Was It Any Good?

I was nearly at the door of Captain Choi's office when my feet stopped dead. A long train of carts had choked the road shut.

Creak. Creak.

The worn-out carts groaned as if they were in pain. Sacks stuffed full of something rode in them, and soldiers pared down to nothing but bone hauled the carts along, panting hard.

"You zombies—no, you soldiers—keep that up and every one of you is going to drop dead."

"Ah, they must be hauling materials for the construction!"

Something enormous was going up in the direction Sergeant Jeong pointed. Stone, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠timber, even metal—every kind of material had been thrown at the site. The work was still early enough that I couldn't make out a clear shape. All I could tell was that the thing was the size of a house, and that it wasn't a building anyone was meant to walk into.

"What are they building, that they're dragging in people who are already half dead?"

"Dragged in? That's too harsh! They're participating of their own free will, I tell you!"

"Right. So what are your voluntary slaves making?"

Sergeant Jeong suddenly jabbed a finger at the sky and rolled his hips. The same "prayer" I'd had to perform in front of the anti-aircraft gun.

"Unbelievable..."

I tore my eyes off his grotesque little dance and looked back at the site. Studying it slowly, a shape I'd seen somewhere before began to take form.

"Another anti-aircraft gun?"

"A new symbol! We're making it far bigger and grander than the last one!"

Not even a working gun. They were building another model?

What the hell were they doing?

"Everyone here is about to starve to death."

"That's why we're pooling our strength! Times like these, the power of faith matters most!"

Not one of them was in their right mind.

"And why is every piece of construction equipment a piece of junk?"

"The power Cores have nearly run dry... What's left goes only to facilities that absolutely need electricity. Everything else, we're handling with manpower."

"If you've got labor to spare, shouldn't you be out looking for food?"

"Well... there's nothing left to scavenge around here. Search all you want, it's wasted effort, I tell you."

I'd figured it would come to this. Go any farther and they'd run into government troops, and that frightened them. They'd cut off contact for the sake of safety, which also meant they couldn't trade for food with the outside.

"So you've decided to sit on your hands and starve? Not even a thought of going out there to find some way to live, sink or swim?"

"The Commander must have a plan! We simply have to keep the faith and deepen our bonds as comrades..."

"Comrades, my—urk."

The plan was to die together. What camaraderie? Camaraderie meant figuring out how to stay alive together.

Faith. Sergeant Jeong never stopped hammering on it. And that faith had probably been the secret to their survival all this time—faith in the man they called the Commander. The armed desertion he'd led had succeeded. They'd successfully completed the settlement. And somehow, from then until now, they had stayed alive. Had they reached the point where they could no longer live without that faith?

Sergeant Jeong limped after me all the way to Captain Choi's office. He kept slowing down, so I had no choice but to slow with him. Maybe, in that condition, the thought of going outside never even crossed his dreams.

Knock. Knock.

I rapped on Captain Choi's door. No answer.

Knock. Knock.

I tried once more, and at last—

Creeeak...

The door opened, very slowly. Even then it stopped with a gap barely wide enough for a hand.

"...So you've finally come."

Through the crack I could just make out one of Captain Choi's eyes, and something about it was wrong. The confidence I'd seen the first time was gone. He looked wound tight with suspicion.

"Slim as I am, I'm not getting through a gap like this."

"...The Postman comes in. Sergeant Jeong, return to your post."

"Yes, sir!"

Sergeant Jeong saluted Captain Choi, then leaned in at my ear, murmured that it had been good to see me again, and left.

On the office desk ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lay a half-torn piece of zombie meat. Had he been in the middle of a meal? Keep eating nothing but that, and of course his color was never going to improve.

"So. Have you thought about an escape plan?"

Captain Choi dropped into his chair as if he might collapse, and the words came out thin. His fingers started picking at the zombie meat.

"I've got one."

"Glad to hear it."

"Speaking of which, I've been on the move so long I haven't eaten..."

Before I could finish, Captain Choi snatched up the zombie meat and pulled it tight against himself.

"...Would it be all right if we ate together? From the rations I brought."

Outside, I'd been too self-conscious to take anything out. Soldiers who were nothing but bone had been staring at me from every side. In here, it ought to be fine.

"Do as you like."

Captain Choi went back to tearing at the zombie meat, bit by bit. A few unused chairs sat in the corner of the office, but they looked ready to fall apart the moment anyone sat. In the end I decided to eat standing, and took out a compressed powder ration.

Crunch.

"Before I explain the escape plan—the leader of this settlement is properly called the Commander, yes?"

"Yeah."

Captain Choi had clearly lost every last scrap of affection for this place. Call headquarters a settlement, drop the honorific from Commander, and he didn't so much as flinch. That would make the work much simpler.

"You can tell the Commander. Say I asked for help. The kind of help being..."

Captain Choi was not listening in the slightest. He stared a hole through my compressed powder ration while picking at the zombie meat.

Grrrgle.

Next time, that sound alone would be enough to tell me Captain Choi was somewhere nearby.

"...Would you like to try some?"

"I won't refuse."

I had to give him credit for staying composed to the very end. He'd been the same the first time we met—dropping the bombshell of asking me to help him escape with a perfectly calm face.

I handed Captain Choi one of the rations. I'd already agreed to get him out. I couldn't let simple hunger ruin the job.

Snap.

I'd expected him to take a huge bite. Instead he nipped off exactly one small piece with his front teeth, as if checking whether it was safe to eat at all.

"Been a long time since I had headquarters rations."

"They taste awful no matter when you eat them."

Live on nothing but strange-flavored food like zombie meat, and you'd start missing headquarters rations that tasted of nothing at all.

"Right. A true delicacy. Absolutely no flavor."

"It's honestly not easy to taste this bad."

The captain took that one small taste and set the ration down. Then he went back to tearing at the zombie meat. Saving it to eat later?

"Did you happen to see the monstrosity they're putting up outside?"

The anti-aircraft totem, then.

"Yes. But it wasn't a monstrosity. Looking at it, I felt reverent."

"You haven't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been here a day and you've already lost your mind?"

"Aren't they building, with their own hands, the tombstones that'll stand over their graves?"

"...I see. I had it wrong. You saw it correctly."

While the captain ate, I looked around and found a large piece of luggage that hadn't been there before. A bag big enough that a small person could fit inside, with wheels along the bottom. If this was baggage he'd packed for the escape, we had a problem. It was far too big.

"You've been preparing to escape?"

"Well... something like that."

"Hm."

"What? It's just luggage. Supplies I'll need after we get out. I can't settle somewhere new empty-handed."

It wasn't much of a question, but the way he answered had shifted, just slightly. The composure was suddenly gone. Something was off.

"What's in it?"

"Clothes, goods for trade, food, water, medicine... All necessities."

"Truly necessities."

"Right, right."

"Things you'll need after the escape. Correct."

"Right, right."

"We're leaving it."

"Right, th—huh?"

I walked slowly toward the bag and watched Captain Choi's body lock rigid for an instant.

"You only get to live out there if the escape succeeds. Dumping anything that gets in the way right now is the first rule of survival."

"I see it the other way. Acting without a thought for what comes af—"

Might as well see what was inside. I gave it a light kick.

Thump.

"Mmph!"

Someone had been holding their breath, and it slipped out.

"..."

"Did you just hear something?"

"Couldn't say."

Thump.

"Hhk—!"

The sound, faint as it was, seemed like a woman.

No way...

"Will you open it, Captain, or shall I? Or else..."

Thump.

"Gk—"

"Want to come out yourself?"

"Haa..."

Whoever was inside the bag understood what the captain's sigh meant. A single finger wriggled out of the opening and widened the hole. Once the gap was big enough, two pale hands appeared.

Zzzip.

"Haha... Hello, Mr. Postman?"

We'd never met, but I knew who she was at once.

"Jo Shin-hye's little sister."

"Huh? You know my sister?"

Escaping together with Captain Choi.

Sergeant Jeong... First love always hurts. And that rap never had a chance anyway.

She kicked her way up out of the bag and pressed her hands together.

"Yes. I was just coming from seeing Jo Shin-hye."

"She can't find out I'm here. She really, really can't!"

"Funny you should say that. She asked me, if I saw her sister who was out, to tell her to go home..."

"You really can't! Please, I'm begging you, like this!"

Well. It wasn't my problem.

The one who'd said to leave it to him was Sergeant Jeong. Not me.

"So I should understand that two people are escaping. Is that right, Captain?"

"Th-that's right."

"The headcount went up, so the fee—"

"I know."

The captain drew a magazine from inside his coat and held it out. I took it and judged the weight. About half empty, it felt like. Exactly how many rounds were in there?

A magazine is small, and its structure is extremely simple. I'd handled countless identical ones besides, so using the ability came easily.

Tch. Missed.

"Not even a full magazine. For the weight of a life, I think that's too light."

"...I put in a fair amount of ammunition. I wouldn't call it stingy."

How many had he put in? Let's try again. This time, one number lower.

"Fourteen rounds. I'm a little disappointed."

"...Did you guess?"

"Looks like I got it right."

"Hard to say."

I tossed the magazine lightly up to eye level and caught it.

Clack.

"The weight, and the sound. Fourteen rounds, for certain."

"Sure of yourself."

"We can bet, if you like. If you win, I won't take a single thing as payment for the escape. But if I'm right—"

"You're right. There are fourteen."

From behind me came a little wow.

"Just like I heard... You're not an ordinary postman, are you? That puts me a little at ease. Right, oppa?"

She called the captain oppa, easy and familiar, and dropped all formality. They were definitely together. Oppa, though. Goosebumps. I had no defense against pet names like that.

"Give me the magazine."

The captain filled every empty space with ammunition and held it out again.

"Closer to the weight of a life now?"

"Let me see."

Clack.

I tossed the magazine and caught it once more, then glanced ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at her—still half inside the bag.

"A life is still far heavier."

"..."

I slipped the full magazine into my inner pocket. The weight felt good.

"How about this: the shortfall gets made up once the two of you escape safely and offer your thanks."

I held out my hand.

"A fair trade."

Captain Choi took it.

"I'm in the same boat, right?"

At last she climbed fully out of the bag and laid a pale hand over the two men's. And the captain pressed the compressed powder ration into her other one.

The captain, having heard the whole escape plan, nodded.

"Walk out through the front gate... It makes sense."

"It'll be the safest way."

"I'll see about the people we need. How many?"

"Originally I thought we'd need a little support, but..."

Crunch.

When I looked at her, she hurriedly swallowed the compressed ration in her mouth.

"Koff... I'm Anna."

"Since Miss Jo An-na is joining us, I'll change the plan. You don't need to attach anyone else."

"The three of us are enough?"

"No."

This worked out better. Best to gather people I could actually trust.

"I'll gather the rest myself."

"In here? You know people here?"

"Two."

Captain Choi rolled his eyes, thinking it over.

"One would be Sergeant Jeong, and the other..."

He couldn't fail to know. I'd come here in the first place to deliver a letter to Jo Shin-hye.

Crunch.

Jo An-na chewed her ration, oblivious to the world. I slipped Captain Choi a small signal: don't say that name.

But—

"...Mask?"

The person the captain had landed on was not the one I'd been thinking of.

"What are you talking about, all of a sudden?"

"You're postmen. You'd know each other, wouldn't you? The other Postman who's here right now."

"...You're saying a postman wearing a mask is here, right now?"

The captain nodded slowly. His face was full of wariness—the same look he'd worn when he opened the door for me.

Mask is here. Now?

A man I had no connection to. He wasn't on my side, but I couldn't quite call him an enemy either.

Still...

I don't like this feeling.

Time to hurry the escape.