A Survival Guide for a Counselor in the Apocalypse – Chapter 93

Author: Cireng

Chapter 93

It had been quite a while since I used my phone as a messenger, so this was the first contact in a long time. I checked it first. The conversation between Shin Giyeon and Kim Woohyun had started about two weeks ago.

—

[Wow, I’m honestly surprised this chat room hasn’t been deleted yet.]

—

Kim Woohyun

Where is everyone? (Read: 1) (7:23 AM)

Shin Giyeon

I’m in Guri right now! It’s better than I thought here. (Read: 1) (3:09 PM)

Kim Woohyun

Ah, I’m still in Gangdong… There’s a group of survivors at a mart… Why are you in Guri, sunbae? (Read: 1) (8:48 PM)

Shin Giyeon

I have a cousin here!

Is it okay over there?

I feel kinda uneasy about survivor groups.

You know how in movies, those places are always the first to get wiped out lol (Read: 1) (9:59 PM)

—

Gangdong, a mart, a survivor group?

‘Did he go to Do Yoseol’s place?’

—

[If it’s a half-baked survivor group, it would usually have already disbanded around this time.]

—

If it was a week ago, then in terms of time, it had already been months since the apocalypse began. That statement was correct. Around now, most poorly organized survivor groups would have completely collapsed or been annihilated, and the ones that remained were usually the large, solid ones.

“Unless they’re hiding out completely like this place.”

Somewhere even other survivors would have trouble finding.

The next conversation was from the following day.

—

Kim Woohyun

The atmosphere here is seriously weird…

People keep talking about someone… I don’t know who… Lee Hyuk? Lee Hyun? They keep saying that when that person left, their strength dropped a lot.

The vibe here is really bad.

My whole family came here together, but we’re talking about leaving as soon as possible.

(Read: 1) (8:08 AM)

—

That’s right. Do Yoseol’s place.

‘Since Lee Hyun left, it makes sense there’d be a huge gap in their strength. I wonder what he’s doing now.’

I kept reading.

—

Shin Giyeon

How is it bad? If people are gathered, there must be a reason, right? If it’s a mart, shouldn’t there be a lot of supplies? (Read: 1) (12:23 PM)

Kim Woohyun

It’s a real apocalypse here.

All the supplies are strictly controlled.

There are people claiming to be firefighters, police officers, and stuff, but everyone looks completely drained. It’s really weird.

They do give us food and stuff, but overall the atmosphere is just really bad… (Read: 1) (12:55 AM)

Shin Giyeon

Wow (Read: 1) (12:58 PM)

Kim Woohyun

There’s one doctor who seems like a good person, though.

But my mom says something feels off.

Still, he seems nice? (Read: 1) (12:55 AM)

—

After a brief pause, Kim Woohyun sent several messages in a frantic burst.

—

Kim Woohyun

“p-plea… hlep… me… can’t… plz…” (Read: 1) (5:12 PM)

Shin Giyeon

? (Read: 1) (12:58 PM)

—

An entire day passed. Perhaps worried, Shin Giyeon left another message.

—

Shin Giyeon

You’re okay, right? Why aren’t Nam Muyeong and Lee Hoin replying?

You guys are all okay, right? I’m starting to get worried. (Read: 1) (1:05 PM)

Kim Woohyun

I-I’m alive (Read: 1) (2:12 PM)

Shin Giyeon

Are you okay? What happened? (Read: 1) (2:13 PM)

Kim Woohyun

These bastards are all completely insane;

They’re casually talking about using human meat shields?? I thought there were a lot of patients here, but…

My sister and dad were part of the collection team… They said they actually used people as meat shields. Whenever monsters appeared, they pushed someone forward one by one. (Read: 1) (2:16 PM)

—

They must have been driven into a corner. Normally, Do Yoseol wasn’t someone who would go that far this early.

‘Seems like Lee Hyun really was the core.’

Just one person gone, and everything was shaking this much. And it didn’t seem like Lee Hyun had gone back to the mart after parting ways either.

—

Shin Giyeon

That’s insane (Read: 1) (2:16 PM)

Kim Woohyun

So my family escaped first. We came back home for now, but honestly, we don’t even know where to go.

My sister is in shock and hasn’t even come out of her room.

This is crazy.

I think they’re all insane. (Read: 1) (2:17 PM)

Shin Giyeon

Do you want to come over here? It’s kind of rundown, though.

But we’re kind of a big family… I have to go around Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi area to meet relatives. If that’s okay… (Read: 1) (3:47 PM)

Kim Woohyun

We don’t really have anywhere to go anyway. (Read: 1) (5:11 PM)

—

The rest of the conversation was about where they were, how far they’d come, and what they could see.

After a long silence, maybe after they met, there was one message from Shin Giyeon. It had been sent about three hours ago.

—

Shin Giyeon

You guys are alive, right? (Read: 1) (1:34 AM)

—

That was right before I was about to be killed by Sa Jaeheon.

‘I really almost died…’

Good instincts.

—

I’m alive (Read: 3) (4:23 AM)

—

After sending that reply, I turned off my phone, and someone opened the door and came in.

“Kiddo, eat something before you sleep. Just have a spoonful before bed.”

There was a tray with clear porridge on it.

“It’s abalone porridge. If you’re asleep, I can’t help it, but at least eat before you sleep. A warm stomach helps you sleep better.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“There’s aged kimchi and fresh kimchi, so eat whichever you like.”

“Okay.”

I stirred the abalone porridge and took small bites. Even from just one spoonful, I could see it was packed with abalone.

‘…I’ve never even eaten abalone porridge with this much abalone in real life.’

Thinking it felt luxurious, I took a bite. It was delicious. No need for further explanation; it was simply really good porridge.

“It’s delicious.”

As I said that and took another spoonful, the owner smiled and patted my head.

While eating, I suddenly asked:

“Where is your hometown, ma’am?”

“Huh? My hometown? Seoul~”

I tilted my head slightly.

“…Seoul?”

“Yeah. You pick up all sorts of dialects. When you talk to all kinds of customers, you learn bits here and there.”

That made sense. I couldn’t quite tell what dialect she was using… it was a mix of many.

“My husband used to speak like that too, mixing things up. When you live together, it rubs off on you.”

As she said that, she stood up.

“When you’re done, bring the bowl down to the first floor. Sungho will probably still be awake, so give it to him, or just leave it in the kitchen.”

Left alone in the room, I quietly ate the porridge. The hot earthen pot didn’t cool down until I finished everything. For the first time, it felt like I’d had a proper meal.

‘…So this is why.’

This is why people sought out the owner.

There was a sense of fullness that came from the food itself. It wasn’t just filling my stomach… it felt like I was being cared for.

And the owner herself was warm, too…

—

[Food is one of the best things for evoking nostalgia.]

[Food, scent, songs… they summon nostalgia like hypnosis.]

[You could call it a kind of nostalgia. That’s why people like her are the most dangerous.]

[Once you’re captured by nostalgia, you keep coming back. It’s like addiction without drugs.]

[Don’t eat too much. Wouldn’t it be pathetic if you started bawling?]

—

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any memories to associate with such luxurious abalone porridge. Nor did I feel like crying.

I glanced at my glowing phone.

—

Shin Giyeon

Did you guys do that? That thing, Hermadion… some place like that. (Read: 2) (4:31 AM)

—

I thought for a moment about how to answer, then just replied honestly. That we did.

—

Shin Giyeon

We… didn’t even get anything like that. I only just found out about it after meeting my cousin. (Read: 2) (4:33 AM)

—

If nothing appeared for them at all, it meant they hadn’t kept up with others’ pace.

In truth, that joint event didn’t appear for everyone. It only opened when more than half… over 70%… reached Chapter 10 of the Apocalypse. Even if you reached Chapter 10 later, it wouldn’t open. The timing had already passed.

In other words, about 30% would never receive the joint event.

And they would keep falling behind. Because a gap in chapters would form.

‘They’re being weeded out.’

That was the most accurate way to put it.

Shin Giyeon went quiet for a moment.

—

Shin Giyeon

Muyeong, doing that kind of thing is good, right? (Read: 2) (4:34 AM)

—

That was one of the most practical questions I’d ever heard.

I hesitated briefly. I had already decided what to say, but still… I needed to include enough information to help close the gap.

So that Shin Giyeon and Kim Woohyun could catch up.