ssage from Defender:
Nightmares, huh... Well, can’t be helped. I wanted to see you one last ti, but with my sister’s condition and the situation on my end, it’s not possible.
ssage from Defender:
Let know when you get to Jeju. I need to confirm you’re alive.
ssage from Defender:
It’s , Da-jeong. Skelton, I didn’t realize you were going through such a rough ti. Is it because we’re not around? If we were, you wouldn’t be feeling like this...? Just kidding. Take care of yourself over there. And don’t forget to check in sotis! Or even often!
I told the Defender siblings that I was heading to Jeju.
It hurt, but it was sothing I had to do.
The recurring nightmares were reason enough.
It was a well-known urban legend among hunters who had gone to China.
They said it was inspired by Borges’ short stories, and the legend could be summarized like this:
If you have the sa nightmare over and over, that nightmare will eventually beco reality.The nightmare itself is never a premonition.The drear experiences the nightmare so many tis that when it finally happens, they mistake reality for just another bad dream and resign themselves to it.Back then, I didn’t believe in nonsense like urban legends. I didn’t even want to know about them.
The person who told about it was a teammate of mine. She’d always be waiting at the breakfast table with a grim expression when I ca down to eat.
“...Team leader. I had that dream again.”
Her nightmare was always the sa—she died by her own bullet.
The setting, the ti, and even the monsters changed constantly, but the one thing that never changed was how her bullet, reflected by so kind of force field, always ended up lodged in her forehead.
At the ti, I dismissed it. A nightmare was just a nightmare.
But then, it beca real.
Kim Daram had been injured, and she had taken his place. The shot she fired in his position went astray. And she died exactly as she had in her dreams.
It happened a week before my application for dical discharge was approved, just before I returned to Korea.
And now, I was having similar nightmares.
The setting was my comfortable bunker.
I was lying on my bed, sleeping on my back.
The door opened.
I didn’t know why it opened.
So unknown force caused it to swing open, and ard intruders poured in.
I grabbed the gun I always kept by my bedside and fought back, but they kept coming, a tide of black-clad figures flooding the bunker, drowning in their sheer numbers.
Sotis, I died from gunshots. Sotis, I was knocked out with a rifle butt and beaten to death.
There was even a version where I was tortured, but the details were too hazy to rember what exactly had been done to .
There were many variations, but the nightmare always followed the sa pattern:
A late-night attack on my bunker. A horde of intruders. And my death.
These nightmares started after Kim Pil-seong entered my bunker.
Even though I killed him, the anxiety he left behind never stopped gnawing at . And after reconnecting with Kim Daram, it only got worse, to the point where I’d wake up multiple tis a night, gun in hand.
According to a dical DVD I owned, the best way to heal a wounded mind was to eliminate the source of the wound.
But the world wasn’t so simple.
Leaving my bunker might be an option, but where would I even go?
In the end, the only place with guaranteed security and stability was Jeju.
“Why Jeju, though? This place is already as fortified as a castle.”
One day, Cheon Young-jae had asked that.
I had answered with a bitter smile.
“Because I’m going crazy.”
Cheon Young-jae nodded.
“Even soone like you gets affected, huh.”
“I’ve been living like this for four years now.”
Three years was enough to break a person.
I had done everything I could to stay sane—Viva! Apocalypse!, online forums, constant survival exercises—but in the end, I had failed the never-ending dice roll of ntal endurance.
ssage from unicorn18:
The flight’s scheduled. The plane will take off soon. They’re asking us to keep baggage under 10kg.
A ssage from Unicorn.
I replied.
SKELTON: What about weapons and ammo?
It was a question with many implications.
Unicorn’s response ca quickly.
ssage from unicorn18:
You won’t need them.
That ant I’d be able to save about 5kg of baggage weight.
It also ant Jeju’s security was tight enough that weapons weren’t necessary.
The plane that would take to Jeju was set to land on the US military base’s runway early tomorrow morning.
The only request was to mark the landing site with flares or other illuminated materials.
It was a hassle, but I could rely on Cheon Young-jae and Ha Tae-hoon for help.
Then, Unicorn sent another ssage that shook my resolve.
ssage from unicorn18:
I told you before—life in Jeju won’t be easy. The people on the forums make it seem carefree, but it’s not like that. Think of it as one big military camp. If you like that kind of environnt, then sure, co. But if you’re comfortable where you are, you might want to reconsider.
ssage from unicorn18:
A lot of people in Jeju want to go back to the mainland.
Unicorn...
Why was he saying this?
No matter how bad it was over there, it had to be better than living in constant fear of death here, right?
...Did this guy not have anything better to do?
The way he kept posting on the forums and replying instantly to ssages—was he really who I thought he was?
It was hard to imagine soone like Kang Han-min or Na Hye-in wasting their ti writing nonsense online 24/7.
Still, his words made hesitate.
SKELTON: If I don’t like it, can I co back?
I asked just in case.
Unicorn responded in three seconds.
ssage from unicorn18:
Not to the address you gave . They need a plane to get you out. You’re only getting a ride because of that Chinese data you have.
ssage from unicorn18:
Our scientists confird it and gave the okay, but if that data turns out to be fake, you better not co.
SKELTON: (sweating) Why?
ssage from unicorn18:
Think about it. If they waste expensive aviation fuel on a fraud, do you think they’ll just let you go?
SKELTON: Hmm. That’s a tough one.
ssage from unicorn18:
They won’t shoot you, but don’t expect to be treated like a human. You’d probably end up in a mutation farm.
SKELTON: Mutation farm? What, like feeding them and shoveling shit?
ssage from unicorn18:
Sothing like that... but worse. The mutations there—
SKELTON: ?
ssage from unicorn18:
Anyway, if you’re confident, co. But if you’re lying, don’t.
SKELTON: (serious) You still haven’t answered my question.
ssage from unicorn18:
There’s a supply ship once a month. Used to go to Mokpo, now it docks in Busan. You can probably get on that. No matter how bad Jeju is, more people want in than out.
ssage from unicorn18:
Gotta go. Daily quest on Fox Gas. Don’t ssage anymore today.
“Busan, huh...”
Even if I didn’t like Jeju, they’d drop in Busan, not back ho.
The distance between Busan and my territory was shorter than from Seoul to Busan, but still a few hundred kiloters.
And I’d have to cross heavily eroded, unknown lands—on foot.
Unless the Jeju folks gave a motorcycle.
But would they really hand a high-quality bike, like Baek Seung-hyun’s, to soone who was leaving?
...Still, their attitude hit hard.
They weren’t forcing anyone to stay.
That night, I gathered Ha Tae-hoon and Cheon Young-jae.
“I’m really, really sorry about this, but...”
As they stared at in confusion, I did sothing that was very unlike —I threw a fit.
"Even if I go to Jeju, I want my bunker left untouched. You can use the ammo and supplies, that’s fine. But don’t rearrange the furniture or move the decorations. Leave them exactly as they are."
Ha Tae-hoon tilted his head.
"You make it sound like you’re just going for a one-month vacation."
"That’s a possibility."
"Are you picky about things?"
"I can be."
"How was it for you in China?"
"Different from when you were there. Right, Ha-senior?"
"Not bad," he replied nonchalantly.
After a long, noisy conversation, I silently watched my comrades.
Cheon Young-jae and Ha Tae-hoon exchanged glances.
Then, Cheon Young-jae spoke.
"Fine. I wasn’t planning on using your bunker anyway. The place I live now suits soone like better—safer, and more advantageous in a fight."
Ha Tae-hoon, idly fiddling with a self-destructing blade drone, added,
"I’m thinking of building a new house entirely."
"A new house?"
"Can I use the garage’s work vehicles and equipnt?"
"Yeah, go ahead. As long as you don’t get caught in the process."
"I should build my own bunker, too."
"Are you good at construction?"
"My father was in construction. We weren’t well off when I was a kid, so I used to tag along, picking up odd skills. It was also around the ti my parents were constantly fighting over their divorce."
He chuckled, staring off into the distance before adding,
"Funny thing is, once my dad started making good money, the family magically beca harmonious again."
"That’s the foundation of a happy family, after all."
"Anyway, I’ll be using so of your stuff."
"Do what you want. Just don’t break anything."
I got them to agree to leave my bunker as it was, but thinking about it more, I realized—these guys «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» knew.
They had already sensed it.
My bunker was no longer safe.
Whoever this Professor guy was, I wasn’t the only one in Korea gunning for the top-ranked hunter’s throat.
Static—
"This is Alpha One. Approaching at low altitude. If the area is compromised by hostiles or the runway is inaccessible, respond imdiately."
The plane arrived in the early morning, just before July began.
A night of passing showers had left the air crisp, cool, and heavy with moisture.
Ha Tae-hoon, Cheon Young-jae, and I lit fires in oil drums to mark the edges of the runway.
A deep humming sound echoed from beyond the low hills.
It sounded similar to the propellers of the large drone Da-jeong had operated before.
"A light aircraft. Looks like a small propeller plane."
Ha Tae-hoon muttered, recognizing the sound.
Monts later, a shadow erged in the dim twilight.
Flying so low it nearly brushed the mountain ridges in the distance, the plane spotted our lights.
"This is Alpha One. Runway identified. Attempting imdiate landing. If you are on the runway, vacate it now."
Even in the darkness, the landing wasn’t difficult.
The plane was much smaller than I had imagined.
The mont I saw it, I understood why they’d imposed a 10kg baggage limit.
"Are you Skelton?"
The pilot approached, pistol in hand.
The safety was off.
I stepped forward, showing the disk.
"I’m Skelton."
"Baggage?"
"Over there."
He checked my luggage.
"Hmm? What’s this?"
The pilot pointed at my satellite device.
"Obelisk devices aren’t allowed."
"Oh?"
"Too many security breaches."
"There are people in Jeju using them. I even got in contact with soone through one."
At my protest, the pilot put a cigarette between his lips and smirked.
"...Must be soone high up."
At that mont, I rembered.
Kang Han-min. Na Hye-in.
Their faces flashed through my mind.
My heart pounded.
Unicorn18... Was he really Kang Han-min? Or Na Hye-in?
I had no proof.
But now, I had a chance to find out.
To face my old comrades.
The ones who had destroyed Kim Daram’s so-called paradise.
The ones whose nas I had refused to even utter.
Even if I was running away from my nightmares, at least now, I had the courage to face the world again.
"Well then."
I raised my hand in farewell to my comrades.
Between those bound by blood and death, words were unnecessary.
"I’ll bet you don’t last a month, senior."
"You never know. Anyway, take care. Construction starts today."
With brief goodbyes, they turned away without hesitation.
The pilot, who had been on edge, relaxed considerably after they left.
I turned to him.
"Let’s go."
"Hold up."
"?"
"I need to eat, take a piss, refuel, and rest a bit first."
The pilot grinned.
Once he finished his business, we boarded the plane again and took off.
In an instant, my domain shrank to the size of an ant’s kingdom.
Beyond the miniature world beneath , I could see cities and vast patches of ashen land.
Three years and seven months had passed since the war began.
I, Park Gyu, was embarking on a new life.
And I was going to face them again.
Kang Han-min and Na Hye-in.
My old comrades.
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