* * *
“You think this is going to work?”
I crouched down in front of the frozen Han River.
When I brushed away the thin layer of snow, the opaque surface of the ice revealed itself.
I couldn’t tell the exact thickness, but it looked solid enough for someone to walk on.
“It should be fine. Unless you’ve got a better idea?”
Do Soohyuk, who had already stepped out onto the river to check the ice, extended a hand toward me like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Like he expected me to take it.
I mean, I was a fully capable adult man, physically stronger than average.
It felt a little awkward to accept help—but I didn’t reject it.
“Looks like we’ve got a long way to go.”
Far off in the distance, I could make out the faint shape of our destination—a pure white yacht.
Just as I’d feared, it was far enough that it’d take us a good while to get there.
The thought of facing this brutal cold and piercing wind was already making me miserable.
Not like we had another option.
All we could do was hurry.
At least the snow covering the ice made it a bit easier to walk.
“Let’s go.”
I took Soohyuk’s hand, and we started walking.
I didn’t know how much time passed, but at some point, the yacht that had looked so small now appeared close enough to make out clearly.
We’d walked the whole time in silence, eyes glued to the ground—so focused that I hadn’t even noticed how far we’d come.
Without a phone, I couldn’t check the time, but it felt like about fifteen minutes.
For something I’d been dreading so much, it hadn’t been that bad.
“Ugh… I’m freezing to death.”
“Just halfway more to go.”
But then, Soohyuk—who had been walking ahead—started to slow down.
Soon, he came to a complete stop, staring intently at the ice.
His expression was serious enough that I instinctively slowed down too.
“What’s wrong?”
“I feel vibrations.”
As he said that, Soohyuk turned around for the first time.
I followed his gaze—and gasped involuntarily.
Maybe the mistake had been never looking back, even once.
“What the—?!”
Charging toward us with a flurry of white fur was a Yeti.
It was fast—so fast that its twisted, snarling face was already coming into focus.
“Shit, how the hell did it follow us?”
I was so startled, my body froze.
Like a deer caught in headlights.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but it felt like the same yeti that had chased us to the bathroom.
If it was the same one… how the hell did it track us this far?
“You said they couldn’t come here!”
“They can’t.”
“…What?”
I barely came to my senses and was about to drag Do Soohyuk away when I stopped in my tracks.
Did I hear that right?
Did he just say he couldn’t come?
That didn’t seem to match what I was seeing — he was running this way just fine.
Even I had eyes, and suspicion began to creep in.
But for some reason, Do Soohyuk was simply standing still, staring at the approaching monster.
His calm demeanor made me feel all the more anxious.
The monster had already drawn dangerously close.
No matter how capable Soohyuk was, if he just stood there like that, he was going to get taken down in seconds.
“Do Sooh—”
Just as I resolved to drag him away no matter what, it happened.
The monster, which had been roaring as it charged just meters away, suddenly vanished right before my eyes.
No — the ice had shattered, and in the blink of an eye, it plunged into the water below.
The snow beast, unable to swim at all, sank helplessly beneath the surface without a chance to fight back.
Around us, it was as if nothing had ever happened — only the sound of the wind blew fiercely.
“How… how did you know?”
It was a scene that left me completely stunned.
Apparently, the ice hadn’t been able to withstand the impact and had broken apart.
But I couldn’t understand why it had given way so suddenly.
The monster hadn’t done anything particularly unusual.
When I pressed for an answer, Do Soohyuk finally turned his gaze and casually gestured toward the ground with his chin.
“The ice is thinner around here.”
Thinner?
I immediately crouched down and ran my hand over the ground, but I couldn’t see any difference from the other areas.
Even looking closely, the surface remained opaque — there was no way to judge its thickness.
“I can’t tell at all. You can see that?”
“From high up.”
“…?”
It took me a moment, but I realized he was referring to the Lotte Tower where we had first crash-landed.
Apparently, he’d already scoped out the area while looking down from the observation deck.
Seriously… is he even human?
No matter how I looked at it, there was no way he had a normal brain.
Who, in this kind of situation, is calmly evaluating ice thickness?
I glanced sideways at Soohyuk, looking at him like he was a total weirdo.
Then I suddenly turned my head — a strange sound was coming from the hole where the monster had disappeared.
Crack! Craaack—!
And before my brain could even process what was happening, it struck.
Cracks spiderwebbed out from the hole, reaching all the way to where Do Soohyuk was standing — in an instant.
I realized what was happening too late and whipped my head around, but Soohyuk was already tipping over, more than halfway fallen into the widening crevice.
The moment he sensed danger, he instinctively tried to let go of my hand.
But I did the opposite — I grabbed on even tighter, even clutching the collar of his shirt in my panic.
It was a purely instinctual move — I had to save Do Soohyuk.
But once I did it, I realized how useless I was.
My hands on his impressive muscles did absolutely nothing to stop him.
In the end, I couldn’t counter his weight, and we both got pulled into the freezing water.
All because I stuck my nose in where it didn’t belong — now we were both in danger.
The shock of the icy water, without any preparation, felt like it would freeze my brain solid.
The cold was unbearable — enough to numb all sensation from my body.
And to make it worse, I couldn’t even swim.
All I could see through my blurry vision was the ice sealing off the surface above.
It was a scene straight out of a nightmare, now playing out in real life.
Maybe it was the shock of reality setting in, but I felt my frozen heart sink like a stone.
The thought of dying in some unknown dungeon — it was terrifying in a way I hadn’t felt before.
No. I can’t die like this.
Just as I began to panic and instinctively struggle, a sudden, crushing pain in my hand jolted me.
My head turned automatically.
The pain was so intense, all my nerves seemed to focus on that one spot.
Do Soohyuk?
He was there — gripping my hand, with an expression I’d never seen on him before.
Only then did I realize I was still holding on to him.
In that moment, a wave of relief washed over me.
Slowly, the warmth I had forgotten began to seep back in.
Even I was surprised by how quickly the fear vanished.
Gurgle.
Still clutching my hand tightly, Do Soohyuk began to lead me toward a crack in the ice.
Strangely enough, now that my mind was clearer, I could see a shaft of light through it — something I hadn’t noticed before.
“Cough!”
With his help, I finally climbed back onto the ice and collapsed, coughing up water again and again.
I must have swallowed a lot during my panic.
“I told you not to jump in like that.”
“…”
Yeah. He did say that.
I should’ve listened.
But what was I supposed to do?
My body moved on its own.
And in the end, instead of helping, I just ended up being a burden.
‘Chirp…’
At that moment, a small chirping sound came from a curled-up blanket.
My little bird peeked out, looking worried.
Thankfully, it seemed unharmed — I must have thrown it toward the ice just before falling in.
I wanted to say it was okay, but my mouth wouldn’t work.
It felt like my jaw was literally frozen shut.
All this because I stuck my nose where it didn’t belong…
Even I had to admit I looked pathetic.
“Are you okay?”
Seeing me curled up like that, Do Soohyuk let out a silent sigh.
Then, without a word, he gently picked me up, cradling me like I weighed nothing.
Even though he was soaked too, there wasn’t a hint of hesitation.
A wave of guilt surged through me, but I didn’t have the strength to insist he put me down.
In truth, I didn’t have the strength for anything.
My whole body was frozen stiff, and all I could do was cling to him tightly.
My arms kept losing strength, and my body started to go limp.
I felt as heavy as a soaked sponge — like gravity was pulling me down with no resistance.
“S-So cold…”
“Keep your eyes open.”
…?
What was that?
Wait — was I trying to close my eyes?
I hadn’t even noticed.
I blinked slowly, leaning against his shoulder, only to meet his sharp, piercing gaze.
Something told me I really shouldn’t close my eyes, so I forced them open with what little strength I had.
But even that didn’t last long.
The overwhelming exhaustion was dragging me down fast.
I knew that if I fell asleep now, it might be the end… but my body wasn’t listening.
There was no fighting it.
My eyelids drooped lower and lower.
“Sh*t…”
And then I heard a low curse, sharp and angry — enough to snap me back for a second.
It was the first time I’d ever heard Do Soohyuk swear, and it shocked me enough to jolt my eyes open.
But the moment I did, the full weight of the pain hit me.
My fingers had gone completely numb, and the cold had burrowed so deep it felt like my heart itself was aching.
“Stay with me. Hold on tight.”
Thankfully, just ahead of us — a yacht had appeared.
It hadn’t even been ten minutes, and yet it felt like we had come so far.
I had no idea how fast Soohyuk had run.
Even more unbelievably, he had a blanket clenched in his teeth, and was climbing the ladder with me on his back.
* * *
