Shen, shouting at each other, faces full of fury.

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