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Chapter 137

I made a puzzled face, and Kim Hyeong-Jun scratched his forehead.

“Ahjussi, I don’t know what I should do,” he continued. “I don’t know why… Why I felt hungry when I saw Lee Jeong-Uk.”

“You felt the urge to eat when you looked at Lee Jeong-Uk?”

“Lee Jeong-Uk hit me in the hamstrings with the buttstock of his rifle. I felt myself go insane. I almost thought about killing him.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun frowned and tugged at his hair with his hands. It seemed like he was having a mental breakdown, and he couldn’t understand why he was thinking and acting the way he was.

With Kim Hyeong-Jun acting this way, I knew I had to remain rational.

I tried to remain as calm as possible and continued to ask him questions.

“Why did Lee Jeong-Uk act out like that? There must’ve been a reason why he hit you.”

“I was about to kill the leader of Gangnam. He tried to stop me.”

I wasn’t sure if I’d heard him right.

‘About to kill the leader?’

Of course, Kim Hyeong-Jun had mercilessly killed dogs and other individuals who had shed their humanity. However, the leader of Gangnam wasn’t a dog, nor did he seem to behave like an animal.

I kept my expression neutral. Kim Hyeong-Jun smacked his lips, then continued.

“At the time… I’m not sure why I acted that way. I felt strangely excluded and got angry. And after that, it became difficult for me to control my emotions. It felt like all of my emotions had turned into anger.”

“And this is the first time you’ve ever experienced anything like this?”

"Of course, I’ve never felt this way ever before. At the time, it felt as if someone was deliberately trying to get me angry… Looking back now, what I did and how I acted makes no sense.”

“...”

“Ahjussi, do you think I’m becoming a monster? What if I turn into a black creature? What are my son, my wife and my family to do?”

Kim Hyeong-Jun looked at me with eyes full of fear. Tears were brimming in his eyes.

I didn’t know what to say to him.

I couldn’t just give Kim Hyeong-Jun a half-assed answer because my family—even the shelter—would be in peril if he lost it. I couldn’t even tell him that everything was going to be alright.

I sighed deeply.

“Let’s bring this up when we talk to the leaders. This isn’t something we can resolve between the two of us.”

"What if… What if I act up again during the meeting?”

"Don’t worry, I’m here for you. I’ll stop you if I think you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing.”

"Ahjussi… I’m scared. I’m scared of myself.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun bit his lower lip, clearly overcome with emotion. He was having a hard time accepting the sudden changes within his body.

I was no different, because I knew that, if his body was going through such changes, mine could as well.

No matter how much we wanted to coexist with humans, even if we believed that our hearts and minds were no different from humans… It felt like one day, we would be proven wrong, and that day was soon approaching.

* * *

Fortunately, there weren’t any casualties in the hotel.

The leaders checked on the survivors’ conditions and began sending those who had pulled themselves together back to their rooms.

We prepared a separate suite at the Vista Hotel—located south of the Walkerhill Hotel—for Kim Seok-Won and his people from Seoul Medical Center. The people from Shelter Hae-Young were also allocated a suite at the Vista Hotel because of the damage sustained by their original suite on the seventeenth floor during the attack.

The leaders looked extremely exhausted after having dealt with the zombie wave. It was already deep into the night, and the mist that was exhaled with every breath of cold air that the leaders took merely served to highlight their tiredness.

Meetings were normally held in the lounge on the sixteenth floor, but that day’s meeting was held in the restaurant area on the second floor. We joined several square tables together to fashion it into a makeshift meeting room.

I sat at the head of the table, and the other leaders went ahead and took seats at their respective spots.

“Let’s start today’s meeting.”

When I announced the start of the meeting, most of the leaders let out small sighs, blinked to open their eyes, or pressed their temples gently.

I could tell that they all wanted to rest. Their eyes were full of exhaustion.

Kim Hyeong-Jun hung his head and had his eyes closed, as if he had done something wrong.

I wondered if he was thinking about the conflict between him and Lee Jeong-Uk.

I knew that their conflict was the first thing I had to address. I looked at the leaders one by one, then began to speak.

“I heard that there was a feud between Kim Hyeong-Jun and Lee Jeong-Uk earlier today. For those of you who witnessed or heard about the situation… Would you mind elaborating about what happened?”

Lee Jeong-Uk flinched when his name was mentioned, and he tried to shift the topic.

"Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok, that\'s something for Kim Hyeong-Jun and I to discuss separately."

The leaders seated around Lee Jeong-Uk looked at him in surprise. After a moment, Hwang Deok-Rok broke the silence.

“A quarrel between Mr. Lee Jeong-Uk and Mr. Kim Hyeong-Jun? Could you elaborate, Mr. Lee Hyeon-Deok?”

Lee Jeong-Uk answered him with a thin smile on his face, doing his best to drift away from the issue.

“We had a slight disagreement. I don’t feel comfortable sharing the reason for our disagreement with others.”

Judging from the facial expressions of the leaders, it seemed like Hwang Ji-Hye and Park Gi-Cheol were the only ones who knew about their feud. While the other leaders seemed disconcerted, both Hwang Ji-Hye and Park Gi-Cheol were grimacing.

I glanced over at Kim Hyeong-Jun, who had his eyes tightly shut and was biting his lower lip. It seemed like he was feeling grateful for Lee Jeong-Uk\'s consideration while still harboring a feeling of guilt.

Since Lee Jeong-Uk did not seem to wish to air their dirty laundry in public, I chose not to press on with the matter.

I moved to the next issue on our agenda, which were the cruise ships docked by the waterfront.

I looked over at Lee Jeong-Uk.

“Please tell us what the leader of Gangnam said earlier on.”

“The leader of Gangnam asked us if they could join us. However, he forcefully called Mr. Kim Hyeong-Jun a monster. I also banned him and his people from disembarking.”

“And he said nothing after that?”

“Nothing. We decided to talk again when you came back.”

In other words, the lives of the survivors of Gangnam were in my hands. I felt a sudden pressure on my shoulders, and the atmosphere in the meeting room grew uncomfortably oppressive. On top of this, it felt like the meeting was not progressing as freely as usual, because everyone was being extremely careful with their choice of words so as not to get on each other’s nerves.

I massaged my temples and looked at Lee Jeong-Uk.

“The survivors of Gangnam stopped the zombies that were approaching from Guri City.”

“I saw that too.”

“They didn\'t have to support us, but they did. I think they’re more than ready to live alongside us.”

“Then they can’t be calling Kim Hyeong-Jun a monster. Isn’t the word ‘monster’ a word that goes against the foundations of the Survivor Rally Organization?”

Lee Jeong-Uk had calmly pointed out the core problem. The survivors of Gangnam did not seem to be in alignment with the core fundamentals of our organization, which in turn meant that they couldn’t join us.

That was Lee Jeong-Uk’s reasoning.

I took a deep breath before continuing.

“I’m on the same page with you on that. What I mean when I said we could live together is that we teach them our ways, and then listen to what they have to say. From there, we may be able to come to an agreement. We should not rush into a decision without hearing what they have to say first.”

“Well, I believe there wouldn’t have been any friction in the first place if they hadn’t called Mr. Kim Hyeong-Jun a monster. They don’t believe in coexisting with zombies.”

“The survivors of Gangnam don’t know the difference between us and the Family. They are also the people who came up with crazy ideas like wanting to raise zombies with glowing red eyes. I believe it’s because they lack information.”

When I finished my point, Hwang Ji-Hye, who had been listening quietly, raised her right hand.

“They know that there are zombies that help humans.”

Hwang Ji-Hye looked around at the leaders, then continued to speak.

“I believe the survivors of Gangnam had different intentions from the beginning.”

I tilted my head. “Could you elaborate?”

Hwang Ji-Hye looked over at Kwak Dong-Won, who was seated in the corner.

“Mr. Kwak Dong-Won, you knew about this from the beginning. Am I wrong?”

Every single one of the leaders turned to look at Kwak Dong-Won. His eyes went wide, and he looked back at them in confusion, as if he had no clue what Hwang Ji-Hye was saying.

“Pardon?”

Hwang Ji-Hye furrowed her brow and spoke to him again.

“I should’ve known when I first heard the words ‘solar power’. I was naive.”

“Do you mind explaining what you mean by that?”

“You already know what I’m talking about. You came over first to build a power supply network for the survivors in Gangnam because you and all the people in Gangnam knew that Gangbuk, in its current state back then, was not capable of supporting more people.”

Kwak Dong-Won vigorously waved away Hwang Ji-Hye’s theory.

“I had no such intention. I came here after receiving orders from the major in charge of Gangnam to try my best to stabilize the shelter in Gangbuk.”

“So, Mr. Kwak Dong-Won, are you telling me that you didn’t know anything? And that you just came here under orders? Gangnam was better off in every way, in terms of shelter, safety, food, and survivors, and yet, you risked your life to come over and help us out?”

“Yes, Ms. Hwang Ji-Hye. Really. My only intention for coming here was to help Gangbuk.”

Kwak Dong-Won sounded almost as if he was begging others to believe him. Hwang Ji-Hye frowned at him, staring at him with eyes full of suspicion. Suddenly, she slammed a trembling hand on the desk.

“Stop lying!” she yelled.

“I’m not lying! I mean it!”

“Everything changed since you arrived! The survivors of Gangnam, and the situation with the Family as well!”

Hwang Ji-Hye had lost it. Something in her had snapped, robbing her of her calm. She wouldn’t be able to make any reasonable judgements for the time being.

It was only natural for life to be unpredictable, and things could take a turn at any moment. But when unexpected things happened one after another like a chain reaction, it made it difficult for people to keep their anger and violence in check.

This was the danger that anxious minds could lead to.

I knew I had to intervene in order to bring down the temperature.

I looked at Hwang Ji-Hye and Kwak Dong-Won in turn.

“Hwang Ji-Hye, Kwak Dong-Won, please calm down. There’s no good in raising our voices at each other.”

“Then, Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok, do you have any plans?” asked Hwang Ji-Hye in a sharp tone. “What are you going to do with the people outside, the people on the cruise ships? Have you considered the possibility of the members of the Family returning?”

She was still agitated, and hadn’t been able to calm herself.

She was naturally forthcoming and honest with her feelings and emotions, but was usually able to keep her cool during our meetings. I was a little surprised that she wasn’t able to control her heightened emotions this time.

I wondered if she was blaming Kim Hyeong-Jun and Lee Jeong-Uk’s feud on the survivors of Gangnam. After all, everyone knew that, if the cruise ship hadn’t appeared in the first place, the two of them wouldn’t have fought.

She was placing the blame for this internal conflict on the survivors of Gangnam. Or, perhaps… Perhaps she resented me for going to Sinnae-dong without telling the others.

I took a deep breath and let it out.

“I’ll go talk to the leader of Gangnam.”

“Right now…?”

I nodded. Hwang Ji-Hye’s eyebrows twitched, but she remained silent.

I looked over at the rest of the leaders who were sitting down.

“Let’s go sort this out while we’re at it. We might as well go all together.”

Hwang Ji-Hye still seemed dissatisfied.

“And what if they don’t leave?”

I forced out a bitter laugh.

“Ms. Hwang Ji-Hye, it seems like you already have no intention of accepting them.”

“Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok, it’s difficult to live in harmony with people who have treated us wrongly from the start.”

I finally understood why Hwang Ji-Hye was so worked up. She had hated the survivors of Gangnam from the very beginning.

I chuckled.

“Ms. Hwang Ji-Hye, I don’t know what to say. You were the one who trusted the survivors of Gangnam the most.”

“...”

Hwang Ji-Hye silently avoided my gaze.

I knew where she was coming from. The higher one’s expectations, the deeper the disappointment, and the more one trusted someone else, the worse it felt when one was betrayed.

I knew Hwang Ji-Hye felt extremely betrayed by the lies that the survivors of Gangnam had come up with, and she believed that they had crossed the line. She was furious at their pathetic display.

All our plans had been made under the assumption that Gangnam was safe, but now that news reached us out of the blue that Gangnam had fallen, all our plans were instantly useless. It meant we had to go back to the drawing board.

We also had to come up with possible scenarios regarding the members of the Family that were now in Gangnam, and what they were planning against us.

All of this was overwhelming enough, and with Lee Jeong-Uk and Kim Hyeong-Jun\'s feud being the cherry on top, she was having a hard time hiding her frustration and irritation.

As the deputy leader, she was probably under the maximum amount of stress.

I sighed.

“For now, let’s go meet them,” I said quietly. “Whatever happens, we need to talk to them first.”

I rose after saying my piece. The other leaders got up as well and followed me out. All of them wore worried expressions.

I wondered if speaking with the leader of Gangnam would be enough to ease some of their worry.

Just then, I suddenly remembered what Lee Jeong-Uk had suggested a long time ago.

- Let\'s go to an island. Jeju Island.

As long as we took care of the zombies in Jeju Island, it would be the safest area in the world.

The most obvious problem was transportation.

Even if we made our way to Gimpo Airport and boarded a plane without a single survivor getting injured, we wouldn’t be able to do anything without a pilot. And if we traveled by boat, we had to make our way all the way to Incheon.

Given the number of times we’d faced danger while moving from Haengdang-dong to Gwangjang-dong, it seemed almost impossible to get from Seoul to Incheon safely.

The inability to solve our problems once and for all frustrated me. There was a great weight on my shoulders, as though someone had piled a stack of wet towels on me, and my legs felt useless, as though they had sunk knee-deep into a muddy swamp.

So many lives were riding on my decisions.

I sighed and headed for the riverside, where the cruise ships were.