Apocalypse’s Teacher

Chapter 9

The apocalypse was fair to everyone (9)

***

I precisely understood what the girl meant that evening.

“Mister! I heard you’ll be staying with us from now on?”

T h i s w a s c op i e d fr o m k in g m tl . or g
Jinwoo asked with a bright smile.

“Huh?”

“I heard from Nuna! She said to prepare a room for you since you’ll be living with us.”

She had cursed me out but told them this behind my back?

I felt a pang in my chest and couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes, that’s right! I’ll be counting on you from now on!”

“Yes! Oh, by the way, how should we prepare your room, Mister?”

“Huh? Just give me any room.”

“Hmm…”

Jinwoo furrowed his brows and started thinking.

“Nothing above the 10th floor, the 9th floor is blocked off, and the 8th floor has supplies…”

Jinwoo muttered to himself.

A sudden doubt arose in my mind, so I asked,

“Why can’t I go above the 10th floor?”

Jinwoo flinched.

“Y-You heard that?!”

He looked so startled that he didn’t even realize he was talking to himself.

Jinwoo talks to himself when he thinks.

I should make a mental note of that.

“Hey, you were talking out loud. Why are you so surprised?”

“W-Well…”
Th i s w a s c opi ed f r o m k i ng m t l . o r g

Jinwoo’s eyes darted around.

‘What’s this kid up to?’

I narrowed my eyes and glared at Jinwoo, who let out a faint squeak and trembled.

Was I really that scary-looking?

Feeling somewhat guilty, I cleared my throat and asked gently,
T his w a s c o pi ed fro m k in g m t l .o r g

“Come on, we’re going to be living together. Tell me.”

“W-Well…”

Maybe my words got through to him.

Jinwoo’s expression softened slightly.

Seeing that he needed some time to think, I stayed silent and waited.

Finally, Jinwoo sighed deeply and spoke.

“…We haven’t cleared it.”

“What?”

“The zombies.”

I understood immediately.

In this apocalypse, when someone refers to “them” in a specific place, it usually means zombies.

My expression hardened.

My voice became more serious.

“What?”

“I mean…”

Maybe my expression was too harsh; Jinwoo started sweating and quickly added more.

Summarizing his words, it came down to one thing.

‘There are too many…’

There were too many zombies on the upper floors for them to handle alone.

It was a reasonable explanation.

Many of the zombies on the upper floors were probably people who had been trapped in the hotel when the world ended.

Th is w as co p i ed f r o m k in g m t l . or g
Those zombies would be too much for two middle schoolers, two elementary schoolers, and one preschooler to handle.

‘Actually, considering only the girl and Jinwoo can fight…’

Leaving them be made sense.

It made sense, but…

“…Why are you living in such a dangerous place?”

That was still the problem.

Knowing there were dangerous zombies around, why live here?

Jinwoo’s shoulders slumped.

“Because we had nowhere else to go.”

His answer was filled with dejection.

“We needed a way to protect the kids while we were out. Especially Hyesung, who is so curious that if we don’t lock her up, she’ll wander around. The hotel has fire doors on each floor. They’re sturdy and hard for kids to open. We needed those doors to protect the kids…”

He spoke while glancing at me.

I wasn’t trying to scold him, but seeing his fearful glances made me upset.

Just as I was about to say something,

“…But! The chances of something like yesterday happening again are low, so you can stay here safely, Mister!”

Jinwoo added quickly.

My heart sank.

‘He wasn’t afraid of being scolded…’

He was worried I might leave.

“Don’t worry too much… Oh, by the way, are you hungry, Mister?”

He’s not as good at changing the subject as that girl.

It was obvious he regretted his words.

I opened my mouth to speak but then closed it.

Instead, I ruffled Jinwoo’s hair.

“I’m not going anywhere, you little brat. Why are you so scared?”

“What?! Y-Your tongue slipped…”

How could I leave this simple-minded kid behind?

If I did, my teacher in heaven would hit me with his cane.

“Sigh…”

I let out a deep sigh and stood up.

“I’ll find a room myself.”

I wanted to leave immediately, but that was the most dangerous option, so I decided on a different course.

“Huh? What about food?”

“Later.”
T h is wa s c op i e d f r o m k i ng mt l . o rg

I left the room, continuing my thoughts.

‘…First, the upper floors.’

I needed to check them.

Based on yesterday’s incident, the problem likely originated from the upper floors.

‘I need to confirm it first.’

I’ll think about the next steps later.

***

I headed to the emergency stairs.

Since the passage was narrow, I only armed myself with a monkey wrench.

I went up the familiar lower floors and arrived at the blocked emergency stairs on the 9th floor.

I clicked my tongue.

‘It’s breached.’

Th i s wa s c o pi e d f ro m k i n g m t l .o r g
The barricade made of furniture was flimsy.

The breached part was on the lower right side.

A person could easily crawl through it.

I looked around, searching for an object that might have been plugging the hole.

‘A vanity stool.’

A round, cylindrical vanity stool.

No wonder it slipped.

Using something like that to block it would easily get pushed aside.

‘They should have used furniture with legs and interlocked them.’

That would have been sturdier than this.

I sighed.

‘Ah, I need to stop sighing.’

But it wasn’t easy.

It was a miracle they had survived this long with such flimsy defenses.

Seeing their desperate attempts to survive was heartbreaking.

I scratched the back of my head and picked up a table leg lying nearby.

I jammed it into the center of the stool and wedged the protruding leg between the railings of the emergency stairs.

‘Temporary fix.’

I’ll need to either overhaul the barricade or clear out the upper floors soon.

It might be tough alone, but if that girl watches my back, it wouldn’t be impossible.

Finishing my makeshift repair, I dusted off my hands and stretched.

‘Wow, my leg still hurts.’

It was foolish to expect to be fine after that much running around while injured, but the situation made me resent it.

I tapped my waist.

Twisted it left and right.

Then I looked at the stairs leading to the 8th floor.

‘The 8th floor has supplies.’

Let’s check that out too.

They seem to have stocked up on food, but I need to know the exact amount.

Managing supplies is one of the most crucial aspects of survival.

***
T h is w a s co p i e d f r om ki n gm t l . o r g

After confirming everything, I headed to the girl’s room on the 7th floor.

“What is it?”

She spoke in a sharp tone.

I stayed silent and looked at her.

Th i s w a s c op i e d f r o m ki n g m t l .o r g
With her short hair and slightly upturned eyes, she could almost be mistaken for a boy, but at first glance, you could tell she was a girl with delicate features.

If this weren’t a post-apocalyptic world and she attended school normally, she would be popular regardless of gender.

After staring at her for a moment, I spoke.

“You did a good job organizing the supply room.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“So what?”

“I said you did a good job.”

She flinched.

Her face blanked, and her earlobes turned red as she turned her head away.

I chuckled.

“Really, you did.”

It wasn’t just empty praise.

T hi s wa s co p ie d fr om k i n g m tl . o r g
Aside from the emergency stairs, everything else, including the supply room, was meticulously organized.

Not just by type or expiration date.

There was a ledger.

It detailed what was obtained each day, how much was distributed, and how it should be distributed in the future.

T hi s wa s c o p ie d fr om k i n gm tl . org
It also had items that could be used as weapons, clothes, hygiene products, and medical supplies, all clearly inventoried with quantities and usage periods.

It was organized so well that it felt like a survival expert had done it.

She could easily take on a manager role in a shelter.

‘…And that’s not all.’

My smile faded slightly.

‘She took the least for herself.’

Despite doing the most work and suffering the most, she ate the least and conserved the most.

If tuna appeared in her diet once a week, that said it all.

For a middle schooler, trying to shoulder such responsibilities was both admirable and heartbreaking.

I sat next to her and watched what she was doing.

“Where did you learn to disassemble a gun?”

“Is that your business?”

“I don’t remember seeing you hit anything with it. It’s impressive you know the theory.”

She ground her teeth.

Her earlobes turned even redder.

“…If you’re going to pick a fight, get lost.”

She snapped quickly.

I felt a laugh bubbling up as I patted her shoulder.

“Good job.”

It was sudden.

But seeing what she had done, I felt I had to say it.

“You worked hard alone. Let’s share the burden from now on.”

I wanted to tell her not to carry all the weight alone.

Her hands stopped.

She looked at me.

Her fierce eyes stared at me for a long time before dropping.

“That’s so cringeworthy.”

Huh?

“It gave me goosebumps.”

She stood up abruptly.

I watched her back in a daze.

‘Isn’t this the part where she cries?’

Isn’t this the scene where she cries and says, ‘I was actually struggling,’ and we bond over it?

Are kids these days different?

Is it different from my time?

I don’t know.

The last social media I used was Cyworld, so I don’t understand the current kids’ emotions.

As I sat there, dumbfounded, the girl walked to the door.

She glared at me one more time and said,

“By the way, my name is Kang Ki-hyun.”

“Huh? What?”

“You asked.”

Thud-.

She left.

‘Ki-hyun…’

I etched her name into my memory.

And added a note: ‘Hates cringeworthy stuff.’

End of Chapter