“A physical education storage room, of all places.”

I gave up on opening the door and sat down on a mattress inside the storage room.

“It’s too classic to even be funny.”

One of the common repertoires in a novel protagonist’s life: being locked in the physical education storage room.

It seems you earn your protagonist stripes by being trapped in a storage room at least once during this period. Kidnapping is its companion piece.

There was a similar scene in the original work.

“I can’t believe I missed this.”

Such a cliché among clichés.

It’s ridiculous I didn’t notice it while entering the storage room.

As expected, the system appeared, mocking me.

“‘Again’? When have I ever…”

Just as I was about to retort, a flood of past events flashed through my mind.

Yep. Ever since I embodied this character, it’s been one crisis after another.

“Why have I been living so hectically…?”

I didn’t want to live this intensely…

Maybe ‘peaceful daily life’ was impossible from the start.

Just by staying still, incidents explode like this. What peace?

“I want to go home.”

Suddenly, I felt extremely tired.

I sighed deeply, losing all motivation.

“No, I’ll contact someone else…”

Oh, right. My phone is with Ban Ha-min.

“That guy is really of no help.”

One day, I’ll surely get my revenge. I clenched my fist, thinking.

But considering my current predicament, even that fighting spirit withered.

“Sigh.”

Another sigh escaped me.

Is the system the only thing that can help me now?

I looked up at the system.

‘If I ask for help, it’ll probably give me some weird quest, right?’

If I have no other choice, I might have to rely on the system, but I’d rather not. Who knows what crazy conditions it might set.

It’s better to keep the system as a last resort.

‘Then my only option left is… just waiting?’

The storage room isn’t completely unused. If I wait, it’ll eventually open.

‘But wasn’t that the last period?’

Oh?

‘…’

Could it be that it won’t open until tomorrow…?

Suddenly, I felt anxious.

I sprang up and banged on the door again.

“Is anyone out there? Someone’s trapped in here!”

It seemed there was no one passing by; it was just quiet outside.

Click click click. I tried the door handle again, hopelessly.

According to the original work, this storage room’s handle is broken, it only opens from the outside, not from the inside.

“It’s really not opening.”

Blocked at every turn, I collapsed back onto the mattress.

I muttered in resignation.

“Ah, forget it. Maybe I should just join the supporting characters.”

If I were one of Yu-hee-na’s sidekicks, at least I wouldn’t be tormented like this.

Then, the system reacted.

“That’s what you have to say? Really?” I thought, realizing the absurdity of what I just said.

‘Alright, let’s pull myself together.’

I tapped my cheeks to snap out of it.

This isn’t the time to wallow in self-pity. It’ll soon be dark if I stay in the storage room any longer, and I didn’t want that.

‘Is there really no way out?’

There were windows, but they were too small for a person to fit through, just enough for light to enter.

‘What to do… Should I keep banging on the door until someone passing by hears me? Maybe someone will open it then.’

It seemed inefficient, but it was the most likely method.

I banged on the door again.

“Hello! Is anyone out there?”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

But no matter how much I pounded, the door showed no sign of opening.

I pressed my ear against the door to listen for any outside noise, but there was no sign of anyone.

‘That’s not working… What about picking the lock?’

In movies, they use a wire to fiddle around and unlock doors.

Let’s give it a try.
I wandered around the PE storage room, looking for something to poke into the keyhole.

Naturally, there was nothing.

“…Even if there was, it would have been a failure.”

This isn’t a movie. Even if I had found a wire, the chances of me successfully picking the lock were slim. Reluctantly, I gave up on the idea of lock picking.

“How about breaking the doorknob?”

I picked up a folding chair in the storage room and stared down at the doorknob.

“I’m not sure how it’s structured but…”

I’ve often seen cases where smashing the doorknob opens a locked door. Could it work this time?

“But what if they make me pay for breaking it?”

They would definitely try to find the culprit.

But a person is trapped here; that’s more important, right? The teachers would understand.

Alright, let’s do this.

I hit the doorknob with the chair.

Bang!

But soon all my worries proved to be unnecessary.

The doorknob was much sturdier than I thought.

“It doesn’t work?”

I swung the chair a few more times, but the doorknob remained intact.

“How can this be? I didn’t realize I was this weak…”

I put down the chair and felt defeated.

No choice then.

Finally, I humbled myself and spoke.

“Hey, can you help me out?”