Old People Don’t Hold Hands - Chapter 136



Only Krnovel

Episode 136, The Frost Queen’s Crown (8)

“… …There’s no one?”

When I asked back without realizing it, Diana nodded with a calm expression.

“… … Yes, you are the only ones who have visited this place since I started staying here.”

“So when did Dian, or rather Jinhee Choi, come here?”

“… … .”

At my words, Diana turned her head away for a moment, as if avoiding eye contact.

“I… … was born and raised here.”

“Have you been living here alone for a very long time?”

Diana nodded her head in bewilderment, as if something was off about what I said.

“… … I guess that’s it.”

I’ve experienced this reaction once before.

That’s right, it was a gap.

The gap that Biella showed in embarrassment when I first asked her about her relationship with the Welcome Body.

When I asked his name earlier, there wasn’t much of a reaction… … .

Diana’s real gap, it seemed, was the basement level itself.

I took the opportunity to take a step closer to Diana and asked.

“But, isn’t it strange?”

As I approached, Diana took a step back.

“… … What’s strange?”

“You said we discovered the basement level by accident? Before that, we didn’t even know this building had a basement level.”

“You didn’t know? Of course… … .”

“Dia, no, Ms. Choi Jin-hee, don’t you think it’s strange? Since you came here, no one has come to the basement level.”

“… … That’s right.”

“This building doesn’t even have stairs leading to the basement level, let alone a sign that there is a basement level.”

“… … .”

“Then how did you get here and how did you stay here for so long?”

Diana’s gaze began to waver as she met my eyes at my words.

……okay.

If we just prod a little more here, we might be able to reveal the true nature of the illusion.

So let’s take a step closer to Diana.

“……for a moment!”

Diana reached out and stopped me.

At Diana’s actions, I shrugged my shoulders and stood still.

Even though I didn’t provoke her any further, Diana just looked at me with a wavering gaze.

“… … I don’t want to talk about that anymore. Let’s stop.”

He spoke his last words to Diana, who was hurriedly leaving after wrapping up the conversation.

“… … Does Ms. Jinhee Choi also think that this space is strange?”

“… … .”

“Don’t you know that in reality, there is no such thing as a building that can be restored even after being destroyed?”

At my words, Diana slowly turned around again.

… … Oh, is there a response?

But when I looked back, Diana was holding onto one arm and taking a defensive stance.

“I would like you to stop digging into this place and get out as soon as possible.”

With those words, he completely turned away from us.

As Diana completely disappeared, Biella, who had been absentmindedly listening to the conversation, strode over to them.

“Ah, sir! What am I going to do if I provoke you like this… …! I said I need to find a welcoming body or something!”

To Biella, what happened to her just before she came down to the basement level.

In particular, I had just finished explaining the welcome message.

It seems like you’ve already heard the conversation between me and Diana and think you’re screwed.

“It’s okay. I think I figured it out already.”

“… … Huh? You think you already know?”

Instead of responding to Biella, I just stared at where Diana had left off.

… … To be exact, the space on the basement floor that was left empty after Diana left.

In fact, I was already sure of it.

What Diana wanted, and what became Diana’s welcoming body.

Well, before we get into Diana’s welcome body in earnest… … .

“Inogen.”

“Why, why are you like that, human?”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Inogen, who had been looking at me with a blunt expression, stroked his stomach as if he was thinking about my question.

“… … Oh, come to think of it, I haven’t eaten anything for several days? I’m hungry!”

“Mr. Biella.”

“yes yes?”

“Mr. Biella, aren’t you hungry?”

“Uh, uh, no? I’m not really… … .”

Hmm, come to think of it, Biella went into the shelter early and ate properly.

“Well, first of all, I’m hungry.”

I’ve been cooped up in my studio apartment for days and haven’t eaten anything.

Besides, Inozen said he was hungry too.

“Let’s go fill our stomachs first.”

After that, we started exploring the basement level.

First of all, there was nothing particularly unusual in the hallway.

All there was was a bleak cement hallway lit by fluorescent lights.

The unique thing was that each of the rooms was located right next to each other.

… … and the rooms were all labeled with alphabet letters.

First of all, we are in the C-line corridor.

All the rooms in this hallway were marked with the letter C, which was an arbitrary name.

Another thing I discovered while exploring the hallways was that there were a total of 10 rooms in one line of hallways.

In simple terms, there are rooms C1 through C10 in one hallway.

What we saw as we walked down the hallway we were in and turned the corner was this.

It was the B-line hallway that Diana had mentioned.

B10, B9… … .

As I was walking down the hallway, it didn’t take long for me to see it.

Room B3, as Diana had mentioned, appeared.

Hmm, if Diana’s right, there’s food here.

After checking the room number, open the door without hesitation.

Kkeu, keueeee… … .

The door opened more difficultly than I thought.

Like rust on a doorknob.

The first thing I saw when I opened the door was…

“… … Hmm? Human, didn’t you say there was definitely food here?”

“Wh, there’s just some weird box there, sir… … ?”

A modern, white, elongated food box.

… … So, it was a refrigerator.

***

I was a little embarrassed.

But I never thought there would be just a refrigerator there.

Leaving Inogen and Biella behind, who thought they had come up empty-handed while looking at the refrigerator.

“I, I don’t know what it is, but let me open it and see.”

I also pretended not to know much about refrigerators and naturally grabbed the refrigerator handle.

Biella and Inogen were also taken aback, but they seemed to be looking forward to seeing something for the first time.

That’s what you see when you open the door.

“Hey, hey, human woman. Have you ever seen anything like this?”

“… … Oh no? No, first of all, is this really food? Have you seen it before, sir?”

“… … No, I don’t know.”

No, actually I know.

When you open the refrigerator door, the only thing inside is… … .

It was a convenience store lunch box that I ate until I was sick of it.

“Didn’t you say there was food? That human woman must have scammed me earlier!”

“Hey, let’s calm down and take it out for a moment.”

With that being said, let’s get the stuff out.

It was more certain.

Back when I was playing EndWorld like crazy, I used to eat it to fill my stomach… … .

Baek Jeong-won’s stir-fried pork lunch box.

… … This was a lunch box that I particularly liked because the meat took up half of it.

As I took out my lunch box and stared at it silently, Inozen sniffed again.

“Ah, no, this smell… … is meat!”

… … Even though the seasoning was strong, it seemed like he could tell that it was meat just by smelling it.

“The food looks good, so let’s open it and take a look.”

“But… … , it’s sealed transparently, so how do I open it?”

How do you tear it?

Just grab it with your hands and tear it off.

Let’s expertly peel off the plastic wrapper from our lunch boxes, just like we’ve been doing for the past 11 years.

“Oh, oh, human… … !”

Inozen was purely amazed.

“Your skills are like those of a skilled person. Have you ever tried something like this?”

“… … No, this is my first time seeing this too.”

“Hmm, so is this also what you call human adaptability?”

……uh.

Well, I guess that’s what it means?

I pulled open the plastic wrap and handed the lunchbox with the lid open to Inogen.

Even the disposable forks lying around nearby.

… … Well, it’s a good thing there’s a fork.

“Inogen, eat.”

“Hey, you want me to eat this? It smells weird in here… … .”

“It probably isn’t dangerous food.”

That weird smell, it’s the smell of gochujang.

“Can you use a fork?”

As he said that, he pushed the lunch box and fork further forward.

Inogen took it for sure.

“Of course! What on earth do you think I am… … .”

He grumbled and started eating the meat with a fork.

… … I feel nervous for no reason just watching you eat.

Is this the pride of Koreans? Something like that.

“Ma, how does it taste… …?”

Even though Biella asked cautiously, Inogen did not answer and just continued to eat the stir-fried pork.

After eating like that for a while, only after I finished eating all the meat… … .

“Hmm! Not bad for human food!”

He said this.

“I’m not bad, am I?”

“That’s right! … … But it’s a little spicy!”

It’s funny how you’re complaining while eating pork.

“It’s spicy but delicious! Is there anything else, human?”

It seems that the spicy taste of Koreans suits Ma-ryong’s taste very well.

At Inogen’s request for an additional lunch box, I opened the refrigerator door again.

Then, the lunchbox I had seen earlier was still inside the refrigerator.

… … Oh.

Is this the principle by which food is provided infinitely?

I tore open the plastic packaging of the new lunchbox and handed it to Inogen.

Inogen quickly removed the lid and began to suck up the meat again.

“Inogen, try this white food too.”

“… … What is this food?”

“It’s rice.”

“Hey, rice?”

Inozen must have liked his first stir-fried pork in his life because he obediently put rice in his mouth as I said.

After eating meat and rice together, his eyes opened even wider.

“It tastes even better when we eat it together!”

With those words, he began to inhale at a faster rate than before.

As Inogen ate deliciously, Biella also became anxious and started nagging at me.

“Oh, sir, let me try that too. That!”

At her request, I opened the refrigerator door again.

I took out my new lunchbox, opened the packaging, and handed it to Biella.

Biella, who was acting awkward at the sight of the unfamiliar food, glanced at Inogen, who was inhaling it violently.

I followed her and took a bite of the meat with my fork.

“Oh, it’s delicious… … .”

Although not as fast as Inozen, I emptied the lunch box at a fairly fast pace.

I watched them eating for a long time with a sense of satisfaction for some reason.

I also took something new out of the fridge and started eating it.

As soon as I put it in my mouth, the spicy Korean taste that I had been missing spread throughout my mouth.

… … Yeah, this is it.

I used to eat it every day so I couldn’t really taste it.

After eating only the spicy food in EndWorld, I felt like my appetite was restored after eating some spicy pork.

So, after Biella ate two lunch boxes and Inogen ate a whopping twenty, they finally finished eating.

“So, sir, what are you going to do from now on?”

At Biella’s question about filling my stomach, I stopped cleaning up my already eaten lunchbox and thought.

Well, now that I’ve figured out Diana’s illusion, I’ve already thought about how to move.

Now that we’ve filled our bellies, let’s get started.

“I plan to destroy Miss Diana’s welcoming body first.”