episode_0011

It seemed like the old man had been stirring things up quite a bit, as no zombies were visible except for some that were crawling back to the manhole they came from.

Looking at the entrance to Annex 2, which was already a mess, completely destroyed, you can imagine what the engine room must be like now.

In the front are two porters driving a cart loaded with the three coils they just acquired. Behind them is Hyeji. And behind them is Gaebaeksu, who is either Cheondeuk or Childeuk.

My uncle and I moved to the Pureun Apartment where the client, Seungho Park, was, with the last one guarding the back.

“Originally, we were going to shake off some zombies and join up.”

“Since there was a request from Cheon Deuk anyway, I thought it would be okay to keep them as underground as possible. They’ll be able to work comfortably next time.”

“I haven’t said anything about doing that yet.”

I don’t know what this old man is thinking, but deep down, I’ve already decided to wrap up this year’s schedule with the request of that dirty bastard Seungho Park.

From now on, it’s obvious that it’s going to get colder and colder with each passing day, and yet you’re going to crawl back to that hospital under the guise of a favor?

I can’t tolerate this.

“Haha, I didn’t say I’d take you either. Danhwa, you should rest in the shelter. It’s a shame to lose a strong backup, but I’ve already prepared everything. Danhwa, it won’t be too dangerous if you leave, right?”

I got the feeling right away after hearing the old man’s words.

This fucking old man… He’s going to go no matter what I say.

“So, you’re going to leave me in the shelter and go out alone?”

“Okay! And the word ‘staying put’ sounds a bit strange, so I’ll just go for a walk while Danhwa takes care of himself for a while. What’s so hard about getting some medicine?”

I stared at the old man. I felt a growing sense of discontent rising in my chest. Why bother with someone I knew, someone I had met before, and even someone I had never met in passing?

In preparation for the winter that only gets colder as the year goes by, there are things scattered around the shelter. I wonder if they are leaving it all there to go get medicine for someone who might not even know it.

The old man seemed to think that the idiot was the father of a daughter, but I couldn’t believe that he was anyone’s father, or that he was a competent doctor.

Any adult who is old enough to cry and ask for help is hypocrisy… and who knows whether the photo he is showing, claiming to be of his daughter, was obtained by raiding someone else’s house?

“What if something goes wrong?”

I blurted out the words with complicated feelings.

I wasn’t afraid of dying. It was my uncle who forcibly saved my life from the beginning. I just thought of my current life as a bonus and lived it.

If you live like this, you’ll die.

But if the old man died while doing something useless, I would feel bad for many reasons. Even if he was a frustrating, stupid, and crippled person, wasn’t he still my benefactor who saved me?

You just watch as someone walks into a life-threatening situation? That person dies before you?

For me, who lives with the mindset that if I die, I die, that was fatal.

If that happens, of course I won’t be able to die as I please. It’s obvious that I won’t be able to sleep properly at night.

That’s the nature of debt. In my case, I didn’t want to, but I owed you my life, so whether I like it or not, I have to help you out with the amount of my life, or repay you with my life.

What if my uncle suddenly dies? Then who should I pay my debt to? Like the craftsmen who have inherited the family business, should I continue my uncle’s foolishness?

Do I have to volunteer for ridiculous requests from people who are like idiots and only listen to their thanks?

I’d rather take the bullet that’s going to pierce that son of a bitch’s head. That’s just not in my nature, I can never do it.

“Poohahahaha! What’s wrong? I’ve been doing this for three years now, and it’s never been wrong, right? Well, it’s not like I’m rolling around in dangerous places like before, I’m dealing with slow, dull zombies.”

“…”

You idiot, you think you’ll be okay in the future just because you were okay until now?

Are zombies the problem? People are the problem. What if you go to the hospital to get medicine and then run into guys who are hell-bent on robbing other people?

Moreover, since they had caused such a big stir this time, it was obvious that the kids who were acting independently would get entangled because of the commotion.

Because medicine was one of the precious things in this fucking world. Even common painkillers and fever reducers have gone up in price quite a bit since the world became like this.

If the guys who used to only make 0.05 bowls of rice per grain have increased to more than 1 bowl of rice, then I have nothing to say.

“I’m really sorry to ask you such a dangerous favor.”

“Mr. Cheon Deuk, I told you. It’s okay. This is my job. If you go get Mr. Cheon Deuk’s medicine and bring other medicines with you, that’s it. Rather, thanks to Mr. Cheon Deuk, you’ll earn additional income, so you don’t need to feel bad about it. Just say thank you and move on. You’ll owe me a lot in the future.”

“Ha…”

I’m so pissed I could die. Should I just close my ears?

Gae Baek-su bowed his head and waist deeply to the old man’s words, expressed his gratitude, and then returned to his seat.

*

“That’s why it’s a short story.”

“Do whatever you want. That’s how it’s always been.”

I don’t know. It’s not like there’s anything wrong with this nonsense. I think it’s best to just think that he’ll come back as usual without any problems.

“Instead, it’s really the last one.”

“This year, of course.”

What a fucking kid.

I kicked the old man’s joint. The old man frowned as he was kicked by the strong heel.

“B…”

As I watched the old man holding his shin and rubbing it to suppress the pain inside, my boiling stomach calmed down a little.

But the brief moment of relief quickly disappeared when I thought about the fact that he had declared that he would trouble me again next year.

This won’t work in one go.

“Mr. Do-Hoon, what’s wrong?”

“Hahaha! No! Not at all! I think I dropped something for a moment, so I was picking it up!”

“Aha?”

The old man pretended as if nothing had happened and removed the hand that was covering his shin, leaving his shin, now without the guard, exposed in front of my feet.

It was obvious that Hyeji would keep nagging at me if she saw me, so I moved my feet as soon as Hyeji turned her head.

Thud.

“Hahaha. You see? Huh? Joint-breaking is a bit too much. I didn’t experience this kind of thing in the past either.”

The old man laughed heartily and grabbed my feet in his hands without making a distinction between my feet and ankles, keeping me still.

“Let go.”

I tried to swing my legs and try to move, but since the old man was quite large, his hands followed suit, so no matter how hard I tried, it was all in vain.

It looks like it was caught by some kind of industrial machine rather than a human hand.

“If you promise not to wear it, I’ll let you go right away.”

“Let go.”

“I told you I won’t let you go if you don’t promise?”

Persistent kid…

“I’ll keep quiet until I get back… So let me go.”

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to speak.

If I weren’t so small, I wouldn’t have suffered such humiliation…

Anyway, the old man looked satisfied at my words and gave my feet back their freedom.

However, since he had been with me for more than just a day or two, he did not immediately show any signs of laxity by letting his guard down.

Seeing that, I also gave up on the thought of revenge and quickly hurried my steps.

I really hate to see that. That bastard doesn’t listen and only knows how to use his power…

*

“As expected, Do-hoon! He’s a surefire guy. I can’t trust other guys, but I don’t worry about our Do-hoon. Hahaha!”

Park Seung-ho patted the old man on the back and burst into hearty laughter. He was in a good mood because he had returned after completing a difficult request in just one day.

Honestly, if it weren’t for me, it would have taken the old man three days to do it by himself.

That would be true, because if I hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have even thought of taking Hyeji.

Even if I barely managed to shake off the zombies and reach the engine room, I knew that even an old man with no engineering knowledge would have to look at the difficult-to-read blueprints and get lost trying to figure out which coil was which.

Even if I succeeded in disassembling the coil, I could picture it being quite difficult to go back the way I came or climb up the ventilation shaft.

“How did our little girl get hurt? She was so cheeky this morning! Hahahahaha!!”

What the… annoying kid.

Park Seung-ho seemed very happy that I was injured. Well, the person who had been scratching my insides in the morning came back injured, so it must have felt like a toothache had fallen out.

“The work was done quickly. I will give you the promised salary. And since there is an issue with the little girl getting injured, I will give you some painkillers as a bonus. I am doing this because you are Do-hoon! Isn’t that right? Huh?”

“Well, yes. I appreciate it.”

“The little girl should be thankful that Do-hoon is her partner. If it weren’t for Do-hoon, she would have just given him some compensation and left him alone, regardless of whether he got hurt or not. I’m cold-hearted when it comes to anyone but my family”

I also don’t want to be part of your family.

Park Seung-ho showed off his yellow teeth with an unbecoming smile on his face.

If my arm was still intact, I would have been startled and shot the arrow, but how could there be a zombie in a place like this?

I swallowed the regret that the leader of the Blue Field apartment had an appearance that could be considered a zombie and a brother, and the regret that I couldn’t personally get rid of that horrible leader.

So the old man and I returned to the shelter.

“This is the first time I’ve seen a shelter this well-maintained.”

“Oh, this is a facility that we don’t have even on our side!”

With two glued lumps.