Walking Daddy

While the survivors were fast asleep, Kim Hyeong-Jun, Do Han-Sol, and I reinforced our lookouts and gathered in front of the campfire.

Kim Hyeong-Jun, staring at the faint sparks that scattered from the burning firewood, spoke first.

“Ahjussi, the little mutant we saw…”

"Yeah."

“What do you think it was?”

"Judging by the way it looked, I’m assuming it’s a stage-two mutant.”

I kept my expression blank as I stared into the fire. Kim Hyeong-Jun sighed toward the night sky and smacked his lips. His expression grew bitter.

“Do you really think it was a kid? I think it kept on saying ‘It’s my turn’ as if it was the tagger.”

“It’s possible. If its desire is to play tag.”

“...”

No one spoke for a while. Although the creature it had turned into was a monster, the fact that its essence was a child’s made me question the way I was supposed to feel about it.

Do Han-Sol chucked more firewood into the fire and muttered to himself.

“Double-income…”

“Double-income?”

I raised my eyebrows, repeating his words as a question. Do Han-Sol smacked his lips and spoke up.

“There were a lot of kids like that when I used to volunteer at daycare. Both of their parents worked, and they were left alone with us after all their friends went back home early.”

“...”

“What I noticed when I observed those children… They tended to play tag a lot, because they wanted someone to find them.”

“Oh…”

“Those kids used to come up to me and hit my arm out of the blue. They would shout that I would have to find them and then go off to hide. They were asking me to play with them. Back then, that just broke my heart.”

As I listened to Do Han-Sol, I sensed a huge hole opening up in my heart, filled with bitterness and the sense of the futility of life. I felt stifled and frustrated, as if I were stuck in a traffic jam on the highway.

These children had grown bitter over their endless waiting, and had to overcome this feeling through hide and seek.

I wanted someone to find them.

I wanted someone to play with them, even though that person might not be their friend.

I couldn’t help but feel sad as I imagined the lives of those children.

My head sagged with sadness. Kim Hyeong-Jun, who sat across from me, clicked his tongue vigorously.

“I don’t want to even think that far. Whatever it was when it was alive, it turned into a mutant in the end. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if it had been a stage-one mutant, but it was a stage-two mutant.”

“Yeah… You’re right.”

“No. It’s not something we should be taking lightly. We have to be more vigilant. It’s easy to see how terrifying human desires are when you look at stage-two mutants.”

“What do you mean?”

I looked at him calmly. Kim Hyeong-Jun scratched his forehead before continuing.

“You don’t know what can happen when one’s desire reaches its peak. The mutants might go crazy. Mood-Swinger is simply obsessed with its muscles and with working out… But like the kid we saw earlier, it might transform into a being with abilities.”

“...”

“Who would have known that the desire to play tag could make it possible to manipulate others and cause delirium? When Mood-Swinger attacked me… I really was taken aback.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun frowned and looked at Mood-Swinger, who was a distance away. The large zombie was listening to the cries of turtle doves coming from the forest. I looked at Mood-Swinger’s back and my face grew glum.

Mood-Swinger wasn’t much of a threat now, but if I’d had to face it without having eaten the seventh officer’s brain, I knew that I wouldn’t be sitting in front of this campfire. I might’ve lost my family and probably would have regretted my decision.

I pressed my temples and let out a sigh. Do Han-Sol, who had been watching me, spoke up.

“What are you thinking about?”

"Nothing… I was just thinking about what would’ve happened if Mood-Swinger here decided to attack the survivors.”

“Do you regret camping outside?”

“I just imagined how it would’ve been if we fought inside. It was just a thought.”

I looked into the campfire, my eyes half-closed, Kim Hyeong-Jun and Do Han-Sol also lowered their gazes, not knowing what to say.

Shoosh–

At that moment, I sensed a presence approaching me. Startled, I looked to my right and saw Lee Jeong-Uk, whom I’d thought was sleeping, come over and sit right next to me.

“What’s up with the eyes?”

“When did you wake up?”

"Just now."

As soon as he sat down, he picked up some of the firewood from the pile next to him and tossed it into the fire.

“I didn\'t mean to eavesdrop, but somehow I did."

“...”

“So-Yeon’s dad.”

Lee Jeong-Uk regarded me rather seriously. When I looked calmly back at him, he smiled and continued,

“If we’d taken shelter inside the university beside us, I’m pretty sure we would’ve lost a lot of people tonight.”

“Well, you can’t be sure of that.”

“Have you forgotten what happened at Dae Hyun San Park?”

“...?”

I didn’t recall any casualties or injuries from the incident in Dae Hyun San Park. In fact, I didn’t have any remarkable memories from that place. The only thing I remembered from that day was that it was the first time I’d come to know about the existence of mutants.

My confusion showed on my face, and Lee Jeong-Uk chuckled.

“Do you remember anything from when we were locked in that gym?”

“Oh…”

The moment he mentioned the gym, some of my forgotten memories returned to me. While we’d been trapped in the gym, trying to figure out where the mutant was, we almost lost someone because the mutant had sent its arm flying through one of the gym windows.

Lee Jeong-Uk stared at the campfire before he continued.

“Remember how hard it was to handle one mutant back then? But to protect nearly three hundred survivors in a small space against dozens of mutants… I’m sure we would’ve given them at least one opening while dealing with all the attacks coming in from left and right.”

“...”

“Just like you said, making camp outdoors was the right thing to do. It\'s true that people feel uneasy because of the fact that they’re staying outdoors… But you thought it was safer out here.”

I felt embarrassed at his words. I couldn’t even remember the last time I heard a compliment from someone else. It felt rather awkward to sit and listen to someone compliment me.

Lee Jeong-Uk took a breath.

“And I wanted to sincerely apologize.”

“About what?”

“That I wasn’t able to take care of all the children.”

“It was chaotic. It\'s not like the zombies announced that they were coming beforehand."

“Still, I should’ve thought about the ones who were still asleep. Since that’s my job.”

Lee Jeong-Uk furrowed his brow. He stared into the bonfire with his fingers interlaced together. It seemed like he had a lot on his mind.

I wondered if he was blaming himself for what had happened.

I patted Lee Jeong-Uk on the back and spoke up.

“Then reflect on it. Don’t beat yourself up, though.”

Lee Jeong-Uk snorted and shook his head. I slowly rose to my feet.

“Since it seems like we’re just about done talking, let’s start to get ready.”

With that, Kim Hyeong-Jun got up as well. He brushed off the dirt from his bottom and walked over to where Mood-Swinger was. Do Han-Sol headed for the front entrance while I headed for the dark forest.

“So-Yeon’s dad,” called Lee Jeong-Uk from behind.

When I turned around, Lee Jeong-Uk looked around to see if anyone was around before talking.

“About the wedding.”

“Let’s think about that when we arrive at the hotel.”

“No, I just thought it would be nice to tell some people.”

"Oh… Okay."

“Don’t worry too much about it. I’ll take care of it. I just felt sorry after seeing you bring the wedding dress over earlier today…”

I stared blankly at Lee Jeong-Uk. He smiled back at me.

“I just realized that I’d asked someone who already didn’t have enough time to do me a favor.”

"It’s alright."

“You’re doing it again. A person should know when to say no when they’re tired. Just saying okay all the time makes others rely on you.”

I pressed my lips together into a thin smile. He was right. The more things I did, the harder it was to organize my complicated mind. The only person who knew how I felt without me having to tell them was Lee Jeong-Uk.

I scratched my head.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.”

“You’re already helping out enough, which is why I’m telling you to take it easy. Besides, I should be the one who should feel sorry. I’m the one asking for favors.”

I chuckled and patted Lee Jeong-Uk on the back. He returned the gesture.

"I\'ll figure out the other things, like the ring and whatnot. You just focus on getting us to the hotel.”

“Thanks.”

“No, thank you.”

Lee Jeong-Uk walked back to the fountain where the survivors were gathered, a hearty smile playing across his lips. As I looked at him walking away, I resolved that I would create a world where people like him could live with smiles on their faces.

* * *

As the dawn broke over the eastern sky, the survivors folded the covers neatly and prepared to set off on the road again.

They put out the campfire, then put the covers and food on the carts they had brought and got into formation. I knew that they must have been tired after the events of the previous night, but many of the survivors wore faces full of determination.

As I surveyed the survivors, Hwang Ji-Hye came up to me and whispered in my ear,

“Everyone has faith in you, Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok.”

“...”

“The people of Shelter Silence have accepted you as well.”

I didn’t know what to say to her. Instead of saying anything, I scratched my head and smiled at her. After a moment, Lee Jeong-Uk came up to me.

“So-Yeon’s dad, we’re ready to go.”

“Got it.”

I walked up to the survivors.

“We only have a little left until we get to Gwangjang-dong. I ask you to give your best until we reach our destination!”

“You got it!” came the reply, their voices full of determination.

I knew they would be more tired than yesterday, but unlike their worn-out bodies, their eyes were full of hope.

I gave a sharp nod and shouted, “Off we go!”

As I took the first step, more than five thousand people and zombies followed me. I had a lot of weight on my shoulders but I felt better than ever.

People had opened up to me, and more and more people were trusting in me and following me.

The past, in which I was trapped in my apartment waiting for a rescue team to come… That past no longer existed. I had people willing to protect my family, and move forward together by my side.

Our history was just beginning.

Kim Hyeong-Jun opened a map of Seoul and came beside me. He placed his finger on the map and traced out the route we were going to take.

“If we go out the back entrance, we’ll end up at Achasan Station. From there, we can make our way along Cheonhodae-ro.”

“How long do you think it will take to get to Gwangjang-dong?”

“At our current speed… We should be able to get there before sunset.”

“Did you have a chance to check if there were any zombies still lingering around?”

“There hasn’t been much going on after the zombie wave.”

“Can you and Han-Sol check our route again for zombies? Just in case.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun nodded and called out to Do Han-Sol, who was on the left. The two of them ran ahead of us and toward the back entrance.

Do Han-Sol had said that he had taken care of all the zombies in Neung-dong. Nevertheless, we still had to fight off a massive zombie wave last night. There was no safe zone for us since we were traveling with this many survivors.

Every path we took was potentially dangerous. Everyone’s lives depend on me, Kim Hyeong-Jun, and Do Han-Sol. It was only right to keep our senses heightened as we moved, and to continuously be prepared for the unexpected.

My blue eyes shone as I intensified my sense of hearing, smell and sight. I wasn’t going to let even a single ant get near us unnoticed.

* * *

I wondered how far we had walked. Unlike the day before, nothing had happened to us yet. The day’s journey had been quiet and uneventful.

We didn’t get ambushed by any zombies on the way, and there weren’t that many zombies that stood out as well. I wondered if it was because Kim Hyeong-Jun and Do Han-sol had already cleared out the path early on.

Strangely enough, no zombies detected the scent of the survivors and tried to attack from the right or left. There weren’t any zombies chasing us, and we didn’t hear any of the throat-rending noises that the zombies made.

It was like the calm before the storm. The surroundings were almost too quiet, so much so that it became suspicious.

As we passed through Guui-dong and slowly entered Gwangjang-dong, I saw Kim Hyeong-Jun and Do Han-Sol rushing back. Kim Hyeong-Jun pointed his finger in the direction in which we were advancing and stammered, “There… there… there… there…”

I wondered what was making him act this way

Despite the desperation I sensed in his voice, he didn’t raise his voice. I frowned.

“Calm down and speak slowly. What did you see?”

“There… There are some crazy people living there.”

"What?"

“I can\'t put it into words. You have to see it for yourself, ahjussi.”

I smacked my lips and looked at Do Han-Sol, who was next to Kim Hyeong-Jun. He was expressionless, as if his soul had escaped his body.

I knew that these two were unaffected by seeing the dismembered body parts of zombies, and their reaction to whatever they’d seen was startling to me.

I took a breath.

“Han-Sol, follow me. Hyeong-Jun, you stay here and protect everyone.”

I entered Gwangjang-dong with Do Han-Sol.

After walking past Baesuji Sports Park, I saw a middle school in the distance. Do Han-Sol tapped my shoulder and pointed to the roof of the school. I focused my gaze on the rooftop and saw several mysterious structures laid out. There were dozens of long antenna-like structures erected on the rooftop. There were also hundreds of flies flying around them.

As I squinted to get a better look, I saw countless beings pinned to the pillars.

I was looking at a massacre.