Chapter 95
As the days got colder, the sun began to set earlier. It began to go down by five in the afternoon, and it would be pitch-black by six o’clock.
Do Han-Sol arrived at Shelter Silence around eight o’clock with the survivors from Shelter Barrier in tow. All of them made it safely to Shelter Silence, thanks to Do Han-Sol’s protection.
He had brought a total of thirty-eight survivors to be housed at Shelter Silence temporarily.
When Kim Hyeong-Jun and I received news of Do Han-Sol’s safe return, we went out to deal with the remaining zombies in Seongsu-dong.
Kim Hyeong-Jun had taken care of most of the zombies on the streets, but there were still some hiding in the buildings.
Our cleanup operation in Seongsu 1-dong and Seongsu 2-ga, 3-dong went deep into the night, as the last thing the guards at Shelter Silence needed was zombies sneaking up behind them while they were in combat with the forces of the Family.
The guards of Shelter Silence were on full alert, as no one knew when the Family would launch their full-scale raid. They put extra effort into reinforcing the guard forces and increased the number of sentries at night.
Kim Hyeong-Jun and I returned as the tense darkness gave way to the rising dawn.
Hwang Ji-Hye greeted us with exhaustion on her face. It seemed like she hadn’t been able to sleep at all.
“Are the streets clear now?”
When I nodded, the guards of Shelter Silence, who had been preparing overnight for the battle to come, formed up behind me.
There were fifty guards with me, all armed with plenty of magazines and grenades secured to their belts.
With that, we headed out.
Kim Hyeong-Jun matched my pace and asked me a question.
‘Ahjussi, aren’t you being a little bit too demanding today? You already seem to be going so hard on everyone.’
My face hardened.
'Then when do you think is the proper time to go hard on them?'
Kim Hyeong-Jun smacked his lips.
'I just think that everyone’s going to be exhausted before the fight even begins.'
‘Well, there’s nothing we can do to make the situation better, is there?’
‘They’ve got us.’
I furrowed my brow.
‘No, they don’t. It’s not like we’re responsible for their lives. Stay focused. We’re no heroes.’
Kim Hyeong-Jun looked straight ahead again, his expression growing bitter.
How could I even think of taking a break when I hadn’t been able to see my baby girl, So-Yeon, in such a long time?
I’d wanted to meet So-Yeon after dealing with the dong leader of Hwayang-dong. But because Kim Hyeong-Jun ate the dead leader’s brain, I had to go and watch over the mutant in Majang-dong, then head back to meet Do Han-Sol.
I dearly wanted to see So-Yeon.
The pieces of candy that Kim Hyeong-Jun's wife had given me were still in my pockets.
I scrunched the candy wrappers.
'I can't be late.'
I’d promised So-Yeon that I would return within ten days, but I had no clue how long we had to keep up our vigil.
I went to my designated location, hoping that everything would be resolved within a week.
* * *
I turned on the walkie-talkie Hwang Ji-Hye had given me as I waited in Seongsu 2-ga, 1-dong, and her voice came over the walkie-talkie.
- We’re not detecting any movement from this side. How’s the situation over there?
I handed the walkie-talkie to Do Han-Sol.
I’d deliberately brought Do Han-Sol with me instead of Kim Hyeong-Jun, as he could speak.
“Nothing here too.”
Do Han-Sol handed the walkie-talkie back to me, then looked into my face and spoke cautiously.
‘My apologies… For yesterday.’
‘It’s okay.'
I waved it off.
His respectful tone, which he hadn’t used before, seemed to suggest that he was opening up to me. I matched his respectful tone.
Do Han-Sol smacked his lips, as if there was something still bothering him.
‘Your name… You said you were Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok, right?'
‘Yes.’
‘Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok… Do you remember what the world was like before all of this happened?'
‘...’
I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
I wondered where he was going with such a question.
I looked at Do Han-Sol calmly.
'I don’t believe it’s the best idea to talk about something like that in our current situation.’
‘But it’s not like there’s anything else we can do at the moment, is there?'
'We cannot let our guard down, even for a split second.’
‘You seem to be a bit on edge. I see you’re not much of an entertainer.’
Do Han-Sol smacked his lips and looked away.
A sensitive person?
A boring person?
I supposed it was true that I wasn’t really a funny guy. I didn’t talk much, nor did I enjoy hanging out with others. I was the type of person who found joy in staying at home on the weekends, and I brushed off the loneliness that I felt by going to the movies alone, or by reading a book.
The person who had changed me was my wife.
When I first met my wife, I thought she was a noisy and annoying person. She would send me daily text messages at eight o’clock, as regular as an alarm clock, causing my phone to beep and frustrating me to no end.
Whenever I picked up my phone out of annoyance, I always saw the same message:
- How was your day today?
Her message didn’t say much, but before I knew it, this message slowly became what I looked forward to.
I couldn’t sleep at night, worrying if something had happened to her, if she was busy, or imagining the worst when my phone didn’t beep at eight o’clock.
My wife was loving and sincere, and soon she became my everything.
When I started to date her, my perspective on the world began to change.
Everything that I thought of as useless began to seem alive, and glow with a gentle pastel light. My days began to become full of smiles.
And after I married my wife, I was showered with continuous days of happiness.
When we had So-Yeon, I learned, for the first time in my life, what tears of joy were. Every day was busy, hectic at times, and I barely had time to rest.
However, when compared to the life I’d had before, going to the movies alone… The hectic life I was living was much more valuable, beautiful, and full of happiness.
And this wife of mine… She was in Gangnam.
My wife who taught me what life was all about… She was in Gangnam.
Gangnam, which I’d thought had been destroyed for good, was a place with survivors, and in fact, they’d established a safer system of living as compared to Gangbuk. With all this in my mind, it was hardly strange that I would be slightly on edge.
I furrowed my brows and let out a sigh. Do Han-Sol swallowed and spoke up.
"Are you okay?"
I looked over at him, and he cleared his throat and asked silently, as though whispering,
‘I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. The reason I asked if you remembered what the world was like… The survivors, they all look exhausted. I wonder if you remember that we both would feel fatigue when we were both human.’
‘...’
‘The leader of Silence stayed up all night. There’s no way everyone can give their all.’
When I heard Do Han-Sol's words, Lee Jeong-Uk’s face swam into my mind. Previously, when I’d been grinding away without taking the time to rest, he’d said something to me while the two of us were alone in the meeting room.
- Your body doesn’t naturally tell you that it needs to rest. You have to make time to take a rest. Take it easy.
There’s a saying that, even in the midst of war, flowers bloom and love would fill the air.
Perhaps I was taking out my nervousness and frustration on others.
I realized that I might’ve forgotten the realities of human living, even while I was wishing to live in harmony with others, now that I had gotten used to this zombie body of mine.
I pressed my fingers gently against my temples, momentarily lost in thought. I needed a moment to clear my mind.
I handed the walkie-talkie to Do Han-Sol and asked him to pass on my words to the others.
‘Tell everyone to rest, but tell Kim Hyeong-Jun to be extra vigilant.’'
'Got it.'
Do Han-Sol nodded, and a smile finally broke across his face.
I had totally forgotten about what I had promised myself, even though I was the one who’d said that I would be fighting for the sake of others.
My head sagged dejectedly, and Do Han-Sol spoke up.
“We still think and have the hearts of humans, despite the fact that we look like this. I understand where you’re coming from.”
“...”
I looked at Do Han-Sol without saying a word, and he smiled thinly.
“I know how difficult it is to stick to your original convictions. I don't know if I have the right to say this… But it’s nice to see you contemplating. It makes you seem like a person that tries their very best, even though they know they’re not perfect.”
I nodded slowly as I listened to Do Han-Sol.
I’d figured him as an emotional person, but now, looking at him, it seemed like he had a mature side to him as well.
I was fortunate to have formed an alliance with Do Han-Sol.
* * *
There were zombies packed on Bamseom, in the middle of the Han River.[1]
The northern end of Sogang Bridge, which led toward Bamseom, was also teeming with zombies.
The blue-eyed zombie that was overlooking everything from a distance away, looked at the first officer next to him and asked, “How many mutants are there?”
“There are eighty stage-one mutants and one stage-two mutant.”
“One, huh…”
The head of the Family furrowed his brow, then sighed.
“And the plan?”
“I’ll lead my underlings to the southern end of the Sogang Bridge, and the second and third officers will follow behind me. After that, we will unleash the mutants and go after their weak spots.”
“And did you secure the way to Sogang Bridge?”
The first officer pointed to the stairs on Bamseom.
“As you can see, sir.”
It was an enormously tall stairway.
Both the northern and southern ends of all of the bridges across the Han River had been destroyed. However, when it came to Sogang Bridge, the part that connected it to Bamseom was the only part that had been destroyed. It seemed like there hadn't been enough explosives to get the job done.
Because of this, Sogang Bridge became ground zero, the launching pad for the Gangnam Operation.
The head of the Family crossed his arms.
“The stairs will decrease our mobility. I told you loud and clear to build a mound… Why’d you bother to make stairs instead?”
“A mound might not be able to withstand the weight of our underlings, and would eventually collapse. But with stairs, we don’t have to worry about that.”
“And are you sure you can keep your word?”
"Yes, sir."
The first officer answered without the slightest hesitation. The boss took a deep breath and nodded slowly, then looked over at the second officer.
“Second officer, have you received any reports on the situation in Gwangjin-gu?”
“It seems that the sixth and seventh officers are mobilizing in an orderly manner. They have already gathered the dong leaders together, and mobilized the baits as well.”
“It seems like someone did their preparations. Did they say they’d be fine without mutants?”
“Yes, but it seemed like only the seventh officer’s lures were mobilized, because the sixth officer’s lures were wiped out during the battle at Shelter Seoul Forest.”
The lures were units that reported directly to an officer. And this was the reason why the seventh officer had intervened in the Seongsu dong leader’s business, since her own units had been part of the Shelter Seoul Forest raid. That was all the more reason for her to bash him for not getting the job done.
The boss of the gang crossed his arms and nodded, then muttered to himself, "Today… is going to be one hell of a day.”
The first, second, and third officers, who were beside him, remained silent.
The boss looked at them.
“And at the end of a hard day, we should smile, am I right??”
Although the boss was smiling, there was an icy edge to his voice, frigid enough to send chills down the spine. The officers shivered.
The boss had no intention to coddle or comfort. There was nothing but ice in his voice.
The other officers swallowed and answered vigorously, "Yes, sir!"
“If I ever get to the stage where I can’t laugh comfortably, I'm not going to feel very good. So everyone, do your best. Am I clear?"
The officers bowed deeply from the waist.
A proud, complacent smile spread across the boss’ face. Failure was not a possibility for him.
“Let’s roll out.”
* * *
The sun was a tiny sliver of light above the western horizon, and the sky was already a dark, inky blue.
I took out my walkie-talkie and looked at Do Han-Sol.
'The sun’s starting to set. If you could tell everyone to get focused, that’d be great.'
‘There’s no need to be so formal.'
‘...’
I nodded without saying a word.
Do Han-Sol smiled and checked the status of the walkie-talkie.
“Do you hear me? Do you hear me?”
There was the sound of static, followed by a reply.
- I can hear you. Go ahead.
It was Hwang Ji-Hye's voice.
Do Han-Sol wet his parched lips and continued to speak.
“Has anything happened over there?”
- Nothing major to report.
“Lee Hyun-Deok has requested that we commence the operation.”
- All right.
After hearing Hwang Ji-Hye's answer, I looked at Do Han-Sol.
'I don't know what’s going to happen once I go into Jayang-dong and destroy their camp. What did I tell you to do if the gang members ignore me and come here instead?'
'I have to push this fellow over here, right?'
As he answered, Do Han-Sol pointed at my underling, who was next to him.
Do Han-Sol could command a total of nine hundred underlings, which was a lot less than what Kim Hyeong-Jun and I could control.
I was leaving an underling with Do Han-Sol in case the enemies broke through his lines.
If Do Han-Sol was unable to keep the enemy at bay, he would push my underling, who would then send me a signal.
I nodded vigorously and got up.
I had no intention of playing along with their games from the beginning. I wasn’t going to wait for them to come. Instead, I was going to make the first move.
The Family was the one sparking the war, but the start and finale of the battle belonged to the Survivors Rally Organization.
We would be the ones remembered as victorious.
1. Bamseom is a pair of islets located in the Han River in Seoul, Korea. It means “Chestnut Island” in Korean. ☜
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