episode_0007

The uncomfortable confrontation ended quickly. Park Seung-ho, that human being, seemed to have taken the position of leader of the survivor group not simply by brute force, as he quickly came up with a solution.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the fact that he became a bright red octopus and got angry goes away.

That’s why I thought that a leader’s position should be occupied by someone who not only has outstanding ability, but also has a great character.

What good is it to feed and sleep your members well? If your relationships are ruined, it means nothing. If you start blushing for no reason, it’s obvious that no matter how well you treat them, they won’t accept it at face value.

Perhaps if that person announced that he would improve the children’s living environment, the parents of those children might worry that their children would be taken away by that personality disordered person and subjected to terrible things.

In that sense, Grandpa Park Chun-bong, the leader of the group that my uncle and I belong to, could be said to be the best leader.

‘Younghee’s mom, you shouldn’t be so uncooperative. We’re not the only ones left. Did you forget that last time we had to replace all the slate on your roof because it was leaking?’

‘And everyone seems to think of Do-hoon as a subordinate because he does favors so nicely, but let’s not be like that. Honestly, if Do-hoon were to go anywhere other than here, he’d be welcomed with open arms…’

Didn’t Grandpa Chunbong prove his leadership skills at the last meeting? He was a gentleman who could immediately tell who was needed in the group and who was just muddying the waters.

I thought that the saying “respect for elders” and “respect for the elderly” were not created for nothing.

I have to take good care of you when I get back.

Anyway! Right now, my uncle and I are waiting for the people from Purundel Apartments to come down to the sewer and join us before we head to the hospital.

Although I would have preferred to join them from above rather than wait in the smelly sewer, the old man and I agreed that it would not be a wise choice to have another fight with Seungho Park, who had exploded once, so we ended up coming down to the sewer.

Of course, even if that guy Seungho Park were to explode one more time, I wouldn’t be that scared.

A moment later, the manhole cover opened, light streamed into the sewer, and the people who would soon become our companions appeared.

“Hello! I’m Hyeji Lee, a trainee engineer from the Blue Hills Apartment Technology Team! These two people will be in charge of transporting the coils!”

The moment I heard that greeting, I felt like it was getting harder to control my facial expressions.

Apprenticeship, wisdom, cheerfulness. There were three reasons why I was unfit to survive in the world I live in today.

When the person who had confidently said that he did not want to send a technician to a dangerous place as a requestor said that he would gladly send someone to do it, I should have known.

Park Seung-ho, this pathetic human being…

“Nice to meet you. My name is Kwon Do-hoon. I will do my best to ensure your safety, so I hope the hospital can help you.”

“Sir, isn’t it a bit much to accept it so readily here? He’s an engineer, but he’s an apprentice, and it’s obvious that he doesn’t have any outside experience. To be honest, he’s a burden. That guy, Park Seung-ho, is trying to screw us over.”

“Ah…uh…”

At my candid words, Lee Hye-ji’s face, who had been shaking my hand excitedly as if she had known me for a long time, darkened a little.

“Speak carefully, please. No one is good at it from the beginning. Besides, we didn’t ask for a single combatant, we asked for someone who knows how to handle generator coils. We should be satisfied that Mr. Park Seung-ho gave us someone like this.”

“Yes, I will work hard. Don’t bother me!!”

I stared intently at Lee Hye-ji’s face. The manhole cover hadn’t closed yet, so I could slowly examine her appearance.

It seems that she rarely frowns, with a smooth forehead without even a single wrinkle, and her facial features set tightly together. Her hair, with a faint golden hue, is tied into a side-tail, and her breasts and hips are voluminous.

The estimates are all out.

The old man was obviously delighted to see such a slender, young woman, unlike what he had expected to see in a dark-skinned man.

I wanted to turn things around and force them to give me a good person, but I didn’t really want to do it because I wasn’t sure if Seungho Park would be able to give me a good person.

“Ha… There’s no one who’s good at it from the beginning, but we always need to have someone who’s good at it, that’s what we do.”

I scratched my head nervously, not hiding my annoyance.

“Ha, I’ll always do my best! Do…younger brother!”

“Who is your brother?”

Look at this…?

“Isn’t it…? I don’t think you’re 20 yet…”

It was ridiculous. Not only is my mental age at a soft level, but my physical development is also not much different from mine, except that my height and chest are a little bigger, so how can you treat me like a brat?

While Hyeji was fiddling with LEDs at home, I was winning awards at competitions and even stabbing zombies in the head.

There was no room for disagreement that I was older, both in terms of experience and career.

“Are you over 20?”

“Oh my gosh!! Really?”

Well, really. While you were watching something like Turning Mecard, I was watching Pororo Season 2.

“Don’t believe it, it’s a lie. Danhwa originally hates being looked down on by others. Even if you hit him a lot, he’s only 18 years old.”

“As expected, it was my younger brother…!”

Hyeji’s face brightened at the old man’s interruption. She didn’t like it.

“I’m not 18.”

“I guess she’s 17.”

I took out my bow without saying a word and put an arrow on the string. The old man observed my expression, then turned his gaze to the porter who was silently watching us from behind Hyeji and shouted loudly.

“Okay, let’s hurry up and leave! We have to get there before the sun sets!”

“Yes! Do-hoon! Don’t be like that, little brother! Let’s get along well! I have many shortcomings, so please teach me a lot.”

Ha… Should I just shoot it?

I had to look back and forth between the old man and Hyeji and think about it over and over again.

*

The hospital we were headed to from the Blue Field Apartment, Gunma Hospital, was a general hospital. It was a large hospital with five buildings, including a main building and an annex, to secure space for patients, as it was also a metropolitan hospital.

Because it was such a large hospital, it is said that there were many generators that also served as emergency generators.

“The generator of our apartment and Gunma Hospital is called TRX-6900. It has a 16-cylinder diesel engine…”

For a trainee engineer, Lee Hye-ji knew a lot and was very talkative.

He tried to explain even things that neither I nor my uncle needed to know, but I knew that if I told him to stop, he would just keep calling me younger brother, so I decided to just close my ears and ignore him.

“What makes this a real luxury item is…”

Since I didn’t do anything for him, the main target of attack was decided to be the old man, and the old man had to sweat profusely trying to be a conversation partner for the engine otaku Hyeji.

Isn’t this what you sow? I felt a sense of satisfaction inside, thinking that all the karma that the old man had accumulated through foolishness was being paid off in this way.

“Haha, Hyeji knows a lot.”

“My dad is a real expert. I guess I learned a lot naturally because I grew up watching him since I was little? My dad was in charge of installing it in our apartment, and he took apart and modified parts that didn’t exist and made it in no time…!”

It’s stupid, of course, to talk like that would be like stirring up a hornet’s nest. There must be a reason why the old man couldn’t date or get married until he was reborn as a 4050 aspirant.

“Do you happen to know where the engine is? We need to know where it is so we can go in and find the coil. As you know, there will be a lot of zombies since it’s a hospital. I don’t think there’s enough time to search each of the five buildings.”

“Ah! Dad even gave me the hospital design drawings. You can probably figure it out if you look at them.”

It should have been Hyeji’s father who came instead of someone like Hyeji, but seeing that he even took care of that, it was clear that he had the skills to make even a veteran leave.

“Let’s see… Red mark, red mark… Over here! Annex 2, basement engine room!”

“How did you get the design drawings…?”

“I told you, Dad is an expert. When we built the military hospital, Dad did all the electrical and engine installations.”

I kept my mouth shut next to him, glancing sideways at him and memorizing his location in my head. I didn’t bother to speak to him. I really hated dealing with such an energetic person.

The moment I uttered a word, it was obvious that he would start talking to me nonstop, just like he did to the old man.

As we walked, talking about how to get into the engine room, where to get the coil, and how to get it to the people in the sewer, we arrived at a manhole located at the back of the hospital.

“Let Hyeji come up last. Danhwa will come next. After I go out first, if it is safe, I will sound the buzzer twice.”

The man threw me a walkie-talkie and climbed up the makeshift ladder without hesitation.

“Ugh…”

The old man tried to lift the manhole, using his strength. It seemed that foreign substances were stuck in the gaps because it was not a frequently used manhole like the Pureundae apartment complex, and it was not lifting well. Or else, a car was sitting on top of the manhole.

“Whew…Whew huff!!”

Crunch. With a faint cracking sound, the manhole was lifted, and outside light poured into the sewer.

The direction from which the light was streaming in changed two or three times, as if the old man was looking outside with only the manhole cover open rather than going straight out.

And then a few seconds later, a light of a different dimension than what had just come in poured into the sewer, and soon after, it diminished again.

Beep beep.

The walkie-talkie rang.

Number 2, the outside seemed safe, as the old man had said.

“I’ll go first, so follow me.”

I said that to Hyeji and immediately climbed up the ladder. The situation outside changed quickly, so I had to go quickly when safety was guaranteed.