Oh, the Lantern!“Hannah O’Lantern?”
The name immediately conjured the image of a carved pumpkin in Seojun’s mind.
Isn’t it usually Jack O’Lantern?
Amused by the strange name, he drifted into another absurd train of thought. Christina noticed his puzzled expression, stepped closer, and thoughtfully stroked her slender chin.
“You’ve never heard of Hannah O’Lantern, have you, Seojun?”
“Well, that isn’t surprising for someone who isn’t local...”
“Shut up, Bobby.”
Bobby, who had been smirking smugly, immediately closed his mouth.
Christina continued in a serious tone.
“Hannah O’Lantern was involved in a mass suicide at this campsite years ago. She claimed that aliens existed. All the sinister stories surrounding Hamon Campground began after that incident.”
“She really did communicate with beings from another world!”
Bobby’s attempt to defend Hannah was quickly silenced.
He clicked his teeth in frustration, sounding like a particularly determined woodpecker. Johan couldn’t suppress a laugh.
Still resting against Johan’s shoulder, Seojun felt the soft vibration of his laughter.
It was an unfamiliar sensation.
As Seojun leaned against him, Johan slipped an arm around his shoulders and whispered close to his ear.
“It’s fine if you’ve never heard of it, Jun. The Hannah O’Lantern incident happened long before we were born, and it isn’t something our parents’ generation likes discussing. Bobby treats it like some legendary story from Wraithwood Warren, but most people would rather keep quiet about it.”
“And what did the public actually get from it?” Bobby interjected bitterly. “Just a heavily edited essay based on her notes. It barely reflected what she truly believed.”
Airi glanced at the axe propped against the side of the bed, then tugged William into the conversation by the arm.
She intertwined her fingers with his.
William nodded solemnly.
“Hmm. I’m in the dark too. This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“Willy isn’t from here, just like Seojun,” Airi said. “You wouldn’t know anything about it unless you were local. Bobby only stumbled across Hannah’s real story while digging up trivia for that drama.”
She gave Bobby a teasing look.
“Wasn’t the character called Anna in the series?”
Bobby’s cheeks reddened.
“Again, it’s great that the reboot is popular now...”
“Yeah, yeah, I understand,” Airi interrupted. “The original couldn’t even recover its production costs.”
She waved him off.
“But the only legitimate thing Hannah left behind was a shooting trophy—not those bizarre magazines and books you worship, Bobby.”
Airi quickly lost interest in teasing him. Her attention shifted to the bloodstained axe and Seojun’s account of what had happened.
“Now, Seojun. About that gas-mask guy...”
She studied the axe thoughtfully.
“Could it have been elaborate makeup? Maybe the knife was fake too. Come on, it’s Independence Memorial Day. A classic horror-movie prank would fit perfectly, especially at a campsite with this kind of creepy reputation.”
Airi glanced toward the window.
“Right, Tina?”
Christina, who was leaning against the window frame, nodded.
“Airi may have a point. Seojun, I’m not accusing you of lying, but are you certain those injuries were caused by this ‘Gas Mask’?”
“That’s...”
Seojun straightened, ready to defend himself.
Then he slowly slumped again.
His shoulder injury had come from crashing into a metal plate while fleeing. Most of his other bruises had been caused by falling over furniture, roots, and practically everything else in his path.
Well, it couldn’t be helped.
If the Hamon knife had struck him even once, he probably wouldn’t have escaped at all.
“......”
Seojun’s frustration mounted as he found himself cornered.
How was he supposed to make them understand that they were trapped in a horror-movie scenario with Gas Mask stalking the campground?
Where could he even begin?
Worse still, he had no idea where the Hamon production site—the strongest evidence of the serial killer’s crimes—was located.
Without proof, how could he possibly make his case?
Seojun had never overestimated his own eloquence.
Besides, he wasn’t trying to persuade anyone.
“Jun, let it go.”
Johan’s hand closed firmly around Seojun’s slender wrist.
“Uh...”
Seojun suddenly noticed that their thumbnails were touching.
An old childhood habit he had assumed he’d outgrown resurfaced, making him strangely self-conscious.
Embarrassed, he subtly shifted his thumb away and turned his gaze toward the floor.
Even while they sat there talking, the threat posed by Gas Mask and the man-eating monster continued drawing closer.
Perhaps noticing Seojun’s gloomy expression, Airi tried to reassure him.
“Some people become far too obsessed with cartoon or movie characters. It could have been something like that. An actual serial killer running around here? Please. That isn’t exactly realistic.”
But there is one...
Seojun stared at the footprints on the bedding and tried to gather his resolve.
At least they were listening.
Having a rational conversation with people who were willing to hear him out was unexpectedly comforting.
Hoping to explain himself more clearly, he continued.
“It wasn’t only the man in the gas mask. You know the mountain lodge behind the campsite? Someone there attacked me with a crossbow.”
“A crossbow?”
The hand resting gently around his wrist suddenly tightened.
Johan turned Seojun toward him.
The abrupt movement made Seojun wince.
It felt as though all the consequences of his lifelong lack of exercise had decided to descend upon him at once.
Naturally, Seojun blamed everyone except himself for his poor stamina.
Johan’s enormous build didn’t help either. The space beside him already felt cramped.
The mattress creaked.
Seojun nervously rubbed his thumbnail.
Anyone watching could have read his discomfort immediately.
But Johan’s concern was unnecessary.
They were not that close.
Were they?
Long-time acquaintances.
That was the most accurate description of their relationship, at least from Seojun’s perspective.
Johan’s inexplicable concern made him uncomfortable.
Seojun stared intently at his thumbnail and swallowed.
“It wasn’t Gas Mask. I managed to threaten that one with the axe and escape.”
He paused.
“As for the person with the crossbow... I’m not entirely certain he was actually trying to kill me. Thinking about it now, he was close enough that he shouldn’t have missed.”
“The mountain lodge?” Christina asked. “You mean the old three-story building?”
She frowned.
“That isn’t a lodge. It’s an old dormitory, though everyone calls it the lodge.”
Her expression shifted as she considered his words.
“But a crossbow...”
Christina suddenly fell silent.
“Wait. Could it have been Goldie?”
She looked around at the others.
“You know. Golden, Richard, and Brass. That trio.”
“Golden?”
Seojun looked confused.
Why were they suddenly discussing the Gold-Silver-Bronze trio?
Christina pointed at Johan with one short, manicured fingernail.
“Johan said he saw them earlier.”
“Golden...”
Johan murmured the name without blinking his blue eyes.
A moment later, he smiled broadly at Seojun.
“Yeah. I saw him hanging around near the lake.”
“Golden was here at Hamon Campground?”
“......”
Startled, Seojun thought back to the ruined convenience store.
He had wondered why the trio had come all the way out to an area where Hamon Campground was the only notable destination.
Now the answer was obvious.
The Gold-Silver-Bronze trio had been heading here all along.
Seojun drew a deep breath and described their earlier encounter.
“Now that you mention it, they stopped by the store. After all of you left, they threw milk everywhere and caused a scene...”
“So Brass was the one who ruined my clothes?”
Airi shuddered in disgust.
“Oh my God. That’s revolting!”
William immediately wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her.
Seojun, entirely unaware of what they were talking about, merely blinked in confusion.
He desperately needed some salt and soy sauce to make sense of the situation today.
“Why the milk, though?”
Bobby muttered the question with genuine distress.
Of course, inside such a small cabin, everyone could hear him perfectly.
Wanting to extinguish the final glimmer of hope in Bobby’s eyes, Seojun kindly answered,
“If I remember correctly, that milk was definitely Pound Milk.”
Bobby’s face darkened.
The sight gave Seojun a sudden burst of energy.
He sat up straighter and shifted away from Johan.
“It’s more comfortable this way,” Johan murmured, sounding faintly disappointed.
But Seojun felt it was time to stand on his own.
After all, a true prophet relied on no one.
“The milk is not our main concern,” Seojun said. “Right now, there is someone at this campground firing a crossbow at people, as well as either a genuine murderer or a lunatic convinced that he is one.”
“And don’t forget the axe-wielding maniac with strange superpowers!”
Seojun didn’t need to turn around to know Bobby was mocking him.
He silently gestured toward the axe.
Bobby immediately shrank back like a rat trapped in a corner.
Watching his pitiful reaction, Airi murmured,
“You know, I bet Brass was the one using the crossbow.”
She tapped her finger against her arm.
“I’ve seen him at the shooting range a couple of times. Out of the three of them, he’s the one who actually knows how to handle weapons...”
Airi bit her lip thoughtfully.
“Ugh, this is driving me insane.”
She turned toward Christina.
“Tina, what if those idiots brought binoculars?”
Christina smirked.
“If they did, I’d introduce their shiny heads to the barbecue tongs we used last night.”
Airi visibly relaxed.
“That’s... strangely comforting.”
T/N: Johan is already getting a little clingy, isn’t he?