TANBMD Chapter 81

Chapter 81

 

I pretended to be calm, but I was just as surprised.

“Hey, Habin.”

“Stop talking to me. I need to focus.”

“No, don’t you see that? The infected creatures are avoiding them.”

“I saw.”

Bang!

After firing the last bullet, Habin replaced the magazine and responded.

“So what?”

He had a look on his face that seemed to ask why he should care, which made me even more bewildered.

“Aren’t you a soldier? You should care about things like that.”

Click! After reloading, he aimed again, squinting one eye. Bang! The cheerful sound of an infected creature’s head exploding echoed.

“You might care since you’re a lieutenant, but I’m just a sergant.”

Oh Habin was a sergant. In other words, he was non-commissioned.

“Even if I see that, I don’t think anything. I just kill the infected creatures and save people. That’s all I think about.”

“A true soldier. The commander would love that.”

“Shut up.”

Habin focused on the infected again, and I also had to pay more attention to the battle through my scope for now.

In the distance, I saw infected crawling towards our General. But unlike before, our General who had regained his senses was busy dealing with the infected. When he seemed to run out of bullets, he hesitated briefly before leaping down from his perch. And as expected, he was now fighting the infected barehanded.

The clean coat of Shin Hae-jun was tattered. Red blood splattered on his crisp white shirt. Pieces of infected flesh stuck to and fell from his leather gloves. But he didn’t stop facing the infected and bashing their skulls in. He was like a wild dog—a rabid mutt aiming only for what was in front of him, trying to maul it. His bloodstained hair flickered under a beam of sunlight that pierced through the fog. It was strange, really. Even raging like that in battle, he was still beautiful.

It was then.

From inside the university courtyard, a faint booming sound could be heard. Shortly after, a red trail appeared in the hazy sky, and a crumpled oval-shaped firework bloomed across the heavens. Bang! Puhng! Multiple fireworks shot up, instantly dyeing the sky crimson.

“Pretty.”

Habin, who had been shooting all along, murmured.

“Looking for romance, only to get screwed over. Making that much noise will attract a bunch of infected…Huh?”

I grabbed Habin by the collar, pulling him down to look below while he was still gazing up at the sky.

Down below, or to be precise, on the ground that was swarming with the infected, something strange was happening. The infected had stopped their advance.

The ones that would charge at humans like madmen – well, not literally mad since they were already dead – were just standing still where they were. They were craning their necks so much their heads seemed twisted, looking at none other than the fireworks display that had just unfolded in the sky.

The infected that had momentarily paused were now slowly approaching the settling dust and red smoke trailing down as the fireworks faded, like moths drawn to a light.

“What is that?”

“I’ve seen something similar before.”

“What?”

Surprised, I asked.

“It’s from Wreck-*t R*lph. The final boss there follows the light like that and ends up burning to death.”

“…….”

I pressed my lips into a tight line and placed a hand on Habin’s shoulder.

“Don’t open your mouth wherever you go. Just keep it shut.”

Habin frowned and turned to look at me.

“Don’t lecture me. You’re just the same.”

“What do you mean?”

“A disaster’s mouth.”

“You haven’t hit me in a while.”

“Can’t hit you now. Civilians assaulting soldiers get arrested.”

“Argh, whatever!”

As we were bickering like that, it seemed the situation below had mostly been resolved. The infected had disappeared, drawn away by the fireworks, leaving only a few surviving stragglers behind catching their breath. And among them was Shin Hae-jun.

“Enjoying the view?” 

Shin Hae-jun looked up at me and Habin.

“Your superior is fighting fiercely, but you two are just fooling around over there? Huh? The world has really changed. In my days, when a superior was fighting, we’d rush in first and fight in the front lines. Huh?”

“Oh, General. You sound like an old codger.”

“Just come down here.”

“Yeesh, sir.”

As I approached him with my mouth shut, I figured he was a guy who had no need for concern, no reason to be concerned, but up close, his condition didn’t seem quite right. The blood spattered all over him didn’t seem like infected creature’s blood but rather his own.

“What’s with these wounds?”

Surprised by my question, Shin Hae-jun smirked.

“Finally concerned about your superior, huh? I always liked it best when Lieutenant Ahyeon worried about me.”

“Cut the crap and tell me what happened.”

“Sometimes you go too far, Lieutenant.”

Shin Hae-jun let out a pained “Kkeung”, his protruding lower lip looking oddly cute. Ah, I shouldn’t think that way. I tapped my forehead with my palm to refocus.

“Didn’t you see that infected holding a knife earlier? Where were you looking?”

I shook my head in bewilderment.

“An infected holding a knife? Does that make any sense?”

“There was one holding a gun too.”

Shin Hae-jun spat out blood-mixed saliva as he answered.

“The ones here might be evolved ones too. But what was that earlier? Why did the infected creatures gather there?”

“We’re not sure about that, but shall we go check it out?”

As we were having this conversation, there was movement behind us.

“It’s better if you don’t go over there.”

Turning around, there stood Soojin, her face now calm as if she hadn’t just come charging at us earlier covered in blood. And next to her was Im Do-hyeon.

“They’re probably containing the infected over there again. It will get complicated if non-infected people go now. So please leave now, before it really gets dangerous.”

“Oh, Do-hyeon. Don’t remember crying that you were going to die earlier? You’re talking big now that Soojin’s here.”

Im Do-hyeon glared at me but didn’t say anything further. He probably received orders to shut up, or he might get his head bashed in for opening his mouth. From my perspective, not having to deal with his complaining was a good thing.

“Seeing this situation and being told to just go back is amusing.”

Habin let out a hollow laugh and muttered.

“Stop joking around—”

“Long time no see.”

Shin Hae-jun cut off Habin’s words.

“Captain Yoon, nice to see you?”

Although I knew that Soojin was a military officer from what I heard earlier, I didn’t know that she and Shin Hae-jun were acquaintances. I rolled my eyes back and forth, alternating between looking at Soojin and Shin Hae-jun.

“Nice to see me?”

Soojin, or rather Captain Yoon, finally turned her gaze towards Shin Hae-jun. It’s hard to describe. Her gaze was not at all friendly. It was like facing an enemy that needed to be eliminated. Sensing something unusual between them, I discreetly stepped back. But Shin Hae-jun grabbed me. More precisely, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and leaned his body halfway against mine.

“Ahyeon. Where are you going? I’m struggling. You have to support me here.”

“You’re heavy though.”

“Not as heavy as before, right?”

The ‘before’ he mentioned seemed to refer to when we…had been intimate. Even in this situation, really…! I nudged his ribs with my elbow and stepped out of his embrace.  As soon as I did, Captain Yoon’s mouth opened.

“Hey. Shin Hae-jun.”

Yoon Soojin had an adorably small stature, but that only applied when she was staying still. When she opened her eyes wide and spoke in her husky voice, even I felt intimidated.

“Are you allowed to say you’re glad to see me?”

Yoon Soojin glared at Shin Hae-jun, her shoulders trembling.

“You tried to kill me, didn’t you think I wouldn’t know?”

“Ah, did I?”

But Shin Hae-jun was nonchalant as ever.

“I don’t remember. There were so many people I tried to kill. You probably had a reason too, right?”

“You fucking crazy bastard!”

How could such a loud yell come from such a small body? Thanks to that, everyone who was tidying up around us turned to look at us. Do-hyeon pulled on Soojin’s sleeve.

“Soojin, the people…”

“……”

Realizing everyone’s attention was on her, Yoon Soojin let out a sigh and lowered her head. After taking a few deep breaths, she looked back at Shin Hae-jun and us.

“Alright, everyone leave. No civilians are allowed here.”

“Before that, you should explain the current situation.”

“I said leave.”

A gun was aimed at us. Soojin was the one holding it, but this place was full of civilians. If a fight were to break out here, they would undoubtedly be harmed, which goes against the military’s principles.

So,

“…Let’s just go back for now.”

Shin Hae-jun had no choice but to make that decision. He was just a dog obedient to the military’s orders.

Habin also turned around to follow Shin Hae-jun. But I stayed put. I felt the curious gazes lingering on me.

“Why aren’t you leaving?”

At the same time as Yoon Soojin’s question, I casually replied,

“I’m not a soldier.”

Then, crossing my arms and hugging my shoulders, I added,

“Just a poor refugee.”

I can’t leave until I know the full story behind these messed up infected.

“You’ll take me in, right?”

Yoon Soojin’s face turned pale.

🕂

Thank you for reading! ♡