Vanished
That was how I fell asleep, wrapped tightly in Haru Nuna’s arms.
I was sunk in the deepest sleep when it happened.
Tap.
Tap.
Someone carefully nudged my shoulder.
“Woohyun…”
Haru Nuna’s whisper brushed my ear.
“Woohyun… you have to wake up.”
Half-dreaming, I rubbed my eyes and pushed myself upright.
Oh, right… we need to wash…
Nuna, not wearing so much as a single thread, took my hand and led me. I was just as bare—I’d scrambled out of bed too fast to grab anything.
“… … …”
Feeling each other’s bare skin brush with every step, we held our breath and made our way toward the first-floor bathroom.
Soft, soft.
Thankfully nothing terrible happened—no running into sleepless Woohee Nuna in the hallway, no getting caught by Ha Seonyu on her way to the toilet.
I snuck a glance at the living-room clock; it was still short of four in the morning.
Nuna carefully opened the changing-room and bathroom doors and pulled me inside.
Click.
The door shut. The lock slid home.
“Hoo…”
Under the clear lights, the sight of Nuna’s naked body made my lower half tighten at once.
And with that, precious childhood memories rose one after another.
When we were very little, Mama used to dump all six of us siblings into the big tub and scrub us roughly. But around the time I turned seven, she started bathing only the girls together—leaving me out.
Waaah… Why does everyone get to bathe without me? So mean!
Back then I was truly indignant, convinced Mama was singling me out. Only after I grew older did I understand why she had separated me.
That was why being able to step into the bathroom with Haru Nuna as adults felt so thrilling.
But the world, it seemed, was not about to make things that easy.
“Woohyun, come here… ah.”
The moment Haru Nuna walked toward the tub and whispered in her usual soft voice—
Whoom— whoom whoom.
—her small voice bounced off the tiled walls and rang out in every direction like an echo.
Nuna’s room, where we had been moaning roughly the night before, had decent soundproofing. Only now did I realize how loudly water and voices carried in the bathroom.
Plop——————-!
I tested a tiny splash of water on the floor. The sound amplified as if we were broadcasting at full volume: We’re about to have sex in here! Please give us lots of attention!!!!!
The bathroom was already poorly insulated; in the dead quiet of dawn the resonance felt twice as loud.
Climbing into the tub together and savoring each other’s skin was impossible.
“Ah…”
Haru Nuna bit her lip, looking disappointed.
“We’ll just have to shower quickly…”
I could only nod.
“Yes. The sound’s too big—we can’t.”
So the dream of filling the tub and washing each other never happened. Someone who woke up and came downstairs to use the toilet might find us.
Shhhhhhhhh———-!
We turned the shower pressure as low as it would go, held our breath, and hurriedly rinsed away the fluids and sweat clinging to our bodies. The traces of last night’s fierce lovemaking rode the streams of water down the drain.
After that breathless shower, the two of us stepped out.
Before opening the door, Haru Nuna swept her wet hair back and came close.
“Woohyun.”
She squeezed my hand and made a promise.
“Next time… when we get the chance, let’s definitely bathe together.”
Ohhhhhhhhh!!!!!
My mouth stretched almost ear to ear.
“Really? You’re promising?”
When I answered with a silly grin, Haru Nuna’s face flushed bright red. Then she rose on tiptoe and pressed her lips right against my ear.
What is she about to say?
“…Next time we bathe, I’ll show you how a woman washes herself…”
Her sweet, damp breath tickled inside my ear.
“And… let’s mate in the tub with Nuna.”
“…!!”
I froze on the spot like a statue, completely dumbfounded.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
Apparently mortified by what she had just said, Haru Nuna fled naked back to her own room.
I could only look forward to the day we finally had bathroom sex.
I couldn’t stay naked forever either, so I muffled my footsteps, carefully returned to my second-floor room, and pulled on clothes.
I lay down on the bed, but sleep was clearly out of the question.
Nuna’s wet whisper kept looping endlessly inside my head.
Ah, damn.
The day was starting far too early—this was a problem.
I stared blankly at the ceiling and sorted my thoughts.
No matter how the situation developed, it was time to make decisions.
First: the report to Mama would be postponed for now.
Proving right in front of Mama that Nuna and I had succeeded at the act of reproduction would be far too harsh a sentence for the other girls who still weren’t ready. We could put it off until a more dangerous situation forced our hand. Haru Nuna’s heartfelt plea had been part of it too.
And…… I mustn’t forget the most important thing.
Apologizing to Hari.
Jin Woohyun was dead.
A true man named Jin Woohyun had been newly born.
A real man had to go to Hari and offer a genuine apology for the cowardly things I had done. Not the excuse-riddled apology of before—an apology that fully admitted every single fault of mine.
Seonyu’s advice floated up.
‘Sometimes you have to leave time to heal the feelings.’
Just as Ha Seonyu had said, rather than charging in blindly, it might be better to take time and carefully think of a way to approach her.
First priority: at breakfast later, gauge Hari’s condition and the atmosphere, then figure out how best to speak to her.
Okay. Let’s go with that.
I waited for morning, drawing deep breaths.
The artificial sun on the ceiling poured out dazzling golden light and announced the start of day.
I calmed my tense heart and went downstairs to the first-floor living room.
In the kitchen, as always, Haru Nuna was preparing breakfast. The moment she spotted me her cheeks flushed and she looked away—then she immediately pretended nothing had happened, stirring the ladle and acting perfectly calm.
“Woohyun, good morning. Let’s eat soon.”
“Yes, Nuna.”
In the living room Jiha held a broom, Seonyu sat on the sofa staring blankly at the ceiling, and Woohee Nuna sat at the dining table reading a book.
Hari would come down soon; I would carefully observe her state.
………… But my grand plan of apology shattered into pieces before it could even begin.
Because my precious childhood friend, Min Hari, never appeared at the breakfast table.
“Huh? Hari Unnie isn’t here.”
Jiha leaned the broom against the wall and tilted her head.
“Where’d she go?”
A sudden foreboding rose from Jiha’s question.
Thud thud thud thud thud!!!
The faster the action, the better.
Without looking back I sprinted up to the second floor and roughly flung open Hari’s door.
Bang!
“Hari!”
The room was empty.
The bedding was neatly arranged. The work apron she always put on every morning was gone from its wall hook.
What?
Where the hell did she go?
Goosebumps raced down my spine as I tore back down to the first floor like a madman.
“Hari’s gone! She’s not in her room, and the apron’s missing too!”
At my urgent shout, Woohee Nuna closed her book and rose from her seat. Then, as if realizing something, she walked toward the common equipment locker at the end of the first-floor hallway.
“Woohyun, don’t panic. Let’s just confirm the facts.”
Woohee Nuna opened the locker door and scanned the interior with sharp eyes.
“One portable lantern is missing. And a whole bundle of thick nylon rope is gone as well.”
She turned and looked at us. Her eyes had settled into a cold stillness.
“She went toward the Unexplored Area. The boundary sensor log on the main panel shows it opened and closed once at five in the morning. When I checked after waking up, I thought it was a system error.”
The conclusion was clear.
Hari had vanished into the Unexplored Area.
“Are you insane?!”
Seonyu leapt up from the sofa and shouted.
“Why the hell did Min Hari go in there alone????????!!!”
Seonyu’s face had gone white. As someone who constantly roamed the Explored Area, she knew better than anyone how full of variables and danger the Unexplored Area was.
“I’m going to find Hari right now.”
I clenched my fists and turned toward the entrance. I had to bring her back myself, this very moment. Her running away was no one’s responsibility but mine. And if we delayed, there was no telling what might happen.
“Hey, Jin Woohyun!”
Seonyu seized my collar hard.
“What do you think you’re going to do alone? Do you even know the way properly?”
She yelled. But her eyes held no anger toward me… only the terror of possibly losing Hari, and worry for me.
“I’ll take the lead, so shut up and pack the gear. Minimum water and food, first-aid supplies, and a machete.”
Whoosh—!
Seonyu released my collar and moved like lightning, pulling the necessary items from the locker.
Haru Nuna approached, still holding the ladle, trembling.
“W-Woohyun, Seonyu… H-Hari will be okay, right?”
Tears welled in her eyes.
“Nuna, don’t worry. I’ll bring Hari back without a single hair harmed.”
I met Haru Nuna’s gaze and made a firm promise.
Seonyu hoisted the heavy backpack onto her shoulders and lightly kicked my shin with her toe.
“Let’s go, idiot.”
After firmly telling everyone once more that I would definitely find Hari and return, I followed Seonyu’s reliable back out of the mansion.
When all was said and done, the person most trustworthy in a crisis was always Ha Seonyu—this girl alone.
Please… just let Hari be safe…