Humanity Protection Company

Illustrations: None.

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It was a night lit brightly by moonlight.

Carefully, they passed through the hole in the rusted wire mesh, making sure not to get scratched. They tiptoed down the hallway, past the room where the young giant was sound asleep, and stopped in front of the daunting stairs.

The stairs used by the giants, leading down to the first floor. The lower part, untouched by moonlight, was shrouded in darkness.

‘We have to go down there…’

Each step of the stairs felt like a single-story building. They would have to cling to the walls and drop down step by step.

It wasn\'t impossible, but it made his legs tremble.

While Yeonwoo hesitated at the edge of the stairs, the woman stood beside him, peering over the edge. In a hushed voice, she whispered,

“Once we get down the stairs, we’ll go straight to the kitchen. There’s a window by the sink, and it’s open.”

“…Can you make it down the stairs without getting hurt?”

When Yeonwoo asked, she let out a short laugh.

During the many days when the giants opened the door, forgot to close it, or the young giant took her to its room, she had been practicing her escape tirelessly.

The sweat she had shed while the giants comfortably laughed at the lively human was immense.

“I’ve gone down a few times already. And hey, if you can’t even do this, you shouldn’t be thinking about going outside.”

Yeonwoo nodded. That made sense. If he couldn’t even get down a single step, how could he survive out there?

She gave Yeonwoo a light pat on the back, then crouched down and looked up at him.

“Watch closely. This is how you do it.”

She turned around, grabbed the edge of the step with both hands, and slowly extended her legs, dragging them along the side of the stair. Then, at a certain point, she let go with her hands and jumped down.

From below, she looked up at Yeonwoo.

“Your turn.”

With a reluctant expression, Yeonwoo slowly mimicked her actions.

Turning around, grasping the edge of the step with his hands, and dragging his feet along the stair’s wall—

Thud-!

His arms couldn’t support his weight, and he slipped down. Landing awkwardly, Yeonwoo stifled a groan as he clutched his ankle.

“Hey, are you alright? See, this is why you should’ve stayed in the room instead of trying to help…”

She approached him. Yeonwoo rotated his ankle and then stood up. His face was contorted with pain, but his foot moved without issue. Fortunately, he hadn’t sprained it or damaged the joint.

“Let’s hurry. Don’t waste any more time.”

Yeonwoo went down the next step first. Through the pain, he learned to fall in a way that minimized the impact. Each descent made a small noise.

She slid down the stairs silently and watched Yeonwoo with a somewhat worried face.

“Hey, you’re making too much noise.”

Yeonwoo’s falls were quiet, but in the dead of night, on the stairs, they sounded loud to a small human.

“….”

Having volunteered to help, he couldn’t be a burden. Gritting his teeth, Yeonwoo tried to mimic the rolling techniques he’d seen somewhere, landing as quietly as possible.

Despite the small noises that continued, they managed to reach the bottom of the stairs without waking the giant family.

---

---

The living room, with a sofa and carpet.

Crossing the soft carpet, she suddenly stopped. Yeonwoo, exhausted and following her without thinking, bumped into her bag. He looked at her.

“What?”

“Shh. Be quiet.”

She squinted and perked her ears. The next moment, she grabbed Yeonwoo’s hand and started running. The two humans sprinted across the plush carpet.

Just as Yeonwoo opened his mouth to ask something, he closed it again.

Thud- Thud-

Creak-

The sound of a giant coming down the stairs.

With added determination in his steps, Yeonwoo and the woman quickly slipped under the sofa. They crouched awkwardly, covering their mouths and noses to silence their breathing.

They were on high alert.

‘Why is he coming down at this hour? Did he notice we’re escaping?’

Did he wake up because he heard them on the stairs? Was he coming to check on them only to discover they had broken out of the mesh?

From under the sofa, they watched through a narrow gap as the young giant rubbed his sleepy eyes and stumbled forward.

“Thirsty...”

Holding an owl-patterned glass cup with both hands, he walked to the kitchen. The two humans followed, moving to a better vantage point behind the sofa.

The kitchen connected to the living room came into view.

There was an oven and stove, shelves for dishes, and a sink. Next to the sink was an open window.

Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t noticed their escape.

Phew-

As Yeonwoo and the woman sighed in relief simultaneously, the young giant filled his cup with water and drank. Then, standing on tiptoes, he reached for the window and grumbled.

“Geez, they keep leaving the window open. What if bugs get in and bite our little ones?”

Clunk—

Straining, he closed the window. Once it was securely shut, he even locked it. Proud of his good deed, he headed back with a satisfied expression.

Thud- Thud- Thud—

The young giant climbed back up the stairs. Even after his presence disappeared, Yeonwoo and the woman couldn’t move.

Their escape route was closed.

They stared at the now-closed window from under the sofa. The woman forced a cheerful tone.

“We blew it today. Let’s try again another time!”

“When?”

“Tomorrow, or the day after. We can think of another way besides that window.”

She lowered her head, hiding her expression in shadows, adjusted her bag, and turned away.

Yeonwoo watched her and then tugged at her hand. She turned her head.

“…What?”

“We’re going tonight.”

Yeonwoo thought if they didn’t go now, they might never get another chance.

The broken mesh could be replaced with a stronger door. The young giant might start closing the kitchen window every night. They could be confined to a small box to breed.

Yeonwoo pulled her towards the kitchen. She protested.

“How do you plan to get out? You’re not thinking of opening the window, are you? It’s locked and even if it wasn’t, it’s way too heavy. No matter how much you push, it won’t budge.”

“I have a way.”

If he rolled the dice with enough effort, he could break the glass. As long as a critical failure didn’t come up, it should be fine, and a critical failure was unlikely.

Yeonwoo walked decisively.

---

---

There was a long wooden planter beside the sink, so they climbed up the trunk and jumped from the leaves to reach the sink.

Standing on either side of the closed window, they held a knife like a battering ram, ready to strike. Suddenly, she spoke.

“Will this even work?”

Human strength was weak. They were the size of hamsters. They couldn’t open the window, much less break the glass.

She looked at Yeonwoo with doubt, but he closed his eyes and recalled a memory.

The first day of training, in the lab where people had died. How the new recruit, a former firefighter, had broken the glass.

‘He used a pointed metal tool to hit the corner of the glass.’

Recalling the expert’s technique, he opened his eyes.

“On the count of three. Got it?”

“It won’t work… but okay.”

“One, two, three.”

As they ran and struck the glass with all their might, Yeonwoo called upon the dice.

‘Break!’

Rumble—

Thud!

Screech—

The knife slid across the glass, leaving a scratch. The two of them wavered under the force. The woman sighed.

“See? It’s not working.”

“Again. One, two, three.”

Reluctantly, she jabbed the knife again as the dice rolled. The result was the same.

Thud!

Screech—

The scratch deepened slightly, but it was hard to tell. Yeonwoo ground his teeth.

‘You damn dice.’

Returning to Earth was a once-a-day thing, but finding a phone or breaking a window seemed to be multiple attempts. The scale of the task must differ.

The effort required must be different. Maybe even trivial tasks couldn\'t be attempted infinitely.

But the current situation was unbearably frustrating.

‘I didn’t even ask to be exempt from the test. I just hoped I’d avoid it and ended up here in this awful world. And now I can’t even succeed at this?’

It was anomalies and the dice. Even knowing it was pointless to blame them, it still infuriated him. He had rolled twice at most and failed both times.

But the pent-up frustration had nowhere to go.

Yeonwoo clutched the knife against his side like a lance.

“Again. One, two—”

“Hey, stop. Why waste energy on something that won’t work? Let’s just sleep on the carpet.”

“One more time. Just one more roll, I mean, one more try.”

“…Last time.”

The woman, standing diagonally behind him, clutched her knife like Yeonwoo. They stepped back as far as they could, holding the knives horizontally.

“One, two, three.”

They ran in unison, but only one set of footsteps could be heard. As the knife tips collided with the glass—

Rumble—

Success!

A sudden gust of wind shook the window, causing it to push against the knives. The knife tips struck the glass, and the wind shook the entire frame violently.

And then, the glass shattered with a loud crash.

“….”

“….”

A gaping hole in the glass.

They stared at the broken window, realizing it wasn’t the knives but the wind that broke it. They snapped out of their daze.

Yeonwoo gave the woman a push. The sound of shattering glass was loud. The giant family would wake up.

“Go.”

“Huh? Oh. No, did it really break like this?”

She unwound the string wrapped around her waist and hooked it to the window frame, then climbed over, avoiding the shards. She poked her head back through the window, bathed in moonlight.

“Hey. Are you really not coming?”

“No. You saw my stamina. I’ll die out there.”

Yeonwoo laughed at himself.

Even moving inside the house was tough. Surviving in the wild was out of the question. The risk was too high for such an uncertain endeavor.

She said,

“I can help you. I’ve survived outside for a long time. I can take care of you.”

“No. If you reach the city, do me a favor.”

“…What is it?”

Yeonwoo said one word.

“Humanity Protection Company. See if anyone from that company is there. And if there is.”

He recalled seeing James at the store where humans were sold. His words echoed.

“Investigator James Kong reporting. This place is not fit for human habitation. Investigator Lee Yeonwoo requesting rescue. Deliver it like that.”

She repeated his words softly and nodded.

“Got it. I’ll remember. So that’s your name? James? Yeonwoo?”

“Yeonwoo.”

Thud- Thud—

The sound of the giant coming down the stairs. She disappeared beyond the window, her voice filled with anticipation, longing, and freedom.

“My name is Dandelion! The old man said it’s the name of a flower—”

“Just go! They’re coming.”

“I’ll come back for you once I reach the city!”

With that, Dandelion disappeared through the moonlit window. Yeonwoo stayed behind, looking at the broken window before turning around.

‘It’s not so bad.’

After all, he was bought for a high price. The giant family wouldn’t harm him.

He just needed to patiently roll the dice every day and wait for a critical success. Maybe he could return just with a successful roll.

And then there was Dandelion.

If Dandelion truly reached the human city, and if the Humanity Protection Company was there, they might come to rescue him.

Thud—

“Who’s there? Come out!”

The father giant came down holding a club. Behind him, the son peeked his head out from the stairs. Yeonwoo stopped thinking and looked at them.

Was it because he helped Dandelion escape? Or because the dice rolled a success at the perfect moment? Either way, he felt a bit more at ease.