Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 012
Chapter Title: Trap
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“Are you really okay?”
Ye Ji-ah peeled off the crusted blood near the crown of his head, disinfected the spot, and stuck on a band-aid.
“I’m fine.”
“You’ve got a wound on your shoulder too. Let me at least disinfect it.”
“I said I’m fine.”
He’d refused treatment on his shoulder just moments ago too.
It was just a small cut, and he didn’t want to make a fuss over it.
“Can’t do anything with that stubbornness of yours.”
“Thanks.”
“If it gets infected, it’ll slow your recovery that much more.”
“Got it.”
Ye Ji-ah headed back to the car, and Ma Tae-beom sat down beside him.
Streetlight glow shattered by raindrops offered a brief moment of respite.
“Do you just have a lot of patience? Or is it from training?”
“It’s pain you can endure too, Ma hyung.”
“No way I could hold out.”
Maybe it was the streetlamp’s light, but the mood felt strangely soft.
Mushy, almost.
He decided to ask Ma Tae-beom the question that had been nagging at him.
“You never smile, Ma hyung. Feels like there’s a story behind it.”
“Gotta have some stories by my age.”
“Curious what story keeps you from smiling.”
“I’m more curious about you. What kind of training makes you not feel pain?”
“I just endure it.”
Ma Tae-beom nodded.
“You’re a detective, right, Ma hyung?”
If his guess was on point, that’s what he had to be.
The solid vibe, sharp eyes, observant demeanor, fighting skills.
Baek Kang pegged him for violent crimes or narcotics division.
Probably here in Busan on an investigation.
Ma Tae-beom didn’t answer and stood up.
“We should get moving. They might catch up again.”
“Dodging like a pro.”
“Good thing I’m not the one answering.”
There was no real rush anyway.
He’d find out eventually.
The wind carried not the scent of earth, but blood, seeping into his nostrils.
The car tore through the darkness.
“Oppa, how long till we get there?”
“Yangsan, so about an hour.”
“The safe zone’s definitely being set up right now?”
He answered Ma Tae-beom’s question.
“The entrances into Ulsan are blocked by Martial Law troops right now. Defy the proclamation, and they might shoot.”
“Shoot?”
“I told you what kind of guy Bang Chan-jun is. To stop the zombies from spreading, he won’t hesitate to sacrifice civilians.”
“Gotta take him out for sure.”
“Be great if you helped me out, Ma hyung.”
“I’m not that free.”
The moment would come when he opened up.
Baek Kang was certain he’d lend a hand then.
Ye Ji-ah spoke up.
“The news hasn’t updated at all. It’s so weird.”
The Martial Law Command was controlling the media to prevent public panic.
“We just need to cross into Ulsan. Don’t worry about the rest.”
“Okay.”
Song Seok-gu, behind the wheel, glanced in the rearview mirror and said,
“I still have no clue what Tae-beom hyung does for a living. He’s not National Intelligence Service like you, Kang hyung. Can’t be a pro fighter either.”
“Ignorance is bliss.”
“Knowing would be dangerous?”
“Just drive.”
“Those eyes are seriously scary.”
Ma Tae-beom’s gaze was no joke.
Even a snarling dog would tuck tail at the sight of a dogcatcher—like criminals would shrink before him.
That confirmed his hunch.
The car sped on in silence.
When they hit a mountain road, Song Seok-gu asked,
“Head up?”
“Straight up.”
“Barely wide enough for one car. This is my specialty.”
Said he had a heavy vehicle license, and damn if he wasn’t a pro driver.
About ten minutes up, thick brush blocked the path.
Place had been abandoned for a while.
“Hold up a sec.”
He got out and pushed into the undergrowth.
Tall weeds towered about twenty meters ahead.
Asphalt lay beyond them.
Long neglected, grass overgrown on both sides, but cars could squeeze through.
He parted the brush and climbed back in.
“Push through.”
“Huh? Can’t see a thing ahead.”
“Road shows up after twenty meters.”
“Trusting you, hyungnim.”
The car plunged into the brush.
Headlights turned trees and leaves into monstrous shadows.
Bok Su-jeong squeezed her eyes shut.
After twenty meters, asphalt emerged.
Song Seok-gu flicked on the high beams to check the road.
“It’s all twisty.”
“Take it slow. Two S-curves in a row.”
“How the hell do you know places like this, hyungnim?”
“Keep throwing question marks, and a period might end your life story.”
“Ugh, too scared to talk now.”
The car crept along the winding path.
Bok Su-jeong said,
“Feels like we’re heading to an abandoned house experience.”
“Ghosts might pop out.”
“No way.”
Round the corner, a big building loomed ahead.
Song Seok-gu’s eyes went wide.
“What’s that freaky building? All painted pale green.”
A chain blocked the road ahead.
The car stopped.
He turned back to look at Bok Cheol-su.
“Teacher, got a cutter?”
“Looks like construction folks used this van. Tools are here.”
“Gonna have to cut that.”
“Right.”
Bok Cheol-su pulled a heavy-duty cutter from a sack.
Construction-site gear.
He hopped out, found the chain’s weak spot, and snipped it clean in one go.
Song Seok-gu’s eyes bugged out.
“Another comic-book character joins the crew. How’s he snap that in one shot?”
“Lifetime carpenter. That’s child’s play.”
“Was shocked earlier when he swung that hammer too.”
Bok Cheol-su climbed back in, and Song Seok-gu asked,
“Uncle, you trained in martial arts too?”
“Fought a bit in my younger days.”
“Crazy how we all ended up together like this.”
“You’re the miracle. Snagged that oil drum. Drive like a pro too.”
Song Seok-gu made a sour face.
“Truth is, researchers were easy to take down. Lab had three oil drums too.”
“What’d you do to them? How many?”
“Two. Tied ’em to chairs.”
“Impressive.”
Were those two researchers dead by now?
Part of him thought they might be needed for cure research, but since they were accomplices, he pushed it aside.
The car approached the building.
Headlights lit up the pale green structure starkly.
Just like Bok Su-jeong said—abandoned house vibes.
Bok Cheol-su, headlamp on, took point scouting the building interior.
Baek Kang followed, shining his flashlight from behind.
“Looks like they used it as barracks.”
“Need somewhere clean to crash comfortably.”
“This is pretty tidy.”
Song Seok-gu’s voice from the rear.
“Feels like some cult used this place.”
“Why’s that?”
“Creepy atmosphere. Walls are pale green too. Smells like peas.”
Laughter erupted at Song Seok-gu’s words.
Now that he mentioned it, yeah, kinda smelled like peas.
Up on the second floor, several clean rooms.
“Baek Executive, this looks good?”
“Let’s check one more floor up. Higher’s safer.”
“Makes sense.”
Third floor was tidy like the second.
Fourth was dirty, fifth had lots of damage.
They picked the third for resting.
After assigning rooms, everyone gathered in one to share convenience store snacks.
“Hyungnim, no need to check the next building over?”
A single-story structure beside the pale green one.
Baek Kang knew it was the cafeteria.
“Checked it earlier.”
“What’s it for?”
“Mess hall.”
“When’d you even scope that out?”
“LPG canisters outside.”
Song Seok-gu shook his head at that.
“You guys are unreal. Am I the only normie here?”
“Nah, not a normie. Ex-Special Forces driver.”
“Not a driver. Did arctic training four times, though. Heavy license? Dad was a bus driver, got it as an investment for the future.”
“Point is, not a normie.”
He noticed Bok Su-jeong looked terrified.
“Ji-ah, room with Su-jeong.”
“Was gonna anyway.”
“No need to be scared. Just a few days’ rest, then we move.”
“Okay.”
Bok Cheol-su asked,
“Baek Executive, any new info? News is frozen—makes me uneasy. Why no word from the president?”
“President and cabinet are dead.”
“What?”
Everyone froze in shock.
“Announcement soon. Delaying to avoid chaos.”
“How’d they die?”
“Zombies hit their cabinet meeting in Busan. Defense Minister, who skipped it, is acting now.”
Ma Tae-beom shook his head.
“Country’s fucked. Why hide it? Like you said, Bang Chan-jun’s dangerous.”
“That’s why I need your help, Ma hyung. Gotta save Korea, right?”
Ma Tae-beom stood.
Evasive as ever.
“Where to?”
“Scout the perimeter. Zombies might be here too.”
“Careful.”
Ma Tae-beom left.
Song Seok-gu whispered once he was gone.
“Hyungnim, you don’t know what Tae-beom hyung does?”
“Nope.”
“National Intelligence Service guy like you could look it up, right?”
“Illegal.”
“Black Agents don’t do legal stuff anyway.”
“Doesn’t mean I can run background checks. What I know for sure: he’s not a bad guy.”
“Still, so curious.”
Then a call from Ju Kang.
“Gonna take this outside.”
“Sure.”
He stepped out and answered.
- Baek Kang, where are you?
“Near Yangsan.”
- Got a mission?
“Yeah.”
- Can’t swing by then. Heard safe zone opens in Ulju in five days?
“Yep.”
- When’s K-Sig5 opening up?
“Few more days, probably.”
Ju Kang’s mindset hadn’t changed, but he asked to confirm.
“Thought about what I said?”
- I don’t distrust the leader. But I searched—no meteor info anywhere.
Of course not.
Unobservable dark matter meteor.
Lies were necessary.
“Dark meteor, invisible to telescopes. Heard it from a Japanese meteor researcher.”
- Can’t halt construction on shaky intel. Shelter done in two months max.
“Believe me if I said I’m from the future?”
- Haha, fully trusting that scientist, huh?
“When big meteors hit Amsterdam, Texas, Moscow early next year—listen then.”
Silence lingered.
Ju Kang trusted him, so he was wrestling with it.
“Respect your thoughts, Ju Kang. I’m sure, that’s why I’m saying it.”
- You don’t bullshit. If shit hits, I’ll drop by.
“Cool, if I’ve got time.”
No surprise he didn’t buy it.
Hoped he’d believe after next year’s meteors.
Baek Kang headed back to the third-floor room.
They were chatting away.
“Teacher!”
“Yeah.”
“Ji-ah.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s talk outside a bit.”
Song Seok-gu asked,
“Why?”
“Gotta get insurance to survive.”
“Me?”
“You’re too young for that. Still spry.”
He grinned and headed out with the two women.
Prep time.
Oh Gwang-seong’s personality meant revenge was coming for sure.