Chapter 79
Oh Habin, who was Min Ahyeon’s subordinate and faithfully followed her like a younger brother, was feeling immense relief at having rescued Ahyeon.
In fact, while he now holds the rank of sergeant, just a few years ago, he was a helplessly young, inexperienced soldier. So, if one could say it that way, he had received quite a lot of—an excessive amount even—of help from Ahyeon.
“Oh, our Habin, if you grip the gun like that your palms will get all calloused. Then you won’t even be able to clap your hands properly. Right?”
“Our Habin, if you aim like that you’ll definitely miss. You don’t want to accidentally reveal our position to the enemy and get surrounded, right?”
“Our Habin, if you swing the gun-knife like that, you’ll probably end up smashing your knee on the enemy’s skull. You don’t want to get any taller, do you? Right?”
…..Could one really call it help?
In any case, as Ahyeon’s direct subordinate, Habin’s role was to guard her side and learn from her. He took great pride in being alongside Ahyeon, who was the best sniper in their unit, until the incident that got her injured because of him.
Before the outbreak of the infected, the climate crisis was the topic of discussion. The Korean peninsula was relatively less affected, only experiencing the disappearance of distinct seasons, bizarrely large insect sizes, and changes in viable crops—hard to believe that was considered minor damage, isn’t it? But neighboring Japan was a different story.
Japan was a country that took a direct hit from rising sea levels. The sea levels rose, temperatures increased, underwater volcanoes erupted, triggering earthquakes one after another, then tsunamis came crashing… The disasters that occurred relentlessly for three solid months could truly be called catastrophic.
It should have been the government’s responsibility to protect its citizens during such times. But for some unknown reason, the Japanese government relocated its headquarters to Hokkaido and consistently ignored the outcry from its people. Deeply disappointed with their government, Japanese citizens made various choices, one of which was illegal immigration to the neighboring country of South Korea.
“Should we consider those immigrating from Japan as refugees?”
That was the new issue the Korean government faced, with vastly differing opinions. Some argued that if Japanese citizens are considered refugees, then shouldn’t we also welcome Somali pirates? Others argued that people are freezing to death in Russia’s Vladivostok right now, so should we bring them here too? Some even mocked, “If that’s the case, why not take in all of humanity on the Korean peninsula?” It was a tangled mess of self-interested claims masquerading as opinions.
Bang—!
The sound of gunfire shattered the Korean government’s skull.
Why did the Japanese government move its headquarters to Hokkaido, abandoning the historic Tokyo?
The reason was simple.
War.
They had harbored the dream of continental expansion for a long time, but due to international pressure, they couldn’t bring it out into the open. Eventually, they attempted it through war.
“Ah, those bastards were really bent on invading us. Seems they can’t remember getting their asses kicked trying that before.”
Ahyeon cursed out Japan quite colorfully, to the point where a Korean-Japanese mixed soldier reported her.
In any case, that’s how the war started, and Ahyeon’s unit was tasked with defending Incheon Port. For a few months, things went alright. Until China and Japan joined forces, that is.
“What a chaotic mess above and below.”
The unit fortified their positions along the coast, but the fighter jets and aircraft carriers soared over the vast sea, and the bombings… It was both the most terrifying and most beautiful moment of Habin’s life. Pung, puhweng—fireballs burst in the sky, water spouts erupted from the sea. What spectacle could match that? Unaware it was one of the hallucinations of the battlefield, Habin stood dumbstruck, missing the bombing evacuation order.
Kwagwagwang!
A tremendous explosion blasted Habin’s ears, the massive shockwave sending his body tumbling. Ugh, he couldn’t even cry out from the full-body pain. Were his limbs torn off? Or was he dying? He didn’t know. The pain was too severe for thoughts to connect…
“Oh Habin! Stay with me!”
The one who supported the dazed Habin was none other than Ahyeon. She had definitely been quite far from him. But when and how had she come over? With his fading consciousness, he couldn’t fathom it. He couldn’t see properly either…
“This crazy bastard…! Hey! Snap out of it! Hold my hand tightly!”
Ahyeon grabbed Habin’s hand and pulled him desperately, but Habin really had no strength left in his body. Thud! His hand slipped from her grip. At that moment, Kwagwaagwang! The bombing continued.
“Damn it.”
Ahyeon threw herself over Habin’s back to shield him.
Fortunately, the bombing didn’t score a direct hit on them, but Ahyeon was still far from unscathed precisely because she had covered Habin. The flesh was completely torn from her calf, exposing the bone. Her back was mangled beyond recognition. Her arms were contorted in unnatural ways. Yet through it all, she never let go of Habin.
“Hold on tight, Oh Habin.”
Ahyeon, having managed to grab Habin, dragged him into a bunker….. And that’s how they survived. However, Habin severely injured his left shoulder, and while Ahyeon didn’t suffer any aftereffects—her recovery ability was remarkable—her entire body was left horribly scarred.
So, Habin thinks.
If I had just held onto Ahyeon’s hand tightly back then, could we have narrowly avoided that bombing? Could Ahyeon have avoided getting hurt? If I had exerted just a little more strength, wouldn’t Ahyeon now be able to sleep without being haunted by painful scars every night?
Habin deeply regretted and blamed himself.
This occurred exactly half a year before the infected outbreak began.
🕂
“I’ve got you this time.”
I couldn’t fully understand what Oh Habin was saying, but I first thought it was really fortunate that he had shown up. If not for him, I would have either been shot dead helplessly or fallen among the infected, getting torn apart and having my antibody status exposed to be captured.
“Thanks.”
I lightly responded and tried to push away from Habin’s arms. But he didn’t let me go. Instead, he bluntly asked:
“What are you doing?”
“…I can walk on my own?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Your shoulder’s torn up.”
“My shoulder is, but my legs are fine.”
“No, you can’t.”
Ignoring my words, Habin just hugged me tighter. He then quickly scanned our surroundings, which unfortunately were swarming with infected.
“Ha! What a sight!”
From above, where I had fallen, I heard Im Dohyeon’s voice.
“Yeah! Just let them come at us! That’s it! We’ll throw them some bait! Haha! What a sight! Looks good!”
That crazy bastard…
I raised the gun with my uninjured hand, lightly aimed, and pulled the trigger. Bang!
“Aaargh!”
Im Dohyeon screamed, clutching his ear. I tried to aim for his head, but unfortunately, I missed. Oh Habin was running while holding me.
“Stay still for a moment. You’re heavy as hell.”
“This weight is all survival muscle, Habin, do you understand?”
“I don’t know. And stop provoking them. You’re ignorant because you don’t know. They’re just lunatics.”
I turned my head back at his words, looking towards Im Dohyeon and Soojin. Soojin was staring down at me and Habin with a cold expression. Hmm, her gaze is really chilling. She might actually kill someone like that.
———!
At that moment, infected creatures, who could really kill us, began to charge at us. They rushed at us as if they had been starving for a long time, their wild eyes, sharp teeth, and dirty nails moving randomly.
“Ah, can you handle all of them?”
“You keep ignoring me. Stop doing that.”
“You can’t even hold a gun properly, can you? I remember your sniping skills used to be really terrible…”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It seems like memories of the past are just that—memories of the past. I stared in surprise at Habin’s amazing shooting skills, unable to continue speaking. Habin chuckled and spoke confidently.
“I’ve studied a lot.”
Then he muttered to himself.
“I won’t let go this time.”
———!
The infected creatures charged at us.
But there was nothing I could do.
🕂
Thank you for reading! ♡
