Baek Seung-hyun is, in a different way than Kim Daram, someone who stands in direct opposition to me.

I don’t know if he’s a materialist.

It’s not so much materialism as it is that the man himself feels... warped.

He’s capable of killing people and committing cruel acts without hesitation, but after watching him for a long time, I know he doesn’t actually enjoy killing.

He only does it because he has to—because there’s no other choice.

When he once dealt with a woman who kept three mutated cats in a horrific way, he told me how he sees the world.

“...Because this world is fucked.”

Honestly, I don’t like Baek Seung-hyun.

He’s an unpleasant man.

I understand perfectly well why he hates the world, but that doesn’t mean I can give him a free pass for all his actions and character flaws.

Yet, on the other hand, I respect him—

His will to resist despair, his survival instincts, and his ability to gather and organize people—things I lack.

And he’s also the head of a proper family.

Three days passed without a reply to the message I sent him.

I believe he’s still alive, but when that much time goes by, no matter how much faith you have, you can’t help but start having darker thoughts.

That maybe my senior, Baek Seung-hyun, failed to weather the towering waves of the apocalypse and sank into the depths of the sea.

“So, Skelton. How are things these days? Still hunting monsters well?”

Meanwhile, Dies_Irae has slowly started shoving a bill across the table at me—protection fees for staying safe in his territory.

What he wants from me isn’t supplies.

“The monster-controlled zones are gold mines. Sure, the old warlord depots are nice, but the real treasure is in the factories or warehouses monsters have taken over. Call me when you have time. I’ve got something I want to try together.”

Dies_Irae took me in partly because we were old forum friends, but the biggest reason was my ability as a hunter.

Everyone knows about Scavenger’s persistence and grit, but even he never goes near monster-held areas.

When Scavenger’s boss, Minsik, was still alive, we once talked.

By experience, he already knew that erosion zones affect the human mind—and could even turn people into something close to monsters.

“So it’s monster hunting after all.”

Next to me, Cheon Young-jae, who’d been listening in on the radio, smirked.

Of course, Yoo Jeong-min was right by his side.

That’s right.

Somehow, they’d ended up a couple.

Now they even share a room.

“Well, yeah. Back in the old warlord days, people with a school background and Chinese deployment experience got treated pretty well. Looks like he brought us in for the same reason.”

When Cheon Young-jae finished, Kim Daram asked with a serious expression:

“Do we have to do what he says?”

I hesitated, but then nodded.

“For now, as long as we’re here, it’s better to listen to him.”

“Really? Can’t we just brush him off and stall?”

She glanced sideways at her son, who was standing next to his father.

She’s the kind of °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° person who, like me, isn’t overly afraid of death—but now Kim Daram has a family.

A husband she loves, and a son she loves even more.

She’s had to stand beside me in the line of fire, but if she can help it, she’ll want to avoid risking her life.

I looked at her and said evenly,

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle the light stuff.”

“Huh? You can manage without Heavy? You’re not going alone, are you? You could, but what if a Dancer type shows up? And these days, they say there’s a flood of new variants too.”

“It’s fine. If something truly dangerous shows up, I’ll ask for your help even if you don’t like it.”

I haven’t told Kim Daram my secret.

It’s not that I don’t trust her—it’s that secrets only have power if they stay sealed.

Moving according to Dies_Irae’s idea of me as a convenient monster-skinner is unpleasant, but either way, I have to hunt monsters periodically.

Personally, I even see it as a good opportunity—depending on what kind of monsters he introduces me to.

In the bigger picture, it’s not a bad job, so I agreed in a reluctant tone.

“...You do realize this could cost lives, right?”

“I know. I’m well aware of hunter mortality rates.”

“Alright. I’ll think about it. I’ll be in touch first.” 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

“Great! My friend! Skelton! I’ll be waiting for your call!”

I’ve never considered him a friend, but let’s wrap this conversation up for now.

Cheon Young-jae and Kim Daram had given their opinions in the middle, but that wasn’t particularly important.

I’d already decided in my heart to accept Dies_Irae’s request.

What mattered more was what happened on the forum.

Message from dongtanmom: nyam nyam...

“?”

So you’re back to being Dongtanmom again?

Why?

A change of heart?

I once heard that a certain former U.S. Secretary of State would use the brooch on her collar to subtly express her thoughts or views.

Big-name nicknames on our forum—more influential now than ever—are similar.

Even a minor tweak or change in username is a political act here.

Anyway, I’m the one asking for a favor now.

I can figure out the meaning behind the name change later.

For now, just seeing that chewing “nyam nyam” habit confirms it’s really Baek Seung-hyun.

Message from dongtanmom: What’s up? Park—no, Skelton, hehe.

“...”

Taptap

SKELTON: You doing well? How’s the kid?

dongtanmom: Kid?

SKELTON: ?

dongtanmom: You mean kids, hehe.

SKELTON: Don’t tell me there’s a second one?

dongtanmom: Yep. Congratulate me. We’ve got a son, so I’m hoping this one’s a daughter.

SKELTON: Don’t sons give birth?

dongtanmom: Sons can’t give birth, hehe.

dongtanmom: Anyway, enough boring jokes—what’s up? hehe

Baek Seung-hyun, this bastard.

Is he in a good mood?

Why is he sticking “hehe” at the end of everything?

If he’s actually kicked the disgusting chewing habit, that’s more worth celebrating than having a second kid.

There’s an old saying that unpleasant people stay unpleasant even after a long time apart—I felt that again as I typed.

SKELTON: How’s the ocean these days?

dongtanmom: Cut the roundabout crap and say it straight, fucker, hehe.

“...”

Taptaptap—

SKELTON: I’ve got a contact in Jeju.

dongtanmom: Contact? Heaven and Earth? Nyam nyam...

SKELTON: I want to get them to Seoul. The only way out of Jeju is by sea. Can you help?

dongtanmom: Why would I, hehe?

SKELTON: Please.

dongtanmom: Requests exist so you don’t grant them, nyam hehe.

SKELTON: I’m asking not as Skelton, but as your junior from one year after you—Park Gyu.

Baek Seung-hyun is a school Hunter.

Cynical, twisted worldview aside, he’s always taken pride in being from our school—he just never shows it.

It’s like how a student from a second-rate university in a world that only respects first-rate schools can’t openly brag about where they went.

After a short but somehow long silence, he answered.

dongtanmom: Hmnyari...

SKELTON: ?

dongtanmom: Hmm...

dongtanmom: Huum...

dongtanmom: Hhhmmmm...

“....”

What a fucking bastard.

He says the world is fucked, but he doesn’t seem to realize how much he contributes to that himself.

I opened a notepad, unable to hold back.

Taptaptaptap—

—Should’ve died in China. Why come back alive, hold hands with your family, when you could’ve gone to the Dragon King’s Palace back then?

Writing in a notepad when you’re angry online is a damn good habit.

dongtanmom: Still remember the school song?

SKELTON: ?

dongtanmom: What’s the first line of our school song? Nyam hehe.

I don’t know why he’s asking, but there’s no way the model student and top graduate Park Gyu wouldn’t remember.

My fingers flew instantly.

SKELTON: Towering bright, the fortress of trials. We polish ourselves like radiant jade, take in the spirit of Samgaksan, and are reborn as sages of the age.

I never noticed before, but now that I’m older, the lyrics seem weird in more than one way.

But you could sum up all the nitpicks in one phrase: “It’s very Jang Ki-young.”

While I was smiling wryly to myself, another message popped up.

dongtanmom: OK

“?”

Taptap

SKELTON: Senior Baek...?

dongtanmom: I’ll help. No guarantees, but I’ll help.

He really is my senior.

If I hadn’t opened the notepad, I might’ve said something harsh before he had a chance to do something worthy of the title.

dongtanmom: Well, thinking about it, the fact I’m even alive and talking to you now is thanks to you.

SKELTON: (Skelton, teary-eyed) Senior Baek...!

dongtanmom: Though honestly, it’s a help about the size of a rat’s dick... nyam hehe.

SKELTON: ?

dongtanmom: I realized there haven’t been many people in my life who gave me even a rat’s dick worth of help, hehe.

dongtanmom: I’ll help you. But you have to come to the meeting point yourself. I can’t get to the mainland.

dongtanmom: That island is hell now.

I thought for a moment about why Baek Seung-hyun switched back from “daechimom” to “dongtanmom.”

Many theories come to mind, but the best fit is nostalgia.

He must’ve missed the days when, as Dongtanmom, he stirred up trouble on the forum—and eventually returned to that old name.

Him helping me is the same—it’s rooted in the past.

Part of it is our personal connection, but more important is the school.

He may have once thrown away the school Hunter badge and lived as Dongtanmom, but in some sense he’s always been proud of being from our school, and has lived by that pride.

Asking me to recite the first line of the school song was his way of checking—

Whether I’m still rooted in the school, or have completely forgotten it.

The conversation that followed was the kind only a true marine survival expert could give.

dongtanmom: The sea’s definitely dangerous now. Very dangerous. But surprisingly, people aren’t that dangerous—as long as my boat’s faster than theirs, hehe.

dongtanmom: Realistically, what I can offer is a speedboat, but small boats like that attract not only people but mutations.

dongtanmom: They sink boats for fun. But while I can’t kill them, I can drive them off—with a modified navy submarine sonar. Whale deterrent, basically.

At some point, Dongtanmom—no, Baek Seung-hyun—had become a man of the sea.

Listening to his explanation, I suddenly asked:

SKELTON: Where do you live now, senior?

dongtanmom: The sea.

dongtanmom: Hehe.

That’s such a Baek Seung-hyun answer.

Maybe that’s why his heart’s broadened.

Though it’s also pickled in more salt now.

At least, he’s carved out a realistic route for escaping Jeju.

...

If this isn’t the positive side of the internet, what is?

Strictly speaking, my offline connection with Baek Seung-hyun mattered too, but it was the internet that somehow lumped two people like oil and water together in one place.

Of course, it’s not over yet.

Baek Seung-hyun made that clear.

dongtanmom: Getting someone from Jeju to Incheon is one thing, but getting to the sea from inside Jeju is another.

dongtanmom: You probably know what’s happening in Jeju right now, right?

I do.

dongtanmom: The Jeju government bastards are releasing poison gas, tainting stagnant water, and even triggering pseudo-meltdowns of high-grade radioactive fuel rods to contaminate the area with radiation.

I didn’t know it was that bad.

But... very Kim So-uk of them.

dongtanmom: Jeju’s a killing field—about as bad as pre-apocalypse Shanghai.

dongtanmom: Getting through that is your contact’s job.

dongtanmom: In other words, the most important thing is your contact’s will.

That’s right.

The most important thing is the will of the one trying to leave.

Woo Min-hee only said it wouldn’t be easy to get out of Jeju.

Her words need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Whether she’s actually willing to leave Jeju with a clone identical to herself is something I need to confirm again.

Of course, that question isn’t one-way.

It’s also a question I’m asking myself.

Am I ready to let someone else into my life?