Sob.

I let go of the crayon and quickly looked down. I bit my lower lip, trying to restrain myself from letting out another horrible screech. As I stopped drawing, So-Yeon took the crayon and started drawing something on top of my drawing.

It was a man watching the other children play. The man had a smile, and his eyes were full of curiosity. I pointed to the man in the drawing and then back at myself, wondering if that’s what she meant. She nodded without saying a word. Her nod conveyed more meaning than any words could.

‘Is she acknowledging me as her dad? Even though I look like a monster… she thinks I’m her dad?’

The man in the drawing, with his beaming smile. This was a sign of hope and acceptance. She was willing to let me be with her. I couldn’t keep my tears in anymore.

I cried out loud. She didn’t know what to do at first, but as she looked at me closely, she started tickling my wrist. This was what I used to do as a human being when I teased her. With that, my tears started pouring down.

‘My baby, my sweetie, so smart and kind…’

Words were not enough to express the feelings that welled up within me. At that moment… I felt unbelievably alive. I hugged her tight. She didn’t quite let her guard down, and I could sense her nervousness. However, she could feel me trembling, and she slowly opened herself to me. After a while, she cautiously began to pat me on my back. She knew the sadness I was going through and was sympathizing with me.

I was overcome with amazement. She seemed to understand what to do perfectly. I found every way to compliment her and show her my gratitude. But of course, I was only making howling noises.

* * *

I wondered how many nights of pent-up tears had flowed out of me. My shoulders sagged like a wet towel from all the crying. So-Yeon was in my arms. Hearing me crying, she’d cried along with me. She was sleeping like an angel, exhausted from all the crying. Now, I could see her as much as I wanted. I couldn’t help but smile.

I closed my eyes, savoring the unforgettable moment of her calling me Daddy again.

I couldn’t help reminiscing about the first time she ever called me Daddy. She had toddled over and babbled ‘Dada’ to me. My smile lingered on my face. This happiness, which I had long dreamed of, was too sweet and dazzling. If this was a dream, it was one that I never wanted to end.

Grr… Grr…

I could hear ‘them’ through the broken glass panes of the balcony. It was the cry they made when looking for prey. I could tell that it was coming from afar. From the direction it was coming from, I assumed that there were other survivors in different apartments.

As long as I was next to So-Yeon, ‘they’ would not attack us. Rather, ‘they’ couldn’t because I was here. In the hierarchy of creatures, I stood above them. There was no chance that those things that were so fearful of me would ever approach this place.

I looked at So-Yeon, sleeping like a baby, ignoring whatever was happening outside. Right now… all I wanted was to be next to So-Yeon. I wanted to feel her warmth with my own hands again.

But their cries got closer and closer. I grimaced and picked her up. I laid So-Yeon down in the bedroom and put the barricade up again, just in case anything unforeseen occurred. I walked to the balcony to survey the situation outside.

‘Who’s getting on ‘their’ nerves?’

I wanted to get a glimpse of whoever was disturbing my moment of peace. I saw ‘them’ zigzagging across the street, hot on the heels of several people. There were two men and a woman. For some reason, the way they were dressed seemed familiar…

I blinked, then focused on the fleeing humans. I finally made out their features, which brought back memories that I had pushed aside. As my memories returned, I felt a jolt of surprise.

It was the trio I’d seen before—the father who couldn’t protect his wife and baby, and the other two who had been with him. The last time I’d seen them, the two of them had been struggling to pin the father down.

‘They made it through alive?’

I grasped the balcony railing. I’d assumed they were dead, but they were clearly still alive. That day, I’d tried to save the woman and baby trapped in unit 704 using my hand mirror. Because of that haphazard plan, I’d ended up like this, and the mother and child were no longer in this world. It was a terrible memory that I could not get rid of.

I never thought that the trio who had made the trip to the pharmacy would still be alive. It only made sense to think so because, back then, both the entrance of apartment 101 and the apartment complex had been full of ‘them’. Back then, returning to the apartment building had seemed impossible. No, it had definitely been impossible.

After the creatures had finished with unit 704, they’d gone after the trio. They had to have been hunted, and it would have taken them all their might just to get away. I couldn’t believe that they’d made it through the darkness alive. They would have been running for dear life, holding on to the last shreds of hope. They had probably found a different apartment complex to hide in, one that wasn’t a living hell like this one was.

“Da-Hye!”

I saw a woman lying on the ground, far behind the group. She was struggling to get up, and her shoes were nowhere to be seen. The man who was calling her name went back for her without hesitation. The man leading the group tightened his grip on his shovel and used it to strike the closest creature.

After sunset, the physical abilities of these creatures surpassed that of human beings. It was almost impossible to outrun them, even if you tried with all your might. Coming to a stop just to help a woman on the ground was practically suicide.

At that moment, I saw the woman’s shoes lying on the ground behind her. Beige flats. I recognized them right away. They were the same ones that the trembling woman in the staffroom of the convenience store had been wearing.

“…Thank you.”

I recalled the moment when she’d thanked me. It was an ordinary way of expressing gratitude, but it had given me hope that there was still some semblance of humanity left in this damned world. This hope came in the form of these survivors from unit 704.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, clutching the railing as hard as I could.

“Grr!!!”

I might have been an idiot who made the same mistakes over and over again. But I still had the morals, logical thinking, habits, and instincts of a proper human being, just as I had when I’d been alive. I let out a scream in the direction of the survivors without hesitation.

My howl pierced through the darkness. Almost immediately, the creatures going after the trio stopped in their tracks and looked in my direction. I stared at them straight in the eye and sent out a simple thought.

‘Get lost.’

They exchanged looks, momentarily frozen.

‘Did they hear my voice?’

I couldn’t tell. Unfortunately, the creatures couldn’t look me straight in the eyes. My bloodshot eyes would let them know instantly just how threatening I could be. I wanted to rush to the aid of the trio right away, but I was worried that ‘they’ would bust into my place while I was gone. I wanted to save the humans, but my number one priority was always and would always be So-Yeon.

At that moment, a plan crossed my mind.

What if I called the ones I had instructed to stay put? Let’s assume my commands work the same way that telepathy works. What’s the range for telepathy?’

Using my mind, I called out to them over and over again. I wondered if they received my call. They were about twenty minutes away by foot. I did not receive any signals back from them, so my only choice was to wait and see if they showed up like I’d commanded them.

‘Twenty minutes by foot. That’s pretty long.’’

The wait seemed like an eternity, especially in a situation where every minute, every second was on the line.

Grr… Grr…

I could hear their cries cutting through the night. It came from the opposite side of the apartment, behind me. I quickly ran to the kitchen to look out the other side of our apartment.

I could see a group of green fireflies hurrying over from afar. I was sure that they were at least twenty minutes away, at a comfortable walking pace.. However, ‘they’ arrived in 2 minutes.

Since they did not feel fatigue, they had no concept of taking breaks. Instead, they focused solely on executing their orders, which explained why they’d come straightaway. They were running to where I was at full speed. Very quickly, they had all gathered at the ground floor of apartment 104, where I was. I took a deep breath and walked to the balcony. I stared at my underlings and commanded them to save the trio.

Grr…?

They looked at me questioningly, not understanding what I’d just said.

‘Don’t they know what ‘save’ means?’

I smacked my lips and rephrased my command.

‘Bring the three humans to me carefully. I don’t want any of them getting hurt. Don’t even think about biting them.’

Grr!

They started moving in unison. I pointed toward the trio’s location, and the one who possessed the ability to see led the way, the others following quickly. The creatures chasing the trio would soon be confronted by my gang of underlings. It wasn’t going to be a physical confrontation, but more of a verbal contest, each side trying to claim the right to the territory.

The survivors looked at me and then back at my gang of underlings as if their souls had been sucked out. Their expressions were full of confusion, and I could sense a million questions racing through their skulls. However, since they realized that there was no way out, they grouped together and looked on as the two groups of zombies snarled away.

After a few moments, some of my underlings came to me, carrying the survivors. The survivors were screaming and tried their best to resist, but with the sun down, they posed no trouble to the creatures.

Once the survivors had been brought to the ground floor, I told my underlings, ‘Send the humans up and guard the entrance. Don’t let anything get in.’ 

Grr!

‘They’ tossed the trio to the ground and urged them up the stairs by gesturing with their heads. The survivors, completely clueless as to what was going on, came up the stairs, while my underlings stood guard on the ground floor.

In moments, they were in front of unit 504, where I was. They hesitated as they saw the front door, barely hanging on by its hinges. I watched them from a distance. They were standing in front of the door, hesitating to enter..

A cold, deep voice spoke up. “What are you doing? Go in.”

Soon after, I heard footsteps approaching as they moved closer to the living room. I gave them a sidelong glance, trying to assess what equipment they had.

They all held different items. The man in the back wielded a large shovel, and the man in front of him had a knife. The woman behind was carrying an overstuffed backpack. She seemed to be the group’s porter.

As soon as they came into the living room, they put up their guard. I felt their presence, but didn’t look at them or open my mouth. They’d probably rush at me if they saw me. Besides, I couldn’t speak.

The man with the shovel posed a question. “What the heck is going on? Are you human?”

I remained silent.

“Speak up would you? How are you controlling the zombies?”

They were colder than I’d expected. The man had a threatening voice, and hadn’t even bothered to thank me for saving their lives. However, I hadn’t called them just to hear words of gratitude from them. I slowly turned toward them.