Episode 3
Only after drinking all the lactose-free milk from the coffee pot did the cat lift its face from the dish.
Woojin took a wet wipe from the camping box and carefully wiped the cat’s mouth.
“Once you’re done eating, it’s time to go home.”
“Meow~”
The cat rubbed its head against Woojin’s pants.
Then it moved a little away from him and started playfully rolling over.
“…Is this supposed to be a sign of choosing me?”
A vague memory flashed through his mind.
Street cats choose their people, begging for affection and care.
“Meow!”
A positive cry in response.
All Woojin could do was give a troubled smile.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not from around here. I can’t take care of you.”
The cat, tilting its head, leaped straight into the camping box.
And that was in a single jump.
Such impressive jumping skills…
Do cats in this world jump so well?
Woojin climbed onto the camping box and carefully picked up the kitten.
“I said no. You understand what I’m saying, right? Go home quickly.”
He walked a short distance away from the truck and put the cat down.
However, the cat, with its barely grown teeth, bit onto the hem of Woojin’s pants and tugged.
Its teeth hadn’t fully developed yet, and it wasn’t strong enough to pull, but somehow it felt like he should follow it.
“Are you telling me to follow you?”
As if to confirm, the cat released the grip on his pants and walked forward.
Woojin, after looking around for a moment, slowly followed.
The cat periodically stopped to look back at Woojin.
Was it checking to see if he was following properly?
After about 20 minutes of walking, they had gotten quite far from the truck.
Where are we going?
Whenever Woojin stopped to ask, the cat would return, bite the hem of his pants, and tug—this repeated several times.
“Phew, I won’t stop, so just keep going.”
In the end, Woojin followed the cat aimlessly.
He didn’t forget to leave marks so as not to lose his way back.
When they reached the end of their journey, there was a small cave.
The cat cried pitifully in front of it.
“What’s inside here?”
As Woojin approached the cave, a foul smell hit his nose.
He quickly covered his nose and retreated.
“What the…this smells like a rotting corpse…”
The smell was familiar—he had encountered it multiple times within the gates.
The stench that rises when a corpse decays.
I think I understand why the cat brought me here.
Woojin uncovered his nose and entered the cave.
Inside, as expected, lay a deceased adult cat, a pool of blood around its stomach.
The white-furred cat would have been identified as a mother by anyone.
There were distinct bite marks as if it had been attacked by a beast.
There were no signs of a beast nearby, so where did it get injured?
“…You.”
Woojin looked at the kitten crying pitifully next to its mother.
The same kitten that had faced him so bravely.
How desperate to survive must it have been to chase after the truck and ask for help?
It started to make sense why it wouldn’t go away.
At the same time, he deeply sympathized with its will to live.
If left here, it would surely die within days.
“I understand. Come with me.”
He moved the mother’s decaying corpse out of the cave, dug a hole with his hands, and buried her.
The cat, seemingly grateful, licked Woojin’s dirt-covered hand.
“That tickles.”
Carrying the
cat, Woojin retraced their steps.
Because he had left marks, there was no chance of losing his way back.
“Stay inside.”
He left the cat on the passenger seat of the truck for a moment while he cleaned up the camera he had set up.
“Meow.”
When he returned to the space, the cat had left the passenger seat and was running around.
Unlike a regular inventory, the space was bathed in a warm, sun-like light.
Where does this light come from?
He had noticed that the light differentiated between morning and night.
It disappeared eerily at 9 PM and came back at 6 AM.
Woojin smiled warmly watching the cat run around.
“I guess I really do need to make this a living space.”
The space was too barren for the cat to live in.
But he couldn’t keep it in the truck forever either.
“Alright. I guess I’ll have to prioritize fixing up this space.”
Woojin bought a computer with the money he had left in his bank account.
He invested just under 3 million won.
After all, this is the money he had saved to spend.
Might as well splurge.
Uncle, watching Woojin set up the computer, asked with a baffled expression.
“You said you were going camping, didn’t you? Why did you suddenly buy a computer?”
“Uncle, don’t you know these days? There are so many people who post videos of their camping trips on YouTube.”
Actually, there were many things he wanted to try.
Aside from hunting and farming, there wasn’t much else he wanted to do.
Of course, camping wasn’t anything extravagant. He simply planned to show himself driving the truck and living in the camping box.
If he showed the landscape of another dimension, he might arouse suspicion.
“Really?”
“Yes. Look at these videos. They have impressive view counts, right?”
The YouTube page that Woojin showed him was lined with various kinds of camping videos.
“…Some even have over 10 million views?”
“Yes. As you can see, there are quite a lot of people who enjoy watching camping videos.”
“Huh, but why install it here? Doesn’t the internet not work in the space?”
“That’s not the case.”
Seeing that smartphones worked in the space, it should be possible to use the internet too.
Of course, there was a condition.
Woojin had to stay in the space for it to connect to Earth’s dimension.
But he found it bothersome to connect to the internet, and since he only planned to create and upload videos, he decided to set it up at his uncle’s house.
In addition, he bought a house where the cat could live.
At first, he thought about building it himself, but there were many good ready-made ones, so he decided to buy one.
“But, Woojin, are you planning to stay there permanently?”
“Yes.”
His uncle fell silent for a while before opening his mouth again.
“Um… I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. Shouldn’t you look at the forest, not just the tree?”
“Uncle.”
Woojin’s expression suddenly turned serious.
“Huh?”
“I want to create a space where I won’t be disturbed by anyone. A space just for me.”
“……”
His uncle sat silently next to Woojin.
After a few minutes of silence, his uncle was the first to speak.
“Woojin.”
“Yes.”
“I once wanted to live my life my own way too. We only live once, right?”
“……”
“But it didn’t work out that well. Housework is tough. Mom didn’t even have insurance, so she couldn’t get proper treatment at the hospital. I couldn’t just sit still. I dropped out of high school right away and started working to cover the medical bills.”
“……”
“And the result of living like crazy is this. I couldn’t get married, I don’t even have my own house in the countryside, let alone in the metropolitan area. I’m even living in this tiny house on rent.”
Woojin listened to his story in silence.
“So… don’t live like me. Live as you want.”
“You don’t have to worry. I’ll be well fed and live well.”
“Well, if you say so.”
His uncle playfully smiled and lightly hit Woojin’s shoulder.
He knew that whether his uncle was serious or joking, it all came from his love for his nephew.
Which uncle would look after his nephew while living alone?
“Uncle……”
“Why, did I sound cool?”
His uncle awkwardly brushed his nose with his index finger.
“Yes.”
“Cheeky, so I can use the computer after you finish setting it up?”
“…I take back what I just said.”
