A Survival Guide for a Counselor in the Apocalypse Chapter 137

Chapter 137

 

Just before the shard of glass stabbed into Kim Woohyun,

I grabbed it midair.

The force still pushing downward began cutting into my not-yet-healed flesh.

“Lee Hoin, take Kim Woohyun and get out.”

Lee Hoin flinched for a moment, staring at my hand.

I slowly wrapped my grip around hers so she wouldn’t feel threatened, then pulled the shard free.

“Quickly.”

Only after I urged him again did Lee Hoin move, pulling out the sobbing Kim Woohyun from underneath her and hoisting him up.

Her attention remained fixed on the hand I was holding, teeth grinding as if she were hissing.

“Everyone, out. Calm Kim Woohyun down, and give him something warm. He must be shocked.”

I pushed the remaining glass shards aside with my knee and threw the one I had taken far down the hallway.

The blood-caked shard clattered away.

After Kim Woohyun left with Lee Hoin,

Kim Taekjin watched us for a moment… then followed them.

Now, the only ones left in the room were her and me.

Slowly, I wrapped both her hands gently.

So she could neither hurt herself nor others… while making sure it didn’t feel like a threat.

Sticky blood seeped from her hands.

“I introduced myself earlier… my name is Nam Muyeong. Can you hear my voice? Do you know Woohyun? Kim Woohyun. He’s your younger brother, right? I’m his friend. An acquaintance. Do you recognize me?”

For a moment, I wondered if it would be better to take her to a counseling room… but in her current state, rational judgment wasn’t possible.

There was no way she could go there.

So calming her down came first.

I repeatedly told her where we were, who I was, that this was her space, and I wouldn’t harm her.

I stayed silent and waited.

Until the PTSD response subsided, I deliberately took slow, deep breaths… creating white noise.

The sound of my breathing.

The faint sounds of people in the hallway.

Amid that soft background noise, she gradually began to calm down.

Seeing that,

I deliberately brought our joined hands closer to my chest, so she could feel my breathing nearby.

“……”

Maybe because of that… she slowly began to breathe deeply as well.

Instinctively.

“Can you hear me? Do you remember who I am? Can you tell me?”

I was checking whether her awareness had returned… whether she had come back from the PTSD episode.

Slowly, she nodded.

Then, haltingly, she spoke:

“Nam… Nam Muyeong… Woohyun’s… friend…”

“Where are we right now?”

“Mom… Dad… made… this base…”

“Right. Does it feel dangerous here?”

She shook her head.

Then, as if completely drained, her body went limp to the side.

She hadn’t fully lost consciousness… but all strength had left her body.

Supporting her, I laid her down on the cot.

Through her slightly parted, messy hair,

I saw her face… sunken, vacant, streaming with tears.

Pretending not to notice, I laid her properly on the bed, then glanced at her ruined hands.

“Is it okay if I treat this? It might sting a little. But the bleeding doesn’t seem to stop.”

At my question, the woman lying there silently nodded.

I didn’t force a verbal answer.

I wrapped her in a blanket to help her feel secure, then returned to my room to grab a first aid kit.

Back again,

I placed towels underneath her hand and let water run gently over it.

Even though it must have stung… she looked completely numb.

That kind of dulled response to pain was not a good sign.

Why do humans feel pain?

It’s a survival signal.

Pain tells you: don’t do this, if it hurts more, you might die.

But if you become numb to it… it means that survival instinct is being suppressed.

Whether by the body or the brain… either way, it wasn’t good.

I rotated her hand to check for embedded fragments, pulled out a few with tweezers, and rinsed it again.

I cleaned away blood and debris with bottled water, disinfected it, applied medicine, placed gauze, and wrapped it with bandages.

I wrapped it thick enough to restrict movement.

In this state, it was better if her hands weren’t free.

After that, I cleaned up the surroundings and called Lee Hoin to help remove anything dangerous.

Now, the only furniture left in the room was the cot against the wall and a few non-threatening items.

Even those had their corners padded with towels.

If her aggression continued, this was the right approach.

Because more often than not, that aggression turned inward.

“…Hey. Your hand.”

After finishing everything and watching her fall asleep again, Lee Hoin pointed at my hand.

Ah. My hand.

Looking at the torn flesh again,

I sat nearby and treated it lightly.

It wasn’t that deep.

It just bled more because I had reopened a half-healed wound.

 

— 

[There’s never a peaceful day, is there?]

[At this point, scars are practically guaranteed!]

— 

 

Whether scars remained or not… didn’t matter.

“To cherish one’s body because it comes from one’s parents”, that didn’t apply to me.

I didn’t have parents.

And even if I did… they abandoned me.

So I had no reason to value my body.

Lee Hoin sighed and properly rewrapped my bandages, while Kim Taekjin simply looked around the room, raising an eyebrow.

His expression didn’t show shock… nor admiration, just something ambiguous.

Something uneasy, or maybe just intrigued.

 

***

 

Several days passed.

Taking care of the woman known as Kim Woohyun’s sister.

I needed recovery anyway, and Lee Hoin who couldn’t stand owing debts eventually went out with Kim Taekjin to gather supplies.

Naturally, taking care of her became my responsibility.

At first, others were worried, but after seeing me calm her down several times, they began to trust me,

leaving her in my care.

Of course, someone always stayed behind with me, just in case.

After several days, I finally heard her name.

“…Kim Hyeyeon…”

Kim Hyeyeon.

Though I already knew, I introduced myself again.

The act of exchanging names… of acknowledging each other… was important.

It meant that at least some level of connection had formed.

There were patterns to when she lost control due to PTSD.

From observing her, it happened when sounds of people outside faintly reached her.

Screams, or the sound of something being swung… those triggered her severely.

‘A trauma trigger.’

So I closed all the doors.

Windows were shut, and if ventilation was needed, I opened the door leading to the hallway instead, and opened windows in another room.

With the noise filtered like that, her episodes of aggression dropped significantly.

I figured I should ask Kim Woohyun about it soon, but he had grown withdrawn.

Being attacked by your own family inevitably becomes trauma.

He didn’t want to talk about it, and he didn’t want to be alone with his sister.

So opportunities to speak with him were scarce.

Today as well, after checking on Kim Hyeyeon and handing things over, I was returning to my room… when Kim Taekjin, standing in a corner of the hallway, asked:

“Are you always like this?”

That question…

I didn’t know what kind of answer he wanted.

So I just looked at him.

Deep in thought, he spoke again.

“Do you always pay attention to so many things? …Are you kind?”

At the subtle implication hidden in that tone,

I let out a small laugh.

“Yes. I pay attention to many things.”

It was true.

“Why?”

He asked it as if he were genuinely curious.

So I fell silent for a moment.

That “why.”

Lee Hoin had said it before… that this guy asks “why” about everything, no matter what, like nothing in his life is ever taken for granted.

But people are made differently.

For Kim Taekjin… that “why” was simply who he was.

Someone who had to understand everything, break everything down, grasp every mechanism.

Which is why… he and Lee Hoin were complete opposites.

Lee Hoin: “Just do it when told.”

Kim Taekjin: “Why should I?”