The Trapper's Ambush
I ended up inside a zombie apocalypse novel. Unfairly, no one took my side. No one told me to take a break. But I couldn't complain about it either. Kim Gijun and Kim Daehan were busy sorting survivors from the injured. Kim Yeonhua and Lee Ayoung were circling the campus in case of any unexpected situations. Kang Siwoo? That guy had just come back from scouting and was already itching to head out again. Everyone was working their asses off, so I couldn't exactly whine by myself.
I'd planned on slacking off a bit while skimming the cream, but at this rate, instead of sipping honey, it felt like I'd be the one producing it. Raising bees, squeezing out honey, refining it, and licking up tear-soaked honey. If I had my way, I'd beg that bastard Kang Siwoo to get his nose bloodied. I wished some dangerous mutant would show up and put him in mortal danger. Then he'd come crawling back, begging me to save him. On second thought, wherever he went, I'd probably be there too. Think about it—who was more useful in combat than me? I'd sense dangerous mutants early with my body heat and warn everyone. My fast regeneration made me decent meat-shield material. Plus, when push came to shove, adrenaline let me match Noh Changhun's combat power. Well, maybe not quite match Noh Changhun. That guy wasn't even human.
"Yeji-ssi."
"Ah, yes."
"What are you thinking so hard about? You look like you want to punch someone."
Yeah, I did want to punch someone. Just two hits. Noh Changhun, who dumped me here and ran off to Haeundae. And this bastard who sweet-talked me into beekeeping together under the excuse of "honey." I wanted to smack both their asses twice with my Beopbong. But they were both way stronger than me, so I had no choice but to bend. I clenched my teeth again, muttered something plausible, and looked away.
"I was just thinking about my friend who's probably in Haeundae by now."
"Not thinking about me, then?"
"Come on, what kind of joke is that? Why would I be thinking about you, Kang Siwoo-ssi?"
"I've been working you pretty hard, after all."
Kang Siwoo smiled smoothly. For a split second I almost swung, but I really held back. Kim Yeonhua and Lee Ayoung were still within sight. If I lost it and hit him here, my position would get awkward. So I swallowed my rising anger and endured his teasing for a while. Besides, the guy just said whatever he wanted and left. After being left alone like a duck egg on the Nakdong River for some time, the ever-smiling Kang Siwoo waved his hand.
"Sorry for leaving without saying anything. There's just a lot to do."
"I understand. You must've been busy."
"I had to assign rooms to the survivors and make plans with the professors, so I was delayed."
"So, shall we head out now?"
"Yes. I hope you weren't too uncomfortable while waiting."
Kang Siwoo beamed. Yeah, I wasn't uncomfortable—except for having to squat here like a dog without its owner. Still, I couldn't get angry or point it out. He'd been working, so what could I say? The bastard knew that, which was why he was teasing me like this. I stood up as if nothing was wrong and lightly stretched.
"Then let's get going. The thought of taking a walk with you, Yeji-ssi, puts me in a good mood."
"I'm happy because I get to save the injured too."
We smiled at each other and bumped fists to show our enthusiasm. On the surface, it probably looked like a heart-pounding scene from a shonen manga. But I could tell from his eyes. That friendly line from earlier basically meant: "I'm in a good mood because I plan to work you until your mouth tastes sweet." Of course, I wasn't about to just sit there either, so my reply was basically: "I'm pissed because I know you'll grind me down." After exchanging those "I want to punch you" looks, we left Seunghak Campus together.
Once the campus was out of sight, Kang Siwoo gave an order.
"Arm."
"Here."
"This is convenient."
"....Haa."
We hadn't even walked for a few minutes before I was already sighing heavily. Social life really was exhausting. You had to suck up to shitty bosses, manage your image, play politics to keep your head, and still deliver results. Come to think of it, this situation might be even more hardcore. Before the outbreak, the worst case was just losing your job, but here the worst case was death.
"Anyway, you'd better treat me right."
"Of course I will."
"I'll get the reward you promised, and then some."
"Why?"
"Because you'd work me even harder than that!"
I couldn't hold back my anger anymore. Besides, holding it in and staying quiet wasn't my style. I wanted to stab this guy with his own sword. My inner troublemaker DNA was whispering: Are you really going to just take this? But what could I do? I'd have to take it. If I tried to stab him, he'd obviously counterattack. This time it wouldn't be my arms getting pierced—it'd be my neck getting cut off. So I couldn't say anything more to the smiling Kang Siwoo.
"Yeji-ssi. Look, there's a convenience store over there."
"If you just clear out the zombies inside, I'll get to work."
"Sounds good."
I slightly opened my bag so I could stuff medical supplies in at any time and peeked inside the store. Luckily, there didn't seem to be any zombies. Since there was nothing to deal with, I walked right in. Suddenly, Kang Siwoo grabbed the back of my neck and threw me backward.
"Hurk!"
"Kiyaaaaak!"
A mutant with spheres dangling from its body opened its mouth wide. It spread its grotesquely transformed limbs as if about to throw the spheres. Of course, before it could, the mutant's head was severed and fell to the floor. Before I could even process what kind of mutant it was, the spheres exploded, and a suspicious dark-red liquid sloshed out.
"What the fuck."
As expected, the floor began to melt and sizzle. I let out a hollow laugh at the sheer absurdity. If I'd taken even two of those, I wouldn't have survived. They were on a completely different level from the spheres the Toad threw. Kang Siwoo, as if used to this kind of situation, slowly sheathed his sword and spoke.
"It's a Trapper."
"A Trapper...? Didn't they look different?"
"It's a subspecies of Trapper. There are all sorts of mutants to begin with."
Kang Siwoo placed what looked like boxes around the convenience store entrance and explained in detail. Normally, Trappers were long-armed mutants that carried spheres dangling from their waists. They stuck those spheres to walls with something like adhesive, which was why they were called Trappers. Yeah, I'd read that much in the novel. But I'd never seen this subspecies before. It was a mutant that appeared after consuming enough calories to mutate four or five regular zombies. Its biggest trait was ambushing survivors who wandered in without knowing from hidden spots. It killed them cleanly so they couldn't regenerate or anything. If you hadn't been hit by one before, it was apparently impossible to notice... I could accept not knowing everything. I was only human, after all. Still. Still, fuck. If I'd taken all of those, I'd definitely be dead, right? So this was a life-threatening crisis, and the Trapper had still been alive. Naturally, my temper flared.
"Useless piece of shit!"
If my body had heated up at least, Kang Siwoo would've noticed. Then he would've been on guard, and I wouldn't have been in mortal danger like this. Kang Siwoo tried to encourage me by saying I was still very useful, but I couldn't help feeling pissed. Worried there might be more Trappers around, I frantically swept medical supplies into my bag and rushed outside.
"Now, Yeji-ssi. Let me teach you some common sense."
"What?"
"Medicine usually starts its expiration countdown after it's opened."
"Oh, really?"
"So don't bother taking medicine that looks like it's been used before. You don't know how long it's been sitting around."
"Living point noted."
"Then let's move to another location. There's a pharmacy over there."
Kang Siwoo smiled brightly and grabbed my left arm. Honestly, this was one thing I liked. When I was with him, I didn't have to think. He made the optimal decisions on his own, so all I had to do was follow his orders. What was the point of showing off my intelligence? It was better to leave the thinking to someone who knew how to think. I had my own specialties even without using my head, so it was better to play to those strengths. Though my specialties were just fast regeneration, being a one-trick Beopbong pony, and a radar that didn't even work that well. What the hell was the point?
"You don't look like you're in a good mood."
"Ah, no. I'm in a great mood."
"Even after nearly dying, you're still in a good mood. I like that—you seem like the kind of talent I prefer."
"What?"
"Just kidding. Look, the pharmacy's coming into view."
"Yeah, I see the pharmacy."
His deliberate needling was annoying, but I clenched my teeth and swallowed my anger. Fighting would only hurt me, and it was better to grab the medicine quickly and head back. Fortunately, the pharmacy was relatively intact. "Intact" here meant more than half the doors and walls were still standing, and there were no zombies inside. There didn't seem to be any Trappers either, so I quietly opened the door and slid my Beopbong inside. It looked empty, but honestly, I couldn't be sure.
"Pfft."
"Shut up."
"Yes, ma'am. I'll follow headquarters' orders."
Kang Siwoo grinned slyly. Then he stood blocking the door as if standing guard. That was one small mercy. If he'd kept needling me inside, I probably would've snapped. He did encourage me at the right times, but anger was still anger. Anyway, after grabbing the necessary medicine first, I returned to Seunghak Campus with Kang Siwoo.