Chapter 121

It took an entire day to clean up the hotel.

The hotel had many floors that we had to go through, and the number of rooms that we had to go through on each floor made things so much harder. We carried out our work late into the night, going through every bathroom—even the bathtubs—thoroughly.

Fortunately, there were not that many dogs left over.

The dogs who had lost the will to go down to the first floor to fight had hidden themselves in the guest rooms, and we dealt with them as we made our way up.

We encountered fewer dogs as we ascended.

Most of the dogs we found in the guest rooms were guards, and it seemed like they didn’t have the stamina to go further up when they needed to.

When we got to the sixteenth floor, I was able to figure out why they only had thirteen people managing this place.

There was an enormous lounge on the sixteenth floor, filled with dry snacks and all sorts of drinks, ranging from hard liquor to wine and beer. The leader and the twelve followers had separated themselves from the ordinary dogs in order to enjoy a life of luxury.

They deserved to be torn to pieces. Or perhaps even a more painful death.

While we dealt with the dogs, the survivors in the main building acted as lookouts to keep watch on the surroundings, while most relied on each others’ warmth to fight off the cold.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

After going through all the floors up to the top, we gathered back on the first floor of the main building. In the meantime, Kim Hyeong-Jun surveyed the parking lot and the surrounding buildings before joining us. There were many nearby buildings and facilities that needed to be scouted out, which I assumed was because this hotel was a five-star hotel.

Kim Hyeong-Jun checked out the bloodstains on my face.

“I’m guessing there were a lot of dogs?” he asked.

“Actually, there weren’t that many. But we had to fight in close quarters, so some blood splattered on me.”

I tried my best to wipe off the blood stains on my face, then turned to Do Han-Sol and the human leaders.

“Let’s begin to assign rooms to the survivors, starting from today. After that, we can gather separately for a meeting.”

Hwang Ji-Hye came up to me.

“How many people should we assign per room?” she asked.

“Let’s put at least four people in each room.”

“Even though we have this many rooms?”

“It’s best to avoid the bloodstained rooms. Even if we get rid of the dogs’ corpses, we can’t wash the bedcovers right now.”

Hwang Ji-Hye nodded and walked toward the survivors. Lee Jeong-Uk, who was next to me, rubbed his hand on his face.

“So-Yeon’s dad, there are three hundred survivors here. Even if we put four people in a room, we’ll need more than seventy rooms. Do you think there will be enough clean rooms?”

“We can fit twenty people in the larger rooms on the upper floors. The Family Suite, Premier Suite, and Royal Suite can probably accommodate up to twenty people.”

"Then I'll ask the survivors and put those who want to stay in groups in those rooms.”

“Perfect.”

Lee Jeong-Uk nodded and walked off after Hwang Ji-Hye. I scratched my forehead and called Hwang Deok-Rok to me. Hwang Deok-Rok jumped in surprise and came up to me.

“Yes, do you have something to say to me…?”

“Hwang Deok-Rok, please check with Choi Soo-Hyun how much food we have left. I’ll give you an escort of underlings.”

"Got it."

Hwang Deok-Rok bowed lightly and went to recover the cart he had left behind at Baesuji Sports Park, bringing Choi Soo-Hyun with him. As I watched them go, I gave orders to my mutants.

‘Mutants, follow Hwang Deok-Rok and Choi Soo-Hyun. Guard them and let me know right away if the two meet with any danger.’

- KIAAA.

I heard the mutants roar inside my head.

I looked around for the other leaders. I found Kim Beom-Jin sitting in the corner, breathing heavily.

“Kim Beom-Jin.”

“Ah, yes.”

Kim Beom-Jin was the only doctor here. When I called his name, he grunted, seemingly in pain, and got to his feet. He was also a leader, so he had also gone with us to clear the upper floors.

I felt bad to ask him for a favor since I could tell that he was tired, but there was no time for anyone to take a breather.

“Kim Beom-Jin, could please check on the casualties?”

"All right."

He walked off grunting, with his younger sister—Kim Ga-Bin—supporting him. After a moment, Park Gi-Cheol approached me.

“Lee Hyeon-Deok, what should I do?”

“As far as I’m aware, we used up a lot of ammunition during our fight in Gwangjin-gu and the Children’s Grand Park. Could you please take the principal and check on our remaining supplies?”

With that, Park Gi-Cheol moved over to the principal, who was leaning against the wall, eyes closed. The two talked for a little bit and got going.

After the two were out of sight, I looked at Kim Hyeong-Jun.

“How is the situation outside?”

“There are more hotels around here. I think it’ll take some time to clear their interiors.”

“What about the dogs? Did they relocate?”

“I’m not sure about what might be happening inside the other buildings, but nothing’s happening outside. There didn’t seem to be any zombies or dogs left on the streets. If there are any left, they’ll probably be hiding somewhere.”

“We’re going to wipe out any remaining dogs when the sun rises tomorrow. Station your underlings around this hotel for now.”

“Oh, one thing. Can you use your underlings instead?”

When I tilted my head and looked at him, Kim Hyeong-Jun scratched his neck.

“A lot of my underlings died when the black creature showed up. I don’t think I have enough underlings to secure this hotel.”

“Okay, then just station them at the front entrance. I’ll set my underlings to guard the other areas.”

"Okay."

Kim Hyeong-Jun walked straight to the front entrance and called in his underlings. Finally, I looked at Do Han-Sol.

“Han-Sol, have you seen any dogs that appear different?”

“Appear different?”

"Oh… Like those with suspiciously clean clothes, or something like that.”

"Oh… I killed them as soon as I entered. There were twelve of them, right? They were singing some strange song at the entrance.”

“...”

It seemed like he had mercilessly killed the twelve members who had been singing hymns by the entrance. I smacked my lips after hearing his answer.

“Did you check their belongings?”

“Belongings?”

“Yeah. I need information related to the gang. Those twelve people were called the twelve Believers. They might have items that contain information related to the dogs, the Family, or the survivors that were here.”

“What sort of things are you looking for?”

“Something like a list, or a journal. Any sort of documents would do as well.”

“I’ll try looking for them.”

Do Han-Sol walked over to where he had killed the twelve Believers. But then he hurriedly turned around and made his way back.

“Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok, there’s something I forgot to mention.”

When I tilted my head, Do Han-Sol leaned in and whispered,

“What are you going to do with the two men that we rescued from the middle school?”

"Oh…”

My expression grew troubled, and I thought about it for a moment. As I was thinking, Do Han-Sol smacked his lips.

“The two of them… They saved the children.”

"What?"

“When we entered the hotel lobby, some dogs attacked the children. Those two stepped in and saved the children.”

“Why’d they do that?”

“I also asked them that… I think they saved the children subconsciously.”

“...”

I sighed and gently massaged my temples. I found it impossible to forgive any dogs, and it would be difficult to have them live alongside us. I knew that the survivors here would be strongly against the idea of living under the same roof with them.

After contemplating the matter, I let out a deep breath.

“We have to kick them out.”

"That's the same thing as telling them to go outside and die.”

“They were trying to escape Gwangjang-dong anyway.”

“Still, I… I can’t help but think about them, for some reason. I can’t stop thinking about their faces when they saved the children.”

Do Han-Sol’s head sagged, and his expression grew hard to read. As I looked at him contemplating the matter, I scratched my head.

A sudden intriguing thought flashed through my mind. But since it was just a theory of mine, I thought that it would be better to meet with the two men and talk about it.

I scratched my forehead and spoke up.

“Let’s talk again at the meeting. We need to consider everyone’s opinion.”

“All right…"

Do Han-Sol made his way toward the twelve dead believers.

After I was done assigning tasks, I stared at the lobby ceiling and let out a deep breath, releasing the unpleasant tension within me.

I… I killed a lot of people today. But they were no different from animals. They were wolves in sheep's clothing. They were no different from zombies. Nevertheless, the humanity inside me was torn to shreds.

I wasn’t sure if I could continue to impose my justice over others.

I gently closed my eyes and repented my sins to God, though I wasn’t sure if God even existed.

‘I will pay the price… For the sins, for the actions that I have taken today.’

I wasn’t asking for forgiveness. I only wanted to delay the punishment for my sins until, and only when, I felt that my child and family were safe. I had no clue when that would be, or if I was being greedy, but I couldn’t die right now.

That was all I wanted from God.

* * *

Late in the evening, when everyone had gone back to their rooms, the leaders gathered in the lounge on the sixteenth floor.

We sat around a long table to have our meeting. I interlaced my fingers and addressed the leaders.

“We’re planning to go around Gwangjang-dong and wipe out the remaining dogs and zombies—if there are any left—tomorrow. Han-Sol will be in charge of defense while Hyeong-Jun and I will do the cleaning up.”

The leaders nodded silently.

After a moment, Kim Beom-Jin, who was sitting across from me, spoke up.

“We’re currently short on bandages. We’ve suffered more casualties since the fight in Gwangjin-gu.”

“Do we have enough antibiotics?”

“We do. We also have enough anesthesia. We’re just short on bandages and disposable syringes.”

“I’ll look for a nearby university hospital after I’m done cleaning up Gwangjang-dong.”

Kim Beom-Jin nodded and flashed an okay sign. After he was done talking, Hwang Ji-Hye next to him, spoke up.

“The person in charge of managing our facilities passed away during the fight in Gwangjin-gu. If there is someone from Shelter Hae-Young or Shelter Barrier who used to manage facilities, I would like them to take their spot.”

“Could you elaborate on the main tasks of facility management?”

“You must know how to do various maintenance work and welding.”

I looked over at Lee Jeong-Uk, who scratched his sideburns.

“My brother knows how to weld,” he said. “But he always acts humbly about it because he didn’t learn it properly. He picked it up from his fellow co-workers.”

Hwang Ji-Hye gently rubbed her chin, then looked into my eyes and again.

“If that’s the case, how about appointing Kwak Dong-Won from Gangnam as the leader of the facility management team?”

“That seems like a good idea. Does anyone have any other opinions on this?”

The other leaders exchanged careful glances, then quickly went with the flow. Park Gi-Cheol, who was in the corner, spoke up.

“We also need to reorganize the guards as well. The guards feel rather disorganized without a proper leader.”

“I think you would be a good fit as the guard leader. From now on, Park Gi-Cheol will be the guard leader.”

Just as before, no one objected to my words. After looking around at the other leaders, I spoke to Park Gi-Cheol.

“Park Gi-Cheol, from now on, you will have authority over anything related to the guards. This means that you will also have the authority over access to the weapons room.”

Park Gi-Cheol smiled heartily and nodded.

“Just leave it to me.”

After that, I massaged my temples and gave myself some time to think.

There were three leaders of each shelter here. I had no idea what positions I was going to appoint them to. As soon as my worry showed on my face, Hwang Ji-Hye spoke up.

“Lee Hyeon-Deok, this is just my opinion… But I just wanted to get your opinion on this.”

"Go ahead."

“Regarding Shelter Gwangjang-dong, I want Lee Jeong-Uk to be the leader.”

I looked at Lee Jeong-Uk after hearing her recommendation. Lee Jeong-Uk was looking back at her, his eyes wide.

Judging from Lee Jeong-Uk's expression, it seemed like Hwang Ji-Hye had gone ahead and put his name up before they had finished discussing this. Lee Jeong-Uk stared at Hwang Ji-Hye.

“I haven’t given you a definite answer yet. You can’t just say what you want to say.”

“I’ve spoken at length with the other leaders. Everyone agreed.”

“I’ve already told you multiple times that So-Yeon’s dad… No, Mr. Lee Hyeon-Deok is the leader of this shelter.”

“Like I said before, it’s not because we don’t trust Lee Hyun-Deok. The survivors need a human leader. You saw what happened during the day yesterday.”

Lee Jeong-Uk gritted his teeth but stayed silent. It seemed like something had happened yesterday that I wasn’t aware of. I wondered if something had happened between the survivors while Kim Hyeong-Jun and I had been fighting the black creature.

Judging from the fact that everyone supported Lee Jeong-Uk’s nomination to be the leader, it seemed like he was the one who had quelled the chaos that had erupted yesterday.

I sighed and spoke up.

“I agree.”

“So-Yeon’s dad!”

Lee Jeong-Uk looked at me, raising his voice. I met his gaze.

“Even when we were at Shelter Hae-Young, we were co-leaders. Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today.”

“...”

Lee Jeong-Uk stared at my face for a while, then clicked his tongue vigorously and looked away. I kept my gaze on him and softened my tone.

“The survivors need a human leader. A leader with emotions, a beating heart, and someone they can relate to.”

“...”

“I think Hwang Ji-Hye is right to suggest that you be the leader.”

Lee Jeong-Uk slowly opened his eyes and let out a sigh. He then smacked his lips and spoke up to everyone.

“You can’t blame me for not getting the job properly done later on. I had no say in this.”

All the leaders broke into smiles. I smiled along with them as I looked at Lee Jeong-Uk.

I knew that Lee Jeong-Uk would do well in the future, just as he had done so far.