Chapter 34

Perhaps afraid he might try to kill himself, Do Muwon had kept his eyes open, watching Jeong Yu-su until he finally drifted off. Judging by the way Do Muwon had settled in, he had no intention of moving until morning, much less abandoning him there alone.

Of course, his concern had been wasted.

Even the word suicide caused Jeong Yu-su pain. If he had possessed the courage to take his own life, he would not have dragged out this cowardly existence for so long.

Yes. Cowardly.

“Haa…”

Yu-su pushed himself upright and glanced around, but neither Joo Hee-eun nor Sim Gorak was anywhere in sight. Only his luggage remained beneath the sofa, and the sight made his expression darken.

Even allowing for the possibility that Do Muwon had stepped away for a moment, he would never have left all their belongings beside someone who was asleep. Had something happened? Anxiety tightened in Jeong Yu-su’s chest as he turned, searching the hall.

Then he spotted the siblings in a far corner.

“…Huh?”

The younger sister lay motionless on the floor, perhaps injured, while the boy sat beside her with tears slipping silently down his face.

Jeong Yu-su had not noticed them before. When had they come inside?

He sprang to his feet, fought through the sudden rush of dizziness, and hurried toward them. “Hey… let me take a look. Are you hurt?”

“…”

The boy merely raised his head and stared at him, the tears continuing to spill down his cheeks.

Jeong Yu-su took another step.

Crunch. Crunch.

Maggots burst beneath the soles of his leather shoes. Startled, he looked down, then slowly raised his gaze again.

“Why did you leave us behind?”

The boy’s body was falling apart.

It looked as though an invisible zombie had sunk its teeth into him. His neck tore open, and bright red blood sprayed from the wound. Then his cheeks split. His shoulders peeled apart. Flesh began shredding from every part of his body until, at last, his eyeballs ruptured and tears of blood streamed down his ruined face.

Blood poured across the floor, rapidly pooling around Jeong Yu-su’s feet. Paralyzed, he could do nothing but move his lips soundlessly.

The boy spoke again.

“I asked why you left us behind.”

“Left you behind? No. That wasn’t what happened.”

“If you saved us, you have to take responsibility.”

The girl on the floor had been mangled into little more than blood-soaked rags. Only her head remained intact, and she stared up at Jeong Yu-su as she muttered, “Take responsibility.”

“Take responsibility,” the boy echoed.

“If you saved us, you have to take responsibility.”

“It’s your responsibility.”

“It’s because of you, hyung! You’re the one who has to take responsibility for us!”

That’s right. I was supposed to take responsibility.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that I…”

Mustering every shred of strength he had, Jeong Yu-su took a step toward the siblings. The floor gave way beneath him like a soaked sponge and swallowed his body whole.

“…!”

The grotesque sensation of falling jolted him awake on the sofa.

“Hyung. Are you awake?”

Sim Gorak’s worried face hovered above him.

Jeong Yu-su blinked several times before his rigid body finally responded. Without moving his head, he shifted his gaze toward the corner of the hall where the siblings had been.

A family lay sleeping there now. Nothing more.

“…”

“Hyung? Jeong Yu-su?”

“Ah… yeah.”

“Are you all right? It looked like you were having a nightmare.”

As Jeong Yu-su pushed himself upright, the blanket covering him slid to the floor. His body felt hollow and drained, so he sank back against the sofa and studied Sim Gorak’s face.

“The sleeping arrangements are just uncomfortable. Where did everyone go?”

“Manager Do said he was going to look around the area. Joo Hee-eun went with him.”

Although Jeong Yu-su had not named either of them, Sim Gorak understood immediately. Perhaps Do Muwon had left him with strict instructions before departing, because Sim Gorak sat as straight as a blade, both fists resting squarely on his thighs.

He poured water into a paper cup and held it out. “Please drink some water first. You look terrible.”

“…Thank you.”

Splat.

The instant the cup passed from Sim Gorak’s hand into Jeong Yu-su’s, it slipped from his fingers and struck the floor. Lukewarm water splashed over his ankles.

Jeong Yu-su clenched his trembling hand into a fist. “Sorry. I’m dizzy. I’ll clean it up.”

“No, I’ll do it!”

Before Jeong Yu-su could move, Sim Gorak dropped to the floor, snatched up the fallen cup, and wiped away the spilled water. He quickly filled another cup and offered it to him.

This time, Jeong Yu-su gripped it firmly with both hands. After taking a slow breath, he murmured, “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Really.”

Sim Gorak waved both hands and laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “I genuinely survived because of you, hyung…”

“…”

The words flew into Jeong Yu-su’s chest like a blade, though Sim Gorak could not possibly have known why. Jeong Yu-su could not even bring himself to frown. He merely lowered his gaze.

That was when a familiar voice cut in.

“Jeong Yu-su, what’s with that expression?”

Do Muwon stood nearby, having returned without Jeong Yu-su noticing.

“I’m just tired.” Jeong Yu-su looked past him. “More importantly, where did you go?”

Do Muwon stared at him with a deep scowl, clearly unconvinced. Joo Hee-eun, standing beside him, answered instead.

“We only walked around for a little while. The manager waited for me while I washed up.”

“Ah… good. Don’t go anywhere alone.”

Water droplets still clung to Joo Hee-eun’s face as she nodded.

Do Muwon let out a long sigh. A large hand closed around Jeong Yu-su’s chin, and before he could resist, Do Muwon began kneading both his cheeks without mercy.

“It hasn’t even been ten minutes since I left. How did you manage to end up like this, Jeong Yu-su?”

“Shtop it, Do Muwon…”

Sim Gorak had been watching them with open concern. At the mention of ten minutes, he parted his lips as though something had occurred to him, only to close them again without speaking.

Do Muwon finally released Jeong Yu-su’s cheeks after receiving roughly five murderous glares.

“Look at me. Hold still.”

“…”

The hand that had been abusing his cheeks moved to his forehead. As Do Muwon leaned closer, Jeong Yu-su lowered his eyes, his lashes veiling his gaze.

A low sound rumbled in Do Muwon’s throat. “You have a slight fever.”

“It’s because I just woke up. I was a little cold.”

“Probably the rain.”

“Rain…?”

Only then did Jeong Yu-su turn toward the window.

Whoosh.

Once he noticed it, the relentless sound of rainfall seemed to fill the entire restaurant.

“I suppose so…”

“Yeah. It’s pouring like crazy.”

“It doesn’t look like it’ll stop anytime soon.”

“No. It’s coming down hard.”

No wonder the air had felt so cold and damp. Jeong Yu-su tapped Do Muwon’s shoulder, urging him aside, then approached the window.

This was more than ordinary rain. A torrential downpour hammered the streets outside.

Rumble.

Thunder cracked overhead, and a flash of lightning flooded the distant buildings with stark white light. The storm was not entirely unwelcome. Rainwater carried away the nauseating stench of blood, and the zombies appeared to be struggling against the deluge.

Do Muwon stepped up beside him and gestured with his chin toward a zombie standing vacantly in the rain, as though it had lost its bearings. “They don’t seem completely brainless, but they’re not exactly geniuses either.”

“Right?”

“Yeah.” Do Muwon glanced at him. “You should get some rest, Jeong Yu-su. You look like hell.”

The dazed zombie eventually staggered away in search of prey.

The living needed to eat, too.

As the other survivors began waking, stiff from the uncomfortable night and hollow with hunger, the restaurant hall gradually filled with noise. Before long, Park Yeongil appeared with his beard tidied and climbed onto the low stage intended for live performances.

“Everyone, are you awake?” He swept his gaze across the exhausted crowd. “I know you’re frightened and worn out, but more than anything, you must be hungry.”

By now, people naturally quieted when Park Yeongil spoke.

“There are no food supplies left in this restaurant, so I’m looking for volunteers to scout the nearby establishments.”

“Scout other shops?” someone asked.

“Yes. We can’t survive like this. We need to retrieve supplies.”

Park Yeongil slowly surveyed the room before continuing. “Anything you brought with you is obviously your personal property, so I won’t ask you to surrender it. However, anything recovered from this point forward will be treated as community property and distributed accordingly.”

At the mention of personal property, several gazes darted toward other people’s backpacks and luggage.

Park Yeongil noticed but continued without comment. “It’s also only fair that those who risk their lives by going outside receive a larger share, particularly when it comes to food.”

“Distributed how?” another survivor asked. “Where exactly are we scouting?”

“I heard there’s a Korean restaurant and a galbi restaurant on the third floor. We’ll search the Korean restaurant today.”

Several people began whispering about a place called Kangnamjeong and a well-known galbi restaurant, apparently familiar with the building.

“Won’t it be dangerous…?” someone muttered, loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear.

“We’ll be moving as a group,” Park Yeongil assured them. “If anything goes wrong, we’ll turn back immediately.”

Jeong Yu-su listened for a moment, then looked at Do Muwon. “Are you going?”

“I have to.” Do Muwon leaned back against the sofa. “Besides, I doubt they’d let me stay here even if I wanted to.”

Jeong Yu-su understood immediately and nodded, but Sim Gorak and Joo Hee-eun looked puzzled.

Sim Gorak tilted his head. “Why?”

“What do you mean?”

Before Sim Gorak could answer, Park Yeongil called across the room.

“Do Muwon.”

Do Muwon lifted a corner of his mouth and glanced at Sim Gorak. “See?”

Then he turned toward the stage. “Yes?”

A faint stir ran through the crowd as Do Muwon rose from the sofa. Part of it came from hearing his name called publicly, but Do Muwon himself was not a man anyone could easily overlook.

He stood 194 centimeters tall and weighed well over one hundred kilograms. His fitted dress shirt did nothing to conceal the immense shoulders and chest of a lifelong swimmer. The top two buttons had come undone, revealing a narrow glimpse of sharply defined muscle and the silver gleam of a military dog tag.

Few men anywhere could surpass Do Muwon in sheer physique. Inside the restaurant, there was no one who came close.

He had also played a central role in their escape the previous day. In truth, he looked far more like a soldier than Sim Gorak, who sat only a few steps away. Anyone who had ever taken an interest in him would know that he had once served in the UDT.

Park Yeongil examined him from head to toe before offering a mild smile. “You have a gun, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“I would greatly appreciate your participation in the scouting party. We can hardly expect this many people to survive another day without food, can we?”

Even with every eye in the hall fixed on him, Do Muwon remained perfectly at ease. One corner of his mouth rose as he asked, “If I don’t go, is it guaranteed that everyone will starve for another day?”

“Ah… not necessarily.” Park Yeongil hesitated. “Still, I believe the others would be far safer with you there. Naturally, I’ll be accompanying the group as well.”

Do Muwon shrugged. “I have no intention of becoming anyone’s meat shield, but I’ll participate for now.”

“A wise decision.” Park Yeongil’s attention shifted toward Jeong Yu-su. “And the person beside you?”

“He’s not in any condition to go.”

“I understand.”

As Do Muwon sat down again, Sim Gorak hurriedly leaned forward. “Hyung, should I go too?”

“No. I’m going alone.” Do Muwon’s tone left no room for argument. “You stay here and look after Jeong Yu-su and Joo Hee-eun.”

Only yesterday, zombies had slaughtered civilians and soldiers alike. Sim Gorak seemed relieved to have been refused, yet anxiety lingered in his face, along with the unmistakable desire to make himself useful.

Watching Gorak’s expression change from one emotion to the next, Muwon spoke in a casual tone. “Keep a close watch on our things.”

“Yes…!”

Hee-eun glanced toward Park Yeongil, who was busy addressing the people nearby. “He certainly knows how to stir a crowd, doesn’t he? No wonder he’s a lawyer.”

“Yeah. He makes it sound like anyone who refuses to go is a coward who wants everyone else to starve.” Muwon muttered that he did not like it either, then turned back to Gorak. “Are you any good with a gun?”

“I wasn’t terrible!”

“Teach Joo Hee-eun when you have the chance.”

“What about Yu-su-hyung?”

“I’ll handle him.”