To Seonyudo Settlement (1)
At last, the day we would leave Mokdong Settlement dawned.
A clean, dustless sky of pure blue. Clouds like white cotton candy. And a warm sun that seemed to wish our journey nothing but light.
It was almost too perfect a day for leaving.
When I rubbed my eyes and sat up, Ara was sleeping beside me with a blissful expression, arms wrapped around Yeonseo — while Yeonseo, by contrast, was frowning and squirming in her sleep. Looking at them, you would never have guessed they had only known each other for a week.
I was watching the two of them with a smile when a clatter of dishes came from beyond the curtain. I showered quickly, towel-dried my hair, and stepped out to find Hyeonseok already up, as always, preparing breakfast.
"Sleep well? Breakfast's almost ready — mind waking Yeonseo and Ara for me?"
He spoke without looking at me, frying eggs, ham, and vegetables in a pan while stirring a pot of soup at the same time. Normally he would glance my way once before going back to cooking. Today he stayed locked on the food, and something about that left me oddly disappointed — so I walked over to him instead.
"Someone's awfully busy this morning."
"Why are you suddenly—? Is something wrong?"
Only then did he sense something off. He turned down the induction burner and looked over his shoulder — and that was the problem. I had come far too close.
In other words, Hyeonseok and I were face-to-face, close enough to kiss.
T-too close...!
His face filled my vision. My heart hammered hard against my ribs, and the face I had just splashed with cold water to wake myself up was suddenly hot enough to steam. I needed to pull back — but instead of moving away, I just kept staring at him.
Despite his black hair, his eyes were an alien violet, polished and luminous like cut amethyst. A straight nose, red lips — he was a man, and yet those eyes, together with his pale skin, gave him an almost bewitching quality.
I kept looking. Flustered, he took a half-step back — but he had turned around in the kitchen, so he ended up with both hands braced on the sink, still facing me.
"Uh, Charlotte? That's a little close, don't you think?"
His words finally snapped the situation into focus. The realization that I had been pressed right up against him sent a wave of embarrassment flooding through me.
At the same moment I felt eyes on us. I turned around — and sure enough, Yeonseo was standing in the gap of the curtain with a sly grin, holding several Polaroid photos she had just taken, while Ara covered her mouth below her and made a sound of pure admiration.
"W-wait! I can explain everything! Th-this just now was—!"
But the two of them bolted back into the bedroom beyond the curtain with a chorus of squealing Kyaaa~!, and the thought of how thoroughly Yeonseo and Ara were going to tease me later made my head start to ache.
Why does this keep happening...? Why is it only when I look at Hyeonseok...? N-no! There's no way that's what this is...!
"You okay? Sorry — that was my fault."
"N-no! I only got that close to mess with you. Yeah! So don't worry about it — just keep cooking. I'll go explain things to those two."
"Alright. It's almost done anyway, so tell them to hurry up and get ready."
"Okay."
I headed for the bedroom at a near-run.
They were already in full bloom over the photos they had just taken. The moment I walked in, Yeonseo declared, "A fox sneaking up on a private moment~," and Ara chimed in right on cue with, "I knew it — a demon pretending she has no idea...!"
"I told you, it's not like that! He was so focused on cooking I just went over to tease him...!"
"Is that so? Because the atmosphere looked pretty good from where we stood."
"She's right! Even if you were teasing him, there was no reason to get that close~"
"What are you talking about...! Honestly! Lately it feels like you two just make stuff up so you can keep pushing us together. There's a limit to how much I can take, you know!"
Their words had hit a little too close to home, so I put my hands on my hips and glared at them, pretending to be angry. Of course, neither of them was the least bit intimidated.
"Hmm~ They do say the guilty party is the one who gets loud. That's exactly what this looks like. You act like that and then try so hard not to notice — really~"
"She's right. You should just admit it already~"
"Both. Of. You. Stop. Right. Now?"
When I finally snapped for real, they whistled and scrambled to get ready at last.
What on earth are those two even saying. Honestly... they only look at me that way because they don't know I'm a man. Ugh.
We went to the table together, ate the breakfast Hyeonseok had made, let it settle for a bit, then packed our things to go say goodbye to Uncle Hancheol and Uncle Dusik.
Leaving the camper was genuinely hard — but they had told us we could come stay whenever we wanted, so we promised ourselves a next time and set out from a place that, in so short a span, had already come to feel like home.
When we arrived at the village hall office, Uncle Hancheol greeted us and launched straight into conversation.
"Hahaha! So today's the day you leave at last. Lucky the weather's this fine — you shouldn't have any trouble on the road."
He laughed with that big, open heart of his, clearly sad to see us go even as he offered his well-wishes.
"Uncle Dusik hasn't arrived yet?"
After the Fly Park expedition — where he had helped clear out the monsters believed to be a gang — Uncle Dusik had been put in charge of managing the place. A portion of the people from the shantytown would be relocating there, turning it into a new settlement run in tandem with Mokdong, and they needed someone to lead them. Uncle Dusik had been the right man for the job.
"Hmm, you're right. He said he'd be here before you left."
"Well, it can't be helped. He's busy too."
Hyeonseok sipped the tea Uncle Hancheol had poured, studied the older man's face for a moment, and seemed to catch something. He spoke up.
"More importantly — is there anything you'd like to ask of us, or any information you wanted to pass along?"
"Ooh, you little—! I took you for a pure-hearted softie, but you've got a sharp eye. Honestly, I was on the fence about whether to tell you this... but I think I should."
Yeonseo, who had been sitting in a daze, snapped to attention. Ara and I exchanged a look, tilted our heads, and leaned in to listen.
"First — information on Han Jin-o. Management took him into custody, but not long after, they were attacked. Everyone is either dead or missing. Especially Han Jin-o himself. The fact that his body alone is unaccounted for makes me think people connected to him came and took him."
Ara shot to her feet, face stricken, and nearly shouted.
"What are you talking about?! Why would that bastard still—!!"
"Calm down. He's listed as missing, but the man had already lost every card he held — so whether he's alive or dead is anyone's guess. More likely they decided the information had been compromised and disposed of him."
"Even so...!"
"Ara. Easy."
"Haa... okay, Unnie..."
I caught her sleeve and told her to settle down. She took a few breaths, let out a long sigh, and sat back down. I looked at Uncle Hancheol and asked him to tell us more.
According to him, the Management Division's bodies had been found near the river crossing on the eastern side of Mokdong Settlement. When they failed to arrive, Management grew suspicious, investigated, and sent people of their own. Every member of the escort had been killed by different abilities. Han Jin-o's clothes had been found torn at the scene — but whether he was alive or dead remained unknown.
"One of our people used to be a violent-crimes detective. He said the way the Management people died looked strange — like they'd been taken out by someone they knew."
"So you're saying it was someone connected to Management."
Yeonseo answered the moment he finished and kept going.
"Did they check for footprints? It hasn't rained, so there should at least have been tracks."
"Haha. You've got good instincts too, Yeonseo. According to the detective, the strange part is that the footprints belonged to one person — not several. Odd, right? Multiple abilities, but only one set of tracks."
"Meaning someone used different abilities to make it look like a group — but in the end, one person did it all."
Yeonseo slurped her tea and began tapping the table slowly with her fingers.
"Haa. This is a bad sign."
"Huh? Yeonseo Unnie, what do you mean?"
"Listen carefully. You saw it at Fly Park too — people using different abilities from each other, right? But this time, one person used even more of them. Which means, ultimately..."
I cut in before she finished. The weight of what she was saying had hit me hard enough that the words came out on their own.
"They've made progress with those pills. We're still standing at the starting line — and they're already way out ahead."
"I see. Haa... we'll have to tighten security going forward."
"Don't worry! You've been traveling with us and learning — you're a lot more skilled with your ability now. You'll manage fine on your own. And the others will help too, so don't stress."
"Thank you, Charlotte Unnie. Of course! It's not one person — everyone protects this settlement together, right?"
"That's my girl. Well said. If you need anything, just say the word. Ah — and there's one more thing I'd like to ask of you. Hear me out, then decide."
That shifted the mood again, and we listened.
It was a request for help from another settlement. The place was called Seonyudo Settlement — like Nodeul Settlement, it had been built on an island in the Han River. They had so few people who could fight that they often had to ask other settlements for support.
This time, the reason was the tower that had appeared some time ago near the National Assembly Building in Yeouido. They had managed to gather people and push toward it — only to be driven back by winged monsters that appeared out of nowhere. They had put out requests to other settlements as well, but everyone else was in no position to spare people either.
"So I thought I'd ask, since the three of you happen to have some room to spare."
"Hmm. We did see that tower on the way here. Still uncleared, huh? It's on our route anyway, so I don't mind. But..."
Hyeonseok was already radiating a willingness to help. Yeonseo, watching him, started to look irritated.
"Hey... know when to stop..."
"Ahem — couldn't we? It's on the way, and we'd have to clear the tower eventually anyway. Wouldn't it be fine?"
"Haa, you idiot! We have somewhere we need to get to in a hurry — that's the whole point! So—"
Mid-sentence, something seemed to occur to Uncle Hancheol, and he spoke up.
"Come to think of it — at Seonyudo Settlement, they mainly make clothes and undergarments for trade. So if you need any..."
"We're going!"
Yeonseo shot to her feet with her eyes sparkling. Hyeonseok and I both let out a little snort of laughter, and Ara turned her head slightly, covering her mouth to hold hers in. Yeonseo's pale ears flushed pink; she sat back down, ducked her head, and hid her face in both hands.
"What about you, Charlotte? Would you be okay with going?"
I thought for a moment — then answered quickly. In the end, I felt the same way he did.
"It's fine. We need clothes and things anyway, so if we can get some, great. And more than that — if there's someone who needs help, I want to help them."
"Then I'll take that as a yes and send word ahead. Originally there were two ways in, but the smaller path has been closed for safety — you'll have to go by Yanghwa Bridge."
"Understood. Thank you for telling us. We'll be on our way, then..."
I was rising to my feet with Hyeonseok and Yeonseo, offering my thanks, when the door opened and Uncle Dusik came in, breathing hard and streaming with sweat.
"Hoo... hoo... made it in time. You're leaving now?"
"I'm glad. I wanted to say goodbye to you too."
"Did you? Did you rest well?"
"Yes. Here's the key. If we come back, we'll stay again. It was really wonderful. Thank you."
"Ah, don't mention it. Watching a place that had just been gathering dust turn lively again did me good too. So — heading straight for the Blue House, then?"
"No. Seonyudo Settlement needs help, so we're stopping there first."
"Is that so? Hoo... all I can say now is take care of yourselves. Be careful."
Hearing that, I felt a rush of gratitude that Uncle Dusik had been the first person I met after returning to Earth. He carried the pain of losing his own daughter — and yet he had treated me, a stranger who only resembled her, like his own child, worrying over me with a sincerity I could feel.
The thought of parting made my chest tighten. I stepped forward and hugged him.
"You take care too, Uncle."
Caught off guard for a moment, Uncle Dusik soon wrapped his arms around me, patted my head, and told me once more to be careful. We pulled apart smiling at each other.
"Ah — and Ara. Take this."
I handed her one of the brooches I had also given to Uncle Hancheol and Uncle Dusik.
"This is...? A brooch?"
"Yeah. I've put some of my power into it — it'll protect your life when things get dangerous. But that doesn't mean you should do anything reckless, okay?"
"Yes! Of course! I'll treasure it so carefully that next time we meet, I'll show you it's still perfectly fine!"
"Good. You take care too, Ara — and you as well, Uncles."
The three of us said our final goodbyes and left the village hall, walking toward the eastern gate of the settlement.
Even as we left Mokdong Settlement, people stopped us with thanks and farewells. A week that was short if you measured it one way, long if you measured it another — and already, to them, we had become another kind of family.
Parting from them left a bittersweet ache. But with a flutter of anticipation for the new bonds waiting ahead, we set out toward Seonyudo.