Apocalypse's Teacher - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Protein, Only Protein (2)

***

“Cluck-, cluck-.”

The heavy hen in my arms squirmed.

I could feel the warmth of the living creature through the makeshift sling.

It was a hen I got from the Mapo folks.

‘It’s not a laying hen, but…’

Well, I had known from the start that asking for a laying hen was too much, so I wasn’t disappointed.

There’s a saying, isn’t there?

When negotiating, ask for more than you want.

That way, during the negotiation process, you’ll end up with the amount you actually want.

It was true.

‘Now we can eat eggs too.’

I was satisfied.

This was a hen that would lay eggs, not anything else.

This meant I could now provide fresh food for the children.

‘At least we can make boiled eggs.’

We didn’t have a place to get cooking oil, so frying was out of the question, but even this was a godsend.

Besides the egg issue, keeping animals had a positive impact on the kids’ emotional development, making this hen a treasure.

A smile naturally spread across my face due to my good mood.

I walked to the hotel with a light step, then quickly climbed the stairs and opened the door to the penthouse, shouting.

“Welcome the new member!”

My energetic shout drew the kids’ and Helen’s attention, followed by a shriek.

“Chick, chickeeeennn!!!”

It was Helen’s shriek.

Helen jumped up with her eyes blazing and ran at me.

Her gleaming eyes were filled with blatant greed.

“Cluck-cluck-!”

The hen, feeling threatened, struggled violently, and I hugged it tightly with both arms and raised my foot.

“Stop it, you crazy woman!”

The curse came out naturally in my panic.

T h i s wa s c opi ed fr o m k i n g mt l . o rg
My outstretched foot executed a clean front kick straight to Helen’s stomach.

Thud-!

“Ugh!”

Helen stopped.

She knelt on the floor, clutching her stomach and groaning.

“F, Fuck….”

“Oh, calm down. This isn’t for eating, lady.”

Clicking my tongue, I spoke while the kids slowly approached.

They all stared at the hen with curiosity, reaffirming my confidence in my decision.

“This is….”

“It’s a hen. We can eat eggs now, right?”

“Cluck-.”

The hen let out a small cluck, causing Ki-hyun to shiver.

Well, such a startled reaction wasn’t unreasonable.

Even Ki-hyun and Jinwoo, who were older, might be seeing a live chicken for the first time.

Considering their age at the time of the apocalypse and their urban upbringing.

“Cluck-cluck….”

Hyesung’s dazed murmur echoed through the space.

Her face flushed red, and her eyes softened as she gazed at the hen, clearly showing the expression of a girl in love.

Hyesung shivered and tentatively approached me.

She clung to my pants with one hand and looked up at the hen with wide eyes.

“Cluck-cluck….”

Discovering an animal for the first time, Hyesung continued to murmur in awe.

***

We decided to build the chicken coop on the rooftop.

Keeping it indoors posed several problems.

Chickens, unable to control their droppings, would turn the floor into a latrine, and they might knock over dangerous objects while wandering the house.

Thwack-!

For those reasons, I hammered away for a long while, and only after finishing the coop did I smile with satisfaction.

‘This is amazing.’

The chicken coop was more luxurious than my old studio apartment.

With this setup, the hen could live a very satisfying life.

“It’s done. Let’s put her in!”

At my shout, Helen reluctantly handed me the hen, her disappointment evident.

“Chicken….”

“This woman, seriously?”

I grabbed the hen and placed her in the coop, unwrapping the sling.

The hen hesitated for a moment, then stretched her wings wide and wandered around the coop.
T h i s w a s c op ied f r o m k i n g m t l .o r g

“Cluck-cluck!”

Hyesung was excited.

She seemed to find the hen, now fully stretching its wings, impressive.

Chuckling, I patted Hyesung’s head.

“From now on, Cluck-Cluck will lay eggs for us.”

“Eggs?”

T hi s w a s c o p i ed f r om k i n g m t l . or g
“Yes, eggs. Delicious ones.”

Hyesung’s mouth opened wide, and she started swallowing saliva.

“Delicious…!”

Her fists clenched tightly, filled with anticipation.

Seeing her like that made me smile warmly, and Helen, who had been watching, chimed in.

“Seokho, how old is the hen?”

“Huh? I heard she’s about 20 months old.”

“Oh… perfect age for eating….”

Helen’s gaze lingered on the hen with lingering regret.

I frowned at Helen and shook my head.

‘…No, unless she plans to eat it raw, she won’t kill it.’

Even with Helen’s attitude, there was nothing she could do.

There were no cooking facilities here.

“Just be content with boiled eggs. One a day means in a week, we’ll have enough for everyone.”

“Yes….”

Although intended as words of comfort, they didn’t seem to resonate with her.

‘Sigh….’

No matter how I looked at it, Helen’s antics were on Hyesung’s level.

That thought wouldn’t leave my mind.

***

Hyesung got busier.

The reason was simple: she was completely smitten with the hen I brought, adding ‘spending time with the chicken’ to her routine.

She would wake up in the morning and wake me up.

Then, she’d place the beans in a sunny spot and water them.

After breakfast, she would take the beans and head to the rooftop.

And until someone stopped her, she wouldn’t leave the chicken coop, chatting away.

It wasn’t just Hyesung.

Whether this was a good sign, I wasn’t sure, but Dabin was added to the group playing with the chicken.

Th is w a s c o p i ed f rom kin g m tl. o r g
Dabin, who always stuck to Dayoon, finally became independent.

“Flying… flying… chickens are planes…!”

“Cluck-Cluck is a plane…!”

Their excited voices echoed on the rooftop.

Hyesung and Dabin held hands, watching the dozing hen.

T h i s w a s co p i e d f r o m ki n g m tl . o r g
I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Chickens can’t fly.”

Whip!

Both heads turned to me.
T h i s w a s c op i e d f ro m k in g m t l. o r g

Their expressions were one of shock.

“Why…?”

At Dabin’s question, I barely suppressed my laughter and answered.

“Because they’re too heavy. And there’s something else….”

I remembered hearing why chickens couldn’t fly but couldn’t recall it.

As I struggled to remember, Dabin, like a woman betrayed by her lover, asked despondently.

“Then why do they have wings…?!”

She stood up and trembled, her voice filled with unmistakable denial.

Dreamy and imaginative Dabin seemed devastated by the idea of wings that couldn’t fly.

I pondered.

How could I explain this?

How could I explain it without crushing Dabin’s dreams?
Th is w a s cop i e d f r o m ki ng mt l .o r g

After a long contemplation, I spoke.

“…A weapon.”
T hi s w as c o p i e d fro m ki ng m tl. o r g

“Huh?”

Dabin froze.

Blinking, Dabin stared at me, and I felt a surge of triumph.

“A weapon! Look at those big feathers on the wings! When an enemy appears, they shoot those feathers at them!”

I clenched my fist and spoke confidently.

Dabin and Hyesung looked shocked.

How could I describe it?

It seemed like there were lightning bolts striking in their minds.

“A weapon…!”

“Feather gun…!”

The two kids turned to the hen.

The hen, still huddled and dozing, seemed to appear differently to them.

“A fighter jet!”

“Cluck-Cluck is a bomber bird!”

T h is w a s c o pi e d fr o m k i n g mtl. or g
They were ecstatic.

Their faces flushed with excitement, unable to contain their enthusiasm.

I turned away.

‘…Innocence is important.’

There was no need to feel guilty now.

***

“Where’s the chicken?”

Three days later, Mr. Park arrived, his face beaming and holding an expensive-looking whiskey.

I told the excited Mr. Park.

“We’re not eating it. It’s for laying eggs.”

Mr. Park’s face fell.

Then he frowned sadly.

“…Damn, of course.”

He had thought we were eating chicken.

Clicking my tongue, I spoke.

“Meat? Eggs are more important right now.”

“…I shouldn’t have brought this.”

Mr. Park looked dejectedly at the whiskey in his hand.

I laughed dryly and asked Mr. Park.

“Where did you even hear that rumor?”

“The Mapo guys were here. One of them whined that you took a hen from him. I thought it was butchering day and rushed over.”

“Geez….”

T h i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m kin g m tl. o r g
I shrugged and continued.

“By the way, want to take an egg home? She’s been laying well. It’s only been four days, and we already have five.”

“No thanks. What kind of snack is an egg? I’d rather chew on jerky.”

“Do you have extra jerky?”

“I do, unlike you.”

“Then share a little….”

“Screw you.”

Damn.

Why did he even bring it up if he wasn’t going to share?

Feeling spiteful, I glared at Mr. Park, who snorted and said.

“If you’re mad, learn some skills.”

I wanted to hit him.

Really.

End of Chapter