Chapter 17
Seo Won’s face began to turn pale. Baek Rak’s words continued.
“You’re not a typical Hunter, so you need to awaken in stages. You have four more times left.”
“Why…… are you telling me this now?”
“Why am I telling you now?”
Baek Rak tilted his head as if he didn’t understand Seo Won’s words.
“Why? You should have explained properly.”
“It wouldn’t change anything anyway.”
“Hey, Baek Rak.”
“What would be different if I told you in advance? The possibility that you wouldn’t become a Hunter? Or the sex with me?”
“You……!”
At Baek Rak’s blunt words, Seo Won couldn’t continue speaking.
“Or did you think you could go to someone else instead of me?”
“……”
“Tell me. What do you think would be different?”
Setting other things aside, in terms of results, there was nothing wrong with what Baek Rak said. He was the one who had the choice.
If one more Hunter increased, it would be good for Baek Rak in many ways too. The more comrades he could fight with, the safer it would become. But if Baek Rak’s help was essential to him, then Yoon Seo Won was just someone who would be nice to have around and slightly disappointing to lose—that’s all he amounted to.
That was the problem. In this relationship, he was always the only one who was desperate and longing.
Did anyone want to come here? He just wanted to survive since he didn’t know how to return.
Seo Won covered his eyes with his palm to hide the rising irritation and anxiety.
Whether Baek Rak judged he wouldn’t get an answer or didn’t even intend to listen, he left behind cruel advice.
“From now on, don’t waste your energy on useless things. You can’t survive here with that mindset.”
He was always like this, but it felt particularly harsh today. Seo Won laughed emptily.
The long night he had spent with this guy, his persistent heat that clung without letting go, was still lingering in his body, but Baek Rak had rather grown cold. Where had the person who wiped away his tears that day gone? The guy who had tempted him saying he would need more?
It felt somehow unfair that he alone was searching for the past version of him.
What was worse was himself, still watching Baek Rak’s mood. He was ashamed of himself for fearing the situation of being completely at odds with Baek Rak and abandoned. Self-loathing and a subtle sense of powerlessness enveloped his entire body.
“Yoon Seo Won.”
As he covered his eyes, lacking even the strength to respond, Baek Rak grabbed his wrist and pulled it away.
The revealed face looked gloomy, and the pupils faintly visible through his eyelashes were dryly parched. Baek Rak found Seo Won’s appearance strangely unpleasant. He had expected him to argue back or get angry, but seeing him so dejected like this.
Baek Rak lowered Seo Won’s arm and withdrew his hand.
“You’ll feel your body has changed. You’ll see well in the dark too. But you’ve only become a little more agile than Civilians and your eyes have opened, so don’t get excited for nothing.”
Even at Baek Rak’s somewhat dulled explanation, Seo Won avoided his gaze and didn’t respond. Whether he didn’t have the leisure to wait for a reaction, Baek Rak soon grabbed Seo Won’s elbow and started walking.
“And I’m telling you in advance, don’t tell other people that you’re awakening as a Hunter.”
Only then did Seo Won raise his head. As he silently stared at the cool back, Baek Rak added,
“Sometimes humans are scarier than Creatures.”
It was an incomprehensible statement. Right now he might be nothing special, but someday he would become a Hunter, yet rather than being welcomed, he should be more careful. Even in this world, humans couldn’t abandon their ugliness.
Well, it might actually be harder to live as a normal person.
When they passed through three open iron doors and went outside, a bright red sky was visible.
Unlike that day, the black objects that had covered the sky were not visible. That was fortunate at least, but the problem was not knowing when darkness might suddenly arrive. Even during the day, they would have to always be vigilant and prepared for safety to survive.
That fact felt endlessly bitter.
Could he really adapt well?
He swallowed the question he couldn’t answer yet and turned his head. His eyes met with Baek Rak’s, but neither of them opened their mouths.
The uncomfortable silence continued until they reached the shelter.
***
When it came to Yeongdeungpo’s landmark, the massive complex shopping mall was famous.
That place was designed to enjoy various culture and leisure activities besides shopping, so the site was vast and the building was large. There were stories that even dedicating a whole day wouldn’t be enough to look around it all.
So even if a meteorite fell and destroyed many parts, the building’s form had to remain to some extent. It definitely should have.
“……”
However, what entered Seo Won’s sight were only deeply sunken ground and debris that had completely collapsed, leaving not even a trace of its original form. He began to wonder if this was really where ‘that’ shopping mall had been located. Was this not the place?
While avoiding Creatures, they had been moving along the tracks from Sindorim Station to Yeongdeungpo Station, and since it was familiar geography, he unconsciously looked for the shopping mall building. He was curious about how much it had been destroyed, how much it had changed from what he knew.
But no matter how much he craned his neck and looked around, that giant building was nowhere to be seen.
No, to be precise, the entire area was frighteningly desolate.
The only thing that existed here was a massive barrier at the point where the tracks ended. Except for that, the surroundings were all flatland.
That wall, which seemed to surround the entire Yeongdeungpo Station, rose high enough that department store buildings couldn’t be seen. And the entire barrier was densely surrounded by heavily rusted barbed wire tangled everywhere.
On top of the barrier were lights that might be used in baseball stadiums, with observation towers in between, and small light bulbs circling the entire barrier below them. Even though he couldn’t use his full power, a Hunter was still a Hunter—things at distances that Civilians couldn’t see were clearly visible to him. Thanks to that, he could spot people moving around on top of the wall.
“People……”
Seo Won felt a subtle emotion and let his words trail off. He had wanted so badly to meet people since coming here, but now that he actually saw them, he felt tense and his lips were parched.
The biggest reason was probably the guns they were holding. And the fortified appearance of Yeongdeungpo Station also played a part.
Seo Won looked once at the barbed wire surrounding the entire barrier, once at the massive iron gate, and lastly at the people pointing gun barrels at him and Baek Rak. Their expressions were hidden behind scopes so he couldn’t see them well, but he could tell they were rigidly stiff.
‘They’re not really going to shoot, right?’
Seo Won looked at Baek Rak, who was walking a step ahead. He was moving calmly with his hands in his jumper pockets. It seemed either because this situation was familiar to him or because he didn’t feel threatened.
Then, from somewhere came a crackling sound along with someone’s voice.
[What, is that you Baek Rak?]
Baek Rak took out a radio from a small bag at his waist.
“It’s me, open the door.”
[I sent the signal. But who’s next to you? This is the first time I’ve seen you bring someone. Did you rescue a survivor somewhere?]
A man with a rough, thick voice asked with curiosity. Baek Rak slightly twisted his head to check on Seo Won following behind, then said,
“Something like that.”
[Will the sun stay up all day? All sorts of things happen. Anyway, the door will open soon. Come in quickly.]
With that brief communication, the radio went quiet.
When he raised his head to look at the top of the barrier, people were still pointing guns. Since Baek Rak was doing something he didn’t usually do, were they watching through binoculars? The way they occasionally talked to people next to them seemed to lack the hostility from before.
Seo Won thought it was fortunate while stealthily hiding his body behind Baek Rak.
No matter how safe they said it was, wouldn’t anyone feel uneasy if gun barrels kept following them? Since he couldn’t tell whether they had reengaged the safety or not, he had no choice but to be careful with his body.
‘By the way, can attacks be blocked with barriers like this?’
As Seo Won walked, he scanned the barrier from left to right. The barbed wire wrapping the entire wall was threatening by itself.
But he doubted whether it would work on Creatures.
For creatures that didn’t fear pain or death, wouldn’t it just become footing? Even without barbed wire, they would easily climb walls like this. He thought it might be safer to position underground instead.
Was there something else? The fact that the shelter was safe meant the barrier was functioning properly. He was curious whether those lights were used to drive away Creatures.
“……Huh?”
As he walked toward the barrier making various speculations, he suddenly felt a strange energy.
‘What is this?’
Seo Won, who had stopped in place, scanned his surroundings. It definitely had no form, but strangely felt like it was physically touching him. It gently touched his skin and fell away, then touched again and quickly fell away. It felt like being hit by waves on a sandy beach.
When he raised his hand and slowly stretched it forward, that energy felt stronger. Could he catch it? It seemed possible somehow, so he carefully tried to grab it. But contrary to his thoughts, nothing was actually caught.
“What are you doing?”
Sensing something strange, Baek Rak, who had been walking ahead, turned around.
“……I feel something.”
He swept through the air once more, but the energy still couldn’t be caught and only rippled. From the energy it gave off, it didn’t seem dangerous, but not knowing its identity kept bothering him.
Seo Won hesitated for a long time, unable to take a step. He couldn’t decide whether it was okay to follow Baek Rak inside there.
From his expression, it seemed like he knew why he was acting this way…… Should he ask or not? It was while he was briefly pondering this.
Suddenly his body was pulled forward with a whoosh.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
