Reborn as a Prophet in a Horror Movie

#113Reader Mode

T/N: Term update! Stray Mutt —–> Wild Mutt

#113

Do shared birthdays imply shared fates? Both of them seem to be severely cursed.

Though the exact time was impossible to determine, Seojun couldn’t help but sigh at the tragic lives of S and T. Born on the same day, yet locked away, enduring one cruel experiment after another. His own misfortunes weren’t insignificant, but imagining what they went through made his chest tighten with horror. He shook his head, clicked his tongue, and forced himself to refocus on the remaining notes.

The research team never discovered why T cut off her own hand. Perhaps she was desperate to escape the power that was the source of her misfortune. But even without her hand, the ability remained—if anything, it had only intensified, especially after her time at the Invisible Man’s mansion. Seojun drew in a slow, heavy breath.

— January 9th, huh?

Closing the file, Seojun paused to absorb it all. The details buzzed around in his head, connecting into a twisted web of questions. He grabbed his sketchbook and jotted down a summary. His hand, no longer cramping, moved more easily now, the colored pencil gliding smoothly across the page. For a second, a small, proud smile touched his lips.

[Yeah, the only confirmed birthdays are S and T’s. Height and weight could be clues, but it seems too far-fetched to be the four-digit code for the door.]

— Thanks for all your hard work. I’ll do my part for Oz too. They say sharing joy doubles it, and sharing burdens halves them. I can’t even imagine how lonely and terrifying this would be if I had to face it alone.

For once, the Wizard had said something almost… admirable. Still, Seojun knew better than to expect too much. The Wizard was, well, odd. It was a hard pill to swallow, but his comrade’s mind just didn’t work like most people’s. If they didn’t face the harsh reality they were in, they’d be trapped forever, repeating the same desperate screams that once echoed through Hamon Campground.

Seojun, once a prophet with the power of foresight, now cursed to see only the past and reduced to a helpless young man with a sack over his head, took the Wizard’s words with a quiet, humble gratitude. They didn’t amount to much, but in that moment, he clung to them. What else could he do?

[Still, let’s not be hasty. We shouldn’t input these numbers just yet.]

It was strange, having such a relatively pleasant conversation despite their dire circumstances. But before Seojun could fully relax into it, the Wizard let out a startled yelp, clearly flustered, muttering under his breath in a sulky tone.

— Another screen went dark. Guess that was a bust. I’m always messing up, aren’t I?

“You little bastard…”

Seojun’s frustration reached a boiling point. While the Wizard seemed mildly embarrassed, Seojun was at his wit’s end. The urge to crack open the Wizard’s skull and figure out what was going on inside that head of his was almost too much to bear. Surely, if his brain wasn’t as smooth as a marble, he wouldn’t be capable of something this mind-numbingly stupid.

For a moment, Seojun’s irritation was so intense that he couldn’t even bring himself to pick up his pencil. Instead, he buried his face in his hands, forcing himself to take a deep breath and calm the storm raging inside him.

The Wizard, sensing Seojun’s meltdown, tried to smooth things over. His voice, as usual, was lighthearted and playful, like he wasn’t taking the situation seriously at all. There was even a bit of laughter lingering behind his words.

— Hey, don’t worry, the screen with Oz is still working. I can still see you flailing around just fine.

But the way the Wizard’s voice crackled through the static, mixed with the mechanical buzz, turned what was supposed to be a reassurance into something that felt more like a mocking jab. Seojun clenched his fists, his anger simmering even more.

“……”

Seojun’s empty gaze drifted toward the CCTV. There was no point in arguing with someone whose thinking was so bizarre—it would just drain what little energy he had left. With a tired sigh, he scratched the back of his head before sinking to the floor with a defeated thud. A faint cloud of dust puffed up around him as he settled into the cold, worn surface.

At least he’s not laughing like a lunatic anymore.

The memory of the Wizard’s cackling flashed through his mind—like some cursed doll come to life. It had been a moment of pure horror, one that had briefly convinced Seojun that the Wizard might actually be his captor. But after more conversation, Seojun had come to a different conclusion: the Wizard wasn’t malicious, just completely detached from normal human emotions. It was almost tragic, really. His fellow prisoner was less a threat and more of a chaotic, dysfunctional mess.

[There isn’t much left in the journal, so I’ll finish reading it and get back to you.]

Seojun scribbled the message, his exhaustion making his arms feel like they were weighed down by invisible chains. He kept it brief, but as he stared at the vibrant red lines on the slightly yellowed paper, a sharp sense of anxiety crept into his chest. Was it enough? Was he being clear enough?

One thing Seojun had learned during his time trapped in the Invisible Man’s mansion was that the Wizard struggled to understand even the simplest concepts, no matter how plainly they were explained. If you weren’t crystal clear with him, the consequences could be disastrous.

His pulse quickened, and with a surge of urgency, he grabbed the pencil again and hurriedly added more to the message.

[So, don’t even think about entering any more random numbers!!!]

He underlined the warning three times, making sure it stood out on the page. But instead of acknowledging the seriousness, the Wizard let out a vague, infuriating chuckle that crackled through the static. His follow-up words of encouragement were about as useful as a penny.

— Good luck!

“…….”

Seojun felt extremely uneasy, a knot forming in his chest. But with the Wizard physically out of reach, there was nothing he could do. Powerless, his anxious fingers flipped open the notebook, hoping that the Wizard’s restless fingers would, for once, behave themselves.

「I really want to get out of here. S, you told me to stop daydreaming, but how can I not? It’s the only thing that keeps me sane in this place. Oh, my beautiful car… I finally got my license and treated myself to a brand new one, not some old used clunker. I wonder what’s become of it by now…」

「Probably been crushed into a metal pancake by now. Let it go. By the way, what was with the way you were eyeing the dietician?」

「How could you say something so cruel about my baby?! Sure, maybe the paint’s chipped a little, but there’s no way my precious car—the one I poured my entire savings into—just disappeared like that. Tell me it’s not true… Oh, Ms. Muncie? Where do I even start? Honestly, I first noticed her because she drives the same model as my car, but it’s not just that. Ms. Muncie always prepares the perfect meals for us. After all, food’s the only joy we have in this place. But you won’t believe this. Turns out, Ms. Muncie’s been hiding a shocking, bizarre, and horrifying secret! God, S, I can’t even write it down. Meet me in the storage room later. I’ll explain everything. Trust me, it’s a long story. I swear, if Ms. Muncie finds out I know her secret, she’ll either try to kill me or bribe me with everything she’s got. It’s one or the other. I’m sure of it.」

「Where’s the key, S?」

「L, weren’t you the one who suggested we hide it under the pencil holder?」

Seojun noticed a shift in tone from the previous entries he’d read. Before, L had been frustrated with S’s bluntness. But something must have happened in the meantime. They were friendly again, their banter almost playful.

Maybe they were just trying to find some peace by talking about trivial things, instead of focusing on the problems they couldn’t solve.

「It really was an unbelievable secret. That dietician, with her innocent face, she’s something else entirely. Just make sure no one else sees the photo I made. You were the one who begged to see it, L. And whatever you do, don’t let the Wild Mutt get his hands on it.」

「Don’t worry, S. The Wild Mutt is still practically glued to D these days. Honestly, if I were her, I wouldn’t want to see him or any of the other researchers ever again. The Wild Mutt has absolutely no shame. D was half-paralyzed for nearly half a day, obviously because of that new drug they’re testing in the basement, and there he was, just hanging around, making small talk. D needs rest, for crying out loud! Poor D! Did you see her trying to write with her good hand? The Wild Mutt wouldn’t stop going on about how he found out D likes shooting stars, but he completely ignored the fact that her writing hand was shaking uncontrollably.」

「There isn’t a single decent drug in this godforsaken lab. If I ever get out of here, I’d be happy with just one cigarette. Oh, and I’d dye my hair too. I can’t stand having the same ■■■ as that idiot. I’d dye it pitch black. And I’d drink. And take all the stuff they’ve banned in here. I swear, nothing will satisfy me until I’ve done it all. And then…」

S’s journal entry abruptly ended, the bottom of the page torn away, as if ripped out in a fit of frustration. Seojun flipped through the earlier pages absently, fully aware that it wouldn’t bring back what had been lost.

It was probably just more about S daydreaming of how he’d live it up after escaping the Invisible Man’s mansion… nothing too important, really.

「They’ve banned all drugs that affect the body here. They say that’s why they take our blood so often, to avoid giving transfusions. Remember how shocked we were when we saw those blood packs with our names on them? Anyway, the weather looks pretty gloomy today. Think it’s going to rain?」

「I heard on the radio there might be a typhoon coming. Happens a lot this time of year.」

L’s response had seemed ordinary enough, just what Seojun expected—nothing out of the ordinary. But as he turned the page, the tone of the shared journal took a sudden, dark turn. What followed was a sinister conspiracy.

「I can’t take it anymore. Let’s kill D. T agreed to help, too. Join us, S.」

「Why are you saying something like that out of nowhere? That’s terrifying. If you’re joking, knock it off. I’m already freaked out enough as it is.」

「A joke? You really think I’d joke about something like this? It’s for D’s sake, too. You’ve seen how the researchers’ experiments have been getting more brutal, right? L, you were heartbroken watching D suffer. T feels the same way. She can’t stand watching her childhood friend being used in these hopeless experiments anymore. But the experiments keep failing. D’s abilities aren’t progressing. So there’s only one way for D to be free from all this suffering…either become completely transparent or die. There’s no other option.」

「That’s too cruel… And how exactly are you planning to kill her? What about the body?」

「It’s simple. Killing D won’t be hard. We just need to lure her to the storage room and bash her head in. As for the body… there’s a loose nail in the wooden boards in the corner. If we pull that up, we’ll have plenty of space to stash a small woman’s body. We’ll hide it there first.

Meanwhile, T will use her telekinesis to make it seem like D is still alive by moving her shoes around. That’ll buy us some time. Once T stops, the researchers will freak out and start looking for her. While they’re distracted, T will use her powers to move D’s body through the storage room window and into the swamp. You know the one. Not far from the mansion. It’s deep. With T’s abilities, we can dump the body in there, and no one will ever find out.

For timing, let’s do it on the day the dietician comes. It’ll be busy since there’s a food truck arriving, plus her new assistant, so things will be hectic. Worried about actually doing it? I get it. Even though D can’t speak, she can still see. That might throw you off. But it’s easy. We’ll just put a burlap sack over our head. There are plenty lying around in the storage room.」

Seojun felt a cold chill crawl down his spine as he read the plan. Every detail was laid out with precision. S’s writing showed no signs of hesitation or second thoughts. From the first word to the last, it was disturbingly calm and collected.

「Why are you so confident?」

「Stay strong. Be brave.」

It was L who showed signs of unease. The timid mind-reader had left tear stains scattered across the page, small marks of fear and sorrow seeping through the paper. L’s anxious questions, filled with doubt and hesitation, were met with S’s cold, indifferent responses.

Finally, Seojun reached the last page of the shared journal. His hands trembled as he read the short entry.

It was a strange sentence, charged with raw, unfiltered emotion. The letters were bold, the ink pressed hard into the paper at first, then the strokes became sharp and agitated, curling upward with intensity. If L had written it, Seojun wouldn’t have been so surprised.

「I love you. I love you. I love you. Even if we never meet again, Amy, I love you.」

Seojun stared at the words, his pulse quickening. He checked again and again, but there was no mistaking it… the handwriting belonged to S. There was no doubt about it.