Chapter 38

The Empty Supermarkets (2)

A dark space without a single light…Within it.

“Mmph.”

A young voice echoed.

“Shh. Su-hyeok. Be quiet.”

“Mm, mmh. Sorry, sis.”

Another voice spoke up to caution him.

The owner of that voice. Suyeon looked at her younger brother, Su-hyeok, and thought, ‘Seriously… even making a sound when answering is dangerous.’

Irritation welled up without her realizing. But when she saw her brother quickly suppressing his voice again, her thoughts changed.

From irritation to self-reproach.

‘Snapping at my own little brother. What am I even doing?’

Even if stress had piled up, she shouldn’t have done that. She regretted it, but couldn’t bring herself to say sorry.

Making any sound was dangerous. It might seem like nothing, just a trivial conversation. But she had seen with her own eyes people who died for thinking that way.

Monsters that one day appeared and began killing people. Among them, there were many that were sensitive to sound.

* * *

In the darkness where only silence flowed again.

Swoosh!

She felt the presence of something being held out in front of her.

‘He’s done eating.’

A signal that her brother had finished his meal.

The remaining food was being handed over to her. She reached out and took the can her brother passed to her.

Carefully extending her hand, she took out the contents and brought them to her mouth.

‘Mmgh.’

A wave of nausea surged up instantly…To the point that it felt admirable that her brother had endured it.

Gulp!

She somehow swallowed and forced it down her throat.

Small tears welled up in her eyes.

‘It tastes awful…’

The food the siblings were eating was not normal food…But pet food. Some of it might even be more expensive than food for humans. But fundamentally, it wasn’t made for people.

In a time when society was still functioning normally, she would never have touched it.

Taste aside, the real problem was health. Since it wasn’t food meant for humans, there was no telling what kind of illness it might cause.

‘Right now, I’m just glad we even have pet food.’

As she continued to eat somehow.

She recalled something from the past. The time when the group she and her brother belonged to raided a supermarket.

— “My bag’s full. I don’t think I can carry any more.”

After barely dealing with all the zombies inside the mart. She and the group decided to take as many supplies as possible.

— “These look like we could eat them. What a waste.”

— “Huh? Ajusshi, you mean this pet food?”

— “What’s wrong with pet food? These days they say people can eat it too.”

— “Well, I mean. That’s just how people say it…”

The problem was when it became impossible to carry any more. Even though they were already at their limit, one man became fixated on the pet food.

After a brief argument.

— “Enough! Enough! Staying here any longer is more dangerous.”

The woman who was the group’s leader stepped in.

— “Still. We might end up gnawing on tree bark. Leaving all this behind is such a waste.”

— “Then how about this? We can’t carry it right now anyway, so let’s hide it somewhere nearby.”

— “If that’s the case… I’m in favor.”

— “So when we come back around here later, we can take it. Hmm. That’s not bad.”

And so, the pet food they had hidden out of sight in the corner of this storage room. That was why she and her brother hadn’t starved to death. But recalling the past, only made her mood sink further.

— “Auntie Sun… Brother Cheol…”

The people who had protected her and her brother, all of them were good people. But the only ones who survived were her and her brother.

— “Run, Suyeon.”

— “A-Ajusshi! But…”

— “No arguing, go!”

Sniff…!

— “Ah.”

Startled by the sob that slipped out without her realizing. She held her breath to avoid making any sound.

‘That’s in the past. If I dwell on the past and make the present dangerous, that’s worse.’

Suyeon wiped her tears lightly and steeled herself. No matter what happened to those who died. What mattered was that she and her brother were alive.

She had to focus on that.

The problem was, this situation wouldn’t last long either.

‘There isn’t much of this food left. When this runs out too…’

A brief imagination.

Her expression darkened instantly.

After the siblings holed themselves up inside this storage room. What she feared the most wasn’t the pitch-black darkness with not a single ray of light, or the rotting zombie corpses in the corner.

‘The small sounds you hear when you’re holding your breath.’

The faint sounds coming from outside.

Most of them were not human. A dragging sound, as if something were being dragged along.

Heavy, inhuman groans that could never come from human vocal cords. Footsteps so heavy it felt like an elephant might be passing by.

‘Monsters.’

Every time she heard those sounds. She imagined the day they would have to leave this hiding place and trembled in fear.

‘The people who protected us are gone now.’

Feeling the warmth of her brother, who seemed to have fallen asleep after eating.

She thought, ‘Can Su-hyeok and I really survive? Just the two of us.’

When they were part of a survivor group, it was different.

The adults who led the group made the hard decisions. Even if she and her brother had to endure hardship together. Having adults around was reassuring in its own way. But now that she had watched all of them die with her own eyes. All that remained was her still-young little brother.

And a single fire axe with a cold grip. She had no confidence in surviving this world.

When even the remaining food ran out. Whether she liked it or not, she and her brother would have to go out into the world.

There would be nothing waiting for them but a painful death at the hands of monsters.

‘…If we’re going to die so painfully anyway. Then maybe.’

She gently traced the handle of the axe. The fire axe she had clutched when escaping the apartment. It was still stained with zombie blood from when they reclaimed the mart.

She slowly brought the blade toward her wrist. She could feel her heartbeat quickening.

If she brought it down, with no proper medical tools in sight…She could die for sure.

‘Stop it.’

After a brief moment of hesitation, she set the axe down on the floor.

If she had been alone, she might have chosen a painless way out.

‘Su-hyeok is with me.’

Her brother was with her. She hadn’t failed to consider dying together. But she couldn’t bring herself to cut her brother’s throat with her own hands.

‘…Even if the worst comes.’

Instead, she hardened her resolve.

‘At least protect Su-hyeok.’

Just like the other adults had died protecting them.

As she was steadying her heart with that resolve.

…Creeeak!

From outside, a sound came.

‘Something came into the mart…?’

Thud! Thud!

‘…’

‘…’

Many footsteps which had faint sounds.

‘It sounds like voices too…’

But the sounds were too small to make out.

If they were normal humans, they wouldn’t be talking in such low voices. She suppressed her breathing as much as possible.

She could feel that her brother, now awake, was holding his breath too.

This wasn’t the first time. But until now, everyone had passed by without incident.

‘If we just endure quietly this time too.’

Then, perhaps because his position was slightly uncomfortable. Her brother shifted his body just a little.

Rustle!

A sound even smaller than whispered murmurs. She thought this much wouldn’t be a problem.

Thunk!

‘…Huh?’

The small sounds coming from the mart.

The footsteps, the faint voices. All of them vanished in an instant right after her brother shifted.

She realized it immediately.

‘A sound-sensitive monster…!’

They had been so careful, so cautious.

But still, to react to something as small as the brushing of clothes.

Thud!

Thud!

The sounds that had all stopped at once began again.

Footsteps…Unlike before, when they wandered without any pattern.

The footsteps this time had a rhythm.

‘It’s getting closer.’

It hadn’t even been long since she had steeled herself for the worst.

‘And that worst case… came way too fast.’

Cursing inwardly, she lifted her body. And gripped the fire axe with both hands. Even if the worst came, she would protect her brother.

A decision made not long ago, and because of that, her will to carry it out was still strong.

The time to act came quickly. She stared fixedly at the door. The moment it opened, she would bring the axe down.

Boooom!

Instead of opening, the door shattered into pieces. If it could smash through the door, then it was a monster she had no chance of beating.

But she had no time to think that far. She reflexively swung the axe at the shape before her eyes.

Slice!

The axe was cut cleanly in half, handle and all.

Just as despair was about to take hold. She finally saw the shape in front of her clearly.

A somewhat familiar figure.

‘S-Soldier?’

But when she heard what came out of its mouth, her thoughts changed.

“Primate… human species?”

It looked like a soldier.

But human species? Primate?

Not words you’d use for another person.

‘To begin with, it came this way just from the tiny sound Su-hyeok made. No human could have hearing like that.’

The more she thought about it, the more suspicious things she noticed.

For example, the kitchen knife in its hand. If it were really a soldier, it would be holding a gun, not a kitchen knife like that, which meant…

‘A monster in human form.’

Considering how strong it was, that made sense.

She hurriedly spoke.

“P-please don’t eat my brother.”

Even if she realized it was a human-shaped monster.

The fact that she couldn’t beat it didn’t change, since it was clearly using language.

This was all she could do, maybe it had some effect. The thing’s expression twisted sharply.

* * *

‘Don’t eat them, huh.’

Normally, I would have thought, what nonsense. But…

‘Of all things, it hits a nerve.’

In my head, the method for butchering primates.

And cooking methods were etched vividly.

‘Eating.’

I’ve never once tried to actually do it.

And I probably never will.

Still, when I heard “don’t eat,” I honestly flinched. Because that butchering method in my head came to mind.

But judging by the look of it. It didn’t seem like she said that knowing what was in my head.

“Um. I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not going to eat you.”

The girl flinched, looking startled at me speaking normally.

I calmly observed her, since she registered as human on ingredient appraisal.

She wasn’t a monster, at least.

‘Middle school? Or high school?’

She didn’t look very old. A youthful face that clearly looked like a student.

She wasn’t wearing a uniform. But since the day the monsters appeared was a weekend, that made sense.

‘That aside, the boy behind her looks like he’s barely elementary school age.’

It was hard not to find it strange. A world overflowing with monsters and zombies.

Two people who looked far too fragile to be wandering around in such a world.

“Sergeant Shin?”

“What is it?”

While I was thinking that.

Other soldiers, weapons in hand, followed me into the room.

“Could these be survivors?”

“Yeah. Looks like it.”

“So the sounds we heard weren’t monsters.”

The two kids visibly flinched at the sight of the other soldiers.

Realizing my mistake, I spoke carefully. Trying my best to use the gentlest tone possible.

“You don’t have to be so scared—”

Flinch flinch!

“We’re just ordinary soldiers—”

Jerk jerk!

“…”

‘This…I might get my feelings hurt at this rate.’

“Sergeant Shin.”

Someone called out to me from behind.

It was Corporal Jeon.

“They look like kids.”

“Yeah. Looks like it.”

“From the kids’ perspective, even if we say we’re ordinary soldiers, we’re not exactly people they can feel comfortable around, are we.”

“Ah.”

I hadn’t thought of that.

‘Well. For us active-duty guys, soldiers being ordinary is normal.’

But soldiers aren’t exactly comforting figures. Adults might not think much of it since people around them or they themselves have served in the military.

But those two look pretty young. Big scary men in military uniforms holding lethal weapons. It’s not a combination that inspires comfort.

In that case…

“Squad Leader Lee Sang-ah.”

“Yes. I’m here.”

At the sound of my voice, Squad Leader Lee Sang-ah stepped forward from among the soldiers gathered outside.

“For now, you probably look the gentlest here. Try to calm them down.”

“Yes. Survivor management was originally part of my job anyway. Leave it to me.”

Since there hadn’t been any leeway yet, the awakening of other survivors had been postponed. She was the only awakened one here who was originally a survivor. She had been in the same position, and she had a relatively gentle impression. It would be easier for her to approach them than for us.

“Come here, kids.”

“…”

“It’s okay. We won’t hurt you.”

While the other soldiers and I kept our distance. She managed to bring the two siblings outside. We could only hope she calmed them down well.

“Whew…”

“I’m not great with kids.”

As Lee Sang-ah led the children away.

The remaining soldiers let out sighs of relief.

I wasn’t particularly good with kids either.

“But they didn’t feel like normal kids.”

“Pardon?”

The soldiers looked puzzled.

Come to think of it, maybe the others hadn’t noticed. The moment I stepped in through the shattered door, the axe that came down on me.

‘That swing had enough weight and force to kill someone.’

It wasn’t the kind of swing a normal kid, who had probably never even chopped firewood, would make.

For all I knew…

“She seemed used to swinging an axe with killing intent. Wouldn’t be surprised if she’s taken down a few zombies.”

“I thought the same.”

Minjae backed me up.

“Earlier, Gwang-il said they might just be scared of soldiers, right? But I think it’s a little different. It wasn’t just fear of strangers.”

He glanced toward where the kids were.

“It looked like the eyes of someone wary of an unknown enemy.”

“Could be that…Or both.”

Wary of enemies, not exactly words that suited kids who looked like they were barely in middle school.

‘This is the kind of world it is.’

Kids can’t stay kids forever, probably something like that.

It was then…

Thunk!

Roll, roll…!

My foot, moved without much thought, kicked something.

I lowered my gaze to the floor.

“This is?”

The storage room where the kids had been hiding. On the floor, there were opened cans rolling around. Small cans with their contents completely emptied.

I stretched out my foot and tilted one of them slightly.

I saw the logo printed on the can.

‘…’

A logo with three puppies smiling brightly.