Floor 30, Shelter (2)

The cafeteria was buzzing with noise, but the climbers looked noticeably more relaxed than they had at the last Shelter. With the Shelter's time extended, and with climbers having had a chance to acclimate to the Tower, everyone seemed to have found their footing.

I also caught up with the demi-humans I'd sent up through the portal to the Shelter during the 21st floor's selectable mission. Quite a few climbers came up to me asking about the demi-humans they'd never seen before, and I ended up worn out just explaining them one by one.

Then again, it was only natural for people to be startled—over two hundred demi-humans had suddenly shown up in the Shelter.

While I was taking a leisurely look around the cafeteria, Hakin's whining set off a round of jeers from the party members, all aimed squarely at me.

"I mean, hyung, who recruits someone and then just ditches them on their own?"

"Boo! Yeah, Oppa Suhyeok, that's so mean!"

"Kkek, it was a bit much, honestly. You should've at least done one floor with him before heading off!"

"Haha, sorry, sorry."

Nobody meant a word of it—it was all in good fun. I gave an awkward laugh and ruffled Hakin's hair.

"How's Hakin doing? From what I hear, he's doing pretty well."

"He's basically a mini-Heijeong, honestly. His firepower's no joke."

The uncle grinned and gave a thumbs-up. Then Cole smiled and started complaining half-jokingly.

"The two of them hit so hard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that ever since Hakin joined, I've basically been demoted to tour guide. Haha."

"Kkek. That's just the porter's life, Cole."

"What's a porter?"

"It's a thing."

The uncle snickered to himself while Cole, utterly lost, furrowed his brow.

The familiar scene washed over me, cozy and warm. But one corner of my mind couldn't shake a certain worry.

Floors 27 through 29 were way too easy.

They'd been closer to breather floors than actual trials—and the Shelter's rest time on Floor 30 had been extended by a full twelve hours, too. Calm waves are always followed by big ones. And Floor 31 was a solo floor. What kind of trial were they preparing for us after lulling us into a false sense of security like this? The thought gnawed at me.

"Come to think of it, it's already been over a month since we entered the Tower."

In a lull in the conversation among the party members, Cole took a sip of his beer and said it. One floor was roughly equivalent to a day, so on Floor 30, the math checked out.

I nodded and clinked my glass against Cole's.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?"

"It feels like it's been no time at all, and yet everything on Earth seems so far away now."

"Well, things none of us could've imagined happened in real life. But we've made it through so far. Good work, everyone."

"Haha, you're right. Good work to you too, Suhyeok."

"Hee—! Aaah……"

Mid-conversation with Cole, Seo Harin suddenly shrieked, gasping in horror. The shrill cry startled everyone, and all eyes turned to her.

"Aaaaah… I'm done for!"

Harin tilted her head back with a hollow look and stared blankly at the ceiling.

What on earth was going on?

The party members exchanged glances at the sudden outburst. I asked with my eyes, but nobody had an answer. The uncle set down his glass and spoke in a calm voice.

"What's wrong, Harin? You got through the floor just fine. Did something happen?"

"No, it's not that……"

"Then what is it? Come on, tell us."

When Harin hesitated, the uncle gave her a gentle smile. Her eyes as she looked at him were glistening with tears.

"You said it's been over a month, right? Dad… what am I going to do about the CSAT?"

"Huh?"

"Ah…"

The uncle's bewildered "Huh?" was immediately followed by groans from Ha Heijeong and me. Only Cole, Dobby, and Hakin looked on, utterly baffled.

Right—Harin was a high school senior. She'd been dragged into the Tower on October 3rd, which meant the CSAT was right around the corner by now. Or it might have already come and gone……

"PUHAHAHA!"

"Hahaha."

Laughter quickly rippled through our table. The uncle laughed the loudest of all, and Harin puffed up her cheeks in protest.

"Why is everyone laughing! I'm being serious here!"

"Because it's funny! PUHAHA!"

"Suhyeok, what does she mean?"

At Cole's question, even Hakin leaned in to listen.

"Ah, the CSAT is a college entrance exam in Korea. Students treat it like their entire life is riding on it, so they tend to get pretty worked up about it."

Cole nodded along, then turned to Harin with a smile, as if he found her adorable.

Everyone was probably feeling something similar. Watching her panic over a mere exam while she stood inside the Tower of Trials—where we climbed with our very lives on the line—she looked so pure, so endearing.

It wasn't that Harin lacked a grip on reality……

Well, she'd spent nineteen years being told the CSAT was everything. A momentary panic was only natural.

Anyone else, I'd have told them to worry about climbing the Tower first and fret about exams later……but I couldn't say that to Harin, not with that innocent look on her face.

I smiled and raised my beer glass.

"Hey, Harin. Don't worry too much. Time on Earth might be frozen, you know."

"That's right. For all we know, things might snap right back to the moment we entered the Tower."

The uncle picked up where I left off.

"Wait, wouldn't that be even worse? You didn't study at all, and you go back to find the CSAT is only a month away!"

Oh… he's right? Did I just say that without thinking?

Harin's razor-sharp comeback left the uncle and me momentarily speechless. Ha Heijeong must have found the sight hilarious, because she giggled and wrapped an arm around Harin's shoulders.

"Harin, what's there to worry about? Once we get out, you'll be able to use healing skills, right? Who cares about the CSAT? Just ditch it and become a doctor."

"Huh…? You're right!"

Harin's face brightened at Heijeong's words. The uncle, seizing the moment, jumped in to lift her spirits.

"Exactly. Our Harin becomes a doctor! Hehe, the hospital where our daughter works is in for a disaster, though."

"Huh? Why?"

"Why? Because our daughter's so pretty, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that's why. All the men will line up instead of the patients, and business will fall apart! Hehehe."

"Hahaha."

It wasn't funny, but I hurriedly laughed along with the uncle. When our eyes met, he winked at me like he was proud of my timing.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!"

She scolded him in words, but the compliment hadn't been unwelcome—the corners of Harin's mouth were curling upward. The uncle gave her shoulder a warm pat.

"What matters right now is climbing the Tower, so our daughter's just going to have to hang in there a little longer. When we get out—you're a doctor!"

"Mm! Dad's right! Climb the Tower first, worry later."

Her mind, briefly lost to CSAT panic, seemed to have returned—her answer was remarkably levelheaded. The uncle gently stroked her hair.

With everyone well into their drinks by now, the mood in the cafeteria had reached a full boil. At the center of the hall, one of the climbers was playing a guitar and singing.

"But someone told me that you still love me. Could it be true?"

The singer was a white woman, but the lyrics came out in Korean, which gave the song a slightly surreal edge. Still, the acoustic guitar's melody and her honeyed voice more than made up for it.

The uncle lowered his voice so as not to disturb the performance.

"Kk, she can really sing. Where'd she even get a guitar?"

"The shop sells instruments too. Apparently some climbers enjoy music in the Waiting Room. Since this is the third Shelter, I suppose she brought it along to share."

Cole answered right away. I already knew—it was the kind of thing you'd learn from browsing the community boards. I hadn't bought one myself, since I couldn't play anything……

But suddenly I found myself remembering those tedious hours in the Waiting Room.

Maybe I should pick up an instrument while I'm at it?

It'd be rough without the internet, but I figured I could manage somehow. Besides, according to Heijeong, we'd have plenty of tedious waiting to do down the line…… It seemed like a fine thing to try, whenever I found the spare time.

When the song ended, the white woman descended to a round of applause. A Black man climbed up after her and took the acoustic guitar from her hands.

"These nights don't seem to be going as planned. I don't want you to leave. Take my hand. Won't you stay with me? You're all I need."

No introduction, the song just flowed straight out. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠His husky, smoky timbre was captivating. As the chorus repeated, my eyes met Ha Heijeong's.

For a few seconds, neither of us looked away.

Normally I'd have glanced away like it was nothing, but the mood had turned strangely awkward. Probably the sentimental song and lyrics to blame.

I rushed to break the silence.

"All we've done is drink—I'm getting a little peckish. What should we order?"

"As a snack? Or a meal?"

"A snack."

"Get the stir-fried balut eggs. You love that stuff."

"Stir-fried balut eggs? What's that?"

"Ah……"

I'd never heard of it. And I supposedly loved it?

When I asked her to repeat herself, Heijeong went, "Oops," and put on a flustered expression. She hastily glanced around and lowered her voice.

"Um, what I mean is… you used to love it."

"I used to love it?"

"Yeah. In the… first run-through."

A whisper, barely audible—the volume of an ant creeping across the floor. When I teased her with a little glare, Heijeong hastily searched my face for a reaction.

"Sorry."

She looked so damn cute doing it that the glare melted off my face on its own, and the corners of my mouth lifted.

"Just kidding, kidding. I loved it, huh? Stir-fried balut eggs?"

Heijeong nodded. I told her it was fine, but she kept stealing glances at me all the same.

Frankly, my anticipation for the food had grown bigger than any of that. If it was something I'd loved in my first life—someone who considered himself quite the gourmand—it had to be delicious, right?

"All right. Let's give it a try, then."

"Suhyeok, what's that, then?"

When the stir-fried balut eggs arrived, the uncle took an interest in the unfamiliar dish.

"It's called stir-fried balut eggs. I spotted it on the menu board while looking for a snack, and suddenly I just had to try it."

"Well, it certainly looks tasty."

It looked a lot like malatang, honestly. The only difference was that instead of shrimp, there was some crustacean I'd never seen before. The shells had been cleanly peeled and lined up neatly along the edge of the plate, so it didn't look inconvenient to eat at all.

"Would you like the first bite?"

"Oh, don't mind if I do."

"No, please, you first."

"You're not just feeding me first to make sure it's safe before you touch it, are you?"

"Heh heh, you are my Royal Food Taster, after all."

I slid the plate subtly toward the uncle. He laughed like I was playing a joke on him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and picked up his chopsticks.

"Oh, you sly rascal. Fine! I'll take the first bite."

The seasoned morsel slipped into the uncle's mouth. And a moment later, he let out a groan of pure delight.

"Hot damn, what is this? Why is it so good?"

"Huh? That good?"

I hurriedly picked up a piece with my chopsticks. The moment it hit my tongue, a spicy, savory sauce bloomed across my palate. The flavor was similar to Kung Pao shrimp, but far richer and deeper. It was the moment my favorite dish of all time changed. Apparently Heijeong was right—the me of the first run-through had loved this for good reason.

"This is really, really good."

"See? Man, we just struck gold. I should grab a plate of this and feed it to the kids too."

The uncle jumped up from his seat and hurried off to the order counter. Seemed the dish had hit his palate just as hard.

That was when I felt Heijeong's gaze on me.

"It's delicious. Exactly my taste. Thanks."

When I said it with a smile, Heijeong— who'd been watching me like a scolded puppy—finally broke into one herself.

"See? Told you it was good."

"Yeah. Have some too."

I picked up a morsel and held it out; Heijeong opened her mouth and ate it straight from my chopsticks. A smile spread across her lips. And just like that, the night at the Shelter slipped quietly away.

The time in the Shelter flew by in the blink of an eye. I got acquainted with the other climbers, sparred with Alexei, sorted through the odds and ends I'd collected along the way…… Nothing else of note happened—the shop hadn't stocked anything worth a second look, either.

Two hours had already passed since we said our goodbyes to the demi-humans we'd rescued on the 21st floor and moved to the Floor 31 Waiting Room.

"You ready, Dobby?"

"Kkiik! Of course I am!"

One last check of Dobby's gear and mine. Everything we needed was packed. A solo floor. Alongside the worry, there was a faint thrill at the thought of facing a stronger opponent.

Right—time to climb to the 31st floor.