Apartment, Survivor Rescue (4)

A massive eye fixed to the ceiling writhed, as if searching for something.

I held my breath and waited for the light.

Each time the eye moved, the cave itself shifted a little. Only then did I realize we were inside the body of that unknowable entity.

The light returned. Yoon Seohee advanced, and I carefully extended my own foot after her.

After stopping and walking several more times like that, we finally reached the other side.

We opened the door and stepped out. What greeted us was an apartment hallway.

Far down the corridor, the emergency stairs bore the label 13F.

Complicated and dangerous…

Looking back at the door we had come through, a sudden question rose in my mind, and I asked Yoon Seohee.

"…Before the hideout got swallowed, why did you bother exploring this place? Isn't it way too dangerous?"

"Director, you haven't looked around the base much yet, have you?"

Yoon Seohee said with a snort of laughter.

Well, that was obvious. I had only been back on this apocalyptic Earth for two days.

I nodded.

"Yeah… fair enough."

"An apartment or anywhere else—the danger isn't all that different. The moment you go out looking for supplies, you run into every kind of anomaly imaginable."

"…Come to think of it."

The map the control AI had surveyed floated into my mind. This apartment complex had its share of anomalies, sure, but other places were just as bad, if not worse.

"Apartments have specific rules, so once you've finished exploring them they actually rank among the safer spots. At least for ordinary survivor groups that don't have Administration gear."

"…Right. You mentioned rooms that produce food and things like that."

"Exactly. That's one of the reasons."

Thinking it over, it made perfect sense.

Unlike me—who had faced hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of reports and thousands of entities—every single one of them was encountering anomalies for the first time.

In that case, an apartment where a survivor group's experience could accumulate after a single exploration was far better.

…Have I been a director for too long?

I had grown far too used to anomalies.

There was only one open door on the thirteenth floor.

"This place is… oh… holy crap!"

Yoon Seohee let out a cry of delight.

Darkness filled the space beyond, and a little farther in stood a convenience store.

The only light cutting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through the gloom spilled from inside the store itself.

"Is it safe?"

"Well… mostly? But you need money. If you don't buy anything, it won't let you leave."

"…I don't have a single won on me."

Yoon Seohee pulled two crumpled green bills from her pocket and held them out. She handed one to me.

"Our survivors always carry cash because of this convenience store."

"Does this room not show up often?"

"Maybe once a month, if you're lucky."

Between the golden bell and this, I apparently had decent luck with these kinds of rooms.

I followed Yoon Seohee as she stepped inside first.

Ding-a-ling—

The moment we entered the convenience store, a uniformed employee behind the counter dipped its head in a perfect ninety-degree bow.

It was not human. It looked like a mannequin.

"The products look ordinary enough…"

The shelves were stocked with the usual convenience-store fare—triangle kimbap and every kind of daily necessity.

"Most of them are… but look over there."

"Huh…?"

Yoon Seohee pointed toward one side of the fresh-food section.

There, inside a plastic container, sat a severed hand.

I thought, Well, of course.

And more of the same.

They weren't pork cuts—body parts, complete with lettuce arranged underneath like garnish.

"…So if you cause trouble inside the store, you end up like that?"

"Exactly. One of those belonged to someone from our group. He threw a fit because the employee wouldn't answer him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and wound up like that."

Yoon Seohee's expression, unlike before, looked distinctly satisfied. Apparently the man had been a problem within the group.

"So as long as you follow common sense, you're fine."

"Right. But in this ruined world, running into something like this for the first time makes even that hard."

True enough.

Those people probably wouldn't have caused that kind of trouble back when the world was still normal.

"So what am I supposed to buy with this?"

"Nothing's set in stone. I'm just grabbing a few packs of jelly—our uncle's youngest daughter loves them."

"Really? I don't particularly want anything. Wouldn't it be better to save the cash?"

"Nah. We've got a decent amount of money somehow. One idiot on our side withdrew cash the second the world started collapsing. And if a customer hangs around too long without buying anything, they end up like that too, so just buy something."

"Then I guess I have no choice…"

I wandered the aisles, examining the merchandise.

Everything felt awkward.

We weren't exactly in a safe situation, so bulky items were out, and food didn't seem ideal for the backpack either. If it burst while I was running in an emergency, it could contaminate the rest of the gear.

…Maybe I should just get cigarettes. Even if I don't smoke them, they usually work like currency in situations like this.

Whether that was true in reality, I had no idea, but every apocalypse movie seemed to run on that logic.

With a single ten-thousand-won bill, though, I could only afford two packs at most.

While I was looking around… my eyes landed on the pet aisle.

Nestled among the feed and canned goods was a tiny cloth hat, the kind you might put on a puppy.

The quality was abysmal. I almost wondered if they were allowed to sell something that cheap-looking.

The price tag read a ridiculous nine thousand won.

But suddenly the image of Moe cradling the goose rose in my mind.

…She said we have plenty of money anyway.

Leaving Yoon Seohee still picking through items, I headed to the counter.

I set down the hat and the bill. The pale-faced employee spoke in a voice that could have belonged to either gender.

"Nine thousand won. Your change is one thousand won."

It slid the POS drawer open with a rattle and made change.

I was about to stuff the purchase into my backpack when Yoon Seohee arrived at the counter right behind me.

"So what did you end up buying… haha! Director, you're ice-cold in some ways and ridiculously sentimental in others."

I felt oddly embarrassed and cleared my throat.

"Ahem… that goose. It's an anomaly, so it probably doesn't even eat, but dressing it up a little would make raising it more fun, don't you think?"

"Sure, sure. Moe's going to love it. Yesterday she was completely smitten with that goose."

Yoon Seohee grinned as she rang up her own selections.

She had chosen one pack of cigarettes and some snacks a child might like.

"What, did you take up smoking already?"

"No. The cigarettes are for our uncle. The snacks are for Ara, his daughter."

"Ah…"

The uncle, she explained, was basically the adoptive father of the orphaned Yoon Seohee.

His wife had passed away years ago, and his other children had gone missing after the incident. Only his late-born daughter remained with him.

…Family, huh.

I was an orphan too. Honestly, I had nothing I could call family.

If I had to name someone… it would have to be Moe.

Across hundreds of regressions, she was the only one who had never betrayed me.

In the worst situations humans turned on each other, but she—created to serve the director—never did.

…And neither do I.

Like that, Yoon Seohee and I each bought something for someone precious.

"Thank you for your patronage."

We finished paying and were about to leave when a donation box sitting on the counter caught my eye.

"Director, let's go. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about how long we've been taking it easy."

"Mm… just a second."

I dropped the thousand-won coin of change into the empty donation box.

Instinct told me there had to be a reason the thing existed.

"Thank you for your donation. As a token of appreciation, we will provide a Kind Customer Badge."

The employee pulled something from under the counter and held it out.

It was a thin circular badge made of aluminum.

A smiling face was printed on it. It vaguely recalled the Smile Corporation mark, but this was just an ordinary badge.

"…What's that?"

"I figured it might do something… and it gave me one when I put money in."

I slipped the badge into my pocket.

"…Think it gives something different if you put in more money?"

Yoon Seohee pulled out a ten-thousand-won bill and dropped it into the box.

"Thank you for your donation. As a token of appreciation, we will provide a Kind Customer Badge."

The employee repeated the exact same line and handed over an identical badge.

"Guess that's not how the mechanism works."

"So donation is about the heart, not the amount. Ugh, that feels like a waste."

With that, Yoon Seohee and I left the convenience-store room.

After closing the convenience-store door, Yoon Seohee counted the rooms as if memorizing the location.

"Thirteenth floor… third room."

"…What are you doing?"

"Ah, the thirteenth floor is one of the floors that reset, but the cycle is once a day. Just in case we need it. Though once we get out of here we probably won't be coming back."

"Ah… so you can reopen a closed door if you want?"

"Right. We just don't usually bother because there's no need."

We closed every door on the thirteenth floor and headed down to the twelfth.

Another long corridor appeared.

"Whew… a few more stages left, but we're almost there."

"…It's been less dangerous than I expected so far."

"So far, yeah. The problem is past this point."

"Less-explored territory, I take it?"

Yoon Seohee nodded.

"Yeah. From there on I barely escaped and went looking for you, Director."

Time to start getting tense.

We stepped into the corridor.

Yoon Seohee yanked open one of the open doors.

A dim gray forest stretched out beyond.

But instead of the eerie silence we had met before, human voices drifted out.

"I'm telling you, let's just leave! We've come this far—what can't we handle?"

"Didn't you see two people die getting here?! We wait! No more sacrifices! We wait for Seohee!"

"Bullshit! You said it'd take a day and she's still not back! That bitch is dead!"

"What did you just say?! Who's dead?! My daughter?!"

Yoon Seohee's face went pale with alarm and she rushed inside. I hurried after her.

"No… I told them to wait!"

"Survivors?"

"Yes! I clearly told them not to go anywhere else and wait, but that damn old man just had to…!"

Following the running Yoon Seohee, we came upon a clearing in the forest where fewer than ten people had split into two groups and were confronting each other.

"What on earth are all of you doing here?! I told you to wait!"

At Yoon Seohee's shout, the people startled and turned our way.

"Seohee!"

Color flooded the face of a middle-aged man; a young girl clung tightly to his side.

"Unnie!"

"Yeah, Ara. It's Unnie."

Yoon Seohee ran to them and pulled them into a hug.

The old man who had been shouting moments earlier looked me over.

"Hey! Are you the one in charge of that Administration or whatever it's called?"

His suit had probably been expensive once, but now it was faded and frayed; a gleaming gold pin still clung to the lapel.

His pure-white hair and beard were wild. One foot was missing, and he leaned on a cane. Apparently the foot in the convenience store had belonged to this old man.

A National Assembly member, huh.

So this was the "damn old man" Yoon Seohee had mentioned.

"Well… something like that."

"Hah! So that woman's story was true after all. Well then, is there a way out of this situation?"

His tone treated me like a subordinate. It grated.

"A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way out… Hard to say. For now we leave this place and evacuate to a relatively safe base. Beyond that, nothing's clearly decided."

"Ha. So you didn't prepare anything that would actually secure our safety… nothing like that?"

The old man and the group behind him began to mutter.

"Unfortunately, no."

"What! At least those clothes you're wearing—don't you have more of those? Huh?"

"Yeah! You should at least give us something like that to wear! If you're a government agency that's supposed to protect citizens, that's the least you can do!"

"That's right! You should've come prepared for something! Telling us to wait and then…!"

What a load of crap.

I had planned to treat them with a certain amount of respect, but that no longer seemed necessary.

If I left them like this they wouldn't listen. Running a base had taught me that the biggest risk was always insubordination from staff or agents.

I had no idea how rough the road out of this apartment would be, but if they refused to listen to experts like me and Yoon Seohee, we were in trouble.

"Shut up!"

"W-what did you just say?! Do you know who I am?! I'm Park Isu, a National Assembly member of the Republic of Korea!"

Ha. Unbelievable. The world had already collapsed and he was still pulling this.

"Everyone, attention!"

I stamped my foot hard and looked them over.

"From this moment on, all of you will follow the control of myself and the Administration!"

"What the hell are you talking about?! Control? You're talking about control before you even mention protection?!"

The gold-badge old man barked in outrage.

I ignored him and raised my voice.

"Once we get out of here, you will be moved to a safe base. Anyone who doesn't want that is free to do as they please! Showers, secure rooms, plenty of food… if you don't want those, go ahead and manage on your own!"

Safety and supplies.

At those words they murmured among themselves and glanced at one another.

"I-is that true? There's actually a safe place?"

"Well… at least it'll be better than here. At minimum you won't have to worry about dying in your sleep. Now then… is there anyone who wants to act independently?"

I had mixed a little exaggeration in, but it was enough to bring them under control; everyone fell silent.

Even the gold-badge man only glared at me and said nothing more.

"Then it's settled. All of you will listen to me."

Excluding Yoon Seohee and myself, there were eight survivors in total.

We had already spent more than half a day inside the apartment, and the survivors were exhausted, so we decided to spend the night in this forest.

Apparently this place ranked among the rare safe zones inside the apartment.

I distributed the preserved rations and water packs we had brought from the base.

"Bullshit… how the hell are we supposed to eat this crap."

Even that the gold-badge bastard grumbled about. I really didn't want to bring him into the base.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Lee Daejin, Seohee's adoptive father. And this is my daughter."

"Hello…"

"Yes. I'm Lee Sojin, Director of the Administration."

Lee Daejin and Lee Ara.

I exchanged a few words with Yoon Seohee's family.

Lee Daejin was in his mid-fifties; Lee Ara was not yet ten.

…Yoon Seohee is in her mid-twenties, so he basically adopted a kid when he was almost forty?

Impressive in more ways than one. I couldn't have imagined doing that myself.

Ara was a cute child. She seemed quite shy around strangers, but that disappeared completely when she was next to Yoon Seohee or Lee Daejin.

"Wow… jelly…!"

"Only one a day, okay? Got it?"

After roughly settling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠everything, we went to sleep.

The forest floor was cool, but fatigue pulled me under almost at once.

Whoosh—

The sound of wind woke me.

Looking around, I saw that the door leading into the forest stood open in the distance.

Through the open doorway, the hem of a child's skirt brushed past.

"…What?"

A bad feeling drove me toward the door.

Through the gap I could see Ara. She was staring down the corridor with her eyes wide open.

"…Ara? What are you doing…?"

I opened the door and stepped out.

I followed the direction of her gaze.

The apartment hallway was soaked in blood. Above it, a gold badge gleamed.

The old man lay crumpled in a horrific state, both eyes torn out.

Park Isu was dead.