“Me? You’re asking me?”

Suddenly, the focus shifted to me.

It seemed they were waiting for my decision to determine the next course of action.

After some thought, I decided to share my opinion.

“I think…”

“Are you that worried?”

“A little. I can understand why the man says what he does. If he lost his family while waiting as instructed, it’s natural to react that way. It’s different from just following rules…”

“But what can you do? It’s hard enough to save oneself in these times, worrying about others only drains you.”

“……”

Anwoon stretched and yawned. Her words of comfort didn’t alleviate my unease.

I naturally chose to stay with Anwoon.

The man who insisted on moving to a safer place didn’t budge in his opinion, and the students eventually seemed persuaded.

That’s how our group split up.

Anwoon, as if she knew this would happen, handed me part of the luggage, saying:

“It’s their choice, Ha Young. You shouldn’t feel guilty. Here, take this.”

“……More luggage?”

“It’s for survival.”

Regardless, Anwoon remained indifferent. She handed me a bottle with a semi-transparent yellow liquid sloshing inside.

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“……Why are you giving this to me if it’s supposed to be eaten and used?”

“What?”

“Hm?”

“……”

“Do I look like someone who’d use people as pack mules?”

“Uh, no… Thank you.”

“I said you don’t have to thank me.”

Anwoon, who kept her Awakened status hidden from the group, freely showed her abilities to me. I looked at the yellow liquid with a complicated expression.

“Ah, that’s a stamina potion. Low-grade. Good as a meal replacement.”

“Really, a stamina potion?”

“Yes. Doesn’t taste great though.”

“……I heard stamina potions only restore energy.”

“It’s a product I’m developing. My major was in nutrition.”

“……If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

“Look, there’s some herb over there.”

Avoiding my skeptical gaze, Anwoon started babbling about the grass and flowers she found on the ground.

“It’s quite a valuable herb. If consumed raw, it causes diarrhea for three days…”

“I see.”

Alchemy, huh… I let her words go in one ear and out the other.

The low-grade potion must be much more expensive than preserved food. I hesitantly sipped the liquid.

“Blah, cough, cough!”

It tasted terrible.

“The taste is lacking, isn’t it? I tried to develop a meal replacement stamina potion, but making it taste good is hard… the product was a failure.”

“Yes…”

I quietly put the potion away.

The activities for survival continued. Sometimes we heard distant, heavy thuds and whispers of the trees, but I tried my best to ignore them.

Whether Anwoon was naturally sociable or just trying to reassure me, she talked a lot.

Whether by luck or some other reason, we remained unharmed.

As the sun set and rose again, it felt more like a camping trip in the forest.

My tension eased. I even wondered if the scene I saw at the lake was just a hallucination.

“……It’s peaceful.”

“Better than being in constant danger. But when will the rescue come? It should have been discovered by now.”

“Would it be difficult for us to escape on our own?”

“Yes, we’d probably have to defeat the boss monster. Don’t worry, we have plenty of food. As long as the monsters don’t attack first, we should be fine.”

“You don’t have to do anything to the forest.”

“Want to leave the forest? Are you lost?”

The now-familiar voices circled around Anwoon and me, chattering away.
Despite my hesitation, I decided to relay the voices to Anwoon. But if she asks how I know, what should I do? Lost in thought, I gazed at the blood-red sky.

Even in the alien space of the Gate, the sky was beautiful.

As we prepared for the third night inside the Gate…

…! …!

Faint screams echoed from somewhere. Every nerve in my body tensed.

It was the cry of a human. Not too far from us. Cold sweat trickled down my back.

“……Do you want to go check?”

“…….”

It was right to be scared. But it wasn’t the fear of monsters harming us.

I was afraid of seeing someone I knew dying. It shouldn’t matter to my own life, but…

“We shouldn’t go. It won’t help. You’re not an Awakened like me, Ha Young. We might just end up adding to the bodies.”

“……I know.”

I knew it, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling of being suffocated by the air.

‘If we don’t get support now, everyone will die!’

‘But the orders are…’

‘Are you going to let everyone die because of orders?!’

A memory I had tried to bury resurfaced. I didn’t want to be helpless anymore.

I stood up.

“……! Ha Young, where are you going!”

“I just want to check, quickly! I’ll be right back!”

I impulsively left the spot and headed towards the source of the screams.

Anwoon was right. My going there might not help and might even add to the casualties.

But, just maybe. What if, at this very moment, I Awaken? If there’s even a slim chance, I might be able to save those people.

This isn’t a foolhardy dash to save others.

Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me

One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.

Synopsis:

Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.

But this is still far from enough.

He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.

_____

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