Walking Daddy

In a matter of seconds, he’d made moves while taking into consideration numerous possibilities.

I now knew he was a person with a sharp mind. I also knew how worried he was about Shelter Seoul Forest.

However, I didn’t like the fact that someone had to be sacrificed in order for his plan to work. It would probably start off with just one person, but I was certain that there would be more moments down the line when decisions had to be made in surprising and unexpected situations. There would also be times when compromises couldn’t be made. If I compromised, one day, the compromises that I had made would drag me down and prevent me from moving forward.

The survivors and I.

I knew I couldn’t live as a human anymore the moment the mutual trust between the living and the living dead was lost.

I wondered if getting rid of the enemy leader and eating his brain was the right decision at the moment. I felt like there was a better solution than eating the enemy leader’s brain, but I couldn’t think of the perfect solution on the spot.

I needed time to think.

I looked at the enemy leader and gave orders to my underlings.

‘Carry the enemy leader in front of me and follow me.’

GRR!!!

The few remaining underlings I had came running toward me with their throat-rending noises. The enemy leader grew startled as they picked him up.

“What, what are you doing?”

Looking at his eyes, I could tell he was nervous. I looked him right in the eye.

‘I believe what you said. But something doesn’t seem quite right. I’m going to tie you up and keep an eye on you while I think about what that is.’

“I’ve told you everything. I’ve only told you the truth. I have no intention of tricking you!”

‘I know. You were honest toward me, and your plan was perfect as well.’

“You’re saying that’s the problem? Being too perfect? Are you a believer of lies rather than the truth?

‘It’s not about believing in lies. Of course, it’s not that I don’t believe your story. I’m just not in agreement with that mindset of yours.’

“What…?”

I tilted my head.

‘That mindset of yours. Depending on the situation, you have no qualms sacrificing others for your own good, right?’

The enemy leader sighed.

“Do you have an inferiority complex or something? Or are you just jealous of people who are smarter than you just because you’re stupid? I can’t believe what you’re saying. What a fool.”

The enemy leader snorted and clicked his tongue.

His reaction made me even more uncomfortable. I felt uneasy around him. An ordinary person would have violently waved their hands or firmly denied it.

He should have denied it in this situation. But the enemy leader got on my nerves. Instead of refuting my observation, he got on my nerves to further complicate my mind. His thought process was definitely abnormal.

I kept my expression neutral and continued to ask questions to figure out his real intentions.

‘Do you know the reason why I can’t trust you, even when I know you’re telling me the truth?’

“...?”

‘Parts of you remind me of myself.’

“What kind of bullshit are you saying now?”

‘I could only think of one word after hearing your plan.’

“What is it?”

‘Perfectionist.’

The enemy leader’s eyebrows twitched. I looked at him as I rubbed my chin.

‘Perfectionists are always occupied with their own thoughts, and they always have some secret, hidden intention that they won’t share with others. What I’m saying is, it’s impossible to really know what they’re up to all the time.’

“...”

‘In order to deceive a person perfectly, you have to cover up the truth with numerous lies. Lies on top of lies, until it’s almost impossible to differentiate the lies from the truth. And because you’re just like me, it’s even harder for me to trust you.’

“You’re nuts. So you’re telling me that even you have secrets that you’re hiding from the survivors, huh?”

‘You’re right,’ I answered without hesitation.

I hadn’t told them about what would happen if I ate a person’s brain. This was the one thing I couldn’t tell them, even though they believed I’d revealed everything I knew.

The enemy leader looked at me, his mouth opening and closing silently like a goldfish’s. He seemed to be at a loss for words. I shrugged.

‘Now I know what kind of person you are, and I just think that you’re keeping a secret from me. That’s all.’

“You’re very illogical. You can’t even trust me when I’m telling you the truth?”

‘The emotions we have as humans… sometimes make us illogical. We sometimes refer to them as ‘gut feelings’.’

“You’re going to put the survivor’s lives and your future by following your gut feeling? Are you insane?”

‘I don’t care if you think I’m crazy. But there’s one thing I’ve learned during my lifetime.’

The enemy leader swallowed and looked at me. Although his expression seemed to suggest that he still considered me a fool, there was a slight tremble to his voice. It betrayed his nervousness, as though he were a mouse that had been caught by a cat. I smirked.

‘Humans have instincts. And out of all the instincts, the strongest one is their survival instinct.’

“What are you trying to say?”

‘That this gut feeling of mine is never wrong.’

“...”

The enemy remained silent, but his eyes widened. I looked away from him and gave orders to my underlings.

‘Put him in the apartment right in front.’

“Hey, hey!”

His voice faded away. My underlings carried him on their backs to the apartment nearby. I then gave another order to my underlings.

‘Cut off his arms and legs if they’re about to regenerate. Make sure he stays the way he is right now.’

GRRR!

Once my underlings disappeared from view, I looked at the Han River, which had now been engulfed in darkness. I pondered over the story the enemy leader had told me. He constantly wanted me to understand his story. He tried to make me understand how he had been kicked out of Jongno, and emphasized the fact that he had come all the way to Seongsu-dong to see his daughter.

The way he crafted his story made it persuasive, and it was easy to empathize with his emotions as well. Because of this, I had fallen for it at first. But as I went over his story over and over again, one part of it didn’t sit right with me.

Even if I considered the part about Jongno as being true, what got me was the fact that he had dedicated his life to helping others even when his wife and daughter weren\'t there.

There was something fishy about that.

He mentioned that he was a goose dad, and that he wanted to see his daughter before he died. But it didn’t make any sense for someone who was so desperate to find his daughter and wife to stay in Jongno when he knew they weren’t there, didn’t know if they were alive or dead, and wasn’t aware if somebody else was taking care of them. It was unlike my situation, where I had others taking care of So-Yeon.

The earlier part of his story did not match with the later parts of it. I couldn’t imagine a father with a child having a mindset like his.

The enemy leader and I seemed to be similar to each other in certain aspects, but completely different in others. Perhaps the discomfort I had felt as I listened to him stemmed from this. I knew humans were afraid of things they didn’t understand.

And I couldn’t understand the enemy leader.

* * *

I related the whole story to Kim Hyeong-Jun.

Kim Hyeong-Jun fell into deep thought for a moment, then titled his head.

‘What you said earlier. Is everything true?’

‘I think at least what he was saying is true. But I feel like the enemy leader is hiding something.’

‘It’d be best if we can use the enemy leader to lead us to the other members of this Family. But we also have to consider the possibility of the enemy leader betraying us as well.’

‘You’re right.’

Kim Hyeong-Jun caught right on. He came up with possible situations and explained his thoughts coherently whenever I gave him information. I was fortunate to have an ally like him.

Kim Hyeong-Jun rubbed his chin and continued,

‘He’s the type of person that doesn’t mind sacrificing others for his own benefit. If anything goes south, he might just use us as leverage and abandon us to the members of the Family.’

‘Right. We have to think about the possibility that he could be considering using us as trophies.’

‘Well, we didn’t really trust him from the beginning anyway.’

‘I’m not sure if it’s because we met him as an enemy, or if something about him was strange from the beginning. I just can’t tell.’

‘Hmm…’

Kim Hyeong-Jun sat on the floor, lost in thought. I sat cross-legged in front of him and waited for him to speak. After a while, Kim Hyeong-Jun flicked his fingers.

‘How about this?’

‘Go ahead.’

‘Let’s try changing up the topic.’

‘Change the topic?’

‘I feel like we’re focusing too much on the structure of the Family—the boss, officers—and the enemy leader’s emotional story. Do you think he’ll let something slip if we speak to him about a different topic?’

I pondered his words deeply.

Was he proposing that we ask the enemy leader some leading questions? Perhaps, in the course of the conversation, he would take the bait.

I rubbed my chin, then said,

‘I want to get some data about the mutants if possible.’

‘Mutants?’

Kim Hyeong-Jun arched his eyebrows and tilted his head. A lot had happened while Kim Hyeong-Jun had been unconscious. I told him about the mutants. His expression grew serious as he heard what I had to say. He smacked his lips.

‘So you’re saying that these zombies are evolving?’

‘They’re evolving into a completely different species.’

‘Even though their rational minds are completely dysfunctional?’

‘Well, I’m not sure about that. They seem to have the ability to learn. The way they fight completely changes the longer your fight with them drags on.’’

‘Wait, what? They can even do that?’

Kim Hyeong-Jun didn’t sound convinced. I smacked my lips, since I wasn’t sure myself.

‘I don’t know either. That’s why we need their data.’

‘Then… What happens if we eat the mutant’s brains?’

‘I did think about doing that… But I didn’t get the same drooling feeling.’

‘Drooling? The drooling feeling when we see the brains of zombies with glowing red eyes?’

‘Yeah, exactly. Looking at the mutant’s dead body was like I was looking at an ordinary zombie corpse. I didn’t get the same feeling that I do when I see zombies with glowing red eyes.’

When I killed the black creature, I couldn’t help but drool as I looked at its body. It felt like my body had taken control of my mind and made me eat the black creature’s brain. I had similar feelings when I killed zombies with glowing red eyes. Of course, my appetite wasn’t as strong as when I’d taken down the black creature, but I couldn’t help but think about feasting on their brains. However, I felt nothing whenever I looked at the dead body of a mutant.

The reason I hadn’t eaten the mutant’s brain in Daehyeonsan Park even after killing it was because my instincts hadn’t kicked in at all.

I could’ve eaten it of my own volition, but I was worried about the aftereffects. I didn’t know what effects consuming the mutant’s brain would bring. It could cause trouble, just as how humans could contract gastroenteritis or get an upset stomach by eating rotten food.

Kim Hyeong-Jun massaged his temples gently and stayed silent for a while. I waited patiently, and he soon took a deep breath before speaking.

‘That person… Where is he?’

‘You want to meet the enemy leader?’

‘Yeah, I got to see him.’

‘What about Shelter Seoul Forest? Is your family safe?’

‘All of them are working together to conduct repairs on the interior of the shelter. My family is also safe.’

I nodded slightly and got up. Kim Hyeong-Jun got up as well, his expression taking on a hint of bitterness and embarrassment.

‘And, ahjussi… Thank you.’

‘For what?’

‘For saving my family.’

I chuckled and slapped Kim Hyeong-Jun on his right arm. He rubbed his right arm and looked at me, dumbfounded.

‘What are alliances for?’

I said it lightly, as though it wasn’t a big deal. Kim Hyeong-Jun smiled faintly. I snorted, looking at him and shook my head. After a moment, he said,

‘Once we’ve wrapped up this incident, I’ll introduce you to my family.’

‘Sounds good.’

I nodded and began to head toward the apartment where the enemy leader was. At that moment, Kim Hyeong-Jun blocked my way, as if he’d remembered something he wanted to say.

‘Oh, ahjussi, I almost forgot.’

‘What?’

‘Did you perhaps… have a weird dream after eating the black creature’s brain?’

‘Dream?’

I tilted my head in confusion, and Kim Hyeong-Jun’s expression grew puzzled. He seemed unsettled.

‘No, hmm… How should I say this… I feel like I had a weird dream while I was knocked out. And I got extraordinarily strong after I woke up from the dream.’

‘...’

After hearing the word ‘dream’, I recalled a fading memory of mine.

I’d been fighting zombies with glowing red eyes on a rooftop in Majang-dong, trying my best not to die. But then, as the zombies with glowing red eyes retreated, I fainted, and I had this strange feeling of floating across a vast empty space. It was a distant and hazy memory, just like a dream.

During this time, I confronted the black creature and heard it whisper to me:

- Make it through. For my brother and my family.

I had no doubt that that was what it had said to me.

My expression grew serious, and I frowned. Kim Hyeong-Jun also seemed serious, and his expression took on a hint of puzzlement.

‘I think… I think I met Mr. Kwak in my dreams.’

‘...What?’