The Leader (1)
“If you have a better idea than my plan, please speak up.”
Yubin asked.
“A better method, huh……”
Sergeant First Class Kim stroked his chin and fell into brief thought. As he dragged his feet, Sheriff, who was carrying Hong on his back, grumbled in irritation.
“Agh, hurry up and decide already! How long do I have to keep holding him like this?!”
Yubin checked his watch and gestured for them to speed it up.
“We need time to prepare if we’re going to meet Lieutenant Cho on his way back.”
Rustle—!
Every time he moved, the silver emergency blanket he wore like a cape fluttered noisily, catching the light, while the reflector taped to his chest with blue duct tape still flashed brightly. He looked like an adult seriously playing at being Superman.
Sergeant First Class Kim stared at Yubin for a long moment. With the tactical vest he’d clumsily thrown on over everything, the kid looked utterly ridiculous. Yet thanks to this boy’s ideas, they had saved the soldiers and made it to the Jungnangcheon far more easily than expected. He didn’t know the kid’s affiliation or rank, but he had to acknowledge that sharp little brain of his.
“No, I think you’re right. We’ll take Master Sergeant Hong and head to Taereung. Until we return, I’m leaving the soldiers in your care.”
In the end, Sergeant First Class Kim shook his head and obediently accepted Yubin’s instructions. What mattered now wasn’t who held the baton of command, but how they would safely bring this sudden mission to a close. Yubin nodded as if to say he’d thought it through, then added one more task.
“Then while you’re on the rubber boat, please radio Lieutenant Cho as well. Tell him Master Sergeant Hong was bitten but received the serum injection, so he’ll recover safely. The men will feel more reassured hearing it directly from their comrades than from us.”
“Is Lieutenant Cho still on the road?”
“Ah, yes. He said he’s inside Konkuk University, circling around the shelter buildings, and that he’s almost shaken them off. Still, he’ll need more time to get here. There are just too many zombies scattered across the streets right now.”
Yubin answered in a tone that suggested there was nothing to worry about. As long as the vehicle didn’t suddenly break down, there was virtually no chance of being surrounded by zombies inside the vast Konkuk University shelter.
“There are quite a few with external injuries. They don’t appear to have been bitten, but it would still be best to isolate them. Separate them by floor or something.”
A short while later, the two soldiers who had handed the troops over to Jinwoo came down and relayed precautions to Yubin. Isolating that many wounded when they had neither iron bars nor individual rooms was quite a demanding request, but Yubin replied calmly.
“Understood. We’ll do that. You should head out now. Jinwoo will provide cover until the rubber boat departs. Oh, right! When you return, please bring some 5.56mm rounds. Preferably already loaded in magazines. Jinwoo needs them. And if you can spare it, some water for those soldiers would be appreciated.”
Blankets and other food supplies could be retrieved later using the Zen Coop once the zombie wave died down, but water was an absolute necessity. As Yubin finished listing his requests and Sheriff, who had handed over Hong, turned to leave, Sergeant First Class Kim stopped him.
“Wait a moment! You need to tell us how to care for Master Sergeant Hong. Do we need warm water or any special items? Are there any taboos we should avoid……?”
“We’re not delivering a baby. Why would we need warm water?”
Yubin gave a bitter smile but pressed the transmit button to ask Mingu anyway.
“Hyung, it’s me! Um…… back when you got bitten and survived. I’d like to ask what it was like. Is there anything in particular we need to watch out for?”
-Ssssssh……! What? Who got bitten? You guys? Ssssh……!
Mingu’s voice rose slightly. Yubin answered immediately.
“No, not us. It’s one of the special forces guys. He got bitten, so I gave him the serum.”
-Ssssh……! Ah…… Ssssh!
The tension drained from Mingu’s tone. Then, as if his sadistic nature had kicked in, a low, chuckling snort followed.
-Ssssh……! Heh! Whoever it is…… ssssh! That guy’s gonna suffer, huhu…… Sssshhh……!
“Is this the guy you mentioned earlier? The one who got bitten and survived? He’s not just putting on an act, right?”
Sergeant First Class Kim, who had been listening in, frowned. Hong had lost consciousness, yet someone on the other end of the radio was cracking jokes. It was enough to make anyone angry. Yubin shook his head.
“No. He’s the furthest thing from a complainer.”
Even after a bullet tore through the muscle in his side, even after they cauterized the wound with a red-hot bayonet to stop the bleeding and carried him out, he had never once said it hurt…… Sergeant Go had recalled. For a man like that, the word “act” was ridiculous.
“He just lost consciousness and the fever is burning him up. Should we keep giving him water?”
When Yubin asked, Mingu answered shortly.
-Ssssh……! He can’t drink. He’s unconscious. Ssssh……!
“Then how should we take care of him, hyung?”
-Ssssh……! There’s no real nursing to be done. Just…… endure it. He’ll run a high fever and sweat a lot…… ssssh! So cool him down occasionally and make sure he doesn’t catch a cold draft. Ssssh……!
“What about an IV drip? Ask him if giving him fluids would help with recovery.”
Sergeant First Class Kim grabbed Yubin’s shoulder and requested an additional question. Yubin turned to him with an incredulous look.
“Look, the guy I’m talking to right now isn’t a doctor. He has zero medical expertise. He’s just…… someone with painful firsthand experience.”
Still, he didn’t want to ignore the sergeant’s desperate concern, so Yubin pressed the transmit button again.
“Would an IV be good? What do you think, hyung?”
-Ssssh……! IV? I don’t know about that stuff. If you do give him one…… someone will have to stay by his side the whole time. Because he’ll thrash around…… Ssssh……!
“Got it. Hyung, we’re all safe and things are wrapping up well here. I’ll contact you again later.”
After ending the transmission, Yubin pointed to the rear door of the building whose shutter had been left raised.
“If you go this way, you’ll reach the hill overlooking the Jungnangcheon right away.”
“Haa……! Thanks! We’ll talk more once we get back.”
Only then did Sergeant First Class Kim extend his hand toward Yubin. Now that the intense anger and excitement had subsided a little, he finally realized just how much these young men had given them. To obtain a cure after being bitten by a zombie…… how many people on Earth could receive such a blessing?
“Yes! Have a safe trip.”
Yubin transferred Hong’s MP5 to his prosthetic hand and shook the sergeant’s hand.
“When you return, the shutter will be locked. We’ll secure it with a cable tie, so just cut that and come in.”
While escorting the soldiers to the rear exit alongside Sheriff, Yubin gave detailed instructions. Sergeant First Class Kim, who had been hesitating, finally asked one more question.
“Earlier you told us to bring additional troops…… so does that mean it’s okay for more than five of our men to gather inside this building?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
Yubin readily gave permission. After fighting with insufficient numbers and even suffering a bite on Hong, it was difficult to keep imposing harsh conditions on them. Besides, they would need more personnel anyway to bring back food and supplies, and they also had to rescue the surveillance team waiting in the Seongsu-dong apartment.
“Hey, uncles! Don’t drag it out, hurry up and get going! Let’s move!”
After confirming via radio with Jinwoo that it was safe, Sheriff gripped his hammer tightly and took the lead, dashing out. The beam of his headlamp swayed, lighting up the pitch-black night path leading to the hill trail. The three special forces soldiers followed, carrying Hong on their backs and guarding him.
-Ssssh……! I’m going to fire a few rounds toward the Jungnangcheon, so don’t be startled. Ssssh……!
Jinwoo’s radio message came through. Running alongside the special forces soldiers, Yubin pointed at the darkness-shrouded Jungnangcheon and warned them.
“He’s going to shoot from above toward that direction!”
And immediately after, two shots from a K2 rifle rang out from the rooftop.
Bang—! Bang—!
The two zombies wandering near the rubber boat collapsed limply and were sucked into the black waters of the Jungnangcheon. Before they could even admire the clean marksmanship, Jinwoo on the rooftop pulled the trigger again.
Bang! Bang—! Baaang—!
This time, three zombies on the left side of the rubber boat collapsed as if slammed to the ground. That concluded the covering fire for Hong. The special forces soldiers quickly dashed across the Dongbu Expressway, laid Hong down in the rubber boat, and started the motor.
Vrrrrrr—!
The rubber boat kicked up spray as it rapidly sped northward. As Yubin and Sheriff returned to the building where the soldiers had taken shelter, they overheard Sergeant First Class Kim reporting to Cho Cheol-woong over the special forces radio on channel 6.
-Ssssh! Lieutenant, we’ve completed the rescue of the soldiers and are returning to base briefly for reorganization. Master Sergeant Hong sustained injuries from a zombie, but…… he received an injection of the immunizer’s serum from Private Park’s group and is recovering. We were told a full recovery is certain. Four men are still waiting at the Hwayang intersection, so they can provide support at any time. Ssssh……!
-Ssssh……! Serum injection? ……Is Hong…… in any condition to talk? Ssssh……!
After a brief silence to absorb the shock, Cho Cheol-woong asked in a relatively calm voice. Sergeant First Class Kim answered honestly.
-Ssssh……! He is currently unconscious, so conversation is difficult! However, according to Private Park’s group who have already been fully cured, this is the normal recovery process. Ssssh……!
-Ssssh……! Understood. Don’t panic and focus on returning safely. We’ll reestablish contact once reorganization is complete. Ssssh……!
It was clear he had many questions, but Cho Cheol-woong deliberately held back and instead comforted his men. Sheriff, who had been quietly eavesdropping on the exchange, shrugged as if to say things had turned out well.
“Well…… the old man’s voice sounds like he’s holding up okay. Looks like things are finally wrapping up.”
Though zombie moans had occasionally mixed into the transmission, the fact that no gunshots had rung out was a tremendous improvement. It seemed they no longer needed to worry about Cho Cheol-woong’s group being overrun by zombies.
“Yeah. ……Hold this for me, Sheriff.”
Yubin, who had wiped his face in relief, handed Sheriff a cable tie and lowered the rear shutter.
Rattle—!
Although Jinwoo was picking off zombies from above, there was still plenty of work to do below that required careful attention. After Sheriff secured the rear shutter with the cable tie, the two moved to the front entrance and used climbing rope to tightly bind the broken and dented shutter. This much preparation would prevent them from being startled by zombies sneaking in silently.
“Ugh, it’s cold……”
After finishing the work and climbing the stairs to the rooftop, Yubin rubbed his arms. Even though he had wrapped himself roughly in the silver blanket, the late-November night chill was hard to endure without a jacket. Sheriff also hunched his shoulders in agreement and shivered once.
“No kidding, fuck. Now that the sweat’s drying, I’m starting to feel the cold too. If I’d known it’d be like this, I wouldn’t have given those uncles my jacket……”
But there were others shivering even more violently. The soldiers huddled together in one corner of the rooftop, furtively watching Jinwoo and Samsuk-i.
Gulp—!
When Yubin and Sheriff opened the rooftop door and appeared, the sound of the soldiers swallowing dryly in tension echoed.
The joy of having been rescued from the billiard hall rooftop had been short-lived. They had been moved again to this desolate building rooftop by the river. A place with no blankets, no food, no ammunition, not even a mat. Moreover, the special forces soldiers in uniform had disappeared, leaving only three people in civilian clothes. If they weren’t confused and worried about their future, that would be even stranger.
They had endless questions, but above all, they wanted to know what their current situation was. The fact that they weren’t being issued any ammunition at all made it feel like they were being treated as prisoners…… but even a little thought made it clear that hypothesis made no sense.
What insane soldier in this world would risk his life on a rescue operation for people who weren’t even his comrades? In fact, one of them had actually been bitten by a zombie…….
‘I wonder what happened to that person?’
Whispers came from behind. Yubin pretended not to hear and approached them, speaking up.
“Um…… who is in charge here?”
“Second Lieutenant Seong Juseong. I am the platoon leader.”
Second Lieutenant Seong, sitting at the front, jumped to his feet and stepped forward.
“Thank you so much for rescuing us! How should we address you? And among the three of you, who holds final decision-making authority?”
Second Lieutenant Seong extended his hand for a handshake while subtly trying to probe their identities. He still had no idea who the expressionless marksman, the hulking giant, or this strange short man wrapped in a silver blanket was.
Judging from how the large man had loudly scolded the special forces-looking soldiers who had been protecting them earlier, he seemed to be their superior…… yet he was clearly younger. He wasn’t old enough to have graduated from the Korea Military Academy and been commissioned as an officer, and moreover, this one-armed man wasn’t even using military terminology.
“We aren’t really people worth knowing the names of, and the one with final authority will arrive shortly.”
Yubin answered calmly, mixing in a lie. It would probably be more effective to put Cho Cheol-woong forward when dealing with these soldiers.
“I see……”
Second Lieutenant Seong nodded awkwardly. Yubin looked back and forth between him and the soldiers before beginning his explanation in a calm tone.
“I know it’s cold and difficult, but please endure just a little longer. Supplies are on the way.”
“Yes!”
Though the situation was still awkward, no one voiced any complaints. Of course their throats were dry, and the wind blowing across the rooftop was bitterly cold. But the joy of having just escaped what had felt like certain death was more than enough to overcome that much.
“Before that, we’ll take some safety measures.”
Yubin clapped his hands sharply and pointed at Second Lieutenant Seong.
“Second Lieutenant Seong, please take command and move the wounded over here. We need to isolate them for the safety of the other comrades.”
Yubin pointed to the far opposite end of the building. He didn’t bother asking again if anyone had been bitten. No one would willingly raise their hand and confess anyway. The rank-and-file soldiers firmly believed that anyone bitten would be shot immediately. And up until now, that had been the truth.
“I don’t know where you plan to isolate them, but even if you do…… won’t the danger remain the same? You’re saying you’ll house only the wounded separately……”
Second Lieutenant Seong, one of the wounded himself, cautiously raised an objection. He was probably worried that if even one liar was mixed among them, all the innocent wounded sharing the space would end up bitten. But that wasn’t what Yubin had in mind.
“No. I’m not planning to lock them in separate rooms. We don’t have the facilities for that…… and dispersing them would make it harder to protect them.”
“Then what exactly do you intend to do……”
“Those boot laces.”
Yubin pointed at Second Lieutenant Seong’s combat boots.
“Have the wounded tie both boot laces together into one tight knot. Above their ankles, and a knot that won’t come undone even if pulled hard. Do that, then sit with about two meters of space between each person.”
Simply tying both boot laces together would drastically reduce the danger if they turned into zombies. The moment they tried to take a step to attack someone, they would trip hard. Zombies weren’t smart enough to realize their feet were bound and move both legs at once.
“I know this will be uncomfortable, but please endure it for one night for everyone’s safety. You should still be able to take care of your business like this.”
Yubin demonstrated by bringing his legs together and hopping, then gave the wounded one final warning.
“Keep shining your flashlights on the person next to you. If you see anyone vomiting or hiding an injury, report it immediately with a loud voice. Failure to do so will cause even greater harm. Anyone who knows and doesn’t report it will also be punished.”
Of course he didn’t mean it, but it seemed necessary to issue a stern warning at least once. After listening to Yubin’s explanation, Second Lieutenant Seong gave orders to his platoon members.
“All right, follow this man’s instructions! Wounded personnel, do not hide your condition. Move to the far left end, then tie both combat boot laces together into one knot! These are the people who rescued us! Show your gratitude by obeying!”
Shuffle—!
More than half the soldiers stood up and moved to the left end of the building. They sat down at intervals, loosened their boot laces, and began tying them into single knots.
Sniff sniff sniff—!
Samsuk-i slowly walked among the wounded soldiers, carefully sniffing each one. He stopped in front of one soldier and let out a low, deep bark.
“Eol—!”