Chapter 46

Click.

Muwon rose and chambered a round in his gun. Joo Hee-eun sealed her backpack, returned to Yu-su’s side, and fixed her eyes on the entrance.

Sure enough, a beam of light swept across the floor. A wary voice followed.

“Sister, there are people in here.”

“…”

The approaching footsteps faltered, then resumed with extreme caution. A calm woman’s voice came from the hallway.

“Excuse me. Are you searching this convenience store?”

“Uh…”

Sim Gorak glanced uncertainly at Muwon. After a moment, Muwon stepped forward, his enormous shadow filling the entrance and effectively barricading it.

“We are.”

Three people stood in the hallway. The first was a stern-looking, middle-aged woman dressed in ordinary civilian clothes despite being addressed as Sister. Beside her stood a stout middle-aged man and a younger man.

At the woman’s nod, the young man moved aside to stand watch.

The stout man appeared especially anxious. The woman rested a reassuring hand over his before looking up at Muwon.

“We’re searching for something as well. Is there any basic medicine left inside?”

“Basic medicine?”

“Yes. Several members of our group have come down with fevers. We’ve been searching for fever reducers for days, but there’s nothing left anywhere nearby.”

Sim Gorak must not have concealed his reaction quickly enough. Catching the change in his expression, the middle-aged man stepped forward.

“Do you have medicine?”

“Well…”

When Sim Gorak tried to avert his gaze, the man seized his arm.

“You do, don’t you? Please. I’m not asking you to give it away for nothing. We can trade for it. Anything you need, anything at all. My wife is very, very sick…”

“The thing is, we’re…”

“No.”

The force of Muwon’s voice silenced them. The man looked up at him.

Muwon met his gaze without expression.

“We don’t have any.”

“Ah…”

“Leave. I don’t think either of us wants to start shouting in a place like this.”

“No, please! I’m begging you!”

The man reached for Muwon, perhaps intending to cling to him, but the middle-aged woman caught and restrained him.

“Yun-chang, please calm down.”

“But, Sister, if we don’t get that medicine…!”

Biting her lip, the woman turned back to Muwon. She bowed her head slowly, then raised it again, her voice carrying the solemn weight of a prayer.

“Brother.”

“…”

“I believe you have some. Please, for mercy’s sake, spare us only two tablets. Think of it as saving two lives.”

“It’s impossible. Sister, I understand your position, but we have someone suffering from a high fever too.”

Perhaps encouraged by the faint politeness that had entered Muwon’s voice, Yun-chang reached out and grabbed his forearm.

“Please, don’t be like that. Ple… Ack!”

Muwon shoved him away the moment he made contact. Had the nun not caught him, Yun-chang would have struck the floor with a deafening crash. In the same motion, Muwon drew his gun and aimed it directly at him.

“You really don’t listen, do you?” His expression hardened. “Get lost.”

The nun hurriedly stepped between them, blocking his line of fire. “Please don’t do this. We have no intention of attacking you.”

“I said get lost.”

A brief silence descended over the hallway.

At last, the woman studied Muwon with a complicated expression and swallowed a sigh.

“I understand. Please don’t shoot. We’re turning around and leaving now.”

“No! Please…!”

Thud.

Yun-chang fell to his knees, pleading desperately. ‘Please, my wife is gravely ill. If she doesn’t get fever medicine today, she might not survive…’ He began to sob uncontrollably, pressing his forehead against the grimy floor.

The nun knelt beside him, gently rubbing his back. ‘Yun-chang, don’t do this. We’ll find medicine somewhere else. Okay?’

“Where? Hic. Every pharmacy is empty, and we’ve already searched five convenience stores. If there’s nothing here, where else are we supposed to look? Where…?”

“We’ll find some. I promised I would stay with you until the very end, didn’t I?”

When she finished speaking, the woman looked at Muwon one final time. The plea remained unspoken, but its meaning was unmistakable.

Muwon did not yield.

The woman lowered her gaze and shook her head before taking hold of Yun-chang’s shoulder. “Come on. The sooner we move, the better our chances. Let’s go.”

“Hic… sob… Sister…”

Muwon watched the staggering man cling to the nun as they began to retreat. Only then did he release an irritated sigh and drag a hand through his hair.

A weak voice drifted from behind him.

“I’m okay…”

The voice sounded anything but okay. It was faint, trembling, and utterly drained of strength, yet it carried with peculiar clarity through the stillness. The nun’s group stopped. Joo Hee-eun and Sim Gorak turned, and Muwon’s gaze snapped toward the speaker.

“Jeong Yu-su?”

Leaning heavily against Joo Hee-eun, Yu-su had somehow managed to lift himself upright. His blurred gaze struggled to find Muwon’s face. After squinting as though he could barely see, he parted his bloodless lips.

“It’s true. I… I think I’ll get better soon…”

“Don’t give me that bullshit.”

Muwon crossed the distance in a few strides and pressed the back of his hand to Yu-su’s forehead. He was still burning with fever, and his muddled voice sounded like the delirious rambling of someone barely conscious.

The coolness of Muwon’s hand must have felt soothing, because Yu-su leaned into his touch.

“I think it would… be all right to share. I… I already took the medicine. My fever will come down soon…”

He was so exhausted that he had to gasp for breath between nearly every word. Muwon’s expression twisted.

“I’m a fucking selfish bastard. I don’t give away what belongs to me.”

“Muwon-ah, I really think… I think my fever is going to go down now. Okay…?”

“I said I’m not giving it to them.”

The nun, who had remained frozen until then, stepped closer.

“Your patient’s condition looks severe.”

“You saw him for yourself, didn’t you? Since you have, please leave us alone.”

“I know this is sudden, but would you consider coming back with us?”

All three of them stared at her.

“We’ve gathered around forty people in a large academy building. We have water, stoves, and clean beds for the sick.”

Gorak and Hee-eun exchanged guarded looks. Still holding Yu-su firmly against him, Muwon stared into the nun’s eyes as though he meant to pry open the deepest recesses of her mind.

“How are we supposed to trust you? What if you’re trying to lure us there so you can steal our medicine and supplies?”

“I admit that I want the medicine to be shared. I won’t lie about that. More than anything, though, it pains me to see that brother suffering out here in the cold. The streets are too dangerous.”

Under different circumstances, Gorak and Hee-eun might have urged Muwon to accept the offer immediately. However, the wounds left by the people at the restaurant had not even begun to scab over.

The nun studied the wary trio, let out a short breath, and held Muwon’s gaze.

“If you don’t trust me, take this.”

She reached beneath her clothing, drew a handgun, and extended it to him.

Yun-chang, who had been crying the entire time, hiccupped in alarm. The young man standing watch hurried over.

“Sister…!”

“Sister, you can’t do this. What are you thinking, trusting them with that?”

Muwon gestured to Gorak, who hesitantly accepted the weapon. After checking the magazine and chamber, he nodded.

The nun spoke into the silence, her voice gentle.

“That patient of yours is a kindhearted soul. I couldn’t simply turn my back on him. Can you trust me now?”

After a moment, Hee-eun lightly nudged Muwon’s arm.

“Why don’t we at least go and see? I don’t think we should spend another night outside in the cold…”

“Honestly, I’m… I’m freezing too.”

Gorak’s teeth chattered as the sweat soaking his clothes rapidly turned cold. Hee-eun’s complexion looked no healthier after their grueling march.

“…”

Yu-su’s rigid body shuddered in Muwon’s arms, trembling with occasional spasms.

They needed somewhere warm to sleep.

Desperately.

Despite the suspicion clearly visible on his face, Muwon eventually nodded. “Lead the way,” he said. He grabbed the two remaining packs of cigarettes from the convenience store counter and followed the group outside.

The street lay submerged in impenetrable darkness. Keeping close to the sides of abandoned vehicles and collapsed buildings, they crossed the road a few steps at a time.

Crunch. Crunch.

Now and then, the brittle sound of reddish ice breaking beneath their feet echoed through the frozen air. By the time they finally stopped, the cold had numbed every face among them.

“This is the place. Give us a moment.”

The academy occupied an entire lot. Its front entrance and first-floor windows had already been shattered.

Yun-chang retrieved a concealed ladder, climbed to the second-floor terrace, and gave a soft whistle. A rope dropped from somewhere above.

They began climbing one at a time. Muwon insisted on going first.

“Wait here. Follow once I tell you it’s safe.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, Manager Do.”

Muwon climbed to the third floor and immediately felt warmth seeping into his frozen skin. Several people stood nearby on guard, apparently waiting for the scouting party to return. The first person to greet them was a young man whose face looked almost identical to that of the youth they had met at the convenience store.

“Sister, you’re back.” His eyes shifted to Muwon. “Oh? New people?”

“Yes. We encountered them while scouting. One of the brothers is ill, so they came with us.”

“I see. Sister, what about the medicine?”

“We found none.”

The man nodded, bitterness settling over his features. His reaction suggested that the arrival of strangers was hardly unusual.

Only after observing the exchange and confirming that nothing seemed immediately wrong did Muwon signal for Hee-eun and Gorak to climb.

As the two of them scrambled over the railing, the nun headed toward the stairs.

“Let’s go up. We need to get the patient into bed first.”

“Yes.”

The sudden warmth made the pain return to their frozen bodies in sharp, prickling waves. Gorak stumbled as sensation crept back into his limbs.

On the fourth floor, Muwon noticed a stove resembling a sweet potato roaster positioned in the center of the main hall. Bedding had been spread around it in generous rows.

“Oh my, Sister. You’re back.”

“We just arrived. Was everything all right while I was gone?”

“Yes. You weren’t hurt, were you?” The woman peered curiously at the newcomers. “I haven’t seen these people before.”

“They’ve only just arrived. Hyeonjeong, could you bring a large heat pack to Sleeping Room Six?”

“Of course. I’ll bring it right away.”

The atmosphere was unexpectedly pleasant. People greeted them wherever they turned. A few wore dark or hostile expressions, but they were clearly a minority.

After leading them farther down the corridor, the nun opened a door marked SLEEPING ROOM 6. The room contained two sets of bunk beds, and the windows had been sealed with insulating bubble wrap.

“You can unpack here. The central hall is warmer, but since you have someone ill, I thought it would be better for you to have a separate room.”

They laid Yu-su on the bed nearest the entrance. Soon afterward, the woman they had passed in the hall arrived carrying a large heat pack.

“You all looked terribly cold, so I brought plenty.”

“Thank you.” Gorak accepted it and turned toward Muwon. “Manager Do, here.”

Muwon tucked the heat pack into Yu-su’s arms and pulled the blanket over him. Gorak then placed another heat pack against the backs of Muwon’s frozen, cracked hands. Muwon immediately pushed that one beneath Yu-su’s blanket as well before surveying the room.

A soft bed.

Relatively clean bedding.

Hee-eun and Gorak already had heat packs draped over their shoulders.

The tension gradually eased from Yu-su’s brow. His breathing, which had been shallow and uneven, settled into a steady rhythm.

“…”

Muwon straightened and bowed to the nun. “Thank you.”

“It’s only natural to be suspicious of strangers in times like these. Don’t worry about it. Please, lift your head.”

“…”

Instead of answering, Muwon took out a blister pack of painkillers, snapped it in half, and offered one portion to her. She accepted the medicine and passed it to the man beside her.

“Please take this to Sleeping Room One.”

“Yes. I’ll go now.”

The man hurried away. The nun watched him disappear before turning back to Muwon with a benevolent smile.

“My introduction came rather late. My name is Jang Myeongju. Since I serve as a nun, everyone simply calls me Sister.”

“Do Muwon Theodore.”