Chapter 163: Side Story - Bunker (21)
Chapter 163: Side Story - Bunker (21)
“…My head hurts.”
Inside the bunker, where time always felt ambiguous even while asleep, I slowly opened my eyes and turned my head at the sound of a voice beside me.
Kang Yu-min was there. Lying on her side, groaning as she clutched her head, she was my biological sister—and perhaps, my lover.
Our relationship wasn't exactly defined yet, and there were certainly some ambiguous aspects to it. Still, after having shared our bodies to that extent, kissed, and essentially exchanged love, it was difficult to maintain my usual prickly attitude toward her.
“Are you awake?”
“That’s so cheesy.”
It seemed that even my voice sounded different to her. She let out a small laugh and spat those words out while still groaning.
“Look who’s talking.”
I reached out an arm in response to her jab. Yu-min looked at my arm, clearly conflicted about using it as a pillow, before shaking her head.
“Isn't it a bit too easy to act like this just because we did it yesterday? I’m not really into easy guys.”
“Weren't you a total virgin until just recently?”
“Ugh, whatever. I’ve dated before.”
“What? When? You should keep your bluffing within reasonable limits.”
A loner like her, dating? It was true she was beautiful and had an incredible body, but the Kang Yu-min I knew didn't have the personality to maintain a relationship.
It was an obvious lie, a mere bluff, and she knew perfectly well that I knew it. Yet, I could see that deep down, she wanted me to be jealous or at least ask about it. Not that I ever would.
“Geez, I really have.”
I snorted, and Yu-min pouted as if offended, though she continued to playfully swat at my side.
It didn't matter anyway. I had decided to be her boyfriend from now on.
“Fine then, just go hug your pillow.”
As I spoke bluntly and locked my fingers behind my head to rest on them, Yu-min stole glances at me before settling on her side to face me.
She was lightly beaded with sweat, her face still a bit flushed. My sister asked:
“Hey, about yesterday… what you said.”
“Yeah.”
“Was it all… for real?”
“What do you think?”
“Ugh, don't dodge the question. Just tell me the truth.”
Seeing her whine like that made her look cute, which was a clear sign that what she’d said yesterday had a significant impact on me. Still, trying my best not to let it show, I spoke the thoughts I had prepared.
In essence, it was a repetition of what I’d said yesterday.
“To some extent, I meant it.”
“…What does that mean?”
“The world has ended. If we’re going to rebuild humanity, we have to be Adam and Eve.”
Yu-min didn't answer; she just let her eyes wander. When our gazes met, her eyes didn't hold any clear emotion or intent. It was more like she was staring intently, waiting for the words that would follow.
She was definitely waiting for something. Words that were still difficult for me to say.
“So, we should get along. I think… the Family-Friendly Shelter inside that terminal wants us to do that, too.”
“…I guess so.”
Yu-min looked away with a hint of disappointment, but we weren't so distant that we couldn't read each other. If anything, the problem was that we knew each other too well.
She was my biological sister, yet I couldn't help but think she was acting far too much like a woman toward her own brother.
Perhaps this was the right direction, but at the same time, it still felt awkward. It felt as though the time we’d spent as siblings until now had become a shackle. A shackle that was also a safety device—one that felt like if I forced it open, I’d be dragged away and flung into the far reaches of the dark void of space.
I wasn't ready to unlock it just yet.
“For now, let’s check today’s instructions.”
“My back hurts, so I’m going to lie down a bit longer. Read them to me.”
Look at her acting all spoiled. I walked over to the terminal and familiarly tapped the keys to select the new directives.
I wondered what kind of instructions would appear today.
*
In truth, I didn't think our schedule would change that drastically.
We had gained a new living room, but it was just a living room. I figured our schedule was dictated by our circumstances, so I thought nothing would really change…
Contrary to my expectations, our schedule changed irreversibly and permanently.
“…Wow.”
Just as Yu-min breathed out, it really was a "wow" moment. The list of rewards had been surprising enough, but seeing it in person made the impression even deeper.
“…I want to live here.”
“We already live here.”
“Oh, right.”
It was understandable that Yu-min would forget. What lay before us was something we thought we’d never see again.
In front of us was something like the living room of an ordinary, yet affluent, family home. There were windows—actually TV screens—simulating the scenery outside, a cozy sofa, and even a spa set about half a level higher right in the center.
Furthermore, the promised games and a library-like area were positioned at a sufficient distance to avoid damage from the spa's moisture, visible behind a transparent partition to prevent splashing.
It felt like an incredibly luxurious lounge or perhaps a chaebol’s private arcade.
Under the circumstances, it was unimaginable not to use these facilities. The library was stocked with both completed and ongoing works, as if it remembered our previous conversations. As for the games, there were countless titles ranging from the latest releases to classic masterpieces.
There was a PC, of course, and even a sofa with bedding on it, as if suggesting we take a break there.
Despite having the duck down bedding in the other room, I suddenly thought we could probably eat and sleep right here. My only concern was the electricity, but…
“Oh, hey. This…”
Following the power cords, I saw them leading toward a closed section of the bunker that didn't connect to any other part. I could sense an intention there, telling me not to worry.
It was as if it were saying there was no need to worry about or even pay attention to the source of the power coming from beyond that point—and that it would be better if I didn't.
As if on cue, Yu-min and I stopped worrying and settled into the entertainment space. Wearing the clothes we’d taken off yesterday, we sat side-by-side on the sofa.
Feeling dazed by the entertainment we were tasting for the first time in a year and a half, we held the gamepads and stared blankly at the screen as it flickered to life.
The game was a familiar one. A truly "family-friendly" console game made by a Japanese company that I’d played before the war broke out. From the kind of games recommended for families to world-famous RPGs.
“…It’s been so long since I’ve played a game.”
“Me too.”
Even our smartphones had broken right after the nukes fell. Since we hadn't touched any electronics other than the terminal in so long, we acted as bewildered as primitive humans seeing fire for the first time.
But we knew that given enough time, we would adapt. At our core, we were modern people.
Sure enough, about thirty minutes after picking up the controllers for the first time, we stopped playing to check out other features. We operated the TV with the remote and soon found ourselves watching a movie.
Yu-min used my lap as a pillow. Having nowhere else to put my hand, I rested it on her side, and it naturally slid down to rest on her breast.
In the past, she would have had a fit and denounced me as a pervert. But having just engaged in the raw, sticky intimacy that siblings should never share, Yu-min quietly accepted my touch. In fact, she went a step further and guided my hand onto her bare breast.
The feeling of watching a movie while kneading her bare breast…
It was something I never thought I’d experience again—something we had lost.
“…Don't you have to go exercise?”
“…I’m resting today. I did plenty of exercise at dawn.”
“I wonder if that even counts as exercise.”
“What?”
“You didn't even move. I was the only one moving.”
“It’s like electrical muscle stimulation. I sweated a ton, I’m exhausted, and my legs are still shaking.”
It was only natural that we were held captive by this lost sense of normalcy, unable to leave our spots. And it felt like a reward we deserved for enduring for a week, but…
Strangely, it didn't feel like I was receiving a reward. I felt dazed.
Because yesterday’s pleasurable act itself—that sticky incestuous night that burned through the hours—felt like the true reward.
I sat there blankly for a while, watching the movie. It was a classic. Perhaps the kind of movie our mother used to like.
“…I wonder what Mom would say.”
Watching it brought such thoughts to mind. Thinking of my mother, and reminding myself of the line we had crossed and the relationship we had reached.
A sense of helplessness washed over me along with a subtle guilt.
Mother couldn't come back. Normally, that would be the case. Even if someone told me they could bring her back, I wouldn't have believed it before seeing this place.
But… seeing the impossibility of these rewards, I felt that even such a thing could be easily accomplished.
The problem was, if a directive appeared offering such a reward, what would we do?
Should we give up on our mother for the sake of this relationship?
Or… should we confess this relationship to her and try to persuade her?
There was no way she would ever accept it.
And what if the directive was something absolutely impossible to carry out?
Should we let it go, believing that the reward would come around again someday?
“…I wonder.”
And that wasn't just a meaningless worry brought on by watching a movie my mother liked.
I glanced toward the terminal screen next to the sofa.
[New Directive]
[Goal: Fertilize the ovum of resident Kang Yu-min with the sperm of resident Kang Yu-jin.]
[Reward: Resurrection of mother, Lee Seon-mi, and relocation into the shelter.]
[Progress: 0/1]
Of all the instructions it could give.
In the end, there wasn't much of a choice.
While kneading Yu-min’s breast, I stealthily moved my hand to tap the keys on the terminal.
Directive [Archive]
I did my best to avoid Yu-min’s sharp gaze.
Slowly, thinking that maybe, someday, I would be able to carry it out.