Han Jaejun burst out angrily. Joo Seonghan didn’t know what reaction to show, so he kept his mouth shut and averted his eyes.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. But you seem to work out a bit. Do you go to the gym?”
Kang Hyeonjoo, who quickly spat out an apology, naturally changed the direction of the conversation. Han Jaejun clicked his tongue, and Joo Seonghan shook his head while massaging his calf.
“I go to the neighborhood pool. The gym is too burdensome…”
Bang!
A gunshot echoed. Thud. The sound of grass up to knee height falling over was heard.
“Put on your shoes.”
Han Jaejun, who had pulled and fired his gun in an instant, stood up. Kang Hyeonjoo had already entered combat readiness, and Joo Seonghan, who had a dazed face, hurriedly shoved his feet into his shoes.
“There are many, Hyeonjo-ya.”
“How many?”
Kang Hyeonjoo, who was standing facing the direction Han Jaejun was aiming his gun, asked in a low voice.
“More than our bullet count.”
“…Where did they come from? They definitely weren’t here earlier.”
Bang! Kiiiek…! The monster’s groan, smaller than the gunshot, echoed through the forest. Han Jaejun looked around in all directions. Ah, ssibal. He cursed quietly and stuck out his tongue to wet his lips. Rustle, rustle. The sound grew louder. And semi-humans began to appear even to Joo Seonghan’s eyes, which had ordinary vision. Joo Seonghan felt his heart pounding as he pulled out his knife with trembling hands and gripped it.
Horse legs, tiger legs, kangaroo legs… Semi-humans with human upper bodies and beast hind legs approached, walking on two feet. Grrr, the horse semi-human standing at the front stopped in front of the corpse of the semi-human shot dead. His eyes, touched by moonlight, glowed red. The semi-human kicked off the ground and leapt up.
“Break through at two o’clock!”
Bang, bang, bang! At Han Jaejun’s loud shout, Kang Hyeonjoo’s muzzle turned to the right. Han Jaejun, who was shooting at the same spot, occasionally blew off the heads of semi-humans approaching from behind. Joo Seonghan stood between the two, blankly opening his mouth.
“When I tell you to run, you run. All the way, to the end.”
Han Jaejun said in a calm voice. Joo Seonghan nodded vigorously even though he wasn’t looking at him. Kang Hyeonjoo threw the Sig, which had run out of ammunition, at a semi-human. Noticing this, Han Jaejun threw one Glock that had been holstered in his shoulder holster and one magazine to Kang Hyeonjoo. Kang Hyeonjoo released the safety and started shooting again. There were many, and they were approaching fast. In the midst of it, the semi-human with kangaroo legs kept dodging Han Jaejun’s bullets.
“Ssibal, run!”
Han Jaejun changed magazines and ran toward two o’clock where semi-human corpses were scattered. Kang Hyeonjoo, who had been standing further ahead, took the lead and Joo Seonghan followed behind him. The semi-humans screamed. The sharp noise and low growling suddenly drew close. A shiny horse tail fluttered beside Joo Seonghan. Joo Seonghan squeezed his eyes shut and swung his knife. The sharp blade that dug into the semi-human’s side tore and split the skin. Kuaa…! Bang! Han Jaejun, who had been running from behind, blew off the head of the screaming semi-human. Joo Seonghan forcibly moved his legs that wanted to stop.
“Don’t stop! Keep running!”
Han Jaejun shouted. Kang Hyeonjoo, who followed the command, moved his feet quickly and struck the temple of a semi-human that approached closely with his gun barrel. Another semi-human blocking the way bared its fangs and growled. Kang Hyeonjoo, who instantly drew his knife, stepped on its thigh and leapt high. He quickly stabbed the knife into its neck and pulled it out. The spurting blood glittered.
“Keep going!”
Joo Seonghan passed by Kang Hyeonjoo. Footsteps were heard from behind. Human footsteps. Joo Seonghan inwardly felt relieved and ran while exhaling ragged breaths. Bang! Bang! The heads of the semi-humans standing in front of Joo Seonghan burst open. Han Jaejun, who had fired from behind, passed Joo Seonghan. Hot blood droplets splattered on his face. The terrible smell of blood, which he couldn’t be used to, made his insides churn. His eyes felt like they were burning. His legs felt like they would burst, and the back and forth breathing made his dried-up throat taste like iron. Could he survive?
Thud! Clack.
“Joo Seonghan!”
As soon as he recognized the sound of an empty magazine, the long hair of a semi-human that had jumped from a high place swayed before his eyes. Why? Why is this visible in front of my eyes? His neck stung. Grrr, the semi-human’s throat sound was close, and Han Jaejun’s voice calling Joo Seonghan’s name grew distant. The wind dispersing by his ear felt somehow unreal.
Joo Seonghan’s body, dragged by the neck by the semi-human, crashed into the base of a tree. It felt like his back was splitting. Keuut…! He groaned and swung the knife he had held onto until the end with all his strength. The semi-human, who quickly pulled its face back, growled fiercely with blood-red eyes. A long scratch appeared on its freckled cheek. The thick kangaroo tail smacked the ground.
“Keok, keuk…”
The semi-human gripping Joo Seonghan’s neck squeezed even harder. I’m going to die from my neck being crushed. His breath faded and his thoughts slowed. The semi-human’s rough breathing also became muffled. Beyond his blurred vision, he could see muscles forming on the white semi-human’s arm. Strength gradually left Joo Seonghan’s hand that had been scratching the semi-human’s hand. He felt saliva flowing from his mouth, felt his eyes rolling upward. And splatter, splash. Hot liquid poured onto his face.
“Haa…! Heuit, keup…!”
Joo Seonghan clutched his neck and rolled on the ground, breathing frantically. He tore at the grass and struggled to open his stinging throat to take in oxygen. Then, the back of his head was grabbed. The person who gripped the back of Joo Seonghan’s head rubbed Joo Seonghan’s face with their sleeve.
“…I thought it wouldn’t be you.”
A high-pitched ringing passed by once, and belatedly his ears captured outside sounds. What wiped away Joo Seonghan’s unintentionally flowing tears and runny nose was the semi-human’s hot blood. Joo Seonghan barely exhaled and raised his blurred eyes.
“I didn’t think you’d still be alive.”
He was like an angel. The brightly smiling face, the firm palm gently cupping Joo Seonghan’s cheek, the touch softly stroking his hair.
“Survivor-nim, where are our kids?”
The angel asked in a gentle voice.
(2)
Joo Seonghan, with a dazed face, raised his trembling hand and pointed in the direction from which he had come. The angel carefully laid Joo Seonghan’s head on the ground and patted it.
“Lie down for a bit.”
“Um, Yeon Team Leader-nim, please come with…!”
The short man who arrived late, Park Gyujin, started to speak then stopped and bent at the waist, panting. Yeon Dogyeong, who had appeared as an angel to Joo Seonghan’s blurred eyes, dropped the three bags slung over his shoulder with a thud. He took out a bunch of submachine guns, rifles, bullets, grenades, and such from inside and stood up.
“Park Gyujin-ssi, please check if this person is okay. I’ll go get the kids.”
“Ah, yes, I will.”
Park Gyujin, who still hadn’t caught his breath, nodded with his head deeply bowed. The armed Yeon Dogyeong ran in the direction Joo Seonghan had pointed. Even carrying all those weapons while running, he was fast. Joo Seonghan watched his shrinking figure then closed his eyes. It’s not a dream, right?
Bang, bang, ratatataang!
The loudly echoing gunfire seemed to shout that it wasn’t a dream. The gunfire increased instantly, as if he had distributed the guns he brought to the team members. Grenades also exploded several times. The forest flashed.
“Would you like some water?”
Park Gyujin, who had been watching where the battle was taking place, sat down with a thud and asked. His whole body ached. The tension had released all at once, making it difficult to even lift an arm. Joo Seonghan slowly sat up, swallowing dry saliva that tasted of blood past his stinging throat. Thunk, something caught on his toes. The corpse of the kangaroo semi-human that had been right beside Joo Seonghan swayed.
“Ugh… We saw one or two while coming, and they’re really disgusting. Here’s the water.”
Joo Seonghan took the canteen Park Gyujin handed him and drank slowly. His already swollen throat cried out in pain. Narrowing his brow, he forced himself to drink a few more sips and handed it back to Park Gyujin.
“…Thank you.”
“Not at all. I’m Park Gyujin. A researcher belonging to the Semi-Human Research Institute. On the surface, it’s a Life Sciences Research Institute, though.”
“I’m Joo Seonghan.”
When Joo Seonghan’s relatively short introduction ended, only gunfire filled the space between the two. Park Gyujin smiled awkwardly and put the canteen in the bag and stood up. He examined the nearby tree and the grass under his feet. Joo Seonghan watched him for a moment then turned his head. The gunfire was getting closer and closer. Joo Seonghan clenched and unclenched his fist tightly, then picked up the knife that had fallen on the dirt ground. He could see someone’s silhouette approaching quickly. A person or a semi-human? He lifted his heavy body. His heart stung.
“What are you doing?”
Park Gyujun asked. Joo Seonghan didn’t answer and only looked between the dark trees. Clack, clack, with quick footsteps, what revealed itself under the moonlight wasn’t semi-humans but Semi-Human Department Team 3.
“Joo Seonghan-ssi!”
Kang Hyeonjoo came running with a face covered in blood, smiling wider than ever. Han Jaejun, messy here and there, also had a smiling face.
“Reunion later, let’s pack up quickly.”
Yeon Dogyeong, who reached Joo Seonghan’s side first, slid down and sat, took out magazines from the bag and threw them to Han Jaejun and Kang Hyeonjoo. They caught them skillfully, stored the magazines properly in their magazine pouches, and each slung the remaining two bags over their shoulders.
