Chapter 100
Shin Hae-jun gazed intently at Min Ahyeon. Although there had been a chilly atmosphere between them since yesterday, his current gaze toward her wasn’t as cold. Just indifferent.
In fact, previously, he would have naturally paired himself and Ahyeon as one team.
However, now he couldn’t do that.
Putting aside that Oh Habin and Seo Yoo-jin weren’t much help, he simply couldn’t be paired with Ahyeon right now.
It wasn’t really an issue that they had fought. He thought it was a conflict of interest that could be resolved through conversation.
Then why?
Shin Hae-jun’s current feelings were incredibly complex, stemming from a certain resolution that he needed to establish his attitude toward Ahyeon clearly.
Yes, his attitude. The resolution to clearly establishes his attitude. That’s why Shin Hae-jun couldn’t put Ahyeon on his team.
The desire to be with Ahyeon, to see her, to hold her hand, to touch her skin, to kiss her lips, to embrace her, to enter her—those urges were still there. But along with the futile thought that simply indulging desires was no different from being an animal, his mind was dominated by the pessimistic idea of “So what? What can I even do about it?”
I like Min Ahyeon.
So what? What do I do about it?
It’s not like we got attached just from having sex a few times, is it? With just that, what… what am I trying to do?
What am I supposed to do? Get married in this fucked up world? What’s the point? You know, in this shitty world, all we can do is do shitty things until we die.
‘Fuck.’
Shin Hae-jun desperately wanted to smoke a cigarette, but held back since Ahyeon was nearby. He let out a long sigh.
Since they’ve fought like this, since he now clearly knows their interests differ and that they’re aliens living in separate universes from each other, maybe it’s better to settle the relationship now. In fact, there’s no relationship to begin with, just his one-sided feelings for her. But rather than dragging it out any longer, right now…
“The teams will be Oh Habin and Min Ahyeon, Seo Yoo-jin and me. Two teams like that. Any objections?”
So Shin Hae-jun divided the teams somewhat rationally. If Seo Yoo-jin and Min Ahyeon were paired, Min Ahyeon might get fed up and storm off, so he paired her with Oh Habin… No, that guy is also a man.
Shin Hae-jun hesitated for a moment, but since he had already decided to settle his feelings, he couldn’t back down now, so he tried to ignore it by deliberately turning his head away.
At that moment, Ahyeon raised her hand and said.
“Then we’ll go inside the shelter.”
Shin Hae-jun had no choice but to look at Ahyeon again, but she had an utterly calm expression on her face. This made him suddenly feel irritated.
“Go ahead then.”
So Shin Hae-jun deliberately responded coldly, trying to shake off the existence of Ahyeon from his mind.
🕂
“Lieutenant, do you know why he’s acting like that?”
In the situation where only the two of them remained, Oh Habin spoke up. How would I know? I just shrugged.
“Probably just mood swings. Why, are you concerned?”
“Isn’t it a concerning situation to anyone watching? You not being concerned is what’s strange.”
“Is that so? Well, I’m not a soldier, so I don’t have to be concerned.”
“A deserter. A criminal. You should’ve been in the slammer originally.”
“Just go ahead and insult me openly, then.”
“I don’t want to, though.”
I chuckled at Habin’s words. At the same time, my thoughts drifted to Shin Hae-jun. To be honest, when I said I wasn’t concerned, that was a lie. Of course, I’m concerned.
Wasn’t Shin Hae-jun the one who tried not to leave my side the entire way to Gangneung? Anyone watching would say he was being clingy, sticking so close to me like that.
And yet he mercilessly split us into separate teams. On top of that, his expressions and actions did seem strange, even to me. Hmm, I pondered it briefly but soon brushed it off. In the current situation, it didn’t seem that important.
“Anyway, now is not the time to be concerned about Shin Hae-jun’s nonsense.”
Oh Habin’s eyes narrowed at that. He rolled his distinctively navy blue-tinted eyes and clicked his tongue.
“You don’t have to say it. We need to check on the infected.”
Habin is young. Is that why? Despite it being the midst of a desolate winter, his face seemed to be progressing forward like a welcoming spring. Like seeing a flower just before blooming. This must be the privilege of youth, I thought with a wry laugh. So I felt like teasing Habin a bit.
“So?”
I deliberately put my hands up without mentioning any plan.
“What should we do? Just give me the orders.”
“……Me give the orders?”
“Yeah. You have to do it.”
I responded nonchalantly.
“Hey, think about it. I’m just a hired mercenary, right? So you, as a soldier, should be the one making the plan and commanding. Isn’t that right?”
“…Wow.”
Oh Habin gaped at me with a betrayed look. The corners of his youthful eyes turned slightly red.
“You’re doing this on purpose to bother me.”
“Yep.”
“Ugh, annoying.”
He snapped back curtly and turned his head away. It seemed he was trying to express his anger, but to me, he just looked adorable. I chuckled and approached, jabbing my elbow into his side.
“Alright, listen up, Habin. From what we saw earlier, where were the infected most concentrated?”
“……”
Oh Habin tried not to answer, but then seemed to realize if not now, he may miss the chance to properly plan, so he pressed his lips into a line and looked back at me.
“They were most concentrated around the outer walls.”
“Then where should we try to enter from?”
“Hmm…The seaside?”
Habin spoke with a slightly uncertain tone, and I deliberately tried to boost his confidence by giving him a thumbs up.
“Our Habin got it right. We need to go toward the seaside. Good job.”
“Don’t treat me like a kid. Ah, so then what? Once we get to the sea?”
Ugh.
I let out a laugh and pointed to the car parked outside.
“Then what should we do about the car?”
“We can’t take the car. It’ll make noise.”
“Exactly.”
I raised my hand.
“Let’s summarize. We need to go along the coast. We can’t take the car on that route. We don’t know where the infected are. Right? But we also can’t just walk, because the distance is too far. It’s dangerous too.”
As I folded my fingers one by one while speaking, I wiggled my remaining ring and pinky fingers.
“There are two options.”
Looking at Habin, whose face had now completely brightened up, I continued.
“One is to break through the city.”
“……”
“The other is bicycles.”
Habin’s expression, which had scrunched up at the mention of breaking through the city, immediately brightened again when I mentioned bicycles.
“Which one do you want to do?”
Oh Habin grinned widely and answered.
“I want to take a kick scooter.”
Ah. That’s an option too.
🕂
Crash! Swoooosh—
The unexpectedly rough waves crashing onto the coastal shore laid bare nature’s mercilessness, showcasing the desolate winter scenery without filter.
Like a raging typhoon, the massive waves appearing from the distance attacked the shoreline, creating powerful reverberations. The shore resisted strongly, trying to maintain its ground. The sound erupting from the two clashing forces was like both the sea and the shore were bellowing at the same time, creating a tremendous roar.
“Damn, what a wave.”
Habin, riding his kick scooter, remarked in response to Ahyeon’s muttering.
“It seems like there are no infected here.”
Oh Habin added confidently,
“With waves that could sweep even people away, how could there be any infected?”
His assured tone made Ahyeon smile faintly and nod.
“Our Habin actually thought about it. Good job. There really are no infected in the sea. This side should be safe.”
Crash! Swoooosh—
After blankly watching the relentless waves and wind, they set off again, aiming to check the situation at the shelter before it got dark.
Unfamiliar with the kick scooter, Ahyeon pedaled hard across the sandy beach.
With over half of humanity dead—turned into infected—the environment, ironically, had improved. As if proving the saying that human civilization was a cancer on Earth, the moment it ceased, the revived ecosystem showcased astoundingly beautiful nature. So sometimes Ahyeon had this thought, weren’t humans themselves the infected that plagued the living entity that is Earth?
And then, at that moment.
Ahyeon suddenly recalled the strange ramblings of a homeless person who had said, the end takes place at the table.
“Ironically, the big cities where people lived crowded together were the most devastated. The developing countries scum that they ignored so much survived. Oh, did the pirates survive too? Regardless, it’s quite ironic.”
Why did that statement suddenly come to mind?
Ahyeon found it puzzling, but dismissed it as just a passing random thought. Until that part about pirates surviving caught her attention.
Crash! Swoooosh—
The crashing waves seemed somewhat strange. It looked like they were filled with seaweed-like strands. It was at that instant, as the ebbing wave retreated, revealing a vague surface—a black hand suddenly emerged from underneath.
“Oh Habin! Be careful!”
🕂
Thank you for reading! ♡
