Apocalypse Tyrant

Plunder (1)

Banseok University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Main Building, 5th floor.

Thud— Thud—

Footsteps of two people echoing in the 5th floor hallway of the College of Agriculture.

Nam Doyoon, one of the two men walking down the desolate hallway with quite tired appearances, opened his mouth.

“Today’s the day you buy one more, Jungi.”
“Ugh— I’m sick of it— whether it’s a chocolate bar or some fucking bar.”

Thud—! Thud—!

A man frowning while habitually tapping a wooden sword with a blade glistening with dark red blood on his shoulder.

Seong Jungi’s pupils started moving here and there in empty space as if manipulating something.

“Fuck— Where are all my precious points going? They’re literally leaking, leaking.”
“Let’s endure a bit more.”
“Until when? Fuck— Until the leafy vegetables in the greenhouse are all grown?”

Seong Jungi’s answer thrown out bluntly.

“What kind of agricultural college is this with nothing to eat right away. Isn’t an agricultural college where they learn innovative farming techniques or something?”
“That’s why there’s a large practice field behind the main building too. If you think a bit more deeply, our situation is much better than places like the engineering college, right?”
“What’s the use of being able to farm when there’s not enough to eat right now? Come to think of it, these bastards who are supposed to be agricultural college students aren’t even farming and are just holed up in their rooms, fuck—!”

Seong Jungi cursed as he couldn’t hold back his anger while continuing the conversation.

Thud—!

Another tall stature patting the broad shoulder of Seong Jungi panting with a bright red face.

Nam Doyoon soothed him while showing a refreshing smile towards him.

“Let’s hang in there a bit more, Jungi. It’s a fact that the situation keeps improving, right?”
“…That’s what’s more fucking annoying. So the points are even more precious.”

Crunch—!

An abnormal grip strength heard from Seong Jungi’s hand tightly grasping the wooden sword.

“The food obtained from the cafeteria in the adjacent building is also all— Yaaaah—!”

Seong Jungi’s sudden shout as he was about to start grumbling again.

He was pointing his wooden sword straight out at a man caught in their sight.

A man clearly frowning his expression enough to be visible even from afar after seeing Nam Doyoon and Seong Jungi.

“You bastard come here—”
“Jungi.”

Nam Doyoon gently pushed back Seong Jungi who was about to shout at the man approaching while incessantly moving his mouth.

The man who stopped his footsteps in front of them while blatantly rubbing his stomach.

“Ah Doyoon sunbae, I’m in a bit of a hurry right now.”
“Park Jaeha you’re really going to die—”
“I see. Good afternoon, Jaeha.”

Nam Doyoon smiled gently while blocking Seong Jungi who was about to burst out again.

“It looks like you’re going to the bathroom, but this is the south wing where we’re standing.”
“Ah~ sunbae.”
“Don’t you remember we promised to only use the north wing for bathrooms because of hygiene issues?”

Park Jaeha frowned his face in displeasure at Nam Doyoon’s question.

“Ah~ sunbae. I really can’t even go in there because of the smell.”
“Hasn’t the smell become less now that we can use some water, even if it’s little?”
“Ah what’s the use of that. Even that little water that comes out is all used up first by those bitc… women in the morning.”

Park Jaeha hurriedly corrected his word at Nam Doyoon narrowing his eyes at the sudden swearing.

He rubbed his stomach quickly as if to show and slightly bent his knees.

“Sunbae I really feel like it’s about to come out, can’t you just let me pass this once?”
“No.”
“Ah~ really— I’m telling you I’ll vomit from the shit smell there.”
“Then cover your nose and do it?”
“I’ll dry heave from disgust even if I breathe through my mouth—!”
“Then cover your mouth too.”
“Huh?! Then how am I supposed to breathe?”
“Uh— Finish in 5 seconds and come out?”
“Aih—! Sunbae—! I’m already dying from stomach pain and now you’re saying—”

Park Jaeha’s brow clearly distorted at the continuing playful Q&A.

He tried to glare at Nam Doyoon with an expression full of annoyance but quickly erased his expression after seeing something.

“…Ugh— I-I’ll go to the south wing to do it, okay?”

Park Jaeha running towards the hallway leading to the south wing while hurriedly clutching his stomach tightly as if avoiding something.

Nam Doyoon let out a small sigh “Haah—” at that sight and turned his head.

“What? Why?”

A cheeky face brazenly avoiding Nam Doyoon’s gaze.

Seong Jungi was habitually tapping— tapping— the wooden sword on his shoulder while avoiding Nam Doyoon’s eyes.

“…Did you scare the kids again?”
“No, listening to them whine like little kids was really annoying. So I just scared them a bit with the sword. Anyone would think we’re their parents at this rate.”
“We are their temporary guardians so that’s not wrong in context.”
“Haah— When did the student council become the Green Mothers’ Association, Student Council President?”
“And it’s not a sword but a club.”
“Aish—! Then get me a real sword, this was hard to get too.”

Thud— Thud—

Footsteps resumed along with Seong Jungi’s shout jumping up at Nam Doyoon’s joke.

Nam Doyoon continued speaking while turning the corner to go to the corner of the south wing, their destination.

“Anyway, they are younger than us. We who are more adult should take good care of them.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Nam Doyoon. Those bastards and us are all college students.”
“We’re half-adults who need to get jobs soon.”
“Fuck this is annoying— He’s about to start again.”
“Listen even if it’s annoying.”
“Ah— This is fucking shitty.”
“Listen even if it’s fucking shitty.”
“Ah— Nam Doyoon is such a son of a bitch.”
“Listen even if Nam Doyoon is a son of a bitch.”
“Huh—! Really—.”

Nam Doyoon countering nonchalantly despite the continued provocations.

Seong Jungi finally let out a snort at the tone maintained at a constant pitch.

Thud—!

Nam Doyoon playfully bumping his shoulder like that.

Seong Jungi shook his head while letting out a sigh “Haah—” at that sight.

“By the way, what have you been fidgeting with in your pocket since earlier, are you masturbating?”
“…Crazy bastard.”

Nam Doyoon snorted at Seong Jungi intently looking down at his pants pocket.

Rustle—!

A rustling sound flowing from the pants pocket thanks to the slightly twitching hand.

Seong Jungi’s eyes narrowed strangely while looking at that sight.

“Well— I’m not such an insensitive person. I’ll just go to the door and then I need to go check if that Park Jaeha bastard really took a shit in the north wing.”
“…It’s not like that.”
“Mm~ It is like that.”

A smile becoming more sly while looking at Nam Doyoon acting embarrassed.

Well—

“Looking from the side, it doesn’t seem like a broadcast image either. That level is definitely Korea’s top female student approved.”
“……”
“She’s much better than the bitches struggling not to come out of the rooms they were assigned. Approved.”
“…It’s really not like that!”

A bright red face and desperate denial.

Seong Jungi smiled more blatantly at the reaction he had never seen from Nam Doyoon and pushed his shoulder— lightly.

Ehei~

“It’s okay~ It’s okay~. You’re the one who became student council president, why are you being so shy about this?”

Nam Doyoon glared at Seong Jungi quickly waving his hand up and down over his face.

“…I became it because my pledges were good, you bastard.”
“Puhahaha—! Crazy bastard—!”
“And there probably isn’t a male idol Hayan-ssi has seen often who’s less handsome than me, right?”
“Ehei~ The size is different between you and those guys.”

Thud—!

Seong Jungi subtly whispered while lightly putting his arm around Nam Doyoon’s shoulder.

“Those guys don’t have a story, a story. Look at you.”

Aren’t you the prince who saved the princess in crisis?

“There’s no story women fall for more than this, I’m telling you?”
“…Fuck, why am I listening to this?”
“Puhahahaha—!”

Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!

Nam Doyoon roughly pushed away Seong Jungi’s arm mercilessly hitting his shoulder and stopped his footsteps in front of the room at the very corner of the south wing.

An A4 paper pasted over the nameplate saying College of Agriculture Professor’s Office.

A green cross logo somewhat crudely painted inside that paper.

Creak—

“Th-Thanks to you my head doesn’t hurt at all!”
“I’m glad. Please feel free to drop by anytime if it hurts again.”

A man stupidly backing away without even knowing who was standing behind, as if not wanting to miss a single moment.

And a clear voice flowing through the gently closing door gap.

“Hehehe— Th-Then tomorrow too—”

Thud—!

The footsteps of the man backing away while smiling stupidly were blocked by a large threshold.

A tall man holding a wooden sword caught in the gaze of the man who hurriedly turned his head in surprise.

“Su-Sunbaenim.”
“Yes, Yujun.”

Seong Jungi lightly put his arm around the shoulder of the man who had walked into his arms on his own.

“You bastard were using the infirmary like some one-on-one fan meeting again.”
“Th-That’s not it, my head was really dizzy today.”
“This bastard lies every time he opens his mouth. Hey— Didn’t I tell you not to bother Hayan-ssi?”

Then he started U-turning back to the hallway they had come from with him.

“Ugh— Fuck look at this sweat smell. It’s really disgusting.”
“Y-You’re not much better either, sunbaenim!”
“This bastard to his sunbaenim who’s like the sky—”

Seong Jungi winked at Nam Doyoon remaining while poking— poking— the junior’s stomach with the wooden sword.

Nam Doyoon said “It’s not like that.” with his mouth shape while carefully standing in front of the door with the green cross logo drawn.

“Hoo—.”

A heart already pounding just from standing there.

Knock—! Knock—!

“Yes~ Come in.”

Nam Doyoon let out a small deep breath at the owner’s permission and opened the door.

Creak—!

The sight of the infirmary greeting him through the gently opening door.

Convenience store medicines obtained from the adjacent building were regularly arranged around the desk used by the College of Agriculture professor as the center.

“Just a moment~”

And there was a woman organizing the list of medicines placed on the bookshelf.

A fluttering back view bathed in sunlight coming through the professor’s office window.

A white and black bustier dress gently swaying as she turned her body.

“…Doyoon-ssi?”
“Ye-Yes— Go-Good afternoon, Hayan-ssi.”

Nam Doyoon desperately avoided the area his gaze was unconsciously going to blatantly.

An undeniable presence overly emphasizing the black part of the bustier dress.

“Are you hurt somewhere?!”
“Ah, no—!”

Nam Doyoon quickly waved his hands and shook his head side to side at Cha Hayan asking hurriedly.

“I just have something to gi-give you……”
“To me?”
“Yes.”
“Anyway, I’m really glad you’re not hurt. Then— Would you like to sit down first?”
“Yes.”

Nam Doyoon sat down hurriedly in the seat Cha Hayan guided to while creaking his head like a machine.

A man and woman sitting side by side with a desk between them.

Nam Doyoon deliberately kept his gaze only up while trying not to look down.

Cha Hayan’s full face caught in his pupils like that.

It was beauty that naturally refreshed the eyes just by looking.

If her older sister Cha Seolhee was gorgeous, Cha Hayan was simply refreshing and pure just by looking.

A comfortable scenery that seemed like it would be enjoyable to blankly stare at her face all day.

The words of colleagues gossiping about High Queens at drinking parties echoed in Nam Doyoon’s ears as he unknowingly opened his mouth “Heh—”.

The low-quality joke that you should date Cha Seolhee but marry Cha Hayan.

Nam Doyoon hurriedly shook— shook— his head at the joke he had blatantly frowned at even back then.

“Doyoon-ssi?”
“…Ah, ye-yes!”
“Are you really okay?”
“O-Of course. Ah—!”

Nam Doyoon who had been flustering while slightly moving his body hurriedly put his hand in his pants pocket.

A small object held in his hand rustling— and—

Woong—

It gently floated— above his hand along with a strange resonance.

The small object approaching Cha Hayan while buoyantly floating above his hand as if performing a trick.

“Wow—.”
“You said you wanted to drink coffee, right?”

Nam Doyoon smiled proudly while looking at her receiving one packet of coffee mix with a bright smile.

“…It was just passing words, I feel too sorry if you pay attention like this—”
“No way— It’s fine! We got a ton while searching the adjacent building and I just brought it because I thought of you. Don’t worry, we stacked a ton on the 4th floor!”

Nam Doyoon desperately urging her in case she might feel burdened.

Cha Hayan laughed brightly “Pft—!” at Nam Doyoon’s gestures and picked up the water bottle placed on the desk.

A water bottle with appropriate daily drinking amounts marked with a black name pen carefully poured water into a paper cup.

Trickle—

Coffee mix carefully torn open was poured into the half-filled paper cup and the packet gently stirred the coffee mix.

“…It’s not dissolving well.”

Cha Hayan looking at Nam Doyoon and smiling playfully like that after stirring several times.

Nam Doyoon barely came to his senses at that bright smile and returned an awkward smile.

Then he carefully spoke the words that kept bothering him.

“You don’t have to force yourself to keep the infirmary like this, Hayan-ssi.”
“…I’m just giving medicine according to uncomfortable areas, it’s nothing. I’m doing it because I want to.”
“But you must be tired from annoying kids bothering you—”
“No. I feel like I should do what I can do.”

Cha Hayan answered with a somewhat mysterious smile unlike herself to the continued dissuasion.

“My unnie told me to definitely do what I feel like I should do.”

…Because you’ll get nitpicked later.

Her words feeling like quite a lot was compressed in them.

Only then did Nam Doyoon quietly close his mouth and choose what to say.

Her older sister, Cha Seolhee.

“…Uh— Organizing the adjacent building should be finished soon too. When that time comes, we can try finding a route to the library again—”
“No.”

Cha Hayan hurriedly shook her head.

“If it was something that could be done so easily, Doyoon-ssi would have gone to the library long ago. I don’t want you to become endangered because of me.”
“But still—”
“My unnie isn’t the only precious person.”

Cha Hayan cut off his words again and gently met his eyes.

“Doyoon-ssi, Jungi-ssi, everyone is as precious as my unnie to someone. It’s not right to endanger such people because of my precious person.”
“……”

It was words that naturally made him close his mouth.

Nam Doyoon who had been nodding his head for a moment let out a faint laugh and said.

“It’s a mindset that should definitely be learned in times like this.”
“Ah— Th-That much—”
“I’ll really write a proper good deed story on the community when you return as an idol.”
“Are you going to write about pouring coffee mix in cold water too?”
“Ah— I won’t write that if you come perform at our Banseok University festival for free.”
“Pft—! What is this, you need to talk to our CEO about that.”
“Don’t you have celebrity acquaintance privilege to use coffee mix as a bribe at times like this?”
“……”

The conversation that had been continuing suddenly stopped.

Cha Hayan who had smiled faintly while looking at Nam Doyoon quietly whispered to him.

“…Doyoon-ssi always talks as if we can return to the original world.”
“Of course.”

An affirmation flowing out without even a moment’s gap.

“The world doesn’t end because of mere zombies.”

Nam Doyoon met Cha Hayan’s eyes and opened his mouth again.

“You shouldn’t forget the essence in this grotesque situation of humans eating humans. Humans have always killed humans originally.”

World War I, World War II.

Major events where everyone cried out it was hell.

“Those are things that haven’t even been 100 years. If we’re talking about diseases, there’s also the Black Death that swept across Europe. At least within Europe, hasn’t the Black Death killed more people than zombies so far?”

Nam Doyoon shrugged his shoulders and gently continued his next words.

“Europe struck by the Black Death probably thought the world was ending too, right? But we’re learning about the Black Death as history in textbooks now. Zombies won’t be much different. If we all work together, zombies will soon become a past that only appears in textbooks too.”

…Textbooks, all of us.

A clear voice softly repeating the words he had said.

Nam Doyoon nodded his head while smiling faintly at that sight.

“Not just us, but the friends in the library will all be the same. I can say for sure because they’re my acquaintances.”

Nam Doyoon’s gaze turned towards the ceiling as if picturing someone.

“First there’s a dependable friend like a bear named Taeha, and a very smart friend named Yeri.”

And—

Woojin, Minjun, Sejun, Seri, Changsik……

Very missed faces and names flowing from his mouth.

“Lastly, Hayan-ssi’s older sister Seolhee-ssi too.”

Definitely—

“They’ll be doing their best in the library.”

A sincere belief without even a single shred of doubt.

Cha Hayan unconsciously smiled while facing that unwavering face.

“I want to meet the friends Doyoon-ssi mentioned quickly.”

Since they’re Doyoon-ssi’s acquaintances, they must all be good people.

Cha Hayan quietly turned her head and stared out the window.

The blue sky caught in her pupils.

No, her eyes picturing somewhere a bit farther than that sky.

“…Of course my unnie too.”

Nam Doyoon blankly looked at Cha Hayan like that.

Thump— Thump—

A heart beating incessantly at her side profile looking out the window.

“Yes.”

Cha Hayan’s face turning her head again to look at him at Nam Doyoon’s answer.

Nam Doyoon could only blankly whisper while looking at her responding with a bright smile to his answer.

“…Definitely.”