Apocalypse’s Teacher

Chapter 82

Hyesung's exploration ended as just a happening.

The period when the supplies from the prison were fully moved and the chill of winter reached its peak.

We were taking a rare break thanks to unexpected gains.

But the break wasn't anything extravagant.

Just a luxury we couldn't afford normally.

In other words, it was just using a bit of 'electricity' as a luxury.

[RUN-!]

The beam projector displayed a scene across the wall.

Speakers placed in the corners spread sound throughout the house.

What are we doing?

Obviously, we're watching a movie.

...And it's a zombie movie.

[Groooar!!!]

A zombie, seemingly three meters tall, charged at the protagonist.

The protagonist slid between the zombie's legs with agile moves and shot at its groin with a pistol.

[Bang! Bang!]

The zombie collapsed.

Only then did the protagonist exhale and wipe their sweat.

[Fucking....]

I watched the movie with a disinterested face.

'How can a zombie be 3 meters tall.'

Of course, I was baffled by the absurdity of the movie's plot.

Zombies can't make such thunderous sounds.

Their vocal cords rot away, so at best they can only make hissing noises.

Moreover, zombies can't perform martial arts like that.

They lack the reasoning to use martial arts.

Such an absurd story.

The only reason to watch this utterly unrealistic zombie movie was simple.

"Ohhh...!"

It was because of Hyesung.

Since it was time to make Hyesung aware that the world isn't entirely bright, we were watching it to teach her the concept of 'zombies.'

'At least it's not gory.'

No matter what, Hyesung is a 7-year-old child, and a movie showing severed human limbs wouldn't be appropriate.

This movie, among zombie movies, was carefully chosen as an action-oriented one.

I yawned with a 'yawn~' sound and asked Hyesung, who was still watching the movie with excitement.

"Is it fun?"

"Yeah!"

Hyesung nodded vigorously.

Then, she suddenly spun around and looked at me, her voice full of anticipation as she asked.

"Do you fight like that too, Uncle?"

"Huh...?"

"Bang, bang, bang! Like sliding! And defeating big monsters like that?!"

What nonsense is this.

I shuddered at Hyesung's gestures as she flailed her whole body while asking the question.

A belated thought occurred to me.

'Ah, for Hyesung, this is how zombies become the default.'

For someone like Hyesung who doesn't know much about zombies, the zombies in this movie would be the same as the ones outside.

And I, who fights those zombies, would seem like the protagonist from this movie.

A feeling of awkwardness filled me.

While I could just tell her the truth, there's that certain feeling.

The kind of feeling where you want to act tough and impressive in front of a child.

Unable to erase the feeling that surfaced, I shrugged my shoulders and mumbled.

"...It was a tough fight."

"Wowww!!!"

Hyesung's exclamation made the corners of my lips curl up.

Gihyun, Jinwoo, and the old man looked at me as if I were pathetic, but it didn't matter.

"Hyesung, you don't need to worry about stuff like this yet. I'll handle it...."

"Wowww!!!"

Hyesung jumped up and down in excitement.

I sighed with a 'phew' and closed my eyes.

"...Idiot."

I took some time to calm myself, thinking that Gihyun's curse surely wasn't directed at me.

Fortunately, the self-deprecation hit me only after Hyesung had fallen asleep.

*

The next morning, Hyesung looked at Seokho, who was still sleeping, with eyes full of admiration.

The soundly snoring big man's face was dotted with stubble, and his hair was disheveled like a bird's nest.

It was a look that could be described as unkempt, but to Hyesung, it seemed different.

'He's the protagonist...!'

Hyesung still hadn't shaken off the lingering emotions from the movie.

And she couldn't break free from the charm of Seokho's wistful words from the day before.

-...It was a tough fight.

Hyesung let her imagination run wild.

Today, Seokho would leave the house again to fight big zombies.

With agile movements, he would climb walls and shoot his pistol—bang! bang! bang!

Then, the zombies would scream and collapse.

Thump-thump.

Hyesung's heart raced.

Imagining the cool Seokho made her want to become like him.

Unable to sit still with the feeling, Hyesung woke up Chunsik, who was sleeping at Seokho's feet.

"Chunsik...!"

She whispered.

Even so, the sharp-eared puppy Chunsik heard her immediately and opened his eyes.

"Woof...?"

"Training...! Let's go...!"

Chunsik stuck out his tongue blankly.

Of course, not understanding human speech was natural, but that didn't hinder the communication between Hyesung and him.

Seeing Hyesung crawl down from the bed, Chunsik instinctively followed her.

*

When I opened my eyes, Hyesung was gone.

"Hyesung...?"

I was startled and got up from the bed.

I even checked under the bed, thinking she might have fallen.

'...No way?'

Did Hyesung go downstairs again?

The moment that thought crossed my mind, my body moved on its own as I left the room.

In the living room, the old man and Jinwoo were there.

Without saying anything else, I immediately asked.

"Where's Hyesung?"

"Huh? She went up to the roof."

"Ah...."

Suddenly, the tension was completely released.

Only then did I feel the strength drain from my body, and I nodded my head.

'Was I feeling anxious?'

Come to think of it, it wasn't uncommon for Hyesung to not be around when I woke up, but remembering how I was suddenly so uneasy, it seemed like that was the case.

'Ah, I need to calm down. At this rate, I'll end up like those overly dramatic middle-aged women.'

I recalled the times when I used to act as a teacher.

How much I sympathized with the children who were overwhelmed by the fussiness of those women.

I had promised myself hundreds, thousands of times that I would never act like that if I had children of my own.

I didn't want to burden Hyesung with such frustration.

Taking deep breaths, I left the penthouse and walked slowly toward the rooftop.

Clank-.

When I opened the rooftop door, I saw something.

"Hiya! Hiya!"

"Woof! Woof!"

The rooftop was covered in snow, completely white.

In one corner, a snowman we had made some time ago was smiling, and in another corner was a space piled with frozen dirt.

Hyesung was punching the air.

Next to her, Chunsik was hopping around, leaving footprints in the snow.

Pfft-.

A laugh escaped my lips.

Wondering what on earth they were doing, I continued to watch them quietly, without making a sound, and Hyesung started doing something else.

"Hah!"

Hyesung slid across the snow-covered ground.

Then, she stretched her hand toward the air and made 'bang! bang!' sounds with her mouth.

Only then did I realize what Hyesung was doing.

'She's imitating the movie we watched yesterday.'

She usually didn't get this absorbed, but it seemed like Hyesung might have a taste for zombie movies.

"Seuko?"

As my thoughts continued, I heard a voice from behind me.

It was Helen's voice.

"Ah, you're up?"

"What are you doing?"

"Watching Hyesung."

Helen stood on her tiptoes and peeked over my shoulder to look at the rooftop.

Then, she let out a 'Pfft' while bursting into laughter and turning red.

"Hyesung... is so adorable."

"Right?"

"Chunsik, so white."

"I was the one who cleaned him."

We exchanged words.

Very, very awkward words were exchanged.

...Yes, what more could be said?

Ever since the day I almost caused trouble while drunk, any moment alone with Helen had been filled with this awkward atmosphere.

Surely, I wasn't the only one feeling this awkwardness.

It made sense, seeing as even Helen, who was talking now, couldn't bring herself to meet my gaze.

My eyes gradually shifted toward Helen.

At that moment, Helen also looked at me.

Freeze-.

Our eyes met.

'...They're so blue.'

As I gazed into Helen's pupils, such a thought unexpectedly came to mind. Then, Hyesung, who had noticed us, shouted.

"It's Uncle! And Helen!"

"Woof!"

Both Helen and I flinched.

Then, as if it were only natural, we quickly moved apart from each other.

For some reason, my heart started to pound.

I hadn't done anything in particular, but it felt like I had been caught doing something improper.

Amidst all of this, Hyesung suddenly approached and hugged my leg, followed by Chunsik wagging his tail behind her.

I erased my rising emotions and asked Hyesung.

"What... what were you doing?"

"Training!"

"Huh?"

"Training to fight zombies! Hyesung is going to grow up and become a zombie hunter!"

Hyesung jumped and punched the air.

Such an adorable sight.

At that moment, the awkwardness I had been feeling up until then instantly melted away, and I smiled.

"Then Hyesung needs to eat a lot. Right?"

"Yeah! Hyesung will eat a lot!"

After saying that, there was a brief silence.

Hyesung, sneaking glances at Helen and me, then very secretly whispered.

"...If Hyesung eats ham, she grows faster."

It seemed like Hyesung wanted ham for breakfast.

I burst into a laugh and then replied to her.

"No. Eating ham in the morning will upset your stomach."

"Aww...."

Hyesung pouted.