Homecoming
Riding in a vehicle turned out to be nowhere near as romantic as we'd imagined.
All those abandoned wrecks littering the roads and the rubble from collapsed buildings—things that had never been a problem when we were walking around in our suits—kept blocking our path at every turn.
"Oppa, I'm sorry, but… the road's blocked again up ahead."
Standing on the cargo bed, keeping watch in all directions, I answered Yang Jin-ju's voice coming from the open passenger-side window. "Got it!" I called back, and jumped down from the truck.
I used the Walker Suit's strength to casually kick a crumpled luxury sedan that was sitting sideways across the road, shoving it clean off to the shoulder.
Just as I was about to climb back aboard, I spotted a zombie shambling toward the truck.
"Get the hell out of here, you bastard!"
I smashed my fist into its skull and sent the thing flying.
Kang Po-gyeong sat frozen stiff behind the wheel, her whole body rigid from gripping a steering wheel for the first time in ages.
I rapped on the window to put her at ease.
"Po-gyeong, relax. There's nobody on the road. What's got you so scared?"
Instead of climbing back onto the truck, I started running alongside it.
If I kept hopping on and off every few minutes, we'd just waste time.
Between the endless obstacles and the zombies that clung to us like ticks, it took twice as long as the trip out before we finally reached the familiar outskirts of Buk-gu.
Right then, static crackled through my suit's comm system, followed by a voice I was very glad to hear.
"Oppa? Oppa! Can you hear me?"
Nam Jin-ju. The link to the Shelter was back online.
"Yeah, Jin-ju! Loud and clear! We're almost there!"
"Yeong-ju unni says from here on you should come as slowly as possible!"
Yeong-ju's voice cut in right after.
"I can see you now, Seo Yeong-chan. Take it slow. I'll check whether you've picked up any tails."
Faint wind noise rode under her words.
…She's waiting outside in a Walker Suit.
I couldn't help smiling with relief. Our home still had a solid "person in charge" who worried about us and watched over us.
Following her instructions, we eased off the speed and covered the last stretch with deliberate, careful care. Home was right in front of us.
Only after full dark had settled did we finally roll into the Shelter.
The moment Yang Jin-ju, Kang Po-gyeong, and I climbed down from the truck, the tension drained out of us all at once. "We're finally here…!" we groaned, and simply collapsed where we stood.
Then, out of the darkness, came the mechanical clank, clank of armored footsteps. Yeong-ju walked into view still wearing her suit.
"You all did well. Truck looks fine too. Good work."
She said that much, then strode past us and went inside first.
"Everyone go wash up! I'll get dinner ready!"
Nam Jin-ju called out cheerfully, already heading for the cafeteria so the rest of us could rest.
Yeong-ju and I, though, headed for the support bay to stow the suits.
With a soft whirr, I locked my suit into its storage case and turned around—only to find Yeong-ju staring straight at me.
"W-what? Why are you looking at me like that?"
She looked me up and down for a second, then dropped a completely out-of-nowhere question.
"…That woman. Sim Geum-a. Is she young?"
"Huh? Uh… she said she was twenty-nine."
She crossed her arms, face settling into that familiar sulky scowl.
"…Did you do it?"
The blunt, laser-accurate question left me speechless for a beat.
Yeong-ju made a little "hmph" sound, as if she'd already decided the answer, and fixed me with a hard stare before firing the next shot.
"Protection?"
"Uh… well…"
Pinned under that overwhelming pressure, I couldn't even deny it. The truth just spilled out.
"…She took the pill. Right in front of me…"
A cold silence filled the support bay.
I had a very clear feeling that my solar plexus was not going to survive the night.
"…All right."
To my surprise, Yeong-ju simply uncrossed her arms.
I blinked at the unexpected reaction. "Wait, for real? You're not mad? Seriously?"
She gave a faint, crooked little smile, sat down on one of the support-bay chairs, and jerked her chin toward the seat beside her.
I sat carefully.
"Honestly… when I sent you there, I already figured something like this might happen."
I stared at her in shock. She continued in the calm tone of a history teacher.
"History's full of it, right? Weak groups allying with stronger ones, or trying to get something they need, by offering women or tribute. Happens all the time. Nothing new under the sun."
She straightened her posture, then gently took my hand between both of hers. Her fingers were cold, but the heat inside them was fierce.
"…I am angry. Honestly, furious.
Just thinking that some other woman's scent is on your body makes me want to run out right now and cave that Sim Geum-a bitch's skull in."
She spoke slowly, carefully.
"But… I can understand it.
Whether you started it or she was the one who pushed the protection and everything else… well, that counts as mitigating circumstances, I guess."
Then she started squeezing my hand hard.
The grip coming from those small hands was unbelievably strong.
Her voice began to tremble, as if she were holding something down.
"Listen carefully, Seo Yeong-chan."
She tightened her hold even more, voice shaking.
"Once we get those seeds and seedlings, you… you might end up with the best shot at becoming the closest thing this ruined country—no, this whole damn world—has to a 'king.'
You get that? So if more women like Sim Geum-a start hanging off you from now on? It's going to piss me off so fucking much, but… I'll try to understand."
The pressure on my hand kept climbing until it actually hurt.
"But here's the thing…"
She looked straight through me, pinning me in place.
"Even a king… only has one queen, right?"
She spoke each word slowly, deliberately, as if she meant to brand them into my skull.
"The seat next to you is mine.
Whether it's queen, first lady, or whatever the fuck else—your side belongs to me.
I can grit my teeth and look the other way if you have to give that seat to some other bitch for a little while.
Hell, if Yang Jin-ju or Nam Jin-ju end up as second or third queen… fine. I'll put up with those two somehow.
But…"
Her eyes burned colder and sharper than I had ever seen them.
"If the word 'primary wife' ever comes up even once, that seat has to be mine. No exceptions. You understand?"
Under that absolute declaration I couldn't say a word. I just kept nodding.
Yeong-ju stared at me for a long time, then finally released my hand.
She stood up and spoke in her usual curt tone, as if nothing had happened.
"Good work today. Eat, wash up, and get some real rest."
She started to leave the support bay, then paused in the doorway.
"Scrub your body—and that part—extra hard… got it?"
Then she was gone.
Alone, I sat staring at the clear red marks her fingers had left on my throbbing hand, mind blank for a long while.
When Yang Jin-ju and Kang Po-gyeong finished their showers and stepped into the hallway, Seo Yeong-ju was already waiting for them, arms crossed. Her face looked far colder and more serious than usual.
"You two. We need to talk."
She didn't wait for an answer; she simply turned and led the way toward the multipurpose room.
Confused, the two women had no choice but to follow.
Once the door closed and only the three of them remained, Seo Yeong-ju spoke.
"Everything you noticed about that bitch Sim Geum-a. Tell me all of it. Even the smallest detail."
The sudden interrogation left both of them flustered, but the Yeong-ju standing in front of them was not in a mood to allow questions or objections.
In the end Yang Jin-ju went first, stumbling through the day's events.
"At first… she looked down on us completely. Even after she saw the goods we brought, it was like, 'Yeah, we need this, but it's nothing special'…"
She continued, recalling the afternoon.
"Then the second she realized Yeong-chan oppa was the real boss, her whole attitude flipped.
She kicked us outside and said the bosses needed to talk alone…"
Yang Jin-ju carefully explained exactly how Sim Geum-a had identified Seo Yeong-chan as the leader—her sharp observation and the chain of reasoning she had used.
"She said it herself.
That it was weird for a bodyguard to stand with his back to the door, and more than that… she noticed every time we kept glancing at oppa for cues.
And… she pretty much figured out exactly why we needed a vehicle.
'Looks like you folks have somewhere real far to go, huh?' she said."
When she finished, Kang Po-gyeong added what she had seen and heard, drawing on her own experience.
"The territory she controls is far more developed than Park Seok-su's group ever was.
They've connected the buildings into proper walls and established a real sense of order and control."
"And… while Yeong-chan-nim was out of the room, she casually asked me,
'That guy in the armor—is he your man?' She even tested me, saying something like, 'A useful girl like you is wasted under a guy like that.'"
Yang Jin-ju finally brought up the most important part.
"…And that woman, Sim Geum-a… she offered Yeong-chan oppa a strange deal."
"A deal?"
"Yes. She said the bosses needed to talk alone… then the two of them were together for over three hours… and suddenly she just handed over the truck."
At those words, Seo Yeong-ju's expression froze solid, cold as ice.
She listened to both of them with her eyes closed, not moving a muscle. In her mind she was painting a picture of a woman named Sim Geum-a whom she had never met.