Dystopia Of Night - Chapter 4 Part 4

The three of them survived various incidents as they struggled to live. They ventured beyond the valley and explored their surroundings, but they couldn’t find a way to escape this world. Their fuel had run out, electricity was cut off, and their supply of salt and pepper was dwindling.

They often gathered to discuss and share their opinions. Today’s topic was about distributing the bullets. They had three guns, but only five bullets left in total.

“How about two bullets for each of the two, and the weakest one holds onto one bullet?”

Hansol was the first to voice his opinion. Being a recent college entrant, he had no experience with guns, but he naturally classified Yuju as the weaker one. Yuju wasn’t feeling too pleased, but she didn’t want to be greedy either. With only three of them left, she believed it was important to maintain a harmonious relationship.

“Based on what criteria?”

“What?”

“What criteria are we going to use for the distribution?”

“Well, obviously, sister-in-law here might be less inexperienced than us guys, don’t you think?”

“It’s not like we’re dealing with a heavy machine gun or anything, and Yuju could probably handle a handgun even without much effort. The main point is who can handle it better.”

Sehan set a calm trap. Though he appeared to maintain neutrality, not leaning towards either Yuju or Hansol, Hansol believed that Sehan was openly siding with Yuju. Ironically, Yuju hadn’t said a word yet.

“How could you possibly know that? We can’t just waste precious bullets to test it.”

An exasperated Hansol retorted. Yuju, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, slightly raised her head.

“Hansol-ssi, do you, logically, want the bullets to be distributed?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And it’s not about fairness?”

“Right.”

“Well, then… How about Sehan having all of them?”

Caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events, Hansol’s mouth slightly agape, he gave Yuju a suspicious look.

“I believe there’s nothing more dangerous than blind shots. In reality, neither Hansol-ssi nor I have any experience with guns. The target isn’t fixed, and we’ll be shooting at monsters faster than humans. Considering Sehan’s extensive experience and skill, it would be the most rational for him to have them. As Hansol-ssi said, there won’t be any reckless wasting of precious bullets.”

Unable to refute what she had said, Hansol glanced at Sehan in exasperation. Sehan sat there with an inscrutable expression, making it unclear what he was thinking.

Unable to read anything from Sehan’s face in the end, Hansol felt anxious in the silence and reluctantly accepted Yuju’s proposal.

The five bullets all ended up in front of Sehan. Hansol smiled warmly at Sehan, who was loading the bullets into the gun.

“You better take good care of us with these.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Hansol was left speechless by Sehan’s straightforward response. Sehan didn’t even look at Hansol.

Yuju and Sehan exchanged smiles as they looked at each other. Hansol, who knew them as a married couple, began to feel a sense of crisis in their relationship.

‘Could this all have been planned in advance too?’

There was no way for Hansol to confirm that. The two often had their private moments, leaving Hansol on his own, unable to intrude into the realm of a married couple.

Hansol felt as if a massive mountain had suddenly appeared before him.

The loneliness of not belonging to the group, the envy of Sehan who just sat back and kept everything for himself, and the irritation of Yuju who was getting on his nerves, all mixed together and made his stomach twist.

Yuju, unaware of Hansol’s negative emotions, smiled softly at him.

“Shall we have a meal now?”

“Yes… I’ll take care of preparing the fish.”

“Ah, Sehan prepared that yesterday.”

“Then I’ll handle the grilling.”

While Hansol was lighting a fire and grilling fish, the two of them walked to the river to wash the dishes. As the two of them walked arm in arm, talking and laughing, they grew further and further apart from Hansol.

Hansol watched Yuju, who was laughing innocently, as the flames blazed and crackled. Sometimes, the most dangerous people are the kindest.

The acrid air from the burning fire seeped into Hansol’s nostrils, reaching his brain.

‘What should I do with those two? It feels like I’m the one getting pushed around now that it’s 2 against 1. Am I their lackey or something? Come to think of it, even that Sehan guy subtly disrespected me, didn’t he? How well have I treated them all this time? If I keep enduring this, won’t my position keep shrinking? Look at it now. No matter how those two bastards treat me, I always have to act submissive like a damn lapdog. Ah, damn it. This is infuriating.’

While eating, Hansol discreetly observed Sehan and Yuju. Even as they ate together, he couldn’t help but notice how the two of them stuck close to each other.

“Hansol-ssi, could you pass me the water bottle over there?”

“Sure!”

Hansol’s cheerful response was accompanied by a bitter twist of his lips.

***

Having finished their meal, Sehan and Yuju decided to further explore the forest cave they had discovered the previous day.

Unlike the open field where a high-level monster appeared every three days, in the valley, a different monster appeared each time, but the overall difficulty remained relatively constant. Thanks to Sehan’s exceptional resourcefulness, the three of them managed to overcome these crises.

It seemed like it would be beneficial to have an additional hideout where they could take shelter and evade danger.

Using the flashlight he brought, Sehan illuminated the inside of the cave.

“It’s quiet. There’s nothing to see either…”

Sehan looked back at the exit one more time, then tossed a rock that was rolling on the ground into the cave. Other than the sound of the rolling stone, it remained quiet.

Instead, humidity filled the entire cave, and a peculiar scent hung in the air, as if a mist had settled.

As soon as Sehan noticed the scent, he held his breath and covered Yuju’s nose and mouth before stepping back.

Sehan continued walking briskly without taking a breath until he was somewhat away from the cave. Yuju, with her nose and mouth covered by Sehan’s hand, was half-dragged along by him.

Walking quickly without taking a breath was a challenging task. Her nose and mouth were blocked in his strong grip. Yuju, who had an average lung capacity, felt as though her lungs were about to burst. Unable to endure any longer, Yuju tapped Sehan’s shoulder.

“Ugh, haaa…!”

Yuju’s chest heaved up and down as she took a deep breath. At the same time, her head started to spin, and she felt dizzy. She thought it was just a lack of oxygen, but her cheeks flushed red as she gasped for breath, and her body became itchy all over.