### Chapter 305 – Room 204, Mission Room – ‘Hotel Cinema’ (27)
—
– Kim Ari
— Click!
“I didn’t expect this variable to pop up…”
Thirty minutes into the third story, I realized that the house was locked down tight. Both the outside door and the internal doors leading out were sealed shut.
It didn’t seem like supernatural forces were at play; rather, it appeared that my parents had locked everything up before heading out. Probably a precaution to keep their twelve-year-old son from wandering off and getting bored.
Since going outside was off the table, I started pacing around the house, trying to figure out what on earth was going on, but making a judgment call wasn’t easy. It was a huge mansion, empty with just a kid left behind.
Realistically speaking, it was the perfect setup for burglary or robbery, and there were endless supernatural possibilities to consider. As my head started to ache from all the infinite scenarios, a certain keyword popped into my mind: ‘toys.’
The boy in the coffee shop, Eunpyo, had mentioned that his parents had gifted him a mountain of toys instead of going out for the New Year’s party. Plus, the couple who just left had prepped a junk-load of goodies for ‘Kevin’s living room,’ which sounded like a bourgeois haven filled with things Kevin would love.
As I made my way to the living room, a cat sprawled on the floor caught my attention, yawning lazily. A warm-looking Golden Retriever had been wagging its tail and following me around since earlier.
What roles do these animals play in this? Who knows?
Upon reaching the living room, I began unwrapping the gift boxes one by one. The first one yielded an incredibly cute pink elephant toy.
“Make cookies with Dollyphant?”
Attached to the bright pink toy was a teacup set, with ‘Enjoy a delightful tea time with Dollyphant!’ scribbled on the box’s side. What kind of gift is this for a twelve-year-old boy? Did the mom just buy herself something she liked?
The second gift was thankfully something I presumed a twelve-year-old boy might actually enjoy. Inside the box were a toy train with a human-like face and a bunch of LEGO-like tracks.
“‘Set up the tracks for Thomas and friends!’”
Finally, I got to the third box, and as soon as I opened it, I kicked it in frustration.
“Hey! What kind of gift is this for a kid? Seriously, do both parents want to get in trouble?”
What I found inside was a clown doll that screamed ‘I’m ominous!’ just by looking at it. In stark contrast to its gruesome looks, it was named ‘Happy Happy.’
Why on earth would you make something like this? What’s the thought process behind giving a scared kid something like this? Trying to make him cry or what? Or maybe Kevin has very peculiar taste?
Staring at the toys made me uneasy. Especially the clown doll… the more I looked at it, the more it unsettled me. It seemed like it was just waiting for me to turn around so it could sneak up behind me with a knife.
But I had no idea what to do. Just sitting still felt unsafe, yet smashing the doll seemed risky too. Who knows if it would get mad just for trying to destroy it and retaliate?
Eventually, I threw everything back into the box and sat down in a daze.
“At this rate, I’m just going to sit here and perish.”
Something was bound to attack me, but with no idea what it could be, I had no clue how to respond.
Are criminals about to raid the place? Is that cat rolling on the floor going to turn into a cannibalistic kitty? Or is it the suspicious clown doll causing all the ruckus?
… It didn’t take long for an answer to my worries to surface.
*
“Kevin! We’re starting the New Year’s party just for you!”
Suddenly, a loud sound echoed, rattling the entire house!
I quickly raised my head, startled, only to see the house begin to shudder. Before my eyes, a miracle started to unfold!
The hallway expanded and elongated.
The ceiling rose higher, revealing chandeliers left and right.
Columns that never existed before began to sprout everywhere.
In the blink of an eye, what was already a massive mansion transformed into something palace-like. If a typical Korean, who had spent their whole life struggling to afford even a small thirty-pyeong apartment in Seoul, saw this, they’d swear it was the handiwork of some god!
As someone witnessing the miracle firsthand, it felt like my heart might just explode! What in the world was happening?
I held onto a nearby closet, waiting for the tremors to settle. Finally regaining my balance and looking up, I realized all the toys had vanished.
“What the hell—”
“Happy Happy! Kevin, it’s hide and seek time now!”
“Thomas is starting! Clear the path for the tracks!”
“Dolly dolly! Tea time is here! Good kids, come to the second floor!”
I was losing my mind! What on earth were they expecting me to do?
— Thud!
Heavy footsteps echoed from behind. Startled, I turned around to find the hideous clown doll towering over Kevin, now much larger.
“It’s hide and seek time! The rule is touch the back!”
“… Touch the back?”
“Ready? Go! You’d better run, Kevin! Get moving!”
At the sound of ‘Get moving!’ my instincts kicked in, and I spun around, bolting like mad!
Jumping over the thick carpet, racing over the annoyingly slippery marble floor, as soon as I ducked into a room, I shut the door leading back into the living room—
— Bam!
“Happy Happy!”
The white glove of the clown’s hand twisted the door handle forcefully, trying to break in. Shoving my weight against the door, I sprinted towards the window.
Wouldn’t jumping out be better than staying trapped in this monster-infested mansion?
“Why are these windows so tough?”
I couldn’t escape outside. Just then, I heard the sound of wood splintering.
“Happy!”
Just as I felt my heart freeze from the chilling laughter, unexpectedly, a brave ally appeared.
“Woof! Woof!”
Seeing the bizarrely transformed mansion and the frightened Kevin, my Golden Retriever Suji leaped fearlessly at Happy Happy. Suji lunged and bit into the clown’s knee, causing stuffing to fly everywhere.
Not as sturdy as I thought? I mean, it’s just a ‘toy,’ so I guess that makes sense? Just as I considered charging at Happy Happy with a golf club I spotted hanging on the wall—
— Squeeek!
Suddenly, brave and adorable Suji transformed into a chunk of a Golden Retriever. Seeing that overwhelming might dissipated my thoughts of charging in.
“Suji, I’m so sorry!”
I changed direction and bolted toward the mansion’s hallway on the first floor.
“Dolly dolly! It’s tea time!”
What should I do now? Keep running around aimlessly like this? That’s not an option. Running away with a kid’s little legs against a monster isn’t going to work. I would’ve been goners if it weren’t for Suji.
What was the rule again? Touch the back?
As I ran toward the hall, I took a glance back. Happy Happy, power-walking through the clutter, suddenly halted.
We locked eyes, both of us in a standoff. Happy Happy started shifting quickly to the side, targeting my back!
Aha! The ‘Get moving!’ was a trap!
Since touching the back was the rule, if I ran sprinting away, Happy Happy could just dive at me. But standing here face-to-face means my back is safe from his grasp.
Slowly, I took hesitant steps back. While Happy Happy tried to navigate, shifting his gaze to expose my back, his expression soured.
“Kevin! How underhanded! You’re playing like that?”
“….”
“You’re making me play ‘rough!’”
‘Rough’ play? Is there another phase?
In the next moment, Happy Happy’s mouth widened as his arms stretched out ridiculously! What on earth was he planning to—
“Thomas is starting! Clear the path for the tracks!”
— Squeak!
The train barged into the lavish hall of the mansion, its long legs knocking Happy Happy aside. As Happy Happy tumbled to the floor with an obscure wail, I noticed the spider-like body of the train staring back at me.
… What in the world is that?
Is that the train I saw among the toys before? No way, where did that human-faced thing go? All that remained was the spider body, huh?
And what was with that earlier act? Pushing Happy Happy out of the way? Thinking that because he was blocking the path, Thomas had to shove him aside? They’re not even sparing each other a glance?
Questions flooded my mind as I watched. Just then, Thomas stretched his long spider leg and pulled out a ‘track’ to lay down in front of me. The extended track suddenly came rushing towards me—
“Dammit, again!”
— Ping! Zing!
With a loud noise, the train began racing toward me! Watching that gross spider leg sprawl out made imagining what might happen when the train caught me terrifying.
“Dolly dolly! It’s tea time now!”
Could I call this fortunate?
Since Thomas, being a ‘train,’ could only move on laid tracks, he had to set them down first to reach me. That gave me a chance to dodge him by observing where the tracks were being laid.
A hall filled with that bizarre mansion’s spider leg train, I barely caught my breath as Thomas zoomed past me. Just then, a chilling sound rang out behind me.
“Happy Happy!”
“Oh hell, no!”
A spine-chilling noise sliced through the air. Happy Happy’s extended hand shot out with sharp claws aimed at my back.
I turned around to face Happy Happy head-on once again. He paused since my back was hidden but wore that playful grin.
“Kevin! Let’s play together now!”
The stretched-out hand of Happy Happy began moving toward my back. How on earth? Do I just run again? Can I outrun this monster? How in the world—
— Squeak!
When I heard the ‘Thomas’ horn from a distance, I realized there was only one route left for me to escape. Thomas isn’t a train solely designed to attack me.
If I don’t clear the way, Happy Happy isn’t hesitating to attack either! I turned around and jumped onto the track that Thomas had sped by earlier.
“How dare you step on my tracks!”
With a furious shout, Thomas started to ‘reverse’ while Happy Happy, startled by the oncoming train, moved back to avoid being struck.
… Then what do I do now?
Standing on the track means I’ll get crushed by Thomas, and stepping off means Happy Happy will get me with those claws. It’s kill or be killed—either way, one of us is toast.
What kind of—
— Boom!
Neither! Suddenly, a third entity crashed through the wall, roaring loudly enough to shake the mansion!
“Dolly dolly! I called you three times! Kevin, are you a bad kid?”
“…”
“Dolly dolly! Bad kids get punished! Hey!”
Before losing consciousness, the last thing I saw was the enormous foot of the enraged elephant doll, Dollyphant.
*
– The Theater
Everyone stared at the screen, jaws dropped. The scene played back of the infuriated elephant doll, Dollyphant, wrecking havoc on the party, trampling both Thomas and Happy Happy right after Kevin. In that moment, Kain, who was utterly confused, finally spoke up.
“Seriously… how does a twelve-year-old boy survive all that chaos?”
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