Chapter 142
Chapter 142
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Hiding a House in the Apocalypse
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There are many ways to make an approach.
So-called indirect approaches, or encounters disguised as coincidences.
Striking up a direct conversation is always the last resort.
You risk arousing suspicion about your intentions, and if things go wrong, you could end up blocked, cut off from any further communication forever. I planned to approach Unicorn with something more circuitous and refined.
The target was the crap post Unicorn had just dropped.
I left a comment on it.
Kang Hanmin and Na Hyein had been offered new callsigns by the National Crisis Committee rather than their school, after awakening.
If my memory served right, Kang Hanmin got "Jupiter," and Na Hyein got "Minerva."
Kang Hanmin stuck with the disgraceful callsign from school, while she ditched her old one for the new.
So "Alpha One" was a callsign known only to our 13th class and similar batches—back when Na Hyein hadn't awakened yet, a shared relic from those days for a select few.
I'd left it as a comment on Unicorn18's post.
"......"
There would definitely be some kind of reaction.
This Skeleton guarantees it.
Hell, if I posted some meaningless drivel and someone replied with "Professor," I'd be tossing and turning all night wondering. If it was Woo Minhee who left it, I might even seriously consider moving.
The bait was cast.
All that was left was to wait for the fish to bite.
I left the Unicorn post open in my browser and headed to the sauna.
The new sauna facility I'd built recently was one of the few comforts bringing me joy these days.
It was bizarre.
Back in my China days, I'd sneered at five-star hotel saunas like they were nothing special, but now I didn't feel clean unless I hit the sauna.
Skeleton's custom sauna followed traditional Finnish methods to the letter.
A hearth loaded with stones, heated up, and water poured directly over them to create steam.
Hiss—
White steam billowed up and vanished, warming the air as I closed my eyes, feeling toxins purge from my body with the sweat.
The fresh scent of birch filled my nostrils.
Even in this peaceful sauna, I'd brought my rifle along.
That's the world we lived in.
No room for the slightest lapse in vigilance.
I shook off the negative thoughts creeping in, trying to focus on positives.
What if Unicorn18 really was Na Hyein?
How would I keep the conversation going then?
Hmm.
There's nothing much between us anyway.
What connects us is just Cosmos.
That rootless weed blooming in spring and fall now—that's it.
But who knows.
I've gotten older, and so has she.
Maybe we each have stories from the years we've shared.
For me, I've got an ace up my sleeve.
Um Chang's tale of woe.
Na Hyein was Woo Minhee's apprentice, but they weren't close.
Na Hyein was so overwhelming and flawless that no one dared challenge her outright, but Woo Minhee poked at her petty flaws, like constant low-key provocations.
It was widely known that Na Hyein and Woo Minhee didn't like each other.
Not that anyone really liked Woo Minhee, mind you.
If I told her how I'd owned Woo Minhee, wouldn't that draw a smile from Na Hyein?
But if it's Kang Hanmin... well.
I wouldn't know what to say.
Our relationship was strained beyond what a simple word like "awkward" could capture—riddled with too many bad memories.
Back in school, I'd stood by while Jang Gi-young bullied him, secretly hoping he'd leave.
Nothing changed in China.
I was frontline elite with Kim Daram, Lee Sanghun, Choi Bong-seok (who died there).
Kang Hanmin was second-tier, handling grunt work like security with fresh grads.
We barely spoke.
Not even in the showers.
Separate parties, strictly divided groups at public events.
Pretending to be buddies now? Even with Skeleton's brazen new self, that's a bridge too far.
Our one point of contact? Kim Daram's wedding, maybe.
Kang Hanmin gave 200,000 won as a gift.
Unheard of.
50,000 was the bare minimum socially, 100,000 the line for school alumni.
He had zero ties to Kim Daram.
She was sweet and diligent, but not that friendly to mediocrities.
Still, that hefty sum left an impression, giving us a moment to talk.
We knew each other's faces as fellow disciples of the same master, so we exchanged awkward nods and stood side by side outside, waiting for the ceremony.
"Maybe I should get married too."
Kang Hanmin exhaled vapor from his e-cig.
"They say popping out kids guarantees lifetime employment."
The Committee encouraged early marriage and kids for hunters then.
Even with the "active in war zones" clause, benefits were huge.
Not just cash—major points for promotions within the org.
Smart Kim Daram married quick for that reason.
On the flip side, I wondered if it was right, pulling expensive-trained hunters off the frontlines amid low birth rates.
Losing a gem like her hurt as team lead.
Never got another that good after.
But for middling hunters like him? Better they marry off and retire comfy.
If he had kids, like he said, lifetime job with fatter paychecks, cushy life.
"Who with?"
I asked because hunter spouses doubled rewards—like retired teacher couples double-dipping super pensions.
"Dunno."
I recall his eyes flickering then.
"Prefer a hunter, though."
"Hunters are best. Double pay."
"Yeah?"
He glanced away uncertainly.
Crowd full of guests, but I knew who he eyed.
Another classmate in a fresh yet subdued suit, blending into the guests: Na Hyein.
"......"
I knew he liked her.
But it was none of my business.
I rose from the sauna and stepped out.
-38°C gale hit Skeleton's bare skin.
I dashed to the bunker, rinsed ice from my body with hot water, cleansing after the heat-cold swings.
"...Hoo."
Post-bath, I downed the chilled cocoa prepped earlier.
Good for body, taste, and sharpens the mind.
Clear-headed, I sat at the PC to check the line.
After this time, she'd have bitten—glancing at the screen.
"Hm?"
No bite.
Unicorn18 ignored my killer comment.
Logged off maybe?
Nope.
Casually shitposting in a board swarming with "save me" pleas.
Posted the killer comment again.
Surely a reaction now.
But Unicorn? Crickets.
Ignored me completely, like I didn't exist, reveling in her 20:1 like-to-comment ratio shitpost fest.
Deliberately dodging?
Before last resort direct chat, I consulted expert Dajeong again.
"Hey."
She sighed pityingly.
"You think a 20:1 ratio poster reads comments? She just rants. Bet notifications off 80% chance."
"What?!"
Her jab was a total culture shock.
Comment notifications off?
Impossible in my brain.
But the world has plenty I can't grasp.
Unicorn18 seemed one.
Fine then.
Last resort: direct contact.
Tap tap tap
My current concept: Dajeong's old Skeleton cosplay era—girl Skeleton. No choice.
That's when Unicorn18 showed unique interest. Sure enough, reply came quick.
Blunt reply.
Patiently, I typed delicately.
Tap tap~
Point: soft feminine touch, not Professor's aggressive pinpoint strikes.
Tap tap~
“Even Park Gyu, unrivaled under heaven, tensed here and took a deep breath.”
"Hoo."
Heart strained harder than monster hunts.
Cold sweat trickled temple to jaw; quietly typed.
Said it.
The burning question always in my chest—craved yet dreaded.
Unicorn replied after a delay.
Swallowed.
Time froze, then crawled slow.
Like sand in hourglass falling grain by grain.
Thousands of thoughts flashed in suffocating flow.
Tap tap
Message: I'm Park Gyu.
Typed that far, but.
Delete delete
Erased.
Like words in sand washed by waves—beyond count inputs/deletes, impatience won; sent to Unicorn.
Best I could muster with current guts and resolve.
Unicorn replied.
Short, but felt uncharacteristically serious.
Emboldened, sent again.
If Kang Hanmin asked, I'd gladly.
No face reveal needed.
Like Unicorn's golden fleece—small shiny badge suffices.
But no reply.
Slow.
Busy?
No—pondering.
Like me seconds ago, typing/deleting "Park Gyu."
Steadied ragged breath, awaited.
Unicorn messaged after 1 min—felt like an hour.
Before puzzlement, more arrived.
Unforeseen turn.
Yet it felt like the model answer my poor imagination couldn't reach.
Gentler, no wounds.
"......"
Unicorn said no reply, but had to say something.
Tap tap
Suddenly, illusion: Kang Hanmin or Na Hyein—someone beyond the chat window opening a door and vanishing.
Gazing at fading unknown, I murmured low.
"......Viva."
Probably our first and last talk?
Unless dramatic shift, no more net exchanges.
Confirmed possibility—that's this clumsy approach's yield.
More? Nah, not needed.
Best left unresolved?
We're old enough—me, Kang, Na—to know not everything needs uncovering.
Aware of each other, but never closing in.
Golden mean for us.
*
Unicorn uploaded live footage to Live! Apocalypse! shortly after, around pre-Christmas.
Video: Towering Hallasan, massive walls slashing around it like hacks, god-scale barriers and forts, ash-gray sky birdless.
Earth quakes; beyond walls, colossal Kraken breaches, shredded by merciless barrage—screen shifts to barren gravel.
Half snow-covered; I knew the spot.
Where Unicorn filmed Cosmos.
Ends with shallow sigh—clearly woman's.
"......"
I don't know the sigh's meaning.
Mocking me knowing me? Deception ploy? Or raw from shooter?
Not crucial.
This lukewarm unresolved gives slight purpose.
Live a bit more.
[72. Unicorn18 (3)] End
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