Chapter 107
I couldn’t make out Hwang Ji-Hye and Lee Jeong-Uk in the pitch-black darkness.
The only things I could see were two boats floating on the Han River. They stood out against the Han River, as if they weren’t supposed to be there.
I sat down and interlocked my fingers, praying for their safe return.
After some time had passed, the two boats that were floating next to each other split up, and the raft that was carrying Hwang Ji-Hye and Lee Jeong-Uk returned.
I got up and let out a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t just the two of them, though. There was someone else with them. Unlike the survivors in Gangbuk, he had clean clothes and neat hair.
I subconsciously tried to hide myself from the mysterious man. The moment I tried to run into the building, Hwang Ji-Hye got out of the raft and shouted.
“It’s alright!"
As I looked back, I saw Hwang Ji-Hye, Lee Jeong-Uk, and the mysterious man approaching me with placid faces.
Feeling embarrassed, I massaged my neck and walked towards them.
The mysterious man looked at me and swallowed, then quickly bowed from the waist and said, "Nice to meet you! I’m Kwak Dong-Won, the team leader of the facility maintenance team!”
This Kwak Dong-Won person left me speechless. He was screaming at the top of his lungs this late in the night.
Perhaps he’d never encountered a zombie threat before. I couldn’t understand how he could behave like this. The only explanation was that he was someone who had traveled forward in time.
I held out my right hand with a calm expression and spoke.
“You don’t have to yell. I can hear you. It’s Lee Hyun-Deok.”
“Oh, my, my apologies. It’s my first… My first time talking to a zombie… So I’m a little taken aback… Aback…”
“Low… Low… Lower your voice.”
I mimicked his tone and furrowed my brow.
Kwak Dong-Won quickly bit his lower lip and looked at me, his eyes trembling. Instead of turning down his volume, he muted himself completely.
I wondered why they had brought someone like him back with them.
I looked at Hwang Ji-Hye questioningly, and she smacked her lips.
“When we told them we were moving our shelter… They told us they had the perfect person for that, and sent him with us.”
“What do you mean?”
“This person used to work at a solar power plant. They said he took part in some solar park project or something. Apparently, he can make solar panels as well.”
I stared at Kwak Dong-Won, who gave a surprised look and said, "Oh! Solar power generation refers to a system that uses solar cells to collect solar energy and produce electricity. It provides unlimited power, easy maintenance, and is a large-scale photoelectric…”
I sighed and raised my right hand.
“Stop.”
Kwak Dong-Won bit his lip again and avoided my gaze.
So, he was intelligent, but not exactly smart. One could say that he was an intelligent fool.
He would be helpful in many ways… But he would only be helpful once we had the proper systems established. He wasn’t helpful in our current situation, in which our safety wasn’t guaranteed. It would’ve been better to have been supplied with weapons instead.
My confusion must have shown on my face, since Lee Jeong-Uk spoke up.
“It seemed like Gangnam wanted to build a friendly relationship with us.”
"Why?"
“They saw our fight against the Family through their telescope.”
“...”
“Now, the people in Gangnam also know that there are zombies who have dedicated their lives to humans. It seemed like they wanted to know more about them.”
“So they want to swap this intelligent fool for me?” I asked with a frown.
Lee Jeong-Uk shook his head.
“No, the exchange won’t be that simple. Surprisingly, the people in Gangnam have no information at all. Even I was taken aback by this.”
“What do you mean by no information?”
“They don’t know anything about the Family or their dogs. They don’t know about zombies with glowing red eyes that can control other zombies, and have no clue about the black creatures.”
“Then how have they survived until now?”
“There’s a military unit guarding Gangnam. They said the military unit is keeping the people in line while closely monitoring the danger zone. Unfortunately, they suffered a significant defeat this time.”
I rubbed my chin as I listened to Lee Jeong-Uk. After a moment, I smacked my lips and asked, “Then the people of Gangnam… Have they come under attack by the Family, or are they still holding on?”
“Half of them were wiped out by the Family’s attack. It seems like the Family has occupied some areas of Gangnam, starting with Yeongdeungpo-gu, Yangcheon-gu, Geumcheon-gu, and Dongjak-gu. However, I think they managed to hold them off at the border between Dongjak-gu and Seocho-gu. I imagine it’s because of the presence of Gwanak-san to the south and the National Cemetery to the north. It’s easier to set up a defensive position there.”
"Then… Are you saying that they’re safe, at least in the meantime?”
"Yeah. There’s one more thing… But I’m not sure if this is good news or not. They made us an offer.”
I crossed my arms and looked at Lee Jeong-Uk.
“What’s the offer?”
“It seems like there are Coast Guard boats and cruise ships in Gangnam.”
“The Coast Guard? Isn’t that in Mapo-gu?”
“I think they moored in Gangnam while on patrol, right before the zombie apocalypse. If we use one of those, we can use the Han River to our advantage. And if we can get our hands on a cruise ship, it’ll be easier to move a lot of people at once.”
“Aren’t the cruise ships in Yeouido? I thought the gang members had taken over Yeongdeungpo-gu?”
"There’s one in Jamsil too, old man.”
I smacked my lips and looked away. I would’ve known too, if I’d had the time and money to go on a cruise while I’d been a human.
I scratched my sideburns idly.
“A cruise ship is extremely inefficient in terms of fuel. Do you think the people of Gangnam will lend us a cruise ship?”
“Don’t most cruise ships that operate along the Han River use diesel?”
“Does that make a difference?”
“I don’t know. It’s not like I’m a captain or anything.”
We stared at each other blankly. Hwang Ji-Hye shook her head and intervened.
“This is why men can’t get things done. The fuel efficiency of the cruise ship isn’t important right now. You might as well ask for the blueprints while you’re at it.”
Lee Jeong-Uk and I both smacked our lips in embarrassment.
I didn’t know why… But as I grew older, I seemed to get curious about the most trivial things.
Lee Jeong-Uk coughed a dry cough, then looked at me again.
"Anyway, they told us they would lend us a cruise ship if we met their conditions.”
The word ‘conditions’ left a bitter taste in my mouth, even before I heard what the conditions were.
I wondered what kind of unreasonable demands they had made of Lee Jeong-Uk. He seemed hesitant to tell me what the demands were as well.
I sighed. “What are the conditions?”
Lee Jeong-Uk tried to speak several times, but cut himself off each time. It seemed like he had a hard time articulating the demands. Eventually, he said with a bitter expression,
“They wanted us to tell them how to… raise… a zombie with glowing red eyes…”
"What? Raise?"
I couldn't help but laugh.
I laughed because their word choice seemed utterly hilarious to me. As I thought about it, it seemed more and more true that a military unit was controlling Gangnam.
Raising a zombie unit.
They had their heads in the clouds. No—in space.
I shook my head and let out a sigh. Lee Jeong-Uk smacked his lips.
“What do you think we should do?”
"What do you mean? It's not like we can teach it to them, nor can it be learned.”
“Then, should we make our way over by land?”
“Yup.”
When I nodded, Kwak Dong-Won, who had been eavesdropping on our conversation, spoke up.
"Umm… Sorry for interrupting, but you can’t do that.”
When I looked at Kwak Dong-Won, he gasped and looked away. Lee Jeong-Uk noticed our interaction and said, "What do you mean?”
"Well… Aren’t you supposed to give us information about zombies in exchange for bringing me over here… No?”
“We already did our part. We told you about the Family, and the zombies with glowing red eyes that control other zombies. Are you asking us for more information?”
"Huh? Well… The Major wanted to know how to raise zombies with glowing red eyes…”
Hearing the absurdity in his words, Lee Jeong-Uk pointed at me and asked Kwak Dong-Won, “That’s not how things work. Look at him. Do you think he’s a robot that moves at our command?”
Being treated as something other than human made me uncomfortable, but there was no better way to explain the current situation. Kwak Dong-Won looked at me from head to toe, then said, “He’s definitely not… Not a machine…”
“So, then, what else do you want us to say? Humans can’t just raise up zombies with glowing red eyes just because they want to. It all depends on the individual’s ego and will.”
“...”
“One can only become a zombie with glowing red eyes if they have a strong will. But to raise a being like that and turn them into a soldier? Do you actually think that’s possible? How are you going to manage and lead a being that basically refuses to die?”
Kwak Dong-Won stayed quiet as Lee Jeong-Uk rattled off facts about the zombies with glowing red eyes. I snorted as I watched Lee Jeong-Uk go.
Lee Jeong-Uk looked at me in annoyance. “What are you laughing for?”
“You should be the leader now. You seem to know more about zombies than I do.”
Lee Jeong-Uk smacked his lips and stashed his hands in his pockets.
Hwang Ji-Hye, who had kept silent, spoke up.
“I think it’d be best to reconnect with the survivors of Gangnam first. We have to make this part clear to them so that we can borrow a cruise ship or receive further supplies.”
“You’re right.”
I agreed with her without adding anything else.
When Hwang Ji-Hye took out the flashlight and signaled Gangnam again. After a moment, the people in Gangnam responded in kind.
With that, Hwang Ji-Hye and Lee Jeong-Uk went back onto the raft.
* * *
I stared blankly into the Han River as I waited for the two to return.
Kwak Dong-Won, who was next to me, seemed to hesitate for a moment, then said carefully, "Um… Did you say your name was Lee Hyun-Deok?”
“Yes.”
“You look around the same age as me… Would it be okay if I ask your age?”
“What good would it be for you to know a zombie’s age?”
“Haha… You have a point.”
Kwak Dong-Won looked away with a sour expression. He then smacked his lips and tried again.
“When did you turn into a zombie?”
“It’s been several months. I turned into one early on.”
“Did it hurt a lot?”
“...”
I couldn’t help but stare at his face. He’d asked me a very unexpected question.
He waved his hands vigorously.
"Oh, what am I thinking! Of course, it would’ve been painful. I shouldn’t have said that… Forget what I asked you!”
“Did anyone in your family turn into a zombie?”
"Huh? Oh… Yes."
Kwak Dong-Won grimaced, and his head sagged. I looked at him for a moment, then smacked my lips.
“The physical pain is temporary. Unless they were a zombie with glowing red eyes like me, they’d probably be having sweet dreams right now.”
“Oh…”
Kwak Dong-Won nodded slowly, but his expression quickly grew despondent. I sighed as I saw his face. It seemed like he needed some consolation.
“Do you mind if I ask about the situation back then?”
“Oh, yes.”
Kwak Dong-Won played with his fingers for a moment, hesitating, but then he took a deep breath and said,
“I… I’d been living with just my older brother since high school. My parents died early on.”
“That must’ve been tough for you.”
“My brother went through a lot. He was nine years older than me.”
“You were born later, huh.”
“Yes, no doubt about it. If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve been long gone.”
“Was your brother bitten by a zombie?”
I got straight to the point. Kwak Dong-Won frowned and nodded once. His eyes twitched and his fingers trembled as he recalled that day. He let out a deep sigh and continued, “That day… My brother and I were on our way to the safe zone. That was when the Capital Defense Command started to mobilize, after the zombie apocalypse happened.”
“But at least the army was still there. There was nothing like that in Gangbuk. In our case, it seemed like there was a zombie outbreak within the military units. I couldn’t find any military personnel, no matter how hard I looked for them.”
I chuckled at that, and Kwak Dong-Won responded with a nod and a shy smile. I coughed, then said, “Sorry for cutting you off. Please continue.”
“No, no, not at all.”
Kwak Dong-Won looked up at the night sky and organized his thoughts. After a moment, he found his voice again.
“We were moving together with a group of survivors. However, among the survivors… There was someone who was infected.”
“Did they hide the fact that they had been bitten?”
“Yes, it was an ahjumma, and her child had been bitten by a zombie.”
“Didn’t anyone check for such things, when you were traveling as a group? How could you not check for such a thing…?”
“We never expected a five-year-old to be bitten by a zombie. Even if one of them had been bitten, we would have assumed that the ahjumma was the one who had been bitten, not the child.”
I smacked my lips bitterly.
He had a point. They probably hadn’t thought about the children in the chaos of the evacuation.
Kwak Dong-Won furrowed his brow and continued with his story.
“It was late at night, when everyone was asleep. The child mutated into a zombie. Some were bitten by the child while they were sleeping, and others who were in the group just lost their minds… It was a living hell.”
“...”
“My brother tried to deal with the zombies and save the remaining humans. He was the sort of person who never got to enjoy his own life because he went out of his way to help others when he didn’t need to… I wanted to give him the life he had missed out on after I became successful…”
Kwak Dong-Won bit his lower lip and forced back his tears. I patted him on the back without saying a word. Kwak Dong-Won wiped his tears away and continued with the story.
“He’s the type of guy who told me that he wouldn’t want to buy a new car even though he’d been driving the same one for ten years, even though I used to tell him everyday to get a new model since he loved to drive around. But then, he’d go on used car websites to look for his dream car…”
“You had a good brother.”
“He’s the guy that worked his butt off to pay for my college tuition. My dream was to buy him a new car…”
Kwak Dong-Won could not hold back his tears anymore. With a sad expression, I put an arm around Kwak Dong-Won.
A strong brotherhood.
It would’ve been nice if the two of them were both still alive and able to live a happy life… But reality was a harsh mistress, and was not one to conform to our wishes.
I patted Kwak Dong-Won on the back as he sobbed.
“I’m sure your brother is having a sweet dream right now. I bet he’s in his dream car, having the best trip of his life. So don't put it all on yourself.”
His sobbing echoed across the dark waters of the Han River.
In this damned world, everyone probably had their own story. In this age, every single person had their own tragic story.
I stared at the ripples along the surface of the Han River, shimmering in the moonlight, trying to soothe away the sadness within me.
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