episode_0015

“Sir, I thought you said last time was the last time. Did I hear you wrong?”

At my words, both the old man and the white-haired man flinched.

When did I say I would kill you? Why are you scared? I didn’t say I wouldn’t go. I was just asking about the circumstances.

“That’s right, last time I went to the hospital. Honestly, nothing much happened back then?”

“But.”

I said, staring at the old man. I didn’t like the idea of crawling out of the shelter in this cold weather or having to go into a sewer filled with a musty smell.

“…”

“Why, keep talking. Did I make you mad or something?”

“You seem angry…”

“Excuse me, Danhwa-yang…Can I explain?”

“Oh, okay. I’m not mad. Hurry up.”

I spoke lightly, my body relaxed. Since it had been a while since I pulled the bow, I gently pressed the string to check if the tension was okay, and I also hung an arrow and shot it toward the empty space.

Meanwhile, Gaebaksu explained why we had to come outside now that winter was fast approaching.

“So, it was fine until I got my medicine from the hospital. Yesterday, when I went to pick up Gaebaek… no, Cheondeuk’s daughter, there were zombies all over the road?”

If I can pick up my daughter by myself in this weather without even asking my husband to accompany me, then I guess I really am a real person.

“That’s right. The shelter I prepared was in the city center, but it was a relatively unpopulated place…”

“It’s a shitty world. Words like “forever” and “never” don’t fit. It gets really cold, so survivors often wander around late to get supplies. In the process, zombies move around.”

“I’m so embarrassed.”

Cheon Deuk bowed his head deeply at my words.

“It’s not Mr. Cheon-deuk’s fault, so you don’t have to feel so sorry. We all just wanted to eat and live, right? This time, it’s not just me, but Dan-hwa too, so it’s a problem that can be easily solved. Just think about what you’ll say to your daughter who’s been home alone all this time.”

“You should be fine…”

Even though his appearance was not good, his face looked like it was about to die because he was so worried.

If I pricked him with a needle, it felt like worry would flow out instead of blood.

If this is also an act, I guess I’ll just have to be fooled.

I have now decided to accept the fact that a man named Park Cheon-deuk is a father with a daughter.

There were many good opportunities to do something, but I didn’t do anything until I was fully recovered. Honestly, I had no reason to force myself to believe it now.

Oh my, did you say it would take a week? Time is running out. You must be busy.

I nodded to the old man. I meant to tell him to hurry up and the old man’s expression brightened and he started to move forward.

“Okay, let’s go quickly! I’ll take the lead until we get to Mr. Cheon Deuk’s shelter.”

*

Mr. Cheon Deuk’s shelter was about 4km away from the hospital. It was not a short distance from our shelter to there.

“In a month or two, this place will be frozen too.”

The water that had accumulated at the entrance of the sewer that I had just entered had already frozen over. Of course, I didn’t know what the situation was like under the ice, but even without checking, it was obvious that it would all freeze over after a while.

“No matter how cold it is, it won’t be that cold. If it gets that cold, our shelter won’t be safe either.”

“I’m just saying. Do you think I don’t know that? I’m just saying that because it’s going to get so damn cold, so don’t come out again.”

“It’s really cold, like a pair of socks. I don’t think it was this cold last year around this time…”

Mr. Cheon Deuk agreed with what I said. When the ratio became 2: 1, the old man looked embarrassed and added that I was just saying that, and muddled the conversation.

“Mister’s daughter, what’s your name?”

“Her name is Park Hwa-ryeon. My daughter’s mother loved lotus flowers. Since she was born during a difficult time for both of them, we named her Hwa-ryeon with the hope that she would grow up well like a lotus flower regardless of her background.”

“Haha, Mr. Cheon Deuk and his wife dote on her so much… There are many reasons why your daughter is pretty?”

Oh my, wipe your spit. I can see right through you. If you were just a woman, wouldn’t your eyes roll back?

I was about to tackle the sly old man’s words, but I just gave up. I didn’t want to ruin the already bright atmosphere.

It’s a long way to the shelter, and if one of our party members starts giving off a dark vibe during the trip, both Nana and Uncle will feel uncomfortable.

The old man seemed to have read my mind and continued talking to Cheon Deuk.

I was afraid that if I brought up a topic full of desires, it would ruin the mood and everything, but fortunately, the old man was able to keep that line well.

“I think they’re all here… Danhwa, can you check for me?”

“The coordinates are exactly the same. Mr. Cheon-deuk, it’s the closest manhole to the shelter. Do you know this place?”

“That’s because I didn’t go to the hospital through the sewer. When I came alone yesterday, I didn’t come through this manhole either… I guess I’ll have to go outside to find out.”

No, what did I hear? It’s 4km from here to the hospital, and he walked all the way? Is this guy crazy? He was found by the old man without being searched for.

“What, you must have a hidden weapon? How are you still alive and not a zombie?”

“Nothing special. There just aren’t many zombies near the shelter…”

“Aren’t you embarrassed even if you say so yourself? How can you say that there were no zombies for the entire 4km walk? ”

“That could be true. Last time, we ran around 3km without encountering many zombies. Think about it. Even we, who were nothing special, had that kind of luck, but this time, because of my father’s will, the whole world was moved by his sincerity and helped him.”

Mr. Cheon Deuk scratched his head as if embarrassed by the old man’s words.

“Still, I was able to survive the crisis of imminent death thanks to Do-hoon. In fact, if Do-hoon wasn’t there, I would have died, leaving my daughter alone, just like Dan-hwa said.”

This is a story I haven’t heard before. It’s not like we just happened to meet at the hospital, but that old man was nagging me again.

“What is this? Why is this the first time I’ve heard of it?”

“Honestly, it’s too much to pretend not to know when you can get it. It’s inhuman. We should help each other and live.”

“Haa… Okay. That’s just how you are, sir.”

It’s not like we happened to run into each other and were chatting, and then I saw your daughter’s picture and I turned around and helped you. I guess I misunderstood a little bit about that.

Honestly, I was saved thanks to that damn personality, so I had no right to say anything.

“Shorts, like last time?”

“Uh. I’ll be back after stirring it up a bit. If you pick up a weird guy again, I’ll kill you. Cheon Deuk’s daughter is a patient.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen. I’m a person who thinks too. Then I’ll go first!”

The old man said while thumping his chest at my warning. If you have thoughts, why are you thumping your chest? Are you saying you have no thoughts and will do whatever you want? That’s really typical of an old man.

“What are you doing? Come up. I’m going to see my daughter, but what am I going to do if my father doesn’t show up?”

“Ah! Yes, yes!”

I woke up Cheon Deuk, who was just staring at us like we were fools. As I went up, Cheon Deuk followed me closely.

*

I carefully looked into the manhole that the old man had left open and checked the situation outside. Perhaps it was because the cold had only just begun, but the zombies didn’t seem to be very active.

First of all, seeing that the zombies in the area were moving in a certain direction, it seemed like the old man was doing his job.

“Come up here and take a look. Neither I nor you know what the shelter looks like.”

“Oh, yeah. Let’s see… Here…”

Judging from the fact that people were talking about the Sangdo Paint Shop and the Insurance Company, it seemed like they had come to the right place.

“So where is it?”

It’s across from that white building. Following those words, I looked around and saw a house with a pure white wall built like a castle wall, and across from that was another house with a wall built like that.

“This seems like a rich neighborhood.”

When the tightly closed chassis went up, a foreign car that anyone could recognize just by speaking would pop out, and when the gate that replaced the entrance to the castle wall opened, a wide open garden and a housekeeper who would ask, “Who are you?” would come out.

“Well, is that so…?”

“Is this your house, sir?”

“Yes…what…”

“self?”

“They don’t give out jeonse here very often.”

By the way, I thought this person was a doctor.

Based on my limited background knowledge, it seemed like a rather unusual case for a doctor to be able to specialize in both surgery and internal medicine.

If it’s a surgical specialist, it’s clearly stated as a surgical specialist, and if it’s an internal medicine specialist, it’s clearly stated as an internal medicine specialist.

In my experience, even at a local hospital, if it’s a surgical hospital, it’s a surgical hospital. I’ve never seen a hospital where one doctor handles both surgery and internal medicine.

He seems to be a more amazing person than I thought. He has a lot of money… and he has such a gloomy vibe that I thought he was just some guy who hung around adult PC rooms and made a fuss.

I expressed my apology, albeit in a small way, in my heart.

Sorry for calling you a bum.

Of course, I didn’t intend to say that apology out loud. The situation is urgent right now. It would be better to meet my daughter as soon as possible.

“How do I get in?”

I jumped out of the manhole and pulled Cheon Deuk out, asking him.

“Just run. When I type in the password, the door will open.”

“If zombies come in too!”

What are you going to do?

Even though the old man lured the zombies, there was a limit to that.

It was one block from the manhole we were in to Mr. Cheon Deuk’s shelter. There was no guarantee that there wouldn’t be zombies beyond that, and no matter how quickly we closed it, it was inevitable that a few would come rushing in.

“I only believe in the amount of short stories!”

It was a statement that held quite a bit of trust.

“What do you believe in that makes you do that?”

“Because Mr. Do-Hoon believes in Danhwa Yang!”

I found myself chuckling and bursting out laughing.

Not a bad answer.

I’m going to try my best for once.