episode_0118

It rained so much it was as if a hole had opened in the sky.

The thick rain fell almost horizontally due to the strong winds.

‘It’s not even the rainy season, what’s going on.’

Even though I was standing under the eaves, the bottom of my pants were already completely soaked.

I wanted to leisurely enjoy a cigarette, but the fierce rain and wind forced me back inside.

Grumbling, I shook off the rainwater clinging to my body and headed to my room.

I changed out of my wet clothes and lay down on the bed.

‘…What should I do?’

Now that I actually had time, there was nothing to do.

In the past, I would have watched a movie or binge-watched a drama I’d fallen behind on.

Naturally, I couldn’t enjoy such content now.

I regretted not getting a game console or something similar sooner.

As boredom gently crept in, I rolled around on the bed.

Knock knock knock-

With the knocking sound, a pleasant voice came.

“Oppa. Are you in there?”

“Yeah. Come in.”

Shia soon entered the room, saw me, and flinched.

“…What are you doing now?”

“I’m bored.”

“Come out and have some tea.”

“…It’s a bother….”

“Don’t be like that, hurry up and come out.”

As I kept dawdling, Shia grabbed my hand and pulled me.

‘…Her hand is soft.’

Gently led, I followed behind Shia.

In the drawing room I idly followed her to, most of the people were gathered.

The people saw me being dragged in and chuckled softly.

As I sat in the empty seat, Mr. Choi spoke gently.

“I apologize for disturbing your rest. I thought it would be nice to have tea together.”

“Not at all. I was just bored.”

In contrast to the cold outside, I felt a warm and pleasant atmosphere as I picked up the teacup in front of me. Everyone remained silent until I took a sip.

Everyone simply enjoyed their tea and the present moment leisurely.

Everyone, including myself, knew.

That this tea time we were enjoying was quite a luxurious moment.

It was Dr. Jang who broke the quiet atmosphere while we were drinking tea.

“A little while ago… what did you do for Miri?”

“You mean feeding her?”

“Yes. I tried various things, but she just wouldn’t eat, so I was worried. I never imagined pancakes would solve it.”

Dr. Jang spoke calmly, with a subtle nuance of blaming herself. It seemed she was concerned about not being able to help the child.

Dr. Jang appeared to have a stronger sense of responsibility as a doctor than expected.

Or perhaps, since Miri was already so small and young, she drew more attention.

Mr. Choi, who was beside her, was also curious.

“It’s not just because of the pancakes, is it?”

Tilting my teacup, I nodded slightly and gave my answer.

“A long time ago, I encountered a similar situation.”

The experience I recounted was not a pleasant one.

It was back when I was over there.

A small village had suffered near-annihilation from a monster attack.

Among the miraculously surviving few were children.

Those children were in a similar state to Miri, so I thought it might be the same.

The children had directly witnessed the tragedy with their own small eyes.

They saw familiar villagers being attacked.

They saw their beloved family torn apart and eaten by monsters.

The children’s daily lives were shattered, and their minds collapsed.

Fear and guilt filled that void.

The children developed an aversion to eating after seeing living humans being devoured alive.

From the cruel spectacle of life fading away amidst ravenous hunger, the children felt guilt about the act of eating. On top of that, they harbored immense fear about having survived.

At the time, I was pathetic enough not to understand the children’s feelings.

Not until I heard the explanation from an old nun with long experience.

Afterward, I briefly assisted the old nun and watched and learned how she did things.

Comforting deeply wounded hearts.

It wasn’t a perfect remedy, but it was better than doing nothing.

Since Miri seemed to be in a similar situation, I decided to try it.

Fortunately, the result was good.

Of course, I couldn’t tell them the exact truth, so I embellished it, but everyone seemed to believe me.

“So it doesn’t necessarily have to be pancakes?”

Nurse Kim, one of Dr. Jang’s companions, asked with sparkling curiosity.

“Technically, yes. However, since I was doing it anyway, I wanted to put a little more thought into it.”

At my words, people’s eyes sparkled with increased curiosity.

“It’s nothing special… Children like sweet and soft things, don’t they? We happened to have pancake mix, and I thought they’d like something sweet, warm, and fluffy… that’s all.”

“Huh…”

“Speaking of which, you might see even worse things in the future. I hope you’ll brace yourselves so you won’t be defeated by it.”

I finished speaking and emptied my teacup.

The way people looked at me changed slightly.

Something… something did change.

“Seonghan. Thank you so much.”

The child’s mother, bowing her head towards me, expressed deep gratitude.

I accepted her gratitude without hesitation, thus concluding the conversation.

Everyone smiled warmly and enjoyed the rest of their tea.

Outside, cold had settled, and zombies ran rampant.

The threat of death loomed just outside the door, but this atmosphere inside, at least for now, felt alright.

It would be unfair for me to suffer just because everyone else is.

And it seems I’m not the only one who thinks so.

“It’s dangerous outside, but it’s safe and warm in here. It’s quite a contrast.”

It was Dr. Jang who spoke.

I didn’t know everything she had gone through at the hospital.

But judging by her tone, she seemed to have endured quite a lot.

She wasn’t saying it to criticize our current situation.

As proof, Dr. Jang looked very relieved as she spoke.

Mr. Choi, listening, subtly asked about what she had experienced outside.

Hesitating for a moment, Dr. Jang quietly recounted her story, and we listened intently.

My group and I hadn’t encountered other survivors or groups on our way here, except in Yeongdeungpo.

In that sense, Dr. Jang’s story would provide indirect insight into the situations other survivors faced.

While it wasn’t necessary to care about every single person, there was no harm in listening.

With that thought, I listened quietly to Dr. Jang’s words.

And the more I listened to her story, the simpler my thoughts became.

‘It’s a complete mess….’

That was truly the perfect description.

My group and I were simply among the lucky ones.

According to Dr. Jang, the survivors’ situations were worse than expected.

People starved due to a lack of food.

They trembled in fear due to the threat of death brought by the zombies.

And little by little, their reason and moral standards began to crumble.

“Even so, we were better off. Everyone was cooperative too. But…”

The people gathered around Sagajeong Market were on the positive side.

They had united and worked together for survival.

They shared and conserved scarce supplies and food as much as possible.

Director Jang and the merchant representative played a significant role in this.

They held people steady and stood firm.

Conversely, the problem was that there were more people who weren’t like that.

As hungry people poured out searching for food, the problems began to escalate. Those blinded by hunger were aggressive and not open to reason.

Furthermore, while there were quite a few supermarkets and convenience stores, murders even occurred over them.

Listening quietly, a question arose in my mind.

“Food was scarce everywhere. So conflicts were frequent.”

“Aren’t there quite a few supermarkets and convenience stores?”

“Uh, well…”

“There probably wasn’t as much as you’d think. Probably.”

It was Mr. Choi who gave the answer.

“Because of freshness and storage issues, I don’t think a large quantity was actually stocked. It’s probably a system where goods are replenished on the same day or at regular intervals…”

“…Hmm.”

“There would be differences depending on the region and population, but I don’t know the specifics.”

I understood what Mr. Choi was trying to say.

In other words, the developed production lines and distribution were the problem.

You could say that the developed, systematic, and efficient distribution system became an obstacle.

It was a system that would normally be praised, but it became useless once the zombie apocalypse occurred. At the same time, the ‘appropriate volume’ optimized for efficiency emerged as a visible problem.

Even if people raided supermarkets, they wouldn’t get much in return.

The food they managed to obtain, risking death, was like a bag of chips filled mostly with nitrogen.

Some of the people facing starvation quickly formed groups.

And what they chose was looting.

Those who cast aside their ethics and chose survival seemed to succeed, but that wasn’t always the case.

The Yeom gang, who briefly dominated the Myeonmok-dong area.

It meant that as many people died as these guys gathered supplies while riding the wave of their momentum.

The fact that the looters themselves were completely cleaned out was a bonus.

‘And I’m the one who took all of it…’

It felt like I’d landed the final blow, and I didn’t feel bad about it.

Dr. Jang’s explanation concluded without dragging on.

That alone was enough to grasp the situation.

“Um, I saw something on the internet.”

After Dr. Jang finished speaking, Young-cheol continued.

It felt novel for someone who usually didn’t speak up to talk first.

“Is the internet still working?”

“Ah, yes. Not everything, just that some communities are still alive. But communication and understanding the current situation are possible.”

It seemed Young-cheol had been using his phone quite a lot while recovering.

Indeed, if he couldn’t move much, he probably would have gone crazy from boredom without his phone.

Young-cheol briefly summarized the news he had encountered.

The basic gist was similar to Dr. Jang’s explanation.

The difference was that the scale and danger were worse than expected.

With social laws having crumbled, it was only natural for outlaws to run rampant.

Petty looting was a cute little thing in comparison.

There were even groups that properly formed and escalated to outright robbery.

Though few, the number of people who called themselves hunters and hunted zombies had also increased.

There were many crazy people beyond imagination, but the highlight was something else entirely.

“…They raided where?”

“The police station.”

I asked again in disbelief, but the answer was the same.

I wondered if they were planning to shatter public authority now, but even these guys had their reasons.

“They’re apparently getting weapons from police stations.”

“Weapons? Guns, you mean? In Korea?”

I was puzzled by Young-cheol’s nod.

“Isn’t it, at most, just revolvers or air rifles confiscated from reporting citizens?”

“I, I don’t know that much.”

As someone who had never had a reason to go to a police station, I wouldn’t know.

At Young-cheol’s vague remark, I looked at Mr. Choi.

I wondered if Mr. Choi, who had connections everywhere, might know, but…

“I don’t know much about that either. Haha…”

“…”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m a reputable businessman.”

“Didn’t you have connections in the police force?”

“I did, but not related to guns…”

“Hmm…”

“There’s a high probability they had weapons.”

It was Lee Sohee, a former soldier, who gave the answer.

“I don’t know the details either, but I heard that larger police stations have separate armories storing rifles. Mobile strike forces and the police agency definitely have them.”

“…Would the police have been easily overwhelmed?”

“It’s not impossible, is it? You never know what people will do.”

While they can’t compare to the military, the police are still an armed organization.

They at least carry revolvers, even if they’re more for show.

To raid a police station where such officers are gathered?

A bunch of untrained riff-raff coming together?

People don’t realize it, but police officers can get incredibly strong against the weak.

It would just be like sticking their heads in to get killed.

But what if they actually did raid it?

“Young-cheol.”

“Yes, Seonghan.”

“So, did they raid the police station?”

“I don’t know about that. There were no further posts after that.”

It would be troublesome if those crazy people who thought of raiding a police station also got their hands on guns. We have guns too, but only five. Though it’s not much of a substitute, we have plenty of bullets.

I listened to the story and thought.

My group members are normal people.

They wouldn’t do anything strange just because they held guns.

Anyway, after hearing Young-cheol’s story, I fell into thought.

It was clear that having firearms in this current situation would be incredibly reassuring.

Coming to Myeonmok-dong, we met the Yeom gang and encountered a large number of zombies.

We also encountered two variants.

And we met survivors other than ourselves.

Outside the shelter, there were more dangers lurking than I thought.

Even if it wasn’t for me, my companions needed a way to protect themselves.

If we had them, it would probably be easier for me to deal with zombies too.

I was already feeling the need for weapons.

‘…Should I try to get some?’

As I was thinking about the power and efficiency of guns, Mr. Choi spoke up.

“Are you perhaps thinking of firearms?”

“For now, yes.”

“Hmm… It would certainly be good to have them, but isn’t it too dangerous to…”

“Well… I’m just thinking about it.”

“If you’re going to get guns, a U.S. military base in Korea would be good. They definitely have them there.”

I was slightly impressed by Lee Sohee’s quiet interjection.

I had only been thinking of police stations or Korean military bases, at best.

I hadn’t even thought of the U.S. military.

Is it because she’s a former soldier?

Her ideas are different from mine.

But there were problems too.

“…The distance is too far.”

The only U.S. military base I knew of was in Pyeongtaek.

And I didn’t even know its exact location.

I heard there was something in Yongsan, but I thought they had withdrawn from there.

At my words, Lee Sohee gave an awkward smile and said,

“I’m just letting you know. You seem to be referring to the Pyeongtaek base, but there’s one in Dongducheon too.”

“Dongducheon?”

“Yes. It was publicly known that they had withdrawn, but it was still operating fine.”

“Hmm…”

I hadn’t known because I wasn’t interested, but it seemed there were quite a few U.S. forces stationed in Korea.

Listening quietly, I asked Lee Sohee,

“Would the weapons the U.S. military has be good quality?”

“Well… they’re American-made, after all.”

Smiling wryly, she inwardly seemed to covet the U.S. military’s weapons.

I could read a faint hint of greed in her eyes.

And the same went for me.

Having weapons with guaranteed performance would make me feel very secure.

If I could get them, I’d want them immediately.

What’s more, a U.S. military base… that’s appealing.

‘American style. I like it.’

Even now, if I close my eyes, I can vividly recall it.

The impression, the grandeur, when I first entered the Holy Sale.

If I could feel that impression again, a little effort…

“Ah, we might not even be able to get them.”

“…Huh?”

Just as my expectations were rising, Lee Sohee rained on my parade.

“There’s a high chance they took everything and withdrew.”

“Ah…”

“If not, there’s also a chance they’re still alive and holding out.”

“If they’re alive… we wouldn’t be able to get weapons.”

“It’s this kind of situation, and it’s their lifeline, after all.”

My good mood evaporated.

Certainly, if it were me, I wouldn’t share my weapons either.

Even if they withdrew, there probably wouldn’t be any crumbs left.

In the end, I was back to square one.

There was no immediate answer.

I decided to try going to a police station when the opportunity arose.

Young-cheol’s tip briefly sidetracked the conversation to guns, but it smoothly moved on.

After that, it was time to listen to Young-cheol recount various incidents and accidents.

Naturally, there was no good news.

I merely vaguely inferred the current situation as I listened to the stories.

‘Is this just before the end-of-century apocalypse…?’

It truly felt as if the world was on the brink of destruction.

That feeling that if we took one more step, it would be over.

Despite this reality, I felt simply indifferent right now.

I felt bad for Young-cheol, who was diligently updating us on the situation, but his words weren’t really registering.

The necessity of weapons lingered in my mind.

Recalling the Holy Sale made me want to experience that fresh shock again.

‘When did I ever start overthinking?’

I decided to just go with a simple approach.

First, I’m thinking of doing one last big haul, partly for winter preparations.

To do that, I asked Young-cheol to find a large supermarket nearby.

I also wanted to check the limits of my inventory on this occasion.

To fulfill my request, Young-cheol diligently began tapping on his smartphone.

And from where we sat, we began discussing what was needed to get through winter. It was a disorganized meeting, but many opinions were exchanged.

Our conversation continued even after lunch.

Whatever the other survivors outside were like, my group was different.

Even now, their eyes sparkling as they earnestly prepared for tomorrow.

I could feel a burning passion from those who hadn’t given up on life.

Amidst that, my own motivation began to ignite once more.