Chapter 61

I stood barefoot on a dark mountain path. I could feel every leaf and pebble beneath my socks.

A shadow in the darkness spoke to me calmly.

“I’ve heard of your heroic acts, Comrade Assemblyman.”

Deep in the mountains where not even moonlight reached, only the voice from the blurry silhouette gave away that the speaker was a man.

“Comrade, I humbly—”

“Where is my family right now?”

He answered.

“I ran into Comrade Yeo Do-yeon somewhere along the mountains during the escape.”

“……Was Yeo Do-yeon the only one there?”

“There were two others.”

* * *

The place he led me to was an old pension village deep in the mountains.

I saw a few human-like puppets moving in the dark.

A group.

Creeeak.

When the door opened, a vintage lamp dangling from the ceiling came into view.

I frowned at the musty smell, and then shuddered in surprise at the scene that followed.

“W-what the…?”

“Hyung…?”

“Eek…!”

The first floor was packed with dozens of children. As the door opened, they all lowered their heads in fear.

Their eyes were dull. They were grimy and emaciated. Some had dried bloodstained bandages wrapped around them.

With a few gestures from him, the children scurried to the walls and made a path.

“Please, come in.”

His features became clearer under the dim light. He wasn’t what I imagined a North Korean would look like. Even at a glance, it was obvious he had grown up well.

He was just a boy.

“What’s your name?”

“……Ri Cheol-jin.”

Ri Cheol-jin answered bluntly and strode into the building. When the children clung to his legs, he gently patted their heads a few times before pushing them away.

We descended the stairs to the basement.

And then. I was reunited with my family.

To be exact, my aunt and uncle.

They were tightly bound with ropes.

“Kyaaaak!”

“Grrk…! Gkheek…!”

And locked behind iron bars.

They screamed at me, their eyes bulging black.

Drooling with thin, watery saliva.

Infected by the tumor of the Black Mountain Goat.

* * *

I ran outside.

And for a long while, I sat crouched on the outdoor stairs, letting the night breeze wash over me.

The cold night air of the forest seeped through my loose shirt, but my body had already gone numb, so it didn’t feel particularly cold.

“……Are you alright?”

“Do I look alright?”

At my curt reply, Ri Cheol-jin stood silently behind me without a word.

With trembling hands, I repeatedly splashed dry handfuls of water over my face.

“……”

It’s not the worst-case scenario. At least they’re still alive.

Yeah. Stay calm. I’ve been through enough to—

……

Fuck.

I’m on the verge of losing it.

Anyway.

Chief Jang definitely said this was some kind of mental illness.

That people would go in and out of lucidity.

So I said to Ri Cheol-jin,

“Let me make a call.”

“……I understand. I’ll be inside. Call me if you need anything.”

I heard his footsteps walking back across the wooden floor behind me.

Eventually, the sound of insects chirping filled the night, and in my ears, a dial tone rang.

Thankfully, Chief Jang answered even at this late hour.

[…Yes, Assemblyman. What is it—]

“Chief Jang, about that madness. The Black Mountain Goat.”

I wanted to stay calm, but I couldn’t.

[You mean the zombies? Yes. Technically, it’s a plague-type—]

“It is a mental illness, right?”

Before he could even finish, I bombarded him with questions. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Chief Jang’s tone grew rapid. As expected, he’s quick on the uptake.

[Yes. To be precise, it paralyzes a person’s self-control—]

“Is there a cure?”

It wasn’t a question—it was a compulsive demand. If anyone knew about a cure discovered during human trials, it would be Chief Jang.

[When you were in a coma, I handed over a formula to the government.]

My fist clenched tightly.

[The infected we secured are currently confined in a facility, and it looks like it’ll take a little more time for the cure to be ready.]

“Was there an existing cure from before?”

[There were a few vaccine samples stored in the underground bunker at Yeoninsan, as a precaution.]

“……”

[Hold on…]

I swallowed dryly and clenched my fist.

I heard some rustling.

[There’s one dispersible cure for thirty people. I packed it just in case—]

“I love you!”

[Me too.]

* * *

“First of all, Comrade Yeo Do-yeon is not here.”

Ri Cheol-jin began explaining politely. Maybe because he’d been trained, it sounded like a report.

“From what I heard, your family fled toward Uijeongbu.”

They didn’t escape to Gangwon-do, but came to Seoul?

Damn it. They came looking for me.

I frowned and swallowed a small groan.

“Then we ran into each other here at Cheonmasan. We were also fleeing south at the time, and since monsters were attacking from all directions, we joined forces and fought back.”

Cheonmasan. I definitely heard of it before.

It used to be the base of the 1st Corps, now abandoned.

Right. Namyangju.

Shit. Namyangju?

Namyangju was one of the biggest battle zones along with Uijeongbu.

It was the first place where Seoul’s defense perimeter was breached, letting monsters pour in from the capital.

My family got caught up in that mess.

And met Ri Cheol-jin.

“There were student fighters wielding glowing swords, and many others who joined hands to battle the monsters. Comrade Yeo Do-yeon’s prowess especially stood out.”

“Student fighters?”

“There was a group of South Korean students who showed off their skills while taking down monsters. Especially a student named Seol Jin-woon—the way he handled a sword wasn’t ordinary—”

“What happened to the group?”

“Hmm… There were eight South Korean students, three people related to you, Comrade Assemblyman. And, yes. There were many more. Including those who gathered later, we easily numbered in the hundreds.”

A large-scale group, huh.

“That’s when the plague spread. Your relatives were also struck down during that time. That’s why only our elite survived and hid here in Cheonmasan.”

“Do the zombies ever come back to their senses sometimes?”

“Those who approached ended up the same. Whether it was some wicked trick or not…”

It was clear the zombie infection had spread from Uijeongbu.

Ri Cheol-jin lowered his gaze and muttered with a heavy voice.

“Comrade Yeo… even when the zombies bit her, their teeth broke. So she took her parents and fled. But the rest of us lost those most precious to us.”

The boy looked into my eyes once again.

“They all left to find a cure. To Seoul.”

“……Yeo Do-yeon too?”

“Yes. According to the students, they had a comrade left behind in Seoul. That comrade’s healing ability was said to be revolutionary.”

To think they risked their lives for some unknown healer. I could feel how desperate Yeo Do-yeon must’ve been, and my eyes welled up.

“The students left for Seoul to save that comrade, and Comrade Yeo Do-yeon followed them.”

“How long ago did they leave?”

“Three days ago, I believe.”

Three days, huh.

“……”

I think I have a good idea who they are now.

A defector group from Namyangju—the first breach point of Seoul’s perimeter—fighting off monsters from every direction with overwhelming force.

“I don’t know how the people who led the Kaesong Revolution ended up here, but…”

The Kaesong rebels.

“……First of all, thank you for saving my family.”

* * *

Defectors are normally held north of the Civilian Control Line—the CCZ.

And Cheonmasan is a provincial park in the northeastern part of Gyeonggi-do. Considering the North Korean front has never been breached, their presence here was clearly unnatural.

Let’s think this through slowly.

How did they get here?

Most likely, Ri Cheol-jin used teleportation to sneak a small elite group past the ROK military’s surveillance. That’s obvious.

Then why did they come?

They were fleeing from the ROK military.

Why flee from our military?

Because they believed it was dangerous. They knew the ROK forces were dangerous.

In other words, they know about the secret deal between Won Ok-bun and Ri Yong-su.

“······”

That means…

The Kaesong rebels may be closely connected to political circles I don’t even know about—or maybe they’ve got something on our military.

Of course, it’s still just speculation. Not enough info yet.

What should I do? I’m not sure.

When politicians don’t know what to do, they usually smile.

“I’m not someone who forgets favors.”

“Uh, I beg your pardon…?”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Time to get him to show his cards.

Ri Cheol-jin stared at me blankly for a moment. There was a silence caught between a smile and confusion.

“……”

“……”

And honestly, I didn’t think these guys were all that trustworthy.

Think about it.

They’ve got zombies in the basement… and children crammed on the first floor? Doesn’t that seem off?

It’s not like they’re showing them off to anyone.

“Uh, Assemblyman…!”

Just then, Ri Cheol-jin stood up and grabbed my hand with an emotional expression.

“P-please…! At least save the children…!”

I expected as much.

* * *

I handed my aunt and uncle over to the Kaesong rebels and had them admitted into a hospital. They barely managed to strap on oxygen masks and begin treatment.

From what I was told, it’s similar to neutralizing a neurotoxin, so it takes time.

Thanks to that, Dr. Chun Hwa-ran rolled up her sleeves even with her full-term belly. They haven’t regained consciousness yet, but the treatment’s going well.

Which means I’m finally able to get some proper sleep. I’ve even stopped taking the meds.

I’m still worried about Yeo Do-yeon, of course—but she’s not the kind of person to get beaten to death easily. And hearing she’s got some new friends with her now puts me at ease.

Also—

Ri Cheol-jin teleported 45 children from Seoraksan.

I ground Yang Il-ho into dust and whipped up an orphanage overnight to house them.

“……You took in 45 defector kids?”

“Yes.”

Naturally, I got summoned by Won Ok-bun.

“……Where’d they come from?”

“They just popped out of thin air. Two at a time.”

I accepted the Kaesong rebels’ conditions.

Won Ok-bun murmured calmly.

“From what I can tell, they seem to know quite a bit.”

“You mean the defector containment facility north of the CCZ? The one scheduled for return next week?”

“Was it?”

Won Ok-bun tilted her head nonchalantly and slapped a file down on the desk.

“Well. Doesn’t seem like you’re trying to get arrested for violating the National Security Act. I won’t ask how you smuggled them out for now.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’ve said this before, but the most important thing is the reason why…”

Won Ok-bun gritted her teeth as she touched her scar.

“Why’d you do it?”

“Please don’t pretend you don’t know.”

I placed my clasped hands on my knee.

“Does it make sense to hand over 100,000 people to be killed just like that?”

“Then what?”

“I don’t believe you, Assemblywoman Won, are that…”

Brave.

“…ruthless of a person.”

I took a sip of yulmu tea to wet my throat.

Won Ok-bun chuckled.

“I asked you why you did it.”

“Well, aren’t children the future of the nation? No matter how much it’s for the national interest…”

“I had my reasons too. Do you know how much compromise it took behind the scenes? Things you have no clue about?”

“So you were gonna stabilize the regime by killing 100,000 people?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“I was surprised too, seeing how those guys already knew about the 100,000. It’s not some simple uprising—it’s a power struggle.”

“Yeah. They’ve got their own—”

“By the way, among the 45 kids I brought over—one of them is Kim Il-sung’s great-granddaughter.”

Politics was truly a tangled mess.

“Acting President Won, the situation is in complete disarray.”

The world was a place where everyone pursued their own goals, tangling with each other along the way. And hurting one another in that pursuit—that was the essence of all things.

“China dragged us into their propaganda. Japan, meanwhile, wants us to help deal with the mess of them stealing an American nuclear bomb.”

Since it was impossible for everyone to get what they wanted, the only way forward was to slowly unravel each party’s interests.

Untangling a knotted mess—that’s usually called ‘negotiation.’

“North Korea’s military regime is trying to stabilize their system by killing off 100,000 defectors. And in the middle of that, some rogue Kaesong rebel group shows up on our soil with a descendant of the Baekdu bloodline.”

But the textbook definition of politics? The authoritative allocation of social scarcity.

In that sense—

“…..What did Alexander the Great say again? That tangled knots should be cut with a sword.”

Politics was no different from a rabid dog running wild with a knife in its mouth.

“Let’s cut it.”

* * *

Won Ok-bun was 68 years old.

In her youth, she was the blade of Roh Tae-woo’s national security regime—a hardline prosecutor who led the war against crime. The fact that she was a woman in such a role back then already said plenty about her character.

She was a fiery person.

She stepped into the world with a passion for justice and righteousness—and ended up with a large scar across one side of her face after being stabbed by a gangster.

It was the kind of story politicians love.

A woman prosecutor gets stabbed by a gangster while trying to catch criminals, leaving a scar but revealing her unwavering determination to fight crime.

That narrative was pushed heavily in the media. It was borderline patriotic propaganda.

Roh Tae-woo had become president thanks to the division between Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung. He was a weak president mocked as “Mul Tae-woo” in a National Assembly dominated by the opposition, so he desperately needed something to show for his policies.

That’s how Prosecutor of Justice Won Ok-bun came onto the modern historical stage.

The fact that she secretly battled depression for four years after the incident, burned all her old photos from better days, smashed every mirror in her house while screaming, and ended up calling off her engagement—that was considered irrelevant.

She gained fame against her will—and lost everything else: love, health, appearance, dreams, passion. All that remained was the meager fame handed to her by the political world.

And when she later discovered that the gangster was actually an innocent man arrested by the police, and that the one who stabbed her was his relative—she never turned herself in.

Because all she had left was power.

That was why she abandoned Roh Tae-woo, ousted the chief prosecutor, and sided with Kim Young-sam. It’s how she got so close to becoming the Prosecutor General.

If you live upright, eventually you have to make choices. And the more choices you make, the more wretched you become.

“……I’ve lived like a reed.”

Bend, so you don’t break. Or better yet, avoid anything that makes you bend in the first place.

Go where the wind blows. Don’t resist the tide. Stay agreeable.

“That’s how I got just shy of the presidency.”

During the purging of Hanahoe, she switched from Roh Tae-woo to Kim Young-sam.

During the DJP alliance, from Kim Young-sam to Kim Jong-pil.

Once in the National Assembly, from Kim Jong-pil to Kim Ki-choon.

In the 17th presidential election, from Kim Ki-choon to Lee Myung-bak.

Never stand out as the number two.

Skip Park Geun-hye—aim for Kim Ki-choon instead.

Target the inner circles of inner circles.

Always stop short of becoming floor leader.

Avoid elected office. Stick to appointed party duties.

Stay planted in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to ensure consistent nominations.

This was the shape of Won Ok-bun’s political life.

“So. ‘Cut it,’ huh… I think I get what you mean.”

“Don’t you think it’s too late to resolve this through negotiations?”

She always rode the tide, sensed the tide, surrendered to the tide.

In other words—she played the lines.

“Rep. Han, how many times have I told you? Keep politicking like this and you’ll get seriously burned one day.”

“With the world in this state, how much longer do I have to keep being sentimental?”

“……”

Some people called that frustrating. Others, cautious.

Won Ok-bun calmly looked at Han Seung-Moon.

“……Seriously, now.”

Changing sides always came with betrayal. And betrayal always required a weapon.

“A useful card came from an unexpected place.”

In other words, her petty life of political tightrope-walking had been a series of backstabbing and manipulation.

“……Is this your first time working with me, Rep. Han?”

“Of course it is.”

“……Heh. Come to think of it, you haven’t even had that badge for a year yet, have you?”

While holding a massive bomb—

“This time, you play the front. I’ll stab from the back.”

There wasn’t a single politician who could backstab more artfully than she could.

* * *

“Is it tasty?”

“Y-yes, very much so!”

“Want some more?”

“Truly grateful, Comrade Assemblyman!”

The little kid sitting next to me beamed as he took another shrimp cracker. He chewed with delight. Our group was out on a rare outing to a nearby orphanage.

Although calling it an orphanage was a stretch—we were secretly using a spare facility at a military hospital. It was a wing set up by Kim Doo-sik.

Out in the yard, Yang Il-ho and Lee Ho-jung were handing out rice balls to the children alongside Kang Si-ho.

“We must protect these children—our hope for the future!”

Yang Pan-seok, smiling for the camera, clutched a bunch of awkward-looking kids as Gam Gi-ja filmed him with her phone.

Meanwhile, I was sitting on a bench with one of the girls. Gently patting her head, I asked:

“Are you comfortable living around here?”

“V-very much so! Completely satisfied!”

Her name was Kim Seong-a.

“What’s your friend’s name?”

“I-I’m Pak Su-jin, sir!”

She didn’t seem used to formal speech. I patted Kim Seong-a’s back and handed her more snacks.

Watching her stuff her cheeks full of food filled me with quiet satisfaction.

And then—

“Yes, now we’ll take a question from our Assemblyman Han Seung-Moon!”

Gam Gi-ja, who had been filming Yang Pan-seok, turned his phone toward me. The footage was being broadcast live on Naver and YouTube.