Deserted Island (12)

The three of us froze on the spot.

The overflowing emotion and hope crashed over us as if they had mass. It felt like being swept up by a wave.

“N-no, not at all. I’m sorry we couldn’t come sooner….”

A husky voice slipped out before I knew it. But my words couldn’t make it to the end.

“No, how could young folks like you have known anything. It’s enough that we now have hope we can leave, even if it’s only now.”

Another elder who had been quietly watching cut me off before I could apologize.

His tone was kind but firm.

“Yes. We’ll make sure we can all get out together.”

Instead of me, who still couldn’t easily open my mouth, Min Ha-jun answered. His words carried a firm resolve to make it so. He slowly turned his head and took in the people here one by one.

In his eyes burned a blue light that would not go out.

* * *

We were resting in the house we’d been shown to. They tried to vacate two houses for us, but we insisted and took only one, so one of us had to take the floor, but just being able to relax in a room with four walls was enough.

We have shame to begin with. Watching the original homeowner pack up to leave made me so sorry I couldn’t sit still.

“I’ve rested enough….”

It hadn’t even been thirty minutes, what is he talking about.

I averted my eyes from Min Ha-jun, who was subtly trying to get up, and went ahead and took off my outerwear.

“It’s better to rest enough than to leave while short on mana, so at least close your eyes for a bit.”

In here you can’t tell day and night by the sun rising and setting, so I have no idea how long we’ve been toughing it out on sheer will.

In battle, adrenaline keeps you feeling fine, but now my head throbbed; it felt like we hadn’t slept for at least a day.

“Anyway, Mr. Suhyeok is recruiting search volunteers… and we should give the villagers time to think, too.”

“But….”

“Enough. Lie down.”

I jerked my chin toward the bed made of gathered dry leaves, and Min Ha-jun finally let his shoulders sag a little and obediently took a spot.

After confirming that, I turned my eyes to Lee Yul, who was sitting blankly in front.

“You too, lie down over there and go feed your real body or something.”

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t make me say the same thing twice. Why won’t you rest?”

Lee Yul silently looked at the bed Min Ha-jun was lying on and sighed.

“Fine. But if anything happens, make sure to work that bastard to the bone.”

“Don’t worry and go rest. Efficiency is the basis of survival.”

“Yeah, yeah. Okay, boomer.”

Instead of the bed, Lee Yul flopped right down on the floor. I offered him the one remaining bed, but he waved it off.

“It’s fine. What does a clone need a bed for. You use it.”

“Still, your mana drain is heavier….”

“Then lie down together.”

I hesitated at that, but ended up shaking my head.

“I don’t think the bed’s big enough.”

It seemed too narrow for the two of us to lie down; one of us would just be half draped over it.

“What?”

Lee Yul suddenly burst out laughing. He bent over at the waist, snickering, then lifted his head and spoke.

“Obviously I was joking. Why are you thinking about it so seriously.”

What the heck? You brought it up first.

“Then go get some sleep.”

I stood and turned to head to the bed I’d been offered. Lee Yul snickered a few more times and then went limp like a doll. The link seemed to have cut.

‘He’s probably the one with the least stamina right now.’

He’d been controlling a clone without a single meal; I couldn’t even guess how many meals he’d skipped. At least we’d chewed on jerky or something.

The bed was softer than the floor.

I curled up and tried to sleep.

* * *

How long did I sleep like that.

I half-woke to the noise around me.

“…just, sleeping….”

I couldn’t tell how much time had passed, but my head was much clearer than before. I didn’t feel the need to sleep more.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Min Ha-jun sitting on the edge of the bed. Whether he’d slept or not, there wasn’t the slightest drowsiness on his face. When our eyes met, he gave me a small smile—apparently, he’d really just rested.

“You didn’t sleep?”

“No. I did shut my eyes for a bit.”

I didn’t add any comments. If he said that much, I trusted he’d managed his own condition.

“It seems like someone came from outside.”

“Yes. I think Mr. Suhyeok came by for a moment.”

“You could have opened the door.”

He just shook his head without a word.

“Because Yuha was sleeping well.”

It would’ve been fine to just wake me.

I fully rose to open the door, but—

“One moment.”

I stopped before taking a single step.

Behind me, Min Ha-jun was holding out my coat. He’d even folded it neatly at some point.

‘Was that necessary?’

I wasn’t that cold, so it didn’t matter, but not to leave his outstretched arm hanging, I quietly took it and put it on. Then I opened the door and greeted the people still awkwardly standing outside.

“Ah, you’re up…!”

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Please come in.”

When I opened the door and stepped out, the people outside brightened. It seemed they’d been debating whether to leave or wait.

Among them was Suhyeok, now a familiar face.

“Then excuse us.”

“We’re the ones borrowing the place, after all.”

As soon as we stepped back into the house, the first thing in sight was Lee Yul lying down. From the way he was sprawled there lifelessly, like a corpse, the others looked a bit alarmed.

“E-excuse me, is he….”

“Oh, don’t mind him. He can’t hear you even if you talk, so speak freely.”

“Eh? O-okay….”

But even with that said, they kept sneaking glances at Lee Yul and took seats as far from him as possible.

It did look a bit eerie even to me. A clone with the link cut was like a mannequin. Unlike a sleeping person, there was that slackness and not even a hint of breath.

Fortunately, they seemed to be keeping in mind that we weren’t normal people, and just brushed it off like, “I guess psychics are like that.”

“It’s about the volunteers.”

“Yes.”

I answered without much expectation. Thinking back to how people reacted when Suhyeok first stepped up to go with us, I figured not many would volunteer for the search.

They were ordinary folks with little combat ability, so it made sense they’d be afraid. Who could easily volunteer to march into a monster den out of the blue.

‘We have our own risks, too.’

More people would make it easier to watch our surroundings, but it would also increase the number we had to protect…. I’d been thinking two or three including Suhyeok, so even that many would be a win. All the better if they knew the lay of the land.

“We’ve got roughly thirteen, and I wondered if you needed more.”

“Huh? Thirteen?”

That was almost a third volunteering. No—since elders with difficulty moving wouldn’t step forward, it meant about half of the young and able-bodied had offered to search with us.

“Yes. And there are people who say they’ll step up if that’s not enough….”

“Ah, no. That’s plenty. We may need to pare the number down, actually.”

“Is that so?”

The person who heard that looked quite disappointed. He seemed to be one of the volunteers himself.

“I didn’t expect this many to volunteer.”

The surprise slipped out before I knew it. At that, they glanced at each other and smiled sheepishly. It seemed they knew only Suhyeok had initially stepped up to help us.

“We all feel the same. It’s different from when there was nothing.”

The way he rubbed the back of his neck held sincerity. The desire to get out of here and return to ordinary life must be what moved them.

“Thanks to you, it feels like we can escape much more smoothly. Thank you.”

“No, no. We’re the ones who should be thanking you.”

“Even so, two or three should be enough. Please narrow it down to people who know the layout as well as possible.”

“All right, we’ll sort it again among ourselves.”

They said their goodbyes and left. After seeing them off, Min Ha-jun and I came back in and sat facing each other. He seemed lost in thought, one eyebrow knitted.

“…They’re really amazing.”

“Them?”

“Yes. I can’t even imagine it.”

Well, of course.

“Me too. Honestly, it’s a miracle they’ve survived this long.”

“……I always thought I was doing my best, but I guess I was getting complacent.”

What kind of talk is that now?

I was dumbfounded into silence.

“What does this situation have to do with you, Mr. Hajun?”

“Truth is, the people trapped here were practically abandoned.”

“That’s not your fault.”

“No, I knew there were missing people… but I didn’t think deeply about it.”

I wondered where to start refuting him.

If I left him like this, he’d dig a hole big enough for all of us to escape through with his guilt.

“Do you think you can save everyone in the world, Hajun?”

“At the very least, I’m acting with that kind of resolve.”

“Gates are natural disasters. You can’t blame a person for not stopping them.”

“…….”

Min Ha-jun fell silent. But it didn’t seem like he took my words to heart.

“I don’t know how you’ve lived, but at least these people don’t resent you.”

“But….”

“Think about the people you saved, not the ones you didn’t. If not for you, at least I would have turned to ash in that pyramid.”

“…….”

I didn’t know exactly how heavy a sense of duty he carried, but with a mindset like that, he wouldn’t last long. Even if he did survive, he’d go on living with his feet shackled by unavoidable sacrifices.

“You can’t save everyone. But you can save the person right in front of you. Believe in that, Hajun.”