Hiding a House in the Apocalypse

Just because you’ve known someone for a long time doesn’t mean you’re necessarily close to them.

Na Hye-in and I are such people.

We’ve been conscious of each other for years, but we never had personal meetings, and not even our phone numbers were exchanged.

So, naturally, what I knew about Na Hye-in had to rely on imagination.

The Na Hye-in I imagined was quiet, cautious, and never revealed her courage on the outside, but someone with unbreakable iron will in any situation.

Beyond that, I didn’t know much.

For a long time, I had only trained to evaluate others on whether they were suitable for battle, and I’d practiced that method, so my evaluation of Na Hye-in as an individual was almost a blank slate.

However, the internet had shown me a different side of her.

Unicorn18.

A long-time regular on the forum, a bit of an oddball.

The identity of this Unicorn being Na Hye-in was hard to imagine for someone like me who had watched her back in school.

Now, Unicorn and my former classmate and fellow savior of humanity, Na Hye-in, stood before me.

“I’ve thought about it, and I think it would be better to talk face to face.”

Her outfit had changed.

She had worn a training suit with a national emblem before, but now she was in a neatly pressed uniform.

Her face, which had a neutral expression, looked slightly older than before, but still carried an intense aura that dominated the surroundings.

She handed me a paper bag.

Inside the bag were four cups of takeout coffee, neatly wrapped.

As I stared at the coffee, Na Hye-in seemed to sense my gaze and quickly explained.

“I wasn’t sure what you’d like.”

It was a small gesture, but it still stirred up memories.

Yes, Na Hye-in was always someone who prepared a lot.

Nearly ten years had passed since we were apart, but a person’s nature doesn’t easily change.

“I’ll have an iced Americano.”

When I nonchalantly picked a menu item, a faint smile appeared on Na Hye-in’s lips.

As I looked at her silently, she handed me the coffee.

“I thought you might want that.”

We sat across from each other in an unnamed café, sipping coffee for a moment.

I felt bad for Na Hye-in, but the coffee in Jeju wasn’t as good as the one left by Dragon씨.

More bitter than the coffee was the awkward silence between us.

There was so much to say, but I couldn’t quite find the right words.

The awkwardness from our school days lingered, and the silence seemed to solidify between us.

Meeting face-to-face and talking in real life was a lot different than chatting in forums or group chats.

After a few glances exchanged, I was the first to speak.

“I know I’ve said this before, but thank you.”

It was a natural thing to say, but my tone was much closer to the Park Gyu of the past, the one who had fought on the battlefield, rather than the skeleton persona I had adopted online.

The way I looked at her probably hadn’t changed much from those days either.