episode_0205

“Actually… I thought Ajusshi was in the same situation as me.”

“Ajuss—”

I slowly closed my eyes.

It was a resonance I never welcomed, no matter when I heard it.

I pride myself on it still being too early to be called Ajusshi.

“But after clashing directly, I somehow understood. That I’m… different from you…”

Hong Soohee, who said what she needed to say without minding my reaction, had a deflated expression.

She also looked somewhat hollow…

“What do you mean, the same situation?”

“Didn’t Ajusshi say? That I’m absolutely not normal.”

“And?”

“Ajusshi isn’t normal either, are you?”

“Huh?”

“…That’s why I really wanted to confirm it….”

I let out a hollow laugh at Hong Soohee’s blunt words.

“That’s right. I’m not normal.”

“Right?”

“There are some aspects that are different from other people.”

Hong Soohee stared at me, what did she want to hear?

Her gaze, holding a small expectation, felt somehow pitiful.

“And different from you.”

Her expression froze at my answer, which clearly drew a line.

Hong Soohee’s eyes slowly dimmed, but I continued speaking.

“I trained to get to this point.”

“…Huh?”

“Hy-Hyung-nim?”

“No, excuse me? Are you telling me to believe that?”

Her dead eyes immediately changed, becoming a thorny gaze.

It seemed she took it as me teasing her.

“If everyone could become like that by exercising, wouldn’t the whole world be full of Supermen? Ajusshi, are you messing with me right now?”

“Does it look like a joke?”

“That doesn’t make sense!!”

“And what you’re saying makes sense?”

“…Uh… no….”

At my pointed remark, this woman, who had become speechless, had her expression change every moment.

…She’s truly an easy woman to read.

“Anyway, you confirmed what you were curious about. Now, won’t you tell me?”

“……”

“What are you?”

At my dry question, asked once again, Hong Soohee glanced at Sergeant Kang.

Then she sighed softly and began to untie her waistband.

“Soohee! What are you—”

Swish-

She pulled down her jeans to her knees and slowly turned her back.

“!!”

“……”

Sergeant Kang’s eyes widened, unable to hide his surprise.

“Soo-Soohee… you….”

Unlike Sergeant Kang, who stammered, unable to continue, I examined Hong Soohee’s leg.

“…Bitten?”

“…Yes.”

There was a large scar on the back of her right thigh.

Judging by the small tooth marks, it seemed to be from a female.

Vein marks spread from the wound down to the bottom of her buttock.

‘It healed?’

The wound itself had healed cleanly, leaving only a faint scar.

The veins weren’t an ominous black, but normal-looking blood vessels.

If I had to compare, it looked like varicose veins.

Perhaps just a bit unpleasantly prominent.

The bite mark also healed with new flesh, and it was healthy human skin.

‘She got bitten and lived?’

This was the first time I’d seen someone survive a bite.

I hadn’t seen it many times, but those who were bitten slowly died.

They vomited discolored blood, and discolored veins spread from the wound.

Certain death and resurrection as a zombie.

“If you’re bitten, you die.”

That was the basic knowledge I had.

That common sense, learned through experience, was now shattered.

“My leg is pretty, isn’t it?”

It was a playful provocation, but it was nothing but cute.

‘Compared to Shia or Heize, well…’

Hong Soohee seemed to think she’d shown enough, and pulled her pants back up.

And then she quietly began to murmur, as if in a monologue.

“I was going home after my part-time job, and the woman next door attacked me. She just lunged at me out of nowhere and bit me like this…”

She hesitated for a moment, then slowly continued.

“It hurt and scared me so much that I cried until I fainted. But when I opened my eyes, five days had passed, you know?”

“……”

“Soohee…”

Having adjusted her clothes, she slowly turned back to us.

“I didn’t do anything, but the wound was healing. It hurt, but…”

“Are you okay now?”

“Yes. I feel perfectly fine.”

Seeing that her wound had clearly healed, it didn’t seem like empty words.

“Did that happen on the day the zombie outbreak started?”

“Probably. I don’t know for sure. It was quiet when I was going home.”

“Hmm…”

“Something felt strange from the moment I woke up. No, very strange.”

Hong Soohee spilled out her story as if shaking it all out.

“I was so hungry. No matter how much I ate, I was still hungry… I felt stronger too… and my senses felt weird.”

“……”

“At first, I had an extremely hard time adapting, but once I got used to it, it became convenient in many ways. It came in handy when beating up robbers or rapists.”

“It wouldn’t have been easy, would it?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“Didn’t you struggle because your senses were all jumbled up?”

“Ohh?”

“You could hear sounds too well, and it felt like someone was constantly staring at you, and your skin became sensitive.”

“Ohhh? That’s right!!”

Unlike her, who felt refreshed as if a stuffy blockage had burst open, I was slightly surprised.

I don’t know medicine, but these were symptoms I knew very well.

When she said she felt stronger and her senses were strange, I thought, ‘No way.’

It was a phenomenon experienced when one gained a great ability, disregarding stages and adaptation.

Whether human with a sword or human walking the path of magic.

Physical or mental.

Either way, it appeared as a side effect when the balance was broken.

In severe cases, some people couldn’t handle it and committed suicide.

In my case, the circumstances were a bit different, but I experienced something similar.

Thanks to that, I have memories of truly struggling fiercely.

But this woman, Hong Soohee, experienced it.

And in the modern world, not in an otherworld overflowing with mana and divine power.

It seemed to be limited to physical ability enhancement, but…

I didn’t know how to take this.

Of course, surviving and gaining power as a bonus was something to celebrate.

But…

‘…She gets bitten by a zombie and becomes like this?’

Although the magnitude of power was completely different, even that ‘One Punch Man’ had to undergo hard training and sacrifice his hair to gain power.

But she got bitten, died, came back to life, and gained power?

If this fact became known, who knows what kind of lunatics would appear.

Especially those madmen from Taeseong.

One of Taeseong’s projects, as Director Jang had informed me, was the enhanced human experiment.

The successful model that those bastards aimed for was right in front of me.

If they ever found out about this woman…

‘…Oh, damn…’

Goosebumps automatically rose on my skin.

“Ajusshi! You said you were different from me! How did you know? Huh?”

Hong Soohee, unaware of my thoughts, clung to me with desperation.

“First, calm down and listen.”

I simply explained what she had experienced.

She was simple, her expression gradually showing understanding as she listened.

“Then isn’t that a good thing?”

…She’s quite innocent.

“If anyone were to find out about this…”

Sergeant Kang grasped the situation immediately.

His perceptiveness was indeed excellent.

“I’ve been careful all along anyway. People get scared and look at me like I’m a monster…”

She, looking glum, brought up what I had wanted to hear.

“When Ajusshi threw the knife.”

“Hmm?”

“How should I put it… It felt like a monstrous beast was staring.”

“Soohee, careful with your words…”

Sergeant Kang subtly gave her a look, but Hong Soohee didn’t care.

“I can’t explain it any other way. A giant monster? Godzilla? It felt like something like that was glaring at me…”

“…Was that it?”

If it had been someone else, I would have flicked them on the forehead, but after hearing Hong Soohee’s words, I understood.

“I’m scary, aren’t I?”

“……Yes.”

Her avoiding my gaze, her finding me difficult — it all made sense now.

I don’t know what she felt looking at me, but she seemed to have basically felt fear.

“It felt like I was similar to you, but also somehow different…”

“You wanted to fight to confirm that?”

Hong Soohee nodded.

“It was definitely scary, but I felt that you wouldn’t kill me.”

“…Is that so?”

“Since I became like this, I’m good at distinguishing such things. Like, ‘This person will harm me!’ That sort of thing?”

Watching her casually express her feelings, I suddenly realized something.

“Do you perhaps think of yourself as a monster?”

“……”

At my blunt question, she pressed her lips together.

Unlike her frozen expression, her pupils trembled subtly.

“You said I was like a monstrous beast. And because others look at you that way, you’ve come to feel like a monster yourself. Is that right?”

“……”

“And you were unsure if I was your kind, so you wanted to test it by fighting.”

“……I’m sorry….”

Hong Soohee hunched her shoulders and bowed her head deeply.

“What’s there to be sorry about? It’s not that serious. Look up.”

“……”

“It’s okay.”

Hong Soohee, whose shoulders had been trembling slightly while hunched, slowly raised her head.

“…I’ve helped people before… but everyone was scared of me. Like they saw a monster… No, it felt like I really *had* become a monster… I can’t forget those gazes. I constantly felt like I was isolated, all alone…”

“Soo-Soohee…”

Sergeant Kang unknowingly let out a sorrowful voice.

“Did I really become a monster…? I was scared. But when I saw Ajusshi…”

“You thought, ‘Maybe I’m not the only one…’?”

“……Yes.”

“You said your name was Hong Soohee, right?”

“Yes.”

“How old are you?”

“I just turned 20.”

‘Still a kid.’

This young woman had been scared.

She had been tormented by the feeling of being an anomaly in the world, suffering emotionally until now.

I understand that feeling of being terribly lonely, hurt, and scared.

I was like that too.

If anything, I suffered more, not less.

Because I truly went to the brink of going half-mad.

But Hong Soohee, despite being much younger, had steadfastly endured.

‘…She’s better than me.’

…In some ways, she’s superior to me.

“You and I are different.”

“…Right….”

“You’re also different from people like Sergeant Kang.”

“……”

“But that doesn’t mean you or I are monsters.”

Hong Soohee stared at me.

“It’s already happened, so just accept it.”

“…Aren’t you speaking too easily?”

“I did.”

“Uh… hmm…”

“There are definitely people who will be scared and see you as a monster. That’s true.”

“……”

Most people would probably be like that.

People are exclusive towards those who are different.

…Sometimes to an extreme degree.

“But there are also people who will accept you for who you are.”

“Ah.”

“What about you?”

Hong Soohee couldn’t answer my question immediately.

“I’m not a monster. I can just do things others can’t.”

“Mmm.”

“You’re not much different.”

“Is that so…”

“Yeah. The important thing is your own mindset, isn’t it?”

She wasn’t confident about herself.

Still, my words seemed to have an effect, as her gloomy expression had largely faded.

“And be a little more careful.”

“Huh? About what?”

“When your eyes roll back, I mean.”

“Ah!”

“Your eyes and the feeling you give off are similar to a zombie’s at that time.”

“Oh my god…”

“I’m not teasing you, the feeling lingers.”

At my honest words, her eyes widened.

“Wh-What should I do?”

“See good things, hear good things, think good thoughts.”

“……”

“And train your body. It will help.”

“Did Ajusshi do that too?”

“I’m still in progress.”

Though my exercise is replaced by beating up zombies.

Hong Soohee regained a little bit of her spirit at my words.

“Okay.”

“Depending on the situation, ask Captain Lee to train you.”

“Captain Lee-nim?”

“That person is the captain here.”

“Can’t Ajusshi just teach me?”

“Because I’m not from here. I’m leaving today.”

“Ah…”

I chuckled softly at her expression of considerable regret.

“Learn everything you can. You need to know how to handle your current body. Then you won’t die easily anywhere.”

“……Don’t people usually say ‘you won’t lose’?”

I merely shrugged.

“…I’ll try.”

She seemed to have made up her mind firmly. I could feel determination in her clenched jaw and expression.

I extended my words a little more to Hong Soohee and Sergeant Kang.

“Be careful not to get entangled with Taeseong and Daehan Security.”

“Hyung-nim. Is there some problem?”

“If those guys find out about someone named Hong Soohee, who knows what schemes they’ll pull.”

“…Huh?”

“Those guys. They are truly insane.”

Sergeant Kang didn’t object to my blatant sarcasm.

“I’ll remember that. Soohee, you be careful too. Understood?”

“Yeah…”

Seeing them comforting each other, I felt I didn’t need to worry.

I unfastened the knife sheath from my waist and handed it to Hong Soohee.

“Take it.”

“Oh? Why, why?”

“Hang on with this until you get a proper weapon.”

But she didn’t easily reach out her hand.

She swung a crowbar just fine, but she seemed to hesitate because it was a bladed weapon.

“Protect yourself with this. And if you can, protect Sergeant Kang too.”

“H-Hyung-nim???”

“…Thank you.”

At my words to protect, she carefully took the knife.

“Sergeant Kang will also have to put in effort. If you don’t want to be carried in a princess carry.”

“Huh? Me? Are you serious? Hyung-nim?”

He waved his hand as if dumbfounded, but he definitely flinched.

‘Oh, really…’

He himself was showing motivation to train, so I wondered what the result would be.

I quietly asked him, who was letting out a hearty laugh.

“Sergeant Kang.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have anything to tell Sohee and Incheol?”

Sergeant Kang just quietly smiled.

“…Please tell them I hope they’re healthy and safe.”

“Understood.”

I heard he risked his life to lure zombies away for those two.

He must want to see them badly, yet he didn’t add any unnecessary words.

The image of a man bound by something.

My relationships with people are good, but I don’t want to be tied down like that.

‘…Am I already entangled?’

Perhaps.

But strangely, I didn’t feel as much resistance as I thought I would.

Won’t I find out when I go back today and meet everyone?

“Ajusshi, thank you for everything today.”

“Thank you, Hyung-nim.”

I nodded, looking at the two people whose expressions had become noticeably lighter.

We spent quite some time on the topic of Hong Soohee’s self-reflection.

We finished our conversation and turned our steps back to the temporary lodging.

The thought in my head as I followed behind the two of them was simply a desire to go home quickly.

‘…Home?’

…I definitely thought of it as home.