Walking Daddy

“So-Yeon honey, why aren’t you sleeping?”

“That weird noise... It\'s scary,” So-Yeon said as she walked towards me, rubbing her eyes.

My daughter, So-Yeon, had just entered elementary school.

I squatted down so that I could look her directly in the eyes, and patted her head.

“Daddy isn’t sure what that noise is either.”

“Hmm... it’s weird.”

“Daddy thinks so too. Then… why not let Daddy go check it out, and our dear So-Yeon can go back to bed?”

“It’s scary to be alone. I want to go with Daddy.”

I looked at her, not knowing what to say.

There had been reports all over the news about the spread of a new virus, said to inhibit the rational minds of those infected, leaving them with only their violent tendencies.

Multiple times a day, warnings blared out across the city, advising citizens to stay home. However, these also stopped when the electricity was cut off.

After that, the whole world was turned upside down.

Every single day, screams rang out, hundreds or even thousands of times. These cries from outside got into the minds of the sane, pushing survivors further into a darker and deeper place.

I was one of these survivors. Together with my little girl, we were counting on a rescue team to arrive.

I was not sure how long it had been since it all started. My days turned dull and boring, with nothing to do but await rescue. All I could do each day was look out the window and observe the situation outside.

So-Yeon looked around and asked, “When is Mommy coming?”

“Well, about your mommy… Daddy will try calling her.”

“I miss Mommy...”

She pulled a long face, full of disappointment.

There was no way there would be cell service in a situation like this. Even in central Seoul, there was no service. There was no way of getting hold of her.

My gaze wandered to the calendar hanging on the kitchen wall. I couldn’t help but sigh when I saw the number of ‘X’s on the calendar.

When the virus had first emerged, I had tried to stop my wife from going to work. However, she hadn’t given it much thought and headed to work with a mask like she usually did.

Eight days had passed since then.

It was impossible to remain calm, given the unfolding disaster happening outside. The bizarre cries that accompanied the screams of the victims… Those weren’t the cries of a human being.

A human being? No, it wouldn’t be right to call them human beings. These cries came from some creature that merely resembled a human being.

It was a disturbing sound, almost as if one’s throat was being torn apart. It was an unbearably gruesome noise.

I sat So-Yeon down on the couch and walked cautiously toward the window.

I lifted a corner of the curtains slightly and peeked outside.

Several buildings in the distance were emitting dense gray smoke, but did not hear any fire trucks. That meant calling 119 would do no good.[1]

I looked down to the ground floor outside my apartment, my face glum. There were several unknown creatures in front of the apartment entrance.

A man was standing there, hunched over, waving his arms back and forth. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, or why he was doing what he was doing.

The man had kept up this abnormal behavior for the last three days. Finally, my eyes fell on the woman lying on the ground next to him. She had lost her right leg and was twitching intermittently.

Was she twitching from the pain, or begging for help? Upon closer inspection, though, there were no signs of pain or despair on her face. Rather, her eyes had a determined look in them. She would wave her arms slowly, as though trying to reach something, and every time she did this, I would realize that…

She was staring at the fifth floor, where I was.

When our eyes met, my heart dropped, and a wave of fear rushed in.

Every time, I would have no other choice but to shut my eyes tightly and let the curtain fall.

“Daddy,” So-Yeon called out, her voice gloomy and full of fear. I walked over to her and wrapped her tightly in my arms. She returned my hug wordlessly, but I could sense her pouting. I wondered if she was angry with me for not answering all the questions that were on her mind.

Yet, whatever question she asked, I could only muster the same response.

“It’s all right, Daddy’s right here.”

* * *

The next thing I knew, I was asleep on the couch.

As soon as I woke up, I turned to my right. I stood up quietly, relieved to feel the gentle breathing coming from that side.

I made my way back to the window and cracked open the curtains again.

It was pitch-black outside—a truly desolate view.

The light from the street lamps, the bright windows dotting the apartment buildings, the cars driving along the roads… These were nowhere to be found. I looked down at the entrance to the apartment building.

The unknown creatures were still at the same spot.

The man was still there, waving his arms back and forth, no matter the time of day.

I let my head sag and sighed deeply. I wondered how much longer it would take for all of this to go away. How much longer would it be before a rescue team arrived? It seemed to be a hopeless wait.

I pressed my lips together and walked back to the couch. So-Yeon was sleeping like a baby. I patted her head.

‘It’s alright. Everything’s going to be alright.’

It was merely an attempt to trick myself into ignoring reality.

“Help me, please help me!”

The sudden cry made me jump, jolting me back to reality. I stood up reflexively, my ears alert.

‘Where did that come from?’

It was a woman’s voice. And it hadn’t been nearby. Rather, it felt like an echo that had pierced its way through the darkness outside.

I walked towards the window and took a careful look.

The total darkness outside dredged up long-forgotten fears. With the window as my shield, I scanned the area, trying to locate the source of the sound.

I stared into the distance to acclimatize myself to the darkness. As my pupils slowly adjusted, I could gradually make out someone moving.

About two blocks away, a woman was running with all her might, carrying something in her arms. I could not see her face, but from how little noise her footfalls were making, I could tell that she was barefoot.

“Help me, please!!!”

Her wail slowly turned into a scream. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, as though holding on for dear life. However, no one was coming to her aid.

I was no different. My body had gone stiff, and all I could do was follow her movement with my eyes. I watched the pack of unknown creatures tailing her with bated breath.

They were hunting her down in an unsettling way. Their arms were waving uncontrollably and their heads were rocking all over the place. What they were doing couldn’t be considered running. Rather, it seemed like they were charging at prey that was attempting to get away.

Just seeing them like this sent a chill down my spine and heightened my fear.

They were not moving like human beings, and they seemed desperate to close the distance between them and the escaping woman.

“Please help me!”

Her cry was choked and full of despair. Transfixed by the scene, my mind began to race.

‘Should I help her? No. What good would I be? Besides, what if I get So-Yeon in trouble?’

I looked at So-Yeon, who was still sound asleep. I couldn’t risk her life to save someone I didn’t know.

‘I have to protect So-Yeon. Please, please, oh dear lord, someone save that woman... And save me and So-Yeon as well…’

I was desperately praying for someone who was, in all probability, nonexistent.

Moments after, the woman tripped over a rock and fell.

“Get up, get up…” I whispered to myself through gritted teeth.

I clenched the curtains in my hands, my arms shaking as I took in ragged breaths. The unknown creatures were closing on the woman on the ground. I could almost feel her terror, as though I was the one lying in the middle of the street.

Despite losing her balance, the woman hadn’t let go of the object she was clutching, and so she’d fallen head-first onto the hard ground. She lay there, unmoving, then her upper body twitched, as if she had suffered a concussion. Whatever it was in her arms squirmed its way free of her grasp.

It was a little child, a child smaller than So-Yeon.

The child reached out to shake their mother.

The child’s sweet voice made my mind swirl.

“Mommy… Mommy…”

Their whimper pierced the darkness and echoed throughout the city. In a flash, the unknown creatures were upon them. I covered my mouth with both hands, unable to take my eyes off them.

I covered my mouth, unable to do anything but watch the horrific scene unfold in front of my eyes. I wanted to turn away, but my stiff body wouldn’t let me. It was a moment of terror, cruelty, and total despair. Not even these words were enough to describe the feeling that enveloped me in that moment.

We humans, who stood at the top of the food chain and considered ourselves outside it…this was a moment where none of that mattered.

Tears streamed silently down my face.

All I could do was cover my mouth and hold in the whimpers that tried to make their way out. A wave of fear and disbelief flowed through me, causing me to tremble uncontrollably.

The monsters that looked human... were eating humans. And the woman and child were being eaten alive.

The child wailed in agony as it saw its own arms torn away. It was screaming in fear, unable to fight back. It was nothing but helpless prey being devoured by a carnivore.

And there I was, looking on, taking in the entire scene without being able to do a single thing…I felt so helpless. My legs gave out and I fell to the floor. The noise woke So-Yeon, who stumbled to my side while rubbing her eyes.

“Daddy...?”

I quickly wrapped my arms around her, covering her eyes. She looked up at me, clueless. Carrying her, I crawled beneath the dining table. Seeing my bloodshot eyes, her expression grew upset, and she seemed about to cry.

I covered her mouth and said in a trembling voice, “It’s alright, it’s alright.”

It wasn’t enough, and she began to wail. I pressed my right hand harder against her mouth, praying that her cries would not travel too far.

I bit my lower lip and gave all I had to stop trembling.

‘Stop shaking, calm down.’

But my body, intoxicated with fear, wouldn’t listen. I kept uttering the same thing over and over as if possessed.

“It’s all right. We’re safe. We’re going to be okay...”

I kept saying that we would be fine, but they were meaningless words, uttered without any serious consideration.

I was in fact, not alright at all.

I was indeed afraid…

And I wanted to get out of this situation more than anyone else.

1. 119 is the equivalent to 911 in Korea. However, unlike 911, there are other numbers such as 112 and 182, for the police and medical emergencies respectively. ☜