episode_0076

Second Coming (3) – Safety zone in Guro-gu, Seoul

[14th day of rescue]

The darkness of the lobby, where there was no space to walk due to the increased number of people, was shimmering with candles placed here and there.

Doo doo doo doo doo-

“Kkisss—!”

Despair and fear, which are not easily forgotten, eventually become familiar.

All humans are born with such a disposition.

Even with the roar hitting their ears, no one turned their head out the window.

People flocked around the white man as if drawn by a magnet.

I confessed the anxiety that was deep in my heart and received an answer.

I expressed my pain and sadness and received comfort.

It was a night in Guro-gu, where such a sight had now become so familiar.

Even today, a circle of tired and distressed people formed a circle around the man.

The man was sitting with a small child on his lap, looking to the side and smiling.

Kim Ji-ho, who was observing them from a distance, also followed the man’s gaze.

There, among the people the man had brought in not long ago, a woman holding a guitar was singing.

“My heart rejoices in the leader who came to me~”

It was a hymn.

She opened her pink lips, wearing white clothes instead of the casual clothes she had been wearing when she came here.

“My eyes have seen your salvation~”

Fine tone and beautiful melody.

The lyrics there are somewhat difficult to understand.

However, everyone who formed the white circle looked at her with their hands folded with hazy eyes.

“Please save so that there are many people in the world who serve you completely~”

The trembling tone slowly quieted down.

Her hands elegantly playing the guitar stopped and she bowed her head politely to everyone.

Everyone who was enjoying the afterglow applauded everyone.

Clap- clap- clap-

The man also applauded benevolently until the woman carefully blended into the group.

“Master! Tell us about Sanctuary again! Is there really so much water and so many friends there?”

When the song ended, the kid sitting on the man’s lap asked.

The boy’s sparkling eyes were full of pure longing.

“That’s right. It’s a very peaceful and beautiful place.”

“How can I get to the sanctuary?”

“Pure white body and mind. If you have that, the door will open.”

Ahhh-

A small exclamation flowed through the conversation between the boy and the man.

The people who listened to their questions and answers were imagining a sanctuary with their own wishes.

Kim Ji-ho stared at Lee Ji-woo, who was looking at the man with an ecstatic expression in the front row.

The woman who criticized men as cult leaders was no longer there.

There are only passionate believers who follow him more faithfully than anyone else.

However, Kim Ji-ho did not dare to criticize her.

Now, he also had no confidence in criticizing that man as a simple cult.

Was it yesterday?

He remembered Lee Ji-woo approaching him while he was still keeping his distance from them.

She, dressed in pure white Shinto clothes, spoke to herself for the first time in a long time.

‘Mr. Jiho. Still not sure?’

‘… … .’

Lee Ji-woo frowned at himself as he did not answer, just like the first day.

Kim Ji-ho remembered the look on her face when she kicked him out after coming in late.

‘Jiho, you are so shameless. You know that if it weren’t for the grace given by the religious leader, it wouldn’t be surprising if you would have starved to death right now, right?’

She was irritated with herself, looking no different from the first day.

Kim Ji-ho had always thought that those who believed in cults were only those who had lost their minds somewhere.

but…

‘The leader told me to leave it alone, but I have to say it. Even as a family, there must be give and take. Make your choice soon, Mr. Kim Ji-ho.’

How can that lively expression be the expression of those who have turned away?

‘Will we become a family? Will I become an outsider?’

After leaving a final warning to her devastated self, she returned to her ‘family’.

‘Sister Jiwoo, why do you get close to non-believers?’

‘Still, I feel a little uncomfortable, perhaps because it’s a face I’ve seen since day one.’

‘Ah, that is the love between family members that the religious leader was talking about. I was foolish, sister.’

Ha ha ha ha ha-

“Hey, Jiho’s younger brother. Are you done playing that damn guitar?”

A grumpy voice woke Jiho Kim, who was looking back on time.

Kim Ji-ho naturally suppressed a frown.

A middle-aged man sits down next to him without any response.

Youngho Park.

In many ways, he was the opposite of the white man.

“Fuck it, I guess I’ll have to go a little further and cum starting tomorrow. The smell made me nauseous and I couldn’t wipe my poop.”

Kim Ji-ho looked indifferently at Park Young-ho’s hand, which was clasping his shoulder in a friendly manner.

This man always pretended to be this friendly to me.

Maybe it’s because he didn’t join that white circle.

“Brother, do you have any toilet paper left?”

“I don’t have one either, you bastard. Why don’t you take more care tomorrow when that pseudo-science spreads.”

“Oh, I’m in a hurry now―”

People gather around Park Young-ho.

They were mainly young, strong men.

They were generally dissatisfied with a white man reigning as leader.

The lobby, which had been quiet with only the words of the man in white, became noisy with the chatter of Park Young-ho’s group.

Immediately, Lee Ji-woo was glaring at them with angry eyes.

“Brother, look at how she’s glaring at that bitch. Ah, that sucks.”

“You bastard! There’s nothing I can’t say to someone who also has a daughter.”

“Oh, sorry about that! But bro, don’t you have any tissues?”

“This bastard, hey! This time it’s not poop, but something else, right?”

“Ah, I got caught―”

Ha ha ha ha ha-

Rather, they turned up the volume as if to show off Ji-woo Lee, who was glaring at them.

Kim Ji-ho had no desire to get involved in the group’s war of nerves.

All he wanted to know was the man in white.

It was just a deliberate distance for that purpose, but Park Young-ho seemed to see it as a rebellion against the white man.

Not only Lee Ji-woo but everyone in the white circle glared at Park Young-ho’s group as the loud laughter echoed through the lobby.

A white crowd of old people, young children and women.

“What are you going to do if you see it?”

A group of young men responded by snorting at them.

Jiho Kim kept his eyes on the object of his observation.

The man in white was watching us with a faint smile as always.

“Well, tongue, brother. That’s all for today… ”

One of Park Young-ho’s group spoke cautiously under the white man’s gaze.

They didn’t end up like this from the beginning either.

The dissatisfaction that was expressed little by little gradually grew to this point over time.

“Ugh! Fuck it, I’m still deciding today.”

“Tongue, brother. What are you going to do?”

“Look at that. Look at all the trustworthy bitches gathered there. A cult is not a big deal. If you keep them in one place and gently scratch out the areas where they are lacking, they say it’s all fake.”

“We all know that it is a cult. But that man… ”

“You bastard. So I’ve been touching it gently so far. It’s not that that man doesn’t kill us, it’s that he can’t kill us.”

Jiho Kim somehow thought that the man in white was showing mercy.

“Originally, cult leaders are very concerned about morality. Brother, trust me once. I am the one who invaded the cult and took away my daughter.”

Park Young-ho thought that was the limit of the religious leader.

Youngho Park confidently walked towards the white man.

The leader smiled brightly when he saw Park Young-ho like that.

Kim Ji-ho’s body fluttered as he reacted as if he had been waiting.

“Hey, hey boss! From what I’ve seen so far, you eat and sleep just like us. But how are you God?”

Park Young-ho confidently asked the man.

The man in white crossed the dividing circle and slowly stood facing Park Young-ho.

He said, looking down at Park Young-ho.

“I guess I looked like a god in your eyes.”

A low but resonant voice.

Park Young-ho, who flinched slightly, shouted as if shaking himself.

“You just spout off words and have nothing to prove! Is there really such a thing as a sanctuary? And those zombies or something, you didn’t prepare it to scare us and make us believe it?”

Kim Ji-ho’s eyes sparkled as he watched Park Young-ho’s defiance with disdain.

Surprisingly, Park Young-ho was spitting out the things he was really curious about in a rapid-fire manner.

The ballpoint pen filled with Kim Ji-ho’s enthusiasm turned to the journal and his eyes turned to them.

“… … .”

Park Young-ho’s question brought silence to the lobby.

The man patted Park Young-ho’s shoulder, who was stretching out his upper body, and laughed.

“The peacock spread its tail wide.”

Park Young-ho’s body clearly flinched at the man’s words.

The man in white instead took out a baseball bat and a flashlight out of thin air while taking out a bottle of water.

He put them in Park Young-ho’s hands and whispered softly.

“Don’t use all your courage on me. Prove my lies with that courage.”

He pointed out the window with a gentle gesture.

The flashlights floating in the air following his fingers simultaneously illuminated the outside of the window.

One zombie left out of a long group of zombies.

The zombie that had been blown away by the muscle mass was running back to join the group.

Park Young-ho felt like he had a chance to win with just one zombie.

“Watch everyone! Because this is the end of the show! Guys, let’s go!”

“Tongue, brother. If you don’t share food with us like this… ”

“Ah, that’s because you trust me and come out! Let’s go together with Jiho’s younger brother!”

Park Young-ho, who was very excited, began to drag himself away unilaterally.

Kim Ji-ho stared at the white man with puzzled eyes, and he smiled slightly and nodded.

Ah – I don’t know.

Rather, as Park Young-ho said, now could have been a proving ground.

If that being that is running towards you is really a zombie, doesn’t that mean it is, in other words, a human corpse?

A corpse with a missing body and a strong man.

This is a matchup that a strong man cannot lose.

Since there were no muscle groups running menacingly in the middle of the group, now was the right time.

“Brother. We couldn’t bring anything with us, right?”

“Oh, I guess it’s okay. I have everything in mind. First, let’s break that cult leader’s logic before negotiating.”

“… … oh. How?”

“When the kids who don’t trust us try to escape, we hold the mood on their behalf. And then they ask for food… What do you guys want… You know?”

“Wow! Brother, you are truly a genius!”

“You bastard! I told you to trust me, man!”

While they were dreaming of a rosy future, they arrived at the center of the road.

Those in the lobby were seen coming out under the man’s leadership to look at Park Young-ho’s group.

As they walked down the road more dynamically, they and a zombie recognized each other.

The zombie recognized Park Young-ho’s group and raised its head to the sky.

“Kkisss—!”

“… Lord, they say the dead guy’s voice is too loud?”

“Baby, I’ve listened to it so much that I’m sick of it, so why are you telling me your review? Look carefully. You cult leader.”

When Youngho Park saw the man watching them, he thought to himself and started running towards the zombie.

“Kkisss—!”

The zombie also ran towards Park Young-ho, shaking his upper body wildly.

“Die, you bastard!”

The first pitcher was Park Young-ho.

He was trying to figure out the timing by swinging the baseball bat wildly, then swung the bat sharply at the zombie that came close.

Whoa!

The zombie that had been hit on the right shoulder rolled around on the floor with a light hitting sound.

“Fuck, there’s nothing special! Huh?!”

Park Young-ho, who was bending his neck from side to side with a sigh of relief, frowned.

The zombie that had fallen to the ground got up like a roly-poly and was running towards him again.

Kim Ji-ho, who was watching the scene, shouted without realizing it.

“Head! Aim for the head!”

Youngho Park, who caught a glimpse of himself for just a moment, swung the baseball bat at the zombie again.

The baseball bat, which was clearly aimed at the head, ended up heading towards the neck due to the zombie’s dynamic movements.

Whoops!

This time, Park Young-ho’s expression turned white as the zombies rushed towards him as soon as he fell.

“kkieeek―!”

Park Young-ho’s eyes were shaking dizzyingly.

I couldn’t swing the baseball bat while keeping the distance between me.

This is a guy who stands still and runs after the blows he swung, even giving his back a bounce.

Each time a hit fails, the distance between you and the monster decreases.

Now, if you fail to aim for the head again, it will get very close.

“Tongue, brother! Aim for the head! Head!”

Park Young-ho frowned as the crowd cheered from afar.

‘Fuck you! I know! ‘I know!’

I know what to aim for.

But how to make it successful was a different matter.

“Kkisss—!”

As the grotesque face of the guy gets closer, the courage that was gushing out disappears.

Cold sweat started from my forehead and quickly dripped down my cheeks.

“Kkisss—!”

“This, this shit!”

Tuk-

Park Young-ho found a more certain victory.

Because surviving means winning someday.

Youngho Park threw the baseball bat at the zombie and started running towards his group.

“Tongue, brother?”

The group cheering for Park Young-ho simultaneously asked embarrassed questions.

The group of people who were staring at Park Young-ho running towards them with their teeth clenched slowly took a step back.

Among them, a man who was looking at the ground where Park Young-ho would step on shouted urgently.

“Brother Youngho! front! Hole in front!”

Actions were always faster than words.

chin-!

Park Young-ho’s foot got caught in the hole in the asphalt created by the steroids.

Park Young-ho, with his ankle twisted, rolled on the floor.

“Kwaaagh―!”

“Brother!”

The zombies chasing behind were faster than the rushing crowd.

The zombie leapt at once, grabbed Park Young-ho’s back, and bit his neck.

“Quaaaagh—!”

Blood sprayed onto the zombie’s face as if an artery had been torn.

Park Young-ho shook his body here and there, but the zombie never fell and continued eating.

“… … Huh?”

Men didn’t understand.

Things that they could not understand with their common sense were happening at the same time.

As the body tore off the person’s neck, a fountain of blood poured out.

The person whose throat was torn suddenly twisted his body.

Park Young-ho, who was twisting his body at an incomprehensible angle, tilted his head and stared at them.

Then he opened his mouth and shouted.

“Kkisss—!”

A zombie carrying a zombie runs towards them.

The man instinctively looked toward the back, which was the escape route, and opened his mouth blankly.

Doo doo doo doo doo-

“Kkisss—!”

The colony responded to feeding signals sent by its mates.

Without a chance to escape, two zombies attacked the two men.

And then four zombies attacked the men again.

Only then did their legs give out and they took a step back, but even more hell was waiting behind them.

Kim Ji-ho instinctively ran towards the white man again.

“Quaaah!”

“What is this! Let it go, let it go!”

“Tongue, bro! Come to your senses!”

I held the journal close to my chest and somehow ignored the loud screams coming from behind me.

“Kkisss—!”

However, they do not miss their prey.

Tung-!

A zombie leapt towards him from behind and crashed into the car in front of him.

Zombies crashed into streetlights and signs and squeezed in without any problems.

In an instant, the whole place was occupied by these guys.

“Heo Eok― Heo Eok―”

Damn, damn, damn!

The left arm of the zombie that hit the sign was abnormally bent.

The rat was running towards him with its arms outstretched.

end.

The apparent end has arrived.

“Kkisss—!”

The thing leaps towards you.

In the back, the screams of people and zombies were still mixed together.

He relaxed his grip on the journal and looked ahead.

A group of white people looking at themselves with calm expressions.

Past the old man, the young child, and Lee Ji-woo, the man in the center.

As always, he faced me with a bright smile and whispered with his mouth.

‘Salvation.’

And then he gently raised his right hand.

“Kkisss—!”

Their vivid roar struck my eardrums.

I could smell their bloody breath right under my nose.

However, death did not come.

Slowly, very slowly, Kim Ji-ho’s head looked in all directions.

And then he let out a silent expression of astonishment.

The world stopped.