Apocalypse's Teacher - Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Surviving Winter is the Biggest Challenge (3)

***

On the hotel’s rooftop, there is a small garden.

Now, it is entirely covered in black soil, with no trace of any plants.

Hyesung pressed the soil down firmly.

A few tears fell onto the soil.

She was burying her friend who had been with her through an eventful autumn.

She sniffled and shook her body.

She raised her arm to rub her eyes.

Then she let out a sob.

Hyesung spoke.

“Goodnight….”

She finally uttered these words, paying tribute to the soybean plant that had completed its life.

Thi s w a s co p i e d f r o m k i n g m t l . o r g
She stood up and looked at me.

Her face was a mess of tears.

I hugged Hyesung and patted her head.

“You did well.”

Hyesung squirmed and nodded.

“Did Beanie go to heaven?”

“Yes, Beanie will be watching over you from heaven.”

“Always?”

“Always.”

Wiping her tears on my clothes, Hyesung raised her head.

“Then will we meet again later?”

I smiled.

“Yes, when you grow up and become an old lady and fall asleep. Then you will meet again in heaven.”

Hyesung’s face showed more tears.

She tried to say something but then closed her mouth tightly.

She looked at the garden where Beanie was buried and spoke one last time.

“See you again.”

She said goodbye once more.

“I’ll take good care of baby Beanies too.”

She made a promise.
T hi s w as c op i e d f r o m k in g m t l .o rg

I said to Hyesung who was making this vow.

“Let’s grow them in the spring.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s fill this garden with baby Beanies so Beanie won’t be lonely. Let’s make it vibrant again.”

“Okay.”

Hyesung’s expression gradually brightened as she kept answering.

Having something to look forward to can make the heart flutter and provide motivation to move forward.

I hoped Hyesung would live each day with expectations for tomorrow.

***

It was the beginning of a long winter.

A week had passed since the day we buried Beanie.

Hyesung had shaken off her sorrow and regained her lively self, while Dabin and Dayoon were busy with their tasks.

Jinwoo was diligently doing housework as always, and Kang Ki-hyun was in a deep winter sleep, spending all day buried under blankets.

T h i s w a s c o pi e d f r om k i ng mt l . o r g
I spoke to Kang Ki-hyun.

“You’ll get fat like that.”

The blanket moved with a big jolt.

A peek of an angry face emerged from the blanket.

I smiled mischievously and spoke again.

“If you stay buried in that blanket, you’ll turn into a pig.”

Since the real winter started, Kang Ki-hyun had been staying under the blankets all the time.

I thought she should move around a bit.

Kang Ki-hyun glared at me with a flushed face and finally spoke.

“I’m not gaining weight.”

“You will.”

“I have a body that doesn’t gain weight.”

“Everyone who says that gains weight eventually.”

“I’ll kill you.”

Her eyes blazed with anger as she looked at me, but she didn’t seem to have any intention of moving.

Laziness had won over anger.

What does winter mean to her, I wondered.

“Have you always been like this every winter?”

“I don’t know.”

Kang Ki-hyun turned her back to me and rolled away.

“I’m too tired to move. It just is.”

What does “just is” even mean?

I shook my head and said.

“We’re scavenging for supplies the day after tomorrow. Don’t just lie around; do some stretching at least.”

“Are you my mom?”

“Isn’t it close enough?”

Kang Ki-hyun, wrapped up like a caterpillar, shuddered.

Well, she’ll just ignore me again.

I decided to leave it at that and walked away.

Passing by the kids who were busy with their chores, I approached Helen.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“I’m preparing to cook.”
T h is w a s c o p i e d f ro m ki ng mtl .o r g

“Cooking? All of a sudden?”

“It’s winter, Christmas. We celebrate Christmas with a party.”

Helen stood up.

She walked towards me, making thumping sounds, and spoke with a determined face.

“We’ll eat chicken now.”

Smack-!

“Ouch!”

T hi s wa s c o pi ed f r om k i ngm t l. o r g
“There you go again. We’re not eating our chicken!”

“Sigh….”

Helen’s face showed disappointment, but I had no intention of changing my mind.

No matter what, I wouldn’t let the kids experience the trauma of eating a pet they had grown attached to.

How far did this carnivore plan to go, I wondered, letting out a deep sigh.

“Christmas… we’ll have a party….”

Helen’s words continued, and I let out a contemplative “Hmm.”

‘We should definitely prepare for Christmas.’

We had always been too busy surviving to celebrate, but I wanted to do something special for the kids this year.

It’s a day of memories that comes only once a year.

“Christmas….”

As I rubbed my chin in thought, the old man approached.

“Christmas? Why all of a sudden?”

“I want to give the kids some presents.”

I looked at Helen and the old man.

‘Santa and Rudolph.’

The two things that come to mind when thinking of Christmas.

“Old man, could you be Sant—”

“No way.”

The old man had no interest in being Santa.

I then turned to Helen.

Helen’s face was full of anticipation, eager to participate.

“I’ll be Santa! Sexy Santa!”

I intended to make her Rudolph, but she wanted to be Santa.

‘Well, it should be okay. Santa is usually depicted as a white man.’

It’s not about racism, but the default image of Santa is a white man.
T h i s w as c o p i ed f ro m k i ngm t l . o r g

“Alright, then you can be Santa. But what about the presents?”

I wanted to give something the kids would like.

“Hmm….”

A surprise gift would be more touching.

I made a decision.

T h i s w a s c o p ie d f ro m kin gm t l . o r g
“Helen.”

“Yes!”

“Come with me on the supply run the day after tomorrow.”

Helen’s face stiffened.

Her mouth opened in shock.

I squinted my eyes at her.

“What.”

“…”

Helen clamped her mouth shut.

She must have planned on lazing around the house, but that wasn’t going to happen.

No work, no food.

She may have been treated like a high-class asset in the past, but here, things were different.

“Prepare to go.”

I turned away from Helen.

A low curse came from behind me.

“Fuck….”

***

The biting cold surrounded us.

In the midst of the silent, frigid city, Helen shivered and thought.

T h i s w as c o p ie d f r om k in gm t l . o r g
‘Fuck….’

‘Damn.’

“Seokho, I’m so cold.”

“Yes, winter is cold.”

Seokho replied nonchalantly as he walked.

Helen glared at his back resentfully and followed.

She was scared.

Even in winter, zombies roamed the streets.

This was not a controlled environment where zombies were tied to walls or beds with muzzles.

From the apocalypse to now, Helen had always been protected because of her credentials as a biology professor.

This was her first real threat since escaping the shelter.

However, Seokho showed no consideration for Helen.

Their life experiences were too different.

‘If Jinwoo and Kang Ki-hyun can do it, couldn’t this woman do it too?’

She couldn’t.

Helen had the physical ability of a wrecked human, perhaps a perfect example of someone smart but physically inept.

Seokho had no way of knowing that Helen’s trembling was due to more than just the cold.

Plod, plod.

As Seokho walked, thinking about the kids’ Christmas gifts, an accident happened.

Clang!

The sound of metal hitting metal.

Seokho turned his head to find Helen frozen in place.

A steel pipe had collided with a car on the roadside.

Seokho’s mouth fell open.

Helen’s face turned as white as ice.

“Grrr….”

A zombie growled.

“You idiot…!”

Swearing rose to his lips but didn’t come out.

The first reason was Helen’s teary eyes, and the second was that the zombies on the street were approaching very slowly.

Seokho scratched his head and grabbed Helen’s hand.

“Let’s go.”

He was grateful it was winter, thinking that they could easily outrun the zombies.

Seokho started running.

Helen, her mind blank, followed, her eyes tightly shut.

She made a siren noise with her mouth to block out the sound.

“Why, whyyy….”

Smack-!

Of course, Seokho didn’t allow the siren noise that would attract zombies.

T h i s w a s c opi e d f r o m ki ng m tl . o r g
“Are you crazy? Do you have a death wish?”

Seokho realized his mistake.
Th i s w as c o p i e d fro m ki ng m t l . o r g

‘She’s really out of it.’

He had not realized her true nature, having only interacted with her inside the penthouse.

As they ran, a zombie, slowly moving due to the commotion, blocked their path.

Seokho, anger boiling from his neck, swung his monkey wrench.

“Get lost, bastard!”

Crack-!

The zombie’s head flew off.

Helen clung to Seokho.

“Shit!”

A curse spilled from her mouth in English.

Seokho felt uneasy.

‘Can we even make it back home?’

He lost confidence in their safe return.

End of Chapter