Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 280

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Labyrinth Exploration 101 Episode 280

Youtiful(6)

Click.

Kang Hyeon pressed the remote control button. The TV screen went dark.

“….”

He quietly fell into thought.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of rain falling outside.

Patter patter. Patter patter.

It was raining before he knew it. The sky was quite dark too. He must have been absorbed for quite a long time.

“…Fake.”

Seol Ha-woon’s replica was fake. He knew he was fake, but no, rather because of that, he chose his own death.

There was a resonance in his heart.

The lingering feeling was quite long.

Seol Ha-woon was ultimately someone for whom authenticity didn’t matter. He was someone who could turn even forgeries into genuine articles, someone more real than the real thing.

“How fascinating.”

Kang Hyeon looked up at the ceiling and pondered.

If he’s that kind of person, could we be together? If he understands my intentions, could he understand me….

It’s still something unknown.

I must be careful.

“….”

Kang Hyeon picked up his smartphone. Various murder sprees filling the news caught his eye again.

[Shocking, man in his 20s murdered in the heart of Gangnam District… Third victim of the ‘Ghost Killer’?]

[Disappeared corpse, only bloodstains remain… Serial murders fall into labyrinth]

[Traceless serial murders amplify citizens’ anxiety… “Night streets are scary”]

There are people who know they are fake. There are also people who cannot bear that fact.

“…Did they get inspired or something.”

These unconditional murders could be that.

It could be the work of a bizarre fake who was inspired by Bok Mal-ol, interpreting their calling differently.

But that’s wrong.

Fakes aren’t even given a calling to begin with.

The replicated Seol Ha-woon didn’t cut down others. He cut down ‘himself’.

If fakes have a calling, it’s only to kill themselves.

Buzz.

Just then, a text came from the production team.

Kang Hyeon blinked and let out a sigh.

“…I thought it was vacation time.”

I turned off the TV.

Je Mal-ol’s appearance wasn’t entirely pleasant. The feeling of seeing my doppelganger was rather very strange.

However, the replicated Seol Ha-woon kept to his principles. They were the same principles as mine.

Actually, they weren’t grand enough to be called principles. They were merely resolutions or preparations for survival.

On a battlefield where comrades die every morning when you open your eyes, humans can choose one of two paths.

Go insane, or become hardened.

I simply chose the latter.

“You died well.”

The only praise that the me here can send to the you there.

You died speaking of principles.

But you are not me. You’re a completely separate being. It wouldn’t be courteous to you to equate you with me.

Your death poses quite many questions to me. It’s also a dangerous curiosity.

Is the current me real?

What is the cause of regression?

How are Labyrinth Exploration NaN, the door I saw that day, and Seo Ji-hyuk connected?

I don’t know any of them yet, but there must definitely be a reason for my regression.

I will surely reach that place someday.

Ring ring ring-

A call came. It was PD Kim A-rang.

“Hello.”

─Are you resting well?

“Moderately-“

─A personal schedule has been arranged.

“…Excuse me? Wasn’t it a 3-week vacation?”

─As long as you don’t enter the labyrinth, it’s all vacation. We’re going to film a variety show.

“Variety show?”

I tilted my head.

─Yeah. You know there are exactly 25 explorers left, right?

It’s the number remaining after elimination after elimination.

─So we’re going to film one variety show per person. The planning intention is ‘We’ll give you perfect self-PR time’!

“…Does that mean 25 programs will come out?”

─Yeah. During that week, we’ll suspend all other program scheduling. The broadcasting station is ours anyway.

“….”

Well, considering Mitamnan’s status, that makes sense.

The money earned has already exceeded trillions, and considering the economic effect on Korea….

─Ha-woon, if you give us a concept, we’ll start filming right away, so think about it. If you really don’t know, you can leave it to our writing team, but we’ll work you pretty hard instead.

“…Yes. I’ll think about it and let you know.”

I absolutely won’t leave it to them. I’ll plan it myself. The most comfortable concept possible, a variety show that stays in the same place as much as possible. Running around makes my legs hurt.

─Okay. Rest well~

Beep-

As soon as I hung up, a text came.

[Hae-juni : Master]

“…What’s this.”

I frowned.

[Hae-juni : Master what are you doing]

Im Hae-jun’s name was saved differently. He was messing with my smartphone at the workshop, and he did this kind of thing.

[Don’t change names on your own]

[Haejuni: hahaha sorry sorry]

[Hae-juni : Can I go to the workshop with Hwa-rim noona and Ji-woo noona?]

[I’m at home right now]

Im Hae-jun is always with someone.

[Hae-jun: Hwa-rim noona and Ji-woo noona are also thinking about the workshop, they want to do bench press or something]

[Don’t you mean benchmarking?]

[Hae-jun: ??]

I let out a hollow laugh.

[Do whatever you want. The door will probably be open.]

Inside the cart traveling along the Gangwon-do mountainside.

“I got permission!”

Im Hae-jun held out his smartphone. A brief message was displayed on the screen.

[★RightGod★ : yeah]

“Ooh~”

Yoon Hwa-rim in the driver’s seat and Seo Ji-woo in the passenger seat also smiled.

“So we just need to go there?”

“Yes. Just follow the GPS.”

“Okay~ I’ll fly us there right away~”

Yoon Hwa-rim’s cart is improving day by day. The magic-powered body glides smoothly without a sound, and the streamlined design with sparkling chrome decorations is almost like a fantasy-grade machine.

It can even fly for short periods now.

“But is it really that well-made?”

Seo Ji-woo asked.

“Oh, I went there and it’s amazing. Last time I just played around, but I want to try training too. I could shoot arrows from the rooftop.”

High magic power concentration isn’t just good for mages. It’s incredibly good for archers too.

Meanwhile, they arrived at their destination.

“Wow. This is it?”

Yoon Hwa-rim exclaimed as she got out of the car.

The exterior of the workshop is clean and simple, just like its owner’s personality. Dark navy roof and light sky-blue tinted gray walls.

The minimal structure with perfectly straight lines looks cold at first glance, but it’s cozy as it harmonizes with the surrounding dense greenery.

Im Hae-jun ran ahead first and opened the door. There was no special locking device.

“But is it okay to leave it open like this?”

“Ha-woon oppa probably put a locking formula on it.”

As they entered together, a cool breeze gently flows from the snow flower pot in the middle of the break room.

Seo Ji-woo suddenly looked at the potato chips stacked on the shelf. The famous potato with a mustache.

“…Do you like those too, noona?”

Im Hae-jun asked. Seo Ji-woo shook her head.

“No, I don’t eat snacks like that. They make my mouth feel dry. But…”

She picked up the Pringles and chuckled.

“My oppa used to like these.”

The taste is exactly the same. Onion flavor.

The collectible cards placed next to them are also something her oppa used to like.

From time to time, poignant similarities with Seol Ha-woon emerge.

“Wow~ It’s really neat. I should decorate like this later too. I need to take pictures.”

Yoon Hwa-rim admired.

“Oh, noona. This is amazing. Sit on this sofa here.”

Im Hae-jun threw himself onto the sofa as if it were his own home.

“No. We didn’t come here to play, so sit down properly first. Let’s each come up with some variety show concepts.”

Seo Ji-woo made the two sit properly.

“Oh right, that thing. They’re giving each of us our own program?”

“Yeah. If you have close friends as guests, you can cast them, or the production team will help with casting.”

Im Hae-jun was taking out a pen from his bag when he suddenly frowned.

“But this is ridiculous. They said 3-week vacation and suddenly what’s this.”

“If we’re not entering the labyrinth, it’s a vacation. And Hae-jun, this is actually a good opportunity for us.”

Yoon Hwa-rim’s expression became serious.

“Honestly, we can see the debut group that we couldn’t even dream of in episode 1.”

“…That’s true.”

Im Hae-jun picked up his pen again. His complexion became very serious.

“Let’s work hard and definitely make it…”

I decided on my variety show concept.

As a result, I took a plane from Incheon to Busan, a boat from Busan to somewhere, then switched to an even smaller boat from that boat to arrive at this nameless island.

I climbed the hill following the rustling dirt path.

In front of me is the deep blue sea, behind me is a low back mountain. A salty breeze blows, and the sound of waves rolls in from afar. In the middle of that scenery sits a small house all alone.

“What’s the point of buying a house when I’m always wandering around outside.”

I muttered self-deprecatingly.

I bought a house worth billions and stayed there for only a day and 12 hours.

“But there’s not a single person here?”

“It’s an uninhabited island.”

The person answering me is PD Kim A-rang.

I was about to nod unconsciously when I looked back at her with a start.

“Uninhabited island?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“…What do you mean why? Ha-woon, you asked us to get you an island.”

I definitely.

“I meant an island with people on it.”

“…Oh really? You said island so I thought you meant uninhabited. But the scenery will be better.”

It was an unconvincing act of pretending not to know. Kim A-rang slyly avoided my gaze.

“Hey, Yoon-ho. All the cameras are installed, right~?”

“Yes.”

There were quite a few cameras installed on this uninhabited island. Just around the house alone, dozens were placed in every corner.

I approached the dwelling where I would stay for a while.

A cozy house, a bench, and even a trickling faucet. The concept fits perfectly.

The program format I proposed to them was ‘comfortably and naturally preparing three meals a day on an island away from daily life.’

“But am I really just going to eat meals?”

I heard a lot of talk about how well I eat. So I’m just doing it comfortably like a variety show.

Kim A-rang gave a bitter smile.

“Well~ I don’t think eating three meals a day will go that smoothly, but what matters is the person anyway.”

“The TV works here, right?”

“Yeah. Let’s watch the live broadcast together with guests later. Oh right. The cameras are already rolling.”

I looked at the VJ’s camera following me.

It was on air.

“Yes. Hello. I’m Seol Ha-woon from Seol’s Three Meals… Is this how I should start?”

“We already started, you know? It’s reality TV.”

“Uh…”

First, there was something I needed to do most urgently.

“I’ll start by decorating the house.”

“The house?”

“Yes.”

I opened the toolbox I had brought in advance and spoke as if explaining to the camera.

“This is the 【Haunted Tool Set】 brought from the Wol-ryeong Labyrinth.”

Each of these tools has a ‘magic circuit’ implanted in it, so interior construction work is easy.

“If I infuse magic power with mental visualization.”

Whoooosh──!

The tools fly up into the sky.

Thud thud thud. With a few hammer strikes, the old pillar stands straight,

Scritch scritch. The twisted rafters become neat with sawing.

The haunted tools operated like living creatures.

The shabby country house would be reborn as a modern-style hanok within the next 4-5 hours.

Kim A-rang chuckled.

“Everyone, film this properly. It’ll make a great time-lapse.”

“Yes.”

“…Then, Ha-woon. What will you do after all this?”

Kim A-rang asked me.

“I’ll do some landscaping before the guests arrive.”

I took out landscaping scissors.

“But who are the guests?”

When I asked Kim A-rang, she changed her expression mischievously.

“You’ll be surprised~”

“…Could it be Im Hae-jun or something like that-“

“Ah, it’s not anyone from our group. Don’t worry. Do you dislike Hae-jun?”

That’s a relief.

“I don’t dislike him, but my ears hurt. If he’s around for too long.”

Im Hae-jun talks the most among people I know. He’s the first person I’ve met who endlessly explains what he wants to do, what he’s doing, and what he wants to do.

“Will you gather food supplies directly?”

“There’s a garden over there.”

The garden. It was a small plot where things like lettuce and peppers grew.

“Those are plants. Something to chew on.”

“There’s also a chicken coop over there.”

A chicken coop where five or six chickens were clucking.

I licked my lips.

“…I’ll have to slaughter them.”

“No, no. You raise those for eggs, and there’s a store nearby.”

“A store?”

“Yes. This way.”

How could there be a store on an uninhabited island.

I followed Kim A-rang for now.

“Let’s go~”

The trail beside the sea was cozy. Green leaves above my head sparkled as they held the sunlight.

It’s a pleasant path.

If my legs had been fine, I probably would have run all day.

We walked for about 10 minutes like that.

“Please say ‘Oh? It’s an unmanned store-‘ just once.”

Kim A-rang pointed somewhere. There was actually a vending machine there.

“…Oh? It’s an unmanned store.”

I looked at that place while acting.

│Pork Belly│Beef Sirloin│Rice│Kimchi│Whole Chicken…│

“It’s bartering.”

Looking closely, there were prices attached.

Pork belly was 1.5kg of fish, sirloin was 2.5kg, rice was 1kg, etc…

It meant to go fishing.

“Hmm. I understand.”

“Then, what’s the next schedule?”

“Well. When construction is finished, I’ll set up fish traps and… cook a meal and take a nap.”

“…That’s it?”

Kim A-rang asked back in a flustered tone.

“Yes.”

There’s nothing more than that. I won’t care about broadcasting or anything.

“Eat a meal and sleep, eat a meal and sleep, eat a meal and sleep. Very comfortably.”

I said while making eye contact with the camera.

“We’re going with Seol’s Three Meals.”

The production crew told me to film a variety show during vacation, but I was somewhat annoyed, so I planned to turn vacation back into vacation.

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