Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 105.1: Stay (1)
A breeze flows through the slightly open window, causing the white curtains to sway gently.
In the vase, nameless white flowers, with long leaves, gently tremble in the wind.
This is a hospital.
Before arriving here, there were several messy and unpleasant incidents, but there’s no need to go over them in detail.
To sum up, I survived, Baek Seung-hyun is about to face disciplinary action for overstepping his bounds, and most importantly, I’ve reunited with an old acquaintance—the one whose wound I wanted to forget.
Time has changed in the details, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s ugly, or that it reflects the emptiness of time.
Just as I am still Park Gyu, she remains Na Hye-in.
In the grand scheme of things, it feels no different from the time we met at the unknown hospital in China that day.
Given the circumstances, we didn’t have much opportunity to talk.
She spent more time dealing with Baek Seung-hyun and his gang, while I had to speak more with the soldiers and investigators who arrived as reinforcements.
Visiting the hospital wasn’t so much about injury, but more of a standard procedure for those who had been in dangerous areas or who had undergone significant events.
Basic tests like blood work or X-rays were performed, as well as an MRI, a test I didn’t particularly enjoy.
Afterward, it was all rest.
It’s already been two days since I arrived at this hospital.
Now, the battle that unfolded in the storm feels like a dream.
“......”
My current concerns aren’t about Baek Seung-hyun’s revenge, nor the next move from the Jeju administration that’s hostile towards me, nor even a personal meeting with Na Hye-in ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) that will inevitably come one day.
Those are just ordinary human meetings and events, nothing more or less.
What occupies my mind now is, without a doubt, Live! Apocalypse!.
No one can deny that the performance I delivered that day was grander and greater than any show I’ve ever done before in a live broadcast.
In the end, the live broadcast itself was a success.
There was no interruption, no phone dying, no sudden end to the stream due to unforeseen circumstances.
The evidence of this still remains on my phone.
[Live! Apocalypse!: off air]
Message from VIVA_BOT014: Really amazing!VivaBot personally messaged me.
For a woman who’s picky, aloof, and ruthless, to send such a message means my live stream was impressive.
But there’s only one problem.
That’s all.
As unfortunate as it is, the broadcast seemed to end after VivaBot’s fan-like support.
It wasn’t an issue with my phone or the obelisk.
The device connecting was drained of power.
When I removed the bullet-riddled bulletproof glass while handling the Exterminator type, and tried to engage in close combat, a furious storm, accompanied by rain and wind, filled the observation post through the wide-open window, causing the already unstable computer to give out.
Nothing useful came from the soaked computer.
How flustered I was at that moment was obvious when Na Hye-in, who was talking to Baek Seung-hyun, came to find me.
“Professor. What are you doing? Is there something you’re urgently looking for?”
I can’t quite remember how I responded.
Anyway, to summarize, my “Hyper Live” as Skeleton performed a legendary, magnificent performance and ended, but it’s sadly something I never saw the outcome of.
In other words, I didn’t get to see all the praise showered on Park Gyu.
At that moment, I thought of the legendary victories of the great admirals, Nelson and Yi Sun-sin, who won battles but died in the process.
The person who came to see me in the hospital room wasn’t who I expected.
“Are you Park Gyu?”
She was a woman in her mid-twenties, someone I hadn’t seen before.
From her neat attire, she seemed to be from the government.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“The issue regarding Park Gyu has been well explained by Na Hye-in, the savior, and Baek Seung-hyun’s misconduct has been confirmed, so to conclude, there’s nothing for you to worry about.”
So, I managed to avoid the worst possible ending?
I looked at the ID card hanging from her neck and asked abruptly.
“So, what happens now?”
Although I’ve escaped the threat of death, I still didn’t find much joy in the island of Jeju.
The suffocating gray island is still not something I can get used to, no matter how much I try.
The woman fiddled with her tablet, checking the screen.
“Park Gyu, you are scheduled to go to Zone 1.”
“Zone 1?”
“Yes. In fact, we did consider placing you in a Special Zone, but based on your past contributions, the work you did when you arrived here, and your expected future contributions, you’ve been selected for Zone 1.”
“And what will I be doing there?”
I asked with a shallow sigh.
“You don’t have to do anything.”
“Nothing?”
“Yes. You’ve been classified as exempt from all work and training. Moreover, you will receive 300,000 credits a month as a pension.”
I could see her face lighting up with excitement.
“It’s not a Special Zone, but it’s impressive. It’s rare for anyone in Jeju to do nothing. I think the upper echelons of the National Crisis Management Committee felt responsible for this incident and decided to give you a special treatment.”
“......”
They say that people’s thoughts are generally similar, and what they see is often the same, but sometimes I can’t agree with that.
Even now.
This woman is praising me, looking at me like I’ve won a pre-war lottery, but I don’t know.
I’m not sure if this is good or bad.
At least I know it’s not the worst.
“Park Gyu? Why are you silent? Are you not happy with this arrangement?”
“No, it’s not that...”
What should I say?
It feels a bit off.
It’s somewhat like what I wanted, but not exactly what I truly wanted.
The woman stared at me as she sorted her papers.
“I suppose the fatigue from battle still lingers. After all, there were casualties and you fought monsters. I may have been hasty.”
She stood up.
“Anyway, you can be discharged at any time, and it’s up to you whether you want to see the results first or go through the discharge process and move to your new residence.”
“Excuse me.”
I called out to her as she was about to leave.
“Yes?”
I hesitated for a moment but quickly composed myself and asked her.
“Where is Na Hye-in?”
“Na... Na Hye-in the savior?”
“Yes. I’d like to meet with Na Hye-in.”
“Oh, right!”
“?”
“Na Hye-in the savior left something for you. It’s quite big, so it’s been left outside. When you’re discharged, you can check it. There should be a message from Na Hye-in for you.”
A message from Na Hye-in for me.
What could that be?
I’m curious, but I thought it was likely that she would come to see me herself.
Maybe I wanted to wait for her.
A day later, I went through the discharge process.
I also received the results of my health checkup, which showed no problems.
The doctor looked surprised and asked.
“Wait, you were in the mainland? How are you so healthy? I get the drugs, but you don’t even drink?”
The image of mainlanders to people on Jeju is something like this:
A place you can’t survive in unless you’re crazy.
Half of it is true.
But I think differently.
I put on freshly laundered clothes and checked the package left by Na Hye-in.
“It’s here.”
Inside a large wooden crate, the equipment was neatly packed.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
The obelisk.
Inside the box was satellite internet equipment destined for our board.
*
Zone 1 was different from Zone 2, set up in the style of an American suburban neighborhood, with individual detached houses.
Beyond the wide roads, identical standard houses stood surrounded by green lawns, each containing its own stories of life.
The freshness of the air, the scenery around, and the faces of the people passing by all carried a sense of ease, unlike the gloomy faces of the boys and girls filling Zone 2. Here, there was a faint glimmer of hope to be seen.
There were quite a few older individuals as well, each wearing a trace of their once prosperous past on their faces.
Of course, the important thing isn’t the landscape around the house or its condition.
In terms of the house itself, it was leagues ahead of the shabby homes in the old Zone 2.
It almost felt like I was in a tourist condo, perhaps?
Everything was neat and organized.
Even in the house, I could access the intranet!
The once-praised landscape of Jeju, referred to as a paradise in the mainland, might be something like this.
But what I was most curious about, what I truly wanted to know, was something else.
After hurriedly installing the obelisk, setting it up on the new computer, and getting it to recognize the device, I could finally reconnect to my homeland—Viva! Apocalypse!.
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The new satellite device’s nickname was as follows:
[ Anonymous544 ]
It seemed like a different nickname from before.
I looked at the threads that had popped up on the board.
There were no posts mentioning SKELTON.
Well, it wasn’t surprising.
It had already been three days since I had done the live stream.
Even the most delicious bait starts to smell after three days, as is typical in online communities.
People were talking about Dongtanmom, not SKELTON, and one post caught my eye, so I’ll briefly share it here.
mmmmmmmmm: Do you understand the feelings of someone whose live stream was hijacked by an unknown?
That bastard M. Did he finally fail to do his live stream?
Well, maybe this live stream of Park Gyu was so long and full of tension, and with its legendary quality, maybe Melon Mask stopped the live broadcast for M’s sake.
“Phew...”
Seeing M, who was so overwhelmed, really made me feel like I had returned home.
What can I say? It feels like where I belong.
I could have stayed with the Red Archive’s board names, but it just feels more fitting to be active as “Legendary Live Streamer SKELTON” on the board.
I wanted to see the reactions to my legendary live stream, but there were things to do first.
Na Hye-in had sent me a message.
Though there were no explicit words in the message, the satellite internet device itself was the message she had sent.
That means Na Hye-in wanted to communicate with me through our board.
“...”
I took a deep breath and began typing.
Anonymous544: It’s me.
Anonymous544: Thanks to you, I got the obelisk and saved my life.
She’d reply right away, I felt it.
And sure enough.
Message from unicorn18: SKELTON.
Na Hye-in had replied.
Message from unicorn18: How are you feeling? Any injuries?
Anonymous544: I wasn’t injured. Anyway, thank you.
Message from unicorn18: Well...
A brief silence hung between us.
It was me who typed first.
Anonymous544: You should’ve come visit me.
Then, almost at the same time, a message from Unicorn popped up.
Message from unicorn18: Sorry, I couldn’t come see you in person.
The timing of it was strangely synchronized.
Anonymous544: Are you still afraid to go outside?
Message from unicorn18: It’s not fear. It’s just...
Message from unicorn18: I can’t even convince myself.
Anonymous544: Is that so?
Message from unicorn18: I’ve always run away. From reality. Actually, the Rift cleanup is almost done. It's taking longer than expected, but the result will come one way or another. The reason Baek Seung-hyun and his guys are talking about forming a landing team of low-level Awakened ones is that there’s hope that the Rift will close.
Anonymous544: What about him?
Message from unicorn18: He wasn’t even in the center from the beginning. That’s why he made a rash move like this.
Anonymous544: Does Kang Han-min know about this?
Message from unicorn18: Kang Han-min... he’s changed.
Message from unicorn18: No.
Message from unicorn18: He’s changed a lot. You wouldn’t recognize him if you saw him again.
Anonymous544: Really?
Message from unicorn18: I think he’s changed less than you have.
Anonymous544: ?
Message from unicorn18: Anyway, thank you. I don’t really know what I’m thanking you for, but watching your live stream that day made me realize something. I don’t know how to say it, but seeing you fight in a hopeless battle where survival seemed impossible, without a word, I couldn’t help but reflect on my own reality, locked away in my room.
Message from unicorn18: Ah, watching you fight like that, and here I am, still unable to believe in myself, hiding away. I felt that sense of self-loathing.
Message from unicorn18: I still have to figure out what I should do going forward, but watching you made me think I need to change.
Message from unicorn18: I’ve already opened my door and stepped out twice, but...
Message from unicorn18: Thank you. SKELTON.
“...”
For a brief moment, I was thankful to Melon Mask.
For opening this communication window with someone so distant, someone I never thought I’d meet again.
Of course, it’s a different story that the bastard stole my achievement.
Message from unicorn18: I’m not ready yet, so I can’t come meet you in person, but one day, when I have my mind made up, I’ll come find you.
Anonymous544: I’ll be waiting. Anytime.
Message from unicorn18: Yes!
Anonymous544: Oh, there’s one more thing I’m curious about.
Message from unicorn18: Yes?
Anonymous544: That day, how did people react to my live stream?
My heart raced when I saw Na Hye-in’s message.
But what really made my heart pound was right now.
With hopeful eyes, I waited for her next message.
Message from unicorn18: Well...
Message from unicorn18: It was... amazing!
Anonymous544: I see.
I closed my eyes, smiled, and tilted my head back.
My live stream had been rewarded.
The best reward.
But I, Park Gyu, am not someone who’s satisfied with just that.
Honor doesn’t end when you acquire it.
The essence of honor is not like a trophy to be stored away in a closet, but more like a club you hold and swing.
I immediately attempted to change my nickname.
[Warning! SKELTON is already in use.]
Ah, right.
My SKELTON account was still active within my domain.
SKELTON is clean, but oh well.
[Do you want to change the nickname to SKELTON2?]
Click.
“...”
Here, the king of live streams has arrived.
