episode_0019

Unlike the zombies, it wasn’t difficult for Do-Hoon to climb over the fence. He could do it by using the overgrown trees.

What greeted Do-Hoon as he entered the house was a stinging stench. The smell was seeping in through the slightly open window, and Do-Hoon swallowed his breath in frustration.

‘Did I see things wrong?’

It was clearly a human hand, and the puppy disappeared right before his eyes. Do-Hoon went into the house with a knife in one hand to find out what the stench was.

The stench had gotten stronger, but despite the stench, there were no corpses strewn about the hallway, just a considerable amount of dust.

The conflicting circumstances were confusing Do-Hoon’s head. It didn’t seem like he had been attacked by zombies. But what was that stench…?

Do-Hoon opened the living room door without hesitation and discovered a mountain of tin cans with flies flying around.

The can was full of what I couldn’t tell if it was broth or maggots, with the kernels gone, and it gave off a smell that was no less than that of a city odor.

“It’s true that people live there.”

Do-Hoon nodded and went out into the yard. A rich man’s house, a yard, a white hand sticking out of the ground, a puppy.

Do-Hoon looked at the ground where the puppy had disappeared with one conviction. Only there, the grass grew short.

I felt something strange and touched it, and it turned out to be artificial grass, not living grass. If the grass that grew lushly in the yard had been properly maintained, I wouldn’t have noticed it.

I tapped it with my hand and a sound rang out, as if to prove that the other side was empty.

‘A private bunker? The owner of this house is quite the man.’

Since everything was confirmed, it was right to go back. Danhwa would be waiting, and Cheon Deuk and his daughter Hwa Ryun would also be waiting.

It was obvious that it wouldn’t turn out well if I forced my head into someone else’s bunker.

Since many firearms from military bases and government offices were smuggled out at the beginning of the incident, there was a high possibility that someone would get shot in the head as soon as they said, “Hello.”

‘I guess it’s right to go back…’

The moment I straightened my hunched body and was about to leave.

“Wow!”

A faint scream was heard from beyond the tightly closed bunker. Do-Hoon reflexively reached out and opened the bunker entrance.

There was a device to lock it from the inside, but it was not locked.

The situation was too urgent to raise questions.

Do-Hoon hurried down the long ladder that was slightly inclined. Soon, there was a closed iron door, and when he pulled the handle, it opened smoothly, just like the entrance to the bunker.

Do-Hoon went straight inside, holding the jungle map in his hand.

“What’s going on!!”

“Hipp…”

Inside was a girl hiccuping while holding a puppy in her arms. She looked younger than Danhwa and probably would have been in middle school by now if the world had been ok.

“Who are you…”

“Urrrr…”

The puppy the girl was holding growled at Do-Hoon. Do-Hoon realized that there had been some misunderstanding.

First, he put the sword he was holding back to his waist and took a step back, showing that he was bare-handed to confirm that he had no intention of causing harm.

“I heard you screaming so I came to save you… Are you okay?”

Dori dori.

The girl shook her head. Do-Hoon wondered if a zombie had entered the bunker.

“Are you alone? Where are your parents? If something happens, I can help you.”

Do-Hoon spoke as gently as possible so that the frightened girl wouldn’t be scared.

Of course, it was uncertain whether one could feel reassured when someone with bloodshot eyes and a jungle knife barged in and said that.

“My parents aren’t here… After the zombies appeared, they told me to stay here, then went somewhere and didn’t come back.”

“That kind of…”

Do-hoon felt sorry. He didn’t know why her parents had taken such measures, but he could guess that the child left alone would have been quite lonely and had a hard time.

“Do you want to go with me? It’ll be much safer than here.”

Do-hoon thought that he should take in this child as well. He would probably get a little scolded by Dan-hwa, but he couldn’t help it.

Besides, even though he might show on the outside that he dislikes Danhwa, he might secretly be happy to have more friends his age.

“With uncle…?”

“Yeah, there are a few girls your age. And a good doctor too.”

“Girls…”

Do-hoon nodded at the girl’s words. It seems that she was moved when she said that she had friends her own age.

“They’ll probably be your older sisters, but they’re all nice-natured, so you’ll be fine. Oh, one of them might be a little prickly, but that’s not their true nature, so don’t take it too seriously.”

“The fluff is…”

“Fluffy? Oh, a puppy? You can take him! He doesn’t seem to bark much.”

Do-Hoon felt relieved when he saw the girl’s expression brighten. Then he slowly approached the girl, got down to her level, and asked.

“You can call me Kwon Do-hoon, Uncle Do-hoon, or you can call me Do-hoon Oppa. What about the students?”

“It’s Irina. Dohoon oppa.”

“Ugh…”

Do-hoon honestly expected that she would call him uncle. Neither Dan-hwa nor Hye-ji had ever called him oppa.

But when I was suddenly called by a title that I had no tolerance for, I thought my ears were melting. My heart was pounding, perhaps because endorphins or adrenaline were being secreted.

Come to your senses. The other person is a middle school student. No matter how much you choke on that title, why are you excited when he’s a few years younger than you?

“It’s scary outside… Is it okay for us to stay like this, Dohoon oppa?”

As soon as he heard the word “oppa” again, Do-Hoon’s resolve was shattered.

“Then! Don’t be afraid, Oppa will protect you well.”

Wouldn’t someone ten years younger be considered basic? Do-Hoon forced himself to suppress that thought and decided to satisfy his greed. Isn’t that a title that Dan-Hwa would never hear in her entire life?

“Thank goodness… he’s a kind older brother.”

He felt something prickly. Thinking he had been bitten by a bug, Do-Hoon scratched the back of his neck and then grabbed Lina’s hand.

“Get out…huh…?”

Do-hoon, who was about to head straight to Mr. Cheon-deuk’s house with Lina, suddenly realized that he had no strength left in his body.

Lina’s hand, which he thought he had caught, slipped out of his grasp as if it were a joke.

“It’s dangerous outside… I wish you could stay here with Lina. You know? I’m good at cooking too.”

“That’s…what…”

“You’re tired, right? While you’re taking a nap, Lina will prepare a delicious meal. Okay?”

“No… The short story is waiting…”

Slap.

Do-Hoon couldn’t hold on to his fading consciousness. The control that had begun to disappear from his fingertips and toes soon left his entire body.

Beyond the blurry vision, Lina’s feet wearing slippers with a rabbit design on them were visible.

*

This must have been the house number. I thought to myself as I climbed over the wall. As the sun began to set, the cold grew worse, and my hands, which had been red since long ago, became so dull that I thought they were stupid.

“Ugh…what’s that smell…”

As soon as I stepped into the yard despite the harsh conditions, a terrible stench hit my nose. The building certainly looked fine…

It seems that what you see isn’t everything.

Thanks to that damn old man who treats promises more lightly than a can of bread, I’m now going through a garbage dump called a mansion.

The yard was overgrown with grass, and there were marks of grass pressed here and there. The familiar size and pattern made me instinctively know that the old man had been here.

“Lost…”

He gritted his teeth. What are you doing in this horrible smelling place? Did you make eye contact with a woman?

If I lived in a place like this, I knew that the smell would probably permeate my clothes and body. I couldn’t help but click my tongue.

I didn’t know you liked chicken coops. Is there some kind of garbage dump fetish?

How did you hide this kind of taste all this time? When you had a younger girl or someone you liked, you would act all kinds of crazy and act like a fool. Then you’re saying it was all an act.

Well, if you have a fetish for chicken coops and the smell of sewage, it seems better to live with people misunderstanding you as a pedophile.

As I walked through the open front door, there was, as expected, the old man’s footprints in the dusty hallway.

As I followed the footsteps leading to the living room, the smell got worse, so I peeked inside and saw a food waste bin.

The military trash can would be cleaner than this.

After leaving that brief impression, I went straight out of the house.

There were no footprints heading to the second floor, and the old man’s footprints were confirmed to be heading straight through the living room and out to the yard.

As I followed the old man’s footsteps in the yard, I rolled my eyes and discovered something suspicious. The grass was so short that it was noticeably different from the surrounding grass.

I went closer to check and saw that there were several of the old man’s footprints nearby. I had a feeling right away.

“Bunker.”

Surely, the reason why communication didn’t work…

I lifted the lid without hesitation and stepped inside cautiously. When I reached the door, I put an arrow on the bow and went in, ready to shoot at any moment.

Squeak.

“Hey, if you move you’ll die…?”

The sight that was revealed when I opened the door was dizzying.

An old man tied to a pole with wire, and a girl feeding him affectionately.

The situation was so messed up that I was speechless. The only silver lining was that there was no chicken coop or sewage patty in sight.