Infected - Chapter 15



Only Noblemtl

Episode 14

After a while, the three people appeared, each holding an energy bar in their mouths, and placed the items they had found on the workbench.

Finance is an envelope filled with firecrackers.

Beomsik is a small box.

Youngman had mostly been collecting things that could be used as weapons, ranging from kitchen knives to wrenches.

The most eye-catching of these was the baseball bat that Youngman himself had modified.

The bat was studded with thick, long nails.

It seemed that hitting the head with this would destroy the infected’s brain more effectively.

However, the only regret is that one or two nails may fall out every time you use it.

“What is this?”

Young-man emptied the envelope.

Then, firecrackers of various kinds began to rain down one after another.

“When you want to lure a bunch of guys somewhere, there’s nothing better than this.”

“It’s pretty good.”

Young-man and Beom-sik nodded in agreement.

It was clear that he would fulfill that role well at an important moment.

Their gaze, which had even checked the firecrackers, turned to Beomsik’s box.

The box contained three radios adorned with military camouflage and a small alarm clock.

“Oh, right. An alarm clock can be used as useful as a firecracker. If you set the alarm in advance and leave it somewhere, it will be effective. But wouldn’t a walkie-talkie be more dangerous?”

Beomsik shook his head at Youngman’s concern.

“So take them one by one while turning them off. This is just for emergencies anyway. If something happens inside and we get separated or something goes wrong, turn them on every 10 minutes. We promise to contact each other every time the last digit drops to 0. I tried it, and when I turned the volume all the way down, I had to put my ear up to it to barely hear it.”

It was a good precaution, even though it involved some risks.

If we were to get separated from that large, newly built general hospital, this radio would be our lifeline.

Moreover, since we had already made an appointment in advance, there was no need to worry about any confusion.

Young-man, who had been nodding, called Jae-jae as if something had come to mind.

“But does that mean I don’t need to wear the protective gear you made out of boxes anymore?”

“Yes, it’s not that great. It’s actually more dangerous because it makes a scraping noise every time you move or walk. I think I’m ready to go now… Should I go now?”

Finance said, looking at his wrist.

An hour had already passed.

Although I gained a lot for the time I spent, it was true that I was getting anxious when I saw Youngman unable to hide his impatience.

Finance slung the sledgehammer, or ohamma, over his shoulder, which was standing in the corner of the garage.

Young-man and Beom-sik still held the weapons they had been using.

“But what is that?”

Finance asked, looking at the machine sitting in the corner of the garage.

“Ah, it’s a transceiver. Even if the communication line is cut off, it can match the frequency and communicate with each other… Why did I just see that now?”

“yes?”

Youngman quickly ran to the repair shop and operated the transmitter and receiver with skillful movements.

But nothing was heard.

There were no signs of survivors or national disaster broadcasts.

There may be two reasons.

It’s too early or there’s no one to send it to.

Youngman’s face darkened.

His words, that he hoped the idea that the world was all like this, flashed through Jae-jae’s mind.

“It might be too early. It’s only been a day.”

“That may be true. But it’s not the military. The military keeps all possible communications open in an emergency. But… … .”

Youngman was in despair.

The depth of that despair was so deep that I felt like I would get infected if I looked into it together.

Although he pretended not to say that, it seemed like he had not given up hope.

Finance spoke soothingly.

“I think so. If many soldiers are dead or scattered, there may not be anyone left to keep in touch with the communications, and it may be so urgent that they can’t even think of sending anything. As I said, it’s only been a day.”

“Yeah… I guess that could be true. I’m sorry, I guess I just haven’t been able to stay in my right mind since I found out Minyoung wasn’t home.”

Young-man stroked his throbbing head.

“Then let’s go right now. Where’s the time to hesitate?”

Beomsik said, looking at the wall leading to the foot of the mountain.

But Youngman didn’t seem ready yet.

“I’ll leave in a moment. It may sound funny, but I have something to tell my wife, and I forgot something important. Rest in the yard for a bit. Drink plenty of water.”

After saying those words, Youngman disappeared into the house.

The two sat on chairs under the shade of a parasol erected next to the repair shop.

The wide open yard was quite charming.

“I’m not the type of person who worries a lot.”

Beomsik, who had been quietly looking around the yard, suddenly spoke.

“That’s why I said I was going to leave alone. But… there’s one thing I’m worried about.”

Instead of answering, Jae-jae stared blankly at Beom-sik.

“If the inspiration’s daughter is really in the hospital, that alone would be a miracle. But in my opinion, it doesn’t seem like she’ll survive. It’s not a situation that ordinary people can overcome.”

“The problem is when you confirm that he’s dead?”

Beomsik nodded.

“Oh. But if one of us gets hurt on the way to rescue that girl, I think it’ll be even more fucked up.”

“Why do you have so many thoughts? It doesn’t suit you.”

It was unexpected.

It’s amazing that a legendary man who conquered the metropolitan area with his fists is worried about such things.

A guy who wouldn’t even blink an eye if someone died.

“Everyone I’ve fought and trampled on so far is a person. When I hit them, they get hurt, when I step on them, they fall down, and when I talk to them, they get scared. But this… it’s different. If you make even the slightest mistake, they die.”

“Isn’t that the same in your world?”

“No, really. Who carries a cleaver these days? There are too many movies about old farts causing trouble. These days, it’s not like that happens, and they don’t even tell you to do it.”

Beomsik had a complicated face.

Finances suddenly made me curious.

How did that person live?

A human curiosity arose that I had never felt before.

Sigh-

Suddenly, a smile appeared on Jae-jae’s lips.

Can humans be this simple?

It was truly ironic that I felt such intimacy with a human being whom I had once hated to the point of wanting to kill, and whom I had once looked down on like an insect.

Jae-jae, who had been quietly looking at Beom-sik, who was unusually gentle, finally managed to get his luck.

“Aren’t you worried about your family?”

Finance carefully watched Beomsik’s expression.

But surprisingly, Beomsik’s reaction was lukewarm.

Staring unfocused at some point in the yard felt like reminiscing about the past.

“Family? Well, I guess they’re worried about me right now. But you even arrested me, and don’t you know my family history?”

“Well… Just because I’m the police doesn’t mean I’ll look into every little thing. I wasn’t looking for you, I was looking for evidence. And to be honest, I didn’t think you’d live with your family.”

Finance looked away, perhaps embarrassed.

“What? With that attitude… Why is that guy, who looks like he could even chew iron, paying attention?”

“Honestly, even if you were me, wouldn’t you think like me? Would you have ended up like that even if you had grown up in a good family? That’s what I think. Ahem… … .”

Jae-jae was like someone going to confession, spouting out words that weren’t even asked.

Beomsik burst into laughter at the sight of such finances.

He laughed out loud for a long time, swearing.

“You little brat, you were such an innocent brat. Why are you so sorry? I’m the one who’s sorry. There’s one thing I lied to you about.”

The smile on Beomsik’s face suddenly disappeared as he looked around the yard, snapping his fingers.

“My father beat my mother a lot. I was beaten too. My younger brother was too young and had a disability, so he didn’t beat him… Well, my mother passed away first. But the problem was, Dad, this kid beat her up even more because his mother was gone. Do you see this?”

When Beomsik rolled up his sleeves, his ornate tattoos were revealed.

Beomsik opened his mouth again, pointing to the goblin’s eyes.

“I got burned by a cigarette, but that was nothing. I could bear it. But at some point, he started hitting my younger brother, and I couldn’t bear it. When I told him to hit me instead, he hit my younger brother more as if it was a show. So… I hit him on the head with something I had my hands on… He never got up after that. When I went to juvenile detention, there was no one at home. I searched around with my eyes wide open, but I couldn’t find my younger brother.”

“How old was your younger brother?”

“When I went to juvenile detention, my brother was ten years old. He was eight years older than me. Do you know what I mean when I say I lied? I killed someone. My father, too.”

Finance kept its mouth shut.

Only then did I understand.

Why couldn’t Beomsik move around with a child wearing a tube?

Just seeing the little girl must have been traumatic.

And why did he react so aggressively to Young-man, who was an older man?

Perhaps Beomsik is unaware that he is secretly expressing such aggression.

“So earlier… … .”

“Okay, let’s go now.”

The moment Jae-jae was about to continue speaking, Young-man opened the front door and appeared.

The two, whose conversation suddenly ended, reluctantly got up from their seats.

“From now on, speed is everything. It’s unknown how long I can last with my current physical strength.”

The face of Jae-yi, speaking while climbing over the fence, was quite serious.

It was a different situation than when I left the building to come to the repair shop.

At that time, it was about escaping from somewhere, and now, on the contrary, it is about infiltrating somewhere.

I couldn’t even imagine how many there would be, how many variables would be waiting.

The hike itself wasn’t as easy as I thought.

There are several small hills connected to each other, but a mountain is a mountain.

All I ate was an energy bar and water that Youngman gave me.

Everyone had to endure starvation that was so severe it was heartbreaking.

“Inspiration, how much further do we have to go?”

Beomsik, who was following behind, asked with a frown.

“If you walk quickly, you’ll get there in 20 minutes.”

“But aren’t you worried? What’s wrong with your daughter? She looks brighter now than when she wasn’t home? Don’t take it personally. Honestly, in this situation, the chances of her surviving are slim.”

He was a normal person who spoke his mind without hesitation.

“Min-young is not a child who will die easily. He knows how to survive better than anyone else. What do you think he learned from being under me, who has been fighting a battlefield where life and death are intertwined throughout his life? Even if you think of it as boring nagging, the words parents say tend to cross your mind in times of crisis.”

“hmm…….”

Beomsik simply nodded.

Since it was a story about family, it was actually awkward to say or mention anything about it.

I decided to just keep in mind that this is Youngman’s only thought.

“As I said before, that’s what faith is. You have to start when you can’t see it, so you can accept it when you face it. What do you think a false belief would be like? Like the one you two had been looking down on before you even knew each other.”

At Young-man’s words, Jae-jae and Beom-sik looked at each other in silence.

“That’s what a false belief is. Even if you realize that it’s not true, it doesn’t make it easy to change your mind. To you, it seems like I have a false belief, and to me, your wrong views of each other seem false. I’m glad that you seem to be doing well now.”

Young-man, who had been muttering like a priest, passed the two people faster than before.

Infected people