Chapter 67
When morning came and the lights turned on in Gangnam Station shelter, people began pouring out.
Unlike yesterday, Seo Won squinted as he watched the numerous people passing by around him. They were still wary of him as an outsider while simultaneously looking at him with curious eyes.
Baek Rak hadn’t returned all night, having immediately gone to search for hunters.
He had thought about wandering around to find a place to stay, but somehow he couldn’t ignore Baek Rak’s words and decided to keep his position. Because those were the words of someone with sharp enough instincts to distinguish the creature Alpha.
After taking out jerky brought from Yeongdeungpo Station shelter and eating while looking around for a while, when people gradually thinned out, he saw a familiar figure approaching from far away.
“Jody.”
Today too, Jody was smiling gently with drooping eyebrows.
“Looking at your face, you didn’t sleep a wink?”
“As you can see.”
Seo Won shrugged his shoulders. The reason he couldn’t sleep was because of Baek Rak, but Jody didn’t need to know that. It was better to remain as someone slightly sensitive who couldn’t sleep well outside.
“I’m sure you couldn’t get a room.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t seem easy.”
“But you did eat?”
Jody said, looking at the dark red stick in Seo Won’s hand. Perhaps because he was eating sparingly, quite a bit of jerky remained. Seo Won lightly shook the jerky and took a big bite.
“Don’t ask for any. I can’t give you jerky.”
“I got it, so eat slowly.”
Saying that, Jody plopped down in the seat next to him like yesterday.
“But I have something I’m curious about. Can I ask?”
Seo Won, who was lightly wetting his throat, nodded at Jody’s question. He could tell what kind of question it would be just from his expression.
“Why do I look different?”
“Yeah, it seems like the first time I’ve seen someone like you.”
“Well, I’ve been like this since birth, so I don’t really know either.”
As expected, lies based on truth could be told without burden. If you just omitted subjects and objects, the other person would fill in the blanks themselves, so there was no need to be careful. Rather, making up nonexistent words like yesterday’s claim about not being able to sleep outside was more difficult.
“Really? That’s fascinating… You look just like people who lived before the meteorite fell. Exactly the same.”
Seo Won paused momentarily at the words that suddenly came at him, then deliberately answered nonchalantly.
“I hear that a lot. Are you interested in the past and history too?”
“I practically live with books. I especially like stories about people who lived 300 years ago. TVs and smartphones that have almost all disappeared now were essential to people back then.”
Essential was putting it lightly – they couldn’t take them off their hands for even a moment. Smartphone screens were seen more than family members.
“But you know what?”
“What?”
“They say Seoul Station shelter has smartphones.”
“…Seoul Station shelter?”
“Yeah, the administrators use them among themselves. Since the shelter is big, walkie-talkies have their limits.”
It was surprising that any remained, but to think they were actually being used. Weren’t these smartphones from 300 years ago?
“If you go to Seoul Station shelter later, take a look. It would be nice if you could even make a call.”
“Yeah, if I get the chance.”
Since the last ability he needed was at Seoul Station shelter, he would have to go there. If he was lucky he could see it, but he thought ‘why bother?’ It was fascinating, but he wasn’t particularly interested in smartphones themselves.
Jody went on like that for a while about things he liked. After listening to his stories while appropriately responding, time had passed quickly.
Then from somewhere came a beeping sound.
When he turned his head at the familiar sound, he saw Jody taking out a walkie-talkie. Had contact come? It seemed like shelter business, so he was about to leave to give him space when Jody waved his hand saying it was fine.
[Jody, where are you now?]
“I’m at the D section rest area. Why?”
[I looked into what you asked about yesterday, and they said there’s one room available, so I got the key. Come here and take it. I’m at the A section cafeteria now.]
For a moment, Seo Won and Jody’s eyes met. Since he hadn’t expected Jody to care this much, Seo Won felt a bit dazed.
“I’ll go now. Don’t go anywhere, stay there.”
[Just hurry up. I have to go to the power room in a bit.]
“Yeah, see you there.”
When communication ended, Jody immediately stood up. He patted Seo Won’s shoulder, who was staring blankly at him, and said.
“I’ll go get the key, so stay here.”
“Wow… You even asked someone else?”
“I just asked them to check if there were any spare rooms. We got lucky.”
“Thank you, I was at a loss about what to do.”
“Still, you’re a guest who came to the shelter, so I should care. Not everyone is like the person in charge.”
Seo Won smiled lightly and nodded. Jody, unable to delay any more time, immediately started walking.
“I’ll be right back.”
Watching Jody’s retreating figure, Seo Won let out a small sigh of relief.
Now if Baek Rak found a fire-type hunter, they could proceed with the third awakening. He didn’t know what he was thinking while hiding, but he only hoped Baek Rak would find one as soon as possible. After that, the difficult path of finding a water-attribute hunter, rare even among elemental types, awaited.
Thinking that far, Seo Won suddenly realized he would have to be intimate with Baek Rak in this situation. Good lord… How would he handle that awkward atmosphere? Even now, just thinking about facing Baek Rak felt strange.
The bigger problem was Baek Rak’s reaction. What would he be like when he returned?
“Surely…”
He wouldn’t come back having steeled his heart in a bad direction again, would he?
The possibility wasn’t entirely absent, making him slightly anxious. He’d rather Baek Rak felt awkward. Though given Baek Rak’s personality, that didn’t seem likely.
Anyway, waiting was the only thing he could do right now.
Newly feeling how free the past had been when he could roam around everywhere.
Seo Won quietly gazed in the direction where Baek Rak and Jody had disappeared.
“Sorry.”
Jody, who had gone to get room keys from an acquaintance and returned, offered an apology with a gloomy face. Then, perhaps embarrassed about coming back empty-handed, he scratched the back of his head.
“I went but happened to run into the person in charge and got caught.”
“The person in charge?”
“Yeah, since there’s no one to assign rooms to in the shelter right now, they figured it out immediately.”
Seo Won inwardly let out a regretful sigh. Of all times for the person in charge to appear there. Bad luck. Still, he was just grateful that someone he barely knew would help him this much.
“It can’t be helped.”
“If only the timing had been better, we wouldn’t have been caught.”
Jody immediately made a resentful expression. He seemed frustrated at having the key snatched away right before his eyes. Seo Won chuckled at seeing Jody like that.
“How come you’re more disappointed than me?”
“We could have committed the perfect crime.”
“…Getting me a room was a crime?”
“Of course not. I just said it for the feeling. There’s that thrill when you succeed without getting caught. It’s unfair to call it a crime when it’s not even a bad thing.”
Whether he was sincere or saying it for Seo Won who might feel disappointed, thanks to that he was able to shake off the regret that remained like dregs.
Apart from the power struggle with Baek Rak, each shelter was wary enough of each other to plant spies. Jody, who was trying to help like this, seemed like the odd one out.
Though to him, he was an invaluably grateful person.
When Seo Won stared intently at Jody, he flinched and rolled his eyes. Then after thinking briefly, he spoke carefully.
“If you really have nowhere to go, I’d like to tell you to come to my room, but the person in charge even threatened not to let outsiders in. Especially said they’d check my room regularly… I don’t think I can help secretly.”
Seo Won tilted his head. He was already grateful for all the help so far, but didn’t understand why he was reading his mood.
“It’s okay. Thank you for caring. If anything, I should be sorry.”
“Huh? For what?”
“You got involved in troublesome things because of me. You’re even being monitored now.”
“It’s not really a big deal.”
“I’m saying thank you for thinking that way.”
When Seo Won smiled lightly, Jody’s face became much more comfortable too.
“But what are you going to do from now on?”
That’s right, what should he do?
Since he was caught by the person in charge, getting a room seemed wrong. Should he secretly look for some place with no people? From now on, he shouldn’t cling to impossible things and had to face reality.
Jody, who had been standing quietly next to Seo Won as he seriously pondered, stared at the clock on the wall. He looked at Seo Won once, the corridor once, then rolled his eyes. Jody, who had been lost in thought as if weighing something, soon poked Seo Won.
“For now, I have to go to work. I’ll come back later.”
“Ah. Yeah, okay. You have your own business too, but I kept holding you back too long.”
Jody smiled slightly saying it was fine, then ran off without even time for goodbyes.
Seo Won blankly watched his figure disappear in an instant. He hadn’t expected him to be in such a rush. He felt sorry, thinking he had been too self-centered.
“…I can’t keep asking for help either.”
“What?”
As he was muttering to himself, someone suddenly popped out from behind.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
