Chapter 147
Junwoo and Kyungho, who had been standing frozen in bewilderment, unable to believe they had reached the destination they had aimed for so long, finally gained confidence and cheered only after hearing Muyoung’s muttering.
“This is insane. We actually made it.”
“Hah… finally.”
The two didn’t hide their emotions and ran brightly smiling toward the remaining railway tracks. And when they had barely taken a few steps, Seokjae called out to stop them.
“Wait a minute.”
“Yes?”
“Why?”
At that single word, the two stopped immediately like well-trained companion dogs and looked at Seokjae. Muyoung, who hadn’t run along but was also feeling happy, tilted his head in confusion, unable to guess why Seokjae had stopped them.
“Hyung, what’s wrong?”
“Come here first.”
Seokjae gestured with his hand for the three puzzled people to come toward him.
Everyone was flustered by his sudden behavior. But whether it was due to their experiences so far or because they had become accustomed to it in the meantime, no one objected.
“Listen carefully. We need to move cautiously from now on.”
As the three gathered closely around him, he said this while quickly scanning the surroundings as if looking for something.
“Because if we make one wrong move, we could be shot and killed.”
“What?!”
When Junwoo cried out loudly in shock at these alarming words, Seokjae quickly covered his mouth. The speed was so fast that it could be mistaken for striking his jaw, making everyone except Seokjae flinch momentarily, thinking a violent incident had occurred.
“Quietly.”
Nod, nod. Junwoo, whose nose and mouth were covered by the large hand, shook his head earnestly with a slightly pale face at the quiet warning.
At his obedient reaction, Seokjae removed his hand but let out a sigh as if he didn’t find it very trustworthy.
“This won’t do. Let’s go into the forest first.”
“What? Why, why?”
“I’ll explain that later. Hurry up.”
To suddenly take a detour when their destination was right before their eyes. Instead of joy, anxiety filled everyone’s faces.
Even though he had prefaced it with “if we make one wrong move,” the word “shot and killed,” which stood in opposition to rescue, had come from his mouth. Moreover, using the forest path indicated an intention not to be seen. At least no one present was unaware of what that meant.
* * *
Having entered the forest that surrounded the railway tracks, they moved cautiously toward the barricade while hiding under the trees. Seokjae continued to watch the surroundings vigilantly as they walked.
‘There don’t seem to be any CCTVs pointing toward the forest either. Well, since we didn’t see any on the railway tracks earlier, I guess that’s natural.’
It must be a hastily constructed barricade. It seemed they didn’t have the luxury of installing surveillance equipment to monitor the surrounding areas. They were probably too busy reinforcing the defensive facilities more solidly during that time.
‘Thanks to that, it seems we can get close easily… but getting inside is the problem.’
He did have something he believed in to some extent, but there was no basis for being certain it would work out that way. In other words, it was no different from gambling on luck.
‘If the gamble fails, death if things go wrong. Even if it’s resolved well, it would probably be a gunshot wound.’
Seokjae glanced around, simulating various scenarios that would be most advantageous.
While he was lost in thought, the three fell into suffocating silence.
“……”
“……”
“……Mmm.”
No, only one person was reading the mood. Since entering the forest and hearing Seokjae’s explanation, Kyungho and Junwoo were so busy suppressing their desire to cry and curse right then and there that they didn’t have the mental capacity to care whether the surroundings were quiet or not.
‘If we rush out recklessly, the soldiers might mistake us for zombies and shoot. Also… we need to keep in mind that the government might not accept survivors. No, we’d be lucky if they just don’t accept us.’
They had long known that the government wasn’t actively rescuing them. But they had never thought about the possibility of having guns pointed at them even as survivors who had risked their lives to get here.
Though it was only a hypothesis, because it seemed plausible, both were caught up in tremendous shock and feelings of betrayal, feeling confused.
‘Wh-what should we do?’
Muyoung was similarly shocked to realize that the government might make inhumane choices, but he was in better condition than them and had the luxury to worry.
Even though he had died once and come back to life, thanks to that, he was relatively less threatened by zombies. That uniqueness aside, the influence of the happiness of first love, feeling like he could overcome any adversity as long as he was with Seokjae, was greater.
“Ahem.”
Muyoung, who had been deliberating, cleared his throat quietly. He had only intended to catch the attention of the two, but when even Seokjae, who seemed to be deep in thought, looked at him, he flinched.
“Do you have something to say?”
When their eyes met, Muyoung reacted as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have, so Seokjae raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth instead of him, who was just moving his lips.
“What? Yes, yes. Th-there is.”
Muyoung didn’t miss that opportunity. Before arriving at the barricade. He felt an inexplicable sense of responsibility that he was the only one who could change this atmosphere.
“Just. If by any chance, just in case. If it doesn’t seem like they’ll let us inside the barricade.”
The three stared at Muyoung, who had brought up the topic they had been deliberately avoiding. Receiving those gazes, he felt his words might influence their moods, making his mouth feel heavy. Nevertheless, he mustered courage and barely managed to speak.
“How about we try to find another route or something?”
The moment he heard this unexpected proposal, Seokjae had to struggle to suppress the hollow laugh that was about to escape. A dangerous choice where if they were caught, they could be shot and killed immediately without a chance to escape. He thought it was remarkable that someone so timid, who flinched just from making eye contact with him once, had come up with this idea.
‘Really, I can’t tell if he’s cowardly or brave. Or maybe he doesn’t know the danger…’
Seokjae, who sighed inwardly, asked with outward composure.
“Where?”
“What? Uh, uhh… the sewers or something?”
“The sewers…”
“It’s a bit much, isn’t it? I was just saying it casually—”
He had just blurted out whatever came to mind, not knowing if he’d get a proper response, but seeing Seokjae begin to seriously consider it, Muyoung panicked and hurriedly added an excuse. Then Seokjae gently shook his head from side to side.
“No, it’s not bad. As long as we don’t get lost. It would be good if we could get a map.”
With those words, as Seokjae muttered to himself about where they might find a map, Kyungho and Junwoo, who had been listening quietly, spoke for the first time since entering the forest.
“…That’s right. This isn’t the only way to get through.”
“Right, it would be ridiculous to give up just because we can’t get in here after coming this far.”
“Huh?”
He had indeed intended to encourage them by saying this wasn’t the only path. However, he felt like he hadn’t spoken as reliably or reassuringly as he had thought, and was blaming himself for messing up, when the two perked up.
‘Is it thanks to hyung saying it wasn’t a bad idea? To change the atmosphere in one go, he really is amazing…’
While Muyoung was admiring Seokjae’s ability, Seokjae was thinking about Muyoung.
‘His talent for finding the best in the worst situations is really excellent. Except when he comes up with solutions that involve sacrificing himself.’
Fortunately, their mutual affection thinking each other was amazing remained only in their thoughts, so Kyungho and Junwoo could earnestly bolster their resolve while thinking of backup plans in case their plan went awry.
Even if this wasn’t the end, it wasn’t over—with this thought, the kids regained their spirits, making the atmosphere much lighter. The four continued walking the remaining path. Since it wasn’t a very long distance, they reached a height where they could see the entire barricade in just a few minutes.
Silence fell for a moment as they seemed overwhelmed by the more solid and magnificent appearance than what they had seen from the railway tracks. Then, from inside the barricade, an aircraft smaller than a helicopter but still quite large flew up into the sky.
“Duck down.”
As soon as he spotted it, Seokjae put his arm around Muyoung’s shoulder and placed one hand each on the two others’ heads, then quickly crouched down. With one motion, Seokjae made all three bend down simultaneously and muttered while looking at the aircraft rising into the air and flying forward.
“…A drone?”
The machine that flew up making a whirring sound seemed not to have noticed them hiding among the trees and passed right overhead. Something as large as its own body was dangling below it.
“Could that be rescue supplies…?”
Kyungho, whose head had been forced down by Seokjae’s hand, strained to turn his head and whispered while staring blankly at the sight. His voice trembled slightly with anticipation.
“I guess what they said on the news about helping survivors was true!”
Junwoo also spoke excitedly, apparently having spotted the drone as well.
However, Seokjae didn’t celebrate hastily and looked in the direction the drone had disappeared with suspicious eyes before turning his head toward the barricade.
‘…Do they really intend to rescue people?’
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
