Chapter 125
A large community without the weak or the sick.
A community like that is definitely not the paradise he described.
At the very least, it’s not the noble community he claimed it to be.
The mere fact that there are no weak or sick people already tells you everything.
A community like this only recruits “useful people.”
Of course, if you think about it differently, you could argue, why would you include “useless people” in a world like this in the first place?
That’s true.
In a place where every moment is death and a choice, taking in the weak is basically the same as willingly exposing your own weakness.
If that’s the case, then it would be better to just be upfront from the start and say you don’t accept the weak.
One of the future timelines was like that… despising the weak, exalting the strong.
But Yugil acts as if they accept everything.
Honestly, it would be better if he were at least openly transparent about it.
‘Well, he was always like this… but especially in a world like this, if you trace back Yugil’s behavior…’
What if I get injured, or can’t do what I usually do?
What happens if I can’t do “my job” in this place?
Isn’t the answer obvious?
I’d get kicked out.
Just like how there are no weak or sick people here at all.
But things like that would happen frequently.
There’s no way injuries or illness would never occur.
In a world like this, anyone could easily become weak or sick.
‘This is exactly why I hate Yugil.’
At a glance, he looks like someone who embraces and includes everything.
That’s how he talks, too.
Pretending not to be a bad person, pretending to pursue some grand ideal.
‘At least for now, he’s still pretending.’
I looked at Yugil’s back.
Later, after the vigilante group was properly established, he even stopped pretending.
Proof that he was never that kind of person to begin with.
It wasn’t this world that made him like that… he was always someone who didn’t respect the weak in the slightest.
“If you join, one of you could become a driver for the reconnaissance unit, since you’re good at driving, and the other could join the assault unit.”
Yugil opened the modified door to what he called a barracks room and gestured for us to go inside.
“Rest for a bit and think it over.”
Finally, once Yugil left, I let out a long breath.
“Lee Hoin, let’s leave as soon as it gets dark.”
Saying that, I sat down roughly on the bed without even unpacking.
“Until then, let’s rest–”
“What’s the rush?”
Lee Hoin suddenly said that.
“…What?”
“I’m asking what’s got you in such a hurry. It’s not like we even have a real destination. You said we’re just going for now.”
The vague goal I had brushed off earlier… was now coming out of Lee Hoin’s mouth.
“We could just rest a bit before going, as we did at Gaehwasan.”
Lee Hoin spoke while organizing his belongings.
With his back turned to me.
His voice was low… whether because of sleep or not, it was hard to tell.
“Are you serious?”
When I asked that, Lee Hoin didn’t really respond.
—
[Wow, the lie you told for your own convenience is really coming back to bite you.]
[That ankle’s gonna bruise.]
—
Lee Hoin continued tidying up diligently.
I walked toward him and spoke.
“Groups like this aren’t good. Every group we’ve been part of so far didn’t end well.”
From the mart to Gaehwasan.
If I had to pick a “successful” group, it would be the very first one at the school.
Other than that, almost every group had something wrong with it.
Gaehwasan was the same.
They didn’t have bad intentions, but in the end, problems still happened.
Lee Hoin didn’t answer.
“Can’t we just stay for a bit as we did at Gaehwasan or the mart?”
Stay temporarily?
That wouldn’t work here.
From the start, even Do Yoseol didn’t like it when his followers came and went freely.
The mart was just luck.
And Gaehwasan was only possible because the owner wasn’t a bad person.
Yugil wasn’t that generous.
He wasn’t that easygoing.
“You think that’ll work here?”
Lee Hoin stayed silent.
“We have to leave. Didn’t you see it on the way here? It’s all young people. Only young adults. No children, no sick people, no elderly… not even injured soldiers from operations. And that guy earlier knew the exact number of people here.”
The military is sensitive about numbers.
Yugil, obsessed with that kind of system, would be too.
If someone disappears, that’s desertion.
And desertion is one of the most serious matters in the military… he would definitely send people after us.
Meaning we wouldn’t be able to leave easily.
“You think it’s easy to gather 563 healthy young people in a world like this? You think it’s easy to maintain that number?”
Frustrated, I let out a long breath.
Lee Hoin paused while holding his belongings.
Then he started moving again.
“Do whatever you want, then. Leave at night.”
The stubbornness from earlier melted away instantly into agreement.
That actually made it feel even more unsettling.
I looked at Lee Hoin’s back.
It would’ve felt less strange if he had argued more.
This agreement… this answer… was too easy.
“…Lee Hoin.”
Only then did he turn to look at me.
His face was the same.
Expressionless, slightly sullen.
“What?”
I hesitated, then spoke.
“…Are you really okay?”
Lee Hoin looked at me for a moment, then raised an eyebrow.
“I’m fine.”
That was all.
—
[Matters involving human emotions are always difficult.]
—
That really was all.
***
We waited until night.
Yugil checked in on us from time to time.
He seemed to want to recruit us… more precisely, he wanted Lee Hoin more than anything.
Lee Hoin gave the excuse that since they were feeding and housing him, he’d help out, and he handled various chores that required some strength.
Yugil’s gaze toward him grew increasingly satisfied.
No matter how you looked at it, Lee Hoin must’ve seemed like a gold nugget.
I watched Lee Hoin moving around and frowned.
Lee Hoin was clearly an athlete-type.
When he had too many thoughts, when there was too much to think about… he moved his body.
Unlike me, who sits still and thinks.
‘He’s moving.’
Right now, Lee Hoin was moving.
—
[What could be the problem?]
—
I stared at him.
I had meant to talk about the hallucinations at Gaehwasan, but never got the chance.
However, he immediately talked about the mountain, so that didn’t seem to be the core issue.
Of course, it seemed to be affecting his emotions somewhat… but that wasn’t all.
Then what was it?
—
[A troublesome companion in many ways. Or perhaps the narrator is the one making him troublesome.]
—
I missed something.
I definitely missed something.
—
Shin Giyeon
When are you coming? (3:57 PM)
—
Right now, I am busy.
We were busy.
We had a long way to go.
So I grabbed Lee Hoin and used resonance once.
It increased only slightly, but it wasn’t a low value to begin with.
Which only made things more confusing.
Lee Hoin wasn’t mentally cornered right now.
Then what was the problem?
—
[Sometimes narrators who become overconfident end up being betrayed quite spectacularly.]
[Not knowing what the problem is… that itself is the problem, wouldn’t you agree?]
—
I wished he would just say it.
Whatever the problem was.
But if I asked right now…
‘I get the feeling it’d only make things worse.’
From afar, Lee Hoin laughed lightly while talking to someone.
Honestly, I didn’t want to admit it, but he really did suit this kind of military environment.
Not that all athletes are like that, but still.
‘Just look at Cha Hyeongseo.’
Cha Hyeongseo was more of a solo player.
Last time we met Sa Jaeheon, Cha Hyeongseo wasn’t nearby.
Or maybe now… they had already met.
Anyway, Sa Jaeheon never had skills or traits suited to supporting others or being supported.
If anything, he completely rejected that.
In his world, he was the only one he could trust.
In the end, he would be the only one left.
‘That’s why, rather than cooperation, he prefers situations where he’s thrown into the middle of an event and survives alone.’
Except for crafting-type roles.
Lee Hoin…
‘is closer to cooperation.’
That guy was extremely altruistic and social.
Working together with others, talking with them… that suited him better.
He always tried to save others.
You could tell just by all the times he had saved me.
“…Ha.”
I kept watching Lee Hoin until the end.
So he wouldn’t get distracted like at the mart and wander off somewhere.
‘What the hell is the problem?’
Lee Hoin, while carrying something, suddenly looked at me.
From afar, he mouthed a word.
‘Why?’
I should be the one asking.
Why?
What’s the problem?
—
[You can diagnose mental issues, but you lack basic communication skills as a counselor.]
[What a ridiculous contradiction! (laughter)]
—
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