### Chapter 056 – A Room You Can’t Leave Without Doing Something #1
President Seo Do-cheol of Seonam Group came to his senses only after seeing the bl**d dripping from his hands.
Apparently, while he was breaking his cherished bonsai pot, a shard had pierced his palm.
He hastily bandaged the wound with a handkerchief pulled from his inner pocket to stop the bleeding before turning the video back on.
“━━─!”
As he watched his precious daughter scream silently in agony through the tablet screen, anger surged within him once again.
‘How dare they provoke me like this?’
Seo Do-cheol, a man who hadn’t shed a single tear at the funeral of the nanny who had cared for him for 30 years, was as cold-hearted as they came. However, when it came to matters involving his daughter, it was a different story.
A child is the reflection of their parents.
Thus, the one being kidnapped and suffering could just as well be Seo Do-cheol himself.
Swallowing his curses with great difficulty, he struggled to stay calm. In his estimation, only three types of people had the audacity to do something like this to him.
The most suspicious were the Imperial Group.
‘If you have taken my daughter, know that the same will happen to your son and daughter.’
The chairman of the Imperial Group’s most cherished offspring was his illegitimate son, Prince Juhyun.
Among the many children of President Wang Jiseok, only this young man had become a superhuman, thus making him especially beloved.
Though he didn’t overtly show it, Wang Jiseok was subtly hinting at Seugal being paired with his son to become a daughter-in-law of the Imperial family.
From Seo Do-cheol’s perspective, nothing could be more absurd or laughable.
The Wang family had always been mere servants handling the dirty work of the Seo family.
Even with the fall of the monarchy and the establishment of a democratic state, it was impossible for dogs and masters to sit at the same table.
‘A parent is a dog, the child will be a dog too. Parents and children resemble each other.’
Seo Do-cheol recalled the young Prince Juhyun bowing to him at the gala of the wealthy elite. He remembered how the boy had looked at his daughter, Seugal, with desire in his eyes.
If this creature had let his desires get the better of him and kidnapped Seugal—
Crunch—.
Just the thought of it made Seo Do-cheol’s teeth grind to the point of breaking.
“d*mn bastards!”
A twisting feeling of nausea overwhelmed him, his head spun—and unable to suppress his boiling rage any longer, he collapsed.
Clang!
“I must inform you, sir, that the Great Labyrinth in the basement has been unlocked… Huff! Chairman, Chairman! Snap out of it! Chairman! Hey! Bring someone over here!”
Voices of many rushing toward him could be heard, but Seo Do-cheol remained unconscious for some time.
In his unconscious state, Seo Do-cheol dreamt.
Dreamt of his daughter, his wife, and the times when he was still happy.
—”Our princess wants to marry a prince when she grows up.”
—”Then her daddy will have to make an effort.”
—”Wow! Daddy’s the best!”
# # #
“Have you ever fought a demon beast? We don’t know where or when one might appear, so it’s good to be alert. Of course, here at the entrance, you probably don’t have to worry that much.”
I was walking through the “Great Labyrinth” with Jinhwan-nuna, and the sight was disappointing compared to my imagination.
“Kim Doctor! Are we still on the specimen?”
“Wait! Just scanning these murals on this section—.”
The Great Labyrinth reminded me more of a university laboratory bustling with white-coated researchers and placed lights than the dungeon from games that I had imagined.
In other words, this was the secure zone of the Great Labyrinth secured by Seonam Group, where they conducted research and advanced their technology.
Jinhwan-nuna whispered something to me.
“That ‘Zero Cola Fresh’ was actually created by deciphering the characters found in the Great Labyrinth. See those people over there?”
Many researchers were focused on a stele, struggling with its contents. Its characters were swirling, almost like worms, though some resembled leaves, squirrels, clouds, or spiders upon closer inspection.
They were pictographs, likely.
Swish—
Just as I was staring intently at the characters, they began to float toward me.
【In celebration of the princess’s 10th birthday, let us brew “Nectar”…!】
【”Nectar” is a very sweet and delicious beverage, one that is beloved by us fairies, including the princess…! Cooks of the fairy palace, follow the recipe below accurately…!】
【Ingredients: sugar, limes, fairy spring water(substitutable with carbonated water), honey…】
“Hmm, what is the last ingredient? We have trouble understanding the fairy language’s last word due to lack of consistency.”
“Some kind of insect. But it’s odd that an insect would be used in making a beverage, isn’t it?”
“We must figure out what this is if we’re to launch ‘Zero Fresh’ this week!”
“Is there anyone who can contact a Class F student? It seems like these sentences need them to decipher them accurately!”
Seeing the researchers struggling with the stele, I was moved.
Helping with the deciphering here would contribute to the release of Zero Cola Fresh, I thought.
“The last word is ‘honey.’”
“Honey?”
“Honey?”
“Honey… it could fit. It’s related to insects…”
The researchers turned their gaze toward me.
It was as if they were thinking, ‘Who is this guy to b*tt in abruptly?’
“I have the concept of ’emotion.'”
“‘Emotion’? Wait, I’ve seen you somewhere… aren’t you—!”
“The student in the news! From the team ‘Zero Leftovers Day’!”
“Yes, I’m Ha Namjin.”
“Freak Ha Namjin!”
“Freak!”
“Yes, I’m Ha Namjin.”
“Ha Namjin! Come to our department after you graduate!”
“Whenever you want! I’ll give you access!”
“Now everyone can go home!”
“Yeah! First break in 48 hours!”
Thus concluded my first exploration of the Great Labyrinth.
Though it was a bit annoying with researchers and doctors clinging to me, it was a fairly interesting experience.
After all, the ’emotion’ I received from Seugal was truly helpful, strengthening my affection for her whenever we met.
“Got a pass for free access to the labyrinth. Good.”
As I was about to exit, I decided to give it a try with this ‘Seed’ ring to see if it could open the doors when—
Out of the corridor, there was a familiar big backside—no, a big bun.
“Hey, aren’t you Bangdaengi?”
I don’t know what she was up to, but upon hearing my voice, Baek Yeo-ul, curled up in the corner, jumped in surprise like a rat caught stealing rice.
“What, what is it!”
Looking closely, she was eating a chocolate pie by herself. What a coward to eat such tasty things all by yourself.
「Name: Baek Yeo-ul
Possess: 《Misfortune Lv.2》 – Has a misfortune power that even black cats respect.
Condition: 《Sadness and Panic》 – Very sad and startled at being caught while in the middle of sadness!」
Sadness and panic?
Let’s set the panic aside—what’s the sadness about?
As I inspected Baek Yeo-ul, she, in turn, sized up my face and questioned me.
“Ha Namjin! What brings you here?”
“Me? I’m here with Jinhwan-nuna on business for Seonam Group. So what? How’s the Great Labyrinth exploration coming along?”
“Of course! Obviously! I’m Baek of the Hundred! Even Jeong Yi-seon was beaten—oh, was that supposed to be a secret? Anyway! I dismantled five traps in the labyrinth today!”
Seeing her brim with pride made me feel quite uneasy. Nevertheless, it seemed certain that the exploration went well today judging by her boasting.
Then, someone called out from around the corner.
“Hey! Baek Yeo-ul! What are you dilly-dallying for? Come quick!”
“Err! I need to go! It’s obvious I’m indispensable. They all find me whenever—”
With a sheepish laugh, scratching the back of her head, Baek Yeo-ul, with her heavy-looking bag, waddled off. Tripping over a rock a few times, she soon disappeared from sight.
Looks like I’ll be exploring this Great Labyrinth with someone like her from tomorrow.
Feels kinda uneasy!
But it should be fun, right!
# # #
Baek Yeo-ul shoved the remaining chocolate pie into her pocket carelessly and waddled.
Even for an awakened one, Baek Yeo-ul, her heavy bag made it tough to walk.
But the reason her pace was slowing down wasn’t just due to the weight of her bag.
As she approached this corner, she felt a sinking heart because she knew who waited for her beyond it.
“Hey, where were you slacking off? Keep this up and I’ll cut your midterm grade.”
“You just started working today, and you’re already slacking. Who told you to act alone? Honestly, are you dying for fun? You’ll really d*e if you don’t follow the team leader in the maze.”
As soon as she turned the corner, Senior Jeon Somi and team leader Jang Hyun-ah started shouting at her. They quickly handed her three empty lunch boxes.
“You clean these up.”
“Making the seniors wait like this!”
There were three lunch boxes in total.
Each belonging to explorer Jeon Somi, team leader Jang Hyun-ah, and Baek Yeo-ul. For some reason, they had eaten Baek Yeo-ul’s share.
Not having eaten any meal since morning until now, Baek Yeo-ul felt deeply wronged and sad.
“My lunch…”
“Big Yeo-ul, you were late, weren’t you?”
“Didn’t think you’d be hungry, did we?”
The reason Baek Yeo-ul was separate from the group earlier was that Jeon Somi had ordered her to dispose of the entrance trash. But Jeon Somi now acted as if she didn’t remember.
Jeon Somi and her friend, Jang Hyun-ah, who knew very well, pretending otherwise made Baek Yeo-ul resentful.
They had intentionally isolated and bullied her since morning.
For instance, sending her first into areas with booby traps.
“Hey, Baek Yeo-ul, you activating traps every time you go together? So you go first to activate the traps!”
Or instigating her over her ‘Misfortune’ trait.
“Agh, why every time we guess at crossroads, it’s always a dead-end? Who has that bad of luck around here?”
“Man, such a nuisance.”
“…”
Baek Yeo-ul’s heart was tough. She thought she had become accustomed to such bullying over the years. But she had recently enjoyed school life with her newfound friends from ‘Zero Leftovers Day.’ It might have softened her.
That’s why when she met the male student Ha Namjin at the entrance of the maze, she had felt happy. She wanted to open up honestly to the kind boy—
‘Even without friends, I can handle it myself.’
Baek Yeo-ul thought she should endure and persevere. After all, she was a great person who had fought against terrifying wanted criminals of level three.
Jeon Somi was happy knowing that she had managed to get Baek Yeo-ul into trouble.
‘Let me lock her in a trap room tomorrow and leave her there until she cries and begs for forgiveness? Honestly, it’s not enough to repay the humiliation she gave me last time.’
But Jeon Somi had something more important on her mind than Baek Yeo-ul.
“Hyun-ah, did you hear about a male student joining our team tomorrow?”
“I didn’t get much detail, but if it’s a third-year male student joining our team, there’s only one person, right?”
Jeon Somi recalled her crush, Wang Jiseok’s youngest child—tall with fair skin, his bright eyes resembled a prince.
“Isn’t it obviously Juhyun joining our team?”
Jeon Somi had a crush on Wang Juhyun. He belonged to a wealthy and powerful family. His tall stature and fair appearance suited her taste. Her ideal type.
To think such a student would temporarily join their team.
‘Hyun-ah, it would have been perfect if you weren’t around.’
Jeon Somi had recently learned that Jang Hyun-ah secretly DMs Wang Juhyun without her knowing. Wang Juhyun couldn’t bring himself to cut off the women who contacted him.
But tomorrow.
When Jeon Somi showed her closeness to Wang Juhyun, the cunning Jang Hyun-ah would surely understand her position and have to swallow her frustration.
Lost in these thoughts, Jeon Somi was smiling inwardly when Baek Yeo-ul was trembling with anxiety.
‘With Somi, Hyun-ah, and now Juhyun too? That guy is so unlucky!’
Wishing tomorrow never came—
And so, each woman had their own aspirations while the night passed.
“Hello, this is Bread Fit speaking.”
