Chapter 13: Under the Darkened Rest Stop Sky

The lights at the rest stop were off, and although a few ownerless cars were sparsely parked in the lot, there was no sign of people.

Hanjun sat on the hood, looking up at the sky as he let out a sigh.

“Ah, but what am I supposed to do about work tomorrow?”

“You’re thinking about work right now? The boxing gym probably won’t even open anyway.”

“Office workers will probably all be thinking about going to work.”

Poor office workers.

Even with the world in this state, they’re worried about whether they should go to work or not.

“Call your coach.”

“Yeah, I should.”

While Hanjun was on the phone with his coach, I called my mom in Jeju.

She had already tried to contact me.

“Yeah, Mom. Are you enjoying yourself?”

[Hey! Why haven’t you been answering?! Are you okay?! Huh? You’re not hurt, are you?]

“I’m fine. What about you? How is it there?”

[Nothing’s happening here, but the news keeps saying strange things. Something about Seoul being restricted, controlled, monsters and all that. I got so scared and tried to book a flight up there, but there aren’t any tickets left!]

It seemed flight operations had stopped too.

Thankfully.

This way, Mom would have no choice but to stay in Jeju.

“It’s dangerous here, so why would you come? Just stay there.”

[What about you! Being there all alone in danger!]

“Ah, I’m fine. I’m not alone right now.”

I looked at Hanjun as he walked back after finishing the call.

Seeing him standing sturdily under the sunset sky made something warm swell inside my chest.

My heart even seemed to beat a little faster.

Why does my heart keep racing when I look at him?

Maybe I’m the one who’s losing it.

“There’s this guy here who’s really good at fighting. He even catches monsters. He’s seriously strong.”

I beckoned at Hanjun with my hand.

He raised an eyebrow and bent slightly toward me.

[You’re really not alone?]

“I told you.”

[Is the kid nice? Put him on the phone.]

I handed the phone to Hanjun.

“Who is it?”

“Ah, it’s my mom. She worries a lot.”

“…H-hello?”

At the word “mom,” Hanjun received the phone politely with both hands.

“Yes, yes… I’m fine. It’s not that dangerous… Yes, I understand. I’ll take good care of him… Yes, please go home safely. You don’t have to worry.”

I couldn’t hear what Mom was saying, but just from Hanjun’s responses, I could guess.

He’s younger than me, so why is she telling him to take care of me?

My face burned in embarrassment.

After the short call, Hanjun handed the phone back to me.

I said my final goodbye and hung up.

“My mom can be a bit much. So embarrassing.”

“Why? She seemed nice.”

“Nice, my foot. She swears a lot.”

We decided to spend the night at the rest stop.

Needing to use the bathroom urgently, I pulled Hanjun’s arm as I headed toward the restroom inside the building.

“Jun, let’s go in together.”

“Why do we have to go together?”

Hanjun frowned at the restroom sign.

It’s embarrassing to ask someone to stand guard while you do your business, but I wanted to take him everywhere with me.

In horror movies, doesn’t the ghost always appear when someone’s alone?

Ugh, I’m never separating.

“What if a monster shows up! Don’t you know you’re not supposed to split up at times like this?”

“You’re not going in for number two, are you?”

“I don’t know. I’ll find out when I go in.”

“Go alone.”

“No!”

The public restroom felt even more desolate because of its large size.

This was supposed to be the time to fear monsters, but it felt like a ghost might appear instead.

After stepping inside, I poked my head out like a turtle and called for him.

“It feels like a ghost might show up. Hanjun, you’re there, right?”

“……”

“Jun?! Juuuun!!”

When there was no answer from outside, I called out in panic, almost screaming.

“I’m right in front, so shut up and just go!!”

Only after hearing Hanjun’s curse did I calm down.

For dinner, we cooked using snacks from the rest stop and ingredients from the restaurant.

After finishing my udon, I chewed on half-dried squid and wandered around muttering, wondering if there was anything else we could take.

Even in this situation, Hanjun seemed determined to train his stamina, doing push-ups after eating.

His dedication to exercise was sincere.

Anyway, he was a different species from me.

We spread the sleeping bags we’d taken from the mart inside the restaurant and lay down on them.

We could have slept outside under the stars for a camping vibe, but we’d probably end up as mosquito food.

Instead of stars, we stared at the restaurant ceiling.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you know?”

“…Huh?”

His question startled me.

I turned quickly to look at his profile, but his expression remained calm.

“K-know what?”

“That something strange was going to happen.”

I swallowed.

What should I do?

Should I tell him honestly?

As I hesitated with my mouth shut, he spoke again.

“You used to say weird stuff sometimes. About destruction, monsters and all that. Back then, I just thought you were some lunatic obsessed with fantasy comics.”

A lunatic obsessed with fantasy comics?

That felt unfair.

“…A lunatic? To your hyung?”

“So where are we heading?”

He completely ignored my protest and continued with his own question.

After following me all day without any doubt, it seemed he was finally starting to think.

“I was thinking… maybe Mount Jiri. What do you think?”

“Mount Jiri?”

“Yeah. They say people who settled there long ago didn’t even pay taxes to the country. Wouldn’t it be perfect to hide?”

Mount Jiri, at the end of the Baekdudaegan mountain range, has the largest area in the country.

Its dense terrain seemed perfect for hiding.

Of course, these days, there’s nowhere untouched by human feet, and with satellites and GPS, hiding in the mountains wouldn’t make us impossible to find.

But it’s not like they’d scour Mount Jiri just to catch us for failing to pay installments and looting a mart.

“Really? Didn’t know that.”

“Why are you acting surprised? You don’t usually know much anyway.”

“……”

“I’ll take care of everything. Just trust your hyung.”

“…Thanks, I guess.”

He said thanks, but his tone was dry.

“If you’re thankful, come a little closer. I told you not to stay so far away.”

I wriggled closer to him.

Hanjun squeezed his eyes shut and let out a deep sigh.

Since I had a history of getting hit after sticking too close, I watched him carefully before leaning in.

“Jun, can I get a little closer?”

“No.”

“Just a bit.”

“No.”

“Okayyy.”

I quickly gave up and lay properly with my hands folded.

I closed my eyes, thinking maybe I’d inch closer after he fell asleep, when suddenly my body was pulled sideways.

I fluttered like a paper doll as I was dragged over.

Not because I was weak, but because Hanjun was strong.

“Sleep quietly.”

He hugged me tightly.

His solid chest pressed against my face.

I was too flustered to speak for a moment.

His arm wrapped around me firmly.

“You don’t have to hold me this tight, Jun. I can’t really breathe.”

“Be quiet.”

Embarrassed, he pulled my face in even closer.

It felt like I was in a headlock.

If I teased him any more, I might actually suffocate.

So I politely kept my mouth shut and closed my eyes.

It was a bit hard to breathe and uncomfortable, but so what?

I had a reliable and kind younger brother looking after me so I could sleep safely in this dark, unfamiliar place.

Strangely, just being beside Hanjun calmed me.

After sleeping in a headlock, my neck felt stiff.

It seemed like I had a slight crick in it.

There was no choice but to get a massage from Hanjun early in the morning.

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

He asked suspiciously while massaging me.

I was just receiving a massage.

“Heh, what?”

“…Never mind.”

He trailed off.

I could guess why he was annoyed, but what could I do when his firm hands pressed along my spine so skillfully that my mouth opened on its own?

I simply surrendered to the refreshing massage.

When I got up after finishing, I noticed Hanjun’s healthy body first thing in the morning.

Wearing gray sweatpants only made the outline more obvious.

I was a bit flustered, but as a fellow man, I understood.

Any healthy man could react that way in the early morning.

Maybe because he’s humanity’s savior…

That part of him also had a dignity that lost to no one.

Feeling embarrassed by my comparatively pitiful body, I quickly lowered my gaze.

While we were cooking and eating breakfast at the rest stop restaurant, we heard the cry of a monster from afar.

“Uooooooh!!”

It sounded like a male orangutan’s call.

For a moment, I almost thought we were in a jungle.

We quietly put down our chopsticks and met each other’s eyes.

“Let’s pack up quickly.”

“Yeah.”

We had to run before encountering the monster.

Thankfully, we had boxed up food and supplies the night before, making it easier to gather our things.

I hurriedly grabbed the sleeping bags, while Hanjun lifted two boxes at once.

As I ran toward the car, I thought about when his superpower would manifest.

It wasn’t just monsters crawling through the open portal, but alien energy called Respia flowing in as well.

Did powers activate in moments of crisis?

Was there a separate portal emitting energy?

My head filled with questions.

“Hyung, what are you doing?!”

Lost in thought, my steps slowed until Hanjun shouted at me.

I snapped back to my senses and quickly got into the car.

But in my haste, I left something important behind.

Damn it!