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However, if the voice really was the principal’s, it meant that they didn’t even get the chance to speak seriously.

‘Wait… Then what are the Lee brothers and Kang Eun-Jeong doing inside? Are the children inside telling them about the situation?’

It wasn’t the time to get lost in my own thoughts. I pushed these useless thoughts aside and headed toward the source of the sound.

‘Let\'s focus on the situation at hand. I need to confirm if it’s actually the principal’s voice.’

I finally reached the source of the sound. I could hear people screaming through the broken window of a store. It was a cacophony of sound, zombie howls mixed in with human screams. I entered the store immediately, not wasting a single second. My eyes fell on a group of zombies. Three? Four? No—there were at least five of them.

The zombies were trying to squeeze themselves somewhere. They were heading for the store’s fitting room. That was when I realized that I had entered a clothing store. One of the zombies fell to the ground with a thud. It spasmed once then stopped moving, as if its skull had been cracked.

“Go in, hurry up!”

I heard the principal’s voice from the fitting room.

At that moment, another zombie pushed its upper body through the partially-damaged door of the fitting booth.

“Sir!”

A youngster’s voice called desperately for the principal. That snapped me back to my senses. The voice that called for the principal was also familiar. I remembered the male student who’d been scolding the female student the night before. As snippets of memories flashed through my mind, I felt unexplainable anger and fury seethe within me.

‘Is this anger toward the younger teachers? Or anger toward the whole damn world?’

With a scowl on my face, I growled at the zombies in front of me.

“GRRR!!!”

I let my voice loose, filling the store with a discordant, throat-rending shriek. For a second, all I could hear was my cry, and the zombies that were in the midst of their frenzied hunt all stopped to look at me.

I glared at them with bloodshot, murderous eyes, as if I was going to eat them at any second. The zombies looked down, shaking their heads as they realized they had crossed paths with an apex predator.

‘Are they confused? No, they’re scared.’

As I headed for the dressing booth, they parted to the side, like an automatic door. I could feel the presence of people inside.

They were busy with something inside. I wondered what they could possibly be doing. I peeked in to see what they were up to. I saw a small hole at the far end of the fitting booth, just big enough for a single person to fit through. The male student was squeezing himself through the hole, while the principal was staring at me with his mouth open, like a goldfish.

I locked eyes with the principal. I didn’t know what to do now. I turned away, frowning as I tried to process my mixed feelings. The principal held onto a burlap sack, and he swallowed so hard that I could hear it. The sack was quivering violently, a clear indication of how the principal was feeling at the moment.

A zombie with glowing red eyes. In his eyes, this was a mutant he had never seen before.

“Sir, this way! Quick!”

There was a sharp intake of breath. The male student, who had made it through the hole and was looking at the principal from the other side, gasped when he saw me. He fell on his bottom, covering his mouth. It seemed like he had bit his tongue in shock. I saw another student next to him.

‘Did she make it through first?’

It was a female student wearing gym clothes. Her legs gave out the moment she saw me. To the survivors, I wasn’t a hero, savior, or someone great. I was just a threatening being that stoked their fear of death.

The principal stared at me, not moving an inch.

‘Is his body stiff with shock, or is his mind telling him that he shouldn’t move?’

I was growing impatient, so I lifted my right hand. His lips were trembling while his eyes were glued to my fingertips. I made a tiny hand gesture that only humans could understand.

‘Go! Hurry.’

The principal looked at me blankly, then blinked and threw himself through the hole. I could tell that it would be painful for him to try to fit his body through the narrow space. I knew that the sides of the hole would scrape against his body painfully. I heard him scream in agony as he struggled to push himself through the hole.

‘I wish he knew he could take his time…’

I knew what was going through his mind. He probably thought that I was going to eat him at any second. I couldn’t help but feel sorry as I watched his legs floundering behind him. As he tried to make his way out faster, his legs pushed off desperately against the floor, his feet slipping and scraping. I wanted to help him, but I knew better. At that moment, staying put was the best way to help him.

As soon as the principal made it through, they all ran away as if that had been the plan all along. I finally let out a sigh of relief, and looked back at the entrance to the shop. I could still see several zombies there, avoiding my gaze. They all seemed to be in one piece, which made them suitable candidates as underlings.

I contemplated for a minute on whether I should turn them into my underlings or not. I walked away shaking my head, eventually deciding not to. I assumed that the principal and the two children had already seen the faces of the zombies here. I could already envision how they would react if I brought them with me to the school.

‘I’ll see you guys around.’

I headed toward the school.

* * *

I followed the principal and children to get to the school. As soon as they left the clothing store, they composed themselves and started moving swiftly.

The principal led the way, with the female student in gym clothes right behind him. She was covering her mouth to prevent her cries from leaking out. The male student followed her in a daze, as if his soul had left his body.

The principal looked pale as well, and seemed lost in thought. They followed their instincts, making their way back to the school to survive. As I followed them, we encountered a couple of dangerous situations, when zombies with the sense of smell and who possessed vision grew attracted to them.

However, as soon as they saw me tailing the trio, all of them backed away, smacking their lips. I glared at the retreating zombies with a warning. ‘They’re mine. Don’t you dare lay a hand on them.’

Of course, I had no intention of eating the humans. I only wanted to threaten the zombies so that they would back off. I wondered if the principal and students knew what was happening behind them, or if they were aware that they had almost gotten killed three times on the way back.

Fortunately, with me shadowing them all the way, the principal and children made it back safely to the entrance of the school. I looked at them from a distance away, letting out a sigh of relief. My heightened senses cooled. I called for my underlings, whom I had hidden away earlier on, preparing to escort everyone in the school.

I already knew that they would take up our offer. They would have joined up with us nine times out of ten anyway. What happened today would surely be enough for them to come to the conclusion that the school wasn’t safe anymore. They probably realized that there was a mutant lurking around as well. They would have to find another place to shelter. Now everything was in Lee Jeong-Uk’s hands.

* * *

I couldn’t tell how much time had passed. It seemed like well over an hour since the principal and the children had gone inside.

Finally, the sealed entrance to the school opened, and Lee Jeong-Uk peeked out. I raised my hand up high for him to see me. I was signaling him that I was ready, so that he would bring the people out and we could escort them back to our place. But instead, he waved at me to join him. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I took his cue and went to the entrance.

“So-Yeon’s dad.”

I looked at him quizzically.

“I think you should hear this.”

I shook my head and pointed at myself, just to double-check. Lee Jeong-Uk sighed, continuing where he left off. “You met the principal here an hour ago, right?”

I replied with a series of growls.

“Yeah, it’s about that.”

They were probably raising questions about me. I was certain that the principal would bring up the mutant he had seen with his very own eyes, and that Lee Jeong-Uk would say he knew the zombie he was talking about.

I scratched my head, looking at the underlings that were lined up in front of me. They were all staring at me blankly, standing in the shade.

‘At ease.’

After giving them this brief command, I followed Lee Jeong-Uk inside. As we crossed the wide field, I could see people’s faces in the first floor window. They were all staring at us, as if I were some animal in a zoo.

Feeling embarrassed, I let my head droop as I continued to follow Lee Jeong-Uk.

We headed toward the principal’s office. As we stepped inside, I noticed the two students from the clothing shop sitting down in the corner. The principal and a white-haired elder were sitting at a table in the center of the room.

Now that I was seeing the principal up close, I noticed that he also had a lot of white hair. He looked just slightly younger than the elder next to him. It made sense, since high school principals weren’t typically young. His eyes shone with the glare of a ferocious tiger.

However, I quickly realized that his gaze was nothing but a bluff. His hands, which were on the desk, were shaking violently. I could see an endless abyss of fear in the students’ eyes as well.

I didn’t dare look at the students. My gaze was probably enough to scare the living daylights out of them.

“Have a seat, please,” said the principal.

Lee Jeong-Uk and I calmly sat in front of the desk. The principal sighed and clasped his hands together. I could tell from his tight grip that he was trying to hide his nervousness. The principal remained silent, and so Lee Jeong-Uk continued the conversation.

“The monster you said you saw outside. Is it this friend of mine right here?”

‘Monster? Friend?’

I supposed I stood somewhere in between these two diametrically-opposing terms.

The principal glanced at me and nodded. Lee Jeong-Uk flashed a slightly bitter smile and continued, “Even though he looks like this, he’s a person.”

“He’s a person?”

The principal finally let down his guard, offering a genuine human reaction. His eyes widened in surprise, and I almost laughed out loud.

“Yes, he’s a person,” Lee Jeong-Uk answered with a soft smile.

“Well, I just can’t see him as one.”

“Sir, you do know that’s extremely insulting to say to someone who saved your life and the lives of those children, right?”

Despite his smile, he wasn’t about to give in. Lee Jeong-Uk was the type of guy who didn’t hide his feelings. If he felt insulted, he would say so. With his boldness and magnanimity, he took control of the conversation.

I looked at Lee Jeong-Uk. He smirked at me and mouthed the words ‘why’ and ‘what’. I was touched by his gesture. His guts and confidence continued to surprise me.

“He may seem a little different. I understand. I didn’t trust him at first either.”

He also made blunt, hurtful statements without batting an eyelid, but his frank manner of speech was effective at building up trust. He leaned over the desk to speak to the principal. “But I want to get one thing straight. Don’t treat him as a monster. He’s a person.”

“…”

The principal remained silent. I could still sense the uneasiness in their gazes. Then, the white-haired elder intervened. “I agree. We should join up with these people.”

Everyone turned to look at the white-haired elder. The principal’s eyes widened as he heard the elder’s decision.

“You don’t have to come to a decision right now…” the principal said, as though questioning the finality of the elder’s decision.

“No. The world has changed.” The white-haired elder put his cane on the desk. “There are people out there who are worse than animals these days. But look at him. Even though he looks the way he does, he’s here, listening to our story.”

With that, everyone directed their gaze at me. I bowed my head in embarrassment. With a satisfied smile, the elder followed up with a question.

“Could I ask your name?”

Out of all the things that he could’ve done, he’d asked me a question. I stared at Lee Jeong-Uk, hoping he would answer instead. He clearly understood what I was trying to convey, and answered the elder’s question with a smile. “You can call him So-Yeon’s dad.”

He insisted on calling me ‘So-Yeon’s dad’, even though he knew that my real name was Lee Hyun-Deok.

‘Does he think ‘So-Yeon’s dad’ sounds more friendly?’

The elder chuckled as if he appreciated the moniker.

“It seems like he has trouble talking.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Did he have issues with his speech since birth?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“What a pity. It must be difficult for him.”

The elder glanced at me and Lee Jeong-Uk with eyes of pity, then eventually got to his feet without his cane. Lee Jeong-Uk, who was sitting next to the elder, quickly got up to support the elder, who thanked Lee Jeong-Uk with a gentle smile. He smiled at me as well. I stood up and bowed toward him.

The elder came closer to me, with Lee Jeong-Uk supporting him. He then grabbed my hand.

“Thank you. Thank you for saving our principal and the children. Thank you for showing up for us.”

I bit my lip to contain my feelings. The elder’s hands were skinny and as wrinkled as they could be, but they were the warmest hands I had ever held onto. I could feel the affection from them. It was a feeling I had never experienced as a human. Only now, with a dead heart, did I get the opportunity to feel this emotion.

I couldn’t lift my head. I knew I wouldn’t be able to control my feelings if I looked at him. I held onto the elder’s hand with my head down.