The Bottom Has a Bottom
The drainage construction proceeded much faster than expected. As expected, you can't beat people who have spent their lives rolling around on construction sites. The feeling of relief I get every time the site foreman, Nguyen Van Minh, flashes his white teeth like a bowl of pho... The security force also started running more stably than I thought, and above all, the people who were just breathing air at Gongdeok Station started moving with motivation once they had work to do. In other words, the whole station was buzzing with life. It didn't feel like mere survival; it felt like living. That’s a very good thing. ...However.
"Boss, I'm done with the work."
"Ah, for the last time, I am neither a boss nor a representative!!"
...It seems these guys are getting a kick out of teasing me. My face burns, so I just slam my stamp onto the logistics ledger—thump! thump! (For the record, the stamp belongs to my brother.) I hold the title of representative for the 100 refugees from Mapo Station, and because I was involved in the process of integrating the survivor communities at Gongdeok Station, I ended up taking on the position of 'General Representative.' In short, the moment my brother left, the work fell right onto my head.
"Ugh... my head..."
I ruffled my hair and flipped through the ledger. At that moment, someone next to me laughed as if they found it amusing.
"...Shall I start calling you 'Your Majesty'?"
"Jang Yeeun, please, don't do that."
I stopped signing and glared at Jang Yeeun. She was standing next to me with her arms crossed, smiling as if making fun of me was her primary job.
"...You have a lot of work, don't you?"
"Too much..."
I slumped back into my chair and sighed. Jang Yeeun held back a laugh and lightly stroked my hair.
"Representative, hang in there."
"...Are you really going to call me that?"
"Yes. Representative."
"...Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
I grabbed my head and collapsed onto the desk. This isn't how it's supposed to be... Jang Yeeun giggled and hugged me lightly from behind.
"...What are you doing?"
I was flustered and tried to pull away, but she wrapped her arms tighter and whispered quietly near my ear.
"Sieun, your body is so cold."
"..."
I could feel Jang Yeeun’s warmth, however dully, through my skin. The sensation was comforting. We had agreed to speak informally to each other, but for some reason, the polite speech stuck to my tongue and wouldn't fall off. It was a warmth I hadn't felt in so long. I was about to let my guard down and lean into her when—
Bang! Bang!
A rough knocking sound echoed. It was Mr. Kim Daeyang. With an air rifle slung over his shoulder, he didn't even wait for an answer before he shoved the door open. And—
"..."
"..."
"..."
Jang Yeeun and I froze at the same time. She was still wrapping her arms around me, and I was leaning against her. It was... a rather awkward situation, no matter how you looked at it. Mr. Kim stared at us for a moment with a stiff face, then closed the door without a word. And—bang, bang. He knocked again.
"...Come in."
I turned bright red and scrambled to pull away, while Jang Yeeun couldn't hold back her playful laughter and quietly chuckled, "Hahaha..." After a moment of silence passed, I covered my face with both hands and took a deep breath.
"...What is it..."
My face is still burning. Seriously, what could it be at a time like this? But—Mr. Kim Daeyang trailed off as if he were flustered, then immediately got to the point with a serious face.
"...The survivors, no, I mean, the soldiers."
I peeked at him through my fingers. Soldiers?
"Soldiers?"
"They're doing a 'knock-defection' in front of the iron gate we installed at the Airport Railroad station..."
"...What?!?!"
I jumped up from my seat. Knock-defection? It’s not like North Korean soldiers are defecting; the ROK military is doing a knock-defection to the ROK military?!
"They said they came from Seoul Station."
Mr. Kim Daeyang slung his air rifle back over his shoulder and continued.
"For now, I have them waiting behind the barricade."
"...That's impossible."
I scrambled to think. Seoul Station? That was a zone that fell quickly even in the original novel. It’s a key hub where railways and roads are concentrated, but because it’s such an open area, it’s the perfect place for infected to swarm... which means it’s a place already teeming with countless infected. Soldiers are coming from a place like that?
I glanced at Jang Yeeun. Her expression was also stiff. She looked ready to grab her bow at any moment.
"Defection... but that's strange."
"You're right. Soldiers defecting to soldiers? It sounds like Seoul Station has already fallen."
...Could it be?
"Mr. Kim, how many soldiers came?"
"Approximately... about 30."
"...30?"
My heart sank. That number is...
"That's too few to be a unit that 'escaped' from Seoul Station."
"..."
"...I have to go there right now."
I walked cautiously toward the door with tense steps. Behind me, the security force and soldiers were on high alert. All their gazes were focused on me. ...Ugh, seriously, why do I have to take on this kind of work? On the outside, I walked as calmly as I could. Right, I have Jang Yeeun, the protagonist, by my side. And—a voice rang out from outside the door.
"...I am Second Lieutenant Jung Yihyun. I wish to defect to Gongdeok Station."
...Defecting to Gongdeok Station. I heard tense breathing from behind the door.
"...How many are there?"
After a moment of silence, Second Lieutenant Jung Yihyun answered in a suppressed voice.
"...Currently 30."
I swallowed hard. 30... and the words that followed made my heart sink decisively. Actually, maybe because I’m a half-zombie, my heart doesn't beat that fast, but anyway.
"...There was a rebellion."
Jung Yihyun said in a trembling voice from beyond the door. "Our platoon... couldn't possibly join the rebel side, so we deserted."
"..."
Rebellion. The security guards and soldiers behind me started to murmur. I swallowed my saliva and stopped them.
"Be quiet."
And I took one more step toward the door.
"...Who started the rebellion?"
At my question, there was a moment of silence from beyond the door, then Second Lieutenant Jung Yihyun cleared his throat.
"I was originally stationed at City Hall Station. But..."
He let out a deep sigh.
"It’s chaos right now."
Second Lieutenant Jung Yihyun’s voice seemed to be trying to maintain composure, but, "A military rebellion occurred in Sejong City, and President Choi Jaeyeol has lost contact."
"....!!!"
For a moment, I doubted my ears. Because that didn't happen in the original story. A military rebellion in Sejong City. And President Choi Jaeyeol losing contact.
"Lies..."
However, Second Lieutenant Jung Yihyun was firm.
"It is not a lie."
Because the voice coming from beyond the door was so full of conviction.
"An organization called the 'National Reconstruction Committee' has been established, centered around the military."
"National Reconstruction Committee...?"
"Yes."
Second Lieutenant Jung Yihyun gritted his teeth.
"They are attempting to communicate with military units in Seoul. Some units have already joined the Reconstruction Committee."
"...They're insane."
I covered my mouth. 'National Reconstruction Committee.' The military is trying to seize power directly. And that too, in the middle of an infectious disease outbreak.
"Everyone is crazy. Fighting among themselves in this situation..."
I bit my lip hard. Civil war. Rebellion. And government collapse. The world was already going crazy, but now even what I knew was crumbling. It was becoming more chaotic and more desperate. Even this world, where hell had already unfolded, was falling into a new abyss. There’s no need to prove in real-time that the bottom has a bottom!
I gritted my teeth. Biting until my fingernails drew blood. At that moment, a warm touch wrapped around my wrist.
"...Ah."
I took a breath, and only then did I calm down a little. Looking to my side, Jang Yeeun was quietly holding my hand.
"...It's okay."
A soft whisper.
"..."
I nodded slowly. At that moment, Second Lieutenant Jung Yihyun’s voice came from beyond the door.
"...There were few infected at Seoul Station."
"What?"
"So, fortunately, we were able to escape."
There were no infected at Seoul Station? In such a crowded place, a place where such chaos had occurred?
"That... was strange. The infected were as if... they had disappeared on purpose."
Something is going wrong. But before I could even chew on that—
"Lieutenant!! A horde of infected has appeared in the rear!!"
A desperate shout rang out from beyond the door. At that moment, Second Lieutenant Jung Yihyun shouted desperately toward the door.
"We have no ammunition left! Please... please..."
I squeezed my eyes shut. Ah. Ah. Ah!!! This damn world. Who made this kind of world... I did, damn it! I clenched my fists. Then,
"—Open it."
"...Pardon?"
The security guard next to me looked at me with a flustered face.
"Open the door."
"..."
Ah, seriously!!!
"Open the door!!"
Jang Yeeun raised her bow and aimed it at the security guard. Only then did the guard open the door with a terrified face.
Creeeeeak—
As the iron gate opened, there were soldiers in miserable states. Blood-stained uniforms, vacant eyes, soldiers crawling in in a state of near-exhaustion. One was limping as if he had walked too much, and another was holding a broken rifle in his hand. And beyond them—infected running like crazy. They were running so fast it was suffocating, like a train with broken brakes.
"Get in quickly!!!"
Then the soldiers tumbled into the barricade as if they were falling. One, two, three... But the very last soldier—fell over.
"…!!"
At that moment, I moved instinctively.
—Thump!
My foot smashed into the infected’s chest and sent it flying. The infected flew backward and rolled along the floor, and I immediately kicked the fallen soldier, pushing him inside.
"Lee Sieun—!!"
At that moment, my collar was pulled hard. My body was thrown violently into the barricade. Thump—! Immediately, the iron gate slammed shut! —Bang! Bang! Bang! The infected were slamming against the iron gate like crazy from the outside, and the sound of sharp fingernails scratching the gate spread horribly. But then.
—Click.
Jang Yeeun opened the small window of the barricade. She raised her bow and aimed quietly, and a whistle made of a tin can was attached to the tip of the arrow.
Whoosh—!
The arrow flew somewhere far away, and—wheeeeeeeeeee—! The sound of the whistle rang out. Then—
—Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!!!!!
The infected that had been banging on the iron gate like crazy instantly turned their direction. And—
"..."
"..."
Silence. Only then did we realize that we had been holding our breath.