Flaring Tempers
“Hey……”
Han Jaejeong, lost in thought, turned his head.
Lee Yeon-hui, sitting across from him, was staring right at him.
Before answering, Jaejeong closed his eyes with a weary expression.
“What?”
“Team leader… no, never mind. What should I call you?”
Yeon-hui shook her head as she asked.
“Call me whatever’s comfortable.”
“Got it. We’ll figure that out later. But back there in the crisis, I saw someone who just stood around doing nothing. Don’t you think it’d be better to assign weapons or roles that suit each person?”
At her words, Jaejeong’s eyes snapped open.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Exactly what I said.”
Despite Jaejeong’s flat reaction, Yeon-hui blinked her big eyes and spoke calmly.
“There’s no one here who just sat around.”
Instead of replying, Yeon-hui rolled her eyes toward Anna sitting behind her.
Jaejeong let out a hollow laugh.
“You worry about your own shit. If shooting’s too hard, learn from the others. Your forehead’s all swollen anyway.”
“Well, stuff like this gets easier with time……”
“Hey.”
Anna’s voice stabbed from behind, cutting Yeon-hui off.
“Hey? You’ve been getting mouthy all day.”
“Then act like a big sister. Look at you, strutting after firing a few shots. Stuff it in your tits instead. What are you, gum stuck to the asphalt?”
“Are you fucking insane?”
Whether Anna’s words acted as a trigger or not, the fired-up Yeon-hui shot to her feet.
Anna stood up right back, not backing down.
Yeon-hui looked up, Anna looked down—the difference was a full head.
Youngman and Minyoung watched worriedly, while the Squad Leader looked like he’d be a perfect audience member if only he had some popcorn.
Jaejeong, by contrast, didn’t twitch, eyes closed.
Anna, aware of the height gap, sneered mockingly.
“What? Gonna do something about it?”
“Apologize.”
“For what?”
“Keep talking shit and you’ll really die, you know.”
A chilling killing intent flickered in Yeon-hui’s eyes.
It was threatening enough to make an ordinary person flinch, but Anna didn’t give a damn.
“Talking shit? When did I talk shit? Oh, pissed about the padding? Now that you mention it, you’re short too. Must be nice being so petite. Just sit down before I squash you.”
“Try it. Useless without arrows, that’s you. Right now, your whole existence is a fucking troll. Got it?”
“And what about you? What’ve you done to get here? And don’t think I didn’t see. Second Bro died because of you!”
Yeon-hui narrowed her eyes at Anna’s words.
Then she tilted her head, as if baffled.
“Why’s that on me?”
“You just stood there like an idiot when the zombies came. He died saving your ass. Right? But you didn’t tell anyone, just ran off to save yourself, you trash.”
Anna remembered clearly.
When they’d been climbing the stairs following Jaejeong, Yeon-hui standing there blankly as zombies charged.
She just hadn’t realized Second would die for it.
“He threw himself in front. What was I supposed to do? Did I ask for help?”
“You fucking psycho!”
As Anna’s hand rose, Youngman and Minyoung across from them both leaped forward.
“Anna, hold it. Why fight among ourselves?”
Minyoung hugged Anna and dragged her toward the back of the train.
Meanwhile, Youngman was sweating bullets calming Yeon-hui, who wanted to chase after her.
“What the hell? Weekend drama? Was just getting good and they cut it off.”
The Squad Leader, watching from the side, muttered regretfully.
Then his eyes met Jaejeong’s glare—he’d popped them open wide—and he cleared his throat awkwardly before turning back around.
“Ahem! Damn, pushing it wore me out. Gotta catch some shut-eye.”
The Squad Leader ignored the stare boring into his skull and closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, at the back, Anna wasn’t calming down anytime soon.
“Sis, you heard what that bitch said.”
“I know, Anna. I’m upset too. But right now, we need to stick together. Even if she started it, just let it go this time.”
“Just leave her be?”
“Once we’re somewhere safe, I won’t care if you kill her or not. But right now, everyone’s exhausted and beat. You’re worn out too—your eyes are all puffy from crying. So hold it in just this once. If you’re right, everyone’s view of her will change eventually. Especially after the shit she said. That’s enough for now.”
Anna clutched her head and bowed it at Minyoung’s soothing words.
Call it apocalypse aftershock.
The stress building bit by bit was exploding uncontrollably.
“You’ve done great so far. Without you, people would’ve died multiple times over— I know it, everyone knows it. So don’t let some stranger’s words hurt you. She’ll figure it out in time. That she was wrong about you.”
Minyoung kept consoling her without pause.
Was it working?
Anna, who’d been tearing at her hair, lifted her head.
Clack-clack, clack-clack.
All around was just the sound of the train wheels and wind.
“Sis.”
Anna’s voice, now calm, cut through the noise.
“Yeah. What is it?”
Minyoung met her gaze.
Her bloodshot eyes looked complicated, tangled with all sorts of negativity.
“What happens to us now?”
Minyoung saw herself reflected in those moist eyes.
A deep abyss that seemed ready to infect her at any moment, but Minyoung didn’t look away.
“Yeah. What will happen?”
“We’ll all die off one by one until someone’s left alone. Could be me, could be you.”
“Anna……”
Minyoung looked at her with pity.
Anna seemed soul-eaten by death’s shadow, utterly dark.
“We’ll all die in the end. Just like before. And it’ll keep going, one by one.”
“No one knows that.”
“Sis. Stop forcing hope. Look at our reality. They say the past shows the future. It’ll just repeat. Might as well all die together……”
“No. No one’s dead. We’re all alive. Jaejeong oppa, Hyun-soo, Dad, you, me. All alive.”
“Yeah, alive. But everyone else is dead.”
“Who? Who died?”
“Gangster bro and Gaon… fuck, this sucks. What do we do? They’re so pitiful.”
Anna’s face twisted, thick tears streaming down pathetically.
“Anna. Think straight. You think that guy dies easy? Gaon too. Where else is there a kid that sharp? Look me in the eye. Am I wrong? Did you see them die?”
Anna shook her head weakly.
“Then they’re still alive. You didn’t see them die. Even if they’re not with us, alive is alive. Isn’t that what you want?”
“I’ve tried thinking positive. But no matter what, it doesn’t feel like they made it.”
With that, Anna squatted down and sobbed miserably.
Minyoung, watching, felt her own nose sting red.
But she clenched her fists tight.
If she broke down crying here, Anna’s despair would infect her too.
Trembling fingers be damned, Minyoung brutally held back her tears, wiped the faint ones away, and spoke.
“Sounds cold, but I don’t give a shit if the Squad Leader or that Yeon-hui woman lives or dies. So exclude them. Think about the people who died for you, who died in your place. Sure, grateful, but they weren’t our team. Not our people. If you feel guilty for everyone who died instead of us, it never ends.”
Even at Minyoung’s calm monologue, Anna just kept crying wordlessly.
“To me, our people are the ones who fought crises with me to the safe zone. The ones who helped my lone dad get to the hospital, who guarded the rooftop while I handled survivors alone, who stepped up to scavenge food with me. Just them.”
Minyoung paused, took a deep breath.
Cold air swept through her stuffy chest.
“Right now, we just don’t know one person’s fate. Not knowing means it’s up to our faith. Dad always told me: faith starts before you see it. That’s what gives it power. So I believe he’s alive. Like I said, that guy doesn’t go down easy. So toughen up. Don’t care about randos—think of us only.”
With that, Minyoung pulled Anna into a warm hug.
* * *
Hyun-soo found the engine room and pulled down a chair on the wall opposite the driver’s seat, sitting.
The Ticket Attendant, silently driving the train, brightened at Hyun-soo’s arrival—his expression lighter than before.
Hyun-soo noticed the man’s face was drenched in sweat.
Aftershock from the zombies swarming from all sides, no doubt.
He’d had to face their ugly mugs head-on.
Luckily, once they picked up speed, things quieted down.
Zombies drawn by noise couldn’t even touch the train.
“How old are you?”
The attendant glanced over from the driver’s seat.
“Twenty-five.”
“Nice. Prime of life.”
The attendant grinned enviously at Hyun-soo.
“Yeah, prime time and look at this mess.”
“Still, compared to those who went first, we’re lucky.”
“True enough. Speak casually, sir. Or bro? Anyway, treat me easy.”
Hyun-soo was flexing his social skills as always.
The attendant laughed out loud, clearly liking it.
“Haha, alright? How old you think I am?”
“Dunno. Bro vibes. You look young.”
“Haven’t married. Couldn’t.”
“Nah, you just didn’t. What’s wrong with you? Marriage ain’t mandatory these days. Living free’s the best.”
Listening to Hyun-soo’s old-world talk, the attendant’s face twisted into a bitter smile. Reality slipping away, maybe.
“These days, huh… Yeah, let’s think that way. You? No girlfriend?”
“Why bother? Too busy solo in this world. Me, dream was to make bank and do whatever with family.”
Talk turned to family, and the convo stalled.
Under the awkward silence, Hyun-soo cleared his throat.
“So bro, where we headed?”
“Dunno. Till the boss says stop, I guess?”
“Boss?”
“You know, the big guy.”
“Oh, Jaejeong hyung?”
“That’s Jaejeong?”
“Yeah. Han Jaejeong. Come to think, you don’t know my name. Lee Hyun-soo. The white-bearded guy’s Kang Youngman, next to him is his daughter Kang Minyoung, the one with the big bow’s Anna. And the gangster… oh, not here. The other two, dunno.”
Hyun-soo almost slipped and said Beom-sik.
Maybe that’s why.
His eyes grew gloomy without him realizing.
Adults leave a void, they say.
Beom-sik had always fought beside him in crises.
Since leaving the safe zone, Hyun-soo felt an immense emptiness.
Beom-sik had been that natural a presence.
“All met at the safe zone?”
The attendant, sensing the mood, tried changing the subject.
Hyun-soo’s face brightened at the question.
“Nah, too long a story. Met outside, ended up going to the safe zone together.”
“Really? Stuck together from outside? Hard to keep a group like that from scattering in panic.”
“Yeah. But they’re all great people. You wouldn’t believe how we survived.”
“How was it?”
“Just… amazing.”
Hyun-soo’s wry smile made his eyes look sad somehow.
Infected People