BOW Chapter 4 (Part 2)
by BrieSuhyeong didn’t answer. He simply gave a faint smile, then pulled something from his pocket. A wallet. Jiyeon blinked, wondering what he was doing.
“Since we got to rest here for a day, we should leave a travel fee.”
Taking a few bills from the wallet, he placed them gently between the elderly couple’s hands. So that was what he meant by settling accounts.
“……”
“……”
As Suhyeong bowed his head in brief silence, Jiyeon also lowered his head. Their choice had been tragic, but thanks to them, everyone had spent a safe and quiet day.
After a short moment of respect, the two left the room and returned to the living room. The dim dawn light coming through the veranda window had grown a little brighter.
Morning was coming to the city once again.
Before leaving the supermarket, the five of them gathered the essentials: cup ramen and packet ramen, jerky, compact chocolates, bottled water, whatever food they would need immediately. They would have liked to take everything, but the heavier the load, the harder it would be to fight mutants. Since they had no means of transportation, they needed to travel as lightly as possible.
“Wow. Amazing. It’s like a total winter kingdom.”
Joohee, who stepped outside first, exhaled a puff of white breath as she pressed her foot into the snow piled at the entrance. With no snow removal done, the entire city was blanketed in white.
The ten-lane road and the sidewalks were buried so deeply that it was impossible to tell where the road ended and the sidewalk began. At what should have been the busiest time of morning rush hour, the city was instead wrapped in a pristine silence, as if they had wandered into another world. The only proof that people had been here just days ago were the cars abandoned on the road.
The one comforting thing was that the sky, gloomy just yesterday, was now brilliantly clear. The air was so clean and crisp that it almost stung their lungs. Taking a deep breath, Sunghwa spoke.
“Today’s weather is really nice.”
“They say even beggars wash their laundry the day after it snows.”
Jiyeon, molding a palm-sized snowman from the snow on a planter, answered her. Sunghwa tilted her head, as if hearing the saying for the first time.
“There’s a saying like that?”
“Yes. It means the day after a snowfall is usually bright and warm, so even beggars, who rarely wash their clothes, would do laundry on a day like this.”
“I didn’t know that. That’s funny.”
She laughed lightly. In the office, she only ever said stiff things like “Let’s get back to work, Joohee,” or “Assistant manager, please check the file,” so hearing her laugh like this was a first. Seeing it, Jiyeon ended up smiling faintly too. If everyone around him had been discouraged and negative, he would have felt much worse, but thankfully Sunghwa, and the others, were holding up. They were unknowingly supporting each other’s mental state.
Walking along the snowy street, Jiyeon found himself small-talking with her for the first time. As a person, not “Planning Team Senior Choi Sunghwa”, she was warmer and friendlier than he expected.
“I was actually thinking of changing jobs. That bastard Manager Park, he stressed me out over the smallest things. Speaking of, I wonder what that old geezer’s doing right now.”
“……”
“He didn’t come to work on the first day of all this, so I guess he’s alive. Lucky him.”
“Ah, Sunghwa. About Manager Park…”
The mention of Manager Park made Jiyeon tense, and he was about to speak about what happened to him when something flew through the air and burst against his back with a thud.
“Wah!”
Startled, Jiyeon let out a ridiculous shriek and whirled around. Standing in the direction the snowball came from was Suhyeong, waving with another snowball in hand.
Their eyes met, and he grinned. Then he took a pitcher’s stance, like a pro baseball player on the mound, and threw.
“Eek!”
“Ah! What are you doing?!”
The snowball whizzed perfectly through the tiny gap between Jiyeon and Sunghwa.
“Why are you two having fun without me? Let me join.”
Dusting snow from his hands, he strode toward them with a pouty tone.
“What were you talking about?”
“About our team’s Manager Park. He didn’t come to work that first day.”
“Ah. Then he’s probably fine.”
“……”
He answered with a bored expression. Jiyeon stared quietly at him, the man who had killed Manager Park with him, and had even personally slit his throat. Unlike Jiyeon, whose heart still dropped and palms sweated whenever Park was mentioned, Suhyeong looked completely unaffected.
At first, that indifference had unnerved Jiyeon. Now, thinking about how much he must have gone through to become that numb, Jiyeon only felt sorry for him.
“Oh…!”
Up ahead, Hyungseok, walking beside Joohee, let out a soft gasp and stopped. The three behind him halted as well.
“There are footprints here.”
He pointed seriously at the ground. As he said, numerous footprints were stamped into the snowy path.
“Mutants… maybe?”
“Could be humans.”
Uncertain whether the tracks belonged to mutants or people, tension spread across everyone’s faces.
“For now, let’s move as cautiously as possible. Avoid alleys and narrow streets, stick to the main road.”
“Yes.”
Gripping their weapons tightly, they scanned their surroundings. They heard no groans typical of mutants, but that didn’t mean they could relax. Unlike their office’s confined interior, the open outdoors was filled with unpredictable dangers, mutants could jump out from anywhere.
According to Suhyeong, survival was a battle against one’s own endurance. So instead of forcing their way through mutant-occupied paths, they decided to move slowly, stopping at safe spots along the way to rest.
After leaving the entertainment district, the five began searching for a place to stay before sunset. They needed somewhere with an entrance strong enough that it wouldn’t break under brute force. Glass doors were too easy to shatter, and worse, mutants could see inside. But the problem was that they weren’t in a residential area. Almost all buildings around them had full glass storefronts.
“Kyaaah!”
Checking the shops along the street, Joohee suddenly let out a sharp scream. The others, who had been spread out within a short distance, ran to her immediately.
“What happened?!”
“O-over there…”
Face pale, she squeezed her eyes shut and trembled. Jiyeon followed her pointing finger, and his expression twisted instantly.
“Grrr… grrk… grrr.”
“Ggh… krrk…”
More than a dozen mutants lay stacked on the asphalt like a grisly tower, their faces and heads crushed beyond recognition. The pile rose nearly a meter high, like a series of grotesque meat patties in an oversized homemade burger.
“Grr… uu… urk.”
“Kh… hrk.”
Their heads had been smashed, so they were no longer capable of real movement, but some of the fresher ones at the top twitched weakly, limbs scraping at the air. Blood and brain matter had melted the surrounding snow into slush, pooling into dark puddles. The metallic stench was overwhelming.
The brutal scene left Jiyeon speechless.
“This… this was done by a person, right?”
Shielding the trembling Joohee behind him, Hyungseok spoke. At his question, Suhyeong nodded with a grave expression.
“Yes. It looks like someone arranged this deliberately.”
“Why would anyone do something like this… It’s horrible.”
Unable to keep looking at what resembled a deliberate mutant hunt on display, Sunghwa turned her head away. Seeing how shaken everyone was, Suhyeong let out a quiet sigh.
“The truth is, sometimes people are scarier than mutants.”
Passing the place where the mutants were grotesquely piled, they began walking again. The atmosphere, cheerful just a short while ago, had sunk completely. No one spoke as they walked. Only the crunch of snow under their feet filled the lonely silence.
They hadn’t walked very far, yet everyone already looked exhausted, likely because of the horrific scene they had just witnessed. It couldn’t be helped. Except for Suhyeong, the others had lived only in White Zones, places where mutants weren’t part of daily life.
Now that they were in a situation where a mutant could appear at any time or from anywhere, the strain on both their bodies and their minds was immense. They were ordinary office workers walking endlessly through a snow-covered city; of course they would tire quickly. To make matters worse, the sun was beginning to set. Wherever it might be, they needed to find a place to rest as soon as possible.
After who knew how long, something entered Jiyeon’s view, a small building peeking out from behind a sixteen-story commercial complex.
“Team Leader……”
Stopping in place, Jiyeon carefully studied the building, then called softly to Suhyeong.
“Hm?”
Hearing his voice, Suhyeong, walking a few steps ahead, turned around. When Jiyeon met the gentle gaze aimed at him, he gave an awkward smile and pointed toward what he had found.
“Well… how about resting there for today?”
Following the direction of his finger, Suhyeong’s eyes shifted.
“That’s just a shopping building. Not good. Mutants could get in too easily.”
“No, not that. The one behind it.”
“Behind?”
At Jiyeon’s words, Suhyeong checked the building hidden behind the complex. His eyes widened in disbelief.
“A motel? You’re asking me to go to a motel with you right now?”
“W-wait! I didn’t mean it like that!”
Jiyeon waved his hands frantically, startled by the implication. It was a motel he had pointed to. If it was empty of mutants, it was an enclosed, relatively safe place where they could rest. He had suggested it with that in mind, nothing more.
“What do you mean ‘not like that’? Were you talking about some other building?”
“What? No, yes, well, I was saying a motel, but not… not in the way you’re thinking, I mean… I just… ugh!”
Flustered, face bright red like a beet, Jiyeon rambled helplessly, until his eyes met Suhyeong’s. Seeing that barely concealed grin, Jiyeon bit his lip and shut his mouth. Only then did he realize he had panicked on his own.
“…I just meant we could rest there today. With the others. All together.”
“I know. I was only teasing you.”
“……”
As Suhyeong chuckled at his embarrassment, Jiyeon lowered his head and kicked at the snow for no reason. If there were a mouse hole nearby, he would have gladly crawled into it.
“Everyone, come over here.”
Suhyeong called the other employees together and told them about resting at the motel tonight.
“Do you think it’s safe inside?”
At his explanation, Sunghwa asked anxiously. Instead of giving a direct answer, Suhyeong posed a question of his own.
“The outbreak started spreading in earnest around noon, right?”
“Oh…”
“Well, even if there are mutants inside, there shouldn’t be many. I’ll take care of them.”
He didn’t explain further, yet Sunghwa nodded as if satisfied. Most customers who visited motels were couples, and noon on a weekday was not exactly an ideal time for such activities. In other words, the motel was likely to be mostly empty. And if someone was inside, they were more likely to be survivors than mutants.
“Does anyone have a different opinion?”
He checked with the group one last time.
“I’m fine with it.”
“Same here.”
“At this point, anywhere I can sit is fine.”
And so, by unanimous agreement, tonight’s lodging was decided.
“All right, let’s go. Jiyeon, your beloved motel awaits.”
“Please stop teasing me.”
Face red down to the nape, Jiyeon finally raised his head and shot him a glare. Laughing, Suhyeong walked ahead.
How did I ever put up with that personality before?
Grumbling inwardly, Jiyeon ended up laughing at how much more relaxed he felt around him now. He stepped on the footprints Suhyeong left ahead of him.
A beige wall with a sign reading “Grand Hotel” came into view. Inside the lot stood a five-story building. With its arched windows and pediment decorations along the exterior, it resembled something one might see in Western Europe.
“Looks like it was built recently. The outside is so clean. I bet the inside is too.”
Satisfied by the neat exterior, Joohee let out a relieved breath.
“All the front doors are locked.”
“The back door too! What do we do?”
While Joohee examined the exterior, Hyungseok and Jiyeon checked the entrances and now reported to Suhyeong with troubled expressions.
“Then we’ll just have to use another entrance.”
“Another entrance?”
Jiyeon tilted his head. There were only two ways inside, the front door and the back door.
“Hold this for a second.”
Passing his backpack to Jiyeon, Suhyeong dusted off his palms and walked right up to the building. Gripping a molding that jutted slightly from the exterior wall, he gave a soft kiai and leapt upward in one powerful motion.
“Team Leader? What are you doing?!”
Seeing him suddenly cling to the wall like that made Sunghwa’s eyes widen. The others were just as stunned. None of them had imagined he would literally climb the building.
“Ugh.”
Suhyeong barely managed to catch the second-floor window frame, letting out a strained sound. Everyone below held their breath, staring up at his precarious position.
“B-be careful!”
Wearing a face full of worry, Jiyeon shouted up at him. Hearing that, Suhyeong glanced down and gave him a playful wink. It seemed he meant to ease Jiyeon’s concern, but unfortunately, Joohee saw it too.
“What was that? Did Team Leader Yoon just wink? Out of nowhere?”
“N-no, no way. You probably saw wrong, Joohee……”
Flustered by her reaction, Jiyeon frantically waved his hands. Meanwhile, Suhyeong was pulling himself up with nothing but the strength of his arms, just like doing a pull-up on a bar. After some tense moments, he finally hauled himself fully onto the window frame. And just as the employees below let out a sigh of relief, he drove his elbow into the glass. With a sharp, violent crack, the window shattered.
“Everyone wait by the back door. I’ll go down and open it.”
Leaving those words behind, he slipped into the broken window.
“I don’t know Team Leader Yoon that well, but… he seems really different from how I pictured him.”
“Different?”
As they moved toward the back door, Sunghwa, walking beside Jiyeon, spoke. Jiyeon tilted his head.
“Hm. How do I put it? He was always nice and polite before, but somehow hard to approach. But now… he feels more relaxed, cheerful, approachable.”
At her words, Jiyeon nodded. He understood exactly what she meant. The version of Suhyeong everyone saw at work had been a polite mask, a shell of “a kind, good person.” But after the mutant outbreak, he’d shed that shell and shown his true self, and it seemed even Sunghwa had noticed.
“Oh, I don’t mean that as gossip! I just meant I like this unexpected side of him.”
“Yeah. I… like it too.”
Agreeing with her, Jiyeon scratched his cheek awkwardly. Just then, they reached the back door.
“Aaagh!”
“Joohee!”
At the very back of the group, Joohee suddenly screamed. A mutant, crawling out from under a car in the motel parking lot, had grabbed her ankle. It happened in an instant. Unlike the fast-moving ones that ran at them, this one had only its upper body left and dragged itself slowly, making it easy to overlook.
“Grrg, ghhk.”
“Kyaaa! Let go, let go!”
Pulled off balance, Joohee fell and dropped her weapon. She struggled desperately, trying to pull her foot free, but the mutant’s hand, hardened like rough tree bark, clamped down with brutal force.
“Kraaaagh!”
The mutant opened its jaws wide, lunging for her ankle.
Thud…!
At that split second, Hyungseok hurled a packed snowball straight at its face. Even though it was just snow, the sound it made was shockingly solid. He’d said he played baseball in high school, and his throw was far more aggressive than even Suhyeong’s earlier demonstration. Thanks to him, the mutant’s head snapped sideways, missing Joohee’s leg.
“Joohee! Get back!”
“Ghrk, krkk… kyaaagh!”
Using the opening, Jiyeon sprinted toward her and brought his hammer down on the mutant’s head with all his strength. A heavy jolt spread through his entire palm as the mutant’s body was knocked aside. Sunghwa helped Joohee back to her feet.
“Gr… grrr… rr.”
“Hah… hah…”
Still alive, the mutant scraped along the ground, dragging itself toward Jiyeon.
“Grrk… kraaagh!”
“Haa… ha…”
Aside from killing Manager Park, this was the first time Jiyeon had properly fought a mutant. He stared down at the creature, his face pale. The mutant groaned in agony, its temple caved in and bleeding.
“W-what are you going to do?”
Barely freed, Joohee asked him in a trembling voice. Jiyeon bit his lip and hesitated. It couldn’t walk, so they could have just left it. But if they did, it would drag itself along the ground in pain until it eventually starved.
“I’m sorry.”
He whispered the apology, squeezed his eyes shut, and raised the hammer high.
Thud!
With a blunt, final sound, the mutant’s head dropped lifelessly to the ground. Silence fell.
“Assistant manager……”
Hyungseok called out to him. Jiyeon, still frozen with the hammer in hand, finally snapped out of it.
“Come on. Let’s go inside.”
He tried to sound normal as he spoke. But as he glanced at the brain matter and blood spreading across the white snow, he knew one thing for certain…
There was no going back to the time when he knew nothing.
“What happened?”
Seeing how drained everyone looked in just a short time, Suhyeong’s expression turned serious as he asked. At that, Hyungseok let out a trembling sigh.
“A mutant showed up. Assistant manager took care of it.”
“Jiyeon did?”
Hearing this, Suhyeong immediately looked Jiyeon over, checking if he was hurt. Jiyeon shook his head tiredly.
“I’m fine. Just startled. Anyway, is the inside of the motel safe?”
Rubbing his face dry with his hands, Jiyeon shifted the topic. Even as he spoke, Suhyeong kept scanning his condition before replying.
“Fortunately, no mutants. But there is the motel owner on the first floor.”
“Is… is she alive?”