The Approaching Threat

Meanwhile, at that same moment.

Deep inside a dark cave, two women sat huddled together on a mattress that served as their only bed. They were Kang Seollyeong, Changjae’s stepmother, and Han Seunghee, Han Seungpil’s younger sister.

“Unnie. It’s way too dark in here. Can’t we just go outside?”

The entrance to their cave hideout was sealed shut with a heavy iron door. Without any light penetrating the cavern, the interior was pitch black, like the dead of night.

“We can’t. They said it’s dangerous, remember?”

Seollyeong knew all too well how perilous it was outside. Even now, the mere memory of being stalked by those hyenas sent chills racing down her spine. She firmly believed they should never step foot outside unless the men were with them.

“Tch.”

But to Seunghee, who had never experienced real terror, the warning didn’t carry much weight. After spending so long trapped in a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hospital, finally being outside felt like a vacation. Being cooped up in a gloomy cave on a day like this seemed like a waste of her precious freedom.

“Actually, I really hate the dark. I always sleep with the lights on, even at night.”

“Really? Me too. But isn’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it much better when someone’s lying next to you?”

“Well… yeah, but I still feel anxious because I can’t see anything.”

To Seollyeong, who was terrified of bugs, those words hit close to home.

“Then… should we hold hands?”

“Um… okay.”

After a brief hesitation, Seunghee accepted the suggestion. It had to be better than shivering alone in the darkness. Besides, she felt a certain trust toward Seollyeong—the only person here who had treated her with genuine kindness in this bewildering place.

The two women clasped hands. The fear that the darkness brought eased a little. Their bond felt just a bit closer.

“By the way, Unnie… why do they call you ‘Stepmother’? You’re not his real mom, right? You don’t even look that much older than him.”

It was a question that could easily come across as rude. But for Seollyeong, it was one she had heard countless times and grown used to. She also knew from experience that truly rude people didn’t ask in such a straightforward way. So she was able to answer with a smile.

“That’s right. I’m not his biological mother. I’m his stepmother.”

“I figured. So you remarried his father?”

“Remarried… well, not exactly…”

Seollyeong’s reaction made Seunghee instinctively realize she had stepped on a landmine. She knew she shouldn’t press any further. Sensing that on pure instinct, Seunghee quickly changed the subject.

“Even so, you’re in quite the situation, Unnie. Kissing your own stepson and everything.”

“…Yeah. I guess so.”

That was a conversation they had already had once before dinner. When Seunghee first arrived at the hideout, she had witnessed the two of them kissing. She had also heard the explanation about coins at the same time. That they needed coins to survive here. And that the only way to earn those coins was by doing lewd things with a partner.

At first, she thought it was a joke. Even if the two of them had an inappropriate relationship, they were still strangers to her. She couldn’t understand why they would make up such a ridiculous excuse. But earlier, while they were eating samgyeopsal, Changjae had manipulated his phone and all sorts of necessary items had popped into existence. That was when Seunghee finally realized the story was true.

“You should think about it carefully too, Seunghee. Even now, my brother’s out there hunting with nothing but a spear. If he at least had a gun, I’d be less worried. I’m terrified one of them is going to get hurt.”

“Come on. Would they really get hurt that easily? They’re soldiers.”

“They may be soldiers now, but just a few months ago they were still high school students. Peel back a single layer and they’re just like us. Fighting is scary, and getting hurt hurts. And yet those two still went out to hunt. No one forced them. Why do you think they went hunting, Seunghee?”

“Well… to get food for tomorrow?”

“That’s part of it, sure. But they’re also thinking about clearing out the dangerous animals so we can live safely. We can buy food with coins, but if dangerous beasts are roaming around, we’ll never be able to relax, right?”

If their only goal had been gathering food, the safest thing would have been to stay inside the hideout and just do lewd things. Yet the men had still chosen to risk their lives hunting. It was because they had judged that staying still was even more dangerous.

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? Changjae got badly hurt after being attacked by hyenas.”

“Yes…”

“Until then, I thought the same way you do. How could family do something like that? It was embarrassing and shameful. So I kept telling myself we’d hold out as long as we could. But after Changjae got injured, I regretted it so much. It was my stubbornness that got him hurt.”

But those words didn’t really resonate with Seunghee. Most of all, it was because Changjae looked perfectly fine on the outside. If he had been wrapped in bandages, maybe she would have believed it, but there wasn’t the slightest sign that he had been seriously injured.

“You should make up your mind before you end up regretting it too, Seunghee. Even if the men come back safely today, if these dangerous hunts continue every day, eventually one of them is going to get badly hurt.”

“…Okay. I’ll think about it.”

That was her answer, but Seunghee still didn’t fully understand. Since the two of them had already agreed to it, couldn’t they just keep doing what they were doing and share the coins they earned? It might sound shameless, but the men weren’t exactly strangers to each other. And since Changjae usually worked her brother like a mule anyway, she figured it wouldn’t be too much to ask.

“And another thing—”

Judging by Seunghee’s reaction, she probably didn’t know about the system that let you resurrect a dead partner either. Seollyeong was about to explain that as well.

But her words were suddenly cut off by an unexpected noise.

-Thud.

A heavy metallic sound echoed inside the hideout. It was the sound of someone knocking on the iron door.

Both women’s gazes instinctively turned toward the door where the sound had come from. It was too dark to see anything. But one thing was certain—someone was standing right outside.

“What is it? Are the boys back already?”

As Seollyeong tried to stand up, Seunghee grabbed her hand tightly.

‘Shh! No, Unnie! Don’t go out!’

Seunghee whispered urgently, afraid her voice might leak outside. Her face was hidden in the darkness, but Seollyeong could clearly hear the panic in her tone.

She had naturally assumed it was Changjae and Seungpil. But what if it was someone else? What if it was someone dangerous?

Seollyeong realized what Seunghee was thinking. Her mind went completely blank.

‘Unnie. Stay quiet. Don’t move.’

Seollyeong squeezed her hand back to show she understood. Even whispering felt terrifying.

They stayed like that for a moment, and the area outside the door fell silent.

‘Did they leave?’

The instant Seunghee whispered that—

-BANG!

‘Eek!’

Whoever was outside slammed hard against the iron door. The sound reverberated deafeningly inside the narrow cave. And it didn’t stop there.

-BANG BANG BANG! BANG BANG BANG BANG!

The person outside pounded on the door violently, as if furious. Seollyeong and Seunghee clung tightly to each other, trembling uncontrollably.

Who on earth was outside the door? Was it even a person? Could they be someone who needed help?

In Seollyeong’s mind flashed the image of someone fleeing from hyenas, desperately banging on the door and begging to be let in. But she quickly shook her head, casting the thought aside.

There was no voice calling for help. Only the sound of knocking. If someone truly needed help, they would naturally shout first. The fact that they were silently banging on the door suggested a different purpose. And even if they did need help, with only two women inside, they couldn’t offer any assistance. They couldn’t risk it.

-Creeeeak. Creeeeak.

When there was no response, the sound of someone trying to force the door open began.

“……!”

The two women hugged each other even tighter. As if doing so might somehow make the uninvited guest outside leave.

After waiting like that for a while, the noises finally stopped. Had they given up and left?

But even then, the two women remained locked in each other’s arms, unable to let go. They simply shivered, praying desperately for the men to return soon.

*

“Whoa! Corporal Kang Changjae, sir, we caught a ton, didn’t we?”

“Yeah. At this rate, we won’t have to worry about food for a while.”

The effect of the wild boar liver had been incredible. It was as if the organ had been coated in some kind of lure—beasts of all kinds had swarmed toward it. Hyenas, wild dogs, felines, weasels, eagles, and more. Even other wild boars had caught the scent and come sniffing around.

We had set up an ambush behind the tree where we’d left the boar liver and taken down every wild animal that approached. Thanks to that, we had earned plenty of coins ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and collected the food items, bones, and hides the animals had dropped.

No one had gotten hurt, and we had gained a lot. We had also verified several things in the process. All in all, it had been a very successful hunt.

“Then I guess it’s about time we…”

I was just thinking about pulling out when I suddenly sensed something strange.

“Hm? Corporal Kang Changjae, sir? What’s wrong?”

“Hey. Hide for now.”

“Huh?”

I immediately grabbed Seungpil and pulled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him down behind the tree, flattening ourselves against the ground. Since we had been doing exactly that for a while now, Seungpil naturally dropped into position as well.

-Thump. Thump. Thump.

A rhythmic sound of the earth trembling reached us. At first it had been faint and distant, but it was gradually growing louder and clearer. It was unmistakably heading straight toward us.

The closer the sound came, the stronger the tremors became. Just from the way the ground shook, it was obvious this was no ordinary creature.

-THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Crack!

Trees in the creature’s path snapped and shattered like toothpicks. Seungpil and I stayed pressed flat against the ground as if buried, only peeking our eyes up to confirm its identity.

An elephant? A mammoth? Or maybe some kind of dinosaur?

…My question was answered in the most absurd way possible.

…Are these bastards insane?