episode_0085

“Where did you go yesterday?”

“I’m an adult too. Can’t I act on my own?”

As I was leaving the shelter to deal with the mutants, the old man asked me a question. The reason he asked the question was simple.

I didn’t say why I was leaving. It was Hayura’s request, and I also thought it would be better not to say anything, so I did it that way.

“Isn’t that a little lethal? I promised to tell you where I was going, but you didn’t say anything…”

“Have I ever gone astray like you, sir? I can do it on my own. You always get entangled in strange places wherever you go, so I did that.”

“That’s not the problem…”

“It’s not that it’s not, it’s that kind of problem.”

The old man still didn’t have enough experience to win a fight with me. Well, if we keep going like this, maybe I’ll be able to win once or twice?

I shook my head with a small smile. It seemed unlikely that I would ever see my uncle win an argument just because we spent more time together.

The slightly pungent smell of gunpowder and the pungent smell of metal, as if it had been wet, were vibrating. It wasn’t strange. It was because each person was carrying two or three personal firearms, as well as company-level firearms.

It feels like we’re going to a war zone. Are you and I going to be… mercenaries or something?

The sky was clear and cloudless. Just like the sky without a single cloud, the street we were heading towards was also quiet and devoid of zombies.

Looking at the faces of the people, it looked like a battlefield or a school commute.

The dress code was heavily focused on military and tactical elements, so it was the former, but considering that a significant number of them were girls in their prime, it was the latter.

How many of them are there? On the day I visited Hayura’s shelter, there were dozens of superhuman girls I encountered as I passed by.

There were about fifteen girls accompanying the platoon that I and the old man were in.

When I think about it, I cautiously guess that there are probably about a hundred people.

“I feel strange.”

“Sergeant Kwon, is that because of them? You get used to them quickly. They may look like that on the outside, but they’re really tough guys when they go into battle.”

The conversation between me and the old man, who had been silent, suddenly blurted out something, and this lieutenant accepted it. As soon as he opened the door, the conversation between the two continued as if they had been having a conversation from the beginning.

A lot of the talk was about operations. Well, I guess it’s better to leave the strategy and tactics to those two.

After all, I was a non-major. When the old man’s gaze was turned away from me, I fiddled with the ampoule I had in my bosom over the fabric.

It was something I received from Hayura the day before. The Hayura I met that day had a very different vibe from the Hayura I met when I was with the old man.

Of course, I treated him no less than he did.

*

“What is this?”

“Serum. Our children’s.”

Don’t you know that I didn’t ask that? You called me out of the blue and this is what you’re saying?

“Madam, don’t you think there’s something wrong with the way you call someone and try to make a suggestion or talk? Let me tell you, whether this is the serum of the zombies or the serum of the kids you beat up, it doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is why you called me and why you’re giving me this.”

Since I didn’t have any good feelings, I boldly spit out the derogatory term. It was a term that realistically portrayed reality, even though it was a derogatory term.

“I asked what it was and they kindly answered. A child with short hair?”

Aha, so that’s how it comes out. Then I have a way too.

“Ah, I don’t need this.”

I glanced at the serum in the thumb-sized ampoule and tossed it away like a used tissue. I hadn’t heard how precious it was and it didn’t seem like I had any intention of giving a proper explanation, so that was the best I could do.

“Catch it.”

Just before the serum hit the floor, Hayura’s voice rang out softly, and the serum, which should have shattered with a noise, was in the hands of some girl.

“Tch, that’s too bad. Anyway, unless you have something special to say, I’ll go back. Ma’am.”

“How long do you think our child will be able to stay by Sergeant Kwon’s side?”

Without hesitation, I took out the bow that was hanging on my waist and aimed at Hayura. I couldn’t tolerate touching the old man.

“If you touch even one hair of your godmother’s, she will blow a hole through you.”

As I aimed my bow, a cold chill ran down my neck. Judging by the prickly sensation, it seemed as if a blade was aiming for my windpipe.

I didn’t bother to turn my gaze to check on my opponent. After all, Hayura was the leader of the guys.

“Ah, I’m not the type to be that attached to life, so I welcome it. I wonder if you feel the same way?”

I pretended to be calm and tried to provoke him. Something ran down the back of my neck.

Even though I said that, I didn’t have the slightest desire to die. Because then I wouldn’t be able to see you, old man.

“That’s it. Mom’s okay.”

“But… this woman is the godmother…”

“I told you it was okay. Back off.”

“Yes…”

The blade that was draped under his neck retreated. However, the raw wound on his nape did not heal on its own. He just turned away from the prickling, pleading pain and kept his bow still taut.

“Description.”

I urged Hayura. Hayura also opened her mouth quickly, as if she had no intention of answering.

“Why do you think superhumans are superhumans?”

“Because I injected you with some strange drug to make you like that.”

“Hahaha, I wasn’t expecting that answer.”

Hayura acted freely as if she was not a threatened person. One of the things she did was to slowly brew coffee by operating the coffee machine placed on one of the tables.

“To put it simply, our child and Sergeant Kwon are not the same person, right? And put down your bow. No one here would die because of something so sloppy.”

Is it sloppy? I felt like I wanted to test myself to see if I could say the same thing if my arrow was stuck in my body.

“I know very well that you and I have different physical abilities. I’m not here to listen to such useless talk.”

“Oh my, that’s not what I’m talking about. Do our children know what it means to be different types of paper?”

“Noise.”

I boldly fired a shot. An arrow flew in with a bang. It was fired from close range, so it was as fast as a bullet.

She was an annoying woman, but I had no intention of killing her. When she talked about the old man, I was angry and only aimed for the heart for a moment, but what she shot just now was nothing more than a threat.

“What…?”

The arrow that had flown in with great physical force was caught in Hayura’s hand as if it were a lie. Hayura said with a relaxed expression.

“Subdue them.”

My knees buckled. I fell to the floor, the bow left my hands, and the hand holding the bow was pulled behind my back.

The floor was cold. I could tell because my face was buried in the ground.

“I didn’t call you here hoping for such a violent situation, but you’re such a tiresome kid. Sergeant Kwon’s tastes are hard to understand, aren’t they?”

“Shut up.”

I said it through gritted teeth.

“She has a pretty face… but if only she had a more gentle personality, she would be just my type…”

A nasty hand was caressing my face without permission.

“Isn’t that right? Actually, from the moment I first saw you, I thought it would be nice if our Danhwa kid came under me?”

“I don’t intend to do that, so get out.”

Something pressed down on my back, my arms were pulled, and my face was slammed into the ground.

“Profit…”

“Well, I gave up on that idea because of my personality. There’s no need to take in a brat like you when you have kids who listen well, right?”

Finally, Hayura’s hand left my face. It was an unpleasant hand.

“If you absorb that serum, you too can become a superhuman like Sergeant Kwon and our kids. Isn’t that an interesting fact?”

“Unfortunately, I have no intention of becoming a drug addict. I’m sure you wouldn’t like me to be one either.”

I thought of the lieutenant and his platoon members who had no choice but to stick with Hayura, whether they liked it or not. If the old man had been taking too many drugs, he might have been doing the same thing as them.

I was once again thankful that my uncle wasn’t like that, because if he had been struggling with drug addiction, I wouldn’t have been comfortable either.

“Then, there’s nothing I can do.”

As Hayura spoke, my forearm tingled. I turned around in surprise, and saw the woman holding my arms together, inserting a syringe.

no…

At that moment, my head became hazy. In the midst of all that, a voice flowed into my head.

‘It’s a joke, and the real serum is here. It’s a simple trauma treatment medicine made using our children’s blood. There’s no way I would turn Sergeant Kwon… Do-hoon into an enemy, right?’

Although I didn’t like it, Hayura’s voice added to my ears calmed my pounding heart.