Train Station (5)
“The mayor…… is dead?”
Jang Seo-yeon blinked in confusion.
“Where?”
“He got taken out by a Big Head on the way here. You know the one—the giant with the massive head, right?”
At Go Cheon-su's words, Jang Seo-yeon's face fell in panic.
“What? For real?”
“Yeah, and we're the only ones who made it on time, aren't we?”
“Well, that's true, but……!”
Guttural cries echoed from the surroundings.
Go Cheon-su pressed his advantage.
“We gotta get out of here fast. We'll board at least.”
“Uh, what?”
Jang Seo-yeon thrust out her still-lit cigarette and yelled.
“Hold up! I made a deal to bring the mayor! Without him……”
“There's that saying—if you can't catch a pheasant, grab a chicken instead.”
Go Cheon-su caught her grumbling tone and realized it for sure. At the very least, Jang Seo-yeon wasn't on the mayor's side. She was someone he could negotiate with.
“I'm from City Hall. Get us to the destination, and I'll tell you everything that's happened so far.”
“Then……”
“Yeah, I'm the only one with the City Hall intel. The deal's probably busted anyway—why not team up?”
If words failed, it'd come down to blows. Go Cheon-su tensed, waiting for her response.
-Just take her, Cheon-su.
-Too tight for persuasion.
As the roars grew closer, the City Hall viewers grew even more urgent.
With no choice, Go Cheon-su signaled Yang Min-cheol. They had to seize the locomotive by force if needed.
Just as he stepped forward—
“Ugh……”
Jang Seo-yeon flicked away her cigarette and beckoned Go Cheon-su.
“Fine, hop on! At least with you, I can still get into that bunker I was promised!”
Bunker. It had to be what Jang Seo-yeon got from the 7.5 Division.
Go Cheon-su grabbed the locomotive and hauled himself up, asking her,
“Hold on. That includes him too, right?”
That obviously meant Yang Min-cheol.
“Huh?”
Jang Seo-yeon looked troubled.
“He doesn't seem like City Hall staff.”
“So you're saying leave him behind? He's a high school kid.”
At Go Cheon-su's sharp rebuke, Jang Seo-yeon flinched. Sensing she was the type to waver easily, he doubled down.
“Even in a world like this, there are people you gotta protect. I went through hell dragging this unrelated kid here.”
-Probably Min-cheol's been through more hell tho. lmao
Go Cheon-su ignored the viewers and glared at Jang Seo-yeon. If she were the type to ignore right and wrong, this might backfire—but he'd already sized her up. Her interview and recent actions were enough.
“Damn……”
Jang Seo-yeon finally nodded at Yang Min-cheol too.
“Fine, get on.”
“Ah……”
Yang Min-cheol rushed over, grabbed the locomotive, and climbed up.
“Thank you!”
Watching him not forget his manners even then, Jang Seo-yeon awkwardly rubbed her neck.
That's when it happened.
A zombie in a military uniform appeared at the stairs.
“That guy……”
Go Cheon-su stared in shock. It was a face he knew well.
“Ah……”
Yang Min-cheol recognized him too and let out a sigh.
Jo Yong-jin. Now a zombie, he was slowly descending the stairs.
Clatter-thud.
But even that didn't last. The zombie, having forgotten he was Jo Yong-jin, got excited spotting the group and tumbled down the stairs.
Roooaaar……
Crashing at the bottom, the zombie struggled to rise, staggering.
Jang Seo-yeon didn't hesitate any longer. She dashed back to the cab and yanked the lever.
Clunk.
The locomotive began to inch forward.
The zombie still couldn't get up properly. Good thing—even as the loco picked up speed, it did nothing.
“Hyung……”
But Yang Min-cheol, pitying the zombie, sighed at Go Cheon-su.
Go Cheon-su stared at it.
Thanks.
Thanks to it, they could depart fast. Parting like this, but it'd helped as a comrade to the end.
“Huh?”
Yang Min-cheol tapped Go Cheon-su's shoulder and pointed at the stairs.
“Hyung! Someone else is coming down!”
Go Cheon-su quickly looked where he pointed.
“W-wait……!”
Men in black suits were shouting. Go Cheon-su's eyes widened.
-They're gonna be confused. lmao
-Yep, Cheon-su already took it.
The locomotive hadn't fully left the platform yet. Go Cheon-su peered through the window into the cab. Jang Seo-yeon, not hearing the shouts, stared only at the tracks ahead.
“Hold up!”
But when the men yelled again, Jang Seo-yeon flinched and turned.
“Stop……!”
The men sprinted along the platform. They were all aiming to board.
“What the hell.”
Jang Seo-yeon opened the door and stepped out.
“Stoooop!”
She spotted the shouting men—including one who looked like the mayor.
But Go Cheon-su knew she wouldn't stop. Right behind them, Silent Girls were closing in.
“Too late, Jang Seo-yeon.”
He turned her around.
“Focus on driving.”
“Huh?”
She looked flustered.
“No, people are yelling out there.”
“You wanna debate that now?”
Go Cheon-su gave her a look of disbelief.
“This is dangerous.”
“You……”
“Jang Seo-yeon, you see that?”
He pointed at the Silent Girls tearing into the men.
“They chase noise.”
Of course they'd follow if they didn't speed up.
Even the crawlers that had trailed the KTX were looping back from afar.
No time to waste.
“Jang Seo-yeon.”
Go Cheon-su urged her seriously, but she fiddled with her cap, mumbling reluctantly.
“That tall guy back there—isn't that the mayor?”
“Jang Seo-yeon.”
“Fine, got it!”
She returned to the cab with a sigh. The train rapidly accelerated.
The men's shouts grew louder in response.
“Hey, you bastards!”
Among them, Jeong Chan-guk—the mayor Go Cheon-su recognized—shouted loudest.
“You can't just leave me! Me! It's me!”
Jeong Chan-guk chased right up to the loco's tail.
“Don't you know me? Let me on!”
“……”
“W-wait, need a password or something?”
To the watching Go Cheon-su, Jeong Chan-guk blurted preemptively.
“Password's D-End…… Aaaagh!”
That was it. His noisy outburst earned him a Silent Girl grabbing his ankle.
“No! No!”
Falling, Jeong Chan-guk kicked at her, but it was futile.
“Gaaahhh!”
The Silent Girl tore into his flesh. His end came courtesy of the lumbering Jo Yong-jin zombie.
“Guh…… Ack?”
Throat ripped out, Jeong Chan-guk lost his voice. The city's mayor, never once spoken to by Go Cheon-su's group, crumbled utterly to their former comrade-zombie.
Go Cheon-su asked the viewers with mixed feelings.
“Guys, that was good, right?”
-If that mayor survived it'd be a real problem, first time seeing one handled like this. lmao
-Jo Yong-jin reevaluation time.
The reactions suggested he was on the right path. Go Cheon-su glanced at Jo Yong-jin one last time and turned away.
The locomotive sped off the platform onto the long tracks. Even as a Mugunghwa train loco, it could hit over 100 km/h easily—standing on the outer railing was risky.
Go Cheon-su grabbed Yang Min-cheol's arm and pulled.
“Min-cheol, inside.”
“Yeah……”
Yang Min-cheol looked downcast. Being young, losing a comrade hit hard.
“Whew.”
Entering the cab, Jang Seo-yeon sighed.
“You better explain properly.”
The men had begged for rescue. She clearly hadn't confirmed the mayor among them—but suspected he might've been.
Go Cheon-su knew she wanted clarification on that.
“What do you want explained?”
But he played dumb.
“Pretending not to know? He might've been there.”
“He wasn't.”
“Wasn't?”
She scowled.
“All those guys show up right when the loco's here, without knowing the timing? They were obviously from City Hall.”
“But the mayor wasn't there.”
“Ha.”
She let out a hollow laugh.
“You expect me to buy that?”
“Why would I lie?”
Go Cheon-su shrugged.
“If the mayor were alive, it'd help me too. He didn't tell me everything anyway.”
“Didn't tell you everything……?”
“Yeah. With what I know, there's not much I can do. No gain for me saying he's dead.”
There was gain. Suspicious guy. Per viewers, boarding him would've started hell. Good riddance.
“Earlier you acted like you had all the info.”
“Or you wouldn't have let us on.”
“Damn it, you keep making me the bad guy!”
Jang Seo-yeon clenched her fist and yelled.
“How long you known me to act like you get me? You know shit about me?”
“First time meeting in person, but I've seen you before.”
“What? Where.”
Go Cheon-su recited her media interview from memory. Her expression shifted.
“You…… read that?”
“Yeah. Cover to cover.”
“……”
She looked stunned. No surprise—the article had barely any comments. Far from portal headlines, she'd never imagined meeting a reader.
Only I would.
To an unemployed internet ghost like Go Cheon-su, it was prime reading.
“Whatever.”
Jang Seo-yeon adjusted her cap, embarrassed but not upset.
“Why read crap like that anyway.”
She's straightforward.
Her feelings showed plainly. Go Cheon-su relaxed. Viewers quiet too—she wasn't a problem. They'd only rushed him earlier for time.
A perfect enemy, they'd have pushed him to attack.
But……
Even if not an enemy, things to confirm.
“Hey, Jang Seo-yeon.”
“What.”
“We heading to Daejeon now?”
Per his intel, the train had to go there. Testing if she followed the route, she paused then answered.
“Yeah. You know your stuff.”
It matched. Same destination, so she eased up.
“Mind a pat-down?”
Not fully trusting yet.
Go Cheon-su tilted his head.
“Pat-down?”
“Yeah. I gotta watch ahead—if you stab me in the back……”
“W-we wouldn't!”
Yang Min-cheol protested, but she shook her head.
“Same goal, no reason to lie—I get it. You read my interview.”
“Well, the interview……”
“But I'm the engineer.”
She cut him off sharply.
“Cooperate for safe travel?”
Yang Min-cheol eyed Go Cheon-su. He shrugged.
Can't be helped.
Now to Daejeon. Cooperation essential.