Chapter 8: Invisible hand

The room I chose was the stationery store.

This problem, when you think about it, is very easy.

As I said in the elevator earlier, scissors are a symbol of “bo-bim.”

Therefore, I need to go to a place without scissors to protect my chastity and escape.

‘Hmm.’

I stood in the center of the stationery store and looked around.

I could see neatly arranged shelves and a woman slowly moving between them.

She was still smiling, but something was strange.

The smile was too perfect, and her eyes seemed to be hiding something.

‘Should I talk to her?’

I hesitated for a moment.

But the moment I took a step towards her, a chill ran down my spine.

I couldn’t explain why, but an intense sense of unease overwhelmed me.

In the end, I gave up on talking to her and turned my head.

“Is there anything you need?”

Her voice came from behind.

I froze and slowly turned to look at her.

She was still smiling and watching me.

The smile seemed overly friendly, but I couldn’t shake off the strange feeling it gave me.

“…No.

I’m fine.”

I shook my head and answered.

Her smile seemed to deepen.

“I see.

If you need anything, just let me know.

We have everything you need here.”

She said that and started organizing the shelves again.

I felt relieved and moved away from her.

I felt like her gaze was still following me, but I didn’t have the courage to turn around.

I looked around the stationery store, looking for anything useful.

On the shelves, ordinary school supplies such as pencils, erasers, and notebooks were neatly arranged.

But there was nothing else that caught my eye.

Then, in a corner of the stationery store, I saw an old door.

The door looked completely out of place in the otherwise neat environment.

The wooden door was cracked and covered with old dust.

The handle on it was rusty.

‘What’s that door?’

I carefully approached the door.

Standing in front of the door, I gently pulled the handle, and the door slowly opened with a creaking sound.

Behind the door was another hallway.

The narrow, dark hallway stretched out as far as the eye could see.

The wallpaper was still yellowish beige, but this space had a completely different atmosphere from the stationery store.

“017…… It might be an exit.”

I took a deep breath and carefully passed through the door.

I didn’t know where this hallway would lead, but I had no choice.

I couldn’t stay in the stationery store, and I didn’t want to deal with that woman any longer.

At the end of the hallway, there was a small door.

“It’s dark.”

The space that unfolded as soon as I opened the door was different from any place I had been before.

There were no flickering fluorescent lights or even the faint illumination of the parking lot.

This place was all darkness.

The surroundings were quiet.

The silence was rather suffocating.

I caught my breath and tried to suppress my fear.

‘I have to go forward.

I can’t stop here.’

No matter how dark it is, I can’t go back.

Gulp.

Swallowing my saliva, I carefully moved forward.

After walking for a while, I heard a creaking sound under my feet.

It was a metal staircase.

The stairs were made of old iron and shook precariously with each step.

‘I hope this doesn’t collapse…’

I carefully descended the stairs.

My whole body was tense with nervousness, but I didn’t stop and continued to move forward one step at a time.

At the end of the stairs, there was a small storage room.

The storage room, illuminated by the lantern light, looked old and worn, but there was something inside.

“A flashlight?”

I picked up the flashlight that was placed on a small box.

And next to it were several cans of food and drinks.

Feeling hungry, I carefully picked up one of the cans.

Can I eat this?

I dipped my finger in the canned soup and tasted a little with the tip of my tongue.

Fortunately, there was nothing wrong.

I was uneasy, but for now, I had no choice but to eat this.

“Phew…

I feel better.”

I emptied the can and took out a can of drink and drank it.

As the cold drink went down my throat, I felt a little more relaxed.

But the fear of the darkness in this space still lingered.

When I opened the door of the storage room, the same darkness greeted me again.

This time, it seemed like a wider space.

I lifted the flashlight and shone it on the ceiling, but I couldn’t see the end.

The floor was also empty and seemed to stretch endlessly.

At that moment, the air in the space I was in suddenly shook.

It felt like something invisible was splitting the space.

‘What…?’

I held the flashlight tightly and stepped back.

My heart was racing, and a cold sweat ran down my back.

Then, I felt something approaching me.

I shone the flashlight, but I couldn’t see anything.

But something was definitely in front of me.

The air became blurry, and slowly, an unknown creature was approaching me.

Frightened, I took a small can of drink from my pocket and threw it forward.

I knew it was useless, but I couldn’t stand the anxiety without doing something.

The can of drink left my hand and flew through the air.

The can didn’t reach the floor.

Instead, something invisible grabbed the can.

The can stopped in mid-air and slowly squirmed and moved.

‘What is this…?’

I swallowed my breath and shook the flashlight beam.

But the light only illuminated the empty air, and the entity holding the can was invisible.

The can spun in the air and slowly crumpled.

It was a gentle touch.

A touch as if carefully kneading something.

Seeing that bizarre sight, I realized.

‘Here… there’s an invisible hand.’

I bit my lip and slowly stepped back.

To survive in this space, I had to avoid that invisible entity.

It shouldn’t be difficult.

From what I see now, that hand seems to have poor or no vision and hearing.

It would be convenient to think of it as an invisible version of the ‘Bad Hand’ from the first area.

Besides, it’s not completely invisible.

I could sense its presence, and when I looked closely, the air became blurry, so it wasn’t completely invisible either.

So I can do it.

No, I have to.

I lowered the flashlight beam as much as possible and slowly backed away.

The can of drink floating in the air was still held by the invisible hand.

The hand was carefully fiddling with the can, crumpling it, and the movement was strangely eerie.

‘I have to avoid that hand and pass through.’

My heart was pounding like crazy, but I moved as quietly as possible and began to explore my surroundings.

My assumption that the ‘hand’ had no sight or hearing was just that, an assumption.

There was no need to act dangerously.

I turned off the flashlight and, killing the sound of my footsteps, walked along the wall.

It was so dark that I couldn’t even tell where I was going.

‘!’

In the darkness, I felt the invisible hand lingering around me.

In the windless space, I felt the air slightly disturbed.

I held my breath and turned off the flashlight.

‘Please.

…Just pass by.’

The surroundings were silent, but I could hear something moving in the darkness.

The sound got closer and then farther away repeatedly.

I lowered my body as much as possible and tried to sense my surroundings.

How many minutes did I endure like that?

I felt like the hand was passing right by me.

But fortunately, it seemed to have not detected me, and it moved away again.

‘Alright… now’s my chance.’

I slowly moved along the wall, examining my surroundings.

I turned on the flashlight very slightly to illuminate only the floor and the wall.

There was an old sign-like thing on the wall, but the contents were too blurry to read.

As I walked, I heard a small metallic sound under my feet.

I froze and lifted my foot.

Under my foot was an old key.

‘A key?’

I slowly picked up the key.

The key was rusty but still looked usable.

But I didn’t know where to use this key.

February 1, 2025.

Day 1 in the room with no visibility.

Fortunately, it seems I was right.

I was able to escape through the old door in the corner of the stationery store.

The clerk-looking woman tried to talk to me on the way, but I shook my head, and fortunately, she let it go without saying much.

Beyond that was a dark hallway, and when I went down the rusty stairs, I found a small storage room.

I filled my hunger with canned food there and took a flashlight.

Behind the storage room door was a huge dark room, and an invisible hand was moving in the air.

I threw a can without thinking, and the hand grabbed it and fiddled with it.

It was a somewhat sexual movement.

If I get caught, I feel like something bad will happen.

I have to be careful.

Ah, I found a key in the middle.

Is this the key to the exit?

I hope so.

I want to get out of this strange place quickly.

Monster File: [‘Invisible Hand’ Anal Smith]

Form: It’s invisible, but it seems to have the form of a bad hand.

It seems to float in the air and grope around its surroundings.

When observed closely, the air becomes blurry, so you can indirectly sense its presence.

Characteristics: The invisible hand is difficult to detect visually, but it shows intentional actions when touching objects.

It floats in the air and grabs or squeezes things, like kneading something.

And when it senses a presence, it slowly approaches and seems to move to check the target’s existence.

These always operate in silent darkness.

Fortunately, they don’t react to light.

Danger: It’s easy to be ambushed because it’s invisible, and if you get caught, you’re likely to be exposed in a defenseless state.

It applies strong pressure upon direct contact and has the strength to crush objects.

If I get caught…

Yeah, I don’t think it’ll be pretty.

Weakness: It seems to have almost no sight or hearing.

Instead, it reacts sensitively to air currents or vibrations.

Throwing a small object to divert its attention can be effective.

Its movements are not fast, so you can escape relatively safely if you move quietly.

Besides, it’s not completely transparent, so carefully observing the subtle clues where the air becomes blurry will be a great help to survival.