Chapter 153

I looked at Kim Hyeong-Jun as the survivors started boarding.

“Ready?”

“There’s nothing to get ready for, ahjussi. I’ll get ready when I have to get ready.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun chuckled and stashed his hands in his pockets. I chuckled back and looked at the survivors. After a moment, Do Han-Sol came up and briefed us on what the major had told him.

“He said that he has room on board for all, except for about one hundred people.”

“Okay. The rest of them will have to be carried by your underlings. Do you think they’ll be willing to let that happen to them?”

“Yes. Thankfully the guards have stepped up, so we’ve gotten that part settled.”

“These hundred people; they’re all guards?”

“Yes. The soldiers from Gangnam and guards that were originally with us.”

I looked at Bae Jeong-Man and the soldiers from Gangnam, carrying their weapons. Park Shin-Jeong was next to Bae Jeong-Man. Park Gi-Cheol was also with them, getting the guards into formation and performing a headcount. I knew it wouldn’t have been easy to volunteer, but thanks to them stepping up, we didn’t have to go through another messy situation to sort out who would be allowed on the ships and who would not.

I let out a breath and looked over at Do Han-Sol.

“Keep an eye on the cruise ship, and proceed to Sogang Bridge via Gangbyeonbuk-ro. After you get to Gangnam, move to the southern end of Banghwa Bridge.”

"Got it. You want me to move ahead of the cruise ships and clean up the southern end of Banghwa Bridge, right?”

I nodded and tapped his forearm lightly to let him know that he was all set. After that, Lee Jeong-Uk came up to me.

“So-Yeon’s dad, we’ve completed our preparations.”

“Did you check to see that we didn’t leave anything behind?”

“We got everything. I double-checked.”

I nodded vigorously and breathed in the cool river air. Lee Jeong-Uk looked me in the eyes.

“Don’t push yourself,” he said.

“Okay…”

“I’ll see you there.”

Lee Jeong-Uk patted me on the shoulder and ran toward the cruise ship.

We were ready to get going. We were ready to wrap up our long journey here in Seoul and head toward a new home. To a place where we wouldn’t have to wander anymore. To our Eden.

I massaged my neck and reminded myself of the plan. I had to clean up the members of the Family that remained in Gangnam and make my way to Gimhae. Once I got to Gimhae International Airport, I had to clean up the zombies there and find boats to get everyone over to Jeju island. I could already tell it was going to be a long day.

"Daddy!"

I heard So-Yeon calling me from the second floor railing of the cruise ship. She smiled brightly and waved her arms excitedly. Maybe it was because it was her first time being on a boat. She seemed happy and thrilled, as if she was looking forward to this journey. I waved back at her with a smile.

“Sweetheart! Make sure you listen to Uncle Jeong-Uk, okay?”

“Aren’t you going to get on, Daddy?”

“Daddy is going to go ahead first and wait for So-Yeon to come!”

"Why, Daddy? Daddy should go with us!”

I wanted to go with So-Yeon… But I knew I couldn’t. I tried to keep my smile on as I spoke.

“Daddy has to go ahead and take care of the bad zombies first!”

So-yeon pouted and made a sad face. I tried to tamp down on the pain rising within my heart.

“Sweetie, make sure you listen to Aunt Seon-Hui! Don’t go around running on the boat and behave yourself!” I said.

“Will Santa give me a present if I’m nice?”

Her question reminded me that Christmas was right around the corner. I smiled gently.

"Of course sweetie!” I yelled back in reply. “Santa will be bringing you presents since it’s Christmas soon! So don’t fight with your friends and behave yourself!”

Her eyes lit up at the word ‘Christmas’. My family used to spend time together in our living room while enjoying Christmas cakes.

A bitter sadness rose up within me as I recalled the days that I knew would never happen again.

My wife hadn’t been amongst the survivors of Gangnam. I’d had the feeling that it would be so, and I had prepared myself for it… But I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t had my hopes up slightly. After confirming that my wife wasn’t one of them, I couldn’t help but feel dejected.

I couldn’t share the feelings I’d had the day I’d met all the survivors of Gangnam with anyone. All I did that day was look out onto the Han River alone, weeping silent tears. It was only natural for my disappointment to be greater as my expectations were high, and the sudden loss of every bit of hope was terrible and indescribable.

I looked up at the blue sky and took in a deep breath, then looked back at So-Yeon.

“Listen to your aunts and uncles!” I said. “Daddy will be back to check on how well So-Yeon behaved in a little bit!”

"Okay!"

So-Yeon hesitated a little, then asked in a rather unconfident tone, “The other kids said that Santa Claus doesn’t exist… That isn’t true, is it?”

“Who said that, sweetie?”

“The kids at kindergarten!”

Kids these days.

I couldn’t believe they already knew about the true existence—or lack of it—of Santa. I shook my head vigorously.

"No, sweetie. Daddy just met Santa last week!”

"Really?"

"Really! I told Santa that So-Yeon has been behaving and listening to Aunt Seon-Hui and Uncle Jeong-Uk, and so Santa told me he’d give So-Yeon a nice present!”

"Oh, oh! I have something I want!”

“What do you want? Daddy will pass it on to Santa Claus!”

"I…!”

Puh-puh-puh–

With a blast of its horn, the cruise ship departed. Because of that, I couldn’t hear what So-Yeon wanted for her present. I repeated the question again, but the three blasts of the boat horn covered my voice.

“Promise me!”

With that, I couldn’t hear her anymore. The last words she’d said were full of anticipation, reflected in her bright, shining eyes.

I…I tried my best to keep a bright smile on my face and waved back at her.

“Ahjussi, are you okay?” Kim Hyeong-Jun, who was next to me, asked me cautiously.

“Hmm?”

“Why are you crying?”

“Huh?”

A teardrop rolled down my face, catching me by surprise. I hurriedly wiped it off and looked away. Kim Hyeong-Jun must’ve felt a twinge of pity when he looked at me. He smacked his lips and said in a gentle, low voice, “My son looks just like my wife.”

“...”

“And So-Yeon’s pretty, maybe because she doesn’t look like you.”

I laughed softly and flashed a shy smile. “You’re such a joker…”

“Ahjussi, why are you acting like you won’t ever see her again?” continued Kim Hyeong-Jun. “You know you’ll see her again. You shouldn’t act like you won’t, you know?”

"It's the wind, I swear.”

Hearing my lousy excuse, Kim Hyeong-Jun smirked and scratched his sideburns.

“Ehhh, here we go again, ahjussi, lying again.”

He clenched his fists and crouched down.

“I’m heading off first. Calm yourself down, then follow me.”

With that, Kim Hyeong-Jun headed over to his underlings, who were gathered along the riverside. I warmed up by doing some squats and stretching my shoulders and neck. I shook off the thoughts that kept me occupied, allowing me to focus on what I currently had to do with a much clearer mind.

“Han-Sol.”

"Yes?"

“We’ll take the lead and clear anything in the way. Keep a reasonable distance from us. Don’t forget to match the pace of the cruise ship as you move towards Sogang Bridge.”

Do Han-Sol nodded calmly. "All right."

I took a deep breath and let it out.

“Let’s get going.”

* * *

I carved a straight path to Sogang Bridge. Kim Hyeong-Jun was already dealing with zombies as I passed Mapo Bridge.

The underlings of the officers and the dong leaders that we had taken care of earlier in the morning were still in their exact same spots, standing motionless. What we were doing might’ve seemed like an unnecessary massacre, but considering Do Han-Sol and the guards that were following us, it was the right thing to do.

Following Kim Hyeong-Jun’s lead, I took care of the zombies along Gangbyeonbuk-ro.

“Ahjussi, over there.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun stopped what he was doing and pointed. I hadn’t noticed earlier, but with the sun now up, I saw some members of the Family moving around Building 63. Judging by the fact that they were moving towards Sogang Bridge, it seemed like they had taken notice of us.

I thought that their headquarters was in Jamsil, but they were gathered in Yeouido. It seemed like all of their forces had gathered in Yeouido when Kim Hyeong-Jun attacked Gimpo Airport.

I clenched my fists.

"Let’s go. I think they noticed us.”

“Go on first. I'll deal with the remnants here and follow you.”

I nodded lightly and gritted my teeth. As I accelerated the flow of my blood, steam began to rise from my body.

“KAAA!”

I took off toward Sogang Bridge, with steam coming off my body.

As soon as I reached the northern end of Sogang Bridge, I noticed that the southern end of the bridge was packed with the Family’s forces. Taking the lead, I ordered my underlings to annihilate the gang members. I glimpsed Bamseom in between the collapsed bridge, and saw a set of stairs in front of it. It seemed like the Family had erected it as a temporary structure.

I leaped to the top of the stairs at once and made my way through the gang members.

“Stop… Stop him, you fools!!” I heard a dong leader shout from within the crowd.

I focused my gaze on him, and I saw the dong leader’s terrified face.

Whoosh–

I leaped into the air and arrowed myself downward in a straight line, aiming for the dong leader’s head. I began to accelerate as gravity pulled me down. My senses were more focused than ever. The dong leader stared at me, wide-eyed, then hurriedly threw his body to the side to avoid me.

Crash!!!

Dust flew everywhere, and a spider web of cracks radiated outward from where I had landed. I channeled all my strength into my lower body and threw myself toward where I’d last seen the dong leader. As I flew through the thick cloud of dust, I saw the dong leader frozen to the spot, as if too scared to take another step.

Without the slightest hesitation, I hurled my fist into his.

Crash!!!

The loud crash of the dong leader’s body hitting reinforced concrete echoed through the neighborhood. The dong leader collapsed to the ground, their face crushed.

'One down.'

I whipped my upper body around to look around, and saw a zombie trying to escape, slipping in between the regular zombies who had lost their chain of command. I rushed toward the zombie like a wave, and the enemy leader looked back.

“Jesus!” he screamed when he noticed my presence.

This zombie leader had red eyes. I leaped forward, grabbing his waist and using momentum to knock him down. I smashed his face into the ground, making him vomit out blood.

“You fucking bastard…!”

He immediately twisted his upper body and tried punching me in the face. I easily side-slipped his punch and clambered onto his upper body like a spider trapping its prey, then hammered my fists into his face.

Bang! Bam! Whack! Bang!

His skull shattered in two after four hits. Slimy liquid oozed out of it, pooling on the ground. The dong leader’s trembling fingers slowly stopped moving. Once the two dong leaders died, the approximately one thousand zombies under their control that were defending the southern end of Sogang Bridge became living corpses.

Strangely enough, I didn’t feel the presence of any other zombies around me.

‘Is the boss buying himself time?’

Did the boss just throw the dong leaders out as bait and made a run for it? I gently closed my eyes and heightened my senses.

I knew that he couldn't have gotten far. No matter how fast the boss could move, he couldn't mask the smell that he gave off. I soon noticed a rather sour smell.

‘Left.’

My eyes flashed as I looked over to the left. About four hundred meters away, I saw an unknown man making his way through the buildings in the city.

‘Is he heading to Gwanaksan?’

I had no time to waste. I couldn’t wait for Kim Hyeong-Jun. I knew that if I waited, the boss would make it out of Seoul.

My blue eyes flashed as I channeled strength to my legs. The muscles on my legs grew larger, almost to the point of bursting, and my achilles tendon tightened.

Bang!!

The asphalt below me cracked as I took off toward the unknown man. The sound of the wind blowing past me awakened my instincts, and the blur of the surroundings whizzing past me heightened my five senses. I didn’t bother to calm myself down. With my eyes fixed on the man’s back, I let the madness within fully engulf me.

The unknown man glanced behind as if he had noticed my presence. He saw the madness in my face, and his eyes went wide.

In that fleeting moment, I caught a glimpse of his blue eyes.

It was the boss.

This being had made me and my family go through constant hardship. I was finally able to come face to face with the boss of the Family.

Steam quickly rose from his body. But what he didn’t realize was that it was already too late for him to escape. I was already accelerating, so it was impossible for him to get away.

I closed the distance to the boss very quickly; he was within arms’ reach. In that fleeting moment, which felt like an eternity, I smirked and stretched out my right hand.

‘I got you.'

At that moment, I felt a strong killing intent coming from my left, making my hair stand on end. I quickly twisted my upper body out of the way.

Bang!!!

Something slashed over my head. At first glance, it had the shape of a rock. But I didn’t have enough time to figure out what it was. I couldn’t withstand the sudden change of direction and tumbled to the ground. I could still sense the killing intent behind me, which made my hamstrings tremble.

I spun around and saw a fist centimeters from my eyes. I bent my neck away at a sharp angle and barely avoided it.

At that moment, a cold voice whispered in my ears, “Pretty fast, eh?”

I quickly dropped into a defensive stance, but I took a blow from the side, sending my body flying sideways and bursting through the wall on my right.

Bang, bang!!!

Three beings were attacking me at once.

When my trembling eyes finally refocused, I saw the boss smirking, his blue eyes flashing.