Chapter 06
After Kwon Tae-hyun left, I climbed the stairs alone. Just in case, I strained my ears, but I couldn’t hear any sound at all—not even the usual noises of daily life.
I was just climbing to the second floor when—
Creak—
“……?”
The second-floor corridor was dark, and the streetlights were blocked by the trees, so no light reached through.
Creeeak, creak.
“…….”
I quickened my pace. Whatever it was, nothing good would come from running into it at this hour. Fortunately, nothing happened until I reached the third floor.
Room 302 had more of an atmosphere of an old hospital ward than a university dormitory. That said, it wasn’t particularly unusual.
A single bed with a steel frame, a desk and chair, a wardrobe. Beyond the desk, the window was covered with thick blackout curtains.
Thankfully, there was a small bathroom attached, so I could roughly wash up.
Well, at least I managed to survive today.
Was it because the tension had eased? The moment I sat down on the bed, a wave of exhaustion hit me so hard my head spun.
Unable to resist the temptation, I laid my head on the pillow, and my eyelids grew impossibly heavy.
The rules… I need to read them…
But there was no way I could focus on reading anything right now.
Too much had happened in a single day. And starting tomorrow, I’d have to do even more.
Pretend to be Amelie, discreetly look for escape routes… and if that didn’t work, find the missing person the loan sharks had commissioned.
Either way, my parents’ debt would be waiting for me back in reality.
With that thought, the weight of reality I’d momentarily forgotten pressed down on me. Yeah, that was my life. A university student—what a ridiculously fortunate joke.
And then, as if passing out, I fell into a deep, unconscious sleep.
I woke to a cold sensation.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
Thud. I squinted at the glaring light.
Professor Marlow stood beside the bed, wearing a surgical mask, looking down at me upside down.
“……Professor?”
“You shouldn’t fall asleep during a lecture.”
And then I realized what Marlow was holding in his right hand.
A scalpel.
“Uh, what are you—”
Without giving me a chance to speak, Marlow grabbed my right arm with one hand. The feel of the latex glove was unfamiliar.
“Student, you’re left-handed, weren’t you?”
“Uh… urgh…”
My lips wouldn’t move. Seeing that, Marlow pulled the sterile mask down below his chin. He was smiling. Between his red lips, I could see pointed fangs.
“Today, I thought I’d observe how your muscles move in real time.”
No—I tried to scream, but it was as if my throat was blocked, and no sound came out.
No, no, no!
The moment the sharp, cold blade touched the inside of my elbow—
“No!!”
I woke up on the bed.
“Hah… what the hell…”
My entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
I gasped for breath and looked around. It was the same dormitory room I’d fallen asleep in last night. I must have passed out without turning off the lights.
What a vicious dream…
The moment I thought that—BAM, BAM, BAM—someone, no, something pounded mercilessly on the wooden door. I instinctively held my breath.
I quickly glanced at the clock on the wall. 7:00 AM. Surely it wasn’t a wake-up call. Who would be banging on the door so recklessly at this hour?
BAM,
BAM,
BAM!
I looked around. Places to hide… none. Weapons… none. But I had one thing I could rely on.
After all, I had been assigned the role of “Amelie” by the Citadel, and this room, Female Dormitory 302, was officially recognized as Amelie’s room.
As long as I didn’t break the rules, I couldn’t be replaced. In other words, this room was a relative safe zone.
After a moment’s hesitation, I got up from the bed and approached the door. The other side was quiet. Carefully, I pressed my ear against the wooden door.
Was that the rustle of my own hair? Or maybe my breathing?
No, perhaps…—
BAM!
“Hic.”
I clamped my hand over my mouth. And at that moment, someone on the other side of the door let out a low laugh. A man—a young man’s laughter.
Then came the sound of footsteps. Clop, clop—heading past the corridor toward the stairs.
“…….”
I… should open the door, right?
There was no other choice. I couldn’t stay in the room forever, and there wasn’t a security office I could call anyway.
I cautiously opened the door. After confirming the corridor was completely empty, I checked the back of the door.
Right at eye level, a yellow sticky note was attached.
“……?”
Carefully, I peeled it off.
E2A4N700#
“A code…?”
I checked the front and back, but that was all there was. For now, I stuffed it into my pocket and closed the door.
And soon, I realized one crucial fact.
Growl.
That I hadn’t eaten in nearly 30 hours. My stomach had shrunk a bit from being held by the loan sharks, but still—at this level of hunger, I’d have trouble even exploring the campus or remembering anything.
I decided to inspect the room first. I doubted there would be any food, but there might be something useful for survival hidden away.
The first thing that caught my eye was the dormitory rules posted on the wall. I quickly scanned the rules, written in rough handwriting.
And the moment I read item number 3, I broke out in goosebumps all over.
<Gwangryun University Student Dormitory Rules>
- Please observe dormitory curfew hours.
The entire dormitory lights go out after 10 PM. Please refrain from entering or exiting from midnight to 6 AM.
└It’s easier to think of lights-out as starting at 9 PM. The dorm supervisor gets jumpy from that hour onward.
If you can’t properly explain why you’re late, they won’t even give you a key. Nobody wants to get kicked out of the dorm at dawn, right?
- No outsiders are allowed inside the dormitory.
Only when there is a justifiable reason may you accompany someone as far as the first-floor lobby. Please explain the situation to the dorm supervisor first and obtain permission.
- Making disturbances or creating noise after lights-out is prohibited.
The dormitory is a shared living space. Please be considerate of other residents.
└That includes everyday living noises too. After 9 PM, stay as quiet as a mouse. No showering. Don’t even flush the toilet.
And no matter what happens, don’t look up at the bathroom ceiling.
Because if you see it, there’s no way you’ll be able to keep from screaming.
The handwritten notes added beneath the rules were undoubtedly left by the previous Amelie.
I’d entered this room yesterday around 8:50 PM, I think. If I’d been even a little later, I would’ve missed lights-out and barely made it in time to shower.
Glancing over, my gaze naturally drifted toward the bathroom.
“…….”
Let’s not think about it.
Whatever’s in there, as long as I don’t look at the ceiling, it’ll be fine. I’ll just imagine there’s a giant cockroach stuck up there. Yeah, just like the shower room at the retreat center.
I sat down at the desk. I opened the small metal drawers one by one, starting from the top.
The first drawer was ordinary. It contained a stapler, stationery scissors, and writing utensils.
The second drawer was more colorful. A pink hand mirror, a bundle of glittery stickers, a translucent scrunchie.
Whoever it was, it was probably the same person who’d put the cat sticker on the phone.
The third drawer was filled with unidentified medications.
Some medicine bottles were nearly empty, and a few contained a thick red liquid. The pill bottles had small labels attached—I’d read them later.
The last drawer, the fourth, contained notebooks tied with string. The knot was so tight it didn’t look like I could undo it by hand.
I cut the string with the stationery scissors and laid the notebooks out one by one on the desk.
Among the ordinary student notebooks, there was one diary that clearly looked very old.
I opened the first page.
It was written in neat handwriting.
“One thing is certain: I am not the first Amelie.
I’m definitely not the second or third, either.
If you’re reading this, that means you’re the new Amelie.
Since there can only be one Amelie in the Citadel at a time, that means I’ve either escaped or ‘retired.’
I desperately hope it’s the former, but as with everything that happens in the Citadel, I likely had no choice in the matter.
Still, I believe I can at least create small changes, so I’ve decided to record the information I’ve uncovered in this diary.
No one knows how much time has passed since then, so you shouldn’t fully trust the information written here.
Don’t try to read it in chronological order—just extract what you need. And if there’s anything to supplement or correct, lend your strength.
You never know when or where you’ll receive the reward for that.”
