Chapter 14: Toward Cheonwangbong

I closed the trunk and turned to Hanjun, who was about to get into the passenger seat.

Seeing the shock on my face, he tilted his head.

“Why?”

“We left the half-dried squid behind!”

“Just drive.”

“Ah… but it was good.”

I had only muttered in disappointment.

“Ah, damn it.”

Hanjun stopped midway and ran back toward the rest stop.

“Hey, hey!! It’s fine! We don’t need the squid!”

I shouted in fluster at his retreating back, but he had already run far away.

While he went to get the squid, I started the engine.

“Hurry, hurry!”

As he was grabbing the squid, the monster’s cry was getting closer.

It echoed as if it were roaring inside a cave, so loud that it felt overwhelming.

No matter how small, it had to be at least the size of an elephant.

In just a day, the monsters seemed to grow bigger and bigger.

“Uooooooh!!”

The sound felt like it had come within a 100-meter radius.

It was threatening enough to make my breathing quicken and cold sweat break out.

As I sat there anxiously, Hanjun sprinted back and jumped into the car.

The moment he got in, I sped off.

While turning the wheel sharply, I asked,

“The squid?!”

“Here.”

Maybe annoyed from running, he threw the bundle of squid at my face.

The salty aroma was excellent.

“Good job.”

No sooner had I praised him than—

Crash!!

We heard the rest stop being destroyed.

The monster arrived just as we exited the parking lot onto the road.

It was walking on two legs, and as I had predicted, it was as huge as an elephant.

Its body was elephant-sized, but it looked like a starfish with legs and eyes.

Its eye was attached to a long tentacle at the top, and its mouth was in the center.

In short, it looked utterly disgusting.

The round mouth in the center of its body opened wide, releasing an orangutan-like cry.

“Uooooooh!!”

The monster began smashing the cars in the parking lot as if playing.

This wasn’t a junkyard, yet under its play, the parked cars were flattened like scrap.

Our car sped away, and as the distance grew, the starfish monster became smaller and smaller.

“…We almost died.”

After witnessing a monster beyond imagination, my whole body trembled.

Unlike me, who was shaking, Hanjun turned his head to watch the monster in the distance carefully.

For a moment, I wondered if he was shocked.

“It looks really fascinating.”

He was calmly admiring it.

As we encountered strange creatures appearing everywhere, I wondered if leaving the city had been the right decision.

But then I corrected myself.

In the city, monsters the size of buildings would appear.

If that happened, it would be complete chaos.

One wrong step, and we could be crushed under collapsing debris.

Driving along the road, we began to see the entrance to the main ridge of Jirisan.

Perhaps because it was a mountain frequented by hikers, there were more restaurants and small marts around than I expected.

As we drove further in, the dense forest deepened, and the colorful autumn foliage enriched the scenery.

We arrived at Piagol Valley, where a narrow road ran alongside a flowing stream.

Given the situation, there wasn’t a single hiker in sight.

Even if monsters appeared, the valley water flowed on peacefully.

Hanjun looked around and said,

“Let’s rest here.”

“Okay.”

He must have liked the tranquil scenery.

We got out of the car and took deep breaths.

Mm, the scent of the forest.

It felt healthy.

For now, there were no people or monsters.

Since monsters could appear at any moment, we took out knives and a baseball bat from the trunk.

We also took out the half-dried squid Hanjun had risked his life to save.

Feeling a bit hungry, I tried to take out a gas burner and ramen, but Hanjun suddenly interfered.

“Why ramen?”

“It’s lunchtime.”

“Then take out a can of tuna too.”

“Should we? Jun, you’re really smart.”

Like people on a picnic, we settled on a flat rock by the stream.

Listening to the babbling water, we boiled ramen.

With autumn in full bloom, the red and yellow leaves made the valley atmosphere incredible.

“I’ve never eaten ramen at a valley before.”

Hanjun muttered while eating.

He said he’d never eaten ramen at a valley, but to me, it sounded like he’d never had the chance to rest like this since graduating school.

Hanjun had grown up with his grandparents.

His grandfather had dementia and needed long-term care until he passed away.

Right before Hanjun graduated high school, his grandmother also passed.

Because all their savings had gone to medical expenses, she reportedly apologized for leaving him without money before closing her eyes.

I had heard that story from the loose-lipped gym coach.

Giving Hanjun the precious last bite, I said,

“If you cook in a national park valley, the fine is 500,000 won.”

“Wow, expensive ramen.”

In this messed-up world, it was a small luxury we could still enjoy.

After eating, we sat on the rock and dipped our feet in the stream.

Though the morning sun was warm, it wasn’t summer, so the water quickly turned cold.

Just as I pulled my feet out to get up—

“Young men.”

“Ahh!!”

Because the valley was so peaceful, I had let my guard down.

The sudden voice startled me like a live fish.

Splash—

Being timid is a real problem.

Like a sunfish, I slipped off the rock and fell into the shallow stream.

Thankfully, the water wasn’t deep.

“Ugh.”

As I stood up, soaked like a drowned rat, Hanjun laughed instead of helping me.

Truly ungrateful.

“Oh my, young men. What are you doing here?”

A plainly dressed middle-aged woman stood on the bank, looking down at us in surprise.

She wore a punk-style T-shirt layered under a checkered shirt, paired with hiking pants.

The most shocking thing was the long rifle in her hand.

A gun? In Korea?

“W-who are you?”

“Have you young men lost your minds? It’s chaos everywhere, and you’re playing in a valley?! Get out right now!”

Like my mom, she began scolding us while waving the rifle.

We crawled out obediently and stood at attention before her.

After exaggerating our story about how we ended up here, she sighed deeply with her hands on her hips.

She was a resident living near Jirisan.

That morning, a boar-like monster had swept through the village.

It was so vicious that three elderly residents over seventy were badly injured.

Only then did the villagers realize that the disaster alerts, radio, and TV reports were true.

They hurriedly gathered their belongings and left with the injured.

But her husband worked at a lodge near Cheonwangbong Peak and didn’t answer his phone.

Unable to leave alone, she was heading up the mountain.

“You’re going alone?”

“What choice do I have? That man doesn’t even watch TV. He probably thinks there are just no customers and is drinking comfortably.”

She said that, but her face was full of worry.

“He might already be coming down. If you miss each other, it’ll be bad. Why not try calling again?”

Even with a hunting rifle, climbing alone seemed dangerous.

“He won’t answer! That damned man. Ugh, he’ll be the death of me.”

Her face darkened further.

She glanced at us, as if hoping for help.

I understood her feelings, but—

“You must be worried. Well then, please be careful going up—”

Climbing a mountain is hard, and the forest would surely be dangerous.

I was about to part ways.

“Let’s go with her.”

Hanjun dropped a shocking statement.

I stared at him wide-eyed.

As always, he looked calm, as if climbing to such a dangerous height meant nothing.

Hey! Shouldn’t you discuss this with me first?!

The woman brightened immediately, clasping her hands and bowing repeatedly.

“Oh my! How kind. Young men, are you sure?”

She asked, but didn’t seem to wait for an answer.

She grabbed Hanjun’s hand tightly, looking at him with more than just gratitude.

“….”

Thanks to Hanjun’s unilateral rescue route, I became as shriveled as dried radish strips.

Trying to help at least a little, I whispered in his ear.

“Jun, Cheonwangbong Peak is 1,915 meters above sea level. It’s the second-highest mountain peak in Korea.”

“So?”

“It’ll be very hard to climb. And from here to Cheonwangbong, we’ll probably have to spend a night in the forest. With monsters everywhere, you think there won’t be any in a forest covered in trees?!”

My voice grew louder as I spoke.

The woman’s shoulders drooped at my words.

But my heart didn’t waver.

Climbing all the way to Cheonwangbong—was that even reasonable?

“…Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“We can’t just let her go up alone.”

You polite bastard.

That was touching.