By Zephyria 
Jang-cheon, Baek Seol, Gangsan, and others brought dry wood and started a fire. Then, they skewered the caught fish onto long sticks and stood them before the fire. From a distance, soldiers watched and murmured among themselves. Regardless, everyone was excited at the thought of eating fish after a long time.
They hadn’t expected it, but there were more fish in the lake than they thought. Some were large, as big as an adult man’s forearm. The ones in the large bucket were still full of life, wriggling non-stop. Baek Seol thought it would be good to share them with their waiting comrades when they returned.
The place they lived was so heavily polluted that it was hard to even see fish, but this lake had clear, abundant water. If only they had known sooner, they should have come here to find food. Then they wouldn’t have had to go hungry.
Then, among the fish, he spotted a black object and reached in to pull it out. It was about the size of a baby’s fist, firm and bouncy like jelly, and round like a ball. Frowning at the slippery sensation, Baek Seol called out to Jang-cheon.
“Older brother. Have you ever seen anything like this?”
Jang-cheon came closer and examined it from all angles.
“Looks like fish roe?”
“Are the eggs this big?”
“They’re usually much smaller.”
Jang-cheon, deep in thought, mumbled, “Could it be frogspawn?” Whatever it was, its size was disturbingly large. Eventually, Gangsan joined them, and later, out of curiosity, he brought a knife and cut it in half. The squishy, slicing sensation was unpleasant.
Simultaneously, a rotten smell wafted out along with black, sticky liquid. There were small lumps, and Jang-cheon, grimacing, picked one up with his fingertips. It hung limply, and he surmised it had been dead and decaying for a long time. By its appearance, it was definitely not a fish, and certainly not a frog.
“What is this… Ugh, the smell.”
“Let’s throw it away immediately. What if we get infected?”
Jang-cheon immediately threw it into the fire. The embers flared red, crackling. Jang-cheon roughly rinsed his hands in the bucket water and continued skewering the remaining fish. Then, he felt a presence behind him. Turning around, he saw Gilsu, looking like a drowned rat, appear and collapse onto the ground.
His eyes were sunken and his complexion was pale, as if he had been dragged away and tortured.
“What’s wrong? Did you fall in the water?”
“Did you go in to catch fish too?”
Shivering, Gilsu came closer and warmed himself by the fire.
“Don’t ask me anything.”
“……?”
Gilsu’s teeth clenched as he recalled Kim Ha-yoon’s atrocities. He wanted to expose everything, but the fear of actually dying washed over him. Hadn’t he threatened him, smiling kindly until the moment he disembarked, saying that if he spoke, he’d truly be made into fish food?
That person is completely insane. Someone you should never get involved with.
“Maybe I should ask the people from district a to borrow a boat.”
Gilsu asked Jang-cheon what he meant by that.
“To catch fish tomorrow. There’s more if you go further in.”
Gilsu quietly watched the large fish roasting by the fire. When he had fallen into the water, he thought he had seen something at the bottom of the lake… His vision was blurry, so he wasn’t sure, but it was a large, black object. It was firmly lodged there and didn’t move, so it was likely a rock. But for some reason, he felt a sense of unease in that brief moment.
“I’m against it. We don’t know when monsters might pop out, and you want to fish in the middle of the lake? That’s reckless.”
Gangsan sometimes said the right thing, and this was one of those times. Gilsu agreed with his words. Moreover, he never wanted to ride a boat again. Once the chill had subsided somewhat, he got up and staggered towards the tent. He didn’t forget to ask his friends to save his share of dinner.
A while after Gilsu disappeared, Ire returned from attending a meeting. Baek Seol didn’t like Ire spending so much time with the soldiers since they had arrived here. Some soldiers showed him particular friendliness, and he felt a subtle pang of jealousy each time.
As Ire was about to sit down, he frowned upon seeing the roasting fish.
“Where did you get that?”
“There are tons of them in the lake. Some are this big.”
Ire sighed and poured the water from the bucket directly onto the fire. As smoke billowed and the fire began to die down, Jang-cheon and Baek Seol’s faces contorted in unison.
“My fish…”
“We’re on a mission. It’s best not to light fires if possible. And throw away all the fish. I wouldn’t eat them, not at all.”
“Why?”
Gangsan interjected.
“Because we might eat them and turn into monsters. Right?”
That wasn’t exactly what he meant. He was just saying to be cautious beforehand, but Gangsan’s words made the atmosphere serious. However, since there was still a possibility of catching and eating them, they didn’t deny it. Their comrades, who had been drooling while looking at the fish just moments before, one by one, sat down a good distance away.
“That’s why the egg felt weird earlier.”
“Egg?”
Baek Seol nodded and rummaged through the bucket. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find another one like it, so he diligently explained what he had seen earlier. There was an egg the size of a baby’s fist, and inside it was something rotten; it wasn’t a fish.
Ire, who had been listening silently, turned his head and looked at the lake. As the sun began to set, the surface of the water turned red. It was an incredibly beautiful, yet somehow chilling, landscape.
* * *
“Hmm…”
Kim Seon-oh swallowed a groan as the screen froze. Kim Ha-yoon, arms crossed, stared pointedly at Ire instead of the video, and Ire had to sweat profusely trying to ignore his gaze. The screen then went black and the broadcast ended. The robot exploring the third of the three branching tunnels in the cave had lost its signal and its whereabouts were unknown for some reason.
“It seems there’s something else in there?”
“How about we try releasing tear gas inside? We can lure them out and shoot them.”
“I’m against that. Given their characteristics, it seems they can live perfectly well in water.”
The room fell silent. Everyone harbored some concern that the creatures might exist in the water as well. That’s why they were investigating the lake while searching the caves, but the depth and size made it difficult.
“We’ve requested support from the surface reconnaissance team, and they’re scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning. Let’s wait one more day for now.”
As Kim Ha-yoon signaled for everyone to disperse, they scattered as if by agreement. Ire also stood up to leave, but Kim Ha-yoon stopped him.
“You, stay here with me.”
Kim Seon-oh had patted his shoulder before leaving, saying he had a lot of trouble, which made Ire feel inexplicably uneasy. He preferred to keep their interactions strictly professional and avoid personal entanglements if possible. Once they were alone, Kim Ha-yoon retrieved something from a makeshift cot set up in one corner. Ire’s eyes widened at what he was handed.
“Take it.”
“Why do you have this, Captain?”
“I got it back from your friend.”
He omitted the word “forcibly.” But Ire understood. It made sense that Gilsu had been muttering nonsense in his sleep all evening. Begging for his life. Promising not to reveal anything if his life was spared. He had wondered what kind of nightmare he was having…
When Ire didn’t take the knife, Kim Ha-yoon slipped it into his pants pocket.
“Don’t go blaming innocent people. Take good care of it. The knife, and this place too.”
As he said “this place too,” he poked his left chest. Ire looked down at where his finger had touched. His heart? Was he planning to capture him and dissect his heart? As suspicion deepened and his gaze sharpened, Kim Ha-yoon scowled in response.
“What is it? What are you thinking?”
“It’s nothing. Never mind that, could you possibly lend me a diving suit and an underwater scope?”
“Now?”
Ire hesitated for a moment, then recounted the day’s events. He was curious about what Baek Seol had mentioned and felt the need to confirm it. However, Kim Ha-yoon refused before he had even finished.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Were you dozing off earlier? I said the reconnaissance team is coming tomorrow morning. Why would you need to go in there in the middle of the night?”
He said it would only take a moment, but Kim Ha-yoon absolutely refused to allow it. He even scolded him for sometimes doing unnecessarily reckless things. Does he still think he’s his superior? Displeased, Ire glared at him and walked out of the tent. Kim Ha-yoon followed, giving him one last warning. Ire scoffed at the remark about not doing anything strange and making people worry.
“You’re the one who does the strangest things, Captain. Didn’t you know?”
“I know, which is why you’re absolutely not to go alone. No. You should just sleep here. I can’t trust you.”
When he grabbed his arm, Ire yanked it away. With eyes watching from all directions, he was about to leave again when someone exclaimed, “Huh?” Several soldiers also got up and turned towards the lake. Ire and Kim Ha-yoon instinctively looked in the same direction.
The center of the lake slowly bulged upwards like a freshly baked pie, then returned to normal. It repeated once, twice, and then water surged onto the shore like waves.
Damn it. Instinctively, Kim Ha-yoon and Ire made eye contact, and simultaneously, sirens blared. Soldiers who had gone to sleep rushed out of their tents. Sensing danger, Ire began to run towards where his comrades were.