A barrier door opened. The door could not open by itself, so the angel seemed to have done something.
“Hey, I see a well. I’ll drink the water there… Yes, I used my spirit.”
When the angel descended next to the well, he put his trident on the ground. A hole was created, and a loaf of bread fell.
“Take one per person.”
The thugs pushed the people and rushed. They seemed to be monopolizing food. When a fat man took two bread, the angel stabbed his neck with a trident. The fat man couldn’t even scream, and he instantly dies.
The angel dropped the fat head like pudding on a spoon.
“I told you to get only one.”
Then, he winked at Kang Dong-Taek.
Kang Dong-Taek stepped back three steps with a weary face, then shut his mouth tightly. He moved to take a piece of bread.
“You eat too.”
The thugs came after him and took one bread each. When the thugs stepped back, people flocked to gather water and took a loaf of bread.
I was the last one to take some bread because of the stampede and ended up with a blood-stained one.
That was the last piece.
I removed the bloody part and tore the bread. The surface was tough, and the grain smell was strong. The taste was similar to that of a bread that was expensively sold at a high-end bakery. It means there is no taste.
Soo-Myeong Seo, a South Korean man, asked.
“Are you going to continue giving us food?”
The angel answered.
“No. This will be the last.”
All the people eating bread stopped. Kang Yoo-Sik, the old man, saved by Kim Byung-woo, asked in a calm voice.
“Where can I get food?”
“You can do as your ancestors did.”
I asked.
“What is that?”
“Hunting and gathering.”
Some women cried. Even those who did not cry could not eat bread because they were anxious. They put the leftover bread in their pockets to spare.
I kept eating. The angel said it took a lot of money to get us here. There would be no reason to starve us, so there will surely be something to eat.
“A new adventure begins tomorrow morning. Please rest comfortably tonight.”
After that, the angel bent slightly, walked out of the fence, and disappeared. Immediately, Dong-Taek screamed.
“We will use that house.”
He led his men into the most bustling, medieval, European, three-story building. I counted the numbers that followed him, and there were over forty. When I first saw them, they were only about twelve, but the number grew gradually.
They called a lot of forces.
I frowned. All of Dong-Taek’s people were young and sturdy men. Among the gangs that transpired here, he had the fewest heads but had the best-armed forces.
Kang Yu-Sik had the most number of people, but most of them were old and small, so it seemed that they’ll get smashed if they were close to Dong Taek.
Seo Su-min’s gang has a mix of young people, old people, women, and men. So they were the loudest.
Other groups consisted of women only. A big woman named Yoo Mi Choi made the initiative. She quietly formed the group, keeping away from other gangs.
Only two of the summoned ones did not join these groups—me and Kim Byung-woo. I was denied and alone, and Kim Byung-woo rejected me.
Byung-Woo went to a wooden fenced house, closed the door, and hung a lock. I went and stood next to him. I spoke to him like a brother.
“Where do we sleep?”
He ignored my question, opened the door of a building that looks like a tavern in a Nordic rural village, located closest to the fence.
“That’s where the thugs spread.”
Because of the large number of people, Dong Taek declared that they would own six houses. No one resisted, even Kim Byung-woo ignored it. I followed him in.
About five hours ago, five high school students, who boasted of being the most good-looking at ILJIN, were giggling and looking at him, imitating him.
Kim Byung-woo did not speak long.
“Stop.”
“Uh.”
Iljin, who was embarrassed by Kim Byung-woo’s response, stopped and cursed.
“Idiot, bitch.”
Kim Byung-woo punished the curse with his fist.
The one who was punched stood up quickly and cursed again, but I couldn’t see his two front teeth.
“I won’t let it go.”
“Hey, stupid.”
Iljin might have expected the scene where Kim Byung-woo was knocked down. But that didn’t happen. Byung-Woo Kim punched him five times. Then he threw him out of the door as if he were garbage, and went upstairs without looking back.
He didn’t tell me to get out. I guess that means I can stay here.
I looked inside and took off a large knife hanging as decoration on the wall. I lost my ax during the fight and needed a new weapon. Fortunately, the dagger was still in my belt and was not lost.
I walked cautiously so that there would be no noise and went into the room next to Kim Byung-woo. Thankfully, the bed had a blanket. Clothes were also hung on the wall.
“Ugh.”
I sighed deeply and jumped into the bed. And as soon as I lay down, I fell asleep. The longest and hardest day of my life has passed.
There were three attacks in one day.
Everyone who was summoned here was afraid of death. However, the reason for fear of death was slightly different for each person.
Some feared that they would never see their family again, and others feared the pain rather than death itself. The saddest part of thinking about my death was that I had to die as a male bachelor.
I dreamed of having a girlfriend when I graduate from high school. I thought I could experience sex. It was 100 percent a dream. An unpopular male would be miserable even after graduation.
I did not want to die as a virgin. So I put sex on the top of the bucket list with the expectation that at least one woman was in a similar situation with me and had the same thoughts.
With that thought in mind, I went to the well and washed. The shirt I was wearing when I was summoned here was a mess, bloody and tattered. After washing it, I took it home.
I hanged it on the wall at the back of a chair and trimmed it. It was made of coarse cloth, so it didn’t feel good on the skin, but it was better than wearing bloody clothes.
I went outside the house, took a deep breath, and laughed at a group of women only across the plaza. They spent their first night in a two-story building that looked like a town hall.
I climbed a three-step short staircase and put my ear in the door. It was quiet.
It hasn’t happened yet?