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Chapter 346:

“Should we look at it?”

“There are some good reviews too, so maybe it’s okay?”

With Lim Ye-na’s nod, Song Yu-jung pressed the play button with trembling hands.

The Bearound logo appeared at the center of the television screen.

They hugged cushions and pillows, holding their breath in anticipation.

Contrary to their breathless tension,

[California]

The director’s cut, starting with these subtitles, was identical to the released version.

The screen showed a peaceful view of LA from the sky, followed by the stylish Galleria Mall.

It then shifted to various locations, eventually focusing on Lee Hyun-woo’s family.

Ian Weaver, who had become lost, and the guide Cynthia Lindberg appeared just before a bomb exploded.

Lee Hyun-woo, who had fainted, and the kind Jackson Miller, met a group of survivors led by the former soldier Raymond Wish.

Ian Weaver clung to Lee Hyun-woo, who resembled his mother.

Moments later.

With a blast, the floor gave way, and five people fell into the underground.

Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na, who had been on edge despite the familiar progression, gradually relaxed and became engrossed in the movie.

“Ah, this part.”

It was natural for the next part of the story to come to mind before the movie. Knowing what was to come, they became less attentive to the current scene.

Thus, they failed to notice the subtly changed music and the slightly altered color of the screen.

***

An uncertain silence settled underground.

The survivors, following the compass needle given by Ian Weaver, advanced slowly northward.

Raymond Wish, who was leading the way in finding and creating a path, was at the forefront, followed by Cynthia Lindberg, Jackson Miller, Ian Weaver, and Lee Hyun-woo.

“You have a family waiting outside, don’t you?”

Jackson Miller said, looking back at the boy who had moved to the most dangerous position at the rear.

Ian Weaver, holding Jackson Miller’s hand tightly, kept looking back.

He wanted to walk with Lee Hyun-woo but obediently held onto Jackson Miller’s hand.

Whether Lee Hyun-woo knew of their gazes or not, he followed the survivors, always seeming just about to fall behind.

Then it happened.

A great tremor occurred.

There was no sound of an explosion, but the shock seemed to reach them.

The unstable walls around them shook as if they were about to collapse.

Especially.

The area behind Lee Hyun-woo looked particularly ominous.

“Forward!”

At Raymond Wish’s command, Cynthia Lindberg and Jackson Miller immediately moved forward.

Just then, Ian Weaver, who had been looking back, tripped as if caught on something. Jackson Miller, still holding his hand, also lost his balance.

Their clasped hands separated.

“…!”

At that moment, a pillar collapsed between Jackson Miller and Ian Weaver.

Thud!

Boom! Thud!

A wall formed behind the fallen Jackson Miller due to the tumbling rocks.

Jackson Miller turned his head in shock to look at the growing wall.

Cynthia Lindberg and Raymond Wish also looked on with urgent expressions.

“…Huh?”

Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na realized the perspective had changed.

In [Survivors – Released Version], the camera had shown Ian Weaver and Lee Hyun-woo from the opposite side of the wall, but this time it focused on the three adults.

The sudden shift in the scene snapped Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na to attention. The screen came into sharper focus, and the drawn-out music of [Survivors] finally reached their ears.

The ominous melody, masquerading as familiarity, burrowed into their ears, accelerating their heartbeats.

A dark foreboding gripped their hearts.

“…Aaahh! Ian!”

The passage was already half-blocked.

Lee Hyun-woo bent over hastily, and his anguished scream echoed through.

It was a raw scream, one of disbelief, sharp enough to raise goosebumps yet laden with a sorrow that could bring tears.

“Ian… Ian!!!”

Lee Hyun-woo’s voice was audible, but the screen showed three adults standing with dazed faces.

Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na crouched down, a sense of doom creeping up from their toes.

Jackson Miller, his face pale with horror, stammered out his words. His hand, which had just been holding Ian Weaver’s small and warm one, trembled uncontrollably.

“Hyun, Hyun-woo! What’s happening?! Is Ian okay?!”

Aaaaah!!

Instead of an answer, a scream filled with despair resounded. Cynthia Lindberg covered her ears with a face turned ghostly white. It seemed as if the scent of blood was in the air.

Boom!

The surroundings crumbled.

The wall separating Lee Hyun-woo and the survivors had already risen significantly.

Boom.

The sound that followed was ominous.

“No… no…”

Lee Hyun-woo’s sobbing was heard, a sound like scratching at the throat. Yet, that painful noise indicated that Lee Hyun-woo was still alive.

At that moment, neither Cynthia Lindberg nor Jackson Miller moved.

Raymond Wish, accustomed to loss, scowled fiercely and clung to the obstructing wall.

For the first time, the camera crossed the wall with Raymond Wish.

Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na unwittingly held their breath.

Beyond the wall stood Lee Hyun-woo, hunched over, looking down. He was in a state of disbelief, unable to sit or stand properly.

The sobbing had ceased.

What Lee Hyun-woo was looking at below was not shown on the screen.

But Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na felt they knew what was there.

“What are you doing?!”

At Raymond Wish’s voice, Lee Hyun-woo slowly lifted his head. Gazing at the outstretched hand, Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes remained unlit. Annoyed once again by the vacant stare, Raymond Wish barked loudly.

“Come over here!”

Lee Hyun-woo reflexively reached out and grabbed Raymond Wish’s hand in response to the twisted face and irritable voice.

…Gasp.

Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na’s eyes widened in shock.

Lee Hyun-woo’s hand, clasped with Raymond Wish’s, was soaked in a red liquid.

The fresh red liquid, which until moments ago must have been inside someone, now stained Raymond Wish’s hand as well.

“…Madness…”

Our Ian…

Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na clamped their mouths shut. There was much they wanted to say, but the movie was still unfolding.

Raymond Wish, unconcerned with the bloodied hand, dragged Lee Hyun-woo along.

Lee Hyun-woo, pulled over the stone wall forcibly, slumped to the ground.

‘In this scene, Ian was supposed to embrace Hyun-woo tightly…!’

As expected, that scene did not occur.

Tears welled up in the eyes of Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na.

…Something was amiss.

The small, warm presence that always approached when they sat down, that clung to their side even when pushed or dropped, was no longer felt.

Lee Hyun-woo looked around with an unfamiliar expression.

In his view, Jackson Miller couldn’t take his eyes off the stone wall, Cynthia Lindberg looked at him with anxious eyes, and Raymond Wish was wiping blood off his dirty clothes.

…Blood.

Bright red blood.

Lee Hyun-woo looked down at his hands.

The bright red blood, still seemingly warm, filled his vision.

The recent events flashed through Lee Hyun-woo’s mind—the smell of blood invading his nostrils and the cooling warmth of Ian Weaver.

“…Ugh… Ugh!”

Startled by Lee Hyun-woo’s retching, Cynthia Lindberg hurried over. Jackson Miller, pale-faced, shuddered and looked at Lee Hyun-woo. Raymond Wish’s eyes were fierce as he sighed.

The tremors had subsided, but the atmosphere among the survivors was dismal.

Lee Hyun-woo stared at his hands, which he had wiped but still seemed stained red, while Jackson Miller was tormented by the warmth he had lost moments ago.

Cynthia Lindberg clutched Ian Weaver’s backpack tightly and surveyed the people around her.

“Let’s get moving.”

Raymond Wish, with a cold voice, stood up holding Ian Weaver’s compass.

“After all, those who are alive must continue to live.”

…You shouldn’t be saying that…!

Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na felt a sense of betrayal at Raymond Wish’s icy words.

Cynthia Lindberg and Jackson Miller, thinking of their families waiting outside, silently got up.

The only one who didn’t move was Lee Hyun-woo.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“…”

Even at Raymond Wish’s words, Lee Hyun-woo remained silent, looking at his hands still spotted with blood.

Beyond the dark wall, where there was no flashlight, Lee Hyun-woo’s already pale face seemed on the verge of fainting from the shock he had received in just a few seconds.

Raymond Wish clicked his tongue at the sight of Lee Hyun-woo, who seemed to have completely lost his mind, and took Ian Weaver’s backpack from Cynthia Lindberg. He then handed it to Lee Hyun-woo.

Lee Hyun-woo, who had been staring at his palms, now looked at the yellow backpack.

Raymond Wish, a former soldier, knew a good way to snap someone out of it at times like this.

“You take responsibility and deliver this backpack to Ian’s family. They must be waiting for even a piece of Ian’s clothing or a shoelace.”

Family.

The word jolted Jackson Miller, who had been standing numbly with guilt. It was a trigger for Lee Hyun-woo. The situation could have worsened.

“Having a keepsake is better than nothing.”

Fortunately, Raymond Wish’s words brought a little light back into Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes.

Lee Hyun-woo carefully embraced the yellow backpack in his arms.

‘Brother, do you want to eat this?’

Inside the slightly open backpack, a packet of snacks that Ian Weaver used to give was visible.

Tears rippled in Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes. It felt as if he could sense Ian Weaver’s warmth.

As Lee Hyun-woo sobbed and stood up with the backpack, the two people who had been watching Raymond Wish and Lee Hyun-woo took a deep breath.

Their hearts were heavy.

Although it was sad that Ian Weaver had died, as Raymond Wish said, those who were alive had to move to survive.

Cynthia Lindberg and Jackson Miller pushed their guilt to the back of their minds and stepped forward.

The survivors moved along the narrow path.

The atmosphere was heavy with unspoken words.

The heavy silence was broken by an unexpected person.

“Sister…”

“Yes, what is it?”

Cynthia Lindberg answered in surprise to Lee Hyun-woo’s call. Raymond Wish and Jackson Miller also turned their attention to Lee Hyun-woo’s voice.

“Do you know about Ian’s family?”

Lee Hyun-woo, holding Ian Weaver’s backpack close, asked in a faint voice. In a place where no sound was heard except for footsteps, Cynthia Lindberg did not miss it.

“No, I don’t. I work here… Ian was alone, so I was going to take him to the lost and found. This place is so big, and we get a lost child every day. I was planning to make an announcement…”

Ian was a lost child.

Jackson Miller’s face, who had a daughter, also turned grim at Cynthia Lindberg’s story. He unconsciously rubbed his hands on his trousers, still feeling Ian Weaver’s warmth, and then froze.

He felt like vomiting.

“…I see.”

Lee Hyun-woo nodded.

He had suffered from losing his parents, but how scared must Ian have been?

And how desperately Ian’s parents must be searching for him… How sad they would be to hear this news… Lee Hyun-woo’s heart ached.

“…Then Ian’s family must be waiting for him to return…”

Lee Hyun-woo’s gestures with the yellow backpack became even more careful.

Lee Hyun-woo moved, thinking of Ian Weaver’s family waiting for him. It was a heavy step mixed with responsibility and guilt.

***

“…Sigh…”

In a small room, the sighs of two people filled with meaning resonated.

It was the sigh that all viewers of [Survivors – Director’s Cut] let out.