Walking Daddy

“What’s on your mind?”

“I’m just trying to enjoy the free time I have right now.”

“I can’t say I’m not surprised. You always seemed like there was a lot on your mind.”

“When I take a break, I need to make sure I truly take a break. Someone I know told me that you don’t magically get time to enjoy yourself. Instead, you have to make time for yourself.”

I chuckled as I recalled what Lee Jeong-Uk had told me and passed it on to Hwang Ji-Hye. Hwang Ji-Hye tilted her head and looked at me.

“I’m surprised that you’d say such a thing.”

“Why? Is it weird for me to say something like this?”

“It just seems like something that Lee Jeong-Uk would say.”

“I did hear this from Jeong-Uk.”

“Hahaha!”

Hwang Ji-Hye let out a hearty laugh. Her honesty made her a charming person.

I rubbed my neck out of embarrassment. Hwang Ji-Hye looked at me closely. Her gaze was slightly uncomfortable, causing me to wet my lips.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked.

“You seem to have a timid side. You’re not like this when you fight.”

“I’ve always been a rather timid person. I’m far from being an extrovert.”

“But that’s not what I see in you?”

I answered her question honestly.

"Well… If I remained that way, So-Yeon would be in danger. We couldn’t have survived unless I changed.”

Hwang Ji-Hye nodded slowly and looked out at the Han River again. She pulled out a cigarette.

“My boyfriend was a very energetic person. He enjoyed being in front of people, even when I asked him to stop stepping up.”

“...”

I turned my head slightly to observe Hwang Ji-Hye from the side. The wind blowing in from the river caught the smoke from her cigarette as it drifted past her face. Hwang Ji-Hye blew out a puff of smoke, then continued.

“Thanks to his personality, we established a shelter and saved a lot of people. He set up a system to maintain the shelter and more people started to follow my boyfriend.”

“...”

“At first, I didn’t like my boyfriend’s extroverted personality, but I also thought about what might have happened if he hadn’t been the person he was.”

I could tell from her eyes that she was missing her boyfriend.

Hwang Ji-Hye took another long pull from her cigarette without saying anything, then tossed the cigarette butt to the floor.

“But I think that’s why he died too.”

“...”

I didn’t know what to say to her. She sighed.

“Even when I told him to control himself and act calmly, he didn’t listen at all.”

“...”

“In the end, it led him to meet his end sooner than he should’ve.”

Hwang Ji-Hye chuckled and looked at my face. I cleared my throat and looked away. Then Hwang Ji-Hye snorted and continued on.

“But do you know what’s funny?”

“What is it?”

“I can’t really remember his face anymore. I don\'t remember his voice or his warmth. And it hasn’t even been that long…”

II looked out over the Han River and scratched my head. I wondered why she was saying these things to me.

Maybe… Maybe she needed someone to listen to her story.

When she was the group leader, she probably hadn’t been able to open up to anyone else about her story. I could already tell that she had put her boyfriend’s death aside and dedicated each day to protecting the survivors to the best of her ability.

Hwang Ji-Hye took out another cigarette from her pocket and looked at it wordlessly. Her expression grew bitter.

“Even after everything we went through together, all I remember is the brand of the cigarette my boyfriend used to smoke. The irony is that I used to nag him all the time to stop smoking...”

As I looked at her, my expression grew sorrowful as well. She furrowed her brow and bit her lower lip.

I patted Hwang Ji-Hye gently on the shoulder.

“If you want to cry, cry,” I said quietly.

Her shoulders began to shake gently. The tears that she had been keeping to herself for a very long time began to flow freely. The faint smell of cigarettes tickled my nose.

I wondered if this was the reason why Hwang Ji-Hye smoked.

Perhaps she was trying to hold onto what little trace of her boyfriend remained, the man who was disappearing from her memories just like cigarette smoke. After all, the smell of cigarettes remained for a while after the smoke disappeared.

Even as his face, voice, and the time they spent together gradually faded into her past, she would be able to remember the smell of the cigarettes that her boyfriend used to smoke.

I looked into the sky and let out a deep sigh. I knew that no amount of consolation would make her feel any better.

I just hoped that Hwang Ji-Hye would keep moving toward a brighter future while enduring the pain she currently had.

The wedding… It had become more than just a wedding for a lot of people.

* * *

It started to rain that night.

The unexpected rain in the middle of November was an opportunity for many of the survivors to reminisce about the past. They sat by the windows and stared outside in silence.

The trees were drenched in rain, and a thick fog formed around us. I sat by the window on the fifteenth floor with So-Yeon and watched as the world was covered in water. She said she enjoyed the sound of rain and even laughed while humming a tune.

I looked at So-Yeon and smiled.

I sat with So-Yeon in my lap and looked at the scenery outside the window for a long time, hoping that the clean rain would wash away the evil of this confused and damned world.

After a while, Lee Jeong-Uk came up to me, frowning.

“What’s up with this rain on a wedding day?”

I smiled in reply.

“They say that if it rains on the wedding day, life for the bride and groom will be good.”

“That\'s just something people made up. Trying to stay optimistic even when it’s not warranted.”

“Let’s look on the bright side.”

“Eh… I hate rainy days.”

Lee Jeong-Uk clicked his tongue and walked into the living room. After that, the principal came over and offered a warm smile.

“Seems like So-Yeon is happy because it’s raining.”

"Yes! I like the sound of rain.”

So-Yeon smiled brightly as she answered, and the principal nodded slowly and looked at me.

“So-Yeon’s father, may I talk to you for a minute?” he asked calmly.

“Sure…"

I wondered what he was going to say. He was asking for a private moment with me so as not to startle So-Yeon. I told So-Yeon to wait for a little bit, and she nodded without giving it much thought. I stepped out into the fifteenth-floor hallway with the principal.

He looked around to see if anyone was around, then spoke in a low voice.

“I think you should go check the lobby.”

“Did a zombie appear?”

"No, it’s not a zombie… The facilities management team said they found something.”

I tilted my head, and the principal’s expression grew troubled.

“It seems like they’ve made contact with another shelter.”

“Pardon?”

My eyes went wide as I heard the principal’s words. He gestured for me to keep my voice down, then continued.

“It seemed like the facilities management team found a radio. Initially, they thought it was broken so they tried to fix it… But it seems they got a signal on it instead.”

“A signal?”

“Yes, it seemed like they could receive signals, but could not send any. I think it\'s best to keep it a secret from the rest for the time being. News like this could throw our shelter into disarray.”

“Where is the radio?”

“Follow me.”

The principal gestured lightly and guided me to the lobby. We entered the break room on the left side of the lobby, where a team was working on the radio. Kwak Dong-Won noticed my arrival and waved me over.

As I got closer to the radio, I heard a strange man\'s voice through the static.

- I re… peat… Sinnae-dong… not… safe…”

The radio wasn’t receiving properly, and the sound was cutting in and out. I looked over at Kwak Dong-Won.

“Can you get rid of this static somehow?”

“We’re working on that. But for now, this is the best we can do.”

“And is this a real-time signal?”

“Yes, it is.”

I turned to the principal, who was next to me.

“Could you please bring me the map of Seoul in the study on the second floor?”

"Got it."

The principal hurried to the second floor. I wet my lips as I listened to the voice over the radio again.

- Is… no… long… safe… if… you… to… hear… broad… cast… don’t… Sinnae-dong…

The sounds kept on cutting in and out, but I could just about make out the gist of what the other side was trying to say. A man with a low-pitched voice was saying something like this:

- I repeat, Sinnae-dong is not safe. Sinnae-dong is no longer safe. If you happen to hear this broadcast, don’t come to Sinnae-dong.

After a moment, the principal came back panting, and spread out the map of Seoul that he’d brought back. I placed my finger on the map to locate Sinnae-dong.

Sinnae-dong was located in Jungnang-gu, which was north of Gwangji-gu. There was a large shield symbol under my finger.

Seoul Medical Center.

It was one of the four remaining shelters in Gangbuk.

The principal wasn’t sure what to make of this discovery.

“What do you want…”

I cut him off with a question.

“Where’s Hyeong-Jun and Han-Sol?”

The principal pointed upwards.

“They went back to their rooms earlier,” he replied.

I headed straight to the fifteenth floor without looking back. If the two had gone back to their rooms, they would be in the suites on the fifteenth and seventeenth floors.

I raced up the stairs of the emergency exit to the fifteenth floor. Kim Hyeong-Jun was there, looking out the window with his son.

“Hyeong-Jun.”

"Oh? Ahjussi, what brings you here?”

Kim Hyeong-Jun smiled warmly at me, but when he noticed my frown, his expression grew troubled as well.

“What\'s the matter?”

“Wait here. I’ll be back with Han-Sol.”

“Okay…”

I went up to the seventeenth floor and brought Do Han-Sol down. In the meantime, Kim Hyeong-Jun took his son inside then came back out, waiting for me nervously.

I took a breath to calm myself and related what I’d just learned to the two of them.

“The shelter located in Sinnae-dong is in danger.”

“Sinnae-dong?”

“The facilities management team found a radio… And the shelter located in Sinnae-dong was broadcasting.”

“What broadcast?”

“They were warning others to not go there. That Sinnae-dong was no longer safe.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun flinched when he heard my words. After a moment, Do Han-Sol spoke up.

"It looks like they\'ve been gathering survivors all this time."

“I’m guessing so. But now they are broadcasting that it’s no longer safe.”

“I don’t think they are bad people. Don’t you agree? If they’re broadcasting to everyone, warning them to stay away when they’re facing an emergency…”

"See, that’s exactly why I called you two.”

My tone grew serious, and Kim Hyeong-Jun and Do Han-Sol looked at me with grave expressions of their own. Kim Hyeong-Jun scratched his forehead.

“I’ll go take a look,” he said.

“No, you stay here. I’ll go."

"No. I won’t stay put if this happened because of me.”

The corners of my eyes twitched as I heard his reason. His expression grew anguished.

“If the mutants made their way along the main road north from Majang-dong… They would end up in Sinnae-dong.”

“Maybe it’s not the mutants.”

“If the shelter, which has been safe all along, suddenly begins to make such a broadcast, it can only be because of the mutants, or the black creature.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun was right. But I couldn’t let Kim Hyeong-Jun go. I couldn’t be sure if Kim Hyeong-Jun would not act impulsively. But to send Do Han-Sol... It would be too dangerous for him if a stage-two mutant appeared.

I knew it would be best for me to go. I looked at the two of them.

“You two should focus on defense.”

"Ahjussi!"

"This isn’t an order. I’m asking you to do me a favor.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun bit his lip, hesitating. Do Han-Sol observed our interaction and stayed quiet. I sighed.

“It’s only right for me to go,” I continued. “Hyeong-Jun, you have to stay here in order to keep this place safe.”

“I know you don’t even mean that…”

“You have Mood-Swinger.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun scratched his head, knowing that what I’d said was true. If a black creature were to appear, it would be impossible for me to last more than twenty minutes if Kim Hyeong-Jun wasn’t around. However, since Kim Hyeong-Jun had Mood-Swinger, he could take care of the black creature.

Kim Hyeong-Jun sighed.

“But do you really have to go? I understand that you like people, ahjussi… But do you really have to take the risk and go to them?”

“Sinnae-dong Shelter is different.”

“Why, because the people there seem nice? If that’s your reasoning… I’m going to stop…”

“The shelter itself is a medical center. They have medical supplies and medical personnel.”

I offered my reply in a calm, rational manner. Kim Hyeong-Jun smacked his lips and sighed.

Our shelter had a huge shortage of medical staff when compared to the number of survivors. Kim Beom-Jin was the only doctor, and there were only four nurses.

Many of the guards had died during the battle in Gwangjin-gu and in the full-scale attack on Seoul Forest. If there had been enough medical staff… We could’ve saved more lives.

Also, the medical supplies we had brought from Konkuk University Hospital had almost run out. I’d retrieved medical supplies from there twice before, and I was thinking of finding another hospital sooner or later. Since we didn’t have access to the university hospital in Gangnam, we had to locate another hospital in Gangbuk.

In this context, Seoul Medical Center was essential for us.

I gave Kim Hyeong-Jun a look filled with determination. He sighed deeply.

“If there’s a black creature in Sinnae-dong, don’t fight it. Come back right away.”

“Okay."

Kim Hyeong-Jun clenched his fists.

“If the black creature chases you, keep running without looking back. Bring it here, and I\'ll take care of it."

Thanks to Kim Hyeong-Jun, I could keep moving forward without anything holding me back. Kim Hyeong-Jun… He was someone that I could count on at all times.

When I nodded, Do Han-Sol looked at me with a worried expression.

“Please take care of yourself,” he said.

I nodded and headed straight down to the first floor.