Is Anyone There?
Crack. Pop.
The familiar sound of a campfire burning.
But today was a little different from usual.
Sizzle.
Mixed in was the sound of something cooking.
A savory smell rose with a thin curl of smoke.
Tonight's meal was the fish and crayfish Kang Taeseong had caught.
"...Crayfish?"
"Yeah. Found them under the rocks in the stream."
It didn't even surprise her anymore.
"You caught fish, and now you're catching crayfish too?"
She was half incredulous, but a smile spread across her lips on its own.
More edible food was a good thing, after all.
He skewered the fish on sticks and set them beside the fire, while the crayfish he roasted whole. Their hard shells, black at first, began to change color as the flames licked close.
Hiss.
A soft sound escaped between the shells as the smell of cooking crayfish filled the air.
"..."
Choi Yuri swallowed without realizing it, drawn by the delicious scent.
Gulp.
"That smells so good..."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Kang Taeseong let out a short laugh.
"You must be starving."
"Ah, no."
Choi Yuri hurriedly looked away.
"It's just... the smell is nice..."
But the excuse came far too late. Her stomach was already answering with perfect honesty.
Before they knew it, five days had passed since the disaster.
At first she had been terrified. The fact that they had been left behind in some unknown stretch of mountain. The anxiety of not knowing when rescue might come.
But once Kang Taeseong started moving, everything changed. Every day he went out and came back with what they needed. Mostly fish, armfuls of edible berries, and sometimes even mushrooms. Of course he didn't bring just anything. She had no idea how he told them apart, but he unerringly picked only what was safe to eat.
Meanwhile Choi Yuri handled other work. Gathering leaves for bedding. Washing their smelly hiking clothes. Keeping the campfire from going out.
At some point the division of labor had become completely natural. As if they had been living this way for years.
...Looking at it like this, Choi Yuri thought suddenly. We almost look like a primitive tribe.
There were only two of them, of course. But people long ago must have lived something like this. One went out to find food. The other kept the shelter in order. Each filling what the other needed.
Like a husband doing the outside work and a wife taking care of the home...
The thought made Choi Yuri freeze.
"..."
What am I even thinking?
Her face flushed faintly. This was a life she was never supposed to get used to. They were stranded. They needed to be rescued as soon as possible. So why did it feel so comfortable? Why did it feel so natural? It almost felt less like a disaster and more like they had come camping.
It's all because of the boss.
He was so capable that the sense of crisis had simply melted away.
"They're done."
Kang Taeseong's voice cut through her thoughts.
"Let's eat."
"Yes!"
The answer came out before she could think. Choi Yuri was more startled by her own voice than anyone.
"Ahem..."
She cleared her throat softly. Her body had already been thoroughly trained by the food he brought her. One way or another, the body never lied.
The rescue team's search was struggling.
Five days already. The golden window had effectively closed. The landslide had completely warped the terrain, and the sudden torrential rain had swollen the streams. Even a seasoned rescuer dropped into this place without proper gear would have a hard time guaranteeing survival.
And into that place, two ordinary civilians—a man and a woman—had fallen.
"If we consider the worst case..."
A rescuer trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, but everyone knew what he had been about to say. Too much time had already passed to speak of survival with any confidence.
"Still."
Another rescuer spoke carefully.
"If they managed to secure drinking water, there's a chance. Assuming they weren't injured."
It was an optimistic assessment. But for that single possibility alone, the rescue team refused to give up. Day after day they combed the mountain.
The company employees were the same. Exhaustion sat heavy on every face. They had been joining the search for days without proper rest.
Among them, the one in the worst shape was Assistant Manager Park Soyeong. Even the coworkers searching alongside her kept casting worried glances her way.
"Park seems pretty torn up."
One employee murmured quietly.
"Yeah. She was really close with Choi Yuri."
"Looked like she was pretty close with the president too."
Park Soyeong was too far gone to notice the whispers.
"Soyeong."
Lee Juhee approached with a worried face.
"You okay?"
"..."
No answer. Park Soyeong was staring blankly down the mountain.
"Soyeong."
"Huh?"
She came back to herself late and turned her head. Lee Juhee let out a long sigh.
"This isn't working."
"What isn't?"
"At this rate you're going to collapse first."
"..."
"Leave the search to us and get some rest."
"No."
Park Soyeong's answer was firm.
"I'm going too."
"You..."
Lee Juhee couldn't say anything more. She had seen her eyes. The particular obsession of someone who simply could not give up.
Park Soyeong stepped past her and looked back at the mountain.
If I had known it would come to this...
Regret washed over her. She should have been more honest. When they took that photo with Kang Taeseong, she should have been the one to call him over first. While the meat was grilling, she should have said something—anything—from beside him. On that night walk, she shouldn't have stuck to work talk. She should have gotten closer.
She had always assumed he would be there. That they could talk again whenever they wanted. But no one ever knew how things would turn out. You only understood the space someone left once they were gone.
President.
Park Soyeong bit her lip.
Please... please be safe.
Just then—
"We found something!"
An urgent voice rang out from far away. Every gaze swung in that direction.
"We've found a trail!"
Night came again.
But tonight was a little different from the others. Rain that had started in the evening still showed no sign of stopping.
Shhhhhh.
The sound of rain poured endlessly past the cave mouth. After days of mountain living she had thought she was used to most weather. But a cold night like this, with rain, was hard. The campfire especially. The flames that usually crackled and threw out warm heat were flickering weakly in the damp air.
Choi Yuri cupped her hands and breathed into them.
"Haaah..."
A small yawn escaped. Now that the sun went down, sleep came naturally. On the first day she had been anxious the moment daylight faded. A mountain night was nothing like the city—pitch black, so dark you couldn't see an inch ahead, and that darkness alone was enough to summon fear.
But after several days it was different. At this hour, sleep simply arrived. She woke at dawn when the sun began to rise, stayed active through the day, and prepared for bed when it set. Before she knew it, her whole rhythm had settled into this place.
So she should have been drifting off by now.
"Mmm..."
Only today was a little cold. She tried to act fine, but she couldn't hide the way her shoulders kept trembling.
Kang Taeseong noticed at once.
"Cold?"
"Ah, no. I'm fine."
The answer came out of habit. But Kang Taeseong didn't look remotely convinced.
"People who are fine don't shake like that."
"..."
He pulled his outer jacket a little closer over her. Then he shifted and sat nearer—close enough that their shoulders touched.
"Better stick close tonight."
"Huh?"
"The fire's weak."
Kang Taeseong said it matter-of-factly.
"We need to keep our body heat. No choice."
"R-right. No choice, yeah."
Choi Yuri hesitated for a moment. Until yesterday that distance hadn't meant anything. Today, for some reason, she was painfully aware of it. Close enough to feel each other's warmth.
It was awkward at first, but as time passed the tension slowly eased.
"You worked hard today too."
Kang Taeseong said it from beside her, leaning back against the rock. Watching him, Choi Yuri smiled a little.
"...You too, Oppa."
A playful little throwaway. Silence hung for a beat, then Kang Taeseong snorted a laugh.
"It was 'President' a second ago and now it's suddenly 'Oppa'?"
"Heh. Why?"
Choi Yuri turned her head for no good reason.
"You don't like it?"
"No, it's not that..."
Kang Taeseong spoke through a suppressed smile.
"Those crayfish must've been pretty damn good."
"It's not because of the crayfish, okay?"
Choi Yuri bristled. Kang Taeseong only laughed softly instead of answering.
A pitch-black night. The weakened campfire burned quietly.
Crack. Pop.
The faint light of the fire. The rain pouring outside the cave. Kang Taeseong's solid shoulder pressed against hers. All of it blended into a strangely peaceful feeling.
This is... nice too.
When they first fell here, all she had wanted was to go back. Home. To her familiar everyday life. But after several days, she realized that time here wasn't as bad as she had thought.
In the morning she checked the fire and waited for Kang Taeseong to come back from foraging. They ate together and talked about nothing important. Unlike the city, she didn't have to care about other people's eyes. What she wore, how she looked, how she was evaluated at the company—none of it meant anything. Just getting through the day well. That was all she had to think about.
...It's comfortable.
Choi Yuri watched the campfire. A kind of ease she had never felt at the office or at home. The sense that time was moving slowly.
Of course they couldn't stay here forever. Someday they would have to go back. She knew that. But she couldn't help the thought that rose anyway.
Just a little longer.
Her eyes drifted shut.
Just a little more...
She wished this time would keep going.
And then—
Rustle.
"...!"
Choi Yuri's eyes snapped open. A faint sound. Not the ordinary rush of wind. Something like footsteps on fallen leaves. Something was coming toward them.
Kang Taeseong rose at the same moment, eyes sharp, scanning the dark like a predator on guard.
"O-Oppa..."
Choi Yuri whispered, trembling faintly, her hand unconsciously fisting in the fabric of his hiking jacket.
Kang Taeseong lifted a finger to his lips. A signal to stay quiet.
The two of them stared into the pitch-black dark. Her heart began to race, and through the rain a faint voice reached them.
"...Is anyone there?!"
It was a human voice.