Survival Records of 3650 Days in the Otherworld

Chapter 2: Survival

"Other world!"

It only took about 30 minutes to accept that this was not Earth. It was easy to guess that this was not the future nor the past, but a world more widely known as a fantasy world by others.

"I'm lost for words."

He was literally lost for words. Everything was just so real.

The yellow substance he vomited was sprayed the ground, and not far from it was his campsite which had been rummaged by the wolves.

"Those damn bastards!" Joonbum spat out angrily, thinking about the wolves. He then felt his wet pants, and the smell of urine pierced his nose.

"I even peed in my pants. This might have won more donations than ever."

He mumbled while his expression showed that he was looking into the void. It was the first time he ever peed in his pants after he peed during his childhood.

"What a fool I am to be thinking about donations in this state."

He thought to himself. Even though he was saying he accepted what had happened to him, there was part of him where he just wanted everything to be a dream.

Joonbum was racing between acceptance and denial of what occurred and was puzzled. Then sudden sound of wind slashing through the forest woke him up.

"Yikes! They must have left, right?"

It was just wind. Joonbum was ashamed that he was scared by the wind.

"Wait, what time is it?"

Joonbum checked his watch. An hour had already passed since he woke up. Joonbum grew weary and his mind rushed. He then searched for his cigarette and lit one. After puffing out a few, he relaxed a bit and started to think.

"Folks, what should I do?" Joonbum said as if he was streaming. His pale lip shook while he was speaking.

And then his stomach rumbled.

"Oh."

Joonbum was ashamed. He was ashamed that even in this state, he was still hungry.

"My... Folks, this is..."

He mumbled a few words but he couldn't continue because his eyes were filled with tears. He put his head down and started to cry, sobbing. Sudden fear struck him hard. Just up until yesterday, he knew what he was doing with his life, but now, everything was dark. He knew nothing around him. He could not get rid of this uncertainty.

"I need to go back... I must go back...!"

While crying, he thought of his mother.

His mother went through all the suffering to raise him alone. He remembered her secretly crying while grilling pork belly when Joonbum finished serving in the army. He remembered how she was so happy when Joonbum became a streamer even though it was not a stable job. She did not complain to him and kept supporting her by working full-time at a restaurant kitchen.

Sadness struck him. All of this was too much to bear.

"Wait."

The sudden sound of an animal made him stop. The fear returned, and he quickly glanced around.

"Weapon. I need a weapon."

It could have been thinking about his mother that caused him to cling for survival so that he could return to his world. He looked over at his scattered tools to see if there was anything. Concentrating eased his fear a little bit.