Guest Ch 12

West Fort Owner, Blue Hawk (3)

“This guy is the Prophet?”

“Wow, this Prophet is really young. He looks like he just became an adult.”

“But how did they figure out he was the Prophet and bring him here? It’s not like he has ‘Prophet’ written on his forehead.”

“Can’t you tell just by looking at him? He has that clueless expression. It’s obvious he’s from another world, just like the previous Prophets.”

“Is that true? That multiverse theory the Doctor was talking about?”

“I don’t know. How am I supposed to understand something so complicated? But it seems about right, doesn’t it? If you lived in this world for even a year, you wouldn’t have that kind of expression.”

“Yeah, that’s true. He looks so innocent.”

“Look at his hands. Not a single scar.”

“His skin is so smooth, so white, so nice, so pretty.”

They’re grading me like I’m pork. Watching the crowd examine everything from my complexion to my bone structure, I can’t help but feel like a piece of meat about to get butchered.

When I arrived on the first floor, I sat on a chair in the hall, waiting for the captain. People started gathering, one by one, just to look at me. They were filled with curiosity. Even though I was just sitting there doing nothing, I could only twitch my fingers in response to the overwhelming attention.

It was clear that I was different from them, very different. No matter how much I tried to blend in, everyone could tell that I was an outsider.

The people around me were dressed in worn-out clothes. They carried all sorts of weapons, from kitchen knives to sniper rifles, baseball bats to steel pipes. They looked feral, like they could hunt down and eat a wild dog if it crossed their path.

In contrast, I had no scars on my body, and my clothes were clean. Unlike them, who knew what to do on their own without needing to be told, I looked pitiful, nervously glancing around, unsure of what to do. Weaker even than the women wielding bows. That was how I perceived myself.

I’m not even some delicate flower in a greenhouse. Why am I feeling so embarrassed? Every time they looked at me in amazement, my face burned.

“Where’s the captain?”

A man with a beard asked the person next to him. The man with a crude prosthetic leg, where one of his legs had been amputated, answered.

“Isn’t he still in the mechanical room?”

“Huh? No, I heard he went out on the back door earlier.”

What? He told me to stay on the first floor, but where did he go?

Feeling bewildered, I listened closely to their conversation.

“Where did he go this morning?”

“Hmm. Maybe he went to repair the barricade?”

“Huh? Why?”

“They reported that wild dogs attacked last night.”

“It’s been a while since the wild dogs attacked. Must be because of the Prophet.”

“That’s probably it. They say the wild dogs’ wolves were the first to spot him. The captain snatched him away.”

“We’ll have to put in some extra effort for protection for a while.”

“He better be worth all this.”

Their gazes naturally turned toward me. Their expressions were filled with hope, silently wishing that I was indeed the ‘Valuable Prophet’ after all the sacrifices they had made to protect me. I gave them an awkward smile, uncertain of this ‘Prophet’ they expected me to be, and their suspicion only grew.

“Why are you smiling like that? Are you making fun of us?”

“Exactly. It feels like he’s hiding something.”

Are they unfamiliar with smiles? Just yesterday, in the car, as soon as the captain saw me smiling, he became serious and told me to stop joking around.

“That smile is dangerous. It lures people in.”

A girl with a familiar accent walked out from the crowd. Her voice was reminiscent of an actress from an old Seoul movie.

“Oh, Toya.”

“What brings you here so early?”

The men greeted the girl warmly, but Toya responded indifferently.

“Don’t you know I’m always up early? Now, stop crowding around and get to work.”

The phrase she used, “lures people in,” suited her more than it did me. She had a peculiar way of drawing out the ends of her sentences, a speech pattern that subtly elongated her words. Assuming the word “lure” had the same meaning in North Korea as the one I knew, that is.

“Did you come to see the Prophet?”

“Oh, don’t bother him. Everyone, just go. I’ll take Oracle with me.”

The short-haired girl in tracksuits looked like someone who would run around causing mischief with her friends at school. She was energetic, curious, and always acted before thinking, just like any other girl her age. But there was something about her that set her apart from ordinary middle schoolers.

It must be her independence, thinking and acting on her own, something even most adults struggle with.

Not only could she speak her mind to grown men, but she also approached me and took care of me. Perhaps living in this harsh environment had forced her to mature faster.

“It’s so tight around here! Didn’t you say if we caught the Prophet, we’d feast on meat? When do I get to eat some lean meat?”

“Is food all you ever think about? How can you be so simple-minded?”

“Hey! When have I ever acted childishly?”

“Never mind that. They’re saying we need to build a retaining wall. Better hurry.”

“Ugh, great, looks like we’re stuck fixing the wall too.”

“Are you going to keep grumbling?”

“Fine, I get it!”

The men couldn’t argue with the little girl and just grumbled. You’d think there would be a military structure in place to fortify a base like this, but the atmosphere was much more relaxed. Toya, despite being a child, seemed to hold more authority. Maybe it was more about ability here than rank—her archery skills were certainly impressive.

“Did you sleep well?”

I hadn’t slept a wink, and I wanted to complain about the argument I had with her captain that morning, but I bit my tongue. It wouldn’t matter anyway. I knew no one here would pity me. So, I pushed my emotions down and answered with a bright smile.

“Yes, I slept well.”

Fortunately, Toya didn’t notice the dark circles under my eyes when she looked up at my smiling face. I was glad to avoid the pathetic sight of receiving a pitiful look from a little girl. She pointed to the other side of the building with her fingertips and said,

“The captain’s waiting. You need to come with me.”

I stopped in my tracks at those words.

“I heard he went to repair the wall.”

“It’s a lie. Otherwise, those guys would just annoy me. Let’s go. The captain is waiting.”

Toya noticed my hesitation.

“Why? Is it because you don’t like the captain?”

When someone asks so directly, it’s hard to just answer, “Yeah, I don’t like him,” like a child would. I let out a deep sigh before responding.

“No, let’s go.”

I dusted myself off and stood up. A little girl who barely reached my chest lifted her head and looked up at me blankly. Instead of the white whirlwind spinning to the right, I met her narrow eyes without double eyelids. I smiled awkwardly at her gaze.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Without hesitation, she asked in return.

“Why do you smile so much, oppa?”

“Uh… me?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s better than frowning, right? I didn’t do anything wrong, did I? Is there a rule here that says you can’t smile?”

“There’s no rule like that. It’s just… strange.”

What’s so strange about it?

As we strolled leisurely to the other side of the building, she continued.

“There’s not much to smile about here. When a fight breaks out, people are taken away, dealt with. When the ground collapses, people disappear. Every day we lose something. If you’re too relaxed or carefree, you get scolded for not working. So who would laugh?”

It was a bleak way of living, though the environment left little choice.

“Come to think of it, being able to smile is impressive. If you can laugh, it means one of two things: either you’re crazy, or you’re going crazy. But you’re neither, oppa. That’s why it’s so strange.”

It was sad to hear that even a smile was considered something rare. It sounded as if in a place where loss was constant, smiles were lost too.

“Should I stop smiling then?”

Toya laughed at my question. She didn’t seem like someone who had lost her smile yet.

“No, keep smiling. You’re so pretty when you smile, it’s dazzling.”

“You keep calling me pretty, but I’ve been told I’m more handsome than pretty, you know?”

“Oppa is gentle, so you’re pretty. Handsome is more like the captain.”

It’s closer to scary than handsome. If you just look at his facial features, there’s nothing to criticize, but his aura is like a ghost.

“That guy’s more scary than anything.”

“He’s handsome. Very dependable and cool.”

I decided to let it go, thinking that she just used the word pretty because he didn’t look like he had a hard time. Even when talking about the ‘general’ who was reliable, Toya was expressionless and selfless. It seemed like she was the type of person who could say directly that something was pretty or reliable, even if it wasn’t based on affection.

As soon as we stepped outside, Toya spotted something and waved her hand energetically.

“There! Captain! I brought him!”

A four-wheel-drive vehicle was parked behind the mall, and the man stood leaning against it, watching us.

Even in daylight, his gaze was intense. What’s so dependable about that? His look made me anxious, like a knife could come flying at any moment. And look at that towering height and solid build. Doesn’t his body look more threatening than his face? Though, I had to admit, his physique was impressive. When he took off his coat, his shirt fit tight, and the tension in his forearms and thighs was immediately noticeable.

He must have found my gaze from head to toe annoying, because he twitched one eyebrow. His appearance, unable to hide his displeasure, really was like a ‘general’. The fact that he openly showed what he was feeling was proof that he had lived without caring about the eyes of others until now.

“Toya.”

The man ignored me and spoke only to Toya.

“Go see the Doctor during lunch. Check if there’s been any communication from the Northern Fort or the Eastern Fort. They must have heard the rumors about us having the Prophet.”

“Got it.”

“And ask ‘Black Foot’ to search outside the retaining wall. The wild dogs attacked until dawn yesterday. They’re enraged, and we don’t know what they’ll do.”

“Okay, I’ll do that too.”

“And don’t slack off with the wall inspections. Don’t fall asleep while on guard.”

“You’re such a nagger.”

Toya just pouted, but the man didn’t seem to care about soothing her. He simply opened the car door.

“I’m taking Prophet to Yeouido.”

At this, Toya dropped her pout and raised her hand to wave instead.

“Have a safe trip! Don’t fight!”

She’s treating me like a child. It’s embarrassing. I resolved that from now on, I would never show any negative feelings towards the Captain in front of Toya.

The man got into the driver’s seat, and I climbed into the passenger seat. I had so many questions I wanted to ask him. Who are these “wild dogs” that have been attacking the fortress? What kind of people are Doctor and ‘Black Foot’? Is it really okay for someone as young as Toya to be doing such dangerous work?

But I pushed all those questions aside. I didn’t want to get into another argument like the one we had earlier in the mechanical room. I decided to focus on the present.

“Why are we going to Yeouido?”

Out of all the questions I had, that was the one I chose to ask. The man completely ignored my carefully chosen question.

I wondered if he was still mad about our earlier fight, or if he thought I was just too much trouble to bother with. Either way, his attitude rubbed me the wrong way, so I didn’t ask again. When he ignored me, I responded by ignoring him too.

The car sped down the empty highway. I caught a glimpse of Singil Station to our right. In no time, we passed over Seoul Bridge and entered Yeouido Park.

The man parked the car near the Yeouido Ferry Terminal. The area was as overgrown as Han River park, like an untamed natural forest, but there was no sign of the tents that used to be set up every summer for people to enjoy their vacations. There was something else just as surprising as the change in the surrounding environment.

Three railroad bridges connecting Yeouido to Yongsan and Mapo—Sogang Bridge, Mapo Bridge, and Wonho Bridge—were completely destroyed.

“Why are the bridges like that?”

This time, he didn’t ignore my surprised question. Leaning back in his seat, he answered.

“They were blown up to cut off the passageways.”

“What? Why?”

“I’ll explain it simply. It’s annoying to keep asking questions, and you’ll need to understand the situation if you’re going to stay here.”

He started explaining in the same blunt tone he’d used during our argument earlier.

“We destroyed a total of five bridges, including Yanghwa Bridge and the Han River Railroad Bridge. That way, Yeouido and Yeongdeungpo, where we are, won’t be directly attacked by the northern Garrison or the Stand-ins.”

Northern Fort. He mentioned the Eastern Fort earlier too, which means there are several fortresses.

West of here, beyond the broken bridges, lies the north. So where is the east?

It’s rare for the man to give such a detailed explanation, so I focused intently.

“This fortress was built to protect the communication base. Until last year, we could still receive broadcasts from the station here. But that’s a thing of the past now.”

He nodded north, toward the broken bridge.

“The Northern Fort is around City Hall and Gyeongbokgung Palace. A Hegemony  has formed around Cheonggyecheon. Over there, conservative political factions gathered, and since they received collective communist-style education, their unity is unmatched. If we were to fight them head-on, we wouldn’t win.”

This time, he turned his head slightly to the right, gesturing toward the Gangnam area.

“Eastern Fort is centered around Jamsil and Samseong Station, COEX. Commerce is developed there. They’re still running on capitalism.”

…Hmm, so there are three fortresses in Seoul: the political power in the north, the capitalist power in the east, and the communication power here. I asked, drawing a map in my head.

“What about other areas? Like Gyeonggido or Incheon?”

“There’s one stronghold in each area. Incheon is Incheon Airport. Gyeonggido is Anyang. There are one or two more in each province, but it’s been a year since communication was cut off. I don’t know if they’ve declined or prospered because they’re all living on their own.”

“Then people don’t live together outside the strongholds?”

“There are wild dogs in every area.”

“Wild dogs, meaning…”

“They’re people who reject living in a group and roam in packs like animals. They live by instinct, not reason, and some are even cannibals. They’re scattered all over the place, so if you even pretend to fight half-heartedly, you’ll get torn apart and become their food.”

Cannibalism? People eating other people?

Seeing my shocked, frozen expression, the man kindly explained once again.

“They’re the ones who’ve declared themselves to be ‘wild dogs.’ It’s hard to consider them human like us.”

The concept of ‘becoming a wild dog’ that he described was beyond imagination.

First, they don’t see other humans as their own kind.

Second, they feel no guilt in attacking, plundering, or stealing.

Third, they hunt and eat wild animals and form packs with others who choose to live as wild dogs.

Fourth, they avoid unnecessary emotional disputes through communication. The only time communication matters is during a hunt. Other than that, they might use human language, but they understand it’s inefficient.

These human wild dogs, who followed such simple rules, turned into outlaws. It became common for them to rape women, kill men, and covet others’ property. Those who declared themselves wild dogs felt no guilt about being ostracized as beasts wearing human skins.

For a time, those who remained human and those who became beasts stayed out of each other’s territories. Garrison and Stand-ins didn’t step foot on wild dog land, and the wild dogs didn’t invade Garrison or Stand-in territories.

“At first, we lived peacefully in our separate areas, but it all went to hell because of the ‘Prophet’.”

One day, the Prophet suddenly started appearing. They could see the future, and whether you were Garrison, Stand-in, or wild dog, everyone clung to that future.

Living without a Prophet was nearly impossible. Every night, new sinkholes would swallow buildings, and sand dust would fall like ash, obscuring the sun and moon. There wasn’t enough water to drink, and since livestock couldn’t be raised, people dried human meat and ate it like jerky. All the food produced was dried to maximize its shelf life, and instead of money, salt and sugar were traded as high-value necessities and luxuries.