Chapter 46: Carelessness
Chapter 46: Carelessness
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- On my way out this morning, I scanned Min-su's building again. The survivor signal is back to three people, so I wanted to let you know.
I was on my way home, pulling the trolley along the road.
We were returning later than usual, which would delay lunch, but the sight of the full trolley was satisfying enough to make me forget my hunger.
"Seon-yeong, I got a message. There are three people in Min-su's building again."
"Oh, really? When?"
"The message arrived a while ago. She said the scan was from this morning."
"What does that mean...? I doubt the scan keeps failing, but the count went from two to three. There are too many possibilities."
"Right. The scan covers the building, so one person might have gone out and returned, or someone new may have joined them. It's complicated."
Still discussing it, we reached the three-way intersection by Min-su's building.
Out of frustration, I studied the building as we passed, but there was nothing to learn from outside.
We'd left the convenience store in good spirits, but the message weighed on me as we walked.
The trolley may have been overloaded; an ominous creak followed us like background music.
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Beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep-beep.
I got home, punched in the code, and opened the door lock.
Seon-yeong was wiping her pants with a wet wipe, saying she'd gotten zombie blood on them when she kicked a zombie during the morning fight.
The wipes couldn't remove the stain, but something sticky had splashed on her trousers, and she didn't want to put them straight into the washing machine.
Mmmph! Mmmph!
"What the fuck? Who are you bastards?"
The moment I opened the door, I saw Ga-yeong lying on the floor directly ahead.
Tape covered her mouth, reducing her cries to muffled whimpers, and her arms had been pulled behind her and tied to her legs.
The sight of Ga-yeong writhing on the floor sent blood rushing to my head.
The situation shocked me, but fury overwhelmed the panic, and I shouted in a harsh voice.
"Team Leader, welcome back. First, calm down and put the bat on the floor."
With Ga-yeong between them, Min-su was standing on one side, and a man I'd never seen before was on the other.
The stranger was heavily built, but sunglasses and a mask concealed his face.
Min-su held a metal pipe from somewhere and rested it lightly against Ga-yeong's head.
The man in sunglasses carried an enormous crowbar, at least a meter long. Had he taken it from the nearby construction site?
Thump. Clatter-rattle.
For the moment, I obeyed Min-su and set down the bat, then breathed deeply to regain control.
Losing my temper would only make things worse. They didn't appear to be hurting her yet, so I had to stay calm.
"What do you want."
"What we want is food, and this woman here. I've got no intention of shedding blood. Cooperate and nobody gets hurt."
Min-su's claim that he had no intention of spilling blood drew a hollow laugh from me.
Where had he found such childish, melodramatic lines? I wanted to crush his mouth for delivering them so shamelessly.
I tried to stay calm, but every glance at the crying Ga-yeong and Min-su's indifferent face sent my anger surging again.
"But how'd you find this place, and how'd you get inside?"
For now, I kept talking to buy time.
Stay calm. I needed an opening. If this went the way they wanted, Ga-yeong would suffer terribly.
From the beginning, I had deliberately raised my voice to alert Seon-yeong, who was still outside.
My first shout had been genuine, but afterward I kept my voice loud so it would carry through the open door.
The problem was that acting enraged kept reigniting the emotions I was trying to suppress.
I forced myself to stop looking at Ga-yeong and concentrate on finding a way out.
"Does that matter right now, Team Leader? You seem to be calculating something. Stop wasting your time and do as I say from now on."
"It matters if I'm going to avoid being caught by bastards like you again. Is there some reason you can't tell me?"
Being helpless before that opportunistic bastard and the obese man in sunglasses, who looked barely able to control his own body, filled me with rage.
"Team Leader, I'll tell you one thing. In return, calm down and cooperate. You were far too careless. Did you think this apartment was safe? Anyone who learns the door code can target it and break in. I can't explain further. Put down the bag and leave."
"If I leave, do you think you'll ever sleep soundly again? And how can you expect me to just walk away? I'll leave the food and apartment behind and never return, so let her go too."
I could abandon the supplies we had gathered.
If I could get Ga-yeong out alive, we could settle elsewhere, rebuild, and perhaps take revenge later.
But if I left Ga-yeong as they demanded, her life might not end immediately, but everything else would.
It was obvious what would happen to a young woman left alone with two men.
They had abundant supplies, no need to worry about food for some time, and endless idle hours with no real entertainment.
They didn't love her. Ga-yeong would spend hellish days trapped between two beasts.
"That won't happen. Why do you think we came in broad daylight instead of attacking while you slept? We do not want to harm anyone. This woman will be safe. Cooperate while I'm still asking politely, Team Leader."
Was he truly insane?
I almost cursed aloud at the absurdity.
Because Ga-yeong was their hostage, I swallowed the words to avoid provoking them.
Polite, my ass. I could never agree. There had to be another way.
"Team Leader, haven't you been enjoying yourself by switching between women? Go out and find another. Losing everything you gathered will hurt, but turn a blind eye this once and you can get back on your feet soon enough."
While I stood rigid and silent, Min-su addressed me in a calm, coaxing voice, as though reasoning with me.
So that bastard thought I'd been swapping women and amusing myself.
"Not happening. Take the food and be happy with it. Even if I walk away right now, you won't exactly feel secure, will you? I'll promise. If you let us both leave safely, we'll move to another area and never come back to this side."
"Team Leader, we have a way to observe and track you. Stop resisting and back away. If you remain stubborn, neither you nor this woman will stay unharmed. Do you think we came without a safeguard? Do as I say. I insisted on making this offer only to repay you."
Son of a bitch.
How could he call this repayment? I rapidly sorted through Min-su's words for clues.
His ability apparently involved something other than simply observing through a distant view.
And his mention of a safeguard suggested they had another means of subduing me.
If he was telling the truth, they could monitor me after I left and had some other measure prepared if I resisted.
"Big man, listen to Min-su. We never planned to leave you alive, so stop wasting time."
When I remained silent too long, the fat man who had said nothing until then finally spoke.
I stared at him. He leaned the crowbar against the wall and removed his outer shirt, exposing a body swollen with fat.
Tattoos covered his forearms so completely that almost no bare skin showed. Why had he taken off his shirt?
"See this? Ordinary office workers like you are easy for us to deal with. Don't make yourself regret it. While we're still willing to let you live, obey. And leave your phone. Don't try to contact anyone. Put everything down and walk out in only your clothes."
So this guy was a lunatic, too.
He seemed to live in a world of his own. Threatening me with his obesity and tattoos at a time like this...
I could not tell what he intended.
If their ability made resistance impossible, they could demonstrate it directly.
Or was this strange display meant to conceal their real abilities?
Whatever the truth, they believed I couldn't harm them and that they held an overwhelming advantage.
Just as I'd grown careless believing the apartment safe, they had become careless because they held Ga-yeong hostage and trusted their hidden abilities or some other advantage.
I had to exploit that opening.
I could not meekly obey these pathetic bastards.
Once I began retreating, it would never end. Even if I died here, I'd settle this now.
To appear intimidated, I stared at the fat man's tattooed arm and crowbar with a troubled expression.
I stalled as if calculating my options, then released a resigned sigh.
"All right. I'll leave quietly, but promise that you'll treat Ga-yeong well."
Pretending to surrender, I spoke Ga-yeong's name and pleaded earnestly.
"A wise decision, Team Leader. She'll be well cared for. Slowly set down your backpack and empty everything from your pockets."
I removed my backpack, stepped forward, and tossed it lightly ahead as though inviting them to take it.
I looked at them and Ga-yeong, then turned toward the door as though truly preparing to leave. A small hand mirror protruded beneath it.
"There isn't much in my pockets. Do I have to empty them all?"
"Yeah, empty 'em all. And take off that windbreaker you're wearing, too."
Was this bastard a beggar rather than a pig?
Even now, he coveted my windbreaker.
I slowly removed a multitool, handkerchief, water bottle, pen, spare mask, and the rest from my pockets. Last, I took out my phone and spoke while holding it.
"Can't I keep the cell phone? Just to make sure she's doing okay."
"No. Hand it over. The phone too."
That bastard—pig or beggar, whatever he was—kept speaking to me informally in that grating tone to the very end.
At his demand, I lowered my hand as though preparing to toss him the phone.
As he reached out to catch it, I remembered throwing with a submarine delivery.
I couldn't use my arm's full rotation, but I trusted my body, which had already exceeded common sense.
It wasn't my usual motion, and that made me uneasy, but I steadied myself. I could do it.
The step I'd taken while pretending to set down my bag had at least shortened the distance.
'Hoo...'
After one short breath, I put all my strength into hurling the phone at the fat man's face.
Because I knew nothing about the fat man's ability, I targeted him instead of Min-su.
Whoosh!
Please hit.