Apocalypse's Teacher - Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Protein, Only Protein (3)

***

Another three days passed.

During that time, Hyesung and Dabin were so captivated by the charm of the hen that they hardly left the rooftop, and the number of eggs piled up to seven.

Indeed.

Today was the day we would eat boiled eggs.

In the living room of the penthouse.

T hi s w a s c o pi e d f r om k i n g m t l .o r g
Holding the round eggs close, I waited for the water to boil and spoke.

“Kids, just wait a little longer.”

I told the kids to wait, but in truth, I was the most excited.

Why wouldn’t I be?

It was boiled eggs, after all.

Not the dreadful preserved food we had been eating, but fresh food for the first time in years.

Just one egg, but thinking about the difference made it impossible not to be excited.

The water bubbled and boiled.

Sensing the right time, I added the precious salt I had managed to find to the water.

Then, I dropped in the eggs.

As the eggs rolled and began to move around in the boiling water, Helen gulped.

“Protein, good.”
T h i s was c op i e d fr o m k i n g m t l .o r g

Even Helen, who had been lamenting not being able to eat the chicken, looked happy at this moment.

I chuckled and looked at the kids.

Hyesung and the twins, who didn’t even know what boiled eggs were, were blankly staring at the boiling water, while Ki-hyun and Jinwoo were anxiously eyeing the pot.

The wait wasn’t long.

About ten minutes.

When I felt that the cooking was almost done, I turned off the heat, and Helen quickly brought over a bowl.

She looked like a skilled surgical assistant.

Carefully, I poured the boiling water into the bowl and placed the hot eggs in cold water.

When I touched the eggs, they were perfectly warm.
T h i s w a s c o p ied f r o m ki ngm t l.o r g

“Alright, let’s eat.”

As I picked up an egg and shook it, the kids and Helen quickly grabbed their share.

Hyesung was the first.

At the mention of ‘delicious food,’ Hyesung had opened her mouth wide without thinking and bit into the egg, shell and all, only to spit it out in surprise.

“It’s hard!”

Her front teeth were still missing, making the sight all the more amusing.

I laughed and patted Hyesung on the head as I spoke.

“You have to peel the shell. Wait, I’ll do it for you.”

I tapped the egg on my head, and then peeled off the cracked shell.

Hyesung’s eyes sparkled.

“Rock head!”

“Yeah, your uncle has a tough head.”

“Totally rock head!”

It felt like a compliment, but why did it feel so strange?

“Here, it’s all peeled. Blow on it and eat.”

“Okay!”

Hyesung took the egg.

She felt its texture with her hands, sniffed it with her nose, and then, with a tense face, opened her mouth.

When she finally took a bite of the egg, her body froze.

“How is it?”

There was no immediate response.

Hyesung’s face went blank.

Her eyes half-closed, and her nose twitched.

Her plump cheeks moved as she chewed.

“It’s tasty….”

Hyesung teared up.

Seeing her trembling with emotion and shedding tears of joy, if you didn’t smile, something was wrong with you.
T h is w a s co pi ed f r o m k i n g m t l .or g

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Even in that moment, Hyesung’s exclamations continued.

She used every adjective she knew to describe how soft, delicious, and warm it was.

Hyesung devoured her egg in the blink of an eye.

She looked at her empty hand with a forlorn expression.

“Do you want more?”

“Yes….”

Sadness showed on Hyesung’s face.

One egg wasn’t enough for the always-hungry Hyesung.

I peeled my egg, split it in half, and gave her one half.

“Just this one more, okay?”

At that, Hyesung’s face brightened again.

She opened her mouth wide and put the half-egg I held into her mouth.

Then she jumped up and hugged me.

“It’s tasty…!”

“Eat slowly, or you’ll get a stomachache.”

T h is wa s c o p i ed f ro m ki n g m t l . o r g
Hyesung’s face relaxed.

And my heart relaxed with it.
T hi s w a s c opi e d f ro m k in g m t l .o rg

A child’s smile might be the most powerful weapon of all.

More than the taste of the egg in my mouth, I found myself focusing on her smile as I patted Hyesung’s back.

Looking up, I saw the other kids were equally satisfied.

Dabin, true to her nature, was giggling, and Dayoon was savoring the taste with red cheeks.

Jinwoo, ever cautious, was still peeling his egg, while Ki-hyun chewed with a faint smile.
T h i s w a s c o p i ed f r o m ki n g mtl. or g

“Tasty, right?”

Ki-hyun looked up at me.

Her face was somewhat blunt.

She stared at me with what felt like a glare, then nodded.

“…It’s tasty.”

For today, she gave an honest answer.

“Let’s eat more next week. She usually lays one egg a day, so by next week, we’ll have enough to eat again.”

Ki-hyun nodded.

Just then, Dayoon approached me and poked me.

“…Uncle.”

“Hmm?”

“For teacher too.”
Th i s w as c o p i e d f rom k i ng mt l . o r g

“Teacher… Ah, Mr. Park?”

“Yes….”

How kind-hearted.

I nodded readily at Dayoon’s thoughtfulness for someone not present, then paused.

‘…But why is Mr. Park a teacher, and I’m just an uncle?’

By rights, I should be the teacher, shouldn’t I?

Mr. Park was just an external instructor.

I wanted to ask Dayoon, but the question didn’t come out.

…Who knows?

Dayoon might say, ‘I don’t consider someone dumber than me as a teacher.’

I wasn’t confident I could handle that.

***

Another two days passed.

And great news reached the penthouse.

T h i s w a s c op i e d f r om k i n g m t l . or g
“Flowering!!”

Early in the morning, Hyesung’s shout woke up the entire penthouse.

I jumped out of bed, startled by the shout, and rushed out of the bedroom.

“What is it? What happened?”

I thought maybe zombies had invaded, so I spoke hastily.

When I opened the door with a bang, what I saw wasn’t zombies, thankfully.

“Flowering!!!”

Hyesung shouted again.

“Flowering?”

“Flowering!”

Hyesung ran to me and held up a flowerpot.

“Bean is flowering!”

I blinked.

My gaze shifted to the pot.

After a brief silence, I exclaimed.

“It’s a flower!”

A bud had appeared on Hyesung’s bean plant.

***

Although it wasn’t fully bloomed, the bud evoked a certain sentiment.

Isn’t that the way it is with flowers getting ready to bloom?

In a world that had already ended, it was a rare sight.

Of course, you could see flowers easily if you left the city, but that was out of the question.

In a world where zombies could appear anywhere and anytime, there was no reason to risk going out to see flowers.

For those hiding in the darkness of the city, the sight of a budding flower brought a unique sense of emotion.

The children gathered and stared at the flower bud.

Their expressions were all filled with a sense of awe.

A tiny, delicate life swayed gently, greeting them.

Hyesung’s cheeks turned red.

“It’s pretty…!”

She seemed overwhelmed by the emotions she couldn’t contain.

Her small hands kept clenching and unclenching, and her eyes seemed to drip honey as she gazed at the bud.

It was an entirely understandable sentiment.

Beyond her youth and innocence, for Hyesung, this bud was a precious child she had nurtured with her own hands.

Her first love, whom she had cradled and whispered sweet words to.

“Do you like it that much?”

“Yes…!”

Hyesung’s head popped up.

Her face bore a bright smile that seemed to light up the whole world.

I patted Hyesung’s head as I spoke.

“Bean has grown up.”

“Yes! Bean has grown up! Now it’s adult Bean!”

“And Hyesung is still a kid?”

“Yes! Now Bean is a mom!”

She didn’t even realize I was teasing and was just happy.

Hyesung’s gaze turned back to the bean.

“Mom Bean…!”

She leaned forward.

She seemed determined to observe the bud closely and engrave this moment into her memory forever.

I chuckled, thinking she might pop her eyes out.

“Your neck might get stiff.”

“Mom Bean…!”

It seemed like she didn’t hear me at all.

Her observation continued until the children eventually left to do their tasks.

“Drawing!”

“Huh?”

“I want to draw Pretty!”

Hyesung jumped up and ran to the secret base.

She came back with the sketchbook and crayons I had found for her someday.

She seemed to want to draw and keep the bud.

‘That’s nice.’

Pictures would be better, but drawings also had their own charm.

“Do you want Uncle to help?”

“Yes!”

Hyesung handed me a crayon.

I chuckled and picked up a brown crayon.

And then I said.

“Uncle will draw the pot, so Hyesung can draw Bean and Pretty. Okay?”

“I will draw Pretty beautifully!”
T hi s was co pi e d fr o m k ing mt l . o r g

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

Hyesung picked up a green crayon.

She started sketching it on the sketchbook.

I was impressed.

“Hyesung could be an artist!”

Not just because she’s my kid, but really.

…Really.

End of Chapter