Chapter 138

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Translator: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ryuma

Chapter: 138

Chapter Title: 70. Delivery (2)

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It didn't look like a high-grade Awakener.

No red glow, and the light in his eyes wasn't all that bright either.

Probably some low-tier Awakener below rank 5.

At that level, even Woo Min-hee wouldn't be thrilled to take him on.

But this wasn't the time to be entertaining stray thoughts.

"Run away."

The boy whispered in a low voice.

"You seem like a good guy, mister, so I'm telling you this. Get out of here right now."

This wasn't empty talk.

His face was deadly serious, far too much for a kid his age, and he kept glancing back over his shoulder, checking his surroundings.

Sure enough, a metallic clank came from beyond the slightly ajar door.

The sound of grabbing a gun, loading rounds, switching the safety.

I hesitated for a moment on what to do, then flashed the boy a smile before mounting my motorcycle.

"Thanks."

I revved the engine and sped away from the house.

It was only after I'd put some real distance between us that I heard someone fling open the door and come charging out.

Some of Foreman Jang's bigger kids were pointing at me, yelling sharply.

"There! He's running!"

"Shoot! Kill him!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out from way back there.

I ignored them.

At this range, with all these obstacles in between, whether a bullet hit or not came down to luck and nothing else. Still, it was like a splash of ice water to the face, snapping me wide awake.

Just minutes ago, I'd been stumbling around in a half-asleep daze.

Hope, my ass.

I swallowed a hollow chuckle and gunned the throttle.

Racing past the familiar snowy plains back to the bunker, I spotted a human silhouette.

No need to draw my gun.

Standing at the entrance to the decoy bunker was Defender's little sister in her winter gear, looking a bit flustered as she scanned the area.

She soon picked up on my motorcycle's engine roar and broke into a bright smile, waving at me.

Why she was here was obvious from the heavy duffel bag in her hand.

"SKELTON!"

She'd run away from home.

There'd been signs of trouble brewing for a while, and now it had finally boiled over.

"Let me crash here for a bit."

"It's almost morning."

"Why so cold? Don't you like me coming over, SKELTON?"

Her vibe was off from her usual self.

She'd always avoided eye contact, chatting via tablet, but now she was locking eyes boldly, lacing her words and gestures with a subtle coquettishness.

"You're always welcome. But did you get permission from your brother—"

"Why do I need his permission?"

Strong displeasure flashed across Defender's little sister's beaming face.

I watched her cheeks turning blue from the cold, then headed toward the bunker.

"......Let's talk inside first."

I helped her shed her winter gear, stowed our equipment, and set some hot water boiling.

While the kettle heated up, Defender's little sister sat blankly on the sofa, lost in thought.

Her face was expressionless, but her eyes staring into space flickered with emotions rising and falling.

I brought out tea and sat across from her.

"Where'd you go?"

She asked without meeting my gaze.

I gave her a quick rundown of the morning's events.

"Oh, really? So it's basically scavenging after all?"

Scavenging.

Yeah, fair description.

"People try to deny it all they want, but they end up living lives not too different from what they've experienced. Those kids only know scavenging from what they've seen and heard, so that's all they can do."

Defender's little sister sipped her tea, let out a deep sigh, and draped one arm limply over the sofa.

"Your brother too."

She murmured to the empty air with lonely eyes.

"He hates Dad so much, but ends up acting just like him."

She muttered curses under her breath—idiot, moron, and worse.

"Guess the genes of a gullible pushover don't just vanish."

She looked at me.

Hesitation and resistance flickered in her eyes, but only briefly. She steeled herself a bit and met my gaze head-on.

"What do you think of me, SKELTON?"

I knew what was coming.

She was probably going to suggest moving in together.

Practically marriage-level commitment.

It was sudden, but still within the scenarios I'd anticipated.

Honestly, living with a sweet, attractive woman like her would be fulfilling both emotionally and as a human being.

It'd be a lie to say I didn't feel any desire to hold her.

But I had to turn down the offer.

Plenty of reasons, but the biggest one was the root of the problem.

"You're pretty and charming. I like you."

"R-Really?"

"But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠here's the thing. How do you feel?"

I looked Dajeong straight in the eye as I said it.

"Me? Of course I like you, SKELTON. That's why I'm here."

Relationships between men and women can't be summed up with just truth or lies.

There's something like bond strength, akin to a rift, and its intensity determines a lot. From what I could see, the version of me in her eyes was somewhere between fondness and love.

Slightly above fondness, maybe?

I could tell because I viewed her similarly, letting me stay objective.

Of course, factor in lust, and it'd upgrade to "extreme like."

Sure enough, Dajeong forced herself to hold my gaze before looking away first. I stared at her as she gazed into space and continued.

"Things that bad with your brother?"

"......Haa."

Dajeong sighed and slumped further.

She looked at me with a weary expression.

"We're definitely a ways apart in age?"

"......Doesn't seem that much."

"My mental age from online feels higher for sure, but in person? Yeah, you're definitely more adult-like, SKELTON. Not just looks—actions too."

"Huh? People I know say I seem young."

"Those people around your age, right?"

"How'd you know?"

"Just a hunch."

"......Enough about age. So it's all because of that Jong-cheol guy?"

Dajeong swirled her coffee cup, glancing around my bunker with radiators hissing steam everywhere.

"That's part of it, yeah. But anyway, your place always looks so well put-together every time I see it."

"Put some effort into it."

"If you ignore that damn toilet..."

Drip drip.

I savored my coffee lightly.

A faint sigh escaped the woman amid the familiar silence.

"......Brother's leaving this place?"

I looked up at Dajeong.

Her face was dead serious.

Didn't seem like probing or a lie.

"Leaving?"

"Yeah. When spring comes."

Dajeong slumped deeper into the sofa.

"To where the Legion faction is."

"Legion faction?"

"Contrary to what we think, they've got it really nice over there. Remember going to that quack dentist?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Apparently there are a bunch of villages like that. They're even giving one to Hunters. You know there are quite a few Hunters there too. Life quality seems good."

Dajeong set her cup down lightly on the table.

"......Jong-cheol keeps pushing it. Says we should head to the Legion faction together."

"Yeah?"

"Heard your brother has a bunch of old squadmates there. Plus, things are gonna get worse next year."

"Things always get worse."

"Something with the rifts."

"Rifts?"

Dajeong met my eyes and nodded.

"Don't know the details, but they've detected activity beyond the Paju rift."

"Source is Legion faction?"

"Yeah."

The rifts had been eerily quiet the past two years.

Instead, outbreaks had focused on relatively safe countries, but Paju was due for a big one.

Even with the capital region's population halved, millions still lived there, and the Paju rift had been as intense as Beijing's.

Once monsters started pouring out, the area wouldn't hold.

At minimum, all of Seoul would be overrun.

Since Yang Sang-gil's resignation, Incheon's government had been coasting on inertia with no real defense. The Legion faction might be the only force that could hold back a monster invasion. I got Defender's thinking.

Without defensive troops, a full-scale incursion would replay the hell we'd seen in China right here.

"If that's the case, Defender's not entirely wrong."

"You think so too, SKELTON?"

"......I was a Hunter once."

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasn't taking his side on purpose, but Dajeong deflated sharply, like I'd unintentionally backed him. I wasn't the sweet type, but I wanted to lift her spirits here.

Or rather, it felt like it'd improve my mood too.

Especially after the rotten start to my morning.

I stared at her, recalling the young siblings who'd warned me to run.

"Dajeong."

I called her name for the first time.

She jumped in surprise and looked at me.

"S-SKELTON?!"

"Surprised?"

"How do you know my name?! Did brother—"

"Eh, after over a year chatting, it slips out sometimes."

"SKELTON."

"Wanna go shopping?"

"Shopping?"

Still reeling, I opened the laptop to the shopping site where the Melon Mask had given me my chance.

"What is this?"

Dajeong's shocked face lit up brightly.

"Is this for real? Stuff actually comes?"

"Yeah. Straight from Melon Mask HQ."

"Melon Mask?! When'd you find out? Weren't you blocked?"

"Complicated story. Takes time to explain—pick stuff first. Closing soon."

Suddenly, I recalled my childhood sister, now forever silent, sitting me down and buying cute trinkets from some sketchy online mall.

Within our measly 12,000 won balance, adding and removing items, tweaking options, converging infinitely on the perfect 12,000-won order before hitting buy.

Then bam—shipping fee.

Now I'd grown up, the woman beside me was much younger than my sister, and the site sold grim stuff like guns and drugs instead of dolls and cutesy text.

Still, watching Dajeong add and remove within the 5kg limit overlapped with that memory. Guess my family recollections were that thin.

It warmed my chest while stoking the cold flames of hatred deeper within. Shaking off the reminiscence, I warned Dajeong.

"Hey, don't hog it all. Gotta order for Rebecca and Su too."

"Rebecca? Su?"

Dajeong turned to me with a baffled look.

"Who? People with those nicknames?"

"The Mad Sniper mom and daughter."

"Oh, the ones from that southwestern township you mentioned, the shooters?"

"Since we're on the topic, should I call 'em?"

Suggesting the surprise event was partly to stop her burning through the precious 5kg, but also because I sensed the dangerously alluring scent wafting from her body pulling my nerves in unintended directions.

Turns out I was a man after all.

With something unbearably boiling up inside. But crossing that line took resolve. A lesson from Anonymous848's sacrificial warning.

"SKELTON, we're here~!"

"SKELTON, I want juicy stuff."

The Rebecca duo arrived at the bunker.

They quickly spotted Dajeong hiding behind me.

"S-SKELTON? Who's that?"

Rebecca asked, mildly startled, while Su tilted her head, glaring at Dajeong with a stiff face and firing off,

"SKELTON? Who's that lady?"

As I explained to the sniper duo, Dajeong stayed hidden behind me, silent.

Come to think of it, she'd been shy like that our first meeting too.

Apparently hated strangers.

Couldn't even meet a kid like Su's eyes.

"Hi, Defender sis."

Luckily, Su seemed open to her.

Su offered her hand first.

Dajeong tapped something on her tablet and showed it to Su.

The brief hiccup over, we returned to the hot grill of shopping that sets women's hearts ablaze.

Before the site packed with goods, Rebecca and Su's eyes sparkled. They soon forgot Dajeong entirely, scrolling frantically, adding and removing from the cart.

"Nothing good! Melon Son of...!"

"That jelly! I had it in Seattle! Super juicy!"

"Um, Miss Su? That's mine. Why'd you remove it...?"

"Firefox stays."

In the fitting commotion, I watched their shopping with a subtle smile.

Feeling something from the morning fill back up.

Maybe this filling sensation and these warm, memorable moments were their greatest gift to me?

*

For someone like me with few warm pages in life, it was worth a shot.

The day the stratospheric drone—Cygnus S—carrying our delivery was due turned out nicely clear with few clouds.

Temperature: minus 31 degrees.

Cold enough to freeze solid just standing there, but we forgot the chill, gazing endlessly at the vainly blue, high sky.

I glanced sideways.

Not dramatically, but lukewarmly yet surely reconciled, the Defender siblings stood side by side at a distance. Beyond them, Rebecca held Su close, both looking up.

When this winter ended, they'd probably leave my side.

Each with their own stories and reasons.

It'd give plenty to ponder, but for now, wait for the package from the heavens.

Crackle—

Timing perfect, the K-walkie-talkie burst to life.

"Fuck! Fuck!"

Foreman Jang's kids.

"We're all freezing to death here! Someone save us! Hello? Just kids here! Please!"

I tried powering it off, fumbling the button through thick double gloves. As I went to pull it out entirely,

"Huh? What's that? Kids! Look at the sky!"

A rare innocent lilt flowed from the radio.

Then Su's exclamation from behind.

"Ah!"

Su, monitoring the sky with sniper scopes, pointed up.

"There!"

Where her finger aimed: a silver, nuke-like metallic bomb-shaped case plummeting straight at us.

"Shouldn't we dodge?"

Defender glanced around for escape routes as Su beamed.

A parachute bloomed.

Black marker on the capsule read:

-Recipient: SKELTON (First discoverer friendly to humans and mutations)

"What? That?"

Defender tilted his head, his sister shooting me a puzzled look too.

Su ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and Rebecca eyed me questioningly, but I said nothing, just watched the package drift slowly toward us.

Carrying 5kg of hope.

[70. Delivery (2)] End