The Trash Wants to Live

PR: Naa_chi

I guessed that Chuck and the other gifted people tried to buy time, but it didn’t work out as expected. The rest of them, who were in a panic, probably fled from it in fear. Those who came out through the exit were less than half of those who had entered, so it was understandable that they called it a disaster.

“So… what happened?”

“They came out through the exit. They were all still terrified… and then the gate suddenly disappeared.”

“That’s…”

Didn’t that mean that the dimension stone had been broken? However, when a dimension stone was broken, the things nearby were supposed to be brought out together. What happened? It was full of mystery.

“Then… will the disaster appear here?”

“Well… Wouldn’t it not appear since we came in a year and a half earlier than when we were supposed to explore? I don’t know either.”

Kwon Jae Hyuk straightened his body, saying that he told me everything he knew. He got up and reached out to me. I got up with his help while holding Cookie.

“But you’d better be careful. Don’t go around by yourself. Stick with me when I’m around, and if I’m not, be sure to stay with… this.”

[This?]

Kwon Jae Hyuk pointed a finger at Cookie. At Kwon Jae Hyuk’s words—calling Cookie ‘this’—Cookie growled softly and whined as if he were trying to bite Kwon Jae Hyuk’s outstretched finger.

I was so surprised that I hurriedly hugged Cookie closer as he growled in my ear.

[That one called me ‘this’!]

‘You called Kwon Jae Hyuk ‘that one’ as well.’

I mean it was equal treatment, but Cookie seemed very upset and kept asking me to scold him. After all, wasn’t he my subordinate?

[Scold him! Hurry up and slap his butt!]

I was at a loss when I heard what Cookie said. Kwon Jae Hyuk wouldn’t get angry if I spanked him, but he might feel bad. That said, Kwon Jae Hyuk was pretty naughty to ignore Cookie’s complaints. In the end, I clenched my fist and thumped Kwon Jae Hyuk’s chest.

“Hit, I’m hitting!”

Cookie closed his mouth, dissatisfied at my actions as if that was all I could do, while Kwon Jae Hyuk smiled strangely. His expression looked like he hadn’t expected me to say “Hitting!” to him.

“…You shouldn’t call Cookie ‘this’.”

[That’s right!]

“Hmm… It’s not suitable to call it Cookie when he had such an awesome body.”

When Kwon Jae Hyuk said it was difficult to call him Cookie, Cookie wagged his tail. I tilted my head, ignoring Cookie who murmured in a satisfied voice, “He has good eyes.”

Cookie’s current appearance was cute enough to be called Cookie. But what did he mean by awesome body?

Oh?

Come to think of it, Cookie’s current appearance was like this, but Cookie’s image as a divine beast did not match the name Cookie. Had he ever seen that appearance?

“Hyung, do you know a lot about Cookie?”

“Hmm… I know he’s stronger than the gifted people here at least.”

[That’s right! I’m strong!]

Cookie continued to praise Kwon Jae Hyuk for his discerning eyes. Cookie had completely forgotten Kwon Jae Hyuk called himself ‘this’.

Cookie praised Kwon Jae Hyuk, who knew he was strong, for being very smart and having good eyes. He seemed to feel friendly towards him.1 

He crawled up my arm and tried to get closer to Kwon Jae Hyuk, but Kwon Jae Hyuk stepped back as if he didn’t like it.

Does he hate dogs?

Kwon Jae Hyuk only smiled awkwardly. Whether he hated dogs or whether Cookie made him feel uncomfortable, Cookie didn’t seem offended even though he was rejected. He just panted and happily wagged his tail.

I was lost in thought as I followed Kwon Jae Hyuk, who said to head back.

Was this place really that dangerous?

I couldn’t believe it. I had never been outside the base camp, so I don’t know what the monsters living here were like, but it was as peaceful as a regular campout except for the occasional gunshot. However, many people would die here in the future…

It doesn’t match…

The scenery inside the gate as seen by the drone was so peaceful that it didn’t match.

Here, two-thirds of the land was made up of forests, and there was a wide grassland over the river that crossed the centre diagonally.

Plus, most of the animals there were herbivores. The largest group was the herd of goats, and even small animals were seen occasionally.

It couldn’t be this gate’s boss who was called a disaster that exterminated people in the future.

The future I changed could be reflected to Earth as a butterfly effect, but I couldn’t change it inside of the gate. The Earth and the Gate were two places with different dimensions.

Even if Jang Eui Yeol became a gifted person earlier than the original work because of me, the “gate where he enters and awakens” that would have occurred in the future would not appear.

In addition, this gate wouldn’t suddenly change into a cliff or an underwater terrain instead of its original terrain.

If the boss had died in the past, he would have been dead in the future when disaster occurred.

So the boss couldn’t be a disaster. Then who caused the disaster? How did it appear?

I was so sick of it all because I couldn’t even fathom its identity. Cookie, who was in my arms, voiced his concern, “What’s wrong?” I said it was no big deal and headed for the barracks assigned to us.

There is no information after all. I won’t get an answer even if I agonise over it for 100 days.

By the time I gave up, I met Jang Eui Yeol in front of the entrance to the barracks.

“Yoon Jae-ya. Did you go for a walk?”

“Yes.” I replied to Jang  Eui Yeol, who asked me with a smirk.

When I responded to Jang Eui Yeol, who asked me with a big smile, I was a little annoyed when I saw his calm face. All the information I had was what he went through.

Jang Eui Yeol, this jerk… Since he’s the main character, he should be more interested in international affairs.

Hadn’t he heard anything from the heroine, Isabella? Was it because he was a cool guy who didn’t care about his girlfriend’s past?

I couldn’t do this. After we have left this gate, we should watch the news and discuss it every morning. Jang Eui Yeol, who didn’t know my thoughts, just smiled with a pleasant expression.

Becoming more frustrated, I put Cookie down on the floor and reached for his cheeks.

“Eun Jae-ya?”2

When I pulled at his cheeks from both sides, the captured cheeks were stretched out and his mouth became flat. Jang Eui Yeol, who had called out to me with slurred pronunciation, smiled again as if he wasn’t angry.

This guy… Why isn’t he angry?

If I pulled at his cheeks so suddenly, it was fine to throw out a fist, but Jang Eui Yeol lowered his head to make it easier for me to pull.

Come to think of it, this guy… wasn’t he a pushover?

That was why he was like this. He was a guy who would not only get hit on his left cheek, but would also get hit on his right cheek and even on his butt cheek. It seemed pathetic that I was mad at such a kind and foolish guy. I grabbed both of his cheeks and loosened my hands. And now, it was over? I looked down at him and scolded him.

“You really… Are you an idiot?”

“Uh?”

“If someone bothers you, you have to say no and get angry!”

“Ahaha.”

I was speaking seriously, yet Jang Eui Yeol burst out laughing as if my words were a joke. Why was he laughing? When I looked at him with a sullen face, he stopped laughing and came towards me.

“Because it’s you… I just stayed still.”

“Huh?”

“I’m serious.”

Jang Eui Yeol tilted his head and whispered as if he had read my thoughts. ‘I still can’t believe him.’ At the same time, it was hard to believe him because he kept smiling.

“I wouldn’t have stayed still if someone else did.”

“…”

“It’s because of you.”

I kept my sullen look because I still couldn’t believe his words. Seeing my reaction, Jang Eui Yeol laughed again, saying that what he said was true but I didn’t trust him.

I felt perverse when seeing Jang Eui Yeol like that. I wanted to corrupt him. 

Rather than corrupting him, it was my reader’s heart that didn’t want this good person, who was always honest and upright, to learn how to take care of himself and for him to just continue to be pushed around by others.

He was so kind… that even one of the heroines exploited him.

At first, that heroine thought she had exploited the pushover well, but she kept on noticing Jang Eui Yeol, whose achievements were on a roll, and ended up occupying one of the heroine positions.

She was so detestable that she was ranked the lowest among the heroines.

“Hey, then can I just continue to pick on you? Like this? Like this?”

I poked Jang Eui Yeol with my finger without holding back. Jang Eui Yeol crouched down and just smiled without telling me to stop. With the feeling of ’let’s see how long he can hold out’, I narrowed my eyes and raised the index fingers of both hands. I was going to harass him until he surrendered, but Jang Eui Yeol suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Yes. If it’s Yoon Jae, you can harass me anytime.”

Then he smiled and kissed my hand lightly. Suddenly, I was surprised by the main character’s skills and my face turned red.

He suddenly whispered again when I couldn’t speak. I rolled my eyes because I didn’t know what to say.

“Whatever Yoon Jae does to me is fine.”

Then he took my hands and brought them closer to his person. I just laughed at him as he told me to do whatever I wanted. I suddenly felt embarrassed and withdrew my hands from him, averting my gaze.

“Hey, you… You shouldn’t be so nice. You really will get cheated.” I said to Jang Eui Yeol, who was just smiling. It was unknown whether he understood me or not. I told him that I was going to head in first as if I were running away and went into the barrack. It was so hot that I thought my face would burn because of Jang Eui Yeol. Phew, I might have fallen in love if I were a woman. A person who was so infinitely sweet to me.

‘Let’s be thankful that this is a male-oriented harem fantasy novel.’

If it had been any other genre, I really would have lost my identity and been in danger. Cookie looked at me as if questioning my actions as I heaved a sigh of relief. Embarrassed, I returned to my seat. The absurd remarks I made earlier had already been forgotten by the others, so those in the barracks were not as harsh to me as before.

I didn’t realize that I had completely forgotten about the disaster while talking to Jang Eui Yeol. I didn’t expect the day of the disaster had approached so soon.

T/N: Happy Merry Christmas to everyone 🌲🎉☃️🥳 and looking for alternative proofreader. Comments below if you are interested. Thank you. I apologize for the long delays 🙏🥲

1. I know this seems like a repeat of the sentence above but it’s not. I’m just following the raws.
2. This is a slurred pronunciation not a typo.