Chapter 11
A Normal Life!
Kim Taehyun felt a Twinge of sadness at Choi Yuna’s question.
Her words would be the most desired wish of any ordinary person in this zombie apocalypse world.
“A normal life… Of course, I want it back.”
Naturally, Kim Taehyun also wanted to reclaim his ordinary life.
In the past, he had considered a ‘normal life’—something that was always taken for granted—too boring and had once sought the thrill of excitement that could only be found in novels.
However, after that normal life crumbled, and the disaster of the zombie apocalypse replaced it, Taehyun experienced immense stress. If not for the lifeline of his family, which he had to protect, his mind might have already shattered.
To him, Choi Yuna’s suggestion of wanting to reclaim a normal life was… a sweet temptation.
But…!
“If Yuna from the survivor camp had said that, I would have gladly followed her… But the current Yuna is not much different from a cult preaching doomsday.”
“Hehe. You think I’m no different from a cult, huh.”
Yet, the thin thread of patience and intellect could sense something strange about the current Yuna.
It was because the Yuna he was seeing now felt completely different from the Yuna he had seen at the survivor camp.
Yuna from the camp was a kind girl who tried to heal the wounded survivors, but the current Yuna… exuded an aura that wasn’t much different from a cult member risking their life to evangelize in the ruined city.
‘I’d like to think it’s just my imagination…’
However, Taehyun wanted to believe that his current thoughts were merely a misjudgement.
After all, Choi Yuna was the benefactor who saved the lives of Kim Taehyun and his family.
If even Yuna, the benefactor who saved their lives, was no different from a cult preaching doomsday… it felt like he would lose his mind immediately.
“Hoo-hoo. Do you believe in God, Taehyun?”
“Huh. What’s with the sudden question?”
“It’s a simple question. Before the apocalypse, did you believe in God or any religion?”
“…Yes. I did believe.”
Before the apocalypse, of course, he believed.
His whole family was devout Christians, and Taehyun also attended church services every Sunday.
However, after the zombie apocalypse began, his faith in religion and God faded away.
At first, he prayed to the God he believed in many times, but no matter how many times he cried out and prayed, God never responded.
“Hoo-hoo. Some people believe in money. Others believe in power. But in this moment when everything is meaningless… what would you believe in and close your eyes to, Taehyun?”
“I… don’t know. I prayed to the God I believed in. But God never answered me.”
Feeling uneasy at Yuna’s cryptic words, Taehyun answered that he didn’t know.
Even though he had prayed to God, God never responded to Taehyun.
Now, the only things he could believe in were himself and his family.
Yuna smiled as if agreeing with him and opened her mouth.
“Of course. God doesn’t see us.”
She said that God doesn’t see humans.
It was a completely different assertion from the claims of the cult outside, which preached a doomsday brought by an external God.
“So, we haven’t been abandoned by anyone. It’s not a divine trial even though we didn’t commit any sins… We are suffering simply because we were unlucky.”
“Because we were unlucky?”
Yes, the reason why they had become so unfortunate… was simply because they were unlucky.
The reason why life became so miserable… wasn’t because they had committed any special sins; it was because they were unlucky and thus became unfortunate.
“What is that supposed to mean? We’re suffering from a zombie apocalypse because we were unlucky?”
“Yes. We’re experiencing a zombie apocalypse because we were unlucky. We lost close friends because we were unlucky. And because we were unlucky… our lives are increasingly threatened by zombies.”
He truly wanted to cry.
Kim Taehyun wanted to criticize and refute Yuna’s words strongly, but deep down, he was agreeing with her.
It was because trying to package this current suffering as a divine trial… made him wonder if he and his family had really sinned enough to deserve such a trial.
Had Taehyun and his family accumulated enough sins to be thrown into such a hellish pit?
‘No, that can’t be true.’
It wasn’t true.
Kim Taehyun and his family were ordinary model citizens living in Gyeongju.
He could swear to the heavens that his family never committed sins deserving of such torment.
“But even such divine indifference ends here. It’s time for us to rebuild the shattered order into a new one.”
“So. What are you suggesting? Can we really do that on our own? Wouldn’t it be better to wait for even the slightest hope of the government’s rescue…?”
And so, he tried to counter Yuna’s suggestion that they should save themselves with their own strength.
Rebuilding the shattered order with their own strength seemed like an overly exaggerated statement.
“Clinging to such false hope is fine for a month or two. But if there’s no response beyond that… don’t you think clinging to false hope only leads to more despair? If we wait another month here, what will change?”
But Yuna spoke decisively.
Even now, the government hadn’t responded.
If they waited another month or two, what would be left for them?
Taehyun couldn’t help but recognize the truth that he had been turning away from in Yuna’s words.
“…Ugh.”
Under the false hope of government rescue, Taehyun and his family had been enduring difficult times with limited resources.
Even now, they were continuing to wait, clinging to a hope that felt like a severed rope.
“But that despair ends now. The foolishness of despising oneself ends now! He told me this: to gather strength, and with that strength, rebuild a new city from the ruins. That is the new world we desire.”
“…….”
If the government couldn’t save Gyeongju, then it was up to them to save themselves.
Though Taehyun’s hands trembled at the passion in Yuna’s declaration of rebuilding the ruined Gyeongju…
“Is that even possible? I know, but the survivor camps in Gyeongju are all hostile to outsiders.”
“I know. ‘Except for one, I’ve met all of them.’ Most of them sympathized with my words but couldn’t trust me. Some even mocked my ideas as delusional.”
“If you’ve already met them, then why…?”
He voiced his doubts in a pessimistic tone.
Her words sounded good, but how would they defeat all the zombies in Gyeongju, and how would they rebuild the city?
Gyeongju was already divided into various factions, each surviving on their own, and Yuna smiled bitterly as if she had indeed met those factions.
“So, I will prove it to the survivors of Gyeongju. As I said earlier, I met many people before meeting you, Taehyun. They all doubted me. It’s truly sad, but for the survivors whose goal is to stay alive, it’s only natural. On the surface, I was nothing more than a girl who could only heal.”
“Are you saying you’re different now?”
“Yes. The time of being powerless is over. I will make the same declaration to you as I did to others.”
With a face full of joy, she declared.
A few days later.
I will prepare a stage where the power of the god I serve can be seen by all survivors in Gyeongju.
An overwhelming power to show to the survivor camps and survivors remaining in Gyeongju.
“A power that even the survivor camps here cannot ignore. We will display our strength.”
“Ah. Yeah…”
The power to achieve what she claimed.
Taehyun unconsciously nodded at her confident demeanour.
***
Yuna, having returned to Gyeongju, contacted the remaining survivor camps in the city and declared to them that she would restore normalcy and order in Gyeongju.
At first, no one believed Choi Yuna’s declaration.
Some thought it was just nonsense, while others said she was crazy.
However, since Choi Yuna was a girl who made a name for herself as a healer in Gyeongju, news of her spread widely through the Gyeongju community.
There was a saying that words without feet travel a thousand miles.
Even though the electricity was cut off, satellite internet was still functional, so survivors continued to exchange local information, survival tips, or external news through online communities.
Naturally, there was an internet site called the Gyeongju Community just for Gyeongju, and through the Gyeongju community, news of Choi Yuna spread to other regional communities.
– Show-off alert.
– Lord, today another soul rises to you.
– Sorry, I dragged attention to show you this.
– Frankly, Yuna’s words have no chance of working. Gyeongju and our city are both struggling.
– I heard that Seoul and other major cities are doing better, though?
– No, it’s not much different here. The strong exploit the weak. Of course, I’m one of the strong ones, lol.
– The fact is, Gyeongju getting better is what’s important.
– Satan: Did you call me?
– I didn’t call you!
– LOL, real talk.
– LOL.
Of course, the community’s reactions weren’t favourable.
Most people said Yuna’s death was inevitable, mocking or using black humour.
– Still, isn’t it something everyone wants?
– Even if it’s impossible, dreaming of normalcy isn’t a bad thing, right?
Some even expressed sympathy with Yuna’s cause while lamenting the harsh reality.
– But can she really win?
– They say she’s a healer?
– Yuna’s defeat is already certain.
It was a shared sentiment that Yuna would meet a tragic defeat, even in the Gyeongju community.
– They say Yuna’s going to kill herself.
– What a waste. Yeah, really a waste.
– It’s a shame that the only healer in Gyeongju has gone mad. The world is truly pitiful.
– Should we just kidnap her to our survivor camp?
– That’s all there is!
– She’s pretty, though. And her body looks delicious. Damn, we should’ve brought her in when the camp fell.
– You, Josoon Do, you scumbag.
– Who are you? Don’t tell me you’re Jung Dong-gun?
Most people only lamented Yuna’s wasted abilities, and none expressed a desire to help her.
No one had the luxury to spare, and it was already a struggle to survive.
Of course, the fact that they could even write these pointless posts on the internet community was evidence that they were relatively comfortable in their survivor camps.
They were merely using that comfort for themselves rather than sharing it with others.
“Not that it’s a bad thing. Life is precious, after all. Acting selfishly to save oneself is understandable.”
[Is that so?]
But it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Life was precious, and they had simply cast away all their morals and compassion to survive.
But Yuna thought that this nightmare would end here.
“On the promised day, a new history will be etched into the world.”
[History?]
A new history would begin.
“Yes. A new chapter will unfold. And the name engraved in that history will be Bahamut, my mighty and benevolent god.”
The name of that history was Bahamut.
[…What is that? It sounds scary.]
“Huh? What did you say?”
[Nothing. …I feel like I drew a bad card.]
Seeing Yuna say those words without any shame or hesitation, the foolish dragon felt fear.
‘It might already be too late….’
But seeing the prostrated former cult member beside Yuna, he gave up, thinking it was already too late.
—
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