Walking Daddy

After I made sure that no one else was in the lobby, I looked at Kim Hyeong-Jun.

“Hyeong-Jun, keep this to yourself for now,” I said.

“Huh? What is it, ahjussi?”

“You said that even the officers didn’t even know where the boss was, right?”

"Yeah."

“I think there’s a high chance that he’s been eaten by a black creature.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun’s eyes widened as I mentioned the black creature, and he gave me a look of surprise. He grabbed my sleeve and dragged me out of the hotel. We stepped out from the L Hotel into pitch-black darkness, as if someone had painted the world black. It was impossible to tell the difference between the ocean and the sky.

Kim Hyeong-Jun looked around to see if there was anyone around before speaking.

"A black creature? What do you mean?”

“I heard about this when I first came here with Kim Dae-Young. There’s a black creature here as well.”

“What color are its eyes? Did you ask what color they were?”

“Blue.”

As soon as I said blue, he slicked his hair back, and his expression grew serious. I knew how smart he was, and he seemed to have realized what I was trying to get at right away. He wet his parched lips.

“If the boss of the Hounds was eaten by a black creature… its eyes may have turned black… That’s what you’re trying to say, right?”

"Exactly."

“Hmm, that does seem possible, since they hadn’t been in touch with the boss for fifteen days. But don’t you think that the others should know about this as well?”

“Why do you think I’m only telling you this?”

Kim Hyeong-Jun hesitated a little.

“So that we can keep it a secret…?” he said with a grave expression.

“Even the people of the Jeju Defense Unit know the presence of the black creature, which means that it’s impossible to keep its existence a secret.”

“Then what should we do?”

“Let’s keep the knowledge that the black creature in Jeju Island is not any ordinary black creature to ourselves.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun scratched his forehead and sighed. He was lost in thought for a moment, but then took a deep breath.

“Are you trying to prevent any unnecessary chaos?” he asked.

I nodded silently. Kim Hyeong-Jun clicked his tongue and avoided my gaze, shaking his head before speaking again.

“I thought we were cruising, but here we are, having to deal with another black creature.”

“The officers said that their boss was last near Seogwipo. I’m guessing he probably got eaten by the black creature somewhere in that area.”

"And?"

“If the black creature hunts down red zombies…. It wouldn’t be coming here first, since it’s too far up north. Instead, it’ll go to Seogwipo.”

“But it’s already been more than half a month. I would think that Seogwipo has already been cleaned up, if you know what I mean. Just tell me what you want to say, ahjussi. Don’t beat around the bush.”

I was trying to skirt around the issue, but Kim Hyeong-Jun had asked me directly. I placed my face in my palms.

“Let’s attack first.”

“You want to go to Seogwipo…? The two of us?”

“You know how threatening and overwhelming a black creature becomes when its eyes turn black. We’ll all die if we fight it here.”

“But ahjussi, just because we go to Seogwipo doesn’t mean we stand a chance against it. You know we can’t beat it.”

“Well, we have Ji-Eun this time. Back then, Ji-Eun wasn’t as strong as she was now, nor did she do much. It’ll be different this time.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun shook his head. His expression seemed complicated, as if it wasn’t buying into my plan.

“No, this is… Even though we have Ji-Eun…”

“Then what do you think we should do?”

"Well, first of all, we’re not even certain that its eyes turned black.”

“So what, you want to stay here and wait? Think about who’ll benefit if we do that.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun let out a deep sigh. He already knew the answer to my question. He sat down on the floor, scratched his head, then clicked his tongue.

“Let’s finish talking about this when Han-Sol and Mr. Jeong Jin-Young both wake up,” he said “For now, let’s focus on cleaning up Hotel O.”

“How many Survivor Rally Organization survivors are there per room at the moment?”

“There are six people for each two-bedroom suite. The thing is, there isn’t any heating at the moment, so I bet everyone’s immune system is going to grow weak, and the whole hotel is going to be full of ill survivors within a week.”

I nodded slowly.

“Wait here for a minute. I have something I want to discuss with Mr. Heo Seong-Min.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun closed his eyes and grimaced.

"Okay."

As I headed back inside, the eerie sound of the crashing waves hammered against my eardrums. They seemed to be trying to tell me to feel nervous about what was going to happen in the future. I breathed in the cool night air to relax myself. It helped a little, but not enough to push away the feeling that had grown within me.

I went back into the meeting room and called Heo Seong-Min and Kim Dae-Young over. They excused themselves from their conversation with Lee Jeong-Uk and came over to me. After organizing my thoughts in my head, I began to speak.

“Mr. Heo Seong-Min, please call in the guards who are stationed on the first and second lines of defense.”

Heo Seong-Min tilted his head in confusion. "Pardon?"

He looked at me as though had no clue what I was trying to do. I slicked my hair back.

“Since we’ve wiped out the Northeast gang’s scouts, the officers must’ve noticed that something isn’t right by now,” I continued.

"Then… Shouldn\'t we post more guards?”

"No. The underlings that the scouts controlled are still standing in front of the rental car company. They’ll probably start from there and make their way here.”

“Then what do you plan on doing?”

I knew he had every reason to be taken aback by my sudden request, but he still calmly asked for my opinion. I scratched my eyebrows, then continued.

“Hyeong-Jun will hide near the rental car company.”

“The rental car company that’s full of zombies that are no longer being controlled by anyone?”

“Yes. Even the Hounds probably don’t want to leave those zombies stranded. They’ll probably drag those zombies back to their hideout so that they can replenish any zombie underlings that they lose.”

“Are you saying that Mr. Kim Hyeong-Jun is going to attack them when that happens?”

When I nodded, Heo Seong-Min rubbed his chin, then spoke.

"Then… What can we do in the meantime?”

“Please focus on defending the hotel.”

I then pointed to Kim Dae-Young.

“Kim Dae-Young, position your underlings around the hotel as well.”

He nodded in acknowledgment. I looked at Heo Seong-Min and Kim Dae-Young in turn.

“Have you two ever seen mutants?” I asked them.

“When you say mutants… Are you referring to the zombies that were with you in front of the rental car company?”

“Yes. Have you ever seen zombies with long, gnat-like limbs, or any that looked different from the others?”

Heo Seong-Min shook his head and looked over at Kim Dae-Young. Kim Dae-Young shook his head as well. Clearly, he didn’t know what I was speaking of.

That seemed both questionable and shocking to me at the same time. It had already been six months, yet the two of them were saying that not a single mutant had appeared here. I couldn’t help but wonder why that was.

Seoul had been overrun by zombies, but there were also countless zombies that had red eyes. Whenever a zombie with red eyes died, the underlings it had under its control would no longer be considered underlings, since they lost the chain of command. Those zombies wouldn’t be scared or run away, even when they saw other zombies with red eyes.

I wondered if such an incident had yet to happen in Jeju Island. It seemed hard to believe. At the same time, despite my current lack of knowledge, I knew I wouldn’t be able to come to a reasonable conclusion by delving into this any further.

Instead of asking them more questions, I asked them to accompany me outside. Heo Seong-Min looked back and forth between Kim Dae-Young and myself.

“Are we bringing them in right now?” he asked.

“Yes, and I think it’d be a good idea to shut down the first and second lines of defense for the time being.”

“So you want us to protect just the hotel? Wouldn’t that be rather dangerous? It’ll be difficult to evacuate if zombies suddenly attack.”

“You can count on us. I’d like the survivors to focus on securing food. It’ll be difficult to keep up with the rate of consumption, since there’s more people now.”

"Then… How about we reorganize the guards into the supermarket search team? There are a couple of hypermarkets in Jeju City that we haven’t checked out yet.”

I could tell that if I said no to this as well, the people of the Jeju Defense Unit would feel trapped inside the hotel. I knew there’d be a tremendous backlash if their safe haven began to feel to them like a refugee camp. Knowing that I didn’t have much of a choice, I nodded.

“We’re going to clean up the zombies in Jeju City starting tomorrow,” I replied. “I think it should be okay to send out the guards once the area is cleared out.”

“Well if that’s the case, we’d greatly appreciate that.”

Heo Seong-Min smiled brightly and offered me a small bow. I returned the gesture.

“Then let’s get moving,” I said. “Let’s get things done before it grows too late.”

“Got it!”

With that, Heo Seong-Min and Kim Dae-Young headed to the front gate of L Hotel. Lee Jeong-Uk came up to me when he noticed the two of them running off.

"What\'s going on?"

"Oh, just getting prepared for the Hounds in case they attack.”

After a brief moment of silence, Lee Jeong-Uk’s voice took on a note of calm.

“So-Yeon’s dad.”

When I looked at him, he smiled thinly.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve told you before that your acting isn’t very good,” he said.

“...”

I remained silent, and he continued in the same, calm tone, “I can tell that you have something on your mind. You always grow sensitive when something’s up.”

Despite his composure, I could sense a hint of concern in his tone. I wondered if it would be better to tell him the truth; what was actually on my mind. As I contemplated, I cupped my face with my palms and sighed. I tried my best to smile.

“I’m just thinking about the possibility of people getting hurt,” I said. “That’s why I wanted to pull back the guards. It isn’t going to be the same as it used to be. We have to start fighting the Hounds for real.”

“Is that really the only reason? No other reasons?”

I chuckled and lightly slapped his forearm, hoping that he wouldn’t try to dig any further.

“No, that’s all.”

Despite my reassurance, I could tell that Lee Jeong-Uk still doubted me. However, it didn’t take him long to shrug.

“Well, if you say so, then what more can I say?” he said.

I knew he was letting this one slide. I could tell that he knew there were other reasons why I was acting the way I was. I couldn’t help but feel bad for not telling him everything. At the same time, though, I didn’t want him to have yet another thing on his mind, as I knew how exhausted he was.

I was more than aware that everyone who was part of the Survivor Rally Organization would be slightly on edge as they adjusted to their new surroundings. Because of this, it was only right for the leaders of the organization to have their minds fully on taking care of the survivors. For them, making sure that everyone felt safe and was settling down here had to be their number one priority.

The whole black creature thing could wait until Kim Hyeong-Jun and I took care of it. I took a deep breath.

“You should go and rest,” I said. “In the meantime, I’ll clean up Hotel O next door and come back. Everyone, please go ahead and get some rest. I know how tired everyone must be from the long trip.”

I smiled heartily as I spoke, and they nodded as if they knew they had no other choice. I could tell that Lee Jeong-Uk was feeling uncomfortable, but for now, it seemed like he would go along with my suggestion.

With that, all the leaders—including Lee Jeong-Uk—followed Park Hae-In as she led them to the empty rooms that had been prepared for them. As I watched them go, I prayed that the Survivor Rally Organization would never have to find out about the black creature. I wanted the black creature to be a being that Kim Hyeong-Jun and I could take care of on our own.

I organized my thoughts, then walked through the hotel lobby and headed for the front door. Kim Hyeong-Jun, who was on the stairs outside, sniffed.

“What took you so long?” he asked.

I told him about the conversation I had with Heo Seong-Min. Kim Hyeong-Jun put on a rather petty expression and smacked his lips.

“So, you want me to go to the rental car company?” he asked while scratching his neck.

“Stay hidden there. If the Hounds show up, you take care of them, however you like.”

“Oh, interesting. You’re letting me be in charge?”

I chuckled at his response.

"I mean, even though your ways are rough and crude, you\'ve never been wrong," I replied.

Kim Hyeong-Jun flashed a big smile and slapped my forearm. He took a deep breath and stretched.

“Alrighty! All the hounds are dead!”

“I know I always say this, but I’m going to say it again. Don’t push yourself.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun smiled brightly at me and gave me a thumbs-up.

“Did you ever see me push myself? Even if it seems like I’m pushing myself, just remember that I always have a plan, a trick up my sleeve.”

I burst into laughter at his absurdity. I couldn’t help but wonder how he could be so ingenuous. But I knew that nothing I did would change the way he was.

I gestured to him to get going, and Kim Hyeong-Jun gave a big wave with his right hand as he headed off toward the rental car company.

“Watch where you’re walking!”

“Take care of yourself too, ahjussi!” answered Kim Hyeong-Jun with a bright smile on his face.

With that, he leaped onto the roof of the building in front of him. I watched Kim Hyeong-Jun with a gentle smile on my face. He was a rascal who didn’t listen to me and acted goofily from time to time, but he was someone that I needed next to me.

As Kim Hyeong-Jun got further away, I saw Mood-Swinger trying to catch up to him. I wondered if he’d only called Mood-Swinger to him. His other stage-one mutants were gathered at the front entrance of the hotel. I no longer had to lay out everything step by step for him. He was placing his underlings in the right places on his own.

I stretched my body as well, which had grown stiff from the intense cold, and let out a quick breath. I ordered my stage-one mutants and Ji-Eun to guard the rear entrance of the hotel as I headed to Hotel O, located through the alleyway. I knew that I wouldn’t need them to take care of the zombies in the hotel.

Going alone would be more than enough.