Crumbling Reason
As if I'd just walk away from such fine "material" after finally finding it again after so long.
Of course I was only pretending to leave. Having a crossbow just meant I didn't need to provoke them right away.
"So that's the person that teacher relies on?"
I circled around the back of the school as if I were heading out. From what I'd seen earlier, they always posted their lookouts toward the auditorium side.
But a school was a sprawling place, full of openings if you knew where to look. That was exactly why I'd deliberately gone around the rear. Whether they'd cleaned the area themselves or not, there was nothing left out here except corpses—which only made infiltration easier.
"No sentries back here?"
Normally you'd expect lookouts on at least both flanks. Or maybe all their attention was concentrated on the auditorium side.
I carefully made a full circuit and spotted a cluster of middle-aged women chatting away at the rear. Those were supposed to be the sentries? They were all bunched up in one spot, laughing and gossiping among themselves when they should have been watching every approach.
In that case…
I slipped in through a blind spot completely outside their line of sight. I left the electric bike where they couldn't see it and climbed the wall again.
"Ugh."
Maybe I should've just walked in through the open front gate. I hauled myself up with some effort and carefully made my way toward the stairwell on the right side of the school.
Then a faint noise drifted up from the basement. Whether it was a zombie or a person, I couldn't tell. But with this many people living here, keeping zombies around seemed unlikely. Even if they did, it wasn't my problem.
I remembered the two people who'd gone up the stairs earlier as I was leaving. That meant the first floor and anything below it weren't an issue. And from my last visit, I already knew most of them lived on the fourth floor.
I'd start from the fourth floor and work my way down. I planned to slip through the place like some kind of undercover investigation.
But as I climbed the stairs to the second floor, something started rattling.
"Hm?"
A zombie? Not in the basement—right next to me? I couldn't leave an unknown variable like that.
It was one of those tiny storage closets set into the second-floor wall, the kind you only ever saw in older school buildings. Something was making noise inside.
"That doesn't sound like a zombie."
It sounded more like a struggle, one noise after another. I edged closer and pressed my ear to the door. Voices filtered through from inside.
"Really? That must have been hard on you."
"Yes, exactly. Because of that bastard, I thought I was going to die."
"That bastard?"
Seolhwa's voice. But why was she on the second floor instead of the fourth?
No—there was no time for that kind of question. Because something was already going wrong.
The muffled sounds of a struggle grew louder, a small commotion breaking out. What the hell was that so-called teacher doing right now?
I'd always planned to act like a criminal myself, but this…
It was an entertaining situation, sure. That didn't mean I could just stand there and watch. I yanked the door open.
The door slammed wide, and the scene that greeted me was Gang Haseong and Seolhwa with her school uniform shoved up.
That pissed me off a little.
"H-how…?"
"You don't put your hands on other people's property."
While he was still staring at me in a daze, my leg was already moving on pure instinct, driving a kick straight into his face.
"Hey. Come with me."
I pulled Seolhwa straight up onto her feet. She looked up at me, blank and stunned.
"Didn't you say you were leaving?"
"And you believed that?"
Like hell I'd give up entertainment I'd only just rediscovered after so long. I pulled her straight into my arms.
"I've told you how many times that you're mine. What the hell were you doing, being this careless?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm kidding. Anyway—you don't want to stay here, do you?"
I tested her again. Seolhwa averted her eyes. She was hesitating. As long as she couldn't give me a clean refusal, that was enough. Girls like her were best taken by force and soothed afterward.
"Then right now—"
"Wait! I said wait!"
The teacher I'd just kicked staggered back to his feet, clutching his nose.
"Where do you think you're taking Seolhwa, you piece of trash!"
"Whoa there, Teacher. Getting a little worked up, aren't we? You can still say that after what you were just doing?"
"No. I—I was trying to protect her."
The man's eyes were pure madness. His face was flushed a deep red, and his gaze was thick with murderous intent. It was enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.
"She was never like that. Never! Because of you! You corrupted her! That kind, pure girl!"
"What do I care? Whatever she is, she's mine. That's all that matters."
Gang Haseong was panting hard, and for a split second his eyes dropped. Mine followed.
Because the crossbow was lying right there on the floor.
He was closer. The instant we both realized it, we moved at the same time.
Ah—of course, what I was after wasn't the crossbow.
It was the chance to kick him square in the face while he was completely exposed, bent over reaching for it.
A satisfying crack rang out, and he went flying backward, spitting blood.
"Nice."
The crossbow came second. I casually scooped it up and leveled it at him.
"Alright, buddy. Give it up already. A teacher shouldn't treat a student like that, right?"
I shot Seolhwa a look asking for agreement and got a bewildered "Huh?" in return.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! She wasn't like that! She was kind, she looked after people… she was the one who gave me strength!"
"Teacher…"
Seolhwa murmured the word with a thread of pity in her voice. She was still deeply deluded.
"You ruined her! Do you understand? She changed because of you!"
"So then why take it out on Seolhwa?"
"What?"
"What does her changing have to do with anything? Why were you trying to rape her?"
Gang Haseong fell silent for a moment. From the floors above, a noisy commotion was already starting. Time to go.
"Rape? No. I was just… worried about her. I only wanted to check."
"Oh, is that so?"
Transparent psychology. The way he kept ranting about "protecting" her only made it more obvious. The ones who pretended the hardest were always the filthiest behind closed doors.
People from upstairs were already reacting to the noise. Time to leave.
"Anyway, you seem pissed that she isn't a virgin. I'm not. If I like her, that's the end of it. Which means Seolhwa suits me even better. Let's go."
"Ah… wait."
"You don't get a choice. What, do you have a fetish for getting raped by that teacher?"
"Of course not!"
Seolhwa shrieked, and in the end she let herself be led out by the hand.
But almost immediately she started to tear up.
"This can't be happening. Teacher… why would he…"
"Because you're pretty, that's why."
"…?"
Seolhwa shot me an irritated look. Don't look at me like that. It's the truth.
"Keep it simple. You're prettier than the other girls, so he took an interest in you. Your kindness made the lust boil up inside him."
"Teacher isn't that kind of person."
"He is exactly that kind of person. Don't waste your pity on him. Is that why he tried to rape you?"
Seolhwa suddenly stopped walking.
"You did it too! You're the one who started all of this in the first pl—"
I clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Easy. Easy now. I'm the cause? Whether I sleep with you or not, does that give a teacher any reason to act like that?"
"Mmph… mmph…"
She tried to deny it with everything she had, but in the end tears spilled from her eyes.
Once she quieted down, I let go and took her wrist again.
"That teacher isn't going to protect you anymore. I'm the only one who can."
"How did it end up like this… why…"
"Well, if you really want to pin it on someone, it'd be you yourself. Entire countries have fallen over a single woman before. It'd be nice if you got your head on straight."
I'd only met that teacher twice, but I knew full well he'd been holding the school together and keeping everyone alive. Dozens of people, food running short, and the whole structure still hadn't collapsed? That took real ability. Having someone like that as an ally would have been ideal—but unfortunately, he was about to come apart over one girl named Seolhwa.
"No matter how I look at it, losing all self-control over a single high school girl… how the hell was he living before this?"
"Don't talk about him like that."
Seolhwa wiped her tears. Even after everything that had just happened, she was still fretting over him.
"Anyway, let's head to your place and have some fun. The more we do it, the less it hurts, you know?"
"You perverted piece of trash."
"That's right. Call me that as much as you want. It's true. And I don't feel the slightest bit of guilt about it."
Seolhwa glared at me, then let out a long sigh—
And that was when a school window shattered, followed by a heavy, dull impact.
No way.
Did that bastard just jump?
I spun around in surprise. A skinny man lay dead on the ground with his head caved in.
"Aaaah!"
Seolhwa screamed and ducked behind me.
What the hell just happened?
And then, one after another, screams began to chain-react through the entire school.
He could not accept it.
Seolhwa… my Seolhwa…
Gang Haseong watched the two figures stroll away. The man's arm was draped over Seolhwa's shoulder like a delinquent's armrest. That was the same hand that had groped her body however it pleased. It was even resting near her chest.
Whether it was simply hanging there or doing something filthy, he couldn't tell.
What mattered was that the ideal image in his heart had been completely burned to ash.
That hand… trampled Seolhwa? And then he violated her without a second thought?
Something he had cherished and held precious had been torn apart without mercy.
Why him? It can't be. Seolhwa, why would you—!
Watching her being dragged away by force, his emotions ignited into pure murderous rage.
But he had no way to fight back. How was he supposed to beat an opponent armed with stab-proof gear, a crossbow, and a bat?
"I'm powerless… Why… why… why put me through a trial like this…"
"Mr. Gang!"
People came rushing down from the upper floors, took one look at the wrecked scene, and froze in horror.
"What on earth happened here?"
"Mr. Gang! What's going on?"
Gang Haseong was gasping for breath. His heart felt like it was being crushed, and his entire body seemed to be on fire.
I'm an educator. I have to punish the one who ruined Seolhwa. And Seolhwa… she needs to be punished too. I have to heal her. Every part of that body…
With the last of his restraint coming undone, Gang Haseong rose to his feet.
"Everyone, we have to catch that man! He raped Seolhwa!"
"What?"
"What are you saying…"
While everyone stood frozen by the shocking claim, Gang Haseong headed for the basement.
"Mr. Gang! Where are you going!"
"The basement!"
"Wait! Down there—"
"We can't just sit here! We have to do something!"
But the others desperately tried to stop him.
"Don't get worked up. He has a crossbow."
"Seolhwa was assaulted!"
"Calm down! Just stay calm for a moment…"
And that was when it happened. Gang Haseong glared at his fellow teacher the way a man might glare at a meddling sister-in-law.
"Seolhwa is about to be defiled and you want me to just stand here?"
"Mr. Gang?"
In that instant, Gang Haseong's reason briefly snapped.
Before anyone could react, his hands had already seized the other man and hurled him toward the hallway window. The man fell.
"Aaaaagh!"
"Aah! What the hell are you—"
Screams rang out as Gang Haseong panted, feeling power surge through his entire body.
"I'll kill him. I'm going to kill him!"
Gang Haseong charged down toward the basement like a madman. If he was even a little late, that bastard would take Seolhwa and leave.
"Go…"
The strange sound Jin Dohyuk had heard—and the method used to drive out Min Doyoon's faction.
He released the zombies he'd locked in the basement. No safety measures. Nothing.
"Run! Go forward!"
"Kyaaaaah."
And strangely, the zombies scanned Gang Haseong, then ignored him and pushed past.
Gang Haseong gasped for air as he rushed past a hallway mirror.
In the glass, he saw his own reflection—blue veins bulging across his skin.