Chapter 5
“……”
When I didn’t respond and just looked down at her with a dry gaze, Park Ji-in repeated in a louder voice:
“Don’t tell me… you hid food supplies?!”
Then, with an expression like a benevolent older sister scolding her elementary school sibling, she said.
“Noah, you shouldn’t do that. Especially in a situation like this, you can’t be selfish and need to cooperate together.”
At Park Ji-in’s words, Glasses Guy and the others began murmuring.
Then, Mom’s face flushed red with shame and anger.
Mom always cared too much about others’ views.
‘She’s going to attack me baselessly again.’
As expected.
“You! Is it true? Did you really hide food? Huh?”
Without even giving me a chance to answer, Mom sharply pressed me one after another.
“Is that how I raised you? Huh? Always embarrassing me in front of people…”
Familiar with the misunderstanding and criticism, I just kept my mouth shut and lowered my head.
“If only you weren’t around, I… I…”
“That’s enough.”
Then, someone observing spoke up in a solemn tone amid the commotion.
‘As expected.’
With my head lowered, I secretly let out a victorious smirk.
But I quickly composed myself and lifted my head, feigning a sad expression.
Baek Yi-heon stood between Mom and me, his face frightfully stern.
“M-mom… please, don’t be so harsh…”
Park Ji-in glanced at Baek Yi-heon’s handsome face as she tried to stop Mom.
He looked down at the two of us with cold eyes and spoke.
“Why are you hitting her?”
“Because that cunning girl hid food….”
“The backpack, you mean?”
“Huh? What? That’s…?”
With those words, Baek Yi-heon stepped out of the room, soon returning from the bedroom with a red backpack that he dropped loudly on the floor.
“Huh? That, that’s…”
Recognizing the backpack, Mom and Park Ji-in looked flustered.
“There was a survival kit with food inside.”
Looking straight at them, Baek Yi-heon spoke emphatically, word by word.
“When we were exploring the rooms, Noah mentioned it ‘before we even asked’.”
“Ah, that’s right. He’s telling the truth. When we searched that room earlier, he mentioned it…”
Suit Guy, who had taken a step back from the commotion, belatedly agreed with Baek Yi-heon’s words.
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence fell in the room.
Mom and Park Ji-in exchanged embarrassed looks. But that was short-lived.
“Haha. Mom can be a bit too hotheaded sometimes.”
Park Ji-in suddenly burst into laughter and playfully patted Mom’s clothes.
“Ha… haha! Ah, that’s just the mother-daughter relationship, you know!”
Soccer Guy, who had just observed, also forced an awkward laugh, quickly joining to defuse the situation.
They didn’t want to unnecessarily complicate matters and wanted to smoothly move past it.
Familiar with such reactions, I just quietly sniffled.
Whenever my mom verbally or physically abused me, people always responded the same way. ‘Family issues.’
“Aren’t you going to apologize?”
But then, a cold voice sliced through the forced laughing-it-off atmosphere like a knife.
“Huh?”
“O-oppa, it’s just that our mom made a bit of a mistake…”
“Apologize.”
Flustered by Baek Yi-heon’s firm words, Mom opened her mouth wide in shock before shouting.
“Why, why should I?!”
“You jumped to conclusions and scolded her, just because she didn’t have a backpack.”
“I simply misunderstood! Why should I apologize to a brat like her…”
“Apologize.”
For the first time, Baek Yi-heon’s words became curt.
Mom and Park Ji-in shook their fists as if insulted.
However, everyone else in the room was watching them with an intrigued expression.
Always self-conscious about others’ views, the two didn’t have the stubbornness to keep insisting in this situation.
After a long silence, finally unable to withstand the pressure, the two opened their mouths with difficulty.
“Fine. I, I mean… Ahem, I’m sorry for hitting you.”
“Yeah, sorry for the misunderstanding!”
At their disrespectful attitude, Baek Yi-heon raised one eyebrow, but I was satisfied with this much.
Seeing their flushed, self-conscious faces made me feel relieved.
Then, my nose, which had been feeling itchy, started dripping blood from one nostril.
Without surprise, I casually pinched my nose to stop the bleeding.
‘I was wondering how to end this situation, but this turned out better.’
“Are you alright?”
Baek Yi-heon asked with slightly widened, concerned eyes.
“Yes. I’ll, go to the restroom for a bit…”
I left the large room, unnecessarily making my voice sound meek.
✦
“Did you really think I’d leave all the food in one place?”
The nosebleed stopped quickly.
Instead of tending to the nosebleed, I secretly reached my hand into the air vent on the restroom ceiling.
And when I pulled my hand back out, I was holding the high-calorie D*get chocolate biscuits.
Confessing about the food in my backpack earlier had all been part of the plan.
“So no one would suspect I hid food in the bathroom.”
I shoved a big biscuit into my mouth, closed my eyes, and chewed.
Ah, the sweet taste of high-calorie goodness…
It felt like angels were flying around, blowing fanfares right in front of me.
The taste of this chocolate, secretly eaten in a bunker in a world gone to ruin, was the best flavor ever—one only those who had experienced it would know.
As I sat quietly in the bathroom, munching on the biscuit, the image of my mom defending Park Ji-in popped into my mind.
“You’re the shame of my life! If it weren’t for you, I would… I would…”
Mom didn’t treat me like this from the very start.
Until Dad got arrested for murder, Mom was always kind to me.
Mom didn’t treat me like this from the very start.
Until Dad got arrested for murder, Mom was always kind to me.
Just like how she is now with Park Ji-in.
…Would I feel nothing now if I had never experienced being loved at all?
‘No, no.’
I quickly shook my head.
‘As long as I have food, I don’t need Mom’s love.’
I’m a psychopath. I read somewhere that psychopaths have difficulty feeling emotions.
If I stayed too long, they might get suspicious.
I carefully rewrapped the remaining chocolate biscuits and hid them deep inside the air vent.
In there were stockpiles of biscuits, canned tuna, and canned fruit—three each.
“Alright, time to carry out my next survival plan.”
Feeling energized from the sweet treat, I deliberately left some blood stains and forced an ominous smile.
✦
When I came out of the restroom, Baek Yi-heon was waiting for me in the bedroom with the first aid kit.
“The nosebleed…”
“Ah, it stopped.”
I put on a cheerful face, pretending to hide my sadness.
“…Are you okay?”
Observing me carefully, Baek Yi-heon asked gently.
I didn’t answer and just stared intently at Baek Yi-heon.
Why is this man going to such lengths for someone he just met today?
Having read the novel, the answer to that question was easy for me.
In ‘Shelter,’ the protagonist Baek Yi-heon was the typical ‘strong against the strong, weak against the weak’ type.
He could never leave the weak, especially pitiful people like me who get discriminated against by others.
Always busy killing monsters, he constantly fell into danger or got hurt from helping out side characters.
‘When reading the novel, I used to curse at those side characters…’
But actually becoming that ‘pitiful Extra 1’ changed my perspective.
I needed him for my survival plan.
‘To reach the shelter, I need the protagonist’s help.’
“That’s right.”
I provocatively raised my eyes and stared up at Baek Yi-heon.
Despite my sudden statement, he didn’t show any confusion or ask what I meant.
“Right, I’m the daughter of a murderer.”
“…..”
“You know the ‘Devil Worshipper’, the serial killer Yoo Hyun-min? He was somewhat famous 14 years ago, even on the news.”
Baek Yi-heon, who seemed to be searching for words, finally asked with a calm face.
“…..So, what does that have to do with anything?”
Yes. I knew he would say something like that.
Inwardly, I let out a victorious smirk.
Not avoiding Mom’s punch earlier was part of this too.
The more pitiful I appear, the more attention the protagonist will pay me.
When I didn’t respond right away, Baek Yi-heon added bluntly.
“I don’t care whose daughter you are.”
His expression and tone were as rigid as expected from someone with a military background.
…But why did those cold words feel like a comfort?
✦
Thank you for reading! ♡
