Chapter 67
It was already evening after meeting Eunjin and other friends, and holding a simple funeral for Daero together. A blustery wind brushed past my cheeks in an unsettling way. I tightened my collar and let out a long sigh.
“General Shin Hae-jun brought it for me. He said he was sorry he couldn’t retrieve anything else.”
Eunjin’s expression as she tightly gripped the watch seemed so overwhelmingly sorrowful and pitiful that I couldn’t dare to interpret it. I recalled the image of Eunjin holding Daero’s watch, then the moment Daero tried to bite me, and the moment Shin Hae-jun aimed his gun at Daero without hesitation.
“He retrieved the watch amidst all that.”
I let out a bitter laugh.
I don’t know what was going through Shin Hae-jun’s mind when he retrieved Daero’s watch, or what he was thinking when he handed that watch to Eunjin. All I know for certain is that because of his actions, Eunjin was able to smile, albeit faintly, and my sense of guilt was relieved.
“What a true revolving door. Humans are really multidimensional.”
The merciless Shin Hae-jun, who shot Yang Jun-tae, and the compassionate Shin Hae-jun, who collected mementos for the bereaved. Which side is truly closer to the real him?
‘Whichever side…’
The fact remains that he possesses ‘secrets’ about the research facility. This is something he will never reveal, even if he hands over information to me. So, regardless of who he is, I needed to investigate the research facility from a different angle. Yes, that’s right. quickened my pace.
“……”
The path from the shelter back to the city center was quite rugged. I didn’t notice during the day, but after nightfall, it felt quite eerie. Of course, there should be no infected here, but having just fought them yesterday, I couldn’t shake off the lingering tension. I gripped my gun tightly while scanning my surroundings.
The moonlight seeping through the gaps of the rugged forest illuminated the dark path to some extent, revealing the outlines of small objects, but the deep darkness still enveloped the surroundings, amplifying my unease.
Woosh!
I instinctively turned my head to look in one direction. Something seemed to have moved just then. But I saw nothing but leaves swaying in the wind. Damn. I’ve become oversensitive. I hastened my steps while firmly pressing my temples with my palms.
With each exhale, a faint mist seemed to form, as if taking shape, and it felt like it was playing the melody of my current anxious mind. A suffocating tension filled my entire body. It felt like something was going to jump out from beyond those shadows and charge at me. Cold sweat trickled down my hand, gripping the gun.
Normally, I wouldn’t be this tense, but the lingering anxiety from yesterday’s battle mixed with today’s sadness seemed to prevent my mind from settling easily. I had a headache. I really wanted to take some painkillers and rest soon. I was almost running at this point to quicken my pace. And that’s when it happened.
Bang!
The moment I sensed something definitely moving, I fired my gun in that direction. It was too brief a flash of light to see what was over there. Panting heavily, I stayed on guard, scanning my surroundings.
“Lieutenant Min.”
“Ack!”
Right then, feeling a cold sensation on the back of my neck, I flinched and aimed my gun, but before I could apply any force, the person easily disarmed me. However, I didn’t resist further, because I now realized who it was.
“Whoa, what the hell? Really? Wow, I thought my heart was going to stop.”
Shin Hae-jun, casually looking down at the gun he had taken from me, narrowed his eyes slightly.
“I almost died just now. Almost got shot by Lieutenant Min.”
“Ah.”
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I scratched the back of my head.
“Well, who goes moving around at night without a flashlight?”
“A subordinate who almost killed his superior sure talks a lot. That’s execution by military law.”
“But you’re not my superior, General.”
“Touché.”
Shin Hae-jun handed the gun back to me, and after holstering it, I looked at him again. The faint moonlight brightly illuminated his chiseled facial features.
“But what brings you out here?”
Shin Hae-jun then nonchalantly answered.
“Because you didn’t show up.”
“Pardon?”
“I came looking for you because I thought you might be crying your eyes out in there again.”
“Crying my eyes out…? When did I ever do that?”
When I snapped irritably, he chuckled. Then he ruffled my hair with his hand.
“Lieutenant Min really has a bad memory. Times like this make you seem pretty dumb too.”
“Don’t say things like that while laughing.”
“Why? Going to catch feelings?”
“It’s just bad luck.”
“……”
Shin Hae-jun seemed about to say something to me, but soon changed his mind and withdrew his hand. I felt him glance at me briefly, but ignored it. Ah, why? I didn’t say anything wrong, did I? I shrugged and quickened my pace.
When I was walking alone on the forest path, I felt tense and uneasy to my core. But strangely, I didn’t feel any fear now at all, despite being in the same situation—just because Shin Hae-jun was by my side. Humans really are such lonely creatures, I thought as I gazed at the distant city lights.
Then, hearing the odd sound of the wind from somewhere, I turned my head. Thunk, ta-thunk, ta-ta-ta-thunk, the sound of metal cutting through the air.
“I think I hear a strange sound.”
“Military helicopter.”
Shin Hae-jun answered nonchalantly to my remark.
“They must be moving infected bodies. We can hitch a ride back to Seoul together.”
Come to think of it, when I asked about what to do with the samples, he said there was no need to worry. I was thinking about the bodies of infected beings that would be in the freezer by now when I suddenly asked.
“Is Choi Daero’s body in there too?”
Shin Hae-jun let out a slight chuckle before replying.
“Of course, you’re asking because you assume his body is in there.”
“……”
“Think about it, Lieutenant Min. Among all the infected we encountered, there was none as strange as that guy, whether it was Choi Daero or whatever. He was clearly acting like a non-infectant at first, but… the moment we showed an opening, he turned like that instantly. Don’t you know what that means?”
I nodded, biting my lower lip.
“The virus can adjust its incubation period.”
“Correct. You seem pretty smart at times like this.”
Shin Hae-jun, mocking me again, took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth, muttering without lighting it.
“If this is true, it’s going to be quite a headache. If they seem fine and we release them, they could go around biting citizens.”
Once the shelter residency permit is issued, refugees are required to undergo quarantine for about a week. Despite appearing healthy, at any moment, the virus could flare up and turn them into infected beings, according to research results.
So, a case like Choi Daero’s is close to the worst possible unfortunate scenario. If the virus can adjust its incubation period, it will become even more difficult to distinguish infected from non-infected.
Having thought this through, I clenched my fists and stared at Shin Hae-jun.
“Then, it was even more reason not to kill Yang Jun-tae, wasn’t it?”
Shin Hae-jun frowned at me, his expression asking why I was bringing this up again, which only irritated me further.
“Yang Jun-tae knew about ‘them’ related to the research facility.”
“……”
“If we had investigated Yang Jun-tae, we could have tracked them.”
“Lieutenant Min.”
“Why did you kill him? What are you hiding from me?”
I had completely turned to face him now. It strained my neck to look up at his tall stature, but that wasn’t something to worry about in this situation.
“General.”
“You already know about ‘them’, don’t you?”
A rather long silence followed. The thumping sound of the helicopter’s blades beating the air, the faint rustling of the forest breeze filling the void. After several different winds passed between Shin Hae-jun and me, he finally opened his mouth with a tsk sound.
“Lieutenant Min.”
He lit his cigarette. After exhaling a long stream of hazy smoke, he tilted his head to one side.
“What’s my nickname?”
“Son of a bitch.”
“The polite version.”
“……Military dog.”
At my response, Shin Hae-jun let out a mocking snicker. The upturned corner of his lips was clearly visible.
“The military’s dog.”
“…….”
“Only follows orders.”
Puffing out more smoke, he placed his hand on my shoulder and patted it a few times.
“Nothing else matters.”
Then he brushed past me, leaving only the pungent smell of cigarette smoke.
I was furiously angry. Orders, what’s that about? When the world has crumbled to this extent, turned upside down, what do orders even mean? Why is that important? There are more important things in life.
“Why are you so obsessed with the military!”
So I shouted loudly towards Shin Hae-jun’s back.
“You don’t have to be like that, General! Why are you doing this!”
But, of course, there was no answer.
Shin Hae-jun’s back had already shrunk to a tiny speck in the distance. Utterly futile.
“Really, just talks and leaves, that bastard.”
As the thumping helicopter blades spun endlessly, loading up the endless stream of infected corpses, I simply squatted down and buried my face in my hands.
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