episode_0104

In human relationships, etiquette plays an important role.

At first glance, it might seem like a culture full of formality and ostentation.

However, it cannot be denied that it is a necessary culture.

…Although, getting too deeply engrossed led to labels like “Confucian boy” or “stuffy scholar.”

Whatever the case, moderation is essential.

Appropriately flexible manners help maintain smooth relationships.

Inappropriate manners can lead to rigid relationships.

There’s no need to overthink it.

“One’s words and attitude toward the other person.”

If the other person isn’t important, polite words won’t come out.

If the other person is important, one will naturally act with respect.

In that sense, I am currently being treated with ample respect.

“This has a truly wonderful aroma. Please try it.”

“……”

CEO Choi, an elder and someone in a high social position.

He was treating me, who was much younger, with gentle courtesy.

Even if it was a good occasion, he personally brewed the tea and handed me an ashtray.

Any department head across the country would light up with rage and unleash curses if they saw this.

Slightly flustered, I looked at Jihyeok hyung.

*Sip*

Whether he knew my burdened feelings or not, this handsome man was savoring the tea’s aroma. Just as I was about to glare at him with resentful eyes.

“Please make yourself comfortable. I’m doing this because I want to.”

“Uh… even so…”

“I don’t do this for just anyone. It’s special for Seonghan-ssi.”

“…Is that so?”

CEO Choi simply offered a gentle smile.

From his actions, I could subtly feel his consideration; he held me in high regard and wished for me to be at ease. I decided to stop worrying and accept it.

“You seem aloof, but you care in unexpected ways.”

“Hyung. I was originally just an ordinary citizen, you know?”

“As if.”

The handsome man sipped his tea, exchanging playful words.

Hyung also seemed to consider me quite close.

The slightly reduced distance felt quite good.

Although no special words were exchanged and I only sipped the tea, my mind felt at ease.

I savored the atmosphere for a moment.

By the time I had leisurely emptied about half of my teacup.

I quietly set down my teacup.

In response, the two men also naturally set down their teacups.

“…I can tell you have something to say, but it seems to be a difficult topic.”

I nodded slightly at his words.

Because it wasn’t something to talk about lightly.

“So… what is it you want to say?”

I moistened my lips with the tip of my tongue and looked at the two men, who were ready to listen.

And then I began to recount the events of the day before yesterday, one by one.

From meeting Dr. Jang Heeyeon to encountering Private Kang Ilbyeong’s group.

Everything from the thugs I met in front of the Fake House to the very end.

I told them everything from beginning to end.

It didn’t take a very long time, but it felt like a long time had passed.

The two men listened intently to my story.

And as time passed, their expressions hardened.

“…So, I guided Director Jang’s group and came straight back.”

“……”

“……”

“That’s all the information.”

When I announced the end of the story, the two men leaned back.

With complex expressions, they naturally pulled out cigarettes.

The three of us lit our cigarettes in silence.

“…Normally, I wouldn’t believe it, but…”

“I don’t have any particular reason to lie.”

At my calm words, Hyung exhaled a long stream of cigarette smoke and replied as if frustrated.

“That’s not what I mean… think about it. Would you easily believe someone annihilated an entire organization of that size overnight? Especially if they said they did it alone?”

“We believe it because we’ve seen what Seonghan-ssi has done, but strangers wouldn’t.”

“Exactly! You filmed a movie overnight. Ugh…”

A bitter smile crept out at their reactions.

Perhaps my reaction was absurd, as Hyung tossed out a comment.

“…Funny.”

“Well, I mean…”

“…The reason you told us first is because of how people would react, isn’t it?”

As expected, he was quick-witted.

I didn’t know how people would think of me after hearing this story.

They might view me as a murderer or a dangerous individual.

As I nodded silently, CEO Choi leaned forward.

Stroking his chin, he wore a more serious expression than usual.

“…There certainly won’t be no shock.”

“…Indeed… I suppose so.”

“Zombies alone are despair-inducing enough, but now people are dangerous too…”

“…?”

“It’ll be hard to accept that the world has become lawless. It’s essentially a situation where you absolutely can’t go outside. Things are happening that can’t even compare to what we experienced in Yeongdeungpo, so the shock will be significant…”

“No, excuse me…”

“And we didn’t even know that…”

“It seems we’ve been too complacent in here…”

…It seems the point is slightly off.

“That’s not what I’m talking about, though.”

“Then what?”

“Are you two not bothered by me at all?”

“??”

“I annihilated the thugs.”

“That’s right.”

“Not a single one of them survived, did they?”

“Hmm… So that’s what you were worried about.”

CEO Choi, realizing what I was trying to say, chose his words carefully.

“You said you saw a mountain of corpses on the hospital rooftop.”

“Yes.”

“And the corpses on the street were their doing too.”

“Right.”

“Was there any reason to let them live?”

“…Well, that’s true, but…”

“…Are you perhaps worried that we might be afraid of you or avoid you?”

“……”

“Oh, come on…”

*Chuckle*

At my speechless reaction, the two men let out hollow laughs.

‘Even for someone with a calm demeanor, aren’t they too bold?’

Their nonchalant reaction made me feel perplexed.

“Seonghan-ah.”

Jihyeok hyung wiped the smile from his face and called me seriously.

“You’ve probably heard this saying.”

“Which one…?”

“If you kill one person, you’re a murderer; if you kill a million, you’re a conqueror.”

“And if you kill ten thousand, you are a god. It’s a satire by a certain philosopher.”

Even CEO Choi, chiming in from beside him.

I’m sorry to interrupt this serious moment, but I don’t understand why classical proverbs are coming up.

“…But I killed hundreds?”

“They say if you kill a hundred people, you’re a hero. You’re a hero then. Perhaps a 3-star hero?”

“No, what…”

“Seonghan-ah. Did you think we were afraid of you?”

“Hyung, you flinched when you first saw me.”

At my words, Jihyeok hyung flared up.

“Flinched?! Who flinched?! I was just surprised because you showed up covered in blood back then! No, this isn’t the point!”

“Seonghan-ssi.”

As the atmosphere was about to get chaotic, CEO Choi gently called out to me.

His eyes were soft, showing no hostility.

“Do I seem to be afraid of you now, Seonghan-ssi?”

“…No.”

“How about Hyuk?”

“…He doesn’t seem to be.”

“That’s how it is. We are not afraid of Seonghan-ssi.”

“You two have strong rational sides, so that might be the case. But what about other people?”

At my words, CEO Choi offered a deep smile.

“It will be the same for the others too.”

“…”

“You’ve been acting cool all this time, but you were worrying about that?”

“…Hyung.”

“You’re timid, aren’t you?”

“Hyung. Timid? Me?”

His sudden words left me dumbfounded.

Me, timid?

“Yeah, you are.”

“No, I mean, what!”

“You. What were you going to do if we had said we were afraid of you?”

“I was thinking of quietly disappearing. Everyone’s safe now, anyway.”

“Right. Timid.”

“……”

I don’t know why the conversation suddenly veered so far off track.

It was very different from what I had expected.

As I was left speechless by their unexpected reaction, CEO Choi spoke gently.

“Seonghan-ssi could have suppressed us with force, just like those thugs.”

“……”

“But you didn’t. And knowingly or unknowingly, you ran around for the sake of the people.”

“That’s…”

“Seonghan-ssi could have abandoned us and left at any time.”

CEO Choi spoke the last words with a slightly heavy tone.

He was right. I could have left at any time.

I was also prepared to do so.

“But you didn’t.”

CEO Choi maintained his characteristic gentleness.

I could feel him speaking plainly, without any pretense.

“We think highly of Seonghan-ssi. We trust and rely on you. It’s the same for everyone else.”

“Just as much as you worry, we worry about you too. Please know that.”

“……”

Hyung stubbed out his finished cigarette and lit a new one.

The way he took a long drag and exhaled slowly was like watching a scene from a movie. That face, which even exuded a decadent beauty, was unfair.

“When we first met, you appeared covered in blood. After that, whenever you went out, you came back drenched in blood. But do you know something?”

Hyung’s gaze, fixed on me, was somehow moist.

Like the kind of misty, romantic eyes people often talk about…

“After you got covered in blood, things became safe. Everything went smoothly.”

“……”

“It’s not just me. Everyone is grateful and apologetic.”

“…Is that so?”

“Killing those inhuman bastards? Even if you take down tens of thousands, we’ll cheer you on.”

“That’s right. If they were going to do such things in the first place, they should have been prepared to die. Not knowing how scary the world is! *Tsk*.”

‘…Were they always like this?’

The two of them weren’t the type to disregard life.

But their reactions felt too dry.

Just when I wondered if it was okay, Hyung continued in a low voice.

“…In Yeongdeungpo, you see…”

“Hm?”

“Young-cheol was being trampled, and Shia was about to be harmed.”

“Ah…”

He seemed to be referring to what happened at the girls’ high school.

“I charged at those thug bastards, but I couldn’t do anything. The guys laughing and spouting nonsense from behind, the people just watching from behind. I couldn’t do anything.”

Emotion was added to Hyung’s calm voice.

“…My powerlessness felt so infuriating and unfair.”

A deep, strong anger leaked out.

His clasped hands, as if trying to restrain himself, had turned white from lack of blood circulation.

The anger visible in his restrained gestures felt pitiable.

“But you appeared and cleaned it up in an instant.”

“Hm…”

“It felt so refreshing. It was thrilling.”

In Hyung’s eyes, as he spoke with relief, there was something akin to longing.

“If only I could have! I wanted to be like you.”

“…Hyung.”

“The way you handle zombies without fear… the more I saw it, the more envious I became.”

“I agree. As a man, I was truly envious.”

CEO Choi took a puff from his cigarette for a moment, then spoke calmly.

“Back then, when we were escaping with the soldiers, I doubted my own eyes. It was to the point where I thought I had finally gone mad.”

“Ah, you mean then…”

“Seeing Seonghan-ssi rampage amidst death gave me courage. Honestly, I almost wet my pants back then.”

CEO Choi scratched his cheek awkwardly as he confessed his feelings at the time.

“As Hyuk said, I feel the same way. If only I could, I would want to do that too.”

Hyung and CEO Choi, seemingly thirsty, gulped down the now-cold tea.

On their faces, a faint desire for power flickered.

Not power in the sense of authority, but a primal, fundamental kind of power.

“The world has changed so much. One thing I know for sure, if nothing else, is…”

Hyung paused for a moment, then spoke resolutely.

“If I think softly, I’ll be the one to die. That much I know.”

“We can’t think like before. If we’re soft, we won’t last even a few hours in this situation.”

“We can trust and like you, but we will never distrust or fear you.”

Jihyeok hyung asserted it as if there was no need to think twice.

His demeanor was resolute, as if he wouldn’t accept any counterarguments.

“You look like you don’t believe it.”

“…It’s not that.”

“Then how about this? What if you don’t commit indiscriminate murder?”

“I’m not some kind of psychopath…”

“See? What’s there to worry about? You might not know this, but the people here aren’t pushovers.”

“Hyuk is right. As a result of our conversations, they are definitely not soft.”

“As long as you don’t needlessly trample on lives—”

“That won’t happen.”

At my firm declaration, the two men smiled faintly.

“Rather, they’re worried about Seonghan-ssi.”

“…Me?”

Would worrying about me be meaningful?

Unless a missile explodes directly in my face, nothing can kill me.

Honestly, even if the world ends, I’m confident I’ll survive.

Whether he knew of my confidence or not, CEO Choi spoke.

“This is a bit sensitive to say, but…”

“…?”

“Your grandmother said so. She said you seemed precarious, like a child left by the water’s edge.”

“…Grandmother did?”

“She said it’s clear you’re extraordinary, but that thought keeps coming to her.”

“Shia said the same thing. She feels like you shouldn’t be left alone.”

“……”

“…Speaking of Shia…”

CEO Choi paused for a moment, then spoke heavily and cautiously.

“Shia has a fear of men.”

“I heard that. It didn’t seem too severe, though.”

At my words, CEO Choi shook his head repeatedly.

“It was quite severe. To the point where she couldn’t even go outside for a while.”

“……”

“She’s overcome it a bit and started a new beginning.”

“Things got a little better after she transferred to our company.”

Now that I think about it, he did say she had a very hard time before.

But to the extent that she couldn’t even go out…

“…That eldest son of Jincheon.”

“You remembered. That’s correct, but that’s not what I mean…”

CEO Choi cleared his throat for a moment, then spoke about Shia.

“Even though she’s much better, she still finds it difficult to deal with men. But…”

“When she interacts with you, she acts completely normal. She seems comfortable.”

“It’s like seeing her before her heart was hurt.”

“…Is that so?”

I hadn’t heard the full details, so I hadn’t realized.

She sometimes showed a light and playful side, so I hadn’t known.

That she had struggled so much.

“Shia has excellent intuition. She’s a child with keen senses. Can’t you tell by how she trusts and follows Seonghan-ssi?”

“So, stop with the useless thoughts. Don’t even think about leaving us behind.”

*Pfft.*

“…Funny.”

After they said this, I realized my worries had been truly pointless.

A light laugh escaped me out of emptiness.

“Still, it feels good.”

“Hm?”

“The fact that Seonghan-ssi was thinking seriously about us. That’s very good.”

“Right. I thought you had put up an impenetrable wall around your heart.”

Seeing Hyung’s slightly mischievous smile, I also started to laugh.

“…I guess I’ve grown attached to you all.”

The two men burst into laughter at my words.

With laughter, the atmosphere lightened a bit.

They had listened to my story that deeply.

I could feel Hyung’s and CEO Choi’s thoughtfulness.

A small sense of understanding forming between men.

With a much lighter heart, I lit a cigarette.

The three of us chain-smoked, but the room didn’t become a smoky den.

As I looked around in wonder, CEO Choi spoke up.

“We put a lot of effort into the ventilation system too. *Heh heh*.”

Noticing my reaction, CEO Choi added, clearly proud.

“Alright then…”

Jihyeok hyung neatly organized the parts of the story related to me and began to compile what would be told to the others.

CEO Choi also started discussing ideas and contemplating the future direction.

While I was worried about how I would be perceived by others, the two men were concerned that people might fall into despair from the information I had given them.

The same content, but entirely different worries.

It was a time of reflection on emotions that were close to a storm of adolescence, if not quite a “Black Flame Dragon of the Right Hand.”

Of course, the result was that my worries turned out to be pointless.

‘They trust me…?’

It was a phrase I had heard several times.

But the feeling it evoked in my chest was different.

I felt sorry for the two men seriously discussing in front of me, but I quietly savored this heavy feeling alone.

Until they drew me back into the conversation.