A Survival Guide for a Counselor in the Apocalypse Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 

“…We’ll deal with only the nearby mutants and push through. We’re just breaking straight ahead. Can you do it?”

“Yes, I’ll try.”

Without any complaints, Lee Hyun reloaded his gun and, just as I said, shot the nearest mutant.

Bang!

…Is he being cooperative?

No… rather, it feels like some kind of command has been input into him…

‘No.’

Escaping is the priority right now.

Lee Hyun faithfully followed my instructions, shooting only the mutants within close range, while I knocked over shelves to block the paths behind us.

“Kiieeek!”

A mutant caught on a fallen shelf struggled to force its way through.

Perhaps irritated by it, Lee Hyun immediately aimed his gun in that direction, but…

“Ignore it!”

I cut him off sharply and made him turn the gun away.

That level could be ignored. It would only get free after we were long gone anyway.

And Lee Hyun obeyed my words exactly. That is… he really didn’t shoot.

‘…….’

After twisting our route and circling for quite some time, we finally managed to escape from Basement Level 1.

Only when we reached the passage leading to the surface did Lee Hoin stop to catch his breath. I watched him for a moment before speaking.

“You…”

I ran a hand over my face and exhaled. I wasn’t sure how to phrase this without sounding harsh.

Counseling. Think of it as counseling…

I took a deep breath, suppressing all emotional agitation.

“Why did you come out here?”

I added.

You can’t know someone’s true thoughts unless they say them. I’m a counselor, not a mind reader. I can infer, but I shouldn’t overinterpret.

At my question, Lee Hoin’s eyes wavered slightly.

“I…”

He exhaled briefly and looked around. As if to defend him, Lee Hyun answered instead… as though it were his duty.

No… maybe he was speaking on behalf of the shelter.

“Lee Hoin intended to cooperate for the sake of the community.”

 

—

[Cooperation. What a beautiful word!]

—

 

Yeah. It is a beautiful word.

But I wasn’t interested in hearing something pretty. I just wanted to know what Lee Hoin actually thought.

So I ignored Lee Hyun and waited.

After hesitating for a while, Lee Hoin finally spoke, stuttering.

“…Because you needed to rest.”

Even with that short answer, I stayed silent and waited.

Then I let out another heavy breath. It must’ve sounded like a sigh, because Lee Hoin flinched.

I corrected the misunderstanding immediately. These things shouldn’t be left to build up.

“This is just because I’m tired. We’ve been running.”

He nodded awkwardly and continued.

“We came in late… so…”

I understood what he was trying to say. I could also tell exactly what point Do Yoeseol and that shelter had targeted.

‘Anxiety.’

The fear of being cast out… even from a place they had just barely found, while being injured.

They must’ve pressured him with that urgency, that restlessness, that anxiety. The atmosphere alone would’ve been enough.

‘Did his trauma trait get triggered?’

I should definitely get an item later that lets me check someone’s condition.

It’d be nice if my skill were upgraded into something like that.

“I think I get what you’re trying to say.”

He didn’t do anything wrong. He acted based on his own reasoning.

“Still, we had enough supplies to stay there for at least a day. If it came down to it, we could’ve gone somewhere else.”

“……”

“What I’m saying is, you didn’t have to make such a risky choice. That choice was dangerous. I don’t want to live because of your sacrifice. I want to go forward with you.”

Supplies can always be replaced as long as you’re alive. Right now, physical injury was the bigger issue.

“You need to stay alive to do anything. Right?”

I lightly tapped his shoulder, as if telling him to relax. If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have given him the supplies in the first place.

“You need to think about how much you’re worth, and how valuable what we have is.”

I turned my head toward Lee Hyun.

“Don’t you think so?”

Lee Hyun’s face filled with confusion.

“…Pardon?”

“I get the feeling you value community a lot.”

“……”

“What do you think about this situation?”

His eyes shifted.

“The people who went to gather supplies… weren’t they the ones who stepped up for everyone?”

“……”

“Couldn’t they be considered the ones with the strongest ‘community spirit’? The ones who absolutely needed to survive, for everyone’s sake? Then why didn’t you save them?”

Only two remained… no, three. Including that man from earlier.

Just three people.

“What do you think?”

It was a thought I had while briefly observing him earlier.

This guy has no personal conviction.

Lee Hyun, as a character, was Do Yoeseol’s loyal inquisitor.

He remained by Do Oesol’s side until the end, but if you asked why, there was no answer.

Because his inner thoughts were never described, not even once.

On top of that, he was taciturn. After his face was injured, most of his dialogue was just “…….”

‘He follows everything he’s told.’

Not because he agrees.

But because he was told to.

He has no personal will. No personal choices.

“…You seem agitated.”

Lee Hyun deflected like that, avoiding the question. I stared at him as he averted his gaze.

“You even have a weapon.”

“…Yes.”

“Then shouldn’t your own will be guiding your actions, not someone else’s? For the sake of more people. For yourself.”

All this time, as an inquisitor, had he completely entrusted himself to Do Yoeseol?

Was that why his role was to punish those who stepped outside established rules?

His entire history, praised as fairness and rule-following…

Or criticized as having zero flexibility.

“Think about it.”

With that, I stepped back.

No matter how much I coaxed him now, he wouldn’t suddenly switch sides. No point running a free counseling session here.

I let out a sigh.

“Good luck.”

The sunset was already fading.

The second night of the apocalypse was approaching.

Leaving Lee Hyun behind, we headed in our own direction.

 

***

 

In the end, we chose to hide inside a car someone had abandoned.

They must’ve fled in a hurry; the key was still in the ignition.

We gathered clean cloth from nearby places and carefully covered the windows with tape, then locked the doors.

“Bear with the cold.”

We had some heat packs from a nearby convenience store, so we wouldn’t freeze… but we couldn’t turn on the heater.

Starting the engine would make noise.

I piled the heat packs onto the back seat and pushed the seat flat.

“Take off the hoodie.”

“Why?”

“Your arm.”

Only then did he realize and nod like an idiot.

He took it off, and I tore the fabric further to expose the wound, then cleaned it with water.

I found the one tube of ointment in my bag, squeezed it out generously, applied it, placed gauze on top, and wrapped it tightly with a bandage.

“Damn… I shouldn’t have given you that burner earlier. All that trouble for nothing.”

He looked better already, color returning to his face. I let out a hollow laugh.

He’s still a kid. Recovers fast.

“Still… thanks. For going that far for me.”

“…What are you saying?”

“I mean it.”

That ended the conversation.

Neither of us was talkative or particularly warm in personality.

No alcohol. No cigarettes. Nothing to fill the silence.

In that quiet stillness, Lee Hoin fell asleep first.

I slowly drifted off as well.

When I opened my eyes again, as expected…

A window greeted me.

With fanfare.

 

—

[(Fanfare)]

[The morning of Day 3 has arrived! Congratulations on surviving until Day 3.]

[From now on, your world will no longer be the ‘world you know.’]

[The apocalypse has accelerated.]

[During the night, new worlds have slightly encroached upon yours.]

—

 

New worlds.

From this point on…

It was the real “Ruined World.”

 

***

 

Our destination was Jamsil.

More precisely, Jamsil Olympic Park.

There were three reasons:

First, it’s close.

Second, it’s one of the routes Sa Jaeheon abandoned.

Third, the quality of early-game items is relatively high.

The reason Sa Jaeheon abandoned it despite the good items was efficiency.

To get out of there, you’d have to stay stuck for about five days.

This apocalypse had a sort of grace period.

Whether it was courtesy or pity, I didn’t know.

It lasted about 13 days.

Three had already passed.

‘Within the next ten days, I need to participate in about two out of the 33 events.’

That way, I could prepare for the semi-forced cooperative events later.

Out of those ten days, spending five in one place was inefficient.

Also, Jamsil was far from other events, making movement inefficient.

‘Though the reward lineup is excellent…’

Those rewards weren’t that valuable to Sa Jaeheon. They were mostly convenience items that could be obtained elsewhere.

But for me, Jamsil was the best choice.

A place where I could maximize efficiency without crossing paths with Sa Jaeheon.

‘A bit of a waste… but I have my own methods.’

With that thought, I fastened my seatbelt.