A huge underground cave stretched out before their eyes.
The underground cave was so huge that if not for the torches hanging all over to light up the place, it would be impossible to even guess the size.
“Ahh!”
“Ow”
Cries coming from the children bursted from all over the place.
After being stuck in a place where there has been no light for the past few months, suddenly being exposed to a torch hurts so much as if their eyeballs were about to burst out.
It was painful for Pyo-wol too. Tears streamed down his eyes as if they were being stabbed by thousands of needles at the same time. Pyo-wol tried to adapt to the sudden bright light with his eyes half-closed.
It took him a long time to get used to the light because his eyes had already perfectly adapted to the darkness.
After a while, Pyo-wol finally managed to adjust to the light while the majority still couldn’t open their eyes. Pyo-wol paid them no attention and proceeded to look inside the underground cave.
The cave seemed to have been formed naturally. The huge stalactites hanging from the ceiling were proof. The cave’s structure was that it narrowed as it went up, like a bowl that had been turned upside down. Inside of the cave was full of buildings made out of wood.
“The buildings were made crudely as if they were modeled after a manor.
“What?”
“What is this?”
The children, who recovered their sight belatedly, were surprised to find the buildings. It was already amazing to find such a huge underground cave. But seeing the wooden buildings standing in the middle which were definitely made by human hands made them vigilant.
Pyo-wol strode towards the building.
So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo quickly followed behind him, followed by Lee Min and Go Shinok.
Pyo-wol looked into the building at the entrance, and said.
“There are no people here.”
“Really?”
A light of suspicion appeared on So Yeowol’s face. They continued to search all the other buildings, but they haven’t found anyone.
The children had bewildered faces. They were wary that they would discover another person, but they didn’t know what to do now that they’re alone.
While the children were bewildered, Pyo-wol didn’t stop inspecting the building.
The building wasn’t very old. Judging from the condition of the wood, it was clear that it was made recently. The grain of the wood and the dust that had accumulated on it made it clear that it was made during the time Pyo-wol and the children were locked up in each section.
As a result, the building itself was in poor condition.
From the outside it looked fine, but on the inside, it was terrible. Only the appearance looked okay, but the inside was so crude that it was impossible for a person to live.
It was as if they had deliberately constructed it that way on purpose.
Pyo-wol thought there must be a reason.
One of the truths he learned while wandering the world alone is that everything happens for a reason. If a beggar who was begging next to him was beaten to death, it meant that he had no eyes that could accurately judge the person he was begging from.
If someone offered food to him, they must also have a reason for doing so. Probably the figure of the beggar would have reminded them of their child or someone close to them.
So sometimes Pyo-wol was beaten to death.
The reason was simple.
Because the person he was begging for wasn’t very good.
Pyo-wol’s eyesight was already sharp as he had many experiences at a young age.
Because of that, even the slightest strange point didn’t go unnoticed. Pyo-wol came out and looked at the layout of the building. The building itself is very rough, but the layout is excellent.
Even Pyo-wol, who is not familiar with architecture, knew that the buildings were arranged intentionally. But anything beyond that, Pyo-woul couldn’t find out.
Then, someone approached Pyo-wol.
“It’s you, Pyo-wol!”
The girl who spoke in a soft voice was Lee Min he met in the third district. It was the first time for Lee Min to see Pyo-wol in person. Unlike Pyo-wol, she doesn’t have eyes to see through the darkness.
Lee Min narrowed her eyes and looked at Pyo-wol.
Eyes set under dark eyebrows, a towering nose, and tightly closed lips. Although he was very skinny and his cheeks were sunken, he still had a very handsome face. However, it was not Pyo-wol’s appearance that Lee Min paid attention to.
It was his eyes.
Pyo-wol’s pupils, with their hollow eyelids above them, were tinted with a soft reddish tint from the light. She doesn’t know if it’s because of the torch or if it’s the eye’s original color, but it felt very mysterious.
“Was it always like that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your red eyes.”
“My eyes are red?”
“Yes! Looks like you didn’t know. Then, it must’ve happened to you when you were here.”
Lee Min reached out and touched Pyo-wol’s face.
Pyo-wol stood still and accepted Lee Min’s hand. He was so immersed in his thoughts that he was unaware of her touch.
‘Are my eyes red? Could it have something to do with snake bites?’
Being different from others is never a good thing.
Especially when there are so many children gathered together.
Children are accustomed to instinctively detect and reject beings different from themselves. Most of the children Pyo-wol had seen while wandering the world were like that.
Fortunately, his eyes did not turn completely red.
According to Lee Min, his eyes would appear to have a faint reddish tint when there’s a torch nearby, but otherwise it’s not very visible normally.
Pyo-wol thought that was a good thing.
Lee Min asked.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
“Just… this and that.”
“You are different from other children.”
“How so?”
“You just are. While we’re all here confused, you’re the only one thinking deeply.”
Lee Min stared at Pyo-wol. Pyo-wol also looked into her eyes.
“What are you two doing over there?”
So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo approached them.
“Just talking.”
“Talking?”
“Just about this and that.”
Lee Min shrugged.
So Yeo-wol looked at Lee Min-eun with a puzzled look. But only for a while and said to Pyo-wol Pyo-wol with a nonchalant expression.
“A few kids decided to group themselves together. What do you guys want to do?”
“About what?”
“You’re coming with us, right?”
So Yeowol said with a very natural expression, and Song Chun-woo, who was behind her, nodded and agreed with her.
Pyo-wol looked at them for a moment and then opened his mouth.
“We’ll see.”
“What do you mean you’ll see? Are you saying you won’t be joining us?”
“I’m just saying that I’ll wait to see how things go.”
Perhaps Pyo-wol’s answer was unexpected, So Yeo-wol was unable to speak for a moment. Song Cheowoo looked like he was about to get angry at any moment. But being with So Yeo-wol calmed his anger.
He realized that being isolated for a long time in the dark will cause someone to lose their mind.
Some have succeeded in holding onto their identity with strong mental powers, but not all of them can. What’s more is that the people who are now trapped in this underground space were only children in their early to mid thirteen years.
Since they are imprisoned in a state where their mind is not fully developed, the breakdown of their ego was particularly serious. It may not appear on the surface right now, but no one knew what trouble it would cause in the future.
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