Chapter 40
Yeongdeungpo Station shelter was being organized faster than expected. The makeshift elevator Nora had made was constantly carrying loads, and people were divided into two groups, running around day and night.
Seo Won was blankly watching this scene from the barrier rooftop.
“Yoon Seo Won! Are you slacking off?”
Despite his small frame, Haru approached carrying steel rebar twice his size on his shoulder. His face was glossy, as if he had gotten plenty of sleep.
Setting the rebar down on the ground and plopping down beside it, Seo Won showed Haru what he was holding.
“Ah, you were securing the rope?”
“Since there’s no support, they told me to hold it from here.”
“That must be heavier than it looks, but you don’t seem to be struggling much?”
Though incomplete, he was still a hunter. Just as his vision had improved, his physical abilities had also gradually gotten better. It was thanks to this that he had been able to escape from creatures last night.
Of course, since he couldn’t tell others about it, he just shrugged his shoulders.
“By the way, did you get your wounds treated?”
“As you can see.”
While escorting the truck and fighting dozens of creatures, Haru had sustained considerable injuries. He was cut and scratched everywhere to the point where it would be faster to find unharmed spots, but Haru acted nonchalant as if he was used to it. Rather, he was proud that he had held up pretty well considering.
Seo Won glanced at Haru’s injured areas and was amazed.
“It healed so quickly…”
“I’m a hunter for a reason. This much heals on its own even without Yu Sol.”
“Still, your shoulder isn’t completely healed yet. You’re even wearing bandages. Don’t unnecessarily put heavy things on your shoulder and be careful.”
“…What, that’s so cringey.”
Haru hugged himself and shuddered. He didn’t seem used to receiving worried concern from someone.
Seo Won stared at Haru intently and asked,
“Haru, how old are you?”
“Me? I’m twenty.”
Such a young kid… Age wasn’t important here, but at twenty, wasn’t he just a freshman college student who had barely entered society? He had thought he looked young.
Both Yu Sol and Haru, despite their young ages, seemed a bit pitiful carrying so much responsibility just because they were hunters. Still, seeing them take pride in themselves was truly admirable.
“What about Nora and Han Seong Hyeon?”
“Nora is twenty-six, and the captain is over thirty… but I don’t know exactly.”
“…Then what about Baek Rak?”
“Baek Rak is twenty-five. But why are you asking about ages? What are you planning to do with that information?”
“Nothing, just…”
Seo Won muttered Baek Rak’s age to himself and sighed. He couldn’t see how that guy was younger than him. Though it was only a one-year difference, he had clearly lived and grown more. Maybe it was because their fundamental physiques were different…
But more than that, the problem was that he was being swayed by a younger guy. He had thought they were the same age or at least that Baek Rak was older than him.
It definitely wasn’t because he looked old, but his particular atmosphere was like that. He had a certain composure that was relaxed about everything and didn’t get easily shaken. In short, he seemed experienced. That’s why Baek Rak’s image and his age didn’t match well.
If this place had been peaceful like his original world, would Baek Rak have called him hyung or sunbae?
For a moment, he imagined Baek Rak calling him by such titles, but it was so unsuitable that he let out a hollow laugh. Ugh… cringey.
“But when is Yu Sol supposed to wake up?”
Haru stretched extensively as if his body was stiff and asked. Seo Won shook his head and said,
“I don’t know either.”
“It feels strangely empty not seeing that kid who used to run around the shelter energetically. By now she would have been chattering and meddling in everything.”
“Are you worried?”
“Of course. She’s never been like this before. Where could such a tiny thing get hurt?”
From the first time he saw them, Haru had worried about Yu Sol while grumbling. His way of expressing affection was cute, so Seo Won just laughed lightly.
“She’ll bounce back soon.”
“Anyway, that kid needs to be scolded.”
“Don’t do that.”
“It’s because Nora spoils her that she’s so reckless.”
“She’s not reckless. So don’t scold her. Got it?”
When he lightly tapped Haru’s shoulder, the guy grumbled for a while then suddenly stood up.
“Ugh! Stop nagging!”
“Treat her well when she wakes up.”
“I don’t know! I’m going to work.”
“Ah, right. Don’t carry things on your shoulder like before. It’s better to use both hands.”
When he nagged until the end, Haru scrunched up his face and turned around with a huff. While doing so, instead of carrying the rebar on his shoulder, he picked it up with both hands and walked away with big steps.
‘Cute kid.’
Seo Won cleared his throat and quietly swallowed his laughter.
After Haru disappeared and the surroundings became quiet again, Seo Won looked down below once more.
Among the people doing repair work here and there, Baek Rak was moving around carrying large stones. Unlike the people who were sweating profusely, he looked very relaxed.
Was it because he found out Baek Rak was younger than him? Somehow he felt even more displeased.
“…This is really driving me crazy.”
Because he had to continue staying with Baek Rak, he wasn’t provided with separate lodging. Han Seong Hyeon, who knew the whole situation, had deliberately pushed him into Baek Rak’s house.
When he came out after a warm wash and heard this fact from Baek Rak, he had tried to go find Han Seong Hyeon. He was going to threaten him, shaking him by the neck, asking for even one pyeong of space where he could live alone.
But Baek Rak said it was pointless and not to waste energy, dragging him away. In the end, he had no choice but to sleep crumpled up on the sofa in his house.
‘When I become a hunter, I’ll definitely get individual lodging.’
Making such a resolution, Seo Won turned his gaze away the moment Baek Rak looked up.
As he gripped the rope tightly and watched the people working hard below the barrier, he suddenly had a thought.
How long would he stay in this place?
Fundamental problems that had been pushed aside due to survival threats came to mind. How he came to this place, what kind of world this was, and so on. It could be Earth’s future 300 years later, or a parallel world in another dimension.
If it was the former, the possibility of returning would be extremely low, and if it was the latter, he could hope.
But there was another problem. Even if he returned to his original world, could he live the same life as before? Since a meteorite had fallen there too, creatures might have appeared with high probability.
Just looking at this place, hadn’t Seoul become completely ruined? The surviving people were just barely getting by day to day.
“…Come to think of it, I wonder if hyung and my friends are okay?”
Having lost his parents early, his only family was his older brother. That didn’t mean they had an affectionate relationship though. They cared for each other moderately and were moderately distant – exactly that kind of relationship.
When he was young, he was hurt a lot by his brother’s indifference and sharp reactions, but time was medicine, and now he had given up expecting anything. It had already been six years since living like that.
For him to think of such a brother, family was indeed family. There was a reason for the saying that blood is thicker than water. If his brother were in danger, he would have run to him immediately, regardless of the fact that they weren’t close.
Anyway, aside from his brother, he was also worried about the well-being of friends he had been close to. He hoped it had just ended with the meteorite falling without creatures appearing.
Seo Won recalled the friend who had urgently called him during their last phone conversation.
He was someone who always lived cheerfully, someone particularly grateful who had taken care of him a lot. The other friends who were supposed to come to the gathering that day were also immature, but it was always fun being with them. So much so that he had naturally thought about a future with them, to the point of worrying whether they would live like that forever.
“…”
Thinking of his brother and friends made him want to return, making all the forgetting he had done seem meaningless. To a place where there were people who knew him.
At the same time, someone’s face came to mind. That guy who he had to share a room with for a while, who he couldn’t tell if he was a sex partner or what.
His heart became restless for no reason as he quietly stared at the ground.
Sometimes he thought it would be nice if this situation were a dream. The meteorite, the creatures, the ruined Seoul, and… even Baek Rak.
Seo Won, who had been sitting blankly with his chin propped up, slowly turned his head when he felt someone’s presence. Then Baek Rak, who had been down below, was standing beside him, having come up at some point.
“…Weren’t you working?”
“Your expression looked strange.”
He came all the way up here because of that? Seo Won averted his gaze and muttered,
“You have sharp eyes.”
“Yoon Seo Won.”
His heart felt stuffy at his name being called as if interrogating him. It felt like even his private thoughts were being monitored, making him feel prickly.
“I was thinking about family and friends. Wondering if they’re doing well. Why? Did you think I was having strange thoughts?”
Thinking he had touched on something wrong, Baek Rak kept his mouth shut for a while. Then he slowly bent down and sat with one knee on the ground.
“You said a meteorite fell there too?”
“Yeah.”
“How did it fall? Were there any signs beforehand?”
Seo Won shook his head, recalling the situation at that time. If it had been approaching from outer space, they could have prepared in advance, but it happened too suddenly.
“No, it just suddenly fell from the sky.”
“Day? Or night?”
“…At night.”
On that late night when he was supposed to meet friends, the meteorite fell without warning, swallowing the bright lights of the street illuminated by moonlight and streetlights. Right in the middle of downtown too.
“It’s the same.”
“…What is?”
“300 years ago, it fell the same way in our world too. Without any signs, suddenly.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
