A Promise Beyond Life

We collapsed onto the cold concrete landing of the eleventh floor, the rough surface pressing into my aching muscles. My heart pounded against my ribs, a dull rhythm in my ears. I slumped back against the wall, pulling my phone out of my pocket with trembling hands.

We had about twenty minutes left. We were lagging. Not by much, but enough to weigh on me. We'd have to pick up the pace if we wanted to survive this climb.

I glanced at the group. Eun-jin sat slouched against the wall, cradling her burnt hand. Angry red blisters had already started to rise, raw and inflamed, yet her expression remained defiant. She hid the pain well, but I could see the tightness in her jaw.

Next to her, Da-on sat cross-legged, gently blowing on her mother's injured hand, as if her tiny breath could somehow ease the agony. The sight made something in my chest twist, but a small smile crept onto my face anyway.

Jae-hyun stood nearby, his t-shirt in tatters. He tore off a strip of fabric and handed it to Eun-jin to use as a makeshift bandage. For someone who'd been half-dead not too long ago, he looked steady. His breathing was even, his posture strong. Good.

Min-seok, however, sat a few feet away from the rest of us, hunched over with his phone clutched in his hands. The blue glow of the screen illuminated his tired, worn-out face. Probably looking at that picture of his wife again.

I swallowed hard, standing up despite the protests of my legs. "Min-seok," I called, my voice echoing faintly in the landing.

He turned to look at me, startled, like a kid caught doing something wrong.

"You did good back there," I said.

His eyes widened in surprise, and then a faint blush crept up his face. "Th—Thanks," he muttered, clearly flustered. "I have been dead weight for long enough I guess. Can't face my wife and unborn child like a coward now can I?"

"The only reason I even ran the last time was because of the promise I made to myself—" Min-seok started but stopped abruptly, wiping his eyes. Guess he had his reasons too huh? 

After a few seconds I turned to the rest of the group. "Alright, everyone," I said, my voice firmer. "I know we're tired, but we need to keep moving. Time won't stop for us. We're already behind, and the other passengers are probably on the eighth floor by now. Unlike us, they didn't have to deal with rats or molten lava."

"Isn't that a little unfair?" Jae-hyun chuckled, though his voice was strained.

"Life's unfair," Eun-jin said bluntly, pushing herself up to her feet. "But someone has to take action, and I'd rather rely on myself than hope someone else saves me."

Her words hit harder than they should have.

I glanced back at Da-on. She was struggling to keep up, her little hands clutching her bunny as she heaved with every step. She looked exhausted, her small frame trembling with effort.

No one else was in any condition to carry her.

"I'll take Da-on," I said, crouching down and scooping her onto my back without waiting for a reply.Her weight sank into me immediately, heavier than before. Or maybe I was just running on fumes. Relax Ha-rin this isn't about you—it couldn't be. If you stopped now, no one would make it. You carry the weight of their lives. 

We climbed in silence, the sound of our footsteps echoing in the stairwell. Each floor blurred into the next. Twelfth. Thirteenth. Fourteenth. I lost track of time, focusing solely on putting one foot in front of the other.

By the time we reached the seventeenth floor, my back was screaming. Every muscle felt like it was about to snap in half, but I pushed through.

Da-on leaned closer to my ear, her voice soft. "Do you think the next floor will be fun?"

I smiled despite the exhaustion clawing at me. "Fun isn't exactly the word I'd use," I said, glancing back at her.

"Maybe we'll get ice cream if we win," she said innocently, her voice tinged with hope.

"You like ice cream, huh?" I asked.

She nodded enthusiastically. "A lot! But Mommy says it's bad for my health."

I chuckled. "Tell you what—if we win, I'll get you all the ice cream you want."

"Really?! Thank you, Oppa!" she squealed, her arms wrapping tighter around my neck.

"Hey hey, who said you could spoil my daughter?" Eun-jin chuckled from behind.

"Oh come on, you only get one life! Let her live" Min-seok chipped in. 

"Let her live huh?" Eun-jin whispered.

The air grew colder as we climbed. By the time we hit the nineteenth floor, frost had started to creep up the walls, forming small, jagged icicles that glinted in the dim light. The railing was too cold to touch, and our breaths came out in thick clouds.

It was hard to believe that just ten floors ago, we'd been choking on heat.

"What's the next floor's theme?" Jae-hyun asked, his voice steady but laced with exhaustion.

"It's a tundra," I said, my breath fogging in front of me. "Ice, traps, and constant arrows. Even if one of us clears it, the arrows won't stop. We'll all have to move together."

"Fantastic," Eun-jin muttered, her tone heavy with sarcasm.

"Careful," I warned as we climbed the final set of stairs. "The stairs are slippery from here on."

We fell into silence again, the cold biting deeper with every step.

Then, out of nowhere, Eun-jin spoke, her voice quieter than usual. "You know," she began, her gaze fixed on the icy floor, "I got pregnant with Da-on when I was nineteen."

The sudden confession caught me off guard. I glanced back at her, but she didn't meet my eyes.

"My boyfriend… he left the second he found out," she continued, her voice steady but distant. "I was scared, alone, and broke. Everyone told me to give her up. Said I was too young, that I'd ruin my life. But I couldn't do it."

My grip on Da-on tightened, Eun-jin's gaze softening as she looked at her daughter. "She's my everything. All I've ever wanted was for her to grow up, to live her life—even if it costs me mine."

The raw emotion in her voice hit me like a punch to the gut.

"Eun-jin," I said, stopping in my tracks. "Don't talk like that."

She looked up at me, her expression unreadable.

"Mommy are you crying again?" Da-on said, looking at her mother.

"You're not dying here. None of us are," I said firmly. "We're going to get through this, all of us. Da-on is going to grow up, and you're going to be there to see it. I promise."

For a moment, there was silence. Then, she nodded, a small, hesitant smile tugging at her lips.

"You know let's make a promise," Min-seok spoke out. "If any of us die today. The rest will be responsible for taking care of their family. That way the person about to die at the very least won't have any worries." 

"That's quite a noble thought coming form you." Eun-jin chuckled again, this time it was a more natural one. One that wasn't bound by fear. 

"But at the same time, I just said no one will die, didn't I?" I said, jabbing a light punch into Min-seok's side.

The twentieth floor loomed before us, the door coated in a thick layer of ice. The air was frigid now, each breath stinging my lungs. I rubbed my hands together, desperate for even a sliver of warmth, but it was useless.

I turned to the group. They were pale, shivering, but their eyes were steady. Ready as they'd ever be.

My gaze drifted to the icy door, its surface glinting like the edge of a blade.

This was it. 

The Tundra Beneath Winter's Grasp.

[Time Left: 15 minutes, 43 seconds.]