New Year, New Heart
New year. New mindset.
"This old man really can't read the room, can he."
A dry laugh and a sharpened barb slipped out of Sang-goo's mouth all at once.
Ji Seong-gyu's pupils dilated, and Kim Cheol-ui, still holding his wine glass, twitched an eyebrow.
"...Excuse me? What did you just say?"
"I said you can't read the room."
Sang-goo leaned deep into the back of his chair and crossed his legs.
"Military authority and exclusive rights to the industrial complex? You're calling those your conditions? Joining a government-led camp while keeping a thousand-man private army of your very own?"
"That's the bare minimum safeguard to protect my men! You think it makes sense for soldiers to give up their chain of command?"
"There's no nation left, so what soldiers? All you've got is a pack of armed men running wild. That's it."
Kim Cheol-ui's teeth ground together with an audible crack. Ji Seong-gyu stayed out of it, listening in silence.
Sang-goo's voice dropped low.
"What you're describing isn't a merger. It's parasitism. Moving inside the great host called Yeongdo-gu and living off its blood, sucking out nothing but nutrients."
"P-parasitism?!"
CRASH!
Kim Cheol-ui slammed his fist into the table in a fury. The wine bottle toppled, and red liquid bled across the white tablecloth, spreading like a wound.
"How dare you, in my own house... This is MY stronghold! Killing a single man like you and dumping him in the Nakdong River wouldn't even count as work!"
The instant Kim Cheol-ui roared, the earpieces worn by him and Ji Seong-gyu buzzed with chatter.
Presumably an armed security detail posted just one floor below.
But Sang-goo didn't so much as blink.
In fact, the only reaction came from Little Dog, seated beside him — the machine tilted its head at a curious angle.
Ziiiiing—
A small barrel rose from Little Dog's back.
A red laser pointer painted a crimson dot dead center on Kim Cheol-ui's brow.
"...!"
Kim Cheol-ui sucked in his breath. Cold sweat traced down his temple.
Ji Seong-gyu hesitated, his mind visibly churning through impossible calculations.
Sang-goo calmly righted the fallen wine bottle and spoke with lazy ease.
"Stay put, it's fine. If your bodyguards come up, a helicopter will fly in from our side and sweep them away. Just like we did to those crows the other day."
Ji Seong-gyu immediately whispered into his radio.
"Stand down."
Little Dog's red eyes flickered, and the barrel retracted. But then it multiplied the red laser from one to three, taking aim at its target's brow, heart, and throat — a deliberate display of spite.
And on the last one, the throat, it even flicked the laser off and on three times, just to be a nuisance.
"Y-you... insane..."
Good boy, good boy — okay, that's almost too good.
Only after Sang-goo let out a small chuckle did Little Dog retract the laser.
"Let me ask you one thing."
With the room quiet again, Sang-goo had seized control of the conversation.
"This power you're so desperate to hold. Command authority, exclusive rights, all of it. While you were clutching it, what did you actually give your men?"
"What...?"
"I saw it walking in. Your people's uniforms are falling apart, and their eyes are hollow. Five thousand troops staggering around because you can't even feed them properly. Is that a commander? Or just an alley-boss? Honestly, your real fighting strength isn't even a quarter of that number — the rest are mostly the sick, the elderly, the infirm, aren't they?"
Under the barrage of facts, Kim Cheol-ui's lips trembled.
"I... I did my best! Surviving this hellhole, holding out this long between the zombies and the crows — that alone is a miracle!"
"I grant you that. You're no ordinary man. Facing the crows for so long while still looking after your people, suffering through it all. That's exactly why Yeongdo-gu has a place ready for you."
Sang-goo turned his head toward Ji Seong-gyu, seated at his side.
"What's your take, Search Captain Ji Seong-gyu?"
"......"
"Like your Corps Commander says — set up a separate household inside Yeongdo-gu, hoard supplies, live divided and watching each other's every move. Is that the way to serve your men? Or would it be better to put the title down and let them eat their fill and sleep in peace?"
Ji Seong-gyu pressed his mouth shut.
His gaze drifted toward Kim Cheol-ui.
On any other day, he would have taken the Corps Commander's side and lashed out at Sang-goo — the loyal subordinate through and through. But now, he was silent.
And Kim Cheol-ui could not have missed what that silence meant.
"Hey. You. Ji Seong-gyu..."
Kim Cheol-ui's voice shook.
The moment he realized that even his most trusted right hand had turned against him, his shoulders sagged visibly.
He was no longer the roaring Corps Commander. Just an isolated old man.
Sang-goo didn't let the opening slip away.
He had swung the whip; now it was time for the carrot.
"Let's make a deal."
Sang-goo held up three fingers.
"First — military authority will be unified under the Republic of Korea government in Yeongdo-gu. The current leadership is Director Yoo Dong-seok, formerly of the National Intelligence Service, and Team Leader Baek Sang-jin. There are active-duty officers and NCOs from special forces backgrounds as well, so you needn't worry on that count."
"......"
"Second — the industrial complex's production facilities will be opened in full. In place of Corps Commander, I'll recommend you for the post of Factory Chief, or something equivalent. You can take it yourself, or nominate someone you trust. Rations and privileges naturally scale with the position."
This much, Sang-goo judged, was the best the Yeongdo-gu government could reasonably offer.
Hand over too much more, and the day they moved to unify the factions of other cities beyond Busan, negotiations would drag and buckle. Clear as day.
Though, of course, none of it would be possible without Sang-goo and his strength.
"And the last, third one. Amnesty."
Sang-goo raised his wine glass and extended it toward Kim Cheol-ui.
"That much I can guarantee. Whatever was done in the past, no questions asked. Not just for you — for every single one of your troops."
Kim Cheol-ui lifted his head.
"The people running Yeongdo-gu now aren't the old squabbling politicians. They'll recognize your efforts properly and repay them, so you can trust them. You've suffered long enough — spend your later years being honored instead. Wouldn't that be better?"
An offer to take off the crown in exchange for a comfortable sofa.
It was the last rope that could snag both rabbits at once — survival and honor.
Sang-goo rose from his seat.
"This is my final offer. Either you accept it, or..."
Sang-goo's eyes glinted cold.
"...you fight it out with everything on the line, like the crows did."
Sang-goo glanced at his watch and said flatly.
"I'll give you five minutes."
Time to choose.
With trembling hands, Kim Cheol-ui took the wine glass Sang-goo had offered.
He looked at Ji Seong-gyu. Ji Seong-gyu nodded without a word — as if to say, It's time to let it go, sir.
Kim Cheol-ui let out a long, deep sigh.
And with that sigh went all the stubbornness and obsession he had clung to for so long.
"...Very well."
Kim Cheol-ui drained what little wine remained in one gulp.
"I accept your offer. Only — don't let my people starve."
"This is an offer from the Republic of Korea government. In any case — you've made the right choice."
Chiiik—
Just then, Team Leader Baek Sang-jin's voice crackled out of Sang-goo's radio.
"Sang-goo, you okay? Want us to fly over now? What's the call?"
Sang-goo looked at Kim Cheol-ui as he answered.
"It's settled. Get ready to receive guests. Oh, and before that."
Sang-goo turned to Ji Seong-gyu.
"We'll send the medicine over first. Ohsung General Hospital — let's go together later."
After a few more exchanges over the radio, the closed main gate of the Iron Corps swung wide open.
VROOOOM—!
Kicking up clouds of dust, a dozen-odd trucks and buses snaked single-file into the complex. Trucks flying the Taegukgi.
"Wait — that's..."
The eyes of the Iron Corps soldiers and residents gathered in the open lot went round as saucers.
The truck beds, packed to the rails, carried not guns or ammunition.
Sacks of white rice, combat rations, canned goods, and first-aid kits stenciled with the word MEDICAL SUPPLIES.
"Get off! Unload carefully!"
Yeongdo-gu personnel climbed down from the trucks and began unloading the supplies.
"This is... all of this, what..."
Ji Seong-gyu, listening to the radio chatter from his men below, murmured as he looked down over the rooftop railing.
Sang-goo had already ridden off on the Dark Knight.
"We haven't... even signed the merger yet. He hasn't packed a single moving box, but the supplies came first? Without even inspecting our armory?"
Kim Cheol-ui wore the same look of disbelief.
It was beyond common sense.
The proper order of things was to verify the other side's disarmament first, take hostages, and only then dole out rations drop by drop. That was the world they lived in — a world where no one trusted anyone.
And yet Yeongdo-gu had cut flesh from its own body and sent it over first. No conditions. No collateral.
Simply because his meeting with Boo Sang-goo, who had come in the capacity of the government's proxy, had ended.
"Hahh..."
Kim Cheol-ui laughed hollowly, the strength gone out of his face.
"What on earth... have we been doing all this time?"
His gaze settled on the Yeongdo-gu personnel busily hauling food, and on his own men cheering at the sight of them.
"They were waiting over there to help us... while we puffed up like frightened alley cats, bristling and growling. God, it's embarrassing."
Kim Cheol-ui's face flushed red. All that blood he'd raised defending his power — now it all felt impossibly small and shabby.
Just then, Ji Seong-gyu spoke quietly.
"Let's call it the nation extending the hand of reconciliation first, this time."
"......"
Then it happened. A call came in from the men below, and moments later, the guest arrived on the rooftop.
A broad-shouldered middle-aged man in a tactical vest. Team Leader Baek Sang-jin.
Unarmed, he strode forward with easy confidence.
"Good day! I'm Baek Sang-jin, representative of Yeongdo-gu. I've come to pay my respects to Corps Commander Kim Cheol-ui."
"Ah, pleased to meet you. I'm Kim Cheol-ui."
Baek Sang-jin snapped to a crisp salute.
It was not the posture of a victor toward the vanquished. It was a meticulous, sincere gesture of respect — one senior soldier honoring another.
Caught off guard, Kim Cheol-ui returned the salute.
"I've wanted to meet you, sir. You've endured so long, watching over this many people all on your own. On behalf of the nation — thank you."
Baek Sang-jin clasped Kim Cheol-ui's hand firmly in both of his.
Faced with that earnest gaze and warm grip, Kim Cheol-ui and Ji Seong-gyu could only smile in embarrassment.
"Heh heh, well... even discharged, a soldier does what a soldier must. For whatever life I have left, I'll keep giving my best for the country."
"Thank you, sir. Then — let's put the business talk aside for a bit and start with a meal. We're planning tteokguk, rice cake soup, loaded thick with beef."
"Tteokguk?"
"It's Lunar New Year, isn't it? We all grow a year older together, and we start the new year with a fresh heart — together."
Baek Sang-jin laughed heartily.
And at the sound of that laughter, the tension that had pressed down on the Iron Corps for so long melted away like snow in spring.
Ji Seong-gyu looked at Kim Cheol-ui.
"Isn't this what we fought to survive for? Let's feed our people first."
Ji Seong-gyu's eyes had gone red at the rims.
Kim Cheol-ui nodded. Deeply, and with perfect ease.
"Yeah. Let's eat first."
At that same moment, the Grand Hotel in Yeongdo-gu.
Slurp— mmph.
Sang-goo sat at the table, inhaling the steam rising off a bowl of tteokguk.
Silky bone broth, chewy rice cakes, and thick slices of beef heaped on top like a crown.
A perfect bowl.
"Mmm... now that's the stuff."
Sang-goo drained the broth to the very last drop and patted his belly.
Warmth spread through his whole body, and a pleasant drowsiness came rolling in.
He flopped onto the soft bed.
"Aigoo. Poor old bones."
Only now that the tension had drained away did the fatigue come flooding after it.
Geumji New City. The Iron Corps.
The complicated business was mostly settled.
The fine details were for the powers that be to sort out on their own.
Seok-woo's situation, Ohsung General Hospital, cleaning up the rest of Busan — all of that could wait.
For now—
"Don't care. Time for a nap."
While everyone else rang in the Lunar New Year in loud celebration, Sang-goo started his new year the easy way — with a peaceful afternoon sleep.