Chapter 63
“…That guy is strange.”
“Right?”
“But those two will be fine.”
“Huh?”
I patted Seungwoo’s back while pointing subtly at the two men with my other hand. Jang Jae-gyeong and Kim Doyun were still deep in thought, seemingly troubled about something. Junwoo appeared comfortable in Kim Doyun’s broad embrace. He was sleeping soundly without waking once, and in Kim Doyun’s arms, Junwoo’s small body looked even tinier. Almost like a young father with his child. Suppressing a laugh that threatened to escape, I whispered to Seungwoo.
“That person holding Junwoo is Kim Doyun. He’s someone I’m really grateful to.”
“Why are you grateful to that guy?”
“He helped keep your uncle safe and even saved me from a monster.”
At the mention of being saved, Seungwoo’s eyes widened.
“From a monster? How? Monsters are really scary.”
“Well, that guy is very strong and powerful. And that other guy saved your uncle too.”
This time I pointed to Jang Jae-gyeong. He was somehow precariously standing at the edge of a tree branch. Though the branch was thick and sturdy, Jae-gyeong’s actions still looked extremely dangerous. Seungwoo was so startled that he grabbed my clothes and tugged hard.
“What if he falls?!”
He must have been truly frightened. Though he was whispering, his voice rose sharply at the end.
“It’s okay, he won’t fall. Even if he does, he’ll be fine… probably?”
I could see a hint of doubt creeping into Seungwoo’s eyes, which had been full of trust until now. He must have followed me because he trusted me, but now my words seemed to contradict that. I hastily shook my head and explained.
“That guy is really amazing too. He can fight monsters and has guns and knives.”
“Guns?!”
Seungwoo’s mouth fell open. His eyes began to sparkle when looking at Jang Jae-gyeong and Kim Doyun. Despite being wary and scared, perhaps because he was a child, I could see his heart melting quickly. Come to think of it, if they were ordinary adults, they probably wouldn’t have followed me like this and told me everything. Seungwoo kept looking at the two men with admiration, staring intently. But then tears began to well up in his eyes.
“Seungwoo?”
“Uncle, you know…”
“What’s wrong? Are you hurting somewhere?”
His reddened eyes and labored breathing were concerning. I checked Seungwoo’s hands and forehead for fever while feeling restless. Children’s body temperatures are naturally warm, so I couldn’t tell if this warmth was from illness or normal. It would be terrible if he got sick when we had no medicine. I wondered if there might be Tylenol in the underground convenience store and shifted my weight, thinking of going down to search. But Seungwoo shook his head.
“No. That’s not it… Listen, can I ask those guys for something?”
“Um… what kind of favor?”
Seungwoo’s sudden words and behavior confused me. I was relieved he wasn’t sick, but… why was he crying while wanting to ask a favor? Seungwoo took deep breaths, his chest heaving as if trying to hold back tears. Still, it seemed too difficult for him to contain as he pressed his clenched fists against his tear-filled eyes. Between his small hands, words mixed with sobs escaped.
“Can I ask those guys to punish the bad people over there?”
I had to stop my hand that was about to comfort Seungwoo. He was breathing heavily and now furiously rubbed his eyes with his arms.
“I hate them so much. I wish they could hurt as much as they hurt Mom and Dad. I hate them so much. Will those guys listen to my request? Will they punish them?”
Tears fell from between Seungwoo’s tiny fists.
“Seungwoo…”
“You know… I’ve been, *hic*, praying every day that monsters would punish those bad guys. Because they hurt Mom and Dad and were trying to hurt me and Junwoo too. *sniff* But monsters can’t go up there…”
“…Is that so?”
“*sob* *huff* So I want those guys to punish them.”
I couldn’t continue speaking. I also thought those bastards deserved to die, but that wasn’t something to say in front of a child. Moreover, it wasn’t something I could do myself—it would require Jang Jae-gyeong and Kim Doyun’s help. I adjusted my hold on Seungwoo and continued patting his back.
Seungwoo, who had been quietly sobbing, rubbed his face hard against my shoulder. As I comforted him, I recalled our first meeting. The way he moved like a monster in the darkness, and how he pulled his hair forward to hide his face. Unfortunately, the entrance was under the tree’s shadow too, making it easy to mistake him for a monster from a distance. I had made that same mistake. It seemed the child had found his own way to survive.
“Seungwoo. Did you pretend to be a monster because of those bad people?”
“Yes…”
“How did you come up with that idea?”
“Umm, hiding there… I could see the monsters well, so I just copied them. When I did that, those guys would get scared, fall backward, and run away.”
Seungwoo wiggled his fingers and then grinned, probably remembering how he had frightened them. But his face was still tear-streaked, so I pulled my clothes to wipe his face. Then I spoke with a somewhat stern expression.
“Still, you can’t do that anymore. What if they catch you like I did?”
“…Okay.”
Seungwoo, who had been grinning, immediately became dejected and buried his face against me. Now that he was with us, there was no need to pretend to be a monster or hide, but it seemed good to warn him just in case. I wondered how he had managed to avoid getting caught while watching monsters at night with his face exposed. He had even dug holes in the ground, which monsters could have crawled through… As I thought about it, I realized something strange.
“Seungwoo.”
“Yes?”
“Did monsters ever enter the cave?”
“Uh-uh, no? They didn’t come in.”
“Really?”
Seungwoo rolled his eyes back and forth, moving his fingers as if trying to organize his thoughts. After his small fingernails clicked against each other several times, he finally spoke.
“They came near the hole… Umm, how should I say this… It seemed like the monsters really hated it.”
“…Hated it?”
“Yeah… They seemed really scared of underground. There’s nothing scary down there, right?”
* * *
With Seungwoo’s permission, we decided to retrieve necessary items from the convenience store in the cave. We had the bag that Jang Jae-gyeong had prepared, but with two more children, it wouldn’t be enough. Junwoo was still asleep, and Seungwoo sat beside his brother, starting to doze off. After a stressful day with plenty of crying, it made sense that he was sleepy.
“Uncle will be back soon, wait here with Junwoo, okay?”
“…Do you have to come back soon? Don’t get hurt?”
“Yes, I’ll be back soon. I’m going with the strong guy, so don’t worry.”
“Okaaay…”
That seemed to reassure him, as Seungwoo’s neck went limp despite straining his eyes so much that the whites were showing. After watching the two children sleeping soundly with their arms around each other for a long time, I asked Jang Jae-gyeong to make sure they wouldn’t fall from the branch.
“…I don’t know how to take care of kids.”
“You said you don’t like caves. This was your choice, wasn’t it?”
When we were discussing who would go to the cave, Jang Jae-gyeong immediately raised both hands at the mention of caves. He said he was sick of crawling through dirt piles. When I asked what he meant, Jae-gyeong explained briefly with a bitter expression.
“When things went down, I got buried under a pile of dirt. I thought I was going to die trying to crawl out.”
That answer was enough. I had planned to ask Jang Jae-gyeong to carry some luggage, but that thought quickly disappeared. I didn’t know if he had trauma, but it would be wrong to take someone who cringed at the thought near a pit. We couldn’t take the kids either, so it was better for one person to stay and watch them.
Besides, considering those nasty guys in the building, wouldn’t it be better for Jang Jae-gyeong to stay with his weapons? If the kids were in danger, he could shoot those bastards.
“I’m counting on you, then.”
“Fine, fine. Bring me lots of food.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Sweet stuff.”
That was unexpected—judging by his appearance, I thought he’d dislike sweets. After asking Jang Jae-gyeong once more to look after the children, I carefully climbed down from the tree. Kim Doyun had already gone down, so I just needed to descend, but it wasn’t easy at all. After several failed attempts, I finally managed to stand safely on the ground. I needed to get more accustomed to this, but my skills weren’t improving, which worried me. Was my athletic ability always this poor? I wished there were places safe from monsters besides trees… As that thought crossed my mind, what Seungwoo had said flashed through my head.
“Whoa!”
Lost in thought while walking, I gasped as my foot suddenly sank. Fortunately, I avoided falling thanks to an arm that shot out quickly. But this time, my heart sank to the bottom. I pressed my palm firmly against my chest, trying to return my heart to its proper place. It wasn’t because I was startled or hurt. The problem was that the arm that caught me belonged to Kim Doyun.
“Be careful.”
“Th-thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Kim Doyun smiled as if it was nothing, then held my hand firmly and pulled. He said he was afraid I might fall and hurt myself again. I didn’t know whether to dislike being treated like a child or enjoy having my hand held. As I rubbed my burning ears, Kim Doyun asked what I was pondering about so deeply.
“Um, Doyun.”
“Yes?”
“What do you think… is down there, underground?”
Just then, we arrived at a spot where a hole hidden among branches gaped open.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
