* * *
Out of instinct, I grabbed Do Soohyuk’s wrist as if in a panic.
I wanted to struggle, to resist, but I couldn’t make a sound.
All I could do was look up at him with frightened, trembling eyes.
Crack!
And then it happened—just seconds later, the bathroom door was torn off its hinges.
The monster that had been smashing everything in its path had finally reached even the bathroom.
When did it get that close?
Even just knowing where the emergency stairwell was made me realize—Do Soohyuk’s instincts were seriously sharp.
But before I could fully appreciate that thought, a new danger presented itself.
The monster, having just destroyed the door, began showing interest in the bathroom stalls.
Its footsteps grew heavier and more menacing as it shattered the sink and started kicking down each stall door one by one.
It felt like something straight out of a horror movie…
And of all the stalls, we were hiding in the one at the very end.
I had no choice but to hold my breath as the tension reached its peak.
What was truly shocking, though, was that even in this nightmare scenario, Do Soohyuk’s expression remained calm and composed.
Boom—!
The monster finally reached our stall, letting out a long, enraged snort.
With only a thin door between us, a frost-like chill seeped through, stabbing at my skin.
I felt goosebumps rise from my legs as I slowly reached into my item pouch.
I wasn’t planning to die here like this.
I’d wait for the right moment and charge the thing head-on.
The odds of winning were nearly nonexistent, but if it gave me a chance to escape, I was willing to sacrifice an arm.
I had Oasis Water, after all—any wound could be healed, more or less.
Bang—! Boom!
But the sound didn’t come from the stall.
Somewhere else in the building, a massive explosion went off, and the entire structure shook violently.
At that moment, the shadow looming outside our stall vanished in an instant.
The monster must have heard the noise and changed its target.
“Huff…”
As soon as Do Soohyuk’s hand left my mouth, the breath I’d been holding finally burst out.
My palm was soaked with sweat, a sign of how tense I’d been in just those few seconds.
What the hell exploded?
The only thing that came to mind capable of making that kind of noise… was a plane crash.
I figured the monsters that ran up earlier might’ve triggered something on the lower floors.
“What was that…”
“Let’s get out of here first.”
While I sat there dumbfounded, Do Soohyuk was already clearing away the broken debris.
To be honest, from the moment that plane crashed into the building, this place had become no different than a monster den.
Now, after that explosion, it was only a matter of time before the entire area swarmed with monsters.
We had no time to sit here dazed.
We had to escape—fast.
As soon as we left the bathroom, we headed back down the emergency stairs.
A few monsters showed up here and there, but thanks to their heavy footfalls, we always had enough time to avoid them.
With the structure of the stairwell, the moment we felt anything approaching from above, we’d immediately duck into the emergency exit.
They say humans are creatures of adaptation.
And it was true—after going through this enough times, our movements gradually became smoother.
The anxiety never disappeared, but we found brief moments to catch our breath amidst the growing familiarity.
By the time we reached the 10th floor, the suffocating tension that had gripped my shoulders had eased just a little.
“Do Soohyuk… have you ever been to the EX Dungeon before?”
“No. This is my first time.”
Do Soohyuk, who had been walking down the stairs ahead of me, replied quietly.
“It’s your first time?”
That surprised me.
It didn’t seem like it.
The way he handled things, how calm he was in this kind of situation—it all felt too natural for someone claiming this was their first time.
No—maybe “natural” wasn’t the right word.
It was more like… he adapted quickly.
As expected of an S-rank, I suppose.
Even without his powers, the man himself felt fundamentally different.
Honestly, if it weren’t for Do Soohyuk, I probably would’ve ended up as monster food a long time ago.
“We’re almost there. Stay alert.”
And with that, we finally made it out of the building after countless twists and turns.
But instead of relief, what hit me first was shock.
A biting cold wrapped around my entire body—unlike anything we’d felt inside.
Was this even real?
My lungs felt like they were freezing, and I immediately started coughing.
I swear, I’d never experienced cold like this in my life.
I’d worked deliveries through all kinds of brutal winters, but this wasn’t just “cold.”
This was something else entirely.
For a moment, I even considered turning around and heading back into the building.
If I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve brought my dad’s S-rank fur coat.
The scene outside was more devastating than I’d imagined.
The building was destroyed, and the road around us was practically wrecked.
Crashed and tangled vehicles were everywhere, making it hard to even find a path forward.
It really showed how chaotic things must have been when the dungeon break happened.
At least, from the looks of it, there didn’t seem to be any monsters nearby.
They all must’ve swarmed toward the crashed airplane.
Thick black smoke was rising not too far off, making it pretty obvious where they went.
In a way, that was lucky for us.
“This way.”
I quickly followed Do Soohyuk’s gesture, darting behind an overturned bus.
With the road such a mess, it was the perfect place to hide.
“Do you think Yetis are the only kind of monsters around here? I haven’t seen any other types.”
“They tend to move in packs with their own kind.”
As he said that, Do Soohyuk pulled out a jet-black blade and peeked through a bus window to scout the surroundings.
His expression was clearly more tense than before.
I guess being out in the open made him more cautious.
“Also, while there are many kinds of Yetis, most of them don’t have good eyesight.”
“What about other traits?”
“Not all of them, but usually… they’re sensitive to heat.”
Heat?
So that’s why they hadn’t noticed us yet.
It must mean they detect things warmer than average body temperature.
Maybe it wasn’t the sound of the explosion that drew them to the plane—it could’ve been the heat surge.
But now what?
While hiding behind the bus and anxiously scanning the buildings nearby, my eyes locked onto one spot.
A convenience store.
Unlike the other stores, it seemed relatively intact.
Maybe because it was small, the windows were still whole, and the inside looked only slightly messy from what I could see.
Compared to being out on this exposed road, it seemed a lot safer.
And honestly, at this rate, I was going to freeze to death before a monster even found us.
We needed shelter—any shelter.
“Should we hide in there for a bit?”
I pointed across the street with shaking, frozen fingers.
Do Soohyuk turned to look, then gave a nod, seeming to think it was a decent idea.
He moved ahead without hesitation.
A moment later, he reached the convenience store first and gently held the bell above the door to keep it from making noise, then let me go in before him.
Inside, it was more disorganized than it looked from the outside, but strangely, I felt calmer here than in any open space.
Yeah. Just being able to block the wind was a huge relief.
Chirp!
Right then, the little bird that had been hiding in my pocket the whole time peeked out, curiosity shining in its eyes.
It always had a sixth sense for timing like this.
But even though it was still shivering from the cold, its eyes were locked on something.
I followed its gaze—and saw a container of nuts lying in the corner.
This bird, who never showed any interest in food, suddenly looked like a squirrel discovering treasure.
With a helpless chuckle, I opened the lid, and as if it had been waiting, it immediately started stuffing the nuts into its beak.
The look on its face—it had never looked so happy.
“You’re a funny little thing.”
Now that I looked around more closely, there were still a surprising number of usable items left in the store.
Everything was scattered around like someone had ransacked the place, but most things weren’t actually broken.
My stomach had been feeling off for a while, so I quietly wandered toward the corner where hangover cures were stocked.
But after picking one up, I couldn’t hide my disappointment.
[03/24/2023]
The expiration date had long since passed.
I absentmindedly fiddled with the packaging, then picked up a chocolate bar nearby just in case.
[04/13/2021]
What? The chocolate bar expired even earlier than the hangover remedy.
Still, it gave me a clue.
If things had stopped moving sometime between 2020 and 2021, then the dungeon break probably happened around then.
“Do Sooh—”
I turned to share the info, only to see Do Soohyuk already checking the calendar behind the counter.
Why hadn’t I noticed that earlier?
Feeling a bit sheepish, I scratched my head and walked over.
Rising slightly on my toes, I peeked over his shoulder.
[June 2020]
“June? If it’s winter now, then it’s been at least four and a half years.”
“Who knows. There’s no guarantee it’s actually 2024 right now—or even winter. If a dungeon break continues long enough, it can warp the environment around it.”
“Ah…”
Why hadn’t I thought of that?
Of course, I’d just assumed everything was still running on real-world time.
Which meant… we had no way of knowing whether it was still 2020, or already 2024.
Not that it mattered that much, but… thinking that this might actually be summer made me feel strange.
Like I’d stepped right into a post-apocalyptic movie—but for real.
* * *
