A Favor and a Flick
Noh Changhun kept scanning the surroundings even after that. It was a stark contrast to how he usually paid no mind to other people’s stares. Only after double-checking that no one else was nearby did he finally speak up, his words hesitant. “…Since I remember, I might as well ask for a favor.”
“A favor?”
“You rode Jeokto here, didn’t you?”
“Ah.”
“I want you to take it out for a scouting run. That’s probably why you came here in the first place, right?”
“I suppose…” I pressed my lips together. This wasn’t something I could just nod to right away. What I’d originally planned was a quick loop around Busan—nothing more. Not venturing into other districts and dealing with whatever trouble waited there. If it were just hardship, maybe I could handle it. I let out a long sigh before answering. “There are bound to be other survivors on the outskirts, you know.”
“That’s true.”
“And among them, cannibals and human hunters.”
Noh Changhun fell silent. He already knew. Even though it was just the web novel, I’d followed his story all the way to the ending. He’d focused the spotlight on Gyeongsang Province, but he hadn’t neglected the outskirts either—slipping in a few lines whenever they came up. I couldn’t say exactly what was out there, but I knew something was.
“You don’t have to answer. You’re asking me to go check it out, aren’t you?”
“…”
“Dangerous or not… honestly, I’m a little scared.”
“Yeah.”
“But I can’t just not go, can I?”
If I could skip it, I would. But this wasn’t that kind of situation. We’d gathered Busan’s citizens under the promise of taking down the King and Queen, so it couldn’t end there. Most people would prioritize their own immediate safety over some grand cause. If a threatening group of survivors was lurking nearby, the King and Queen would be the last thing on their minds.
“Fine. If it’s necessary, I’ll go.”
“…You say that so lightly.”
“It’s my job, so I’m allowed to say it lightly, aren’t I?”
“…”
Noh Changhun exhaled heavily and scratched his head for a moment. He was clearly thinking hard—otherwise he wouldn’t be doing that. Still unsatisfied, he kept muttering under his breath. The sight made me chuckle. We used to fight like we wanted to tear each other apart, yet now we looked out for one another even while bickering on the surface. Being acknowledged to that degree lifted my mood on its own.
But the worrying had to stop there. “I hear something outside.”
“Hm?”
“Sounds like soldiers. Let’s go.”
“Ah, right.”
I’d worried he might say something weird, but he seemed to have understood my meaning. Honestly, whether soldiers showed up or not didn’t matter. We weren’t doing anything strange—just staying together. Still, from everything that had happened so far, his subordinates seemed to be quietly pushing us together. I didn’t want to add any more strange misunderstandings on top of that. So I grabbed Noh Changhun’s arm while he was still lost in thought and led him back to the classroom. It was obvious that thinking any longer wouldn’t produce a decent plan anyway. Besides, I wasn’t weak, and no ragtag survivors could beat me unless they were armed with guns. They wouldn’t even scratch me otherwise. With that settled, I kicked the sulking Noh Changhun into a seat.
“Let’s just watch a movie. A movie. You said you’d hang out with me for a day anyway.”
“Well… that’s true.”
“You little punk. You’ve gotten attached, haven’t you? Worrying about me and all.”
“Then what did you think I’d do?”
“I figured you wouldn’t worry.”
“Hah.”
Noh Changhun let out a short laugh. He didn’t deny it, either. I gave the back of his head a light smack.
“No matter how you look at it, we’re comrades who’ve faced life and death together.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“You’re not even worried about me going somewhere dangerous?”
“Why would I be?”
“Why!?”
This was starting to feel unfair. Sure, I understood why he thought that way—my regeneration was strong. But hearing him say it so casually made me feel ridiculous. I shot him a glare full of complaints. One wrong word and I was ready to hit him again.
“You’ll just show up on Jeokto looking cool, like nothing happened.”
“…”
“Then you’ll act cocky and get smacked. Honestly, you’re not exactly the serious type.”
“Ugh, I can be serious when I need to be!?”
“Sure you can.”
I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t a joke—he’d been pretty serious when he gave Lee Yeji the headset and clothes. Still, hearing his own confirmation didn’t feel bad. Someone who knew every detail of the setting had compared me to it and decided I was strong enough not to worry about. In a good mood, I reopened the laptop and closed the horror movie folder. I never wanted to repeat that experience. Plus, the situation was already gloomy enough—I wanted something funny. The USB owner had plenty of other genres anyway. I picked a suitable movie, plopped down next to Noh Changhun, and started watching.
This one was an action flick, and it was pretty entertaining. The spy protagonist dodging other agents left and right, infiltrating a harem to complete his mission, and that final gun-kata showdown were all solid. If I could, I’d have recommended it to others. The USB owner must really love movies. Then a strange thought occurred to me.
“Hey, Changhun.”
“What.”
“You know that over-immersed weirdo?”
“Yeah?”
“He said he was making a cult. What do you think his goal was? A harem?”
“Who knows.”
Noh Changhun gave me a look that said why are you asking me, but he clearly found the topic interesting too. After popping some snacks into his mouth and chewing, he continued.
“A harem’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“All the transmigrators are women.”
“Oh. Right.”
“A harem usually means one guy hoarding all the women.”
“Reverse harem doesn’t really fit either. That’s one woman hoarding all the men.”
We both fell silent, thinking. There had to be some goal. Otherwise that guy wouldn’t have analyzed things so thoroughly. Even if he just wanted recognition in the online community, pouring that much effort into analysis didn’t make sense. Then another thought struck me.
“Hey, Changhun.”
“What.”
“If you could become a god, what would you do?”
“What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden.”
“No, listen.”
I started explaining slowly. That over-immersed weirdo had been deeply into his novel, doing all sorts of things because of it. And now he was calling himself the Prophet and causing trouble in Busan.
“Usually, after the Prophet comes the Messiah.”
“And that Messiah is me?”
“Who else could it be? Unless that guy called himself the Messiah.”
“That’s a stretch.”
“It’s a joke, but doesn’t it sound plausible?”
“I wish every conversation went like this.”
“Ah.”
Noh Changhun laughed it off as a joke, but I couldn’t let it slide. I elbowed him in the side and grumbled for a while. Thankfully, he wasn’t completely oblivious—he didn’t say anything else after that. I’d been ready to properly smack him if he tried to “comfort” me with more nonsense. Still, I couldn’t just laugh it off. We’d brushed it aside as a joke, but the situation in Nam-gu, Busan, wasn’t something we could ignore. For us to reach the ending, Busan needed absolute stability first. That required the major factions to cooperate. And now that premise was being shaken, which was bound to give us headaches.
I was lost in thought, not even picking the next movie, when Noh Changhun suddenly spoke.
“Still, it wouldn’t be so bad.”
“Why.”
“Being the Messiah.”
“Are you insane?”
“No, I mean… cults usually have that kind of thing, right?”
“Ah.”
Now it was my turn to look at him like he was pathetic. Noh Changhun gave an awkward excuse—he was a guy, so of course the idea was tempting. And honestly, it probably was. “They’d all be pretty like you, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Must be nice, our Changhun. Surrounded by beautiful women.”
“That’s enough.”
Noh Changhun threatened me. I rolled my eyes again. He teased me all he wanted when it was to his advantage, but the moment the tables turned, he got like this. Still, I decided to be the bigger person and just pick the next movie. Then I heard a strange sound outside—something rustling, yet not quite. Noh Changhun seemed to think something was off and started to stand, but I grabbed his shoulder and got up first.
“Wait here. I’ll go check.”
“Okay.”
It probably wasn’t anything serious, so there was no need to make him move. My guess was right—it wasn’t worth the trouble. I let out a long sigh and looked down at the two little troublemakers and the cat. Then, softening my voice, I spoke gently.
“Jinhyeok, Yeji. Why aren’t you asleep? It’s the middle of the night.”
The two of them silently pointed at the cat, and I understood the situation. Soon after, Noh Changhun gave me a flustered look when he saw me bringing the kids back. I ignored it and searched the folder for an animation. Thankfully, there were plenty of movies the two of them could watch.