Apocalypse’s Teacher

Chapter 86

Returned home.

Scratching the back of my head for no reason with a cluttered mind, I sat on the sofa, and the old man who approached asked.

"What did they say?"

"They said it's a war, but it seems there's an internal problem with the cult."

"Really?"

The old man's expression crumpled.

Rather than dissatisfaction, his attitude leaned more toward suspicion.

"Why?"

"Well, it's just strange."

"Huh?"

The old man sat next to me.

"It's about the Dongdaemun Shelter leader. From what I know, no matter how plausible it seems, he's not the type to act so easily."

My head tilted.

"It seems like there's some basis for it. Why?"

"Even with evidence, he didn't seem like the type to step up first."

The old man stroked his chin.

His serious expression made me feel tense as well.

War.

Of course, I won't participate.

I don't want to be involved in the first place.

However, seeing such a meaningful reaction, I had some things to consider too.

'...Just in case.'

Before the winds of war reached here, I feel like I should at least prepare.

*

"Gihyun."

I entered Gihyun's room.

What I saw was Gihyun wrapped tightly in a blanket, wearing earphones.

Does he never get tired of it?

Just as I had that thought, Gihyun glanced at me.

"What?"

"Let's go out."

"Again?"

Again? We haven't been outside for over a week now, and it's about time to work.

I forced a smile toward the sulky-faced Gihyun and continued my answer.

"Jongno, where we went before. Let's go to the old hideout of the uncle."

"...."

"There are still some photo albums we haven't picked up there."

Gihyun slowly got up.

Then he threw off the blanket and began layering on clothes one by one.

Whack!

After finishing his preparations, he turned to me.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go already."

...What a simple-minded kid.

*

Swooooosh-.

The sound of the wind squeezing through the gaps between buildings.

And at the same time, the cold seeping in.

Jongno in the middle of winter.

Somewhere in the midst of it was me, showing a disgusted expression at the scene unfolding before me.

"It's a literal zombie field."

As expected, this place deserves to be called the largest cursed zone in Seoul.

Zombies here, zombies there.

What lay on the frozen white snowy field were countless zombies standing still, covered in frost all over their bodies.

"...Are those even okay?"

Gihyun asked.

Well, given the overwhelming sight, it made sense to ask such a question.

I nodded and answered.

"Yeah, for now, those guys with frost over their skin have been inactive for quite a while. And their feet are frozen into the snow, right? Even if we make noise, they can't move in that state."

"That's a relief, but...."

Gihyun said that and exhaled deeply.

His white breath scattered in the air.

Gihyun, who stared blankly at it for a moment, soon spoke again.

"...They said it's a war."

"Oh, you heard about it, huh?"

I only talked about it when the kids weren't around, but as someone who always had a radio on, Gihyun seemed to have some idea of the context.

"It has nothing to do with us. Even if they call it a war, it's just shelters fighting over their territory."

"This didn't happen when we were in Mapo."

"It's not that it didn't happen; it's that we didn't know. Mapo was so remote that there wasn't even a reason for war there."

As a result, a corrupt pig managed to hold his position, but that's all in the past now.

"You're not going to get weapons, right?"

"It's just for precaution. If soldiers spill over here, we need to defend."

"Hmm...."

Gihyun's expression slightly crumpled.

By now, I knew that this was Gihyun's face when he was quietly worried.

I chuckled softly and patted Gihyun's back.

"Don't worry. It's about the Gangnam guys and the Dongdaemun guys; it has nothing to do with us."

Gihyun looked at me.

Gihyun, who blankly stared at me, frowned and looked away when I smiled broadly and gave a thumbs-up.

"...Let's just go quickly."

Hmm, he must not like my smiling face.

*

Of course, there weren't any special battles on the way.

All the zombies were frozen stuck to the ground.

That, and the fact that Jongno was a ghost town where it was rare to see even a shadow of a person.

Clatter-.

I removed the wooden board blocking the window of the semi-basement studio and slid inside.

Following behind me, Gihyun entered as well, and upon lighting a lamp, the interior, which no longer even felt nostalgic, filled our view.

"Sigh- there's so much dust."

"What did you expect, when we haven't been here for months?"

Gihyun casually responded to my comment and headed to the shelf where he had previously taken out the photo album.

Since our initial purpose was those albums, he didn't even glance elsewhere.

Should I call him straightforward?

Or perhaps indifferent.

Seeing Gihyun's consistent behavior, I let out a soft chuckle and started on my task.

'First...'

Let's gather some gunpowder.

I should also take the bombs I made and left behind, as well as the assault rifles and ammo I couldn't grab last time.

As I mentally sorted everything out, I suddenly thought about how many weapons I had collected over time.

'If I sold them, I wouldn't need to worry about food for two weeks.'

Of course, I had no intention of selling them, but the thought crossed my mind.

Clack-.

I took down one of the assault rifles hanging on the wall and checked its condition.

'Still good.'

The barrel is intact, and the bolt pulls smoothly.

The safety lever also seems to work fine....

"You know how to do that too?"

While I was checking each part, Gihyun asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders and replied.

"Of course, this old man used to be a special forces soldier."

To be precise, a special military soldier, but well, it's all the same, isn't it?

It was something any man who had been to the military as a regular soldier would know how to do, but I didn't feel the need to elaborate.

This was one of the rare moments when Gihyun looked at me with surprised eyes.

"Did you pack all the albums?"

"There weren't many."

"Still, since they're different from what you always listen to, be satisfied with those. Let's visit a record store next time when it's quieter."

Gihyun flinched and shrugged his shoulders before nodding.

"Wait a bit, I'll finish soon, so check if there's something you want to take too."

"Okay."

Let's hurry up and finish this so we can head back.

With the materials I brought and the ones I asked Mr. Park for, I should be able to make some decent explosives.

*

After finishing preparations, my body felt quite heavy.

The thought that there was no threat from zombies here, coupled with not knowing when I'd return, made me overpack unnecessarily.

"Should I help you?"

"No, I'll carry it."

Gihyun had one backpack and two rifles.

I had two backpacks, a box filled with explosives, and a rifle slung around my neck.

I'd probably end up bedridden for a few days after moving all this, but at least I felt secure.

With these, I'd be able to protect myself from most threats.

Whoosh-.

The way out of Jongno was as quiet as the way in.

The zombies were still rooted to the ground like stakes, and the city visible beyond them exuded a gloomy aura.

As I thought about them moving again in the spring, an unexplainable chill ran down my spine.

I let out a 'Phew' and tried to ignore the feelings that surfaced.

'They're things we couldn't deal with anyway.'

As dreadful as the zombies were, there was a reason to leave them be.

By blocking off Jongno with them, we could prevent hostile human forces from the east.

Most of us were children, and the few adults we had were either old men or women. To protect the penthouse, we needed even something like this as a barrier.

Lost in these thoughts, I kept walking for quite a while.

Before I knew it, I had left Jongno and reached near the hotel. Stretching my stiff body, I patted my aching muscles.

"Ugh, this is killing me."

"...You've worked hard."

"No, thanks, Gihyun. If it weren't for your help, it would've taken me several days."

"What...."

Gihyun quickly turned his head.

Seeing his earlobes redden, it seemed he liked the compliment despite his words.

"Let's go, the others must be waiting."

"Yeah."

Oh, right.

Just as we were about to leave, something came to mind.

'I forgot to bring something for Hyesung.'

I had promised to bring her a gift, but ended up coming empty-handed.

*

"I'm back!"

Returning to the penthouse.

Despite the cold weather, I shouted while drenched in sweat from head to toe.

Following the noisy 'Da-da-da' sound, Hyesung appeared.

"Welcome back!"

"Did you say 'back'?"

"Back!"

Hyesung's face lit up brightly.

Her sparkling eyes and the hands slowly stretching out toward me.

It seemed obvious she was expecting a gift, but today, nothing could be done.

"I forgot, sorry...."

"Hah!"

A look of despair spread across Hyesung's face.

Feeling a surge of guilt, I was about to say something else to her when...

"Hey."

Jinwoo approached.

"Yeah?"

"That...."

Jinwoo hesitated as he scratched his cheek.

Behind him, the old man also stepped forward with a troubled expression.

What could have happened for these two to look like this?

Just as that thought crossed my mind, the old man spoke.

"...We picked up a kid."

"...What?"

I was left utterly confused.