episode_0036

” I really want to go with you. ”

” Wouldn’t it be boring if you went with me? Is it really that easy to decide in the first place? In today’s world, staying in the village would increase your chances of survival? ”

” This town has abandoned me and those kids. I don’t want to stay here anymore. ”

” What about your family or relatives? What about your friends? ”

” I’ve been independent for a long time. I’m from a foreign place. What kind of friend would you be with this personality? ‘

That’s a sad statement in many ways…

” Sigh… I have a condition. I’ll give you guns and ammunition. Choose a target and shoot from 100m, 200m, and 300m away. If your accuracy in all three areas is over 80%, you’ll be allowed to join. ”

” Uh.. Then isn’t that a huge waste of ammunition? I’ve never even held a gun. ”

” Practice shooting a stone by placing it on top of the gun barrel… There’s also practice for controlling recoil… Ah~, Sergeant, can I ask you a favor? ”

” Yes, but it is impossible to teach everything in a few days. ”

” Then you can stay longer. There’s no need to rush. ”

” Wasn’t Yeoju’s business urgent? ”

” You don’t have to worry about that. ”

If they were hit by a nuclear attack, their chances of survival would be hopeless, and if the impact was minimal, they would be trying to protect themselves like this village. And if I were alone, I could go around without much worry, but these people had to be thoroughly prepared.

Food, hygiene, clothing, bedding, etc. There are mountains of things to prepare. Convenience stores, gas stations, and rest areas are not as widespread as they used to be.

” Then I understand that, oh, Grandpa. Where is Tiri’s house? ”

############

” Mom..! Dad..! ”

Tiri ran quickly to her home. Her speed was almost like running away from a robber. It means that Tiri misses her parents that much.

It wasn’t that long ago that Tiri and her parents separated. It wasn’t even a month.

But it must be a terrible time for the victim.

For Tiri, it was a time of fear, pain, and despair, and for her parents, it was a time of worry and sadness.

Huh? Why were only my parents in the village?

That’s because this little kid snuck into the supplies transport team because he wanted to eat some sweets.

And the transport team fled from the robbers, abandoning their luggage and running away.

The first deviation could have been the last.

Tiri opened the front door of the house and shouted.

” Mom! Dad! ”

” Tiri?! ”

” Tirini?!! ”

When Tiri’s parents heard her voice, they ran out.

The family, finally reunited, hugged each other.

” Tiri, Tiri! My daughter! Let me see your face! Are you hurt?! Yes? ”

” This kid’s body is covered in bruises..! ”

Tiri’s body was covered in bruises from the assaults of the robbers. The wounds were concentrated on her arms, legs, side, and back, as she was lying on her side or face down when she was beaten.

Normally this posture is a measure to protect vital organs, but Tiri mastered this on her own despite being young.

It was a heartbreaking thing for the parents.

” Haa, haa. Tiri! Let’s go together..! ”

Jaha, who arrived after him, grabbed the doorway, gasping for breath.

” Oh my… you? ”

” Uh.. I’m Tiri’s companion, or should I say a fellow survivor? I’m that kind of person. I was worried when Tiri ran away from the village chief’s house alone, so I followed him. ”

” Survivor..? Are you the mart survivor? ”

” Yes.. but.. ”

Tiri’s father bowed his head and said.

” Thank you for protecting our daughter! ”

” Uh…yeah..? ”

For a moment, Jaha didn’t understand what this meant. The weight of the protection provided within the village where safety was guaranteed was so different from Tiri’s father’s grateful actions.

Usually all you have to do is say thank you or invite them into your home and offer them a glass of water.

” What are you talking about.. ”

” He thanks you for protecting our daughter at the mart. Thank you so much. ”

” Ah.. ”

Yes, the parents thought that Jaha had brought Tiri back.

It was a complete misunderstanding.

” Me, me! I’m just a survivor! I didn’t have the luxury of saving or rescuing anyone! I look weak just by looking at you! ”

It wasn’t a boast, but it was persuasive. Just like Tiri, his whole body was covered in bruises. No, it looked like he’d been beaten even more than Tiri.

” Oh, I see… I’m sorry. ”

” Oh, no.. ”

Although the misunderstanding about Jaha has been cleared up, it may be difficult to reveal the truth.

Because, just by looking at her appearance, the silver-haired girl appears to be much weaker than him.

############

After hearing the location of Tiri’s house, I started walking towards it.

There’s no particular purpose. I’m just going to check on the kid to see if he met good parents.

They’re probably talking to each other inside the house right now.

I arrived at Tiri’s house. I stopped in front of the front door and knocked.

Bang bang

Oh, I didn’t control my strength properly. I used a little more force because I thought it was a little bigger, but if someone heard me, they’d think I was kicking them.

” Yes~. ”

A voice came from inside. It was a middle-aged woman’s voice.

The front door opened outward, so I stepped aside.

A woman came forward and looked around. Was this Tiri’s mother?

” Hey? It looks like someone came looking for me.. ”

It’s right next to me. It’s not even blocked by the door.

” Here it is. ”

” Oh my, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you would be such a cute guest~. ”

The woman said, placing her hands on my cheeks and rubbing them together.

” Are you by any chance Tiri’s friend? A foreign friend is a strange thing~. ”

” We haven’t known each other for very long. Is Tiri in there? ”

” Then, it’s inside. Now, follow me. ”

I followed the woman to what was presumed to be the living room, where I found a middle-aged man, Jaha, and Tiri.

” You came to the right place. Tiri. ”

” Yeah! Thanks to you, I was able to see Mom and Dad again! ”

” Hmm? Tiri, thanks to that kid? ”

A middle-aged man looked at me with a puzzled expression. This man seemed to be from my father’s side.

” Yeah! Sister saved everyone! She beat up the bad guys! ”

” Are you going to scold me? ”

” I killed him. ”

” Hey, I wouldn’t say that even as a joke. ”

” They shot them with guns, cut their throats with knives, stabbed their arms and legs, and tortured them. If you’re curious, go to the mart and you’ll find out. It’s a pain to clean up the bodies. ”

” Uh.. ”

I don’t want to beat around the bush, and I don’t want to make up a lie. If Tiri hadn’t brought it up, I would’ve just let it go, but she said it the moment she saw me.

” The only reason I came here was to check on Tiri’s parents. Oh, Tiri. If you want to see me, come to the chief’s house. I plan to stay there for a while. ”

” Yeah! See you again! Sister! ”

” Oh.. Oh, I’ll go too! See you later. Tiri! ”

” Hello, Jaha-eonni~! ”

Maybe it’s because I met your parents, but Tiri seems to have brightened up. That’s good.

As I started to go out of the house and head to my grandfather’s house, Jaha started walking next to me.

” Well… I’m glad Tiri met good parents. Right? ”

” What about you? ”

” Huh? ”

” Don’t you have anyone to meet? ”

” Umm, um.. I had a friend who was like that.. ”

” Were you friends? ”

” That guy, like me last time, was in charge of collecting, transporting, and checking inventory at the logistics mart. It wasn’t just us, there were other people too, and robbers came rushing in that day, right? As we were running towards the village, there was one robber who was chasing us who was fast. He and I were at the very back, and then he tripped me. He ran without looking back. ”

” Ah, I’ve been betrayed. ”

” I really thought we were friends… but I guess not.. ”

” Do you know where his house is? ”

” Huh? I know, but… ”

” Don’t you have business with him? ”

” … Yes. I want to ask why.. and I want to ask if you really thought of me as a friend. ”

############

” Here it is. ”

The place Jaha led us to was a place with only one small house. There was a yard behind it and a small vegetable garden.

Even if it’s a small house, it seems like it’s about 30 pyeong in size just by looking at the building. Maybe it’s because it’s in the countryside.

I looked at Jaha and said.

” From now on, follow me without making any noise. I’ll go around the house and look for an open spot. ”

The front door will of course be locked, so I’ll have to enter through the window.

After listening to what I said, Jaha walked towards the front door.

Then he pushed aside a pumpkin-sized rock near the front door and began to dig out the dirt underneath it with his hands.

I dug up some dirt and found the key there.

…You’ve hidden the key really cleverly. Is this an emergency key?

So we carefully opened the locked front door and entered the house.

I opened the door and went in, and inside there was a woman sleeping soundly on a blanket.

” You’re sleeping well. ”

” …..Okay.. ”

The sight of him sleeping with his drool dripping was the epitome of comfort.

He grabbed the woman’s shoulders, sat her down, and rocked her back and forth.

” Ugh, ugh, ugh. ”

After shaking it a few times, it woke up making a strange noise.

” Hey, wake up. Jaha has something to say. ”

” Ugh.. What? Okay..? Huh? ”

I guess he just woke up and doesn’t fully understand the situation. I guess I need to shake this some more.

He shook it more vigorously than before to bring it to its senses.

” Ah, sleep, yea! Wake up, yea! ”

I stopped shaking and stepped back, giving Jaha her turn to speak.

Jaha, who understood what I meant, approached the woman and spoke to her.

” Why did you do that? ”

” Hey, Jaha? Really Jaha? ”

” I’m the only blonde in this town. Why is that? ”

” It wasn’t my fault! It was a mistake! I didn’t mean to knock you down! ”

” Why did you run to me as soon as I fell? You never looked back. If you were a real friend, you should have grabbed my arm and helped me up. ”

” If we get caught like that, it’s over for both of us, right? Those who live, live! ”

” Oh… Really? I see. To you, I was just a throwaway being. ”

” Why are you okay? Since you came to town, it looks like nothing special happened, right? ”

” What the heck.. ”

Jaha gritted his teeth. Perhaps he was suppressing his anger.

There were several bruises on Jaha’s appearance, namely on her arms and legs. They were visible even to a woman.

If you look at that, don’t you ask if anything happened? If you’re safe, don’t you say that everything is fine?

It’s normal for a victim to get upset when someone who doesn’t know the situation says something like that, but in this case, the perpetrator was speaking sarcastically. Ja-ha was amazing for holding back his anger.

Are you doing this because you used to hang out together?

” You and I are finished now. Don’t pretend not to know each other again. ”

After leaving those words, Jaha turned around, looked into my eyes, and nodded.

Ah, I guess I don’t have any affection left.

Jaha passed me and went out through the front door.

The woman who confirmed that Jaha had left looked at me, who was not leaving, and spoke in a questioning voice.

” Kid, why aren’t you out and why are you sulking? Get out. Don’t look at me because I don’t like how you look. ”

Wow, I didn’t know I would get cursed at all out of the blue.

” You’re not going out because you have something to do, right? ”

” What’s the matter? ”

” Yeah. To you. ”

” Where’s the little girl talking informally? ”

A woman came up to me, raised her hand, and slapped me in the face.

….This makes it difficult for me to control myself.