Chapter 76
The moment I returned to Shelter Hae-Young with my underlings, carrying the supplies I’d obtained from Hwang Ji-Hye, Lee Jeong-Uk came running toward me. It seemed he was dying to get an update on the situation.
“What happened? Is Eun-Jeong okay?”
I gestured for us to talk inside. As we walked, Lee Jeong-Uk glanced at my underlings.
“It seems like you lost a lot of underlings. Was the enemy strong?”
Unable to continue ignoring his questions, I took out my notepad and scribbled down some words.
- A lot happened, and I got a lot of information.
Lee Jeong-Uk’s expression grew perturbed.
“I’m sorry to ask this, knowing that you just got back and haven’t had time to rest, but is it okay if we have a meeting right now?”
- I don’t get tired anyway. Can you let everyone know?
I massaged my neck and went ahead to the meeting room, my underlings in tow.
I placed the boxes on the meeting room table and ordered my underlings to wait outside. Soon after, Lee Jeong-Uk came in. Behind him were Lee Jeong-Hyuk, Choi Da-Hye, the principal, the elder, Han Seon-Hui, and Shin Ji-Hye. It seemed like the others decided to include Shin Ji-Hye in the meeting as she was the leader of the university students from Dae Hyun San Park.
I’d only been away for two days, but I felt a rather strange feeling of comfort, as if I’d been transported to another world. This place was only seven minutes away from where I’d been earlier on, running at top speed, but that place was a living hell full of sadness and despair, whereas Shelter Hae-Young had maintained its calm and peaceful daily routine. I knew it was a selfish thought, but I felt fortunate that my family was here.
Reports of what had happened in the shelter over the past two days were placed on the table, and everyone took their seats. I took a brief look at the documents before we started our meeting.
There’d been no major changes at Shelter Hae-Young. Things were still operating steadily, and no bad blood had developed between the inhabitants. The shelter was full of vitality. I assumed it was because we had more younger people than before, thanks to the college students.
I put down the documents I was holding and wrote down some words on the A4 paper in front of me.
- We’ll begin today’s meeting.
* * *
Unlike our regular weekly meetings, I couldn’t see this emergency meeting ending any time soon.
The main focus of our meeting was about Shelter Silence instead of Shelter Hae-Young.
I had a lot to announce, and the fact that I had to write a lot to make everyone understand only served to lengthen the amount of time the meeting would take.
When I’d explained everything that had happened, Lee Jeong-Uk was the first to speak.
“Then…. Shelter Silence and us… Are we forming an alliance with them?”
I nodded.
“Can we trust them?”
I fiddled with my earlobes and gave some thought to Lee Jeong-Uk’s question.
‘Hmm… Trust…’
- It’s too early to talk about trust with them.
“Well, you do have a point.”
- They were people that abhorred zombies, but they aren’t treating me or Kim Hyeong-Jun with hostility anymore. I’d say that’s a win for now.
“Well, that just doesn’t clarify anything. Just because they don’t treat you two with hostility doesn’t necessarily mean that they consider you two as allies either.”
- We’ll have to build trust slowly.
“There are a lot of people there, right? Do you think everyone there is on board with this?”
- As long as the group leader of Silence remains the group leader, there’s a good chance that we’ll be able to continue our relationship with them.
I recalled the atmosphere in the Silence meeting room. Some of the officers, including the guard leader, had treated Kim Hyeong-Jun and me like eyesores. But I knew they wouldn’t be able to do anything stupid as long as the group leader and Park Gi-Cheol were there.
I had no intention of buttering up the guard leader, when he didn’t like me or Kim Hyeong-Jun. I knew that’d be a waste of time and effort. My purpose was clear from the start. I was teaming up with them to take advantage of what they had to offer. The hospital and the weapons they had were two good enough reasons to form an alliance with them.
After a moment, Lee Jeong-Uk spoke up.
“Do they know where we are?”
- I only told them that we were in Haengdang-dong. I didn't tell them our exact location.
Lee Jeong-Uk sighed and crossed his arms, as if he felt uncomfortable deep down. He then asked cautiously,
“You’re not thinking about merging with them, are you? Just asking.”
- No. We’re just allies because we have what each other needs.
“So, we get access to their weapons and hospital facilities. What did you offer them in return?”
- Me.
Lee Jeong-Uk frowned at my one-word answer.
“What do you mean? Are they going to use you as a tool or something whenever anything dangerous occurs?”
- I volunteered to do so.
“What do you mean? Are you nuts? They were attacked by the gang members multiple times. Why do you keep on doing this to yourself?”
- Kim Hyeong-Jun’s family is there.
Lee Jeong-Uk sighed and shook his head after reading what I had written down. It seemed like he understood where I was coming from but wasn’t really happy about it.
“So-Yeon’s dad, can I say something?”
He smacked his lips.
“I know that you’re doing your best for us. You’re loyal, have a sense of responsibility, and above all, everyone here knows that you are a good person. But…”
Lee Jeong-Uk trailed off with a frown. He let out a deep breath.
“You have to look after yourself too. Think about So-Yeon. She’s still young and she needs a dad.”
“...”
I looked around at everyone after hearing what Lee Jeong-Uk said. They all seemed to agree with what he was saying. As I looked into their faces, I began to think deeply.
A person’s sense of security could be divided into two parts: one that was provided by their families, and one that could be provided by others. No matter how much everyone treated So-Yeon as their own daughter, there was a sense of security that only I could provide.
Lee Jeong-Uk was telling me not to bite off more than I could chew and also to stay by So-Yeon’s side.
My head sagged and I closed my eyes.
I couldn’t come to a decision right away. It seemed like every day presented a new challenge.
The Family now not only grew rapidly, but also had mutants. I knew if I took my eyes off of them, even for a moment, I wouldn’t stand a chance against them. I was well aware that I wouldn’t be able to handle them if they expanded, unless I got stronger.
But at the same time, if I focused on keeping the gang members in check, I wouldn’t be able to give as much attention to Shelter Hae-Young. I could leave the management of the shelter to Lee Jeong-Uk, but I had So-Yeon to think about as well. I’d gathered people and created Shelter Hae-Young to help with So-Yeon’s emotional stability.
It sure wasn’t easy to maintain a balance between being a father and a leader. The duty I had as a father weighed heavily on my shoulders. No other role was as difficult as being a father.
As I stood there silently with my eyes closed, Lee Jeong-Hyuk, who was right across from me, quickly sensed what was going on and switched the topic.
“By the way, are there weapons in that box?”
I opened my eyes and nodded slowly. Everyone turned to the boxes on the table. Lee Jeong-Uk spoke up.
“Do you mind if I check them out?”
I nodded again and Lee Jeong-Uk opened the boxes eagerly, as if he had been waiting to do so.
The first box contained K2 rifles. The second one had hand grenades, and the last box had crossbows and arrows.
Lee Jeong-Uk’s eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. Seeing Lee Jeong-Uk’s face, the rest got up to check out the contents of the boxes as well. Everyone gasped and looked at me in surprise.
As Shin Ji-Hye reached for a grenade, Lee Jeong-Uk quickly grabbed her hand.
“Don’t touch them.”
“Huh? Why, why?”
Shin Ji-Hye was surprised by his sudden action. Lee Jeong-Uk frowned at her.
“It’s not some toy you can play around with.”
“...”
Shin Ji-Hye pursed her lips and stepped back. Lee Jeong-Uk sighed and asked me a question.
“So-Yeon’s father, did you sign a slave contract with them or something?[1]”
When I tilted my head, Lee Jeong-Uk’s expression grew complicated.
“How much are they thinking of abusing you? Don’t you think you’ll be treated as a slave, given how much they’re willing to give us?”
- I put down reasonable conditions.
“What conditions? You are a weapon, but you’re also a human life. Handing something like this over must mean that the conditions weren’t ordinary.”
- I agreed to get them some medicine.
“Medicine…?”
I told them about the situation that the hospital at Shelter Silence was facing. Lee Jeong-Uk quietly rubbed his chin. It seemed like he was lost in thought.
Across the table, the principal offered a statement that helped to ease everyone’s worries.
“In simple terms, the leader of Silence handed over these weapons to save their own people. At least that’s what I think.”
Perhaps that was the best way to summarize the situation at that moment.
Everyone nodded, grudgingly agreeing with the principal. It seemed like the principal’s words had made them see Shelter Silence in a slightly more positive light.
However, this wasn’t the time to get sentimental. I had to get back to Shelter Silence before the sun went down, so I took a deep breath and got to the point.
- Could Jeong-Uk and Mr. Principal sort out the items here? And make sure that you’re extra careful so that the children don’t have access to them.
The two of them nodded after reading what I had written. I continued to write.
- Is anyone familiar with crossbows?
Everyone remained silent.
The result hardly seemed surprising.
‘Well, how many people in Korea have ever used a crossbow to begin with?’
- Then first of all, I hope you start getting used to using crossbows. I think we should only use firearms when Shelter Hae-Young is under attack. They’re too risky to be used on a daily basis.
Everyone agreed with me. I scribbled down another improvement that we had to make to Shelter Hae-Young on a piece of paper.
- It looks like we need to adjust the height of the wall.
“It’s currently three meters tall. You want it even higher?”
I could see the surprise in Choi Da-Hye’s eyes.
Zombies with red glowing eyes could easily climb over walls due to their extraordinary physical abilities, but normal zombies couldn’t. And from my analysis on how the members of the Family fought, it seemed like the leaders did not lead from the front. The zombie I’d met at the high school and the Seongsu-dong leader were both like that.
However, what worried me were the mutants.
- The mutants are different from the zombies that we’ve been dealing with so far. Silence’s walls were also two to three meters high, but the mutants went over them easily. And the evolved mutant’s physical abilities are beyond our imagination.
“Evolved mutants?”
Lee Jeong-Uk looked at me with a face that demanded an explanation as to what evolved mutants were.
I informed them all about the mutant I had encountered at Gangbyeonbuk-ro.
I couldn’t forget how the mutant had slaughtered its way through my underlings. Given its quick movements, I had to assume that its ability to jump would be exceptional as well.
The best we could do right now was to build higher walls.
Once everything had been covered, I asked everyone if they had any more questions. From the silence, I assumed everyone had their questions answered.
I nodded slowly and wrote on the A4 paper:
- We’ll wrap up today’s meeting here.
* * *
We left the meeting room as the sun was setting.
I walked over to the wooden bench next to the playground and sat down for a while.
I wanted to have some time alone.
As I looked up at the sky, I felt my head clearing up a little.
“Huh? It’s Daddy!”
At that moment, I heard So-Yeon’s voice behind me. I quickly turned around and saw her head sticking out over the balcony railing, waving her right hand at me. I quickly entered apartment 104.
When I entered So-Yeon’s room on the fifth floor, I saw her and the other children playing on the balcony railing. I dashed over and pulled them down.
I couldn't talk, so I had no choice but to use actions. The children looked at me in surprise, then they hung their heads, their faces growing sullen.
‘Did they think they’d made me mad?’
I quickly took out my notepad and wrote down a message for them.
- You can’t play on the railings. You have to play safely in your rooms.
“We’re sorry.”
The children bowed their heads while pouting.
I smiled gently and patted the children’s heads. The children looked up at me with bright eyes, then looked sheepishly at So-Yeon.
So-Yeon smiled brightly, her gaze going back and forth between me and the other children.
“Daddy, when did you get back?”
- I just got back, sweetie.
“Did you rescue a lot of people today too?”
I heard So-Yeon’s question, and was lost in thought for a moment. As I stayed silent, she ran into the living room and came back with a sketchbook.
“Ta-da! Look at this Daddy!”
So-Yeon showed me a drawing in her sketchbook with a smile. I wondered what she was so excited about.
There were a lot of smiling people in her drawing. In front of them, I saw a man standing with his arms folded, a triumphant look on his face. There was a large S drawn on the man’s chest. He also had red glowing eyes.
So-Yeon giggled and said, “This is you, Daddy!”
1. A slave contract refers to an unfair, long-term contract usually in the context between Korean idols and their management companies. However, this term is commonly used when two people sign a contract where one has the upper hand. ☜
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