Chapter 42
After their parents passed away, his older brother took Arong. He said that he, having just become an adult, wouldn’t be able to raise the dog properly. Since then, he had never seen the dog and only occasionally heard news that it was doing well.
“Ah, come to think of it, I think you’re misunderstanding something, so I’m telling you – I’m popular. There have been more than a few people who confessed that they liked me, saying I was their ideal type.”
“…”
Yu Sol still showed no reaction. It seemed like she would jump up any moment and retort “Don’t be ridiculous!” but reality wasn’t like that.
“I’ve lived hearing that I’m quite handsome… It’s a bit pathetic having to say this much.”
Seo Won chuckled while stroking the wounds on his face that were starting to heal. He thought himself pitiful for making such shabby excuses with a face that didn’t work here.
Still, talking about this and that made him feel like the stuffiness in his chest had cleared up a bit.
At the same time, he realized that he was quite indifferent. No matter how important survival was, he should have worried about his brother and friends.
Even if he couldn’t return, even if it was something from the past, he could at least wish for the place where he used to live to be safe.
“Sol.”
“…”
“Yu Sol.”
“…”
“Do you… want me to stay here too?”
“…”
“Forget the place I used to live, erase my family and friends completely. Start fresh here and… would you want me to live like that?”
Seo Won buried his face in his arms and gasped for breath. When he closed his eyes, the faces of his friends and brother were clearly drawn. Being told not to think about them made him remember and miss them more.
“But… does that work as you wish?”
“…”
“Does it work… as you wish…”
Rather than asking someone, he was questioning himself. Whether he could forget.
If he became a hunter and lived here, maybe it would happen someday. But that would only be possible after a long time had passed. Only after naturally reducing thoughts about his original world, accepting reality, and realizing what he had to give up.
So while Baek Rak might be able to do it, he couldn’t.
Absolutely not.
Seo Won kept his head down for a while, then slowly got up from his seat. Then he stroked the sleeping Yu Sol’s head.
“I’ll come back later.”
“…”
“Rest with Poong.”
With a somewhat relieved face, Seo Won looked at Yu Sol and Poong before leaving the recovery room.
Behind Seo Won, who went up the stairs, a shadow quietly stood guard. Only the sound of machinery flowed through the research lab.
***
Seo Won silently admired the sight before his eyes.
He discovered lettuce, crown daisy, green onions, bean sprouts, perilla leaves, and other vegetable varieties he didn’t recognize spread out layer by layer.
This place full of lush green vegetables was what used to be called Yeongdeungpo Park. Vegetables were being cultivated inside a large dome-shaped building that hadn’t existed in his previous world, and he was told that most of the food was produced here.
“There are several more places besides here.”
Since Yu Sol hadn’t woken up yet, Haru temporarily dragged Seo Won around to work in her place. Since he had only heard rough explanations from Yu Sol, this was his first time actually seeing it.
“There’s still some green left.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, never mind.”
Just like inside the shelter, he had no memory of seeing plants outside either. Not just trees and grass, but even common things like moss.
“This is your first time seeing such a big farm, right? We put our heart and soul into making it like the barrier, so it easily withstood creature attacks!”
Haru proudly patted the wall.
Seeing that the dome’s thickness was comparable to the barrier, it seemed like they had definitely put care into it. Plus with lighting and a cool breeze blowing, it seemed like considerable effort was put into management.
That meant food was an important issue. Seo Won nodded while recalling the dry sticks he had been eating.
“It is impressive. But don’t you eat them raw?”
“We’re busy restoring the shelter, so we’re eating stored hay.”
“…Hay.”
Calling it hay made him feel strange for some reason.
It wasn’t wrong since it was preserved food made by drying vegetables, but he couldn’t help feeling odd about it. By the way, was there no meat?
Seo Won awkwardly scratched his cheek and looked around. He found trees with fruit in the distance, but he didn’t see any livestock or fish.
“But is this all the food? Is there no meat?”
“Of course there is! We’re raising chickens and pigs underground. But even I can’t go in there. They manage it extremely thoroughly.”
Seo Won looked puzzled, then slowly turned his head to stare at Haru. A manager-level hunter couldn’t enter?
Meeting his gaze, Haru flinched. When he continued staring silently, Haru hesitated for a while before opening his mouth in a crawling voice.
“…I didn’t do anything.”
“Sol can’t enter either?”
“Um… Yu Sol manages the shelter…”
“What about Nora?”
“Nora also… manages the shelter.”
“Really?”
Seo Won smiled benevolently and patted Haru’s shoulder. It seemed only Haru was banned from entry, so he must have done something he shouldn’t have. If he wanted to hide it, he could generously turn a blind eye.
Knowing it was embarrassing, Haru hurriedly moved his steps.
“That’s enough explanation! We need to move the harvested vegetables over there, so move quickly!”
“Mm-hmm. Let’s go together, Haru.”
“What do you mean Haru! Call me Park Haru.”
Seeing Haru’s disgusted reaction, Seo Won shrugged.
“It’s my choice.”
“It’s my name though?”
“Park Haru is still Haru, isn’t it?”
Haru glared at him with a look that said ‘What kind of person is this?’ Seo Won just smiled innocently and chased after Haru who was walking ahead.
By the way, seeing green for the first time in so long felt like his eyes were being purified. This world was full of nothing but achromatic colors and bright red. The only colorful things were the hunters’ eyes and the energy they used. He hadn’t expected to witness something so refreshing today.
Feeling like he had found lost colors, Seo Won stopped walking for a moment and stared at the vegetable garden.
“Come here, we need to move the boxes stacked up here.”
“Oh, I’m coming.”
At Haru’s call, Seo Won ran to where boxes were piled up. He had to move his body without time to appreciate the scenery.
Moving boxes onto the cart and working hard for a while, Seo Won raised his head at a gaze he suddenly felt. Then Haru was looking at him with narrowed eyes for some reason.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You, yesterday.”
“Yesterday?”
“Where were you?”
Seo Won, who had been casually asking back while moving boxes, paused at Haru’s question. Where was he yesterday? Unable to understand the intent of the question, when he looked at him, Haru spoke as if it was strange.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen Baek Rak so urgently looking for someone.”
“…”
“I got word that he found you not long after, but where were you?”
Seo Won put the box he was holding on the cart and said,
“I went to see Sol for a moment.”
“Yu Sol? Didn’t they say she’s in the recovery room right now?”
“Yeah, so what?”
Haru’s eyes widened as if he was very surprised. Seo Won was puzzled by that reaction. He had just gone to see Yu Sol, wondering what the big deal was. But his question was easily resolved.
“Only the captain and Baek Rak can enter there, right? Did you get permission to enter?”
Come to think of it, did they say it was off-limits except for authorized personnel?
At the thought that suddenly occurred to him, Seo Won closed his mouth. When he first entered, it was an unavoidable situation, but not now. He had just gone thoughtlessly because he wanted to see Yu Sol, but that wasn’t allowed.
“…It’s a secret, Haru.”
“What? How can that be? I’m going to tell Baek Rak!”
“I just looked at Sol for a moment and came out. I didn’t touch anything, so it should be okay?”
“That’s probably not the issue.”
“…I didn’t hear anyone tell me not to enter.”
Seo Won spoke brazenly and then avoided Haru’s gaze. The back of his head felt hot as if it would burn through. Actually, while he was making excuses like this, he didn’t particularly feel like he had done anything wrong.
That place was off-limits because there were secrets that needed to be hidden, but he was already sharing those secrets. If they really wanted to hide it, they would have given him a heads-up separately.
Seo Won turned his head to Haru, who was still glaring at him.
“If you feel uncomfortable, I’ll ask Han Seong Hyeon first.”
“…Make sure you ask.”
“Got it.”
She seemed reckless but was surprisingly rigid about things like this. Seo Won shrugged while looking at Haru.
“But what’s the relationship between you two?”
As he focused on moving boxes again, Haru asked another question. Seo Won gestured for him to hurry up and move boxes too, then said,
“Who?”
“Baek Rak.”
“…”
He was asking particularly troublesome questions today. He didn’t want to say anything about Baek Rak.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
