Upon the sunlight bathing the room, I woke up and stretched my arms toward the air. I yawned as the first morning light hit me. The air felt fresh, and the warmth of the sun was pleasant.
Today's date is 18th March, 2035. As of now, I have no important plans—no helping the elders upgrade the bastion wall, no weapon training.
The bastion wall, however, has already been upgraded. It's now about 30 meters thick and reaches 80 meters in height. My weapon training has been delayed, as my teachers were called away on some urgent mission.
It must've been an expert-level, dangerous mission. That's why they sent them instead of the rookie soldiers.
Getting out of bed, I slipped my feet into a pair of homemade sandals. Nearby, a standing mirror caught my attention, and I checked my reflection. My naked body flashed in the glass, clear and unscarred.
This was because I had showered before sleeping. Yesterday, I had visited the bastion wall, hoping to see it completed. It was, but I was asked to help the elders tidy up afterward. By the time I returned home, I was a mess, so I took a shower—hence my clean appearance now.
As I looked at my well-defined muscles, I noticed how fit I was. My abs looked good. I wasn't overly muscular like Elder Jorton, my hand-to-hand combat teacher, but I appeared slim and toned in my shirt and pants. Though my muscles weren't as large as his, I could still hold my ground in an arm-wrestling match with him.
On my shoulder, a tiny scar reminded me of a memory from when I was ten years old.
I almost let myself dwell on it, but I shook my head.
I shouldn't think about it anymore.
I went to search for my towel to cover myself. Before I could find one, Sulli, my roommate, happened to walk in and caught me standing naked. She blushed deeply and yelled, "What the hell, Bio!" before bolting off, probably to hide herself from the sight.
I, however, just stood there, unfazed. It wasn't the first time someone of the opposite gender had seen me naked. I often bathed with my female teacher, Rosianna, who, thankfully, was more like a mother to me than anything else. Of course, nothing inappropriate ever happened between us.
She clearly saw my so-called "great dragon" below… I just hope she doesn't tell anyone else. One rumor is already enough.
And, of course, it was Rosianna who started that rumor in the first place…
I continued searching for my towel and eventually found it hanging on a wooden hanger outside the closet, separate from the other clothes. I grabbed it and wrapped it around myself, finally covering my most private parts. Some things are meant to stay hidden for my own pride. Only the girl I love—and who loves me back—will ever see my body.
Sad to say, I don't have anyone like that yet. I muttered to myself as I opened the closet and picked out a shirt, pants, and underwear. With that, I headed toward the door, stepping out into the hallway.
At the end of the hallway, I could see the usual public bathroom. This hallway connected all the bedrooms, though there weren't that many rooms, which balanced the usage. Each shelter had one bathroom prepared for its residents.
So far, over a hundred shelters had been built under the bastion, and some even outside. Luckily, the areas outside weren't dangerous, so building them was fine as long as soldiers kept watch. Nothing bad had happened there yet, and I hoped it would stay that way, especially since some of my friends lived there.
The hallway itself wasn't very long. Each shelter had fifty bedrooms, each with two large built-in beds. Some rooms housed two people, while others held four or five. Any more than that wasn't allowed. Even for rooms with four or five occupants, certain conditions applied. As long as each shelter wasn't overcrowded, it was acceptable. But personally, I preferred living alone, which was why my bedroom had just me.
As I neared the bathroom, I saw several people waiting outside—about six. Four of them were sitting on benches placed along the walls, while two leaned against the wall, standing.
The bathroom was divided into two sections: one for showers and one for general use, like peeing or taking a dump. There were no strict rules, though, so both sections often ended up being used for showering. At that moment, both were occupied. Counting myself, there were seven people waiting outside.
All of them were just normal survivors. None of them were important figures, and they were all male. I decided to mind my own business while waiting.
I took a seat on the empty space of a bench. Each bench could hold around three people, and there were two benches on each side of the hallway. I chose the second bench on the left side, not the one closest to the bathroom. I was alone on it. On the bench next to me, two people sat with an empty seat between them. The other two were seated across on the opposite bench, while the two standing leaned against the walls on either side.
One of the standing men was reading a novel by an author from another shelter. The book was sold for the equivalent of three days' worth of food. It had become quite popular and surprisingly successful, even though the author rarely sold their novels.
Although I hadn't bought the novel myself, I could tell it must've been well-written to be considered worth owning in this apocalypse-era world.
After a few long minutes of waiting, people gradually finished their showers, one by one. Finally, my turn was approaching. By then, about five more people had arrived, waiting their turn behind me.
The person inside the shower room finished and stepped out, leaving the door open. I moved forward lightly, ready to take my turn.
Before I could step in, though, a random guy pushed me aside. He couldn't wait for his turn. His body was tall and imposing, but his muscles weren't particularly large—his height just made him look bigger.
I grabbed his arm, blocking him from entering. It wasn't fair for someone who had waited longer—at least twenty minutes—to be cut off by someone who arrived later.
As I held him firm, he turned his head and glared at me with a death stare. If this had been me before my training, I would've been terrified. But that was the old me. Not now.
"The fuck are you doing?" he growled, turning to face me fully, sizing me up. I couldn't help but notice that, despite his glare, he was smaller than me. Was it just his height giving him the confidence to challenge someone like me?
I smirked, and that only seemed to ignite his anger further. Before he could speak again, I calmly said, "I'm supposed to be the one who goes first…"
I said it with a hint of aggressiveness. That alone was enough to make him hesitate, though he still wasn't giving up. He kept trying to act tough, trying to bully his way past me.
Just then, someone stepped forward to stop us from escalating—a woman from the shelter. I didn't know her personally, though I recognized her. I'd seen her at least once a week or month, but I still didn't know her name. She looked to be in her late twenties.
Her black hair was long and straight, falling past her shoulders to chest level. Her body was slim, with a subtle curve around her waist and hips, giving her a slightly larger butt that made her overall appearance more attractive.
"Stop it, guys… fighting over this will just make everyone wait longer," she said, her tone soft and elegant.
She used that subtle charm, the kind that made people listen to her almost instinctively. It worked perfectly.
The man turned to her and let out a frustrated sigh. His fists unclenched, and though his eyes still shot a glare at me, he stepped back.
Meanwhile, the person waiting on the other side—the shower section—finally finished. He opened the door, paused when he saw us gathered in front of the room, then minded his own business, walking off while drying his hair.
Without wasting a second, I stepped into the shower room, leaving both of them behind in silence. Just before I closed the door, I heard that the other man had entered the other shower room, and the woman returned quietly to the bench.
I closed the door, hearing the faint click of his door as well, and finally began my shower.
After a few minutes in the shower, I was finally done and stepped out of the bathroom. A few people were still waiting outside; one of them finally entered the shower I had just left. I walked down the hallway, shorts and pants already on, my towel draped over my shoulder.
The woman who had helped diffuse the earlier conflict was still sitting there. It seemed the man hadn't left the shower yet.
He's taking his sweet time, isn't he?
Honestly, I knew him well. He'd been like this ever since our bastion soldiers rescued him about five years ago.
I don't know what's gotten into him. He's always bullying other men, but the moment a beautiful woman shows up, he turns into a total simp.
A few steps later, I arrived at my bedroom—and froze. Sulli was inside.
Sulli was technically my roommate because sometimes she had to sleep on the floor in my room. I allowed her in only with my permission.
But look at this… she's in my room without asking…
I hummed casually, and that startled her. Her body shivered as she quickly got off the bed, her hands clutching her dress. Her face was still flushed—either from being caught in my room or from the memory of accidentally seeing me naked.
Well, it's partly my fault. I forgot to lock the door last night. She must have just opened it to peek, and then… that happened.
"I-I—" she stammered, unable to form a proper sentence. I couldn't quite catch what she was trying to say. Instead of waiting, I asked casually, "What are you doing in my room?"
She took a few seconds to calm down before finally answering, fidgeting with the hem of her white dress. Her tied blackish hair swayed as she shifted her body nervously. "I… uh… wanted to ask you a favor…"
"A favor?"
I had no idea what kind of favor she meant. So far, the only favor she'd ever asked was to sleep in the same bedroom as me. This time, though, it was something different.
She pulled out a piece of paper, neatly folded into a rectangular shape like a letter, and handed it to me with her right hand. I carefully took it from her.
"Help me send this to Rich. It's a reply to something. Don't open it or read it."
I nodded in understanding and slipped the letter into my pants pocket. Almost immediately, she turned shy again, her cheeks flushing red. Without another word, she hurried out of the room.
She acts like a child, and honestly looks like one too. Is she really twenty years old…?
Her behavior didn't match her age at all. Just from her appearance, she seemed more like a teenager than someone in her twenties. Still, I believed her. It was a fact—she hadn't lied. Her friends, whom I knew, were the same age, though they were far more mature than her.
As for this guy named Rich, I'm pretty sure he's her friend. He visits her often, though she rarely welcomes him. From what I'd observed, it was obvious that Rich liked her.
And judging by this letter, it's either a rejection or an acceptance of his confession. To me, though, it felt more like a rejection based on how she usually treated him.
Poor Rich. I'll at least make sure to comfort him after I deliver the letter.
After that, I packed my things. With nothing scheduled for today, delivering a letter alone wasn't enough to fill my time. I decided to spend the rest of the day training on my own.
I packed an empty notebook I always carried but never used, a baseball bat, a gun, some food I'd received yesterday as payment, and a large bottle of water. Everything went into a single large bag.
I slung it over my back and left my bedroom, heading outside.