Absolute Dweller-Chapter 111

Kim Dabin felt a wave of confusion wash over her at the sudden announcement of her vacation.

‘I still have mountains of work to do...’

She’d heard that Yoo Hye-rin would be covering for her, but even someone as capable as Yoo Hye-rin didn’t know all the ins and outs of her tasks.

The urge to send telepathic instructions and request updates was overwhelming. However, Jae-hyun’s direct order to stay away from the office meant she couldn’t act on that impulse.

‘Should I ask them to send me my laptop?’

It wasn’t impossible. All work-related files were stored on a USB drive plugged into her office laptop. She could ask her team to bring it to her or even use the exchange system to get it delivered in real time.

‘Just checking the progress isn’t really working, right? It’s more like reading a book...’

Her brain, so entrenched in work, rationalized that monitoring progress wasn’t work—it was leisure.

‘Yes, that’s a good idea.’

Her work addiction was so severe that even the thought of engaging in something work-related brought a smile to her lips.

Having made up her mind, she sent a telepathic message to Yoo Hye-rin, her most trusted teammate.

[Yoo Hye-rin, if you have time, could you bring me my laptop from the office when you leave? I’d really appreciate it.]

Though the request was personal and unrelated to work, their friendship was close enough for it not to be an issue.

Shortly after, Jae-hyun’s voice echoed in her mind.

[Dabin, why do you need your laptop?]

Caught off guard, she cautiously replied.

[Oh, I just thought I could read through some documents if I had time...]

Though she tried to justify it to herself, she knew deep down that this was still an extension of her work.

[No.]

The firm response wasn’t unexpected, but it still made her sigh softly in resignation.

[Understood.]

She lay back on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

‘A whole week... What am I supposed to do?’

A week without work felt unbearably long.

To be precise.

‘How do you even rest?’

She had forgotten how to relax. To her, resting meant lying in bed and trying to sleep, and that was the extent of her imagination.

After tossing and turning for a while, she came to a decision—she needed to do something.

‘Maybe I should do some housework.’

Her body itched to move.

As she grabbed the vacuum cleaner, her mother asked, "Dabin? What’s wrong? Did you spill something?"

"No, I just thought I’d do some light cleaning."

"Cleaning? All of a sudden?"

"I’m just bored."

Whiiirrr—

However, there wasn’t much to clean. Her mother, Park Sang-mi, kept the apartment spotless with the help of her beloved robotic vacuum cleaners. After picking up a few strands of hair, the floor was immaculate.

"Hmm..."

The only messy place was her brother Kim Min-ho’s room.

‘Ugh, the smell.’

How did his room always smell like a bachelor pad?

She opened the windows and started vacuuming, but her attention was drawn to the computer on his desk.

‘Maybe I’ll just take a quick look.’

The recently discovered intranet was a network limited to their apartment complex, which was why she was confident the server’s creator was somewhere within the building.

Logging into the community, she checked the post she had left, expressing her desire to meet the server administrator. However, there was still no response from the admin.

‘That’s disappointing.’

If she could recruit whoever built this server, it would significantly advance the communications project. But their refusal to meet was frustrating.

Initially, the community had been flooded with meaningless posts, but now it featured some genuinely helpful ones. Posts that received enough recommendations became “Best” posts, ensuring they reached a wider audience.

[{BEST} Reasons to Use the Gym (123)][{BEST} Complete Guide to the Goblin Dungeon (87)][{BEST} Marketplace Tips and Tricks (66)]Among these, one post caught her attention.

[{BEST} Dessert Shops in Seomyeon (33)]‘Desserts?’

Before the world fell apart, Kim Dabin had been an avid dessert enthusiast. Even now, her office desk was stocked with candy, chocolates, and other sweets. She loved desserts so much that she would endure two hours of exercise a day just to indulge.

But since the appearance of monsters, all the charming cafés serving delicious desserts had long since shut down. While candy, chocolate, and snacks were still available in shops, they couldn’t compare to the satisfaction of enjoying a slice of cake in a cozy café.

Craving real desserts, she felt the post title tug at her heart.

[{BEST} Dessert Shops in Seomyeon (33)]Only three places still in operation are recommended:

R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at freewebnovёl.ƈom Only.

Knockout ★★★★☆

A variety of desserts, generally above average.

Coffee and other drinks are decent.

Kanyou

Not so much for bread or desserts; the fresh strawberries are better.

Molle ★★★★★

Absolutely delicious... The only café among the three that sells cakes on the exchange. However, it’s recommended to enjoy them on-site rather than ordering.

The post included detailed locations, strengths, and recommended menus for the three cafés.

Two of them were familiar names to her.

‘Knockout and Molle!’

Seeing the names of cafés she used to frequent filled her with a surprising warmth.

“They sell them on the exchange?”

Activating the exchange system, Kim Dabin quickly searched for Molle’s cakes. She witnessed the remaining eight cakes disappearing in real time.

‘P-Purchase!’

By some miracle, she managed to secure the very last one before it sold out.

Ziiiiing—

As soon as the transaction was complete, a pretty slice of cake in a paper box materialized in the air.

"Holy..."

The cake looked exactly as it had before the world changed, and its appearance alone was deeply moving.

Using the plastic fork that came in the box, she carefully took a bite.

“...”

She could feel dopamine flooding her brain.

‘Ah.’

Each bite brought a smile to her face, accompanied by an involuntary shiver of happiness. In that moment, she realized how she wanted to spend her vacation.

After finishing the cake, she took a quick shower, changed clothes, and stepped out. Her damp hair lightly dampened her shirt, but she didn’t care.

‘Let’s start with the closest one.’

Wearing comfortable clothes and sneakers, she jogged out of the apartment complex.

And then—

‘Ah...?’

She froze.

‘This is...’

A scene of normalcy unfolded before her.

Traffic lights functioned properly, cars moved smoothly along well-maintained roads, and shops bustled with activity as people came and went.

It was the kind of everyday life she hadn’t seen since the monsters had appeared.

For months, her activities had been confined to the apartment complex. The office was inside the complex, so she hadn’t ventured out in a long time.

The last time she had seen the world beyond was when the Cyclops arrived.

She vividly remembered the massive giant tearing through the city, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.

But now.

‘There’s no trace of it.’

The houses crushed under its footsteps, the deep footprints in the roads, the abandoned corpses of monsters and humans—everything had vanished.

It was as if the scenes of that nightmare had been erased, replaced by a pristine city.

‘It’s changed so much.’

She had been aware of the improvements while reviewing reports and statistics, but seeing the transformation with her own eyes was a completely different experience.

‘Beautiful.’

She hadn’t realized it before the world fell apart, but this ordinary scenery was breathtakingly beautiful.

She could have stared at it for hours, captivated by its peace.

Forgetting even the desserts she had been so eager to find, she was lost in the scene when—

“Do you know what expression you’re wearing right now?”

"Huh?"

Turning around, she saw Jae-hyun standing there, smiling.

“It’s the same expression people wear when they arrive here for the first time after earning their citizenship."

"Ah..."

"The look of someone who’s spent every day fighting battles, finally seeing peace."

"These days, I rarely get to see that expression. I didn’t expect to see it on you, Dabin."

His words sank in.

‘Battles...’

That was it.

She had been living through a war.

Since when?

Why had she pushed herself so hard?

What had driven her to this point?

Perhaps it was the satisfaction of the dessert, but for the first time, she could objectively reflect on her abnormal lifestyle.

‘I...’

She hated seeing people die.

From her position, where all the reports converged, she became acutely aware of the cruelty of the world.

Running relief teams, she saw how many lives were lost.

Through the reports of those coming in from outside, she learned that far more people were dying than she had imagined.

Killed by monsters, by starvation, or by thirst.

If she didn’t work, if she didn’t work faster or harder, somewhere, someone would die.

Unable to bear the guilt, she had driven herself relentlessly, and it had brought her to this point.

Since the world’s collapse, she had been living on a battlefield.

As the realization struck, the floodgates of her emotions burst.

“Huuk.”

“...Dabin?”

She turned to Jae-hyun, tears streaming down her face, and asked, "Jae-hyun. It’s okay now, right?"

"...What?"

"Everyone... Everyone’s okay now, right? No one’s dying because of me...?"

As her sobs grew uncontrollable, Jae-hyun spoke firmly.

“No one has died because of you.”

She wiped her tears and looked at him.

He continued, "In fact, you’ve saved hundreds, thousands of lives yourself. You’re the one who created this peaceful scenery."

Unable to respond, she wept silently as he reassured her with conviction.

“You’ve done your best, Dabin. We’re always grateful to you."

Her tears flowed freely at his words.

He was someone who recognized her efforts, and his acknowledgment warmed her heart.

"And if you want to keep enjoying this scenery you’ve protected, you need to stay healthy, right? We’re incredibly thankful for your hard work, but please take breaks so you can keep doing it for a long time.”

His sincerity brought a faint smile to her lips.

“So, basically, you gave me this vacation because you want to work me even longer?”

“...Exactly. If possible, I’d like to keep working you forever. Think that’s doable?”

She let out a soft laugh before replying.

“Yes, gladly.”