Instinct Moves Faster Than Reason

I learned something today: for all our reasoning, human beings are creatures driven by instinct far more than by logic.

The moment I realized that the colossal wall I'd assumed was solid was actually a wave of churning earth rolling toward us, the very first thing I did was bolt.

"Taejae!!"

Among the panicked crowd scrambling for their lives, I spotted a boy standing frozen, his face blank with shock. I stretched out both arms and swept him tight into my chest.

I scanned our surroundings in a flash, but there wasn't a single decent place to take cover. From every direction, screams and voices taut with urgency erupted.

"Everyone, get clear!! Run, NOW!!"

"What the hell is going on? Dammit… that's coming from the Sector B mines!"

"If you don't wanna die, RUN!"

"H-hiiick!! Where? Where are we supposed to go?!"

We had to move.

If that thing sweeps over us, it's over.

Without stopping to think, I ran in the opposite direction. The crowd, too, had begun sprinting away from the oncoming torrent of earth and stone. Forcing myself not to look up at the avalanche that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could come crashing down on our heads at any second, I drove my legs forward with everything I had.

But even for an Awakener, outrunning a wall of earth surging in like a tidal wave is simply too slow.

Ah.

Too late.

The instant that thought formed—

"……!"

Suddenly, a pain like my spine snapping in half shot through me, one leg buckled, and my balance gave way.

Ugh—!

At the same time, a violent jolt to my ribs knocked the air clean out of my lungs. And then, in a blink, my whole body was lifted off the ground and slammed down somewhere.

—WHAM!!

My shoulder and back, smashed mercilessly against bare ground, trembled in fine, stinging waves.

"Agh…."

Hurts like a dog. Really, it does….

My head ached, and my shoulder, my back, my legs—everything hurt!

For a long while I lay there clutching my shoulder, still as the dead. By the time I decided I might survive and lifted my head, I finally understood where my sorry body had been dumped.

…It felt like stepping into a tunnel—a dark, dreary, oppressive space.

Lamps spaced sparsely along the walls flickered on and off, casting a dim, sickly glow. A musty, heavily damp smell hovered at the tip of my nose.

I stared blankly around at my surroundings, and one thought struck me so hard I raised my voice.

"Taejae, are you okay?!"

Fortunately, even as I'd been slammed into the ground, the arms wrapped around Taejae had never loosened.

"Yes… I'm all right."

A mop of pale, golden-tinged hair burrowed into my chest. I hurriedly examined the boy's face and body, head to toe, and only then did I let my tension go.

He seems completely fine?

…Thank goodness. Truly, a miracle.

As I sat the boy up and hauled myself shakily to my feet, a figure and a desperate voice drew near.

"Are you injured?"

…It was Lee Gyeon.

I looked up at his face, faintly lit by the flickering lamps.

And why is he here….

A sigh escaped me on its own.

Tap, tap.

"……You're bleeding from your eyebrow."

"Ah… I believe the wound opened when I fell to the ground."

When Lee Gyeon started to wipe the blood away with his bare hand, I recoiled in horror and tossed him the handkerchief from my bag, the way you'd throw a bone to a stray.

Taking the handkerchief, he pressed it to his split eyebrow to staunch the bleeding, then spoke quickly.

"What is your physical condition?"

"My back and lower spine are throbbing, and my legs are shaky… but thankfully, Taejae is perfectly fine."

"For what I feared, that is a considerably favorable outcome. Truly fortunate."

I see. Because it feels like my spine shattered into little pieces, but according to you I'm in fine condition. How wonderful for me.

When I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyed him while rubbing my lower back, Lee Gyeon awkwardly turned his head aside with a troubled expression and began to explain the situation.

"It appears… this was caused by Elumis going on a rampage."

Elumis? The fairy monster that's supposed to be perfectly docile?

"I do not know how it managed it, but it appears to have deliberately triggered a landslide in Sector B. For the time being, we succeeded in evacuating people into the Sector A mines here, but…."

So this is the Sector A mine?

Hold on.

"How exactly did you move people here?"

I had absolutely no memory of seeing Lee Gyeon while I was fleeing the wall of earth.

"I shifted the position of the signage. I judged that, given the psychology of fleeing people, their instincts would drive them to run as far as possible away from the debris rather than toward a mine… so circumstances forced the measure upon me."

So what he's saying is that he fished the people trying to pass through this cave, angler-style, hook, line, and sinker?

Now that I looked, Lee Gyeon was carrying an iron hoop wide enough to slip around an adult man's waist, along with a rope attached to it, in both hands.

"This mine runs counter to the landslide's direction of travel, and as you can see, it can hold a great many people and is structurally sound."

Certainly… no more debris was pushing its way into the mine, and even with nearly twenty people inside, the space felt roomy.

Now it makes sense.

So we're alive because Lee Gyeon moved fast, is what it boils down to.

But….

"How do we get out of here now? If my eyes aren't playing tricks on me, that completely sealed-off spot looks like the mine's entrance…."

The mine entrance was choked shut with an enormous boulder and packed earth—plugged with not so much as a crack, impenetrable by human strength.

"Teacher, are we going to die?"

Taejae, who had been quietly listening to all this, lifted his head and asked.

"……Wh-what makes our Taejae think that? Your teacher believes the grown-ups outside are going to heave-ho, heave-ho with all their might and come rescue us. Let's go outside together, just you and me~"

Please. Please don't say such things so innocently. Teacher is scared.

"Nam Taejae. It will take time, but we can get out. I have sent an emergency rescue request, so people will arrive before long."

There was something strangely reassuring about Lee Gyeon's tone of absolute conviction.

Apparently Taejae was having none of it, though.

"So if no one comes, that means we die?"

"Nam Taejae. No one is dying."

"It's all right, mister. People die eventually, that's what everyone says. Grandma told me that if you live comfortably and painlessly until the end, that's called a life of luxury."

"A life of lux—… no. Never mind. You are quite right."

I think Lee Gyeon just clutched the back of his neck.

Lee Gyeon looked at me like a man with the life drained clean out of him.

"……Rest a little while you wait, and you will be able to leave before long."

With those words, he moved off toward where the other survivors had gathered.

I could feel the buzz of murmuring among the crowd gradually fading as Lee Gyeon worked his way through his explanation.

Watching the back of Lee Gyeon's head, caked in dirt and dust, I thought:

Are all the field hunters at this company like this?

They all seemed remarkably composed somehow, never letting so much as a flicker of emotion show to others unless it was truly unavoidable.

I bet inside, they're panicking just as much as anyone.

In any case, since the man said we were fine, I flopped down onto the floor. I settled Taejae onto my lap, fished the carrot juice out of my bag, and took a swig.

I'm honestly more shaken up than Taejae is, but when it comes to soothing kids, snacks beat everything.

As I let out the breath I'd been holding and eased my breathing, the people Lee Gyeon had scooped out of harm's way began to come into view one by one.

The mood's less of a disaster than I expected, huh?

I'd figured we might end up in utter pandemonium among a crowd of disoriented survivors, but everyone was calmer and more rational than I'd anticipated. Probably thanks to the relief of being alive, and to Lee Gyeon's composed, confident briefing.

And so, after an atmosphere of mutual caretaking prevailed for a while, all attention eventually converged on the one and only child present….

Before I knew it, I found myself surrounded by a wall of people in the space of a heartbeat.

"Aigoo, our Taejae, so brave—not even a single tear!"

"Grandma always said you never know how life will turn out. Noona, I don't cry over things like this."

My kid's so brave, isn't he….

"Little guy, did you come here with your dad? You don't look much like him, though."

"I'm not here with my dad. That's my teacher. The only thing we have in common is that we're both handsome."

Please stop looking at us like that. I did not teach him that….

Grown-ups young and old took turns fussing over Taejae's mood and condition. They emptied their pockets to hand him snacks, and some even shrugged off their own jackets to drape over the boy's shoulders.

Watching that heartwarming scene, I tried to do as Lee Gyeon said—rest quietly and wait.

Taejae, of course, was busy in all sorts of ways.

Because the people who'd taken small injuries during the evacuation needed treating.

"Auntie, this spot hurts. Can't Taejae go 'hoo~' on it?"

"Hoo~ Next patient, please!"

Taejae's hospital was jammed with a line out the door. Which meant I had no choice but to become his nurse and front-desk receptionist.

"Teacher, this mister keeps shaking his head so I can't concentrate."

"Sir, please hold still. Yes, yes, bend down ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a little more…. Sir in the back! Just a bit longer, please!"

Thanks to Lee Gyeon's quick judgment, everyone who'd been at the Sector A base camp had escaped without any serious injuries, apparently. And on top of that, with Taejae's ability erasing even the minor scrapes, the atmosphere could only grow warmer.

"You're a teacher from Bada Kindergarten? Oh my, I took you for Taejae's father!"

"No wonder you looked so young."

"What did I say? I told you he doesn't look like someone who knocked somebody up before marriage. Hand over the fifty thousand won."

Why do I feel like I'm at a family camping trip, chatting with the folks in the next tent over?

Even amid this cozy, convivial mood, however, exactly one person remained grimly serious.

That man never rests, does he.

Thirty minutes already.

Through the crowd I could see Lee Gyeon, staring fixedly at the sealed cave entrance while checking his watch.

If we'd brought Nabi along, would the situation have turned out differently?

One swing of those giant hands scooping out that earth, and we'd be out in no time.

For once, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠actually felt Nabi's absence.

…Ah, where did Nabi go, you ask?

The moment I mentioned I'd be skipping kindergarten today and going into an underground dungeon, he threw a fit out of pure whim and flatly refused to come.

He's not even a moody teenager, and I have honestly never seen him that stubborn in my life.

In the end, unable to beat Nabi's iron will, I handed him over to Kwon Haeseong with a request.

Seeing Kwon Haeseong carry Nabi off with a look of grim determination, I felt reassured… I did not feel reassured.

Handing him to that guy was a mistake.

Should've left him with Yoo Jinchae.

…No, wait. If Nabi decided to come out of the doll in earnest, nobody standing there could handle him.

For the time being, I'd set up a preventive measure tailored specifically to him: "If you behave yourself for one whole day, I'll buy you a brand-new snack."

Let's call it a patience test and be done with it.

Just as I was bundling away that lingering unease and turning back to chat with the survivors, footsteps—belonging, judging by the sound, to a sizable group—echoed in from the depths of the tunnel leading into the mine.

Exactly thirty minutes after that.

The situation had changed completely.

The warm, cozy atmosphere of mutual care had vanished without a trace.

We were now one wrong move away from an all-out brawl.

Desperately covering Taejae's eyes, I glared at the figure standing across from us.

Are they insane?