episode_0136

There’s a saying, ‘The night sky is clear.’ One might think, ‘What’s the point of a clear night sky?’ It’s not a commonly used expression either. But in the current situation, I think it’s a phrase anyone would understand.

Right now, with the electricity supply cut off, we’re facing a massive… no, a blackout on the scale of a national disaster. Following Daehan’s SUV, I run, relying on the faint moonlight. Everything within sight is swallowed by darkness. If I relax my eyes, I’d literally be a blind man with open eyes. For an ordinary person, it would be a night where cowering in fear wouldn’t be strange. I run through these night streets calmly, without hesitation.

High above, I can see dark clouds moving rapidly, as if strong winds are blowing. As the clouds pass, the moon, shyly revealing its face, casts a soft light upon the surroundings. The unimpeded moonlight fully illuminates the desolate night streets. A light that dispels darkness yet harmonizes with it. The moonlight, thus mixed, creates a peculiar atmosphere. And I run through it leisurely, as if gliding.

In the deep darkness, I leap over rooftops as if soaring through the air, but there’s no problem. I want to turn on the flashlight’s booster mode, but as I’m tracking stealthily, I accept some inconvenience. The only nuisances are the narrowed vision and the strange sounds echoing from all directions. To me, running on the rooftops, it’s merely annoying, but it seems Daehan’s group below isn’t so lucky. Although they said they cleared them beforehand, zombies are still flailing in the darkness. Especially beyond the pushed-aside wrecked cars, the zombies’ eerie sounds gradually intensify. As if aware, the SUV carefully navigates the path between the wrecked cars without even turning on its lights, still giving off a perilous aura even when watched from above.

‘…They’re doing well, aren’t they?’

With no streetlights or illumination, the SUV passes quietly along the road without a single scratch. The skill is impressive enough to make one wonder who’s driving. The SUV, slowly and carefully navigating the dark road, gradually advances, retracing the path I came from. The SUV slowly reached Myeonmok Station. Quietly following behind, I suddenly noticed. It was quiet all around. The moment they passed Bongu Intersection, the zombies’ eerie sounds abruptly ceased. A subtle awkwardness settled in with the sudden silence.

‘Is it because they cleared out a zombie wave?’

For now, that’s the only plausible explanation, but if so, the surroundings are quiet enough to consider a serious zombie extermination. The calm and quiet atmosphere, fitting for the night, continued all the way to Sagajeong. And the vehicle Daehan’s group was in slowly reduced its speed.

‘……’

I narrowed my eyes, watching the vehicle finally stop at Sagajeong Intersection. Black vehicles are still lined up all the way to the intersection and the market entrance. The corpses that bore the brunt of the market survivors’ fury are not visible. It seemed they were staring at that scene from inside the SUV. The car remained motionless for a brief period. Daehan’s team leader had confided in me that they had a mission. If they don’t value their lives and haven’t come to their senses… Do they sense my mood? As if sensing my mood turning cold, the night wind on my cheek felt equally chilling. Just as I thought I’d have to see blood again. The stopped SUV sluggishly began to move again. Fortunately, it seemed they hadn’t forgotten my warning. But they turned around and drove up the road towards our shelter. I followed, maintaining my chilled mood.

The SUV eventually drove up to Yongma Intersection. And the vehicle stopped once again at the intersection. At Yongma Intersection, there were no particularly tall buildings in the direction I had followed. So I, having come down onto the road, hid myself in the shadow cast by a low wall. The team leader and the burly Mr. Kim got out of the car and looked around. Then they stared precisely in the direction of our shelter and exchanged some words.

‘…Do they know about the shelter?’

The direction of their gaze was so accurate it raised such a suspicion. But again, they did nothing, got back in the car, and started moving. They turned right at the gas station at the intersection. And again, they quietly drove along the road. The direction they were heading was one I hadn’t explored yet. I carefully followed the SUV as it climbed the gently sloped road.

Was it a neighborhood carved out of a mountain? There were no buildings around the road. More precisely, there were no rooftops for me to run across. To the left of the road stood a high wall and an apartment complex. To the right, there were only a few scattered buildings, nothing else. There were wrecked cars on the road, but not many. Thanks to that, I suppressed my presence so those ahead wouldn’t notice me, diligently running between the wrecked cars.

I considered just turning back, but my curiosity was a little stronger. I wondered where those I had so thoroughly looted were heading. And I also wondered what kind of scene lay beyond this hill. In the end, since I was already this far, I decided to put in a little more effort. So I quietly followed the SUV. Fortunately, chasing the slow-moving vehicle was not difficult. The hill, which continued for a while, ended in front of the apartment complexes lining both sides of the road. What followed was a downhill path.

‘……’

It wasn’t just a downhill path that began. Traces of a chaotic assault. They began from the entrances of the apartments on both sides. A chaotic scene awaited, making the tranquility and calm of a moment ago seem meaningless. The surroundings were still quiet for now. But the traces left behind were not. There aren’t many wrecked cars on the road. To that extent, the SUV could somehow squeeze through. But those gaps were abundantly adorned with corpses. The same was true for the streets, not just the road. Incomplete corpses were rotting on the streets, marking the moments of their agony. Dark red bloodstains, not fully washed away by the long-fallen rain. Traces of burning and destruction were visible here and there. The scene, barely discernible by the soft moonlight filtering down from the night sky, created a peculiar atmosphere, somehow discordant with reality. Horror intertwined with beautiful moonlight. What cemented the reality of this scene was the terrible stench of death.

The SUV quietly began to pass through the dirty, chaotic, and foul-smelling street. And I jumped onto the buildings that started to appear again, beginning to cross the rooftops. The scene along Yongmasan-ro was the very image of a half-destroyed city. Only the silhouettes of buildings remained; nothing whole was visible. Nothing alive was visible either. What replaced this were the zombies beginning to reappear, wandering the night streets, and the cries of those who couldn’t find peace. To avoid provoking the residents of that night street, the SUV quietly and carefully pushed its way through the chaotic road. Even looking down from the rooftop, I could tell. That they were extremely tense at that moment.

‘What a pity?’

It felt like a pity that I couldn’t see their terrified faces, with their fine hairs standing on end. With a slight regret, I smacked my lips and continued to follow the vehicle. The SUV soon reached a fork in the road at the end of the downhill path. And they chose Neungdong-ro and continued forward.

‘Where does this road lead?’

I had never been to Seoul, especially this area, so I had no idea where this road was heading. Frustration rose, knowing I couldn’t go down and ask. My frustration seemed to double with the SUV’s slow, sluggish pace. And that frustration continued. Following a slow-moving vehicle, exposed to the cold wind on a cold winter night, was tedious. It was a time to once again realize that I am an impatient Korean. Unlike my mood, the SUV squeezed through the road almost miraculously. Sometimes, it clanked and went onto the sidewalk, advancing. A drive that conveyed a clear will to push through, no matter what. Meanwhile, eerie zombie sounds echoed from all directions, but strangely, they did not engage in combat. Were they just lucky? But for me, boredom only increased in the loose situation. And this situation continued even past Junggok Station. But it didn’t last much longer after that. When I arrived at Gunja Station, still following Neungdong-ro.

‘This is…’

My vision suddenly opened up at the rapidly widening intersection. And what was immediately visible were the traces of a large battle that had taken place on the street. Mountains of corpses were piled up to the left and right of the SUV’s direct path. Looking down from the building, it was clearly discernible. A wall of corpses piled up as if traversing the wide road. Traces of things used as cover, including wrecked cars. On the vast road, an immeasurable number of corpses and traces of battle remained intact. Truly an enormous number of corpses. At this very moment, the moonlight happened to shine brightly, making it easy to discern. The SUV quietly passed through what could only be described as a gruesome scene. I hid myself on the building rooftop until the vehicle passed through the intersection.

‘Battle… or rather, resistance?’

A quick glance down at the scene on the road gave me a rough idea. A large-scale battle involving modern weaponry. It was clear that it must have been a considerably fierce struggle. Military tactics that shine when large numbers are arrayed. It seemed they had repelled the zombies here once. A moment later, as the SUV moved away, I descended onto the street and slowly walked along the path. Walking between the walls of corpses crossing the intersection, my mood strangely sank. The strong stench of death, enough to numb my nose, was agonizing, but my attention was focused on my eyes.

‘It seems they pushed through with heavy equipment.’

Crushed and compacted corpses lay scattered on the ground. Wouldn’t it look like this if a driver drove, unable to control their temper? Seeing the large tire marks, I could guess what the situation was like at the time. Among the corpses, a considerable number of bodies in military uniforms were mixed in. None of them were in intact form. And the same was true for the other corpses. It naturally showed how fierce the struggle between the living and the dead had been. I passed between the walls of rotting flesh, but it was no problem. I had accumulated too much experience to be sickened or shocked by such things. I merely scanned it with my eyes and passed by. I chased after the distant SUV, taking in those scenes. The path I followed was a continuous sequence of scenes not much different from the previous intersection. Wrecked cars and corpses pushed to the left and right of the road. Traces of battle and fire that clawed at the street. And traces of numerous equipment having passed by. The pieces of flesh and shell casings crushed underfoot imparted a peculiar sensation. And a scene like this continued to the next station.

『Children’s Grand Park Station』

A subway station with a name that should evoke brightness, cheer, and vibrancy. But unlike its gentle name, the surroundings were bleak. Instead of the sweet scent of children, only a terrible stench hung in the air. At some point, there were no corpses on the wide road. There were dirty and chaotic elements, but no chunks of flesh were visible. Instead, to the left, Children’s Grand Park, and to the right, Sejong University came into view. And something else visible.

‘……’

Numerous lights visible ahead of the SUV that was racing forward. And buildings radiating light, visible on one side. I, who had chased for a long time, confirmed with my own eyes that the Konkuk University Shelter was real. And the SUV undoubtedly disappeared inside, as if drawn beyond the lights. I stared at that spot for a moment, then started to move again.