Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 256



Only Krnovel

105. Whereabouts (1)

The wind blowing through the slightly open window rustles the white curtains.

In the vase, unknown white flowers are swaying lightly in the breeze along with long, straight leaves.

This is a hospital.

There were several messy and unpleasant incidents before I got to the hospital, but I don’t think I need to go over them all.

In conclusion, I survived, Park Seung-soo will be disciplined for exceeding his authority, and most importantly, I was reunited with an old colleague who was like a wound I wanted to forget.

Although time has changed its appearance in detail, that does not necessarily mean it is ugly or a formula that describes the colorlessness of time.

Just as I am still Park Gyu-in, she is still Na Hye-in.

In the grand scheme of things, we are no different from the time we met that day in that unnamed hospital in China.

Because of the circumstances, we didn’t have much opportunity to talk to each other.

She spent more time dealing with Park Seung-soo and his gang than I did, and I also had to talk to the soldiers and investigators who came after me more.

Going to the hospital was more of a routine for people who had been in a dangerous area or had been through a major incident than for those who had been injured.

I had basic tests like blood tests and X-rays, as well as tests I don’t like so much, like MRIs.

From then on, it was a constant rest.

It’s already been two days since I came to this hospital.

Now the battle that took place in that storm seems like a dream.

“······.”

My concern now is not Park Seung-soo’s retaliation, nor the next move by the hostile Jeju government, nor the personal meeting with Na Hye-in that may occur someday.

It is nothing more or less than the usual human encounters and events.

What’s weighing heavily on my mind right now is none other than Live! Apocalypse!

No one can deny that the passionate performance I gave that day was more magnificent and greater than any live show I have ever shown.

As a result, the live itself was successful.

There were no instances of the broadcast ending in the middle of the broadcast due to the cell phone turning off or other reasons.

The evidence still remains in some corner of the cell phone.

[Live! Apocalypse! : off air]

-Message from VIVA_BOT014: This is really cool!

Vivabot sent me a personal message.

The fact that such a picky, haughty, and merciless woman sent me a text like this means that my live performance was that great.

There is only one problem.

That’s all.

It’s a shame, but it looks like the live has ended with Vivabot’s fan-like cheering.

It’s not my phone or Obelisk’s problem.

The computer that was connecting the terminal died.

When dealing with the Executioner type, the bullet-riddled bulletproof glass was kicked away and close combat was attempted, but a fierce storm with rain poured down through the wide-open window, filling the outpost with rainwater, and in the process, the computer, which had been unstable, ended its life.

There was nothing to be gained from the computer soaking wet with rain.

How flustered I was at that time was also clearly revealed when Na Hye-in, who was talking to Park Seung-su, came to find me.

“Professor. What are you doing? Is there something urgent you’re looking for?”

I don’t quite remember what I answered at that time.

Anyway, to sum up, this Skeleton’s “Hyper Live” ended with a performance that was so grand that it would become legendary, but it’s very unfortunate that I won’t be able to see the results.

That means, you can’t see the numerous compliments pouring in for Park Gyu.

At that point, I thought of the two great admirals who achieved legendary victories but were killed in battle: Nelson and Yi Sun-sin.

The person who came to see me the day I was left alone in the hospital room was completely different from the person I expected.

“Are you Mr. Park Gyu?”

She is a woman in her mid-twenties whom I am seeing for the first time.

Judging by his neat attire, he seemed to be from the government.

“Yes, that’s true.”

“The issue regarding Mr. Park Gyu has been well explained by the savior Na Hye-in, and the misconduct of Commissioner Park Seung-soo has also been confirmed, so in conclusion, there is nothing to worry about.”

So I somehow managed to avoid a bad ending.

I asked abruptly, looking at the ID card she was wearing around her neck.

“What happens now?”

Even though I escaped the brink of death, that doesn’t mean Jeju Island has become any better.

Still, this stuffy, gray island is something I can’t get used to no matter how hard I try.

The woman was fiddling with something on her tablet, checking the screen.

“Mr. Park Gyu is planning to go to Zone 1.”

“Zone 1?”

“Yes. Actually, we also considered the special zone, but after evaluating your past achievements, your achievements when you came here, and your future contributions, you were selected as a first-class zone.”

“What are you doing there?”

He asked with a shallow sigh.

“You don’t have to do anything.”

“Nothing?”

“Yes. Mr. Park Gyu is classified as exempt from all work and education. In addition, he can receive 300,000 credits per month as a pension.”

I can see her face getting excited.

“It’s not a scoop, but it’s amazing. It’s extremely rare for someone in Jeju Island to do nothing. I think the higher-ups at the National Assembly felt a sense of responsibility for this incident and took such an unconventional action.”

“······.”

They say that people think the same way and people see the same thing, but sometimes I don’t agree with that statement.

It’s still like that now.

This woman is praising me and envious of me as if I won the lottery before the war, but I’m not sure.

I’m not sure if this is good or bad.

At least I know it’s not the worst.

“Mr. Park Gyu? Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you not happy with this decision?”

“No. Rather than that······.”

What should I say?

It feels a little off.

It’s a strange feeling, like it’s similar to what I wanted, but not really what I really wanted.

The woman stared at me intently as she sorted through her papers.

“It seems you are still tired from the battle. Well, there were several casualties and you fought monsters. I think I am being hasty.”

She got up from her seat.

“Anyway, you can be discharged at any time, so you can either wait for the results and then be discharged, or you can go through the discharge process right away and go to a new residence. It’s all up to you, Park Gyu.”

“excuse me.”

I called out to her as she was leaving.

“yes.”

He hesitated for a moment, but then straightened his expression and asked her.

“Where is Na Hye-in?”

“I, Na Hye-in, am your savior?”

“Yes. I want to meet Na Hye-in.”

“Oh, right!”

“?”

“There is something that Savior Na Hye-in wants you to give to Mr. Park Gyu. It is so big that I left it outside, but please take a look when you are discharged. There will definitely be a message left by Savior Na Hye-in for Mr. Park Gyu.”

This is a message that Na Hye-in left for me.

What on earth is that?

I was curious, but I thought it was normal for her to come looking for me here.

Maybe he wanted to wait for her.

A day later, I started the discharge process.

I also got the results of my health checkup and they said there were no problems.

Instead, the doctor asked in surprise.

“No, I heard you were on the mainland. How are you so healthy? Aside from drugs, you don’t even drink?”

The image of the mainland to Jeju Island people is roughly like this.

A place you can’t stand without going crazy.

That’s half true.

But I think differently.

I put on my freshly washed clothes and checked the luggage that Na Hye-in had left for me.

“Here it is.”

The moment I saw the equipment packed in a fairly large wooden plywood box, I couldn’t help but smile.

obelisk.

The satellite internet equipment heading to our bulletin board was neatly packed in a box.

*

Zone 1, unlike Zone 2, was structured in the form of an American-style single-family home complex.

Across the open road, standard houses of the same form stand, each with its own life, each with its own soothing green lawn.

The freshness of the air, the surrounding scenery, and the faces of the people passing by were all relaxed, unlike the gloomy boys and girls who filled the second zone, and even a glimmer of hope could be read.

There were quite a few older people, and they all seemed to have traces of their past lives written on their faces.

Of course, what’s important is not the scenery around the house or the condition of the house itself.

As for the condition of the house, it is incomparable to the shabby corners of the old 2nd district.

It feels like I’m in a condominium in a tourist destination.

Everything was well organized and neat.

You can even use the intranet at home!

This must be the scenery of Jeju Island, once called paradise on the mainland.

But what I’m most curious about and want to know about right now is something else.

After a lengthy process of hurriedly installing Obelisk and getting it recognized on my new computer, I was finally able to return to my hometown of Viva! Apocalypse!

The new satellite equipment has the following nicknames:

[ Anonymous 544 ]

It seems to be a different nickname than before.

I saw the posts that came up on the bulletin board.

I don’t see any article specifically mentioning skeletons.

Well, I guess it’s not that difficult.

It’s been three days since I last went live.

No matter how delicious the bait is, it becomes stale after three days, which is a characteristic of Internet communities.

People were talking about Dongtan Mom, not this skeleton, and among them, one nickname caught my eye, so I’ll leave a short comment on what he wrote here.

mmmmmmmmm: Do you know the feelings of someone who had their live performance robbed by a stranger?

That guy Emgu. Did he end up not being able to do the live?

No, maybe because Park Gyu’s live was so long and tense, and above all, because it was of legendary quality, Melon Mask himself may have stopped the live there for Emgu.

“Phew······.”

Seeing the glowing Emgu after such a long time really makes me feel like I’m back home.

What should I say, this is where I should be.

The Red Archive bulletin board name is good, but I think it would be better for me to be active on the bulletin board as “Legendary Liver Skeleton”.

I want to see the reaction to my legendary live, but I have things to do before that.

Na Hye-in sent me a message.

Although there is no explicit text, the satellite internet device itself is the message she is sending me.

So, Na Hye-in wants to communicate with me through our bulletin board.

“······.”

I took a deep breath and typed.

Anonymous544: It’s me.

Anonymous544: Thanks to that, I received the obelisk and saved my life.

She would answer right away.

I felt that way.

As expected.

Message from unicorn18: Skeleton.

Na Hye-in answered.

Message from unicorn18: Are you feeling better?

Anonymous544: There were no injuries. Anyway, I was grateful.

Message from unicorn18: Yeah······.

A brief silence fell between them.

I was the first to type.

Anonymous544: Why didn’t you come to visit me?

But almost at the same time, the character for unicorn came to mind.

Message from unicorn18: Sorry, I can’t come in person.

What a strange coincidence of timing.

Anonymous544: Are you still afraid to go outside?

Message from unicorn18: It’s not that I’m scared. It’s just.

Message from unicorn18: I’m not sure about myself either.

Anonymous544: Really?

Message from unicorn18: I always ran away. From reality. In fact, the crack cleaning is also nearing its final stages. It is behind schedule, but there will be results one way or another. The reason why people like Seungsoo Park are talking about creating a landing force organized by low-level Awaken is because there is hope that the crack will close.

Anonymous544: What about him?

Message from unicorn18: She wasn’t even in the center to begin with. That’s why she took such a risk.

Anonymous 544: Doesn’t Kang Han-min know this fact?

Message from unicorn18: Kang Hanmin······has changed a little.

Message from unicorn18: No.

Message from unicorn18: You’ve changed so much. You won’t recognize me when you see me again.

Anonymous544: Really?

Message from unicorn18: I think it’s a little less than what you’ve changed.

Anonymous544: ?

Message from unicorn18: Anyway, thank you. I don’t know what to thank you for, but I felt something after watching your live that day. I don’t know how to say it, but watching you fight in a hopeless battle where anyone could see that there was no chance of survival without saying a word made me look back on my reality of being locked in my room.

Message from unicorn18: Oh, you’re fighting like that, but I still don’t trust myself, so I’m running away to a place like this. I feel that kind of self-destructiveness.

Message from unicorn18: I still have to think about what I should do next, but seeing you made me think that I need to change.

Message from unicorn18: You’ve already opened my door twice and left on your own.

Message from unicorn18: Thanks, Skeleton.

“······.”

For a moment, I was thankful for the melon mask.

To the man who opened this kind of communication channel to someone who had grown so distant and whom I never thought I would ever meet again.

Of course, that son of a bitch stole my achievements, that’s a separate thing.

Message from unicorn18: I’m not ready to meet you in person right now, but someday, when I’m ready, I’ll come to you.

Anonymous544: I’ll be waiting. Come anytime.

Message from unicorn18: Yeah!

Anonymous544: Oh, and there’s one thing I’m curious about.

Message from unicorn18: Yeah.

Anonymous544: What was the reaction to my live that day?

My heart started pounding when I saw Na Hye-in’s message.

But now is when my heart truly starts pounding.

I wait for Na Hye-in’s next message with expectant eyes.

Message from unicorn18: That······.

Message from unicorn18: This was awesome!

Anonymous544: I see.

He closed his eyes and smiled, tilting his head back.

My live was rewarded.

That too with the best reward.

But this Park Gyu is not a person who is satisfied with that much.

Honor does not end with obtaining it.

Because the essence of honor is more like a club to be held and wielded than a trophy to be kept in a chest of drawers.

I tried to change my nickname immediately.

[ WARNING! SKELTON is already a used nickname . ]

Oops.

My skeleton account was still alive within my realm.

The skeleton is neat, but it can’t be helped.

[ Would you like to change your nickname to SKELTON2? ]

Click

“······.”

Here comes the king of live.