Dreams of an Eternal Throne
A few days later.
The safe zone, having restored its power, began expansion work right on schedule.
Thanks to the experience from the previous expansion, things proceeded smoothly and without a hitch.
Every available item that could be used—Anna's firecracker arrows, flares, smoke grenades, and more—was mobilized in full force.
From the upper floors of the Tower, Assemblyman Kwon Jeong-woo and the doctor watched the overall situation unfold.
Yeouido still crawled with a massive number of zombies.
Every time a flare or firecracker burst, an unbelievable horde would swarm in—numbers that seemed impossible for this confined area.
Kwon Jeong-woo, who had been silently observing, finally spoke.
"How about the navy side? Still nothing?"
"Yeah. No contact since then. I have no idea why."
The doctor spoke to Kwon Jeong-woo casually, as if addressing a subordinate.
It was a completely different demeanor from how he appeared to outsiders.
Kwon Jeong-woo asked the doctor,
"You're not having second thoughts, are you?"
"What second thoughts? The only option is to get us out of here."
"True enough. But something just feels off. Not that it matters much."
The doctor stared at Kwon Jeong-woo steadily.
"Why's that?"
"The airborne unit that went for the serum still hasn't reported back. I can't help wondering if they've teamed up with the navy. If that's the case, we'd be better off dying out there."
"No. That won't happen."
"How can you be so sure?"
Kwon Jeong-woo asked with a puzzled look.
"Think about it. They're soldiers, just soldiers. Even if they secured the serum and changed their minds, what could they possibly do on their own? Even if they contacted China, they couldn't guarantee their safety. They're not politicians, and they don't have the numbers. Who's to say the other side won't just take the goods and screw them over? We'll hear from them soon. It's the airborne unit, after all."
"If it goes that way, nothing could be better."
"It will. Let's keep positive thoughts."
"Got it. But wherever we end up, we have to bring those people with us. That's what gives us value."
Kwon Jeong-woo, gazing at the distant survivors swarming like dots, spoke gravely.
"Jeong-woo."
The doctor, his face devoid of emotion as he looked at Kwon Jeong-woo, continued.
"I get it—the stress you're under, the anxiety. All of it. But that's how the world works. Even when you think it'll go one way, it doesn't. So we have to at least think positively."
"Funny hearing that from you, Uncle."
"Yeah. It was something you used to tell me all the time."
"But Uncle, honestly, I don't know. This safe zone I planned and built? I don't want to leave it. There was a moment when I thought that."
"What kind of thought?"
Kwon Jeong-woo stared out the window with unfocused eyes and continued.
"I wished the serum had never existed. Then I could be king here. Forever."
As the doctor started to reply with a worried expression, Kwon Jeong-woo cut him off without giving him a chance.
"It was just a moment. A very brief one."
"Haa... Jeong-woo."
The doctor grabbed Kwon Jeong-woo's shoulders as he sank into sentiment and made him face him.
"Our safety comes first. You know my personality. No matter what, you and my son are my top priority. Nothing ranks above you two. I'd do anything for you. We survive first. Then we can talk about being king or emperor."
"Right. Let's do that. But..."
Kwon Jeong-woo wore a strange expression as he pushed away the doctor's arm gripping his shoulder.
"Of course we survive. But how we survive matters too. Did you forget why I infiltrated the air force to rescue those hotshot Japanese politicians? When they reached out first, using the immune serum as bait, I already had it all mapped out in my head. Every situation up to now."
"...Yeah. You've grown up. All grown up, my nephew."
The doctor had known Kwon Jeong-woo since he was a child.
Having had kids late in life, he doted on his one and only nephew.
Of course, he wasn't the type to show it openly, but he always tried to give him everything he could.
Still, there were times he felt afraid.
To the doctor, family was a tight-knit barrier bound by love.
That's why he was the kind of person who didn't care what mask he wore or what act he put on, as long as it was for his family.
But his nephew Kwon Jeong-woo was different.
Kwon Jeong-woo tended to see everything as a means to an end.
To him now, the survivors were merely tools to build his own kingdom.
And the serum was just one step in that process.
Kwon Jeong-woo said to the doctor, lost in thought.
"What if—just hypothetically—the serum vanished? What would you do, Uncle?"
"Hmm. What do you want to do?"
"There are two options."
"Two options?"
The doctor asked with curious eyes.
"One is moving to the next plan. The other is just drawing blood from anyone and calling it serum."
"I don't get either."
The doctor frowned.
What was this next plan? And what did he mean by drawing blood from just anyone?
"If we have to leave this country, we survive by claiming any blood is serum. Who cares if it's real? As long as they believe we have it."
"Fine, say that's one. What's the second plan?"
"I've thought about it alone. If the serum's gone, it sounds crazy, but I'd like to stay here. It's not so bad."
"Stay here and do what?"
"Second safe zone, third safe zone. We could even fortify all of Seoul. Early humans survived among beasts stronger than them. They made it this far somehow. And we have civilization on our side, even if it's half-collapsed."
"I can't raise my son in a world like this."
The doctor stared straight at Kwon Jeong-woo as he spoke.
Kwon Jeong-woo, who hadn't averted his gaze, gave a faint smile.
"Right. Just like you've been a father to me, Uncle, I should be that for my cousin. I'll keep it in mind. That kid means a lot to me too. Oh, how's the virus research going?"
Kwon Jeong-woo asked, recalling the lab the doctor was running.
"We're working on it. Needs time, and more test subjects."
"Worth holding out some hope, then. If you can't do it, no one can."
"Yeah. We don't even need full development. Just a lead, and we won't have to go to China. Just like you want."
Kwon Jeong-woo nodded.
As the doctor said, even with side effects, a vaccine would let them stay on the peninsula.
But vaccines don't appear overnight.
So the doctor planned to cling to any possibility that emerged.
Looking down at the survivors, the doctor thought they all stood at a crucial crossroads.
"Oh, and you're keeping tabs on those people? Han Jaejeong, Kang Youngman."
Kwon Jeong-woo said, hearing firecrackers popping somewhere in the distance.
"They're cooperating so far."
"We have to turn them into our people, no question. Their presence is growing too big as time goes on. I saw it a few days ago—how people are reacting. Treating them like heroes."
"No issues yet. They're just doing what they're told."
"It's weird when you think about it. What would we have done without them? Was it all leading to this? Anyway, if they become obstacles at a key moment, we try whatever it takes, and if it doesn't work... you know."
Kwon Jeong-woo looked up coldly at the doctor, who nodded instead of replying.
"And from yesterday's report, it seems the infected are mutating again. If something like that shows up during the expansion in Yeouido, capture one alive for confirmation."
"Already ordered it."
Kwon Jeong-woo let out a hollow chuckle. "But is that even possible? Water balloons, crazy moms."
The doctor shook his head. "It's a nonsensical virus from the start. No mutation would surprise me."
"True. But... Uncle. If we'd moved a little sooner, would things be different?"
Kwon Jeong-woo murmured, gazing at the silent Seoul skyline.
"What do you mean?"
"If we'd sealed off all of Yeouido just one day earlier... would we have more breathing room?"
The doctor recalled their initial arrival in Yeouido.
One day earlier, Kwon Jeong-woo had already helped the Japanese politicians escape.
The serum was the payoff.
But on the day they were to receive it, the virus exploded, forcing them to flee to Yeouido.
If they'd moved one day sooner as Kwon Jeong-woo suggested—handed over the serum and sealed Yeouido—the situation would have been much better.
At least better than now.
Kwon Jeong-woo continued.
"At first, I laughed at those people abandoning the country over one virus. Proved what I thought. But now it's even funnier. I'm the same. This virus... it makes everyone think alike when they face it. Running is the only answer."
"It's not your fault."
"Haa... right. Is all this coincidence? Thinking about it just makes me laugh."
The doctor held his tongue.
He didn't believe in coincidence.
Everything had cause and effect.
Coincidence was just a word weak humans invented to deny their frailty.
The navy's radio silence, the airborne unit's disappearance, Han Jaejeong and his group showing up at the safe zone, the mutating virus, the rescue op, the blackout.
Without Han Jaejeong, would the rescue have succeeded?
The team, with no prior monster knowledge, might have all died.
The blackout too.
Without them, no one would have thought of sewers or firecrackers.
It was like a perfectly scripted play.
To the doctor, these weren't coincidences.
In the end, it wasn't fate or chance—just results of choices.
Change the perspective, and it all made sense.
They built the safe zone, so others came seeking shelter. It endured, so problems arose.
That's how the doctor saw it.
Meanwhile, looking down at the bustling expansion work, Kwon Jeong-woo murmured poetically.
"You said it earlier, Uncle. You'd do anything to protect family."
The doctor nodded.
"I'd do anything for my goals. Fail, and I can't protect my family—or myself."
"True enough."
"So we have to watch the soldiers closest. Keep the pressure on, monitor them. Tell them to quit yapping about landing ops or whatever."
"But if we end up staying in Seoul, it'll have to happen eventually."
"Sure. But I give the orders. Not them. Me sending them versus them wanting to go—big difference. What do you think soldiers with military command would feel, breaking away from us?"
"Who knows. As long as they don't coup, we should be grateful."
"A coup? In this situation?"
"Right now, yeah, nothing to gain. But time passes, things change. Think ahead, Jeong-woo. Plan for the inevitable."
"Really? We hold the key to international relations. Even if they hate the Tower, no coup because they need me. Unless the president shows up."
Kwon Jeong-woo's face was full of conviction.
The doctor started to argue but gave up.
They didn't hold the key—just knew the serum's whereabouts.
Change owners, change keys.
But he thought leaving it be wasn't bad.
That confident air projected strength to others.
That's why the soldiers didn't act rashly.
The doctor rationalized it that way.
"What about the division commander?"
"Ah... the division commander."
Kwon Jeong-woo stroked his chin.
They'd allowed him to stay in the Tower for surveillance.
He probably never suspected the cameras and mics in his room.
Having received steady reports on him, Kwon Jeong-woo pondered briefly before speaking.
"Seems very interested in the warehouse and serum. Let's use that against him."
"How?"
"Depends on how he plays it."
The doctor nodded.
Then he looked down at the survivors deep in expansion work.
To hide the current crossroads, the safe zone spun constantly at full speed.
No—he'd made it that way.
Did they know?
This theatrical setup—assigning roles, dividing zones, doling power to a few—could collapse overnight.
His choices had always been the best.
He'd never doubted.
So he had to live by them.
Suddenly, his son's face flashed in his mind.
His son, cooped up in the Tower, complaining of boredom, those eyes piercing his thoughts.
He gritted his teeth.
Donning an invisible mask once more.
To deceive even himself.
Infected People