Kang Su-chul (2)
Before they began their conversation in earnest, Mr. Kang looked around for water, his throat dry.
It was past midnight on the Karen Continent, but the tropical night kept the temperature hovering around thirty degrees Celsius.
Even though everyone was dressed lightly, sweat was pouring down their faces.
Jeron used magic to chill some iced tea he had scavenged from Earth and handed a glass to both father and daughter.
"Whew! I feel alive again," Mr. Kang said. "It's funny how fickle humans are. I never thought I'd actually miss the freezing winds of Earth."
"Are you hungry? I imagine it's been a long time since you've had fresh meat."
"I'm fine. I'll eat later. Right now, I feel full even without eating."
He gently stroked his daughter's hair.
Looking at his daughter, Jeron could understand what he meant by feeling full just by watching her.
His stomach cooled by the refreshing iced tea, Mr. Kang began to recount what he had been through.
His story went back to the moment he had parted ways with Kang Yu-jung at the shelter.
It was a memory of that terrible day when most of humanity had perished during the Great Invasion.
In that moment of crisis, Mr. Kang had sent his daughter out first and prepared himself for death.
"My crossbow was out of bolts, and my pistol was out of bullets. I thought that was the end of me. But I had to buy time to keep Yu-jung alive. So I grabbed a machete I used for clearing brush."
His spirit was admirable, but he was no match for a mutant.
The machete was easily knocked away, and he was lifted off the ground by his neck.
The mutant could have snapped his neck with a squeeze of its hand.
"I've never been so terrified in my life. I even pissed myself. I thought it was all over, but then a steel bolt suddenly pierced the mutant's head. As you know, their skulls are so hard that even bullets can't penetrate them. But this shot went right through in one go."
"Was the owner of that steel bolt an old man?"
"He was. I've never seen such a powerful compound bow in my life. To pierce a mutant's skull, which is harder than steel, in a single shot? The bow was an incredibly sophisticated piece of machinery. I found out later that the compound bow he designed didn't use regular batteries, but a high-output battery pack. He designed it himself. It was truly amazing technology."
The compound bow the old man carried was a devastating weapon in its own right.
The bowstring was made of woven carbon fiber.
The resulting bow generated three tons of draw weight.
With that much force driving the bolt, no mutant could withstand it.
Having barely escaped with his life, Mr. Kang searched the area frantically for Kang Yu-jung, but the situation was dire. The sheer number of mutants in the area made a proper search impossible.
The old man helped him.
To be precise, the old man was also searching for his lost granddaughter, so they shared the same goal.
This shared purpose brought them together, and they bonded as they searched the ruins.
Over the next few years, Mr. Kang learned a vast amount of knowledge from the old man.
"He used to run a new materials company. Apparently, he was quite famous before the world ended. His expertise was similar to mine, but his technology was far more advanced. He felt less like a corporate founder and more like a master craftsman."
Mr. Kang put the knowledge he gained from the old man straight into practice.
Among those creations was the monstrous compound bow.
No wonder the compound bow hanging on the wall looked so unusual.
Carbon fiber wasn't an easy material to find, but the old man's company had specialized in it.
The carbon fiber strings had been salvaged from his company's facilities.
Armed with various advanced gear, they were able to hunt down small groups of mutants and continue their search.
"A few years must have passed. That was when those things began to evolve. You've probably seen them—the withered, skinny ones, and the ones bloated with muscle. Those evolved mutants barely took any damage, and we struggled every time. The compound bow only worked if we hit them in the temple or the eye. To kill them in one shot, you need a ballista like the one you saw earlier."
As the number of evolved mutants grew, their search ground to a halt.
Until then, they had been able to move by clearing out small groups of mutants, but that was no longer viable.
It was at a middle school that he and the old man finally parted ways.
At the middle school in Eumyang-myeon, Mr. Kang found traces of Kang Yu-jung, while the old man found traces of his granddaughter.
There, their long journey together came to an end.
"The old man said he was heading into the city. We had lived and died together for years, and I respected him like a father, but when it was time to part, he was cold as ice. Well, what could I do? I knew this day would come from the start. I thought it would break my heart, but it didn't. Perhaps my emotions had dried up. I spent a few months at the middle school thinking. I knew Yu-jung was looking for me, just as I was looking for her. It occurred to me that we would only find each other if one of us stayed in one place. That's why I settled in the agricultural industrial complex, where it was relatively easy to find daily necessities and materials. Looking back, it was a very wise choice."
Mr. Kang's story was a wild ride.
He had condensed it significantly, but hunting mutants could never be a mundane experience.
He had faced death countless times and had been injured on multiple occasions.
Kang Yu-jung listened, barely swallowing the overwhelming emotions rising inside her.
Thinking of the hardships her father had endured just to find her made her throat tight.
Mr. Kang opened the window.
The hot wind of the tropical night rushed in, carrying the smell of sewage and waste. Yet, Mr. Kang did not complain.
"Compared to Earth, this place is heaven."
"It's a very underdeveloped world," Jeron replied.
"At least safety is guaranteed here."
"It's not a hundred percent safe. We don't know when war might break out, or when monsters might attack."
"If war breaks out, we can just flee. And with walls like those, monsters won't be able to get in easily."
"That sounds just like you."
Just by looking out the window, Mr. Kang had gauged the level of development on the Karen Continent.
And he had already figured out what his role would be here.
"I think we can be of great help to each other. You said you're a lord in this world?"
"That's how things turned out."
"That is incredibly fortunate for all of us. If you were a slave here, you wouldn't have even thought about bringing us over."
Since Mr. Kang's analysis was spot on, Jeron nodded.
It was precisely because he was a noble with his own territory that he could afford to take in Mr. Kang and Kang Yu-jung, even in this underdeveloped world.
If they had to live as slaves here, life on Earth might have been better.
"Thanks to you, we can live a normal life. I can't tell you how grateful I am."
"It's only natural."
"I will never forget this debt."
Mr. Kang took Jeron's hand.
Jeron knew how much weight this gesture carried.
Saving Yu-jung and giving them a chance to live a normal life on the Karen Continent was nothing short of a new beginning.
"This isn't my territory. We'll be heading back in a few days. My territory is even more underdeveloped."
"Haha, a fully developed territory wouldn't be any fun, would it? Let's make it our goal to build a civilization comparable to Earth's one day."
"Do you think that's possible in your lifetime?"
"If I can't finish it, I'll pass the goal down to Yu-jung."
Even though Jeron hadn't asked, Mr. Kang had already decided to become the chief engineer of the Farrow Territory.
He declared that he would set up a workshop and oversee various technological developments.
Naturally, Kang Yu-jung would also be assigned to the technology department.
"From now on, you and Yu-jung are vassals of my territory. You will hold the status of quasi-nobles, and once my rank rises, I will grant you a manor."
"Haha, that's fine. I'm not doing this for that."
"Think of it as a bonus."
The atmosphere was warm and friendly.
To an outsider, it would have looked bizarre—a man in his fifties and a teenager speaking as friends.
But it didn't matter.
Whenever they spoke privately like this, they would speak in Korean anyway.
"Get some food, wash up, and get some rest today."
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
"There's no need to thank me anymore. I only did what was right, and you'll be helping me in return."
Mr. Kang headed to the room where Kang Yu-jung was staying.
A short while later, the delicious aroma of food drifted from her room, accompanied by endless laughter.
***
Sharp sunlight pierced through his eyelids.
Mr. Kang bolted upright and scrambled under the bed.
"Whoa!"
"Dad, are you okay?"
Kang Yu-jung, who had been sleeping on the floor, jumped up.
Mr. Kang looked around frantically for a weapon before sinking back down onto the bed.
"It wasn't a dream."
"Of course it wasn't a dream."
"I thought I was dreaming."
He had dragged himself through hell to find his daughter.
Before Jeron rescued him, his health had deteriorated so badly that he didn't know if he would survive another few months.
If he hadn't been rescued, he would have died of malnutrition.
Since Jeron had also saved Kang Yu-jung's life, he was the savior of their family.
"I felt the same way. I couldn't believe I had crossed over to another dimension at first. But when I looked up at the night sky, I had to believe it."
"It really was a shock."
There were three moons.
They were so massive that it felt as if they might fall at any moment.
There was absolutely no way this was Earth.
Kang Yu-jung sat down across from her father.
"I took a quick look around, and I think we can have a good life here once we adjust."
"As long as you're happy, that's all that matters to me."
"You need to be happy too, Dad. I want you to let go of Mom and start fresh in this world."
"Haha, start fresh..."
It was a strange phrase to Mr. Kang.
A fresh start?
Could someone who had been struggling just to survive even dream of a new life?
His final wish had simply been to see his daughter's face one last time.
He could die right now without any regrets.
"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking you could die right now and be happy."
"Are you a mind reader?"
"Whose daughter do you think I am?"
"It's true. I've seen your face, and that's enough."
Kang Yu-jung pulled her father to his feet.
They were no longer surviving on their own; they had to live alongside the people of this world.
Just because it was an underdeveloped world didn't mean the people lacked common sense. If they made an effort, they could easily fit in.
"Let's go. I'll show you around."
A life with his daughter.
Mr. Kang felt that this alone was enough to call it a new life.