Chapter 266
Chapter 266
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 266. Freediving
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I open my eyes.
My body is shaking.
And it's shaking precariously.
I can hear someone grunting as they carry me on their back.
Wait. Grunting?
"Daon?"
"Ah, Jaeheon! Hold on tight so you don't fall off!"
Yoo Daon smiled at me while trudging through water up to her neck.
"It's way more dangerous here than I thought—"
For a moment, Yoo Daon's body swayed, and she snapped her eyes open wide to look at me again.
"it is!"
"...If it's too hard, I can get down."
"Absolutely not."
This time, Yoo Daon shook her head with a serious expression.
"Got it, Jaeheon? If you get down, you're dead. Do not get down, no matter what."
"Ah, okay."
If I get down, I'm dead.
I look at the water rising up to my legs, then at Yoo Daon.
She takes a few steps, staggers, and keeps staggering over and over.
A horrifying hypothesis forms in my mind.
"Daon, you okay?"
"I'm fi—"
Yoo Daon stumbles.
"ne!"
She turns around and smiles.
"...Let's hurry."
Yoo Daon looks like she's in pain the whole time. And I have no idea what's happened to Song Arin.
Yoo Daon keeps pushing through the water with me on her back.
I'm so sorry, I can't even lift my head.
How far had we walked?
"Hey—! Kim Jaeheon! Yoo Daon!"
Song Arin's voice starts coming from far away.
"If you hear me, say something! Kim Jaeheon!! Yoo Daon!!"
"Arin!"
"Hurry!"
At my words, Yoo Daon starts splashing and running with me on her back.
She staggers a few times, but she keeps running until we come face-to-face with Song Arin, her face twisted as she yells.
"Hey!"
Song Arin lit up when she saw me and Yoo Daon, waving her hand.
Where is Song Arin right now?
She's waving from up on the stairs.
And above that is a cabin.
A cabin?
"Connect!"
No time for other thoughts.
Song Arin points at Yoo Daon and herself, yelling.
Connect? Suddenly?
At that moment, Yoo Daon's body sways violently.
"Agh..."
As Yoo Daon bites her lip in pain, her body starts to collapse.
No time to think.
The water is getting closer,
[Method - 1->0]
I hurriedly pull a thread from Song Arin and connect it to Yoo Daon.
"Ugh...!"
Even as her body trembles, Song Arin reaches out with both hands, and threads fall into the water.
Song Arin blankly opens her eyes, and the water around us turns to paper and scatters to the ground.
-Thud!
Yoo Daon and I roll across the floor, and I scoop her up and start running.
I can tell instinctively.
Song Arin can't keep this up for long.
I hurriedly carry Yoo Daon up the stairs, and crawl up after her.
Soon, the paper turns back into water and starts flowing again.
-Rush!
The enormous sound of water rushing.
"Arin, thank you. If it weren't for you, we'd be dead..."
I look up at Song Arin, who's kneeling with a pale face, nose bleeding.
"Arin, you okay?"
"Don't... talk to me... I feel like puking..."
She mutters with her eyes squeezed shut, and Yoo Daon, now recovered, hurriedly pulls a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe Song Arin's face.
"Blood, you're bleeding, Arin...!"
"You idiot...! Blood's smearing all over my face...!"
Song Arin pushes Yoo Daon away and flops down on the stairs.
Not long after, Song Arin slowly stands and looks at me and Yoo Daon.
"...We survived. That's what matters."
She looks way more exhausted than before.
I gaze at her for a moment, then look up at the cabin again.
"Arin, Chaeyeon's in there."
"I know. I saw."
Song Arin answers in a dry voice and stands with a groan.
"Not... completely fine, but alive."
"...Whew."
Hearing that, all the tension drains from my body.
"Is she hurt bad?"
"She has wounds, but she stopped the bleeding herself, somehow."
She mutters as she staggers up the stairs, then turns to look at Yoo Daon.
"Hey, black hair."
"Yes?"
Yoo Daon looks at Song Arin, and Song Arin looks back before turning away and muttering.
"I'll admit it. There probably wasn't anyone on Earth who could hold out that long in water."
"...Well, I had someone I needed to protect on my back."
Yoo Daon smiles softly in response, and Song Arin snorts before climbing the stairs again.
"...Daon, what the hell happened?"
"It's a secret."
Yoo Daon smiles at my question, puts a finger to her lips, and trots up the stairs to peer inside.
"Chaeyeon's here!"
She waves and looks at me.
I hurriedly pass Yoo Daon and go inside.
There's a blood-soaked pillow, and Jang Chaeyeon is breathing steadily with her eyes closed.
"...Thank goodness."
She's alive.
Only then does a wave of relief wash over me, like my strength is gone.
Maybe because everyone's gathered, Jang Chaeyeon slowly opens her eyes and looks at me.
"...Huh...?"
Soon, she blinks and looks at me again.
"......Huh......?"
After closing and opening her eyes several times while staring at me, Jang Chaeyeon finally seems to grasp the situation and opens her eyes wide.
"H-How..."
"I told you I'd come if you called for me."
"No, but still, how..."
Jang Chaeyeon stares at me with wide eyes in disbelief, then slowly leans back.
"Good... thing."
"...Yeah. We're lucky."
Jang Chaeyeon looks at me like she has a lot to say, but soon slowly turns her head.
"Go have your little world of two."
Song Arin is watching us with her arms crossed, and Yoo Daon is giving an awkward smile.
"We haven't seen each other in a while, so of course we're happy."
"What do you mean 'a while'? It's been less than a day since we split up."
Song Arin clicks her tongue and looks at Jang Chaeyeon.
"Hey, white hair. Can you stand?"
"...Yeah."
Jang Chaeyeon slowly gets up.
"...Situation?"
"Listen for yourself."
At Jang Chaeyeon's question, Song Arin points outside with her thumb, and Jang Chaeyeon does so, her expression turning serious.
"It's chaos."
"Yeah. Total shitshow."
Song Arin sighs deeply.
"At this point, the wedge must be loose."
"Loose?"
When Yoo Daon and I blocked the wedge, it was at least still holding. Now it's completely undone?
"Aren't we too late?"
"Not yet."
Jang Chaeyeon shakes her head at my words.
"But we need to hurry. And it won't be easy."
"I'm all for hurrying. But how do we cross this water?"
-Rush...!
I look at the water still raging through the cave.
"We fly."
Jang Chaeyeon replies, and Song Arin squeezes her eyes shut.
"Yeah. I figured."
"Get ready."
"To think I'd have to do this again... after almost five years..."
At Jang Chaeyeon's words, Song Arin mutters sadly and picks up the blanket on the bed.
"...You're not going to fly on me, are you?"
Yoo Daon looks at Jang Chaeyeon with an anxious expression.
"You're too fragile and unstable. Not suitable to ride."
"Daon is a person, first of all."
While I'm talking to Jang Chaeyeon, Song Arin is skillfully tying the blanket into something.
"Almost done."
"You still remember."
"Who do you think it's because of?"
Song Arin mutters irritably and spreads out the blanket.
"...Flying squirrel?"
Is this a parachute or a flying squirrel suit?
Anyway, it's like a wingsuit you spread on your back to glide, tied to Song Arin's arms.
"This seems more like something I should..."
"Yeah. Someone with a bigger build."
Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin's eyes turn to me.
"...You want me to do it?"
"Yeah."
"Who else but you? Black hair?"
"Should I?"
Yoo Daon raises her hand.
"...No, no. Guess it's me."
I did say I'd take responsibility, but I didn't mean this far.
While I'm lost in thought, Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin pounce and tie the blanket to my wrists and ankles.
"Alright. Done!"
"Tied well. Won't come loose."
"That's good. What's next?"
"Now we'll hang on you and fly."
"...Pardon?"
Even if it's just us four adults—even if they're women—this tiny blanket can't handle over 100kg? Hell, over 200kg.
"It won't hold the weight."
"That's what white hair's for. And it's a bit different here."
Song Arin points at Jang Chaeyeon, who draws a V-sign expressionlessly.
"I can do it."
"...I'm really scared."
"Yeah? Good to see your scared face again after so long. Let's go."
Why is she so confident?
Song Arin pushes my back, and we head out of the cabin.
-Whoosh...!
An enormous wind is blowing.
"We'll ride this wind all the way to the wedge."
"Isn't there a more civilized way? Like a raft..."
"Stranded."
"Or skimming over the water..."
"Impossible."
"..."
Fine. Let's just do it.
I grit my teeth and awkwardly spread my arms and legs, and Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin grab my sides.
"Black hair, on my back."
"Got it!"
Yoo Daon sticks tight to my back.
"What're you doing? Jump!"
"...We really jump?"
"I said hurry!"
At Song Arin's urging, I squeeze my eyes shut and leap.
How the hell are we supposed to fly with this weight? I think for a moment,
Then Jang Chaeyeon waves her hand, and our bodies lift into the wind.
"Whoa, whoa...!"
"Hey, fold your arms and we're all dead!"
Song Arin yells while clinging to my side, and Yoo Daon squeals excitedly from my back.
"Wheee! So cool! Hahaha! This is great!"
"..."
And Jang Chaeyeon quietly waves her hand.
Slowly—no, quickly—we fly through the sky, lost in thought.
The wedge is loose.
When Yoo Daon and I blocked it, I saw a scene.
"..."
What was it? My temples throb when I try to recall.
Like I'm not supposed to think about it, the info won't come.
Instead, another thought surfaces.
Observer. Aestheticism and Jang Chaeyeon.
Yoo Daon was Butterfly's Dream, Song Arin was the Extremist Director.
Given the structure of their abilities.
So Jang Chaeyeon is—
-Shrash!
At the same time, the manual unfolds from my pocket, and Song Arin hurriedly grabs the falling manual.
"No, this crazy book...!"
[Manual for Office Workers]
[1. Fold your arms.]
Fold my arms?
But folding them will make us fall?
[2. Now.]
I fold my arms.
Amid the three screams, we plummet into the water.