Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 27



Only Krnovel

23. Junior

As the sun began to set, we spent the night at a refugee camp in Incheon.

Sleeping among the dispossessed and starving was tantamount to risking one’s life, so they had to be content with just keeping warm next to a burning drum.

As I closed my eyes for a moment, a man approached me, leaning forward.

A face that looks like it’s in its early twenties. It’s a young face that makes you believe it’s a teenager.

The guy had the audacity to touch my bike.

He opened his eyes and warned.

“Don’t touch it.”

The man was surprised, but he still tried to touch it.

As I quietly took out my pistol, the man finally raised both his hands and got away from me, but the group warming themselves at another bonfire behind them sent me a cold stare.

At dawn another group of men joined them.

They started to grumble at me, then drew their weapons and slowly approached me.

A variety of crude weapons – clubs, iron pipes, bent rebar, bicycle chains – dazzled my bloodshot eyes with fatigue.

The middle-aged men who had been warming themselves by the fire next to me slowly moved away with their heads bowed.

It didn’t seem like there was any intention to stop him from asking for help, but it was okay.

He discreetly revealed an automatic rifle wrapped in a cloth towards the approaching crowd.

Could this be a means of communication during the time of destruction?

The young thugs surrounding me exchanged fierce glances, then turned and left.

After the thugs left, the middle-aged men came back quietly, and I showed them the automatic rifle too.

“······.”

I waited for the sun to rise, sitting alone by the fire.

A little later, the sun rose and the soldiers emerged from their outposts, and we headed to the military headquarters.

The matter is one: the numerous capsules that have appeared around the bunkers of Kyledos.

I plan to report this to the military.

Originally, the capsule was under the jurisdiction of the National Assembly, but since the National Assembly members all ran away to Jeju Island, the military was the only place to deal with it.

Of course, I took plenty of pictures and even recorded the coordinates.

To be honest, I don’t really like it.

On the way to the headquarters, I felt a sense of loss several times and almost turned back.

The picture was drawn.

I’m worried that reporting this will only result in me being disadvantaged.

But what can I do?

This is something that needs to be reported.

It’s possible that the military already knows this, but if they don’t, Seoul is doomed, and that doom will affect me as well.

This is why you have no choice but to go even if you expect a bad outcome.

I am an old-time hunter.

He is a primitive hunter who must face giant monsters with only his courage, guts, skills, body, and a meager weapon.

For that primitive hunter, a thousand capsules is just too many.

*

Two years and two months after the start of the war, the South Korean military is divided into two factions: the corps faction and the national assembly faction.

The strongest of these is the Legion faction.

Military units guarding the main front rose up in protest at the government’s unequal treatment and policies.

Since the unit guarding the front line is the main force, it has an overwhelming advantage in terms of the number and quality of soldiers and even equipment.

In fact, they believed in that power and started a civil war.

The faction I am planning to visit is not the Legion faction, but their enemy, the National Assembly faction.

The National Assembly faction is literally the only regular army in the Republic of Korea that has obtained support from the National Assembly. Although it is inferior to the Corps faction in terms of equipment and manpower, it has the greatest weapon of all: legitimacy.

No matter how well it is packaged, the essence of the Legion faction is a coup force united by profit.

When the civil war was going well, loyalty was maintained, but when the civil war turned into street fighting and forced each side to engage in a war of attrition, the loyalty of the frontline units began to waver.

Eventually, when frontline commanders who were dissatisfied with the excessive attrition war went over to the National Assembly faction, the Corps faction had to reexamine their strategy from the beginning.

It may be too hasty of a conclusion, but wouldn’t the National Assembly win this civil war?

Even if we win, it will be a victory that only brings pain.

We have reached the heart of the National Assembly faction.

“What’s going on?”

Unlike lower-level units, this is not a place where bribery works.

Because of the timing, security is tighter than ever.

On the ground, there are armored vehicles including tanks, and in the sky, at least 10 drones are circling at different altitudes and areas to keep watch.

There are also eerie signs everywhere.

[No filming, no moon-talking, no drone flying – Violators will be executed immediately]

I had no choice but to stand in line and wait for my turn.

“How did you come here?”

After waiting for two hours, I was finally able to speak with the person in charge of the civil affairs office.

“Can I meet with the person in charge of monsters? This is a very urgent matter.”

The moment I uttered those words, I noticed the person in charge’s expression slightly decaying.

“What’s going on?”

“We found the capsules. We found a large colony of over a thousand people. We have all the data and coordinates.”

“Capsule?”

“I mean, the monster’s egg.”

Showed the photo.

The gray-white flower garden that Kyledos saw.

Unlike me, the person in charge seemed to feel no emotion at all when looking at the flower garden.

He just glanced at the photo and repeated the same thing he had said to the complainant in front of me.

“Really? That’s a big deal. I’ll check it out.”

The person in charge motioned to me.

“You can go now. Next!”

Perhaps this person will take no action.

I won’t even check or report it.

The reason is obvious.

Because my behavior is shabby and they don’t know my past, they try to ignore me and treat me like I’m nothing special.

I’ve thought about leaving for a while, but it’s not something I can let my emotions get the better of me.

It would be short-sighted to leave just because the fire in front of my house doesn’t start right away when there is a pile of flammable material in front of me that could burn everything.

I plan to live at least 5 more years.

My personality is softer than I thought, so I won’t be able to become the last human, but I still plan on becoming the last human.

“Excuse me, please connect me to Colonel Jeong Dae-gyeong.”

There are rough ways to make a scene, but I consider myself a pretty sophisticated person.

“Colonel Jeong Dae-gyeong?”

“Yes. He was dispatched as a member of the National Assembly.”

“Oh, I think you’re talking about General Jeong Jun-jang. Just a moment.”

Networking is a sophisticated method used by people like me who have established careers.

I don’t really feel like it though.

“excuse me.”

“yes.”

“Who should I convey this to?”

“Park Gyu. Please tell me just two words.”

“Mr. Park Gyu. Yes. Just a moment.”

After the person in charge finished talking, he stared at me.

Does it look a little different now?

“You said you didn’t know who it was?”

“······.”

“Next minute.”

“······Call the person in charge.”

“yes?”

“Call the monster manager! This is an emergency!”

“Hey, teacher?!”

There’s nothing I can do.

What can I do when the world has forgotten me?

“immediately!”

This is the kind of wiggle room that an ordinary person can do.

Soon soldiers came towards me with guns.

It was just as it was.

If you resist, you will be executed on the spot.

I waited for the soldiers to arrest me, and when they tried to handcuff me, I even held out my hands.

After I was handcuffed, I spoke politely to the person who seemed to be my superior.

“I would like to speak with the person in charge of the big monster.”

“Please undergo investigation first.”

First of all, is it going to kindergarten?

I guess it’s a good thing.

It may be a bit presumptuous, but in Korea, only when you expose the truth do they at least pretend to listen.

If I can have a say, even if it means being a little uncomfortable, and thus saving millions and preserving the safety of my own domain, wouldn’t it be a good deal?

But, the world is really small.

*

Dark interrogation room.

They call it an interrogation room, but it’s just a small room with a desk and a lamp.

The handcuffs were released from their side.

I just yelled a little, I didn’t break any furniture or harm anyone.

If you touched even the tip of a female soldier’s finger, you would have been beaten with a club and then forced to sit here.

“Please wait a moment. I will call the person in charge.”

The soldier who escorted me here spoke to me in a businesslike tone without looking me in the eye.

“please.”

I said it in the most polite tone possible.

Here they are the absolute best.

The more manners you keep in mind, the better.

A moment later, a jarring sound, like steel scraping against iron, could be heard from across the hallway.

Is that a crutch?

Although similar, the material was a bit sharper, and there was a strong tendency for it to sound like someone was intentionally scraping the floor to make sounds that people didn’t want to hear.

What kind of person is he?

Perhaps he is a person with a very twisted personality.

“Oh my. Isn’t that Senior Park?”

The moment I heard that voice, I immediately knew who the owner of the voice was.

There was no need to even see the face.

That deep, resonant voice was like a trademark of someone I knew very well.

“I heard a story from a squirrel. It was really alive?”

The moment I looked up and saw her, I had to control my expression.

This isn’t what I know.

One of the model’s gracefully outstretched arms and legs was gone, replaced by an unsightly prosthetic arm and leg.

I saw her face.

Even the deep hood he wore could not hide the mangled scars that covered half of his face.

“······Minhee.”

This woman’s name is Woo Min-hee.

He was my assistant.

She looked at me and smiled like a girl.

“Why didn’t you contact me? Well, other than Squirrel, didn’t you contact anyone? I didn’t hear from Kyungmin or Changsoo either.”

“Do you work here?”

“Yeah. I have some circumstances.”

“Jeju Island? Can’t you go there?”

“I could have gone, but I didn’t want to go.”

“why?”

“You know?”

At that moment, Woo Min-hee’s eyes emitted an eerie gray-white light that seemed to illuminate the darkness.

Woo Min-hee smiled brightly with her face crushed, her eyes sparkling with otherworldly colors.

“I hate Min Kang and Na Hye-in, both of whom are as strong as my senior.”

“······.”

I haven’t looked in the mirror, but I think I know what my expression looks like.

Isn’t it a subtle expression that you desperately hold back but can’t avoid being distorted?

“Oh, it’s forbidden to mention those two people’s names in front of your senior, right?”

gibberish.

He did it knowingly.

It’s been like this since my school days.

A self-destructive life where you constantly hurt others and get hurt yourself.

If her blood pressure had been just a little bit smaller, she would have ended up committing suicide, but this woman is no pushover.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d feel bad. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

But I guess I’ve also grown up.

“It’s okay. Why are you bringing something like that?”

I vaguely felt that way when I heard those two names from Kim Da-ram before, but I don’t feel the same pain in my heart when I hear their names as I used to.

It’s a little stingy, but that’s about it.

It feels completely different from when I first heard their names from Je-pung-ho in the past.

He looked at Woo Min-hee with an unadorned smile.

“I overcame it before.”

I don’t know if it’s because I overcame it or because my emotions became dull, but at least it’s an undeniable fact that everyone on the Viva! Apocalypse! bulletin board has instilled in me a strong mentality.

Why, you went from being an unpopular user to a defender friend, and now you’ve fallen to being a malicious commenter.

At that level, there is no place to fall further.

“While we’re on the subject, how are Hanmin and Hyein doing? There’s almost no way for an ordinary person like me to know about their activities, right?”

“oh.”

Pure surprise appeared on Woo Min-hee’s face.

“Is this really Senior Park?”

“Is there a problem?”

“no.”

She stared at me with interest for a while.

A time that I don’t particularly like.

After the boring stare, Woo Min-hee opened her mouth with a shallow sigh.

“The two seniors are in Jeju Island.”

“I see. How are you?”

“Those people will eat well and live well. They are the saviors.”

“Savior······. Do you know any news about Squirrel?”

“no.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, it’s good to see Senior Park healthy.”

Woo Min-hee stared blankly at the two steel fingers curved like hooks while holding the prosthetic hand.

“I ended up like this······.”

“······.”

Why didn’t you just die there?

Anyway, I think the reunion with Woo Min-hee itself should be classified as good news.

“It’s a capsule. And a colony at that.”

First of all, we can communicate.

“This is the first time since China. I’ve seen a colony this large. Since we’re in a ceasefire, I think the field artillery will have to consult with the corps faction. By the way, what was the maximum distance of the force field in capsule form when you were on active duty, senior?”

“3,250m. 3,500m to go safely.”

“It’s 5,500 now.”

“Has it gotten longer again?”

“They too will gradually learn about us.”

Kikrik-

Woo Min-hee fixed his prosthetic hand.

The prosthetic fingers, curved as sharply as an eagle’s claw, were probably something she had personally commissioned from a craftsman.

“It’s long. It’s long. But I have to clean it up, right?”

Woo Min-hee stood up from her seat.

This put my worries to rest.

Although she may have a dirty personality, she is a person who gets her work done with certainty.

“It’s fate that we met like this, and it looks like I’ll be here for a while, so should we exchange contact information?”

Woo Min-hee told me her identification number.

Her identification number is “REDMASK”.

I didn’t really want to trade, but I had no reason to refuse, so I gave her my ID number.

“Skeleton?”

Woo Min-hee suddenly burst into laughter and looked at me blankly.

“What? That reaction?”

“No, I just thought of a stupid person.”

“······.”

Could it be this guy?!

No, I don’t think so.

What would a new hunter, who is not like the old-fashioned Nana Kim Da-ram or Lee Sang-hoon, but who is called the Red Woman by fanatics and feared, have to regret and do something like a community of fugitives?

She had a strange smile on her face for a while, then she handed me a piece of paper the size of a gum, split into two colors like litmus paper.

“No kids?”

“huh.”

“I thought it probably wouldn’t be there, but I asked out of courtesy.”

“What is this?”

“Brief Mental Awareness Test Sheet.”

“Did something like that come out too?”

“Humans are desperate too. If you have any kids around, put them in your mouth once and contact me if there is a change in color.”

“Kids?”

“Scientists say that the awakening phenomenon of an Awaken like mine occurs most likely in the cerebral cortex of adolescents around the time of their second sexual development.”

“If I contact you?”

“Maybe they’ll send him and his family to Jeju Island?”

Woo Min-hee turned around.

Her prosthetic leg dragged along the floor, making an eardrum-piercing sound.

“Then see you again.”

She stopped, roughly scraping the floor with her prosthetic leg.

She whispered in a low voice, her back turned.

“I still highly regard my senior.”

She disappeared into the distance, making a sound that scratched my eardrums.

The flower gardens of Kyledos will burn down.

Another flower garden will bloom all around me, but at least my doom will be averted.

I left the command center with half emotions and half bitterness.

White things were falling over the desolate ruins.

It’s the first snow.

Is it Christmas soon?