Chapter 51 - Beyond Tragedy and Despair
Despite a minor hiccup, Kim Jun stuffed the car with plenty of clothes before settling into the driver's seat, lost in thought.
“Rash guards, leggings, even lace skirts! These days, they really have everything, don't they?”
“You didn't forget the winter clothes, right?”
“Well… we did say this was a one-night, two-day expedition, didn't we?”
“Ah, that's true.”
Even as Do Kyung and Emily chatted, Kim Jun sat with a cigarette between his lips, deep in contemplation.
He mapped out their future route in his head and calculated the probabilities.
“Huu—”
“Oppa, are you thinking about that guy from earlier?”
“What a soft heart. Thinking about the man you almost killed?”
“It's not like that.”
Kim Jun shook his head and, as the sky gradually darkened, headed toward their next destination.
“Alright~ We've got a fully loaded car. Where should we go next?”
At Emily's question, Kim Jun turned the vehicle toward the outer ring road.
A precious piece of information flashed through his mind—something a man had given him right before dying, along with everything he owned.
“If you go to the exact opposite end of this area, there's a place called Sinreung-myeon. I mentioned I couldn't save the police officers there, right? I'm thinking of heading to the secret warehouse those people told me about.”
“Huh?! The exact opposite? How far is that?”
“About 25 kilometers.”
Normally, riding in a manager-driven van, he would have thought nothing of the distance. But now they had to weave through winding country roads while taking down every zombie in their path.
That was why Kim Jun chose a shortcut.
“We'll take the outer ring road. Let's hope it's clear too.”
At Kim Jun's words, Emily recalled the past and spoke cautiously.
“That… was it National Route 1? The first road I took. The six-lane highway was completely jammed, and there were so many zombies.”
“…”
“That's why we ended up spending the night out there, right~?”
There was no guarantee it wouldn't happen again, but they had to go and check.
After securing their first batch of survival supplies, they prepared to gather weapons depending on time and circumstances.
At the same time, Kim Jun decided to pick up additional gear.
“Do Kyung and Emily, wear the high beams I prepared.”
“Ah, yes!”
“Wait, where did I put it again?”
It was a safety helmet used for nighttime construction, equipped with an HD-grade headlamp that could brightly illuminate the area ahead with the press of a button.
Kim Jun checked that both of them had their equipment on and began preparing for the coming darkness.
“You both know this, right? Once it gets pitch black, this is all the light we have.”
After giving them the warning, they slowly made their way past Deokwon Mountain toward the outer ring road—only for Kim Jun to spot another group of zombies.
“Stop! Prepare for combat.”
“Okay. Checking rear and flanks… nothing in the grass, but at the construction site… there's a crane over there, and something's definitely moving.”
Kim Jun decided this alley was impassable and raised his gun, picking off the zombies in front.
Do Kyung matched his pace, using her slingshot to nail every visible zombie with bolts.
Ding—
Crack—
Click— Bang!
Crunch—
Though the sounds differed, the alternating cracks of the shotgun, air gun, and slingshot dropped the zombies like flies. A few charged at them beneath the setting sun, but it was futile.
Once all the obstructing zombies were dealt with, Kim Jun quietly drove forward, slowly passing through and heading back toward the outer ring road.
They advanced while steadily clearing out zombies, and finally, a massive, brilliantly lit overpass appeared ahead on its towering pillars.
“We're here!”
“Whoa, it's really high up?”
Kim Jun carefully drove up the entrance ramp, praying the road would be clear.
If this path was blocked, their weapon farming trip to Sinreung-myeon would have to be postponed for quite some time.
They slowly weaved past the burnt-out vehicles until they finally reached the outer ring expressway. Kim Jun flicked on the headlights.
All three of them froze, mouths agape.
“Ah, fuck!”
“Shit!”
“Whoa?!”
It was a scene that perfectly fit the phrase “road of death.”
Dozens of cars remained tangled from a massive pile-up that must have happened long ago. The stench of rotting corpses filled the air as zombies wandered everywhere.
Even during the day—or rather, especially during the day—the risk of fighting zombies that could swarm from every direction was far too high.
“Ugh~ We can't go through this.”
Emily, watching from the back seat, voiced her opinion, and Kim Jun could only shake his head.
“Oppa, we'll have to back out of here. Can you manage?”
“We'll have to try.”
In the end, they couldn't even turn around at the overpass entrance. Kim Jun carefully reversed, dodging the wrecks they had passed earlier with almost supernatural driving skill—no rear camera needed.
The slope made the loot in the trunk rattle loudly, and Emily's hips bounced with every jolt.
“Drive carefully~”
Despite her words, Kim Jun kept an eye on the rearview mirror as he skillfully backed down the ramp.
Feeling like he'd wasted time, he quickly made up his mind while searching for another route.
“We should go fill up on gas.”
“Huh?”
From the passenger seat, Do Kyung asked as they switched to Plan B. Kim Jun lit another cigarette and answered.
“There's a gas station near the road we just passed. Let's top up there.”
“Hmm~ If we load that too, won't the car be completely packed?”
At Emily's comment from the back, Kim Jun tapped the ceiling of the car.
“You didn't know? There's a carrier box up here.”
“Really? Then I guess we won't have to sleep smelling like gasoline.”
Emily nodded, saying she'd get used to it, and they continued driving as the sky grew darker, headlights cutting through the gloom.
As true darkness settled in, Kim Jun realized just how short the days had become.
“Stay alert from now on. Once we reach the gas station, we'll find a spot nearby with no zombies and spend the night there.”
At his words, Emily asked quietly.
“Um… even now, if we just fill up on gas, couldn't we head back?”
“If there's more we can grab, it'll take extra time, won't it?”
Kim Jun checked the time and continued.
“If we're done before midnight, we'll head straight back. But I'm planning to scrape up every last thing I can.”
Both Do Kyung and Emily nodded at that.
“Might as well think of it as camping outside.”
“That… the zombies can't break into the car, right?”
When Do Kyung asked cautiously, both Emily and Kim Jun gave a thumbs-up, assuring her the vehicle was extremely sturdy.
“Don't worry about that. I already spent a night inside it myself.”
“…”
“We've got blankets too, so it'll be fine. I'll sleep in the driver's seat.”
Kim Jun slowly calculated their cargo capacity. Even if he slept in the driver's seat, they had enough blankets and pillows prepared.
Actually, before that, shouldn't we find a place we can barricade first?
As they drove through the area, Kim Jun thought of an old slate warehouse attached to a farm equipment repair shop.
It was near the gas station they were heading to. If they couldn't make it home tonight, he planned to let the girls sleep inside the warehouse while he scavenged tools, tractor and combine batteries, and parts from the repair shop to use for reinforcing their shelter back home.
In other words, even if the two girls rested after a hard day of looting, Kim Jun would be staying up all night gathering supplies until dawn.
When they finally arrived at the gas station, Kim Jun got out and swept the area with his HD light before immediately grabbing his air gun to inspect the interior.
He then began transferring gasoline from the drum barrels in the storage shed into empty jerry cans. After turning off the engine, he filled the tank with enough fuel to cover the day's driving.
Meanwhile, Do Kyung and Emily swept their HD lights in every direction, checking for any movement nearby.
Kim Jun even handed Do Kyung a pair of night-vision goggles originally meant for mountain use so she could spot threats from farther away.
Once he'd filled the tank and loaded the carrier box on the roof rack with kerosene, diesel, and gasoline using the ladder, it happened.
“Oh my! What's that?!”
“?”
At Emily's sudden shout, Kim Jun quickly set down the last kerosene can, folded the ladder, and rushed over.
“Hey, what is it?”
“Something's running toward us over there… is it a zombie?”
“Damn it! Then aim already!”
Kim Jun pulled out his shotgun with the infrared scope and took aim immediately.
Something was definitely sprinting toward them. Just as he was about to pull the trigger—
“Wait! Isn't that the person from earlier?”
“!?”
When Kim Jun looked closer, he saw a figure wearing a hood pulled low, clutching the backpack from before, staggering as they ran.
He couldn't tell if they were infected or not, but a whole swarm of zombies was chasing right behind them. As he hesitated, the person suddenly collapsed.
Then they pulled something out of the bag, unzipped their jacket, and hugged it tightly. Everyone saw what it was.
“Is that something moving?”
“What do you mean, something moving?”
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god?! That's a baby she's holding!”
“So she's a mother?!”
To confirm, Kim Jun shouted immediately.
“Both of you, get in the back seat!”
“Uh, yeah?! Not the passenger seat?”
“Hurry!”
At Kim Jun's command, Do Kyung and Emily grabbed the ladder, scrambled inside, and slammed the doors shut.
Kim Jun jumped in right after and started the engine.
“Haa… haa…”
Hajun's Mom had been running desperately. After collapsing, she gritted her teeth and forced herself up again.
Her mouth was filled with the taste of blood from biting her lip so hard. She hadn't eaten properly for days, yet she had been fleeing from zombies nonstop.
The pain from when the survivors had beaten her for trying to steal their belongings left her gasping for air. Her face was deathly pale, completely drained of color.
She was missing one shoe. Her toenails were broken, the soles of her feet torn open and bleeding profusely. She'd fallen and rolled across the ground, shredding her knees and shins as well.
But to save even just her son, she had thrown away her bag and tucked the baby inside her clothes before starting to walk again.
The light shining ahead.
She didn't know who it belonged to, but she would bet everything on it.
Her knees and shoulders felt crushed. Her feet were torn apart. Now, instead of sweat, pus and blood flowed from her body. Her vision blurred, yet she kept running.
If those people were survivors and would at least take her child, she would accept whatever came after—even if it meant the end of her strength in this hellish life.
But in her staggering steps, her leg caught on a broken piece of concrete.
“Ugh!”
Thud!
Crack—
Even as she fell, she tried to protect the baby by rolling onto her shoulder. A sickening sound rang out.
She had to move again… but no strength remained.
Somehow, she kept the baby from crying as it squirmed in her arms. She lay there, trying to get up, reaching for something to grab onto… but her arms wouldn't move.
She thought she'd endured so well until now, but it seemed this was as far as she could go.
“Haa…”
Her eyes slowly closed as her hands weakly cradled the baby.
And then the zombies that had been running toward her finally reached Hajun's Mom.
KYAAAAAAA!!!!
The horde of zombies intended to rip apart both the mother and the newborn in her arms, feasting on fresh blood and flesh.
Bang—
At that moment, a gunshot rang out, followed by a flash of light.
Gunfire erupted in the darkness.
Click—
“Fucking hell! There are so many of them!”
Bang!
Kim Jun fired the shotgun wildly, barely managing to drop the zombies closing in on the baby's mother from two meters away.
Behind them, marathon-runner-type zombies charged forward. He dropped them one by one, then—without time to reload—drew the revolver from his waist.
Bang— Bang— Bang— Bang—!!!!
Kim Jun stopped the car and stepped outside.
With walking zombies closing in from behind, he first shone his light on the survivor to check if she was still alive.
“…Ugh, mm…”
“It's that same person from before!”
The one who had threatened him with a useless bread knife, gotten her arm twisted, been beaten by all three of them, and then ran away… he never imagined she was a woman carrying a baby.
As Kim Jun examined her with the light, his expression grew darker.
She was a complete wreck—covered in blood, feet mangled, suffering from severe dehydration and exhaustion. She could barely open her eyes.
He pulled out his canteen and slowly poured water into her mouth. She barely managed to move her throat and parted her lips.
“Ma'am! Can you hear me?”
“Ugh… ugh…”
“I'll give you exactly five seconds. Were you bitten? Or not?”
“…Krrgh…”
When she finally opened her eyes and saw the light, she squeezed out her last remaining strength in her dying state.
“Not… bitten… so… the baby… first…”
In that moment, Kim Jun took a gamble.
Her body was covered in blood and he had no idea what condition she was in, but he first gave her water, then took off his motorcycle helmet and put it on her. He picked up the baby and placed both of them in the passenger seat.
As darkness fully descended and more zombies approached, Kim Jun turned on the headlights, preparing to break through them.
“Haa… haa…”
The mother, who had barely moistened her throat, now wore the helmet that hid her face. When Kim Jun saw the squirming baby, his heart ached, but he loaded the revolver and placed it beside him.
When he had first rescued the eight top stars, he had been most suspicious of Eun Ji and had pointed the revolver at her too.
This was reinforced plastic. If she turned into a zombie and went berserk, he would have to aim through the small opening and finish her with one clean shot.
That was why he had put the high-beam helmet on her—so she couldn't bite anyone even if she turned.
But if she still went berserk and tried to attack the baby she had begged him to protect… Kim Jun would probably be traumatized for life, but he would still pull the trigger on the child.
“Oppa! Is that person okay?”
“Oh my god! What do we do? What do we do…”
Both of them seemed deeply shaken.
Especially Emily, who had seen the baby come out of the bag. She muttered to herself.
“If I had hit that backpack with the cane when I was trying to subdue her… I would have hit the baby inside…”
The thought gave her goosebumps. Forgetting the earlier situation, her eyes suddenly grew moist as overwhelming guilt washed over her.
Kim Jun silently continued searching for shelter. At this point, the distance back home was far too great.
Moreover, as dawn approached, he could feel the number of zombies increasing even though he couldn't see them. With no other choice, he decided they would have to stay at the farm equipment repair center warehouse he had mentioned earlier.
“!”
He made a U-turn with the headlights on full beam. A thought flashed through Kim Jun's mind as he looked ahead.
“…!!!”
He had only ten seconds to decide.
Counting on his fingers, he considered every possible outcome and made his decision.
“Fuck it! No choice.”
When he glanced at the passenger seat, he remembered the infection timeline he had learned while looting the hospital with Mari. He calculated exactly how long it would take to reach ‘that place’ and floored the accelerator.
Whenever zombies appeared, he simply rammed through them like a bumper car. Even as grotesque screams and moans echoed from all directions, he drove straight ahead.
“Oppa! Where are we going now?!”
At Emily's question, Kim Jun shouted loudly.
“The place we'll stay tonight!”
Whether this would become a catastrophe that killed them all, or a divine move that saved everyone, had already been decided in those ten seconds of calculation earlier.
Kim Jun arrived at the spot where he had previously shot zombies with his slingshot and shotgun while heading for the outer ring road.
He knew there was another side path here. He found it and turned onto the unpaved road.
Rattle— Rattle!
“Kyaa!”
A scream came from behind. He turned on the interior light and checked the passenger seat. The mother was gasping for breath, her hands trembling violently as she held her baby.
Kim Jun guessed how large the obstacles ahead might be and drove up the mountain.
He avoided the trees, not caring that the bumper was getting dented or the sides were getting scratched, and slowly climbed upward.
After going a certain distance, he slammed on the brakes and took a deep breath.
“Emily… and Do Kyung…”
“…Yes.”
“Is either of you able to drive?”
“!”
“If I don't come back in ten minutes, one of you get in the driver's seat and honk the horn like crazy.”
“O-oppa! What are you—?”
“I'll be right back!”
Kim Jun got out of the car immediately, slung the shotgun over his shoulder, and gripped the revolver and HD light in both hands. He prepared to climb the mountain using proper grip technique.
Inside the mountain, with only the HD light cutting through complete darkness, just as Kim Jun was about to move forward—
A soft, glowing lantern light approached from ahead.
“…”
“Amitabha…. The commotion outside must mean an honored guest has arrived…”
As if he had been waiting, the Old Monk slowly approached the vehicle holding the lantern.
Was this what it felt like to meet a Buddha in the middle of hell?
“Have you come to offer prayers at dawn?”
“Could we… stay here for one night? There are quite a few of us.”
“Hehehe! Aren't you the one who offered us kerosene last time? Thanks to you, the ondol floor is very warm. Please, everyone come inside!”
The Old Monk showed that same benevolent smile from before and slowly prepared to guide Kim Jun and his group.
When Kim Jun returned to the car, the two top stars—who looked like they were about to cry—quietly got out.
He opened the passenger door, first handed the baby to Emily and Do Kyung, then looked at the mother whose consciousness was rapidly fading and said.
“We don't know if she's infected yet, so I'll take care of her.”
“Oh my~ There is no need for that.”
The Old Monk quietly approached and looked at the severely injured mother in the passenger seat. He gently reached out, removed the helmet covering her face, and tried to help her down.
“Monk!”
“If an evil spirit had truly possessed her, would she have remained this quiet while coming all the way here? Moreover, if we leave her like this, wouldn't we end up witnessing a scene of slaughter right before our eyes?”
Even as the blood she had shed soaked his kasaya robe, the Old Monk carefully lifted her out and took the lead, saying he would support her himself.
“If you are still suspicious, this humble monk will walk in front. You may point your gun at my back.”
“…”
“I will keep my distance and lead the way. Follow slowly. If anything seems strange, do as you wish.”
Thus, the Old Monk supported the blood-covered mother while holding the lantern and walking ahead.
Everyone present headed into the hidden temple that zombies dared not approach.
As if under divine protection…