Chapter 22


    ording to Lee Jeong-Hyuk, during my absence, they had had meeting after meeting. In conclusion, the majority seemed to believe that I would make it back alive. The violence, cruelty, and superior physical capabilities the ck creature possessed made them consider my death as a real possibility, but Lee Jeong-Uk believed that I would make it.


    I looked at Lee Jeong-Uk with a rather puzzled look, but he looked away and continued his story. “I just assumed that you were alive, since all of your underlings were still waiting for you.”


    I knew he’d been worried about me, despite what he said. His eyes, set in his pale face, had welled up with tears. I smiled at him while patting him on the back. He looked at me, then stood up and walked off while clicking his tongue.


    Patter, patter.


    I heard footsteps racing into the living room. So-Yeon was running toward me, covered in tears and snot.


    “Daddy…”


    She ran toward me with her arms wide open. I smiled brightly, lifting her up. I smelled sweet shampooing from her. Her cheeks had gotten chubbier, which told me that everyone had been taking good care of her while I’d been gone. I patted her on the back as I held her in my arms.


    ‘My sweetie, have you been listening to the adults?’


    I wish I could have said this. I wanted to talk to her. I wanted to talk to her about normal stuff. But I knew that such a thing was a luxury in this situation. Instead, I hugged her, hoping that all the words I wanted to say to her would somehow be transmitted to her. I looked at Lee Jeong-Uk and gave him a slight nod.


    ‘Thanks for taking care of her. Thank you for being a leader, so that everyone can get along.’


    My nod contained a thousand thank-yous. Lee Jeong-Uk seemed to sense my meaning. A small smile spread across his face as he looked at me and So-Yeon.


    These were people who knew how to show gratitude. And they were good people. Even in this cursed world, they were able to keep a bnce between practicality andmon decency. They took care of So-Yeon while I was away, and treated the people from the supermarket as human beings.


    After a while, the teenage boy came looking for me.


    “Ahjussi…”


    The boy put down the gunny sack he was carrying. This was the first time he was seeing me. He’d been in a terrible condition when I brought him over from the supermarket. His face had been swollen, blood oozing from his battered lips.


    He’d been on the verge of dying, like an unwanted dog being beaten to the brink of death. Those gangsters must have really taken it all out on him. However, in the span of a week, I could already tell that he was doing much better. He probably still had bruises here and there but with time, the physical pain he’d suffered was bound to fade away.


    The boy bowed low, from the waist, and said, “I heard that you saved me. Thank you very much.”


    I put on a benign smile and patted his head. The boy flinched, but quickly went back to his sister with a smile on his face. The girl in her twenties beamed at me as she squeezed her younger brother’s cheeks. Iughed along.


    Then Lee Jeong-Uk asked while looking at my face.


    “Huh? What’s this?”


    ‘Oh shoot. My teeth.’


    Lee Jeong-Uk lifted my lips up without my permission, exposing my full set of razor-sharp teeth.


    I quickly turned away with a frown. His eyes went wide, then he asked, “You can… grow teeth?”


    I was actually surprised by his question. I assumed that he would be rmed, and hadn’t expected a question stemming purely out of curiosity. However, I couldn’t find a hint of wariness on his face, just genuine surprise. Lee Jeong-Uk’s question drew the attention of the others. They all gathered round, then said in unison,


    “Say ahh–”


    * * *


    Using abination of words and drawings, I exined what had happened to me that day. Everyone’s eyes were glued to my drawings, and they slowly nodded when I exined how I got separated from Lee Jeong-Uk that day. Of course, I didn’t tell them I’d eaten the ck creature’s brain. I only told them that I pierced its head with the rebar. Everyone thanked me for what I had done.


    Lee Jeong-Uk patted my back without saying a word.


    ‘Is he trying to say sorry for not being able to help? Or is he thanking me?’


    I wasn’t sure why he patted me, but I didn’t sense any ill will. Lee Jeong-Uk looked closely at my drawings, then tilted his head one way then the other, seemingly confused.


    “So you started growing teeth after killing the ck creature?”


    I nodded in agreement.


    “That’s interesting. Have you seen this ck creature before, though?”


    I hesitated, slightly puzzled.


    “You know, back at the high school, you seemed to sense its presence before anyone else did. You suddenly covered my mouth.”


    ‘Oh right. I remember now.’


    I’d been terrified back then. I didn’t even think about running away until it was right in front of me. I probably looked as though I’d known of its existence, and knew that resistance was meaningless. However, I didn’t know how to word my exnation properly.


    I put the pen down and pointed at myself. Lee Jeong-Uk stared at me nkly, shaking his head in confusion. “What about you?”


    “Grr, grr.”


    I pointed at the ck creature in the drawing pad. Then I made a biting motion while pointing to myself. As I continued to gesture in this manner, Lee Jeong-Hyuk spoke up. “Hyung, I think the ck creature attacked So-Yeon’s dad.”


    “Oh.”


    He let out a small sigh, finally understanding what I was saying. His face suddenly darkened. He asked another question, biting his lip uneasily. “So you turned into a zombie because of it?’


    I nodded in the affirmative. He sighed and nodded, giving me the notion that he would not be asking any further questions about this matter.


    “I’m still not sure I have the full story about what happened, but you’re still the same as before, right?”


    I nodded, my expression serious. He nodded back and gave me a pat on the shoulder.


    “That’s what’s important.”


    I didn’t know how to respond to that.


    “Why don’t we continue eating!”


    They had been eating lunch before my sudden return, but when my underlings on the first floor had begun to howl, they’d hurriedly made preparations to fight. They had probably cleared away their meals and gotten into their fighting positions, all nervous.


    When I’d entered the living room, everyone had been working in unison. Everyone had been wielding a weapon, except So-Yeon and the boy who was her age. Many of the weapons were improvised, but everyone was ready to protect the children and defend their own lives.


    This was a good change. I mean, I wasn’t sure if it was good to look for a weapon only when they sensed something approaching, but it definitely felt like a good change in this damned world.


    * * *


    I watched from the couch as the rest of them finished up their lunch. I couldn’t help but smile. Just looking at them warmed my heart. So-Yeon was working away with her chopsticks with her small hands, shoving in food in her mouth.


    My prediction that there would be no more washing dishes had beenpletely off. Even in this cursed world, without water or electricity, life continued on. It was like seeing a family gathering. Lee Jeong-Uk came toward me after finishing eating first.


    “Hey, So-Yeon’s dad.”


    Everyone now called me Soyeon’s father, but Lee Jeong-Uk called me Soyeon’s dad, as if it was my nickname. I looked at him and snorted.


    He took out a notepad to look at all the ns he’d made, and briefed me on the ns for the day. “I was nning to get some food and take care of some stuff outside. I’m sorry to have to ask you since you’ve just returned, but would you mind joining me?”


    I nodded without hesitation. After all, I didn’t suffer from fatigue. Rest meant nothing to me. Once I’d agreed, Lee Jeong-Uk went to retrieve something from the room. He emerged with a can of spray paint, the kind that graffiti artists used. I looked at him all confused. He hardly looked like the type of person to ask me to draw graffiti art with him.


    He shook the can as he exined his agenda. “I’m not sure how you tell your underlings apart, but in our eyes, they’re all zombies. So I wanted to mark them with this.”


    ‘Oh, I didn’t think of that earlier.’


    Looking back, he hadn’t seemedfortable every time I went outside with him. I thought that it had been because of the unpleasant smell, and the fear that came naturally with the situations we were in. However, in his shoes, the fear of not knowing if a zombie was on our side or not probably engulfed him the moment he stepped outside the apartment.


    Obviously, I had no problem telling them apart, as my underlings appeared green to me. From his perspective, though, it would be almost impossible to differentiate an ally from an enemy. Despite all this, he’d gone along with all my ns, and had even made two trips outside with me.


    I wasn’t sure if it was right to say that he had guts, or that he had no fear. It was perhaps best to think of him as an exemry leader.


    I felt sorry for not considering his perspective beforehand. I had to pay attention to the details. I took the spray can with a nod of approval. I felt bad for my underlings, but this had to be done. Lee Jeong-Uk and I headed toward the front door, leaving the others who were still eating.


    Lee Jeong-Hyuk and the teenage boy followed us. The boy’s face was full of determination. Lee Jeong-Uk caught sight of the boy and gave him a nudge. “Stay inside.”


    “I can help too!”


    “Young blood, you’re not even a high schooler yet.”


    “I’ll be a high schooler next year!”


    A freshman in high school next year. I couldn’t help butugh at what he’d said. The concept of school was long gone. I couldn’t help butugh at his mention of going to high school next year, despite the situation we were in.


    Lee Jeong-Uk clicked his tongue and fastened his gaze on the boy. Lee Jeong-Hyuk swallowed the remaining food in his mouth and began to speak.


    “Kang Ji-Suk! You have to protect the people here. Who’s going to be the leader when we’re gone?”


    “Me…”


    “That’s right. You have to toughen up and be a man! And do your part! Got it?”


    “Yes…”


    Lee Jeong-Hyuk smiled proudly and patted the boy’s head. How could the two Lee brothers have such different personalities? Lee Jeong-Hyuk was the stereotypical kind uncle, while Lee Jeong-Uk was the edgy and rebellious uncle.


    I chuckled at their short exchange as I shook the can of spray paint. As the Lee brothers stepped outside, I saw my underlings on lookout duty. There were a total of thirty-five of them. I’d lost some, but the ones remaining were still trustworthy. The Lee brothers started spraying them away with blue-colored spray.


    “GRR!”


    My underlings all red at the Lee brothers, surprised by their unexpected spray attack.


    ‘Don’t move. Stand still. It’s good for your body.’


    Mymand forced my underlings to remain still as they watched the blue paint slowly cover their bodies. I could tell by their expressions that they did not enjoy getting sprayed. They looked at me with expressions that conveyed their difort. My underlings looked back and forth between their bodies and me with confused faces.


    ‘I know, it’s probably wet. ‘


    I wasn’t sure if they still possessed the sense of touch, but all of them smeared and scratched at the paint on their bodies. Eventually, all thirty-five underlings had blue bodies. They still looked green to me, but the saturation seemed a little different. The Lee brothers looked at their work with faces of satisfaction. After a moment, Lee Jeong-Uk broke the silence.


    “Damn, they kind of look like calm waves.”


    ‘Waves, huh.’


    I realized that they weren’t all the same blue. The ones wearing ck clothes would seem darker, while the ones in white would seem brighter. Even their skin color was a factor in determining what shade of blue they were. I chuckled at my observation,manding my underlings to sit down and stand up until I told them to stop, beginning with the first row.


    Grr.


    My underlings followed my orders, alternating between sitting down and standing up. Lee Jeong-Uk looked at me, his eyes growing wide. “Are you making them do a wave?”


    Lee Jeong-Uk let out a bigugh as I nodded. I smiled at the long-awaited peacefulness.