Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 424

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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424. A Haunted Experience
Let’s Go on a
Trip! (1)
It was several minutes later when the sounds from beyond the door finally ceased.
That was when we, pressed flat against the wall as far from the entrance as possible and trembling like leaves, gradually began to regain our composure.
“Did… did they leave…?”
“It seems quiet now, at least.”
Dan Ha-ru, still standing closest to the entrance among us and able to gauge what was happening outside, nodded while engaging the lock.
Only then did we crawl back to the center of the living room. My throat was raw from how much we’d screamed in those brief moments.
“Alright, let’s piece this together.”
Sanchez attempted to organize the situation calmly, despite his voice trembling.
“Our club and your club came here for a one-night, two-day team outing. But nobody actually booked this accommodation.”
“Right, we were all just told where the dormitory was supposed to be.”
“But that phone call said they haven’t been taking reservations for a year, and someone outside claiming to be the manager is demanding we leave.”
“And the way they were just pounding on the door like that… it seems kind of dangerous to go outside.”
“Yeah, yeah. We definitely shouldn’t go out.”
The consensus shifted toward staying inside the dormitory.
Even I could tell that the deranged gatekeeper scene we’d just witnessed was the Production Team’s way of keeping us from wandering outside. For horror specials like this, the players need to generate reactions in confined spaces and move along the path the Production Team wants—if we roamed around outside without tension, that would ruin everything.
I carefully voiced my opinion while gripping the arms of Lee Do-ha and Seo Tae-hyun, who sat beside me.
“So… should we search the dormitory a bit? At least try to find a flashlight or a circuit breaker or something…?”
We couldn’t go outside, and we couldn’t do much inside either.
The Production Team probably didn’t want us huddled in this living room like beetles for hours on end, so if we’d decided to stay inside, the first thing we needed to do was scout our surroundings.
Thinking my suggestion was reasonable, the Touch High panelists and other members nodded and carefully rose to their feet.
“Or maybe we should open that window curtain? That person from earlier wouldn’t be there, right?”
A female comedian panelist, famous for her fearlessness even in normal circumstances, pointed to a curtain covering one side of the living room. Behind it was a large glass door leading to the terrace, which the Production Team had kept closed all afternoon because they said the shadows from the light were too pronounced.
Everyone exchanged nervous glances. Opening the curtain would definitely let moonlight into the dormitory, making it easier to move around than it was now.
‘The problem is who’s going to open it.’
Someone unknown had just pounded on the entrance door like a madman. Those of us already gripped by mysterious dread about the outside couldn’t easily bring ourselves to touch that curtain.
There was a nagging fantasy that if we opened it, we’d see rain pouring down outside the large window, and standing there would be either a murderer with an axe in hand or a ghost with blood smeared across its lips.
“W-wait, hold on…!”
Then someone stood up without hesitation.
It was Seo Tae-hyun, who had been silently observing the situation until now. As I felt the emptiness where my left arm had been linked with his, Seo Tae-hyun walked toward the curtain without a second thought, grasped it firmly with both hands, and turned to face us.
“Should I open it?”
“No, no, no, we need to mentally prepare ourselves…!”
“Is opening it the right call? We should open it, right? Yeah, definitely.”
“Tae-hyun, just open it already. Open it and let’s find something. Why are you guys all so scared?”
Ignoring the flood of responses that followed, Seo Tae-hyun decisively swept the curtains open to both sides. At that moment, brilliant moonlight poured through the large window, flooding the dormitory with its glow, and…
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Mom, what the—why, why, why…!?”
I, who had the most direct view of that window, screamed so intensely that I nearly lost consciousness, gripping Lee Do-ha’s arm so hard it seemed like it might tear off. The others, startled by my scream and turning to look at me, soon caught sight of what was at the window and let out similar cries.
“Hey, hands, hands…!”
“Whoa, Tae-hyun, close the curtains, close them again…!”
“Tae-hyun, come here quickly! Hurry!”
The large window that had gleamed pristine this morning was now covered in cryptic crimson handprints scattered at random. Some bore the impression of clenched fists, as if someone had pounded against the glass, while others showed fully splayed palms with fingerprints visible in stark detail.
The only mercy was that the window was locked from the inside. It seemed as though someone outside had tried to get in, and the lock had been installed specifically to keep them out.
“Why would you go this far…!?”
I cried out with genuine desperation.
Whatever this horror-themed scenario was supposed to be, I had a powerful premonition that by the time today’s filming wrapped, my voice would be completely hoarse.
* * *
After barely calming my racing heart, we divided into teams and began exploring the dormitory.
Since the lodging was multi-level, sprawling, and filled with numerous rooms, we decided to pair up in twos. Touch High had seven members, and so did we, which meant one person from each team was left unpaired—and that happened to be me and Sanchez Park.
-Ugh….
-Ugh….
-What’s with these reactions?
-That team’s audio is going to blow out today.
-Oppa, will you be okay? Should we switch teams? Can I go with Jung-hyuk instead?
Sanchez Park was famous within the Touch High team for being just as much of a coward as I was. The moment the teams were decided, worried comments flew from all directions.
-Ha, come on.
The problem was that what Sanchez and I had in common wasn’t just our lack of courage.
-Who do you really think is the coward here….
-You’re the coward, hyung.
-Ha, this won’t do. Ha-jin, let’s just go show them what we’re made of.
Sanchez responded with a decisive “I’m in!” to the members who were playing the intimidation game.
It was a pattern I’d seen countless times before, but this time, desperately wishing for Lee Do-ha’s reassuring presence and Yoo Gun’s fierce demeanor, I firmly shook my head….
-Sorry, but our leader isn’t the type to have that kind of courage.
-Hyung, don’t overdo it. Just switch with me. I thought my eardrums were going to burst earlier, and now this.
-Yeah, Ha-jin. Don’t push yourself. You’re human too; it’s okay to be scared.
-Well, sorry, but that guy goes to church?
…I should have. I really should have…!
Succumbing to the perfectly synchronized provocation of these twenty-year-old peers and Jeong Si-u’s relentless goading, I ended up shouting “I’m in!” just like Sanchez Park.
-Hyung! We’re checking out the Second Floor End Room!
-Really!? Yeah, okay! We’ll take the Second Floor End Room then.
And on top of that, I even got double-booked.
I’d volunteered to explore the end room—the darkest, most ominous-looking section!
This moth-to-flame nature of mine was the real problem…!
“Hey, Ha-jin, should we open it?”
“Yes, let’s open it.”
“You sure?”
“It’s really time we opened it now, hyung.”
“So, we have to open it now, right?”
“Yeah, I think I really need to open it now….”
“But before you open it, just go inside for a bit.”
“Aaaah! I can’t, I can’t! I need time to prepare myself mentally!”
“Hey, Han Ji! Han Ji!!! What’s wrong with you, seriously!?”
It had been several minutes since Sanchez and I reached the Second Floor End Room, my hand gripping his tightly.
While everyone else was finding things one by one, Han Ji, a female comedian, watched us pathetically as we wrestled with the doorknob, trying to open and close the door. She clicked her tongue in disapproval.
“Hyung, I’m really opening it this time. I’m really going to open it.”
“Yeah, yeah, Ha-jin. We need to open it. From what I can tell, there’s definitely something big in here.”
Either way, I couldn’t just stand here frozen like a stone monument.
Ju Eun-chan and Seo Tae-hyun, who had been searching the first floor, had already found a box containing flashlights and distributed them one per person. The other teams were also finding things one after another. The only place we hadn’t started exploring yet was this end room.
I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants and took a deep breath.
“One, two….”
“Three…!”
With a forceful chant, I turned the doorknob. Fortunately (or unfortunately?), the door wasn’t locked.
Stepping inside with my eyes squeezed shut, I saw bookshelves packed densely with books and documents, a heavy-looking desk, and a single old laptop sitting on top of it. This room appeared to be set up as a study.
“A study? Is it a study?”
“Let’s take a look around for now, shall we?”
As expected, I felt no presence in the room.
I cautiously shone my flashlight around the room, then had to hold my breath. I thought it was just an ordinary study, but as I looked around with the flashlight, I belatedly noticed footprints, handprints, and what looked like bloodstains scattered everywhere in chaos.
“Man, I really hate this….”
The genuine sentiment spilled from my lips before I could stop it. Hearing my sincere words, Sanchez found it somewhat amusing and empathized, chuckling in response.
I slowly approached the desk, leaving Sanchez behind. Beneath the desk with the old laptop, there was a notebook that looked like someone had been writing in it frantically before stopping.
“A diary…?”
Wondering if it might be some secret incantation with demonic spells written in it, I carefully examined the notebook. The first thing that caught my eye was the opening sentence: “Monday, September 17th.”
I carefully placed the notebook on the desk and read the sentences aloud in a loud voice so Sanchez, standing at a distance, could hear me.
“Monday, September 17th. We were taken to the mountain lodge….”
“…?”
“…We were locked in at the mountain lodge.”
Damn it. This is so scary.
But I’d watched plenty of mystery stories, even if I didn’t watch horror films. Since no non-physical entity that couldn’t be explained by science had appeared yet, I steeled myself and continued reading the next sentence.
“Where did things go wrong? Was it when Chul-soo made the reservation for this dormitory but didn’t show up himself? Should I have sensed something was off when I contacted Chul-soo before departure and he denied ever making such a reservation?”
You should’ve caught on by then, you idiots.
At the very least, you should’ve called the manager and asked about it.
“…But the manager confirmed receiving the reservation text, and when I double-checked by phone just in case, there was clearly no problem.”
The production team was more meticulous and thorough than I expected.
I stopped commenting on the diary’s contents and quickly skimmed through the rest, reading only the key points.
So basically, some university club students who had been invited to this mysterious mountain lodge, just like us, ended up locked in the dormitory by some mysterious entity when night fell, just like us.
“The friends who went out to check on the situation outside haven’t returned. Preparing for any possibility, we’re all searching through the dormitory together, and I’ve discovered an old laptop in this room. If I can connect to the internet, maybe I can ask someone for help….”
I was skimming through what seemed like an ordinary informational diary when my eyes stopped at the final paragraph.
“…Sung-il just said he’d check the internet connection. But I’m still scared that even Sung-il might disappear. I had the thought that this might be my last moment, so I picked up this pen to leave a record of myself….”
Sanchez, who had been exploring other books from a distance, slowly walked toward me.
“…Huh?”
In that moment, a bright light flashed before my eyes.
“The notebook….”
Sanchez and I lifted our heads simultaneously.
The notebook screen, which had seemed broken and non-functional until just moments ago, suddenly illuminated. On the blank display sat a single empty notepad application, equally barren.
“Right now, on this notebook, someone is speaking to me….”
At the same time, the black cursor blinking across the white notepad moved of its own accord.
【Hello?】

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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