Chapter 96: Shin Ga-yeong
Chapter 96: Shin Ga-yeong
Side Story 4. Shin Ga-yeong
"Aack!"
"What happened? Instructor Lee, what's wrong?"
It was the day of my yoga class.
I was attending from my usual place in the corner when Instructor Lee suddenly collapsed.
Before long, several other members collapsed as well.
When they rose again, the nightmare began.
"Hnk... How am I supposed to... sniff... do that?"
For quite some time, I genuinely couldn't gather my senses.
The expression "losing one's mind" existed for a reason.
It described me perfectly.
Blood sprayed everywhere, and savage struggles erupted all around me.
They weren't fighting with punches or kicks. The grotesque sight of people seizing others, biting them, and tearing at their flesh froze me in place.
"Hnk... Ga-yeong, pull yourself together. Run... Aargh!"
With help from the male instructor, I barely escaped the center and fled to the rooftop.
The front-desk manager pursued me while making monstrous noises, so I immediately locked the rooftop's steel door.
Even now, remembering how badly my hands shook and how the lock refused to catch makes me feel sick.
It was the most desperate moment of my life.
Bang, bang, bang—boom!
As something battered the door, I fled to one corner of the rooftop without caring that the rain soaked me.
When I looked over the railing, I realized that hell had descended upon the world.
Cars lay overturned in the road. People shoved others aside as they fled, while maddened humans attacked them.
I couldn't watch while remaining sane, so I crouched where I stood.
I spent an entire day on the rooftop, panicking and trembling.
I couldn't tell whether I shook from the rain-soaked cold or from fear.
Even when I closed my eyes, the horrific sounds continued.
I thought I would die there alone.
"Eek!"
"Calm down. I'm covered in blood because I fought the zombies downstairs. I'm human. You're safe."
My rescuer appeared the following day.
He looked grotesque, covered from head to toe in blood and carrying a baseball bat in one hand.
He was so enormous that I mistook him for a monster and stumbled backward.
Then Seon-yeong stepped out from behind him, and relief flooded through me.
Tae-sik's appearance that day still frightened me whenever I remembered it.
That was how Tae-sik and Seon-yeong rescued me.
Had I not encountered them, I probably would have died there.
They escorted me all the way home.
Before leaving the rooftop, Tae-sik repeatedly warned me about what to expect.
He must have been extremely anxious.
Listening to all his precautions and explanations only frightened me more.
His blunt tone and emotionless gaze felt like a warning that he'd abandon me the instant I became a burden.
Without Seon-yeong soothing me, I probably would have burst into tears again.
Still, once I reached home, I finally felt that I'd survived.
I also contacted my father, which reassured me somewhat.
Only then could I think clearly.
To me, Tae-sik and Seon-yeong seemed superhuman.
Seeing their strength made me think, "So this is what a real adult looks like."
I was an adult only in age. Unlike them, terror had left me unable even to stand.
I wished they would never leave, though I knew that desire was selfish.
#
"Mmph. Mmph. Mmph. Mmmmn. Mmmph!"
Strange sounds awakened me from sleep.
What could they be...?
'Moaning?'
I became fully alert in an instant.
My entire body stiffened because I feared something terrible had happened.
Tae-sik and Seon-yeong had considerately sent me to rest first.
I'd cried myself to sleep while thinking about my mother...
Could something have happened outside while I slept?
I decided to be brave.
If trouble had come, I wanted to help as well.
Thinking of the people who had saved me, I forced myself through the fear and climbed out of bed.
"Aaahh aahk!! Mmph mmph haaak"
Ah...
When I opened the bedroom door, the sounds became clearer.
I immediately realized that it wasn't the crisis I'd feared.
My face reddened for no reason, and I returned to my room.
In one sense, though, I was relieved.
Nothing dangerous had happened.
"Aah... ah ah hnnnggh... Team Leader. Team... Team Leader. Haaaak!"
But that was my parents' bedroom...
Still, they had saved my life, so perhaps it couldn't be helped.
The image of the muscular, naked Tae-sik pinning down the beautiful Seon-yeong entered my mind...
Ah. I had begun imagining it without realizing.
That wasn't my fault.
Hearing the sounds, I could not help imagining...
Did it truly feel that good?
I struggled to calm my confused emotions and eventually fell asleep again as though fainting.
Fortunately, they didn't leave immediately.
They apparently liked my home and decided to remain a little longer.
Tae-sik roamed outside alone as though nothing could threaten him.
I wanted to help, but merely recalling the first day still made my entire body seize up.
"I'll make one more trip. Is there anything in particular you need?"
"Mister, are you the Hulk? How did you carry all of this...?"
"I raised my ability and became much stronger, so it was fine. Heh heh."
"Tae-sik, please bring a power bank if you find one. Are you truly all right, though?"
An entirely new atmosphere flowed between them.
People said history was made at night.
Seon-yeong had firmly told me not to address him so affectionately...
An emotion I couldn't identify swirled inside me.
"Oh~ Tae-sik? Seon-yeong! While I was asleep? Heh heh. You're even speaking casually to him now."
"No, it's not like that. We've already known each other for years, that's all. Wh-what? Why are you looking at me like that?"
The emotion was new to me, so I teased Seon-yeong for no good reason.
I thought I felt lonely, envious, and perhaps a little hurt.
What was I thinking?
How could I harbor such ugly feelings toward the two of them...?
But that wasn't quite it either.
The truth was even pettier.
I understood only later.
Only later did I learn that people called the feeling jealousy.
#
I gritted my teeth and desperately clung to Tae-sik and Seon-yeong.
I decided to use my actions to grasp even the smallest corner of their hearts.
I couldn't bear to imagine them leaving me alone.
So I worked to become useful, even in the smallest way.
To show them that I could be useful too.
To beg them not to abandon me.
Whenever they went scavenging together, I organized the supplies.
I cleaned diligently and worked until exhaustion to make the house as comfortable as possible.
I didn't think I had ever worked so hard in my life.
And they were such kind people.
They had been complete strangers with no connection to me.
Yet they remained beside me and helped me adjust to this new world.
I took advantage of their kindness.
I did it because I was terrified of being left alone.
Unaware of my selfish heart, Seon-yeong always smiled at me.
Tae-sik patted my shoulder with his enormous hand.
Throughout all of that, the sounds continued echoing every night.
I was struggling so desperately, yet those two apparently still had energy to spare.
Annoyed, I buried my face in my pillow and fell asleep.
"Mm, thank you. Let's go, Tae-sik. Will you massage me again tonight? My shoulders hurt, and I think my legs are sore too. Hng."
"Heh heh. All right. You don't have to look so miserable. I'll do it, so let's hurry back."
During the day, their lovey-dovey behavior was almost unbearable.
Seon-yeong used an entirely different tone with Tae-sik than she did with me.
"Wow, Seon-yeong... Did I hear that correctly? Why was that so sickeningly sweet?"
I would tease her like that whenever I had the chance.
She was unquestionably a wonderful person to whom I owed so much.
Then why did she irritate me so badly?
I also began playing pointless tricks on Tae-sik.
I wore lighter clothing and deliberately showed him a more unguarded side of myself.
Whenever the mountain-sized man became flustered and stammered, I found him rather adorable.
At the time, I didn't understand my own feelings.
I told myself it was merely teasing—that their relationship irritated me, and I was reminding them that I existed too.
Apparently, that wasn't the truth.
Then came the day I pretended to be drunk and interrupted them.
The place beside Tae-sik felt warm and comfortable.
When I awakened to a hand roaming over my body, I instinctively held my breath.
Heat flooded my face, and a flutter stirred low in my abdomen.
Only then did I understand.
I had always liked the sight of Tae-sik's back standing protectively before us.
I liked the moments when our eyes met and he looked at me warmly.
I had even liked it when his large hands accidentally touched my body.
I had liked all of it.
I had truly fallen for Tae-sik, a man ten years older than me.
By the time I recognized my feelings, it was already far too late.
"Is this the place?"
"I wonder when those lovebirds will return."
Those bastards arrived while I was home alone.
"Who the hell is this bitch? I thought you said there were two. Grab her first."
"Hrk. Shield."
Thud
I tried my hardest to flee, but another man blocked me.
A nauseating odor enveloped me, my breathing stopped, and I briefly lost consciousness.
When I awoke, my entire body had been bound.
"Heh heh. The girl isn't bad-looking. No wonder that bastard kept her home and fucked her."
"Boss, that guy still hasn't..."
"You shut up. You filthy slut. It must have been nice and easy, spreading your legs and living off a man, huh?"
"Mmph mmm mmmmph!"
A stinking, filthy pig touched my head.
He repeatedly slapped my cheek with his fat, sticky hand.
I resolved that I'd rather die than let scum like him violate me.
I'd wanted so desperately to live, yet at that moment I made the decision with absolute clarity.
Once I resolved myself, though, Tae-sik entered my thoughts.
I wanted to see him only one more time...
"Why is this fucking bitch crying? What an eyesore. Let me have a taste of that worn-out cunt too. You'll enjoy it, right? Don't complicate things. All you have to do is spread your legs. Nothing changes for you—ah, except which cock goes inside. Heh heh."
"Once you pin her down properly, Boss, this bitch'll enjoy it and cling to you. But that'll take some time, won't it? Those two will be back soon, and it'd be a shame to get interrupted halfway through..."
At this rate, I'd become a hostage and only hinder Tae-sik and Seon-yeong.
I had to do something—bite through my tongue, smash my head against the wall, anything.
Tae-sik had saved this life in the first place.
My only regret was never telling him how I felt.
I had been too foolish even to understand my own heart, and now it was too late.
I waited for an opportunity.
When the fat bastard attempted to rape me, I intended to injure him however I could and then kill myself.
But Min-su, the ungrateful bastard, continued restraining him until the very end, denying me the chance.
"What the fuck?! Who the hell are you?"
No.
I screamed desperately, but my gag prevented any sound from escaping.
Because of me, Tae-sik dropped his bat and begged the bastards to spare me.
No, Tae-sik.
I'd rather die.
Please, don't do this...
Whoosh—thwack—crash!
But Tae-sik had never intended to abandon me.
Even when I'd given up on myself, he continued fighting to the very end.
He killed a man for my sake, then looked at me with unwavering eyes.
Once again, he became my rescuer.
Once again, he approached me covered from head to toe in blood.
Tae-sik was still a blood-soaked rescuer.