Chapter 57

EP 11 - That's Our Crazy Dog (1)

The chaotic era has once again begun.

- There are reportedly 3 million deaths. That's the minimum figure.

- ...For now, please avoid mentioning numbers on the news.

As always.

- The national army has successfully halted the southward advance of the monsters at the Chungcheong defense line! Kim Doo-sik, the deputy commander of the 2nd Operations Command and the designer of the absolute defense line stretching from Sobaeksan, Wolaksan, and Taebaeksan beyond the Gate distribution line...

- Colonel Yoo Hyun-jong, the Gyeonggi Province martial law cooperation officer, has evacuated about 4.26 million refugees from northern Gyeonggi Province to the front lines. Intense battles between the national army and the Awakened continued centered around Uijeongbu, during which Assemblyman Han Seung-moon and Chairman Kim Chun-sik were critically injured...

- New PMCs are being established to protect the Republic of Korea. GS Aegis, Kumho Security, and Cheonghaejin, among others, with numerous Hunters voluntarily jumping into the front lines...

- GS Aegis has launched a large-scale resistance in Gangwon Province. Led by CEO Hong Seon-a, they are burning the Taebaek Mountains to halt the monsters, and some quarters are...

The more the country was in peril, the more victory reports appeared on TV.

- Hunter Seol Jin-woon successfully killed a giant monster that destroyed the Namyangju area! Using only a wooden sword, Seol Hunter defeated the monster, and surprisingly, he is still a high school student...

- 162 survivors in Incheon successfully escaped to Chungcheong Province after injecting an awakening promoter! The Han Seung-moon Foundation's awakening promoter has been widely distributed nationwide...

- Colonel Kim Doo-sik, who established the Chungcheong defense line by rallying the retreating national army, has been promoted to general and appointed as the commander of the 2nd Operations Command. He is dedicated to the safety and lives of the people...

Thus, at first glance.

- Assemblyman Han Seung-moon regained consciousness around 5 a.m. today!

It seemed like the age of heroes had arrived.

* * *

I opened my eyes at a military hospital in Paju. I was told that, though I don't remember, I asked about my family's well-being in a daze due to the medication.

So, as soon as I woke up from a deep sleep, I could hear the answer.

"I asked the soldiers, but they haven't found them yet."

"Really...?"

"There are too many people in Gangwon Province."

"What...!?"

I interrogated Yang Pansuk with a hoarse voice, but the answer was shocking.

"The national army has formed a defense line in southern Chungcheong Province to halt the southward advance of the monsters. Do you understand what that means?"

"..."

"It means everything north of Chungcheong Province is isolated."

South Korea was divided into north and south. The monsters' occupied territory cut across South Korea.

"The monsters that flooded out of Seoul have spread to southern Gangwon Province. Currently, northern Gyeonggi Province and northern Gangwon Province are isolated."

"......Oh my God."

An island on the mainland.

"......I'll do my best. Since there are very few Gates in Gangwon Province, they are likely safe."

I didn't know if that was true, but I reluctantly nodded. Yang Pansuk didn't add more to upset me and silently left the room.

*

I spent my time in a daze due to the painkillers.

Considering that painkillers work by disrupting the nervous system to dull pain, it's not an exaggeration to say I was half-drugged. In fact, I was prescribed some narcotic painkillers.

Even when I was still, it felt like someone was hammering my entire body. It was even worse if I tried to move my muscles.

Absolute rest, they said. That's why, except for a few Hunters who occasionally came to rub my body with glowing palms, no one was allowed to see me.

Occasionally, Gam Jiyun and Gam Jiga would peek through the door, make a sad face, and leave after 30 seconds.

Anyway.

I was on oxygen and spent a long time recuperating.

My muscles were torn, my bones shattered, my blood vessels burst, and my joints dislocated.

"Actually, if it weren't for the Hunters' emergency measures, you would have already..."

The doctor visited me every morning to explain how serious my condition was. He said I would need to stay in the hospital for a few months and undergo several more surgeries.

"......!?"

I recovered in two days after taking a potion.

To be precise, I became mobile. When I sat up in bed, I saw the doctor mouth a curse. When I asked why he was cursing, he said it looked like I wouldn't be getting a retirement bonus.

Honestly, that seemed likely.

Anyway.

As soon as I could move, I went to find David Kim. He was in a similar situation, wearing a hospital gown and limping.

I asked him,

"David Kim, how are you feeling?"

"Better than you, I guess?"

"......I'm sorry to ask, but do you know any Hunters who are good at finding people?"

David Kim stared at me silently. Feeling uneasy, I added,

"......Please. My family is missing in Gangwon Province."

"Follow me."

David Kim carried me out of the hospital.

*

"Huff......"

Smoke rose from the ruins of the city. David Kim, in his hospital gown, puffed out smoke. It was a sight that would make nurses faint.

"......Why did you bring me here?"

"We need to catch our breath." He didn't want to tell me yet.

I silently sat on the debris of a collapsed building and watched David Kim. When I sat on the debris, something felt soft, so I moved to another piece.

"I... I killed a lot of people in Iraq."

David Kim puffed out smoke and muttered to me.

"I was promoted because I was smart and did well in school, but I wasn't a very good squad leader."

"......"

"I probably killed more allies than enemies."

He lectured me for a long time.

He wasn't a great speaker. There was a slight smell of alcohol.

"I shot someone because I thought they had a bomb in their pocket, but they didn't. A local friend of mine had a bomb under the dinner table. Um... You get the idea? A shitty choice."

"It's similar to now."

"Yeah. I often made the wrong choices. That's why the faces under me often... Ah, let's stop this. I'm being too pathetic."

David Kim cleared his throat and fiddled with his red ears. He mixed in some English curses, but I could understand the gist of it.

"Um... The reason I'm talking like this is... Yeah, it might be a bit boring. Just bear with it."

"I'm listening. Well."

"Good. At that time, the president was George Bush. Thousands were dying. He landed on an aircraft carrier in a pilot's uniform and declared the end of the war, saying the U.S. military had won."

"Um......"

"......How many people died to boost his approval ratings? No, fuck. Even if it was a just war, the president shouldn't have done that."

David Kim threw his cigarette on the ground. Sand flew up as the cigarette burst.

"Everyone knows it's a dog's work. Everyone knows it's a political show. But why did he do it?"

"......Because it works."

"Yeah."

David Kim pointed at me.

"Even if a soldier complains, the world runs smoothly when a politician puts on a show."

"......"

"So, try to be a good person."

David Kim said.

"Before asking me to find your family, ask once if the Hunters you fought with are safe."

"......"

"It's hard for me to say that Kim Hanbit, Park Joocheol, and Joo Hojeong are dead."

"......"

"They died while carrying out the operation you planned."

"......"

I nodded silently. David Kim looked at me calmly with his blue eyes.

"......Of course, the operation was excellent. Thanks to it, more people survived, and we knew we would lose some people. But, um, sigh......"

David Kim lowered his head and fiddled with his leg, like a dog with a mental illness.

But he weakly crouched on the ground.

"......Just, take care of people."

There was a moment of silence.

In the middle of the ruined city, a bloody wind blew between the buildings.

I answered his request.

"......I understand what you mean."

He gave a twisted smile.

"I don't even know what I'm saying, but you understand?"

"Yes."

"Damn, you're a funny guy......"

David Kim chuckled.

"Yeah. After the operation, find out who died. Yeah. Um...... I didn't just call you to curse."

"......"

"I know a bit about how it feels when people die because of the operation I planned. But, sigh......"

He wasn't a great speaker. He spoke awkwardly.

"I wanted to comfort you, but I know it wouldn't help."

"I appreciate the thought."

"What, you're thanking me for being called out and cursed at?"

He said offhandedly.

"There are some with a good sense of smell and hearing. Recon team members."

"......"

"I heard from Assemblyman Yang and already sent two of them. Um. Yeah. I'll let you know as soon as I get news."

"......Thank you. Really."

David Kim instinctively reached for a cigarette but realized his pack was empty and awkwardly put his hand back in his pocket.

"......Do you have a religion?"

"No."

"I'm an inactive Christian, which in Korean, um... Ah! Yeah. A nylon believer."

"You speak Korean so well."

"That's not a compliment."

"I know."

David Kim laughed casually and looked around sadly.

"......They said Secretary Kim died here."

"......You mean Kim Hanbit?"

"Um. Your fan."

David Kim smiled.

"I'm going to pray. Can you wait for me?"

That day, I prayed for someone for the first time in my life.

I wished for the people who died for others to go to a better place.

And whoever the fuck opened the Gate,

I'll kill them if I meet them.

*

February is over. It's March now.

And the general and presidential elections are in April. Members of the National Assembly and the president will be elected. Politicians are starting to move.

[Jeju Governor Jeong Jung-yeop has donated funds raised from the Federation of Korean Industries to a refugee organization.]

I munched on shrimp chips while watching TV. By the way, that means he's a cold and strong man who uses the tycoons in Jeju but is warm to his people.

"Everyone is clever."

"Seoul Deputy Mayor Woo Jeong-hwan was taken away for openly campaigning."

"I didn't expect that guy to go that far......"

Lee Ho-jeong added indifferently. I said to her,

"But who doesn't know that's campaigning?"

"They all pretend to be fooled."

"It works, doesn't it?"

"It's the standard."

Lee Ho-jeong nodded. Yang Il-ho, who was sitting next to her, munched on a snack and said,

"......Isn't the National Party leader essentially that guy?"

"Probably. Jeju politicians need a strong base."

"Are you the floor leader?"

"He said he'll soon be the emergency committee chairman and will officially announce you as the floor leader."

"Is he running for president?"

"That's why he calls me three times a day, right?"

We sat in the hospital room and observed the world. Our banter, which we used to have while eating cup noodles in the corner of the National Assembly, was starting to come back.

The conversation topics changed with each news segment.

[The April joint election is approaching. Amid the nation's survival, potential presidential candidates are emerging. However, Assemblyman Han Seung-moon, who lacks the right to be elected, has a 18%...]

"Who do you think will win this election?"

"The best position is for you to run for president. But you won't, right?"

"Yeah. Honestly, I'm a bit tired. I don't think I can do a good job. I'll stay in the National Assembly."

Lee Ho-jeong, the election fortune-teller squid, added her analysis. Maybe because she had correctly predicted the results four times in a row, my ears automatically opened.

"True, the presidential age limit is 40, so he would need to amend the constitution, which would lower his approval ratings. I think Commander Kim Doo-sik of the Chungcheong defense line will be the one. There's no one more suitable. People trust those who protect their homes."

"Isn't Commander Kim Doo-sik David Kim's uncle?"

"......!? Really!?"

[Hunter Gam Jiyun has moved a mountain to fill the upper Han River. This is expected to reduce the threat of amphibious monsters emerging downstream...]

"Oh my, look at that. I thought it was CG."

"Jiyun is amazing, isn't she?"

"Wow, really......"

"I talked to her last night. She was fighting in Gangwon Province in the morning, Jeju Island in the evening, and had a late-night snack in Gyeonggi Province."

"Oh...... She must be working hard."

[France has defended Paris. Considering the nature of Europe, where battles are breaking out in all directions...]

"Lumiere is really impressive."

"France?"

"They say he healed thousands in one go from the Eiffel Tower."

"I think the media is adding a bit of MSG. Heroes are hot these days."

Yang Il-ho muttered absentmindedly.

"She was pretty......"

Lee Ho-jeong said,

"Hey."

"Sorry."

[...The abnormal weather in the central region has subsided. As warm spring breezes blow-

Breaking news!]

"......"

"......"

"......" [China has requested the dispatch of Hunter Gam Jiyun!]

"......"

[At around 2:30 PM today, Vice Chairman Li Zhongbin of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party stated that close cooperation with South Korea's superhumans is needed to defend the 56 nuclear power plants on the eastern coast.]

Translation: Send Gam Jiyun

[During the press conference, the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear accident were mentioned-]

Translation: You know what happened when one nuclear plant exploded?

[While expressing a commitment to peace and coexistence in Northeast Asia in the face of a global disaster-]

Translation: Do you want to see 56 nuclear plants explode?

[-He proposed the formation of a joint task force.]