Episode 30

“Eat first, Huikyung.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Then I’ll wait too.”

Jaekani’s firm reply came as he propped his chin on his knees, his gaze fixed on the golden-brown fish grilling over the fire and the corn roasting beneath it. Yet, stubbornly, he refused to eat. His silent hunger strike left Huikyung exasperated.

“Fine, I’ll eat, okay?”

Letting out a resigned sigh, Huikyung set the half-repaired radio aside. He had been struggling with it for an entire day now.

“Here, eat this one—it’s just cooled enough,” Jaekani said, handing him a sweet potato.

Nodding, Huikyung picked it up, and Jaekani flailed a little in protest.

“Don’t grab it like that; you’ll burn your hands!”

“It’ll heal quickly.”

Though Huikyung’s appetite had faded, he ate mechanically, chewing the sweet potato out of necessity rather than desire. Across from him, Jaekani stared silently, his expression unreadable. The boy didn’t understand why Huikyung was in such a hurry or what drove his intense focus. He only knew that, at times, Huikyung would clutch his head as if in pain, seemingly wrestling with something invisible.

He hadn’t always been like this. It seemed to worsen after facing large groups of Creatures or exerting his abilities on a significant scale.

“You need to eat too,” Huikyung said.

“Yes!”

Jaekani didn’t hesitate. Tearing into the grilled fish, its scales clinging to his teeth like silk, he opened his mouth, letting the hot steam billow out like smoke.

“I give up,” Huikyung muttered, sprawling on the ground. Yet, even as he lay there, he couldn’t bring himself to release the screwdriver still clutched in one hand.

Between bites, Jaekani glanced at the scattered radio parts.

What’s making this so hard for him?

He was curious but knew he couldn’t help. Back in the village, Jaekani had often been tasked with small repairs, like fixing radios or other gadgets. But if a scavenger like Huikyung couldn’t fix it, there was no way Jaekani could. Repairing broken machinery was practically a scavenger’s bread and butter.

“If it’s not working, why don’t we go back to that area? Maybe we’ll find an intact radio this time,” Jaekani suggested.

“…There wasn’t one,” Huikyung replied, brushing a hand over his tired eyes.

‘Maybe you shouldn’t have blown everything to bits,’ Jaekani thought, remembering how the ground had been utterly overturned, tree roots laid bare.

“I’ll help you search this time,” Jaekani offered.

A single radio wasn’t useful on its own, after all. For it to matter, they’d need several in working condition.

“It’s too late now. Besides, you’d just puke from the stench.”

“I don’t think I would,” Jaekani said sincerely.

Huikyung stared at him for a moment before shaking his head firmly. He had standards as an adult, and dragging a child into a field of rotting corpses fell far below them.

“Then at least go alone,” Jaekani urged.

“If I could’ve found it, I would have already.”

And leaving the boy alone wasn’t an option either.

“What if I stay nearby? Somewhere close enough for you to hear or sense me?”

That seemed like a reasonable compromise. But Huikyung felt too drained to act on it immediately.

Reclining onto a bed of cool grass, he looked up at the sky and closed his eyes, exhaustion weighing him down.

Jaekani, having finished his fish, wiped his mouth roughly and quietly approached.

He settled down near Huikyung, though not close enough to touch. A cool breeze passed over Jaekani’s rounded shoulders, ruffling his messy golden hair.

Curled up, Jaekani cracked one eye open, checking whether Huikyung was simply resting or had drifted off to sleep. It was hard to tell.

Lowering his gaze, Jaekani noticed Huikyung’s hand lying haphazardly on the ground, still holding the screwdriver. His fingers were curled awkwardly, half-loose.

Cautiously, Jaekani extended his own hand. His small, blunt fingers brushed against Huikyung’s, barely touching.

He froze, watching Huikyung for any reaction. But Huikyung continued breathing steadily, his chest rising and falling in a calm rhythm.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jaekani reached a little farther, just enough to let a bit of warmth from Huikyung’s hand seep into his fingertips. That small touch was all he needed.

* * *

Jaekani had secured a partial victory: Huikyung agreed to leave him in a safe spot nearby while he went to search for another radio.

When Huikyung arrived at the site, however, there was no overwhelming stench. The predators that had come for the corpses had already stripped most of the flesh, leaving behind clean white bones. Still, the sinews and scraps of flesh that hadn’t been picked clean were swarming with flies—a sight unfit for a child’s eyes, affirming Huikyung’s earlier decision.

He thoroughly searched the site, scouring the remnants of the camp and belongings. Eventually, he found another radio. But it was broken too. Muttering curses, Huikyung smacked its malfunctioning LCD screen in frustration and made his way back to where Jaekani was waiting.

It’s in better shape than the last one, though, he thought, holding onto a sliver of hope that this one might be salvageable.

As he approached, he spotted Jaekani sitting comfortably near their belongings. The boy turned to him and greeted him with a bright smile. Seeing that, the irritation bubbling in Huikyung’s expression softened—until his gaze fell on the radio in front of Jaekani.

The radio he had left in pieces—so jumbled that even he couldn’t tell which part went where—had been reassembled, neat and intact.

“…How did you put this together?” Huikyung asked, his voice laced with disbelief.

“I just pieced it together by eye. I don’t know if it works, though.”

While Jaekani had overcome his fear of handling the device, he hadn’t dared to turn it on. His aversion to military equipment—and the soldiers it represented—was too strong. He handed the radio to Huikyung, his expression apologetic.

“But, Huikyung, even if it works, it’s still a military radio. How are you going to—ack!”

Before Jaekani could finish, Huikyung grabbed him by the head, ruffling his hair roughly as the boy squirmed.

“Good job, Jaekani.”

“I told you, I don’t even know if it works!”

“The effort alone is meaningful.”

The unexpected praise left Jaekani grinning. Seeing his smile, Huikyung’s hands grew gentler, combing through his hair in a soothing rhythm. Like a cat basking in attention, Jaekani tilted his head up without realizing it.

“Come on, let’s rest.”

“Aren’t you going to test it?”

“Later.”

Nodding, Jaekani stood, brushing dirt and grass off his pants with one hand while instinctively reaching out for Huikyung with the other. Without hesitation, Huikyung picked him up. The boy’s sun-warmed body pressed against him, and Huikyung let out a quiet chuckle at the natural ease between them.

When did this start feeling so normal?

“Jaekani.”

Adjusting the boy in his arms and picking up the assembled radio and their pack, Huikyung spoke.

“Yes?”

“I said I’d take responsibility for you, didn’t I?”

“Yes.”

“What if I’m worse than a scavenger?”

“…What?”

Jaekani squinted at him, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

Why does this sound like some melodramatic nonsense?

“I mean, you already are worse. You killed my father, after all,” Jaekani said plainly.

Huikyung nodded without hesitation. “True. But don’t you hate me? Won’t you regret it? We’ve got almost ten years before you’re an adult. Can you live with a sworn enemy for that long?”

“…I don’t hate you.”

That’s right.

Huikyung thought back to their first meeting and the boy’s desperation for connection. Every moment flashed vividly before his eyes—Jaekani’s small feet pounding the ground tirelessly, his constant effort to change clothes so as not to appear pitiful, his quiet acts of kindness, and the fragile fingers that clung to iron bars, adorned with a makeshift flower ring.

“It was your choice,” Huikyung added.

And Jaekani didn’t deny it. Instead, he posed a question.

“Still… you have no intention of reforming yourself?”

Huh?

“How can someone who knows they’re a bad person not even try to reflect or change?”

Even as he clung to Huikyung, Jaekani managed to deliver a sharp remark.

“Try to reflect and reform yourself.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“It is.”

Fine, let’s hear it.

“What should I do, then?”

“First, don’t abandon people just because it’s convenient.”

“Okay.”

Jaekani began ticking off points on his fingers. “Help the weak whenever you can. Practice self-reflection. Develop a moral compass. Constantly think critically about evolving norms and ethics. Keep questioning and learning.”

“Do you read philosophy books or something?”

“I’m not finished yet.”

Huikyung shut his mouth.

Even after using all five fingers on one hand, Jaekani moved to his other hand, extending his thumb.

“And finally… take responsibility as a guardian.”

“Got it.”

Raising both hands in mock surrender, Huikyung let out a resigned laugh, conceding defeat.