The Ferris Wheel Turns
The Ferris wheel began to move. Maybe because it had been well-maintained. Even though it hadn’t operated for about a month, the ride ran without a single hitch. Forward, backward, up, down—every direction worked perfectly.
There was no one else riding it. Just us. From this vantage point overlooking the wide river, it felt leisurely yet somehow like the seat of power. Beneath the setting sun, I lowered my gaze to the riverbank glowing crimson with the sunset’s beauty. How the hell did things end up like this?
“Oppa, it’s gotten really big.”
Kang Ahyeon knelt in front of me, giggling softly. I watched as her hand stroked along my thigh, fingers brushing against the exposed skin.
To explain the current situation, I need to go back a few hours. Actually, to yesterday evening.
After finishing the zeroing of the rifle and scouting out items I might loot later, I’d been pondering how to create an opportunity to kill only Lee Chae-rin and the President once their business was done. That’s when—
After tormenting the bodyguard to the limit and squeezing out everything I could, we had dinner with the President.
I made it very clear that I’d rather eat alone than share a meal with some old man, but the President still insisted on dining together. Normally we would’ve told him to fuck off and just eaten the food from our backpacks. But the world had gone to shit, and there were luxuries here we couldn’t get anywhere else. I couldn’t turn it down.
“Just so there’s no misunderstanding, we don’t always eat like this.”
It was what people used to call fine dining. Not just a meal for calories, but a luxurious feast. I’d always wanted to try something like this once, but, well… it was a zombie apocalypse. In an era where you had to worry whether the chef was still human or some variant trying to cook you instead.
So I couldn’t refuse. My sister seemed quietly excited about it too.
“What? You mean you loot everything and eat like this every day?”
I felt like I was losing ground, so I responded with as much sarcasm as possible.
“Haha, if only that were true. It’s a shame we don’t even have the luxury for that.”
The President was the kind of person who made scratching at him pointless. His poker face was impeccable. Thanks to his Master-grade Oratory, nothing I said ever showed on his expression.
“Then why the extravagance today?”
“I believe that when people work for me, they deserve proper compensation. I trust you’ll demonstrate your full capabilities… so consider this an advance payment.”
“I already received an advance, didn’t I?”
“I know you could have taken even more if you wanted. I may not look it, but I was a Marine. I understand that among personal firearms, there were probably others that caught your eye.”
For someone who claimed to be ex-military, he had zero skills in shooting, hand-to-hand combat, or knife fighting. Probably politicked his way through that too. Anyway, the food itself was innocent.
“This is the amuse-bouche.”
The chef explained something, but honestly more than half of it went in one ear and out the other. If I had Advanced Cooking or something I might have understood, but since I didn’t, all that remained was what my eyes could see. Duck breast. Delicately arranged sprouts and flowers. Pink flesh. And the taste… was incredible. It had a fermented fruit aroma, and the texture of the meat was superb.
“This is the consommé.”
A clear soup served in a shallow bowl. I didn’t know exactly what consommé was, but it was delicious. Mushroom slices floated in golden-brown liquid.
“It’s so good,” my sister said. I liked it too.
After that came many more dishes. A piece of fish, golden-brown and crispy on the outside, yet the flesh was moist and opaque. The subtle bitterness that bloomed between the crumbling textures in my mouth created perfect harmony. I was almost angry that there was only one piece.
“…Meat?!”
“Yes, beef. One of the last reserves we had.”
There was even beef. A thick cut of a kind I’d never eaten in my life. It was supposedly seasoned with garlic, but aside from a faint aroma, only a sweet savor remained. The rich, savory, indescribable beefy flavor was deeply satisfying.
The final dish was ice cream.
After we finished everything, the President spoke casually.
“The attractions will begin operating starting tomorrow. Please enjoy yourselves at your leisure. And I hope you complete the task safely.”
At the same time, I understood what the President was trying to do. President Park Do-hyun was telling me that he could give me this kind of luxury. VIP treatment I couldn’t get anywhere else. Delicious food, comfortable lodging, an amusement park. Something far better than what Lee Ye-eun could offer back in Gucheon Village, which wasn’t even that far away.
“After the job’s done I’ll squeeze even more out of you, so brace yourself.”
But even that couldn’t tempt me. I couldn’t say I wasn’t drawn to it at all, but still. I had dreams. There were far too many things I wanted to do with my sister. We had to visit the university in Seoul that she’d wanted to attend. There were so many places I wanted to see. If I were going to get stuck here and stop moving forward, I would’ve done so long ago.
So we left the table, returned to our room, and did what we always did.
“This is the suite. Please rest comfortably.”
The room Lee Chae-rin guided us to was smaller than the President’s penthouse but still large, with a spacious bed. We showered together there. We lay down in the same bed.
“Oppa… can we?”
“Gargle after you’re done. Or brush your teeth.”
“Okayyy~ Mmm, slurp.”
I accepted Kang Ahyeon’s usual clingy advances and fell asleep naked. Just in case, I blocked the door with a wardrobe. After my Strength exceeded 20, I could move furniture by myself. Fortunately there were no attempts to enter, but you could never be too careful.
“…Mmm, oppaaa…”
We ate well, slept well. When morning sunlight poured in, we woke up and took our time washing.
“Oppa… morning kiss…”
I accepted the lips of Kang Ahyeon, who clung to me even while we were showering.
“Oppa, oppa! The amusement park! It’s moving!”
At her lively shout, I responded like the good older brother I was, just playing along.
“Whoa, holy shit! It really is?! We’ve gotta ride everything in Exodus Arcadia!”
After that we got dressed. I hid a pistol under my leather jacket, grabbed my machete, and fully charged my smartphone so I could take tons of pictures while we played.
“Ah, oppa, you’re not using Choi Tae-woo’s smartphone?”
“Nah, this one’s better.”
With a top-of-the-line smartphone fully equipped, all that remained was to have fun.
When we left the room, the bodyguard was waiting there.
“I’ve been assigned to guide you today. Please treat me well.”
“Then could we ask you to take some photos later?”
“…Of course.”
I honestly thought of her as an unwelcome guest, but that was fine in its own way. We get to play freely while the bodyguard lady has to stand there stiffly the whole time? Perfect. Playing is always more fun when there’s someone working hard right in front of you.
I headed to the amusement park with my sister.
“Wow, everything really is running…!”
“Most of the staff remained on-site when the national disaster occurred, so it wasn’t easy. Power consumption and labor allocation are concerning, but…”
“That’s still better than wasting the entire military by cramming them onto a northern island, right?”
“…Yes.”
I could roughly tell what kind of person Lee Chae-rin was. A serious person who lived without fun. Someone who definitely exercised every morning, trained whenever she had spare time, and otherwise attended to the President. The kind of person who went to bed before midnight every day. Just imagining it sounded boring.
That’s why, the moment we entered the theme park with my sister, I decided: I would ignore this woman and just enjoy ourselves.
We passed through the main gate. Food stalls that must have once been bustling, souvenir shops with characters I didn’t recognize. Bright primary colors, all kinds of characters. But none of that caught my eye. The truly important things were deeper inside.
“Then, my recommendation would be to start with—”
“Oppa! Let’s ride that! That one!”
“Ah.”
We ignored Lee Chae-rin and dashed off on our own. A dragon-shaped roller coaster. The kind of fast, thrilling ride I’d only ever heard about. Even the path to the boarding platform was lined with real trees, giving it an adventurous feel.
Lee Chae-rin stopped in front of a cartoon character sign that said people shorter than this height couldn’t ride.
“I…”
“Huh? Just wait down here. We’ll be back after we ride.”
“…Understood.”
The employee who must have once operated this ride manipulated the controls in the same shabby uniform.
“To all guests who have come to Exodus Arcadia today… we thank you, and hope you have a wonderful adventure. Dragon’s Flight, departing now…”
It launched with somewhat listless energy. The dragon-shaped roller coaster moved from its nest-shaped platform.
“Oh, oh…!”
“Ah, ehehe, kyaa!”
It passed through decorations shaped like a cave, shot upward, then plunged down. The speed wasn’t actually as amazing as I’d expected. Frankly, I’d been faster when fighting the Serpent of Eden. But for some reason, it was fun. I surrendered my body to the moderate sense of speed that didn’t shake me too violently and shouted, while my sister laughed. Even the way her flying hair slapped my face was enjoyable.
“Next…”
“I want to ride that!”
The ride called the Cariol. The hot-air-balloon-like attraction rose high into the sky before dropping, giving a thrilling sense of speed.
“Sky Carousel? What’s a carousel?”
“A merry-go-round!”
“Ah.”
We also spent leisurely time on a slowly rotating ride whose English name I couldn’t understand why they’d used.
“For the meal… I thought you would prefer this, so I revived the theme park’s dining options.”
“Oh, this is the only part I actually like.”
Lee Chae-rin looked like she had a lot she wanted to say but held it in, while we enjoyed all the classic amusement park fare.
“Oppa, try this!”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know!”
“Why are you feeding me something you don’t know? Am I your food taster?”
We ate all sorts of things—from uniquely flavored snacks whose names I didn’t know, to tteokbokki and gimbap, hot dogs that seemed to still have ingredients left, the ones my sister knowledgeably called “corn dogs,” spiral potatoes, churros. It was a good thing my dantian hadn’t formed yet.
Even after eating, we kept playing. We watched a typical children’s cartoon movie about adventure that made the seats shake. A wooden-themed roller coaster. A ride that slid across water while pirate dolls made noise. Even bumper cars.
By the time the sky began to turn crimson, we were a little tired. I would’ve liked to keep playing more, but we’d ridden everything at least once except for one attraction. Some we’d ridden multiple times. It was about time to wrap things up. I felt a bit of regret.
If I’d come here before my stats went completely insane, back when I was just a normal kid… maybe I could have loved my parents.
As I was feeling that pang of remorse, my sister clung tightly to my side, while Lee Chae-rin watched us from a slight distance. My sister pressed herself against me and rested her chin on my shoulder.
“Oppa, was it fun?”
“Yeah, it was fucking fun.”
“Ah-hyun had fun too. But… it’s about time to finish up.”
“That’s true. Then…”
I pointed at the largest attraction with my index finger.
“Should we ride that one last?”
“That one? Which… ah!”
The one I’d been saving for last. According to the pamphlet, it was called Rota Fortunae. A truly massive Ferris wheel. I didn’t know what the name meant, but anyone could tell it was something you’d ride at the end.
“…Are you sure? The ride lasts about thirty minutes…”
“What’s the big deal? We’ve been doing whatever we wanted all day. This much is fine.”
Lee Chae-rin shut her mouth, apparently having nothing left to say, and we approached the giant Ferris wheel.
“Thank you to all guests who have visited Exodus Arcadia today. Our Rota Fortunae will now depart. Audentes fortuna iuvat!”
What the hell is that foreign language? I boarded the Ferris wheel in confusion, and it soon began to move.
“Oh… it’s so slow.”
“But the view outside is pretty.”
Kang Ahyeon sat across from me. As the Ferris wheel moved, we saw many things. The riverbank bathed in sunset glowed beautifully. Beyond it, the town and city stood silent in stillness. Paradoxically, that made it even more beautiful. Even the stars revealed as the sun set were lovely.
“My dantian hasn’t formed yet, but the stars are really bright.”
Stars had been clearly visible at Sion Mountain Fortress, but Gucheon Village was practically a city so they were hard to see. Even then, the stars from the veranda had felt more tiresome than beautiful. But now, the stars seen from the Ferris wheel felt different. The universe split to our left and right, showing both sunset and stars at once. It was a greedily beautiful sight.
While watching it, I took out my smartphone.
“Ah.”
“Eh.”
We realized we’d taken our phones out at the same time and took turns photographing each other. Kang Ahyeon with the sunset behind her, me with the night sky behind me. She immediately set my photo as her wallpaper, as if to show off.
“Oppa, change your wallpaper too. To my face.”
“What kind of siblings in the world…”
“Us!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
She’d probably whine if I didn’t. I changed my smartphone wallpaper to the photo I’d just taken of her and put it back in my pocket.
It hadn’t even been ten minutes, yet we were already quite high. In a place where no one in the world could see us.
“…Hehe.”
“Why are you laughing?”
“Hm? Just… thinking that no one can see us.”
My sister came closer. She sat beside me and placed her hand on my thigh.
“…Again?”
“We didn’t do it this morning.”
“What are you, some kind of supplement?”
“It’s protein, so… roughly?”
Was that how it worked? I had nothing to say, so I closed my mouth. Kang Ahyeon stared at me for a moment, then changed her posture.
“Uh, hey.”
“Mmm?”
“Wait, isn’t the floor dirty…?”
“It’s fine. I’m only putting my knees down.”
My sister knelt in front of me. Realizing what she was about to do here, I pulled down my pants. But even after I lowered them, she didn’t start. What? Wasn’t she going to do it?
When I looked at her in confusion, she smiled with her eyes and spoke.
“Since we had so much fun playing today, I’m going to give oppa a reward.”
“…A reward?”
She nodded, then pulled up the sweater she was wearing.
“Uh.”
There was no bra underneath. Had she not been wearing one? She usually complained that even walking made them shake and she hated it, so why…
In front of my frozen self, my sister pulled my pants down further, lifted my top, and smiled.
“Yes, it’s a very good reward.”
The moment her bare skin swallowed me, I finally understood why she called it a reward.