Altruism and Selfishness
As everyone was about to leave the living room, Seonyu spoke up.
"Anyway, we need to grab those books from the underground storage. We should start with what we can do, right? Isn't that so, Woohee unnie?"
Woohee unnie nodded silently.
Then Ha Seonyu kicked my side hard with her foot and snapped at me.
"You hear that? You go get them. They're gonna be super heavy anyway."
"Why the hell do I have to follow your orders?"
I shot back, refusing to back down and getting pissed.
But Seonyu just snorted and countered.
"Well, you're the one directly involved anyway, so who else are you gonna make do it if not you? We'll wait together until you bring the books back, so hurry up and go."
She wasn't wrong.
In the end, I pouted and left the living room, heading to the underground storage.
Thud.
Thud.
I flipped the switch near the entrance, and the old fluorescent light on the ceiling flickered noisily before finally spitting out light.
Bzzzzt, hum—!
This had to be where the books were...
Under the light, three massive iron cabinets stood in a row.
Dust had settled thickly on their surfaces.
I approached the third one, farthest in.
The very cabinet Mama had occasionally pulled materials from when teaching us basic biology.
Creeeak—
As I opened the door, a musty smell of old paper hit me hard.
Dozens of thick books were crammed inside.
I scanned the titles one by one.
[Basic Botany]
[Greenhouse Environment Control Manual]
[Basics of Human Anatomy]
And in the bottom shelf, tucked in the corner and separated, three thick leather-bound volumes caught my eye.
[Human Reproduction and Reproductive Biology]
[Human Sexuality and Bond Formation]
[Practical Manual for Species Preservation]
Just reading the titles made my breath catch in my throat.
With trembling hands, I pulled out the thickest one, Human Reproduction and Reproductive Biology.
I blew the dust off the spine and set it on the nearby rickety desk.
I swallowed hard and flipped open the pages.
Rustle, rustle.
"Whoa..."
A sigh like a gasp escaped my lips.
The book had far more illustrations and photos than text.
The problem was, these weren't the vague sketches Mama had shown us as kids.
There were graphic anatomical cross-sections of male and female bodies, and detailed, step-by-step drawings of the actual coupling process crammed on every page.
My heart started pounding like mad.
My ears burned, but I kept my eyes glued, reading the text.
For successful reproduction, ejaculation must occur while the male's penis is fully inserted into the female's vagina. This is termed "vaginal ejaculation."
Furthermore, the higher the emotional bond between the paired individuals, the greater the reproduction success rate. Adequate foreplay and mutual interaction before physical union are essential to relieve tension.
Foreplay?
Interaction?
The words flashed in my mind, and images of the greenhouse girls flickered through my head.
I'd have to lock eyes with one of them, kiss her, share body heat, and entwine our bodies.
To survive.
In the face of survival, our shame was a luxury.
You idiot, get it together. This isn't the time to be embarrassed.
I slapped my cheeks to snap myself out of it.
And just as I reached for another book—
Tap, tap!
Light footsteps came down the stairs.
A cautious shadow stretched long across the floor, passing through the open door into the storage room.
"Woohyun... you in here?"
A small, slender voice.
Under the fluorescent light, pale pink hair shimmered.
Her long bangs slightly covered one eye, and anxious pupils trembled behind them.
It was Hari.
She stood at the entrance, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly in both hands, looking at me.
Her face was even redder than before, her breathing faintly shaky.
"Oh, Hari. What's up?"
I hurriedly slammed shut the book on the desk.
I didn't want her seeing these explicit drawings.
Or maybe I wanted to spare her, since she probably wasn't ready yet.
Hari flinched at my action, then slowly approached.
"I-I came to help. It's too heavy to carry alone, right? And I need to study too, just in case."
Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it held a faint stubbornness.
"I saw you go alone earlier... it made me feel so uneasy. Everyone's just avoiding it out of shame or fear, but I can't let you shoulder all that heavy burden by yourself."
She came right up to me and stopped.
Her large breasts rose and fell with her ragged breaths.
Even with her face on the verge of bursting from embarrassment, she didn't avert her gaze—she looked straight into my eyes.
My gentle, timid childhood friend, always hiding behind me and taking care of me.
That Hari had mustered the courage to stand by my side now.
"Hari."
"I'm part of the greenhouse too. I want to help."
Hari reached out and gently brushed the cover of the thick volume I'd just closed.
"This has... what Mama meant, right?"
I nodded quietly, and Hari bit her lip hard.
She took a deep breath, then opened the cover herself.
Rustle—
Her gaze fell on the text and illustrations.
I watched her profile tensely, expecting her to scream or slam it shut.
Hari's eyes slowly scanned the explicit anatomical drawings.
Her face flushed an even deeper red, but she didn't look away.
"It's... really detailed."
She whispered softly.
"Yeah. Way more than I thought. Much more detailed than what Mama told us when we were kids."
I stood close beside her and pointed to a section.
"Look here. The part I read earlier—it says pregnancy only happens if the man ejaculates inside the woman's vagina."
Hari swallowed hard at my explanation.
Her eyes lingered on the text I pointed to.
The only sounds in the storage room were page turns and our cautious breaths.
Hari's shoulder brushed almost against my arm.
Her sweet grass-flower scent pierced through the musty dust, tickling my nose.
"Woohyun."
Hari lifted her gaze from the book.
"Do we... really have to do this? Like what's in this book... you and one of us."
"Yeah. Otherwise, we'll all die. Mama wouldn't warn us lightly. If the water cuts off, all the plants you tend so carefully every day will die first."
Sadness welled in Hari's eyes at my words.
She treated the plants like her own children.
She couldn't bear to watch them wither.
Hari pulled her hand from the book and looked up at me.
My face reflected in her soft eyes.
"You're right. We can't run forever. I don't want to die like this either... or for everyone to die."
She clasped her hands in front of her chest.
Her fingers trembled faintly.
"If... if someone has to do it..."
"Her voice shook noticeably."
She dropped her gaze from mine, then took another deep breath.
Her expression was resolute, like someone about to leap off a cliff.
"I'll do it."
My heart plummeted.
I doubted my ears for a moment.
"Huh? Hari, what did you just—"
"I'll do it with you. The Breeding Act. With me, Woohyun."
Hari snapped her head up and practically shouted.
Her cheeks were flushed like they might explode, tears brimming in her eyes.
But her gaze on me was firmer than ever.
"Wha??? Huh??? You're gonna... do it? Suddenly why...?"
My voice came out pathetic.
I gripped the desk edge and staggered back.
The old chair scraped against the floor with a grating sound.
Screeech.
I couldn't believe it.
Hari, who would blush and flee at even my slightest teasing prank.
The girl who teared up if a tomato in the greenhouse got bruised.
That Hari was offering herself to me, with those explicit copulation illustrations right in front of her.
"N-Not suddenly..."
She gripped her apron hem even tighter.
Her knuckles turned white.
Face burning red, she met my eyes without flinching.
"E-Everyone's just dumping it all on you. They're all dodging and scared, and you're forcing yourself to act fine alone..."
Moisture thickened her voice.
"I hate that. For you to survive, forcing yourself to do... that... with someone you don't even like, tormented by guilt... I can't watch it."
"Hari, wait. Calm down. This isn't something to decide emotionally..."
"It's not emotional!"
Thwack!
She slammed her hand on the desk.
Dust puffed up lightly.
My jaw dropped at the sharp sound.
Hari had never interrupted me or yelled since we were born in this greenhouse.
"I'm scared too. Embarrassed, wanna run away. But... if water and power cut off, my plants die, we all starve..."
Tears finally fell from her big eyes.
They trailed down her pink cheeks, pooling at her chin.
"And... you're precious to me. If it's you, not someone else... I-I can do it."
……...
"No, I want to do it."
My heart dropped to the floor with a thud, then raced wildly.
I want to do it.
Hari's words echoed endlessly in my ears.
Not just sacrificial spirit for the greenhouse?
Her trembling voice carried clear, deep affection for me.
I stared blankly at her face.
Tear-streaked, but filled with unyielding resolve.
The dim underground storage.
Under the flickering fluorescent light, her ragged breaths filled the space.
Her grassy, sweet scent flooded my nostrils.
Haah...
I swallowed dryly.
Realizing her resolve was real, my eyes fell back on the illustrations on the desk.
Entwined male and female bodies, flesh pressed together explicitly.
If I accepted, I'd recreate those acts exactly with my childhood friend standing before me.
Strip her clothes, caress her skin, thrust myself inside her.
"Hari... do you really know what this means?"
My voice sank low.
"W-We just saw the book. It's not just holding hands or kissing. Full insertion and vaginal ejaculation required. It might hurt a lot, way more disgusting and awful than you imagine."
I chose raw words deliberately.
I didn't want her charging in on shallow heroism or fleeting pity, only to get hurt later.
Hari's shoulders trembled at my words.
Her gaze returned to the page.
The graphic diagram of vaginal ejaculation.
She bit her lip, then nodded slowly.
"I know... I understand it all. How Mama judges success, what we have to do."
She took a step closer.
"Our distance shrank sharply."
"Scary and embarrassing... but I'll do it. I... you..."
She swallowed the rest and grabbed my hand.
Her hand was ice-cold, but her palm slick with cold sweat.
Her extreme tension transmitted through my skin.
"So Woohyun, keep it secret from the others. Just us two... we'll solve it quietly, and everyone can go back to peaceful days like nothing happened."
Her wet eyes looked up at me pleadingly.
Like she was clinging to me.
She seemed ready to sacrifice her purity for the greenhouse—and for me.
But... I couldn't gladly accept.
Maybe refusing was right.
I met her eyes squarely, speaking as softly and kindly as possible.
"Thank you... I never imagined you'd say that much."
My voice echoed softly in the old storage.
Her big eyes quivered faintly.
Tears glistened undried at their corners.
"But let's take a little more time to think. We still have 90 days."
A polite refusal.
A plea for delay.
Hari was smart.
My childhood friend, always watching me from one step behind.
She'd long known who made me blush, whose footsteps turned my head first.
She surely understood the true meaning of my words—the cowardice beneath.
Yeah... I felt like utter trash.
Before this girl who'd bravely offered everything for survival and me...
Honestly, my mind was weighing unnie's face.
Unable to abandon the selfish hope that Mama's absurd Breeding Command might be my last chance at my long crush.
But Hari didn't pierce my true feelings or resent me.
"Yeah... let's think it over carefully then."
She replied in her usual voice—maybe a bit softer.
She squeezed my hand back gently, then naturally let go.
She wiped her tear-streaked eyes with her sleeve and gave a bright smile.
"First, we should take these books upstairs. The unnies need to know the contents to prepare or whatever."
She turned as if nothing happened, picking up the thick volumes from the desk.
Human Reproduction and Reproductive Biology, Human Sexuality and Bond Formation, Practical Manual for Species Preservation.
Her back, hugging the heavy leather-bound books to her chest, seemed somehow pitiful yet admirable.
"I'll carry them. They're heavy."
I hurried over and took them from her arms.
In the end, we left the underground storage side by side without another word.