The Price of Betrayal (2)
“Go Cheon-su, what’s that?”
Heo Young-woong stared at the PET bottle and two glasses in Go Cheon-su’s hand, his face full of question marks.
“Oh, this?”
Despite how out of place the items seemed, Go Cheon-su answered calmly.
“It’s called the final drink.”
“The final drink…?”
Heo Young-woong looked utterly baffled.
“Why would we…?”
“You’ll see soon enough.”
Go Cheon-su held out a glass to Lee Seo-jun and Jin Kyung-ho each.
“Here, have one.”
“……”
Lee Seo-jun eyed him with obvious suspicion. Jin Kyung-ho, with his broken hand, didn’t even twitch—like he’d heard a lame joke.
“Oh, right—one of you can’t hold a glass, so someone else can feed him.”
Go Cheon-su now shoved both glasses at Lee Seo-jun.
“Lee Seo-jun, drink up.”
“W-what are you planning?”
“Drink.”
Go Cheon-su glared at him coldly.
“It’s mercy because you’ll be thirsty soon.”
“Thirsty…?”
“Yeah. So take it. Don’t piss me off.”
At Go Cheon-su’s harsh tone, Lee Seo-jun looked down, avoiding his eyes. His suspicions about Go Cheon-su lingered, but he had no strength left to resist.
Clink.
Lee Seo-jun awkwardly took the two glasses, and Go Cheon-su filled them from the PET bottle.
“Next—you know what to do, right?”
Lee Seo-jun swallowed dryly, glancing at Heo Young-woong beside him. But he offered no help.
Gulp.
With no choice, Lee Seo-jun took a sip. Then, as ordered, he held a glass to Jin Kyung-ho’s lips. Jin Kyung-ho showed his disgust but, after taking a hit from Go Cheon-su, finally swallowed a mouthful.
“Couldn’t finish it, huh.”
Go Cheon-su smirked, though not fully satisfied.
“Eh, close enough.”
“Go Cheon-su, can we head out now?”
Go Cheon-su nodded at Heo Young-woong’s question.
“Yeah, sure. But first, one more thing.”
He pulled something else from the car.
“Rope?”
“What’s that for?”
“What’re you doing?”
The cops gawked at the rope in Go Cheon-su’s hand. Ignoring them, he tied it around Lee Seo-jun and Jin Kyung-ho.
“H-hey, what the hell?!”
Go Cheon-su smiled kindly at the frowning Lee Seo-jun.
“Tying you up to drag you to the exile spot.”
“What?!”
“You didn’t think I’d just nicely escort you, did you?”
Go Cheon-su connected the rope to the car’s rear.
“All set. Let’s go.”
“Go Cheon-su, is this really okay?”
Heo Young-woong voiced his concern, but Go Cheon-su just shrugged.
“What’s not okay? Seems like a perfectly reasonable exile method to me.”
“Still…”
“Don’t worry. It’s not execution. If they die like this, it’s just natural causes.”
Go Cheon-su grinned at the excited viewers and hopped into the car first.
“You coming or not? Hurry up!”
The Jeep sped smoothly down the road from Myeongseo Elementary School.
“Go Cheon-su, this speed…”
“What? Want me to go faster?”
Heo Young-woong clicked his tongue at the reply.
“That’s not what I meant. Is this really exile?”
“Conditions are met—what’s your problem?”
Go Cheon-su floored the accelerator harder.
“Listen up, Heo Young-woong. Order isn’t kept just by following the law.”
Restraining emotions and strictly enforcing rules wasn’t the only way to maintain leadership.
“They all accepted the cops’ sense of order, even if it was hypocritical. Now it’s time for the real ending everyone wanted.”
In a way that wouldn’t terrify the civilians right in front of them.
“Gaaahhh!”
“S-save me! Help!”
Far from Myeongseo Elementary School, the sinners received their due punishment.
“You psycho bastard!”
Lee Seo-jun and Jin Kyung-ho, dragged behind the Jeep, screamed wildly.
“Stop the car! Stop it!”
“Save ussss!”
A few zombies had already started chasing them. Terror gripped the pair—they had no idea when the zombies would bite.
“Why would I stop?”
Go Cheon-su kept ramping up the speed. At over 25 km/h, the sinners were gasping for breath.
Go Cheon-su smiled at the viewers’ praise.
“If they’re scared already, what’ll happen next, bros? We’re just getting started.”
26 km/h. Now beyond a normal person’s running speed.
27, 28, 29…
“Kaaaaah!”
Lee Seo-jun drooled, spewing madness.
“I’m dying! We’ll die like this, you fucker!”
As Heo Young-woong stayed silent, Go Cheon-su stuck his head out the window.
“What?! Gonna die?! Then don’t—exile spot’s not here yet!”
There was no real destination anyway. In the rearview, Go Cheon-su saw Lee Seo-jun’s face twisted in despair.
Thud, scrape.
Jin Kyung-ho, exhausted, started dragging his feet. Not long till he fell.
“Thanks, bro. But the real fun’s now.”
He didn’t want them dragged after falling—that’d be too cruel.
Roooar.
Jin Kyung-ho lifted his head again, eyes unfocused, howling like a beast.
“Huh…?”
Lee Seo-jun, running beside him, let out a dazed sigh.
Roooar.
“Gaaah! Kaaaaah!”
Jin Kyung-ho lunged at Lee Seo-jun and bit his arm. Lee Seo-jun screamed, stumbling, and they both fell.
“Time’s up.”
Heo Young-woong finally turned, face shocked at Go Cheon-su’s mutter.
“Go Cheon-su, this is…”
“Even a little through the mouth turns you. Thought they drank the same, but Jin Kyung-ho changed faster.”
The drink in the PET bottle? Zombie blood Go Cheon-su had collected on the way back from Myeongseo Elementary School.
“Kaaaaaaaah!”
The screams from behind didn’t last long. Soon, only zombie howls battered the car’s rear.
“Heo Young-woong.”
“Yes?”
“Looks like both met with an accident during exile, huh?”
Heo Young-woong stared at him like he’d seen the devil.
“Don’t look at me like that. You kinda expected this when you asked me.”
That he’d handle what others couldn’t.
“No one left to drop off, so let’s speed up.”
Go Cheon-su slammed the accelerator, engine roaring as the Jeep shot forward. The chasing zombies’ cries faded.
After one curve, the pair on the rope vanished too.
Only the Jeep, over 100 km/h, and its passengers remained.
“……”
Heo Young-woong cautiously eyed Go Cheon-su’s profile. To him, it looked like a madman.
“Whew, rough morning.”
Back at Myeongseo Elementary School, Go Cheon-su handed off the dazed Heo Young-woong to the cops and lay down in the on-duty room again.
“That car’s pretty good. Gotta ask to borrow it on the way out. If not, steal it.”
Go Cheon-su checked his Zen.
8 Zen.
He’d expected more from offing Lee Seo-jun and Jin Kyung-ho, but it was less than hoped.
Maybe fight some monsters.
He needed as much Zen as possible. No telling what was coming—better stock up on good stuff from supply boxes.
“Hm.”
He picked up his only supply item, the flashlight, and groaned. Still no clue how to use it properly. Probably figure it out when danger hit.
Click.
To ask the viewers, Go Cheon-su flicked it on.
Click.
Off again. He repeated a few times.
“What? Can’t I just swap the batteries?”
No response. Go Cheon-su confirmed it didn’t take batteries.
Damn, wasted it.
He’d gotten his answer but felt stupid.
When crisis hits, will they warn me?
He wondered about his viewers’ favorability. A good alert could make dodging danger easy.
Of course, he couldn’t fully trust them, so time to move beds.
Viewers questioned as he headed to the car.
Not leaving yet.
This place was secure. Moving elsewhere meant no real rest, so recover here. Just shifting base to the car for quick escape.
You never knew.
“Go Cheon-su, you leaving?”
A cop approached. Go Cheon-su frowned, thinking they’d block the car.
“Nah. Why?”
“Oh, just—if you’re going, wanted to stock the car for you.”
The cop was friendly. Go Cheon-su relaxed.
“Got it. Stock it ahead of time.”
“Roger. We’ll officially give you the car, so say bye when you head out.”
Go Cheon-su sighed as the cop walked away.
“Smooth sailing feels more suspicious.”
They liked him for what he’d done—no surprise. But with unknown threats, he stayed tense.
Viewers chimed in, annoyed. They wouldn’t spoil big stuff but empathized enough.
Okay, maybe fine.
He was overreacting to info. Couldn’t rest like this—time to chill.
Go Cheon-su lay in the car carefully.
“Gonna trust you bros and relax then.”
His break time began. Myeongseo Elementary School stayed peaceful. Patrols gathered food, defenses solid. The station chief led well upon return. Even naive Heo Young-woong, battle-hardened quick, made a decent aide.
Two days passed into night.
Little more rest okay?
As Go Cheon-su dozed in the car, his eyes snapped open.
“Huh?”
Cold air seeped in. He checked the AC.
“What.”
Not from there. Scanning around, his gaze froze.
“Huh?”
His heartbeat thumped loud. Not from speakers or his chest.
“Precursor!?”
Go Cheon-su started the car. Then he saw it—behind the vehicle.