34. Daily Life. (3)

“Phew.”

As I entered the motel, I saw people gathered there.

The President, Secretary-General, Special Forces Leader Sung Gyu-hyuk, Sung Ga-yeon, the captains, and Sergeant Song Gyu-tae were all in the lobby, looking at me.

What’s going on?

President Min Jeong-woo approached me.

“You’re here, Seong-hun. You’ve worked hard today.”

I wiped the blood from my chin and said,

“Is there an empty room? I want to clean up before heading back.”

Secretary-General Ahn Jun-gyu said,

“Of course. We always have a room ready for you. But before that, can we talk for a moment?”

I frowned.

“Sure. What is it?”

Special Forces Leader Sung Gyu-hyuk said,

“We’ve decided to go to Pyeongtaek. We’ll depart at 10 AM tomorrow.”

I was slightly surprised and looked at Sung Gyu-hyuk.

Already?

Ah, it’s almost four weeks now.

Seo-rae Village has become a significant survivor community of about 200 people.

The area is surrounded by barricades over 10 meters high, effectively preventing zombie waves from entering.

The survivors have been reinforcing the village as soon as they recover, to avoid being bitten or eaten.

With 200 people, food is a significant issue, but I heard they plan to turn the sports field and the girls’ high school field into farmland.

Considering what they’ve accomplished in just four weeks, it’s quite impressive.

Pyeongtaek, huh.

This means the surrounding area is mostly cleared.

It also means they’re no longer focusing on rescue operations.

I nodded.

“10 AM?”

Special Forces Leader Sung Gyu-hyuk nodded.

“Yes. Teams 2 and 3 will go by helicopter. Teams 4 and 5 will stay to defend Seo-rae Village. We hope you’ll join us in the Pyeongtaek operation.”

I chuckled.

“Don’t even think of going without me.”

The President and the others smiled.

President Min Jeong-woo said,

“Where would our team members go without you? Of course, you must come with us.”

The Secretary-General added,

“It might take some time, though. Is that okay?”

I looked at the Secretary-General and Special Forces Leader in turn.

Time, huh.

“How long do you think it will take?”

“It depends on how long we stay there.”

Hmm.

That makes sense.

I nodded.

“Right. See you tomorrow. I’ll clean up first.”

 * * *

“You don’t know how long it will take?”

So-hyeon frowned.

Among the people gathered on the rooftop, she looked particularly unhappy.

“It could be a few days or longer.”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake!”

She really doesn’t want to be separated from me.

Even commuting seems to bother her.

However, the other people, especially the men, were smiling.

“Bring back as much as you can, Seong-hun. Let’s turn this place into an impregnable fortress.”

“It would be great to have some machine guns.”

“M, and grenades, sir.”

Hmm.

We’re all thinking the same thing.

I smiled and said,

“I was thinking about mines, but machine guns are good too. We’ll bring back everything we can.”

“Oh, mines!”

The men’s faces lit up.

Well, this is mutual understanding.

On the other hand, the women seemed to be struggling to follow our conversation.

I said,

“If we want to continue this kind of daily life, we need weapons to protect ourselves. We need powerful firepower to survive another zombie wave like before.”

I looked around the rooftop.

The seedlings in the garden were already sprouting and growing fresh.

I smiled.

“It’s been over two months since the world changed. We need a lot to survive. The President talked about electricity and water. That’s what we need to live.”

I looked at the people, especially So-hyeon, and said,

“I’ll be going out frequently, but I’ll always come back. Don’t worry, and let’s think about continuing this daily life. We can’t let our hearts become as desperate as the situation. Let’s stay strong.”

“Right!”

Jun-hyuk started clapping.

Then, the others followed suit.

I didn’t realize I was giving a speech.

Hmm.

The next morning.

I put on a backpack filled with water, energy bars, and chocolate and left the building.

I got on my bicycle and headed to Seo-rae Village, waving goodbye to the people gathered on the first floor.

Seo-rae Village.

A Special Forces member on guard duty lowered the ladder for me.

I climbed up and asked,

“Is everyone ready?”

“The President is giving a speech right now. Everyone is ready.”

Hmm, a speech.

As the President, he’s probably better at it than I am.

“You’re going by helicopter, right? Have you prepared for a zombie wave?”

The Special Forces member chuckled and pointed to the motel rooftop.

A Special Forces member was holding a rifle and keeping watch.

“We’ve stationed troops in key buildings. Additionally, veterans have volunteered to defend the buildings, and we’ve prepared as much as we can.”

“Good.”

I hope that will be enough.

I climbed down the ladder and walked to the motel.

In front of the motel, Special Forces members were lined up.

The President and civilians were facing them, ready to see them off.

“I have no doubt about your bravery. However, what’s most important is not the success of the mission but the safety of each and every one of you.”

Hmm.

Unexpected.

I thought the President would give a more motivational speech, like “Go out and fight to the death!”

The President said,

“Here comes Seong-hun. Our brave hero, Han Seong-hun.”

The people clapped as they saw me.

I chuckled and walked over to the Special Forces members.

The President said,

“Seong-hun, please come back safely. We need you.”

He then took my hand.

This old man has such warm hands.

I nodded.

“Understood.”

The President leaned in and whispered in my ear,

“And, if you can, please take care of our team members’ safety.”

The President stepped back.

I nodded in response.

The President, who had shaken hands with all the Special Forces members, returned to his place.

Special Forces Leader Sung Gyu-hyuk called out loudly,

“Attention. Salute the President.”

Chak!

The sound of boots echoed as they all came to attention.

Then, they all saluted.

The President also saluted the team members.

As he lowered his hand, they did the same.

I watched the scene with my hand on my sword hilt.

…So, this is what it’s like.

Impressive.

I’m not a soldier, and I don’t plan to be.

These people are a different group from me.

I have no intention of saluting the President, even if he is the President.

Still, such a ceremony is quite impressive to watch.

The Special Forces members turned and walked toward the barricade.

“Come back safely.”

A young woman waved at a Special Forces member.

.

She even wiped a tear from her eye.

It seems one of the rescued women and a Special Forces member have started a relationship.

The handsome Special Forces member turned and waved back.

Hmm.

It’s like families seeing off their loved ones going to war.

Well, the place we’re going is a war zone.

We walked over the barricade and headed toward Sebitdungdung Island.

Sung Ga-yeon slowly fell back and stood beside me.

“Did you write a will for your family?”

“A will?”

Sung Ga-yeon chuckled and shrugged.

“We all wrote one.”

…Really?

I looked at the Special Forces members walking ahead.

They didn’t say anything.

They just walked away, their backs to the people.

Sung Ga-yeon said,

“There are no doctors or hospitals now. If you get bitten, it’s over. You should leave a will, just in case you don’t come back.”

…I never thought about that.

I’m immune to the virus and can take out most threats on my own, so I’m not afraid of them.

But these people are different.

If they get even a scratch, it’s over.

They know this going in.

The President’s speech.

The President’s request to me.

And the wills.

They’re all going with the expectation of not coming back.

That’s why it looked like families seeing off their loved ones going to war.

Really…

After spending so much time massacring alone, I didn’t consider how the current situation affects others.

I turned to Sung Ga-yeon.

“What did you write in your will?”

Sung Ga-yeon grinned and shrugged.

“I didn’t really have anything to say, so I just wrote a bunch of random stuff.”

“Random stuff?”

“Yes.”

Sung Ga-yeon laughed and said,

“If I’m reborn, I’ll date as many men as I want and fall in love as much as I want. I’ll never join the military. And at the end, I wrote, ‘Fuck, I’m dead, you bastards! Go to hell, fuck!'”

I wasn’t the only one chuckling.

The Special Forces members walking ahead also chuckled.

…They’re too good to die.

Right.

The President’s request.

I’ll try my best.

We climbed the ladder on Sebitdungdung Island and boarded the helicopter.

Captain Park and Captain Kim, who were waiting, looked at us.

“Is everyone ready?”

The Special Forces Leader looked at each of us, including me, and nodded to Captain Park.

Captain Park said,

“There are earplugs in that box. It’s going to be loud, so put them in your ears.”

He then started the helicopter.

Vroom-

The engine roared to life.

Captain Park said,

“We’re taking off.”

The engine noise gradually intensified, sounding like a machine gun firing.

Orange earplugs were stacked in the box behind us.

We each put one in our ears and looked out the window.

The helicopter lifted off.

The scenery slowly receded below us.