I Will Go
"H-hyung-nim…."
Park Deok-cheol looked as if he were about to burst into tears. Jun-ho raised a hand to signal him to stay put, then turned to Kang Baek-ho, who was staring with wide, shocked eyes.
"Baek-ho hyung-nim. Isn't this a bit much for someone who came to help?"
"Uh…?"
"I mean, my brother and I had to risk our lives to save this trash. And on top of that, I heard these bastards are attempted rapists. And such a guy dared to lay a hand on my brother?"
"…I’m sorry, brother. I have no excuse."
At Jun-ho's icy words, Kang Baek-ho bowed his head. Outside the door, the celebrities who had been standing on tiptoe to witness the scene gasped. They had never once seen Kang Baek-ho—a third-generation chaebol and the owner of this resort—act so submissively toward anyone.
"This isn't my place, so I can't tell you what to do. But still. I think you should at least maintain basic decency."
Jun-ho glanced at LD, who was knocked unconscious with his nose smashed into the sofa, and the guy called Kelvin, who was receiving treatment nearby. Kelvin, who had been acting arrogant while being treated just moments ago, was now standing at attention like a fresh recruit.
"Well, it’s impressive that you feed and look after these trashy, parasitic bastards in a safe place just because they’re human. If it were where I am, they would have been…"
Jun-ho swallowed the rest of his sentence. But it was obvious what he meant without him having to say it. Kelvin, the person in question, trembled, and the celebrities watching from outside the entrance flinched. Even though the words weren't directed at them, they felt the sting.
"Park Deok-cheol."
"Yes, hyung-nim!"
Unlike his timid self from moments ago, Park Deok-cheol stood a bit straighter. Jun-ho spoke coldly.
"You too, you idiot. You didn't do anything wrong, so why did you just stand there and take a beating? Are you a fool?"
"Ah… I’m sorry."
Park Deok-cheol flinched and bowed his head again.
"Lift your head, man. Anyway, from now on, don't let anyone beat you up, whether you're in the wrong or not. I'll handle the aftermath. Do you understand?"
"Yes, hyung-nim."
"Let’s go. Baek-ho hyung-nim, we’ll be heading out first."
"Right. See you in a bit."
As Jun-ho walked away, Park Deok-cheol grabbed Cherry (Ahn Yu-jeong)’s hand and led her. Ahn Yu-jeong and the other Blossom members, who had been watching the situation like frightened puppies, followed closely behind.
"Good luck."
"Yes!"
As Jun-ho reached the entrance, the KAPS staff blocking the door stepped aside and bowed their heads. As members of KAPS, they felt a strange sense of catharsis despite their complicated emotions. They were the ones doing the hardest and most dangerous work here, yet they couldn't help but feel dissatisfied with certain people who acted entitled while doing easier, simpler tasks just because they were "celebrities." Today, Jun-ho, whom they had met for the first time, had thoroughly crushed LD—the person they hated most—and called them out openly.
'Honestly, this feels even more satisfying than when we took out those gangsters earlier.'
Though they didn't speak, the KAPS staff shared the thought with their eyes as they watched Jun-ho and Park Deok-cheol’s retreating figures.
Clap, clap!
Kang Baek-ho clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention.
"Team Leader Choi."
"Yes, Representative."
"Once these two are done with their treatment, take them to the punishment room."
"Yes, understood."
The KAPS team leader bowed his head.
"R-Representative!? The punishment room?"
Kelvin looked at Kang Baek-ho, startled. Kang Baek-ho looked down at him with cold eyes.
"Why? Do you feel wronged?"
"N-no, it’s just… no matter what, for me to go to the punishment room…"
"'No matter what, for you…?' Cut the bullshit. Who do you think you are? What are you?"
"……!"
Kelvin’s eyes widened to the size of saucers at Kang Baek-ho’s outburst. While he sometimes mixed casual and formal speech, Kang Baek-ho had always maintained his manners—until now.
"If a person does something wrong, they should be punished. Damn it, you’re an attempted rapist, so why are you talking so much? Why? Because I’ve been feeding and housing you in a safe place like Jun-ho said, do I look like a pushover to you?"
"……."
Kang Baek-ho glared at Kelvin, who was trying to avoid his gaze.
"Hey, are you not going to answer? Do I look like a pushover?"
"N-no, sir!"
"Then shut up and go to the punishment room. You need treatment for the beating, so stay locked in there for ten days. And…."
Kang Baek-ho turned to the KAPS team leader, who was wearing a visibly satisfied expression.
"Once these two have recovered enough, send them to the village that was occupied today. Put them straight to work on the farm. If they don't work properly, don't feed them."
"Yes!"
"Ah…? R-Representative, Representative Kang. Ugh!"
Kang Baek-ho walked away without even glancing at Kelvin, who was calling out to him desperately. The gathered celebrities didn't even dare to make eye contact with him as he stepped out the front door. Why? Because they felt incredibly guilty.
"Clean up this place. Manager Yoon Seol-hee, once you’re done with your treatment, come to my office with Manager Park Cheol-woo. Team Leader, you come too."
"Yes, Representative."
Kang Baek-ho strode down the hallway with two staff members. He could feel the gazes of the celebrities behind him.
'Always fresh. Always thrilling. Juno-Juno is the best, as expected.'
Kang Baek-ho grinned, thinking of Jun-ho, who had fulfilled his request by 120 percent.
***
"…So that’s what happened."
"Yes. You managers should have seen it. Every time Lee Jun-ho said something, it was so funny to see all the celebrities flinching because they felt guilty. LD and Kelvin were the ones who got beaten, but they felt the sting too. Hehe."
At the KAPS team leader’s words, Park Cheol-woo looked at Jun-ho with a fresh perspective. Jun-ho shrugged.
"I just did what Baek-ho hyung-nim told me to do. I’m not the type of person to throw punches recklessly."
"…Excuse me?"
Yoon Seol-hee stepped in at the KAPS team leader’s bewildered reaction.
"I can guarantee that Lee Jun-ho is not that kind of person. And it’s a fact that LD and Kelvin deserved to be hit, right? If it were me, I would have beaten them half to death."
"Well, they really did cross the line this time. I had a feeling they were trouble for a while now, those trashy bastards."
The KAPS team leader gritted his teeth, perhaps because he had been bottling up his frustrations for so long. Kang Baek-ho, who had been wearing a satisfied expression, stepped in.
"Anyway, how is it? The atmosphere among the celebrities has definitely been set, right?"
"Yes. Somi is currently disciplining them properly. Everyone was speechless. Even people like Lee Young-won and Opas, who used to hog those large special suites, couldn't say a word and agreed to communal living."
He added that the days of them doing easier, more comfortable work compared to the general survivor residents were over. Of course, since they were celebrities, there were safety risks, so they couldn't work mixed in with everyone else, but at least the "celebrity privileges" would be mostly eliminated.
"It’s all thanks to our Juno-Juno. I’m truly grateful. I feel ashamed as the older brother."
"Don't mention it. You’re leading and taking responsibility for thousands of people, not just a few dozen, so naturally, you have a lot on your plate."
"Sigh… that’s true. I should have started on the right foot, but I made a mistake."
Kang Baek-ho sighed deeply. Jun-ho could understand him. Even Kang Baek-ho couldn't have predicted that such an absurd situation would occur, let alone that it wouldn't be resolved for over half a year. That was why, even after the infection broke out, Kang Baek-ho had no choice but to treat the celebrities with a certain level of respect. He couldn't have known if the situation would be resolved within a few months, and as a businessman, he couldn't push or persecute celebrities with high public influence.
Moreover, Kim Young-mi, a singer and actress from a second-generation idol group, had wide connections and a very good reputation in the entertainment industry. He had judged that by using her, he could sufficiently control and manage the celebrity survivors. But the world continued to head toward destruction, and the celebrities who had received privileges from the beginning didn't change easily. They had only started doing easier, simpler tasks than the general survivors a month ago, and even then, there were more than a few who complained.
In short, Kang Baek-ho had missed the timing to discipline the celebrities, and he had asked Jun-ho to do it for him. And Jun-ho had solved it perfectly.
"The timing was truly impeccable. By the way, you said that friend’s name was Park Deok-chil?"
"Deok-cheol. Park Deok-cheol. His stage name is Ducky."
"Ah, right, Deok-cheol. Anyway, he had a thing with Blossom’s Cherry?"
"Yes. I think they were practically dating. Since the girl group Blossom is so popular and busy with schedules, they couldn't see each other often, though."
"He’s got skills. Wasn't that friend’s group unknown? How did they end up dating?"
"Who knows."
Jun-ho wasn't interested in other people’s love lives, so he shrugged and continued.
"Anyway, Baek-ho hyung-nim. I’ve fulfilled your request, so please fulfill mine. It’s a win-win."
Kang Baek-ho nodded in satisfaction at Jun-ho’s words.
"Ah, of course. The Blossom members? If they want to go, I’ll send them your way. And…."
However, he immediately looked at Yoon Seol-hee, Park Cheol-woo, and the KAPS team leader with an apologetic expression.
"Jun-ho says he needs some manpower. For his combat team."
That was it. The most important reason Jun-ho had come to Gwangju to meet Kang Baek-ho was to secure not only labor but also proper "combatants." However, excellent combatants were hard to find, and especially since they used firearms at Our Shelter, they had to be people he could completely trust. And in Jun-ho’s view, Kang Baek-ho’s Gwangju survivor group was the only place that met those difficult conditions.
However, he couldn't have found Kang Baek-ho in the early days of the apocalypse. If he had led the Gwangju survivor group properly and built up his strength, he could have kept scavenger factions like the Daeseonghoe in check. He couldn't have asked him to send important combatants, and Kang Baek-ho wouldn't have accepted it anyway. But now, after defeating the Daeseonghoe without much sacrifice and with the situation stable for the time being, it was possible.
"Yes…?"
To the three surprised people, Kang Baek-ho spoke with an even more apologetic face.
"Of course, it’s not quitting, and it’s not like you have to live there forever. A kind of dispatched duty? You can think of it like that. Jun-ho will provide all the weapons and equipment, and if you want, you can rotate every month."
"……."
"Uh…."
As the three people turned their gazes toward him, Jun-ho quickly continued.
"I know it’s not my place to say this in front of Baek-ho hyung-nim, but I can guarantee that the place I’m at is several times better than here in terms of facilities and everything else. The security is solid, too. Plus, we’ve finished clearing out the surrounding villages, and we have a completely friendly relationship with the residents there."
"Hmm…."
"I don't need much, just four or five people. Our combat team only has four people, including me. I want to at least form a squad-sized unit."
At Jun-ho’s words, the three exchanged glances, and Park Cheol-woo, who was the oldest and held the highest rank, spoke first.
"If we go there, I assume security duty is a given… In your opinion, Lee Jun-ho, what is the most dangerous mission?"
"First, it’s hunting Alpha Zombies. And…."
Just as Jun-ho was about to continue with a serious expression,
"I will go."
Yoon Seol-hee stepped forward abruptly.
"Yes?"
While Jun-ho was slightly surprised, Park Cheol-woo immediately frowned.
"Hey, Manager Yoon Seol-hee. Even so, you should at least listen to what he has to say…."
"Senior. I might have died today if it weren't for Lee Jun-ho. No, I would have definitely been done for."
"……!"
Yoon Seol-hee turned her gaze away from the startled Park Cheol-woo and spoke calmly to Kang Baek-ho.
"If it’s four or five people, we’ll need a manager-level supervisor anyway. I will go, Representative."