Chapter 44
After a brief but heated exchange, Ahyeon finally got Shin Hae-jun to confirm that he would not go to meet the mayor.
“If someone wants to kill me that badly, there’s not much I can do about it.”
His words dripped with sarcasm, but Ahyeon didn’t listen to them. She actually didn’t know if the Gangneung mayor held any personal grudge against Shin Hae-jun, but she was sure he wouldn’t regard him positively.
Moreover, even though the Gangwon region has cut off exchanges with Seoul, the mayor, as a public figure, would definitely recognize Shin Hae-jun, no matter how he tried to hide his face. With his distinctly different build and unforgettable appearance, avoiding unpredictable encounters was best.
In the end, Shin Hae-jun agreed to Min Ahyeon’s plan of him roaming the city with the children from the shelter while she met with the mayor.
He didn’t fully understand why the children were necessary to monitor the situation, but Shin Hae-jun followed Ahyeon’s advice, not wanting to think about it further.
So Shin Hae-jun reluctantly took the children with him after hearing Ahyeon’s explanation that it would help conceal his identity. But as soon as they left the shelter, he started regretting that decision.
“General! Can you please show us how to shoot a gun properly?”
“Ah, me too!”
“Hey, me first!!”
The lively voices of the children pierced Shin Hae-jun’s sensitive ears. His brow furrowed in annoyance, but the children clung to him, oblivious to his displeasure.
The children started chattering and circling around Shin Hae-jun. It felt like the world was spinning with the quickly moving children. Shin Hae-jun momentarily felt like he had come here not to investigate mutant infected or monitor the situation, but to be a babysitter. But babysitting was a long-extinct profession.
Childcare-related jobs had already been wiped out even before the apocalypse, as the number of children had drastically decreased. People had given up on having children, realizing humanity could no longer thrive. Surviving in a world teeming with infections was difficult enough for children who lacked combat abilities and couldn’t even escape properly. And for Shin Hae-jun, who had always lived in the military, the presence of children was all the more unfamiliar.
However, Shin Hae-jun had no choice but to be with these children in order to go into the city, as that was the condition Ahyeon had imposed.
It was supposed to help avoid suspicion, or something like that.
Shin Hae-jun furrowed his brow slightly as he recalled Ahyeon’s resolute expression.
Honestly, was all this really necessary? But just in case, Shin Hae-jun obediently followed her advice. He was the type of person who didn’t particularly resist orders, despite the arrogant and overbearing atmosphere.
Shin Hae-jun was the kind of person who would do as he was told, whether it came from his military superiors or from Ahyeon.
He was wearing a summer neck cooler that hid his prominent nose, well-defined lips, and slender yet delicate neckline. Ahyeon had insisted that he cover his face at all costs when going into the city.
“Hmm…”
“Uh-huh.”
However, the kids’ reactions were a bit strange. Shin Hae-jun raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the kids, who were all gathered around him like a bunch of rabbits, twitching their noses.
“Why?”
“Because even though you’re covered, you look like General Shin.”
Shin Hae-jun was puzzled that the children could still recognize him despite his covered face, and he scratched his cheek.
“Why do you think that?”
Hesitating at Shin Hae-jun’s indifferent question, the children finally spoke up when his gaze turned a little harsher.
“Your eyes are scary. Unnie, I think I’m going to cry.”
“Yes. If you accidentally bump into someone downtown, you’ll probably kill them. It’s so frightening.”
What, his eyes are scary? Then, should he just walk around with his eyes closed?
Besides, what does it matter if his eyes are scary and they can still recognize him even with his face covered?
As Shin Hae-jun earnestly pondered this, he let out an involuntary irritated groan.
“Hiiick.”
Although he wasn’t angry with the kids for making him narrow his eyes due to his contemplation, they seemed to feel it anyway and quickly scattered from around him in surprise.
One of the children rummaged in their pocket and cautiously, but bravely, held out a pair of sunglasses to him.
“…….”
Shin Hae-jun couldn’t bring himself to take the sunglasses the child offered directly, and let out a hollow laugh instead. If he added this on top of the neck cooler, it would be like they were telling him not to show any skin at all.
As a killer, albeit not a criminal, Shin Hae-jun felt that the treatment was a bit excessive, but being the obedient military dog he was, he quickly acquiesced to the kids’ words.
So, completely covering his face, Shin Hae-jun entered the city with the children, dressed like a thief.
The city they arrived at was actually too small even to be called a city.
The number of open stores could be counted on one hand, and the roads were just a single narrow alley connecting the streets. It had the feel of the once-bustling downtown areas of the metropolitan regions that had been swept by gentrification.
Although they weren’t infected, the faces of people moving around like infected individuals were all dull and lifeless. With their skin clinging tightly to their cheekbones, they resembled corpses with sunken cheeks.
“Don’t stare at them like that. They’re not weird people.”
The children cautiously explained to Shin Hae-jun, who openly glanced at such people.
“They’re just not feeling well.”
“They have no medicine, no food, and no hope.”
As the worried words of the children who had nothing to offer echoed, Shin Hae-jun, who had no interest in the people wandering the city in the first place, nonchalantly nodded his head.
“I see.”
That was the extent of his response.
The children were quite perplexed that Shin Hae-jun, who was known to be very close to the military leadership, showed such indifference towards the ordinary citizens. However, they didn’t dare say anything to the general, who was also a powerful figure.
At that moment, a radio broadcast, heard from somewhere, echoed throughout the area.
[Today’s story is… Zzz. Zzz.]
Unlike in Seoul, in the city of Gangwon, the radio was broadcast through a megaphone attached to a utility pole.
[Today’s story is from a tangerine farm owner from Jeju! They also sent a box of tangerines. Thank you!]
Shin Hae-jun found the grating voice extremely irritating, even after just hearing it once. He dismissively evaluated the broadcaster’s low-pitched voice as utterly unpleasant to listen to.
[The story submitter says they have a concern. Let’s see… The infected keep destroying the tangerine trees…]
As if infected creatures would only destroy tangerine trees. They were destroying everything. They destroyed houses, collapsed society, and eventually swallowed the world.
They devoured humans endlessly.
Just like in the days when humans, who were predators, endlessly devoured other things, their vile greed knew no bounds.
Ugh, he didn’t want to hear this.
An inexplicable irritation rose within Shin Hae-jun. He deliberately changed the subject and addressed the children.
“We need to gather information first. Do you know of any useful informants?”
“Informants?”
“Yeah. People who know everything about the underworld.”
As Shin Hae-jun spoke, the children slowly raised their heads. For some reason, their faces seemed more subdued than before.
“Actually, there aren’t that many people in the city who like us that much.”
“What do you mean by that…”
The voice that interrupted Shin Hae-jun’s puzzled words was unmistakably naive.
“Oh, Kang Minchan!”
As soon as someone pretending to know Kang Minchan appeared among the children, the people in the alleyway all exclaimed in unison.
A rough-looking man with an unpleasant demeanor was approaching them.
🕂
Thank you for reading! ♡
