The Bunker
A week had passed, and it was already mid-August. The heat was at its absolute peak. After much deliberation, I decided to head back to Seoul to settle my affairs and clear out my place.
When I broke the news to my family, they were happy, but my mother and father couldn't help but grumble.
"You brat, you've lived in Seoul for ten years—couldn't you have at least brought home a nice girl?"
"Oh, honestly. Everyone has their own timing, dear. Stop it."
"Aigoo. What’s the point of raising a son so handsome if he can’t even put it to good use!"
I chuckled at my father, who had been enjoying my help around the house for a while but was now complaining.
"You think this is funny, you rascal?"
"Anyway, I’ll go clear out the Seoul place and come back down."
That led to a flurry of questions. Would I be okay? There’s no real work for me here. What was I planning to do? I cut through their worried voices with a simple answer.
"Well, if things don't work out, I’ll just help around the house for a while. It’s not a big deal."
"Listen to him, making 'mooching off his parents' sound so sophisticated."
"Hahaha."
A week later, when I mentioned I was taking a vacation, my father barked at me, questioning why I’d take time off during the busiest season.
"It’s because of you, you idiot! You finally come home after years, and instead of resting, you just work yourself to the bone. I’ve already told everyone, so just accept it."
'Oh, boy.'
I chuckled, told him I understood, and when I mentioned I was heading up the day after tomorrow, he gave me that familiar, regretful look. I smiled back.
"You’re so frivolous. A man shouldn't be so quick to laugh."
Even with my father’s nagging, I kept a steady smile on my face until the conversation ended.
The next day.
Since I’d already told them I was leaving tomorrow, I took it easy and woke up late for once. As I headed to the living room, a spicy scent hit my nose. I walked into the kitchen to find my youngest brother, the late-born baby of the family, eating ramen at the table.
"You’re eating ramen instead of a proper meal?"
"Hey, I’m gonna eat rice too. You want some, Hyung?"
"Forget it. I’m going to eat the kimchi stew Mom made."
I quickly heated up some soup, grabbed rice and side dishes, and sat down. My brother, who had been mixing rice into his ramen, reached out with his chopsticks to grab some of the stew. I laughed, and we ate together.
"Oh, right, Hyung. You’re resting today, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
He swallowed his food, his face clouded with worry, and he narrowed his eyes.
"Why? Did those thugs contact you again?"
"Ah, no. They haven't reached out even once since that day you talked to them."
I asked, puzzled by his hesitation. "Then why are you fidgeting like you need to pee?"
"...It’s just. Hey, after we finish eating, come to my room for a sec."
"Alright."
After finishing the meal and doing the dishes, I followed my fidgety brother upstairs. It was 10:00 AM, but the room was pitch black, like a lair for creatures of the night. I frowned.
"Hey, a person needs some sunlight. What’s with this darkness?"
"Whoa... how are you saying the exact same thing as Dad?"
"You little...!"
My brother giggled, sat down at his computer, and began typing with the dexterity of a pianist.
Clack-clack-clack! Clack! Clack-clack-clack!
The sound of his blue-switch mechanical keyboard echoed through the room. A moment later, he accessed a site with a strange logo.
"This is a place on the dark web that deals with information. Lately, people are saying something’s not right."
"'Not right'?"
I answered half-heartedly, wondering if he was being dramatic like he used to be in high school, talking about America or whatever. But then, my eyes widened at the photo he pulled up.
"What is this...?"
"That... that’s a hospital in China. But look at this one—this is America. And this one is Paris..."
He enlarged the screen. I stared with a heavy heart at medical staff in hazmat suits pushing carts, and bodies covered in plastic sheets.
The image quality was poor, likely a zoomed-in shot taken from a distance, but the screen was clear enough to see the grim reality.
"It looks like another epidemic is spreading..."
"...When did you find this?"
"A friend on the dark web sent it to me five days ago. He said he’s already finished his preparations and is heading into a hole—a bunker—and told me to be careful."
"...."
A sense of déjà vu washed over me. A prickly, uncomfortable feeling. It was a memory I couldn't quite grasp, something nagging at the back of my mind. I had seen this before. Or, more accurately, I had felt this way before.
I frowned, trying to catch the elusive thought.
"What should we do, Hyung? Looking at the situation, this is going to hit Korea soon."
I turned to look at my brother, whose voice had cut through my thoughts. He looked dead serious.
"How soon?"
"At the earliest, the end of this week. At the latest, next week."
I organized my thoughts. I pieced together the fragments of information. If it was anything like the COVID era...
"First off, we’re supposed to go on vacation next week, right? Tell Dad and our brothers-in-law then. Tell them I want to go to the valley, and since the warehouse in Yeongok has good water, we should spend time there."
"Oh, yeah. Got it. Hey, Hyung, since we’re talking about it, do you want to go take a look right now?"
"Yeah, let’s do that."
I nodded, and we hopped into the car and headed toward the bunker in Yeongok. We drove up the mountain trail, parked near the warehouse, and followed a path I didn't remember existing.
We reached a clearing where I saw a small, guard-post-like building equipped with solar panels. I pointed at it, but my brother shook his head, so I looked around. There were water tanks and other things, but nothing that looked like an entrance.
I searched around, turning my head this way and that, until I spotted a suspicious spot on the slope of the mountain. I pointed at it and looked at my brother.
"Yeah, that’s it. How did you find it? It’s not easy to spot if you don't know it’s there! Hahaha!"
He puffed out his chest, walking ahead like a proud child. I followed him, and he pulled back a camouflage net to reveal a sturdy concrete and steel door.
"Let’s go in."
We descended into the concrete underground, opened another steel door, and my eyes widened at the sight of a luxurious, antique-style wooden interior.
"What is this? Is this really a bunker?"
"Hahaha! What do you think! This is our family’s secret base!"
He stood there with his arms spread wide, looking as excited as a child. I stepped inside. The ceilings were high, and there was none of the stuffiness typical of an underground space.
I wandered around, listening to my brother’s proud explanations.
"This is the smart farm. This is the family room, that’s a duplex, and this is another panic room. And if you push this... now, if we go down—"
"There’s another level?"
"Yeah. This is the storage area. Wait a second. If you press this here, the floor slides away."
As my brother pushed it, a staircase appeared. Unlike the level above, this was an underground warehouse filled with steel racks, half-stocked with supplies.
I was impressed by the sheer size of the space, clearly designed for storage. I noticed a container in the corner and walked over to it.
"What is this? Don't tell me... a freezer?"
"Ah, yeah. It’s a freezer. That cost a pretty penny, too. And that’s not all. Look behind here."
I followed my brother, who was grinning at every one of my reactions. There were various pieces of machinery.
"What is all this? That’s a generator, but what’s this?"
"This is the water circulation system. You know the water tower up there? It’s linked to that. This is the air circulation system. And this, just like you said, is a power bank connected to the generator and the solar panels. I spent hundreds of millions of won just on this."
"Whoa. This is the kind of stuff you only see in movies or dramas."
"Hahaha. And~"
I patted his back as he explained the energy efficiency and various other features.
"It’s great. It’ll be a good place to stay. But you said earlier you heard about this five days ago. Did you do any more preparation?"
"Yeah. Just in case. I put meat and vegetables in the freezer upstairs. And I prepared medicine and various other things in the bunker, just in case."
I took a breath, but the musty underground smell made me frown. I spoke up.
"Is the air purification working properly right now? What about spare parts? Is that one unit enough?"
"Huh? Oh. The air filter... I have three months' worth, but we don't need to stay sealed up. If we just open the door we came through, outside air flows in. And as for the circuit boards and purification parts, I thought I didn't have enough, so I ordered more. They’ve already arrived at Incheon Airport. They should start shipping tomorrow. The rest of the important parts should arrive at Incheon Port tomorrow, too. I’ll have to wait two weeks."
My brother’s eyes widened at my question, and he started listing things off, chin in hand.
After finishing the inspection, we came out of the facility and looked at the supplies in the warehouse.
"What are those kimchi-container-looking things?"
"Ah, those are survival rations and MREs. I bought quite a lot. It should last us about two years."
I nodded. Maybe it was because I had seen those photos earlier, or maybe it was the déjà vu that kept creeping up—I felt a nagging sensation in my brain, urging me to remember something.
"Hyung?"
"Ah, um. How long can we hold out with all this?"
"Hmm... if we start operating now and collect energy, we can hold out for five years, basically. And if we go down to the frozen storage area, there’s a vinyl greenhouse that our late uncle used to use. If we reinforce that and really put our minds to it, we can last even longer. There’s a valley nearby, too."
A strange sense of relief washed over me. The déjà vu that had been ringing in my ears earlier had faded, but it was still there, making me frown.
Looking at this reaction... something is definitely going to happen.
I finished my thoughts and told my brother to start charging the energy now. I watched him tinker with the controls for a while before we headed back outside.
On the way home, I asked about the "Aurora Shock." My brother’s eyes lit up, and he launched into a full-blown lecture on his theories, some of which I hadn't even heard of.
"So, you’re saying that after the aurora, something is happening globally?"
"Yeah. To be precise... Ah! When the aurora appeared worldwide the day before you got the call, the dominant theory on the dark web was that something was going to enter Earth. Plus, starting from July, a month ago~"
As my brother continued his explanation, I had a hunch—no, a suspicion—about something I had buried deep down.
The Returnees. And Mana.
But that didn't seem right.
Even if it was "Mana Rejection Syndrome," it was like being an albino or having a grain allergy—you just had to be careful about what you consumed.
I arrived home and got out of the car, pondering the hypothesis that this might be a side effect of mana suddenly appearing in a world that had none.
As we walked toward the house, I continued to listen to my brother, who was excited to talk about his field of expertise.
An old memory surfaced—that some of the Summoned or Transmigrators suffered through an illness early on, much like an epidemic.
But I remembered that they recovered after suffering through a bad cold or the flu, so I nodded and thought to myself.
If mana was suddenly introduced, that would definitely happen. It’s possible that in the process, people became vulnerable to epidemics like COVID.
It was an overly optimistic thought, but if "mana" was good, then it was good; there was no reason for it to turn bad like "demonic energy."
I decided to leave it at that.
'Anyway, only the Returnees have come back, so there’s no need to worry too much.'
With that thought, I spent the rest of the evening listening to my brother’s stories.
"Uncle! Don't gooo! Waaaaah!"
"Sob! Sniff! Don't gooo!"
The wailing of my nieces and nephews, who were clinging to my legs at the bus terminal, echoed loudly. Unaware of their sorrow, the adults waiting for their buses looked on with smiles, finding them cute.
"I told you, I’ll be back in seven nights, didn't I?"
"Sniff... r-really?"
"For real?"
I picked up the little ones, who were speaking with stuffy noses, and kissed their cheeks.
"Really. I’ll go up, come back down, and then next week we can have a blast at the valley, okay?"
"Sniff... then..."
"Pinky promise!"
I set them down as they held up their little fingers, and I held out my own pinky.
"Alright. Pinky promise! Stamp! Copy! Sign!"
"If you break it, you have to burn your hand!"
"Hahaha! Okay, I got it!"
My father and brother were smiling at the sight of my adorable nieces and nephews.
"Alright, travel safely. Don't sell the house too quickly and end up getting a low price. Look into it carefully. You hear me?"
"I will. Tell Mom, my sisters, and my brothers-in-law that I’m heading up."
"Why tell them? You can just call them when you get there."
I laughed, agreeing, and started walking toward the bus that had just arrived.
"Oh, right, Hyung. Don't forget the number and the promised time for 'that phone'!"
I paused for a moment, wondering what he meant, then remembered the strangely shaped phone he’d given me when I returned home.
"Ah, right. Got it. I’m off."
I waved my hand, and my brother and the nieces and nephews in my father’s arms waved back with both hands.
"Uncle~ See you in seven nights~"
"A man’s word is as heavy as a thousand gold pieces!"
I burst out laughing at the phrase following my nephew’s lisping.
"That’s right, a man’s word is heavy. See you in seven nights~"
I walked to the bus entrance, where the driver, wearing sunglasses, grinned at me.
"Aigoo, is it hard to leave because of the little ones?"
"Haha. It’s fine, I promised I’d be back soon anyway."
As I handed him my ticket, the driver smiled back while tearing off the passenger stub.
"Yes~ Ticket confirmed."
I sat in my single seat and waved back at my family, who were waving from the platform.
A short while later, as the bus backed up and my family faded into the distance, a hollow feeling settled in my chest, and I gave a bitter smile.
"Well, it’s all for the best... I’ll be back soon anyway..."
I muttered to myself, watched the tollgate as we left Gangneung, took some motion sickness medicine I’d remembered to pack, and closed my eyes.
Before long, as I felt myself drifting off, I thought about how I’d gotten a bit too comfortable here, and listened to the radio as I blinked my eyes.
[Next news. Currently, there are reports worldwide of people experiencing chest tightness, followed by shortness of breath and anxiety. The WHO is encouraging anyone exhibiting these symptoms to visit a nearby hospital for a check-up-]
Was it because the voice was so clear? Or was I just half-asleep, listening to the announcer’s voice and thinking to myself?
It’s the typical overload that happens when 'mana settles into the body' for the first time... well, whatever.
With that final thought—wondering if they really didn't know anything—I let the announcer’s grave voice serve as a lullaby and drifted off to sleep.