* * *

Snapping out of his thoughts, he realized he had wandered in too deep.

The surroundings no longer felt like a trail but the depths of the forest. How had he come this far?

This was why he shouldn’t have walked around absentmindedly.

The lingering emotions from the novel, combined with the gentle breeze, had lulled him into a daze, and now he had ventured too far.

Reaching into his pocket to check the time, he gasped.

“Ah…”

He had been reading for so long that his phone battery had died, and he had left it charging back at the tent. At least he had brought his lantern.

He turned on the lantern and retraced his steps—or at least, he tried to.

He wasn’t sure when the path had disappeared, but by now, he should have reached the trailhead.

Yet, the more he walked, the deeper into the forest he seemed to go.

The sky had turned completely black.

He hadn’t been walking for that long, so why did it feel unnaturally dark?

A creeping unease settled over him.

The once-gentle breeze now felt bitterly cold.

“What the hell… I hate ghosts…”

He wasn’t particularly afraid of horror movies, but the thought of encountering an actual ghost?

That was a hard no.

Quickening his pace, he prayed to see the lights of the campsite.

But no matter how much he walked, he remained trapped in the forest.

By now, he should have found his way out, right?

But all he saw were trees, grass, and a bright full moon in the pitch-black sky.

Fear clawed at his chest.

He wanted to collapse right there, but he couldn’t afford to.

No one would come looking for him—he had come to the campsite alone.

His nose stung as he sniffled involuntarily, forcing himself to press forward.

At this point, he had no idea if he was even heading in the right direction.

“…Huh? A light!”

He shouted without meaning to.

A light flickered between the trees.

After wandering aimlessly for what felt like forever, relying solely on his dim lantern, the sight of another light was a relief.

He sprinted toward it.

And in that instant, a blinding light exploded before his eyes, forcing them shut.

Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t the campsite lights.

He couldn’t even scream—he just stood frozen.

A moment ago, he had been grateful for the light, but now, he wished it would disappear.

He had no idea how much time had passed before he cautiously cracked his eyes open.

He didn’t want to be hit by that blinding light again, so he hesitated.

It felt cowardly, but at this moment, all that mattered was not going blind.

When he finally managed to open his eyes, the intense light had vanished.

He let out a deep breath, relieved.

But the moment he took in his surroundings, his relief turned into sheer shock.

“What the hell…?”

He couldn’t even form proper words.

If he had walked too far, he should still be in the forest, right?

But everything around him was nothing but sand.

There wasn’t a single blade of grass in sight.

The scorching heat radiating from the ground, the grains of sand swirling in the air—none of this should have existed in a forest.

And as far as he knew, there was no desert in Korea.

Was he dreaming?

He pinched his cheek.

“Ow…!”

It hurt.

It wasn’t supposed to.

The sharp pain prickled his skin, enough to bring tears to his eyes.

If this were a dream, he shouldn’t be able to feel pain, right?

Refusing to accept reality, he shut his eyes and turned around.

If he opened them again, the forest would be back, and he could retrace his steps.

That was all he had to do.

But when he opened them, he gasped.

The forest was gone.

Behind him, ahead of him—everywhere was nothing but desert.

As if the forest had never existed in the first place.

“This is insane… Hey! Is anyone there?!”

He shouted into the empty space, but his voice only met silence.

Not even an echo.

He collapsed onto the ground.

Autumn had just begun, so he had been wearing shorts, and now the rough grains of sand scraped against his skin.

It felt like the world itself was telling him this was real.

The unbearable heat, the unfamiliar sensation of sand beneath his feet—Haebom had never encountered a desert before, and now, he had no idea how to survive in one.

This wasn’t just bad luck; this was a disaster.

Staring blankly up at the scorching sun, he suddenly shot to his feet.

If he stayed here, he’d either dehydrate or burn alive.

He had no intention of dying at such a young age.

He had no choice but to move forward.

“God… it’s so hot…”

His sweatshirt had been abandoned long ago.

Even though summer had barely ended, the campsite had been in a mountainous area, so he had brought a long-sleeved sweatshirt.

Now, he had stripped down to just a white t-shirt, leaving the sweatshirt neatly folded on the sand.

He knew it was littering, but he couldn’t carry it through the desert.

The relentless heat was bad enough, but every step he took, his feet sank into the sand, making it even harder to move.

It felt like the desert itself was trying to hold him back.

“What… is that?”

He had thought it was an endless desert with nothing but sand, but upon closer inspection, he noticed large mounds scattered throughout.

Were those the fabled sand dunes of the desert?

With that thought in mind, he began walking toward them.

At first, all he could sense was the dry scent of sand and the scorching heat, but as he drew closer to the dunes, an unusual smell began to fill the air.

It grew stronger with each step, making his nose wrinkle instinctively.

The combination of heat and the stench was dizzying.

As he neared, the dunes took on a clearer shape.

“…Scorpions? Why are there scorpions here?”

A shiver ran down his spine.

He had never seen one in real life before, but these were several times larger than any scorpion he had imagined, their bodies buried beneath the sand.

Unconsciously, he swallowed hard, his entire body tensing.

His heart pounded violently, and his eyelids fluttered incessantly.

If that massive scorpion moved, he would be as good as dead.

He had been walking through the desert for what felt like an eternity, desperately trying to survive, only to now face the possibility of dying to a scorpion’s sting.

His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the sand.

Yet, whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, the enormous scorpion forming the dune remained motionless.

The strange odor seemed to be emanating from the scorpions, and by moving cautiously, he was able to trace the source of the stench.

“Ugh…! Ugh… this is disgusting….”

A gaping hole had been torn into the scorpion’s body, large enough to reveal its insides.

It was already dead, and its decomposing corpse was the source of the putrid stench.

Then, he realized—it wasn’t just one.

Beyond the hollowed-out scorpion, he saw dozens more mounds scattered across the desert.

This was a scorpion graveyard.

* * *