"I’ve said it before, but I’m not asking to live in your bunker. I’m just suggesting we be neighbors. We don’t even have to be right next door. Just close enough to stay in contact and help each other if things get rough."


    I had already suspected that Cheon Young-jae had made up his mind about this.


    Since the war began, he had always lived among others in similar circumstances. He was used to that kind of communal survival.


    That meant a few words alone weren’t going to change his mind.


    So, instead, I asked, "Why here?"


    "Why not just keep living in the subway? Wouldn’t that be better than coming all the way out to the middle of nowhere? There are more people and plenty of resources there."


    Cheon Young-jae grinned and shook his head.@@@@


    "That place is going to turn into a warzone. The Incheon refugees? They’re just pretending to follow the Legion''s orders for now, but they were already divided into factions long before they even got there. Right now, they''re going along with it because the guys in uniform are feeding them and giving them supplies. But the second things go sideways? They''ll show their true colors."


    "Yeah?"


    "Running away isn’t always the answer."


    Cheon Young-jae sat up from the hood and stuck something in his mouth.


    It looked like a cigarette.


    When he lit it, it confirmed my guess.


    "You know, the capital isn’t the only place that’s a disaster. The countryside was wiped out long ago. The Erosion Zones and refugees are all mixed together now. And on top of that, the fanatics keep multiplying."


    "..."


    "If you ask me, Kim Byung-cheol is gonna **give up on Seoul soon, too."


    "Probably."


    "My point is, you can’t keep running forever."


    Air conditioning.A hot shower.A fridge filled with cold drinks.A steady supply of clean water.A place to lie down.A roof that kept out the rain.Just enough warmth to not freeze to death.


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