By Zephyria “Ah, so… it’s dangerous, so I shouldn’t go in, right?”
Yohan, who immediately understood the warning, turned his steps. After attempting to enter three buildings, he was finally granted permission to enter. Gripping the strap of his bag tightly, Yohan entered and cautiously shone his flashlight into every corner.
The inside of the building was no different from a complete ruin. Piles of dust and worn-out furniture looked as if they had been left neglected for decades. Perhaps because they were so worn, the numbers on the calendar barely hanging on the wall seemed like some kind of ominous symbol.
“This seems like a very old area.”
Yohan muttered, opening a drawer only to find a pile of documents weathered to near dust, and then came back outside. He had to find the buildings that had fallen into the Abyss with him. He asked Lee Hyun-muk just in case, but he was only humming, so Yohan had no choice but to search himself. And after three hours, he finally found something familiar.
“Ugh….”
The Eyeball Monster that Hyun-mook had smashed was still shedding tears like a long stream of water. He recalled the advice that the sane Lee Hyun-muk had given him. He had said that drinking water was mainly obtained through the monsters’ eyeballs…. However, the advice about food was vague, just to put anything edible into his mouth if possible.
Aside from the reddish tint, the tears looked clear at first glance. But truly, even if it sounds like complaining, Yohan didn’t want to put anything like burst eyeball fluid into his mouth. Frowning and deliberately averting his eyes from the eyeball, his complexion suddenly brightened as he passed by.
“Ah! A convenience store!”
Although the Abyss was dim, a dark crimson light shone from the sky, making it easy to discern the exterior of buildings. Spotting the familiar color of a convenience store sign, Yohan ran towards it with hope. Lee Hyun-muk followed him slowly, his gaze fixed.
“Th-there’s something! Food!”
The instant foods in the refrigerators and freezers smelled foul from decay, but the rest of the stock seemed sufficient. This was probably because there were no survivors nearby looking for food. Yohan, trying to pull himself together, began by stocking up on canned goods. His bag instantly became heavy, but his heart felt full. As he tightened the strap of his now-bulging bag, he was also grabbing high-calorie foods like candies and jellies.
“Person, person.”
“Are you calling me right now?”
Yohan turned around in surprise. Lee Hyun-muk, who apparently didn’t remember his name and called him “person,” swatted the snacks Yohan was holding away. Bags of candy and jelly scattered on the floor.
“No.”
“It’s food I can eat!”
Yohan hurriedly picked up the fallen bags. Then Lee Hyun-muk swatted them away again.
“No.”
“No…!”
The struggle of Yohan picking them up and Lee Hyun-muk knocking them down repeated several times. In the end, Yohan won. Lee Hyun-muk watched Yohan tucking the items into his clothes. Holding them close so they wouldn’t be taken away, Yohan said warily,
“And I’m not just a person, I’m Yang Yohan.”
“……”
Fortunately, Lee Hyun-muk didn’t try to interfere any further. Yohan let out a sigh of relief and moved on. Glancing back regretfully at the convenience store with its remaining food, he began searching for a place to stay. Fortunately, not too far away, he found a building that was small enough that monsters couldn’t hide in it, yet seemed suitable for living. There was also a space that could be used as a bathroom.
Lee Hyun-muk slumped down near the only entrance and watched Yohan excitedly organizing the acquired food. Yohan, especially, carefully stacked the canned goods and then, with his empty backpack, headed back to the convenience store. This time, his target was bottled water. Bottled water and drinks with securely sealed lids would be hygienically safe.
Unable to ask Lee Hyun-muk, with whom communication was difficult, to help carry the load, Yohan sweated profusely as he carried several liters of bottled water and drinks. Seeing one side filled with food, Yohan’s chest swelled with pride. At the same time, hunger gnawed at him.
“Shall we have dinner?”
In truth, the Abyss sky was always dark crimson, making it impossible to distinguish between evening and afternoon. This meant it was hard to tell the passage of time. So, Yohan, tired from his labor, decided to vaguely call it dinner.
“Since we’ve gathered so much, it should be okay to eat just one ham, right?”
Swallowing hard, Yohan picked out a can of ham from a familiar brand and opened it. Then he tilted his head.
“Is this made from chicken breast, perhaps?”
Perhaps it was his imagination, but it looked a strangely pale white instead of the usual pink. However, the surroundings were so dim that he couldn’t be sure of the color. He sniffed it, wondering if it had gone bad, but there was no foul odor. He carefully cut off a piece with a knife and ate it. Fortunately, it didn’t seem spoiled. Despite his worries, he was hungry, so he cut the ham into bite-sized pieces.
“It’s not much, but please enjoy.”
Yohan added a bit of humor and placed half the ham on the lid, offering it to Lee Hyun-muk. Lee Hyun-muk, who had eaten the emergency rations Yohan gave him hours ago with gusto, was somehow not as enthusiastic this time. He looked at Yohan once, then carefully sniffed the ham. He tilted his head a few times, then cautiously put it in his mouth. He chewed slowly.
“Why are you looking at me like that…?”
Yohan, savoring the oily ham, asked nervously. After swallowing a piece, Lee Hyun-muk slowly swallowed another piece with an unreadable expression. He was still staring intently at Yohan.
‘Did I do something wrong?’
Knowing well how capricious, violent, and irrational corrupted people could become, Yohan fidgeted and avoided Lee Hyun-muk’s gaze. He quickly chewed and swallowed the ham and picked up a bag of jelly to change the subject.
“Would you like some jelly too?”
Yohan tore open the bag without much thought, but a sudden, overpowering stench made him gag.
“Ugh, wh-what is this.”
It was a smell too fishy and disgusting to be simply rotten. Had the jelly spoiled? Frowning, Yohan looked into the bag and dropped it in surprise. What rolled out of the bag he dropped was a small, squashed, eyeball-shaped jelly. No, it looked like a dead bug.
“H-Halloween jelly, maybe.”
In the dim light, it looked too much like a real eyeball. He thought it would be fine since high-sugar items don’t spoil easily, but it seemed the soft jelly had gone bad. His appetite completely gone, he quickly threw the bag outside. Then, thankfully, Lee Hyun-muk stopped staring intently at Yohan.
The water should be okay, right? Worried, Yohan opened a bottle of water. Fortunately, although it smelled a bit musty, it seemed fine. He handed the remaining water to Lee Hyun-muk, then crouched in a corner, hoping he wouldn’t get a stomachache.
The dim despair he had momentarily forgotten while diligently carrying supplies from the convenience store washed over him. Yohan sighed and glanced at Lee Hyun-muk. The Madman was staring blankly into space. Watching Hyun-mook, Yohan curled up.
‘I wish I had a sleeping bag.’
The Abyss had appeared so suddenly that he couldn’t pack a sleeping bag or other daily necessities. He lay down on the cold, hard floor and closed his eyes. Thus, a day passed.
Yohan woke up, unsure how many hours had passed, and rubbed his eyes. Fortunately, the food was fine, and he didn’t get a stomachache. He wanted to wash, but with drinking water being precious, taking care of hygiene was out of the question. Lee Hyun-muk was in almost the same posture as yesterday, staring into space. He doubted if he had even moved, let alone slept.
“Hey, did you sleep?”
Yohan cautiously spoke, and a little light returned to his dim gaze. As if just then realizing Yohan’s presence, he stared blankly and asked,
“It’s a person?”
“Yes, but I’m not just a person, I’m Yang Yohan.”
Even though he hadn’t remembered the name he’d told him yesterday, and seemed to have forgotten his presence overnight, Yohan wasn’t particularly hurt. He didn’t expect much from a madman. He was simply grateful that Lee Hyun-muk was there with him without harming him.
‘Even if corrupted, a person is still a person.’
Yohan thought as he got up and headed to the bathroom. In this terrible hell, he wouldn’t have had the strength to survive without Lee Hyun-muk. He probably would have been corrupted and gone mad in an instant.
‘Come to think of it, when does the Corruption start?’
After using the toilet, he rummaged through his clothes and shone his flashlight on his skin, looking for dermatitis, boils, or spots, but found no unusual symptoms. However, he did discover some scratches he hadn’t noticed before due to the chaos, and a wound on his calf. It was a rather large wound, as if he had been pricked somewhere, covered in dried blood. Other than that, he was fine.
Though he felt depressed and anxious, he tried to convince himself that this was normal, as the situation was too bleak to consider it a symptom. Yohan then rummaged through the groceries he had brought from the convenience store.
“Hmm… I guess I should eat this emergency ration first.”
Compared to canned goods, his emergency rations were not suitable for long-term preservation. So, today, he prepared and shared them with Lee Hyun-muk for breakfast. Perhaps because he kept sharing food, Yohan felt that he had gained some favor with the Madman Lee Hyun-muk. He still didn’t say anything, but he assumed so….
After eating, his tasks suddenly disappeared. Yohan stared blankly, letting time pass, when he suddenly recalled important information.
‘Come to think of it, isn’t there a hospital building within the range swallowed by the Abyss?’
The land swallowed by the Abyss, including Yohan, had all fallen here intact. The convenience store, though its windows and walls were shattered, had its contents intact. If so, there was a high possibility that the medicines in the hospital were also intact!
“Food is important, but medicine is also important. It would be terrible if I got sick… Right?”
After seeking agreement from the silent Madman, Yohan sprang to his feet. While medicine was important, he actually wanted a goal amidst the constant depressing and despairing thoughts. As Yohan left their shelter, Lee Hyun-mook, who had been crouching at the entrance, also got up and slowly followed him.