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Chapter : 19
Taesin took Iseol’s hand, stood up from his seat, and led her toward the built-in wardrobe.
When he opened the door and pressed his foot against a spot on the floor, the hanging clothes slid aside, revealing another hidden door.
As Taesin flipped a switch inside, the lights came on, and a staircase leading down to a basement appeared.
“Wow… it’s like a secret door straight out of a movie.”
Unable to hide her amazement, Iseol followed Taesin inside.
“The stairs are slippery, so be careful.”
Holding her hand, he carefully guided her down, making sure she didn’t slip.
The basement was quite deep—they had to descend for a long while.
With no wallpaper, the concrete walls were fully exposed. The air was cool but surprisingly pleasant.
There were no windows, but it seemed an air purification system was running.
First, they came upon a space that looked like a living room, complete with a small sink and even a refrigerator.
“In case someone ends up trapped here for a long time, there’s emergency food stocked as well. There’s also a bedroom and a bathroom.”
Taesin opened an inner door.
Inside the room were a mattress, a small wardrobe, and a door leading to the bathroom.
“I heard about this before. The grandfather who built this house survived the war with great difficulty, so he prepared this in case another war broke out. I just didn’t realize the precaution was an actual bunker.”
“The interior designer said it’s sturdy enough to survive even a nuclear explosion.”
“Did the homeowner know this place existed?”
Taesin shook his head.
“We found it during remodeling.”
“But is it really okay to show me such an important, secret place?”
“I want you to know about it, Ms. Yoon Iseol. If things ever get dangerous, if you ever need somewhere to hide, come here. Once you’re inside and lock the door, you’ll be safe.”
“…Alright. Thank you.”
She felt deeply grateful for his thoughtfulness—yet at the same time, the desperation behind such preparations made her suddenly uneasy.
“I’ll also tell you the front door passcode.”
Just then, the lights abruptly went out, plunging the room into pitch-black darkness.
Not a single ray of light penetrated the space. It was impossible to see even an inch ahead.
A sealed space.
Perfect darkness.
Complete silence, with even the faintest noise cut off.
A fear surged over her—as if she’d been left all alone in the world.
“Mr. Lee Taesin?”
Terrified by the thought that she might be trapped here, Iseol groped around desperately in search of him.
“Are you there? Mr. Lee Taesin?”
“I’m here.”
Relief washed over her as her hand landed on his firm chest.
In that instant of reassurance, Iseol unconsciously grabbed his shirt and pressed closer to him.
Unable to see anything, she relied solely on the sense of touch.
Taesin carefully wrapped his arms around her as she leaned into him.
“W-What’s going on? Why did the lights suddenly go out?”
“It looks like there’s been a power out—!”
“Ah!”
Iseol screamed, startled by the sensation of something brushing across the top of her foot.
She grabbed Taesin’s shoulder and instinctively jumped up.
It was a reflexive reaction born of sheer fear.
Taesin naturally caught her and asked,
“Are you okay? Do you have claustrophobia or anything?”
Clinging tightly to his neck, Iseol muttered,
“S-Something just ran over my foot. Judging by the weight, it was really small and light… I-I think it was a cockroach.”
In a basement no one had entered for over a decade, the likelihood of cockroaches was extremely high.
You might survive a nuclear bomb—but not cockroaches.
Holding her with one arm, Taesin lightly rubbed her back with the other and chuckled quietly.
“You’re not afraid of centipedes, but cockroaches scare you?”
“I really hate cockroaches.”
Just thinking about them made her shudder, and she pressed herself even closer to him—completely unaware that his body had gone stiff.
“There should be a portable light around here somewhere.”
Still holding Iseol, Taesin began moving slowly in search of it.
“Aren’t I… heavy?”
Coming back to her senses, she suddenly realized how embarrassing it was to be in another man’s arms.
She should get down immediately—but imagining cockroaches crawling on the floor robbed her of all courage.
Still, she couldn’t stay like this forever.
“P-Please… put me down.”
“It’s fine. Stay like this.”
If he could carry a grown woman with one arm, he must be incredibly strong.
So just for a moment, she reasoned, she could stay like this a little longer.
His warmth seeped into her.
He smelled nice.
A fresh, masculine scent filled her senses.
His broad shoulders and solid chest supported her weight so steadily that she felt no discomfort at all.
How could this possibly feel so comfortable?
“Found it.”
At the same moment Taesin found the light, the room lights came back on.
As brightness flooded the space, Iseol became acutely aware of how she was wrapped up in his arms.
“Please put me down.”
After checking the floor, Taesin gently set her down.
Her face burning bright red, Iseol staggered backward and bumped into the wall.
At the instant her head was about to hit it, Taesin slipped his hand between the wall and the back of her head, preventing a direct impact.
Thanks to him, it ended with only a mild jolt.
“Are you alright?”
Blinking, Iseol looked up at him.
His reflexes were incredible—so fast she hadn’t even seen him move.
“The walls here are extremely solid. If you hit your head, it wouldn’t just end with a bump.”
Her own reflection shimmered in Taesin’s eyes.
Eyes that held only her—shining unusually brightly.
They were deep, intense, almost hypnotic.
She knew she should look away, yet she couldn’t move.
“…Thank you.”
Her mouth felt dry, her voice cracked.
“What are you doing?”
A voice came from behind them.
At some point, Yushin was standing there.
“There was a brief blackout, so we were looking for the light,” Taesin replied, releasing Iseol.
“What are you talking about? A blackout?”
“The upstairs lights didn’t go out?”
“Nope.”
“Then this basement must run on a separate generator.”
“Well, it was built to prepare for disasters like war or earthquakes. Of course it’d have its own generator.”
“Oh… I see!”
Only then did Iseol nod in realization.
“But I think there might be cockroaches here. It’d be good to spray some insecticide.”
Still flustered by what had just happened, she pointed at the floor.
“This place is completely sealed, so there shouldn’t be any bugs getting in. Still, I’ll check just in case.”
No bugs?
Then what had run across her foot earlier?
“Teacher, this.”
Yushin picked up and handed her a hair tie.
Could it have been this?
Oh… my hair came loose.
“Th-Thank you. I should get going now.”
Unable to meet Taesin’s eyes, she barely managed a farewell and rushed out of the house.
Remembering how she’d clung to him, ranting about cockroaches without even realizing she’d dropped her hair tie, made her want to bury her face in a plate of food and die of embarrassment.
How was she supposed to face him tomorrow?
*
Yushin rested his chin on his arm, staring at the back of the head of the class president seated diagonally in front of him—Jang Sejin.
Her glossy black hair was tied neatly back, her uniform shirt clean though slightly faded, and her posture perfectly composed as she focused on studying—exactly the same as on the first day.
Even the round shape of the back of her head looked intelligent.
Jang Sejin was ranked first in the entire school.
A girl with no friends who only cared about studying.
An ill-mannered know-it-all.
An annoying model student.
Those were the labels people stuck to her.
Hwang Inwoo, who sat behind her, tapped her hair repeatedly.
When she didn’t react, he pulled it harder.
Annoyed, Sejin swatted his hand away and continued reading.
Her concentration was impressive.
Hwang Inwoo was the type who bullied girls he liked.
Just yesterday in the hallway, he’d tripped Sejin, nearly making her fall.
“Keep an eye on Hwang Inwoo. Who he meets. What he’s up to.”
His older brother had said that last night.
Apparently, a gambling scheme was unfolding among the third-years, and Inwoo seemed to be the ringleader.
From what Yushin had seen, Hwang Inwoo was a psychopath who enjoyed tormenting people for fun and felt no guilt even after doing bad things.
He never acted directly—always pulling strings from behind the scenes, slipping away quietly if anything went wrong.
“There’ll be a semifinal next. We have to stop it.”
Suddenly, Jang Sejin shot up from her seat.
She slammed the book she was holding down hard on Hwang Inwoo’s head.
Thud!
The sound echoed through the classroom, and the chatter instantly fell silent.
