Hiding a House in the Apocalypse

Chapter 18: Colleague (2)

I once visited the funeral home when Sanghoon's father died.

It was grand.

He was of a ripe age, having seen Sanghoon at a late age, and he had enough years, plus he had suffered from cancer for three years, enduring treatments that felt like torture.

The mourners crowded around non-stop.

Next to the special room where his father was laid to rest, there was a small regular room.

The room was dimly lit, and there were hardly any people. The wreaths were from an unfamiliar company.

In the centre of the dimly lit funeral home was a portrait of a man who still looked young, and below it, there were people who seemed to be his wife and children, all bowing their heads, listening to the noise coming from the next room.

The stark contrast was so vivid that it stayed in my memory for quite a while.

The memory was brought back by a single sentence from Kim Daram.

"They say they'll keep the funeral home running until tomorrow morning. It may be him but in the current situation, opening a funeral home at a university hospital is a kind of privilege."

"Are you going?"

"I have to go."

With a sigh, Kim Daram replied.

"I don't want to go, but I have to. He was my senior, my team leader, and my head of department. Why? He came to my wedding and gave us 30,000 won each as a congratulatory gift. Of course, I have to go, right?"

"Wasn't the minimum 30,000 won back then?"

"No, it was 50,000 won even then."

"Ha, it's definitely Sanghoon."

"It's definitely Mr. Sanghoon."

For a moment, we both reminisced about the past, smiling wryly to ourselves.

Kim Daram broke the temporary silence.

"Will you go, Senior?"

"Me?"

It would be right to refuse.

It's in line with the circumstances, and there's a reason for it.

But for some reason, I couldn't give a straightforward answer.

"Well, uh..."

"I see. You have a capsule on the way, right? It's night now. You might get shot for no reason. Just send your condolences from afar."

I wanted to talk more, but the conversation naturally ended.

After disconnecting the walkie-talkie, I sat in silence for a while, lost in thought within the underground shelter.

Many thoughts came to mind, but it felt like holding a rope made of sand.

Nothing was clearly grasped.

I focused my thoughts on the recent past.

Sanghoon had invited me for a drink.

Perhaps it was a sign of reconciliation to offer that to me.

Or was it a request for help towards me?

Above all, what did he mean by the words "stab in the back" that he said last?

The dead don't speak.

Therefore, Sanghoon wouldn't answer my questions.

Nevertheless, I decided to go find him.

I felt that going to that place was the only way to relieve the unanswerable questions that were tightly entangled.

I relied on a single bicycle to move through the pitch-black darkness.

I could use a vehicle, but there are barriers I created on the road.

To bypass them without making any noise, there was no other way but the bicycle.

But my intention was thwarted by a motorcycle approaching from a distance, emitting a loud noise and light.

"What are you doing there?"

The man asked bluntly, revealing his guard, as he removed his night vision goggles and showed his face.

We both recognized each other's faces almost simultaneously.

"What? Aren't you Park Gyura?"

It's Baek Seunghyun.

He's my senior by a year, but he works behind the scenes as a freelancer under the pretext of being a hunter, handling all sorts of dirty and dangerous tasks.

"Where are you going?"

"To Seoul."

"I can accompany you for a while."

He stared at the distant light.

"Why don't you just let me go?"

"Well, I want to, too."

Baek Seunghyun smiled wryly and lit a cigarette.

"...Because I'm not in charge."

Baek Seunghyun's walkie-talkie emitted a noisy ringtone.

"Sir, what is it?"

I stared at Baek Seunghyun in silence.

"Hunter?"

Baek Seunghyun put on night vision goggles with three lenses and looked back towards the source of the light.

"One of our juniors sensed you."

"Sensed...?"

Baek Seunghyun let out a snort.

"Real hunters, indeed. Different from small fries like us."

In the end, I found myself standing in front of the barrier I wanted to avoid.

There was no other choice.

In the distance, a group of people stood under the bright lights. At the forefront were military police. They weren't the issue, merely the backdrop. The problem lay in the three figures standing arrogantly behind them.

They were all wearing the same jacket, with a patch on the upper pocket area depicting a roaring tiger, its teeth bared. A Roaring Tiger. It was the emblem of the new hunters, trained and developed in line with the latest doctrines that emerged about six years ago. In our post-apocalyptic era, they are referred to with the following title: "Sir."

A man in his early twenties, with blond dyed hair, called out to Baek Seunghyun. "So, who's this guy?"

Behind him stood a man who yawned while carrying a large shield on his back and a woman who constantly looked at her phone.

"Former hunter."

He didn't bow his head, but Baek Seunghyun's expression and attitude seemed as if he had already bent it multiple times.

"A former hunter? Like, an old guy like you?"

"Haha, that's right."

The man with blond hair and a puzzled expression turned to his colleagues as if to say, "Isn't this guy strange?" A smug smile played on his lips.

"Why is a former hunter, like, returning to a place like this instead of leaving the city intact? You're not a criminal or anything."

Baek Seunghyun looked at me. His expression seemed to convey his annoyance towards me.

"To go to Seoul."

I replied. Baek Seunghyun's eyes widened, showing an expression that something big was happening. But I ignored him and continued talking.

"Quietly."

I turned my gaze towards the blond man.

The blond man made an expression as if he couldn't understand my actions, looked at his colleague, and flashed a cocky smile.

"This guy is really something."

"Which generation?"

I asked firmly.

The smile vanished from the blond man's face. The man with the shield furrowed his brow, and the woman who had only been looking at her phone raised her head.

A chilly atmosphere suddenly swept over us like an unexpected snowstorm.

The blond man glared at me with shining eyes, his voice dripping with coldness. "Twenty."

"Thirteen."

That's right. I am their senior. A senior as vast as the sky. However, these young folks have a different perspective.

"Isn't it that a person who is no different from the old guy standing there in the military uniform can't be called a senior?"

A sarcastic smile formed at the corner of the blond man's mouth.

"Sir, are you dense? Do you have authority?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Then you're not a senior."

With determination, I lowered my head.

These young folks approached me as if it was a predetermined promise, their eyes shining like light bulbs.

"Since you went to the same school, you must be well aware of the danger of that capsule, right? Go back."

I could go back just like this. If I thought rationally, that might be the most reasonable solution. But I had a feeling that going back like this wasn't an option.

Why, these guys.

They're denying the life I've lived, aren't they?

This is going to hurt. It's likely to be a big wound.

And this wound, combined with old wounds, could fester and grow even larger in the lonely underground shelter, where my thoughts have already become so heavy.

Moreover, the invisible face of Lee Sanghoon came to my mind.

It seemed like he was telling me. If you can, try it.

"So, it's the capsule that's the problem, right?"

If that's the case, I should do something about it.

"How are you going to do it?"

"If I just deal with that capsule, will you let me pass?"

"You're quite funny. What do you want to do in the old school wat? Give it a try."

The blond guy stepped aside.

"If you succeed, she will personally bring you to Seoul."

"Why me?"

The blond guy chuckled, and the woman snorted. A complete disregard. Thanks to that, the stage was set. The juniors who didn't recognize me as their senior retreated behind the military police.

"Everyone, please get in the car. It probably won't happen, but monsters could appear."

Among the numerous people, only Baek Seunghyun stood behind me, ready to start the motorcycle at any moment.

"Thank you, but it's not necessary."

"Park Gyura."

I smiled as I turned to him.

"You know who I am, right? Senior."

Now, according to the past combat doctrine, which is now obsolete, there are two ways for a hunter to confront monsters in small-scale combat.

One is to target and snipe areas where defensive barriers are not deployed.

The other is to engage the monsters in close combat.

I've told Chairman Jepong Ho as well.

It's incredibly difficult to approach a monster, but if you can get inside the duelling ground where the defensive barrier is deployed, and if you have the skills and ability to confront the monsters you meet there, you can kill them.

"..."

I took out two black axes. Both the handle and the blade were painted black, and these two axes were among the few things I brought with me when I retired.

"Fight! Senior!"

A mocking voice came from behind.

Staring at the capsule quietly, I swung one of the axes.

The moment the axe hit the target, two black spots appeared in my field of vision, like dead pixels, but with a time lag.

This provides two pieces of information.

One is that the guy deployed a reflection barrier, and the other is the location from which the counterattack with the reflection barrier will come.

As I swung the axe, the blade that flew towards me was blocked by another axe.

Cheng!

After retrieving the axe, I launched a second attack. The same two spots appeared in my vision with a time lag, and my body moved like a well-oiled machine, simultaneously performing both offense and defense.

After a few repetitions of the same offensive and defensive cycle, the whistling sound that had been coming from behind me stopped.

That's no longer the important issue.

A vortex that seemed to suck me in began to form in front of me, twisting the space in front of me as if it were a spiral galaxy.

The time has come. It's the monster's appearance.

"Cra, crazy! It really woke up!"

"It's a monster!"

"Run!"

Amidst everyone's astonishment, I silently observed the silhouette of the monster taking shape in the light.

It had a slender head reminiscent of a human, like an ancient statue.

Is it a dancer type?

No, it's a necromancer type.

I've avoided the worst, but it's still not an easy opponent.

If it were at medium range, it would be impossible to approach without trained comrades.

But I'm at zero distance from it, and I can engage in close combat.

That already foretells one definite outcome.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

I braced myself for the shockwaves that felt like they could crush my heart and organs.

The monster was waiting for the moment to establish itself in reality.

The monster turned its head to glare at me and swung its pale, bony arm.

My two axes struck the monster's arm.

Clang!

How many times have I experienced this sensation?

The feeling of crushing them.

I retrieved memories that had long been dormant.

The dance of death that I had learned, excelled at, and had now become a fading legacy.

Within it, the monster was nothing.

At zero distance, where it couldn't deploy a defensive barrier, the creature was just a slow and sluggish body waiting to be slaughtered, like a log.

In a final desperate attempt, the monster shot out thorns from its entire body, but my axe had already targeted its head, bypassing the path of the thorns.

Clang!

Two axes embedded themselves in the monster's head.

From the deeply embedded axe handles, I could feel the monster's convulsions.

A lullaby that once comforted my endless hatred.

"Is this the Professor...?!"

In the silence, Baek Seunghyun's voice rang out.

Thump.

Defeated, shattered, and mangled, the monster collapsed to the ground.

White light seemed to ignite its body, and the monster transformed into white particles, beginning to fade away.

I took a deep breath, retrieved my two axes, and turned around.

The juniors who hadn't recognized me as their senior looked at me with astonishment.

Eyes filled with disbelief.

That's all they could do.

Because they are different from us.

They received education and training based on different doctrines than ours.

But they must know at least a little.

That there were warriors who dominated their era, who protected their era.

"Do you want me to cremate it?"

The one who walked with me in those days, the one who opened the path for me, was waiting for me in the cold darkness.

***

"Oh, goodbye!"

The woman who had given me a ride didn't even turn to look at me and hastily said goodbye before leaving.

The corridor leading to the funeral parlor was the same as the one leading to Lee Sanghoon's father's memorial.

It was the same place where a rich man had been placed.

But the atmosphere was quite different.

There were no flower wreaths filling the corridor, and there were no mourners either.

An unattended darkness, and a young, glamorous woman guarding the place.

With a powerful presence, I gazed at Lee Sanghoon's portrait.

"Sanghoon."

Now, I clearly remembered.

This was what he looked like.

***

"Moving to Jeju Island, that's what Sanghoon had planned," Kim Daram came to the funeral and called me outside.

"If anyone knows why Sanghoon decided to do something like that, it would be you, as his senior," she said, nodding her head, reciting the theories we had learned in school.

"...The strength of the rift is proportional to the population around it."

"Sanghoon's plan was to send the best manpower to the relatively weak Jeju area and prepare for the future. As you know, monsters are just a phenomenon; they aren't an army with intent."

"But isn't this a plan that he can't carry out alone?"

"The President and the top brass approved it. The problem is..."

She turned her saddened eyes towards the distant street.

"It means that those who weren't chosen will be abandoned. That's why this chaos has erupted."

"Why did he take all the responsibility upon himself?"

"Who would want to take responsibility for sacrificing tens of millions of lives? The one who made the decision was the lowest-ranking among those involved."

"What about Sanghoon's wife and child? I didn't see them at the funeral."

"They are already on Jeju Island."

"I see."

Kim Daram lit a cigarette.

"Moreover, Sanghoon, for some reason, attached his own name to that plan."

"Sanghoon's plan?"

"Sanghoon Plan. Why did he do that? He knew it wouldn't end so easily with just a makeshift solution."

"..."

It seems vaguely familiar, but I can't grasp it.

"Oh, and one more thing. Sanghoon mentioned something about you before he died."

"What did he say?"

"He kept bringing up the back of your head."

"The back of the head?"

"Yeah. He said he wanted to punch that back of your head that always blocked his way and talked big in front of him when we were in school."

So that's what it was.

Well, I guess I could be annoying.

Blocking his way like that.

"But before he died, he smiled and said, 'Now I think I can really hit that back of the head.'"

"Do you have any new insights?"

Kim Daram looked around and sighed.

"Well, I'm not sure. After meeting Senior Kang, he kept laughing and suddenly started talking about it."

"Kang Hanmin?"

"Sorry, is that an unpleasant name?"

"No, it's fine. I've toughened up my mental fortitude with a Skeleton-style unpopular training method."

"Unpopular?"

I looked around.

Beyond, the crowd was roaming the darkness, huddled together without any candlelight, shouting the desperate word "survival."

One world was coming to an end.

I was there.

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