Chapter 47: Carelessness
Chapter 47: Carelessness
(Warning: Contains graphic violence.)
#
Gwaaagh!
The fat man collapsed with a squeal like a pig having its throat cut.
The phone had struck him squarely in the nose.
Blood burst from his nose as he fell backward like a character in a comic. I looked away and focused on Min-su's raised arm.
The instant I threw the phone, I was already moving.
Fortunately, Min-su was looking at me. His body faced my direction, and the raised pipe seemed meant for me rather than Ga-yeong.
Thud
Whether or not Min-su swung the pipe, I took two long strides and hurled myself into his exposed chest.
Remembering how I had shoved zombies at the fitness center, I lowered my head to protect it and drove my right shoulder into him.
"Shield!"
Hearing Seon-yeong shout behind me, I sprang upright.
My shoulder charge flung Min-su backward into the wall, where he collapsed.
As I rose, I saw Seon-yeong's translucent shield before me. A tall, lanky stranger who hadn't been there moments ago stood behind it with a kitchen knife.
The lanky man had been stopped mid-thrust by the shield, bewilderment spreading across his face.
Where the hell had he come from?
Then, beginning with the knife, his entire body gradually blurred.
It was like watching spreading paint in reverse as his form vanished.
I didn't know his ability, but I couldn't let him disappear from sight. I launched a tackle beneath the shield.
Crack
Although I could no longer see him, my foot unmistakably struck something.
"Ngh."
The invisible man stifled a groan and began edging toward Seon-yeong.
Seon-yeong noticed him approaching, retreated to the front door, and raised another shield.
"Hey. I don't know who you are, but your blood is giving you away."
Blood appeared on the empty floor like brushstrokes, gradually tracing a path toward the door.
As I spoke, I snatched up the baseball bat and swung at where I judged his upper body to be.
Whoosh—thwack.
The man's vanished form reappeared.
My rough swing must have struck his head. The lanky man lay face down, motionless, blood running from the back of his skull.
"Tae-sik! Behind you!"
At Seon-yeong's urgent warning, I turned and saw the fat man back on his feet and reaching for the crowbar.
As his appearance suggested, he moved very slowly.
I didn't know what ability he possessed, but if he reached for the crowbar first, he must have considered it his stronger option.
Watching his sluggish movement, I held the baseball bat in a middle guard and faced him.
He swayed and couldn't stand straight. Had the phone damaged his balance?
"Hahp!"
I raised the bat over my head, shouted, and feigned a strike.
Suspecting a trick, I tested his reaction first.
"Move."
The fat man vanished instantly with the crowbar.
Unlike the other man, who had faded gradually, he simply disappeared without warning.
"Shield."
Bump.
At the sound behind me, I trusted Seon-yeong, pivoted, and swung the bat.
I used the swing I'd practised countless times. As expected, the bat passed beneath the shield and struck the fat man's side.
Crunch.
"Kaahk."
The impact lifted him slightly sideways, and blood spilled from his mouth.
He collapsed and went completely limp.
The fatal mistake made by both men was ignoring Seon-yeong and targeting me first.
The coordination we had developed while fighting zombies gave us the strength to survive the difficult battle.
"Tae-sik! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Take care of Ga-yeong first."
Seon-yeong rushed over, checked me briefly, then went to Ga-yeong, who still lay on the floor.
I began checking Min-su and the other two fallen men.
#
"Waaah. Sniff... Sniff... Seon-yeong..."
Ga-yeong clung to Seon-yeong and sobbed like a child.
She'd been crying for more than five minutes and showed little sign of calming. She must have been terrified.
In the end, Ga-yeong was unharmed, and all three men who had invaded the apartment were dead.
"Ga-yeong, it's all right now. Tae-sik and I are here. You're safe, so try to stop crying... sniff..."
Seon-yeong began sniffling as she comforted her, then started crying too.
Was this the manifestation of some empathy ability? Or simply tears of relief?
"Ga-yeong, drink some water. You'll collapse if you keep crying like this. Drink and take a deep breath."
"Sniff... Tae-sik... I was so scared..."
When I brought water from the kitchen, she clung to me and whimpered.
I stroked Ga-yeong's back, helped her drink, and took deep breaths with her.
Once Ga-yeong had calmed somewhat, I signaled for Seon-yeong to take her into the bedroom.
The bodies of the men who had tormented her lay in the living room, and it seemed best that she not see them.
"Seon-yeong."
"Yeah, Tae-sik."
"Don't come out until I call for you."
Before she closed the room door, I gave Seon-yeong those instructions.
Then I fetched the body bag from the stairwell and began carrying out the bodies one at a time, starting with Min-su.
The first was Min-su.
Min-su's chest had been crushed inward, probably because his ribs had broken around it.
His neck was bent at an unnatural angle. I couldn't tell whether the impact had done it or whether it simply hung that way after death.
I didn't know the exact cause of death, but my collision with him had certainly killed him.
I set Min-su down at the recycling area.
Opposite the pile of zombie corpses, I tore apart cardboard boxes, spread them on the floor, and laid him on them as straight as I could.
I tore apart more boxes and covered his body from face to feet.
The second was the fat man whose name I didn't even know.
Several ribs along his side appeared broken, likely causing internal injuries.
Apart from his crushed nose, his body looked relatively intact.
I had killed him with the baseball bat.
The body bag wouldn't zip around him, and one thick arm protruded.
I carried him down that way, laid him beside Min-su, and covered him with torn cardboard as well.
The last was the skinny, tall man.
His skull had shattered, and blood and strangely colored fluid leaked from the back of his head.
A lump that looked like brain matter protruded through his matted hair.
One palm was torn and still bleeding, probably cut by his own knife.
His left ankle was bent at an unnatural angle.
This man's body was mutilated in several places, but ultimately I had killed him with the baseball bat too.
When I put this man in the body bag, his ankle stuck out.
I carried him quickly to the recycling area and prepared a place beside the fat man's body.
"I hope that wherever you go, you commit no more sins and rest in peace."
I observed a brief silence for the men who had intended to harm Ga-yeong and kill me.
I had neither buried nor cremated them; I had only laid them near the zombie corpses in the recycling area.
But unlike the zombies, they had died human, so I afforded them the minimum courtesy.
After the short silence, I turned and walked straight back.
They had attacked us, even though they had failed to carry out what they intended.
In truth, I had only observed the formality. I could neither forgive nor sincerely mourn them.
A small thorn in my own hand hurt more than another person's terrible wound.
I was an ordinary man who valued my own people more, not a saint capable of forgiving and loving everyone.
I had no regrets.
Blaaargh.
On the way back, I collapsed beside a flower bed and vomited yellow stomach acid.
I had killed people for the first time in my life. It hadn't been an accident or anything of the sort.
In that moment, I had rammed, struck, and swung with the intent to kill.
I had killed them by my own will, and while carrying their bodies, I had seen precisely how each had died.
I had no intention of looking away from their deaths or absolving myself.
The world had changed. Humanity no longer lived within the boundaries of law and public order.
It wasn't merely that force mattered more than law; survival could require killing someone else.
There was little point debating their true nature or whether my actions qualified as self-defense.
I would fight to protect myself and those around me. It was that simple.
I had prayed for them only to endure the shock of my first killings and ease my own mind.
I didn't know what the dead had thought, but I had fought with my life at stake and survived.
That was all. It would be the same in the future. I resolved to grow stronger so I wouldn't die.
#
Knock, knock, knock.
"Tae-sik, are you back?"
"Yeah, Seon-yeong. Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere at all?"
"I'm fine. What about you, Tae-sik? Is anything wrong with you?"
"I'm fine too. Nothing's wrong at all. What about Ga-yeong?"
"Ga-yeong cried herself to sleep. She suddenly fell asleep as if she had passed out, but her breathing is steady and she seems fine."
"What a relief..."
After emptying my stomach beside the flower bed, I returned home.
From the moment I began moving the bodies until I returned, I kept thinking about death and killing.
This time I had killed to protect us, but if it happened repeatedly and I grew accustomed to it, could I someday kill for selfish reasons?
I rejected the thought firmly.
I wasn't a psychopath. My thoughts had gone too far. I had no intention of becoming a deranged murderer unable to live with others.
Once a line was crossed, there was no going back.
I concluded that I had to remain resolute, and I emerged from the shock of my first killings faster than expected.
"It's a total mess. We should start by cleaning up the living room, right?"
"Yeah. Let's open all the windows and start cleaning. Seon-yeong, can you help?"
"Of course~ What do you take me for? I'm okay, Tae-sik. Don't worry."
Before entering, I rinsed my mouth and splashed water over my face, having gathered my resolve.
Pride wouldn't let me show weakness, especially when the two of them depended on me.
Once inside, I checked Ga-yeong, spoke with Seon-yeong, and assessed how she was coping.
Seon-yeong remained strong.
She took the initiative, rolled up her sleeves, and began cleaning with determination.
With her short hair tied back and rubber gloves on, she scrubbed the floor thoroughly with baking soda. The sight gave me a comfort I could not explain.
I realized that I had come to rely on her too.