Chapter 145: Side Story - Bunker (3)
Chapter 145: Side Story - Bunker (3)
For a moment, Kang Yu-min and I stood there, frozen in a daze.
The nutritional porridge I had scooped up dripped slowly back into the pouch in a thin, watery stream. Both Kang Yu-min and I stared at the box that had landed softly on the floor.
It was red. A red pouch with red packaging. The familiar letters were written in English, a language I hadn't seen in quite some time.
‘No, wait. It hasn’t been that long.’
Inside the bunker, there were plenty of manuals written in English and appliances engraved with English logos, so the language itself wasn't entirely foreign.
Therefore, the reason I felt such a sense of strangeness was simply because it had been a long time since I’d seen the specific word these English letters formed.
Despite that obvious fact, neither Kang Yu-min nor I could find the words to speak or even figure out how to react. It was a phenomenon so sudden and incomprehensible.
A box of canned Coke falling out of thin air was the kind of thing you’d only see in your imagination or a dream.
That was why, even though opening the box would be the surest way to find out what it was, I couldn't bring myself to act hastily.
Kang Yu-min was the same. For a while, we siblings just left the box where it was and sank into our own thoughts.
What on earth was happening?
I could make a guess. It happened right after the message on the terminal—the one that appeared immediately after I archived the instructions.
The proposal that if I praised her, I would receive a box of Coke.
It was something hard to believe, something impossible. In this ruined world, who could possibly know about that and provide a reward?
I decided to act, even if I was being fooled. Deep down, I was starting to get the impression that this might actually be real.
The fact that the message couldn't be deleted and that there was no room for me to intervene made it seem certain.
So, I moved. I did it so that if it were a lie, I could just ignore it, and if it were the truth…
“…What is this?”
I snapped out of my thoughts and blankly turned my gaze toward Kang Yu-min. She was staring at the box with her already large eyes wide open.
“This… suddenly… how…?”
Her questioning eyes turned toward me. She looked at me intently as if searching for an answer, but it wasn't like I knew anything either.
I felt a surge of irritation and wanted to snap at her, but since I had no answer to give, I remained silent. Kang Yu-min watched me for a moment before slowly reaching out and cautiously touching the box.
Her fingernails slid over the packaging, which left the distinct texture of plastic film on her hand. Her nails, cut short for exercise, dug into the pouch, leaving clear finger holes behind.
Rip!
The sound of the pouch tearing rang out. With the cardboard support underneath, the pouch split in half. As she applied force to tear it, the table let out a creaking sound as it was pushed by her body.
And so, the pouch split open, revealing its contents.
“…What in the world…”
There were twenty-four cans of Coke, unmistakable to anyone.
Four packs of six. The cans, arranged in different directions, were as cold as if they had just been taken out of a refrigerator.
The water droplets sliding down the surface proved the low temperature. Just looking at it made me reflexively swallow, and the mere act of imagining the taste was evidence enough that this was very likely the real deal.
But how, exactly?
I didn't know, so I hesitated. How could we drink this without knowing what it was?
To put it bluntly, Kang Yu-min and I might have both gone crazy at the same time and were seeing something strange as Coke, or it might be something else entirely.
So I was suspicious, and when I saw Kang Yu-min hesitantly reaching out, I tried to stop her.
“Hey, hey! We don’t even know what this is, don’t just—”
“Shut up.”
Kang Yu-min’s voice came out uncharacteristically sharp. She was usually sharp-tongued, but right now, she looked ready to bite my head off, so I reflexively shut my mouth.
With somewhat urgent movements, Kang Yu-min finished tearing the pouch and picked up one of the six cans.
“…It’s cold.”
Her voice was filled with something bordering on shock. Just as she said, I saw the Coke can had a very thin, white layer of frost on its surface.
It looked incredibly cold. The impression that it had just been pulled from a fridge wasn't wrong.
Even though I was just standing nearby, I felt like I could sense that chill.
It was right around the time I reflexively swallowed my spit again.
Psst!
As Kang Yu-min pulled the tab, the familiar yet now foreign sound of carbonation filled our ears.
Perhaps it was because the bunker was usually so quiet, but the sound felt vivid and incredibly loud.
“…For real…?”
Her voice was flustered and confused, yet soaked in emotion. With trembling hands, Kang Yu-min gripped the Coke can with both hands and tilted it back.
This was the same girl who usually wouldn't even touch it if it wasn't Zero because she was managing her weight.
She slammed the Coke down her throat as if she were starving. Her face contorted as if the carbonation stung her throat, yet she didn't stop, slowly tilting her head back as if she couldn't stop and didn't want to spill a single drop.
The liquid—sweet and fizzy even at a glance—filled her stomach through her open throat. Every time she gulped, the faint sound of carbonation could be heard, and the contents of the cold can slowly emptied.
Is it really, truly Coke?
I watched her drink in a daze, then reflexively lowered my gaze to the box of Coke.
My hands were shaking. Is it really real? Won't I get sick if I drink it?
There’s so much radiation outside. Is this actually safe?
No, wait, it appeared here out of thin air like teleportation, so shouldn't it obviously be fine?
But why all of a sudden? Who did this, and for what purpose?
While I was struggling with those thoughts, Kang Yu-min slowly lowered the empty can.
Perhaps because she had chugged the carbonated drink, she covered her mouth and exhaled slowly. Her face was flushed red, heated with pleasure and looking relaxed.
It was an expression that proved deep satisfaction. While I watched blankly, Kang Yu-min panted slightly.
“…It’s really… Coke…?”
Her voice trembled as if she couldn't believe it. Meeting her eyes as she urged me on, I slowly reached out and grabbed a can.
It was cold. It was so cold I felt like I might get frostbite if I held it for too long.
Maybe it was because I had been eating nothing but lukewarm nutritional porridge and drinking mostly lukewarm water for a while.
It was startlingly cold. We had a refrigerator, but since the porridge tasted even worse when cold, I hadn't even tried using it.
That coldness was incredibly foreign. It was something that couldn't even be compared to the cold water I occasionally drank.
From the moment my hand popped the tab to the moment I tilted my head back and drank, clutching the can as if to steady my lingering senses…
I still didn't understand what was happening.
There was just Coke in front of me, and to simply pass it by…
My body was starved for stimulation.
The Coke filled my mouth. The carbonation filled the space between my tongue, the inside of my lips, my gums, and my teeth, delivering a thrill and a faint sting.
I felt like I might choke. My body reflexively stiffened. Even so, I squeezed my eyes shut and endured it.
I didn't want to spill it. Partly because there were only twenty-two cans left, and partly because I didn't want to ruin this long-awaited moment of awe.
I felt like I would regret it if I spilled any. So I endured desperately, and though tears welled up in my eyes, I managed to finish it all.
A sense of regret remained. I wondered if I should have drunk it more slowly, but then I realized I wouldn't have been able to.
Feeling like a burp was about to come out, I covered my mouth and exhaled slowly. Kang Yu-min was staring at me.
“…What are you glaring at?”
“Is it good?”
I didn't want to answer. I really didn't, but…
“It’s good…”
I had no choice but to answer. Lying and saying it wasn't good would be disrespectful to this Coke.
The first carbonated drink I’d had in a year and a half—maybe even longer—felt like nothing short of a miracle.
An intense stimulation that could only be described as the taste of Coke. A flavor accompanied by a sense of sweetness, refreshment, and a feeling of being cleared out.
It was the Coke I knew, yet a taste I didn't know. Was Coke always this delicious?
I looked at the Coke can with eyes full of wonder, then slowly placed it on the table.
Immediately after the urgent Coke transfusion, only conversation remained.
I met the eyes of Kang Yu-min, who was staring intently at me.
“Explain.”
Her attitude was overbearing. A surge of defiance rose within me, but…
“…I told you, I didn't do the thing we saw yesterday either.”
“Yesterday… that? That disgusting thing?”
Looking at Kang Yu-min’s grimacing face, it was obvious what she was thinking.
It was something along the lines of, ‘This disgusting bastard is trying so hard just to get laid once.’
It felt unfair. Who would even want to do it with a woman like her?
“Don't get the wrong idea. I wouldn't want someone like you either.”
“Calling your older sister ‘someone like you’? You little brat…”
She said that, but the venom was completely gone from her voice.
Yeah, I have to admit what needs to be admitted. Yesterday’s fight was partly because we were both as venomous as could be.
We were irritated from spending our daily lives just trying to survive day by day without any stimulation.
In that state, it was only natural to fight after a misunderstanding. I was generous enough to tolerate this stupid girl who was only my older sister by birth order and had the mental age of a younger sister.
“Anyway, when I woke up, the screen was on, so I looked. There were options to archive or change. I couldn't delete it.”
“Archive and change?”
“So I pressed archive.”
“You pervert.”
“Whatever. After that, I was going to try pressing change, you know?”
Who said they wanted to take a half-body bath together? When I frowned and told her not to get the wrong idea, Kang Yu-min crossed her arms and lightly kicked the box of canned Coke.
“So? What’s this then?”
I glared at the selfish Kang Yu-min and chose my words for a moment.
“When I pressed archive… what was it? The original instructions were moved to the archived instructions, and new instructions were displayed. It said if I praised you, I’d get Coke.”
Only then did Kang Yu-min seem to recall my awkward and strange attempt at praising her earlier. Her eyebrows twitched, and I looked down at her.
“So, even though it was disgusting, I tried it. Just as a test.”
At my words, Kang Yu-min had a complicated expression. Seeing her stare at the canned Coke with her head bowed as if deep in thought, her mind was as clear as day.
My words probably sounded like a lie, and everything probably felt like a scheme I was pulling.
But regardless of that, this Coke that had suddenly appeared out of thin air felt incredibly real yet surreal at the same time.
It was clear that Kang Yu-min also knew this was beyond my capabilities. She blinked slowly as if hesitating, then…
Scrape!
She stood up abruptly, her chair making an unpleasant sound. Then she strode over and turned on the terminal on one wall of the dining area.
She looked like she couldn't believe it. It was obvious that if it were different from what I said, she would denounce me as a pervert.
That would be incredibly annoying, so I didn't want that. I was worried that maybe the completed instructions had disappeared, leaving no proof of what I saw, and she would start acting up again.
So, while I was frowning slightly and considering how to argue back…
The screen turned on, and Kang Yu-min, who skillfully selected the title "Family-Friendly Shelter," froze.
[Archived Instructions]
[Goal: Joint half-body bath for resident Kang Yu-jin and resident Kang Yu-min (60) minutes]
[Reward: (2) Fried Chickens]
[Progress: 0/60]
[New Directive]
[Goal: (1) Praise for resident Kang Yu-min from resident Kang Yu-jin]
[Reward: (1) Box of (24) (355)ml Canned Cokes]
[Progress: 1/1]
Instruction [Archive] - Locked
Instruction [Change] - Locked
The window that appeared clearly silenced both Kang Yu-min and me.
I didn't expect it to still be there. It felt like a game.
I should say it felt similar to how completed quests remain in a game.
Kang Yu-min’s hand hovered over the keyboard, and a complicated expression appeared on her face.
“…I don’t trust you.”
She eventually spoke to me with that same complicated expression, but her voice didn't carry any sincerity.
If anything, it was the opposite. It felt like she was trying to find fault somehow because she didn't want to believe it.
And so, Kang Yu-min squeezed her small brain and blurted out a plan that didn't even sound like a plan.
“Before 4 AM, in your room… no, let’s go together now. I’m going to watch you from now until 4 AM tomorrow to make sure you don’t pull any cheap tricks.”
I crumpled my face in annoyance but nodded my head.
“Fine, do whatever you want.”