Apocalypse’s Teacher

Chapter 81

It was a situation where such harsh words could not be avoided.

Zombies lingering at the entrance of the hotel I returned to.

A zombie slamming its head against the entrance.

And when I caught that zombie, Hyesung was in front of me.

All of these accumulated events made me act so violently.

"Ugh...."

Hyesung shrinks her body.

Then, tears fill her glistening eyes.

Her shoulders droop, and her head lowers.

Only after witnessing that did I realize I had scared the child.

"Ah...."

Regret surged belatedly.

I needed to say something to apologize, but before I could, Hyesung burst into tears.

"Uwaaa...."

Chunsik whined and rubbed against Hyesung.

Despite that, Hyesung's crying grew even sadder.

My trembling body guided me closer to Hyesung.

And I carefully embraced her.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry. I was just so startled. I was so worried that Hyesung might get hurt."

Pat, pat.

When I patted her back, Hyesung hugged me tightly.

And she cried even more sorrowfully.

"I'm sor... sob... sorry....!"

Her attempt to apologize, even while stumbling over her polite speech, pierced my heart.

There must have been something I should have considered before scolding her, but I just yelled right away, and I loathed myself for it.

'Hyesung must have been frustrated too....'

She might have felt stifled by this world confined within this building, and I didn't even think about that.

"I'm sorry...."

"Hng...."

Hyesung clung to me.

I just held her tightly and kept repeating my apologies.

What had I done to this kind and tender child?

My guilt made my heart pound relentlessly.

*

A child's body grows quickly.

But there is something that grows even faster than that: a child's world.

A child at an age of learning expands their world as much as they learn.

So it is natural for a child who only knew the underground shelter to now see a few floors of a hotel, the entire building, and even beyond.

'...I can't hide it from her forever.'

It was only after this incident that my dull mind realized.

That the moment was approaching when I would have to show Hyesung how harsh this world truly is.

Hyesung cried herself to sleep.

Yet even while sleeping, her tiny hand clenched tightly to my collar.

The penthouse's living room.

The other children, the elderly man, and Helen bore guilty expressions, ashamed of not knowing Hyesung had gone down to the first floor.

"I'm sorry. We should have been watching better...."

"No."

I replied to the elderly man while brushing Hyesung's still teary cheeks.

"...No, no. That's not it. You can't be expected to keep an eye on Hyesung all day. That's not even the right thing to do."

"You fool...."

"It's alright. I just thought that maybe I had been too careless."

Was it my own greed?

That's what I began to think.

"I thought it was right to only show her good things. Since she's still a child, I wanted to fill her with happy memories first. That's why I didn't teach her about the dangers...."

I frowned as I continued.

"...Maybe that wasn't the right thing to do."

It was a mistake.

This was clearly my mistake.

This time, we were lucky enough to return to the hotel at the right moment, but there's no guarantee it will always be like that next time or the time after.

To prevent such incidents in the future, I need to teach the child about unpleasant things as well.

"That's just what I've been thinking."

Once, I had said that the end of the world was anything but fair.

That even with the same weight, the burden felt heavier for others, and I had claimed as such.

Now, I had no choice but to take back those words.

'Why is the world so twisted?'

The apocalypse is cruel and deceitful, burdening only the weak with unbearably heavy loads.

*

Hyesung opened her eyes.

Watching her quietly as she lay on the bed in the room, I smiled and spoke to her.

"Did you sleep well?"

Hyesung glanced at me silently.

Then, she flinched, trembling and drawing her shoulders in.

"...Yeah."

Ah, I had scared the child.

The reminder of that fact pained me once again.

I smiled bitterly.

I wanted to smile as if everything was alright, but no matter how I tried, my smile ended up like that.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at Hyesung; I was just too startled."

I couldn't quite reach out my hand, so I spoke from a slight distance.

The kind Hyesung carefully watched my reaction, then crawled over and hugged me.

"No... it's Hyesung who did wrong."

"Huh?"

"I didn't listen to uncle and the others...."

Even as she spoke, she watched me closely.

She seemed to be checking whether I was still angry.

'You don't need to do that.'

There's no need for her to already learn to hide her feelings for the sake of others.

With that thought, I hugged Hyesung tightly.

"Then should we say that both uncle and Hyesung were wrong?"

"Hmm...."

Hyesung pondered for a moment.

Then, she slowly nodded.

I gently stroked Hyesung's head as I continued.

"Hyesung."

"Yeah?"

"Now that I think about it, I don't think I ever explained to you why you shouldn't go outside."

My words didn't come easily.

It was something that should've just been said, yet I had failed to do so and was now drawing out the prelude.

Hyesung tilted her head.

I stared at the child's expression for a long time before finally speaking.

"Hey, Hyesung, when you look out the window, what do you see?"

"Buildings...!"

"What else?"

"Hmm... snow?"

"What about things you can't see except in winter?"

Hyesung's brow furrowed.

She struggled with her thoughts for a moment, then continued in a very cautious voice.

"...Sick people."

Sick people.

I wasn't so oblivious as to not understand what that meant.

'So that's how it looks to Hyesung.'

Right, it was strange not to know from the start.

No matter how high this place is, it's natural to see the zombies wandering below just by glancing down.

Even though Hyesung had already recognized their existence, she hadn't asked further because we hadn't mentioned it.

"Hyesung has sharp eyes."

As I gently stroked her head, Hyesung's cheeks turned red.

Then she nodded up and down.

Having spoken softly the whole time, she now seemed to realize that I wasn't angry.

"Yeah, Hyesung's eyes sparkle...!"

I laughed, following Hyesung's lead.

Then I said.

"Yeah, but you know what? That's not a sick person."

"Huh?"

"It's an evil monster pretending to be a person. That's why there are so many of those monsters out there, and I'm afraid Hyesung might get hurt. That's why I can't let you go outside."

It probably wasn't an adequate explanation.

About what those zombies really are, how they move, and what happens if you approach them.

Explaining in a way that Hyesung, who knows nothing, could understand would take too much time, so I gave her a simplified explanation.

A look of surprise spread across Hyesung's face.

Her mouth opened in a "Ha," and even then, her curious eyes sparkled as always.

"M-monsters...!"

"Yeah, monsters. Those monsters try to bite anyone they see."

"Bite?"

"Yeah, they bite to turn you into a monster too."

Thud!

Hyesung froze.

She began to show the frightened reaction typical of children who hear scary stories.

But there was one difference between Hyesung and other children.

'Zombies actually exist.'

Unlike the fictional beings in scary stories that children fear, zombies are real.

And Hyesung can see them through the window.

So, Hyesung would have to live with a piece of fear in her heart from now on.

It was a pitiful and bitter situation.

"But it's going to be okay."

So I hugged Hyesung tightly and said.

"Because I go out every day and get rid of those monsters. To make sure they can't bite Hyesung."

Hyesung wiggled around.

Then she peeked her head out and asked.

"Will you turn into a monster?"

"I won't."

The confident answer was to reassure Hyesung.

"I need to play with Hyesung, so I'll never turn into a monster."

"...Promise?"

"Promise."

Pat.

Pat.

I patted Hyesung's back.

Hyesung gazed at me for a moment and then hugged me, saying.

"Then when I grow up, I'll get rid of the monsters."

"Huh?"

"Since you have to play with me, I'll get rid of the monsters when I grow up."

She snorted as she said it.

I hesitated for a moment, wondering what to say, but eventually, I just smiled.

"Then I only need to get rid of the monsters until Hyesung grows up?"

"Yeah! When I'm as big as my sister, I'll get rid of them!"

Sister, she must mean Gihyun.

To Hyesung, Gihyun must already seem like an admirable adult.

Wanting to grow up and protect me.

Despite how scary it must be, she said that, and I couldn't help but feel grateful.

"Thank you."

So, I expressed my gratitude to Hyesung, who had given me such an energetic reply.