Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 101: Takeoff
Message from Defender:
Nightmares, huh... Well, can’t be helped. I wanted to see you one last time, but with my sister’s condition and the situation on my end, it’s not possible.
Message from Defender:
Let me know when you get to Jeju. I need to confirm you’re alive.
Message from Defender:
This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.
It’s me, Da-jeong. Skelton, I didn’t realize you were going through such a rough time. 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 sometimes! Or even often!
I told the Defender siblings that I was heading to Jeju.
It hurt, but it was something 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 same nightmare over and over, that nightmare will eventually become reality.The nightmare itself is never a premonition.The dreamer experiences the nightmare so many times 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 me about it was a teammate of mine. She’d always be waiting at the breakfast table with a grim expression when I came down to eat.
“...Team leader. I had that dream again.”
Her nightmare was always the same—she died by her own bullet.
The setting, the time, and even the monsters changed constantly, but the one thing that never changed was how her bullet, reflected by some kind of force field, always ended up lodged in her forehead.
At the time, I dismissed it. A nightmare was just a nightmare.
But then, it became 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 medical 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.
Some unknown force caused it to swing open, and armed 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 me in their sheer numbers.
Sometimes, I died from gunshots. Sometimes, 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 remember what exactly had been done to me.
There were many variations, but the nightmare always followed the same 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 me. And after reconnecting with Kim Daram, it only got worse, to the point where I’d wake up multiple times a night, gun in hand.
According to a medical 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 me that.
I had answered with a bitter smile.
“Because I’m going crazy.”
Cheon Young-jae nodded.
“Even someone 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 mental endurance.
Message from unicorn18:
The flight’s scheduled. The plane will take off soon. They’re asking us to keep baggage under 10kg.
A message from Unicorn.
I replied.
SKELTON: What about weapons and ammo?
It was a question with many implications.
Unicorn’s response came quickly.
Message from unicorn18:
You won’t need them.
That meant I’d be able to save about 5kg of baggage weight.
It also meant Jeju’s security was tight enough that weapons weren’t necessary.
The plane that would take me 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 message that shook my resolve.
Message 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 environment, then sure, come. But if you’re comfortable where you are, you might want to reconsider.
Message 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 messages—was he really who I thought he was?
It was hard to imagine someone like Kang Han-min or Na Hye-in wasting their time writing nonsense online 24/7.
Still, his words made me hesitate.
SKELTON: If I don’t like it, can I come back?
I asked just in case.
Unicorn responded in three seconds.
Message from unicorn18:
Not to the address you gave me. They need a plane to get you out. You’re only getting a ride because of that Chinese data you have.
Message from unicorn18:
Our scientists confirmed it and gave the okay, but if that data turns out to be fake, you better not come.
SKELTON: (sweating) Why?
Message 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.
Message 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?
Message from unicorn18:
Something like that... but worse. The mutations there—
SKELTON: ?
Message from unicorn18:
Anyway, if you’re confident, come. But if you’re lying, don’t.
SKELTON: (serious) You still haven’t answered my question.
Message 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.
Message from unicorn18:
Gotta go. Daily quest on Fox Games. Don’t message me anymore today.
“Busan, huh...”
Even if I didn’t like Jeju, they’d drop me in Busan, not back home.
The distance between Busan and my territory was shorter than from Seoul to Busan, but still a few hundred kilometers.
And I’d have to cross heavily eroded, unknown lands—on foot.
Unless the Jeju folks gave me a motorcycle.
But would they really hand a high-quality bike, like Baek Seung-hyun’s, to someone who was leaving?
...Still, their attitude hit me 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 me in confusion, I did something that was very unlike me—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 someone like me 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 equipment?"
"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 time 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 became harmonious again."
"That’s the foundation of a happy family, after all."
"Anyway, I’ll be using some 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 immediately."
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.
Moments later, a shadow emerged 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 immediate 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 moment 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 someone through one."
At my protest, the pilot put a cigarette between his lips and smirked.
"...Must be someone high up."
At that moment, I remembered.
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 names 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 me, 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.
