Walking Daddy

While Do Han-Sol was sleeping, the survivors had finished inspecting the aircraft. Kim Hyeong-Jun mutated his few remaining underlings into stage-one mutants; he now had Mood-Swinger and ten stage-one mutants.

After getting caught up with what he had missed, Do Han-Sol came up to me.

“I’ll get going right away. I’ll leave one of my underlings here just in case. If I don\'t come back, or if my underling changes color, assume that something’s gone wrong with…”

“I already know how everything works, so you don’t have to explain everything word by word. Just don’t go too deep; just scout out Daegu Airport and come back.”

"Got it."

I reminded him again and again to not push himself, and he smiled happily and nodded vigorously. It seemed like he was feeling more confident than ever, now that his physical abilities had increased. When Do Han-Sol had left for Daegu, I called for all the survivors to gather.

Our food stockpiles were getting low, and we had to begin preparations to leave for our next destination, whether it was Jeju Island or Daegu.

"Everyone! Please get on board the plane now and wait!”

“Can we wait here until Mr. Do Han-Sol returns instead?”

It seemed like the survivors didn’t want to wait in the plane. I knew where they were coming from since it would be uncomfortable for them on board, but I thought it was best to be prepared to leave at any time. I thoroughly explained my reasons, and the survivors started nodding in agreement. It seemed like everyone was going along with what I said because I hadn’t made any misjudgments so far.

Hwang Ji-Hye and Jeong Mi-Hye guided the survivors to their respective planes. We were able to utilize several planes thanks to the survivors Kim Hyeong-Jun had rescued at Gimpo Airport, and the best part was that there were enough captains and co-pilots.

Lee Jeong-Uk came up to me.

“There’s nothing we can do now, huh?”

“Everything’s going to depend on what Do Han-Sol sees.”

“You’ve done your part. It’s about time you get some time to rest and relax.”

“It\'s not over yet. Don’t let your guard down,” I said with a rather serious expression.

Lee Jeong-Uk nodded and patted my back.

“You should head on board as well,” I said to him.

“Have you thought about the order for take-off?”

“Yeah. The Russian military transport plane should get on the runway first, then the rest of the planes should line up behind them. We’ll take off the moment Do Han-Sol gets back.”

“Okay.”

Lee Jeong-Uk nodded and went to the captains and co-pilots of each aircraft. He went ahead and relayed what I had told him. Tommy, who was acting as the interpreter, translated Lee Jeong-Uk’s words to the commander. Once they had heard the plan, they dispersed quickly.

Kim Hyeong-Jun and I loaded all of our underlings into the last plane. The plan was simple. Once Do Han-Sol came back and confirmed that Daegu was safe, the survivors here would head to Daegu. Kim Hyeong-Jun and I would fly to Jeju Island and make sure the island was safe and to find if there were any other survivors spread out around Jeju Island.

This was our first goal.

After all the survivors got on board, I walked out onto the runway and guided each plane into place. Kim Hyeong-Jun stood blankly next to me and sniffed.

“Ahjussi, why aren’t we getting on?”

“The engine noise at take-off might attract some zombies. We need to take care of them.”

"So you\'re saying that the last plane might not be able to take off if zombies attack?”

“Yeah, that\'s why we’re putting our underlings on the last plane. We’ll deal with the zombies and then take off.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun nodded and kept on sniffling. He sat on the ground.

“Once we leave… I wonder what’s going to happen to the survivors left in Seoul,” he said.

“Survivors?”

“Don’t you remember that there are shelters left in Gangbuk?”

I thought about the map we’d found in the cult leader’s study, which had markings that indicated the remaining shelters in Gangbuk. I massaged my neck.

“The Family doesn’t pose a threat anymore,” I said. “If the survivors there haven\'t lost their humanity, they\'ll be able to maintain the shelter and protect it.”

“Do you think helping them out… Would that make us busybodies?”

“Well, it’s impossible to do anything now. We don’t even know how many of them there are. We don’t have enough planes or food. There’s no reason to add more things to our to-do list.”

“Once the survivors on the planes get to Daegu… What are you going to do?”

“What would you like to do, Mr. Kim Hyeong-Jun, the founder of the Survivor Rally Organization?” I asked with a smirk.

Kim Hyeong-Jun grinned back at me.

“Of course, we’ll have to save more people.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

"Then… I guess we’ll still be a team?”

“At least I know I won’t be bored,” I replied with a light smile.

Kim Hyeong-Jun smiled brightly and sprang up from the ground. He took a deep breath.

"Let’s go!" he shouted.

I burst out laughing at his vigorous, lively attitude. He was a little rascal who acted up from time to time, but at the same time, he was honest and right-minded.

I was glad that Kim Hyeong-Jun was by my side.

* * *

Before we knew it, the sun was already dipping below the horizon when I saw Do Han-Sol returning to Gimpo Airport.

He looked all worn out, and as exhausted as he could be. I ran toward him.

"What\'s the matter? Was there a zombie attack?” I asked.

“My feet are burning.”

Do Han-Sol breathed heavily and lay spread-eagled on the ground. As he collected himself, he told us what happened. He told us that, while running full speed toward Daegu, his feet were torn up a few times. Each time that happened, he had to regenerate them before running again.

Although we did not suffer any physical burdens, we still had physical limitations because the structure of our bodies was still human. It seemed like running a distance of six hundred meters at full tilt on our own two legs was too much for us, regardless of how hard our skin was. From what he was telling me, it seemed like the soles of his feet had been ripped up over and over again because of the friction with the ground.

Even though Do Han-Sol had been lying down for a while, he still breathed heavily, lying there as if his damaged soles were no longer regenerating. After a moment, Kim Hyeong-Jun joined us.

“What’s the situation in Daegu? Is it safe?” he asked.

"That’s the thing… I’m not sure.”

The answer caused Kim Hyeong-Jun to furrow his brow. Kim Hyeong-Jun then scratched his head and asked a follow-up question out of confusion with a mixture of frustration.

“What do you mean you don’t know? You went there to check it out.”

“It was too quiet. Strangely quiet.”

“Are you saying it’s quiet because there aren’t any people, or because there aren’t any zombies?”

“Neither. I only scouted Daegu Airport and came back, just as Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok told me to. But there was nothing at the airport. Even the surroundings were quiet.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun looked at me with a puzzled face. I quietly rubbed my chin and considered the situation.

‘No people and no zombies…’

There was a possibility that the survivors had moved to a hideout after taking care of the zombies, since no zombies equated to excellent security.

Kim Hyeong-Jun tilted his head back and forth, as though he was thinking along similar lines.

“Ahjussi, should we go too?” he proposed.

“Where, to Daegu?”

“It sounds safe for now, since Han-Sol said there aren’t any zombies… But the fact that there aren’t any people kind of gets to me. Shouldn’t they at least have someone on lookout duty or something?”

He was right. I totally forgot about lookouts. I crossed my arms and thought about it some more. After organizing my thoughts, I looked over at Do Han-Sol.

“Han-Sol, were there any artificial walls or barbed wire set up on the borders of Gyeongbuk when you got there?” [1]

“There were a couple of them. I saw some when I entered Chilgok and some when I entered Buk-gu, in Daegu.”

“And you didn’t see any more than that?”

“I’m not sure because I didn’t have a look around the city. I went following the mountains east of Buk-gu to get to Daegu International Airport.”

Feeling troubled, I couldn’t help but sigh. I could already sense that the people with us might be treated as zombies if the survivors in Daegu saw us with them. I couldn’t see a clear solution to this, and wanted to hear the other leaders’ opinions on this.

I walked over to their plane and raised my arms high to make an ‘X’. The middle door of the plane opened, and Lee Jeong-Uk poked his face out.

"What\'s going on, So-Yeon’s dad?"

“There aren’t any people or zombies in Daegu!”

"What? What do you mean!”

“Take a step back!” I yelled, then crouched down.

Lee Jeong-Uk took a couple of steps back to make space for me. As soon as I entered the aircraft, Hwang Ji-Hye and Park Gi-Cheol came running over. We went to the back of the aircraft and began to discuss the situation in low whispers. I passed on what I’d heard from Do Han-Sol. Lee Jeong-Uk smacked his lower lip.

“So you’re saying that it seems safe since there’s nothing there, but you’re just not sure?” he said.

“Yeah.”

“Then why don’t you come with us?”

“I’m just worried that the survivors there are hiding, and that they might come out of nowhere once our planes land. And if they find me, Hyeong-Jun, and Han-Sol, I’m pretty sure they’ll shoot us mercilessly.”

“Well, the plane with your underlings is going to land last anyway. If any survivors emerge, I’ll explain the situation to them.”

I had a bad feeling about it, but I couldn’t pinpoint where my unease was coming from.

If they had taken care of the zombies, they should have at least posted some guards on lookout duty. The fact that Do Han-Sol hadn’t seen any lookouts only contributed to the number of question marks I had with regards to the whole situation.

Hwang Ji-Hye leaned against the wall and crossed her arms.

“I agree with Mr. Lee Jeong-Uk,” she said.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay? Even if I go as well?”

“To be honest, leaving you behind bothered me even more,” Hwang Ji-Hye said with a soft smile.

Park Gi-Cheol, who was next to her, nodded in agreement with her words.

After we made new plans, we headed back to our respective positions again. When I jumped out of the plane, Kim Hyeong-Jun dashed in front of me, eager to hear what we had decided upon.

“So?”

“We’re going to Daegu too.”

“So we’re postponing our takeover of Jeju Island?”

“Yeah. We have no other choice.”

“Hehe, so that means you get to spend more time with your princess So-Yeon, huh?” Kim Hyeong-Jun teased, laughing out loud.

I stashed my hands in my pockets.

“It’s too early to feel relieved. We’ll modify our plans once we figure out what’s going on in Daegu.”

"Okay."

Kim Hyeong-Jun looked over at Do Han-Sol and told him to get on the last plane. I positioned myself on the runway and signaled the captain of the military cargo plane to take off. The captain started up the plane’s engines and began to move off slowly. Once the cargo plane had taken off, the rest of the planes lined up in order and made their way onto the runway.

Kim Hyeong-Jun and I remained vigilant until every aircraft had taken off. Fortunately, not that many zombies appeared at Gimpo Airport. I assumed it was because we had taken care of most of them a few days ago. There was no zombie wave, just a few isolated zombies running toward us. I easily smashed their heads as I counted the remaining planes.

Once all the planes containing the survivors had taken off, the final remaining plane rolled onto the runway. The plane door opened and I saw an unknown airline employee, Lee Jeong-Hyuk, and Choi Da-Hye. I boarded the plane at once and looked over at Lee Jeong-Hyuk.

“Why are you on this plane?”

“The employee here said that being all alone here made him feel anxious.”

I looked over at the airline employee, who swallowed and flinched. I more than understood why he would feel nervous. He was one of the people who had been hiding at Gimpo Airport until Kim Hyeong-Jun arrived to rescue them. He was probably still wary of zombies.

I gave him a gentle nod.

“Thank you for what you’re doing.”

"Pardon? Oh, not a problem.”

He bowed his head awkwardly and looked away. I looked over at Lee Jeong-Hyuk again and spotted him fooling around with Choi Da-Hye. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“The two of you, sit down. We’re going to take off soon.”

“Yep!”

As the three of them took their seats, the roar of the aircraft engine began to grow louder. I ordered my underlings to stay still no matter what happened. My stage-one mutants used their long limbs to brace themselves against the sides of the fuselage, making an effort to stay still. Kim Hyeong-Jun and Do Han-Sol sat down and put on their seat belts.

“Arnol… d."

Mood-Swinger stared blankly at Kim Hyeong-Jun, then sat down next to him and smiled like a little child. Kim Hyeong-Jun then looked over at the mutant.

“Why are you trying to sit next to me when there are plenty of seats?” he complained. “You’re taking up too much room! Go sit somewhere else!”

“Ar… nol…”

Mood-Swinger sulked and moved to another seat.

I idly wondered how Mood-Swinger knew he had to sit down in a chair. I couldn’t tell if he knew it instinctively, or if he was just imitating what Kim Hyeong-Jun was doing. It seemed like his intelligence had increased after eating one of the dong leader’s brains… Or not. It was difficult to tell from his behavior.

I walked over to Mood Swinger and checked if he had fastened his seat belt. He made a puzzled expression when he felt the seat belt wrapping around his waist.

“It’s okay. Stay still.”

Mood Swinger stared blankly at my face, then looked at Kim Hyeong-Jun, a couple of seats away from him. He only stopped moving after Kim Hyeong-Jun ordered him to. After I checked that Ji-Eun had taken her seat, I walked over to the window seat on the right and sat down.

The whine of the engines grew louder and sharper, indicating that the aircraft was beginning to accelerate down the runway. We were finally leaving the place where we had gone through so much, and heading for a new home.

‘Goodbye, Seoul. Thank you for all this…’

“Arrrnooold!!!”

Just as I was about to feel sentimental, I heard Mood-Swinger scream at the top of his lungs. It seemed like he was surprised by the sudden sinking feeling.

Our first flight began with Mood-Swinger screaming.

1. Gyeongbuk is an abbreviation of Gyeongsangbuk-do, or North Gyeongbuk Province. Provinces in Korea are similar to states in the United States and the provinces in Canada. ☜