Honey Popcorn Snow

Sparkle, sparkle—

It had been broad daylight a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment ago, the sun blazing overhead. Then, in less than a second, the deserted island's sky was a night washed in starlight.

"……?"

Minhyuk stared blankly up at it.

Kku, kkurung……?

……Kkororong?

Kkureung and the Meerkat Brothers glanced around the suddenly darkened surroundings, every face a picture of bewilderment. The Little Wooden Soldiers had locked up entirely, frozen in place like a row of stone markers, as if they'd thrown an error.

Day and night on the deserted island had traded places in an instant. It was a sight his eyes could see and his mind still refused to believe.

Don't tell me……?

Dazed as he was, he kept working through it. From the circumstances, he had a fairly good idea of what had happened.

Hmm. That would mean…… in other words……

No matter how he turned it over, he still couldn't quite believe it. His head refused to take it in, as if the whole thing had thrown him into cognitive dissonance. Even so, if he forced himself to sum the situation up—

Elia's skill, the one he'd been sure had fizzled. The legacy of the elven hero of old, the power to seal souls for a fixed span of time……

……It actually went off?

Otherwise there was no reason for night to fall in the space of a blink. Minhyuk, Kkureung, the Meerkat Brothers, the Little Wooden Soldiers, the monkey subjects—every last one of them, not a soul left out. The whole group had been sealed, and only released once night had already come.

Which was to say the skill hadn't failed to activate at all. Its performance had simply been so monstrous that they'd been caught by it without ever realizing it had fired. That, at least, explained why Elia had been crying those great fat tears.

"Hic…… hic…… I thought Boss was dead……"

She said it through a wet sniffle. Well. If everyone froze in place together for more than eight hours, mistaking them for dead was only reasonable.

Ha…… she must have been terrified……

The thought sat badly with him. Bold as she was, she was still a child. All that long while, alone, how frightened must she have—

"……Huh?"

Minhyuk looked down at his feet. Unfamiliar banana peels lay heaped in a thick pile.

"What's all this?"

"Elia ate them…… while waiting for Boss."

"Mm. Good job."

That was a relief, at least. She hadn't gone hungry.

Plenty of sandcastles too. Looks like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she managed to play by herself in between……

Even so, sorry was still sorry.

"Elia."

"Yeah……?"

"There's a way to make bananas taste even better. Want me to show you?"

"Really?"

At the word banana, the pointed ears that had been drooping shot straight up. Cry and then laugh, people said, and disaster was sure to follow.

"Hang on just a second."

Minhyuk took the honey he'd set aside earlier, dipped a banana in it generously, and held it out to her. Castaway-style honey banana, if one had to give it a name.

"Mmph!"

Elia bit into the honey banana.

"Really yummy! What's this?"

"Honey I brought back myself this afternoon. You can eat as much of this as you want, too."

"Wow! Boss is the best!"

Any sign that she'd been crying vanished. She bounced on her feet and broke into a bright, open smile, looking even happier than she had at her very first taste of banana. Stopping here, though, would have been a shame.

"Hehe, that tickles."

The quick-witted Meerkat Brothers plastered themselves to Elia's legs and poured on the affection. The moment she plopped down on the ground, they climbed right up over her and blanketed her in soft, fluffy fur.

"Mmm…… Kkureung blanket…… so warm……"

Under the meerkats' all-pile-on cuddle-blanket service, the softness in Elia's cheeks melted clean away. Her big eyes drooped, heavy and drowsy. From the look of it, another honey-sweet nap was already booked for today.

Minhyuk shot the meerkats a crisp thumbs-up.

These guys. He'd thought they were only good at farming. Their childcare was competition-grade.

The Seal Elia had gained as her mana rose lived up to its rank as an S-rank skill, and then some. Like being struck by a stealth fighter, every member of the Safe Zone had had their soul sealed without a mouse or a bird the wiser.

That was good news for Elia. It was, conversely, good news for Minhyuk as well.

If I can use it on that big lump of a bear too……

He had felt the power of Seal for himself, and that was enough to be sure.

If they could properly seal the soul of the giant bear that had taken over the cave, then everything else would be fine. SS-rank ore? He could mine it. A sub-quest with juicy rewards? He could clear it. The mining itself wouldn't be a problem at all. He'd wager that even if he hauled in an excavator instead of a pickaxe, the thing would never wake.

The problem, if there was one……

It doesn't tell friend from foe at all.

Ally, enemy, whatever you wanted to call them—it preserved every nearby soul without discrimination. And he couldn't very well send a child toddling off alone into a place that dangerous. On top of that, he had no idea whether Elia's Seal would even work on a bear that terrifying. Mining the ore would take a good long while. Would it really hold?

Hhh…… this is a tough one……

It was a snag he couldn't solve on his own, so Minhyuk went to consult the Monkey Doctor, the resident know-it-all of the monkey world.

Oogikki— oogikki—

"What? That's really true?"

Oogi— oogi-oogi—

"Hmm. So that's how it is."

Boiled down, the Monkey Doctor's explanation came to this. Control over a skill rose naturally as one's mana reserves grew, and a skill's destructive power was no different. Power and control alike would improve in proportion to the amount of mana held. Furthermore, if Elia meant to seal a high-tier monster like the giant bear for more than three hours, she was going to need a great deal more mana than she had now. That was the whole of it.

"So you're saying it's a problem time will solve?"

Elia liked bananas, and eating bananas increased her mana. And once her mana increased, the power and control of Seal would rise with it. A very simple matter. Leave it alone, and it would sort itself out.

Nothing I actually need to fuss over.

Minhyuk gave a light shrug. No point working himself up about it. All he had to do was keep putting bananas in Elia's hands, and that would be the end of it.

So what was there to do from here? Exactly what he always did—take the day at an easy pace.

"All right. Shall we get started today, too?"

Kkururuk—!

Kkong-kkong—!

Minhyuk set to the farmwork alongside the Meerkat Brothers. For the record, they'd finished tidying the fields the day before yesterday. Today's main job was tilling.

Thuk, thuk, thuk—

While Minhyuk softened the soil with a wooden hoe, the Meerkat Brothers worked the field on the other side in crisp unison, sharp claws flashing.

Tadatadatadat—

They'd been at it together long enough that their rhythm fit without a wasted motion.

"Hnnnng—!"

And just like that, the tilling was done in a flash. It had taken longer than usual, though, because they'd worked the newly added stretch of Safe Zone as well. Minhyuk looked over the widened fields and nodded, satisfied.

"Growing fast."

Faster all the time, in fact. Harvest the crops, and there was experience. Clear a sub-quest, and there was experience. Craft furniture out of wood, and there was experience. Do just about anything, and experience poured in. Thanks to that, Minhyuk's Safe Zone was spreading wider by the day.

And the result—

Just sixteen pyeong to the first interim reward……!

He was closing in on the dream of a hundred pyeong. It was no exaggeration to say that checking this had become one of the joys he lived for lately. The very first reward of a main quest, no less. The sub-quest rewards were already satisfying enough—just how much better would a main quest turn out to be? He was looking forward to it a great deal.

"But what's that?"

Minhyuk's eyes went to his status window.

A mysterious question mark sat beside Survivor (F). Two weeks ago, was it? Three? He'd woken up one morning and found it simply there. He stared at it blankly, wondering what on earth it was, and—

Only message windows like these rose up. Beyond them, there was no information at all.

A class I don't even know about is forming?

He puzzled over it for a moment, then shook his head. He wasn't in any position to pick and choose what he received. If something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was being given to him, then of course he ought to take it with thanks.

"Boss."

"Yeah?"

"What's for dinner tonight?"

Elia asked it while lightly catching hold of Minhyuk's sleeve. A half-eaten banana was clutched in her other hand.

"What do you feel like? Bananas again?"

"Yeah. I like bananas."

Yeah. Me too. I like watching you eat them.

"Then dinner's bananas, and I'll make you a special late-night snack."

"A special snack……?"

He already had something outstanding in mind. Minhyuk went straight to the food storehouse and checked the state of the corn.

"Hmm. Not bad."

A fair amount of the moisture had dried off. Even so, this wasn't enough yet.

Rattle— rattle—

He separated the kernels, spread them over an enormous leaf, and set them out to dry in the sun. Elia and Kkureung squatted down to watch.

"Can't I eat this now?"

"Nope. We've still got to wait."

They needed to dry until they were good and crackly. That was the whole reason it had to be a late-night snack, more or less.

Anyway.

The sun, already leaning low, sank beneath the horizon.

Around the time the fireflies' soft glow lit the Safe Zone—

Fwoosh—

He set the firewood alight. Cooking oil went into an iron pot, and once it had come up to temperature, in went the corn kernels.

Glug—

He didn't stop there. Honey went in as the finisher. From here on, it was a matter of waiting.

"Smells good……"

Sniff, sniff—

Before he knew it, the members of the Safe Zone had gathered in a snug little cluster around the campfire. Sitting like this, it felt exactly like a campfire night.

Crackle—

How long passed after that?

As the honey's effect took hold, messages rose one after another.

Pop—!

At the same moment, a single piece of popcorn leapt inside the pot, and an item window appeared.

Oh. Critical +10%? The first item he'd ever gotten with an offensive option. He was curious how it would taste.

"All right. Time we got ready to eat."

He was just about to lower the campfire when it happened.

Pop, pop-pop-pop—!

Popcorn struck ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the pot lid in a rapid string. A fine sound, the kind that set your mouth watering just to hear it.

Pop-pop, pop—!

But this……

Pop, rat-a-tat-tat—!

Pop-pop, rat-a-tat-a-tat—!

Something about it wasn't right. Why did it sound like a machine gun……

Pap, papapapak—!

The lid jumped and rattled. The popcorn was multiplying like mad.

Tadatadatadatak—!

Rat-a-tat-a-tat-tat—!

It was his first time, so he'd simply dumped in whatever came to hand. Had there been too many kernels?

Bubble, bubble, bubble—!

And all the while, the pot kept swelling.

"Boss, that's weird."

"Uh— hang on."

It felt as if something was about to go very wrong, and he was just moving to put the fire out when—

Fweeeeeee—

The pot lid shot sky-high, like a rocket.

And at the same instant—

Papapapapapak—!

From the lidless pot, snow-white popcorn erupted as if it had exploded, bursting upward and scattering across the high air. It covered the pitch-black night sky.

Po, popopop—!

A few kernels burst late. Then the popcorn that had been stitched across the night sky like a rampage drifted slowly down into Minhyuk's Safe Zone, soundless and soft, like a first snow that had forgotten what season it was.

"Whoa……"

That was Elia, staring blankly up at the sky. Before long, one gently falling piece of popcorn came to rest on her head. She looked at Minhyuk and smiled, bright as anything.

On the seventy-eighth day since he'd been stranded, white honey-popcorn snowflakes drifted down over Minhyuk's Safe Zone.

Around the same time, in a home in Eunpyeong District—

Bang—!

Im Yuna, a student at a special middle school, came home grumbling, her bag still on her shoulder.

"Oh my, Yuna's home?"

The voice that welcomed her was a glad one. Park Migyeong, her mother, held out a cherry tomato she had only just washed.

"Try this. The Church Leader specially bestowed it for our daughter this time, and it's so good."

"……"

Im Yuna looked at Park Migyeong with her mouth stubbornly shut.

That cult again?

The religion her mother had joined recently. The name was…… Love Church, wasn't it? Not long ago she'd gotten into it at the urging of the lady from the next apartment over, and she was completely hooked. Every time Yuna looked, her mother was watching Love Church videos on Nutube.

From what Yuna had heard, they meant to change the world with vegetables. They healed every sick person with special fruit.

……Give me a break. A bunch of frauds.

It was nonsense that didn't hold up even to a crooked girl in the middle of puberty. Where in the world did anything like that exist? They were just running a scheme so they could sell fruit at a markup.

"Why not? Just try one. It's really good."

"……"

"And the Church Leader said so. Eat this cherry tomato, and our daughter will get better. So just once. Okay?"

At the cherry tomatoes being pressed on her yet again, Im Yuna snapped back, irritation spilling over. Not with her voice. In sign language. An accident when she was nine had left her unable to speak.

"Mom, please. That stuff is all a scam. Would you please stop believing in some weird religion?"

"It isn't. Love Church is different. They've cured incurable diseases more than once, you know? You know Cha Seoyun? That famous Hunter? Even she, at Love Church—"

"Ha…… forget it. I shouldn't even bother talking to Mom."

There was simply no getting through to her. Im Yuna stalked into her room on irritable feet.

Knock, knock—

A knock came soon after. She had made her mother promise to always knock before coming into the room.

Click—

A moment later Park Migyeong came in, carrying a plate of cherry tomatoes arranged ever so prettily.

"The Church Leader bestowed these for free. I didn't buy them. Really."

"I'm still not eating them. Take them back."

"Aigoo, I already brought them in, what's the fuss. I'll just leave them here. If you feel like it later, have some then, all right?"

With that, she set the cherry tomatoes on the desk as she pleased and sauntered back out of the room.

Ha…… I said I'm not eating them. Seriously.

Im Yuna glared at the cherry tomatoes, annoyed by the mere sight of them. Her body, unlike her head, was honest.

Growl—

……She was hungry. Maybe because she'd left so much of her lunch.

Im Yuna sneakily picked up a single cherry tomato.

Munch, munch—

……Hm?

It tasted better than she'd expected. No—among every cherry tomato she had ever eaten, it was easily the best.

Hmm…… I was only going to eat one.

After a furtive glance around, Im Yuna sat down at the desk and committed to a full-blown cherry-tomato mukbang.

Chew, chew—

This is actually really good? What is this? Some new variety that just came in?

A sweet-tartness she couldn't stop. She was reaching for another when a slip of paper caught her eye. It was a special notice Love Church had made for ordinary people who couldn't see status windows.

She set it down without reading the rest.

Oh, please. They should just write a novel.

What? A little cherry tomato like this enhanced bodily senses? Eat one, and mysterious energy would overflow through your whole body? Classic cult copy. Not a shred of logical basis anywhere, just the usual long-winded stretch of bizarre praise.

Hmph. But since it's tasty, I'll specially forgive them just this once.

Chomp—

And it was just as Im Yuna put the last remaining cherry tomato into her mouth.

Bang—

"Yuna, when did you say next week's school trip was?"

The door flew open without a knock. A thing no student in the thick of puberty could ever tolerate. Im Yuna spun toward the open door and burst out in pure irritation.

"Ah, Mom! When you come into my room, you knock—"

……Huh?

J-just now. Did I…… speak?