Antisocial Chapter 28

Chapter 28. Human

“W-we, cough! When we arrived… there weren’t even a few people left…”

Slap! Do-kyung subdued the large man as if treating him like a child. Whenever he tried to rebel, he was struck harder.

“Hic, they… killed it… Not me, but those guys… those guys…”

The big man, who had never been forced into submission, couldn’t snap out of his fear and the violence. His eyes wide with terror, he weakly continued to speak.

He didn’t seem to have the presence of mind to fabricate a lie.

“Which number?”

“…703.”

Bo-yeon took out a family photo and showed it to the big man. She had brought it just in case.

“Have you seen this person?”

“I… I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve seen him… I’ve never killed anyone from here… Hic, really…”

When Do-kyung raised his hand again, the big man screamed like a child and urgently shouted, “In the room! Cough, there’s a ledger in the room…! It lists who came out of which apartment number, who was there, and things like that…”

Despite his brutish appearance, the big man was surprisingly meticulous. With that kind of personality, he must have been able to manage his survival by cutting off the mutant’s head every two hours.

“Honestly, this is the first time I’ve seen it…. I remember people’s faces well, but this is the first time I’ve seen him…. I didn’t kill him. I didn’t kill him, fuck….”

As Bo-yeon was thinking that her uncle had escaped, slap! Do-kyung hit him again, likely because he didn’t like the fact that the man had sworn at Bo-yeon. Now, his face was so bruised it was unrecognizable.

“W-what was the reason you attacked them?”

Bo-yeon asked Do-kyung carefully, hoping to stop him. As long as the man was talking, Do-kyung seemed to hold back from hitting him.

“Uh, when we… when we came to the hideout, we thought we had to defend ourselves… I’m sorry…”

“……” 

They knew that Bo-yeon and Do-kyung were human, yet they were willing to kill fellow humans simply because they had approached their hideout.

They must have killed the residents to steal supplies—hoping to monopolize them.

“Couldn’t you have escaped Seoul?”

“B-because it’s more comfortable here than in a refugee camp… If you have a mutant head…”

“……”

It was easier to loot.

The more Bo-yeon heard, the more her heart ached. She felt a deep sadness as she realized how desperate the world had become, with humanity collapsing around her. She had no more questions for him.

“Why are the others so quiet? Think carefully. If you don’t answer correctly, you die.”

“…1st floor, they’ll be searching my room… They’ll probably try to escape by finding the mutant head I’ve hidden…”

Do-kyung, who had been conducting the violent interrogation, got up when he saw Bo-yeon, pale and with her eyes tightly shut.

He stroked her round head with his left hand, the one not covered in blood.

“Are you scared?”

Do-kyung watched Bo-yeon, who was timid and easily startled. He kept the situation under control, treating the man as mercifully as possible.

Yet, he couldn’t understand why her expression was like that.

Do-kyung couldn’t grasp why Bo-yeon looked so miserable.

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t treat you like that.”

“……”

Bo-yeon glanced at the man who had suddenly passed out and foamed at the mouth, recalling an unexpected fear.

‘Don’t even think about running away. Don’t even think about resisting. If you get caught, you won’t last a day even if I treat you gently.’

Was that what he meant?

“……?”

Do-kyung frowned, unable to understand why Bo-yeon was growing even paler despite his attempts to reassure her.

The car trunk was packed. Do-kyung rummaged through the crowded trunk, pulling out a bulletproof helmet and a bulletproof vest.

When had he managed to cram all these things in there? Bo-yeon was confused.

“What are all these…?”

“Everything. Raising anything takes a lot of work, but you’re really weak.”

With that, Do-kyung carefully put a bulletproof vest on Bo-yeon.

If you raise anything…?

Are you talking about me?

Is it because I’m treated like a pet? I’m a person…?

How could he think of a person as a pet? It seemed so unrealistic to Bo-yeon that she couldn’t understand it.

Despite his harsh words, Bo-yeon, who had a strong sense of self as a ‘human,’ stared at him, baffled.

Do-kyung smirked and placed the bulletproof helmet on her head.

“I can’t see very well…”

“It’s the smallest one, but it doesn’t fit.”

Do-kyung tightened the strap, but Bo-yeon’s face and head were too small, so the helmet wobbled with every movement.

“Just wear it. It’s not that different.”

“…… ”

It blocks her vision, so how could it make no difference…?

Did that mean she was useless anyway, and it didn’t matter if she couldn’t see?

“You’re so small, why can’t you fit in a pocket?”

What kind of strange words were those? Bo-yeon grabbed the bulletproof helmet with her hand to secure her vision and looked at him.

“How can a person fit in a pocket…? And I’m not small. I’m taller than average.”

“It would be easy if I could fold you up and store you.”

“So how could you fold a person…?”

Can he fold someone?

Bo-yeon suddenly felt creeped out by Do-kyung’s unwelcome gaze. It was an eerie look, as if he could crush someone’s bones and fold them up.

It was even more unsettling because he had the strength to do it.

“Stay behind me.”

Do-kyung headed straight for the apartment entrance. Bo-yeon quickly grabbed his hand.

“Wait a minute! Why are you putting it on me? What about yours?”

“That’s all.”

The trunk was packed, yet there was only one bulletproof vest. Judging by the fact that he had chosen the smallest one, it seemed he had only prepared for Bo-yeon from the start.

It felt very strange. Bo-yeon didn’t know what kind of face to make.

“……”

Bo-yeon just wanted to check the ledger and find out what had happened to her uncle’s house. However, Do-kyung had come at her request. She thought that if anyone had to take the risk, it would be her.

“Then you should wear the bulletproof vest.”

“You’ll die if you get shot.”

“……?”

Of course, right?

Bo-yeon, momentarily speechless at such an obvious statement, quickly regained her composure and responded.

“If you get shot, you’ll die too. Being good at shooting and not dying from a shot are completely different issues. Do you think bullets will just avoid you?”

“Are you defying me?”

“No, that’s not it…”

Even if the earlier gunfight had been inevitable, there was no need for him to take this kind of risk. Bo-yeon sighed and said, “Why don’t we come back tomorrow? Those people might leave.”

“No.”

Do-kyung replied, his expression unchanged.

“Why? You don’t like it?”

“What other reason do I need to give for saying no?”

“……”

That means he doesn’t like it.

I see. You just don’t like it.

“Then at least wear a bulletproof vest.”

“No.”

Do-kyung teased Bo-yeon with a smirk, clearly amused.

“…Okay. Then I’ll take the lead. Even if I get shot, I’ll be safe with the bulletproof vest.”

“…….”

Do-kyung stared at Bo-yeon for a moment, then coldly ignored her, as if she wasn’t worth his attention. Under his gaze, Bo-yeon felt like an insignificant being.

She couldn’t decide if he was caring for her or simply ignoring her.

For Do-kyung, who saw Bo-yeon as a possession—someone who was his—it was natural to protect her.

However, Bo-yeon, with a strong sense of self as a ‘human,’ couldn’t understand Do-kyung’s way of thinking at all.

No matter how much he tried to treat her as his possession or even as a pet, it didn’t really hurt Bo-yeon. She saw herself as a ‘human,’ and that made all the difference.

It was something Bo-yeon hadn’t fully realized, but her mindset—shaped by growing up in a healthy environment—was what made her so strong in that way.

Bo-yeon, still staring blankly, soon had no choice but to quickly catch up with Do-kyung, who was dragging her along.

Two people stood guard in the hallway on the first floor. Before they could even raise their guns, Do-kyung shot them.

Bang! Bang!

With two gunshots, two heads exploded.

“……”

It was a clean shot, and Bo-yeon, who had been worried, was taken aback.

He would hesitate when facing her, but he didn’t hesitate when it came to them. Perhaps that cold personality was the very thing that enhanced his fighting ability.

Now that she knew they were a group of criminals who killed residents and looted apartments, she didn’t think about stopping him. Still, Bo-yeon couldn’t shake the bitter feeling that she was becoming numb to death.

 

 

The house the bald man had used as a hideout had its front door tightly shut. However, Do-kyung easily solved that problem by grabbing the doorknob and tearing it off.

Their resistance was more than expected, as Bo-yeon heard gunshots from inside. Just as the door swung open, a grenade flew toward them.