Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 153.2: Paper Boat (2)

“Excuse me, I’ll step away for a moment.”

“No problem.”

After excusing myself from the soldiers, I rode out on a motorcycle for the first time in a while, heading toward Rebecca and Sue’s hideout.

With the thaw, the once-frozen creek now flowed eastward, heavy with melted snow.

Scattered patches of green sprouts peeked through the slush, pulling my mind back to memories of a peaceful, pre-war world.

“Skeleton, welcome.”

Even before Rebecca and Sue’s building came into view, Sue’s voice came through the comms.

I climbed the staircase still cluttered with American-style junk and entered their hideout. Familiar faces greeted me with warm smiles.

“...What the hell?”

I looked around.

It had changed — significantly.

The place had once been barely livable, patched together from scraps. But now? Now, it looked like a proper hideout. The broken windows had been sealed with brick and mortar. The rooms were tightly insulated with silicone and rubber to block out cold drafts.

They had underfloor heating, a stove, and even a properly installed chimney — enough to get through winter comfortably.

“Sorry, Skeleton. You went through so much for us...”

Rebecca apologized beside Sue, but I waved it off.

After all, it was me who brought them here.

And it was me who let her in — the person who drove them away.

Instead, I focused on the changes in the hideout.

“How’d you do it?”

Someone must have helped.

I had a good idea who.

“Ha,” Rebecca answered.

Of course. Ha Tae-hoon.

“He helped once we told him we were leaving.”

“I see.”

I asked Sue for the full story.

“...It was pathetic.”

Sue’s smirk was too bitter for someone her age.

That expression was probably the model answer for why the mother and daughter left my territory.

Disillusionment, most likely.

As Rebecca prepared tea, Sue filled me in.

The beginning was the same as what I’d already heard from Ha Tae-hoon.

A gang member dragging a woman along, beating her savagely.

Sue alerted the others, and Bang Jae-hyuk turned the man into a eunuch.

The rescued woman? Beautiful.

That matched too.

But then Rebecca, quiet until now, added a detail Ha Tae-hoon hadn’t.

“The guys... their faces were weird.”

Sue nodded.

“There was tension!”

I listened.

“Young-jae was all over her. Jae-hyuk pretended not to care, but he kept reaching out. Sparks flew. But it was always Tae-hoon who took care of her.”

Sue was calling the hunters by name.

I let it slide. It wasn’t the time for formalities.

“He got her clothes, medicine, even a separate room.”

Rebecca commented with a shrug, “Ha’s a good guy.”

She looked around the room.

Fair enough — Ha Tae-hoon had built this place too.

But apparently, he’d done more than just fix up their home.

“He built winter housing for everyone who left.”

Sue crossed her arms and gave me a sly, detective-like look.

“Skeleton... don’t you smell something juicy here?”

“Juicy? You can use that word here?”

“No, I mean think about it, Skeleton. Why do you think Ha was raiding your stash for vehicles, gas, supplies, even food — just to build houses for everyone else?”

I wasn’t sure.

Maybe if I’d been there, I could’ve read the room. But hearing secondhand made it harder.

Wait.

There was one thing.

Ha Tae-hoon lied.

He said the woman had died.

It was a simple lie — one that could’ve been exposed with the slightest cross-check.

But he told it anyway.

That pointed to something.

“...Wait.”

Sue squinted, waiting for my answer.

“Did Ha like her too?”

She shot finger guns at me.

“Juicy—Correct!”

But the most shocked person in the room wasn’t me.

“What?!” Rebecca jumped, launching into rapid-fire English at Sue.

I waited for her to calm down before continuing.

“So Ha kicked everyone out... just to be alone with her?”

“That’s what I think,” Sue sighed.

“Wish I could’ve seen more of the catfight. Too bad Mom couldn’t stand it and left early.”

Sue looked at Rebecca with mock disappointment.

Rebecca waved her hands, flustered. “Hey, it was terrifying! Okay?! Every day was tense — it was like Dae-gu all over again!”

Well, at least they were healthier than I expected.

Seeing what Ha built for them, maybe living here wouldn’t be so bad for now.

I used to think sticking together was always better.

But being close doesn’t always lead to good «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» results.

Trying to persuade the official Awakened in New Seoul reminded me just how hard human understanding is.

And hearts wear down.

Even good feelings, when rubbed too long, change form — get dull, brittle.

Hearts need maintenance.

People who maintain good relationships probably just know how to do that well.

Maintenance depends on personality, frequency of interaction, environment.

Sure, someone like Dies_Irae forces bonds with authoritarian control — but that’s not who I want to be.

If you can stay connected even at a distance — that’s real.

So I didn’t ask the mother and daughter to come back.

Instead, I checked their internet setup and said a short goodbye.

“Well then, I’m off to see the others.”

“Okay, Skeleton. Be careful. And don’t go see Young-jae.”

“Why?”

“He’s... hurt.”

Next on my list was Cheon Young-jae.

He was living in the neighborhood next to Rebecca’s.

And Sue was right.

Beep— beep— beep— beep—

No response.

I tried three times. He wasn’t answering.

Well, he’s not dead. That guy doesn’t die easy.

So I went to find Bang Jae-hyuk.

He lived in the lower floors of an abandoned apartment block.

Dragging his bad leg with a walker, he waved at me from afar.

“Hey.”

As we climbed the stairs together, I checked the place.

It was decently fortified.

Barricades on every landing, rigged with fuse lines disguised among trash.

The house itself was inconspicuous from outside but thoroughly sealed inside.

And several spots had clear vantage points for sniping — all positioned for one man to defend with ease.

“Ah, Hunter Park, you’re here!”

His mother greeted me warmly.

I nodded politely and went straight into his room.

From the moment I stepped in, I could tell.

“The woman?”

The room was filled only with his beloved sneakers. Not a trace of feminine presence.

So they didn’t live together.

Bingo.

“She’s in a different room. With my mom.”

“I see.”

Say what you want, but Bang Jae-hyuk — cynical as he is — is more mature than Young-jae.

“...Sorry about all this. You took us in, and we made a mess.”

“Well, shit happens.”

“Nah, I really feel bad. After everything you went through to bring us here... and we repaid you like this.”

“Dude, Korea’s divorce rate is over 50%. This is nothing. More importantly—”

As I changed the subject, his eyes lit up.

He beat me to it.

“You already heard the whole story, didn’t you?”

I nodded.

He pulled out a cigarette.

Pre-war.

Faded yellow. Probably tasted like dirt by now.

But he lit it, took a long drag, and stared into the distance.

The smoke curled around his face as he spoke.

“...It wasn’t just because of her.”

I nodded again.

I never thought she was the sole reason the group split.

There must’ve been unresolved emotions between them long before — and the woman was just the spark that set it all off.

“Young-jae... he’s kind of an asshole, isn’t he? Always has this air of ‘I’m an elite born in the wrong era.’ Honestly, even in Incheon, we weren’t close. We stuck together because there was no one else.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

Young-jae was like that.

A good guy, but man, could he rub you the wrong way.

Like when he tried to test me.

“I mean, it was the same this time. Me and Ha wanted to escort her to Sejong and move on. But Young-jae got horny — started hitting on her. I mean, come on. He’s not exactly the ladies’ type, right?”

“True.”

“If he was good-looking, he wouldn’t have to chase them.”

All this was clearly pent-up resentment.

“I’ve been there too,” I said.

“You?!” he blinked.

Then quickly backpedaled. “Wait — not important!”

He laughed awkwardly and moved on.

“Anyway, it was a heat-of-the-moment thing. He kept creeping, so I just went for it. Snatched her up. Figured she wasn’t into him anyway.”

“Right. Poor Young-jae.”

“Thing is...”

He took another deep drag.

“...I don’t think she liked me either.”

“Really?”

“I mean, I didn’t like her — and she could tell. Women can’t really fall for someone who dislikes them. It’s a pride thing. Except maybe some freaks.”

“Like Woo Min-hee?!”

“Why the hell are you bringing her up? Yeah, okay, she was kinda wild in her youth, I’ve heard. Anyway, the woman — she’s still staying at our place.”

He glanced at me.

I knew what he meant.

He couldn’t handle her anymore.

So I went to see her.

Just curious.

What kind of woman could stir up all this chaos between three hardened hunters?

“This way. Jeong-ri! I’m coming in!”

Click.

She really was a beauty.

No wonder the hunters lost their minds.

But the tattoos across her body — likely forced onto her — made it clear: beauty isn’t always a blessing.

And then, the sad part.

When she saw me, her face froze in fear.

“....”

I’ve been told I have a cold, unapproachable look.

Anyone still clinging to hatred would probably say the same.

I thought I’d softened. But to someone abused, I still looked terrifying.

I had things to say — but pushing her to talk would be a kind of violence, too.

So I gently closed the door and returned to Bang Jae-hyuk.

“What should we do? I can still get her to Sejong.”

Honestly, it would be the cleanest option.

“...Really?”

He looked conflicted.

After a pause, he sighed and said,

“Ha Tae-hoon.”

“Ha sunbae?”

“Yeah. I think he really likes her. And I think she likes him too.”

“So send her to him.”

“Yeah, but...”

He rubbed his knee through the metal walker and sighed again.

“He’s... rejecting her.”

“...Why?”

Didn’t make sense. If he liked her, and she liked him...

Wasn’t that the whole reason he built new homes?

Bang added quietly,

“He’s not a bad guy... but his self-esteem is shit.”

“...I see.”

I got it.

It wasn’t even a big issue.

But the only person who could solve it now — was me.

—

I found Ha Tae-hoon digging a trench.

Using pickaxe and shovel to redirect meltwater down a slope from a small dam he built.

He’d known I was there for a while, but kept working.

“What are you doing?” I asked after silently watching for a while.

“Adding a drainage line. For when the snow melts.”

“Right.”

“Sorry, by the way. I took a lot from your bunker — cars, fuel, materials. Since everyone split, I figured I should do something in return. This is all I can really do — manual labor.”

“That’s not true, sunbae.”

“Still... this is my fault. I should’ve kept everyone together while you were gone.”

“Is that why you played the rape attempt card?”

“If it were you, you wouldn’t have had to.”

He set the pickaxe down and gave a tired smile.

“...Guess I’m not fit to be a leader.”

He looked burdened, like he carried the weight of the world.

I replied simply,

“That woman — Jeong-ri — she likes you.”

“What?!”

“Seriously. She said your kindness and sincerity made her feel real love.”

His face turned bright red, like a teenage boy.

I grinned.

“I asked her directly.”

“W-why would you do that...?”

“I get it now. You wanted to fix things.”

“...”

“The past is the past. No one’s blaming you. She said she’d go to you — if you said yes.”

He pulled out a crumpled note from his pocket and folded it into a paper boat.

Then, without a word, he placed it on the water and broke the dirt dam with his shovel.

The boat drifted down the small stream.

Watching it, he said,

“You can’t hold onto everything.”

He looked at me with tired eyes.

“I’ve let so many paper boats go like this. I didn’t gain anything... but I didn’t lose, either.”

His gaze followed the boat down the slope.

“...It’s just one more.”

I asked,

“What if no more paper boats come?”

“Huh?”

“What if you run out of paper and can’t make another?”

He blinked.

I sprinted forward.

Raced along the trench and caught the drifting paper boat.

With soldiers watching in the distance, I returned and handed it back.

“Take it.”

He stared at it, but didn’t reach out.

I turned away, hands behind my back.

“A big battle is coming to Seoul. As big as Beijing.”

“What?”

“And someone scary enough to make even Kang Han-min flinch is on the way.”

“Then we should gather here, right?!”

I shook the paper boat toward him.

“Opportunities don’t come often.”

I offered the boat again.

“I’m not going to miss this one.”

His eyelids trembled.

Maybe he was trying to deny his heart. freewebnσvel.cѳm

But maybe... he couldn’t anymore.

He took the paper boat.

I smiled and turned away.

“If I don’t come back, take care of this place for me.”

“Park Gyu.”

“If I do come back, move out of my room.”

I walked to the armored vehicle with a light step.

Inside was a familiar face.

“Oh, hey, sunbae.”

Cheon Young-jae.

We didn’t need many words.

Not when he’d brought his pack and gun.

I sat next to him and called out to the driver:

“Let’s go.”