episode_0008

The atmosphere was not much different from yesterday. My gaze briefly shifted towards Taeo.

The boy that Chadoa brought last night. He looked cute like a child, but there was a lack of vitality in his expression that couldn’t be ignored by anyone here.

Even though he seemed like a quiet kid, Taeo was currently in charge of the facility management here and was the one responsible for assisting the former leader Yuminho in managing the equipment.

But now, he was in a precarious situation due to the power outage in the underground power plant.

“Who is this kid?”

“Th-that… He was alone and lost, so I brought him here.”

“I need to go check on him…”

“No! The others were bothering him. Stay with me.”

Ian seemed to be trying to relax the situation, asking various questions to Taeo and chatting for a while, but soon his expression turned serious as he fell into deep thought.

After sharing the last remaining food in the silence, a while passed.

The time announced for the morning roll call had long passed when several people came down through the elevator.

Even if they were running the generators, it wouldn’t be easy to operate the elevator…

Faces marked by hangovers. The women’s attire was more disheveled than yesterday, and some seemed to lack any vitality in their faces.

Kim Yeoreum was giggling next to Kim Munhyuk, laughing brightly.

In contrast, the men couldn’t hide their satisfied smiles beneath their tired expressions.

As Kim Munhyuk casually tapped the shotgun on his shoulder, Ishangyeop suddenly popped out.

“Hey, old man, you should have come out earlier.”

“Haha, sorry.”

The bald man laughed humbly, looking younger than him by at least ten years.

“Was there any problem last night?”

“Well, thanks to Munhyuk, everything went smoothly.”

Even with the obvious flattery, Kim Munhyuk chuckled with satisfaction.

They probably drank all night and fooled around with women… Even though they were wandering around openly in the early morning without knowing anything.

After that, there were meaningless words exchanged for a while. Useless reports just to reaffirm their meager authority.

“Yes, everyone is safe. Including the new person who arrived yesterday…”

Ishangyeop, who had turned his gaze towards our group, suddenly widened his eyes and stopped speaking. Kim Munhyuk, who was scanning Hajiyu’s body with his eyes, finally noticed something.

Their gaze was directed towards Ian’s back. More precisely, the child hiding behind Ian. The little child peeking out from behind her. It was Taeo.

“Uh, well, that…”

Before Ishangyeop could come up with an excuse, Kim Munhyuk stepped decisively towards Taeo.

In essence, his actions were no different from approaching Ian, and Ian also seemed to think it was an opportunity as he walked towards Kim Munhyuk.

“You, you little brat, why aren’t you by the generator…”

As Ian popped out, Kim Munhyuk’s words naturally stopped. They stood a few steps away from each other, teasing each other.

Not understanding the situation, the subordinates who were dumbfounded finally surrounded them.

“What are you doing! This bastard!”

“These damn kids, where did they crawl out from after we saved them!”

“Should I ring the bell, boss?”

Each of them extended their weapons, threatening the group. Among them, Mundeodo was imitating martial arts, ready to draw his katana at any moment.

Kim Mun-hyuk raised his hand to stop him, and the commotion gradually subsided. Despite trying to remain calm, the anger he was suppressing was evident on his face.

Still, he didn’t act recklessly just because he was the boss.

“What’s wrong? Any complaints?”

Ian was about to declare his departure. Of course, Kim Mun-hyuk wouldn’t allow it.

All eyes were on Ian. The newcomers’ faces were displeased with the disturbance caused by him. Ian, after composing himself, glanced not only at Kim Mun-hyuk but also at those behind him.

“Are you all satisfied with the current situation?”

Ian’s unexpected statement left everyone, including Kim Mun-hyuk, stunned. Of course, I was included.

“I can tell even after just one day. The atmosphere here is not normal. Kim Mun-hyuk claims to be the leader through a vote, but is that true? Aren’t you forced to be the leader due to threats or violence? Please be honest. I will help you all.”

People started murmuring. But no one stepped forward to agree.

I rubbed my forehead.

I never thought that pushing a little yesterday would lead to this kind of resolution…

Suddenly, the murmuring stopped.

Truly the best negotiation tactic. When Kim Mun-hyuk pointed the gun at Ian, everything seemed to be resolved quickly.

“What’s wrong? Anyone dissatisfied?”

There was no response.

Ian didn’t seem particularly disappointed, as he didn’t have high expectations.

“How long can you lead this place with power and violence? Have you tried going outside recently to find something? Is the food situation okay? If you continue to follow this person, it’s like being dead. Whether you starve to death, die from internal conflicts, or become zombie food.”

Once again, murmurs and unrest spread everywhere. Everyone knew that the end of this false peace was slowly approaching.

This time, the thugs surrounding us began to look confused.

“H-Hey! Shut up, will you!”

Moon-dae rolled his eyes and shouted, but it only provoked the people further. A young man with a cast on his leg grabbed a crutch and stood up.

“What, quiet down, that’s what he’s saying! We didn’t act like this when Min-ho was here!”

“What? What did you just say, you bastard…”

“Right!”

“That’s not wrong!”

Some sitting individuals hid in the crowd and echoed their agreement.

“Come on, why are you all like this! Kim Mun-hyuk, lower your gun. Let’s all calm down.”

Isang-yeop, sweating profusely, tried to mediate belatedly, but the situation was spiraling out of control.

Kim Mun-hyuk’s face twisted.

“How are you going to take responsibility for this, you bastard?”

“Step back. It’s not too late yet. In the right direction…”

“Shut up!”

A finger twitched on the trigger. I felt my heart sink.

Ironically, Ian, the instigator, faced Kim Mun-hyuk with determined eyes.

How dare this lunatic do such a thing… How can I not do anything about this!

I knew it was reckless, but I never expected it to escalate in this direction just because I pushed a little.

Even though Ian was coming out recklessly, Kim Mun-hyuk couldn’t act rashly.

Ian had ignited the seeds of anxiety and discontent in people’s hearts. Shooting Ian now would be like pouring oil on the already ignited people. No matter how many tough guys they had, we were overwhelmingly superior in numbers.

No matter how much you boast about having a gun, it’s just one shotgun, and it’s inconvenient to reload. If an angry crowd stained with rage were to swarm the square, the outcome was obvious.

“If you shoot, we’ll all die together. If we make the right choice now, everyone can survive…”

“Hyung-nim! It seems like we should come over here… There’s something strange here, u-uh—”

The radio suddenly cut off as abruptly as it had started ringing. Ian stopped speaking in the uneasy atmosphere. Everyone’s attention focused on Kim Moon-hyuk’s radio.

Tensions rose in different ways than just a moment ago.

“Tsk,”

Kim Moon-hyuk, who hesitated for a moment, seemed to have made up his mind as he raised his gun and pointed to some of his subordinates.

“Follow me. The rest of you, keep an eye on these guys so they don’t do anything stupid. I’ll go see what’s going on and report back, so you guys keep the people calm.”

In this tense situation, he probably wanted to show a leader-like appearance and try to gain some points from the people. Even if a couple of zombies were to come in, with this number of people, Ian thought they could handle it.

The tension in the room quieted down as if a mouse had died.

The surrounding subordinates growled and glared at us.

I approached Ian sneakily.

“Kim Moon-hyuk’s gun is a double-barreled shotgun. You have to reload after firing two shots.”

“What?”

Ian looked puzzled as if he was suddenly hearing something strange.

“And this.”

I handed him the recorder.

“There’s a recording of zombie sounds on it. You might need it at some point.”

Ian looked at the recorder in his hand for a moment, then nodded and put it in his pocket.

“I thought about what you said yesterday. Of course, I couldn’t agree with the way you suggested, but it was me who suggested leaving these people behind and running away to save ourselves. Thanks for making me realize that. Running away is the easiest and most cowardly way, isn’t it?”

Ian chuckled inappropriately at the atmosphere.

As if he were mesmerized by a scene just pulled out of a screen, he nodded his head.

So, does he think I talked about the shotgun and gave him the recorder to solve yesterday’s awkwardness? Well, it doesn’t really matter if he misunderstands, but more importantly…

– Bang! Bang!

People flinched at the thunderous sound of two gunshots. In the increasing tension, the rapid footsteps sounded from afar.

“Ahhhh!! Oh, sh*t!!!”

Leading the charge was Kim Moon-hyuk, his face pale with terror as he ran towards them, frantically waving his arms.

“Zombies!!! Zombies!!!”

At first, people looked puzzled. Behind Kim Moon-hyuk, there was only one zombie running towards them. It should be easy enough to handle…

But that illusion shattered in an instant. The fastest one ran forward alone. The increasing number of figures revealed dozens in sight. And behind them, a relentless horde of zombies followed.

“Ahhhh!”

“Scream!”

In an instant, chaos erupted in the room as screams filled the air. Those who were quick on their feet scrambled to get up and ran to the back as soon as they heard the word “zombie.”

Even Ian was momentarily stunned by the unexpected attack of the zombie horde. The only calm ones were me and Hajiyu.

Meeting Hajiyu’s eyes, I nodded my head.