A World Still Worth Living In (4)
The screams echoing from all directions,
the agonized groans,
the alien shrieks,
the colossal monsters,
the collapsing buildings,
the raging flames,
the crashing lightning,
the blood-red moon.
And the shattered sky.
The moment I gazed beyond that sky, fractured like broken glass into countless shards—
“Huk…!”
I bolted upright, frantically scanning my surroundings. What came into my blurry vision was an old, cramped room. Only then did I realize everything I had seen was nothing more than a dream.
I gulped down air like someone forcing themselves to breathe after holding it too long, then struggled out of my sweat-soaked T-shirt. I must have sweated buckets in my sleep; if I wrung it out, droplets would probably drip everywhere.
…Is it because I slept in an unfamiliar place?
I had only been awake for a short while, yet I couldn’t recall a single detail of the dream. All that remained was the lingering aftertaste it left behind, filling my mind with unease. The way my hands were trembling only made the discomfort worse.
I decided to drink some cold water to clear my head and opened the fridge, only to be greeted by empty space.
“Huu…”
It occurred to me belatedly that the hard-to-see corners of the room had been filthier than expected, so I had spent all of yesterday cleaning instead of going grocery shopping.
For now, I turned on the faucet and drank straight from the tap. The fog in my head lifted a little. Once the burning thirst was gone, a hollow feeling settled in its place.
Zeta had stayed in my room until late last night before returning to her own next door. The mess she left behind without cleaning up was scattered across the foldable table.
Most of it was empty snack bags and tomato juice packs I had seen far too many times. I swept them roughly into a trash bag.
She ate all of this by herself, so of course there’s nothing left for me to eat.
I hadn’t done any proper grocery shopping, but I had picked up a few simple snacks from the nearby convenience store. Zeta had devoured every last one while I was asleep.
I glanced at the clock, thinking I would give her an earful when I saw her. It was currently 7:30 a.m. Since orientation started at 9 a.m., it was about time to get ready.
I opened the bathroom door to take a shower and froze. The blue sky reflected in the mirror inside seemed to shatter into pieces for a split second. I couldn’t help it.
…The sky shattering? That’s impossible.
I forced the thought away and turned on the cold water.
After washing with cold water, I stepped out and dried my hair with the cool breeze coming through the window. As I did, I stared blankly up at the sky.
Just like yesterday, even after waking up today, it was strangely difficult to tear my eyes away from it. There weren’t even any clouds drifting by to watch, yet I couldn’t look away.
Maybe it was because of that nightmare that had left me so restless. It felt like my gaze was fixed in place.
I was getting dressed unusually slowly when—
Beep-beep-beep, click—
The door lock disengaged and the door swung open.
“Hyunwoo. Are you ready?”
“…You walk in like it’s your own room. Did I ever give you the passcode?”
“That’s not important. I’m hungry, so—wait, what? Hyunwoo, why do you look like that?”
Zeta dragged in a bag almost as big as she was, huffing with effort. The moment our eyes met, her face turned serious and she strode straight toward me. She placed both hands on my cheeks.
My complexion must have been terrible if she was inspecting my face this thoroughly.
“It’s nothing. I just… had a nightmare.”
“A nightmare?”
“Yeah. Maybe because I slept in a different place? Anyway, it’s not something you need to worry about. I don’t even remember what it was about.”
I reassured Zeta, whose worry had only deepened. She had always been terrifyingly persistent about asking for every detail whenever I had a bad dream, so the words “don’t worry” came out automatically.
When I deliberately downplayed it, she didn’t press further. She quietly stepped back, her lips moving a few times before she stopped. Soon, a soft curve formed on her mouth.
“…Fine. If you say so, then that’s that. You look ready, so let’s head out. You always said sitting around only makes you feel more drained. We’ll walk around and grab breakfast at any shop that’s open.”
“Did the sun rise in the west today? You sound like a completely different person.”
“Stop dawdling and get up already.”
I never imagined I would hear those words in my lifetime. I had always been the one telling her to stop rolling around.
Zeta opened the fridge and made a disappointed face. She must have been hungrier than I thought. I had no idea where all that food went inside such a tiny body.
“Ugh, Hyunwoo. What is this fridge? Even if it’s your first day living alone, this is crossing the line. There’s literally nothing. How do you even survive?”
“You ate everything… And you didn’t clean up a single thing you left behind.”
“Huk… I forgot. Want some tomato juice?”
Zeta flinched. She glanced at me with pleading eyes, silently begging me to let it slide just this once.
“Sure. Stick a straw in one for me.”
I drank the tomato juice she handed me with a straw already in it and stood up. Forcing my body to move helped shake off some of the lethargy.
And so we left the room and began wandering around to get familiar with the area. The moment we stepped outside and the sunlight hit her, Zeta drooped like a wilted ghost. That part I kept secret.
K University—one of the top three universities in the country.
After a simple breakfast at a nearby shop, Zeta and I took a short walk and arrived in front of Lecture Room 203 in the Business Hall.
We hadn’t attended any freshman welcoming parties or events, so opening the door felt oddly awkward.
We had been invited to the freshman group chat, but neither of us had sent a single message. We didn’t really have anything to say.
It was a relief that there were so many students in the department. No one would notice if one or two people stayed quiet.
“Hyunwoo… we’re not late, right?”
“Nope. It starts at nine. We’re about ten minutes early.”
“If I knew we’d be this early, I would’ve ordered one more toast.”
“You already ate three this morning and you want more? Do you have a separate stomach pouch or something? Where do you even store it all?”
“I can’t help being hungry.”
We lingered outside the lecture hall, bickering, and I could feel the passing students glancing our way.
If we stayed out here any longer, the stares would only get worse. With a silent agreement, we quietly opened the door and slipped inside. The rather quiet classroom had people doing their own things.
Most were killing time on their phones, while a few who had gotten to know each other during freshman orientation were huddled together chatting. Of course, none of that applied to us.
“Hyunwoo… this place is hell… The desks and chairs are all one piece…”
Zeta stood on her tiptoes and whispered to me. She glared at the attached desk-chair combo with clear displeasure.
I completely agreed with her. A world where one-piece desks were the standard? This world deserved to be destroyed.
Neither of us had the courage to sit in the front, so we took two empty seats together in the back. Even though the demonic one-piece desks didn’t make any noise when the chairs scraped the floor, the whispering around us somehow increased.
I wasn’t particularly fond of being the center of attention, so I let out a deep sigh.
“Zeta, people are staring again because of your bag.”
“You need to get your facts straight, Hyunwoo. My bag is a trivial issue. Other people are probably just thinking, ‘Oh, it must be some kind of instrument case~’”
Whether I shook my head or not, Zeta finished off another juice pack with a strangely dissatisfied expression. For someone with striking white hair and red eyes, the only thing she ever did was murder tomato juice. It was oddly fascinating to watch her keep eating nonstop.
“Hyunwoo. You said you had a restless night, right?”
“Huh? Yeah, I did.”
“You really don’t remember what the dream was about?”
“I don’t… Why are you bringing it up all of a sudden?”
I looked at Zeta in confusion as she brought up a topic that should have been over. Ever since she had briefly left her seat and returned, she had been in a noticeably low mood.
“Just because. Someone I know said the atmosphere lately feels off. So it’d be better if you stick close to me for a while.”
Having said that, Zeta’s eyes flashed as she scanned the room warily. The nameless girl who had been approaching us out of curiosity got scared and immediately turned back to her seat. It all happened almost simultaneously.
“What kind of atmosphere? And stop making that face. Besides, when have we ever been apart? We’ve always been together.”
“I’m being serious, Hyunwoo. From now on, even when you go to the bathroom, you go with me.”
“What kind of nonsense is that… We agreed to call that obsession. Friends shouldn’t be obsessed with each other. Let’s maintain a healthy friendship.”
“I said I’m being serious.”
Was this what being serious looked like—talking with a straw still in your mouth? I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
Zeta realized I wasn’t taking her seriously and pouted, about to say something more, but a young-looking professor opened the door and walked in first. It was already almost nine.
“Whew… It’s already muggy this early in the morning. Hello, everyone.”
The professor, who must have walked quickly, dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief. As he stepped up to the lectern in front of the blackboard, every student—including us—turned their attention to him.
“Let’s see… Being the first day of the semester, there are definitely a lot of freshmen here. Since it’s the first day, I’ll try to wrap up the lecture quickly. So put your phones down and focus on me for a bit.”
Just as we were looking at him, he scanned the students filling the lecture hall. He lifted the attendance sheet and spoke.
“When I call your name, please raise your hand and answer. Your voice can be quiet, but make sure your hand is clearly visible. Not too hard, right?”
The young professor laughed lightly as he began calling names in order from the attendance sheet, and students’ voices rang out in response.
Most of the time, when a name was called, the person raised their hand. But there were a few exceptions.
Each time, the professor joked that even he hadn’t wanted to come to school on the first day of the semester, and small chuckles spread among the students.
When about half the names on the alphabetical list had been called, my name came from the professor’s mouth.
“Lee Hyunwoo?”
“Here.”
I quietly raised my hand. The professor’s eyes sparkled with interest when he saw me.
“I don’t remember seeing you at the freshman orientation.”
“…I’m not really into drinking.”
He nodded at my awkward smile. Then he laughed and said that if I had come to orientation, I probably would have been really popular.
His comment drew several blatant stares from nearby students. More of them started tapping on their phones, and new messages kept popping up in the freshman group chat.
Noticing my discomfort, he stopped talking to me and moved on to the next name.
“Next is… Zeta? Zeta Beatrix?”
Zeta silently raised her hand. The professor looked at her and asked,
“Are you an exchange student? I was curious ever since I saw an English name on the attendance sheet. There’s nothing else written besides the name and student number.”
“…No. I’m—”
Zeta blinked her red eyes and started to answer, but suddenly turned to look out the window. More precisely, at the sky beyond it.
Right then—
BOOM!
A massive noise loud enough to shake the entire building reverberated from the sky. Before every name on the attendance sheet had even been called, the sudden roar made everyone instinctively look upward.
BOOOOOOM—!
Rumble rumble rumble—!
“Kyaaak!”
As if to prove it wasn’t an illusion, the sound of something smashing through a castle gate rang out again. The building began to shake violently, and short screams erupted from every corner.
At the same time—
Beeeeeeeeeep—!
A piercing alarm that felt like it would rupture eardrums began blaring from all directions. The source was everyone’s smartphones.
Emergency Disaster Alert [Ministry of the Interior and Safety] 09:00 Nationwide Alert Issued / Citizens, please prepare to evacuate. Ensure children and the elderly evacuate first.
Emergency Disaster Alert [Seoul Metropolitan Government] Immediately move to the nearest shelter.
Urgent Disaster Alert [Korea Meteorological Administration] Nationwide Earthquake Warning. Listen to broadcasts and follow instructions.
So many disaster alerts flooded the smartphone screens that there wasn’t even time to read them all. Everyone froze with stunned expressions at the sudden turn of events.
“…What the hell is that?”
Someone who had been staring at the sky muttered. No one in the room had an answer. The endless screams pouring from the phones were the only reply.
Web Message: Run. Right now. If you want to live. A door that must never be opened is about to open.
The barrage of disaster alerts finally stopped after the final message telling everyone to run. But only the phones went quiet.
Crack—
CRASH!
Because the sky began to shatter and break apart as if it were a lie. Unable to withstand the countless fractures spreading across it, the sky literally collapsed, tearing open holes in the air.
KWAAAAANG!
An unbelievably powerful shockwave slammed into the ground. In a single instant, the impact devastated the surface, destroying everything in its path without discrimination.
And that wasn’t all. From the sky, ominous debris and unidentifiable fragments began to rain down, causing damage that went far beyond secondary or even tertiary destruction.
Wherever the ominous black waves touched, sparks flew and things began to corrode or mutate. The scene was so unreal that people froze in place, unable to move.
…A dream?
I was one of those people. I stared blankly at the ruined city visible beyond the shattered sky. Everything I was seeing now was exactly what I had seen in my dream. The moment I witnessed the bizarre waves sweeping across the ground, the memory came rushing back.
“The door opened?! The severance was definitely—!”
Zeta’s horrified murmur was followed by burning building debris falling from the sky like meteors.
And they were heading straight for us.
“Hyunwoo…! Get out of the—!”
Zeta, who had noticed the cracks forming in the lecture hall ceiling faster than anyone, shoved me with all her strength at the same time—
KWAKWAKWAKWAKWA…!
My vision was swallowed by darkness.