Apocalypse’s Teacher

Chapter 77

The cooking was finished.

Deliciously fried potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Corn, releasing aromatic steam.

Perfectly golden fried chicken as the finishing touch.

The living room of the penthouse.

Gathered together, we swallowed hard, looking at the food on the table.

It's vegetables.

It's fried food.

And there's chicken.

These things that existed only in dreams after the calamity now lay before our eyes, and no one dared to reach out.

Someone needed to take the first bite.

With that thought, I spoke.

"Let's eat!"

Just a single word.

All at once, hands stretched out from every direction.

Startled by the hands grabbing food as if they'd been waiting, I was a step late in reaching out for my share.

It was a chicken wing.

'The leg...!'

The chicken legs were gone.

Looking around, I saw Mr. Park and Helen each holding a leg.

When the two who met my eyes flinched, they stuffed the chicken legs into their mouths.

And they wore expressions of bliss.

I narrowed my eyes and glared at them.

'There are kids too, yet they're so greedy...!'

Shouldn't they at least give the kids the chicken legs?

What are they doing as grown adults?

It wasn't because I couldn't grab a chicken leg.

...It really wasn't.

Gulp-.

As the thought lingered, I heard a sound from within my arms.

Looking down, I saw Hyesung sitting on my knee, looking at my hand.

No, she was looking at the chicken wing I was holding.

How could someone's eyes be so wistful?

Clutching the sweet potato fry, her eyes on the wing were truly longing.

Perhaps her arms were too short to reach the chicken.

That's why she was just holding the sweet potato fry, looking longingly at the chicken.

Her gaze pierced through me.

It felt as if I'd never be able to look Hyesung in the eye again if I dared to eat this.

...I was distressed, but I had no choice.

"Here, this is for our Hyesung."

Flash!

When I offered the chicken wing, Hyesung lifted her head.

Now looking at me, Hyesung's face brightened as she asked again.

"Really? Is this for Hyesung?!"

"Of course, since Hyesung can't reach the chicken, I picked it for you. Just seeing Hyesung eat makes me happy. Unlike someone else."

Helen and Mr. Park flinched again.

For a moment, they paused, as if pondering my words, then resumed eating with notable nonchalance.

Hyesung's eyes sparkled.

A broad smile spread across her face.

Then she paused, looking between the sweet potato fry and the chicken wing in her hand, and offered me the sweet potato fry.

"Then I'll give you this!"

The sweet potato fry was presented right in front of me.

Hyesung must be trying to reciprocate in her own way.

I chuckled softly, happily accepting it.

Then I placed the chicken wing in Hyesung's now empty hand.

"The fry is delicious."

"It's tasty!"

Finally, holding the chicken wing above her head, Hyesung shouted.

Hyesung's hands were now glossy with oil.

"Hurry and eat."

I gently tousled Hyesung's hair, and she nodded vigorously before biting into the wing with a big 'chomp.'

"Mmm!"

Hyesung's body shook with excitement.

Then, trembling, she began to look between the chicken wing and me, as if in disbelief.

Did Newton have this expression when he discovered gravity?

Seeing Hyesung's face full of amazement, I laughed heartily and asked.

"Is it good?"

Hyesung's eyes were teary.

Her head was nodding up and down.

Even while doing so, her mouth was busy munching on the chicken wing.

But it was too soon to be moved.

I quickly grabbed a cola, opened it, and offered it to Hyesung.

"Try this too. It'll help with the dryness."

It's not an opportunity that comes often.

I wanted Hyesung to know that there are flavors like this in the world, that taste is completed through combinations.

Seeing the cola, Hyesung immediately accepted it and took a long sip.

The reaction was dramatic.

"It's so tasty...!"

She cried out in amazement.

Ah, for some reason, my shoulders felt like they were lifting.

Is this what they call vicarious satisfaction?

Is this when they say just watching someone eat fills you up?

Hyesung, unable to contain her excitement, started stomping her feet.

Unable to control her exhilaration, she stood up and began bouncing around.

"It's tasty!"

"Yes, yes, there's still plenty more, so eat a lot."

"Okay!"

Hyesung sat back down on my lap.

Only then did I start my delayed meal.

I picked up an ear of corn and broke it in half.

Then, tearing the remaining chicken breast, I sprinkled corn on it and stuffed it all into my mouth.

'This is it.'

This is living.

This is why we live.

Happiness overflowed.

For some reason, it felt like tears might flow.

Feeling the oil in my mouth, I thought of Hyesung again.

"Hyesung, try this too."

I tore the chicken breast, sprinkled corn on it, and brought it to Hyesung's mouth.

Hyesung opened her mouth wide and ate it in one bite.

While puffing out her cheeks and chewing on the chicken breast, Hyesung showed a sparkling smile.

"Delicious!"

The word Hyesung said most during tonight's dinner was 'delicious.'

*

Dinner ended.

Hyesung, greedy as always, refused to leave the dining table until she was fully satisfied, eating until her belly became round like a tadpole's and then flopping down on her back in contentment.

After finishing the dishes, I returned to the living room, chuckling at the sight of Hyesung rolling around on the floor.

"Hyesung, you'll get indigestion if you keep doing that. Sit up."

"I can't get up!"

"Alright, then this uncle will have to help you."

I approached and lifted Hyesung into my arms.

Judging by her weight, she must have eaten quite a lot.

"Hyesung, you're turning into a pig."

"Yeah, I'm a piggy."

I patted her on the back, and Hyesung grinned widely.

Then she let out a loud "hic" as she burped.

"Let's brush your teeth in a little while, okay?"

"Ehh...."

"If you get cavities, it'll hurt."

"I don't want to...."

Hyesung wriggled in my arms.

Perhaps she was trying to act cute, as she peeked up at me and said,

"Hyesung doesn't want to brush her teeth."

"Then no more cola next time?"

Flinch-.

Hyesung shuddered.

She averted her gaze from me and mumbled quietly.

"...Actually, I like brushing my teeth."

Seeing her puff out her cheeks, she seemed to be sulking quite a bit.

Though she looked rather pitiful, there was no helping it.

'Hyesung, if your teeth rot now, you won't even be able to get implants anymore.'

It's because the world had become a place where, if you got sick, you had to resign yourself to dying, with no doctors left to treat you.

*

[Did you meet me just for this?]

Light from the beam projector filled one side of the wall with a film.

From the aged-looking speakers came a crackling sound and a woman's voice.

What everyone in the penthouse was gathered to watch was a rather old romance movie.

It was being screened to celebrate Seokho bringing back a battery.

[Let's end things here. Goodbye.]

[Mija!]

The movie was currently showing a scene of a man and woman breaking up.

Those watching the scene each had different reactions.

Chun-bae clicked his tongue and criticized the man.

Helen clasped her hands together, her expression filled with nervous anticipation.

Mr. Park and Jung-min, already drunk, had passed out, while Dayoon and Dabin used Jung-min as a chair, whispering to each other.

Seokho had already gone to sleep with Hyesung.

Kang Ki-hyun, staring blankly at the movie, tapped Jinwoo, who was sitting next to her, and said,

"Jinwoo, water."

Without a word, Jinwoo fetched water and poured it into a cup.

Kang Ki-hyun drank a glass of water with a slurp, adjusted her blanket, and stood up.

"I'm going to bed."

"Okay, goodnight."

Kang Ki-hyun entered her room.

Jinwoo stared at the closed door for a moment before refocusing on the movie.

A love story.

A wealthy woman and a con man meet while deceiving each other, eventually realizing their true feelings and living happily ever after.

'Is it fun?'

Looking around, it seemed the twins and Helen were deeply immersed.

Perhaps it was a movie aimed at women.

While lost in such thoughts, the man and woman on the screen kissed.

Smooch-.

Lips met lips.

The background was a beach bathed in a crimson sunset.

In the distance, the horizon turned red as the sun set, creating a world drenched in red where the man and woman shared a kiss. Jinwoo let out a soft "Oh."

And then he thought,

'It would be funny if a dolphin jumped out from there.'

He imagined a sleek, streamlined body standing out.

Oh, and the angle of the fins should be sleek and well-defined too.

Since dolphins are intelligent, they would probably understand what the man and woman were doing.

'The dolphin was secretly in love with the man.'

Because of the barrier between species, it must have harbored feelings it couldn't express.

It would only have been able to bless them from afar, resenting itself for being unable to do more.

'That's where a miracle happens.'

A smile spread across Jinwoo's face.

A love triangle begins as the dolphin, having gained human legs like the Little Mermaid, comes ashore.

It was this ridiculous scenario that brought an involuntary smile to his lips.

Jinwoo's mind, already thoroughly corrupted, continued to envision absurd situations.

On this snowy night, the penthouse quietly faded into slumber, accompanied by Jinwoo's delusions.