Walking Daddy

So-Yeon was twirling around in a clean dress. I was sitting on the couch in the living room, clapping at her moves with a foolish smile on my face. She seemed to like this dress that I’d bought for her, a dress that resembled the one worn by a character from an animated film.

“Let it go! Let it go!”

So-Yeon sang the song as well, acting all cute. I couldn\'t stop smiling at her.

After she was done singing, she sat on my lap. As I stroked her hair, I called her my princess and told her how pretty she was. I didn’t forget to ask who she took after, who taught her to be such a sweetheart. So-Yeon waved her legs back and forth and giggled.

As I looked at her, I prayed that the happiness I was feeling right now would last forever. I also prayed that my family would remain healthy and that we would all live happily for years to come.

‘Wait… Family?’

The people I’d forgotten about flashed through my mind. Their faces were blurry, like scattered puzzle pieces. I stared blankly into space as I tried to recall their faces.

I saw a blank TV screen in front of me. On that screen, I saw a reflection of me and So-Yeon.

As I looked at our reflections, cold sweat began to form on my forehead.

This clean living room, the warm weather, and a happy house full of warmth and laughter.

I… I was dreaming.

This world no longer existed.

As I stroked my fingers through So-Yeon’s hair, I saw a clump of hair tangled around the fingers of my right hand.

A handful of her long hair had been pulled out.

My eyes widened in surprise, and So-Yeon called out to me, her voice muffled and indistinct.

"Daddy…”

“So… So-Yeon.”

“Da… ddy…”

“So-Yeon!”

Her head slowly turned toward me.

Her face turned all the way to face mine. It no longer resembled that of a living being.

Her two eyes were soulless orbs set within a pale, shriveled-up face, and tears and blood made streaks across her withered skin.

My face grew red as I saw So-Yeon the way she was.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and my emotions threatened to go out of control.

“No, no. No, So-Yeon. No!"

Not my daughter.

I couldn’t let anything happen to my daughter.

I got up, holding So-Yeon in my arms.

The pristine wallpaper lining the walls melted away, and musty mold began to bloom in every nook and cranny. The hinges of the front door fell to the ground, and the firmly closed door disappeared like a mirage.

I didn’t know what was going on.

I didn’t know where I had to go.

I hugged So-Yeon even tighter as she continued to sob.

"Da… ddy…”

“So-Yeon, So-Yeon!”

"It… hurts..”

“Wake up, So-Yeon!”

I wailed, unable to suffer the heartbreaking pain. So-Yeon began to disappear as well, like a mirage. As I felt the weight of her disappearing from my fingertips, my mind fell into an abyss so deep that not even god knew where it ended.

‘A dream… This is a dream!’

I had to come back to my senses.

I had to get myself together for So-Yeon’s sake, and for my family’s sake, when they got in trouble.

I barely managed to calm myself down and gently closed my eyes, only letting one repetitive thought fill my mind.

‘I have to get up. I have to get up! I have to get up!!!’

I hypnotized myself over and over again.

My heavy eyelids fluttered open.

* * *

My eyes swam into focus. I was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

Grrr… Grrr…

I heard zombies crying from afar.

Bang… Bang… Bang…

There was the sound of distant gunfire, punctuated by sporadic explosions.

I picked myself off the floor of the cramped rooftop room and headed out to the rooftop terrace. All I could see was my underlings in Achasan-ro. Hwang Ji-Hye, Kim Hyeong-Jun, the guards, and Do Han-Sol… No one else was in sight.

- Enemy detected.

- Enemy detected.

- Enemy detected.

After a short delay, signals from my underlings began to flood in continuously.

I opened my eyes wider, trying to figure out where the signals were coming from.

They were coming from two places—Shelter Silence in Seoul Forest, and Shelter Hae-Young in Haengdang-dong. Both places were simultaneously requesting reinforcements.

I felt chills run down my spine, as though I was being brushed by a ghost. I shivered at the uncomfortable feeling.

I finally returned to my senses, feeling fresher than ever before.

While I’d been asleep, Shelter Hae-Young had fallen under attack.

I didn’t know what was going on, but my body reacted first. I leaped across the wide main road and headed toward Shelter Silence.

‘Huh?’

I felt lighter than ever before.

In fact, I felt so light, I almost believed that I could fly. Instead of me moving forward, it felt as though the world around me was going backward.

It felt like I was warping my way forward, as though I were folding space in order to move forward. My physical abilities have grown, even without me having to circulate my blood more quickly.

I reached Shelter Silence in the blink of an eye.

The guards were lined up along the first line of defense, and Do Han-Sol\'s underlings were surrounding the outer wall.

I bounded over the first line of defense in one leap. Hwang Ji-Hye, who had been shooting at the approaching zombies, looked at me in surprise.

“Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok!”

“What happened?”

“Oh, hmm… Are you okay, Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok?”

Hwang Ji-Hye stared at me with a rather puzzled expression.

‘Why is she asking if I’m okay? I mean, of course I’m okay. Why is she asking me this sort of question?’

When I tilted my head, Hwang Ji-Hye shook her head vigorously and continued, "No, no. There’s no time to waste. Get yourself to Haengdang-dong right now!”

“I received signals from my scouts in both Seoul Forest and Haengdang-dong. What’s going on?”

“Obviously, both of them are under attack!”

When I heard Hwang Ji-Hye\'s answer, a spark went off inside my head.

‘So-Yeon.’

So-Yeon’s face, the face that I’d seen in my dream earlier on, flashed through my mind.

My expression darkened, and Hwang Ji-Hye quickly continued, “Don’t worry about us and get going. Now that Do Han-Sol has woken up, the battle is leaning in our favor. Hurry up and help Kim Hyeong-Jun.”

My eyes lit up.

Hyeong-Jun was in Haengdang-dong. He was protecting my family on my behalf. Despite the fact that his family was here, he’d gone to Haengdang-dong to protect my family.

My eyes flashed, and I quickened the circulation of my blood.

“Grrr…”

My whole body grew hot, like the inside of a volcano.

My muscles contracted tightly and gradually began to increase in volume. My tightly pulled thighs began to grow thicker, and my veins and tendons felt about to pop.

This was a sensation I’d never felt before.

My body… It was changing.

I sprung into the air.

Crack!

My departure left a deep crater in the ground, sending dust flying everywhere.

Hwang Ji-Hye frowned reflexively and covered her face with her right arm. Coughing, she opened her eyes. Lee Hyun-Deok, who had been right in front of her just a moment ago, had disappeared.

The guard next to her spoke up, his voice quivering slightly with fear.

“Group leader?”

“What is it?”

“That person just now… Was he really Lee Hyun-Deok?”

“I believe so…” replied Hwang Ji-Hye, her voice slightly uncertain.

The guard swallowed.

“But then why were his eyes…”

“That, I don’t know either.”

Hwang Ji-Hye clicked her tongue vigorously.

“Let’s take care of the Family’s forces first. We’ll wonder about the rest later.”

“Got it.”

The two of them hurriedly returned to the first line of defense.

* * *

“Shouldn’t we help?”

“How in the world are we supposed to help?”

The Lee brothers were hiding in the security room of apartment 104, watching Kim Hyeong-Jun fighting the sixth officer. The two of them were barely able to follow their movements. It was the exact situation in which not helping out was the best way to help. The principal approached the two of them.

"Let’s stay put for the moment. We’ll step in to assist Mr. Kim Hyeong-Jun if things aren’t looking good.”

“Things are already looking bad for him,” answered Lee Jeong-Uk, squinting.

He couldn’t be absolutely sure, but it seemed like the fight was leaning the sixth officer’s way. Kim Hyeong-Jun was gradually taking more and more hits from the sixth officer.

Choi Da-Hye wet her lips and spoke up.

“If it weren’t for Kim Hyeong-Jun, we would’ve been dead already.”

No one rebutted her.

In a fight with a man that had the physical abilities he had… It would’ve been pointless to point a gun or knife at him. Shooting him was impossible, let alone tracking his movements with the naked eye.

Bang!

Kim Hyeong-Jun\'s body flew into a wall with such an impact that it caused the wall to crack.

The sixth officer was in front of him in a flash, crushing his chest with his knee.

Crunch!

Kim Hyeong-Jun vomited blood and collapsed to the ground.

The sixth officer hauled him up by the collar.

“Not bad. You lasted pretty long.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun trembled as he spoke, “God damn it… You fucking bastard."

“Now, how should I finish you off? Shall I rip your neck out? Or should I just eat your brain now?”

The sixth officer smirked, clearly reveling in Kim Hyeong-Jun’s agony.

Kim Hyeong-Jun groaned, and his eyes began to roll back into his head as if he was having trouble breathing.

Bang!

An ear-shattering noise echoed through the complex.

The bullet flew straight and true, penetrating the sixth officer’s cheek. The sudden attack took the sixth officer by surprise. He swayed back and forth, both hands clutching his cheeks.

Kim Hyeong-Jun collapsed to the ground and looked in the direction from which the sound had come. His eyes fell on Lee Jeong-Uk, Lee Jeong-Hyuk, and Choi Da-Hye, standing at the first floor of apartment 104.

They immediately began to fire on the sixth officer.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sixth officer shielded his face with his arms, trying to block the bullets.

They had only one goal in mind: to assist Kim Hyeong-Jun.

Tick, tick, tick.

However, they were out of bullets before they even realized it.

Lee Jeong-Uk quickly reached for a fresh magazine, but he didn’t have any magazines left.

The other two were in the same boat.

Seeing that the three of them were out of magazines, Kim Heyong-Jun shouted at the top of his lungs, “Everyone take cover!!!”

Pshhh–

Steam was escaping from the sixth officer’s body.

Dong leaders could punch through walls with their bare fists without breaking a bone.

When it came to the officers… Their bones were hardy enough to withstand bullets.

The bullets might tear through their flesh, but they didn’t have enough power to pierce through the officer’s skull to damage their brain.

The three humans began to panic as the sixth officer spoke through the thick cloud of steam surrounding him.

“You puny things… How dare you…”

His red eyes glowed from within the thick fog.

Kim Hyeong-Jun got up before he regenerated and rushed toward the sixth officer.

The sixth officer, sensing Kim Hyeong-Jun’s killing intent, quickly looked to his left.

As Kim Hyeong-Jun opened his mouth, aiming for the sixth officer’s side, the sixth officer quickly backpedaled and swiped at the top of Kim Hyeong-Jun’s head with his elbow.

Crunch!

“Hup!”

Kim Hyeong-Jun went down. His eyes could no longer focus. He fainted, a tingling feeling spreading through his entire body.

The sixth officer gritted his teeth as he watched Kim Hyeong-Jun collapse helplessly to the ground.

“I\'ll finish you first.”

The sixth officer raised his right foot high and focused on Kim Hyeong-Jun\'s head.

Shoosh, shoosh!

Crossbow bolts whistled through the air from the fourth-floor landing of the emergency exit, heading directly for his stomach.

The college students had fired their crossbows at the sixth officer.

The sixth officer didn’t seem to feel a thing. He kicked Kim Hyeong-Jun right in the head.

Lee Jeong-Uk quickly fixed his bayonet and ran toward the sixth officer. With his speed, there was no way he could even get close to the sixth officer.

“No!!!” Lee Jeong-Uk’s cry echoed throughout the complex.

Bang!!!

The ground shook, dislodging a thick layer of dust that filled the air in the apartment complex.

Lee Jeong-Uk coughed, furrowing his brow.

Before he could react, a thick arm wrapped itself around his waist and he was flying into the air, defying gravity.

Lee Jeong-Uk’s eyes went wide, but he let his body go with the flow.

In moments, he was on a balcony on the fifth floor. He looked around, dumbfounded.

Almost immediately, Kim Hyeong-Jun was next to him.

Lee Jeong-Uk’s mouth opened and closed like a goldfish as he looked up at the figure in front of him. His astonishment was plain to see.

In front of him was a being with a wide back and muscular limbs. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“So… So-Yeon’s dad…?”

The man on the railing turned around.

Clear blue light was shimmering in his eyes.