Chapter 33

“What do you mean, what?” Do Muwon shot back. “We barely made it out alive. Are you planning to go back and get yourself killed?”

“For now, drink some water.” Jeong Yu-su held out a cup. “Here.”

After moistening his throat with the water Jeong Yu-su offered, Sim Gorak seemed to regain a little life. He scrubbed both hands over his face, although his skin was already so damp with tears and sweat that the gesture merely smeared the moisture around.

“Th-thank you.” Another hiccup interrupted the words.

“That’s enough now.” Joo Hee-eun softened her voice. “Like the Manager said, we should be grateful we’re alive and do our best from here on out.”

As she spoke, she pulled the BCD chocolate she had hidden in the front pocket of her backpack and quickly popped a piece into each of their mouths.

Pop, pop, pop, pop.

Do Muwon caught her wrist before she could feed him and took his piece himself. In the end, however, all four of them fell silent as though bound by an unspoken agreement. As the sweetness melted across their tongues, even Sim Gorak’s lingering sobs began to fade.

At last, he sniffled, wiped his nose, and looked at Jeong Yu-su, Do Muwon, and Joo Hee-eun.

“Would you mind telling me your names? As you can see, I’m Sim Gorak. My nickname is Goran, and I’m twenty.”

“Sim Goran.” Do Muwon gave him a sidelong glance. “How considerate of you to give us your nickname too.”

“I’m Jeong Yu-su. Twenty-nine.”

“Joo Hee-eun. Twenty-seven.” She pointed lightly toward Do Muwon. “I heard you call him hyung earlier, so I’m going to speak casually with you, okay?”

“Do Muwon.”

Yu-su-hyung. Hee-eun-noona.

Each time someone introduced themselves, Sim Gorak repeated the name softly beneath his breath. Then he wrapped his arms around his knees and murmured weakly, “It really was Do Muwon…”

“Is there some fake Do Muwon running around?”

Clicking his tongue, Do Muwon tapped Sim Gorak’s arm with the back of his hand.

“Lift your head. Let’s talk.”

“About what?”

“What’s happening outside?”

At Do Muwon’s question, the people nearby turned toward the group one after another, as though caught by the same passing breeze.

Gulp.

Sim Gorak, who had finished his chocolate and was secretly smacking his lips, slowly opened his mouth.

“Well, you know how zombies suddenly appeared, right?”

“Yeah.”

“No one knows why. There’s nothing but speculation. I was in the middle of my military service when an emergency mobilization order came through, so I was sent to the scene.”

Do Muwon stroked his chin. “Is the whole country like this?”

“Yes, but some places are worse than others. A few areas have already begun receiving supplies in stages.”

As soon as he finished, Jeong Yu-su, who had remained quiet until then, leaned forward, urgency creeping into his voice.

“Do you happen to know what’s happening in Namyangju? Deokso, specifically?”

“Hyung, you can speak casually with me. Uh, Deokso? I’m not sure…”

“Hey, soldier boy, what about Nowon?” someone called from nearby.

Another person pushed forward. “How bad is Incheon?”

Questions poured in from every direction. As people began crowding around him, Sim Gorak raised both hands and shook his head frantically.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know much beyond Incheon. Still, if I haven’t heard anything about a place, the outbreak probably isn’t too severe there.”

“Then which areas are severe?” someone demanded.

“Why is Incheon so bad?” another person asked.

Do Muwon’s voice cut cleanly through the clamor.

“Everyone, keep it down.”

The murmuring died the instant he intervened. Sim Gorak’s mind felt half-shattered, his memories scorched and scattered by everything he had endured. Stammering, he struggled to piece together whatever remained.

“The dangerous areas are Gangnam, Songpa, and Yongsan,” he explained. “Incheon was mentioned as being pretty bad too, but the rescue operation was supposed to begin in Gangnam.”

Some of those listening released sighs of relief. Others burst into tears as a fresh wave of dread seized them.

Then a cry tore through the hall.

“No…!”

It sounded as though someone’s heart had been ripped apart.

“Honey, open your eyes. Don’t do this. Please?”

The man pleaded desperately, but the woman cradled in his arms had already fallen into a silence from which she would never awaken.

“…”

They wore matching shirts, probably an anniversary keepsake or a gift that might have seemed embarrassingly sentimental under ordinary circumstances. Now, with the woman lying dead in his arms, the matching fabric felt like a cruel joke.

“Please, just open your eyes…”

His sobbing dragged the already dismal mood even deeper into despair. The people who had gathered around Sim Gorak drifted back to their original places as though grief itself were contagious. Before long, nothing remained but groans, sobs, and anguished cries echoing from every corner of the hall.

The restaurant had become a mire of profound despair, a place where no one dared to harbor even the faintest scrap of hope.

Do Muwon tapped the back of Assistant Manager Jeong Yu-su’s hand.

Yu-su had been staring blankly at the grieving man, but the touch finally pulled him back to himself. His face had gone pale, and the hand beneath Muwon’s fingers felt ice-cold. He looked up weakly.

“What is it…?”

“Get up. Let’s go outside.”

Before Yu-su could answer, Sim Gorak’s head shot up.

“Where are you two going?”

“For a smoke. Don’t follow us.”

“Okay…”

Sim Gorak nodded several times, then turned pleading eyes toward Joo Hee-eun.

You aren’t leaving too, are you?

“We’ll be back soon, so get some rest.”

“I can’t. Ugh, my head feels like it’s going to split open…”

Sim Gorak clutched his head and groaned. Joo Hee-eun gently patted his back.

“Do you want to talk about something? Are you a student?”

“No. I’m studying to retake my entrance exams.”

“That must’ve been hard.”

Sim Gorak’s voice sank beneath the weight of his misery. “Now that I think about it, it wasn’t hard at all. I just… I should’ve listened to my parents and gone to cram school instead of enlisting.”

“Oh, I see. Are your parents at home?”

“Yes.” His voice caught in his throat. “Noona, can I really go home?”

“Of course you can. The Assistant Manager and the Manager are incredibly capable.”

Leaving their quiet voices behind, Yu-su and Do Muwon stepped onto the restaurant’s outdoor terrace. The humid darkness felt colder than it should have. Do Muwon scanned their surroundings before taking a blanket from one of the chairs and draping it around Yu-su’s shoulders.

“This belongs to us now.”

“…Right. Thanks.”

Yu-su leaned against the railing and opened his cigarette case, only to freeze when he saw there was just one cigarette left. He knew there would be no way to find more, but the pressure building in his chest had become unbearable. After a moment’s hesitation, he placed the final cigarette between his lips.

“Jeong Yu-su.”

Do Muwon snatched the lighter from his hand and lit the cigarette for him, just as he had done countless times before. The flame flickered between their faces, casting restless shadows across their features before vanishing into the night.

Only after Yu-su drew in a long breath and released a cloud of smoke did Do Muwon’s low voice break the silence.

“Want me to guess what you’re thinking?”

“No.”

The cigarette’s ember glowed near Yu-su’s face, and his long eyelashes cast deep, fluttering shadows whenever he blinked. A large, hot hand settled firmly on his shoulder.

“We survived. That’s what matters.”

“…”

They had survived.

Only us.

Do Muwon never spoke those final words, but they burned with unmistakable intensity in his gaze.

“Hey.” Yu-su looked away. “You think keeping your mouth shut means you aren’t saying it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s written all over your face.”

Yu-su tapped the ash from his cigarette and lowered his gaze, every trace of strength draining from him.

Yeah.

It kept replaying before his eyes.

He had watched the building collapse from a distance, but there had been too much death that day, and he had touched too many bodies with his own hands. Now that his racing thoughts had begun to settle, the faces and voices of the dead rose before him without mercy.

The people at the Korean medicine clinic, whose fates remained unknown. The people on the bus who had drawn their final breaths in such wretched agony. The siblings he had tried and failed to save. The blood-soaked wounded. The screams. The sobbing.

Even the soldiers who had died by the dozens had families waiting for them somewhere.

Every death scattered around them seemed to point an accusing finger at him.

If I died right now and woke up yesterday, how many of them could I save?

A sharp sting suddenly bit into his fingertip. Startled, Yu-su dropped the cigarette and shook his hand.

“Ow, hot…”

“Nice work. Give me your hand.”

Before Yu-su could pull away, Do Muwon seized his hand and frowned at the tiny burn marking the tip of his pale finger.

“Jeong Yu-su, stop wasting your time on pointless thoughts.”

Muwon’s hand was hot and unyielding as he massaged Yu-su’s fingers and palm, carefully avoiding the burn. Under any other circumstances, Yu-su would have yanked his hand away and retreated. This time, however, he merely swallowed a bitter breath and ground the smoldering cigarette beneath his shoe.

It had been his last one.

In the end, he still felt as though he were suffocating.

***

The next morning, the first thing Yu-su felt upon waking was a headache that seemed determined to split his skull. His entire body was chilled, and he frowned as he slowly pushed himself upright. He was still inside the restaurant hall, but no one was beside him.

No, there was not a single person anywhere in sight.

It was as though they had all evaporated.

“…Do Muwon?”

[END of VOLUME 1]