Chapter 102 – Die (1)

Die (1)

[00:03:05:25]

The day was so nice.

[00:03:05:24]

To the point where it doesn’t suit me on a day like this.

[00:03:05:23]

Even at this moment, the clock is heading towards ‘0’ very steadily.

Nam Do-yoon stared blankly at the ceiling of the infirmary, where the warm sunlight lingered, with cloudy eyes.

Just-! Just-!

“… Hey-! Nam Do-yoon—!”

Sung Joon-gi’s finger suddenly pops out of his blurry vision and a cheerful notification wakes up his drowsy mind.

Nam Do-yoon finally lowered his gaze from the ceiling to the desk in the infirmary.

“… Oh, it’s Junki.”

Seong Joon-gi’s worried face comes into view again.

“… Are you okay?”

Nam Do-yoon gave a faint smile to Sung Joon-gi, who was sitting in the chair across from him.

Sung Joon-gi does not let go of his stiff face even with that picture-like line.

Ha-

Soon after, Seong Joon-gi let out a long sigh and repeated the story that Nam Do-yoon would not have heard.

“The food and supplies that were in the agricultural college. Transferred to another department has been completed.”
“… Another college?”
“… Okay. Since Hansegae knows our stronghold, I told you to disperse supplies to avoid any misfortune. It was what the kids said, but it seemed to make sense, so I told you, so you said you would do it.”

Seong Joon-gi glared at Nam Do-yoon, who still had a sense of daze, and recited in detail.

“… You don’t remember, do you?”

Nam Do-yoon laughed at his question, which was much more concerned than doubt.

“… How can you eat that?”
“Anyway—the supplies have been safely moved, and the dormitory campers will be joining us soon.”
“… What about Ms. Linnea?”
“You join, of course. Before anything happens, the first step is to unite allies.”

Sung Joon-gi looked up at the time being printed in the air and blinked.

“That way it won’t be easier to rescue the survivors in the south.”
“… Yes.”

The answer was too weak to be the day of the final battle.

Her voice sounded like a deflated balloon, and her frowning face—

“… Ha-.”

It slowly faded away with a sigh that flowed out again.

“… Are you still dodging?”

Sung Joon-gi stared at Nam Do-yoon and the time limit of the empty space alternately with sad eyes.

“It’s less than three hours left, it’s a baby. How long are you going to keep avoiding it like that?”
“… It’s just- the conversation kept repeating itself like a todol table.”

Me or white

Namdo Yoon smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“So I want to keep avoiding it until I can avoid it…”
“… Haa- Seriously, why are you twisted like this…”

Seong Joon-gi, who grumbled with a heavy sigh, gazed at Nam Do-yoon again.

“Then Kang Qingxin, what are you going to do with that person?”
“… Mr. Kang Cheong-shin.”
“Yeah, that’s like locking you in a classroom for almost five days.”

I’ve heard from the kids that they keep asking for time to talk to you.

“… Let it be.”
“You want to just leave it as it is?”
“Uh. It’s not a situation that will change just by talking to that person anyway.”

Jun-gi As you said, there are less than three hours left.

A self-deprecating smile lingered on Nam Do-yoon’s lips as he looked at the time limit for identifying friends and family.

Whether you want it or not—

“In three hours everything will be settled.”
“Okay. If you think about it, you can count on rescuing the survivors in the south in advance.”
“… Well-.”

It may be, or it may not be…

A muffled voice that continued to mutter weak words.

“Hey, Nam Do-yoon.”

In the end, Sung Joon-gi, who could not stand it this time, lowered his voice.

“Why are you doing this all of a sudden—you can’t even win a fight if you fight like that, you fucking bastard.”

Seong Joon-gi, who growled and spat out curse words, continued with the next words like a rapid-fire gun.

“I’ll take care of it myself, so where’s the bastard White told me to save first? Fuck you, you’re not trying to stand in front of Mr. Linnea and the kids with that fucking face right now, are you?”
“…”
“It’s a baby, telling you not to split it. What on earth are you making such a fucking expression on?”

Sung Joon-gi’s roar echoed through the infirmary.

Namdo Yoon, who had let out a silly laugh at that intense cry, shrugged his shoulders as he saw Seong Joon-gi, who was red-hot.

“… No, if you just think about it, it’s so ridiculous, Junki.”

“The world is ruined by zombies without any foreshadowing – and suddenly, some kind of alien-like thing sees me and wants to do something benevolent. What- are you saying that since the role you gave me is Seong-goon, be nice and do good things?”

Nam Do-yoon’s shoulders shook lightly at the constant laughter he spewed out.

“Okay. I don’t know what it is, but I did what this ghost-like guy told me to do and did a good job. I did my best and did what I thought was nice and good, Joongi.”
“…”
“But—I don’t know anymore.”

Namdo Yoon shook his head with a bitter smile.

“When I keep bumping into White and listening to what he says- I think I did something wrong…”
“…”
“By the way—no matter how much I think about it, I don’t know what I did wrong, Junki.”

Seong Joon-gi stared at Nam Do-yoon, who smiled lightly at him, and quietly shut his mouth.

Nam Do-yoon’s dejected laughter was slowly cooling his bubbling anger.

“… That’s why I’m thinking about arrogance, well…”

Nam Do-yoon looked up at the ceiling in a daze again.

“Are the things I did really good and good?”

I am now-

“Is Seong-goon right as the popular title says?”
“…”

It was a heavy topic that Sung Joon-gi could not easily answer.

“Hey—but you’re a king—fuck, I’m suddenly a knife jab.”

Damn— it’s not even the name of a local gangster.

So, Sung Joon-gi had no choice but to throw out a rather absurd joke.

“… You look good just by looking at it. Just by looking at your face, you are just a rock jab.”
“You bastard—what are you talking about with a human face?”

Nam Do-yoon accepted Sung Joon-gi’s joke and smiled mischievously.

However, before Sung Joon-gi’s grumbling was over—

“… On the contrary, I…”

Nam Do-yoon’s face blurred again.

Nam Do-yoon’s head was shaking from side to side without concluding words.

“… It’s just that every moment— I feel like a child getting my homework checked.”

Those were the first words I heard.

His grievances that Nam Do-yoon did not tell.

“…”

Seong Joon-gi quietly looked at his friend who was carrying a much heavier burden than he thought.

He stopped blinking while checking the time that was constantly decreasing and stared at the floor just like Nam Doyoon.

────────.

The infirmary is surrounded by untimely silence.

“… Do you remember?”

Nam Do-yoon slowly raised his head at Sung Joon-gi’s question, which broke the silence.

“That-what kind of carriage was it… Damn, there should be a lot of carriages in Daehangno. Anyway, I remember it as a day when we drank until dawn because of some after party.”

Took-!

Seong Joon-gi lightly tapped the floor with his foot and continued talking.

“How much the cubs have become ― how much they gossip about a cub who went to the bathroom to pee, thinking that he went home.”
“…”
“He speaks harshly to his juniors – well, he lives with swear words – whatever happens, he accepts it hot-tempered – he thinks people are of poor quality, etc. – Fuck, I still don’t even remember his name wrong.”

Took-!

He continued to bluntly tap-tap-tap his feet.

“That’s how the juniors warned you diligently—”

Sung Joon-gi, who had been sweeping the floor like that, slowly raised his head.

“Why have you been friendly with me since that day?”
“…”

A laugh naturally leaked out at Sung Joon-gi’s question.

A smile with a slightly different meaning from the one he had just smiled on Nam Doyoon’s face.

“… Rather, that kind of behavior makes people more likable.”
“…”
“It’s an image management skill I’ve been building since childhood.”
“… Fuck- that’s fucking honest.”

Pooh-!

Nam Do-yoon laughed out loud and giggled at Sung Joon-gi’s thick curse words.

“I thought I was a gay guy because he suddenly acted like a fucking friend after hearing that.”
“I was just being rude, asshole.”
“… Modest.”

And homework.

Took-!

Seong Joon-gi muttered and slammed the floor again.

“… Some people will appreciate that modesty.”

Seong Joon-gi, who consciously wore her ki and looked only down, turned upward.

“There are always people who appreciate things like homework, you idiot.”

Sung Joon-gi, whose face was severely distorted as if he was holding back a smirk, stood up from his seat trembling.

“Fuck it, so stop trembling and get your senses, bastard.”

Seong Joon-gi stared at the time limit that he had been neglecting for a while as he picked up the wooden sword that was placed on his desk.

[00:02:15:55]

“If you don’t wake up today, when will you wake up?”

Knock-knock-knock-

As soon as Sung Joon-gi’s muttering was over, a knocking sound resonated.

“… Brother, it is me.”

Seong Joon-gi stared at Nam Do-yoon at the knocking sound of Cha Ha-yan, who came today without fail.

Awesome profit!

As always, I stared at Nam Do-yoon’s eyes, who were frozen involuntarily at Cha Ha-yan’s voice, and opened the door to the infirmary instead.

Cha Ha-yan and Nam Do-yoon stare at each other through the wide open door.

“… Let’s prepare properly, Doyun-ah.”

Seong Joon-gi turned and warned Nam Do-yoon, who was frozen, and left the infirmary.

“I’ll be doing a final check, so prepare well and come out.”

The last words he gave to Ha-yan Cha, whom he met, with a light smile.

Thud- thud-

Seong Joon-gi passed out of the infirmary into the space opened by Cha Ha-yeon by gently twisting her body.

Cha Ha-yan looked at Seong Joon-gi’s back, then looked at Nam Do-yoon in the medical room.

“…”

Nam Do-yoon staring blankly at himself with trembling eyes.

Soon after, Namdo Yoon, who kept his mouth shut and promised something, slowly gestured to his desk.

“… Come in, White.”

The resumption of a conversation that had been avoided with great effort.

Cha Ha-yan did not move despite the signal of his will to end the conversation that continued to run parallel.

“… No.”

Instead, she gently shook her head towards Namdoyun.

“I’m not here to talk today, brother.”

Her smile, which had awkwardly smiled at her, slowly faded.

Looking at the creaking expression change, Cha Ha-yan showed a faint smile.

However, Nam Do-yoon’s heart thumped at the vivid bitterness he felt for the first time in that smile.

“Today-“

Thump-thump-thump-thump-

A heart that beats and beats the chest countless times with an ominous feeling that I don’t know.

Nam Do-yoon-

“I’m here to say goodbye.”

I had no choice but to stand up hastily from my seat with a white face.