Chapter 53
“How are you handling the restoration here?”
“People are working hard on it, and Nora and Haru are here too, so it’s fine. Don’t worry about here, just make sure you and Baek Rak have a safe trip.”
Have a safe trip……
Seo Won thought for a moment, looked at Baek Rak once, then asked Han Seong Hyeon.
“Can we take a car or motorcycle when we go?”
“Huh? Ah…… Well. I wouldn’t really recommend it. The terrain is so rough that it’ll be hard to drive all the way to Gangnam Station. You’ll probably have to abandon it along the way. If that happens, it could make it a bit difficult for us to procure water too. We can’t move the truck every time.”
Seo Won had no choice but to nod. In fact, it wasn’t a good choice even from an efficiency standpoint, since Baek Rak running was faster than riding a motorcycle.
The only problem was having to be carried by the guy.
“I’ll pack water and food for you, so always be careful. You absolutely can’t be separated from Baek Rak. Got it?”
“Yeah, I understand.”
“Oh, right. On your way, dispose of some Creature corpses with Baek Rak.”
“Huh? Corpses?”
Seo Won was momentarily flustered. He hadn’t thought Creature corpses would still be left in the shelter until now. Surely they would have been cleared away first when restoring the shelter?
Perhaps noticing his confusion, Han Seong Hyeon’s explanation followed.
“We kept them to check something, but now they’re useless so we’re going to dispose of them. Creature corpses don’t burn or rot, so we have to throw them outside.”
“……They can’t be processed?”
“That’s right. They do burn in a flame Hunter’s fire…… but it’s impossible by any other method. It’s better to feed them to the Turncoats. It’s not like they get stronger from eating them.”
That was true, but the fact that they were deliberately giving them as food to Turncoats felt a bit uncomfortable. It was also dangerous.
“What if Turncoats swarm when we go to dispose of them?”
“It’s fine since Baek Rak is there. Just throw them down appropriately and leave.”
As expected, there was no other way besides throwing them outside. When Seo Won nodded reluctantly, Han Seong Hyeon lightly patted his shoulder.
“It’s dangerous to keep them in the shelter, so please understand.”
“……Alright.”
Just as he was thinking it couldn’t be helped, he felt some inexplicable unease. Seo Won wondered if he was missing something, then looked up when he felt a gaze. Baek Rak had already stood up and was gesturing for them to leave.
“Right, go quickly. It’s better to finish it fast.”
He stood up at Han Seong Hyeon’s urging. As they headed outside the office and were about to close the door, he belatedly realized what the unease was about.
The fact that if they threw away Creature corpses, people outside the shelter might eat them. Also, there might be those who would die to Turncoats drawn by the smell.
It seemed like they should at least throw them where the creatures were to prevent other accidents.
As soon as the door closed, Seo Won said to Baek Rak.
“Let’s put the corpses as close to the Turncoats as possible.”
“What?”
“There’s no need to call other guys too. And people might eat them by chance.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“It’s equally dangerous once we go outside the shelter anyway.”
“…….”
It might be an unreasonable request, but he wanted to minimize sacrifices. He at least wanted to prevent people outside the shelter from being endangered because of them.
Baek Rak just looked at Seo Won without answering, then turned around and walked ahead first. Seo Won urgently followed Baek Rak while saying.
“Baek Rak, let’s do it that way. Okay?”
“…….”
“We just need to be careful not to get caught. Right?”
Then when he grabbed Baek Rak’s arm, the guy stopped walking abruptly. After briefly exhaling, he looked down at him with an unreadable expression.
He seemed to have a lot to say but was holding back, or maybe he was dumbfounded wondering what kind of person this was.
He expected to get scolded for being thoughtless, but this was an unexpected reaction. Seo Won looked up at Baek Rak with earnestness. Then Baek Rak’s eyebrows shot up toward the sky.
“You’re not cute at all, so put your face away.”
“What? Hey!”
Who asked to be looked at cutely? After saying something unnecessary himself, Baek Rak strode away. Seo Won chased after him while shouting.
“Ah! Then why don’t you look at me since you’re the pretty one!”
At the booming shout, everyone nearby turned to look at once. Their gazes were terrifyingly full of curiosity. Among the murmuring, he could hear words like “Did he call Baek Rak pretty?”
Seo Won appeared confident on the outside, but he wasn’t bold enough to handle the stares. Even Baek Rak started glaring at him, making him feel cold sweat running down his back.
“……What did you say?”
“You’re good……looking, so please look at me……”
His words trailed off so much they were crawling away. Seo Won smiled awkwardly while backing away. Faced with the sharp gaze following him, he could only laugh nervously.
“Where are you going? Come here.”
“……I was going to get some food supplies.”
“Won’t you come here?”
“Ah, anyway! I’ll take it as permission and go first!”
Seeing Baek Rak approaching step by step, Seo Won was terrified and quickly ran away.
If he said “pretty” one more time, he’d get grabbed by the scruff of his neck. It was meant as a compliment, but he seemed more conservative than expected. Even though this was 300 years after his original world, he was still old-fashioned.
Seo Won grumbled internally while moving his feet quickly.
Fortunately, Baek Rak didn’t chase after him.
***
After finishing preparations and going outside the shelter, Seo Won frowned at the luggage filling the surroundings. He hadn’t known there would be so many Creature corpses. The problem wasn’t the weight but the volume. Baek Rak absolutely couldn’t carry them all alone.
Seo Won looked around and asked.
“Where are the Turncoats right now?”
“Not far. A little past Yeongdeungpo Market.”
Seo Won glanced at Baek Rak who was looking in the direction where the Turncoats were, then looked at the pile of luggage around them again.
Baek Rak had said he would go alone, but Seo Won had firmly refused. It was something he had requested, and if Baek Rak went alone, he’d have to make two round trips, but if they both went, it could be finished in one. Having awakened to the second level, he was stronger than ordinary people and could easily carry this much luggage. Since it was close, he didn’t need to be carried by Baek Rak either.
Seo Won picked up as much luggage as he could carry and turned toward Baek Rak.
“Let’s go. I think we can just dump it at Yeongdeungpo Market.”
“…….”
Baek Rak still didn’t like it. His sharp gaze resembled the first day they met. Worried he might become the nasty Baek Rak again, he quickly continued.
“I know my life is precious too, you know? If it gets really dangerous, I can just drop it and run. Let’s finish quickly before more time passes.”
When he kept nodding for him to come quickly, Baek Rak also seemed annoyed and approached with the remaining luggage. He looked Seo Won up and down, then said in a cool voice.
“You did it at night, and now you’ve decided to act selfishly during the day too?”
“I was thinking about efficiency.”
“It seems like it would be most efficient if you just stayed put.”
“I’ll be quite helpful too. I’m carrying this much luggage. So let’s finish this in one go and head to Gangnam Station Shelter. We don’t know when darkness might fall, so we need to go quickly.”
When he started walking first, Baek Rak began following too. The reason Baek Rak was docile wasn’t because he thought he had lost, but rather from confidence that he could handle whatever happened. Seo Won also believed this, so he didn’t think it was unreasonable.
They passed through the vast ruins around Yeongdeungpo Station Shelter and entered an area where building remains were sparsely scattered. When he glanced at Baek Rak, there was no sign of him being particularly wary of the surroundings. It meant there were no Creatures or Turncoats.
Yeongdeungpo Market wasn’t far from the station, so they arrived quickly. Seo Won looked around while recalling the bustling market.
As expected, unlike his memories, nothing was intact.
Though more building structures remained compared to other places, all the canopies that had covered the ceiling had collapsed and were gone. Only traces of steel bars remained scattered in the alleys.
Not only that, but perhaps because so much time had passed, no small items could be found either. Only the remains of Korean signs could be seen, allowing one to know this had once been a market.
“……It’s miserable to see again.”
“Stop sightseeing and come this way.”
Following Baek Rak who had put down his luggage in the center of the market, Seo Won also put down the luggage he was carrying. Perhaps because it was tightly wrapped in plastic, there was no rotting smell from the Creatures.
If they tore open the plastic and left it here, Turncoats nearby would smell it and come. They could run away in the meantime. Since there seemed to be no people around, the situation wasn’t bad.
Baek Rak drew his sword and gestured for him to come. Seo Won trudged over. Now he had to be carried by Baek Rak to Gangnam Station.
“Do I need to reach the third awakening to be able to run like you?”
“Even final awakening won’t do it.”
“……Why?”
“Because it’s not a physical enhancement type.”
Right, the Guardian’s ability was to create safe zones. Since he had to receive all sorts of abilities to awaken, he couldn’t help feeling regretful.
“Stop chatting. They’re approaching.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
