Booze
“It's not just living things that experience death. Even lifeless things are destined to die someday.”
“Ah, sorry. My words must've been too hard for you guys. It's all my fault. I should've explained it more simply, at your level. Oh, and that doesn't mean you're stupid, so don't get upset.”
The chat exploded in excitement at my attempt to clarify and tell them not to take it the wrong way. How twisted do you have to be to interpret “don't get upset” like that? I was genuinely correcting myself to say they were smart, without any sarcasm, but they felt belittled anyway and started firing back rebelliously.
If they get mad when I explain it one way and mad when I explain it another, what the hell am I supposed to do? In the midst of this absurd situation, a ridiculous image of them throwing a tantrum flashed in my mind, and I couldn't help but let out a laugh. Even that split-second slip-up didn't escape them, and the backlash intensified.
I gave up on soothing them, chuckled dryly, and just said what I wanted to say.
“To put it simply, this road and these buildings are all dying too. Don't you feel anything looking at the scenery?”
“You get what I mean, right? Without anyone maintaining them, buildings and machines just age and break down.”
KRUMBLE!
Right on cue, a distant building crumbled to pieces with a roar.
The chat overflowed with onomatopoeic exclamations at the sudden sight and thunderous noise. Of course, since they think it's all fake, it was more playful shock than genuine fear.
As if confirming my guess, random chatter followed. But I was too focused on driving to reply one by one. In a place like this, anything could fall from above, so caution was key. I handed the drone to Hope and fixed my eyes forward.
Come to think of it, that Baek Cheol-ho guy I met before said he wanders around fixing broken machines.
His hands fixing the Kettenkraft were undeniably skilled. But even for an expert, one person can't handle a city—or this world—this vast.
Anything untouched by human hands, be it machine or object, falls apart. Layer upon layer of history painstakingly built by humanity, all its achievements and legacies, vanishing one by one in turn.
The dazzling technology that was once humanity's pride has long since ground to a halt, and even the faint echoes left behind have forgotten their purpose. We don't even know what those buildings and machines were for anymore. It's heartbreaking how things that clearly existed here get forgotten.
Will we end up forgotten and gone like that too?
I wonder how he's doing now? Hope he's okay.
I hope we meet again, but realistically, it's unlikely without a miracle.
“Ah...”
SCREECH!
I slammed on the brakes.
“That looks like it's about to collapse... Can we really cross it?”
The bridge to our destination was cracked badly and looked precarious. Parking and walking was too far, but driving across—could the Kettenkraft's weight hold?
“Unnie, what do we do?”
“Hold on tight. We're gonna gun it full speed across.”
The chat went wild warning about the danger. But I wasn't changing my mind.
“We've come this far. There might be food beyond, and more importantly, it's the quickest way to Eden. We don't have the luxury to backtrack and find another route.”
We chose this path because of a scrap of paper that suddenly flew in while our laundry was drying. It was torn, with writing left by a survivor. Beyond their sentiments, it mentioned possibly finding food. The paper was faded and the ink smudged, but being readable meant it wasn't that old.
After agonizing over it, we decided to go.
“Here we go!”
“Yeah!”
VROOOM!
The Kettenkraft roared at full throttle. Creaking sounds came sporadically from the bridge, but we didn't stop. Just as we reached the end, the bridge began to collapse.
RUMBLE!
“Whew... Don't go killing me off on your own. Made it by the skin of our teeth.”
Who knew it'd give way so suddenly at the end. Thank god we crossed. Accidents like this never get easier. Hope wasn't hurt either. But she was startled—her little chest heaving rapidly.
No way back now... Eh, whatever. We won't be turning back anyway.
After calming our racing hearts, I started driving again. Soon, we arrived at the spot marked on the paper. It looked like an old, long-shuttered factory.
No signs of life or tracks... Still, stay alert just in case.
I steeled myself to draw my gun at any moment. We searched every corner inside, but contrary to expectations, it was completely empty.
“Unnie~ There's really food here?”
“If the paper's right. But it's barren, so maybe someone already took it all, or it was bad info from the start.”
“Ugh, I was so excited. What did it say was here anyway?”
“Water that brings happiness and dreams? It was so vague, I don't really know either.”
The food description was smudged and hard to read. What little was legible was abstract scribbles like happiness, escape, dreams, life...
Now that I think about it, this might just be the ravings of a madman. Suddenly feels off. Doesn't look like a food factory at all.
“Dunno, but maybe it's so delicious it makes you happy? Hehehe, I'll find it and eat it no matter what!”
“Good attitude, but be careful not to get hurt.”
“If it's spaghetti cans like before, that'd be awesome. They were sooo good.”
Hope praising the spaghetti cans sent the chat into a frenzy. I get it. Calling noodles mixed with ketchup “spaghetti” must be infuriating and absurd. Still, in a place where good food is scarce, even something unworthy of the name tastes great. My past-life self would've tossed it in the trash, but now I savor it.
But even those delicious spaghetti cans are down to three.
Anything edible left behind would be nice.
We rummaged everywhere, but no food in sight. Wait, does this make sense? A factory this size should have something, right? Just as I was about to give up, I spotted a pile of boxes with empty glass bottles rolling around.
Checking the last one, another bottle caught my eye.
“...Huh? Hope. Think I found it.”
“Really?!”
She rushed over, eyes on the bottle I held. I shook it lightly, and the contents sloshed inside.
“Is that it?”
“Dunno... Can't read the label at all. Let's call the search here. We'll have dinner, then try a sip to see if it really brings happiness.”
“What's for dinner?”
“Same old.”
“Ehh...”
“But we worked hard today, so we'll open a soup can.”
“Yay!”
A chilly evening wind blew. As always, we soaked hardtacks in hot soup and filled our bellies. After dinner, we poured the hard-won bottle into glasses. It was orange.
“Whoa... Pretty color.”
Hope's eyes sparkled like the shimmering liquid.
The drone, off during dinner, flicked back on. I sniffed it—sweet aroma. A tiny sip. Hmm... Subtle sweetness spreads, with a fizzy, tangy bite. Then, as it goes down, a deep bitterness lingers. A familiar, nostalgic taste I've had before. What was it...?
“I wanna try too.”
“Here, have a sip.”
“Sniff sniff... Smells nice. Bet it's yummy? Slurp... Urk! Bleh! What is this? Bitterer than coffee. Is this even drinkable? Ugh, tricked by the smell.”
Hope's excited face twisted in an instant.
“That bad?”
“Yeah, tastes awful. Can't eat this.”
“Really? It's fine to me...”
What? Tastes okay to me. Seeing her grimace, it's clearly not normal.
Why didn't I think of that? I'd forgotten the taste of alcohol, but this matches perfectly.
“Hope, looks like this is water only grown-ups can drink. It's not tasty 'cause you're still little.”
“Really? Tch, lame. Then I can't have any.”
“I'll make you cocoa instead, which you can drink.”
“I love that.”
Hope blew on the warm cocoa and sipped happily. Her scrunched face smoothed into bliss. Watching her joy, I poured myself another glass. The bitterness soon turned to a pleasant sharpness.
“I'm fine, fine.”
My tongue felt a bit thick, but the good mood made it irrelevant. The booze lightened my heart unusually, so I responded to chat more softly and warmly than usual.
Scars? What scars?
My glass froze mid-sip. Scars—surely that one.
“You guys saw it, huh.”
When did they see that? Did the drone turn on while I was changing? Persistent prodding confirmed it—they glimpsed it briefly then. It shut off quick, so not a long look.
“Everyone gets hurt playing as kids, right? That's how I got the scar.”
I brushed it off vaguely, but chat buzzed about the scar. Not some huge secret worth hiding, but no reason to spill the truth either. Ah, whatever. Too annoying. Time for more booze. Gulp gulp.
“Haa... Definitely water that brings happiness and dreams.”
The booze dulled my mind and relaxed my body. My usual tension melted away in this moment. They say booze turns people into idiots. Tomorrow and beyond? Didn't care. This moment felt so good, silly laughs kept bubbling up. I opened another bottle.
“I, I'm not drunkhh... For real? See? I'm fine. Mind's super clear, but they keep saying I'm drunk.”
I wandered to the window, gazed at the moon, and hummed softly. Ah, feels great. Tomorrow'll be even better.
The next day, morning.
Fuck, this sucks...
“My head hurts.”
Should've paced myself. Want a hangover cure bad.
*This girl's the type who shouldn't drink.
All the viewers thought the same. Whether high proof or just her tolerance, her drunken antics were wild. Crying then laughing, giggling then suddenly serious, repeating. Pouring out grievances at the world, then smothering her little sister in kisses.
Seeing a new side to the usually stiff girl was nice, and her drunk self was kinda cute.
The booze-fueled humming was stunningly beautiful. No real lyrics, just freestyling, yet the ethereal melody captivated everyone. Someone clipped and uploaded it, and views exploded.