Banished Across the Han River
After stopping by the morgue to drop off the bloodstained kitchen knife, Jaejeong headed to the main gate of the boundary zone with the doctor, where the food trucks came and went.
The case was all but wrapped up, but the Work Leader's stubborn denial until the very end nagged at him.
Just in case.
He planned to check if the coagulated blood inside the knife matched the victim's blood type.
It might take a few days, but he had to do everything he could.
Wrapping it up cleanly was the best outcome for Jaejeong too.
By the time the two arrived at the gate, an uncountable crowd had already gathered.
People buzzing and murmuring around the Work Leader, tied to a chair.
The doctor stepped forward a few paces in front of them.
The crowd fell silent the instant they saw him.
No one had demanded quiet, but they shut their mouths as if on cue.
The doctor looked down at the Work Leader bound to the chair.
With eyes drier than a desert.
His emotionless face made everyone watching squirm uncomfortably.
His gaze shifted back to the crowd.
"As you all know, the body found by the riverside belonged to one of our boundary zone workers. And the murderer who killed him is right here."
No sooner had the doctor's words ended than the crowd erupted in murmurs and chaos.
"The investigation was handled by the lead detective, who served as an active violent crimes officer right up until the virus outbreak. The results: the tool used in the crime was found in the Work Leader's home, and witness testimonies point directly to him. So, we're deciding his punishment right here, right now."
"Kill him the same way!"
A booming voice cut through the crowd's rumble.
"Kuhuhuhu…."
Hearing it, the Work Leader grimaced through his blood-matted face and laughed.
The sight of the murderer's smile sent people recoiling in horror, pointing and jeering.
"A guy like that doesn't deserve a quick death! Throw him outside the outer wall and let the zombies chase him down!"
"What if he bites someone else on the way? Just shoot him!"
That was when it happened.
"Not to speak ill of the dead, but that victim wasn't exactly a saint either! If anything, good riddance, I say!"
The area fell silent again at the man's words.
Everyone wore thoughtful expressions.
"Bad behavior doesn't justify murder! That's not right!"
"That's not what I meant! How many people did that asshole screw over? Cutting in line at mealtimes was the least of it—he'd curse out anyone who stood up to him even a little!"
"Cut it out, man. Look, that gang over there is glaring. You're gonna get us in trouble."
Someone tried to rein him in, but most were already fired up, dredging up old memories.
Jaejeong, listening, glanced at Beom-sik standing with Gaon.
Beom-sik's eyes burned like they could ignite any second as he stared down each speaker, committing their faces to memory.
Maybe there were too many to argue back against.
Even Beom-sik's brothers on the crowd's edge clamped their mouths shut.
The doctor gathered opinions again.
"From what I've heard, we should settle on the method of punishment first. Too many people to poll one by one, so with me as the center: left side for execution, right side for alternatives. Move now, please."
After a moment of hesitation, the tens of thousands began to disperse.
The execution side and the alternative side balanced out evenly.
Counting heads would settle it, but plenty still lingered in the middle.
The doctor addressed them.
"Those in the center now—abstentions?"
Voices rained down like arrows from both sides.
"If we let this slide, it's basically open season to kill each other. We gotta block that at least. Come this way!"
Still, some dithered.
"Killing a killer makes us killers too. Better to exile him outside. Think about it! You wanna be murderers?"
The word "murderers" hit home.
The hesitant ones' eyes flicked to the right-side group.
Swept up in the mood, they trickled over one by one.
Looking down from the sloped gate, the right side clearly outnumbered the left.
The doctor raised his right hand.
"No objections? Then we'll go with an alternative. Now, regardless of where you stand, voice your punishment ideas freely!"
The crowd murmured briefly, then a few loud voices steered the consensus naturally.
When people formed a mob like this, a few voices dominated, and without opposition, it stuck.
Jaejeong thought, eyeing the doctor.
It could have turned chaotic, but making them physically split diffused it brilliantly.
Impressive guy.
Dividing them left-right wasn't hard, but controlling the masses like it was an order? Remarkable.
He scanned the crowd.
Even amid clashing views, no one resisted the doctor's words.
Then.
"Kuhaha! Krhahaha!"
The bound Work Leader suddenly threw his head back and cackled madly.
Blood-soaked, spittle flecked with gore spraying as he laughed—it was chilling.
The crowd watched in silence.
"You idiots dancing to that snake-tongued bitch's tune, deciding my punishment? You fucking morons! I'll decide my own end!"
A torrent of curses that no sane mind could fully process drowned him out.
"Me!"
A roar unbelievable from his near-death state exploded from his mouth.
"You think I had it easy here? You think I lounged around alone? While you slept, rested—I was out grinding! Be grateful!"
The Work Leader didn't stop.
Regardless of rebuttals, he bellowed on like a beast.
"All the tough calls? I made them, you dogshit bastards! If I'd left it to you, you'd all have lost your minds! How many died so far? I shouldered that blame alone! You filthy hypocrites…."
His resonant voice echoed off the outer wall like thunder.
Was it his brazen killer's poise, or lack of counterarguments?
The crowd answered with silence.
The doctor, who'd watched quietly, stepped right up to the Work Leader's nose.
Then whispered so only they could hear.
"Shut the fuck up before I kill you myself, you worm. I could hack off your limbs right here."
The one being the Work Leader dreaded most.
The sole person he believed no one should cross in the safe zone.
The doctor's blade-like warning carved into him.
Even in this doomed state, you'd expect some backtalk—but he went mute.
The doctor turned back to the crowd.
"No more opinions?"
Then, a woman raised her hand.
Lee Yeon-hui.
"Speak."
"Don't send him outside the wall. Just being on the same land as that creep gives me chills. If you're exiling, send him across the river."
"Yeah, that's better!"
Backed by Yeon-hui, many nodded in agreement.
"Across the river it is, then? No objections—execution now."
The doctor's voice rang out.
No dissent from the crowd.
At his gesture, waiting soldiers cut the ropes and dragged the Work Leader away.
And so the trial-without-a-trial ended.
Jaejeong and Youngman followed the doctor to a bunker behind the tower linking to the riverside.
Soon, the three reached the bank overlooking the Han River.
Gazing at the steady flow, the doctor said to Jaejeong.
"Good work. Soldiers will bring the Work Leader shortly."
"Yeah. Lucky we caught him."
Jaejeong replied halfheartedly.
The execution felt too rushed.
He'd expected at least a day in holding to plan the exile properly.
More than that, he hated the unilateral decisions without consultation.
Ordering him around like a dog when it suited.
"Look… hoping it never happens again, but if it does, handle it faster next time. This dragged on too long. Wasn't worth all this fuss."
Jaejeong's face twisted oddly at the doctor's words.
"Then do it yourself."
"Pardon? Did I hear wrong?"
The doctor looked up at Jaejeong.
"No, you heard right. If it's too slow, handle it personally."
"…As I said, I'm busy with other matters."
"I'll handle those. Didn't look that hard."
"This isn't a fight."
Before Jaejeong could retort, the doctor stepped right up to his nose.
Then prodded the doctor's chest with a fingertip.
"You're not my boss or anyone. Don't try to leash me half-assed. If you wanna keep playing armband boss…."
"You can't talk to me like that."
Jaejeong sneered a whisper at the doctor's deliberate enunciation.
"Why not? Who the hell are you? Maybe when I first got here. Think you can still push me around? Watching this safe zone, I've realized—you need me. Absolutely. So keep your distance. From now on, we're collaborators, nothing more."
With that, Jaejeong stepped back.
In truth, the doctor had been testing control here.
The classic way: chew out subordinates to squeeze better performance, the results you want.
Probing at the right moment.
Agreement here, and Jaejeong would've been his puppet.
But it backfired.
Cold eyes on Jaejeong, the doctor glanced at Youngman behind him, then looked away.
Clunk!
Right on cue, the bunker hatch opened. Soldiers and the Work Leader emerged on the bank.
Behind them, burly men dragged something massive.
Jaejeong peered: wooden outer wall panels lashed together.
Surplus stacked everywhere—repurposed as a raft.
Confirming the raft, the doctor said to the two, face unperturbed by the earlier clash.
"Boats are too luxurious, so we're using scrap wood for a raft."
"Smart. Boats are overkill."
Youngman nodded approvingly.
The men floated the raft; it drank water briefly from the weight, then buoyed up.
A single bottle of water accompanied the Work Leader atop it—that was all.
Soldiers shoved rifles at him; the doctor waved him off.
Grabbing a plank for an oar, the Work Leader turned back.
Staring straight at Jaejeong.
Grinning wide, yellow teeth bared.
A mocking sneer at Jaejeong.
The raft began drifting away.
"Armed soldiers will stand watch until he crosses fully. No funny ideas. Like you might, detective."
Eying the receding raft, the doctor murmured passing Jaejeong and Youngman.
And in that instant.
"Doctor! Something's heading this way!"
Every gaze on the bank snapped to the soldier aiming at the raft.
There, slicing fiercely through the rapids under the broken overpass, a speedboat approached.
Infected People