episode_0199

At the blonde Westerner’s outburst, silence fell over the hall.

I felt everyone’s gaze fixed on Heize and me.

Aware of the tickling sensation on the side of my head, I met her large, clear blue eyes.

The strength in the hand gripping my wrist conveyed her intention not to let go.

Nervousness? Anxiety?

The emotions in her gently wavering eyes puzzled me.

So I asked quietly.

“You want to come with me?”

“Yeah! I want to go too!”

“…Why?”

From the atmosphere, it was easy to tell she was sincere.

But I couldn’t help but ask.

It was true that we had relaxed and become comfortable with each other over the past few days.

I had even joked around with her freely.

Heize was clearly a good person, fun to be around, and good at her job.

She would undoubtedly pull her weight wherever she went.

“Why do you want to come with me?”

“It’s safe when I’m with Han. Reassuring!”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yeah!!”

Perhaps it was because she answered so immediately.

Her resolve was firm, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling of innocence about her.

“What makes you say that about me?”

I sat back down and continued calmly.

I brought up the topic quite seriously.

“We haven’t known each other for long.”

“Yeah.”

“And you don’t even know where I live or what I do.”

“Yeah.”

“Even so?”

“Yeah.”

“…Are you a ‘yeah’-parrot?”

She tilted her head, murmuring “Parrot?” which was cute.

No, this isn’t it…

“What if I’m a bad guy?”

“You bad?”

“Yes. Like you said, a bad guy. Then what will you do?”

“…Heh.”

I narrowed my eyes at her snicker right in front of me.

“You good person. I can tell.”

“……”

“Woman’s eyes, woman’s instinct. Hard to say.”

“…If it’s hard, speak in English.”

Then, as if she had been waiting, she began speaking in English.

And as if she had been waiting, Ensign Lee began to translate.

“She says it’s a woman’s intuition, hard to explain in words.”

“Huh…”

“Uh, she says she has a special instinct. She says it’s never been wrong.”

The ‘instinct’ she was talking about wasn’t what I thought.

“Instinct? Did she just say instinct?”

“Yes. She says it’s why she’s alive today.”

I looked at the triumphant Heize.

If anyone else had said that, I would have dismissed it as nonsense…

*She has a point…*

Considering how she protected Lawrence and held on, it wasn’t just empty words.

When I thought about the validity of Heize’s instinct.

“…Excuse me?”

Ensign Lee, who had heard the English, was visibly flustered.

“What? What did she say?”

“She said it’s not just for safety…”

“Hmm…”

“She said she likes Seonghan.”

I closed my mouth at Ensign Lee’s translation, which was tinged with a faint smile.

Heize nodded slightly, her eyes curving beautifully at the corners.

“You. I like you.”

“……”

For a moment, I was speechless.

Heize didn’t care about my reaction.

“Here… thumping?”

Heize, tapping her chest, bloomed a deep smile.

With a pretty smile, she continued without hesitation.

“This feeling is new.”

“Hey…”

“I like it too. Our green light.”

“Whoa…”

“Wow…”

“Between whom, exactly…”

“Whoa… what a man.”

“They say love can bloom even on the battlefield…”

An absurd misunderstanding began.

Heize’s nonchalant dangerous remarks left me speechless.

“What are you saying? People are misunderstanding.”

“Then… a fling?”

“Oh, come on!”

“But…”

“No ‘buts’ or ‘what ifs’!”

Heize, seemingly lacking the vocabulary, started rambling in English again.

Her slight blush somehow made me uneasy.

“…Oh my…”

Sure enough.

I flinched slightly at Ensign Lee’s reaction.

Ensign Lee, covering her mouth and avoiding my gaze, made me uneasy.

“…She rode on top of him…”

“Cough-”

“An indirect ki—”

“Stop.”

I hastily cut off Ensign Lee’s translation at the outrageous slander.

“It’s not like that.”

Flabbergasted, I scanned the people around me.

But my words weren’t reaching them.

People’s gazes simply began to fill with interest.

Especially Mr. Kim, who was practically sparkling with excitement.

*Grab!*

“Ahh~”

“…Hey…”

I firmly grabbed Heize’s cheek, which was unjustly slandering me, and stretched it.

Her soft cheek stretched like a glutinous rice cake.

“Don’t say weird things. People are looking at us strangely.”

“B-but it’s true…”

“Quiet.”

“Okay.”

“…Sigh.”

What should I do with this unruly young lamb?

It didn’t seem like she was trying to mess with me on purpose…

But then again, she was incredibly serious.

…Only her expression was serious.

As I exhaled a deep sigh, Heize mumbled softly.

“I want to go with you. Can’t I?”

“……”

Heize gently covered and clasped my hand that had been pinching her cheek.

“I’m serious.”

At Heize’s quiet words, exclamations burst forth from all around.

I silently lowered the hand that had been pinching her cheek.

*Is it because she’s American…?*

Her expressions are unreserved.

Perhaps because her Korean is clumsy, her words have tremendous impact.

“Seonghan.”

Ensign Lee, who had volunteered to translate, subtly prompted me.

“She seems so sincere, wouldn’t you at least consider it…”

“Ensign Lee.”

“……”

At Captain Lee’s firm restraint, Ensign Lee clamped her mouth shut.

It seemed she wanted to take her side, being the same gender.

I understood her feelings, but it wasn’t Ensign Lee’s place to intervene.

For now, I shouldn’t ignore Heize’s instinct.

Certainly, there are soldiers here, and we have plenty of weapons now.

However, it’s a bit much to be certain it’s completely safe.

If she could handle a secluded life, being with me might be safer.

But I also have my own circumstances.

And problems too.

I met the blue eyes that were staring directly at me.

“Heize.”

“Hmm?”

“What about Lawrence then?”

At my slightly subdued words, Heize answered seriously.

“Lawrence too.”

“……”

“We talked already. Thought a lot.”

Lawrence, who had been silent until now, spoke in a calm voice.

“…She says if Seonghan accepts her, she wants to follow.”

“……”

“She says she thought about it carefully and made her decision.”

“Oh my…”

The problem was that the two of them seemed to have already decided.

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes tightly.

*……*

Honestly, it’s not twenty people, just two, so it should be fine.

Our group is already close to twenty, so adding two more shouldn’t be an issue.

*…What should I say…?*

I considered what to say to my companions, but gave a bitter laugh.

They would probably accept them without much fuss if I brought them along.

They trust me that much and are warm-hearted people.

They would carefully look after not only Heize but also Lawrence, who is pregnant.

If I include Heize in the group, she certainly won’t cause trouble.

I can be sure of that.

Quiet and calm Lawrence also seems unlikely to cause any problems.

It was said, “If you’re going to choose, choose the best.”

If the additional members are two beautiful women, it’s not bad.

Especially if it’s a woman who directly tells me she likes me.

And she has blonde hair and blue eyes.

If a man isn’t tempted by that, then…

*……*

…Seeing her physique, which reminded me of a luxury TV, my head cooled down.

Someone once said.

Don’t mistreat a woman who has given you her heart.

Honestly, I felt good.

Because there was a woman telling me she liked me right in front of my face.

The first woman to say she loved me without any conditions, reasons, or expectations.

For me, who didn’t have a mother, it was a fresh resonance.

…It wasn’t bad.

I hardened my resolve, opened my eyes, and straightened my posture.

“Heize. Lawrence.”

The eyes of the two American beauties turned to me.

“There are conditions.”

“Yeah. Say.”

“There are other people where I live. If they object, you’ll have to come back here.”

It was practically an empty statement.

My companions would warmly welcome them.

If I sent them back, my grandmother might hit me on the back.

“…Okay.”

“I’ll have a doctor I know examine Lawrence. If the doctor says she needs treatment here, she’ll have to stay here.”

“Huh?”

“When she gives birth safely and recovers. We’ll go together then.”

“Ah! Understood.”

“And…”

“Yeah, yeah!”

I spoke somewhat seriously.

“…My group isn’t just with me for nothing.”

“??”

“In exchange for saving them, everyone promised to give me something big. I’m not a volunteer.”

“Oh…”

“I won’t demand that much from you two. However.”

Heize and Lawrence swallowed hard.

“You must absolutely obey my orders.”

Heize blinked.

“That’s all?”

“And you’ll learn Korean and speak in Korean.”

“Understood!!”

*…Did she really understand?*

To my dismay, Heize was simply delighted, making my thoughts and conditions seem pointless.

Lawrence didn’t seem particularly bothered either.

“Hey.”

“Hmm?”

“Put away all that ‘green light’ talk.”

“…what?”

“I might not be able to meet your expectations. Don’t expect too much.”

I spoke somewhat dryly, but Heize grinned.

And then she immediately started chattering.

“Oh my…”

“What did she say?”

“She says she can make you fall for her. She’s confident you’ll fall completely in love.”

At Ensign Lee’s slightly excited translation, I looked back at Heize.

*Wink-*

“……”

That mischievous one.

“…Don’t fool around.”

“Okay.”

“First, let’s meet the doctor.”

I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing.

It felt like I had somewhat reluctantly given in to her persistent push.

…Still, I don’t think I’ll regret it.

When the conversation ended, I could see people looking at me warmly.

“…Sorry to bother everyone when you’re busy.”

“Not at all. No, no. Haha~”

Representative Pyo, who let out a contented laugh, spoke softly.

“Seonghan. How about you rest here for today?”

“Ah…”

“I understand you want to return quickly, but we’d be grateful if you’d let us treat you to a humble meal. Besides, it’s snowing heavily outside.”

At Representative Pyo’s words, I shifted my gaze through the window.

Outside, heavy snow was still falling.

“Understood.”

At my acceptance, Representative Pyo smiled broadly and nodded.

“Then, you must all be very tired, so please rest.”

“We will escort you when preparations are complete.”

It was then, as I was about to leave and follow Captain Lee.

*Knock knock knock-*

“Come in.”

With a knock, a young soldier entered and saluted.

“Excuse me.”

“What is it?”

“The representative of the evacuated people wishes to see Representative Pyo.”

“I was about to go myself… Is there a problem?”

“It’s not a problem, but they’re strongly requesting to meet the person in charge.”

“Hmm… Captain.”

“I’ll go with you. Seonghan, would you like to come too?”

“…Me?”

“It might be good for you to see what kind of people we’ve helped.”

At Captain Lee’s words, I almost refused but stopped.

*That woman…*

Recalling the woman who had been rampaging on top of the moving bus, my curiosity was piqued.

I nodded and stood up with him.

And I entrusted the two women to Ensign Lee.

“Could you guide Heize and Lawrence to the doctor?”

“Understood. This way…”

“Behave.”

“Okay. See you later.”

Her earlier nervousness seemed to have completely vanished, and she looked relaxed.

Leaving the two behind, I followed Captain Lee first.

“What do they want to see us about?”

“Well… I hope they’re not being unreasonable.”

Representative Pyo and Captain Lee exchanged somewhat concerned words.

From what I heard, there seemed to have been a troublesome situation.

I followed the two towards the main entrance.

Outside, more snow had piled up during that time.

The strong wind had died down, but the snowfall didn’t seem like it would stop easily.

I slightly bowed my head because of the snowflakes falling as if pouring down.

The roadside became dirty with half-melted and piled-up snow.

One might say it resembled its nickname: “pretty trash.”

At the end of the slushy path, there was a temporarily prepared tent and a temporary building.

At the quarantine station set up a little distance from the entrance, people were lined up.

The modified dump truck and bus they had arrived in were also neatly parked.

They were considerably damaged and heavily stained with zombie matter.

Upon arriving at the tent, we were guided by a soldier who was standing guard.

“Those are the people.”

Inside the tent, several people stood looking very nervous.

I observed the people from behind Captain Lee.

Every single one was dirty, exhausted, and haggard.

People expressing their exhaustion with their entire bodies.

Despite that, their eyes were clear.

Everyone was wearing masks and hats, so I couldn’t tell what they looked like.

But I could tell that most of them were young.

While everyone held their breath, Representative Pyo spoke first.

“I heard you were looking for someone in charge. My name is Pyo Sangsoo.”

At the gentle introduction, the survivors exchanged glances.

Then one person stepped forward.

“First… thank you for saving us and taking us in.”

“…We haven’t accepted you yet. I think you know why.”

“……”

“And the ones who saved you are these people here.”

Captain Lee stepped forward next to Representative Pyo, who was introducing him along with the words announcing the postponement.

“I am Captain Lee Kanghoon. I’m glad you are safe. …We deeply regret those who were sacrificed.”

“…Thank you.”

As a somber atmosphere briefly settled, there was someone who caught my eye.

*That’s the one.*

A woman in a gray hoodie stained with zombie blood.

Her top and bottom were torn and holed in various places.

She didn’t seem to have any injuries, but…

*…Not ordinary… What is it?*

Outwardly, she had a delicate female physique.

She didn’t particularly have muscles.

But she wasn’t ordinary.

It felt like standing before a tamed beast.

Perhaps she felt my gaze, our eyes met.

*Jerk!*

*…What was that?*

She seemed to tremble upon seeing me, then avoided my gaze.

I didn’t know what it meant, but her overt reaction made me feel uneasy.

As I decided to let it go and stopped observing, the conversation continued again.

“…Thank you for rescuing us by helicopter.”

“We only did what had to be done. And it’s also thanks to this person. Seonghan.”

I stood next to Captain Lee, who called my name and subtly moved aside.

“I’m Seonghan.”

“……”

The moment I introduced myself, the tent went silent again.

“???”

As I was bewildered by their awkward reaction.

“…Hyung-nim?”

“Are you talking about me?”

I blinked.

The only people who would call me “Hyung-nim” are my kids.

Who on earth could it be—

“Hyung-nim!”

“……”

The man stepped forward, taking off his mask and hat.

Upon seeing the revealed face, I was simply astonished.

…I was truly surprised.