Chapter 52
As winter approached, whether it was the Siberian high or the North Pole, the cold wind rushed fiercely, and snow poured down incessantly without a break.
The bitter cold of winter, as if holding a grudge for not having exerted its full force due to global warming, made many people perish and even more people suffer. Survivors would joke that winter was scarier than the infected.
Still, I found the infected more terrifying than winter, at least.
‘At least they won’t turn us into the same mess.’
Suddenly, I recalled the acquaintances I had been forced to kill over time.
My subordinates. Neighborhood residents. The priest and nuns from the church I attended. Children… Back when I had to pull the trigger, I didn’t fully grasp it, but looking back now, I wondered if those were truly the right choices.
The debate about whether the infected were still human or not had been ongoing for a long time. Human rights activists claimed that their active brains were evidence of their humanity, while scientists argued that once life ceased, their revival was merely as hosts. Cultists shouted that these infected were traces of the Messiah.
Well, I didn’t think any of those were true. So, the infected might be human or not, and they might be the Messiah, but at least they weren’t the savior of humanity.
This perspective may have stemmed from my biased rationalization for killing the infected, including those who were once my associates.
But… how should I put it? I couldn’t see those without a beating heart, their bloodless bodies rotting away, as ‘human’. This wasn’t because I was religious, but just as a human being… or so I thought.
‘Maybe something will be revealed over time.’
Well, until then, I would have to keep wrestling with my thoughts and reach a conclusion.
Feeling the winter wind, I pulled my coat tightly around me and looked around, noticing the absence of Shin Hae-jun. We had agreed to meet in the evening after parting ways during the day, but it was getting late and he hadn’t shown up yet, which annoyed me a little.
“Is he off having fun somewhere?”
I stretched my neck to look outside the tent, but it was eerily silent, with no sign of life. Feeling no presence at all, I furrowed my brows in irritation.
Shin Hae-jun had definitely gone into the city center with the kids. Didn’t they plan to gather information there?
‘Has something happened?’
Not to Shin Hae-jun, of course, but to someone else.
There’s no way anything could happen to him. Who would be worried about whom? I should be concerned about what he might have done to others.
In any case, I abruptly turned my head towards the shelter’s entrance in apprehension.
“Should I go check…?”
Since the arboretum was mostly comprised of outsiders, there were quite a few locals in Gangneung who looked down on them. As I briefly wondered if they might have been involved in some unexpected incident, a loud commotion came from outside.
Bang! Thud!
“We’re back!”
Along with Kang Minchan’s booming shout, the sound of several footsteps came rushing in.
Were there others besides Kang Minchan and the kids, and Shin Hae-jun?
Unable to contain my curiosity, I exited the tent and soon discovered the disheveled group of men they had brought with them.
Shin Hae-jun and the kids were ‘leading’ this group.
Or rather, they weren’t walking—the repeated thudding sounds I mistook for footsteps were actually their kneecaps hitting the ground as they were dragged along.
‘What’s going on?’
Unable to grasp the situation, I couldn’t hide my bewildered expression as I looked around.
‘Am I the only one who doesn’t know what’s happening?’
Not wanting to appear foolish alone, I glanced around, noticing that the others who had come out after hearing the noise were also wearing similarly perplexed expressions, which slightly reassured me.
“Minchan, what’s going on…?”
Seo Bo-kyung, the owner of that booming voice, asked apprehensively, uncharacteristic of her usual boldness.
Then Minchan and Nara proudly extended their chests as if boasting and answered.
“The people General Shin scolded!”
“Yeah! He beat them up hard! Punched them! Kicked them! Ruthlessly.”
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at Nara’s enthusiastic words. Even without her saying so, their battered faces made it obvious. Surveying the men, so badly beaten that their original appearances were almost unrecognizable, I pinched the bridge of my nose as a wave of dizziness washed over me.
“What is this about?”
It’s unthinkable that the kids just randomly assaulted this group of men.
Shin Hae-jun stared at me blankly when I asked him for an explanation, then slowly parted his lips. Usually, he would respond quickly, but now he hesitated.
As I waited impatiently for his response, I tapped the ground with my toe in irritation.
“I asked what this is about?”
“They pissed me off.”
Wow, this crazy bastard, seriously?
I gaped wide-eyed at Shin Hae-jun’s nonchalant reply.
“…Seriously?”
“No.”
As if amused by my comically wide eyes, Shin Hae-jun let out a chuckle.
“I was joking.”
“Not funny.”
“I thought it was.”
He wasn’t even trying to joke around, and now this bastard is playing games.
Forgetting that he was my superior, I muttered a curse in disbelief. Shin Hae-jun, who had been silently observing my timid attempt at cursing, shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, the reason doesn’t matter, does it?”
Although Shin Hae-jun said that, I still thought he must have had a reason for viciously beating these men on a rainy day and dragging them all the way here.
As I was about to inquire further, Minchan and Nara interjected between Shin Hae-jun and me, shouting simultaneously.
“Nuna! The General didn’t do anything bad!”
“Yeah! The General is not a bad person!”
I was momentarily taken aback by the children’s outbursts, seemingly trying to defend Shin Hae-jun from me.
No, when did I call him bad?
While I may have thought of Shin Hae-jun as a bad person, I didn’t recall ever expressing that in front of the kids.
“Those people were bullying us. They kept doing it for a long time…until the General took care of them.”
“It felt refreshing.”
Shin Hae-jun “took care of” someone for bullying the kids?
As unbelievable as their claim was, I nodded along and appeared to agree with the children for now.
“Ah, I see. But why did you bring them here?”
Though I asked the kids, my gaze was fixed on Shin Hae-jun. He met my prodding stare nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal, and shrugged indifferently.
“They have information.”
“What kind of information are you referring to?”
“Want me to tell you?”
At my question, Shin Hae-jun playfully raised the corners of his mouth into a bright smile that contrasted with his haggard appearance. Yet it somehow suited him just as much as the sly sneers he often made.
Of course, being good-looking is enough.
Newly appreciating Shin Hae-jun’s handsomeness as a truth of the world, I decided to hear him out.
“Yes, please enlighten me.”
“It’s about a revolutionary faction that opposes the current mayor.”
This crazy guy, what is he saying?
I pulled Shin Hae-jun into the tent first to discuss the dangerous information he had just blurted out.
‘A revolutionary faction opposing the current mayor?’
I was momentarily dumbfounded in this headache-inducing situation where I didn’t even want to bother figuring out their identity or purpose.
“Ah, I need to get a grip.”
I raised my hand to slap myself back to my senses. Slap. I put quite some force into it, trying to regain clarity, but when it didn’t work, I moved to slap myself again. However, Shin Hae-jun grabbed my wrist and lowered it.
“Are you out of your mind?”
After briefly glancing at his furrowed brows, I twisted my body to free myself from his grip. Instead of restraining me further, Shin Hae-jun released me and eyed my reddened cheek with an unhappy look.
“If you’re going to act crazy, at least don’t harm yourself. That’s too much.”
I narrowed my eyes, finding his statement contradictory.
“What do you mean by ‘at least don’t harm yourself’?”
“Instead of hitting yourself, hit others.”
Ah, why did I even ask a madman why he’s going mad?
🕂
Thank you for reading! ♡
awwww just slap him instead, ahyeon🥰