Chapter 11: Split in Half |
“There he goes again. If he’d just kept his mouth shut, he wouldn’t be making things worse.”
At the immediate jab, Park Dong-geol scowled at the sharp-tongued woman but didn’t retort. Instead, he spoke in a voice far gentler than before.
“Did you not hear what this young lady just said? She told us not to fight amongst ourselves.”
“Why don’t you reflect on your own actions before you say something like that?”
“Well, you’ve got a point there. Still, since we’ve gathered to share our opinions, how about we at least hear each other out?”
Everyone let out a disbelieving sigh as Park Dong-geol readily admitted fault. The sharp-tongued woman furrowed her brow slightly, as if wondering if the man had eaten something strange.
“First, I apologize to everyone for my behavior back in the clearing. And I hope you won’t take my rough way of speaking too seriously. It’s just how I’ve always talked; I didn’t mean anything malicious by it.”
Park Dong-geol swept his gaze around the group and gave a slight bow. Though some resentful glares remained, the atmosphere had softened considerably. He slowly moved toward the center of the group, observing their reactions. Deciding the situation was suitable for a discussion, he got straight to the point.
“I agree with some of what this banker lady said. That’s right. Arguing now is pointless. Let’s set aside our bad blood for a moment and figure out how to escape these monsters and survive. What do you say?”
“Just as I said. I agree with some of it, but I’m not happy with the rest. To get straight to the point, I want everyone to realize the situation they’re in.”
“What part are you unhappy with?”
When Lee Bo-rim asked with a hint of complaint, Park Dong-geol answered with a dark smile.
“It’s only natural to seek a way to survive, but I don’t think cooperation is possible. Cooperation? Sounds nice. But considering our current situation and feelings, it just sounds like a load of crap to me.”
“Look what the cat dragged in. Then leave. Go run away and survive on your own.”
The sharp-tongued woman shot back with a scoff, but Park Dong-geol was unfazed. On the contrary, he nodded in agreement.
“Of course, I’ve considered that.”
“Then get out.”
“Just listen. Hear me out to the end, okay? Let me finish.”
At a look from An Hyeon, the sharp-tongued woman, though still fuming, managed to close her mouth. With everyone’s eyes on him, Park Dong-geol calmly continued.
“I’m not smart. And I’m rough. But I don’t know how to lie. Because I’m simple. While I was running for my life back in that clearing, I felt and thought a lot. Since then, the word ‘cooperation’ has really started to grate on my nerves.”
At his words, everyone shuddered, recalling the events in the clearing. As if waiting for that reaction, Park Dong-geol’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
“To be honest, I wasn’t just anxious; I was terrified. It’s embarrassing, but my legs were shaking so bad I almost pissed myself. Think about it. Those things you only see in movies or on TV suddenly appear right in front of you. What can you do? If that guy over there on watch hadn’t been so quick on his feet, most of us would’ve become a tasty meal for those monsters by now. So I thought about it. I’m not bragging or trying to threaten you, so don’t get me wrong. I’m a guy who’s lived by the knife. Whether it’s a knife or something else, I can now kill people or animals without hesitation. Why? Because I don’t want to die. In the clearing, it all happened so suddenly that I was shocked and flustered, but I want to live. So if a situation like that happens again, I’ll swing this weapon to survive.”
Park Dong-geol’s speech was long. And it wasn’t over yet. But people, despite their suspicions, began to focus on his words. Having a rough idea of his intentions, I clicked my tongue inwardly but decided to watch a little longer. He then began pointing to individuals as he continued.
“I don’t know about the others, but that gigolo-looking punk over there seems to know how to fight. He brought a weapon and has dealt with the monsters, so whatever... And you, over there. If you can act as tough as you talk, you might be of some help. And the guy with the crossbow goes without saying. Right. The four of us can definitely help each other. In other words, there’s a possibility of a cooperative relationship forming. Isn’t that right?”
A deep shadow fell over the faces of An Sol, Lee Shin-woo, and Lee Bo-rim. In other words, he was saying they were useless. Finally, Lee Bo-rim mustered her courage and raised her voice.
“So you’re saying you can’t cooperate with people who aren’t helpful?”
“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. I’m not finished yet.”
“What on earth...”
“So, can you do what that guy or the one with the crossbow can do? Do you really think you can stab those monsters with a rock or a knife? From where I’m standing, it’s a definite no. Especially you and the girl stuck to that guy’s side—all you did was shriek every time they appeared. At least the woman over there kept her mouth shut. She didn’t get in the way. If you’d done at least that much, I wouldn’t be saying a word.”
The woman Park Dong-geol pointed to was the one who had asked me earlier why I was leaving my post. She still maintained her cold, composed expression.
A moment passed before Lee Bo-rim finally spoke, her voice trembling. It was significantly more subdued than before.
“So, your conclusion is to abandon those who aren’t useful...”
Watching Lee Bo-rim trail off, unable to finish her sentence, I reconsidered the man named Park Dong-geol. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand his intentions, but his words were worth a second thought. At first, I had dismissed him as a simple-minded thug, but he was assessing the current situation with considerable accuracy and presenting his own logic, whatever his motives might be.
Seeing the deflated Lee Bo-rim, Park Dong-geol bared his yellowed teeth and spoke with renewed confidence.
“Why are you jumping to conclusions? I haven’t said anything like that yet. Don’t be so sensitive. The world is give and take. That means cooperation is only possible when you can prove you’re useful to some extent. What do you think will happen if we just vaguely agree to cooperate and head outside? That punk will be busy looking after his girlfriend, and we’ll be lucky if that little kid doesn’t just freeze up and get in the way again. I’m saying I don’t want to protect or cooperate with such clueless people. My life is the most important thing to me. Isn’t it the same for all of you?”
The sharp-tongued woman had nothing to say, merely fidgeting with her hands. The female banker’s face was flushed a conspicuous red. I could see her fists clenched and trembling, but she too seemed to have no retort. After leisurely observing their reactions, Park Dong-geol, sensing it was time to play his winning card, began to speak with the fluency of a seasoned orator.
“My own life is the most important—that’s true for everyone here. If you admit that, let’s be honest. Some people here can’t cooperate. Even now, you’re just blindly relying on others. Hey, kid over there. Right?”
Startled at being singled out, An Sol glanced at Hyeon, her mouth opening and closing. She seemed to have something to say, but the words wouldn’t come out as she had hoped, and she hung her head again. Park Dong-geol gave an exaggerated shrug and continued.
“He knew it too, that’s why he told the kid to walk on her own earlier. If you had gone with the crossbow guy when he suggested it, you wouldn’t have had to go through that. Huh? Why the long faces? Did I say something wrong again?”
It wasn’t entirely wrong. Regardless of his motives, he had assessed the reality of the situation with some accuracy. The problem was that, for those who needed help, it was like he had thrown a stone straight at them.
“If you think I’m wrong, prove it right now. Go down the hill, kill one or two of those monsters, and bring them back to me. Then I’ll shut my mouth for good.”
“……”
As if he had said all he needed to, Park Dong-geol stepped back and returned to his spot. I was curious about the others’ reactions. I turned my head and began to study their faces one by one.
An Hyeon had his eyes closed, seemingly lost in deep thought, while Sol trembled slightly as she looked at her brother. But the most pitiful were Lee Bo-rim and Lee Shin-woo. It was clear that Park Dong-geol had targeted them from the start. Their teeth were chattering audibly with tension. For a while, no one spoke. The first to break the silence was An Hyeon.
“I understand what you’re saying, but.”
An Hyeon, who had mostly remained silent, glanced at his sister beside him and spoke in a clear voice.
“Sol is not my girlfriend; she’s my little sister. I have no intention of abandoning her.”
“Oppa...”
An Sol, looking touched, threw her arms around An Hyeon. Park Dong-geol, who seemed to have been unaware of this, replied with a stunned expression.
“Siblings, huh. I didn’t know. Well, that can’t be helped. But it doesn’t change anything. Who can guarantee that an incident like the one before won’t happen again?”
The situation was becoming quite interesting. Unable to target An Hyeon directly, he was now pressuring him by targeting An Sol, who was clearly a liability. In the end, Park Dong-geol had chosen to break away on his own terms. But instead of leaving quietly, he was deliberately shaking the group to its core. An Hyeon said nothing more, and a silence so profound that you couldn’t even hear breathing fell over the hill.
“Well, don’t take it too hard. I know I talked for a while, but this half-assed state we’re in isn’t getting us anywhere, right? And it seems a lot of you don’t like me anyway.”
“So. What is it you ultimately want...?”
When the sharp-tongued woman asked, her voice less edgy than before, Park Dong-geol answered immediately.
“I... want to make a proper team here.”
-Author's Note-
1. Corrected typos and refined phrasing.