FLIA 5

‘Anyway… I really need to pee.’

Yohan could no longer hold it in and stood up. The moment he moved, Lee Hyunmook, who had ignored both his awakening and being called, immediately reacted and turned around.

Yohan respectfully addressed the mad hero staring at him with dazed eyes.

“Um, I just need to take care of something. Is it… okay if I go?”

Hyunmook only stared blankly, saying nothing.

Corruption often came with mental illness, but thankfully, Hyunmook’s symptoms didn’t seem to lean toward aggression.

As Yohan nervously wondered if the man had even understood him, he looked around.

They were inside a small, ruined building that once looked like a commercial space.

There was no sign of a bathroom.

Cautiously stepping outside, he spotted a few other buildings that looked relatively intact, but their eerie atmosphere made him hesitate to enter.

In the end, he decided to relieve himself near the building. Just as he was about to find a good spot, he glanced back.

Hyunmook was quietly following him from behind.

Yohan hesitated, then spoke politely again.

“Uh, Mr. Lee Hyunmook. I really do need to go…”

Of course, having a normal conversation with a madman was impossible.

Yohan bit his lip in distress before finally giving up.

‘Well, we’re both men, so… whatever.’

Turning his back, he lowered his pants beside a leaning utility pole, doing his best to ignore the fact that Korea’s most famous awakener person was right behind him.

That’s when it happened.

The previously silent Hyunmook suddenly opened his mouth.

“Strea…”

…Strea?

“Stream trickling down, trickling down…”

So startled, Yohan’s stream immediately stopped as his face turned beet red.

Did he really just sing that while he was peeing? Wasn’t that borderline harassment?!

Still, remembering he was dealing with a mentally unstable man, a very strong mentally unstable man, Yohan spoke as politely as he could.

“P-please don’t sing songs like that.”

No reply.

“You… won’t, right?”

After some gentle coaxing, Yohan resumed what he was doing, albeit awkwardly.

But then, Hyunmook sang again.

“Stream trickling down, trickling down…”

“Aaargh!”

Humiliated beyond words, Yohan gritted his teeth and hurried to finish.

Hyunmook continued the next verse.

“Little fish swim around… arms and legs waving…”

Yohan paused, tilting his head.

Wasn’t the next line supposed to be “willow branches swaying, the oriole sings”? ¹Korean nursery rhyme 〈시냇물〉 (“The Brook”).

Maybe he was just remixing the lyrics in his madness…

CRASH!

A hunk of concrete shifted nearby and something leapt out.

A massive, gray frog, though could it even be called a frog?

Larger than a person, its limbs were as thin and stiff as steel beams, its rubbery body stretching wide to release an ear-splitting screech.

Yohan froze, unable to react, but Hyunmook stepped forward.

As he had with the eyeball monster, Hyunmook smashed his fist into the grotesque frog’s face.

Wham!

Its head shattered like a water balloon and it collapsed, lifeless, to the ground.

With a blank expression, Hyunmook finished the verse.

“The frog goes ribbit-ribbit.”

Panting heavily, Yohan thought to himself:

If Hyunmook follows me while I pee, so be it. My dignity’s not worth my life.

Or maybe I should just stick to doing my business inside buildings…

Pressing himself against the wall, Yohan tried to calm his racing heart.

‘Are all the monsters here like that…?’

The massive gray frog could’ve swallowed Yohan whole.

He hadn’t noticed it at all, it had blended in perfectly with the concrete debris.

Its limbs looked like steel, and its skin had a similar texture to cement.

“Th-thank you for saving me…”

Yohan finally managed to express his gratitude.

Hyunmook offered no reply, just nudged the corpse with his foot and let out a strange giggle.

Yohan gulped. The sheer power it took to obliterate that monster had left a deep impression.

‘Mr. Lee Hyunmook said he’d protect me even if he lost his mind…’

But how much faith could he put in the words of a corrupted madman?

Fear began to creep in, but Yohan shook his head.

‘If I can’t trust Hyunmook, even corrupted, then I’ve got no one to rely on!’

Yes, trust him!

And maybe, just maybe, they’d run into other survivors.

But Yohan shook his head again.

No.

If even someone as powerful as Hyunmook had gone insane, what were the chances anyone else was still sane?

And even if they were now, how long would that last?

Trying to shake off his spiraling thoughts, Yohan quickly returned inside.

Hyunmook, who had been toying with the frog’s corpse, followed quietly.

His gaze was oddly gentle, but—

Splat!

Something wet landed in front of Yohan.

He let out a silent scream.

Hyunmook had ripped off one of the giant frog’s legs and thrown it down.

Thick, tar-like black fluid soaked the ground.

Grinning like a child, Hyunmook crouched and began to sing again.

“Fox, oh fox, what are you doing?”

Oh no…

“I’m eating dinner! What’s the side dish? Frog!”

His pitch was all over the place, his tone absurd, yet not the least bit funny.

Yohan could only tremble.

“Uhhhhh….”

“Is it dead or alive? It’s dead!”

Hyunmook’s creepy grin faded into a deadpan stare.

Then, wordlessly, he slid the frog leg toward Yohan and watched him.

Yohan shut his eyes tight.

This was… he wanted him to eat that thing, didn’t he?

“I-I can’t eat that! I’d rather die!”

He whimpered, backing away from the grotesque, twitching leg.

Frantically, he rummaged through his bag and pulled out emergency rations.

“H-here, I still have some food! So we don’t need to eat the frog, okay?”

Thankfully, Hyunmook didn’t get angry.

He looked a little disappointed, like a stray dog rejected after bringing a gift, but simply sat down beside Yohan.

Yohan, hands trembling, opened the precious emergency pack.

After mixing the food with spicy gochujang sauce, he divided it in half and offered some to Hyunmook.

“This’ll definitely taste better than frog.”

Hyunmook narrowed his eyes and buried his face into the bowl, sniffing.

Then he just stayed there, frozen, breathing in the scent.

Even after Yohan finished eating in a hurry, Hyunmook remained motionless, captivated by the smell.

Meanwhile, Yohan checked his supplies.

‘If we each eat twice a day, this will last… maybe a week?’

Water, however, was still a major problem.

With a sigh, he glanced back, only to see Hyunmook’s container empty, licked clean.

That sight made Yohan’s heart ache with pity.

“Um, Mr. Lee Hyunmook. I’m thinking of going to find more food now.”

Even if they rationed carefully, it wouldn’t last long. They needed water and supplies.

His heart was still pounding from the frog scare, but he couldn’t just sit around and starve to death.

‘If Mr. Lee Hyunmook survived here for three years, there has to be food somewhere.’

Granted, it could’ve been revolting frog meat, but Yohan forced the thought aside.

That stuff didn’t just look gross, it probably caused corruption.

“So, um… you’ll keep following me, right?”

Even knowing conversation was pointless, Yohan still pleaded for protection.

Then, mustering his courage, he got to his feet.

As expected, Hyunmook said nothing.

But when Yohan walked, he followed.

For some reason, it felt like leading around a stray dog.

Yohan’s target was food inside buildings.

Thankfully, this rift hadn’t been open long, there should still be some unspoiled items around.

‘Even an office is fine. There’s bound to be instant coffee.’

He headed toward the nearest building, or he tried to, until Hyunmook suddenly stepped in front of the entrance; blocking his way.

Faced with glowing red eyes in the shadows, Yohan instinctively backed away.

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  Korean nursery rhyme 〈시냇물〉 (“The Brook”).