Walking Daddy

“You’re absolutely right,” I said. “It turns out that we are the ones who should be apologizing.”

Yoon Jeong-Ho remained silent, still looking at the floor. I rubbed my neck in embarrassment.

“My apologies, Mr. Yoon Jeong-Ho,” I said softly. “It looks like I crossed the line.”

“...”

“When the sun comes up, I will escort Mr. Jeong Jin-Young and Mr. Yoon Jeong-Ho to Ansim Station. After that, we’ll continue to survive on our own.”

Yoon Jeong-Ho had his fists clenched but didn’t say anything. He merely bit his lower lip and frowned. It seemed like he was lost in thought, now that he had let out all the words that he’d been holding back.

Lee Jeong-Uk’s expression seemed slightly confused. He must have sensed it as well.

“We’re going to have a Survivor Rally Organization meeting now,” he said. “Mr. Yoon Jeong-Ho, Tommy, please leave the waiting room.”

Tommy nodded and walked out in a good mood. On the other hand, Yoon Jeong-Ho seemed rather empty inside as he left the waiting room. I felt bad for him for some reason.

After they left, the atmosphere in the waiting room was awfully heavy. It was dead silent. Lee Jeong-Uk looked around at everyone’s faces and broke the silence with a sigh.

“Let’s go ahead and organize our plans.”

I nodded and put my hands on my face. Lee Jeong-Uk took another deep breath.

“When the sun comes up tomorrow, Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok, the Russian researchers, and Mr. Yoon Jeong-Ho will go to Ansim Station.”

“Will it be alright if I don’t go?”

“It’d be nice if you could talk about it again with them. I think we got emotional earlier on and weren’t thinking straight. In the meantime, we’ll inspect the aircrafts and get ready to leave.”

I looked at him in puzzlement.

“What do you mean by getting ready to leave…?”

Lee Jeong-Uk smiled and replied with a question of his own.

“Do you remember our initial plan?”

“Are you saying that we’ll all go to Jeju Island together?”

Lee Jeong-Uk nodded, then continued.

“Mr. Kim Hyeong-Jun and Mr. Do Han-Sol, I’d like you two to focus on defense in case anything unexpected happens. I will take the facilities management team and security team to try to secure more jet fuel.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun and Do Han-Sol, who were sitting in the corner, nodded and voiced their acknowledgment, after which Lee Jeong-Uk continued on with his briefing.

“Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok, please take Yoon Jeong-Ho and Jeong Jin-Young to Ansim Station, and escort the Russian researchers to the Korea Brain Research Center.”

“And then I’ll return afterward?”

"Yes. Depending on the current situation at the research institute, certain situations may crop up, but everything that happens after they leave us is up to them to take care of.”

The sense of bitterness within me made me sigh. I wanted to help the survivors of Daegu somehow, but I also knew that they probably had their own ways and plans for survival. I would be selfishly crossing the line if I tried to step in and take more care of them.

I nodded and got up from my seat.

"Got it. Since it\'s already late at night, let’s end today\'s meeting here. I’m sure everyone must be tired, so please get some rest before it grows even later.”

The leaders yawned and stretched as they stood up. I went outside and stared into the pitch-black darkness.

‘Let’s just focus on what I can do.’

Making the right choices, and focusing on what I should. These were the things I needed to keep my mind on.

* * *

The next day, when dawn broke across the dark blue sky, Jeong Jin-Young, whose body had finished regenerating, came up to me.

‘I heard through the grapevine that you’re heading toward the Brain Research Institute.’

\'Yes.\'

Jeong Jin-Young bit his lower lip and looked hesitant for a moment, then looked into my eyes.

\'Take care, sir.\'

\'Is there anything dangerous there?\'

\'Jeong-Ho hyung over there and the others don\'t know this… But the reason we sought shelter at Ansim Station isn’t because it’s the last stop of the subway.’

\'Then what\'s the reason?\'

‘Gyeongsan, you see, is beyond hope. The same goes for Innovation City, which is on the border between Gyeongsan and Daegu.’

It seemed like the reason the Korea Brain Research Institute had lost contact with the other research institute was because of the zombies. Of course, I’d more or less expected this, but I couldn’t help but feel a sense of bitterness. Deep down, I was hoping that it was a problem with the power supply, or that they had lost radio reception due to a whole list of different problems.

But if they had lost contact because of the zombies… It meant that the place was done for.

I nodded, then asked a question.

\'Why are you telling me this when you\'re keeping it a secret from others?\'

\'Since you insist on going, sir; I thought you should be aware of the risks.\'

I wasn\'t sure what kind of person Jeong Jin-Young was, but I could tell he wasn’t a bad person. He’d come running to Daegu Airport on his own to save Yoon Jeong-Ho and he was now informing us, the Survivor Rally Organization, about the dangers in Daegu even though we’d beat him up.

I quietly crossed my arms.

‘I’m going to ask one last time, just in case. Would you like to join us?’

‘I just had a conversation with Jeong-Ho a few minutes ago… But… I don’t think we’re ready yet.’

‘Do you believe there will ever be a day when you’re ready?’

‘I’m not sure either. But one thing for sure, we have no intention of leaving right now.’

I nodded slowly, shaking off the worries that had been on my mind. After that, Jeong Jin-Young asked me a question.

\'Where is the Survivor Rally Organization heading to?’

‘We’re going to Jeju Island.’

Then Jeong Jin-Young smiled wistfully.

‘Jeju Island, huh… As long as the zombies there are taken care of, it’d be an island where safety is guaranteed.’

I wondered if he’d said all he’d wanted to say, or if he was muttering to himself. But then, he continued on.

‘But there will be limits as well. How long do you think you can survive there?’

‘Hmm… I’m not sure what to say to that.’

‘Jeju Island is an island, after all. Do you think it will remain safe in the next fifty or a hundred years?’

His question made my brow furrow. I looked him in the eye, but to my surprise, his eyes weren’t trembling at all. He seemed like he had some sort of firm belief, and he was clearly looking at the current situation from a different perspective than I was.

I nodded slowly, then asked him a question.

‘Then what are the chances that the street zombies will survive until then? No one can tell what’s going to happen in the future.’

‘It’s up to humans to change the future. It’s also up to humans to destroy it.’

‘...’

\'Humans are the smartest and yet the most stupid creatures in the world. Don\'t try to deny it. Humans have always been this way.’

I wasn’t sure what I could say to this. I couldn’t think of anything to refute his statement. Despite the fact that everyone was trying their best to get along with everyone else now… It was impossible to predict what could happen after ten or twenty years on Jeju Island. Anything could happen in the span of ten to twenty years. After all, as the saying went, even the mountains and rivers would change in ten years.

However, there was one fact that Jeong Jin-Young had overlooked.

I pressed my lips into a thin smile.

‘I tend to think about those matters after making sure we survive. If we can’t make it through today, it’s futile to even worry about what could happen tomorrow.’

\'That\'s also true.\'

Then Jeong Jin-Young smiled and offered a small nod. I returned with a bow of my own, after which Jeong Jin-Young walked back to Yoon Jeong-Ho. I heard Tommy approaching from behind me. As I turned around, I saw him in a rather excited mood.

“Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok, when are we leaving?”

“Are you folks ready?”

“Yes, we’re ready to go.”

There were about fifteen Russian soldiers with him, wearing stern, determined faces. It seemed like they’d had a good night’s rest in a warm environment, and they had now recovered their stamina.

Next to them, I saw Lee Jeong-Uk and the leaders. Lee Jeong-Uk was looking straight into my eyes without saying anything. Instead of saying goodbye, he merely nodded. I offered him a bow in return, then walked toward the entrance of the terminal. I then looked over at Yoon Jeong-Ho and Tommy.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

The Russian soldiers left the terminal as soon as they got their weapons back.

I gathered my underlings that had been placed at each entrance and positioned them next to the Russian soldiers, and escorted Tommy and Alyosha from behind as we moved. Yoon Jeong-Ho and Jeong Jin-Young were in front, leading the way

When we arrived in front of Dongchon Station, which was where we’d retrieved the map the night before, Yoon Jeong-Ho looked back and spoke up.

“From now on, we’ll be moving along the rail tracks. It\'s dark, so follow me carefully so you don\'t lose us.”

Tommy translated his warning to the Russian soldiers.

The Russian commander said something I couldn’t understand, and a couple of the soldiers took out their flashlights. As we took the stairs down to the railroad tracks, a musty smell and dust particles tickled the tip of my nose.

The light emitted by the flashlights illuminated the shadows of the city—parts of the city that humans no longer used. Alyosha wrinkled his nose and began to speak in Russian, while Tommy tried his best to calm him down. It sounded like the Russian researcher was cursing in Russian at the repulsive, disgusting smell.

As we ventured deeper into the railroad tracks, we saw dead zombie bodies scattered here and there. Next to them was a scorched train, leaning halfway off the tracks. When I took a look inside the train, I could see the terror and urgency of the day that the event had happened. The corpses of adults and children, men and women of all ages were preserved in time. It was a sight I couldn\'t bear to see with my own eyes.

“Everybody stop.”

Yoon Jeong-Ho, who was in the front, stopped walking, raising his right hand to signal to us to stop.

We were at a fork in the rail tracks.

Yoon Jeong-Ho swallowed as he looked at the rail tracks on the left and right. I walked over to him.

“Are we lost?” I asked in a low voice.

"Shh."

Yoon Jeong-Ho covered his lips with his index finger and crouched down. Jeong Jin-Young, who was right next to Yoon Jeong-Ho, looked me in the eyes.

‘This place is different from when I passed by yesterday.\'

\'What’s different?\'

\'There are signs that someone was here.’

I had no clue what he was talking about. I couldn’t make out what traces he was talking about, since all I saw were dusty railway tracks. Only Yoon Jeong-Ho and Jeong Jin-Young could tell that something was amiss, since they used this path often.

Clomp, clomp.

Just then, I heard footsteps coming from the end of the tracks. My blue eyes flashed as I quickly peered in the direction from which the sound was coming from.

I knew it had come from somewhere in front, but I couldn’t tell if it was coming from the tracks on the left or the right. I heightened my senses.

“Which way is it?” I asked Yoon Jeong-Ho.

"Pardon?"

“Which way do we have to go to get to where the survivors are?”

“It doesn\'t matter either way. This is a temporary split, because the next station is Gaksan Station.”

“If that’s the case, please follow me slowly, and keep a close watch on the surroundings.”

I clenched my fists and dropped into a crouch. I accelerated the flow of my blood, and steam began to rise from my body. The Russian soldiers and Yoon Jeong-Ho stared wide-eyed and took a couple of steps back.

“You, you… You have steam coming out from your body right now…”

“I’ll go ahead first.”

Bang!!

I launched myself forward, kicking up the dust and loose bits of cement that covered the rails.

I looked ahead and ran while trying to figure out what the footsteps could be. I knew it wasn’t human footsteps. It sounded like it was limping, and it did not seem like the cadence fit those of human footsteps. Perhaps it was someone who was injured, but if it wasn’t, then I was sure that it was a zombie.

In the blink of an eye, I passed Gaksan Station and saw a zombie with a severed arm walking along the rail tracks. The zombie heard my approach and turned around. The moment it turned around, I slammed a fist into its face. Its face caved in as it rolled on the ground several times.

With that, I headed to Ansim Station without looking back. According to Yoon Jeong-Ho, the next station after Gaksan Station was Ansim Station, the last stop on Line 1. If there were zombies between Gaksan and Ansim Station, it was safe to assume that they had already made it to Ansim Station.

I pressed on toward Ansim Station, and just like I had predicted, I saw a couple of dead zombie bodies on a wooden barricade. Some of the zombies were still wiggling around, despite having their bodies pierced through by logs. I took care of them and kept on going.

Soon, I saw a bunch of zombies on the tracks that led up to the platform. The survivors were defending the barricade with all their might, trying to prevent the zombies from clambering up onto the platform.

“Right flank! Don\'t lose ground! Hold on!”

The survivors were moving in unison to stop the zombie attack. They were trying their best, hurling bamboo spears at the zombies on the tracks and swinging baseball bats. However, their makeshift barricade was slowly collapsing as the zombies kept pressing forward.

Bang! Bang!

Loud pops echoed along the tracks. The survivors, who were armed with revolvers, started shooting at the zombies that had made their way over their barricade and onto the platform. At this rate, I knew that they wouldn’t be able to hold on for long.

I crouched down and accelerated my blood flow. I channeled strength into my arms, and my forearms grew bigger, my muscle fibers straining.

Like a bullet fired from a gun, I flew forward to meet the zombies.