episode_0007

Damn it.

I shouldn’t have scratched it, only made it worse.

As if Ian, a guy who’s tightly guarded front and back, would ever listen to a proposal to assassinate someone overnight.

What will happen if Ian and I drift apart like this? What if that naive guy declares, “Our beliefs don’t align, so we can’t go together”?

“Sigh….”

I sighed and got up from my seat.

I couldn’t sleep. Not that I had much to think about anyway. Even if Ian doesn’t move, there were things I needed to prepare in advance.

The room was dimly lit, barely enough to distinguish the outline of a person.

It was well past midnight. Everyone was asleep. Chadoa was already gone from his spot.

According to protocol, I should go to the bathroom with authorized personnel, but timid Chadoa’s choice was to go alone without waking anyone. So, I set out to find the bathroom, risking getting lost.

It might be riskier to get caught on CCTV, but that wasn’t a problem.

Those thugs are probably too busy drinking and partying with girls to properly monitor the CCTV all night, right?

I slowly got up as well.

I walked around the perimeter of the first floor. The windows were all blocked with thick boards, and behind them, heavy furniture was piled haphazardly.

If the zombies had a bit more brains, they could probably break through after a few nights of banging. This closed space. Those drunk on petty power still don’t know. Their fear.

Ah, there it is. I found it after walking a bit. I cautiously shone my flashlight on a certain spot.

This place was also securely blocked with thick boards over the windows. The only difference was that one corner was damp. Even though it hadn’t rained. Upon closer inspection, the surface was oddly charred black.

If you listen closely, you can hear a faint metallic scraping and scratching sound coming from the boards.

Something smarter and with special abilities than regular zombies, slowly wearing down the structure to avoid detection by humans. Mutant zombies.

They were starting to appear.

By tomorrow, they’ll break through here and flood in. More people will die because of this.

If I had been more diligent in my preparations, I could have discovered it in time. Oh well, it’s my own fault. But I can’t reinforce this place or alert anyone. What will happen will happen.

I piled up furniture in a position where the zombies wouldn’t immediately run into it. If I apply enough force, they’ll fall over and I can block the windows again.

After struggling for a while to move the heavy furniture, I quickly ran out of breath.

“Haah…, haah…. damn it….”

I cursed as I sat down, catching my breath. There’s still a long way to go…

As I was catching my breath, suddenly a voice came from behind.

“What are you doing here?”

“Ugh…. ugh….”

I was startled and my scream was muffled by a gentle hand.

“Shh!”

I could immediately tell who it was. It was Haji Yu.

When I met his eyes and nodded, Haji Yu removed his hand. Then he asked the same question again.

“What are you doing here?”

“Uh, well…. haha….”

I was at a loss for words. How do I explain this? While I was struggling to come up with an answer, Haji Yu was already carefully examining the window.

The suspicious sound had stopped, but the damp and charred boards were suspicious to anyone.

Damn it….

Haji Yu turned around and pointed to the wet area with narrowed eyes.

“This looks dangerous here.”

I still didn’t say anything, lost in thought as he hummed to himself.

“If you’re going to block it, you should block the front, why leave it at the back?”

I spoke honestly here, but if Hajiyu criticizes me and blocks the window, the plan will fall apart. Earlier, she seemed to sympathize with me, but dealing with gangsters and killing innocent people attacked by zombies was a completely different issue.

As I pondered, I chose to ask questions instead of giving answers. I needed to know more about Hajiyu’s intentions.

“What are you doing at this hour? Why didn’t you sleep and followed me?”

“Th-that’s….”

Hajiyu’s expression rarely turned flustered.

“Chadoa disappeared before me, why did you follow only me? Were you tailing me to monitor me in case I did something foolish? Do you doubt me that much?”

“No! It’s not like that. I-I was worried!”

Hajiyu cut me off with a gulp.

“Worried? Hajiyu, worried about me?”

“You, wandering around alone like an idiot, if you get caught, it’s not good, so I followed you!”

“Then why didn’t you follow Chadoa?”

“T-that’s….”

Hajiyu’s words trailed off, and she bit her lip, unable to say anything.

Hmm… doesn’t really like it? Come to think of it, I’ve never seen the two of them chatting amiably. At this point, Chadoa is no different from a burden. Naturally, Ian takes care of Chadoa. Maybe that’s how she expresses her emotions….

In the end, I made up my mind. After all, the actions I’m taking now are also to save Hajiyu. It would be better if I could get help.

“Zombies will attack this place tomorrow.”

“What!? We need to stop them right away…!”

I shook my head.

“No, we won’t.”

Hajiyu’s expression hardened. Understanding what that meant, she growled quickly.

“You. What are you thinking…?”

“If Ian says he’s leaving tomorrow, do you think that Kim Munhyuk guy will let him go without a fight?”

“What?”

“He’s targeting you.”

Hajiyu shuddered slightly, as if she felt a chill. She must have felt it the most. That ominous gaze that seemed to be targeting prey.

Uncomfortable with the emotions it evoked, Hajiyu glared at me.

“What does that have to do with this?”

“If zombies attack, they will take advantage of the chaos to occupy this place.”

“….”

Hajiyu didn’t oppose when I suggested assassinating Kim Munhyuk. Now, without Ian, she would agree with my opinion.

“People….”

“?”

“Other than those guys. You protect them.”

“What?”

“Since I’ll be holding back the zombies tomorrow, you protect the people.”

Hajiyu looked at me with a puzzled expression, as if asking what nonsense I was talking about. I smiled at her.

In the end, Hajiyu reluctantly agreed to help me.

We stacked furniture, gathered necessary items, and even grabbed an umbrella. Hajiyu looked puzzled as to why we needed an umbrella indoors, but she followed me silently.

Unable to attract the zombies’ attention, I couldn’t help but complain when Hajiyu followed me as bait to record the zombies’ roars through the gap in the iron door, but I kept quiet when she said there was a plan.

When we finished our work and returned, Chadoa was already lying down in his spot. A little boy was snuggled up in Chadoa’s arms, falling asleep together.

“Is it really okay?”

“It’s fine. Those guys aren’t diligent enough to drink all night and even diligently watch the CCTV.”

Hajiyu, who had been sending suspicious looks until the end, turned back to me, perhaps noticing Chadoa belatedly. I shrugged my shoulders, not bothering to explain.

“Tomorrow will be busy. Get some rest.”

I had done everything I could. All that was left was to hope for a smooth resolution….

Doa couldn’t fall asleep. Everything had been a series of hardships, but it was gradually getting better, so why did it have to turn out like this?

When the zombie outbreak occurred, it seemed like everything was over, but somehow Doa had managed to survive until now. It was all thanks to Ian.

Ian had used his positive mindset and overwhelming physical abilities to overcome the crisis. He had protected Doa, who didn’t know how to do anything.

Things had become easier since Jiyu joined them. For some reason, Doa felt like she could handle anything as long as it wasn’t a horde of zombies.

As they went through ups and downs and started to establish some order, they finally met other survivors…

Doa saw Ian like she had never seen him before today. His anger and confusion were evident. To others, it might have seemed like a small emotional change, but Doa, who had known him for a long time, understood. It was the first time she had seen him like this since his parents died when he was young.

Naturally, Yoon Siwoo, the one who had made Ian like this, came to mind.

A rebellious man who hadn’t quite shed his boyishness. There was nothing to say about him looking pitiful like a child, but…

Even after the outbreak, Yoon Siwoo, who had been a shut-in, had stayed home all this time. There was something off about him, but things seemed to get done smoothly when he did things his way.

It was despicable. Ian had rescued him and brought him along. To hurt Ian like that. But it was inevitable that such thoughts crossed her mind.

Was Yoon Siwoo right?

Certainly, from an idealistic perspective, Ian was right. Killing people and taking things from them was wrong. But as a woman, Doa could also understand. The chilling gaze of Kim Munhyuk looking at Jiyu and the fate of the women left here.

Her mind was too tangled to fall asleep. Instead, what came to her was a yawn.

Doa glanced at Ian next to her and softly called his name.

“Ian…”

There was no response, as he had already fallen asleep.

Originally, she was supposed to go with the designated group, but Kim Yeoreum, who had gone upstairs, didn’t return. She didn’t have the courage to wake up the unfamiliar bald man. Besides, it was dark, and she couldn’t even tell who it was.

In the end, Doa got up by herself. It was just a trip to the bathroom, so she would just go and come back… with such a careless thought.

The problem was the dim lighting that only showed faint outlines. In a place she visited for the first time today, and being directionally challenged, Doa had no chance of finding the bathroom properly.

After wandering around the same place for a while, tears welling up in her eyes, Doa felt a gaze and stopped in her tracks.

Trembling, she turned her head in the direction where she felt the gaze. There, a little boy was staring at her.

“Eek…!”

At first, she trembled, thinking he was a ghost, but instinctively she knew. He was a human.

Empty eyes stared at Doa. It was hard to think of them as a child’s eyes. There were a few children in the square, but their eyes were not like this.

Even in a situation where adults were in despair, the children were playing and having fun together.

Doa approached the child.

“What are you doing here?”

“….”

“Where are your mom and dad?”

The child shook his head.

She didn’t know what to say. Many children had lost their parents, but she had met one for the first time.

“Don’t you want to be with other people?”

He nodded.

“Well…, you shouldn’t be alone. It’s dangerous.”

After saying something foolish, she realized. What could be dangerous about wandering around alone in this small mart?

The child remained silent. Doa, who had been hesitating, sat down next to the child.

How long had they been sitting there like that? The child spoke up.

“The kids are bothering me, so I don’t want to go over there.”

“What? They’re bothering you?”

Surprised, Doha immediately responded, but there was no answer. After a moment of contemplation, Doha stood up decisively. Then, she reached out her hand to the child.

“Let’s go together. I’ll protect you so they can’t bother you.”

The child’s eyes wavered. A faint light flickered in their small pupils. After hesitating a few times, the child cautiously placed their hand on top of Doha’s hand. They tightly held onto her small, warm hand.

“What’s your name?”

“…Taeo. An Taeo.”

Taeo saw the brightest smile since the day he was born.

The older sister, with that smile fully blooming, spoke up with a slightly awkward expression.

“But… Taeo, do you happen to know where the bathroom is?”