At the very top of the skyscraper, a man sat behind his office desk.
His eyes were about to burst from exhaustion, his skin felt dry like leather.
A man in his mid-thirties, worn down by work.
His hands were shaking, and under his breath he muttered,
"I can do this… I have to do it…"
Suddenly, his eyes lit up with determination.
"Yes!!!"
"I did it."
Then, all of a sudden, he let out an ugly yawn and glanced at the clock.
"Oh hell!! What time is it already?"
4 a.m.
"I really need to get some rest."
"If I keep doing this job, I'm going to go insane…"
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and stared at a picture.
In the photo was a half-naked, snow-white girl.
A small smile formed on his face.
"You're the only one who understands me…"
Suddenly, his vision blurred. The phone slipped from his hand.
Crash!!
A sharp pain exploded in his head and his body began to convulse.
"Uuuaagh!! What the hell is happening?!"
A thought crossed his mind.
"Is this… exhaustion?"
Everything went pitch black.
.
.
.
.
.
"Am I dead?"
His hands were trembling.
"If I'm dead, isn't it a bit too cold?"
He felt something in his hand and slowly opened his eyes.
He was clutching freshly fallen snow.
"Snow?"
Snow covered everything around him.
His body had turned red and began to shiver violently.
"UUUHHH— DAMN!!"
Where the hell am I…?
He blinked over and over, spinning around to look at himself.
Just moments ago he had been wearing office clothes—
now he was completely naked.
…
Not far away, he noticed a cave.
Instinctively, his trembling body rushed toward it.
Inside, the cave was large enough to fit a two-story house.
Piles of stones and logs were scattered everywhere.
As Thomas stepped further inside, his face froze.
Bones.
There were countless bones lying around.
Among them were skulls larger than a normal human's.
Thomas swallowed hard.
It wasn't just the cold—something else made his body tremble.
Where exactly am I…?
He violently shook his head left and right.
Then he grabbed a few logs from the pile and started rubbing them together.
"I'll freeze to death if I don't do something first…"
"At least I need to survive—then I'll figure out where I am."
His childhood days of long hunting trips were finally useful.
Before long, the dark cave began to glow.
Smoke filled the air.
"My skills have gotten rusty…"
He coughed violently from the smoke.
He found an old, worn animal hide near a rock and wrapped it around himself.
"Whew… that's better."
As warmth returned, his thoughts became clearer.
He tried to remember everything since waking up.
Thomas was an ordinary man, a government official.
Was this some kind of prank by his coworkers?
Or… was this that so-called reincarnation thing?
He frowned, lowered his head, then looked up—
A massive cat, larger than an average dog, stared down at him from the cave ceiling.
Its eyes and fangs gleamed menacingly.
Thomas grabbed a long bone nearby and nearly wet himself.
Fear overwhelmed him.
The cat climbed down the cave wall.
Thomas tried to suppress his panic.
The cat walked to the fire and curled up, tail wrapped around its body, and lay down.
As if Thomas didn't even exist, it closed its eyes and went to sleep.
Thomas still had no idea what was happening.
His shivering eased slightly.
Since the cat didn't attack, Thomas relaxed a bit and slowly moved closer to the fire.
One step.
Another step.
"Damn… what is this thing…"
Looking at its tail and ears… it didn't seem normal.
Watching it move along the cave wall earlier—
this wasn't just a big cat.
But the way it slept, occasionally twitching its ears,
somehow seemed… cute.
"What, it's just a big cat, right…?"
But then he noticed the bones behind it.
That thought vanished instantly.
He moved too close and accidentally kicked the fire, putting it out.
The cat opened one eye.
It glared at Thomas with terrifying intensity.
Cold sweat ran down his body.
He completely forgot about the cat's presence.
The fire was out.
"Maybe…" Thomas thought.
He hurriedly rekindled the fire.
The cat's gaze softened, becoming normal again.
Soon, the fire burned brightly.
Thomas laughed nervously.
"Haha… so you like warmth, huh?"
The cat remained silent and went back to sleep.
Before long, Thomas decided to explore deeper into the cave.
The cat suddenly opened its eyes and stared at him.
"Ahhhaha…"
Thomas laughed awkwardly.
"Don't mind me. Just keep sleeping. Hahaha…"
Feigning confidence, gripping the long bone, he moved deeper.
"Y-you won't attack me… right?"
Seeing no danger, Thomas grew bolder and walked on.
Along the way, he found a log shaped like a baseball bat and took it instead of the bone.
He noticed animal hides laid out, as if something slept there.
His eyes widened, and he turned back.
"Hahaha… you're sleeping, right?"
The cat glared again.
Seeing Thomas holding a weapon and laughing like a lunatic,
the cat's fur stood on end and it leapt backward.
"Tststst—"
"AAAAH!! DON'T EAT ME!!!"
Seeing Thomas trembling in fear, the cat calmed down.
Behind it, a yellow stream flowed away.
The cat looked disgusted, like it had just seen trash.
"Meow."
Thomas froze, eyes wide open.
He slowly lowered his raised leg.
"..."
"..."
"Don't mind that… it's just pee."
He tucked the torn hide into his belt and lit the log with fire.
"Alright. I'm really going now."
"..."
"..."
Man and beast silently passed each other and went deeper into the cave.
The cat watched him with a look of pure displeasure.
"This cave is way bigger than I thought…"
Thomas passed piles of animal hides and small strange objects.
A sharp, knife-like stone caught his eye.
"A stone weapon?"
He picked it up and walked further.
As the sun began to rise—
The cat went outside, ate snow, returned, and swallowed a stone.
While it was distracted, Thomas returned carrying clean hides and long thin logs.
"You woke up?"
"You really don't like the cold, huh."
He added more firewood.
Taking one hide, he laid it on a flat stone and scraped it clean with the sharp rock.
The cat watched in amazement.
He cut the hide into strips, made rope, split the logs,
and tied everything together.
He proudly showed the finished spear to the cat and smiled.
"Interesting, right? A spear."
"…"
"You wouldn't understand anyway."
He smiled smugly again.
Then Thomas cleaned the remaining hides, stitched them together,
and made clothes.
He put them on.
"Whew… this is way better."
With the leftovers, he made a hood.
"Now this is living. I'm finally warm."
He piled up the rest of the hides to make a bed and blanket.
He lay down, relaxed completely, and let out a deep breath.
Lying on his side, facing the fire—
"Today was really strange…
but honestly, when was the last time I rested this early…"
As his thoughts drifted, his eyes slowly closed.
The cave was peaceful, filled only with the crackling fire.
Then—
His stomach growled loudly, breaking the silence.
"UUUGAAAHH!!"
"…Now that I think about it—
when was the last time I actually ate…?"