Geumho Station (5)

With Jung Heewon on my back, Kim Dokja and I headed for the subway platform where the thugs had said people were gathered.

"Ugh! Move a little more carefully!"

"You try holding her up properly!"

Behind us, the Cheoldu Group thugs hobbled along as best they could, propping each other up. Painful groans, curses, and complaints drifted up from the rear, but somehow they managed to keep pace on legs riddled with bullet holes.

A few minutes of walking in the direction the thug had pointed brought Geumho Station's platform into view. The area where the thugs had been was completely dark, but the platform itself still had power — the lights were on.

The moment we descended the landing, the murmur of dozens of people rose to meet us.

"After four days inside an ichthyosaur's stomach, seeing people again is almost moving."

"Yeah. It really is."

I gazed at the crowd on the platform with a distant look, and Kim Dokja answered in the same wistful tone, watching them just as I was.

Those four days in the ichthyosaur's gut had been hell. Thanks to my skill, My Small Hideout, and the studio apartment it provided, we'd been safe enough to freeload our way through a hidden scenario — but the writhing stomach walls and blood vessels outside the window, the Constellations picking fights out of boredom, and the time that refused to pass had all been thoroughly miserable.

I stopped for a moment, remembering that awful place and those endless hours, when a few people approached, brushed past us, and went straight to the Cheoldu Group members trailing behind.

"It's the Cheoldu Group! Someone from the Cheoldu Group is hurt!"

"Help me support them…!"

The people who'd passed us took hold of the injured Bang Cheolsoo and the rest of his crew. Watching them move with such coordinated efficiency, I thought, They've got a decent system going here.

Or maybe they were just trying to stay on the good side of the strongest group in Geumho Station.

"…Dokja-ssi?"

Someone called Kim Dokja's name. She turned toward the voice, and several familiar faces came running our way.

Looking closer, I recognized them: Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung, and Yoo Sangah.

"Oh my god… Dokja-ssi! It is you, isn't it?!"

Yoo Sangah stared at Kim Dokja with tears welling at the corners of her eyes, her face crumpling with emotion.

"Sangah-ssi."

"Dokja-ssi! You're safe! Thank goodness — really, thank goodness…!"

Yoo Sangah threw her arms around Kim Dokja in a fierce hug. Kim Dokja looked startled for a second, then awkwardly returned the embrace and patted her on the back.

The patting seemed to settle her; Yoo Sangah pulled free of Kim Dokja's arms, then clasped both of Kim Dokja's hands in hers and started saying all over again how glad she was that she'd made it.

Watching them, I glanced at the hands wrapped around Kim Dokja's. Just like in the original, Yoo Sangah's hands were covered in small scrapes and cuts — four days of hard living had left their mark.

While Kim Dokja and Yoo Sangah were still looking at each other and talking, Lee Gilyoung barreled forward and latched onto Kim Dokja's leg.

I'm so jealous, fuck.

I wanted to wrap my arms around those long, beautiful legs too. But if I actually did that, I'd get called a pervert and kicked halfway across the platform.

Watching Lee Gilyoung cling to Kim Dokja's leg, I felt a pathetic spike of envy. Hanging off a beauty like that… if I'd still been a kid his age, would I have been able to get away with it? For a moment, I was genuinely jealous of Lee Gilyoung.

"You been okay?"

Kim Dokja gently stroked the head of the boy clinging to her leg. Lee Gilyoung nodded.

Where Yoo Sangah's hands were covered in scrapes, Lee Gilyoung's cheeks were hollow — he looked like he hadn't eaten properly in days. The sight of him made me feel sorry for the kid.

I'd been ugly about envying him for clinging to Kim Dokja's leg, but I wasn't so rotten that I could just walk past a starving child.

Looking at those sunken cheeks, I pulled out two convenience-store plastic bags I'd stashed in the studio apartment, dug three chocolate bars out of one of them, and handed them to Lee Gilyoung while he was still talking to Kim Dokja.

"…Th-thank you."

Lee Gilyoung looked back and forth between the three chocolate bars he'd been handed out of nowhere and me, then bowed his head in thanks.

I smiled and ruffled his hair. Startled by the gesture, he buried his face against Kim Dokja's leg again.

Seriously jealous.

"Dokja-ssi…!"

After Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung, Lee Hyunsung approached Kim Dokja. His expression said he was just as relieved to see her alive.

Those muscles are insane.

Seeing Lee Hyunsung up close, his upper-body musculature was genuinely impressive. In the pre-apocalypse world, guys would have been lining up to hit on him — "Hyung, your muscles are crazy, what's your routine? What protein do you take?"

"I'm truly sorry about back then. Leaving you behind…"

"It's fine. There was nothing you could have done."

Lee Hyunsung apologized with a guilty look, and Kim Dokja waved it off, saying she understood his situation completely.

"Whew. It's a real relief that Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi's words turned out to be right."

"Yoo Joonghyuk?"

Lee Hyunsung glanced at Kim Dokja's face, then continued.

"Well… Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi said Kim Dokja-ssi was probably still alive…"

"Where is she now?"

"She's not here. Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi left the station yesterday, Dokja-ssi."

"I see…"

Kim Dokja nodded at Lee Hyunsung's words.

She was nodding because it explained both why Yoo Joonghyuk had left and why the Cheoldu Group thugs — who should have died by Yoo Joonghyuk's hand — were still breathing.

"She usually cleans up the basics before she goes. Always in such a rush."

"Pardon?"

"Just talking to myself. Bad habit."

"Um, Dokja-ssi… who is the person next to you…?"

"Ah, this is Park Jinwoo-ssi. We met on the way to Geumho Station and came here together. He's a companion."

With the reunion finally winding down, Yoo Sangah looked at me standing blankly off to the side and asked Kim Dokja about me. Kim Dokja introduced me simply as a companion she'd met on the road.

The three of them, who'd been eyeing me with mild wariness, relaxed at Kim Dokja's words and came over.

"I'm Park Jinwoo. I've heard a lot about you from Dokja-ssi."

"Ah, I'm Yoo Sangah. Nice to meet you, Jinwoo-ssi."

"I'm Lee Gilyoung. Thank you for the chocolate bars earlier."

"I'm Lee Hyunsung. It's a pleasure to meet you, Jinwoo-ssi."

I shook hands with Yoo Sangah, Lee Hyunsung, and Lee Gilyoung and exchanged simple introductions. Shaking hands and greeting Kim Dokja's party like this…

Just four days ago I'd nearly been blown up by Yoo Joonghyuk's bomb, nearly burned to death in the fire that bomb started, nearly been trampled to death by Yoo Joonghyuk, nearly been killed by zombies, and nearly dissolved in an ichthyosaur's stomach. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠All things considered, this was genuinely moving.

"Come to think of it, someone's still missing."

"Ah, the Department Head is…"

Yoo Sangah was about to answer Kim Dokja's question when a commotion rose behind us, followed by the sound of several people running our way. I turned. A group of men had appeared out of nowhere and surrounded us in a ring.

Every one of them held a tool of some kind — hammers, pipes, wooden planks.

"Everyone, move!!"

One man shoved his way out through the crowd that had us hemmed in.

The man who emerged was none other than Han Myungoh — the same Han Myungoh who'd abandoned Kim Dokja and run for it at the even-numbered bridge. Just like in the webtoon, he'd clearly attached himself to that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other group.

"Y-you…!"

Han Myungoh took one look at Kim Dokja standing in front of him, went white with shock, then jabbed a finger at her and started shouting.

"G-get her out of here!! That bitch is pure evil! She doesn't belong here!!"

Han Myungoh ranted and raved that Kim Dokja had to be driven out. Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung both looked guilty on her behalf.

…I don't get why they're the ones looking apologetic over Han Myungoh's rant.

Was it just because Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung were soft-hearted suckers? I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠honestly had no idea.

"Haha, Hyung Han. Survivors should get along, don't you think? What's all this about?"

I was watching Han Myungoh thrash around by himself like an idiot when someone else pushed through the crowd, caught him by the shoulder, and brought him to a halt.

"A pleasure to meet you. You must be the new arrivals. Might I ask your names?"

"Kim Dokja."

"Kim Dokja-ssi. I see. I'm Cheon Inho. And the person beside you?"

"My name is Secretive Plotter."

"…Pardon?"

Cheon Inho looked baffled by my introduction. Kim Dokja beside me stared at me with an expression of pure disbelief.

What? I decided my name was Secretive Plotter for today. Got a problem with that?