I ran.
I had no idea how long I’d been running.
All I knew was that behind me, the sound of dragging sandals continued, one slow step at a time.
It wasn’t fast.
But I couldn’t leave it behind, either.
I rushed down the stairs, gripping the ice-cold railing. When I reached the twelfth floor, I suddenly stopped short.
Room 12.
The door was still open.
Inside was pitch-black.
I remembered what Mrs. Lan had told me.
“Don’t turn around and look.”
But right then, a voice rang out behind me.
“Anh...”
My body went rigid.
It was Vy’s voice.
“You came looking for me, right?”
I didn’t turn around.
“Vy?”
“Yeah.”
Her voice was very close.
So close that I could feel cold breath against the back of my neck.
“I know who pushed me.”
My heart pounded.
“Who?”
Silence.
Then Vy whispered:
“That person... is standing right behind you.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
No.
I couldn’t turn around.
I remembered the rule.
Don’t look into the eyes of the dead.
But suddenly, an icy hand settled on my shoulder.
I flinched violently.
“Do you want to know the truth?”
I clenched my teeth.
“Yes.”
“Then open your eyes.”
The hand on my shoulder tightened.
“Look at me.”
I didn’t dare.
Until a child’s sob rang out from inside Room 12.
It wasn’t Vy crying.
It was a child.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
There was no one in front of me.
The hand on my shoulder had vanished, too.
I whipped around.
The hallway was empty.
But on the tiled floor, a trail of water stretched from behind me... straight into Room 12.
The water was black.
It smelled like mud.
I stepped inside.
An old bed stood in the middle of the room.
A photograph lay on top of it.
I bent down and picked it up.
There were four people in the picture.
Vy.
Mrs. Lan.
A man I had never met.
And...
me.
I was stunned.
The photograph was so old that its edges had yellowed.
But my face in the picture...
wasn’t my current face.
It was older.
Dark circles hung beneath my eyes.
There was a purple bruise around my neck.
I turned it over.
A line had been written on the back in red ink:
“This time, don’t let it die in your place.”
Before I could understand, the old television in the corner switched on by itself.
The screen filled with white static.
Bzzzt...
Bzzzt...
Then a video appeared.
It showed Room 12.
I saw Vy standing in the middle of the room.
She was crying.
Mrs. Lan stood behind her.
But the third person...
made my blood run cold.
It was me.
In the video, I was standing behind Vy.
My hand was on her shoulder.
Vy turned around.
“What are you doing?”
The me in the video didn’t answer.
He only stared at her.
Then he slowly pushed her down.
I stumbled backward.
“That’s impossible...”
The video continued.
Vy fell into the lake.
Mrs. Lan stood there watching.
But just before the screen went dark...
I saw something.
Behind Mrs. Lan.
A woman in a blue raincoat.
Standing perfectly still.
She had no face.
I remembered the raincoat.
The blue raincoat.
Chapter 4.
None of this had been a coincidence.
The blue raincoat hadn’t belonged to Vy.
It belonged to the person who had appeared before I rented this room.
The TV abruptly shut off.
The room sank into darkness.
A voice spoke right beside my ear:
“Finally... you remember.”
I turned around.
There was no one there.
But on the wall in front of me, red letters slowly appeared.
50%
Then the number changed.
51%
52%
I stared at it.
The mission was continuing.
A new line appeared:
“MISSION 3: FIND THE PERSON WHO PUSHED VY.”
Beneath it was a sentence that left me unable to breathe.
“HINT: THAT PERSON IS NOT MRS. LAN.”
I backed away.
“Then who is it?”
The wall remained silent.
Until a knock sounded.
Knock.
I looked toward the door.
Knock.
The door to Room 12 slowly swung open.
Out in the hallway...
someone was standing there.
A blue raincoat.
Wet hair dripping water.
Their head hung low.
I couldn’t see their face.
The person raised a hand.
And pointed straight at me.
Then they said:
“You forgot one thing.”
I swallowed hard.
“What?”
She slowly lifted her head.
“The person who pushed Vy into the lake...”
A smile appeared on her eyeless face.
“...was you.”
Click.
The door slammed shut.
And for the first time since I entered this boarding house...
I was no longer sure I was one of the living...