* * *
Given the situation, there wasn’t really anywhere to sit.
With no time to properly survey the surroundings, I hastily set Do Soohyuk down on top of a box.
I looked closely at his face.
His eyes, a bit clearer than before, slowly blinked open.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“…”
“Do Soohyuk.”
Thinking it was my chance, I grabbed his shoulder and gave it a shake.
But aside from a slight furrow of his brow, there was no response.
He seemed somewhat conscious but not well enough to speak yet.
Ugh, guess there’s no other choice.
No point wasting time here.
I carefully reached for the spot where the metal pipe had pierced him and wrapped my hand around it.
“Just hang in there for a moment.”
With that, I yanked the metal pipe out in one go.
A spray of bright red blood burst out like a scene from a B-grade horror movie.
I must’ve hit something on the way out.
Even so, Do Soohyuk didn’t let out a single whimper—just grimaced sharply through the pain.
He didn’t even flinch as I poured a potion over the wound.
Of course he’s S-class.
For a normal person, that kind of pain would’ve been unbearable.
But he was stoic, almost ruthlessly so.
“It’s done.”
“…”
After that bloodbath, things finally started to calm down.
As expected of a top-tier potion—the wound closed up completely, and Do Soohyuk’s complexion quickly improved.
Once the tension eased, something inside my clothes started to stir.
Oh, right. That guy…
Now that I thought about it, couldn’t he have stopped all this from happening?
Even if it wasn’t me, he was slacking off big-time for a spirit.
But all those thoughts flew out the window the moment I saw him crawl out of my clothes.
“Chirp? What’s with your appearance…?”
The little spirit looked up at me with bright eyes—but something was off.
His usual wispy, smoke-like form was gone.
Instead, he looked exactly like a plump squirrel fattened up for winter.
Chirpy.
Even Chirp himself looked confused, batting at his fluffy tail as if it were unfamiliar.
Was it just me, or did he seem weirdly excited?
Just then, Do Soohyuk, now healed, slowly sat up.
I still didn’t know how Chirpy ended up like this, but there wasn’t time to dwell on it.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“…Where are we?”
“If our powers are gone, I’d guess it’s an EX dungeon.”
At that, Do Soohyuk turned to look behind him.
He must’ve heard me clearly, but his eyes showed no surprise.
Typical. A guy like him probably realized his powers were gone the moment we crashed.
But then a new problem emerged.
With no windows and all exits blocked, smoke was starting to fill the storage room.
“Is there any way out…?”
Instinctively heading toward the door, I spotted a pamphlet on the ground and picked it up.
Before I could even read it, something unexpected caught my eye.
Lotte World Tower.
The building pictured prominently on the pamphlet was unmistakably the Lotte World Tower I knew.
Which meant this dungeon was set in a version of Seoul.
I thought we had just crashed into some random building, but apparently not.
“If it hadn’t been a skyscraper, we might both be dead.
If we’d hit the ground instead, the plane would’ve exploded instantly.”
“Building…?”
Do Soohyuk tilted his head, confused.
He’d been holding onto me since before we entered the dungeon, so he probably hadn’t seen anything.
Instead of explaining, I just handed him the pamphlet.
“Anyway, let’s get out of here. It’s too dangerous to stay.”
But once we stepped outside, things didn’t look much better.
Collapsed concrete blocked every path—no matter where we turned.
At first, I thought it was just from the plane crash.
But no… it looked like it had been like this for a long time.
Almost like a maze, with only narrow gaps to squeeze through.
“…It’s not gonna collapse on us, right?”
With Chirpy unable to produce a barrier in this state, every groan from the ceiling was nerve-racking.
And the cold was no joke—even with an S-class jacket on, it barely helped.
That’s when Do Soohyuk, who had been studying the building structure, suddenly started clearing debris from a corner.
What’s he doing?
Did he find something?
I walked over, but he was laser-focused on moving concrete, not saying a word.
I couldn’t just stand there, so I started helping.
Before long, we had cleared enough space for a person to pass through.
“Oh—look, the emergency exit!”
And sure enough, far in the distance, the faint glow of an emergency sign came into view.
Wait, how the hell did he know that?
Was he clairvoyant or something?
Impressed, I rushed toward the exit—only to feel a strong hand grab the back of my neck.
“I’ll go first.”
“Ah… right.”
With an awkward nod, I followed Do Soohyuk down the emergency stairwell.
We had just passed the 120th floor when I suddenly froze in my tracks.
What I saw was impossible.
Drawn to the only emergency door wide open, I moved forward in a daze.
“…No wonder it’s so cold.”
The 120th floor, relatively intact compared to others, turned out to be an observation deck.
It was my first time actually being here, but just like I’d heard, the entire place was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass, offering a panoramic view of Seoul.
The problem was that the entire view was blanketed in white snow.
If this were the Seoul I used to know, it would’ve been a breathtaking sight.
But given its current ruined state, all I could do was sigh instead of admire it.
The once-bustling city was now frozen solid and completely collapsed, with the streets packed with abandoned cars whose owners were long gone.
“There’s not a single person out there.”
I stared with a heavy heart at a yacht sitting silently on the frozen Han River.
The city that had once moved in a frenzy was now, quite literally, dead.
No need to ask why—those flickering red gates scattered here and there explained everything.
“How many gates do you think there are?”
“Just what I can see—five. Probably more.”
Do Soohyuk, who had silently approached, slowly scanned the city with somber eyes.
If what he said was true, then the number of monsters pouring out from the dungeon breaks must already be in the tens of thousands.
And now, with even our abilities gone, facing them would be nothing short of suicide.
This is insane…
Just as I silently let out a hopeless sigh, Do Soohyuk suddenly turned his head, brows knitting.
Then he grabbed my wrist and yanked—so forcefully that I nearly fell forward.
“Ugh.”
While I let out a grunt, he hurriedly pulled me behind the counter.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Almost at the same time, the floor began to shake.
Something—or rather, multiple somethings—were charging up the emergency stairs.
It was obvious even from the sound that it wasn’t just one or two.
The moment I heard those heavy, thunderous footsteps, my body lowered instinctively.
Most of them seemed to rush past the 120th floor, heading even higher.
But one of them—maybe sensing something off—stepped into the observation deck.
I quietly cursed and carefully moved, curiosity getting the better of me as I peeked out just a little.
What entered my sight was a towering white creature, easily three meters tall.
A giant yeti-like monster, eerily similar to a gorilla.
Each step it took sent a wave of bone-chilling air through the space.
It was already freezing, but the temperature inside seemed to drop even further.
Damn it. Why the hell is it coming this way?
I was sure we were completely hidden, but whether it had good instincts or just dumb luck, the creature was slowly heading in our direction.
Just when I started wondering if I should draw my weapon, unsure of what to do—
Do Soohyuk, still holding my wrist, quietly began to retreat.
I couldn’t even shake his hand off—I was basically being dragged along.
What… is he trying to go in there?
Turns out, we were heading toward the bathroom attached right next to the counter.
I didn’t know if that was really the best choice, but before I could resist, Do Soohyuk pulled me in with determination.
Of all places—why a bathroom?
Especially with Do Soohyuk.
That damn bathroom incident still lingered in my memory like a trauma, making me hesitate.
But we had no other plan, so I let myself get dragged into a stall, hating every second of it.
“Shh. Quiet.”
He sat my stiff body down on the toilet and leaned in to press his ear against the door.
Crash!
Not long after, we heard something smash outside.
Judging by how close it sounded, it must’ve been the counter we’d just hidden behind.
But the monster didn’t stop there.
It began rampaging in earnest, destroying everything in sight.
It was so agitated that even its ragged breathing echoed into the stall.
Hiding here had turned out to be the right decision, but I couldn’t shake off the unease gnawing at me.
Unconsciously, I started bouncing one leg, my eyes darting nervously, and then—without warning—Do Soohyuk turned and clamped a hand over my mouth.
His knee slid between my thighs—exactly like last time, down to the smallest detail.
* * *
