Chapter 61

EP 11 - That's Our Crazy Dog (5)

I stood in the mountain path on a dark night, in my socks. I could feel every fallen leaf and pebble distinctly.

In the darkness, a delusion spoke to me calmly.

"I have heard much about the heroic deeds of Comrade Doctor."

In the deep mountains where not a ray of moonlight penetrated, the voice coming from a blurry shadow was the only clue that it was a man.

"Comrade, you said—"

"Where is my family now?"

He replied.

"I met Comrade Ryedoyeon on a mountain ridge while fleeing."

"......Was it only Ryedoyeon?"

"There were two others."

* * *

Following him, I arrived at an old, rundown resort in the deep mountains.

A few dolls人形 were moving in the darkness.

They were a group.

Creak.

When I opened the door, an old hanging lamp came into view.

I frowned at the foul smell and shuddered at the sight that followed.

"What...?"

"Is it you, brother...?"

"Ah...!"

On the first floor, dozens of children were crammed tightly. When the door opened, they all bowed their heads in fear.

Their eyes were dull, dirty, and emaciated. Some had bandages with dried blood.

He gestured a few times, and the children pressed against the walls to make a path.

"Please come in."

In the dim light, his features were revealed. He was not the North Korean I had imagined; even at a glance, it was clear he had been well cared for.

He was a boy.

"What's your name?"

"......Ryechuljin."

Ryechuljin answered curtly and walked into the building. When the children clung to his legs, he patted their heads a few times and pushed them away.

We descended the stairs to the basement.

And there, I was reunited with my family.

More precisely, with my aunt and uncle.

They were tightly bound with ropes.

"Kyaah!"

"Krek...! Kuh..."

And they were locked in a cage.

They shouted at me with bloodshot eyes.

With black, sunken eyes.

Drooling.

Infected with the Black Mountain Sheep tumor.

*

I ran outside.

I crouched on the outdoor stairs, facing the night wind for a long time.

The cold night air of the forest seeped through my loose shirt, but my body was already numb, so it wasn't particularly cold.

"......Are you okay?"

"Am I supposed to be okay?"

Ryechuljin stood silently behind me, maintaining his silence in response to my curt answer.

I repeatedly wiped my face with my trembling hands.

"......"

It's not the worst situation. Being alive is something.

Yes. Stay calm. I've been through worse—

......

Fuck.

I'm about to lose my mind.

Anyway.

The director of the sanatorium clearly said it was a mental illness.

That people are unpredictable.

So I told Ryechuljin,

"I just need to make a call."

"......I understand your feelings. Go inside. Call me if you need anything."

The sound of his footsteps on the wooden floor echoed behind me.

After a while, the sound of crickets filled the air, and the phone rang in my ears.

Fortunately, the sanatorium director answered my call even in the middle of the night.

[...Yes, Doctor. What is it—]

"Director, about the madness. The Black Mountain Sheep."

I couldn't stay calm.

[You mean zombies? Yes, it's more accurately a plague—]

"Is it a mental illness?"

Before I could finish my question, the director realized the seriousness of the matter and spoke faster. He really is perceptive.

[Yes, it's a condition that paralyzes self-control—]

"Is there a cure?"

I asked more like a confirmation than a question. If anyone knew about a cure for this plague discovered during the bio-experiment, it would be the director.

[While you were in a coma, we handed over the information to the government.]

My fist clenched.

[The infected are currently confined in a facility, and it will take some time for the cure to be developed.]

"Is there a cure that was made before?"

[There were some vaccine samples made as a precaution in the Yaninshan underground bunker.]

"......"

[Just a moment...]

I swallowed hard and clenched my fist.

There was a rustling sound.

[There is one 30-person spray-type cure. I brought it just in case—]

"I love you!"

[Me too.]

*

"First, Comrade Ryedoyeon is not here."

Ryechuljin began his explanation with a formal attitude, which sounded like a report due to his slightly military tone.

"I heard that your family fled in the direction of Uijeongbu."

They came to Seoul instead of Gangwon?

Damn. They came looking for me.

I frowned and swallowed a small sigh.

"Then we met here at Cheonmasan. We were also fleeing south at the time, and with all kinds of monsters converging from all directions, we joined forces to fight."

Cheonmasan. I've heard of it somewhere.

It's the former 1st Corps base, now retreated.

Yes. Namyangju.

Damn. Namyangju?

Namyangju?

One of the largest battlefields, along with Uijeongbu.

The place where all kinds of monsters poured out when the Seoul encirclement was first breached.

My family was caught up in it.

And they made contact with Ryechuljin.

"There were students wielding blue swords, and many others fought together. Comrade Ryedoyeon's martial skills stood out."

"Students?"

"South Korean students demonstrated their skills and killed the monsters. Especially, the swordsmanship of student Seoljinun was extraordinary—"

"What about the group's composition?"

"Um... eight South Korean students, three of your relatives. And, yes. There were many. Including the comrades who gathered later, there were about a hundred."

A large group.

"At that time, the plague spread. Your relatives also suffered. So, only our elite survived and fled to Cheonmasan."

"Zombies. Do they sometimes regain their senses?"

"Those who approached also became the same. Whether it was a special trick or not, I don't know..."

The zombies that spread from Uijeongbu were clear.

Ryechuljin looked down and muttered in a sorrowful voice.

"Comrade Ryedoyeon, despite being bitten by zombies, managed to save his parents and flee, but we all lost our loved ones."

The boy looked at me again.

"They all left to find a cure for the plague. To Seoul."

"......Ryedoyeon too?"

"Yes. According to the students, there is a comrade left in Seoul. This comrade's healing power is revolutionary."

Leaving on a journey, risking their lives for a healer they might not even know. I could feel Ryedoyeon's desperation, and my eyes stung.

"The students went to Seoul to save their comrade, and Ryedoyeon followed them."

"How long have they been gone?"

"About four days."

Three days ago.

"......"

I have a rough idea who these people are.

In Namyangju, where the Seoul encirclement first collapsed, a group of defectors with the military power to repel the monsters converging from all directions.

"I don't know how the leaders of the Kaesong Revolution ended up here."

The Kaesong rebels.

"......First, I am truly grateful for rescuing my family."

*

The defectors are housed north of the Civilian Control Line, the Minjeong Line.

And Cheonmasan is a county park in the northeastern part of Gyeonggi Province. Given that the North Korean front has never been breached, their presence is certainly unusual.

Let's think slowly.

How did they get here?

Probably, a few elite members, including Ryechuljin, teleported through the South Korean military surveillance. That's obvious.

Then why did they come?

They fled from the South Korean military.

Why did they flee from the South Korean military?

Because they thought it was dangerous. They know the South Korean military is dangerous.

In other words, they know about the secret agreement between Won Okbun and Ri Yong-su.

"......"

So,

The Kaesong rebels might have a close connection with the political sphere that even I don't know about, or they might have something on our military.

Of course, the information is still insufficient.

What should I do? I don't know.

Politicians usually smile in such situations,

"I am not an ungrateful person."

"Wh, what do you mean...?"

"Is there anything I can help with?"

I need to see his cards.

Ryechuljin stared at me blankly for a moment. There was a silence between his smile and his confusion.

"......"

"......"

And these guys don't seem very trustworthy.

After all,

Isn't it a bit strange to keep children on the first floor when there are zombies in the basement?

Not like they're showing it to anyone.

"Doctor...!"

Just then, Ryechuljin stood up with a grateful expression and grabbed my hand.

"Ah, the children...! Please, save the children...!"

It was a predictable response.

*

I admitted my aunt and uncle, who were handed over by the Kaesong rebels, to the hospital. They are being treated, and they managed to put on oxygen masks.

According to the principle, it's something like detoxifying a neurotoxin, which takes a long time.

Thanks to this, Dr. Cheon Hwa, who is pregnant, rolled up her sleeves. They haven't regained consciousness yet, but the treatment is going smoothly.

Thanks to this, I can now sleep soundly. I've also stopped taking medication.

I'm worried about Ryedoyeon, but he's not the type to get beaten to death. Knowing he's hanging out with new friends while I'm away, I feel relatively relieved.

And.

Ryechuljin teleported 45 children to Seoraksan, and I turned Yangilho into an orphanage to accommodate the children.

"......I will accept 45 defector children."

"Yes."

That's how I naturally ended up being summoned by Won Okbun.

"......Where did they come from?"

"They appeared out of thin air, two at a time."

I accepted the demands of the Kaesong rebels.

Won Okbun muttered calmly.

"From what I can tell, they seem to know enough."

"North of the Minjeong Line, the defector camp. Wasn't it supposed to be returned next week?"

"Was it?"

Won Okbun tilted her head and put down the documents.

"Well, it doesn't seem like they're going to be arrested for violating the National Security Law. I won't ask how they were smuggled out for now."

"Yes."

"But the most important thing is the reason... Why did you do it?"

"Don't pretend you don't know."

I folded my arms on my lap.

"Is it reasonable to hand over 100,000 people to be killed?"

"Then?"

"I don't think you, Won Okbun, are—"

Brave.

"Such a ruthless person."

I took a sip of Yulmu tea to moisten my throat.

Won Okbun chuckled.

"Why did you do it?"

"No, aren't the children the future of the country? Even if it's for the national interest, it's too much."

"I had my reasons. Do you know how many compromises were made?"

"100,000 people to stabilize the system?"

"It's not that simple."

"I was also surprised that they knew about the 100,000. I suspect it's not just a popular uprising but a power struggle."

"Yes. They have their own—"

"But, among the 45 children I brought, there is Kim Il-sung's great-granddaughter. You didn't know that, did you?"