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ã Chapter 104 ã 888. The Chapter of the Zombie and the Girl (The End)
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The ones who should live are dead, and the ones who should be dead are alive.
That, in and of itself, is irrational (? illogical).
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Hee-ah's appearance as she opened the door was horrifying.
She was practically naked, with only a few scraps of cloth dangling from her shoulders and waist as the last traces of once-worn clothing, leaving her as bare as the day she was born.
The child's body, which until just days ago had been pure white and flawless without a single scar, now had bites and tears everywhere, with the tendons and flesh that should have been hidden beneath the skin now gruesomely exposed.
That horrific sight was enough to shatter the hopes I had been clinging to, my prayers for the child to return safely.
['....â â â , â â â â .....']
Creak, creak, and a groan.
As if someone was forcibly twisting a dollâs limbs beyond their limits, in the opposite direction they were meant to bend.
While Hee-ah took small steps toward us, sounds that should never emanate from a human body were flowing out in succession from various parts of her body.
âTap.
"âHiiik!?"
A gasp from behind me, whose it was I donât know.
Was it Jung-eun, or Yeon-ah. I couldnât tell.
Patches of blood, dried into a dark crimson hue, were spattered all over Hee-ahâs body.
"....Shit, shit, shit, shit."
"S-Sunbae?! What, what, what should I, wh-what should I do?"
Thud, thunk.
From behind, I heard the sound of two wooden clubs falling to the concrete floor.
Glancing back, I saw Yeon-ah and Jung-eun had dropped the clubs they had been holding until just a moment ago. Their hands were trembling uncontrollably, flailing in midair as though they couldnât figure out what else to do.
It was a reflexive act, because they couldnât bring themselves to aim a weapon at Hee-ah, of all people.
In their eyes, as they looked at Hee-ah, there was only unconcealed horror and confusion.
And it wasn't any different for me.
âTremble, tremble.
"........"
I, too, couldn't stop my hands from shaking like this.
I knew better than anyone that we should be doing something instead of just standing around like this.
Whether it meant greeting that child warmly for miraculously returning all by herself over such a distance, or embracing the child whose entire body was now covered in wounds.
I, we, had to do something. Anything.
But none of that was possible for us.
Holding her in our arms, nursing her wounds, and ultimatelyâturning her back into a human, all of it.
With our meager abilities, it was impossible.
âClick.
"....Hee-ah."
I bit my lip.
Our hands, simply grasping at the air, accomplishing nothing.
We couldnât do anything, one way or another, and we didnât even know what we should do. The pathetic flailing of humans.
That pitiful gesture resembled the helpless flailing of someone whoâd fallen into the vast ocean, unable to grab onto anything to support their weight.
The only sensation that met those hands was the touch of cold seawater as it slipped away, mocking their struggle.
Not even a straw could be grasped.
It was cruel.
Faced with this horrific reality that can only be described as cruel, I wanted to run and demand answers from someone, anyone.
Be it God, Buddha, or the Devil.
Why couldnât this child be allowed to rest peacefully even in death.
Why was it that child, and not me, who ended up like this, through no fault of her own.
Did you hate that child, whose only trait was being kind and gentle, that much.
As my heart was consumed by that gut-wrenching agony, I despaired.
If my lips, which refused to move, could have made a sound, perhaps I would have screamed.
If my eyes could shed more than tears, perhaps I would have shed blood.
A despair and emptiness like none I had ever felt before, infinite in depth, consuming everything in its path.
âThud.
"I'm so, sorry."
There, in front of her, I finally sank to my knees.
On the inside, I even thought that such an end wouldnât be so bad.
Perhaps, in my heart, I was already convinced this was the logical outcome.
Rather than quietly waiting to die in a room somewhere, it seemed more fitting to be killed by the very child we had killed ourselves.
If that could be some form of atonement toward her.
If Hee-ah over there could free herself of resentment through this.
Wouldn't that be better, I thought.
âStep, step.
['.....â â â , â .']
"It must have hurt so much, didnât it? Hee-ah."
Before I knew it, Hee-ah was right in front of me.
The distance between me and Hee-ah, who had been standing before everyone else there, rapidly closed. The shadow she cast beneath the sun now fully enveloped me.
At that distance where I could clearly see every small detail of Hee-ahâs body.
I saw the strange green ooze I had seen countless times on the zombies, slowly trickling from the childâs mouth.
But unlike the usual thick slime of other zombies, this fluid was thinner, almost watery.
It was slowly leaking out of Hee-ahâs mouth, reminiscent of blood.
âTap.
And then, one last step.
['...â , â .']
".........."
Finally, my entire field of vision was filled by Hee-ah.
Hee-ah, now right in front of me, slowly started to stretch both her arms out wide, as though to engulf me.
Her arms moved slowly, almost leisurely.
Even though she looked weak enough that I could have fought her off at any moment, I simply remained on my knees, waiting desperately for the punishment to come.
Swishââ
['.........']
And finally, Hee-ahâs mouth opened, ever so cautiously.
Inside were razor-sharp teeth, inching toward my neck.
This was the end that had finally arrived.
The death I had been waiting for.
'Hwa-min unnie, Iââ'
What Hee-ah is carrying outâ
'âââI feel sorry for them.'
"Ah-"
ââRevenge?
And at that moment.
The conversation I had with Hee-ah in the middle of the night suddenly came to mind in my head.
Could this truly be what Hee-ah wanted to do?
â¦Yes, I, we, had killed Hee-ah. That was true.
It was an undeniable, irrefutable truth.
I deserved to die.
*Do you really think Hee-ah hates you?*
â¦For anyone else, it would be more than enough reason to hate.
It would be understandable to be angry and demand, *Why did you abandon me?*
This was just how it was.
*Isnât it possible that itâs not Hee-ah who hates you, but rather you who hates yourself?*
â¦.
I did not answer.
*That sweet child, you think she hates you enough to kill you?*
â¦.
Did not, answer.
*Do you think Hee-ah is that kind of child?*
N.
*No, she's not.*
Right. You know her well.
â¦I know too
Because, you seeââ
Becauseââ
"âââThereâs no way Hee-ah would ever think like that!!"
I could say it without a doubt.
That thereâs no way Hee-ah would do this.
She was always a kind child who thought of others before herself.
She was a child who worried late into the night, lest she become a burden to us, a child who suffered alone without ever showing her struggles.
She was a child who, even as she was being devoured by zombies in our place, smiled at me until the very end.
And youâre saying that child wishes for us to die?
That Hee-ah wants to kill us?
Ha.
ââThereâs no way.
If Hee-ah truly wished for our deaths, Iâd willingly die a hundred times over.
If she demanded why weâd abandoned her and thus condemned our sins, Iâd die a thousand times over.
But this wasnât it.
This isnât right.
The only thing on my mind right now is one thing.
To make sure that Hee-ah, who might still be watching us from inside that body, wouldnât commit any more sins.
To not burden Hee-ah once again with just our pathetic reason of wanting to be comfortable.
'âââIf that happens, I'll stop you, Hee-ah.'
'....Heehee. Okay. I'm counting on you, Hwa-min unnie.'
Those were the very words of the promise we made.
The world flickered before my eyes, as if film frames were skipping and breaking.
When I came to, I found that my hand was clutching a wooden club that had been rolling nearby.
It was undoubtedly the one that Yeon-ah or Jung-eun had dropped earlier, its end sharpened to a point.
The scene shifted abruptly, and in the next frame, my eyes saw Hee-ah, her cloudy eyes staring down at me with both arms spread wide.
"ââââââââ"
I murmured.
That I'm sorry.
That itâs okay to curse me.
That I'll gladly accept this punishment.
Will I go to hell, I wonder?
â¦Haha, so what if I do.
Iâm already in hell as it is.
Whatâs one more sin, it wonât change anything.
So, so Hee-ahâââ
âââPlease, donât forgive me.
âThwack.
"âââUaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
I thrust the club at Hee-ah.
The world around me flickered again, everything darkening to black.
My heart, in this moment, was filled with a sense of duty to stop Hee-ah from doing anything she might regret.
For Hee-ah, I will kill Hee-ah.
That was it, exactly.
And thenââ
"Ah."
ââThwack!
Along with a sound and sensation like piercing soft clay.
Green ooze flew onto my face.
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