No One Can Resist the Whip
Whirrr...
Ducky, his sister Sunny, and Yu-na were huddled together in the back of an electric cart, trembling violently. They were still wearing their masks, huddled in the uncovered cargo bed.
Clunk!
"Ugh! Ack!"
"Eek!"
Whether they’d hit a stone or a pothole, the cart jolted once, causing Ducky and Yu-na to cry out in surprise. Even though they couldn't see anything through their masks, Sunny—who was often told she had quick wits and good instincts—pinched her brother’s hand hard as they crouched diagonally in the cargo space.
"Can you shut up for a sec? I don’t think these guys are gonna kill us."
"Alright, alright. Chill, Sis."
Just as her brother Ducky whispered that, a voice cut through the air.
"Keep talking. I might change my mind."
"......!"
The siblings froze at the voice, which was as rigid as the tone was cold. Not only was he good at killing, but he was fluent in English, too? The siblings clutched each other’s trembling hands, their fear deepening.
Whirrr...!
Before long, the unpaved road seemed to end, and the electric cart began to move across flat ground at high speed. Since they couldn't see a thing, it was impossible for the three of them to track the passage of time accurately. For several dozen minutes, they were hauled along like mere cargo under the scorching September sun, heading toward an unknown destination.
Screech. Clank! Vroom...
Then, hearing a low, heavy mechanical hum, the three of them thought they had finally arrived. But the cart climbed an uphill path for several more minutes. After another mechanical sound, it moved for a few more minutes, and only after that same sound echoed once more did it finally come to a complete stop.
Thud.
"Ugh!"
"Hiiik!"
Ducky and Yu-na screamed at the unexpected touch. But it was just the man in the black helmet removing their masks.
"Ugh."
Blinded by the sudden, intense sunlight, the siblings instinctively squinted and turned their heads. Yu-na, however, looked like she was about to cry—or rather, she had been tearing up the whole time and finally burst into sobs.
"Sob, h-hic... sob!"
"......?"
The "murder expert"—who looked like a perfectly ordinary guy once the helmet was off—tilted his head in confusion at her sudden outburst. Soon, his gaze drifted to Yu-na’s short shorts. Seeing them soaked through, he realized what had happened and let out a sigh.
"Haa, here. Use this to wipe up and cover yourself."
"H-hi. Thank you. I was... I was just so scared... I’m so sorry. Sob."
Even while sobbing, Yu-na took the towel with both hands and bowed politely. Jun-ho, whom the three had mistaken for a cold-blooded killer, asked,
"Japanese?"
"I-I’m Korean, too. I grew up in Japan, but my dad is Korean."
"I see. Anyway, follow me."
Yu-na covered her lower half with the towel, and the siblings awkwardly climbed out of the cargo bed. The three of them cast glances at Jun-ho and Jun-hyeok, who had just stepped out of the passenger seat and was standing still, holding an air rifle, before they began to walk.
"What is this place...? This is insane. Are we in a secret base or something?"
"Shh, zip it."
As her brother Ducky whispered while looking around, Sunny scowled deeply. Suddenly, Jun-ho stopped walking, and the startled siblings and Yu-na halted in their tracks.
Jun-ho turned his body slowly toward the three, looking at the siblings with cold eyes.
"First of all, this isn't a secret base. That’s somewhere else. And if you two speak English in front of me one more time, you’re dead. Got it?"
"......!"
The siblings were shocked. They had whispered so quietly—how did he hear them?
"Y-yes... I understand."
"Yes."
Feeling as if the sweat they’d broken out in from the heat had instantly turned to ice, Ducky and Sunny bowed their heads immediately.
Jun-ho opened the door to one of the container lodgings.
"You three seem to be friends, so you can stay together, right?"
"Yes."
"There’s a bathroom, and there are clothes to change into over there. I didn't know your sizes, so I just eyeballed it—don't complain. There’s water and food in the fridge, so eat if you’re hungry."
"Ah! Th-thank you!"
"Thank you, thank you so much."
At the mention of water and food, the expressions of the three changed in an instant. Confirming that his expectations were correct, Jun-ho let them into the container and closed the door.
* * *
"Laborers? Do we really need them already?"
As Jun-hyeok tilted his head, Jun-ho looked around at the others.
"Does everyone really think we don't need them?"
"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt, but it’s not strictly necessary..."
"I’m fine," Choi Ha-neul said, shrugging her shoulders after Baek Ha-il and Baek Su-ah.
"I’m fine, too. I prepare the ingredients in the fridge every evening, so Su-ah and I only need to bustle about for about 30 minutes early in the morning. Lunch I can handle alone, and in the evening, Su-ah and Su-ho help me."
"We’re fine as well. Mr. Baek’s children help us often, too. Since the pharmacy and the medical room are connected, it’s not particularly difficult."
"M-me too. I’m a bit busy, but I’m learning more techniques from my master. I’m completely satisfied."
Following the medical couple, Choi Jung-woo also indicated he was doing fine. Then, Jun-ho’s gaze turned to the remaining two: Baek Su-ho and Kim Ha-yun.
"Ah, I don't really have a hard time..."
"I’m having a hell of a time!" Baek Su-ho cut off Kim Ha-yun.
"......?"
Everyone’s eyes turned to him. But Baek Su-ho only looked at Jun-ho, his face crumpling into a tearful expression.
"I’m not lying. I’m dying here. I’m really, really struggling... *sniff!*"
Sniffling, Baek Su-ho looked around at the others and spoke in a voice filled with deep resentment.
"I really follow Dad and the other hyungs around, learning the work, acting as a gofer, doing everything! But... I’m not exaggerating. The work never ends. You ask what kind of work?"
Baek Su-ho pointed to the sleeves and shins of his work clothes as he continued.
"Do you see this? Just going around the whole building to mow and pull weeds takes two or three hours. But these grass-bastards grow back the next day! I’m going crazy, aren't I?"
Sure enough, Baek Su-ho’s sleeves were filthy with grass stains and dust.
"On top of that, I have to clean the incinerator and the outside of the greenhouse constantly. I have to go to the path behind the mountain every day to check the drainage and clear out branches and rocks. I inspect the walls and barbed wire surrounding the shelter once a day. But I wouldn't even complain if that were all."
Baek Su-ho whipped his head around. Baek Ha-il and Baek Su-ah flinched under his gaze.
"Whenever you two needed an errand run or some grunt work, you only ever called me, didn't you? I’m really going crazy."
"Ah..."
Only then did the others realize what was happening. It was true. Unlike the other shelter members, Baek Su-ho, who lacked a specialized skill he could call his own, was the shelter’s "yard dog." Because he was still young and lacked a specific trade, he was called everywhere to handle the grunt work.
And anyone who had ever lived in society knew how exhausting it was to be the one running around invisible places, doing things without a moment’s rest, just like Baek Su-ho.
"You all heard him, right?"
Jun-ho, who had already known this fact through the CCTV, looked around at everyone with a meaningful expression.
"Ahem, ahem."
"Oh, that must have been hard. Noona is sorry."
"Aigoo, I’m sorry too."
As Baek Ha-il, Baek Su-ah, and Choi Ha-neul looked embarrassed,
"Ah, I didn't know that and kept calling Su-ho for heavy lifting. I’m so sorry, Su-ho."
"I-I’m sorry too. I didn't know you were that busy, Su-ho..."
"Su-ho oppa, I’m sorry."
Following Kim Hui-yeong, even Choi Jung-woo and Kim Ha-yun apologized to him.
"Ha-yun, you’re fine. You’re the only one who mows and pulls weeds with me anyway."
Baek Su-ho turned his face back to Jun-ho and begged.
"Uncle Jun-ho, I’m really begging you. Save your nephew and please find someone to help me with the grunt work. Please save me."
It was a plea filled with genuine desperation, not exaggeration. Everyone grew somber as they noticed that his once-fair skin had been tanned brown over the past month.
* * *
"So, we’re using the kids we saved today as laborers?"
"But there are two girls... Jum-soon? Jum-rye?"
"Why are they all named 'Jum'?"
"Then Hyang-dan? Bok-soon? Mal-sook? Bun-i? Soon-i?"
"Shut your trap."
"Yes, sir."
As Baek Ha-il snapped at him, Yun Yeong-su, who had been rattling off all sorts of old-fashioned female names with a mischievous expression, clamped his mouth shut.
"Anyway, you understand why I brought them here, right? You feel the same, don't you, Hyung-nim?"
"It’s certain that we need someone for grunt work. I didn't know our Ho-ya was suffering like that, and he’s not just anyone. That kid... if he was having such a hard time, he should have said something..."
"He probably didn't want to disappoint you. Su-ho has more patience than he looks. He just reached his limit today."
"Tsk. As a father, I have nothing to say."
"But, Hyung," Jun-hyeok said cautiously.
"If it was going to be like this, wouldn't it have been better to bring in people we knew beforehand? I think that would have been better than bringing in strangers. Though it’s already too late."
It was a valid point. It was hard to deny that bringing in people you already knew was better for shelter security and many other reasons than bringing in people you’d never met and didn't know the character of. However.
"Generally, that’s true. But this isn't a general situation, is it?"
"Huh?"
Jun-ho turned his gaze to Baek Ha-il and Yun Yeong-su.
"I’ll ask you one thing. If you two weren't here right now, and you had to enter the shelter after suffering through hell outside—or actually almost dying—how would you feel?"
"I would have been loyal regardless. Boss, loyalty, loyalty!"
"...You’re done. How about you, Hyung-nim?"
"Ugh. You’re too much."
Whether Yun Yeong-su looked shocked or not, Jun-ho kept his eyes on Baek Ha-il. After thinking for a moment, Baek Ha-il slowly nodded.
"I’m really grateful to you, Ho-ya, even now. But if I had been under those cultists or whatever you called them, and then entered our shelter, I think I would have been even more grateful than I am now. I would have done anything to never be kicked out of here with my children."
"That’s exactly it. But you and Yeong-su play very important roles here, don't you? You had to be together from the construction stage of the shelter. Voluntary participation and a sense of belonging were more important than fear or desperation. It’s different from people who just do grunt work."
"......"
"That’s why, even though I knew we needed someone to help with the grunt work, I intentionally didn't bring anyone in until now. As the apocalypse unfolded and the shelter began full-scale operations, every member was actually put into their respective roles, and specific problems or difficulties began to appear."
"Ah..."
Even ordinary companies or organizations start with the founder who drafted the plan and a few key people. After the system and framework are established, they recruit the necessary personnel. For Jun-ho, our shelter was the same.
"The kids I brought today? If they had come here right after the apocalypse broke out, or while infrastructure like electricity and water were still alive, they would have just been 'thankful'—that’s about it."
Jun-ho said with conviction. Because he had seen and experienced it himself. The difference between people who barely made it into a safe refuge after suffering through hell for a month or two, and those who entered from the beginning, or shortly after the incident occurred. And while not all of them, many of the latter were shameless and frequently expressed dissatisfaction. Jun-ho had seen it many times.
"They say if you keep showing kindness, people think it’s their right, don't they? There’s no saying that fits the apocalypse better than that. That’s why we keep kids like that as candidates and have them live in the container lodgings. We’ll watch them, and if it doesn't work out, we can send them to the nursing home. They’ll need quite a bit of labor there starting next year."
Whether it was their half-homeless appearance or the way they kept glancing at the fridge when he mentioned water and food earlier—the siblings who looked Korean but spoke English like native speakers, and the half-Japanese girl, had clearly come this far through hell. They had probably been hiding somewhere until their food ran out and even the electricity and water were cut off, forcing them to risk their lives to escape. In the process, they were chased by the Eoktens punks and almost died, or faced something even worse than death.
In other words, the intensity of their desperation for survival was different. Above all.
"They saw me deal with those Eoktens punks. Right in front of their eyes, I killed seven of them with a knife, men and women alike."
"......!"
Jun-hyeok, who had supported Jun-ho with an air rifle, and Yun Yeong-su, who had watched the situation through a drone camera, flinched and swallowed dryly. Jun-hyeok was a brother by blood, and Yun Yeong-su had known Jun-ho for quite a while now. But the Jun-ho from earlier was so terrifying that he seemed like someone they didn't know at all. And if they felt that way, what about the three who had met Jun-ho for the first time today?
"No one can resist the whip."
"They might be even more loyal than I am..."
The two muttered to themselves without realizing it.