Chapter 4
…Well.
I’ll think about that later.
By pure coincidence, my major was actually very useful in a situation like this.
On top of that, when I was at the Academy, I worked as a student reporter.
I even wrote a newspaper column called “Ice Age Survival Tips.”
Of course, people constantly complained that my column was useless and should be removed.
Luckily, the newspaper editor liked my articles.
So my column stayed until the day I left the Academy.
“So, I understand this kind of climate better than most people. It’s what I studied. I even wrote survival columns in the newspaper.”
“Oh. I read those.”
“…You did?”
I was honestly surprised.
Someone actually read them?
It was a little embarrassing.
“I spent a long time studying the Ice Age. You’ve already lived through it before, so you know a lot too…”
“No.”
“Even if I’ve experienced it, that’s different from being someone who actually studied it.”
To be honest, I wasn’t really an expert.
I was just a student who was about to graduate.
I scratched my cheek awkwardly before speaking.
“Anyway…”
“I think we should sleep deeper inside the tunnel tonight.”
“We should stay somewhere the cold air can’t reach.”
“Okay.”
We walked back into the tunnel.
Once we felt we had gone deep enough, we stopped and sat down.
Even this far inside…
The cold was still unbearable.
Logan took a blanket out of his backpack.
“In the previous timelines, I stopped at a cabin on the way to Rosebrook.”
“And that’s where the survivors killed me.”
“Right?”
Logan stayed silent.
In the ninth timeline…
I had survived for quite a long time.
About six months after the beginning of the original story.
But in the end…
I was captured and taken away as a test subject.
“The future has already changed.”
“So this time will be different.”
“Eve.”
“You won’t die.”
“I’ll make sure of it.”
Hearing those words made my face feel strangely warm.
I pulled the blanket all the way up to my neck.
Meanwhile, Logan took dry firewood and matches out of his backpack.
Soon, a small campfire began to burn.
Crackle…
The sound of burning wood echoed quietly through the tunnel.
“Logan.”
“You should take off your wet clothes.”
“I was just about to say the same thing.”
As expected…
We always understood each other when it came to things like this.
We spread our wet coats near the fire.
Steam rose from the frozen fabric.
But as soon as they dried a little…
They became cold again.
The fire barely warmed our fingertips.
It wasn’t enough to fight off the freezing air filling the tunnel.
We took turns adding more wood to the fire.
But somehow…
It only felt colder.
Silence filled the tunnel.
We sat quietly against the wall.
Shivering.
My skin felt stiff and numb.
This isn’t good.
At this rate…
“Logan.”
“Take your clothes off.”
“…What?”
“We need to share body heat.”
In weather like this…
It was the only way to survive.
Logan quietly looked at me.
Then he asked,
“…Already?”
“…Here?”
I must have skipped too much of my explanation.
He had clearly misunderstood.
I quickly took off my wet outer clothes.
“Wet clothes keep taking away your body heat.”
“If we stay like this, we’ll get hypothermia.”
Logan immediately looked away.
Trying to hide his expression.
I grabbed his collar and pulled him closer.
“When people stay close together…”
“They lose less heat.”
“And skin-to-skin contact is the fastest way to warm each other.”
I knew Logan already understood this.
He had survived the Ice Age many times.
I only knew the theory.
He had the experience.
“Especially when your hands and feet start going numb.”
“That’s already dangerous.”
“If you fall asleep…”
“You might never wake up.”
For a moment…
Neither of us spoke.
“So this isn’t the time to worry about being embarrassed.”
Logan looked at me for a while.
Then he let out a quiet sigh.
He brushed his messy hair back with one hand.
“If you suddenly tell someone to take off their clothes…”
“They’re going to misunderstand.”
Judging by his reaction…
He had understood exactly what I meant from the beginning.
He was just pretending not to.
“Do you really think I’d say something weird in weather like this?”
“What kind of person do you think I am?”
Logan shrugged.
“Can you just say I’m young and full of energy?”
He answered so naturally that I couldn’t even argue.
“And we’re married, Eve.”
“You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”
“…It’s a contract marriage.”
“Just on paper.”
“You said yourself that husband and wife duties weren’t required.”
“Oh.”
“So now that you’ve gotten what you wanted…”
“You’re done with me?”
The way he said it…
Made me sound like a terrible person.
“But…”
“What does being married on paper even matter in a disaster like this?”
“Eve.”
“That’s exactly why it matters.”
“Because society has already fallen apart.”
I tilted my head.
Wasn’t it the opposite?
“Well…”
“You’ll understand eventually.”
“For now…”
“Let’s change.”
Logan began taking off the many layers of clothing he was wearing.
Soon, his strong body was revealed.
Faint scars covered his skin.
He looked every bit like a soldier.
His broad shoulders…
And the muscles across his back…
Showed years of training with a sword.
Even while completely relaxed…
The muscles in his arms and stomach were clearly visible.
His body was strong and well trained.
There were also several fresh scars.
Some looked like cuts.
Others looked like bullet wounds.
He had probably received them during the recent war.
I was the one who suggested taking our clothes off…
But when it was actually happening…
I suddenly felt embarrassed.
After all…
We had only just gotten married.
We hadn’t even spent our first night together.
Whoooo…
A loud snowstorm howled outside.
The wind was so strong that we could hear it even deep inside the tunnel.
After taking off his gloves, Logan looked at me.
“Come here.”
His voice was low and calm.
I hesitated for a second.
Then I looked at his pale blue skin.
His body temperature had already dropped so much that I could see it.
I stopped hesitating.
I finished taking off my clothes and moved into his arms.
Both of us were wearing only our underclothes now.
The moment our skin touched…
My body shivered.
“So cold…”
I whispered without thinking.
Logan laughed quietly.
“I was about to say the same thing.”
I gritted my teeth and moved closer.
Then I pulled our coats and cloaks over both of us to keep the warmth inside.
The tunnel became silent.
Only our breathing could be heard.
Little by little…
Our frozen skin began warming up.
I could hear his heartbeat.
Thump.
Thump.
It was steady.
Strong.
That meant he was alright.
Thank goodness.
Being so close…
I could feel his breath against my neck.
“Logan.”
“Don’t fall asleep.”
I murmured, barely keeping my eyes open.
We couldn’t sleep until morning.
Not until we found a place safe from the freezing wind.
“I don’t think I could sleep like this.”
Logan answered.
His voice sounded normal.
Mine was much slower.
Hypothermia was dangerous.
It made you sleepy.
Your body became heavy.
Eventually…
You stopped thinking.
Then you fell asleep.
To stay awake…
I forced myself to keep talking.
“Logan.”
“What’s your plan from now on?”
He thought quietly for a while.
I already knew most of his plans from the novel.
So I waited.
A long silence followed.
It’s too quiet.
Don’t tell me we’re both about to freeze to death…
Just as I was about to say something else…
Logan finally spoke.
“I bought a mansion in Rosebrook.”
Exactly what I expected.
In the tenth timeline…
The first thing Logan had done was buy an abandoned mansion in the port city of Rosebrook.
He turned it into a survival base.
He had prepared everything…
So he could bring me there the moment disaster struck.
“You bought it because you knew this would happen?”
“Yes.”
“I designed it so we could survive there for years.”
“So…”
“The two of us could live there together.”
I couldn’t say anything.
“So the two of us could live there together.”
Those words made my heart race.
I quietly placed a hand over my chest.
My heartbeat was getting faster.
Calm down.
If Logan notices…
I took a slow, deep breath.
Then…
Logan’s cold hand slowly moved.
He gently wrapped it around my back.
As if trying to keep my body heat from escaping.
After a short pause, he quietly added,
“Get used to it.”
“Huh?”
“This won’t be the last time.”
We’ll have to share body heat like this again…?
I’m not the only one whose mind went somewhere else… right?
Then Logan spoke again.
“Eve.”
“I can hear your heartbeat.”
My heart nearly exploded.
Oh no.
This is so embarrassing.
THIS IS THE END OF CHAPTER 4
