Chapter 144: Side Story - Bunker (2)
Chapter 144: Side Story - Bunker (2)
When I saw that phrase, several thoughts crossed my mind.
Feeling like it was a forbidden fruit was one of them, but more than that, I finally understood why Kang Yu-min had snapped at me so fiercely.
If I had seen this first, I would have been the one flying into a rage, demanding to know what kind of sick prank this was.
And for good reason—the reward was...
[Reward: (2) Fried Chickens]
Two fried chickens. The memory of the last time I’d tasted it was so distant that even the flavor and texture had become a hazy blur.
At the same time, it was something that had already been buried under the silt of the past for a year and a half.
No matter how hard I tried to recall it, no matter how much I craved it, it was something I could never eat again.
Considering the fact that we had met our end—that we might very well be the last of humanity—this felt like a horrific level of mockery, a cruel and tasteless joke.
Even I felt that way. In fact, I assumed this was some prank Kang Yu-min was pulling.
There were only the two of us, Kang Yu-min and me, in this bunker, and all external connections had been severed long ago.
It wasn't as if there was anything left to communicate with the outside world.
So, still frozen in place, I let out a reflexive, hollow laugh.
"Ha."
Perhaps my reaction was different from what she expected. Kang Yu-min stood there with her arms crossed, watching me with suspicious eyes.
Right. If I had been the one behind this, I would have been flustered or tried to deny it, just as she expected.
"Do you actually want to die?"
I had no memory of doing such a thing. If anything, I felt more disgusted than she did.
I hated everything about this. I hated the phrasing, written as if some half-assed hope actually existed.
What? A 'vitality booster'?
'Enriching shelter life'?
It was absurd. It wasn't a matter of whether things were already enriched or if we had enough.
It was the sheer judgment that we could somehow enjoy life in this shelter.
I hated it. Even the objective itself was ridiculous.
A joint half-body bath? Setting aside the fact that we didn't even have a bathtub, there was no way taking a bath with someone like Kang Yu-min would enrich my life or give me a boost of vitality.
I didn't know what kind of childish delusions she was harboring, thinking something like that could make anyone happy.
I shot Kang Yu-min a look of pure, unadulterated contempt.
I saw her flinch for a moment under my gaze.
"Wh-what? You, seriously..."
"You're actually disgusting. What, since you can't find another man, you're going to move on your own brother now? You're a real psycho."
At my words, Kang Yu-min's expression crumbled. The confusion and suspicion in her eyes were quickly replaced by a flash of realization.
"What the hell are you talking about, you crazy bastard? Frame me for something else. You're the one who did this, so what kind of bullshit are you trying to pull?"
"Why would I do something like this? And the reward is chicken? Does that even make sense? You've got quite the imagination. The world's ended, and you're dreaming about chicken..."
I clicked my tongue and shook my head. Seeing my expression, Kang Yu-min looked down at me with her arms crossed, as if she couldn't believe her ears.
"So you're saying I did it? Why would I do something like this? And what would I gain from taking a bath with you? We don't even have a bathtub to begin with, so what's this about a half-body bath..."
"Then who else would've done it? Stop bullshitting. If you're going to pull a stunt like this, keep your delusions to yourself or scribble them on the Intranet. You've done it before, haven't you?"
"Hey!"
"Ah, don't scream! It's annoying as hell."
I scowled deeply, and Kang Yu-min backed away with a similar expression.
I couldn't understand why she was playing such a prank. Unable to wrap my head around it, I turned around and lay down on the bed. Kang Yu-min stared down at me for a long time, clearly dissatisfied, before finally leaving the room.
Silence returned. Lying there quietly, I rolled my eyes while trying to organize my dizzying thoughts.
The Intranet terminal, still turned on, caught my eye. So did the message written on it.
Seriously, her imagination is twisted.
If we take a bath together, who exactly is supposed to give us chicken?
And what if it doesn't show up? What then? What if we endure the humiliation, take the bath, and then end up even more awkward, unable to even look each other in the eye?
What if, in the worst-case scenario, one of us just chooses to leave?
There's a limit to being immature. I let out a deep sigh and closed my eyes.
When I opened them again, the bunker was exactly the same. I didn't know how much time had passed or how long I had slept.
Judging by the terminal, it seemed quite a bit of time had gone by. I blinked and sat up, scratching my heavy head as I looked at the screen.
[Objective: Joint half-body bath for residents Kang Yu-jin and Kang Yu-min (60) minutes]
[Reward: (2) Fried Chickens]
[Progress: 0/60]
The message was still there. I stared at it, dumbfounded.
If you got caught, you should've at least deleted it. What a joke...
I let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity and approached the terminal.
I figured I should be the one to delete it. Of course, she might throw a fit because I deleted something she worked hard on.
But considering she harbored such foul thoughts about me, I felt I had every right to get rid of it.
I began tapping on the terminal's keyboard. I was searching for the delete function when...
Directive [Archive]
Directive [Change]
...What?
I blinked, my gaze wandering blankly across the terminal screen.
No matter how much I looked, what I was searching for wasn't there.
Why is there no delete option? I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find 'Delete' or anything similar.
Only 'Archive' and 'Change.'
Just like the bunker's basic instructions, status reports, and the internet access section.
This ridiculous joke existed as if it were something that simply could not be deleted.
What is this? Does Kang Yu-min know how to code?
Or did she unlock some hidden function of the Intranet to set this up?
I spent a while trying to figure out this entry.
The items labeled 'Archive' and 'Change' couldn't be deleted, and not a single word within the message could be modified or removed.
It stood firm as if it were some immutable truth, leaving me blinking in confusion.
"...What the fuck?"
I didn't understand. I had no idea what this situation was or how any of this was happening.
It was completely incomprehensible. I stared blankly at the terminal for a moment before leaving the 'Family-Friendly Shelter' section of the Intranet to create a new post.
[1234]
[11223 Kang Yu-min is an idiot]
I entered it with a bit of personal spite, but unlike the 'Family-Friendly Shelter' post, this one could be deleted perfectly fine.
Edit, delete, move, copy, and paste—all functions worked normally.
It was different from the 'Family-Friendly Shelter.' Why?
Unable to understand the reason, I returned to the 'Family-Friendly Shelter' post and let my hands hover over the keyboard for a moment.
[Archive]
[Change]
...What on earth is going on?
I couldn't understand it, but it felt as if those two options were whispering that they were all I could do.
Then... do I have no choice but to pick one?
My eyes drifted over the screen.
[If you have not completed the directive but wish to maintain it for the following day, please select Archive Directive!]
Archive Directive. I looked at the highlighted 'Archive' section, hesitating for a moment.
Directive [Archive]
I tapped the keyboard to select the item and pressed Enter.
My head was spinning, and the situation was still a mess. I had no idea why this had appeared, or what it was if it wasn't Kang Yu-min's prank.
I didn't understand any of it, but I had no choice but to check.
I could just ignore it and move on, but...
What if the directives presented here were something horrific?
It might sound selfish, but I didn't want to be caught off guard if Kang Yu-min came to carry out some terrible instruction. At the very least, I had to be the one in control of the situation.
It wasn't just about not trusting Kang Yu-min or finding her unreliable.
I was simply afraid of being left vulnerable in such a situation.
With everything already dead and gone, I didn't want that kind of future.
So, while I thought my decision was perfectly rational...
The terminal flickered as if to say my decisions and worries were all in vain, and then it printed a new directive.
[Archived Directive]
[Objective: Joint half-body bath for residents Kang Yu-jin and Kang Yu-min (60) minutes]
[Reward: (2) Fried Chickens]
[Progress: 0/60]
[New Directive]
[Objective: Resident Kang Yu-jin to praise resident Kang Yu-min (1) time]
[Reward: (1) Case of (24) 355ml Canned Colas]
[Progress: 0/1]
My eyes widened. Unlike the previous directive, this one was easy.
The message felt as if it were saying, 'This much isn't hard, so surely you can do it, right?'
I stared blankly at the message for a moment, blinking.
There was no way this was real. It was either proof that I was losing my mind, or there was something much bigger going on.
Even if I carried it out, there was no way a reward would appear. There was only one entrance to this bunker, and it wouldn't open unless operated from both the manual and automatic controls.
The outside world was devoid of all life, so there was no one to come by, and there was no way for items to just appear or be delivered inside.
So, this had to be a lie. It had to be, but...
Gulp.
I couldn't take my eyes off the reward section.
Canned Coke. A carbonated drink I felt like I hadn't tasted in nearly ten years, though it had only been a year and a half.
My heart wavered. Was it because I hadn't eaten anything but nutritional porridge for eighteen long months?
The thought of how wonderful it would be to drink that wouldn't leave my head.
But how?
Could I really believe this?
What if believing this became the starting point of my potential mental illness and madness?
I struggled between fear and hesitation, and after a moment of conflict, I closed and opened my eyes.
...Fine, a praise.
A praise isn't hard. I can even do it subtly. I just have to see Kang Yu-min and praise her in passing.
I knew she was good at exercising, so I could just praise that. Given our earlier fight, she'd probably take it as a gesture of reconciliation.
It would pass without any unnaturalness, and then I would know for sure if this was real or not.
I knew it couldn't be real, and I knew I shouldn't believe it would be.
And yet, before I knew it, I was getting up from my seat.
I tidied my bedding, straightened my clothes, and looked at the map of the bunker.
Where would she be now? She was probably either exercising more or sleeping.
What should I praise? 'Your abs are amazing'? That would be awkward as hell.
She'd probably ask if I was a pervert for looking at her stomach.
Her face? No, that's even more perverted.
I stepped out of my room hesitantly and started walking.
I kept my guard up, listening for any sign of her.
As I walked, I heard a clattering sound not far away.
Considering the environment where even insects had vanished, this could only mean one thing. I headed straight for the cafeteria.
"...What."
I saw Kang Yu-min, her face sullen as she chewed on nutritional porridge.
Ugh, she's actually eating that disgusting-tasting stuff.
But since nutrition was important if she wanted to keep exercising, it wasn't like I didn't understand.
My expression turned complex for a moment before I realized this was actually an opportunity.
Right, I can just use this to praise her.
"You'd really survive anywhere. How can you even eat something that tastes that bad? You're amazing. Seriously."
I was about half-sincere. I usually couldn't stand the stuff and would leave it or just starve.
Kang Yu-min's eyebrows twitched at my sudden words, unsure of how to take them. She opened her mouth to respond, but...
Before she could, her large eyes went wide and fixed on the empty air.
What? Why all of a sudden...
Before I could even ask what was wrong...
Something filled my vision and landed softly on the floor.
Despite its heavy mass, it landed gracefully, yet with a distinct, undeniable sense of weight.
It was paradoxical, but that was truly how it felt. I stared blankly at the box that had landed on the floor, and Kang Yu-min followed my gaze.
Wrapped tightly in red plastic packaging, it was something familiar to me from my days working part-time at a convenience store. Even if it hadn't been, it was something anyone could recognize after a second of thought.
It was...
"Coke...?"
It was the very Coke the Intranet terminal had promised.