Chapter 22: Target.

A girl’s small photo was attached to the keychain,

The image of me reflected in the mirror was a pale, bloodless skin and disheveled hair, but it was clearly a picture of me.

It wasn’t just a slight resemblance, it was almost at the level of a doppelganger.

‘Clatter’

If the girl in the photo is me, is the man who was taken with me in a father-daughter relationship?

If so, why is this abandoned here… No, what happened to the man presumed to be the father?

‘Clunk’

Everything was a mystery from the start.

From the first time I opened my eyes as a zombie to the relationship with the original owner of this girl’s body that I’m currently inhabiting, and even the clue to this whole situation…

‘Rustle’

In order to get even a little more clues, I frantically rummaged through all the drawers and bookshelves of the office desk presumed to be the seat of the man in the photo.

‘Ha Gyeong-cheol (38) – Administrative Work’

The only thing I found to confirm his identity in a drawer full of meaningless junk was his ID card. The photo on the front of the ID card exactly matched the man in the photo on the keychain.

Even if I ransack this place, I don’t think I can get any more meaningful clues than this.

At least someone related here or a colleague…

‘Hey, what are you doing not coming out?’

‘It’s nothing.’

Rebecca, who had gone out first and waited for a long time, came back to call me, so I reflexively hid the keychain and ID card behind my back.

If possible, I wanted to keep this fact a secret for now.

“Are you looking for something?…”

‘The sun will be setting soon, let’s get out of here quickly.’

A colleague who used to work with him might know something.

“This is Ha Gyeong-cheol’s ID card? Why do you have this?…”

Back at the orphanage, I handed over all the equipment that had been collected, showed Dong-gyun the ID card, who was splitting the bullets one by one in a cross shape, and asked if he knew him.

“Well, I worked with him for almost 5 years before this situation happened, so I know him well. But why suddenly?”

‘Just personal curiosity’

“Curiosity, huh… Well, there’s nothing I can’t tell you.”

He stopped what he was doing, rubbed his chin with his finger as if he was contemplating, and then looked at me.

“I first met him at the Welfare Center’s public recruitment 5 years ago, he was older than me at the time, but since he had no experience in this field, I was in charge of him as his senior.”

‘Did he have a family?’

“If you mean family, he said he had a daughter. He said his wife was gone due to an accident, and he didn’t get along with his relatives, so he didn’t even contact them.”

As expected, the man in the photo was related to the father.

“I heard he was from the Special Forces, and that’s why he didn’t get along with his parents, he actually lost his wife while he was in the military, and he injured his back, so he was discharged and barely applied to the Disability Welfare Center where I worked as a Level 6 disabled person.”

It seems that he had a lot of hardships in his life.

Of course, it’s not really useful information to me, but.

“He was a little taciturn because he was from the military, but he wasn’t a bad person. Rather, he was the closest to normal in the office, so he would volunteer to do all the troublesome tasks such as business trips himself.”

Again, it’s useless information… But it would be a lie if I said I didn’t have any interest.

“You talked about family earlier, he was a bit young, but he was honorably discharged from the military due to an accident, so he had a pension and he had quite a bit of money saved up, so when I asked him why he worked so hard, he said it was because of his daughter.”

“He lost his mother at a young age, his relationship with his relatives was terrible, and all that was left was him, who had been discharged from the military due to injury and was unemployed, but he said he wanted to be a father who was at least not ashamed so that he could achieve what he wanted to do…

I haven’t been married so I don’t fully understand, but I think he was the best example of a father among those I knew.”

“The last time I saw him was when he was leaving on a business trip before this situation happened. Anyway, is that all you can tell me? Ask me if you have any more questions.”

‘It’s enough. Thank you.’

“Well, come pick up the modified bullets tomorrow.”

I quietly closed the door and came out.

I needed some time to sort out my thoughts.

“Was his daughter’s name Ha-yeon? She would be about that age if she were alive.”

‘PM 7:57’

The red sunset was slowly disappearing beyond the mountains, and a thick darkness was beginning to fall.

On the last night I decided to stay at the orphanage, I was leaning against the wall of the orphanage building, a little away from the guard tower, and turning the keychain.

‘My beloved daughter Ha-yeon’

It was a faded old photo that had been neglected for a long time, but behind the photo of a father and daughter who were still smiling brightly, there was writing that seemed to have been scribbled with a ballpoint pen.

Ha-yeon

It must have been the name of the original owner of the body I was moving.

“”Status Window…”

[User Basic Information
Name: Ha-yeon
Gender: Female
Race: Zombie Classification: Screamer
User Stats (LV 41)
STR: 19
DEX: 30
CON: 18 INT: ???
LUK: 22 Bonus Stats: 0
Next Level… (154/220)
User Skills
Scratch – Swing your arm to attack a living creature.
Bite – Bite the designated target.
Evasion – Increases the probability of avoiding threats from the target.
Aggro – Attract aggro over a wide area and summon nearby zombies. (90%)
Lure – Can move around with nearby zombies. (20%)
Language – Speaks a language, which is impossible for ordinary zombies. (INT 70 or higher)]

Perhaps because I had already completely recognized it without even knowing it, the name that had been maintained as undecided until now had also been updated.

But it was just the name of the original owner of this body, and it has nothing to do with me, who has a completely different ego.

Since the ego of the original owner, Ha-yeon, disappeared somewhere after becoming a zombie, I took that place,

That’s why I’m struggling and desperately surviving now, isn’t it?

If I hadn’t moved this body in the first place, I would still be wandering aimlessly somewhere in the middle of that city, or

I was destined to be removed by the survivors.

At least I was able to survive like a human because I made it move with consciousness,

I wanted to use that as a consolation for taking over this body and reduce the guilt at least a little.

‘Ha Gyeong-cheol’

I don’t even know if the person who is the father of this body is dead or alive, and even if he is alive, I don’t intend to approach him, who is already a zombie.

If I slightly lift the bottom of my right leg, there is a faint bite mark that looks like a human tooth mark.

Perhaps I, no, Ha-yeon, was already with Ha Gyeong-cheol in an infected state, and since he couldn’t kill his daughter with his own hands,

He may have been wandering in the middle of the city until now…

I have no way of knowing the detailed truth, but it’s already a thing of the past, and how I live in the future is now entirely my life.

But even so…

Can I simply dismiss the fact that somewhere in my heart I feel depressed as just a mood?

‘Click’

I put the keychain in my pocket and closed my eyes.

‘Saaa-‘

Before I knew it, the sun had completely set, and I could feel the cool autumn breeze blowing past me.

I want to be like this without being disturbed by anyone right now.

“Ahem, hem.”

I slightly frowned at the unnatural sound of clearing my throat and opened my eyes to check in front of me.

‘Can I sit next to you for a moment?’

Elder Han Jung-ho, who had a quarrel with me on the first day, had been watching me with suspicious eyes throughout my stay here, but now he was talking to me first for some reason.

‘Click’

I didn’t want to make a fuss for nothing, so I moved the K1A submachine gun that had been leaning against the wall towards me and replaced my answer with a sign that I understood.

“I heard from the director that you’re leaving tomorrow.”

It’s a rude action that other people would consider, but I responded with silence.

“Well,

I wanted to apologize for misunderstanding you before, I think I was too much.”

He’s been watching me suspiciously until the day I leave, I wonder what’s going on?

“I… have killed people before.”

He continued to speak while fiddling with the M1 carbine rifle for no reason.

“In Vietnam, at the end of the gun, I can’t forget the gazes of those who were trying to kill me. We didn’t even speak the same language.

The only thing that’s certain is that we were all murderers. No matter how much you wrap it up as a soldier, there’s no difference in that you’re taking someone’s life.”

Considering his age, I was roughly guessing.

“When I first saw you, I had no choice but to suspect you. At that time, the look in your eyes that I saw was the most familiar eyes that I remember.”

“I know better than anyone that it’s a ridiculous nonsense. Judging people only by their eyes, you can just dismiss it as senile nonsense.”

That’s not wrong.

“But whatever the reason, it’s certain that you saved my granddaughter.”

Granddaughter?…

“Han So-jeong, she’s the last of my bloodline, my other family members were all scattered and killed by zombies after this happened, and my son was also killed by a strange zombie two months ago.”

A strange zombie, are you talking about a mutated species like Hunter?…

“The director told me that if I don’t do it now, I might never have a chance to apologize.”

“I heard you’re looking for someone, if you have the chance, going to the broadcasting station might help, the soldiers broadcasted emergency broadcasts until the end.”

“Well, I’m going to get up now, it’s really chilly at night because I’m old.”

Maybe it’s because I cleared up the misunderstanding at the end, but my depressed mood seems to have improved a bit.

It was just a word I said at random in the first place, but I did say that I was looking for someone…

It seems that a new goal has been created now.