Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 102



Only Krnovel

55. 20 hours 30 minutes (3)

“This is my last request. I know it’s not my place to ask, but I’ll ask you one last time!”

Baek Seung-hyun bowed his head.

The bowing look is quite familiar.

It’s a kind of gentleness that you see in people whose job is to bow their heads.

“This is difficult.”

I don’t want to grant this person’s request, and I don’t want to see this person on the Internet.

But then, the story of Pilcrum88 passed through my mind without me realizing it.

The guy said that bringing in satellite equipment wasn’t difficult.

“Is it really not allowed to bring it in?”

“Yes. They told us not to bring any devices with signals that could pinpoint our location because of the Chinese submarines.”

Baek Seung-hyun looked at me with longing eyes while rocking and soothing the baby.

“How could it not work?”

I looked at him quietly and nodded slowly.

“I’ll stop by the lab sometime.”

“Will you do that?!”

It’s not something he does because he likes it.

I became curious.

The reason for the discrimination is that Pilcrum88 is allowed but Baek Seung-hyun is not.

“······yes.”

After parting ways with him, I returned to the Hunter Street entrance and wandered around the entrance to the lab.

There is a way to tell the security guard your destination and go in, but I thought it might be easier if there was a researcher who knew where to go.

Looks like your luck is good today.

In front of the lab, a female researcher whose face I recognize is drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette with her colleagues.

As I was about to take a step toward her, someone grabbed my arm.

I was aware of it.

The only thing I knew was that the skinny, dark-skinned old man who had been standing in front of the entrance to Hunter Street was watching me.

Ignoring is an essential skill to have in a city in the midst of apocalypse.

So I was treating him like he didn’t exist, and then he suddenly grabbed my wrist.

Slowly but surely, he waved his arm away from the old man’s hand and stared at him.

“What is it?”

The old man was looking straight at me.

“If you get on that ship, you’ll all die.”

“I don’t ride.”

“No, it’s the short introduction I was talking about with you earlier. The one carrying the baby. That person is also on the boat, right?”

“Speak to that person directly.”

“That’s because it doesn’t feel like someone else’s business. My son was on that boat too. With his grandson.”

It took less than three seconds to tell that the old man was mentally unstable.

Anxious eyes, awkward speech, gazes that seemed to be directed at me, but soon turned beyond me, to a time and space I did not want to know about.

“······I killed them. Even the newborn baby.”

Another rant.

As I was thinking for a moment about how to get it off, a sharp scream rang out from the street.

“Hey! Aren’t you going to turn it off?!”

This is Baek Seung-hyun.

“Won’t you turn it off? You son of a bitch!”

Only when he threatened to release the belt and strike him as if he was going to do so at any moment did the old man bow his head and reluctantly leave.

Baek Seung-hyun, who had driven the old man out in a brutal manner, smiled at me and made a gesture of asking me to do something while putting his palms together.

“······.”

I really don’t want to do it, but it seems like luck is on Baek Seung-hyun’s side.

When I saw a female employee smoking a cigarette, she came to me first.

*

“What’s going on here? I heard that Chief Woo has been talking a lot about Hunter Park Gyu lately.”

This woman’s name was written on the pass she was wearing, but she deliberately did not look at it or read it.

“Oh, it’s just that the ship to Jeju Island is leaving tomorrow.”

There may be several reasons, but the biggest reason is probably resentment.

I didn’t like the fact that in this era when everyone, even those from our school, was becoming miserable, we still had the cleanliness and cheerful leisure of before the war.

I won’t talk about the dead people.

I just don’t like it.

I hate seeing people who didn’t prepare at all and just found a good connection eat and live better than me.

“I see. By the way, do you have some time? I think we can meet briefly after the director’s meeting is over.”

“Yes, please.”

Regardless of the ill feelings, things go smoothly.

Has my work ever gone this smoothly?

I don’t think it existed.

Is it Baek Seung-hyun’s luck?

Well, he has to be three times luckier than me.

Unlike me who is alone, he has a wife and children.

“Senior. It’s been a while.”

I met Woo Min-hee face to face.

Her appearance hadn’t changed much.

As always, he sits calmly in front of a compact black iron table, with a subtle cynicism that seems to mock the world over his expressionless face.

This time I took a closer look at her prosthetic hand.

It does have three hook-like fingers, but I was curious as to how it could make wave patterns.

But if Woo Min-hee finds out about this, she won’t like it.

I quickly stated my business before Woo Min-hee noticed my gaze.

“It’s none other than Baek Seung-hyun.”

“That human?”

As soon as Woo Min-hee heard Baek Seung-hyun’s name, the smile disappeared from her lips.

“······That guy is the baby’s father. Do you know how to raise a baby?”

“I’m not interested.”

“I want to pack something for the baby······.”

“what?”

“No, that’s right.”

Suddenly, I felt a surge of anger.

As I looked at Woo Min-hee’s irritated face, one question crossed my mind.

Why should I cater to Woo Min-hee for someone like Baek Seung-hyun, and not someone else?

To summarize this situation simply, it means that because of an incompetent senior, one has to lie to please one’s capable junior.

This is not it.

It’s not like I have any obligation to Baek Seung-hyun.

He straightened up and told the truth.

“Oh, actually, that guy, Baek Seung-hyun, said he wanted to take internet satellite equipment on the ship.”

It’s a little-known fact, but I was a frequent troll when I was in school.

It’s not because I like being naughty.

Park Gyu, a boy who burned with a sense of mission, was so picky that he could not forgive any student who went against the school customs or disrupted the morals.

You can’t just ignore the child’s mistakes, because after graduating from school, you have to fight monsters with your classmates.

The far-sighted vision of getting rid of a rude classmate while he was still at school rather than being held back by him was the true goal of the boy Park Gyu.

I told my junior the truth without hiding anything, keeping the melody of that time alive.

“······That person also knew that this was a violation of compliance. But that person is not the type to follow the law and principles, right? So after racking his brain, he remembered that I used to be on the same team as you, and asked me to meet you and find out about the illegality of bringing in satellite equipment.”

Woo Min-hee stared at me and said something.

“Senior, this is the first time I’ve seen you talk without even breathing.”

“······Because I was burning with a sense of justice.”

Woo Min-hee smiles faintly.

Her smile, with her blood-red lipstick and excessive white makeup to hide her scars, looked creepy even to my eyes, which had been through a lot.

“Yum yum?”

Woo Min-hee looks at me.

A surprise attack.

“Yum? Are you hungry?”

Does this woman still doubt me?

“Senior, do you use the internet?”

Looks suspicious.

It’s amazing how persistent you are in pursuing this.

“No. I don’t. Didn’t we talk about this before?”

“······I think I’ll use the internet.”

“No, I really don’t like the Internet.”

“why?”

“I admit it’s convenient, but I don’t like the way everyone wears masks and says whatever they want. You know, right? My past of following the law and principles?”

“Skeleton.”

“Scalping? Oh, it’s been a while since I’ve done that.”

“Don’t you know Skeleton?”

“Ah~ My personal identification number! Why are you asking that?”

“Why a skeleton?”

Woo Min-hee bent the prosthetic hand with the sharp hooked finger with her other hand so that the hook blade was facing downwards, then rested her chin on the prosthetic hand and looked up at me slyly.

“Why did you build it with a skeleton? It’s not even a call sign.”

Why is it like this? What the heck.

What did I do wrong?

I haven’t done a single thing that would make me want to get a book.

Could this guy possibly be someone with the ability to read minds?

However, this only occurs in low-level Awakens, and even then, it only checks the intent to attack or the level of favorability.

“Skeleton? That’s a nickname I got from China.”

Well, since you asked, it would be polite to answer.

The nickname Skeleton comes from China.

It is a story of a time of blood, war, death, and boredom, yet still dominated by the unfounded confidence that humanity would not perish.

A new type of medium-sized creature discovered in China, called the Brain God type in Korean, has appeared on the battlefield.

Like other medium-sized monsters, it was a full-fledged battle monster that radiated an enormous amount of electricity in all directions, turning all the Chinese hunters preparing for close combat into electric grills with smoke rising from them.

I discovered it as the bastard was approaching the command post.

Some of the current he emitted was drawn into a lightning rod on the roof of the collapsed building.

As the team leader there, I made a plan on the spot.

Park Gyu, who has installed as many electric inductors as possible in the guy’s path and is wrapped up in insulating clothing, receives cover from the long-range team, including Kim Da-ram, and engages in close combat with the guy.

After fighting a house-sized monster that constantly blasted me with electricity and shockwaves, the Chinese applauded me and called me a skeleton soldier.

The reason, I found out later, was that whenever the monster released shock waves and electricity, this Park Gyu’s body looked like a skeleton.

In fact, footage shot from behind shows a skeleton soldier wielding an axe rushing at the monster and slaughtering it.

“That’s why I use the name Skeleton. Professor, frankly, is too masculine.”

“Ah. That happened too. By the way, you’re really reckless. To think that you’d deal with that type in such an ignorant way.”

Woo Min-hee burst into laughter.

“Should I say that you are being more senior?”

After a moment of awkward silence, I spoke.

“Anyway, this time. Just pretend you didn’t hear anything. Baek Seung-hyun was so hung up on me.”

The goal was achieved by just saving the m9.

After that, it was all good.

I plan to just go without meeting Baek Seung-hyun.

Because he is a person I will never see again in the future.

however,

“No. That’s a good idea, isn’t it?”

I think I underestimated Woo Min-hee.

“That’s a really interesting idea.”

A unique, cruel and unruly smile appears on his scarred face.

That’s what it was.

My junior, Woo Min-hee, was a person whose mind was impossible to read.

“Senior. Do you know Yang Sang-gil?”

She asks me in a suggestive tone.

“Yang Sang-gil?”

Yang Sang-gil.

It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that name.

He is the superior of the deceased Lee Sang-hoon, who is neither old-school nor away, nor even a military man, but was able to secure the highest position in the National Assembly through luck and political maneuvering.

Lee Sang-hoon never once thought of him as a superior.

But why is that person’s name suddenly coming out of Woo Min-hee’s mouth?

“Jeju Fleet, Yang Sang-gil’s work.”

“okay?”

“Yes. Director Yang Sang-gil. You know, it’s nothing, right? But it’s been three years since the war started. I guess more and more people are starting to wonder why he’s there. He has no record, he’s not an Awaken, and his only experience is passing the civil service exam.”

“······What did Yang Sang-gil do?”

“You’ll know when you see it.”

Woo Min-hee stared into space and let out a cruel laugh.

“······.”

She looked at me.

“Tell Dongtan Mom. She can take it.”

“Who is Dongtan Mom?”

“Wow~ Senior, your guard is solid. As expected from a professor.”

No way.

How dare you try to shake Park Gyu, who is a corpse without his indomitable spirit and unwavering determination.

By the way, is this woman really 100% sure that I’m a skeleton?

Did you see the story about Chairman Je-pung-ho?

That alone is not enough to provide convincing evidence.

Maybe she’s obsessed with it just because of the similarities between the nickname on the bulletin board and the personal identification number.

By the way, Woo Min-hee said something that couldn’t be overlooked.

He looked at her and asked seriously.

“By any chance, Jeju Fleet. Is there a problem?”

“Maybe? But no one expected it to go to China.”

So it really happened that I went to China.

“Some kind of accident?”

Just as the story was getting interesting, the luck that Baek Seung-hyun had given me ran out.

The landline phone on the desk rang loudly.

She motioned for me to come with her three-hooked hand.

“Let’s talk next time. I think a lot of fun things will happen soon.”

For a brief moment, I could see her prosthetic hand moving as if it were alive.

*

“Oh my, woohoohoo~. Kkiyahoo~! Yeah, yeah. Good. Good.”

It was always Baek Seung-hyun’s job to comfort and soothe the child.

His young wife was working on the computer next to him.

Knock knock

He watched her typing with eagle eyes.

dongtanmom: Yum yum… You bastards who can’t go to Jeju Island… I won’t see you tomorrow… Yum yum…

“?”

In that moment, I felt one of the walls I had built inside me crumble.

Could it be that Dongtan Mom’s true identity is not Baek Seung-hyun, but Baek Seung-hyun’s wife?

For a brief moment, I felt something like guilt towards Baek Seung-hyun.

No matter how evil this guy is, it is clearly a serious crime to frame him as Dongtan Mom.

“Hey. Look at this. M9. It’s ticking again.”

As his wife turned to Baek Seung-hyun and spoke with a smile, Baek Seung-hyun sat down in front of his laptop, holding the baby in his arms, and began typing quite quickly.

dongtanmom: Yum yum…. In Jeju Island…. I’ll watch you guys slowly suffer and fall while eating popcorn…. Yum yum….

“······.”

Was it a broken bladder?

Or is it a case of birds of a feather flock together?

Although the age barrier is not as high as it used to be, if two people become a couple, it could be fate in some ways.

Anyway, I have news for this hopeless newlywed couple.

“Really?! I can bring it in?”

“yes.”

“As expected. Professor! Even though you’ve lost your way, you still have a knack for something that’s on a whole other level than a swindler like me! Seriously!”

Baek Seung-hyun looks really happy.

His wife is the same.

However, the baby in his arms, who resembles him, stares at me with her innocent eyes.

The baby suddenly opened his mouth.

“······Hey, you’re so cute.”

Is this babbling?

This is my first time seeing it in person.

But it seems I’m not the only one seeing it for the first time.

“I told you!”

“I said it for the first time!”

Those who once poured out such harsh words on the Internet now embraced and caressed their own fruits with pure joy.

I tried not to think about anything as I watched the scene, but it seems that I am at least an ordinary person here.

“excuse me.”

I told him the truth.

Traveling to China could be risky.

But like most happy people, Baek Seung-hyun listened to my words with one ear and let them go out the other.

“What? You think they’ll save the art and physical education students and kill us?”

“It’s just a rumor. Just in case, be careful.”

“No, does junior Park listen to those kinds of rascals too?”

“There’s no harm in being careful, right?”

On the day of departure.

I saw people standing on the dock, along with countless others heading to the promised paradise called Jeju.

The first thing I found was a pilcrum.

It wasn’t difficult to find him.

I got on the same boat as other famous people who got flash baptisms.

The ship he boarded was the Hope, a converted oil tanker. It was the flagship of the second fleet.

Then I looked for Baek Seung-hyun.

He climbed into the boat carrying the baby, having been relatively unnoticed in the back.

The ship he boarded was also the Hope.

Baek Seung-hyun and Phil Crum were also on the same boat.

“······hmm?”

The car was about to turn around, unable to hide its bewilderment at the completely different flow of events than expected.

A single scream echoed from behind.

In a back alley, an old man was being beaten by boys.