Chapter 17
“Wow, so much food…”
“The interior is cozier than I expected. Where did you get such a nice vehicle?”
The two men who knocked on the camping car door were neatly dressed, with plump backpacks. They certainly didn’t look like people who had been stranded.
“What brings you to the mountains at this late hour?”
When I asked suspiciously, they quickly answered, noticing my doubt.
“Ah, do you know there’s a Hwacheon Prison nearby?”
I nodded after briefly exchanging glances with Baek Yi-heon.
“We’re from there.”
‘As expected! A survivor camp has been set up!’
My face lit up at their words. In contrast, Baek Yi-heon still had a sharp expression.
“What about the imprisoned criminals?”
“Haha. Don’t worry, we’re not inmates. Those criminals are all dead by now!”
“…How?”
Well, the government must have killed them.
Unlike Baek Yi-heon who was probing in surprise, I thought indifferently.
However, the answer that came from the man’s mouth was completely different from my expectation.
“At first, it was utter chaos. Can you believe it, the guards ran away as soon as monsters attacked, and the inmates were set free.”
“…What?”
‘This is different from the original story?’
As I asked again in surprise, the man nodded as if he understood completely.
“Yes. It was really terrifying. Monsters outside, murderers inside.”
“But then, John-nim appeared before us.”
Deep respect and admiration showed on the men’s faces.
‘John?’
I tried to recall the novel I had read, but no such name had appeared.
‘Is he an extra like me?’
“John-nim drove out all the criminals in just one day and set up a temporary camp for survivors inside.”
“In just one day?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
‘He must be an Awakened.’
Soon after Baek Yi-heon, even Sehun had awakened.
It wouldn’t be strange if Awakened ones were appearing little by little elsewhere too.
And for an Awakened, driving out all the criminals in a day would be no big deal, no matter how vicious they were.
“Then why did you leave that camp?”
“We’re a reconnaissance team to guide those still wandering around to the camp.”
“At this hour? What about the monsters…”
“Haha. Don’t worry about that.”
The man smiled brightly and held up a crystal emitting a mysterious light from inside his clothes.
“We have this!”
At a glance, it looked like a common low-grade magic stone of C or D rank.
“John-nim specially gave these to the brave volunteers for reconnaissance missions.”
“With this, strangely, monsters don’t approach us.”
“Hmm…”
I examined the stone closely.
It looked completely different from the ‘wave generator’ I had seen in the novel.
That was described as ‘looking like a small pocket watch’ in the story.
‘Has something in the future changed because of that Awakened?’
Among the Awakened, there were those who manifested the power to create weapons or items.
Or it could be barrier-related, such as Sehun’s ability.
But to think someone who could already process their ability into magic stones has appeared?
‘If that’s the case, it means their level is already quite high.’
It hasn’t even been two weeks since the Gate Outbreak occurred?
Something was going very differently from the original story.
“Oh, there’s a child too. Are you two married…?”
“No.”
I waved my hands and answered immediately to the man’s question as I was thinking hard.
“Not at all. We’re not in any kind of relationship.”
“…..”
Huh? Somehow Baek Yi-heon’s expression seems to have worsened a bit?
He must be displeased at being misunderstood.
I added a more detailed explanation to improve his mood.
“We’re all complete strangers. We’re just traveling with a child who lost his guardian.”
“…..”
“My goodness. Such a kind deed in this harsh world…!”
The men exclaimed in admiration with clear faces.
“How about it? Won’t you come into our prison? I’m sure John-nim will welcome you!”
“That’s right. Especially with a child, it would be better than wandering around in a camping car.”
Instead of answering, I looked at Sehun.
The child nodded at me. It meant it wasn’t a lie.
It passed both ‘Lie Detection’ and ‘Evil Detection’.
“…That’s a very generous offer.”
We decided to spend the night here and head to the prison in the morning, then sent the men off.
Afterward, the three of us gathered around the table.
“It’s a great timing to learn about the internal situation.”
The criminals in the prison had disappeared, and a survivor camp had formed.
Although there were some minor differences in details, it wasn’t much different from the original story.
“Wow, so tomorrow we’re going to a place called ‘prison’?”
The child’s eyes shone with excitement, looking purely thrilled.
“Yes. Once we get there, this nomadic life will be over.”
“…That’s right. After all, we’re complete strangers.”
Baek Yi-heon looked at me with a somewhat irritated expression as he responded to my words.
“…Huh? Yes, yes. That’s right. We are strangers.”
Why is he stating such an obvious fact?
I looked at Baek Yi-heon with that kind of expression, and he abruptly turned his head away, muttering.
“It’s late. No matter how excited we are for tomorrow, let’s get to bed first.”
“Okay.”
“Yes, Hyung.”
“…..”
As we answered casually, Baek Yi-heon turned off the camper’s light with a somewhat irritated motion, making a ‘click!’ sound.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter—.
It seemed to be raining late spring rain, as raindrops tapped on the camper’s roof.
I listened to that irregular sound, and before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep.
💎
Pitter-patter pitter-patter—.
“Noah.”
‘That man’ approached me as I was lying on the floor, drawing with colored pencils.
“Look at this, Dad. I drew it!”
I proudly held out the colorful sketchbook to him.
A brown boat on a blue sea. On that boat, Mom, Dad, and I were smiling happily.
“…Noah. Do you know what your name means?”
“Yes! Dew! Mom said ‘No’ means dew, and ‘ah’ means child. I’m the child of dew because I was born at dawn!”
“Is that so? …So that woman said that.”
“…Dad?”
That man strokes my head with his large, warm hand.
I can’t see what expression he’s making clearly, as it’s obscured by darkness.
“You are ■■■, so later you must ■■■■ ■■.”
“Yes! I understand!”
What?
Pitter-patter pitter-patter—.
I can’t hear well.
“You must…”
I can’t hear clearly what Dad said…
💎
“Hah!”
I woke up on the bed, breathing heavily.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter—.
The raindrops were making quite a loud noise as they fell on the camper.
I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and muttered.
“Is it because we’re near the prison…?”
It’s been a very long time since I dreamed of that man.
He was taken to prison on murder charges when I was seven years old, and I haven’t seen him since.
…They said all the inmates had died. Ordinary people who hadn’t awakened couldn’t have survived the monster attacks.
I closed my eyes, leaning against the wall, listening to the sound of rain pelting the camper.
“Well, they deserved it. …It’s for the best.”
💎
The next morning.
After hiding the camper in the mountains as a precaution, we knocked on the iron gate of the prison.
One of the men we had encountered last night came out to greet us warmly.
The iron gate opened.
At the sight that finally revealed itself, I slightly furrowed my brow.
‘This is… no different from a refugee camp, isn’t it?’
The entire large yard of the prison was dotted with makeshift tents that people had crudely constructed.
“The inside of the prison building is already full of people.”
The reconnaissance team man, who introduced himself as ‘Kim Donghyun’, explained as he guided us inside.
When too many people are crammed into a small living space, problems inevitably arise.
The people lying under the tents were all in a state of exhaustion, and even as a polite gesture, they couldn’t be called healthy.
The only people moving around actively seemed to be all members of the reconnaissance team.
✦
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