The Station's Leader
I lay down on the mattress with Jisoo. She kept her head bowed deeply, too embarrassed to meet my eyes. How demure. Her attitude almost made it seem like she'd completely submitted to me, but I knew that wasn't the case. She was just going along with the mood as best she could. If she changed all at once, she wouldn't be Jisoo anymore. But that was fine. I'd slowly dye her with my colors, alternating between the whip and the carrot. We had plenty of time ahead of us. Very slowly.
I had sent Jiyoon and Sieun to the shower stall. The two of them had entered with rather embarrassed expressions after hearing the sounds of my raw, naked acts with Jisoo inside the Sanctuary Cradle. They'd done plenty themselves, so what was there to be shy about?
Lying on the mat, I fell into thought, recalling what I'd heard about the 'boss.' First off, the trash mob's attack wasn't the will of the survivor group across the street. It had just been those sex-crazed bastards acting on their own. The guy who'd spilled information to me before getting hacked to pieces by Jisoo's machete said he'd been with the one called the boss since the monster outbreak first began.
A small number of people who'd been doing morning workouts at a neighborhood gym had faced the monster crisis right there. They fought against the goblins that stormed the place. Even as people were dying from poisoned darts and goblin daggers, this 'boss' alone had displayed monstrous strength and slaughtered every last goblin.
From the very beginning, he went full one-man army mode...
What kind of class did he get? Could he really be a Hero?
After that, he led the survivors out onto the streets, killing goblins as they moved. Along the way, they joined forces with others and even took down one of those hulking monsters. Survivors gradually gathered around him, and that's how the current survivor group was formed.
Up to that point, it was impressive enough, but not so much that I'd call him exceptional. However, the next thing the trash had said revealed just how special this boss really was.
-Th-the boss didn't die even after getting hit by goblin poison darts. Just from what I saw, he got hit at least three times—no, way more than that—and he didn't even flinch while killing the goblins.-
He didn't die after being hit by goblin poison darts. That was definitely not normal. Both Jisoo and Sieun had dropped dead from a single hit. Did he have some kind of poison immunity skill?
While I was lost in these thoughts, Sieun and Jiyoon finished their showers and entered the Sanctuary Cradle.
"All cleaned up?"
"Yes, Oppa."
"Then Jiyoon, finish telling Jisoo about the current situation. You left off earlier, right?"
"Yes, Oppa."
Jisoo, who had been nestled in my arms, got up and moved to the corner with Jiyoon. I pointed at the spot beside me and told Sieun, "Lie down."
Sieun came over and lay down next to me. I pulled her into my embrace.
"O-Oppa... My hair and everything isn't even dry yet..."
"It's fine."
The faint scent of fragrant shampoo wafted from her still-damp hair. Nice. I held Sieun close and continued my thoughts.
Could the boss of that station really be a 'Hero'? The fact that he'd shown such overwhelming power from the early stages strongly suggested he might be one. And being completely unfazed by poison made it seem like he possessed some incredible skill. Plus...
-Th-the boss is a man of great character. If he saw anyone who looked like they were in danger, he'd personally step in to save them. Even if they had no power, he never cast anyone out of the survivor group.-
-Then why did the bastards under such a great guy pull this kind of shit?-
-Th-that's...-
Apparently the boss was an incredibly virtuous person. He'd personally beaten and reformed the trash gang that attacked us. Though from what I saw, they didn't seem reformed at all. Anyway, he'd established strict rules for the survivor group to follow and created a perfect community where the powerless were never exploited, all through thorough management.
The accumulated frustration from those harsh rules and tight control had led Kang Tae's gang to occasionally raid survivor groups that 'Hawkeye' had spotted, dragging away women to rape them—until they ran into me.
-If the life there was so stifling, they could've just left, right?-
-B-but it's dangerous outside... and safe in there...-
Good grief. They really were trash. Good thing they died. Anyway, from what I'd heard in their conversation, this boss was truly an amazing person. He had the ability to lead people and possessed a wonderful character. He perfectly fit the image of a Hero, didn't he?
But how was I supposed to find out someone's class? It's not like they had 'Hero' written on their forehead. I couldn't just ask straight out, 'Are you a Hero?' either...
"...I don't know. I'll meet him tomorrow and figure it out then."
"Huh?"
Sieun, still in my arms, looked up at me in surprise. I pulled her head close and closed my eyes. It had been another long day full of events. I was tired. Holding Sieun tight, I fell asleep just like that.
OO Station.
There were only two exits—Exit 1 and Exit 2. It was a small station with just those two. At Exit 2, they'd piled up all sorts of junk and created a central pathway that could only be used in emergencies. The officially used exit was Exit 1. Since all entry and exit went through there, it made it easy to track individual movements and stand guard.
The interior wasn't very spacious, as expected of a small station. The ticket gates, the escalator and stairs leading to the above-ground trains—those areas had all been completely blocked off in case of possible intrusion.
In the space where people used to buy tickets and pass through the gates, numerous tents were packed tightly together. In the area next to the station staff room, where a small convenience store had once been, there was now a desk, chairs, and a single small camp bed. The only light illuminating the dark space came from a small lantern on the desk.
A middle-aged, skinny man sat in the desk chair of the office-like space, examining documents he'd written himself with a ballpoint pen.
"Kang Yoon-ah, 22 years old. Lee Jun-seok, 38 years old. Lee Jin-woo, 7 years old... Is this everyone?"
The young man standing beside the skinny man bowed his head and replied.
"Yes, that's all of them. Only three people came in today. Since they arrived quite late, we had them rest immediately. It would be best to meet them tomorrow."
"Good work. What are their relationships...?"
"One female college student. The other two are father and son."
"Hmm... Still, that's impressive. Making it this far with a young son. Their classes... Oh, both adults have activated their classes. A swordsman and a chef... They'll be quite helpful."
"I'll assign them to appropriate positions based on their classes."
"Are they sleeping in the station staff room?"
"Yes, since it's their first day. We should let them rest properly. We'll assign tents tomorrow."
"Understood. Any other notable matters?"
"Well... More and more people are complaining of headaches."
"Hmm... That's a problem. What on earth is going on..."
"Women seem to be suffering more severely than men—especially young women."
"What did Mr. Jun-gu say?"
"Since there's no proper medical equipment... he says he can't determine the exact cause either. Given the environment, the only thing he can suggest is that it might be stress-induced headaches..."
"I see..."
The middle-aged man let out a deep sigh and said, "For now, we can only keep observing. Even the only doctor here doesn't know the exact cause... Alright, I understand. Mr. Dong-seong, you should get some rest too. It's late."
"Aren't you going to rest, Boss?"
At the word 'boss,' the middle-aged man frowned and said, "Come on, I told you not to call me that. It makes me sound like some incredibly important person."
Dong-seong grinned at the man called the boss. "But aren't you an incredible person? You're the one running this large survivor camp all by yourself."
"By myself? It's only possible because people like you help me. Even the little kids keep calling me boss this and boss that—it's embarrassing."
"Isn't it all an expression of respect?"
The boss chuckled softly at Dong-seong's words. "Then I'll head in and rest. You should do the same, Boss... Ah, I almost forgot to mention something. Kang Tae's collection team left to gather food."
"They left to gather food? When?"
"Hmm... It was around evening, so I'd say around six or seven. The food collection teams move freely anyway. That's not really the issue, but..."
"Hmm?"
"Mr. Jeong-sik hasn't been seen since then either. His guard duty shift had ended, so it's not exactly a problem, but there was no separate report... Since he disappeared along with Kang Tae's team, it feels a bit off..."
"Hmm..."
The boss's brow furrowed. Jeong-sik was the one with the 'Hawkeye' skill, a key member assigned to guard duty. The survivor group's policy was not to interfere with personal time as long as someone did their assigned job and reported properly. But if he vanished without a report along with Kang Tae's collection team...
"...Are they causing trouble again? It seems letting those last few outings slide was a mistake. I felt bad for those hot-blooded young men living such stifling lives and turned a blind eye, but... This won't do. I need to educate them firmly."
"...You have so much on your plate, Boss. Taking on even people like them..."
"What can I do? We're all the same kind of people. If they keep receiving education, I believe they'll eventually develop proper thinking."
"...I'll leave it to you."
Dong-seong bowed deeply and left. Left alone in the office, the boss let out a heavy sigh and stared at the ceiling. The more people gathered, the more things he had to worry about. It was difficult, but it was also that much more rewarding. Still, it was true that he got tired because there were always one or two people who went against his control and caused incidents. On top of that, there were those unidentified headaches circulating among the survivors.
It's not like the cause is completely unknown. I have a slight suspicion...
The boss stared quietly at the ceiling, let out a big sigh, and shook his head. 'The stress has really piled up.'
He stood up from his seat and looked toward the station staff room attached to his office. New arrivals to the survivor group were allowed to rest comfortably in the bedroom space of the staff room on their first day. The three survivors who arrived today were probably resting there too.
'There was a female college student among them, right?'
The boss slowly walked toward the station staff room.