1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 67



Only Krnovel

Episode 67

Sometimes it’s harder to tell the brutal truth than to tell a white lie.

I have to tell those who came running with only one hope that that hope has disappeared.

For us, that was the case right now.

“Hey, Jongno Shelter is gone?”

“But definitely on the radio… … !”

When students heard the shocking news that the Jongno shelter had disappeared, they initially denied it.

“This is a disaster evacuation broadcast recorded a long time ago. It seems to have been broadcast continuously.”

But when Kang Pil-jae, the person involved, came forward and explained himself, the denial soon turned into despair.

The atmosphere inside the bus became heavy and sobbing could be heard here and there.

The students’ expressions revealed emptiness, futility, and concern about the future.

I quietly watched the scene, then got up from my seat with a small sigh.

“Where are your companions?”

“… … There’s a small restaurant next to Jangchung Gymnasium. We promised to meet there.”

“Get up. I will go with you.”

If you send them alone, they will definitely die, as you can see the Coraksoni being chased by the infected.

Since we were going the same way, I was thinking of taking him to the gym where his group was.

Then the students got up from their seats unsteadily and picked up their heavy bags.

Inside, it was filled with the dry pound cake and water we had given.

Squeak.

The snowstorm had finally stopped and dawn was breaking over the gray city in the distance.

I slowly opened the bus door and walked out into the parking lot with Coco.

Then, as if they were used to it, the group formed a formation and slowly followed me.

“Don’t make any noise. Okay?”

“yes yes.”

Even the newborn baby on my back is quiet, so I believe that the soon-to-be adult students will do well.

I walked towards Jangchung-dong with the warning not to make any noise.

The weather had been nice for a while, but this morning the clouds were unusually thick.

Because of this, the wind was blowing hard and the perceived temperature was dropping rapidly.

Squeak.

Coco felt the cold and kept her scarf tightly in her mouth, staying next to me.

“This way.”

How long had I walked like that, my eyes blindly wandering, before I could finally see my destination in the distance.

My companions and I prepared our weapons in case something unexpected happened and we slowly approached.

Sabak, Sabak, Sabak.

The subway station is in front, the park is on the left, and Jangchung Gymnasium is on the right.

But contrary to concerns, the area around the station was quite quiet and there were not many infected people.

We walked through the parking lot, which was packed with cars, and headed toward the restaurant building behind the gym.

“Sir, we’re here.”

One of the boys with cropped hair knocked cautiously on the side door.

Then, a man’s voice was heard from inside, along with a loud noise.

“… … Is it Gyeongsu?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Why are you so late?”

“I’m sorry, I had some circumstances.”

He speaks in an overly picky manner, to the point of being a group of people who live together.

But the students answered with a very timid look on their faces, as if they were used to this kind of treatment.

Squeak.

After a while, the door that had been firmly shut begins to open with a creaking noise.

Phew!

The middle-aged man finally appeared, spitting yellow phlegm on the floor.

“When I say let’s see these guys, they keep getting late? Hey, wait a minute! What are these guys?”

But that doesn’t last long, as they are surprised to find us standing behind the students.

I stepped back as if I had no intention of harming anyone, and instead the male student stepped forward to explain.

“These are the people who helped us. And they even shared food and water… … Oh my!”

match!

But at that moment, a man with a wickedly distorted face slapped the male student on the cheek.

The other students were trembling and we opened our eyes wide in surprise at the sudden situation.

“Doesn’t that sound like what I’m saying? Don’t bring them along as soon as they come, you little punk! Are we some kind of soldiers? Oh my, this time there’s even a kid with us.”

Judging from the way the talking gossip is talking, it looks like we are the survivors who followed these students.

My companions and I burst into empty laughter, as if we were dumbfounded, and then asked the students:

“Do you usually hit this often?”

“That, that.”

Even if we belong to the same group, not everyone is treated the same.

The students seemed quite accustomed to this type of violence, perhaps because they were being discriminated against for some reason.

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

“Ahh!”

The middle-aged man did not stop there and continued his violence by slapping her in the face and kicking her in the shin.

“Please stop hitting me.”

Unable to stand watching this, Private Oh Chan-il grabbed the middle-aged man’s hand and tried to stop him.

“What are you, kid!”

But this time he raised his hand towards Corporal Ohchanil, as if he could no longer see anything.

I frowned and gestured, and Kim Jin-kyung, who had been waiting, quickly flew over.

Kwajik!

Ugh!

A body shot to the right side!

A middle-aged man who was hit hard while letting his guard down falls down, shaking.

Wooweeek!

And then he started to cry and sneeze, pouring dirty secretions on the floor.

I know because I’ve been hit, but there’s probably a cracked bone or a dark bruise.

“what’s the matter?”

“Hey, Mr. Kim? Mr. Kim, what’s wrong!”

At that moment, the inside of the restaurant became noisy and other members of the men’s group appeared.

They seemed startled by the sudden commotion and ran outside, each grabbing their weapons.

A group of survivors armed with a variety of weapons, from baseball bats to knives, clubs, and more.

‘soldier?’

The most striking of these was a male soldier wearing a Republic of Korea Army uniform.

Although his military uniform was unbuttoned, he was clearly wearing a military ID tag and holding a K-2 rifle.

Crunch!

He aimed his gun in this direction urgently, and we also took out our guns and fired back.

The already tense atmosphere begins to head towards catastrophe with the appearance of a gun.

Phew, I can’t help but sigh.

I was just planning to drop the students off and leave, but somehow things got messed up.

I slowly tried to move forward to stop the group of people who were very sharp.

“Kim… … Jin-kyung? Are you Jin-kyung?”

But at that moment, the soldier who was aiming the gun suddenly recognizes Kim Jin-kyung and shouts.

Kim Jin-kyung, who had been raising her fist, frowned as if she recognized him.

“Park Jeong-su?”

“Yes! It’s me, it’s me!”

The soldier who had been aiming his gun with a fierce expression on his face quickly lowered his gun and rejoiced.

Do you know each other?

Everyone is confused by the sudden situation.

“… … .”

But unlike the happy soldiers, Kim Jin-kyung’s expression was not only unpleasant, but rotten.

The one-way feelings that did not match each other meant that there was an unspeakable story.

“Is Shin Min-a here too?”

“Yes? Of course! Wait, this isn’t right. Everyone, put your weapons down! I know you!”

People who had been confronting each other at the mention of someone they knew lower their weapons one by one.

The group also lowered their weapons with bewildered expressions and looked at Kim Jin-kyung at the same time.

ha.

She sighed deeply, as if it wasn’t something that could be explained simply.

“Come in! It’s dangerous to stay here!”

But the soldier named Park Jeong-su gestured for us to come in, as if he had no clue.

‘I’ll explain later.’

‘All right.’

Exchanging glances with Kim Jin-kyung, I quickly realized that there was something unspeakable.

And then I followed Park Jeong-su, who was urging his group to go inside.

* * *

The survivor team the students were a part of was quite large, with about 20 people in total.

However, they all looked haggard and had gloomy expressions, perhaps due to the long journey.

My companions and I slowly entered the restaurant, ignoring the pouring gazes.

“Jin-kyung!”

At that moment, one of the doors opened and a young woman wearing a beanie came running out.

And then, as soon as he hurriedly kicked Kim Jin-kyung, she burst into tears and ran to hug him.

Kim Jin-kyung smiled bitterly, showing complex emotions unlike when she met Park Jeong-su.

“You still look the same.”

“Ugh, ugh! Jin-kyung. I’m glad you’re safe!”

Judging from the atmosphere, it seems that the friend named Shin Min-a that Kim Jin-kyung mentioned is that woman.

Private Lee Hyeon-su, who had been quietly watching the two of them, walked up to me and whispered.

“It doesn’t seem like you’re happy, Sister?”

“Yes, your expression is not bright.”

If I just called him a friend, I thought he’d say something like, “I’m glad you survived.”

But rather than being happy, Jin-kyung Kim sighed with a strange expression on her face.

Still hesitant to join in, we stood at a distance and watched the two people’s reunion.

“Who are these people?”

Shin Min-a, who had been crying for a long time, soon came to her senses and turned her gaze towards us.

“My companions.”

“party?”

“Yeah, you saved me. We’ve been together ever since.”

When we heard that we had saved Kim Jin-kyung, Shin Min-a beamed with delight and then came over to us and bowed her head.

“Nice to meet you! My name is Shin Min-a! Jin-kyung and I have been friends since college!”

“… … Nice to meet you. My name is Jang Dae-su.”

This woman is the complete opposite of Kim Jin-kyung in that she is overly open-minded and friendly.

I nodded my head reluctantly, feeling burdened by Shin Min-a’s bright smile.

After exchanging greetings, I wanted to quickly leave for Jongno before more time passed.

But Shin Min-a held onto Kim Jin-kyung’s hands tightly, as if she had no intention of letting us go.

“I’m so glad you’re doing well, Jin-kyung. After sending you off like that, Jung-soo and I both felt really bad. Do you know how we feel?”

“… … I understand.”

“How fortunate that we can meet like this, even now. We’ve found a safe shelter. Let’s go there together. Okay?”

Kim Jin-kyung let out a heavy sigh when she heard that she had found a safe shelter.

“I came here to tell you anyway. There’s a shelter in Jongno. It would be better not to go there.”

“What is that… … .”

“It disappeared a month ago. If you want to live, go back to where you were, even now. If possible, it would be better to go south across the Han River.”

Having said that, Kim Jin-kyung carefully let go of Shin Min-a’s hand that was holding her.

Then Shin Min-a shouted, visibly flustered, as if she had not expected me to reject her.

“Wait! Jin-kyung! So you’re not going with us?”

“uh.”

“Why, why? Is there any reason? Are these people threatening you or something… .”

Kim Jin-kyung shook her head with her signature cynical smile.

“What about threats?”

“Then, why on earth?”

“I told you, I have company.”

“These are people I didn’t know!”

“What’s wrong with someone you don’t know?”

And as if he really wanted to say this, he drove a wedge into Shin Min-a.

“It’s better than a friend who abandoned me.”

At that moment, Shin Min-a’s face, which had been showing various expressions, hardened like a stone.

Kim Jin-kyung turned her head as if surprised and extended her hand to me, who had been waiting.

“Let’s go, Mr. Daesu.”

“Ah! Yes.”

This was our first time seeing Kim Jin-kyung like this, and we followed her, dumbfounded.

Shin Min-a, who was trying to reach out and grab Kim Jin-kyung, soon lowered her heavy head.

“Sister, are you okay?”

“What is it?”

“No, what… … .”

At the response that it was nothing serious, Private Lee Hyeon-su scratched his head with an awkward face.

Kim Jin-kyung burst into laughter at the sight and talked while walking down the hallway together.

“He’s a friend who was with me briefly at the beginning of the incident.”

“When you were in Messenapolis?”

“Yes, at that time, the Hapjeong Station shelter was still intact. At that time, I lived there for a while with a few friends. Park Jeong-su was a soldier there, and we ended up becoming close.”

“It looks like you have a lot of stories.”

“It was just a strange relationship. I thought we had nothing more to do, but here we are again.”

As my companions and I had guessed, Kim Jin-kyung had a rather complicated past.

I think I ran into a piece of that past today, and it made me feel really bad.

In times like these, it was best to just nod without asking any questions.

Because I know that we have more time to spend together in the future than the time we’ve spent together so far.

After finishing our business, we tried to leave the restaurant where the group of survivors were.

“These kids!”

But at that moment, harsh cursing was heard and the middle-aged man I had met at the entrance appeared.

He grimaced and screamed, his side still sore from where he had been shot in the body.

Next to me, there were about eight or nine large men, armed with weapons, swarming around.

“Are you sure?”

“Fuck, how many times do I have to say this! Just now, Kyungsoo Ko said he got it from these guys!”

At that moment, men’s gazes begin to focus on the heavy bags we are carrying.

They knew that we had distributed food to the students, so they came to steal other supplies as well.

As expected, all places where people live are similar. No matter where you go, there is trash like this.

“What are you all doing!”

But at that moment, Park Jeong-su, who had been looking around on the second floor, came down in a hurry.

He was startled by the sudden strange atmosphere and hurriedly tried to stop the men.

“Get out, you fucking military brat! Do you think you’re smart just because I treated you like a soldier up until now?”

“Don’t you see what those kids did? This is at least 16 weeks of healing! They’ve cracked their ribs!”

But the bond between them was not as deep as they thought, so the men resisted and pushed him away.

The screaming and cursing that went on and on soon caused the survivors inside to rush towards the hallway.

The atmosphere on the scene became chaotic in an instant, and we suddenly found ourselves isolated in the middle of it.

ha.

At that moment, Jin-kyung Kim, who had been watching this entire scene, sighed and lowered her head.

To others, it might seem like you’re tired of reality, frustrated, and have given up.

But we saw.

White steam rises from Kim Jin-kyung’s shoulders and the top of her head as she clenches her fists.

“It’s like X.”

At that moment, Kim Jin-kyung’s form disappeared and we prepared to fight as if we had been waiting for it.