Destiny
To the people living on Earth, it might not have seemed like much, but to Jeron, it was everything.
He felt the exact same rush of emotion as when he had first discovered the MP3 player.
A single lightbulb glowing faintly, a 220-volt outlet, a space heater that looked to be about 400 watts, and an electric blanket.
Yet, there was no generator inside.
If there had been a generator in here, the fumes would have made it impossible to breathe. The electricity was likely drawn from solar panels installed on the building.
A draft seeped in from somewhere, but he didn't mind.
Being trapped in an airtight space with an electric heater running would have posed its own serious health risks anyway.
The woman set a kettle to boil on an electric pot.
"Would you like some coffee?"
"You... have coffee?"
"Not much, but you did save my life. How about a Maxim gold mix?"
"I'd love some."
What would coffee taste like after eighteen years?
She poured the instant coffee mix into a paper cup and filled it halfway with boiling water.
The rich, sweet, and nutty aroma of the coffee wafted through the air.
Jeron blew gently on the hot liquid and took a sip.
"Wow. This is..."
The taste buds on his tongue threw a wild party all at once.
Jeron was utterly stunned.
Only a few months ago, he had believed he would never taste this again.
There were no coffee trees on the Karen Continent. Because seafaring technology was underdeveloped, importing it from other continents was out of the question.
The perfect harmony of refined, sweet sugar and powdered creamer was nothing short of exquisite.
When he had first set foot back on Earth, instant mix coffee had immediately topped his bucket list.
He felt a profound wave of emotion over something so trivial.
"Why the face? You look like someone who's never had coffee before."
"It's my first time in this body."
"Did you suffer some kind of accident when you were young that kept you from drinking it?"
"Let's go with that."
If you could call it an accident, it certainly was one.
He hadn't tasted coffee once since his limbs were torn apart by mutants and he died.
In fact, he hadn't even tasted refined sugar since then.
He had tasted the sweetness of cheap wine, but how could that compare to coffee?
"Anyway."
The woman sat down across from Jeron.
She was the first human he had faced in this ruined world.
Everything felt entirely new.
The heater began to warm the interior of the room.
She tossed her outer coat onto the bed and continued speaking.
"You speak Korean remarkably well."
"Ah, that."
Jeron suddenly remembered his own appearance.
To her, he must look like a foreign teenager.
She was studying him closely.
He had Western features, but at 170 centimeters tall, he was on the shorter side by Earth standards.
What struck her as suspicious was that he was armed with plate mail and a sword.
He also wore greaves, gauntlets, and steel boots—enough to make him look like a medieval knight.
She let out a soft sigh of admiration and asked, "Where on earth did you get that armor? It shouldn't be easy to find something like that in this day and age."
"I had it made where I live."
"Is there a shelter with that many people left? You're not a scavenger... or a raider, are you?"
A flicker of wariness returned to her eyes.
Jeron shook his head.
He had a feeling he knew what kind of raiders she was talking about.
He had witnessed a horrific sight in front of the middle school.
A group of raiders had hunted down a family, stripped them to their underwear, and dragged them off, only to be wiped out by mutants in the end.
With the world ruined like this, nothing that happened on Earth could surprise him anymore.
Unless every last survivor died out, criminals would continue to plague the land.
"If I were one of them, would I have risked my life to save you?"
"Well, I saved you too, so we're even."
"I wonder if that will hold true going forward."
"You have quite the pride, don't you?"
She was still testing him.
But it made sense.
In a world like this, letting your guard down and fully trusting someone just because they helped you once was foolish.
Jeron had seen countless instances of people offering help only to stab the other in the back.
What should he say to her?
So far, their conversation had been dancing around the edges.
From her perspective, she had saved him because he was her savior, but she couldn't figure out his true intentions.
Especially in a world like this, a beautiful woman carried a very high risk.
If Jeron had been a raider, he might have fought her to drag her off as a slave.
She subtly let him glimpse the pistol at her waist.
Jeron let out a dry chuckle.
"Don't worry. I'm not that desperate."
"You can never be too sure."
"Are you a survivor?"
"Do I look dead to you?"
It wasn't a normal conversation.
But on a ruined Earth, treating the other person with suspicion was the only normal way to converse.
It was a miracle they hadn't shot at each other the moment they met.
They shared a slight bond from saving each other, but that was the extent of it.
She had only brought Jeron to her shelter because she was planning to leave soon anyway.
He noticed a neatly packed backpack resting in the corner.
Having survived on the ruined Earth for a long time himself, Jeron understood the situation perfectly.
Jeron relaxed his posture.
Then, he downed the cooling coffee in one gulp.
Drinking such a sweet beverage for the first time in this body made his tongue feel utterly overwhelmed.
"I'm not a bad person."
"Every single person I've met said those exact words first."
"..."
Jeron quietly waited for her to ask her next question.
"You look quite young. How old are you?"
"Eighteen. Nineteen by Korean standards."
"How have you survived until now? It's been well over ten years since the world ended."
"Well, you don't look much older than me. Isn't it a bit rude to ask that?"
Her brow furrowed slightly.
It was true. There didn't seem to be a massive age gap between Jeron and the woman.
"I may not look it, but I'm twenty-four."
"Twenty-four..."
"Anyway, thanks for saving me earlier. Even if I don't know what your intentions were."
"I didn't have any hidden intentions. I just thought I should help someone who was cornered."
"Kindness in a world like this? Are you insane?"
"At the very least, I got the feeling you weren't a raider. I've never heard of a raider operating alone."
Her guard lowered, if only a fraction.
As Jeron said, raiders always moved in packs.
Roaming this world alone was an incredibly reckless endeavor in itself.
Not only were there mutant attacks, but encountering other survivors was also highly dangerous. And for a woman, whose physical strength was generally disadvantaged compared to men?
It went without saying.
She took a sip of her cold coffee and spoke.
"I guess you're right. Mind if I speak casually?"
"Go ahead. Though I don't know how long we'll be together."
"Seriously, who are you?"
"My name is Jeron Farrow."
"No, I mean, did you grow up in Korea?"
"To be precise, I hold dual citizenship."
Jeron wasn't lying.
He was both a Korean and a citizen of the Kingdom of Atoon, so dual citizenship was technically correct.
Since his Korean body was dead, should he just call himself a citizen of Atoon?
But even if he said that, she would never believe him.
"You seem to have lived in Korea for a long time."
"It's a bit complicated to explain. What about you? What's your name?"
"I'm Kang Yu-jung."
"Kang Yu-jung...? Twenty-four-year-old Kang Yu-jung? By any chance, were you born in Seosan?"
"Do you know me? I've never seen you before."
"Don't tell me... you're the daughter of Mr. Kang, the blacksmith from Eumyang-myeon?"
"You! How do you know that?!"
Kang Yu-jung suddenly jumped up in agitation.
Jeron was just as shocked.
He had thought she looked familiar, but to think she was actually the daughter of Mr. Kang from the blacksmith shop.
He couldn't have been more stunned.
When Jeron died, she had been sixteen years old.
He felt as if the family tree of his life had been tangled in the most bizarre way.
Before his death, Jeron had been quite close with Mr. Kang, the only blacksmith in Eumyang-myeon.
At first, he had thought the man was incredibly standoffish, but once they got close, he turned out to be a genuine, warm-hearted person.
Mr. Kang had visited Jeron's family often, and Kang Yu-jung had been best friends with Jeron's daughter, Ye-seul.
Naturally, Kang Yu-jung had followed Jeron around, calling him 'Uncle.' Meeting her like this felt surreal.
"Tell me. How do you know my dad? Where did you see him?"
"L-Let go of me first, and then we'll talk. Where else would I have seen him but at the Eumyang-myeon blacksmith shop?"
"I have no memory of you, though?"
Jeron realized this was a heaven-sent opportunity.
Survivors in this era had to do whatever it took to stay alive, and the blacksmith's daughter had learned survival skills under her father.
Particularly mechanical engineering and blacksmithing.
Jeron's daughter, Ye-seul, had also followed Mr. Kang around to learn whenever he gave lessons.
Rather than trying to meet Mr. Kang directly in his current state, it would be much easier to build a relationship if he had Kang Yu-jung to bridge the gap.
"Give me a moment to figure out how to explain this."
A thousand thoughts raced through his mind.
Knowing that the woman in front of him was the same Kang Yu-jung who had once followed him like a daughter made his chest tighten.
It was an indescribable feeling.
He could see traces of his daughter, Ye-seul, in Kang Yu-jung's face.
Though he could only see Ye-seul in photos now, if he talked to Kang Yu-jung, he would be able to speak about his deceased daughter.
And about his family as well.
As he closed his eyes, tears slipped down his cheeks.
His throat suddenly felt tight.
"What's wrong with you? Who are you, really?"
"*Sigh*... Are you really Yu-jung?"
"..."
Kang Yu-jung stared at him, dumbfounded.
Her expression made it clear she thought he was completely out of his mind.
Her suspicion had reached its peak.
Right now, she wouldn't believe anything he said. If he suddenly claimed to be Han Jin-soo, she might draw the pistol at her waist.
In that case, he had to show her through actions first.
Jeron willed the Golden Key to open the dimensional gateway.
A portal to another world, connected to Earth.
Kang Yu-jung's eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
In this world, the concept of magic did not exist, and crossing over to another dimension was completely beyond comprehension.
"Yu-jung, let's go somewhere safe first and talk."
"W-Who... Who on earth are you?! How did you do this? Can you teleport? What am I looking at right now? Is this a dream?"
"It's confusing, but that is another world. Do you remember Ye-seul?"
"Ye-seul...? How do you know her name..."
"I am Ye-seul's father. My last memory was of my limbs being torn apart by mutants. And then, I reincarnated in another world with my memories intact."
Kang Yu-jung looked utterly bewildered.
Her face practically asked if such a thing was even possible.
Naturally, it was unbelievable.
Jeron began to recount several anecdotes that only his family and the Kang family would know. He also spoke of Ye-seul, listing detail after detail.
Recalling memories of his deceased daughter was painful, but he had no choice if he wanted to bring Kang Yu-jung to the Karen Continent.
Perhaps this was destiny.
Because Jeron was rattling off information that only a close acquaintance could possibly know, Kang Yu-jung's mind was thrown into utter chaos.
"Let's cross over first and talk. The reason I came to this area was because of your father. Weren't you staying here to go to the industrial complex too?"
Kang Yu-jung nodded unconsciously.
"That world is safe. Both you and your father can live happily there. So, take my hand."
Tears began to stream down Kang Yu-jung's cheeks.
The dam holding back her emotions was crumbling.
Before she knew it, Kang Yu-jung reached out and took Jeron's hand.