To Jung Heewon, Van was a strange person.
Someone who saved her at the beginning of the scenarios, and who she owed her life to.
Someone with extraordinary skills despite his weak physical constitution.
Unlike the others, she didn't fear him for killing people.
She saw him as someone eccentric, and with odd priorities, but he wasn't cruel.
She considered him as one of their companions.
And only when it was too late did she regret not repaying him enough.
'Thank you for saving me.'
***
To Yoo Sangah, despite having been scared of Van at first, she got to overcome her prejudices.
His strength was scary, but also reliable as a companion, although she didn't approve of him so easily.
She was wary at the beginning. How could he act so indifferent to murder? How could he adapt so fast?
However, he did not indiscriminately attack others. He also seemed rational and someone one could communicate with.
And he put himself in danger to protect Shin Yoosoung.
Yoo Sangah decided to treat him as she did with any other person.
When she heard his murmur in the station, she was caught off guard.
She realized that, maybe he had simply been hiding his feelings all along.
The one who always seemed so unreachable, who overpowered their enemies easily, who never seemed to have any trouble adapting…
Now, she could notice the flaws.
He actually rarely slept due to nightmares. He often smoked. He was suicidal. All the things that hadn't caught her attention before.
It made him seem a little more human.
He was also someone who struggled, like herself. She felt sorry for the way she had been thinking of him until now.
And now, that person was disappearing before her eyes.
She never got to apologize.
***
Lee Jihye wasn't particularly scared of Van. On the contrary, he had taught her quite a few tricks to fight when her master was away.
He also sometimes reminded her of Evan, although she often wondered how she could ever find the two similar when she saw Van brutally massacring people in cold blood.
…Or maybe them using something like magic was also nostalgic?
Van was so strong, even stronger than her master.
The only one who could easily knock out her master. She kind of admired him for that.
She thought that nothing would happen to Van.
He would overpower his enemies as always and defeat everyone no matter the circumstances.
Seeing him facing off an Outer God and actually emerge victorious only reinforced that belief.
So, it was a shock when it happened.
"Kill me."
***
To Han Sooyoung, Van was someone who had never appeared in Ways of Survival.
At first, with his black coat and cold face, she confused him for Yoo Joonghyuk. She felt embarrassed when she realized the truth.
But he so effortlessly defeated the apostles. Are you sure that guy isn't a regressor?
Each time she encountered him only gave her more doubts.
Why did he seem so mysterious?
You don't know your age? What kind of drama is that?
Are you sure this isn't a protagonist?
He was also a frustrating guy.
Han Sooyoung messed up her hair.
What are you doing? Why are you being self-sacrificial all of a sudden? You weren't this kind of person.
Don't die.
He's like a protagonist, so he'll come back.
…Right?
For once, a part of her actually hoped Van was the protagonist.
'The true protagonist is Yoo Joonghyuk.'
***
To Yoo Joonghyuk, Van was another oddity in this round.
He shouldn't be here.
Gehrman shouldn't be here either.
The scenarios were also going off-course from what he knew.
***
To Shin Yoosoung, Gehrman was a kind person.
Someone who put on a cold face and kept others at a distance by being intimidating, but was actually warm and gentle behind the facade.
Someone with a sense of justice, but often misunderstood by others. These misunderstandings were most likely created on purpose.
Sometimes, he had a lonely look in his eyes for unknown reasons, as if he missed something.
He was someone she actually didn't know much about.
Yet, he was the only one she could rely on in this apocalypse.
She felt his hand patting her head.
'But he's less cold when he's with me,' she mentally added.
And he liked money.
***
To Yoo Sangah, Gehrman was someone she trusted.
Although he appeared scary, he had proven his character by protecting the station members, and regularly helped even before that incident.
Discussing with him, she could see that he was a gentleman.
In the first place, most people were killers in this apocalypse. She couldn't reproach him this when she was lucky to survive the first scenario thanks to Dokja-ssi's help.
He had strange abilities. His past was also mysterious.
And he took care of Shin Yoosoung. Someone with a soft spot for children wouldn't be a bad person.
'Where is Gehrman-ssi now?'
***
To Jung Heewon, Gehrman was… It was complicated.
He was an absurd guy.
Who would point a gun at people for wearing monocles?
Did she hear it right? 'Praise the Fool'? Was he a cultist? Wasn't he an historian?
'Gehrman' also sounded like a fake name. With his acting skills when he played that Kim Namwoon guy, it wouldn't be surprising if it were the case.
His bewildering actions made her feel amused more than anything.
And seeing Lee Hyunsung freak out on the side made it even more interesting.
Anyway, regardless of Gehrman's quirks, what mattered most was that he was reliable, right? If he were a bad person, she wouldn't hesitate to point her sword at him.
However, when he opposed Kim Dokja… She had to make a choice.
If asked who she trusted more between Kim Dokja and Gehrman, she would answer Kim Dokja.
She didn't want to be his enemy.
Jung Heewon sighed.
Just solve your problems and make up already.
***
To Lee Jihye, Gehrman was a strange ahjussi.
He scowled like her master, barely talked more than her master, also wore a black coat—were black coats the trend now? but it's true that it was a little cool—and looked cold. But he didn't use a sword.
There was also that child who followed him around. Is that his sister?
Used to her master's behavior, Gehrman's actions didn't faze her. Although he did some absurd things at times…
All in all, he seemed like a good person. He helped the station, he saved the station… she trusted him more than that guy Kim Dokja.
But since she knew that her master could be defeated, she was more curious about who would win in a fight.
Her master used a sword and was fast, so he would win against Gehrman, right?
In the end, Gehrman didn't even appear in the rankings.
Lee Jihye grinned proudly. That meant she was stronger than that ahjussi.
***
To Han Sooyoung, Gehrman was a tsundere.
The cold guy who walks around with a child and pretends not to care. Isn't that a cliche in stories?
Although, she ended up killing that child, and Gehrman was still intimidating… She should avoid him for a while.
Let's not meet him in person until she became strong enough to defend herself in case he attacked her.
When she discovered the child was alive later, she was dumbfounded.
Wasn't Shin Yoosoung dead? How is that possible?