“Sis?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just a bad feeling.”
“What’s giving you a bad feeling?”
“Hmm.”
Kang Do-hee seemed to hesitate, as if choosing her words carefully instead of immediately sharing her thoughts.
Her expression even looked a bit troubled. But soon, as if she’d decided to confide in me, she continued in a low voice.
“It feels like something’s coming. In the middle of the night, no less.”
“Are they tracking us by our traces?”
The way back had been much longer, and I knew Kang Do-hee had deliberately tried to cover our tracks during that time.
Even so, if someone could still figure it out and follow us, there might be someone extraordinary on the other side.
But Kang Do-hee shook her head, dismissing it casually.
“It’s just that when I get a bad feeling like this, it’s usually right. So, I think it’d be good to patrol around the house tonight. It’d be helpful if you could use your cloak.”
“Alright. But I’m a bit nervous since I don’t know how long I can use the cloak. I’ll have to put it on and take it off repeatedly.”
“Yeah. And even if you pass out, I’ll carry you back somehow, so don’t worry.”
“That’s reassuring.”
I laughed as I answered, but I figured it’d be best to put on the cloak, check the surroundings, and take it off immediately to avoid passing out.
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Kang Do-hee or underestimated her, but I was a full-grown adult man.
Sure, muscles don’t lie. Kang Do-hee clearly looked like someone who’d been training for a long time.
But whether she could carry an unconscious adult man back home, especially when we didn’t even know how many opponents we were dealing with, was another matter entirely.
They say an unconscious person feels heavier, don’t they?
That said, it was also awkward to ignore Kang Do-hee’s words and just stay home. If bad people really had followed us here, as she suggested, that’d be a big problem in itself.
And the way she was talking made it seem like she knew something but found it hard to tell me everything.
Instead of pressing her further, I nodded in agreement again.
“Alright. I’ll go out with you tonight, sis.”
“Kyaaang!”
“Huh? Bamtol’s coming too?”
“Kiiing!”
Bamtol, clutching the cloak like it was his own, nodded vigorously. He’d been playing with it or hugging it tightly, looking absolutely adorable.
“When we go out tonight, I’ll keep watch from the rooftop. Are you taking the bow?”
“No, I’m using something else instead. You, Biyoung, and the others head to the rooftop later.”
At Kang Do-hee’s words, Ju Biyoung, Hayul, and Kang Do-jin nodded simultaneously.
The sky was already dark. As usual, we ate a late dinner of potatoes and kimchi, with a special dessert of canned peaches.
The old man kept sleeping even after we finished eating. Ju Biyoung set aside the old man’s share of peaches and brought them to his room, then came out with Gamja.
Everyone, except the old man, gathered in the living room.
Kang Do-hee took a rifle from her inventory, one she’d picked up earlier, and handed it to Kang Do-jin. Then, to the surprised Hayul and me, she said,
“He knows how to use it roughly, so don’t worry. Hayul, Biyoung, I’m counting on you two for the bows.”
“Okay.”
“Sure. But, Do-jin, where did you learn to shoot?”
Hayul, holding a bow, looked at Kang Do-jin curiously and asked. Kang Do-jin ignored his question at first, checking the firearm with his usual stoic expression.
But as Hayul scooted closer, his eyes sparkling with curiosity, he finally gave in and spoke.
“I went to a live-fire range with sis before.”
“Wow, then teach me too! How do you shoot this?”
Hayul’s eyes were practically sparkling now. With an exasperated look, Kang Do-jin began explaining the firearm.
While Kang Do-jin was explaining, Kang Do-hee took out another rifle for herself and handed me a pistol.
“Sis, you had a pistol too?”
“Yeah. But it only has four bullets. Use it only in an absolute emergency. I’ll teach you how to use it.”
And so, Kang Do-hee’s firearm lesson began. Since I was set as someone who hadn’t served in the military, I listened closely to her explanation while handling the pistol.
‘She never mentioned picking up a pistol.’
Well, she might’ve forgotten to mention it. The important thing was that we had a gun. Even with only four bullets, a pistol was definitely portable and had its advantages.
Despite those advantages, holding the gun made me feel deeply uneasy, but Kang Do-hee, unaware of my feelings, continued explaining how to use the rifle.
After the firearm lesson, which even Ju Biyoung and Gamja listened to attentively, we took a break.
During the break, I lay on a blanket with Bamtol on my stomach. I’d always liked lying down, but since coming here, I seemed to like it even more.
Maybe it was because I felt I should rest when I could, but lying down felt so good. Hayul, perhaps taking after me, was rolling around beside me.
The short break ended, and we headed to our assigned positions. Ju Biyoung, Kang Do-jin, and Hayul went to the rooftop, Gamja stood guard near the front yard, and Kang Do-hee, Bamtol, and I stepped outside.
Even with stars scattered like the Milky Way in the night sky, securing visibility in a remote mountain village without a single light was difficult.
We’d turned off all the lights in the house, so the only light around was what nature provided.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too hard to move around. Kang Do-hee walked through the dark with confidence, as if wearing night vision goggles, and I hurriedly followed behind her.
We made a wide circle around the house and settled in a spot with a pit formed by heavy rain and a large rock.
Judging from the point where we’d seen the tied-up zombie and returned, it seemed likely that anyone coming from there to the house would pass through this spot.
I glanced toward the rooftop, but I couldn’t see the three figures. They were probably well-hidden, or it was too dark for me to spot them.
Curious, I slipped on the cloak, and sure enough, I saw Ju Biyoung, Kang Do-jin, and Hayul peeking over the rooftop railing.
While wearing the cloak, I scanned the surroundings and confirmed that no figures were visible yet, then took it off.
“How’s it look?”
“Nothing yet.”
“Got it.”
After that, our conversation stopped. Kang Do-hee silently kept watch over the surroundings, while I, in the meantime, had the cloak snatched away by Bamtol again.
“Bamtol, I need to use this every now and then.”
“Kiiing.”
“Oh, you really want to keep it?”
“Kyaaang.”
“Alright, Bamtol. If you sense something, you’ve got to put it on my head quick, okay?”
“Kiiang.”
“Good boy, good boy.”
“……”
Kang Do-hee, who’d been quietly watching me and Bamtol, let out a small chuckle.
“What? Why’re you laughing?”
“‘Cause it’s funny.”
“What’s so funny? Let me laugh too.”
“Just… it’s funny that you’re thanking it for letting you borrow something it stole from you.”
“No, I’m just saying it’s sweet. Kids usually don’t share something they really like, even with their parents.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. But Bamtol’s willing to share when it matters, so he’s a good boy.”
“Kiiang.”
Bamtol, who’d been chewing on the cloak’s strap, nodded vigorously as if agreeing with me. Seeing his cute reaction, Kang Do-hee let out another small chuckle before turning her gaze back to the distance.
I kept looking around too, but honestly, without the cloak, I doubted I’d spot anything even if it was there.
I could barely make out the three on the rooftop. The only silver lining was that the heavy rain had flattened the tall grass, which used to come up to our waists but was now only knee-to-thigh high.
It’d be easy for us to spot someone approaching, but hard for them to see us.
The night was quiet. The only sound was the cool rustle of the wind passing through the fields.
“There’s something that’s been bugging me for a while. We haven’t seen a single insect since we got here, have we?”
“Yeah.”
“Why is that? Shouldn’t there be something in a field like this? Is it because the weather’s been so erratic?”
“Even with erratic weather, you’d expect to see some bugs. It is a bit weird that there’s not a single one.”
“Right?”
At this point, it felt strange. On the first day, I was uneasy because I couldn’t sense any life at all, but later we encountered a pack of wild dogs, pheasants, small birds, and even a wild boar.
Yet, not once had we seen a single insect. How could that be? Even in a world where the ecosystem was completely wrecked, there should be some bugs.
I poked at the grass aimlessly, then gave up. Trying to find insects in the dark was pointless. As I scanned the surroundings again, Kang Do-hee spoke first.
“Usually, in a rural place like this with streams and lush fields, you’d see plenty of bugs, even fireflies.”
“Are fireflies common around here?”
“In a place this rural, they’re more common than you’d think. Haje, you’d probably be mesmerized if you saw them.”
“I bet I would. It’s already cool that bugs can glow, but if they’re twinkling together or flying around, it’d be so pretty.”
“Yeah. Pretty.”
Though Kang Do-hee’s eyes were fixed ahead, it felt like—maybe it was my imagination—she was looking somewhere far off.
Somewhere distant.
I’d never thought of her as someone who showed her emotions, but her expression now didn’t seem to hide a sense of longing.
Even in the dim light, her eyes looked a bit lonely, maybe troubled, or just… complicated.
Strangely, watching her made my chest feel heavy, as if I was sharing that unidentifiable longing. To shake it off, I turned my gaze in the direction she was looking and spoke cautiously.
“Sis, I know we haven’t even beaten the first boss yet, so it might be weird to say this…”
“Yeah?”
“Once we finish all the quests and get back to where we came from, how about we take the kids to see fireflies together?”
“……”
I could feel Kang Do-hee’s gaze shift to me. When I turned to meet her eyes, her expression was even more complex than before.