Road Movie (End)
Whoosh...
Flames rose in the center of the yard.
It was the hour of sunset. The air had begun to turn faintly cold, but the fire held the warmth well past anything the afternoon had offered.
And two people stood watching it without end.
No need to explain further. It was me and Kim Seyeon.
I watched with a blank face; she watched with a hollow one — the burning firewood, and the two bodies that had once been people, crumbling into ash before our eyes.
A few hours earlier, after finding her daughter Seo Minji on the first floor of Kim Seyeon's husband's mansion, she and I had gone upstairs.
And there on the bed we found Kim Seyeon's husband, lying naked beside a woman. Neither of them, however, offered any testimony as to why they were there.
Or rather — they couldn't. They had already become zombies.
I asked Kim Seyeon for her leave. She squeezed her eyes shut, whipped her head away, and gave her consent.
The two zombies' lives ended in an instant.
I wrapped them carefully in a blanket and carried them down. The moment Seyeon and I came downstairs, Park Seeun rushed out in front of us. I leaned in and whispered carefully.
"Watch Minji with Sora for a while. Kim Seyeon and I will... go deal with the zombies."
Park Seeun tilted her head slightly — then she saw the emptiness on Kim Seyeon's face, understood at once, and simply nodded with a sorrowful look.
Then she pulled Kim Seyeon into a hug. Afraid of waking the child, neither of them made a sound; they only shed tears and sniffled quietly.
After that, Kim Seyeon and I stepped outside the mansion. Burning them in the mansion's own yard was out of the question — it would have been the same as advertising that people were here.
Instead, following Kim Seyeon's guidance, we entered another house nearby that had a yard and laid the two bodies down there.
I pulled a lamp from Feather's bag, poured out the kerosene inside, and smashed the lamp over them.
And so here we were now, breathing in that filthy, wretched stench of burning flesh, watching the two of them go up in flames — still wrapped in a blanket, still locked in each other's arms.
It wasn't raining. They burned remarkably well.
"...We got married five years ago."
Completely naturally, Kim Seyeon began to tell her story.
I didn't want to hear it. And I desperately wanted to hear it.
"I graduated from university, passed the civil service exam, became a teacher... once I was settled, Jeonggu — my husband — wanted to get married the moment he landed a job. But it wasn't easy. His parents... opposed it fiercely."
Kim Seyeon's family had been ordinary. Both her parents were civil servants, though not high-ranking ones. She had always been proud that they never wanted for anything — but next to Seo Jeonggu's family, it was a drop in the ocean.
Seo Jeonggu's parents came from enormous wealth. They had dealt in land since the Japanese occupation era and held vast real estate across Gangnam and the rest of the country. Those parents — Kim Seyeon's in-laws — looked very unkindly on their son marrying a woman from a family of no particular standing.
The opposition was stubborn, and the wedding kept being delayed. But the two of them endured, quite literally, on love alone. And five years ago, when the in-laws finally bent, they managed to hold the ceremony.
Who could have known that would be the beginning of the ordeal instead.
"Minji was born. Even then I was so happy. Ah — Seeun. I met Seeun around then too. She was struggling so hard it broke my heart, so I asked my husband to help her a little. We even invited her to our house..."
But the trouble started during a holiday visit to the in-laws after Seo Minji was born.
They scolded her for having a daughter instead of a son. Not just the in-laws — the relatives piled on too. It wounded her, but she had already fought so hard for a marriage they opposed that she managed to let it pass.
"But then... he... haah... Jeonggu started getting more and more irritated whenever we talked. Honestly, even while I was speaking I could feel myself sounding like I was nagging. Still... the way he refused to listen to me at all — that reaction from my own husband was severe."
Apparently Kim Seyeon had offered her husband advice and plans the same way she did with me.
At first he had listened well. But from a certain point — more precisely, after that visit home where he heard the absurd nonsense about why they hadn't had a son — he began to change.
"And on top of that... my parents... you know about it, right? That respiratory illness that was going around two years ago."
Ah. That epidemic respiratory disease that supposedly came in from overseas.
Everyone wore masks and the whole country went crazy over it. Now it's a story that doesn't mean a damn thing anymore.
"Because of that... both of them passed away."
Ah...
"...My condolences."
Oh, for fuck's sake! Orderly Good, is THAT what you say right now?
You tactless son of a bitch! I should've just sewn my mouth shut!
"It's all right. It's been over two years already. And... they passed without having to live through this ridiculous era, so maybe that's for the better."
Even as she said it, the wounded look never quite left Kim Seyeon's face.
"After my parents died, we held the funeral. My husband helped, of course, and my own relatives came and helped too. But..."
She bit her lip slightly. The memory of those days must have surged up all at once, because emotion suddenly rose in her voice.
"My in-laws never came to the funeral. I asked them about it later. Honestly, out of sheer resentment — even though I knew I shouldn't — I got so worked up that I just asked. And they answered me like this."
'Why would I go pay my respects to some worthless in-laws? What fortune am I supposed to gain from that?'
"When I heard that, I couldn't hold back the rage. We had a huge fight. How can you measure a person by money alone? How long are you going to treat people like dirt? I protested with everything I had. And my so-called husband just... stood there and watched. After that they scolded me even harder — said they never should have accepted someone like me in the first place — and left."
That was the signal flare announcing the downhill slide of their marriage.
After that, Kim Seyeon and Seo Jeonggu fought constantly. Eventually a massive marital blowup erupted, and Kim Seyeon took Minji and returned to the house her parents had left her in XX District, Gyeonggi Province. She was living there when, out of nowhere, the in-laws and her husband showed up.
"It was absurd. Because... they threw a fit demanding to take Minji."
And they did take Seo Minji. Alone, Kim Seyeon simply couldn't withstand the pressure of three people.
It didn't end there. Seo Jeonggu — wearing a face that made it impossible to believe he had ever loved her — demanded she agree to and sign divorce papers. All of it accompanied by her in-laws' words, which only enraged Kim Seyeon further.
"They sneered at me — said the daughter of President Park, who runs the golf course, was so pretty and perfectly ready for marriage, that he needed to marry her, so I should hurry up and sign the divorce papers and get lost..."
"President Park's daughter from the golf course? Don't tell me..."
"Yes. She's the one burning with my husband right now."
Goosebumps crawled up my spine. Hearing something that might or might not have been a joke come out of Kim Seyeon's mouth sent a chill straight down my back.
"Did you agree to the divorce papers?"
"Of course not. We had another huge fight."
Having her child taken from her was already unbearable enough — and now they were practically forcing her to fill out divorce documents. There was no way Kim Seyeon would simply say yes, I understand and accept a one-sided demand like that. Who knew how badly the papers had been stacked against her?
Kim Seyeon hadn't been entirely unprepared for an ending like this... but the surge of emotion exploded, and she refused them on the spot. That launched her into a long, grinding divorce lawsuit against the man who was to become her ex-husband — a fight that had continued until very recently.
"We fought and fought for over a year and a half. Especially over custody... no matter how I looked at it, I couldn't stand the thought of leaving Minji under those in-laws and that so-called husband. The daily toll on my heart was beyond words. If I'd had to live under the same roof as them while the lawsuit dragged on, I think I might have gone insane. Being in XX District, becoming close with kids like Seeun and Hyejin — that helped a little."
"Hm? Hold on..."
In a divorce case like this, wasn't custody usually a bit more favorable to the mother?
When I asked her that carefully, Kim Seyeon gave a self-deprecating smile.
"I thought so too. Right up until we actually entered litigation, I was sure of it. But... in court, the number of lawyers really matters. No — both the quality and the quantity of lawyers."
Ah... I understood instantly.
Divorce was a civil suit. In other words, a battle between lawyers.
No matter how respectable Kim Seyeon's job was, she couldn't match the financial power of a family that solid. They would drag things out with an enormous legal team and keep pushing every angle against her.
"Well, looking at it now, even that conflict was meaningless. In the end everyone... died like this... so the law, the lawsuits — none of it means anything anymore..."
Hearing the faint wetness in her voice, my body moved on its own.
Carefully, I slid my arm around her shoulders and drew her close.
Kim Seyeon didn't pull away.
Instead, she simply rested her head against my chest and sniffled.
Khh... so this is the picture of comforting a woman sunk in grief? Right, Orderly Good? You know it too — that's why you didn't stop me. Right, you bastard?
"...Jeong Hoon."
Still watching the crackling flames, Kim Seyeon spoke again.
"Once you enter Yeouido... and build the territory you want there, Minji and I will go back. To XX District in Gyeonggi Province, where Hyejin is leading."
Huh?
W-wait, why all of a sudden... declaring desertion out of nowhere?
Th-this wasn't the vibe at all until now! The atmosphere wasn't bad! Why, why suddenly...!?
"Someone like me — older, a mother who has to raise a daughter — doesn't suit you as well as Sora, or if possible Seeun... girls who are so much younger, fresher, brighter... girls who've never gone through a stupid marriage like mine. I'm just... a failure like me..."
Ah... now I get it.
Those moments when she wanted to lean on me and, at the same time, keep a little distance.
That way she had of seeming completely open and yet drawing a line, back when we first met the guys from the men's dorm.
Finally, every piece clicked into place.
Kim Seyeon's desolate expression and tone. The sincerity rising from them. The collapsed self-worth. The terrible feeling. From all of that, a sincerity wrapped in consideration was whispering itself to me.
But... there was something she clearly didn't know.
That this desolate attempt to pull away from me only made her look far more captivating than before.
I pulled her in hard.
"Ah... Jeong Hoon...?"
A soft sound slipped from Kim Seyeon, as if she hadn't expected it at all.
Of course she hadn't. I had yanked her straight into my arms.
I tightened the arm around her shoulders and drew her fully against my chest.
"The day after I rescued you from those gangsters, I told you this. That I needed you."
In this moment, I swore I would not stop putting my desire into words.
"That feeling has not changed. Whatever your past may be, whatever hardships you endured, whatever failures you tasted... thanks to your brilliant counsel I saved people, guided them to grow in the right direction, and gathered them together so that even without us they could endure and live on. To say your contribution to that was considerable would not be the slightest exaggeration."
"J-Jeong Hoon..."
Looking up at me, her eyes held moisture... and a tremor. I could read the conflict in them.
And at the same time, my own face was reflected in Kim Seyeon's dark crimson eyes.
The instant I saw that, my mouth moved on its own.
"And right now, I want to say the same thing I said then. I need you, Teacher Kim Seyeon... no..."
"Seyeon. I need you."
"Ah...!"
She flinched.
Her full, voluptuous body shuddered in my arms — as if a jolt of sensation had run through her. The way Kim Seyeon's skin flushed red in the firelight was no trick of my eyes.
"It's not because of your abilities or your class. It's not because of any social standing you have. It's because I've lost my heart to you. I've wanted to say this since the moment we first met. But I couldn't. So I'll confess it now, even if it's late. I want you at my side. I don't want anyone else to take you from me."
Or-
der-
ly-
Gooooooooood!
THANK YOU! For not cutting in!
I screamed with joy inside at the way the words had just left my mouth.
If I'd been alone in a room I would have jumped up and down yelling kyaaahoo!
Because the speech just now... had been my speech! Not that goddamn hao-che — mine.
I had no idea why my own way of speaking had come back... but screw it, YEAAAAAAAH!!!!
"A-are you... are you really sure? I-I'm not... a virgin. I'm a married woman, you know? I have a daughter... and my marriage was a complete failure..."
"Playing along with status and wealth and trying to throw away a beauty like you — that's the real blunder, isn't it? More than anything, in a situation like this... if someone didn't find you attractive, I'd call them a fool. Please, Seyeon. Stay by my side. I need you more than anyone."
"J-Jeong Hoon..."
"Seyeon..."
We gazed at each other, dazed.
I felt as if I might drown in the sea of Kim Seyeon's red eyes.
Closer. I wanted to see those ruby eyes from even closer.
Slowly, our lips drew near.
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Ta-daaa! Hello hello, survivor friends still alive on Earth — men, women, young and old alike! Your dear Administrator Uncle that you've all been missing is heeere!
Ah, of course I'm not actually an uncle! Hahaha!
This...
son of a...
FUUUUCKING ADMINISTRATOR BASTARD SHOWING UP AT THE MOST GUT-WRENCHINGLY PERFECTLY RUINED TIMING IMAGINABLEEEE!!!