After the Storm Passes
After the storm had passed, I found myself thinking about butane gas. Gasoline. Lighters. You might ask if you could really make a hand grenade out of that stuff, but yes, you actually can. How do I know? Because I’ve done it. Don’t ask how I ended up trying something like that. Let’s just say I had my own turbulent youth.
“C-Changjae? What are you going to do with that?”
“If that thing attacks this place, I have to try something. I can’t just sit here and take it.”
“Oppa, are you really going to fight the dinosaur too?”
“Shh.”
I started by wrapping six butane gas canisters in my combat jacket like a bundle. I stuffed the cans into the torso section and tied the sleeves shut. The knotted sleeves would serve as a handle for throwing. Pour oil over the body, light it, and you had an improvised grenade. It had the fatal flaw of zero timing control, of course, but it should at least be enough to drive the beast away. The explosion from a butane gas canister was deafening.
Boom—
The Tyrannosaurus was already right on top of us. I still hadn’t poured the oil. There was a chance it might simply pass by. Right now, staying quiet was the best move.
“Up we go.”
Instead, I flipped the dining table onto its side and set it in front of Mom and Seunghee as a barricade. It was pathetic, but better than nothing.
“Mom. Do not come out from behind this no matter what. You too, Seunghee.”
Mom and Seunghee clung to each other, shivering. I moved to the sink and started preparing to douse the butane cans with gasoline.
“Changjae.”
Mom’s anxious voice called my name. I smiled and pressed a finger to my lips.
“Shh. It’s okay.”
Asking her to feel reassured in a situation like this was probably asking too much, but I still wanted her to relax. The odds were high that the T-Rex would just walk on by. What would it gain by attacking us? And even if it did come for us, I had zero intention of throwing down in a death match with a dinosaur. I only wanted to protect these precious days I got to spend with Mom.
But if anything tried to ruin this life, it would have to be ready for the consequences. Even if that thing happened to be a Tyrannosaurus.
Booom—
The T-Rex’s footsteps had reached the door of our hideout. The ground trembled so violently from its overwhelming mass that my whole body shook. When I checked the map, the red dot was blinking directly in front of the hideout. What would it do? Attack? Or just keep walking?
I held my breath and stared at the map. A moment later, in the suffocating tension, the T-Rex began moving again.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
“Ah.”
The red dot was gradually moving away from the hideout. Its direction was north.
“Looks like it really is just passing by.”
“For real?”
Both Mom and Seunghee lit up at my words.
“Yeah. But let’s stay put a little longer. Just to be safe.”
“Haa… Thank god.”
With the tension gone, Seunghee flopped straight onto the floor. Mom still looked uneasy as she came over and took my hand. Her fingers were trembling faintly.
“Changjae. Let’s not go outside today. Just stay in.”
“Maybe we should.”
The sheer scale of what had just happened seemed to have shocked Mom badly.
“Oppa, can I use the bathroom?”
“You can, but don’t flush.”
“Ugh… Then I’ll just hold it.”
I left Seunghee squirming and rubbing her thighs together, then checked the map on my Metapia Terminal again. The T-Rex had already moved far into the distance. Its walking speed was impressive for something that size. Because an absolute predator had passed through, no other biological signals appeared on the map at all. With that kind of presence, could it even hunt properly? It was huge and obvious, and its footsteps thundered everywhere—everything would run away long before it got close. Not my problem, though.
“Mom. I’m going to step out for a minute.”
“What? You said we’d stay inside.”
Mom, still anxious, clung to my arm as I tried to stand. The T-Rex was already so far away that its footsteps couldn’t even be heard anymore, but she was still scared. I gave a small, bitter smile and gently pried her hand off my arm.
“I just want to check where the dinosaur passed. Want to come with me? The map shows nothing nearby, so it’ll be safe.”
“I’m still a little…”
Even though it had gone, she was still afraid. Mom turned her eyes away with a worried expression. Then Seunghee, who had been listening, shot her hand into the air.
“Me! I want to see!”
“Then come on, Seunghee.”
“Nice!”
Seunghee jumped up to follow. Seeing that she would be left alone, Mom stood up too.
“Ah, um… then Mom will come along too.”
“Alright.”
It was probably less scary to go together than to stay behind by herself. The three of us headed out.
Creak.
I opened the iron door carefully. I already knew from the map that nothing was nearby, but caution never hurt.
“Whoa.”
Seunghee’s mouth fell open the moment she saw the outside. The area around the hideout looked exactly like a dinosaur had rampaged through it. Large trees were snapped in half, boulders had been kicked over by massive feet. Most obvious of all were the enormous footprints pressed deeply into the ground—unmistakably those of a Tyrannosaurus.
“It really was a T-Rex…”
Mom only seemed to fully register it after seeing the destruction, her face turning pale. I pulled out my terminal and checked the mission I had received earlier once again.
Defeat T-Rex-Kushitapa
⏳ Time Limit: 112 days 22 hours
🎯 Objective: Complete death of T-Rex-Kushitapa
🎁 Reward: 7,000 coins
……
No matter how many times I looked at it, the mission was insane. Kill that thing? With what? Even if I bought a gun, dozens of 5.56mm rounds probably wouldn’t scratch it. I’d need at least an elephant gun or a proper anti-materiel rifle to have any chance. Or maybe Claymores or anti-tank mines? But then the cost wouldn’t be worth it. When you factored in the price of ammunition and equipment…
…Why the hell was I seriously considering fighting it? Even with ten lives, that would be suicide. I didn’t want to die yet. I didn’t need a sudden windfall. I just wanted to enjoy this miraculous life a little longer, as leisurely as possible. Coins? Mom and I could earn them if we worked hard.
“Ah! The vegetable garden is totally wrecked too.”
Just like Seunghee said, huge footprints had crushed the garden.
“Hng… I planted everything so nicely…”
Seunghee looked depressed.
“It’s fine. The soil’s been packed down tight. They might grow even better.”
“If that’s true, then okay…”
I roughly tousled Seunghee’s hair as her shoulders drooped.
“Let’s head back inside. There’s nothing we can do about it right now anyway.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
Mom, who had been fidgeting anxiously by the hideout door, quickly slipped back inside at my words. Seunghee and I gathered the things we’d left outside and followed.
“Where did Bbyak go, anyway?”
“Bbyak’s right here.”
When Seunghee asked, Mom answered and pointed under the sink.
“Ahaha! Oppa, look at Bbyak!”
Seunghee scampered over to Mom and burst out laughing. I followed after her.
“Lucky little shit.”
Bbyak was sprawled on its back, fast asleep. It must have hidden under the sink and simply passed out there. If anything, it looked even fatter than before.
“Let’s leave Bbyak alone.”
“Okay.”
We left the chick in the kitchen and stepped back.
“Oppa, can I shower first?”
Seunghee asked while peeling off a layer of her work clothes. Underneath was the pet-training bikini.
“I’m going to wash too. Want to shower together?”
“Mmm~.”
She didn’t answer directly, just twisted her body shyly while sneaking glances at Mom. Noticing her reaction, Mom—who had been listening—spoke up.
“Mom wants to wash too. Since we’re talking about it, why don’t all three of us shower together?”
“Yes!” Seunghee answered instantly.
I was fine with it, but… hmm.
“Won’t it be way too cramped for three?”
“Ah~.”
“Yeah, it would be.”
The shower stall was built for one. There was even a washing machine inside. Two people already filled it completely. Three would mean we couldn’t even move.
“While we’re on the subject, how about expanding the shower room a little?”
“I agree!”
Mom made the suggestion and Seunghee immediately seconded it. But why are you agreeing?
“You stay quiet. You’re a freeloader.”
“Hng. Sis~.”
Seunghee immediately clung to Mom. Using Mom as a human shield? Unforgivable. I’ll make her pay for that in bed later.
Still, expanding the shower room was a good idea. We had coins to spare now. That level of luxury was acceptable.
“Then while we’re expanding the shower, should we add a bathtub too?”
“A bathtub? That sounds nice!”
“Buy a huge one like a swimming pool, oppa.”
“I told you to stay quiet.”
The three of us sat together at the table, heads bent over the terminal as we browsed bathtubs.
“Since we’re buying one anyway, how about something big? Like this.”
The one Mom chose was an 800-coin giant oval tub. Just as Seunghee had said, it was practically a small pool. Six people could probably fit inside at once.
“…Isn’t that too expensive?”
“Even so. Wouldn’t it be better to buy the big one now instead of buying small and upgrading later?”
“I guess?”
“Exactly.”
“Seunghee, butt out.”
I pushed Seunghee’s head away as she kept trying to butt in.
“Besides, we might have more people later, right?”
“Even then…”
Mom seemed to take it for granted that more people would join us. But even if we did get more people, would we all bathe together? Hmm…
I crossed my arms and sank into thought. Expanding the shower room and adding a large tub would cost at least a thousand coins. We had about 3,500 coins left. It wasn’t like we couldn’t afford it, but was it really okay to spend on something like this?
“I’ll work harder to earn more coins. Okay?” Mom said, clinging to me.
“Me too!” Seunghee added, clinging from the other side.
“Ugh…”
In the end, I crumbled under the combined pressure of both women hanging off me.
“Fine. Screw it, let’s just buy it.”
“Yay!”
“Hehe. Smart choice.”
Between the hideout expansion, shower room expansion, and the large bathtub, we spent a total of 1,200 coins. Since we’d splurged, I’d have to work harder too. Starting right now—with the new bathtub.