Chapter 97: Shin Ga-yeong (End of Part 1)
Chapter 97: Shin Ga-yeong (End of Part 1)
#
"Could you hold me for a moment...?"
After that incident, I began approaching you first.
Because I had truly fallen for you.
Just as you had never given up on me, I wanted to do something too.
Whatever it might be.
But you, completely oblivious, simply lifted me as though I were a child.
That wasn't what I meant.
I wanted you to hold me as a man holds a woman...
I knew I shouldn't, for Seon-yeong's sake.
I kept telling myself not to, but whenever I stood before you, the words slipped out before I knew it.
Whenever I stood before you, I found myself acting spoiled.
I used words I had never used with my friends and acted cute.
Sometimes I even disgusted myself.
My feelings wavered several times a day.
Then, one day...
"Ga-yeong. Are you okay with this?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
While you were away, Seon-yeong called me over.
"You're crazy about Tae-sik. I'm asking whether you're really okay leaving things as they are."
"It's not like that... Hng..."
"Oh, please. Save that clumsy cutesy act for your 'Mister.'"
"Ow! That hurts, Seon-yeong."
The day I belatedly realized my feelings and regretted it.
The day you refused to give up on me and fought to save me.
After that, my feelings for you spread like wildfire.
But I liked and respected her too.
I couldn't hurt her.
"I'm the one this hurts more. Stop pouting."
"..."
"Sigh... Ga-yeong. Do you know something?"
"Tae-sik needs to see this side of you..."
"Tsk!"
Beautiful, capable, and dependable Seon-yeong.
Where had someone like her come from?
I was afraid of what the clever Seon-yeong was about to say.
I tried to brush it aside as I had before, but this time she was determined and wouldn't let it go.
"Love and sneezes can't be hidden."
"I'm sorry..."
I knew. My feelings were painfully obvious.
I was the villain here.
"If you sit around doing nothing, one of the others will make a move first. The looks in their eyes are no joke. Are you really okay with that?"
"Hic... Then what am I supposed to do...?"
"Oh, come on. I put all that thought into what I said, and that's your response? Get over here."
Tears welled up before I knew it, but she pinched my cheek again.
Then she said that was enough, pulled me into a hug, and spoke quietly.
"Just lie down. All you have to do is get naked. He'll handle the rest."
"No way... You know how much he likes you."
"Want to bet? Do as I say. Don't wait until you regret it. You can't drag this out any longer."
"Seon-yeong..."
"What, you brat? Get out now."
I felt deeply sorry toward her and endlessly grateful.
When I tried to say more, she shooed me out.
How much pain must she have been hiding?
This was all because of you.
From then on, I decided I'd believe her even if she told me the impossible was possible.
Because when I stripped and lay down, things unfolded exactly as she had said.
"You're out?"
"Mister..."
"Huh? Why are you coming out looking like that?"
In an unfamiliar house, memories of my father made me sob uncontrollably.
In the end, I showed you a pathetic side of myself.
Panic seized me.
If I let that moment pass, you'd forever see me as a little sister—or even a daughter...
So, swallowing my embarrassment, I undressed in front of you just as Seon-yeong had advised.
I didn't know whether I had made it seem natural.
I even worried you might see through my clumsy attempt at seduction.
"My breasts... They're too small, aren't they...?"
"No. They're beautiful."
Ah... but it didn't matter.
I couldn't believe what was happening.
You gazed at me with affection in your eyes.
"Don't get too tense. Relax your body. I'll be gentle."
"Okay... I'm fine."
Truthfully, I wasn't fine.
It felt as though I were burning below.
It was uncomfortable and overwhelming, with a sharp, stabbing pain.
Yet why did even that make me so happy?
"You were already precious to me, even without sex. So don't think that way."
"Hic... Okay. Aah... Harder. Please, harder. Hold me."
That was how I shared my blissful first time with you.
You weren't only tall, either, so I ached for quite a while afterward.
Those days, I was so happy.
Because I could openly show you affection and let you hold me.
A few days earlier, I remembered something I had seen in a porn video and, despite my embarrassment, tried copying it.
I lay on a Shield and slowly spread my legs to show you, and your eyes nearly spun in their sockets.
"See? It's all about how you look at it."
"Hng... That's not the same..."
I loved the heated look in your eyes as you gazed at me.
"Aaaah! Haaah... N-no. Not there. Eek! Stop. Seriously, Mis— hic, hic, aaah... S-stop. Stop..."
"Hah... This is insane. Fuck... Urgh."
I loved the cute expression you made after filling me completely.
I loved it so much that I showed another embarrassing side of myself, but no one could have endured pleasure like that.
Whenever our bodies joined, both my body and heart felt full.
And Seon-yeong had kept this all to herself every day while complaining about how exhausted she was.
I secretly began to resent her a little.
So I, too, had begun quietly telling you over and over that I loved you.
It still didn't seem to have sunk in, but I couldn't help being happy.
Maybe someday... you'd love me too.
#
But had I been too happy?
Then great misfortune struck us.
Zombies, a boar... and people who had turned into monsters.
"Manager Lee. Manager Lee!"
"Urgh... Seon-yeong? What happened...?"
"It seems Tae-sik brought Manager Lee back from somewhere. We don't know the details yet..."
"What about the Director? Don't tell me... he's out there all alone?"
Manager Lee, whom you had rescued, regained consciousness and spoke.
We were too flustered to hear the full story.
Following your instructions, we evacuated into the apartment and brought him with us.
"Everyone, we have to go out and help him. It's our duty, and the only way to repay what we owe him."
He was right.
We could not simply hide inside. We had to go out immediately.
To help you and repay your kindness, we all rushed out of the apartment together.
I tried to reach you, but the zombies blocked my path.
I had to help.
I had to help, but...
Help...
"Director! We have to deal with that boar too."
Then, all at once, I came to my senses.
"What is going on...?"
You were recklessly charging into the midst of the zombies.
The other women were also fighting them haphazardly, without any formation.
Something was terribly wrong.
I remembered the time we had previously fallen victim to a mental ability.
It seemed Manager Lee had manipulated all of us.
Please, Mister. Snap out of it.
"Shield."
I quietly sent you a signal.
Thankfully, Manager Lee's ability didn't seem to work well on you.
You immediately came to your senses, assessed the situation, and hurled your baseball bat.
Whoosh. Thwack.
Manager Lee collapsed again, and everyone regained their senses.
But by then, our surroundings were already in chaos, and the crisis was far from over.
We joined forces and began fighting the zombies around us.
Then I saw the enormous monster boar charging toward us.
Overwhelmed by terror, my body froze weakly, just as it had before.
I couldn't...
"Mister!"
Once again, I ended up relying on you.
You threw yourself at the monster and saved us yet again.
You were always the only one risking your life in battle.
"Stab him, quickly!"
No. That wasn't true.
You weren't the only one.
The other women were already risking their lives as well.
Before I knew it, Eun-mi had been bitten by a zombie.
"Eun-mi... Hic... No. I can't do it."
Like a child, I wanted to run away again.
I wished everything were just a dream.
I hated my weak self so much.
Then a black shadow swooped down on Seon-yeong.
No. This couldn't be happening.
"Ga-yeong!"
You called my name desperately.
Although I had only practiced it a few times, I recalled how high you could jump.
"Shield!"
I deployed it in a rush, but managed to place it at the right height.
I saw you seize the giant heron's leg beneath it.
"Kyaak... Ah..."
While I looked away for only a moment, Su-jin was bitten as well.
With no way to protect our bodies, we were far too easy a target for the zombies.
If only I had deployed more Shields. If only I had kept a clear head...
Eun-mi grabbed Su-jin by the nape, charged forward, and began shoving the zombies back.
She threw herself into the fight without holding anything back.
So-ra, Deok-hun, and even Ji-yu were all fighting...
As I watched them, tears began flowing before I knew it.
There wasn't even time to hesitate or be afraid.
And now there was nowhere left to run.
Why had I alone found everything so frightening and unbearable?
I no longer had time for regret or self-loathing.
A sharp scream rang out from the sky.
"No!!!"
Before I knew it, I was leaping upward while creating Shield after Shield.
I was the only one who could save her from the fall.
My body moved before I could think.
I saw you receding into the distance with the Monster Heron, but I knew you would return.
That was when I realized I was now the only one who could save everyone here.
"Shield!"
It was already far too late, but...
I would become their savior.
I might be lacking in many ways, but I wouldn't run away.
* Creation: Shield
* Multiple Creation (90), Strength Increase (45)
* Available Points: 13
* Ultimate: Salvation
Clutch!
"Seon-yeong! Wake up."
"Urgh... Shield."
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
I caught the falling Seon-yeong, and we plummeted together.
I kept creating Shields, but they shattered helplessly under the impact.
Still, they slowed our fall considerably, and at the very end we landed safely on a Shield that Seon-yeong had barely managed to deploy.
"Ga-yeong, I cleared a path. I'll take care of her."
So-ra hoisted the unconscious Seon-yeong onto her back.
Deok-hun continued firing his ability at the monster boar.
Kuwaaahk!
Eun-mi and Su-jin had now turned into zombies.
Ha-na and Ji-yu stood in their path.
Unable to bring themselves to thrust their spears, they could only hold the two back with pieces of the collapsed barricade.
"Ji-yu. Go to So-ra together with Deok-hun."
"What about you?"
Ha-na silently showed them the back of her hand.
A bite mark was stamped into it.
"Ah... What do we do..."
So-ra's eyes shook violently at the sight.
And Seon-yeong still hadn't regained consciousness...
"Everyone, gather together! Shield, Shield, Shield..."
Blood began running from my nose, but I didn't stop.
I sealed the alleys with Shields and sent everyone back into the apartment.
Everyone except Ha-na.
"Ha-na..."
"Ga-yeong, I know this will be hard, but can I ask you to see it through to the end? Eun-mi and Su-jin wouldn't want to remain like this either."
"Yes. I'll... Hic... Ha-na..."
Thud.
As though her time had run out, Ha-na collapsed to the ground.
Eun-mi and Su-jin lunged at me.
No.
They were no longer the women I knew.
All that remained were zombies.
The only thing I could do was...
I picked up your baseball bat from the ground.
May they escape this hell and find peace.
Whoosh. Thwack.
Blood soaked my body.
This was something I had to do.
I tightened my trembling hands around your baseball bat.
Please give me courage, Mister.
When I stepped back into the apartment, everyone was staring at me in tears.
And Seon-yeong lay on the floor...
The wound in her side was severe.
"The Shields won't last much longer. Everyone, head upstairs."
"What should we do?"
"First, let's move higher and get away from that monster and the zombies."
Once we disappeared from sight, the zombies should stop pursuing us.
The boar also appeared to be on its last legs.
In the fifth-floor hallway, So-ra and Deok-hun agreed to watch the situation through a window.
"Ji-yu, I'm going to use my ability now. If anything happens, go outside and tell them."
"Why...? Hic... What are you going to do?"
"I'm only using my ability. Stop crying and pull yourself together. It'll be all right."
As Ji-yu sat crying on the floor, I saw myself in her.
I quietly hugged Ji-yu, then approached Seon-yeong where she had been laid down.
Her face was pale and bloodless.
Her hands were covered in wounds.
I gave Ji-yu a small smile and took Seon-yeong's hand.
Tae-sik.
I trust that you'll return.
Seon-yeong.
This time, I'll save you.
"Salvation."
- End of Part 1 -