Antisocial Chapter 16

Chapter 16. Immunity

“Recently, a part of the defense line of the refugee village, where a large number of troops and refugees had gathered, collapsed. It’s said that several powerful mutants have appeared. The number of mutants appearing in the densely populated defense line is increasing. The important thing is that the mutants seem to have the ability to find densely populated areas.”

Humans and zombies began the survival of the fittest.

“The government favors people who are good at hunting zombies. Someone like you will definitely be treated well if you go down. Isn’t that how this country is? Even a refugee village is a good place to live if you have the ability. You won’t have any inconveniences living there.”

Sung-sik smiled strangely and respectfully at Do-kyung, who looked much younger than him. His gentlemanly expression turned gloomy, like a snake.

Bo-yeon suddenly felt scared of them. Even though they were caught at the bottom, none of the four showed any particular guilt. They were all pretending to be gentle while wearing social masks.

Do-kyung tapped his fingers as if he was thinking about something. Then he said to Bo-yeon:

“You said you wanted to make a vegetable garden.”

A vegetable garden all of a sudden? Was that why he asked if there were any farmers?

‘If time passes like this, there will be a problem with the expiration date of the food we have. Should I make a vegetable garden to be self-sufficient?’

Surely, Bo-yeon had said something like that.

‘We will show that there are people living in the yard.’

But didn’t she get rejected?

“Should I give it to you?”

“Yes? What…?”

When Bo-yeon couldn’t keep up with the conversation and was bewildered, Do-kyung gestured to the four men who were kneeling in a mess.

“Four slaves.”

Did they ever imagine that? Not only would they have slaves, but that they would be reduced to slaves themselves.

From the moment Do-kyung said that, regardless of Bo-yeon’s intention, they became slaves for the garden.

***

Do-kyung didn’t hug Bo-yeon that day.

Bo-yeon, who had thought she would be treated badly for not listening, felt something ominous about Do-kyung acting as if nothing had happened.

It wasn’t easy to read his expressionless face. He was as calm as a windless area. Bo-yeon felt trapped in the eye of the typhoon, helplessly waiting for the disaster that would soon come.

At the same time, she became anxious about his unusual reaction. That day, Do-kyung not only didn’t have sex with Bo-yeon, but he also didn’t sleep with her like usual.

Lying alone in bed, Bo-yeon realized that it had become awkward to sleep alone. And she began to have miserable worries about whether she had gotten on his bad side and lost his favor.

Up until now, Do-kyung had never kicked Bo-yeon out, so she hadn’t worried much. But in fact, Bo-yeon had no time to worry. What would happen to her if she lost his attention?

In that way, Bo-yeon was left alone for four days. She couldn’t sleep properly at night due to her anxiety.

The four slaves were forcibly relocated to a house a little further away with a large yard. Do-kyung chose Ji-won as the leader and gave him a gun. He then made him watch the other three slaves.

Ji-won’s face turned pale, as if he had heard some kind of threat, and he focused on monitoring the traitors. He was also handed over one of the drones that Bo-yeon had in her possession.

The four immune people who could operate during the day plowed the yard and covered it with plastic to make a decent vinyl house. They used seeds, fertilizer, and insulation materials for low-temperature crops.

They chose a place where a device to bring water from an underground water pump was installed in the yard. As long as they managed to prevent freezing in the winter, they could continue to use the water.

Although low-temperature crops are originally sown in the winter and have the characteristic of growing well no matter where they are planted, they were skeptical about whether they would actually be farmed.

It might just be a struggle. However, the tyrant never changed his mind. She kept wondering what his plan was.

Do-kyung did not let them rest and dragged them out at night. This time, Bo-yeon was with him. It had been a long time since Bo-yeon had been outside at night.

Night vision goggles were only given to Bo-yeon and Ji-won.

“Follow me closely. You better not even think about running away. I’ll shoot you right away!”

Ji-won shouted with confidence, as if he was quite suited to being slave number 1, watching over the others.

Although he said something that was too harsh, seeing the others being dragged around with ropes made her wonder if this was really okay. There was still no clear evidence of a crime, and strictly speaking, they didn’t have the authority to punish them.

“People like that…”

Do-kyung leaned in after hearing Bo-yeon’s careless monologue.

“Do you want to help?”

Flinch. A cool breath spread across Bo-yeon’s round earlobe as he brushed her hair back.

“Do you think that they’ll be grateful to you for that? Do you have any idea what would happen if they died or disappeared right now?”

“……”

Bo-yeon knew that she was harboring idealism that didn’t fit the current situation. She still couldn’t realize it, even more so because she had no experience. It was clear who was responsible for this.

“If they were going to do something, they should have been prepared to suffer.”

Was it reaping what you sowed? Bo-yeon couldn’t come forward and kept her mouth shut.

In fact, Bo-yeon was so anxious right now that she didn’t have the time to worry about other people’s problems. Even if there were days when they didn’t have sex, they slept in the same bed every day. 

Yet now that they had been in separate rooms for four days, she was startled and scared by the miserable imagination.

Besides, he was concerned about Bo-yeon’s safety, so he hadn’t let her go outside during that time. But when she was suddenly dragged outside, she was in a state of panic.

Bo-yeon unconsciously grabbed the hem of Do-kyung’s clothes.

“You’ll know when you see.”

Do-kyung smiled as he stroked Bo-yeon’s hair affectionately. The hand that had been gently sweeping over her small head subtly teased her white nape and plump chest before it fell.

Ah… Bo-yeon felt her anxiety subside a little at that gesture, terribly. She felt like her mind was going to collapse from the miserable relief. She clung to him, trembling cowardly.

“Do you see well?”

Do-kyung showed a much gentler attitude toward Bo-yeon and personally put on the night vision goggles on her.

“Yes….”

Bo-yeon didn’t have the presence of mind to admire the new civilization. The night she first met Do-kyung, she had suffered greatly mentally even before leaving the bunker.

Just as when she first encountered the lawless night of Seoul, she clung to his hand with a pitiful and desperate heart.

Today, their goal was to find winter supplies. The bunker was okay because it had an electric hot water and heating system, but it wasn’t the same for the housing used by the immunes. It was bearable for now, but if the weather continued to get colder, it would be a problem.

A department store appeared after walking for about 30 minutes. There, they could buy things like thermal insulation supplies for camping.

However, the problem was that the department store was in the middle of the road, so it was definitely dangerous. There were many mutants, not to mention zombies. Even the immunes had to avoid mutants, so the night was less dangerous than the day.

The strange thing was Do-kyung. Isn’t that strange? That he, who had been indifferent until now, was trying to help those he called ‘slaves.’

In any case, Do-kyung was the one who moved the group, and if he wanted, no one could rebel. Bo-yeon and the others followed his lead.

They arrived near the department store without any particular problems.

“…….”

Bo-yeon, who was looking at the department store, stopped walking without realizing it. It was creepy.

The transparent glass at the entrance of the department store was glowing dimly.

There wasn’t a very bright light source. However, when the entire city was engulfed in darkness, even a faint flame would look intense.

The department store was a place where survivors were expected to be. Isn’t it? The most important item for survival was food, and the department store’s basement mart was a place with an abundance of food. If the entrance was sealed well, it could last a long time.

But light? How could humans turn on lights like that at this time of night? It would attract all the zombies on the street.

What was even stranger was that there seemed to be a boundary line drawn around the department store, so the zombies couldn’t approach beyond a certain distance.

It meant one thing.

“Why… is it shining?”

“There are no zombies nearby…”

“There are powerful mutants inside…!”

Even though the group of immune people whispered softly, no zombies approached.

A department store that zombies couldn’t approach. The subtle lights seemed to attract moths to a flame. Even though it was a trap, it was still an attractive location for the survivors.

Even though they didn’t know what kind of monster was inside, it was clear that the creature was intelligent because it was using tricks.