Chapter 39
Kim Hyeong-Jun told me the most unimaginable story.
According to him, those who were bitten turned into zombies with glowing red eyes instead of ordinary zombies depending on their desires.
Those that longed for something, something they considered more precious than their lives, would turn into zombies with glowing red eyes.
‘Ahjussi, didn’t you have a dream before you woke up like this?’
As I carefully traced my memories, I realized that I did experience something like a dream. My wife and So-Yeon were sitting at a dining table in front of me, and I was looking at them through a clear glass wall. The wall had been unbreakable at first, but in the end, my desperate outburst was enough to break through the clear glass wall, and I managed to grab onto So-Yeon’s hand.
After that, I returned to my senses. Of course, my body was dead, but my mind was still very much sane. As I nodded, Kim Hyeong-Jun let out a chuckle before continuing.
‘That’s the reason. The reason our eyes glow red. The reason we didn’t turn into one of the black creatures. The thing that’s keeping us strong.’
‘Are you saying we will turn into a black creature if that mind and heart of ours disappears?’
‘Yup.’
‘What happens to the ones that can’t break the glass wall?’
‘They just become ordinary zombies. Or, if they got their heads ripped off, it wouldn’t have mattered,’ Kim Hyeong-Jun answered with a shrug.
I rubbed my chin and fell into deep thought.
This meant you didn’t necessarily have to get bitten by a black creature to become a being with glowing red eyes. But then, why weren’t there any beings with glowing red eyes in Haengdang-dong? The zombie I’d run into back at the high school had been surprised to hear that I’d never met another being with glowing red eyes.
As the questions began to pile up, I remembered the black creature’s evil smile. It had looked at me, my whole being filled with horror, with the biggest smile on its face.
- Just wait. I’ll kill everyone, and then I’ll get you too.
At least that’s what I’d thought it was saying. Once I’d fled with Lee Jeong-Uk and my underlings, it had taken care of the people on lookout duty and had come after me.
Everything started to make sense now. The reason the creature with the glowing red eyes that had attacked the high school was scared, the reason the black creature had left the survivors in the high school behind to come after me. It all led to one thing.
I, with my glowing red eyes, was a delicacy for the black creature. The only prey that satisfied its hunger. The ones with glowing red eyes.
Filled with sadness, I took a deep breath.
‘So your younger sibling… what happened?’
‘He had a girlfriend.’
A girlfriend, huh. I didn’t even need to hear the rest of the story. My heart sank, and I smacked my lips.
‘You can already guess the rest, can’t you?’ continued Kim Hyeong-Jun.
‘But why? Your younger sibling also had glowing red eyes. He could’ve protected her without any problem.’
‘My younger brother and I were leading separate groups of survivors.’
Even though I had only heard the story up to this point, I couldn’t help but frown.
Kim Hyeong-Jun continued his story, recollecting what had happened that day. Apparently, Kim Hyeong-Seok’s girlfriend hadn’t been bitten by zombies. Instead, she’d been killed by humans.
‘While my brother had been out getting food, something so unexpected and unimaginable happened.’
‘...’
‘After that, my brother just lost it. When I got back, all the survivors had been torn apart. You couldn’t tell who was who.’
I spat out some phlegm that had made its way up, then took a deep breath. The chilly summer breeze made its way deep into my lungs. The air was refreshing, as refreshing as our conversation was heartbreaking. Kim Hyeong-Jun continued with his story.
‘After that, my brother started tearing up his own body. He was clearly suffering immense pain. But it wasn’t physical pain. It was more like a deep despair.’
‘He tore himself apart?’
‘It was as though he was going through a metamorphosis. Like a snake shedding its skin. And after a while, he turned into a black creature.’
‘So you witnessed your brother go through a metamorphosis?’
Instead of answering, he looked toward the sky and sighed. It was a lonely, empty, and forlorn sigh. Kim Hyeong-Jun put his face in his hands and stayed silent for a moment.
‘I should’ve killed my younger brother before he finished his transformation. I still regret not ending his life at that moment.’
‘...’
‘Not killing my brother was no different from letting him die a second time. I should’ve just ended it all, and let my brother rest in peace.’
I didn’t know how to console him. I could only offer up a sorrowful sigh of my own. As I sat there gloomily, Kim Hyeong-Jun tried to change the topic.
‘So, ahjussi, how’d you transform?’
Unfortunately, he hadn’t chosen the best topic. I kept my voice calm.
‘I got bitten by a black creature.’
‘...’
Kim Hyeong-Jun flinched. I knew he was a clever fellow, and would be able to infer the rest of it. He smacked his lips.
‘I should’ve just ended everything back then.’
‘But he was your younger brother.’
‘Well, that’s only when we were both human beings. There’s no such thing as hyung and younger brother when we’re both monsters.’
I wondered if that was the reason why he wasn’t hostile toward the one who had killed his brother. He didn’t seem to bear a grudge. After all, he called himself a monster. He probably thought I was a rational being, since I described his brother as a monster as well.
Kim Hyeong-Jun scratched his neck and continued where he left off.
‘Ahjussi, what are you trying to protect?’
‘I’m…’
Immediately, I shut my mouth and looked at Kim Hyeong-Jun straight in the eye. I had almost answered his question subconsciously. There was no reason for me to tell anyone what I was trying to protect. After all, you never knew who was willing to stab you in the back.
He had willingly helped me out, someone he didn’t know at all. If I was weaker than him, there was a chance that he would come after me. I remained still, and he nodded.
‘Not bad.’
‘What?’
‘Always be careful of this question, since that’s your weakness. No matter what happens, never answer this question. Even if your life's on the line. Keep your promise, if you made one. Or else, you’ll become like my brother.’
Kim Hyeong-Jun had a wide grin on his face. At that moment, I realized just how sly the boy could be.
He noted my discomfort with a frown.
‘You know that we faint when we eat other zombies’ brains right? How long you stay unconscious also differs depending on the zombie’s strength.’
‘I know that.’
‘The same goes for when we transform into a black creature. That’s what happened to my little brother. You have to be extra careful then. Cause there’s a lot of zombies waiting for that moment.’
I nodded slowly while listening to his explanation. He was a big help to me. It was invaluable information I couldn’t get elsewhere.
‘Why are you telling me all of this?’
‘Because I think we’re on the same team.’
‘Well, that can’t be the only reason. You want something from me don’t you?’
‘...’
Kim Hyeong-Jun looked at me with an unreadable expression. Then, he sighed.
‘Ahjussi, you really are one of a kind.’
‘Enough with that. Cut to the chase.’
‘Let’s team up.’
‘What? Team up?’
‘Before the gang gets larger and all the survivors get wiped out, we have to gather beings like us that live for the sake of humans.’
I didn’t know what to say. I knew he had good intentions. But for me, the safety of So-Yeon and my people was my priority. I didn’t have the time to hunt down gang members or save other survivors.
My expression must have betrayed my hesitancy, as Kim Hyeong-Jun chuckled and continued to speak.
‘Don’t think too much about it, ahjussi. I just asked the question to make sure that you were hostile toward the gang members.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘Remember that I said that our palms have all sorts of abilities? One of the abilities I didn’t tell you is about teaming up.’
‘So you want to write up a contract or something?’
Kim Hyeong-Jun burst out laughing, then cleared his throat.
‘We make contracts with our palms.’
‘Our palms?’
‘Right now, we see each other as red beings. But once we team up, we’ll no longer look red to each other. Instead, we’ll see each other as purple beings.’
‘So this teaming up thing is a way to tell that we’re on the same side?’
‘Right on, ahjussi! Remember when I said that we could tell how strong we are by shaking hands? We just have to do one more thing.’
‘What?’
‘We have to make a vow while staring into each other’s eyes. As we do so, we need to form a strong belief within ourselves that, no matter what, we will combine forces and won’t attack each other.’
I nodded and offered my right hand to Kim Hyeong-Jun. There was no downside to teaming up. I certainly knew he wasn’t part of the gang, and he had a lot more information than I had. Only a fool would choose to act in an antagonistic way toward him.
Kim Hyeong-Jun took a deep breath and grabbed my hand with a slightly nervous expression. As I gripped his hand, I thought only of one thing. I made a pledge to myself that we were now on the same team, and that I wouldn’t attack him no matter what happened.
After a moment, I felt a jolt spread from my right hand to my entire body. My head began to hurt, and my face scrunched up instinctively.
‘What is this horrifying pain?’
The pain felt like it would melt my brain, and was only getting stronger. My eyes were on the verge of bursting. Our hands started shaking violently.
“GRR…!”
I gasped and let go of his hand. Kim Hyeong-Jun did the same. He panted and fell on all fours.
I closed my eyes and pressed my palms to my temples in an effort to clear away the pain. The red-hot pain slowly dissipated and I slowly opened my eyes again.
* * *
My mind was blurry. Everything seemed hazy. I felt like my soul was no longer attached to my body. It was a moment of liberation. The sound in my ears was the only way I could tell that I was still alive.
After a moment, I noticed Kim Hyeong-Jun on the floor. It seemed like he had suffered more pain than me. Both of his arms were trembling, and he couldn’t seem to get himself up.
The one unbelievable thing was the fact that Kim Hyeong-Jun actually looked purple now, instead of red.
Kim Hyeong-Jun was trying his best to regain his senses by shaking his head. As he slowly came back, he snuck a glimpse at me. His face was still tight with pain, but he was wearing a smile.
I was still panting because of the excruciating pain. The fresh air, which smelled as sweet as sap, entered through my mouth and nose. The fog in my mind cleared up, and I had the strangest feeling, as if my blood had started to flow again after stopping for a while. Then, I heard Kim Hyeong-Jun’s voice.
‘We did it.’
‘Perceiving each other as purple beings means we’re successful?’
‘Yes. If we still saw each other as red, that would’ve been a failure.’
‘What happens if two people still see each other in red?’
‘Well, it’s the start of a war.’
I looked at him blankly, trying to comprehend what he had just said. After a moment, though, I realized what he was saying. If two zombies still saw each other in red after making a vow, it meant that at least one side was lying.
The worst would have happened if we saw each other in red. I didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened if that had been the case.
I let out a sigh of relief. All that mattered was that we were successfully on the same team. Which also meant that we were on the same page.
Kim Hyeong-Jun let out a quick breath.
‘Welcome to the Survivor Rally Organization!’
‘Wait, what organization?’
‘The Survivor Rally Organization. It’s like an anti-gang organization. It’s for us zombies that live for the sake of the survivors.’
‘How many members do we have?’
‘Right now it’s just me and you, ahjussi.’
‘...’
‘My brother founded this association on his own.’
After hearing where the name had originated, I smacked my lips and avoided Kim Hyeong-Jun’s eyes.
The Survivor Rally Organization.
Just by the name of the organization, I could tell what kind of person Kim Hyeong-Seok was. He probably trusted and genuinely liked people. However, he ended up losing his trust in everyone, and gave up trying to live as a human being.
I couldn’t fathom the pain and despair he had to go through. I couldn’t hide my pity for him. I took a deep breath and asked Kim Hyeong-Jun a question.
‘So, what are you going to do from now on?’
‘I’m going to move around in Ttukseom. Since I know that the gang members didn’t get my brother, I have no reason to stay in Haengdang-dong anymore.’
‘I’m not sure if I can ask this, but, but are your people in Ttukseom?’
‘Is there a reason to hide anything anymore? We’re on the same team now. They’re in Ttukseom. You know where Seoul Forest is, right?’
‘Of course.’
‘There’s a shelter there. How about you move your people over there as well?’
‘We can think about that later.’
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