My Childhood Friend’s Stock Will Never Fail Chapter 12

“Hey, honor student. Hold on tight.”

 

Without warning, Seo Hyunho wrapped an arm around Yoohee.

 

Caught completely off guard, Yoohee found herself pressed against him, blinking rapidly.

 

“W-Why are you doing this?”

 

“I’m going to teleport us to the staircase on the third floor.”

 

“T-Teleport?”

 

Right.

 

She’d completely forgotten about Seo Hyunho’s ability.

 

But even for someone like him, teleporting two people over that kind of distance couldn’t be easy.

 

“Will you be okay, sunbae?”

 

Yoohee asked worriedly.

 

Seo Hyunho let out a faint chuckle.

 

“Without a Guide, I can only use it once. If I use teleport now, there’s a chance we won’t be able to get back down.”

 

He only had one use of teleport left.

 

If he spent it now, it wouldn’t be available for their escape.

 

“So?”

 

Seo Hyunho looked down at Yoohee with an oddly relaxed expression.

 

As though he already knew what her answer would be.

 

Yoohee tightened her grip on the front of his jacket.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

First, they had to reach the upper floor and find Juhoon.

 

They could worry about the rest later.

 

As if he’d expected that answer all along, Seo Hyunho curled one corner of his mouth into a grin and tightened the arm around her.

 

“This is getting interesting.”

 

The next instant, her vision lurched violently.

 

An overwhelming wave of dizziness crashed over her.

 

For a brief moment, everything went black.

 

When she opened her eyes again, an unfamiliar staircase stood before her.

 

“Urgh…”

 

The aftereffects of the teleport hit immediately.

 

Yoohee doubled over, retching as she nearly collapsed onto the floor.

 

[Almost every Constellation mutes the audio.]

 

Unlike the horrified Constellations, Seo Hyunho simply patted her back with one hand.

 

“We’re almost there now.”

 

“Ugh… o-okay.”

 

Barely swallowing back another wave of nausea, Yoohee lifted her head.

 

The third floor.

 

The level where students classified as Warning Rank were imprisoned.

 

They were still standing in the stairwell, yet an oppressive chill already hung in the air.

 

“Can you walk?”

 

“Yes… I’m alright now.”

 

Swallowing the sour taste in her mouth, Yoohee climbed the remaining stairs beside Seo Hyunho.

 

The moment they stepped into the third-floor corridor, an utterly alien scene unfolded before them.

 

Clang—

 

Within the suffocating darkness, only the occasional rattle of chains echoed through the silence.

 

Iron bars lined the walls like prison cells.

 

The air was as cold as winter.

 

Most of the cells stood empty—

 

but one of them held an actual prisoner.

 

Wardens with even sharper, more intimidating gazes than the others patrolled around it.

 

Quietly.

 

Without exchanging a single word with Seo Hyunho, Yoohee instinctively understood that from this point on, every movement had to be silent.

 

The atmosphere was so tense, so razor-sharp, that one small mistake would undo everything.

 

Holding her breath, Yoohee carefully took another step.

 

Beside her, she could feel Seo Hyunho’s shoulders stiffen with tension as well.

 

…I can’t breathe.

 

The lingering dizziness from the teleport, combined with the suffocating pressure surrounding them, made her head spin.

 

Even so, she bit down hard on her lip and forced herself to stay focused.

 

Just a little farther.

 

Just a little more.

 

Clang—

 

Yoohee’s foot brushed against the iron bars.

 

The noise was small—

 

but unmistakably clear.

 

At the exact same moment, one of the wardens turned toward their direction.

 

She knew they couldn’t actually make eye contact.

 

Yet the moment it felt as though the warden’s eyes had locked onto hers, Yoohee stumbled, nearly making another fatal mistake.

 

Fortunately, Seo Hyunho reacted instantly, pulling her out of the way before she lost her balance.

 

Even so, the warden seemed to sense that something was wrong.

 

He slowly approached the spot where the two of them stood, scanning the area.

 

Then he reached for the communicator at his waist, as if preparing to report the disturbance.

 

“Hey, Officer.”

 

At that moment, a man imprisoned in a nearby cell raised his head and called out.

 

His hair had grown so long from not being cut for who knew how long that it completely covered his eyes.

 

“Mind getting me something to eat?”

 

“Meal time ended a while ago.”

 

“Still hungry, though.”

 

“You’ll have to endure it.”

 

“Hah, you’re cold. Even the Divine Beast isn’t disturbed while it’s eating.”

 

While the prisoner’s words drew the warden’s attention, Yoohee and Seo Hyunho quietly moved forward.

 

Practically supporting Yoohee’s weight, Seo Hyunho carefully guided her between the wardens as the prisoner’s voice continued behind them.

 

“Then at least take these restraints off while I eat. Can’t exactly enjoy a meal like this.”

 

“Not happening.”

 

“Isn’t even the Divine Beast off duty during feeding time?”

 

“Stop talking nonsense.”

 

“Ah, don’t worry. It’s not like I’m planning to escape anyway.”

 

But the prisoner’s words…

 

There was something important hidden in them.

 

Could it be… the Divine Beast doesn’t guard the second-floor corridor while it’s eating?

 

If that was true—

 

then it might be the only way to pass through the second floor.

 

Seo Hyunho couldn’t use teleport again.

 

But… how does that man know something like that?

 

Yoohee turned her head toward the man.

 

Even if she looked, she still couldn’t make out his face beneath the shaggy hair covering it.

 

The moment she looked away again—

 

A pair of eyes flashed from between the tangled strands.

 

There was no way.

 

Yet it looked as though he was staring directly at her.

 

As if he could actually see her.

 

No way.

 

The shock nearly made her lose her footing.

Seo Hyunho, beside her, immediately looked over.

 

Don’t lose focus.

 

As though saying exactly that, he grabbed Yoohee firmly by the shoulder and pulled her back.

 

Thanks to him, she snapped out of it and tore her gaze away from the man.

 

That’s impossible. I must’ve imagined it.

 

There was no way he could see her while she was wearing the invisibility cloak.

 

Even the strange feeling that he somehow looked familiar—

 

she dismissed it as her imagination.

 

Together with Seo Hyunho, she finally made it out of the third floor of Building F.

 

Only after reaching the far end of the corridor, where neither the prisoner nor the wardens were in sight, did Yoohee finally let out a proper breath.

 

“Phew…”

 

Seo Hyunho relaxed as well, releasing the tension that had kept his body taut.

 

Even then, he couldn’t resist making a sarcastic remark.

 

“That was thrilling. Thanks for the memorable experience.”

 

He was obviously referring to her mistake.

 

Yoohee winced inwardly but pretended not to notice, quickly changing the subject.

 

“N-Now we just have to go up here.”

 

The finish line was finally within reach.

 

All that remained was the staircase leading to the top floor of Building F.

 

But perhaps because it led to the highest level, the staircase seemed much longer than the others.

 

There wasn’t a single light.

 

Darkness swallowed everything.

 

Even looking upward, it was impossible to tell where the stairs ended.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

As Yoohee stared blankly at the daunting sight, Seo Hyunho spoke first.

 

“There might be wardens where we can’t see them. We’d better stay quiet.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Keeping their voices low, the two of them began climbing toward the top floor.

 

The narrower the staircase became, the darker it grew.

 

Looking back down, the lower floors had dwindled into nothing more than tiny flickering lights.

 

Watch your step.

 

As though silently reminding her, Seo Hyunho reached over and took hold of Yoohee’s wrist.

 

His grip was firm, as if worried she might stumble.

 

He does have some manners, I guess.

 

If only he’d shown Gayoung even half this much decency in the original story…

 

Led by Seo Hyunho, they slowly continued climbing.

 

Yet something felt strangely wrong.

 

Why is it so quiet?

 

By now, they should have heard sounds from the fourth floor.

 

The clanking of chains.

 

The footsteps of wardens.

 

Anything.

 

Instead, there was nothing.

 

Not even the faintest trace of light spilled down the staircase.

 

The fourth floor felt less like a prison level and more like an empty void where no one had ever lived.

 

Still puzzled, Yoohee continued climbing—

 

until Seo Hyunho came to an abrupt stop.

 

“It’s a dead end.”

 

Keeping his eyes fixed ahead, he spoke quietly.

 

An Esper’s senses far surpassed those of Guides or ordinary people.

 

Not enough to rival a Divine Beast, but his vision was still sharp enough to recognize the wall before Yoohee could.

 

A dead end…?

 

Don’t tell me… this isn’t the right way?

 

Just as flustered as Yoohee, Seo Hyunho cursed under his breath.

 

“Damn it. Did we take the wrong path?”

 

That couldn’t be right.

 

Yoohee hurriedly opened the Building F minimap.

 

Instinctively reaching toward where the icon should be, the holographic map appeared in the darkness, glowing with a fluorescent outline.

 

It has to be here.

 

This is the only place connected to the fourth floor…

 

According to the minimap, the location where they stood was unquestionably the only passage leading upward.

 

“S-S-Senior… this is the right place. I-I’m sure the fourth floor is supposed to connect here.”

 

Flustered enough to stammer worse than usual, Yoohee looked at him anxiously.

 

Seo Hyunho let out a quiet sigh.

 

“Give me a minute. If this really is the right place, then there must be some kind of mechanism hidden nearby.”

 

He reached out and slowly began feeling along the surrounding walls with his hands.