Chapter 84

EP 14 - Clams Are Supposed to Be Eaten by Idiots (3)

Even if the opposing candidate gets caught by the political funding law or a monster falls from the ceiling during the oath-taking, there are also times when life changes on a day that seems insignificant.

It was raining heavily then.

* * *

Knock. Knock.

Knock-knock.

The soft knocking ended, and soon the sound of heavy rain could be heard. It was a spring rain, surging like waves.

In the office where Hojeong and Ilho had disappeared, I asked Pichaewon.

Actually, there was no need to ask once I had this thought, but life isn't always about efficiency.

"Chaewon, shall we eat pajeon?"

Pichaewon, who was now getting used to wearing a suit instead of a school uniform, awkwardly smiled while hugging a stack of documents.

"Ah, I... I have plans with a friend..."

Suddenly, I felt like I had become an uncle who was being overly friendly with a high school student. My expression was fine, but inside, I felt gloomy, and Pichaewon seemed startled and waved her hands.

"Ah...! No, I'm in touch with a friend who survived in Seoul..."

"......Oh. Is that so? That's good."

"Umm... It's really true. It's not an excuse..."

"Sure. Sure."

"R-Really... We're meeting at my place today..."

I felt a bit petty for suspecting her plans as an excuse, and I was also a bit embarrassed.

"......"

"......"

In the rain-soaked office, only the sound of the keyboard tapping echoed.

There was nothing to do. I could only listen to the pathetic knocking of the politicians all day.

"Jinju-ga Park Sangmin here....! Representative Han Seungmoon...!"

"Isn't Mungyeong Yecheon the front line of national defense?"

"Even though you're busy, please come to Jeonju at least once and-"

It seems I've become a mysterious concept idol in the political arena, so I thought about avoiding my fans and going home.

"Call...!"

Pichaewon, who usually had a shadow on her face, finally made a pose with her elbow and answered me immediately. Then, she quickly bowed her head, feeling embarrassed.

We both sometimes take antidepressants, but it seems that going home is a universal cure.

"......Call?"

"Call...!"

*

"Goodbye!"

"Yea, be careful."

Pichaewon, with a bright smile, held a black umbrella, bowed her head, and walked away with quick steps. She must be heading to the official residence I arranged for her.

I watched her back as I started walking along the road with puddles.

I covered my face with the umbrella. Still, a man in a suit with a hiking stick limping along was a rare sight, so I was quickly recognized and surrounded by citizens.

I barely managed to escape in a car and catch my breath.

Where should I go?

Chunhua's delivery is approaching. Should I visit her? No. It's better not to go if I'll just bring along reporters.

To Hojeong and Ilho's place, no. Why would I go to a couple's house?

If I go to see the gambler and Jangso at Cheongpung Correctional Facility, no. Cheongpung Research Institute is too far and troublesome.

So, I ended up taking off my shoes at my aunt's hometown house and started mumbling with a melodic tone.

"Oh, our lawyer Byun Sojeong, who quit the law firm. I thought you might be a bit uncomfortable, but seeing the smell of galbi jjim wafting, it seems you're doing well."

"A, hello."

"Yea, Jinun, it's been a while. I heard you refused the vice president position? Suna was whining about it."

"A, yes..."

"But why are you leaving here?"

*

I cut the wooden chopsticks neatly and picked up a piece of sashimi.

The moist flesh of the white fish felt soft beyond the chopsticks, and when I put it in my mouth with the bright red soy sauce, the sensation spread throughout my mouth.

The scent of the sea flowed between my molars. The sharp seasoning and the unique flavor of the fish blended in my mouth and subtly escaped through my nose. I've always loved this since I was a child.

Flounder sashimi.

I couldn't help but exclaim in amazement at the delicious taste.

"Wow, damn...!"

"What kind of talk is that for someone who claims to be a politician?"

My aunt scolded me harshly, but I ignored her and passed a few pieces of sashimi to Seol Jinun.

"Try this. It's different from the market because it was caught by my uncle. The taste of fish changes a lot after just one hour of death..."

"Thank you..."

"Right. Right."

Seol Jinun, who still looked like a high school student, shyly took the plate. From the perspective of someone who has seen him command many people and cut down monsters on the front lines in Seoul, it felt a bit awkward. But perhaps this is his true personality.

If it were a normal world, he would have been a freshman in college, receiving drinks from seniors during a new student orientation. But now, he is being treated by me as a benefactor of the Korean National Assembly.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? To me, it seems sad. Nevertheless, I smiled and placed galbi jjim on Seol Jinun's rice bowl.

"How did you decide to come here? Did your aunt call you?"

"While we were unconscious, I heard you and Doyeon went through life and death together. Isn't it only right to call you and treat you?"

"It wasn't unconsciousness, it was infection."

"Stop saying disgusting things and eat this."

There was no discomfort, so the atmosphere at the dinner table was very harmonious.

However, the beginning of everything was...

Yedoyeon avoided alcohol for health reasons,

She had never drunk much, so she didn't know her limit,

And she was very weak against alcohol.

And we didn't know that.

*

Actually, the topic at this gathering was naturally about Yedoyeon and Seol Jinun's life in Seoul. The long story began with Seol Jinun's words.

"......When the gate first opened."

Seol Jinun, one of the first awakened, established a base of power centered around the school.

"......I killed a lot of people back then."

By killing those who needed to be killed, he ultimately saved many people.

He killed a teacher who had lustful intentions towards high school girls, psychopaths who made murder a hobby, and saved people with like-minded individuals.

Thus, the Dongdaemun camp firmly established itself in the center of Seoul.

"......Oh..."

"It must have been tough..."

"......Yes. Fortunately, the gates started to calm down."

This was probably around the six-month stabilization period after Cha Jaegeun's death and the Uijeongbu incident. The gates were not spewing monsters randomly as they did when they first opened, and the Seoul encirclement was steadily blocking the monsters.

Around this time, the government, wary of a military coup, reduced the military and, to boost Won Okbun's approval rating, the defense minister lifted the reserve force mobilization. In reality, there were a few extra soldiers because the military was heavily artillery-focused, and most of the riflemen were deployed to the North Korean front rather than the Seoul encirclement.

Of course, the situation took a turn for the worse when the Seoul encirclement was breached during the Uijeongbu incident.

All the gates reactivated, and the Seoul encirclement was breached starting from the Namyangju area.

And Seol Jinun's camp was in the heart of Seoul, Dongdaemun.

"......Hundreds of people trying to escape from Seoul were reduced to dozens."

The death toll at that time was around 350. People Seol Jinun had done everything to save.

"......I met Doyeon in Namyangju. And... Cheoljin too."

Seol Jinun's group joined forces with Yedoyeon and North Korean defectors. They fought many bloody battles in Namyangju and built a large force.

"......We lived in a large concert hall, blocking the entrance..."

"From my memory, there were probably over a thousand people?"

"The infection spread rapidly."

And the large force was quickly destroyed by zombies coming from Uijeongbu, leaving only a few dozen awakened individuals who managed to escape to Cheonmasan in Gyeonggi Province.

When everyone was in despair,

Seol Jinun remembered a weird guy he met while running the Dongdaemun camp.

"I remembered Mr. Gambler. I had seen him turn people who had turned into monsters back to normal. I had hope."

The core researcher of the biological experiment, Mr. Gambler, fled to Seoul when Cha Jaegeun died. He repeatedly experimented on his own body and focused on research to turn the escaped experimental subjects from the underground bunker in Yeoninsan back into humans, including magic.

By the time Seol Jinun found him, he had reached a high level. I heard he even increased his intelligence by inserting a needle into his brain. What a crazy guy.

"......Then, I learned that if the Seoul gate goes out of control, the country will fall. And that it was not far off."

After that, it was the same as what I knew.

Ri Cheoljin's betrayal, the struggle in Seoul, the joining of Kim Chunshik's guild, and the involvement of Gam Jiyeon and Hong Seona.

When all the stories ended, what remained were seven empty beer cans and a solemn atmosphere.

"......Oh."

And a single tear that suddenly rolled down Yedoyeon's cheek.

"Damn......"

"......"

"I must be drunk. I'm going to bed."

Yedoyeon mumbled with slurred speech and stumbled to her room. On the way, she grabbed tissues from the table and rubbed her face.

My uncle-in-law listened to Seol Jinun's story with wide, bloodshot eyes, and my aunt looked at the young man with a cold, sunken gaze.

A boy who had only been 20 for four months, telling the stories of the dead while drunk for the first time in his life, nodded off.

Seol Jinun couldn't even hold his head up and mechanically moved his mouth, as if he had a responsibility to pass on this story to those left behind. The boy, now a young man, continued to mumble.

And finally.

"......At first, I had dreams."

The reflections of a boy who had gone through a tumultuous time reached me. Surprisingly, they were quite typical. On one hand, they were extremely relatable, to the point where I didn't want to hear them.

"Let's try our best to save people. Like heroes in movies, if we get superpowers, isn't it our destiny to do something? When we were still in school. We made this promise in the classroom with our friends."

Heroes have dreams.

"But in the end, what we did was killing. A teacher who became a rapist. Criminals. Plunderers. Cult leaders. Politicians. Etc... Taking people who could die on food-gathering missions... Always risking our lives for everyone."

Dreams collide with reality.

"But even if we worked hard to save them, if the gate opened wrong, they would all die. Whether it was Dongdaemun or Namyangju. Eventually, it was our turn in Seoul. What could we do? If we didn't want to die, we had to fight."

Dreams are stained with blood.

"Special forces went into the gate, before the representative came."

"Yes, I know. A team went in to install a jammer-"

"Our founding members all died."

Dreams become heavier,

"......When I came to my senses, among the people in the classroom who promised to save others, only I was left."

Dreams become a burden.

"......From the Dongdaemun camp to Seoul, I killed a few to save many. Even if I rose higher, I don't think I would do better things."

"......"

"......Yes. To be honest, I lack confidence, I'm scared, and I'm so tired that I don't want to do it anymore."

The boy's final words were short and matter-of-fact.

"Heavy."

The boy collapsed on the table, and I carried him to my room, limping up the stairs.

It was heavy.

*

The heavy rain continued.

I came out under the eaves and looked at the world on a rainy night.

The night air was humid and cold. Rainwater flowed down the roof, and the smoke from my cigarette hid in the fishy smell of the rain.

"......Cough!"

The yellow streetlights spread softly on the puddles on the asphalt, and I coughed and shed tears from the unfamiliar cigarette smoke.

Creak. The sound of the front door opening and a hoarse voice came from behind.

"Hey, brat."

"......Why did you crawl out here?"

Yedoyeon frowned and pointed at the cigarette I was holding with her fingers.

"Wow, you learned it. When did you?"

"Huh...... Don't learn this when you grow up."

"Wipe your nose and talk."

"Sniff."

Yedoyeon, who came out with her hands in her pockets and a hunched posture, looked particularly vicious today.

Her eyes were glazed over from alcohol, and her speech was slurred.

"Ah."

"What?"

"Yea. Never mind. Grandpa, where did you put the glove?"

Seeing her babbling, it was clear she was quite drunk.

Of course, even when she babbled, with her hands in her pockets, stumbling, leaning against the wall, and glaring at me with sharp eyes, she was unmistakably a thug. She looked like a middle school student who had a cool image.

I heard that my uncle-in-law was a 'fighter' when he was young. Maybe he inherited that. He wasn't a real thug, but more like a Kimdohan-style fighter from a drama. I only heard the story, so I don't know the details. My uncle-in-law probably exaggerated a bit.

If you put it nicely, he was a knight, and if you put it badly, he was a loafer. Anyway, he lived as he pleased in post-6.25 Korea, which was a developing country. If you call it a romantic life, it's romantic, and if you call it a rough life, it's roughly that.

How can you summarize a person's life in one word?

Maybe I was drunk, or maybe it was the rain, but it was a night when I had many random thoughts.

Anyway, Yedoyeon took the cigarette from my mouth, sucked on it, and then

"Spit!"

threw it away.

The difference between my uncle-in-law and Yedoyeon was that he would pick it up from the puddle and throw it in the trash can. She was still tipsy, slightly swaying, and whined at me.

"...Don't smoke."

"It's not up to me."

"Who did you learn it from? Representative Yang?"

"Deputy Minister Cha."

"......Hmm."

Only now did she notice my stiff expression and didn't press further, scratching her back and coming to stand next to me.

"Feeling down?"

"Talk nicely. You're turning thirty next year."

I got a punch in the ribs.

"Huh... brat."

"......Is it your ninth year?"

I got another punch.

Yedoyeon was grinning. Since I was the only one on Earth who could hit her without holding back, excluding monsters.

Yedoyeon approached me without hesitation. She stuck to me with a grin.

"Why are you being so creepy?"

"That's why I asked if you're feeling down, damn it."

"What is?"

"Everything."

I thought for a moment and then nodded.

"Yea."

"Wouldn't it feel lighter if you talked about it?"

"About what?"

"Don't you hate politics?"

"......How did you know? You don't care about politics."

"Would I not know that?"

Yedoyeon grinned.

"When you're feeling down, you try to look fine by raising your eyebrows. Brat."