Chapter 3

　　The tablet’s screen was filled with numbered requests: clear out an Infected colony, sweep a mountain of scattered Infected, even a request to serve as muscle for a shelter preparing for war. There were over a dozen jobs listed, but none of them caught my interest.

　　“Which of these places has the most people?”

　　“Probably the one gearing up for war. Why, thinking of taking it?”

　　Even at the end of the world, there were still people obsessed with protecting their own little kingdoms. I called them idiots, but most people called them leaders.

　　“Too much trouble. I’d rather just fight an Infected. I’ll decide later. I need to do a weapons check and get more ammo first.”

　　“How long do you think that’ll take?” Yongcheol asked in his gravelly voice.

　　“Who knows?”

　　“Hey, come on! Give me a real answer! I need to give them a timeline!”

　　“Well, look at you.” A smirk pulled at my lips. “An informant giving orders now? You’ve gotten bold, Yongcheol.”

　　“No! That’s not it! I can’t just tell them you don’t know! These clients are waiting! Can’t you see the numbers on that screen? That’s money, Ahyeon, money!”

　　Since the world ended, new professions had sprung up. One of them was mine: mercenary. I handled requests for pay. Unlike soldiers, who followed orders, mercenaries followed the money. That’s why people hired us for the jobs the military wouldn’t touch.

　　“I knew I should’ve hit the gym instead of trying to be a rapper. I might not have made the national team like you, but at least I’d be more useful in this world.”

　　I let out a dry laugh as he brought up my past on the national shooting team.

　　“Yongcheol, they don’t teach you how to use a sniper rifle in the shooting federation. Everything I know now, I learned in the army. Something you wouldn’t know about, you draft-dodging punk.”

　　“Hey! That’s not fair! I was about to enlist when all this shit went down! What was I supposed to do?”

　　I jabbed his arm with my elbow and chuckled as he contorted his face in frustration.

　　The truth was, I was one of the most expensive mercenaries out there, partly because I never shied away from dangerous work, and partly because of my past as a national sharpshooter. Add to that my strange stint as a soldier, and it was no wonder people sought me out.

　　As I mulled this over, Yongcheol spoke again.

　　“So what was your rank in the army, anyway? Non-commissioned officer or something?”

　　“Oh, look at our little civilian, knowing military terms.”

　　“Agh! Seriously!”

　　He practically vibrated with frustration, gripping the steering wheel. It was so ridiculous, I had to clutch my stomach to keep from laughing too hard.

　　“How hilarious. Teasing you is my favorite thing in the world.”

　　“It’s not funny.”

　　“Not my problem.” Still chuckling, I answered his question, “What does my rank matter? Whether I had stripes or diamonds on my collar, I’m just a deserter now.”

　　“True. A deserter who’s screwed if she gets caught.”

　　“I don’t think I’d be that screwed.”

　　In this mess of a world, I was hardly the only one. Besides, I didn’t run because I was scared of the Infected or hated the brass for abandoning us. I deserted for a reason. Because that bastard of a captain broke his promise.

　　If he had just kept his word, my brother would be right here beside me.

　　“Second Lieutenant Min. I give you my word. I will protect your brother, no matter what.”

　　“I’ve already spoken to the unit in Seoul. You don’t have to worry. You know what will happen if you abandon your post now!”

　　I never should have trusted him. I should have fought tooth and nail to get back to Seoul… The regret was a physical ache in my chest.

　　“Though if I get caught and I’m screwed anyway, I’d at least like to punch that bastard Kim Changgeon in the face—”

　　The jeep slammed to a halt just as I was imagining all the ways I could make that man suffer.

　　“Fuck! That scared me!” Yongcheol cursed, lying on the horn. The noise was dangerously loud, even for daytime.

　　“Yongcheol, what’s with the road rage? You want to draw a horde?”

　　“Some kids just jumped out in front of us!”

　　“What?”

　　I looked out the windshield and saw them—two children, sobbing their eyes out. I scanned them quickly. My brother wasn’t among them.

　　Of course he wouldn’t be. It wouldn’t be that easy.

　　I let out a hollow laugh and studied them again. Their clothes were torn and filthy, as if they’d been running through the woods for days.

　　“If they were infected, I would’ve just run them over! I stopped because I’m a nice guy! I was just startled, that’s all!” Yongcheol yelled.

　　“I get it. Now shut up, you’re scaring them.”

　　I stayed in the jeep but rolled down the window and gestured to them. They immediately started wailing louder.

　　“P-please save us! Please! You have to help us!”

* * *

　　I walked behind the children, my K2 slung over my shoulder like a second skin. Yongcheol, ever the softy, was leading the way, comforting them even though he had no idea where we were going.

　　“So, the shelter is this way?” he asked.

　　The reason the kids had jumped in front of our jeep was painfully simple. They were from a group of refugees. They’d gone out for supplies, been attacked by the Infected, and gotten separated. They knew the way back but were too scared to go alone. Their story was smooth, almost too smooth.

　　“Yes, yes! There aren’t many people, so it’s n-not much to look at, but…” the little boy answered.

　　“Not many people, but you were still short on food?” Yongcheol asked.

　　“W-well, that, and my little sister was sick. We came out to find medicine.”

　　The boy, who couldn’t have been more than ten, clutched the arm of a little girl with the same stubby nose as him.

　　“She was sick? Is she okay now?”

　　The girl hid behind her brother and nodded, clearly terrified of me.

　　Yongcheol looked at them, his face softening. They were covered in scrapes and so thin you could count their ribs. He pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket and offered it to the boy. The boy bowed his head, then immediately gave it to his sister.

　　“Look at you, taking care of your little sister.”

　　Yongcheol ruffled the boy’s hair and offered him another chocolate bar, already unwrapped. The boy glanced around cautiously before wolfing it down. He ate like a wild animal, but it wasn’t an ugly sight.

　　“In this world, kids can’t even live a proper life. Poor things. To be born in a time like this…”

　　Yongcheol trailed off, pressing his lips together.

　　Adults like me remember the world before. We knew what beauty and peace felt like. We could dream of a future that wasn’t just about survival. But these kids? What did they have? Did they even know what a dream was? They deserved at least a moment of peace, however fleeting, but even that had been stolen from them. That’s why Yongcheol’s heart went out to them, and I understood.

　　He put a hand on the boy’s shoulder, his voice thick with emotion.

　　“You just have to live well. You and your sister, be happy. Okay?”

　　The boy, who had saved half the chocolate bar in his pocket, gave a slow nod, his dry eyelids fluttering.

　　The air was thick with sentiment. It wasn’t a bad feeling, but survival was more important.

　　I raised my rifle and put my eye to the scope.

　　Bang!

　　A single gunshot shattered the moment.