Chapter 97
I went down the path and took out a cigarette from the car we had arrived in.
I had brought it just in case before, but now that my mind felt unsettled, I ended up looking for it. Lee Hoin had gone to the fish farm, and I was alone near the car, smoking.
One thing I knew for certain… There were no mutants in this mountain or the village below. I had noticed on the first day that the mountain was a safe zone, but I didn’t expect that range to extend all the way down to the village.
People who had only just recovered from their health issues were walking around comfortably. Some were bringing toys for the children, things like that. Maybe because more people were gradually recovering, the house was becoming livelier.
The Shin siblings had also removed their bandages.
They said their injuries had completely healed. Under the bandages were large burn scars.
‘…Well.’
There were plenty of reasons someone could have burns, so I didn’t bother asking.
But still, everyone continued to avoid talking about the “apocalypse,” and aside from us, none of them seemed to have any doubts about the owner.
That part was a bit strange.
‘They know what kind of world this is, yet they’re not curious at all about where the food comes from.’
Even if it goes into your mouth, doesn’t it bother you?
I had tried to bring it up casually once.
“I don’t know much about cooking, but it’s amazing how the meat just melts in your mouth. Do you use high-quality ingredients? Even in a world like this?”
When I asked in the guise of a naive 20-year-old, everyone paused for a moment, then burst into laughter to lighten the mood.
“Well, any ingredient depends on whose hands it passes through!”
“I’ve been wanting to learn cooking from the owner too. Her touch is on another level.”
It wasn’t the kind of reaction where they desperately tried to change the subject.
They genuinely had no suspicion at all about the source of the ingredients.
I exhaled smoke lightly and raised an eyebrow.
Kim Sungho, who must have heard everything, and the owner, who probably heard about it later, didn’t say anything either.
They didn’t answer my question… only responded to Choi Seongeun’s remark.
“You want to learn my cooking? Half of it is instinct. Why, planning to open a business?”
“Come on, no way.”
“Hahaha.”
They laughed again.
Even afterward, it was the same whenever the apocalypse was mentioned.
They were aware of it, but treated it like something that happened in a distant country… just, “something like that did happen,” at most.
If you didn’t know better, you’d think the apocalypse had already ended.
—
[The big data the narrator has accumulated over his lifetime is buzzing.]
[Something about all of this is strange! (Boom!)]
—
Something was definitely strange… but I couldn’t pinpoint what.
I exhaled slowly, letting out a long stream of smoke.
‘Ah.’
Another strange thing… since coming here, I’ve been dreaming every single day.
They were all related to the orphanage.
I rarely dreamed before, so this was extremely unusual.
Lee Hoin said he was dreaming too.
Just ordinary dreams, playing baseball at school.
Like me, they were lucid dreams.
Both of us were aware we were dreaming, but always from a slightly removed observer’s perspective, so even though it was first-person, we couldn’t act or speak differently.
‘They’re not particularly special dreams.’
Just in case, I kept trying resonance therapy on Lee Hoin, but he didn’t seem unstable.
These weren’t dreams that triggered anything.
If anything, they strangely induced calm.
Because they were dreams of everyday life.
And the thought that came from them wasn’t fear, disgust, or the urge to avoid them.
‘That happened too.’
Ah, that happened. Ah, it was like that.
It felt like digging up forgotten memories and bringing them back to the surface.
Lee Hoin rediscovered a childhood habit he had forgotten.
Apparently, when he was very young, he had been ambidextrous.
I thought, what a useless memory, but after that, he unconsciously started eating with both hands.
It wasn’t anything major, just holding the spoon with his left hand.
When I asked why, he said it was probably because he kept having that dream so often.
I didn’t know.
What was any of this trying to achieve?
‘Once I fully recover, I’m leaving.’
I didn’t know how long this subtle peace would last, and I couldn’t entrust everything to it.
***
“Hey, I’m seriously asking because I don’t know… do fish farms usually raise sea fish too?”
After roughly putting out my cigarette and going back up, Lee Hoin, who was already in the room changing clothes, suddenly asked.
Sea fish?
“What are you talking about? Doesn’t it depend on the fish?”
I didn’t know much about fish farming either.
“No, I just got curious. There’s been mackerel there for days. We’ve eaten a ton of it, right? But the number and the condition… It’s all the same. For days.”
At that, I rolled my eyes slightly.
I had no idea what he was talking about.
I had never done fish farming, how would I know?
“Also, I didn’t notice at first, but there are a lot of sea fish there. But they don’t die. I’ve been there from morning to evening, and none die. I’ve never seen a dead one. The number doesn’t change. Even when we eat them, the next day it’s the same.”
“The number doesn’t change? Are you sure?”
Lee Hoin nodded.
As I frowned, about to say something…
Someone knocked on the door.
Knock, knock
At the neat knocking, our conversation stopped.
Lee Hoin, still changing clothes, looked toward the door.
There was no response from the person outside.
As he approached the door, he said,
“…Mr. Kim Sungho?”
He was the only quiet person in this house.
After a brief silence, a lively voice answered instead.
“Ah, it’s Choi Seongeun! I came to let you know it’s lunchtime! Will you be eating?”
…Not Kim Sungho.
Lee Hoin paused, then spoke without opening the door.
“We’re in the middle of changing. We’ll come down once we’re done.”
“Ah! Okay!”
Footsteps went away.
Anyway, the conversation ended there.
We got dressed and went downstairs.
After lunch, I decided to check the fish farm, just like Lee Hoin suggested.
***
Others were cheerfully drinking instant coffee and eating fruit.
We casually said we were going for a walk and headed to the fish farm.
And what we saw was a massive fish farm.
“…Is that freshwater eel or saltwater eel?”
I told you, I don’t know fish.
Scratching my forehead, I looked at the mass of writhing eels tangled together.
Just knowing their number would already be impressive.
There were squid too, and all kinds of fish, filling the air with a fishy smell.
A sea-like smell, too.
So freshwater and saltwater fish seemed to be mixed.
“…Something feels off.”
It was strange… but the problem was, I couldn’t tell what was strange.
Should I look it up?
Or was it just a gut feeling?
—
[Yes, let’s use the benefits of civilization.]
—
As I thought that and pulled out my phone…
I suddenly heard someone approaching from behind.
“Jiho, slowly! You’ll fall!”
A child and a pale-looking man.
The man caught the struggling child, then turned toward the fish farm.
When he saw us, he acknowledged us briefly.
“Oh… what are you doing here?”
“Ah, just came to look at the fish. What about you, Mr. Daejin?”
“Jiho kept insisting he wanted to see the fish.”
The pale man soothed the squirming child and came closer, showing him the fish.
The child’s giggles filled the air, followed by a brief silence.
Then Kim Daejin muttered,
“…Didn’t you say you were going for a walk? The walking trail is pretty far from here.”
He asked casually without even looking at us.
A subtle chill passed through the air.
His oddly cold attitude made me stare at him for a moment.
He kept holding the child, saying nothing.
“…We didn’t go to the trail. It’s too roundabout. We were just wandering around.”
“Ah, I see.”
The reaction was unexpectedly flat.
His expression said, that makes sense, and it took the wind out of me.
“…Do you know much about fish?”
At my question, Kim Daejin turned to look at me.
He tilted his head slightly, as if wondering why I was asking, then said,
“Jiho likes them, so I know a bit. Why?”
“Ah, then do you know whether that eel is freshwater or saltwater?”
He answered readily.
“Saltwater eel.”
“Oh, I see. Then is this like… some kind of tank setup?”
“I’ve heard that sea fish can be raised inland too. But I don’t know much either.”
I continued the conversation casually, as if it were just small talk.
“We’ve eaten quite a lot, but there’s still plenty left. Especially mackerel… we’ve had it for three meals straight. But the number doesn’t seem to decrease.”
At my words…
For a moment, only the sound of the wind could be heard.
Kim Daejin just stared at me.
Even the child’s laughter suddenly felt distant.
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