Chapter 41: The Ruins Waiting at the End

“What’s wrong, brother? Seasick?”

“…No. No, it’s nothing.”

“Really? Well, see that over there? That floodgate. Once we pass it, we’ll officially enter the conflict zone. It’s not like the old days where bullets rained down everywhere or armored vehicles rolled openly through the streets, but you should still stay careful.”

Following the direction Hwang Yunggu pointed, I spotted the floodgate — the symbolic boundary of the conflict zone where enormous torrents of water crashed downward.

If the boat entered the current incorrectly, there was a real risk of getting swept away by the rapids.

Muttering that it’d be safer to dock far from the floodgate, Hwang Yunggu quickly turned the wheel.

Fortunately, ladders leading to the surface had been installed throughout the waterway, so moving around didn’t seem too difficult.

As the boat slowly neared land, I picked up the bag resting beside my seat and carefully stepped forward.

“Thank you for everything. Even if it was only for a short while. I’ll go alone from here.”

“Yeah. Alright. Stay safe.”

“I left your payment in the pouch here, so please check it later.”

“…Hey, brother.”

“Yes?”

“No… never mind. It’s nothing. Just… take care.”

Once I climbed onto the embankment and stepped away from the bow, Hwang Yunggu greeted me with an oddly suspicious look.

He moved his lips like he had something left to say.

Like a servant from an old folktale who’d accidentally learned the king’s secret.

But in the end, he said nothing.

He simply turned the boat’s wheel.

I stood there for a long time, watching the small motorboat gradually disappear into the distance while leaving behind a trail of foamy ripples.

“Phew….”

A sudden wave of dizziness surged over me, forcing me to swallow another painkiller with water before taking a short rest.

Beside a sign reading Authorized Personnel Only, a narrow hidden passage revealed itself.

Peeking inside, I found exactly what I expected.

A long ladder leading to the surface.

Enduring the crushing pain pressing against my body, I carefully climbed upward one step at a time.

White breaths clouded my vision.

‘I wonder if everyone at the shelter is safe.’

It had already been many years since I manifested as a guide and left the shelter to survive on my own.

Judging by the way Hwang Yunggu constantly emphasized the harsh reality of the lower districts, life in the conflict zone apparently hadn’t improved much at all.

The only real difference was that intervention from human rights activists and civic groups had slightly restricted firearm usage.

But surviving here was still just as difficult.

Creeeak—

“Haa… haa….”

After crossing the endless tunnel, I pushed open the manhole cover blocking my path.

Carefully lifting only my head first, I scanned the surroundings.

Just as expected, the lower village came into view — old buildings packed tightly together without a single gap between them.

I hadn’t expected warm sunlight pouring down from the sky.

Still, the gloomy heavens overhead perfectly reflected the bleakness of reality, crushing whatever little hope remained inside me.

Tap— Tap—

“Even before, there were usually at least a few people around… why is it so quiet?”

Holding the map open, I wandered aimlessly until I eventually reached deeper into the village.

But something felt terribly wrong.

The surroundings were unnaturally silent.

There were no children rolling hoops across empty lots.

No loud merchants shouting over prices in the dawn markets.

“…Huh….”

Just as I passed through an utterly deserted marketplace, several pairs of eyes suddenly appeared between the shuttered buildings.

Judging by how low they were, they seemed to belong to children.

And they were trembling with such overwhelming fear that even I could practically feel it spreading toward me.

“…Hey, kids.”

I wished someone would just explain what had happened here.

But after nearly eight years of cutting ties with the conflict zone, even the few connections I once had were now useless.

Those children were the only people left I could ask for help.

So I pulled out some candy and slowly approached the building.

But the eyes that had been carefully following my every movement instantly disappeared back into the darkness.

Like a beast losing sight of prey it had nearly caught, I wandered around the area for a long time.

But the children, curled up in fear, never once stepped outside.

Instead, as if they’d planned it together, they retreated further into corners untouched by light.

“Let’s just head to the shelter first.”

The shelter sat between temporary government facilities and detention camps housing soldiers who attempted illegal desertion.

Even walking quickly, it would still take nearly two full hours to reach.

With my condition, there was no chance of arriving on time no matter what I did.

Part of me thought I should rest slowly along the way.

But for some reason, if I didn’t personally confirm with my own eyes that everyone at the shelter was alive and safe, I felt like I’d lose my mind.

Perhaps because I’d spent hours wandering the village in confusion, the sun that once hung overhead had already begun setting.

Compared to the upper districts, electricity in the conflict zone was unstable.

Once night fell, every narrow alley beyond the main streets became swallowed by absolute darkness.

So no matter what, I had to reach the shelter before sunset.

“…Ah….”

It felt like my ankles were about to snap.

After walking endlessly in worn-out sneakers with completely flattened soles, blisters had formed all across my feet.

Cold sweat slid down the back of my neck beneath the scarf wrapped tightly around it.

Only moments ago, the freezing cold had forced me to hunch my shoulders together while walking.

Now my entire body was drenched in sweat.

“Just a little… just a little more….”

But none of that mattered.

More frightening than the pain tearing my body apart was the possibility that the shelter — my only source of strength, my only reason for living — might no longer exist in the form I remembered.

“Please….”

People born into unhappiness tend to share one thing in common.

An uncanny instinct.

Not the ability to predict the future or attract good fortune.

But the ability to sense misfortune long before it arrives.

Even if life becomes so peaceful that nothing else seems worth wishing for, somehow they still find the edge of disaster and give shape to what was once invisible.

And I was no exception.

Having spent my entire life running from something unseen.

Once the feeling began, it became a heavy chain dragging at my legs.

Step— Step—

The flower swallows — the orphaned children who should’ve been out begging — were nowhere to be seen.

Crossing barren streets no different from wastelands, I finally turned into the alley beside Banpo Store.

And there it was.

The blue roof of the shelter.

The place I’d imagined thousands upon thousands of times, even in my dreams.

In that moment, I completely lost my reason.

I sprinted forward and violently shoved open the tightly closed gate.

Creeeak— Creeeak—

“Ha….”

The gray sky darkened further and further overhead.

Bracing myself against the concrete walls of the shelter, I stared blankly at the scene before me in complete disbelief.

“How… how did this happen…?”

Just three months ago, the shelter building in the photographs had still looked intact.

But now, it was nothing more than ruins.

The old windows that barely blocked the cold winter winds.

The wooden pillar where the children who grew up together at the shelter marked their heights in chalk.

The tiny stone towers built from gathered pebbles while making wishes.

Not a single thing remained the way I remembered.

“…Jiyeon… Seokho… Mister Park….”

Calling out names I’d treasured only within my heart, I ran frantically through the shelter grounds like a madman.

The shattered windows.

The countless bullet holes covering the old building.

Broken glass scattered everywhere.

And among the overgrown weeds lay traces of belongings that once belonged to the shelter residents.

“Wooyoung! Teacher! Director!”

I repeatedly questioned whether I’d somehow mistaken the location.

But no.

This was definitely the shelter I remembered.

The place where people survived together, finding gratitude in even the smallest joys despite their harsh lives.

The place that had given meaning to my existence.

“No… no….”

Was it even possible for over a hundred people to disappear without leaving behind a single trace?

Unable to stay still, I recklessly wandered deeper into the conflict zone despite the danger.

Though “deeper” only meant the outskirts of one district.

But in my exhausted state, this was the best I could manage.

“This has to be a lie. It has to be. They said they were safe. They said they’d wait for me. Then what… what is all this…?”

Once the sun fully disappeared, the temperature dropped rapidly.

Snow whipped violently beneath the flickering old streetlights.

“Hah… haa….”

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