Jin-woo immediately sensed the romantic air that flowed between the two rabbits. “Are you two a couple?” They both nodded in perfect unison. Caught between a pair of rabbit sweethearts… It reminded him of college, when he had no friends with a matching schedule and ended up eating all his meals with a couple. It was awkward, but the alternative was eating alone for an entire semester, so he’d tagged along. One day, while they were eating, a sudden tension flared between the couple, erupting into a heated argument. Trapped in the middle, Jin-woo had never felt more uncomfortable. And that was when he mastered the skill of eating by himself. After that, he’d vowed never to get between a couple again… Sensing Jin-woo’s strange mood, the male rabbit rubbed its face against his hand, a desperate plea for approval. It was a frantic gesture to protect their home. He’s trying so hard to protect his family… Jin-woo’s heart softened. He felt ashamed for being so stuck in the past. That’s right. They were just a college couple. These two are husband and wife. Jin-woo knew nothing of the profound world of a married couple. “Alright. You can stay here. But not for free.” He wasn't actually expecting anything in return. At Jin-woo’s approval, the rabbit couple nodded vigorously. They scampered to a corner of the cave and immediately began digging a burrow, carving out a home for themselves. Watching them dig gave Jin-woo an idea. Could they dig a way out of here? Stupid! I’ve only been thinking about the hole above me! The male rabbit, busy flinging dirt from its new burrow, peeked out at Jin-woo’s call. “Can you dig a tunnel out of here?” The rabbit paused to think, then shook its head. It began to scratch a diagram in the dirt. First, it drew the cave where Jin-woo stood, then it began to sketch a deep tunnel leading straight down. Next, it fetched the watering can and poured water into the hole it had dug. The bottom of Jin-woo’s cave filled with water. “Ah. So there’s water underneath us.” “Okay. Carry on.” The rabbit returned to digging its burrow. An alarm chimed. The smartphone’s battery was at 100%. Considering the laptop’s discharge rate, he could probably get one more full charge out of it. Jin-woo’s daily routine began. First, he checked on the tomato seedlings. The green leaves had now fully unfurled. There was still no sign of life from the sweet potato patch. Jin-woo went to the pond, washed his face, and watered his small field. He pinched off some of the lower leaves so the tomato seedlings could get more sunlight. The more he pruned them, the thicker and more branched their stems became, sprouting even more leaves. Where there had once been three leaves per plant, there were now eight. “Is this going to become a real chore later?” Jin-woo laid the plucked leaves in a sunny spot to dry. The ones from yesterday were already brittle, nearly free of moisture. He finished his morning’s work, chewing on a few of the freshly torn leaves. In another eight hours, he would just have to prune them one more time and give them some water, and his work for the day would be done. His tasks complete, Jin-woo sat in his designated spot and stared blankly at the sky. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been staring. “Huh? What’s that noise?” Jin-woo looked toward the sound. It was coming from the rabbit couple’s burrow. The noise stopped abruptly. Just as Jin-woo was about to return to his sky-gazing… The sound started again. Listening carefully, he recognized it as panting. It seemed that as soon as the rabbits had a home, they began the work of starting a family. The… activity continued several more times throughout the afternoon. At 2 p.m., Jin-woo got up to start his afternoon chores. The rabbit couple emerged from their burrow together, looking quite happy. Then, they immediately started doing the farm work Jin-woo was about to do. The male rabbit hummed a tune as he watered the crops with a watering can. The female rabbit accompanied her husband’s song by snipping away excess leaves with a pair of shears. It reminded him of the old saying, “where the husband leads, the wife follows.” What truly bothered Jin-woo, however, was something else entirely. “What are those things…” The watering can the male rabbit held and the apron the female rabbit wore were clearly magical items. Water poured endlessly from the can’s spout. The apron, meanwhile, seemed to possess some kind of spatial magic; the female rabbit would simply reach into a pocket and pull out whatever tool she needed, be it shears or a small shovel. He was a little envious. They had proper equipment, while he was stuck digging with his hands and hauling water. Watching the rabbits work made the time pass quickly. But soon, even that grew boring. As he sat, he noticed the light passing through a PET bottle, refracting and concentrating into a bright point. An idea sparked. He remembered a survival show where an expert used a water-filled bottle to start a fire. Should I give it a try? The well-dried leaves looked like they would burn easily. Jin-woo got up and gathered the driest leaves. He tore them into a fine, thin pile, creating a tinder bundle that would easily catch a spark. Then, using the water-filled PET bottle like a magnifying glass, Jin-woo began to focus the sunlight onto the dried onion leaves. After Jin-woo had remained motionless for more than twenty minutes, the rabbit couple wandered over, curious about what their landlord was doing. Another ten minutes passed. The rabbits, apparently bored, began to doze off. A wisp of smoke curled up from the pile of finely shredded leaves. An ember glowed. Jin-woo focused even more intently, holding the bottle steady. The ember brightened, and the smoke thickened. He leaned in and blew gently on the tinder bundle. The soft sound of his breath woke the rabbits, and they watched him, their eyes wide. They looked astonished to see the smoking pile of leaves. After a few more steady breaths… A tiny flame flickered to life, then burst into a proper fire. The rabbit couple stared at Jin-woo with undisguised admiration. They had many useful things, but nothing that could create fire. The first thing Jin-woo did was roast green onions. He just wanted to fill his stomach with something warm. The leaves he had dried were as tough as firewood, so he used the fresh ones he had picked today. As the surface of an onion blackened in the flames, Jin-woo pulled it out by its end. He laid the charred stalk on a large leaf and, blowing on his stinging fingers, peeled away the burnt outer layer. Lifting the steaming onion, he took a bite. Jin-woo’s eyes flew open. The taste was incredible—an intense, explosive sweetness that flooded his mouth like pure sugar. He quickly tossed a few more onions into the fire and began to eat greedily. Seeing Jin-woo’s reaction, the male rabbit bravely placed a green onion of its own into the flames. The rabbit couple ate their roasted onions with emotional, wide-eyed expressions. All three of them devoured the food with gusto, their faces soon smudged with black soot. On the seventh day of being trapped in the tower, Jin-woo went to sleep with a full, warm stomach for the first time. A shrill alarm cut through the silence. On the tenth day of his confinement. Jin-woo woke up feeling energetic. The rabbit couple, already awake, greeted him with cheerful nods. “Yeah. Good morning.” He went to the pond to wash his face, then sat down in his usual spot. The female rabbit brought him a freshly roasted green onion. “Thanks,” Jin-woo said, accepting the food. He chewed and swallowed, gazing at the small field as he ate. The green onions had already been tended to, the ground around them dark and damp. The rabbits had woken up early and finished all the work. On top of that, the female rabbit had prepared breakfast. It was nice to have them take care of things on their own. There was now even less to do in a place where there was already so little to do. “I need to get moving.” Today, he decided he would finally transplant the cherry tomato seedlings. It was time. If they grew any closer together, they wouldn't get the nutrients they needed. Jin-woo dug into the soil with his hands, preparing spots to move the seedlings. The male rabbit followed with a small, spoon-sized shovel, carefully scooping up each plant and moving it to its new home. They also moved the six new sprouts that had sprouted later. In total, fifty-eight sprouts were now planted in six neat rows of ten. Seeing the orderly rows filled him with a sense of accomplishment. These days, even small victories felt significant. As soon as he finished transplanting, Jin-woo started a new project. He wove several large leaves together to make a handle, then wrapped the end hundreds of times with finely torn, dried leaves. The dried onion leaves seemed perfect for a torch, as they held a flame for a surprisingly long time. They burned so slowly that the fire hardly needed any tending. At first, such a tedious task would have bored him, but now he found a deep satisfaction in using his own will, body, and effort to create something essential for his survival. After several hours of work, he had finished a torch just as an alarm signaled it was time for bed. The morning of the eleventh day dawned. “Right, good morning.” He got up, greeted the rabbit couple, and went to the pond to wash his face. The pond area was brighter than yesterday. Uncomfortable with the darkness he usually faced while washing up, Jin-woo had installed his new torch by the water’s edge. He looked at the flickering torchlight, then leaned his face down toward the pond. Suddenly, a fish launched itself from the water, jaws snapping as it aimed straight for Jin-woo's face. Jin-woo threw himself backward. The fishy smell of pond water brushed past his nose. He had barely dodged it. The fish, having missed its target, fell to the ground and began flopping, trying to get back to the water. “What… what is this?!” Flustered, Jin-woo cautiously approached the wriggling fish to get a closer look. Its body was black with golden stripes, and its mouth was filled with sharp teeth. If he’d been a fraction of a second slower, it might have taken off his nose. Jin-woo nudged the fish further from the pond’s edge, making sure it couldn't escape. He then peered into the water. Several more fish of the same species were swimming just below the surface. While Jin-woo was trying to figure out what was going on… The fish on the ground gave a mighty flop, trying to escape. No time to think! Jin-woo lunged forward and grabbed the fish that had fallen to the ground. On the eleventh day of being trapped in the tower, they finally had the chance to eat fish.

Chapter 4: Carving Out a Home