episode_0014

While Ha Seo-yeon was nursing Ida Cheon, a child was wandering around in a corner of the hallway outside the room without being noticed.

The child was looking at the door to the room where Ha Seo-yeon and Da-cheon were.

Her parents must have been fast asleep, but she pretended to be asleep and escaped.

I was curious as to what was going on as her parents were heading somewhere, so I followed them.

In such a small shelter, such things are bound to be noticeable.

But now it is difficult to say that this action was dedicated.

Because there was that kid riding on his dad’s back.

Because those horrible wounds were visible.

This is the first time I’ve seen anything like this since I was born.

Mom and Dad said the outside world was very dangerous, but since I hadn’t experienced it myself, it didn’t feel real.

But when you see it, you know, even if you don’t like it.

The outside world is truly a terrible place.

And that terrible world takes away even the people who are precious to you.

I became friends with that guy… but now I can’t even talk to him…

As I was thinking about that, I looked at the door to the room, and it suddenly opened.

” What.. ”

” Oh.. ”

The eyes of Ha Seo-yeon, who came out of the room, and the child who was wandering around met each other.

” Oh.. hello. We meet again. ”

” Oh, hello.. ”

” Yeah. We met again soon? ”

” Oh, yes. I.. Unnie.. Is Dacheon okay..? ”

” Well… Dacheon is sleeping right now.. ”

” Can I see it too? ”

” Yeah.. Okay. ”

This girl didn’t stop me. She seemed to think she knew in advance.

I saw Dacheon like that, but he really had no arms.

My hopeful thoughts that I might have seen something wrong were dashed here.

” Really… you have no arms… ”

Is Dacheon really okay?

” Uh.. yeah.. ”

” !! ”

” !! ”

Idacheon showed signs of trying to get up.

####################

” Ah..uh.. ”

My head hurts.

I feel dizzy.

” Ugh.. ”

I moved my hand to touch my forehead.

But when I tried to move my hand, I was blocked by a strange feeling.

What should I say… It’s like there’s no feeling at all that should be felt…

I tried to open my eyes with a sense of doubt,

widely.

Someone put a hand on my forehead.

” Are you awake? ”

Ha Seo-yeon’s voice was heard.

It was she who raised her hand.

” Ah.. Sister.. ”

Contrary to what I thought, my words had no power.

It was a hoarse voice, as if he had just come back from the dead.

” You don’t have to push yourself too hard, so if you want to sleep more, sleep more. ”

” Ah.. before that, some water.. ”

I tried to reach out, but I couldn’t feel it.

I opened my eyes properly to confirm the question I had been wondering about for a while.

And then I realized I had no arms.

For a moment, a dog appeared before my eyes.

The dog opened its mouth wide and came towards me.

” Huh..! Huh..? Go away! Don’t come near me! Get out of here!! ”

I screamed reflexively and ran into a corner.

But I’m not doing this rationally.

I know that Ha Seo-yeon and the child from the shelter are in front of me, and I also know that this is the shelter.

I also know that the dog in front of me is an illusion.

But the instinct of fear that is deeply rooted in our hearts reacts only by recognizing that illusion.

And I also felt like the pain I remembered inside me was happening reflexively.

So now I was shivering in the corner.

Ha Seo-yeon and the child from the shelter looked at me with surprised eyes.

Because it happened so suddenly, they both froze in their seats.

I wanted to calm my trembling body, but it didn’t calm down easily. Even though the illusion of the dog before my eyes had disappeared.

Ha Seo-yeon got up from her seat and approached me.

And then he hugged me tightly.

Ah. It’s the same as that time.

It was like this when I was being terrified by nightmares in the motel.

Ha Seo-yeon’s embrace was warm enough to bring back memories from far away.

I slowly fell asleep thanks to the warmth, just like I did back then.

####################

At first I thought it would be okay.

Even though Dacheon’s voice was quiet, he answered properly.

But Dacheon looked into the empty space and got scared, screamed, and ran to the corner of the room.

And then you start trembling.

Thank goodness he’s sleeping soundly in my arms now.

To be honest, I didn’t know what to do.

Looking to the side, I saw the child in the shelter looking at Dacheon with concern.

” Dacheon will be okay. You don’t have to worry so much. ”

” But.. ”

” This kid is weak-hearted but also strong. No matter how hard the situation is, he gets back up. So it’s okay. It’ll be okay. ”

” Yes… ”

Seriously, who am I saying this to? I’m feeling anxious myself.

” Oh.. Now that I think about it, I didn’t even know your name. What’s your name? ”

” Frost. It’s frost. ”

” Yeah. My name is Ha Seo-yeon. Sorry for being late in telling you this.. ”

” There… That… ”

” Huh? ”

” The outside world is very dangerous, right..? ”

” It’s dangerous.. ”

Ha Seo-yeon thought for a moment and then continued.

” Yeah. It’s pretty dangerous. Any living thing, whether it’s a beast or an insect, will do anything to survive. You have to move when you can, and rest when you can. You have to eat when you can, drink when you can, and get things when you can. The outside environment is pretty harsh, to the point where you can’t say there’s a next time. ”

” … Dacheon went to places like that alone.. ”

” Yeah.. right., ”

I also felt like it was my fault that this happened.

I was so careless, knowing how dangerous it was outside.

Even though danger was always around the corner.

Yeah. Let’s go to Yeoju, find Dacheon’s friend, and go to the large shelter to stay there.

Then, safety can be maintained to the maximum extent possible.

If Dacheon’s ability is discovered, then you should run away, but that would be better.

I looked at Dacheon while thinking that way.

Now… I will really protect you… Really…

#####################

I opened my eyes.

I looked around the neighborhood, but there was no one there.

Neither the child from the shelter nor Ha Seo-yeon are there now. Where did they go?

” Sigh.. ”

My current condition is not good to say the least.

In a world like this, if you lose both arms, isn’t your end obvious?

There is a limit to how much you can rely on others.

” Meat.. ”

I don’t know if it’s because I’m hungry, but I want to eat meat.

I don’t necessarily have to insist on beef or pork, I just want to eat any kind of meat.

For example, there’s a dead rat caught in a rattrap.

… Huh? Did you think I just saw a rat and wanted to eat it?

No, I’m hungry and I want to eat meat right now, but you’re saying that I want to eat it right away just by looking at it?

Something feels… strange. I really feel like I want to eat that right away without any hesitation.

But it looks really delicious.

I got up, walked to the door, and listened.

… Okay. There’s no sign of anyone coming.

After making sure no one was coming, I walked up to the rat and kicked the trap out with my foot.

He moves the easily released trap aside and leans his upper body toward the rat, putting his mouth close to it.

The rat was so small that it almost fit in his mouth in one bite. The tail was sticking out of his mouth.

He chewed it up. The fur was chewed several times, blood burst out, and even the internal organs, muscles, and bones were chewed up.

The bones were hard, so I spat them out of my mouth. I also spat out the hair.

The rest was chewed and swallowed as is.

It’s delicious. Normally, this would taste horrible, but I thought it was delicious even when chewed and swallowed raw.

When I ate rat, the cut area became rough and grew slightly.

It’s as if I have a missing arm.

” Ah.. haha.. ”

Yeah. I’m not human anymore.

A being that eats corpses and regenerates can’t be human.

Even if you say it’s a mutation, isn’t this a bit much?

Even that appetite just now came on suddenly.

Because it really didn’t matter what kind of meat it was.

What if there was a human corpse next to it? Wouldn’t it have eaten it?

As I was thinking about it, I thought it would be delicious.

……… This.. won’t instinct take precedence and attack someone or something..?

I hope not. Seriously.

Thump thump

I heard someone walking outside.

I hurriedly went back to the blanket. I had a hard time covering myself with the blanket because I had no arms.

Squeak

” Oh, you’re awake. ”

Ha Seo-yeon came in saying that.

He was holding rice and kimchi stew in his hands.

But it’s strange. It’s the same kimchi stew as last time, but the smell was just okay.

Is it because I ate rat and the scent of blood lingers in my nose?

I approached the kimchi stew and tried to pick up the spoon.

” Oh, right. ”

” … I’ll feed you. Would you like to sit down..? ”

Ha Seo-yeon looked at me like that, held back something, and then said this.

I sat down and prepared to receive it like a baby bird.

I took a spoonful like that.

” …? ”

It has no taste.

So it didn’t taste like anything.

I couldn’t taste the salty flavor of kimchi stew at all, and I only felt like I was chewing on something.

What? When I ate rat earlier, I thought it was delicious.

Why is it like this..?

I asked them to feed me a few cans of kimchi stew next to them just to check.

There were canned beans, vegetables, sausages, and canned tuna.

I tried them one by one, but I really couldn’t taste anything.

” .. why..? ”

Ha Seo-yeon, who was watching my expression harden, asked cautiously.

” I can’t taste anything.. ”

Oh no. I think I’ve lost most of my sense of taste.