Regrouping

"You know, I appreciate you saving me and all," Jae-hyun said, his voice low and a little sheepish, "but if a similar situation ever comes up, I want you to leave me and sav—"

"Don't even bother saying it," I cut in, not looking back at him. "You know that's not gonna happen anyway."

"But—" he started to protest, though I could practically feel the smile tugging at his lips. Years of dealing with this idiot had made me fluent in Jae-hyun expressions.

"If you've got the energy to talk," I snapped, my back arching under his weight, "why not get down? My back is about to snap in two."

He chuckled, his tone light and teasing despite everything. "Oh, come on. I'm not that heavy."

"Really?" I said, stumbling forward as my knees threatened to give out. "Because I'm pretty sure I just dislocated something."

Carrying him had sounded like a good idea at the time. But now? My scrawny ass was paying the price for underestimating how much muscle he'd packed on since high school. Toned or not, the guy was dead weight still as heavy as he was in middle school.

"Ah—" Jae-hyun gasped as I almost pitched forward onto the stairs.

"See? This is what happens when you make me haul around a literal human boulder," I muttered, dragging him along with one last, desperate push.

By the time we reached the fourth-floor landing, I was gasping for air, sweat dripping down my face. My hand found the cold metal of the door handle, and for a brief moment, I leaned against it like it was the only thing holding me upright.

When I finally turned the knob and pushed it open, relief hit me like a wave.

Inside, Eun-jin was sitting on the floor, her knees hugged tightly to her chest. Her face was pale, etched with exhaustion, but her eyes brightened when she saw us. Da-on, however, was brimming with energy. The kid was darting around the room, her stuffed bunny flopping in her hands as she squealed about something only she could see.

When she spotted us, she ran over immediately, tiny arms wrapping around Jae-hyun's legs before she hugged me as well. Her head barely reached my knees, but her enthusiasm was overwhelming.

It was… cute I guess?

I ruffled her hair gently, her giggles echoing in the quiet room, and glanced back at Eun-jin. She had stood up now, her posture stiff with worry as she walked toward us.

"How bad is he?" she asked, her gaze fixed on Jae-hyun.

"Not looking too go—" I started to say.

"I'm fine," Jae-hyun cut in, his voice firm despite the fact that he looked like a half-dead scarecrow. "Just a little dizzy."

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Sure, he's alive," I said, before turning to Eun-jin. "Also, can you hold him for a second? My spine's filing a complaint."

Without waiting for her answer, I shifted Jae-hyun onto her shoulder. To her credit, she didn't stumble under his weight like I had. Guess she really was more fit than me.

The moment I let go, I pulled out my phone. The screen flickered to life.

[4:14 PM]

The trial had started at 4 PM sharp, so we had about 25 minutes left. Not terrible, but definitely not ideal, more detours like this could prove fatal. Shoving the phone back into my pocket, I glanced around. Jae-hyun was slumped against Eun-jin, and she looked like she was holding herself together with sheer willpower.

Meanwhile, Da-on? Still running around like she'd just had a gallon of sugar. The kid's energy was infinite. Did she even realise we were one wrong move away from getting killed?

A small smile tugged at my lips despite myself. Watching her prance around with her bunny was like looking at an entirely different world. A world where innocence hadn't been shattered by expectations or blood or death. A world I barely ever knew.

"We'll rest for a minute," I said, lying down flat on the cold, hard floor. My body groaned in protest, every muscle screaming at me to stop moving forever. "Then we're heading for the tenth floor."

The room was silent for a few seconds, save for the sound of my heavy breathing.

"Why didn't you take the axe?" Eun-jin's voice broke the quiet, sharp and accusing.

I turned my head toward her, sighing. She was leaning against the wall, her eyes narrowed.

"It would've been dead weight," I said flatly. "We've got a long climb ahead, and it's not exactly useful for taking down monsters of that size."

She seemed satisfied with the answer, her expression softening slightly.

But the truth was more complicated than that.

The axe had more to it than just a death invite for some idiot in Survival 101. The first person to grab it had used it to tear open the barricade—right before they were mauled to death. But it wasn't just that. Ji-hoon, had taken the axe with him in one of his other regressions. His group had been solid, moving at a decent pace, but the presence of the weapon?

It changed things.

The axe made Ji-hoon a threat. A walking liability in the eyes of the group. And fear? Fear made people dangerous. That axe had sparked an in-fight so chaotic that it ended with Ji-hoon's fourth death.

I wasn't about to let history repeat itself. Not with Eun-jin, Da-on, and Jae-hyun. I wasn't even sure if I really was the protagonist or just some guy desperately clinging to borrowed knowledge, but I wasn't ready to gamble our lives on the mere possibility of me being able to regress like Ji-hoon.

The one-minute break turned into two, my body practically sinking into the floor. Time really did fly when you were completely drained.

When we finally got moving, Eun-jin insisted on helping Jae-hyun, slinging his arm over her shoulder. I ended up carrying Da-on, who was much lighter—thank God. I wasn't about to survive carrying two people up this hellish climb.

We settled into a steady pace, covering a floor every twenty seconds or so. My breathing evened out, and for a while, it seemed like we were making good progress.

But as we reached the sixth-floor landing, my mood soured instantly.

Sitting there, leaning casually against the wall looking into his phone like he didn't have a care in the world, was Min-seok.

The man who had caused this entire mess.

My fists clenched, my jaw tightening as red-hot anger surged through me.

Min-seok glanced up lazily, a smile tugged his lips. "What took you so long?"

[Time left: 24 minutes and 16 seconds]