A Survival Guide for a Counselor in the Apocalypse Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 

Most shelters, of course, operate normally at the beginning. It’s only later that they run into realistic problems.

‘What should I do. Is it better to refuse?’

If I refuse, then everything I said earlier about going to a “shelter” becomes a lie. I can’t start building distrust when we haven’t even properly established trust yet.

And the bigger problem was that I couldn’t gauge Lee Hoin’s condition. Whether he was still holding up fine, or barely enduring it on the brink.

‘I can’t get a mental recovery item right now.’

Still, since this is the early phase, it should be okay. My gaze subtly shifted toward Hoin.

‘It’d be better to let him rest.’

He hadn’t slept at all and had been keeping watch the entire time. Even when I told him to sleep, he refused.

Honestly, I still couldn’t tell what Hoin was thinking. That blank, dull expression of his… that was all there was.

After a brief exchange of glances, I nodded.

“…Thank you.”

For now, I should let Hoin sleep first.

Mental issues tend to come in chains. Right now, it might just be a lack of sleep, but that could easily develop into an anxiety disorder.

Or the anxiety might come first and cause the insomnia.

‘That behavior, getting up at the slightest shake of the door to check outside.’

You could call it survival instinct in a world gone to ruin…

But Hoin already had trauma. That kind of behavior wasn’t something to welcome.

So…

Let’s rest.

 

***

 

The group heading back to the shelter started talking to us, perhaps to ease the tension.

How we got injured, and why it was just the two of us. Since Hoin refused to answer anything, I ended up explaining everything.

“Oh my… Still, it’s a relief you weren’t badly hurt.”

“Yes, Hoin helped me a lot.”

The police officer silently led the way.

Whether he was just kind-hearted or maintaining professionalism even in the apocalypse, I couldn’t tell.

But one thing was clear: the people in this group relied heavily on him.

The shelter they led us to was an underground parking lot connected to a nearby supermarket warehouse.

 

—

[There are a lot of people! My, can all of them really be controlled?]

—

 

No… if anything, it already felt like they weren’t being controlled.

‘…Well, that’s understandable.’

There weren’t many central figures holding things together.

A few police officers and firefighters were working hard to maintain order.

Those somewhat capable seemed to be hauling supplies out of the warehouse.

“Please follow me.”

The officer led us to a man sitting down.

Soft, fluffy light-brown hair. A gentle-looking face.

If there was anything distinctive, it was the long dark circles under his eyes.

The moment the man saw the approaching officer, he greeted him with a warm smile.

“Mr. Lee Hyun, you made it back safely!”

Lee Hyun. That sounded familiar. Somewhere… it was a common name, but still—

Before I could fully place the sense of déjà vu, the officer slightly bowed and spoke.

“Could you take a look at this student?”

“Oh, are you hurt?”

The man’s gentle gaze turned toward me.

I definitely knew that face. That warm smile layered over it, it felt disturbingly familiar.

…But I couldn’t recall it.

“Would you sit here for a moment?”

“…Yes.”

It felt unsettling, but I followed along. This was the reason we came here, after all.

In the meantime, the officer left, and the man spoke to me casually.

“The wound isn’t deep. It’ll sting a bit when I disinfect it. You don’t have a fever, right?”

Even while talking, I studied his face carefully.

I’d definitely seen it somewhere.

“No. How did you end up here, doctor?”

“Ah… I had a day off for once and came out to do some shopping… and this happened…”

What rotten luck. Of all days, his day off.

The man scratched his cheek with a sheepish laugh. Every movement subtly radiated ‘innocence’.

…Which made him even more suspicious.

“You’re the only doctor here, right?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“It must be really hard.”

“No, not at all. Helping people isn’t hard.”

Ah, that unbearably familiar line.

[“If I can help people, I could do far worse than this. I can’t say my justice is righteous, but if someone can be saved by me, isn’t that enough?”]

A chill ran down my spine.

Why was that line overlapping with this moment?

“Doctor, may I ask your name…?”

“Oh, it’s a bit unusual…”

He’s a character.

“My name is Do Yoseol.”

…What?

In that instant, everything that had been vaguely surfacing snapped into place.

A violent shock struck my head as familiar lines flashed through my mind.

[“Sa Jaeheon, our Muryang Church needs you. I won’t ask you to trust me. You can trust salvation instead. I will save you…”

“Salvation? Looks like your salvation is slaughter. The bar for salvation is too high.”]

Do Yoseol.

The man who would produce countless fanatics and build the largest religious order… the Muryang Church.

 

—

[Character Encyclopedia has been updated with ‘Do Yoseol’.]

[Character Encyclopedia has been updated with ‘Lee Hyun’.]

 

[Do Yoseol from “Ruined World” (□□□ □□□)]

Importance: 3.5/5

<History>  

A character whose actions appear only in certain episodes.  

You can search episodes below to track his actions.

—

 

Do Yoseol. And Lee Hyun.

No wonder they felt so insanely familiar.

If I remember correctly, Do Yoseol first appeared around episode 23…

 

—

[Tracking Episode 23…]

[Episode 23 ▼]

Appears as a doctor in a shelter before becoming the cult leader

—

 

His name was practically his identity.

Do Yoseol didn’t call himself a cult leader, but…

[“A cult leader? No. He is a saint.”]

He called himself a ‘saint’.

A saint sent by God into this ruined world.

And “Muryang” in Muryang Church meant the infinite perfection of God.

Evil stems from desire, so a perfect being has no desire. Therefore, a state without desire represents goodness. There would be no desire to possess, nor to trample others to survive.

God, being perfect, is benevolent and good, and thus must desire goodness.

‘“That good being wishes to grant salvation to all through me. To guide everyone toward perfection.”’

That was the doctrine and origin of the Muryang Church.

Whether that interpretation even held up… I doubted it. Probably not. The guy had likely never even read a proper religious text. I’d bet my entire bank account on it.

Do Yoseol was just someone who latched onto a single word and built an illusion.

And Lee Hyun…

 

—

[Lee Hyun from “Ruined World” (□□□ □□□)]

Importance: 3/5

<History>  

A character whose actions appear in certain episodes.  

You can search episodes below to track his actions.

— 

 

He was Do Yoseol’s closest aide and later became an Inquisitor.

Despite Sa Jaeheon trying to recruit him multiple times, he remained loyal to Do Yoseol to the end.

There was barely any physical description. Aside from having his face severely injured and later wore a helmet due to scars.

Because of that, he was often depicted like a medieval knight.

‘…Ha.’

Of all the places, why here? Among all those shelters… why this one?

‘…We need to run.’

I already felt uneasy before, but now I was certain… we had to get out.

“You don’t need stitches. The bleeding has mostly stopped, though it might leave a scar. Are there any other injuries?”

I nodded faintly and tried to stand, but Hoin pushed me back down.

“He sprained his ankle.”

Now is not the time to take care of me.

We need to leave, now.

“Let me see.”

After examining my ankle, Do Yoseol spoke with his usual gentle expression.

“It looks like a sprain. I’ll wrap it with a compression bandage. If possible, get some anti-inflammatory painkillers. And for icing… could you ask Firefighter Kim Seongcheol over there if there are any frozen goods available?”

“Yes, thank you.”

As soon as Hoin moved away, I rummaged through my bag and pulled out whatever I could grab.

Two bottles of fever reducers and one retort food pack.

“You don’t need to give me these…”

Do Yoseol blinked in surprise as he received them.

Don’t lie, you crazy cult leader.

[“If you won’t follow, then pay the proper price. I give to believers, not heretics. Why are there so many ignorant fools who think goodwill is free?”]

That line was practically his catchphrase.

‘He’s not a materialist, but he absolutely believes ‘if you’re not on my side, you should die.’

To Do Yoseol, “his side” meant anything within his domain.

If you were inside his space, you could take everything he offered.

But if you left, you couldn’t.

‘He’s not a cult leader yet, so it’s fine?’

No. His way of thinking was never normal to begin with.

Kind and gentle, but fundamentally twisted.

If I’d known it was him, I wouldn’t have even sat down.

“It’s nothing. You helped me, so… please use these for others.”

I spoke like a naive student, and his eyes filled with emotion.

“Thank you. I was worried since we’re short on medicine…”

“Nam Muyeong!”

From somewhere far off, Hoin shouted my name.

Using that chance, I bowed slightly to Do Yoseol and stood up.

“Be careful. Don’t get hurt.”

He smiled kindly, and I awkwardly returned the smile.