Chapter 33
Lee Jeong-Uk, who was next to me, had noticed as well. He looked at my underlings cautiously and called my name. “Hey, So-Yeon’s dad.”
“Grr?”
“There are ones without blue marks.”
The underlings that hadn’t had their bodies spray-painted blue had had their faces painted with blue paint instead. However, there were several zombies there that didn’t even have their faces painted. They were scattered about my other underlings, waiting for my orders as well. I counted each of my underlings one by one.
‘What? What’s this?’
If I remembered correctly, there should've only been eighty-one underlings, even less if some of them had been killed during the battle. However, to my surprise, there were ninety-eight underlings lined up in the field.
I called out the seventeen unusual ones and lined them up in one row. I then ordered them specifically to sit down and stand up ten times.
Grr…
They followed my orders, sitting down and standing up.
They were following my orders. They also looked green to me. That meant they were my underlings. But no matter how hard I tried tracing in my memory, I couldn't remember pushing any of them. On top of that, none of their faces were painted blue.
At that moment, I saw a familiar face among the seventeen underlings. It was the one that had run up to the zombie with glowing red eyes to hand over the map.
‘Why is this one here?’
It looked red the first time I’d seen it, but now it was green. A sudden hypothetical question crossed my mind.
- What happens if we eat each other?
This was what the zombie with glowing red eyes had said to me.
If zombies ate each other… To be precise, if the winner ate the loser's brain, they could take control of the loser’s underlings as well.
That was how this world worked. I also remembered it asking me how many underlings I thought we could have. As I pondered this, all manner of questions popped up in my mind.
‘If there’s a limit on how many underlings we can have, I wonder if that limit goes away if I eat the right amount of brains?’
At that moment, I realized how dangerous the orange and red areas on the map were. If the ‘X’ on the map indicated the black creature’s territory, it meant that the black creature had no presence within the other regions. That led me to the conclusion that the orange and red areas were basically warzones.
The power play between different zombies and the remaining humans’ struggle to survive amidst all of this was happening at this very moment. I stared into the distance. It was Lee Jeong-Uk’s voice that interrupted me. “So-Yeon’s dad, are you alright?”
“Grr?”
“Are they your underlings as well?”
I hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded. No green underlings had ever revolted against me or suddenly changed color. I came to the conclusion that the newly added seventeen zombies were no different from my other underlings.
Just in case, though, I made these seventeen new zombies stand with me, while I ordered the ones painted blue to stand next to the survivors.
‘Let’s go back for now. Let’s go back to where everyone is waiting; where So-Yeon is waiting for me.’
* * *
As we got back to the apartment, the other survivors in unit 505 greeted us. I could see happiness in their faces, along with a sense of relief. I could picture a bright future with them.
Patter, patter.
I heard familiar footsteps in the midst of all the noise. They were small, cute footsteps, and just hearing them immediately brought a smile to my face.
“Daddy!”
So-Yeon came straight to me and hugged me. I gave her a happy smile and hugged her back. As I lifted her up, she started giggling, and the stress I had accumulated went away at once. The beaming smile that was so dear to me was right in front of my eyes. It wasn’t a mirage, nor did it disappear like haze. I was hearing So-Yeon’s laughter, full of life. Her smile made me feel alive, and gave me a reason to live on.
As I kept on smiling, Lee Jeong-Hyuk looked at me and chuckled. “Hey, hey, So-Yeon’s father. You’re that happy?”
As I nodded, Choi Da-Hye, who was standing next to him, joined in as well. “You sure look happy. Look at his smile!”
Lee Jeong-Hyuk looked at Choi Da-Hye with suggestive eyes. However, contrary to his expectations, Choi Da-Hye merely jabbed him in the stomach. I bursted out laughing looking at the two of them.
So-Yeon grabbed my hand to take me to her friends. The children were scared of me but at the same time looked at me with curiosity, since I got along well with the others. I wasn’t sure how to explain this situation. Everybody was shrinking away in fear, yet their eyes were sparkling with curiosity.
They were scared but curious, afraid yet amazed.
‘I think we’ll need more time to get closer to each other.’
I took a deep breath and took a look around. I was thinking about going to the supermarket right away, but after seeing everyone so revitalized I didn’t want to go anywhere else.
I thought the last bit of humanity left in me had been stripped away during my fight with the glowing red-eyed creature. However, I still wanted to be around people and get along with them. I still liked people and I wanted to keep seeing people laugh brightly like this.
I felt the negativity within me go away now that I was in a place brimming with positive energy. I smiled as I walked toward a dining chair. Then So-Yeon came up to me and stretched out her arms, asking for a hug.
I wondered how much cuter she could get. I wondered who she had gotten all her cuteness from. I sat So-Yeon on my lap, all happy, and stared at the bustling crowd of people.
I finally realized the feeling of a community that I had never experienced as a human.
* * *
As the evening rolled in, I joined the rest of the group and started catching up with them. Of course, I was just listening to their stories. Lee Jeong-Uk mentioned something that he found interesting. He told me that my underlings were stronger compared to the other zombies.
With that in mind, I decided to try something out. I went to the first floor and picked out the strongest looking zombie among the newly added seventeen underlings, and pitted it against one of my blue underlings. I didn’t make them actually fight with their fists. Instead, I asked them to engage in a palm-pushing game to see which one was stronger.
The results were different from what I had expected. The two were evenly matched. Through this experiment, I learned something else. The abilities of an underling depended on their leader.
Even though these underlings had been weak before, they seemed to have gotten stronger, depending on who they recognized as their leader. Lee Jeong-Uk and I took out the leftover blue spray paint and sprayed these new ones blue.
Once we were done painting the newly added seventeen members, as well as some new recruits I had acquired overnight, I had a total of one hundred and thirty-five underlings painted blue.
Lee Jeong-Uk shook the almost-empty can of spray paint in his hand. “We need to get some more spray paint too.”
I knew that I was going to acquire a lot more underlings than I had right now. Therefore, we had to get more paint when we went out to get food. I nodded and gestured for him to head back first.
Lee Jeong-Uk arched an eyebrow. “Are you trying to go to the supermarket right now?”
I nodded, and Lee Jeong-Uk scratched his head. I noticed some hesitation in his movements. It seemed as though he wanted to say something, but he did not want to just blurt it out. I tilted my head as I looked at him, and he let out a chuckle.
“I just wanted to let you know that I’m sorry.”
‘Well, that was unexpected.’
In this fallen world full of anger and hate, that was the last thing I’d expected to hear. As I looked at him questioningly, he smiled gently and looked away. Then he smacked his lips and continued, “Well it seems we’re making you do everything and… You know what? Nevermind.”
His upper body shook as if he knew what he was saying was cringe, and mumbled something noncommittal as he made his way up the stairs. I couldn’t help laughing at the way he acted. Clearly, underneath his picky and sensitive personality, he had a soft spot in him.
‘Sorry, huh…’
He could have been offering me his gratitude disguised as an apology. More than anything, though, there was no reason for Lee Jeong-Uk to feel sorry toward me. So-Yeon had started laughing again thanks to him and his group of people, and I was able to save others thanks to them. They taught me a sense of community, and let me experience the joy of communal living.
‘No, it should be me that should be apologizing.’
I smacked my lips in sadness. I suddenly remembered the baby and woman falling from unit 704, and Lee Jeong-Uk wailing. I shook my head and sighed deeply. I wondered when I was going to get past this memory. I had a feeling that it would follow me until the day I died.
* * *
Once I had taken care of everything, I returned to the living room. As I entered, everyone in the living room started looking at each other, as if someone had something to say. As I looked at them quizzically, Lee Jeong-Uk spoke up.
“So-Yeon’s dad, we had a little talk while you were gone.”
“...?”
Lee Jeong-Uk seemed hesitant to speak his mind, as if he was about to ask for the impossible. As I waited patiently, he finally took a deep breath and continued, “We’ll take care of getting food from now on.”
I growled in disapproval. My expression grew angry and I shook my head vigorously, letting them know that I wasn’t about to let that happen. I couldn’t risk Lee Jeong-Uk and his people getting hurt. The day any one of them died, the whole system we’d worked to establish would collapse in a matter of days.
Lee Jeong-Uk smacked his lips and avoided acknowledging my response. Lee Jeong-Hyuk, who was next to him, smiled uncomfortably and said, “We have to do something too.”
When I heard that, I pointed to So-Yeon, who was coloring with the other children. Lee Jeong-Hyuk scratched his sideburns and pressed on, “Of course we have to protect So-Yeon. But if we don’t do anything, don’t you think we’re just being lazy?”
I got a pen and quickly jotted down a couple of words on the drawing pad.
- Safety First.
Lee Jeong-Hyuk chuckled at what I had written.
“We know. But your underlings are protecting the entrance. Since there are more of us, we just can't let you shoulder all the burden.”
My expression grew sad as I looked at Lee Jeong-Hyuk, and I remembered what Lee Jeong-Uk had said earlier.
- I just wanted to let you know that I’m sorry.
Lee Jeong-Uk had clearly apologized earlier on. I wondered if I was keeping everyone here out of my own arrogance. They were people, who were very much alive. They were also adults. They weren't beings that I had to protect and take care of, but individuals, with their own thoughts and feelings. I took a deep breath as I considered the situation. Finally, Lee Jeong-Uk, who had kept silent, spoke up.
“So-Yeon’s dad, we’re a team now. There’s a limit on how much you can do by yourself. We all need to take charge of something.”
“...”
“Don’t try to do everything by yourself. So, do you think you can give us a chance?”
Lee Jeong-Uk’s face was full of determination. His voice was extremely calm, and he looked at me with eyes full of resolve. I saw the trust and faith he had in me. I couldn’t help but nod in response to his request. Lee Jeong-Uk finally smiled gently, and continued, “Since I know the supermarket that we went to last time, let us take care of getting food.”
I nodded.
“And we’ll make sure that So-Yeon never gets left alone. I won’t let that happen no matter what. Even if that means I have to die. I won’t let that happen.”
Lee Jeong-Uk patted me on the shoulder as he made his promise. I looked at Lee Jeong-Uk without saying a word. His eyes were full of vitality. He didn’t have the soulless eyes he’d had when I first saw him. Instead, they were sparkling with life.
I felt as though they were providing me with some sort of consolation as well. Deep down, I was a bit worried, but the only thing I could do right now was to trust Lee Jeong-Uk. He knew the characteristics of zombies, and he’d managed to survive with Lee Jeong-Hyuk and Choi Da-Hye, who considered themselves useless. My request that they do nothing else but protect So-Yeon had its limits.
I’d been thinking about the map, and had realized that the shield markings on the map might not be shelters after all. If that were the case, then perhaps making everyone stay put until I found a safe shelter might only serve to worsen the current situation. I took a deep breath and nodded. With that, everyone’s expressions brightened up.
Their faces seemed much more alive and warm, even though they now had to risk their lives to go outside and get food. I guess that’s how humans differed from animals. If all they did was sit around and eat all day, these people would be no different from domesticated animals.
I looked deeply into each of their faces. I saw the trust and faith we had accumulated throughout our time together. They no longer had the faces of mere survivors just trying to make it out alive. Their faces were full of vitality.
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