Paying the Fare
Once everyone had left the room, the captain dragged over a folding chair and sat across from Go Cheon-su, opening his mouth to speak.
"Do you know something?"
His first question was blunt as hell.
Go Cheon-su let out a hollow chuckle and shot back. "Know what?"
"Soldiers."
The captain's face hardened. "The way you looked at me when you said that word—it was sharp."
"Hm."
"Maybe I was reading too much into it..."
"Nah, you're right."
Go Cheon-su admitted it straight up. "I put some emphasis on it on purpose."
"Ah, figured."
"7.5 Division."
There had been Air Force personnel too, but Go Cheon-su knew what mattered in this convo with the captain were the other soldiers.
"Captain, have you ever heard of them?"
"...No way."
The captain's face lit up with shock. "You're a soldier from the 7.5 Division?"
"Nah, not me."
That confirmed it for Go Cheon-su. The captain had definitely been in contact with the 7.5 Division at some point.
"I just know about 'em. Got tangled up with some of their guys on the way to Pohang."
"Ah."
"How do you know about the 7.5 Division, Captain?"
At Go Cheon-su's question, the captain flinched for a split second.
"Well..."
"Hard to talk about it since I'm not one of their soldiers?"
But there was no need to worry. The 7.5 Division troops who'd made it to Pohang were already royally screwed anyway.
"Think simple. Even if they were gonna board this ship, it already sailed without 'em, right?"
Any deal they'd made was broken now regardless.
"Telling me won't change a damn thing. Just spill it to someone who knows about the 7.5 Division—lighten that load on your conscience."
The captain swallowed hard at Go Cheon-su's words. Hesitation lingered on his face, but soon enough, Go Cheon-su got the story.
"They said they'd secure the ship."
The captain sighed heavily. "We were almost at Pohang, and they needed a ride."
"You just happened to overhear that?"
"'Happened to' might be the word."
The captain's expression turned a bit cagey as he continued. "I was looking for soldiers myself."
"Soldiers...?"
"Yeah."
The captain spread his arms wide. "You saw the state of this ship on the way up, right? It's been overrun by monsters for ages."
Go Cheon-su had definitely clocked that. Sprawled bodies and variant zombies everywhere.
"So I was hunting for a military unit. Needed someone to clean the ship up. Even when I was communicating, most of the crew had vanished."
Go Cheon-su furrowed his brow at the captain's explanation.
'Someone to clean up the ship.'
But docking somewhere other than a destination could invite unnecessary risks. In fact, this ship hadn't even tied up at the pier. Ironic for troops supposedly boarding.
"It was weird, though. The soldiers I talked to just said they'd handle boarding themselves, so stay nearby."
"Just 'stay nearby'?"
Go Cheon-su tilted his head at the captain, who was adding details like he was making excuses.
Go Cheon-su glanced at the chat and sighed softly.
'Huh, yeah, you're right.'
Communications from the ship would use the vessel's system by default. Linking up with the 7.5 Division unit from Cheongju beforehand didn't add up.
'No way...'
If there were other 7.5 Division troops in range of the ship's comms, that sent chills down his spine.
"Well, in the end, no soldiers boarded," the captain said glumly.
Go Cheon-su sighed at the sight of him. "Yeah, looks that way."
No 7.5 Division grunts got on, so nothing more to say. A bit of unease lingered, though.
"One thing, though."
Go Cheon-su held up a finger. "Leaves a question."
He got why they needed soldiers to clear dangers inside the ship. But why was he the only one in the know?
"You sent the crew packing at my request without a peep, so you didn't tell them about the comms."
"That's..."
"Why not?"
The captain waved his hands in a panic. "N-no, I did tell them."
"You did?"
"Y-yeah. Just said they were regular Navy."
Odd answer.
"Meaning you knew the unit you talked to wasn't exactly normal."
"Hoo."
The captain let out a deep sigh. "Yes."
"How'd you know?"
The captain paused before answering Go Cheon-su's question. "They said they had to board this ship to Jeju to accomplish some great feat..."
"..."
Anyone would've gotten suspicious hearing that.
Go Cheon-su was dumbfounded. "Wait, hold up."
Normally, you wouldn't even consider letting them on.
"And you were still gonna pick them up?"
"No choice."
The captain's voice cracked suddenly. "This ship won't last much longer."
He dropped that bombshell, stood, and fiddled with nearby controls.
'What the hell.'
As Go Cheon-su stared, wondering what he was doing, the captain tinkered with the helm and several panels before throwing his arms wide and yelling.
"See?! The machinery isn't working right!"
Desperation etched his face. "Not totally dead, but not normal!"
"..."
"The ship's in no shape to operate!"
Go Cheon-su just watched him.
He didn't know what was touched, true. But he wasn't just sitting idle.
'Starting to get a feel for this.'
Go Cheon-su stood, grabbed the captain's shoulder, and said, "Captain, calm down."
Watching the worked-up man, he'd pieced something together. "Tell me slowly what's wrong."
The captain had sensed the 7.5 Division wasn't legit but still tried to pick them up. There had to be a reason for that irrational move.
"What were you hoping soldiers would fix?"
He needed to hear that. That was the key.
"That was...!"
The captain balled his fists, locked eyes with Go Cheon-su, and said, "I wanted them to clear the lowest deck."
"Lowest deck?"
He'd heard soldiers were needed for ship issues. But "lowest deck" was new.
"What's down there?"
"The engine room."
The captain clenched tighter. "Before comms cut out, the chief engineer radioed from there."
"Radioed?"
"Monsters were rampaging down there."
Got it. Go Cheon-su instantly grasped the captain's intent.
'Ah, so that's it.'
Monsters swarming the engine room had caused the problems. The captain heard the chief's last call and figured without clearing it, the ship was toast.
"If we don't go fix it, this ship's done. Luckily, one engineer who was elsewhere made it back alive."
The captain grabbed Go Cheon-su's hand pleadingly. "Please. Take him and sort out the lowest deck."
"Me?"
"Yes."
To the hesitant Go Cheon-su, the captain pressed on desperately. "You're the only one. The only one who boarded alone and made it here alive..."
"Please."
The captain stared at Go Cheon-su with desperate blue eyes.
Go Cheon-su didn't mind the expectations, but he couldn't help groaning softly at the captain.
'This just got a headache.'
The captain doing this meant he knew even lifeboats wouldn't get them to safety. Fixing the ship was essential for survival. And he was dumping that burden on Go Cheon-su.
"Captain."
Go Cheon-su brushed his arm away. "Isn't this a bit much for strangers?"
They'd barely exchanged greetings minutes ago.
"Sure, I'm a pro at impossible jobs, but still."
He needed time to assess.
"S-sorry. I spilled everything and got rude..."
"It's fine."
Go Cheon-su waved off the apologizing captain and shook his head. "I said it's a stretch, not that I won't."
Boarding meant trials ahead—he'd expected that. If it was about getting the ship moving, he couldn't just bail.
"I'll talk it over with the crew and decide."
Not long after, the crew returned.
"Water here."
Song Hana handed a bottle to the seated Go Cheon-su. The others still eyed him warily.
"Thanks."
He took it and chugged, then glanced at the bottle.
'Chilled.'
Definitely from the fridge.
"Driver."
Park Chang-sik, back with the crew, responded. "Listening."
"How'd it look out there? This deck."
Song Hana said it was safe, but he wanted details from the group.
"Bulkheads down blocking corridors everywhere."
Park Chang-sik gestured like he could see them. "Seems like dangerous paths around here are sealed tight. Limits where we can go—lounge at best."
"Enough food and water?"
"Yeah. Bathroom too, so no worries after eating."
Go Cheon-su turned from the joking Park Chang-sik to nod at the captain. "Captain, time to tell the crew too, right?"
No more secrets.
Under Go Cheon-su's nudge, the captain cleared his throat awkwardly.
"What? What's up?"
Song Hana eyed the captain curiously. The others did too.
"Well..."
The captain glanced at them nervously and started talking.
'Eh, whatever.'
Go Cheon-su tuned out the repeat story. Waste of time.
The captain asking for help directly as leader? He didn't care about the crew's reactions. They weren't freeloading anymore.
"Shop window."
No plans to sit bored till they finished. Recalling the alert on the way here, he muttered softly.
'...?'
A new item had popped up in the shop window.
'What the.'
It was something Go Cheon-su hadn't expected at all.