“Ah…!”
The passengers instinctively sighed in relief.
“It disappeared!”
The text on the onboard screen flickered and then went dark.
–
What remained was the breathtaking view of the train speeding across the glittering sea, leaving a trail of white spray in its wake.
“…Ah.”
The tension eased, and one by one, people lifted their heads, relief spreading across their faces.
“It’s still the ocean out there.”
“This feels like some kind of event or something. Wait—did anyone sign up for an escape room experience or something like that?”
Tap, tap.
Supervisor Dolphin whispered softly,
“This might be easier than expected, huh? Maybe we can clear this without even sacrificing anyone ourselves. It’s kind of a predictable condition.”
“Let’s observe a bit longer. This is my order as assistant manager.”
“Yes-yes.”
Another ten minutes passed.
Slightly more relaxed, some of the passengers began moving around the train car, searching for the missing children, calming down the train staff, and trying to communicate with the engineer.
Just when it seemed like everyone had adapted to the situation, regaining some composure and rationality—
Suddenly, without warning.
Thud.
The train tilted forward abruptly.
“…!!”
“W-What? What’s going on?”
Passengers tumbled out of their seats, rolling across the floor. I clung tightly to the handrail and managed to hold my ground for one moment longer.
Swallowing my fear, I forced myself to look outside.
Specifically, I strained to see the surface beneath us—wherever the train met the ocean below.
The white spray that had been rising as the train sliced through the shimmering waves…
Was gone.
THUD!
The train broke through the surface of the water and began to sink.
“Aaaahhh!”
“Nooo!!”
The windows shattered, and seawater rushed in. The conscious passengers screamed, desperately trying to swim out or cling to each other.
The unconscious ones floated limply on the rising water. It was chaos—enough to drive someone insane.
– Isn’t this the perfect moment to call for help, Friend?!
……
Not yet…
– Hmm!
Submerged in the cold, suffocating darkness of the sea, I followed Assistant Manager Jin Nasol’s precise hand signals directing us to escape through the windows.
But as I got closer to the exit, I felt something strange—my consciousness was fading much faster than my lungs could handle.
A dizziness like I was suffocating overwhelmed me…
……
‘Huuuhp—’
My mind…
Went blank.
“……”
“……”
“…Huh??”
I opened my eyes to the sound of the cheerful train jingle.
Di-ri-ri-ring!
We were back inside the train car bound for Mokpo, the doors just having closed at Seoul Station.
Next to me sat Supervisor Dolphin, and across from me was Assistant Manager Butterfly.
The electronic display panel showed:
Bound for Mokpo
Around us, I heard the dazed voices of other passengers.
“Hey, I just had the weirdest dream…”
“You too? Me too. Something about a Tamra-bound train?”
“Huuuh? H-Hold on. Me too?”
“What?”
Bound for Mokpo
“…H-Heeeey! Over there, over there!”
“Huh? Huuuuuh?!”
Bound for Tamra
Departing
The train roared to life and began moving again.
Like the first time.
Exactly the same.
“Aaaaaahhhh!!”
Crying, screaming, and panicked voices erupted throughout the cabin.
“Wait! WAIT! What’s happening?! What the hell? Just what…!!”
“Let me out! Please let me out!”
“Mom… what’s going on?”
What indeed.
‘…It’s exactly what it looks like.’
I pressed my lips together in silence.
※ URGENT NOTICE
Recent recurrence of the anomalous phenomenon known as ‘The Paradise Test (Tentative)’ has revealed fatal, unpredictable anomalies.
It has been confirmed that when the train crashes into the water, passengers are transported back to the exact moment of initial departure.
Survivors claim they were trapped in an endlessly looping time sequence aboard the Tamra-bound train.
Right.
Everything here resets.
‘…And everyone remembers.’
All passengers retained the memory of what they experienced, without exception.
So.
This marked the start of the second cycle.
– A time loop! A classic sci-fi trope. But what makes this particular case interesting is how profoundly trapped the participants are.
– With collective memory stacking up for everyone involved, even the bravest among them would hesitate to act. The looming specter of eternal consequences creates a remarkable barrier to action, wouldn’t you say?
Exactly.
‘That’s why I need to be extremely careful.’
I had to stay calm.
I also couldn’t afford to get swept up in the panic.
One thing mattered most to me now.
‘I can convince people logically.’
Everyone had experienced something undeniably supernatural. They wouldn’t dismiss me as some lunatic spouting nonsense anymore—they’d listen.
Now, it was time to act cautiously and deliberately.
‘This isn’t… too bad.’
I could survive this.
I would survive this.
Yes, I had to believe that.
I steadied myself and thought about what I needed to do first.
‘Find the person with the Silver Heart.’
Aside from me, there was one other key figure responsible for this nightmare becoming a perfect hell. That person was somewhere on this train.
I needed to identify and control them.
‘Let’s find them and neutralize the problem.’
I remembered that they had been briefly mentioned in the short story adaptation of this event.
I tried to recall the specific car and seat number where they had been sitting.
It was definitely in the first car, seat number…
……
‘Wait.’
Calm down. Think carefully.
Their name—what was their exact name?
……
“……”
“Uh, hey? Supervisor?”
I couldn’t remember.
‘Ah.’
It had been weeks since my Memorial Popsocket broke.
The gaps in my memory were finally starting to show.