By Zephyria 
The days passed by in a blur, so busy that I hardly knew how they went by.
Ha-jin and Eden prepared to go to the institute, making horseshoe backpacks from the poncho raincoats Da-yeon had given them and torn pieces of clothing, and stripping the inner bark of oak trees to make ropes.
After his condition had recovered to some extent, he went out to the outdoor garden and did physical training with the others. The training was done in stages, from how to grip a knife to how to pierce a Zombie’s head, but Eden, judging that practice alone had its limits, brought in a Zombie in the middle, causing quite a commotion.
He might have been exhausted from the all-day training, but he never left Ha-jin alone at night. Ha-jin had to clutch his swollen neck every morning, desperately trying to stifle his moans.
Before they knew it, it was the night before they were to leave for the institute. Ha-jin was constantly on edge next to Eden, who was getting his stitches removed and disinfected. Eden gently stroked his cheek as if to soothe him, but his furrowed brow didn’t ease.
In the afternoon, he went around the botanical garden with the three siblings, setting traps in preparation for possible intruders. They had been so busy that a week had already passed since they had come here.
❖ ❖ ❖
Drip, drop…. They had left before sunrise, so they didn’t even realize it was cloudy. Hee-soo, riding behind Hee-joon on his motorcycle, couldn’t hide his discomfort at the raindrops wetting the top of his head and frowned.
“Ah, damn… it’s raining.”
“But at least there are no Zombies, so that’s good.”
Hee-soo and Hee-joon were heading to the campsite early in the morning. Their goal was to retrieve a large amount of food they had hidden near the campsite.
Eden and Ha-jin were said to be leaving today, so they were planning to treat them to a hearty breakfast as a token of their gratitude. They were grateful for helping them settle safely in the botanical garden and for embracing Hee-sung with an open mind, so they had been thinking of expressing their gratitude someday. It was also a good time since the botanical garden was running out of food.
Hee-soo buried his face in Hee-joon’s back to avoid the rain hitting his forehead and complained.
“Those bastards shouldn’t have searched the food storage.”
“Who? The guys who burned down the campsite? Unless they’re dogs, they wouldn’t have found it.”
The bike illuminated the dark dawn road and rushed towards the campsite. Soon, the two arrived nearby, hid the motorcycle in a nearby thicket, and moved on foot.
With empty backpacks slung over their shoulders, they calmly set off. Stopping near the food storage, they began to dig up the steel cabinet buried deep in the ground.
Because of the rain, sweat was pouring down their faces in the murderous humidity, even though it was dawn. Finally, they found the cabinet and packed the food neatly into the backpacks they had prepared. While they were busy working, they heard people talking somewhere.
At the same time, Hee-soo and Hee-joon exchanged glances and hurriedly shoved the box into the ground. They roughly covered it with dirt and leaves and left the spot. Hiding in the nearest thicket, they pricked up their ears in the direction of the sound.
“…So, I have to go to some place I don’t even know from this early in the morning….”
“How many times have we struck out already? If he’s going to go, he should go himself.”
“So, is that the only place left?”
Two rough-looking men with long scars on their necks and faces were passing by, saying things they couldn’t understand. Hee-soo instinctively knew that these two men were related to the bastards who had burned down the campsite.
As expected, the two men turned towards the campsite. Hee-soo, who had been watching quietly, stood up.
“Where are you going?”
Hee-joon quickly grabbed Hee-soo’s wrist.
“Damn it, I feel like I won’t be satisfied unless I get revenge.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I brought an Improvised Explosive. Let’s blow it up and go.”
Hee-soo handed the food to Hee-joon, who asked if he was serious, and began to pack the Improvised Explosive, saying,
“You take the bike and come this way. I’ll blow it up and come right back to get on.”
“No, Lee Hee-soo!”
“Those bastards killed our family. Did you forget? I heard they hit them in the head with a nail-studded club…!”
Hee-soo’s eyes quickly turned red as he thought of the brutally murdered couple. Hee-joon, who had been trying to stop him for a while, reluctantly nodded, and Hee-soo immediately left the spot.
Hee-soo hid at the back gate of the campsite and checked for movement. He saw the floor blackened by fire and the melted tents. After confirming that no one was staying nearby, he turned into the forest. Reaching the front gate, Hee-soo pressed himself against the wall of the welcome center and watched the situation.
Unlike the quiet back gate, the front gate, where the trailers were gathered, was rather noisy. Hee-soo glanced up at the sky. The morning sun was gradually shining through the drizzling sky.
‘Let’s kill them all.’
Just as he had made up his mind and was about to take out the Improvised Explosive from his pocket, he heard someone walking this way. Hee-soo quickly hid in the bathroom right in front of him. He squeezed himself into the innermost stall and fiddled with the bomb, holding his breath.
“Did we strike out again today?”
“There’s nothing there. They say it’s just swarming with Zombies.”
Hee-soo, who was hiding, peeked out and looked at the faces of the two men talking. He saw one man, who had pulled up his pants, take out a yellow memo from his pocket.
“It’s an institute, but I have no idea what kind of institute it is….”
Long hair, who was holding the memo, narrowed his brow as if he found it strange. The other guy standing next to him shook his head and muttered.
“Educational Research Institute, Economic Research Institute, Asian Culture Research Institute… Where else have we been? Seowo Construction Research Institute. Ha, we’ve been to so many places. Haven’t we been to all the places we can go?”
“There’s still one place left.”
“Where?”
“Minsu says he knows a place. It’s called Yongwoon Institute, and it’s the company his cousin Hyung used to work for. What was it? Evolution Tech?”
Hee-soo’s eyes widened as he listened to the men’s conversation. ‘Evolution Tech’ was the company name written on the Employee ID that Eden carried around like a talisman. He remembered tilting his head, wondering why he was carrying around a card with someone else’s face on it.
The card he was carrying was definitely an Employee ID from Evolution Tech. Could this really be a coincidence?
Hee-soo stared intently at the memo the men were holding and bit his lip. He had a bad feeling about this. He had only intended to blow up the bomb and get out, but he swallowed a sigh and closed his eyes.
‘Damn it… nothing’s working out.’
The men continued to chat outside the bathroom for a long time. Judging from their conversation, it was estimated that there were quite a few bastards staying here. One bomb wasn’t going to be enough. If he messed things up carelessly, he could get caught and put the botanical garden in danger.
Hee-soo gave up on immediate revenge and let out an anxious breath. He felt like he had to go back to the botanical garden quickly and tell Eden and Ha-jin about this.
After a long time, he finally left the bathroom and quickly got on Hee-joon’s bike, which was waiting for him.
“What? What about the bomb?”
“That’s not the problem, let’s go to the botanical garden first.”
Hee-soo swept back his rain-soaked bangs and explained what he had seen and heard. Only then did Hee-joon realize the seriousness of the situation and increased the speed of the bike.
❖ ❖ ❖
People gathered around Ha-jin and Eden, who were packing their bags with light hearts. Take this, take that. They took out bottled water and various foods, adding them to their bags.
The backpacks were so full that they looked like they were about to burst. When they inserted weapons into the belts they had made in advance, their bodies became even heavier.
In the end, the two of them packed only the small amount of luggage that was essential for survival and moved to the entrance with Pie.
“Did you pack the map?”
“I’ve memorized it anyway, so Jeong Tae-geon Hyung has it.”
Ha-jin handed him the map he had stuck in his pocket. It was the ‘Yongun City Tourist Map’ that was on display in the lobby. It was also a handmade map that had been newly created with the help of a counselor who had saved an offline map on his phone.
It was about 28km from the botanical garden to the institute, and even if they only used the walking path, it would take well over six hours. Of course, if they went around the road to avoid Zombies, the time could double.
That was why the two of them had hurried to prepare to leave early in the morning. Even if they arrived at the institute quickly, it would be early evening. Moreover, it was drizzling, so there was no reason to delay any longer.
“Thank you so much for everything.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, we’re the ones who are really grateful.”
“Take care of your health. If things don’t work out, you should come back anytime.”
Ha-jin and Eden shook hands with the people and said their final goodbyes. Hee-sung, who had been crying sadly since they started packing, limped over with his splinted foot and hugged Ha-jin tightly.
Ha-jin stroked his trembling back and bit his lip to keep from crying. Strangely, the moment he hugged Hee-sung, he felt like he was facing his second farewell with Jun-seok.