Chapter 5. Another Reunion.
Chapter 5. Another Reunion.
For two days, we did nothing in the shelter.
Min-cheol and Seok-hyeon only did some light strength training to prepare for the future.
I thought about teaching them a thing or two if the chance ever came up.
As for me, I wandered around the shelter to observe the situation, or found a discreet spot to meditate and train.
Truth be told, once you've reached my level, training no longer means anything for advancement.
It was simply a habit I'd carried over from my daily life back on Titan.
I also received food rations like the other survivors, but out of sight, I used my subspace to share a little extra with my own people.
Handing out food in a place full of watchful eyes would obviously cause trouble.
My companions must have understood my thinking, because they quietly accepted it without a word.
Didn't I share with the other survivors?
Frankly, what happens to the rest of them is none of my business.
To begin with, the food in my subspace isn't nearly enough to feed this many people.
Unless they're on the verge of death or being attacked by zombies or other people, I won't go out of my way to help.
Of course, I might lend a hand, but I won't take responsibility for them.
I'm no humanitarian, and I don't have some mission to save everyone.
I only look after the people inside my own fence.
That was how I passed the time until the third day, when Captain Lee Gyu-seok came looking for me again.
This time, though, instead of the situation room like before, we headed to something like a lounge.
When I arrived, I saw other people who had mana.
Even so, the amount of mana they held was tiny — just a trace.
But from the moment I arrived, there was exactly one person I couldn't take my eyes off of.
'Lee Chaeyeon... you were alive...'
The last time I saw her was when she passed the civil service exam — or at least, that was the last time for me. Much longer ago.
Having lived through a span of time no ordinary person could even imagine, I might have forgotten her face, but the instant we met, I knew it was her.
And just as I was staring at her, she was staring at me too.
But unlike me, her face was right on the verge of tears.
"Cheon Sihu!!! You were alive... thank goodness... *hic*... *sob*..."
She ran to me, threw her arms around me, and cried for a long while. I simply waited until the tears stopped.
"Chaeyeon... it's been a while. The last time I saw you — was it when you passed the civil service exam?"
"*Sniff*... You didn't answer texts, didn't answer calls — I thought you were dead...!"
'Come to think of it, by the time I returned, there were a lot of missed calls from Chaeyeon.'
She kept asking if I was hurt anywhere, if I was sick anywhere, and we kept talking.
'How long has it been since someone last worried about me?'
Once she had composed herself somewhat and things had calmed down, a middle-aged man approached.
"Ha ha ha!!! So you're the man Chaeyeon said she's been looking for every day?"
"Old man!!! If you're going to talk nonsense, get lost!!!"
The middle-aged man who'd been talking with Chaeyeon finally addressed me.
"Pleased to meet you. The name's Chu Seong-geun, age fifty-eight. I used to run a hardware store and did a bit of welding work on the side. Maybe that's why my Class turned out to be 'Blacksmith' — though I've never actually made a weapon."
He added that last bit with a slight joke.
Honestly, I was caught off guard.
This hearty middle-aged man — I would have pegged him as late forties at most, but fifty-eight... He was younger-looking than I expected.
And with a stocky build that didn't look fifty-eight at all, and a beard that left a strong impression.
'If I'd met him before the world changed, I'd have been scared stiff at first sight.'
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Cheon Sihu, and as you can see, I'm the same age as Chaeyeon."
"Right... you said your Class is 'Swordsman,' didn't you? I may not know swords, but that one you're wearing looks like a very fine blade."
"Now that I think about it, Sihu, where did you get that? It's a really jet-black sword..."
As the three of us talked, others came over and exchanged greetings with me as well.
So, to break down the shelter's Awakened, they were:
24, Lee Chaeyeon — Mage
58, Chu Seong-geun — Blacksmith
26, Kim Ji-seok — Warrior
26, Im Jae-hyeok — Assassin
27, Kim Ji-hee — Healer
We ate together like that and talked about the operation, each of us drawing on whatever survival experience we had.
As the night deepened and the gathering broke up, Chaeyeon and I went up to the rooftop alone to talk.
"Sihu, now that you've talked with them, what do you think? They're good people, right?"
"Yeah... they seemed like decent folks. I'm glad I got to meet them, too. Anyway, how have you been holding up all this time?"
"Honestly, when all this broke out, I became an Awakened too. And while I was trying to reach you, I kept thinking: please, just let him be alive."
"Heh... you know me. Whatever situation comes, I endure like a stubborn bastard."
"I know. I know that very well, but I was still worried. You probably remember — back in our senior year of high school, even when you were transferring schools, it wasn't my own situation I was worried about first; it was you..."
Looking back now, maybe I didn't really know why I fought so desperately to return from Titan.
When I came back from Titan, the only person I could really call a friend would have been Chaeyeon.
And with the fame I'd built on Titan, if I had stayed there, I could have founded a nation and lived a life of luxury and ease.
'Maybe, without realizing it, I felt nostalgia for Earth... so even unconsciously, I'd been yearning to come back.'
"But how did you survive? At first there was no contact, and then for two whole months after that..."
"I just... once I awakened, I killed zombies, rationed the food at home, raided a nearby convenience store to get by, until I ran into other survivors by chance. And that's how I ended up here."
"Still, Sihu, I'm so relieved to see you. Because right now, the only people left around me are my parents and you..."
"Now that you mention it, what happened to your parents?"
"Actually, because of my father's work, we moved around a lot. Back in middle school when I was living near you, only my father had to go away for work. Once I started college and began living on my own, my mother stayed with my father, just the two of them, and..."
Chaeyeon trailed off, and her expression began to darken.
"My parents are in Daejeon right now, but at the moment... I don't really know..."
"I'm sorry. I asked something I shouldn't have."
"No, in this situation... I'm trying to think positively. And besides, I met you, didn't I?"
Ever since we were young, Chaeyeon had been the type of friend to think positively.
In this situation, negative thoughts would only eat away at your own mind.
"Anyway! I'll see you tomorrow in the situation room. I'm heading back in now."
With those final words, Chaeyeon opened the rooftop door and left.
Watching her retreating figure as the door opened and closed, I was lost in thought as well.
* * * * * * * *
As soon as morning broke, all the Awakened gathered in the situation room.
Once everyone was assembled, Captain Lee started the briefing.
"As you all know, Awakened, the shelter's situation is extremely poor. Our food supplies are almost completely exhausted, and we are planning an operation to retake an army base."
He continued the briefing as if he'd forgotten even the sweat running down his face.
We Awakened would serve as the core firepower, with the other soldiers positioned on both flanks to thin out the zombie numbers.
We would suppress them as quietly as possible, minimizing firearm use and avoiding noise, and advance toward the base unless we encountered a large-scale horde.
After that, within the base, we would actively utilize our strength to retake it.
That was because, practically speaking, as long as we secured ammunition somehow, we could push through with sheer firepower.
The priority for retaking was, naturally, first the ammunition depot where the weapons were stored, and second, the food storage areas.
The last priority was the main command building, which housed equipment for checking the current situation and handling communications.
He went on about the approximate number of personnel who had remained inside the base and turned into zombies, plus sections to be cautious of.
Lastly, he added that nothing was currently known about the internal state of the base.
"That concludes the briefing. Are there any questions?"
Once the briefing ended, I raised my hand.
"Yes. Mr. Cheon Sihu, do you have a question?"
"This is just my personal opinion, but even with increased strength, we're only adding one more Awakened — me. Is this feasible?"
"...As I've said repeatedly, we have been backed into a corner. We cannot simply sit still and starve to death, so this operation is our last."
'So in the end, it was an operation they meant to carry out whether I came or not. Maybe it was fortunate that my timing lined up.'
"In truth, the others are also in a position where they're voluntarily helping us due to their own circumstances. We are in no position to coerce anyone to begin with."
'That explains it. I thought something was odd. In this situation, with power like that, there'd be no reason to help without some cause.'
"If there are no further questions, we will conclude. The operation will depart after lunch tomorrow. Dismissed."
Just as the briefing ended and we were about to leave, Colonel Park Jeong-geun spoke up.
"It's not something I should say as the commanding officer... but I hope you will prioritize the safety of the Awakened above all else... I will see you tomorrow..."
Each of us opened the door with hardened faces, stepped out, and returned to our places.