Yes, It's A Miracle (5)
After I attempted to wipe out the zombies at the Suwon facility using the truck, the guys inside haven't tried anything else. A few of them just take turns keeping an eye on the movement of the surrounding zombies. They must be frustrated. There’s nothing they can really do, anyway. They’re just zombies, but there are so many of them. If they make even one mistake and the zombies outside manage to get into the facility, it’ll be several times more annoying than it is now. Above all, they are afraid of the zombies. It’s not that they fear the zombies themselves; they fear the fact that being near them leads to mutation. They know that much, at least. That’s why they keep their distance. So, it’s about time I made my move.
There are people keeping watch, and there are zombies. The stage is set. The problem is that what I'm worried about isn't the zombies. I'm afraid of people. Zombies are stupid. Besides, I don't fear zombie mutation. After all, I have the lymph nodes. And I have the medicine. Well, I’m still a bit uneasy about the medicine, so I don’t take it properly yet. So, what I’m worried about is the danger when I meet them. Because you can’t trust people. Even if you approach them with goodwill and kindness, they can stab you in the back whenever they feel like it.
What I need to get from that place is information. Information. Could that place be the one Baek Jin-ho prepared? That’s the question. So, until I get that information, I have to create a situation where I can talk to them. To do that, I need to make a strong first impression. And I have to let them know that I’m not someone they can mess with. I need an assistant. It’s hard to do this alone. But I don’t have anyone I can trust. I don’t even have anyone I want to trust. Still, there is exactly one person. Arjun Gurung. An illegal migrant worker from Nepal. A former Gurkha mercenary staying at Old Man Choi’s house. My relationship with Arjun is good. The trust we built up while coming and going throughout the winter has created something resembling faith. But I can’t rely on that blindly. The same goes for Arjun. Neither of us knows what the other is harboring in their heart. So, I have to be careful.
Old Man Choi and the other three elderly people. They are... good people. They’re good, but they won’t live long. They’re old, after all. How much longer do they have? I don’t know if they’ll be able to plant rice in the fields this year. But in my opinion, it’s impossible. Rice planting isn’t just something you do by scattering seeds. You literally have to grow the seedlings and transplant them. Even if they have the equipment, who knows what will happen? So, strictly speaking, they aren’t necessary.
10:00 AM. I head to Old Man Choi’s house at an awkward time between breakfast and lunch. But Icheon-ddaek still offers me a meal. Honestly, grandmothers act like skipping a meal is a mortal sin. Well, it’s not that I don’t understand that mindset. This place is peaceful. It couldn’t be more peaceful. There’s plenty of food, and there are no zombies. A place where you can maintain a minimal life. So, I suppose they can dare to call themselves happy.
I managed to brush off Icheon-ddaek’s offer of a meal, but I couldn’t refuse the strawberries. Bright red strawberries. They feel so out of place. To think I could eat such fresh strawberries in a world like this. But those strawberries are quite large. About 1.5 times bigger than the ones I used to know.
"Do they all come out like this these days?"
"Oh my. They all do. Every single one of them is huge."
It seems the growth promoter is still at work. But it’s funny. Isn’t the effect of that drug supposed to have worn off by now? Does it stay and keep affecting them? Or has the plant itself mutated entirely? When I think about that, I wonder if it’s even safe to eat. But if I refuse too obsessively, I’ll arouse their suspicion. Above all, the elderly here hate it when you pick at your food. Well, I suppose that’s true of all old people. So, I pick one up and eat it. Sweet. And a tart flavor. It felt... luxurious. Strawberries, of all things. It doesn’t seem to fit with the current world at all. Once you have one, it makes you reach for another. Three or four should be fine. If eating this much caused problems, the people here would already be dead.
While I’m eating the strawberries, Arjun comes over. Icheon-ddaek urges him to eat, and Arjun sits on the opposite side of the table, picks up a strawberry, and puts it in his mouth. Just then, Icheon-ddaek gets up to do something else. Thanks to that, only Arjun and I are left.
"Arjun."
"Yes. Brother."
The Confucian hierarchy the boss guy instilled works in strange ways. Thanks to that, this migrant worker now calls me "Brother."
"You’re good at fighting, right? You were a Gurkha mercenary."
"Good at fighting. But I don’t fight."
"Why? Because the opponent gets hurt if you fight?"
Arjun just grins in response. Confidence. The composure that only truly strong people can show. I’m envious. Such confidence. Well, if you have that kind of body, stamina, and skill, you’d be confident in everything.
"You know, can you help me with something?"
"Help?"
"I found a suspicious place. There are hundreds of zombies gathered there. And there are people inside. It seems like something is going on with them. So, I’m planning to go check it out."
"Zombies? Hundreds?"
"Yeah. But you don’t have to worry about that. I have something. With that, it’ll be no problem."
"I don’t understand what you mean."
"You’ll know when we get there. Are you busy today? Do you have work?"
"Lots of work. Must work to eat."
"What? Do they starve you if you don’t work?"
"Not that. Hmm. Hmm..."
"Ah. You mean you have to get the work done so you don’t starve?"
"Right. That’s it."
"Then wait a moment. I’ll go talk to the elder. Keep eating the strawberries."
I go to Old Man Choi. I tell him I’m going somewhere with Arjun. There’s no way Old Man Choi would refuse. It’s not like missing one day of work will cause a major problem. So, Arjun and I leave Old Man Choi’s house. We get in the car and head toward the Suwon facility. Without hesitation. I’ve herded all the zombies on my route toward the Suwon facility, so there are almost no zombies left. No, you could say there are none at all. Perhaps that’s why Arjun looks at the road, puzzled.
"Zombies. None?"
"They died off a lot after the winter. And the ones that were left all went to the place I told you about."
"Ah."
"Oh, right, take this. There should be an unopened bottle of water next to you."
I hand him a spore concentration reduction pill. Arjun takes it and asks in a puzzled voice.
"What is this medicine?"
"They say if you take it, you won’t turn into a zombie. It’s a bit suspicious, but it’s hard to come by. So, take it."
"Hmm."
I’m looking ahead, so I can’t see him clearly, but Arjun takes the medicine I gave him without much suspicion. It’s a strange thing. At least, it is to me. A relationship where he can so readily take medicine someone gives him. A relationship built in just four months. So, it’s bound to be surprising. I wouldn’t take it even if you beat me to death.
We park the car a little way from the Suwon facility and get out. Arjun follows. He looks around, wondering where we are.
"Here. Wear this, and take this too."
I toss him a gas mask and a mesh pouch containing the lymph nodes. Arjun catches them with ease and examines them, wondering what they are. But they’re just a common gas mask and a mesh pouch. The lymph nodes inside the pouch aren’t clearly visible anyway, and even if he did see them, he wouldn’t know what they were.
"Don’t open it, even by mistake. Put on the gas mask. And hang that around your neck."
"Neck?"
"Yeah. Like a necklace. Like this."
I put on my gas mask and hang the lymph nodes around my neck. Arjun does the same. Hmm. Is the gas mask a bit small? Well, it doesn’t matter.
"Grab your weapon."
Arjun pulls out two knives similar to the kukris I bought him. I pull out a baseball bat from behind, and Arjun stares at me, wondering what on earth this is. Suspicious eyes visible through the gas mask. But they aren’t eyes of distrust. They’re just eyes that don’t understand the situation.
"Let’s go."
We walk toward the Suwon facility. It’s probably about 500 meters. So, we’re able to spot the zombies ahead very quickly.
"Zombies!"
Arjun whispers low, raising his knives into a defensive stance. Wow. What a stance. As expected of a Gurkha mercenary! Even to someone like me who is a layman in these things, Arjun’s stance was quite disciplined. If I were in a situation where I had to fight Arjun, I would have flinched just seeing that stance. It’s the kind of feeling where you know you’ll die if you charge at him.
"It’s okay. Don’t worry. Follow me."
I say that and walk forward with a swagger. Arjun lets out a short "Huh!?" and then hurriedly follows me. The zombies get closer and closer. Arjun grips his knives tightly. Finally, we reach the range where the zombies can perceive us. And the two zombies turn their bodies and heads toward us. Arjun gets into a stance, ready to spring at any moment. But as he watches the two zombies indifferently turn their heads away again, his stance becomes awkward.
"I told you it’s okay. Do you think this is my first time doing this?"
I approach the zombies. I raise my bat and swing it with a full swing at the zombie’s head. With a *crack* sound, the head bursts and rolls away. I look at Arjun, shrug my shoulders, and speak.
"Zombies don’t recognize us. They think we’re fellow zombies. So, you kill that one."
My voice is muffled by the gas mask, but Arjun seems to have understood clearly. Arjun approaches me. He keeps his distance from the zombie standing there blankly, then darts forward and swings his knife. I have never seen such a clean stance. I couldn’t even see exactly how the knife was swung. His arm just moved, and the zombie’s head flew off. Cleanly. The zombie collapses with a thud. Arjun stares at the fallen zombie until the end. The face visible through the gas mask is filled with a look of "What on earth is this?"
"You understand now, right? Then let’s go. We’re going to kill every zombie we see from now on."