Apocalypse’s Teacher

Chapter 30

A Rod is Not a Choice, But a Necessity

***

It was an uneventful day.

As usual, we periodically went out to search for supplies.
T h is was c o p i e d f r o m k in g m tl . or g

We managed to gather enough food to last about two weeks.

T h i s w a s c o p i e d fr o m k i n gm t l .o r g
Feeling satisfied with our meaningful haul, we headed back to the hotel.

“Mr. Park!”

Jinwoo called out to me.

“Yes?”

“There’s someone collapsed over here!”

I looked in the direction Jinwoo pointed.

A narrow alleyway between buildings.

Amidst the black garbage bags filling the view, I saw an arm hanging out like a corpse.

“What’s that? Isn’t it a corpse?”

“No! It’s moving a little.”

I walked towards the figure.

Up close, I saw slight movements, just as Jinwoo said.

“Jinwoo, step back.”

“Ah, yes.”

I pushed Jinwoo back and grabbed a monkey wrench.

I raised my foot and poked the exposed hand.

If it was a zombie, it would react immediately.

But the hand didn’t move.

“…Is it really a person?”

I was surprised to see someone alive, lying on the street.

It’s not common.

In a world where zombies roam, everyone knew the basic survival rules.

Finding someone lying defenseless on the street was unusual.

‘Not a drunkard…’

What could it be?

What kind of person would be lying here?

As I pondered, Kang Ki-hyun asked,

“What are you going to do?”

Her face showed indifference, but her eyes were fixed on the arm.

She seemed ready to help, as if it was only natural.

I chuckled.

‘…That’s right.’

These were the kind of kids they were.

If they saw someone in danger, they wanted to help.

Logically, it might be best to avoid unnecessary involvement, but now was the time to protect their compassion.

“Let’s take him with us.”

“Okay, Jinwoo, help.”

Kang Ki-hyun stepped forward naturally.

Jinwoo followed and cleared the garbage.

I joined in, and soon we revealed the figure.

“…A white person?”

A dirty, blonde, white woman.
T h is w a s c o p i e d f ro m kin g mtl.or g

***

“She’s so white!”

Hyesung exclaimed.

Back in the penthouse, we laid the woman on a bed, unsure of what to do with her.

About twenty minutes passed, and the children marveled at her.

‘What’s her story?’

I had to think.

‘She seems like a shelter resident…’

A natural assumption.

Five years had passed since the world ended.

There was no way a foreigner flew in recently; she must have been living somewhere in Seoul since the apocalypse.

Given that, it was likely she lived in a nearby shelter.

Next, I had to consider why she was in such a state.

‘Running away?’

That seemed the most plausible.

She was a young woman, even if she looked dirty.

Shelters wouldn’t leave a young woman alone.

Most likely, she got tired of being used as a plaything and escaped.

‘Unless she’s a specialist…’

If she was a specialist, there’d be no reason to escape now.

My thoughts led to a sigh.

‘We’ll have to wait until she wakes up to ask her anything.’

A runaway like her was a valuable source of information about the shelters.

The largest nearby shelter was Mapo.

If she was from the Mapo Shelter, we might learn about the mutant zombies or Mapo’s plans.

As I thought, Dabin spoke up.

“Oh?”

Th is w a s co pie d f ro m k i n g mt l . o r g
Dabin’s voice drew my gaze to the woman.

I saw her slowly open her eyes and look at me.

T h i s was c o pi e d fr o m ki ng mt l .o r g
“Are you awake?”

Happy that she had woken up, I greeted her.

Her response, however, put me in a difficult position.

“…who are you?”

The children froze.

I froze.

A cold silence and tension filled the air.

“Uh…”

Did I mention?

I was a PE teacher.

Th i s w a s c opi e d f r o m k i n g mt l . o r g
“…Ah, I’m fine thank you, and you?”

Naturally, I didn’t know much English.

…Just the basics.

***

Think about it.

It’s been five years since the apocalypse.

It’s been over five years since I last studied or even looked at anything in English.

I was never good at English, even praying to God for help during exams.

Having not touched it for so long, there’s no way I could converse in English.

Desperate measures were needed.

I risked being buried under the children’s disappointed looks.

Fortunately, this time God didn’t abandon me.

“Mr. Park! Why are you so late!!!”

I had a godsend English genius.

T h i s wa s c o p i e d f r o m k i n g mt l. o r g
I greeted Mr. Park with open arms.

Mr. Park grimaced and shuddered.

“You bastard!”

Smack!

He pushed me away.

“You crazy bastard!”

Despite Mr. Park’s cursing, I kept smiling.

I got straight to the point.

“Mr. Park! You’re good at English, right? You can do it, right?!”

Mr. Park blinked.

He looked me up and down, displeased, then reluctantly nodded.

I dropped to my knees.

***

Mr. Park, my light and salt.

T h i s wa s c opi ed fr o m k ing m t l . or g
Hope and miracle.

He translated for me.
T h is w a s c o p i e d fr o m k i n gmt l .o r g

Or rather, he started talking to her directly.

As we listened to their foreign conversation, Mr. Park finished and approached me with a serious expression.

“…Hey, come with me for a moment.”

I swallowed dryly.

***

“…So, she’s from the Mapo research lab?”

Mr. Park’s story made me chuckle.

Contrary to my expectation, she was a specialist.

Not just any specialist, but a top-tier biologist selected by the shelter.

What did that mean?

“She knows about that zombie, then.”

In other words, she might know about the mutant zombie.

My expression hardened.

Mr. Park nodded.

“It’s worse than just knowing. The situation is serious.”

“What is it?”

“They’re not developing a cure.”

Mr. Park crossed his arms.

His grim face and words made my heart sink.

“They’re creating soldiers.”

“…What?”

“Their goal is to release them into other shelters.”

I looked at the woman.

“You said there’s a scar on her neck? That’s a remote bomb. They plan to infiltrate other shelters, wreak havoc, and then detonate the zombie to take over the shelter.”

Despite her ordinary appearance as she patted Hyesung’s back, the implication was severe.

“That crazy woman…!”

If she participated in such experiments, it was a different story.

I turned angrily to pull Hyesung away from her.

Mr. Park stopped me.

“Wait!”

“Why?!”

“She’s not part of it.”

Mr. Park shook his head.

I frowned.
T h is wa s cop i e d f r o m ki n gm t l .or g

“What do you mean?”

“She didn’t know.”

“What…”

“You know how shelter experiments are compartmentalized. Each group doesn’t know what the others are doing.”

“….”

Mr. Park sighed.

“She was just transplanting organs into zombies, thinking it might lead to a cure.”

“Is that even possible? Everyone knows a cure is impossible…”

“Just because it’s impossible doesn’t mean they won’t try. Some people are still obsessed with it. She must be one of them.”

Mr. Park gestured towards the woman.

“She escaped when she discovered their true intentions. She’s trying to inform other shelters about what she knows.”

“Is she an idiot?”

“She thinks it’s possible. She’s only communicated with a few English speakers. People like her…”

The educated elite are precious even in shelters.

They are both beneficiaries and leaders.

“…So she was deceived too.”

She didn’t realize that all shelters are the same.

Even if she reached another shelter, they’d only extract information from her.

This harsh world never rewards good intentions with good intentions.

“What will you do?”

I clenched my fists.

My teeth ground together.

“…Damn it.”

It was a fucked-up situation.

End of Chapter