Infected - Chapter 14



Only Noblemtl

Episode 13

On the way to the repair shop, there were no infected or survivors in sight.

There is only a stream with water flowing and a row of well-planted trees.

Because of the screams of the infected, even the birds had fled, and there was no chirping at all.

Even though there are so many trees.

The repair shop we arrived at was like an iron fortress.

It was clear at a glance why Youngman was so proud of his repair shop.

The concrete wall, taller than an adult male, and the iron fence installed on top of it were so high that they resembled the outer wall of a prison.

In the center of the front, where a large iron gate was firmly shut, was a garden that stretched out without a single tree, and outside the walls on both sides was a steep slope.

Thanks to this, there was no problem securing visibility.

I really felt like I could survive here no matter what happened.

At that time, Jaejae, who was admiring the maintenance shop, asked.

“How did you get this land?”

“I inherited it. In the old days, Gangnam was a wasteland. It was a complete rural area. At that time, this is the land that my father bought. At that time, everyone clicked their tongues at this land that was connected to a hill and called it useless. However, after my father passed away, there was a sudden uproar over developing Gangnam, and the land price jumped hundreds of times in a day.”

“I should have sold it then. It’s a shame.”

“The land is still worth enough. But money isn’t everything. Of course, it doesn’t look like it did back then, but this place was once where my father lived, and it’s an important place to me. That’s why I built a repair shop. I didn’t want the repair skills I learned in the military to go to waste.”

Young-man glanced around the repair shop with a hazy look in his eyes.

It was a house I saw every day, but maybe because I was with new people or because of the situation, it looked amazing all over again.

As soon as he arrived, Youngman pushed the door open with his fingertips.

The door opened gently.

However, only Young-man, who saw the door opening gently, showed extreme emotional agitation.

Soon his steps quickened and his eyes became anxious, as if he was searching for something.

Then he started running across the yard.

“Why is that?”

Jaejae, who felt puzzled, ran along and asked.

“The door… The door shouldn’t be open. If Min-young had come home, she would have locked the door.”

The garage was divided into two buildings.

The house on the left side of the wide yard seemed to be where Young-man and his daughter lived, and the building on the right was obviously a repair shop.

Youngman’s steps become quicker as he enters the hallway.

Because of that, the two people’s steps also become faster.

“Minyoung!”

Youngman’s booming voice echoed through the window.

In the picture frame placed on the neatly organized shoe rack, there were brightly smiling images of Young-man, who looked younger than he is now, a girl in a school uniform, and a woman who had left them first.

Jae-Jae and Beom-Sik, who were standing in the hallway, stood there without even taking off their shoes because they were so flustered seeing Yeong-Man for the first time.

It seemed like her daughter hadn’t come home yet.

That means you haven’t returned home in the current situation.

That’s right.

It was tantamount to meaning death.

“We’ll look outside.”

Jae-jae took Beom-sik outside.

The two searched thoroughly through the garage and into the backyard.

After some time, the three of them gathered together again.

Young-man’s face was seriously stiff as he came out of the house.

Jae-Jae and Beom-Sik, who had been searching the maintenance shop and the yard without fail, were also silent.

“I have a place to go for a while, so you guys stay here and watch over the garage. It won’t take long. Can you do that?”

“Where are you going?”

Finance asked with a troubled face.

“Minyoung hasn’t come back yet. It’s normal for her to be home before work starts, so… … .”

“What does your daughter do?”

“Doctor. He’s just a guy who’s been working hard and wearing the name of doctor. I need to go to the hospital right away.”

“Honey, wait a minute. How old is your daughter?”

Beomsik asked, stopping Yeongman from taking his steps.

“They’re probably around your age. Why?”

“Then, you could have gone out to meet your boyfriend last night, or you could have gone out for a drink with your colleagues. It’s not something that can be solved by just going to the hospital.”

“He’s a kid who only knows his family and studying. And he doesn’t even touch alcohol.”

“Hey, that’s your opinion. These days, even if they’re quiet at home, they do everything outside.”

“That’s not the kind of person he is!”

The two flinched at Youngman’s sudden shout.

The light-hearted remarks of the finance minister ignited Young-man’s patience.

The roar of his voice echoed through the walls.

For a moment, a heavy silence fell over the yard.

Even Young-man, who had been yelling, quickly relaxed his expression, perhaps thinking that his actions were too harsh.

However, the two hands that were shaking slightly clearly showed Youngman’s true feelings.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it… Anyway, please watch over this place. I’m sure he’s at the hospital.”

“Where is the hospital?”

“It’s a general hospital that was newly built last year. It’s not far from here, so if you go along the foot of the mountain beyond the wall, it’ll be there in no time. If I don’t come back by sundown, then you can stay here or leave, whichever you want.”

Youngman’s eyes were sincere.

He was giving a long-winded explanation until we arrived at the repair shop.

How can someone like that give up this place so easily?

Finance was lost in thought.

Perhaps the precious thing that Youngman had to protect was not the land he had inherited, but his own family living here.

With even his wife gone, Young-man is left with only one daughter.

Finance had never had any experience with raising a family, but he seemed to have some understanding of the situation.

But the hesitation was unavoidable.

After many twists and turns, we arrived at a safe place, but now we have to go out onto the streets again.

Besides, if it’s a newly established general hospital, it will be of considerable size.

Going to find a complete stranger whose chances of being alive were close to zero in such a place was tantamount to suicide.

I had a feeling things were getting more and more complicated.

I thought I could just stay here and see what happens next.

Finance turned his head and looked to the side.

Beomsik also seemed to be thinking similar thoughts, his face conflicted.

However, it did not seem like Beomsik would follow Yeongman.

Not only was he not that humane, but I had never seen a warm person with that cold look in his eyes.

I don’t know much about Beomsik, but at least that’s what I’ve seen so far.

Even if the finances were to follow, Beomsik seemed determined to remain here.

I felt sorry for myself for being conflicted in this situation, but this wasn’t a movie or a drama.

Even a small mistake can mean the difference between life and death, and if you blindly try to help someone, that path could end up being a bridge crossing the Jordan River.

One more thing.

It was almost a perfect match, but I was worried when I confirmed that Youngman’s daughter was dead.

It was hard to accept the sight of Young-man, whom he didn’t even know well, being anxious, and it was also unknown what kind of impulsive action he would take in the face of his daughter’s death.

The conclusion was this.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come forward.

Youngman was a unique person who was not commonly seen outside.

Their fighting ability and ability to deal with crisis situations were no less than those of active-duty professionals, so they would have been able to handle it on their own without anyone having to step forward to help.

but…….

I couldn’t send it alone.

“I can’t do it. It’s like a promise to wait here. From here, let’s each go our separate ways.”

Jae-jae’s head, which had been half-opening its mouth, suddenly turned around.

Beomsik, who had made up his mind, was speaking with his characteristically cold air.

“Yeah, I understand that very well.”

Youngman nodded as if he had expected it.

‘No, you’re saying you answered that quickly?’

Finance’s head tilted slightly.

At least you can think about it.

Jae-gae looked at Beom-sik with an ambiguous face, but he did not look at him.

Cool kid.

This is going to be a headache.

Since he is not saying that he will stay here but that he will leave completely, his financial position is bound to become difficult.

It’s one thing to be alone in someone else’s house where there’s no one, and it’s also one thing to follow along without a plan.

In fact, after bringing up the subject with great difficulty and persuading Beomsik, I had made up my mind to follow Yeongman.

But then Beomsik drove a stake in.

“Ha… Right.”

Jae-jae sighed and called Beom-sik.

“Hey, let me talk to you for a minute.”

“Why? Tell me here.”

“Come here, kid. I won’t hit you.”

He snorted as if it was nothing special and followed Jaegye along the wall.

Walking alongside the large finances, Beomsik’s size seemed particularly small.

“I’ll get straight to the point. Let’s go together.”

“Why me?”

Beomsik asked with a face that said he couldn’t understand.

“Where are you going now? Is there anyone waiting for you? Where did all your brothers and sisters go?”

“That’s because you told me to run from the emergency room and I ran away… … .”

“I know, I know. I told you to run. But look at the situation right now. Who’s next to you? A salty guy and a former soldier. Where would you go to meet this kind of team? If you were by yourself, you’d all be dead fighting those bloody monsters, already.”

“Just get to the point and be done with it.”

Persuasion just doesn’t work.

Still, it seems that the words are making sense as his eyes have become softer than before.

“I know that the two of us don’t fit together. But you also agree that being together helps us survive, don’t you? Can’t you just trust me and go with me? From now on, I won’t treat you rudely like I did before.”

“Do you want me to warm you up?”

Beomsik asked with narrowed eyes.

“Ugh… That’s not it. How long are you going to bicker with me like this? Even between childhood friends, there are roles. If both of you say you’re going to be the leader, will the boat move forward? It’ll sink.”

Beomsik stood quietly looking at the wall.

There was nothing wrong with the finances.

It was also true that the logic was so coherent that differences of opinion were unnecessary.

But Beomsik didn’t feel like it at all.

The police he had seen were an untrustworthy bunch.

He would talk as if he understood everything and was being considerate, but whenever I made a mistake, he would hit me in the back of the head.

If you call it dirty, it will spit on you instead.

They say that in order to catch those who live in the shade, they have to get dirty themselves.

That was the police officer Beomsik knew.

But what if I break up with that cop now?

If this fucking situation engulfed the entire country.

If you hold on and hold on, no one will come to save you.

“under…….”

Beomsik lowered his head.

There was no choice.

It was obvious that he probably knew about finances too.

So that’s why he’s just standing there leisurely and talking nonsense.

Even though I hated it, I couldn’t help it.

Now I needed help.

Beomsik, who had been standing there blankly, nodded while looking at Jaegye.

Then, Young-man, whose face brightened, handed out backpacks containing water and snacks and said.

“Then let’s leave right away.”

“Not yet.”

Finance shakes its head.

“But why? I’m in a hurry.”

“If this continues, I’ll die before I even find my daughter.”

“What does that mean?”

Young-man tilted his head and asked.

“There’s no countermeasure. The hospital will surely be full of them… Even if we’ve been lucky so far thanks to the helicopter, that won’t be the case in the future. It’s more likely that such a coincidence won’t happen again. And there’s no silver bullet.”

“That’s… … .”

“Let’s go prepared to some extent. What if we get surrounded by those guys in the hospital? Even if they find out where your daughter is, it’s useless if there’s no way to get in. If this is the price you want in exchange for going with me, it’s not cheap. And I also want to wash up a bit.”

“Oh, me too.”

Beomsik waved his hand in agreement to Jaejae’s seemingly bargaining words.

There was not a single word that was wrong.

It’s just that Youngman’s heart is in a hurry.

If I went to the hospital like this, there was a high chance that I would get blocked at some point.

If we delay there, the problem will become more serious.

Aren’t these three people who haven’t had a proper night’s sleep for over a day?

If the moment of crisis was prolonged, it was obvious that it would not last long.

This is not a game or a drama.

The reality is that if you don’t prepare thoroughly, it wouldn’t be strange if you died anywhere.

Ultimately, the finance’s opinion was accepted.

After a while, the three of them washed up one by one and changed into suitable clothes.

Then he started searching the garage and the yard for items that might be needed to deal with the infected.

Finance headed to the camper van parked in the garage, carefully inspecting the cargo area and the hatched ceiling.

But I didn’t see anything that would be particularly helpful.

Looking at the brown curtains and soft bed inside the camper van, I felt like I could fall asleep at any moment.

Jae-jae, who was standing there for a moment holding onto the wall due to the fatigue that was creeping in, caught sight of something.

It’s a half-open built-in closet, but it’s at shin height so I didn’t notice it until I bent my head down.

There was a pink envelope in it.

But Jae-jae’s eyes sparkled for a moment as he checked the contents.

What was stuffed inside the envelope was none other than firecrackers.

Infected people