struggling with my art lately so ive just been drawing/redesigning ocs for 3 weeks straight. vicsek's been part of the main trio of this story for a while and ive finally managed to give her a face! woman living in a basement who is wired directly into the nations largest fastest surface-to-surface missile array
I had attempted to read this back when it was still actively uploading, but the translator’s schedule disagreed with mine, so I decided to wait for the until it was completed before fully diving in, and boy am I glad I did!
Please be warned that this story is relatively troubling.
If you’re uncomfortable with:
Excessive Gore
Homicide
Suicide
Non-Con
Please refrain from reading because the author does not pull any punches.
Brief Opening Summary
We open with a night-terror of Jung Houyun’s. It’s graphic in nature involving his professor and a presentation mishap that leads him pleading for his life, promptly waking him from his sleep.
While showering he lets a wave of relief wash over him as he remembers that he made deadline.
All of his sacrifice and effort for the past week paid off, because Christmas is nearing and he’s survived the semester.
Jung Houyun tidies up his ransacked dorm from the many sleepless nights he’s had putting forth his best effort before dressing himself and exiting his dorm, only to be met with the sight of a dark, barren hallway littered with packed boxes.
Strange.
He persists, and finding himself only a few steps down the stairway’s descent before losing his footing thanks to something slick in his path. He regains his footing, and after shortly deliberating on what that hazard could’ve been, Houyun opens his phone to a slew of panic-stricken texts from family expressing concern for both his wellbeing and whereabouts, but he hasn’t the means to respond: There’s no service or WiFi connection.
What in the world is happening?
Throughout the course of the story, Youngwon’s indifference towards their harsh-reality perturbs both Jung Houyun and everyone that they encounter on their shared journey to escape this hellscape.
The ground rules are set from the beginning by Ki Youngwon;
(who, judging by his extensive knowledge of their current reality circumstances appears to have been waiting for doomsday befall them all)
Stay by my side, and obey my every order no matter how obscure if you wish to live.
If you ever suggest that you want to die;
I’ll kill you with my own hands.
Judging by his overall demeanor it’s clear he has no qualms in doing so either.
Youngwon and Houyun’s relationship is codependent in nature. It’s made abundantly clear to our MC that he must fawn over Youngwon regardless of Youngwon’s suspicions that he’s being disingenuous.
I’d like to give kudos to our MC for not being a total babe in the woods.
He seems to adapt quickly and hold his ground fine throughout the story and as we progress he really begins to come into himself and become bold enough to outright defy orders from Youngwon, or speak up to offer suggestions as to how to go about tackling different obstacles.
Though, these moments only happen when Youngwon gives slack to the tight lease he keeps Houyun on.
I don’t find their relationship healthy by any means. I think it’s coercive, and sustained out of a desire to regain some normalcy whilst under a tremendous amount of stress.
That’s where I’ll end this post out of fear of giving away anything substantial.
Overall, I’d rate this story a 6.5/10
I found that—
(though it’s true to character)
Youngwon is a little too aloof and loose with his lips.
He casually drops hints throughout the course of the story to a VERY important plot point which kind of diminishes the shock of the actual reveal.
With the amount of clues given I feel as if anybody with half a mind could’ve concluded EXACTLY what it was from the jump.
Another thing is that we are introduced to a few side-characters throughout the story that I wish we would’ve spent more time with. They’re all integral figures in keeping our MC’s alive yet I fell as if we didn’t show them enough love for their contributions!
As of right now there are no side stories, and the ending of this story, as pleasing as it was, is left semi-open. (Oughhhhh….) Fingers crossed that is rectified soon, because my rating would surely go up then!
[Thank you for taking the time to read this! I’d love to do more like these considering how easy it was to churn out! If you do end up reading the story I’d love to hear your thoughts on it, or if you can rec anything similar to this that would be very much appreciated….. Until next time!]
