A Survival Guide for a Counselor in the Apocalypse Chapter 22

Chapter 22

 

An unfamiliar sound echoed through the surroundings. It wasn’t particularly loud. Not something you hear often in real life… but once you did, it etched itself into your brain.

A police siren.

“W-What is that?!”

Startled by the blaring noise, the bastards turned toward us. It couldn’t be helped; we were the source of that booming sound.

After their brief confusion, they looked at us and burst out laughing.

“What, why don’t you call your homeroom teacher too while you’re at it?”

Not a teacher… but someone ‘is’ studying to become one.

I glanced at them as they mocked us, then took out my phone and checked the time.

‘5:59.’

58 seconds. 59 seconds. 60 seconds.

6:00 sharp.

Daytime mutants rely on sight. Nighttime mutants rely on hearing. Then what exactly determines day and night? At what exact moment does it become “night”?

According to Sa Jaeheon’s experiments, the answer was simple.

6 o’clock.

Even if the sun hasn’t risen yet, 6 AM is morning, daytime.

And even if the sun hasn’t set yet, 6 PM is night.

So yes… right now.

From this moment on, mutants rely on sound.

WEE-OO WEE-OO WEE-OO

Between the rapidly blaring sirens, something responded… howls echoing back. At the same time, the sound of footsteps approached.

I quickly turned on the compass on my still-active phone.

“Can you carry her?”

“I can, but do you think she’ll stay still?”

That’s a problem too.

Cha Hyeongseo, who had turned toward us at the noise, looked completely bewildered. That confusion quickly twisted into irritation.

She probably thought we were messing around. Or worse, thinking we were idiots.

“Hey, you–”

Just as she was about to shout at us…

“AAAGH!!”

The porter, who had been trembling nervously, suddenly fell backward.

“Kiieeek…”

They’re here.

“Kiiik! Kiiiee!”

From all directions, mutants slowly closed in like tightening a net. The moment they saw Cha Hyeongseo, they shrieked in excitement.

“Hand me the bag.”

Lee Hoin rolled his ankle once, then passed the bag to me.

“What the hell is this?!”

“Aaagh!!”

While the four hesitated, the porter who tried to run didn’t get far before running straight into a mutant coming from the opposite direction.

“Help– help me!!”

The grayish eyes that had been fixed on Cha Hyeongseo dropped downward at the scream. Then it recognized something in front of it.

Instinctively, it raised its arm high– and in a single motion, slashed diagonally through the fleeing porter.

“Run!”

Before the porter even finished collapsing, I shouted to Lee Hoin. At the same time, in the chaos unfolding around us, he dashed forward and grabbed Cha Hyeongseo.

She was slung over his shoulder in the same position I’d been carried before, and immediately screamed something that sounded like a curse.

Hard to make out, but clearly swearing.

Yeah, the ride’s rough… I know.

Breaking through the path, I followed behind Lee Hoin and glanced back.

“Shit!”

Looking at the ones chasing us, I pulled out one of the daggers I’d taken earlier and threw it.

I wasn’t confident. Just needed to startle them, make them hesitate.

“AAAGH!”

“Lee Jaejin!!”

Looks like I hit someone.

 

—

[Perhaps you actually have a talent for hunting humans?

Talent is something you never know until the moment you use it!

If you were born centuries ago, you might have dominated the battlefield!]

—

 

Yeah right. As cannon fodder number one.

‘Even if I were born centuries ago, I wouldn’t do that kind of shit.’

Just in case, I pulled out another dagger and threw it behind me. This time, there was no scream… it must have missed.

But they seemed scared enough not to follow anymore.

When I looked back again, no one was there.

‘If we meet again, we’ll have to fight for real.’

That is, if they survived.

 

***

 

“Lee Hoin, stop.”

I didn’t know how far we’d run, but it had been a while. No mutants chasing us. No people either.

Lee Hoin stopped and, gasping for breath, roughly set Cha Hyeongseo down.

Not gently, but carrying someone while running nonstop isn’t easy.

“Drink slowly. If you drink now, you’ll choke mixing breath and water.”

Lee Hoin, who had been about to drink, let out a big sigh and sat down heavily.

“Seriously… damn, that was exhausting…”

While we paused, I immediately opened the tourist guidebook. Priority was figuring out where we were.

From the last checkpoint, northwest direction…

‘If I measured right, there should be a “Home” nearby.’

Not a hidden one, an obvious one.

“Lee Hoin, wait here a bit.”

“Why? If we move, we move together.”

“You’re tired. It’s nearby anyway.”

He immediately shook his head.

“It’s night.”

Only then did I look up at the dim sky. The sun hadn’t completely set, but by the time we checked and returned, it definitely would be.

“Then we rest a bit and move together.”

“Go now. You’re looking for a building, right? Once it’s fully dark, we’ll need flashlights.”

That made sense. Better to search while there’s still light.

‘And it’s almost 9 anyway.’

After 9, the terrain changes. We needed to get to a marked location before then.

This event’s terrain changes were completely random. One of the reasons Sa Jaeheon abandoned this event was because of that.

Third-party events are always random, but there’s a difference between randomness that helps and randomness that ruins things.

This one was clearly the latter.

Unpredictable. Uncontrollable.

For someone obsessed with control, it was poison.

I gestured to move again when Cha Hyeongseo, who had been silent, spoke.

“I never said I’m going with you.”

That caught me off guard. I never assumed she would.

Just as I was about to tell her to do whatever she wanted, Lee Hoin spoke first.

“We never said you were coming with us either.”

His tone was sharp.

Before I could stop him, he let out a sigh and continued.

“And if someone helps you, shouldn’t ‘thank you’ come before that kind of attitude?”

“…Did I ask for help?”

“No.”

“Then isn’t it ridiculous to expect thanks for something you did on your own–”

“Hey. Was your life the only one on the line back there? Ours was too. The moment we chose to help you. Whether you like it or not, if you survived thanks to us, the least you could do is say thanks.”

Cha Hyeongseo clenched her teeth and glared at him.

I knew she was prideful, but…

‘I didn’t expect Lee Hoin to react like this.’

He ran a hand through his hair irritably and muttered:

“You think your life is the only shitty one? Mine is too. But I carried you and ran for 30 minutes. So you wouldn’t fucking die.”

Silence fell, like the calm before a storm.

I broke it.

“Lee Hoin. Sun’s setting. Let’s go.”

He took a deep breath and turned his head away, then started walking ahead.

I watched his back briefly before turning to Cha Hyeongseo.

I still didn’t know what attitude to take.

Setting everything else aside, she’s a kid.

‘If she weren’t…’

No adult would act like that in this situation. At the very least, they’d say thanks first.

I stepped slightly to block her line of sight toward Lee Hoin and spoke.

“People don’t need a reason to help others.”

“….”

“I know I seemed strange to you. Sorry.”

Even in the original story, it took a long time for Cha Hyeongseo to accept Sa Jaeheon as an ally. It wasn’t just distrust.

Her sky-high pride and stubborn personality played a big role.

And my approach hadn’t helped either; I acted suspiciously despite knowing her personality.

‘Saying I couldn’t explain is just an excuse.’

I just didn’t want to think too hard… and it backfired.

“I won’t interfere anymore. Forget what I said before. I’m leaving.”

In the end, this outcome was my fault. I needed to find another way.

‘…If I take her luck, will she still survive?’

No adult thrives by stealing a child’s fortune?

That’s a lie.