By Zephyria 
Dinner consisted of a pouch of retort seaweed soup, two servings of instant rice, and two protein bars. It was a rather small amount to be shared among five healthy adults and one child, but minimizing calorie intake was necessary to preserve the food supply for as long as possible.
The group sat in a circle as if around a campfire, their eyes fixed on the burning branches. When the embers died out completely, darkness descended. Despite the somewhat meager dinner, Jeffrey patted his stomach habitually and let out a loud yawn.
Beside him, Park Chun-beom, who had been sniffing at the acrid smell of burning, cautiously spoke up.
“Um… about the Misan Ranch in Nokwang City.”
Like a grain of sand that had gotten into his sneakers, the word, which had been nagging at him since last night, popped out. It was a topic that no one had dared to bring up, as each person already had a clear destination in mind.
“Since it’s on the way to Yongun anyway, I was wondering if we should stop by. By then, we might be running out of food, and we might also hear some news… sniff, I think there’s a military unit there too.”
Park Chun-beom timidly sniffled and presented his suggestion. The surroundings instantly fell silent. After a moment of hesitation, Ha-jin replied in a careful voice.
“I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t want to delay the schedule. And it’s not exactly on the way; it’s quite a detour.”
If it were truly located on the way, there would be no reason to refuse. However, Ha-jin clearly remembered the map he had checked on the navigation system before getting out of Lee Chang-yeol’s car. Even though they would be passing through Nokwang City administratively, Misan Ranch was at least 7 km away from the highway.
Moreover, he couldn’t afford to waste precious time when his younger brother, Jun-seok, was waiting.
“Unless the situation is dire, as Do Ha-jin says, I don’t think there’s a need to visit the Ranch. Even if we go, there’s no guarantee we’ll get any meaningful information, and there must be a reason why the military unit hasn’t advanced further and is staying there. It’s likely that they don’t have any special measures either.”
Eden’s dry opinion followed. Park Chun-beom looked somewhat disappointed. Mi-so, who had meticulously braided Byeol’s disheveled hair, added her opinion last.
“Honestly, Chun-beom’s words make sense, and Ha-jin’s words about not having time also make sense… I’m a bit torn. Since we still have quite a distance to go before we get near there, should we decide then?”
Park Chun-beom seemed about to object, but then closed his mouth again. He seemed to have more to say, but he only fidgeted in his seat without continuing.
Ha-jin, who had been bothered by his demeanor, gently shook Park Chun-beom’s shoulder around 9 PM as he lay on the dry grass, preparing to sleep, and attempted to start a conversation.
“Ugh!”
Park Chun-beom, startled, looked up at Ha-jin’s face and then let out a sigh of relief.
“I, I thought you were a zombie.”
“Ah, sorry. I approached too stealthily.”
“Haha…”
Park Chun-beom, who had been patting his chest, awkwardly raised his upper body. Ha-jin picked up the broken glasses that he was groping for near his head. He held Park Chun-beom’s face still and put the glasses on him, causing his cheekbones to rise.
“Thank you. Ha-jin, you’re always so kind.”
Park Chun-beom, who smiled with his characteristic good-natured face, widened his small eyes as if he had remembered something.
“Ah, Ha-jin, are you perhaps tired? Should I switch the guard duty order?”
“No, it’s not that…”
Ha-jin, who had been sitting with his knees bent, sat down properly next to Park Chun-beom.
“About the Misan Ranch earlier. I came to apologize if you were upset.”
Park Chun-beom opened his mouth in surprise at Ha-jin’s careful words.
“Huh? Oh, no, not at all. Oh my, you were worried about that? You didn’t have to be.”
Park Chun-beom shook his head, flustered. Ha-jin looked at Park Chun-beom’s pitiful crown, which seemed to be developing alopecia areata, and then cast his gaze beyond the broken glasses. Eyes the size of soy beans were blinking like the slow minute hand.
“Do you perhaps have another reason for wanting to go to Misan Ranch? It seemed like you had more to say, but you couldn’t because of the atmosphere.”
Park Chun-beom’s gentle eyes wavered at Ha-jin’s unexpected consideration. He pushed up the glasses that had slipped down his nose and nodded passively.
“Well, it’s… it’s nothing special. ahem, it’s because of my parents. To be honest, most neighborhoods must have been devastated… Even if I find both of them, I feel a bit lost when I think about what comes next. My parents are old, so I don’t think I can handle this whole situation alone.”
Ha-jin listened to Park Chun-beom’s words with a serious expression. Park Chun-beom roughly wiped the sweat that had formed on his nose with the back of his hand and continued.
“Since we’re passing by anyway, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to check if it’s a safe place. Call it insurance. I thought it would be a pretty good place to take my parents to later… Sorry. I was too selfish, wasn’t I?”
His voice trembled like a goat’s, as if he was nervous. His kind nature, which constantly scrutinized himself even as he spoke, caused a gentle ripple in Ha-jin’s heart.
Park Chun-beom was someone who had been constantly trying not to be a nuisance while they were going through the rough road together. He was more timid and fearful than Ha-jin, who was already fearful, but he was also a courageous man who endured his retching and raised his axe to the front when zombies rushed at them.
Perhaps that was why he was more concerned. Ha-jin was particularly vulnerable to kind people who couldn’t even take care of their own interests and wanted to consider others first.
Moreover, Park Chun-beom’s words made sense. Life after finding his family. After finding his younger brother Jun-seok, he hadn’t had the luxury to consider where they should take refuge and live, so Ha-jin couldn’t help but think again about the safety of Misan Ranch.
Ha-jin, who had stretched once and was listening to the sound of the water, replied in a deliberately bright voice.
“Come to think of it, I need to have a place to go after I find my brother too. It’s not easy to find a place where safety is guaranteed.”
Park Chun-beom’s head, which had been facing the ground like a child waiting to be punished, snapped up. Ha-jin looked at his bean-like eyes, which shone brightly even in the darkness, and whispered.
“As I recall, Misan Ranch was near Jeongmang Mountain. Our route may vary depending on the situation, so I can’t be sure, but if we end up going over Jeongmang Mountain, it might not be bad to detour to Misan Ranch for a bit. Of course, we’ll have to skip it if we take the road or if it delays us further.”
“W, well… I’d be very happy, but would Director Eden allow it?”
“We’ll try to appeal to him when the time comes, I guess.”
Park Chun-beom’s chest swelled greatly at his nonchalant words.
“I don’t know how fortunate I am to have Ha-jin with us.”
He said in an emotional tone and hugged Ha-jin tightly! Ha-jin, whose upper body was awkwardly grabbed, let out an awkward laugh.
“Oh my, yes, I’m glad to have Chun-beom with us too.”
At that moment, he made eye contact with Eden, who had returned from patrolling nearby. In fact, he couldn’t see well because the visibility was poor, but he somehow felt that way. He shook his head and left the spot, watching the two men who were suddenly clinging to each other in the darkness, wondering what he was thinking.
Ha-jin, who had become embarrassed for no reason, detached Park Chun-beom’s warm body and scratched the back of his head.
“Anyway, don’t be too disappointed even if we can’t stop by Misan Ranch.”
“Oh, disappointed? How could I be? I’m grateful that you’re concerned.”
Park Chun-beom, who was excited by the kindness he had received after a long time, grabbed Ha-jin, who was about to return to his spot, and started rambling.
“…So, even though I told Jeffrey not to tease me, he keeps calling me Tune. Even Byeol now calls me Tune… Oh, right, Ha-jin, you called me Tune when you woke me up the other day.”
Park Chun-beom puffed out his cheeks as if he didn’t like the nickname.
Ha-jin was hugging his knees and looking at the waning crescent moon reflected in the water. On the night the zombie outbreak occurred, the moon beyond the window in the warehouse was a half-moon with the right side swollen, but now the opposite half was swollen. As he realized the passage of time by the shape of the moon, a slow sigh escaped.
“What exactly does Tune mean again?”
“My company developed a new wireless technology, and its name is Tune. Jeffrey says it’s easy to pronounce, so he just calls me Tune.”
Hmm. Ha-jin, who had put his chin on his knees, turned his head to look at Park Chun-beom in that position.
“But what exactly is a CTO? I saw you calling him Director Eden sometimes and Managing Director sometimes.”
Ha-jin casually threw out the question he hadn’t been able to resolve earlier, since the topic had come up. Of course, only from the perspective of ‘camaraderie’.
Park Chun-beom seemed to be excited when the story of his superior came up.
“I’m not used to calling him CTO, so I just call him Director or Managing Director. Well, you can think of Director Eden as the head of Blue Works’ aerospace industry division. He’s involved in management to some extent, but since he’s an engineer, he’s in charge of the technical side. But he’s also good at business, so he’s dragged around as the face of the company. He’s so handsome, after all.”
Ha-jin, who had never had a normal office life, felt like Park Chun-beom’s words were like alien language that he couldn’t decipher. Because he had only been digging into magic like a stubborn person, there were times when he felt that he was lacking in common sense.
“So… um, he’s the best in the field of making things like airplanes? Is that right?”
“Haha. Yes. That’s right. Director Eden is really amazing. Most people working in the defense industry in Korea have Jeong Tae-geon as their role model. The interviewees’ usual line is all ‘I want to be like Eden Jeong, CTO’. He’s a legend in this industry.”
He had roughly guessed, but it seemed that he was a more influential figure than he had thought. Ha-jin, who was recalling his arrogant and nonchalant atmosphere, snorted for no reason.
Park Chun-beom looked at the sky and boasted.
“So, when I was assigned as his temporary secretary when Director Eden came to Korea, everyone was jealous. I’m really glad I learned English. Ah, of course, there weren’t many times when I had to interpret for him. He’s a bit scary, but I learned a lot while working with him, and…”
“Aren’t you upset?”
“Yes?”
“For following Jeong Tae-geon and ending up at my magic show. If it weren’t for that, you wouldn’t have had to go through so much trouble.”
Ha-jin spat out the words as if all of this was Jeong Tae-geon’s fault, but in fact, the arrow was aimed at himself.
Apart from Jeong Tae-geon’s consolation, it was because the desire to be confirmed by someone that all of this had nothing to do with him and to be forgiven still remained. It was a trivial and childish fragment of emotion.
But Park Chun-beom, who had received the question, looked somewhat dumbfounded, as if it was nonsense.
“Following Director Eden to Sangwon City was naturally what I had to do, and Ha-jin holding a magic show was naturally what Ha-jin had to do. I don’t understand why that’s someone else’s fault.”
As Park Chun-beom continued to speak in a gentle voice, Ha-jin’s nape became hot with embarrassment. Park Chun-beom scratched his left cheek as if he was shy and added.
“Besides, when you think about it, I’m a lucky guy. It’s because everyone is so capable. Director Eden, Ha-jin, Jeffrey, and Mi-so too…”
“If you’re done talking, get up.”
The conversation, which had been continuing in a touching atmosphere, was suddenly doused with cold water. Ha-jin, whose upper body leaned back in surprise, and Park Chun-beom, who was horrified and covered his mouth, raised their heads. Eden, who was somewhat disheveled, was standing behind them, breathing heavily.
He could feel the heat from his breath. The moment Ha-jin, who had sensed something ominous, reached out his hand towards Eden, an unbelievable sentence popped out of his mouth.
“Zombies are coming.”