The Crossroads
The zombie bit down hard into Jang Young-soo’s shoulder. Two fruit flies crawled across its eyeball, yet the creature’s gaze remained fixed solely on the chunk of flesh it held in its jaws.
“Yo-Young-soo!”
My mind went blank. Everything I had been trained to do was washed away as if by a sudden downpour. Jang Young-min struggled with all his might to pry the creature off, but its obsession with the prey before it was beyond imagination.
“Bite me instead, you son of a bitch!”
Since brute force wasn't working, he had no choice but to let himself be bitten instead. The fact that the virus would already be infiltrating his system, turning him into a zombie, didn't matter. The sight of his younger brother in agony was tearing his heart to pieces.
“Hyung…!”
“J-just wait a second! I’ll fix this! I’ll make sure you’re safe!”
Jang Young-min grabbed the charging handle of his rifle with trembling hands. It was the only solution he could think of right now. The only way was to blow the creature's head off.
“Hyung, no!”
“Just hold on!”
“The instructor said we should never use our guns…!”
“Do you think that matters right now?!”
“N-no. Hyung…!”
Jang Young-min raised the muzzle. Jang Young-soo flailed his arms backward, obstructing the aim. As time passed, the blood flowing from his shoulder soaked through his clothes.
“What are you doing! Get your hands out of the way!”
“C-call the instructor. You were supposed to… use the radio.”
“What are you talking about! You’re the one in danger!”
The stench of rot was nauseating. It was hard to breathe. He began to lose sensation starting from his arms, and strength began to drain from his body. Even so, Jang Young-soo was holding on until the very end. He was terrified that if he collapsed, the creature would lunge at his brother next.
“Hyung…. Call the instructor. I’m struggling.”
“You, seriously…!”
Jang Young-min bit his lip hard and picked up the radio. His body was shaking so violently that he dropped it on the floor while trying to press the button. As he slumped to the ground, he blurted out words in a panic.
“H-help us here! My brother’s been bitten! Please, hurry…!”
The brief moment waiting for a reply felt like an eternity. Jang Young-min paced back and forth, alternating his gaze between his brother and the radio.
“My brother is going to die at this rate! Just come quickly! Hurry!”
“W-we’re at…. Ah! The top floor! Sir, I’m begging you. Please, hurry. I can’t live without my brother….”
The zombie shrieked, trying to bite deeper, and the younger brother fought a solitary battle to push it away. I had to help. I had to protect them. My mind knew it, but my body was frozen, unable to stand. My heart was burning, and my vision was darkening.
CRUNCH!
That was the moment. A combat knife pierced the side of the creature's head. As I twisted the handle and pulled it out, cold blood trickled down.
“Ah…!”
The creature that had been biting the brother’s shoulder no longer shrieked or bared its teeth. Jang Young-min slowly lifted his head, completely dazed. Only then did I begin to see: the face of Lee Cheon-il, frozen like stone, and the face of the younger brother, smiling with great difficulty.
“Are you alright?”
“I-instructor. It hurts a lot. Haha….”
I immediately checked Jang Young-soo’s condition. The wound was quite deep. People who have survived until now likely have an immune system above average. However, with a wound this deep, it was safer to assume he was infected.
“Damn it….”
Hwang Gyunam, who arrived shortly after, let out a regretful groan. I first tied off the wound to stop the bleeding and laid Jang Young-soo down on a mattress.
“…….”
Jang Young-min didn't say a word, like someone struck with aphasia. He just stared at his brother, tears streaming down his face endlessly. Hwang Gyunam, who had been watching quietly, patted him on the back.
“Jang.”
“I should have been the one in front… I should have….”
“It’s not your fault. We’re just living in a world like this.”
“President Hwang…. Please, save my brother. I’ll do whatever you tell me to. Okay?”
Jang Young-min grabbed Hwang Gyunam’s hand. Hwang Gyunam knew better than anyone the desperation of someone clutching at straws. Perhaps finding it too difficult to face him, Hwang Gyunam turned his head away.
“Right! The vaccine! The search team carries vaccines, don’t they?! I’m right, aren't I?”
“…I’m sorry, Jang.”
“Why? I know you have the vaccine, so why are you sorry?”
“About that…. I don’t have any.”
“Look me in the eye and say that! You really don’t have any? You don’t have a vaccine?”
Hwang Gyunam didn't reply further. His vaccine was with me. Even so, he didn't glance at me or tell the truth. He just kept repeating that he was sorry.
“Are you holding out because you’re stingy? Damn it! I told you I’d do whatever you want! I’ll get you as much as you want, so just save my brother first!”
Jang Young-min grabbed Hwang Gyunam by the collar. In a ruined world, a vaccine is the same as a life. It’s not easy to find, and it’s not easy to use. Jang Young-min knew this fact as well.
“Is my brother not worth that much? Hey, President Hwang! Don’t just stand there, say something!”
The guilt of blaming himself. The helplessness of having to watch his brother die. Jang Young-min constantly expanded and reproduced the rage within him, increasing the amplitude of his emotions.
“Jang.”
I opened my mouth on Hwang Gyunam’s behalf. Hwang Gyunam looked up at me with a troubled face and then quickly dropped his head. It meant he was leaving the choice to me.
“President Hwang’s vaccine is with me.”
“With you…? T-then do you have it right now? Can my brother be saved?”
The vaccine was in my left breast pocket. Except for the day I first visited the shelter, the vaccine had always been in the same place. Yet, I couldn't answer readily.
“Sir. Please, tell me. You have it… right now, don’t you?”
Jang Young-min approached and knelt before me. His expression was bizarre, beyond description. He looked like someone who had caught a glimpse of hope, and also like someone hanging on the very edge of despair. He was laughing, and he was crying. It was enough to break the heart of anyone watching.
“I will do whatever you ask. If you tell me to die, I’ll die. Just this once…. Please, save him just this once. I’m begging you….”
Jang Young-min grabbed my legs and his shoulders shook. Even as he gasped for air as if he were about to collapse from exhaustion, his grip was as strong as an ox’s.
“…….”
I looked at Hwang Gyunam. He was still just staring at the ground. I wanted to ask for the right answer, but he seemed unable to find one either.
Why was that? For a moment, the faces of those who had tried to steal my backpack flashed by. The man who bared his yellow teeth. The woman hiding a kitchen knife behind her back. The old man who raised a hand-welded iron club. Human dignity. The weight of a life. The immutable truths we talked about so much before the great catastrophe had long since faded and rotted away, like the decaying skin of those monsters.
No matter how I thought about it, the value of a 10g vaccine syringe was far heavier than the value of someone else’s life. Just like them, who valued the backpack more than the life of the person who helped them. I was no different.
-Dad.
“?!”
I was about to say I was sorry. I was going to tell him there was no way, to give up. That was certainly the case until I heard Cheonsa’s voice through the earpiece.
-Can’t you save that person?
My mind went white. Since when was the earpiece on? Had Cheonsa been listening to all of this?
-It will be helpful to you, too, Dad. If you abandon them, they will abandon you too.
I should have checked the earpiece. I shouldn't have let the child know about such a miserable situation.
-Can’t you trust me just once?
Even while I was regretting it, the child’s voice continued to ring in my ears. I managed to pull myself together and quickly turned off the earpiece. I couldn't hear it anymore, but the child’s words kept echoing in my head.
“Haa.”
I looked at Jang Young-min again. I still questioned if this was the right answer, but one thing was certain: I didn't want to disappoint Cheonsa.
“Jang. Let go of my leg.”
“N-no! I’m not going anywhere until you give me an answer!”
“There is a way to administer the vaccine. The success rate goes up if we take proper measures.”
“Uh…?”
“And the probability drops as time passes.”
“Ah…! Ah, ah!”
Only then did he seem to understand, and Jang Young-min quickly let go of my leg. I approached Jang Young-soo, checked the wound, found the artery closest to his heart, and administered the vaccine. Hwang Gyunam, Jang Young-min, and the rest of the working group were watching the scene with bated breath.
“His heart rate must not go up. He needs to rest for at least three hours, up to twelve hours at most.”
“T-then, will my brother live?”
“From now on, it’s a battle of probability.”
“What are the odds…?”
“Just pray. I don’t know if God exists, though.”
The developed vaccine wasn't perfect. It only significantly increased resistance; it didn't guarantee 100 percent recovery. As if to reassure the still-worried Jang Young-min, Hwang Gyunam smiled lightly.
“Don’t worry too much. In my experience, they almost always get better. It’s not like it’s too late.”
“R-really? Then my brother is going to be okay?”
“I told you. Thank this friend here.”
Jang Young-min looked at me. He had been sobbing as if he would burst at any moment, and it was embarrassing and burdensome to watch.
“Thank you so much. If it weren't for you, my brother would have….”
“Make one promise to me.”
“A-anything! I’ll do whatever you say!”
Hwang Gyunam said it would be okay, but he must have known, too. The difference between a high probability and 100 percent. As the one responsible for them, I had to be prepared for every situation.
“If the treatment doesn't work. If Jang Young-soo turns into a zombie.”
“Yes……?”
“I will kill him myself. If anyone tries to stop me, the same goes for them.”
I spoke firmly, not just to Jang Young-min, but to the others as well. Family, friends, lovers. It is human nature to inevitably hesitate when those close to us turn into zombies. Because of that momentary hesitation, many people have died, bundled together like a "buy one, get one free" promotion.
“Jang. Can you promise me?”
At my question, Jang Young-min looked at his brother for a moment. His contemplation wasn't long, and he gave an answer that was perhaps expected.
“I understand what you mean. But. If that moment ever comes, please kill me too.”
Jang Young-min gripped his brother’s hand tightly. As if it were natural, willingly. He didn't hesitate even a little.