Chapter 35

Ten minutes later, Park Yeongil called everyone together. Perhaps because they had barely survived yesterday’s life-or-death encounter with the zombies, only a few people stepped forward to volunteer. There were five in total, Muwon included. Among them was a young lawyer named Song, who followed Park Yeongil like a devoted aide and addressed him at every opportunity as “Attorney Park.”

“Where’d you put Hyeoktae?”

“The division head’s nameplate? Just a moment… Here.”

“This bastard’s incredible. It won’t even break.”

“You’ve already started calling him Hyeoktae, haven’t you…?”

Muwon swung the bloodstained “Hyeoktae” like a baseball bat before settling it across his shoulder. Seen up close, the golden nameplate engraved with [Division Head Kim Hyeoktae] drew the concentrated stares of Hee-eun, Gorak, and nearly everyone else nearby. Muwon, naturally, could not have cared less about the attention. He pressed his palm to Yu-su’s forehead once more, checking his temperature, then gave the top of his head a firm pat.

“I’m going.”

“Be careful.”

“You too.”

The scouting party departed, leaving those who remained with nothing to do but wait. After seeing Muwon off, Yu-su sank onto the sofa and stared blankly through the window. The rain was coming down with such violence that the sight of it alone felt hopeless.

“Excuse me, Assistant Manager.”

“Yes, Hee-eun?”

“Are you all right…?”

“Do I look that bad?”

Hee-eun pressed her lips together and answered with her eyes. Beside her, Gorak nodded five times in solemn confirmation.

“I’ve noticed you’re barely eating, Assistant Manager, and you’re not getting enough sleep either,” Hee-eun continued.

“Hmm…”

“I’ll bring you some snacks later, so please eat all of them and get some proper rest tonight. Gorak and I will stand guard.”

Gorak nodded again, exactly five times. “Yes, hyung. I’m actually really good at pulling all-nighters.”

“I really do want to help if there’s anything you need.” Hee-eun lowered her gaze. “It feels as though I’m the only one who’s constantly indebted to everyone else.”

“Don’t say that. Your presence alone is a tremendous help, Joo Hee-eun. As for sleeping, well… I’ll try.”

Concern lingered in Hee-eun’s eyes. She weighed her words for a moment before speaking carefully. “It’s just… you seem to be taking too much responsibility onto yourself.”

“It’s a habit. I have several younger siblings.”

“You do?”

“Yes. Three.”

The conversation drifted toward family, creating a delicate atmosphere woven from worry and nostalgic longing. At the very least, the expressions of all three softened, if only slightly.

“Wow, three? I’m an only child, so people with siblings have always fascinated me.”

“I have two older sisters,” Gorak offered.

“I figured.”

“I hear that a lot…”

A faint, weary smile tugged at Jeong Yu-su’s lips. For the first time in quite a while, he took out his phone. When the screen finally flickered to life, a photograph of him with his siblings appeared. Caught between three brightly smiling siblings, Yu-su wore a small, awkward smile that barely lifted the corners of his mouth.

“So that’s what you look like around your family, Assistant Manager.”

“Well, given the current situation… Usually, I…”

“You don’t smile much, do you?”

“No.”

Hee-eun’s eyes curved as she released a deep sigh. “You should still try to smile once in a while. Otherwise, you’re going to collapse from having no energy left.”

“Should I do something for you, noona?” Gorak asked.

“Sit down, Sim Gorak.”

The conversation proved surprisingly informative. They learned that Gorak’s older sisters used to beat him and that Hee-eun practiced kickboxing as a hobby, but the exchange was cut short by a sudden commotion near the entrance.

“They’re coming!”

“Open the door. Hurry!”

Yu-su rose first. Sim Gorak followed with a cup of water in hand, while Hee-eun grabbed a towel fashioned from a torn shower curtain. Together, they hurried toward the entrance.

The returning group appeared unharmed, apart from the bright, fresh crimson staining their footprints.

“Hyung, here. Water.”

“Thanks.”

Every member of the party was burdened with supplies. Do Muwon dropped the sack of rice from his shoulder and drained the water Gorak offered him.

“Why’d you all come out here to greet us?”

“It just felt like we should,” Yu-su replied.

“Exactly,” Hee-eun added. “It’s sort of like waiting for Dad to come home from work.”

“Joo Hee-eun, you’ve become much more childlike. Maybe I should adopt you as my daughter.” Muwon wiped the sweat from his brow with the shower-curtain towel Hee-eun handed him, then looked at Yu-su. “Why aren’t you carrying anything?”

“I carried myself.”

“Did the fever finally make you lose your mind, Jeong Yu-su?”

The answer drew a chuckle from Muwon, though he continued to grumble under his breath. Meanwhile, once the supplies had been sorted, Park Yeongil addressed the gathering.

“All right, you’ve seen what was brought back. These supplies now belong to the community.”

At Park Yeongil’s suggestion that they prepare the meal first, several people carried the sack of rice, portable gas burner, bowls, knives, canned goods, and aprons into the kitchen. They also brought in several squared timbers that appeared to have been salvaged from broken chairs.

While Attorney Song recorded the inventory and the names of the scouting party in a large notebook resembling a restaurant ledger, Muwon washed his hands in the kitchen and returned to the group. The first thing he did was press his palm to Yu-su’s forehead. Yu-su remained still and looked up at him without protest.

“How was it?”

“Nothing serious. There were zombies in the hallway and inside the restaurant, but we dealt with them quickly.”

“Did you use the guns?”

“Twice.”

Before anyone could respond, the people nearby fell silent and lifted their noses almost in unison.

Savory steam from the boiling rice drifted out of the kitchen, accompanied by the sweetness of sautéed onions and, above all, the rich aroma of canned tuna. Whether they had spent the past two days trapped at home or fighting outside, everyone had been pushed to the limits of exhaustion and hunger. The room grew so quiet that the sound of people swallowing was plainly audible.

“Wow… It’s been so long since I smelled rice.”

Even Hee-eun, who had held herself together with such determination, could not resist the pull of food. Muwon’s reaction went without saying, given his notorious appetite, while Sim Gorak’s stomach released a thunderous growl.

Yu-su alone felt nauseated. Of everyone in the restaurant, he was the only one who remained eerily calm.

Another ten minutes passed before two enormous pots of porridge were placed on the table, followed by a tall stack of disposable paper cups.

“All right, everyone,” Park Yeongil announced. “Line up for your portions.”

People hurried into line, but disappointed murmurs soon spread through the room.

Each person received a single ladleful. The serving was absurdly small. One man, who had waited while expecting at least two ladles, stared at Attorney Song in disbelief.

“Is this all…?”

“Yes. We don’t know how long we’ll have to remain here, so we need to conserve what we have.”

“B-but my wife is pregnant, and we have a child. Can’t you give us a little more?”

“No. We cannot make exceptions.”

Attorney Song dismissed him with a curt gesture, but the man persisted. “Please, don’t be like that. Just give us a little more. You gave the person ahead of me a much larger portion.”

“The person ahead of you joined today’s scouting mission. It is only natural that those who risked their lives receive more. We announced that beforehand, did we not?”

“But…”

“Giving additional food to someone who did not participate would be unfair discrimination. You are receiving even this much because we are part of a community.”

When the man continued pleading, Park Yeongil, who had been observing from nearby, stepped forward. “Everyone, let’s calm down. As I said, we cannot make exceptions. Those who went out risked their lives. If they received the same amount as everyone else, would they be willing to volunteer again?”

The man fell silent.

“I’m sure you don’t want to create a situation in which none of us can eat at all.”

Just as the man opened his mouth to respond, someone waiting behind him shoved him aside.

“Move. I’m starving. There are people waiting behind you.”

“Why… Why are you pushing me? It isn’t as though I refused to go!”

The man stumbled several steps and landed awkwardly on one foot. Only then did the others notice the strip of fabric haphazardly bound around his ankle.

A woman with a rounded belly called to him from across the room. “Honey, just come back. I’m fine.”

“Dad…”

A little girl of kindergarten age stood beside the woman. Frightened by the raised voices, her eyes began to fill with tears. The man finally limped back to his family.

Someone muttered, “Still, they have a child…”

“Then give them your portion.”

Silence followed.

The mocking reply had come quickly, but the person who had spoken first truly did pick up their cup of porridge and walk toward the family. Amid quiet protests of “You don’t have to do that” and “Let’s just share it,” the distribution resumed.

This time, no one complained.

Muwon and Gorak collected the meals for Yu-su’s group. After placing the paper cups and disposable spoons on the central table, Muwon sat beside Yu-su.

“Jeong Yu-su is taking my share. Any objections?”

“None at all,” Hee-eun answered immediately.

“Of course not,” Gorak agreed. “Take your time eating, Assistant Manager.”

“I have an objection,” Yu-su swallowed a sigh and shook his head. Even drawing breath felt as though it might make him choke. There was no chance he could force down an entire serving of porridge. “I know what my body can handle. If I force myself to eat now, I’ll get indigestion and feel even worse, so… here.” In the end, he divided several spoonfuls of his porridge among the others’ cups.

“Hyuung…”

“Assistant Manaaager…”

Muwon glared down at his cup. “You’re not getting better because you refuse to eat. If you want to survive, then eat.”

“I’ll have some candy later too.”

Muwon clicked his tongue, and the meal began.

For Muwon and Gorak, it also ended within ten seconds. A paper cup of porridge amounted to little more than a single mouthful for either man, and once they had swallowed it, there was nothing left.

Muwon rolled his neck until it cracked audibly, then leaned deep into the sofa. “We can’t stay here much longer.”

“You said that earlier too, Muwon-hyung.”

“Yeah. The politics here are fucking awful.”

“Then when are we leaving?”

Yu-su managed to swallow a mouthful of porridge before shaking his head. “We can’t move while it’s raining, so we have to wait. Even if we leave this restaurant and stay elsewhere in the same building, we’ll end up in the same situation. With only four of us, being ostracized would put us in a dangerous position.”

“I see…”

“Once the rain stops, I think we should move to a completely different building. Until then, let’s avoid unnecessary conflict.”

“Right,” Muwon agreed. “And you shouldn’t be getting rained on in your condition.”

Yu-su happened to be ill, and it happened to be raining hard enough to prevent them from going anywhere.

Park Yeongil was not entirely wrong. As the saying went, those who did not work did not eat. The problem began when one person seized that principle by the hilt and wielded it however he pleased. According to Muwon, Park Yeongil had gone out with the group but quietly withdrawn from the front line, positioning himself as a lookout instead. It was obvious that he was constructing a system in which he could style himself as an administrator, cleverly avoid danger, and gradually establish control over everyone else.

Even today, more than seven elderly or infirm people had failed to receive adequate rations. If the weak were not protected, what right did anyone have to call their group a society? Perhaps Park Yeongil believed he would never be injured himself. More likely, he was using the crisis to suppress defiance and secure a superior position.

Yu-su eventually handed the rest of his porridge to Muwon and began searching through his backpack. Gorak, who had been watching him, rose from his seat.

“I’ll take care of cleaning the dishes, so the hyungs and noona can rest.”

“No one goes anywhere alone,” Hee-eun reminded him. “I’ll come with you.”

Once Hee-eun and Gorak had left, Yu-su took out several pieces of candy and a package of apple cookies, then held them out to Muwon.

“Do Muwon.”

“Yeah?”

“Go hand these out.”

“To whom?”

Yu-su gestured toward several people across the restaurant: the limping man’s family, the woman who had shared her porridge with them, the elderly couple, and the man in the matching couple shirt who still sat in a daze after losing his wife the previous day. Given Muwon’s personality, Yu-su expected at least some complaint about giving away their food. Instead, Muwon merely studied Yu-su’s pale face for a moment, then placed one piece of candy back on the table.

“Eat this while you wait.”

“I will. Stay until you’ve watched them eat.”