Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Ambush
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"You three. Pack your things."
The tense atmosphere hanging in the lobby shattered in an instant.
"Um... what do you mean..."
"Are you too stupid to understand? I'm taking these three with me. If you've got a problem, speak up now."
I slowly scanned Kang Min-woo and the men standing behind him.
Their expressions were a sight to behold.
Anger, injustice, fear.
The men's gazes were especially blatant. Their eyes were fixed on Han So-hee.
Even caked in grime from not washing, her idol-perfect features couldn't be hidden. In this dingy, stinking motel, she must have been the one shining flower.
I could guess what fantasies those bastards had about So-hee every night without even looking. They'd been drooling, waiting for a chance to make a move someday.
And now some outsider rolls in to pluck that flower? No wonder their guts were twisting.
Pathetic losers.
All desire and no power or guts to back it up.
"I... I'll go."
Kang Min-ju was the one who broke the silence.
She was biting her lip so hard it drew blood. Glaring at me with venomous eyes, yet she obediently moved to pack her things.
Quick on the uptake, or did she have some other scheme?
"So-hee, Ye-jin, pack your things too."
At Kang Min-ju's nod, Han So-hee jolted out of her freeze and scrambled to move. I Ye-jin glanced at me cautiously before edging backward.
The three women scattered to gather their belongings.
"Hey... isn't this too much? Taking our family like..."
One man mustered the courage to mutter his complaint.
I swung the gun barrel toward him.
"What? Speak up, I can't hear you."
"...Nothing."
The man hurriedly bowed his head.
A moment later, the three women reappeared, each with a single backpack.
They didn't have much, judging by the light loads.
"Ready?"
"Yes..."
Han So-hee mumbled in a tiny voice. She still couldn't meet my eyes.
Kang Min-ju stood with arms crossed, defiant. I Ye-jin watched me with an oddly excited expression.
"Let's go."
I nodded to Sua. She was still tense, gripping her baseball bat tightly.
We headed out of the motel.
Kang Min-woo and the men's stares burned into our backs. I heard mutters of curses and spitting on the ground, but no one followed.
Before the absolute power of a gun, even rage is powerless.
The sun was setting.
We had to hurry. Nightfall would make visibility a nightmare.
"No running. Walk fast, and keep quiet."
I took point, Sua right behind me, the other three women following.
I glanced back occasionally to check the line.
Han So-hee looked shaky on her legs, barely keeping up. Kang Min-ju walked silently, scanning our surroundings warily. I Ye-jin stared holes into my back.
'Can I really bring all these along?'
Doubt flickered through my mind.
Han So-hee was a lock. An idol with that face? Irreplaceable. And her fear made her easy to handle.
Kang Min-ju. Her temper was no joke. The fire she'd spat at me back at the motel, the venom radiating off her now—she was like a ticking bomb. But crush her spirit in the bunker with raw force? Watching a high-and-mighty bitch break and beg would be thrilling.
I Ye-jin was the problem.
She knew about the bunker. And she had a history of betrayal.
Begging for her life now, but who knew what she'd pull if things went south.
'Handle her here?'
The woods were quiet. One shot, done. Zombies would clean up the body.
But I didn't pull the trigger.
Taking her along and watching wouldn't hurt. My bunker had a cell. If she tried anything, lock her up like before, use her as a toy, then toss her.
We moved along the forest path.
I kept checking behind until the motel vanished from sight.
Detoured a bit just in case Kang Min-woo's crew tailed us.
Thankfully, no one followed. Cowards, the lot of them.
"Phew..."
Familiar scenery emerged.
The mountain entrance to the bunker.
The zombie horde that had blocked us earlier was gone, scattered. A few stragglers wandered, but no threat.
"Almost there."
I whispered to Sua, and her face lit up.
We pushed through the brush toward the camouflaged entrance.
Finally, the bunker's steel door came into view.
"Whoa..."
A gasp escaped I Ye-jin. She'd seen it once before, but it was still overwhelming.
Han So-hee and Kang Min-ju looked stunned too. Never imagined a fortress like this smack in the mountains.
I waved at the CCTV camera.
Whirr-
The door slid open like it was waiting. So-yeon and Ji-eun must've been watching the monitors inside.
"Come on in."
We entered the bunker.
The primary blast door sealed shut, cutting us off from the outside.
Only then did everyone exhale raggedly, tension easing.
"Oppa! You okay? Hurt anywhere?"
"Sua safe too? The lights?"
So-yeon and Ji-eun rushed out from the stairs to the first basement level.
They froze at the sight of the three unfamiliar women behind me.
"Huh...? Who...?"
Ji-eun's eyes went wide.
"Guests. Say hi."
"Three of them...?"
So-yeon frowned.
"Oppa... isn't that too many? I'm worried..."
"It's fine. Plenty of resources, and more hands are better. Take the lights first."
I brushed it off with the bag of lights.
"Let's head down. I'm starving."
I sent So-yeon, Ji-eun, and Sua ahead.
"You three, go fill the tubs first. These girls are a mess."
"Got it, Oppa."
The three chattered as they descended the stairs.
Now it was just me and the new trio.
I turned to them.
"This is where you'll be staying. Welcome."
As I moved to head down the stairs, Kang Min-ju—who'd been sticking close behind—made a suspicious move.
A bad vibe hit me, but I was too slow to react.
Thwack!
"Guhk...!"
A brutal shock slammed my groin.
A nut-shot.
Pain like my balls exploding surged through me. I reflexively dropped the gun and curled on the floor.
"Oppa!"
Sua screamed from ahead on the stairs.
Kang Min-ju snatched the fallen rifle in a flash.
Her eyes gleamed.
"Ha, you dumb fuck. You just show your back like that?"
She aimed the barrel at me.
The situation flipped in a heartbeat.
"Hey! What are you waiting for? Subdue this bastard quick!"
Kang Min-ju yelled.
"I've got the gun! We're in charge now! Tie him up!"
Han So-hee and I Ye-jin froze at her shout.
Han So-hee collapsed, trembling like a leaf. Her face showed she couldn't process it.
I Ye-jin rolled her eyes.
Glancing between me and Kang Min-ju, she backed away slowly.
"I... I didn't..."
"You fucking idiots! This is our chance! Kill him and take this place!"
Kang Min-ju shrieked.
But Ye-jin knew what I was.
She'd sensed it instinctively. If snatching one gun ended it, I wouldn't have been so careless.
Then Sua from the stairs below flipped out and charged.
"You crazy bitch!"
Sua raised her aluminum bat high.
"Stay back! I'll shoot!"
Kang Min-ju panicked, swinging the barrel toward Sua.
"Shoot! Go ahead, try it!"
Sua didn't stop. Her eyes blazed with fury.
Kang Min-ju pulled the trigger.
Click.
It didn't fire.
"Wha...?"
Kang Min-ju's face drained white. She yanked the trigger desperately several more times.
Click, click.
Still nothing.
"Why... why won't it..."
Safety on selector.
I always set it to safe inside the bunker or safe zones. No way a chick who never served knew that.
"Phew... that it?"
I pushed off the floor and stood slowly.
Pain throbbed bad, but I could bear it. Adrenaline drowned it out.
"N-no..."
Kang Min-ju stumbled back.
I closed the gap in a blink.
"Urk!"
I drove my fist into her solar plexus.
No mercy for traitors.
Kang Min-ju gagged "Guhk..." and crumpled to the floor. The gun clattered down.
I scooped up the rifle and grabbed her hair, yanking her head back.
"Phew... fun, huh? Real fun."
My voice was ice cold.
"Ambush right on entry. I'll give you points for guts."
"Guhk... cough... you... motherfucker..."
Even in agony, Kang Min-ju glared. Her venom was impressive.
I turned to Sua—who'd closed in—and So-yeon and Ji-eun staring blankly from the stairs.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"Huh...? Oh..."
"Take those two and head down to wash up first."
I nodded toward I Ye-jin and Han So-hee huddled in the corner.
"W-we didn't do anything... really..."
I Ye-jin whimpered. Han So-hee was half-fainted already.
"I know. That's why I'm telling you to wash up."
I dragged Kang Min-ju by the hair down the stairs.
"Guhk... let go! Put me down!"
She thrashed, but couldn't break my grip.
Past basement 1, down to basement 3.
The iron-barred cell.
Where I Ye-jin had been locked briefly before. Empty for ages.
I flung open the gate and tossed Kang Min-ju inside.
"Kyaa!"
She tumbled across the cold floor.
"Cool your head in there. You'll need some training."
"You bastard! Let me out! Where you going?!"
Kang Min-ju grabbed the bars and screamed, but I ignored her and locked the door.
Clang.
The lock clicked shut.
Turning, I saw Sua, So-yeon, and Ji-eun hovering with Ye-jin and So-hee.
"Why'd you come down here?"
"We were worried... Oppa, you okay? That place..."
Sua eyed my groin worriedly.
"Yeah. Built tough, no worries."
I played it cool, but it throbbed like hell. Ice pack later for sure.
"Wash these ones up and have them wait in the living room. Gotta do some training."
"Got it."
The originals herded the newbies toward the bathroom.
Military discipline after that scene.
Alone in the empty hall, I let out a deep sigh.
Figured Kang Min-ju was scheming something. Didn't expect the instant ambush, though.
"Haa... right on arrival..."
But a smile tugged my lips.
Nothing as thrilling as taming a rebellious animal.
How long till those venomous eyes melted into pleas of pleasure?
If she held out to the end, just kill her.
Already looking forward to it.
I rubbed my groin and slowly headed to the living room.