Apocalypse’s Teacher

Chapter 60

Surviving Winter is the Biggest Challenge (4)

***

In a corner of a central building, we barely managed to escape to, I glared at Helen with a sullen face.

“Hiccup….”

Helen hiccuped and sobbed.

Her body was trembling so much that anyone could see she was terrified.

“Wow….”

I was so dumbfounded that a sigh of amazement escaped me.

Really, how could she still be afraid of zombies after five years in this crazy world?

I didn’t even know what to say, so I just glared at her as she crawled toward me.

“Seokho….”

She reached out and grabbed my collar.

“Don’t leave me…!”
T h i s wa s c o pi ed f ro m k i n g mtl . o r g

“Hey, who said anything about leaving you….”

T h i s w a s co pi e d from ki n g mt l .o r g
“Don’t leave meee…!”

Helen hugged me tightly and started bawling.

‘…This is driving me nuts.’

They say a beautiful woman’s tears are a weapon?

I can tell you, that’s a load of crap.

Even a woman who looks like she stepped out of a movie turns into an ugly mess when she cries like this.

“Calm down….”

“Ughhh…!”

Snot dripped down.

I pushed her forehead back out of sheer disgust and wiped her face with a tissue I had prepared for an emergency.

“Here, blow.”

“Ugh…!”

‘Well, at least she listens,’ I thought, realizing how soft-hearted I had become.

‘In the past, I would’ve left her without a second thought.’

Affection is terrifying.

Realizing this, I said to her.

“Okay, lady.”
This w a s c opi e d f ro m k i n g mt l . or g

“Yes….”
T h i s w a s c o pi e d f r om k ing m t l . o rg

“We’re screwed. We’re too far from home to go back now.”

“Ugh!”

“Since we’re here, we need to finish our mission and then go back. Understand?”

Helen, her face as white as a sheet, nodded vigorously.
Th is wa s co p i e d fro m ki n g m t l. or g

I smiled with satisfaction and said.

“Good, so wait here for a bit. I’ll go alone and….”

“Nooo-!”

Helen hugged me again, this time wrapping her legs around my waist like a koala, and shouted.

“I know! This is what parents say when they abandon their children!”

“No, who does that….”

“It was in the movies!”

This is why TV is a problem!

I realized once again.

Well, anyway.

“Are you going to come with me? You got the guts?”

“I won’t let go! Seokho, I’ll follow you to hell!”

Helen glared fiercely, her face set with determination.

‘Ah….’

My head felt like it was about to explode.
Th i s w a s co pi ed f r o m ki ng m t l . or g

***

In the end, I couldn’t shake off Helen.
T his w a s c o p ie d f r o m k in g mtl . o r g

She closed her eyes, covered her ears, and insisted on coming along.

I felt like giving up.

But who was I?

Five years into the apocalypse, still surviving as a legendary survival genius.

I remembered how to handle this burden.

“Hold on tight, lady.”

“Yes!”

Instead of a backpack, Helen clung to my back.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist, hanging on for dear life.

‘She’s heavy.’

Really heavy.

Even though Helen had a slim figure, she was still an adult woman.

She weighed more than a 40kg sack of rice.

And there was a lot of gear.

Carrying two backpacks full of supplies and Helen’s weight, I was basically on a hellish march with over 50kg on my back.

‘I can do this.’

I pulled myself together and encouraged myself.

‘Who am I?’

Hyesung’s playmate, Dabin’s personal bike, the pillar of the penthouse.

A former physical education teacher, a construction worker, and a special forces veteran.

‘This is a mountain march…!’

Walking on a paved road through a city filled with easy-mode zombies!

‘…Damn.’

I felt even more drained.

My body slid slightly.

Helen shuddered.

“Seokho! I’m falling!”

“Heavy….”

“I’m not heavy!”

I wondered where she’d sold her conscience.

“Seokho, you can do it!”

Someone once said the most annoying things in the world are a daughter-in-law who refuses to listen and a boss who gives orders from a comfortable seat.

‘Not even a boss, really.’

If we were ranking positions in the penthouse, I’d be much higher, wouldn’t I?
T his w a s c o p i e d fr o m ki n g mt l. o rg

“Lady.”

“Yes!”

“Just walk. I can’t keep going like this.”

Helen’s body shuddered.

“Ugh…!”

She trembled.

She blew into my ear, trying to say something.

It could have been an intimate moment, but with the stench of the uncleaned city and Helen’s saliva from crying earlier, it wasn’t even remotely arousing.

In the end, Helen slid down and grabbed my collar with both hands.

“…Let’s go.”

Whether she was scared of being separated or disliked walking, I had no idea.

***

Helen closed her eyes tightly and followed behind Seokho.

‘Shit! Shit! Shit!’

She cursed repeatedly in her mind, focusing only on Seokho’s presence.

She hypnotized herself.

I am Seokho’s backpack.

I am Seokho’s backpack.

I am Seokho’s backpack.

The most advanced, self-walking backpack.

…She felt a bit more at ease.

As she gradually relaxed, she leaned her forehead against Seokho’s back.

Today, his usual manly scent felt particularly reassuring.

“Lady.”

“Yes…!”

“We’re here. This is the first spot.”

Helen looked up.

In front of them was a large music store.

“For Ki-hyun?”

“Yeah, I’m thinking of getting something for her. Any ideas?”
T his w a s c o p i e d f r om ki n g m t l. o r g

Helen looked at Seokho.

With a pondering face, he let out a contemplative “Hmm.”

‘He’s kind.’

She realized anew how kind he was.

Why wouldn’t he be?

He just brushed off Kang Ki-hyun’s grumpiness with a smile.

Even Helen, who was often told she lacked awareness, knew how much mental effort it took to be so patient, and she felt a budding sense of respect.

“Seokho, don’t you dislike Ki-hyun?”

“Why would I?”

“Ki-hyun bothers you a lot.”

“She’s just a kid. That’s normal.”

Seokho laughed.

Helen exclaimed, “Oh….”

“Seokho, you’re so kind.”

“Kind…? What kind?”

Seokho glared at her with a puzzled face.

Helen, forgetting her tension, burst out laughing.

Seokho covered her mouth.

“Shh! You don’t want to end up running from zombies again, do you?”

“Hup!”

Helen stiffened.

She nodded, eyes wide with fear.

“Alright, let’s go. We have other gifts to get too.”

Seokho patted her on the shoulder and walked into the store.

Helen hurriedly followed.

***

T his was c o pi e d f r o m k i n gm t l. o r g
The gift shopping continued.

Helen observed Seokho the entire time.

She watched him struggle and finally pick out gifts, smiling contentedly.

She noticed how he asked for her opinion on his chosen gifts and how he protected her whenever zombies appeared.

Helen felt strange emotions welling up.

‘Cool…!’

He was cool.

Seeing these new sides of Seokho, which she hadn’t noticed before, made him seem like a superhero from the cartoons she watched as a child.

Smack-!

Seokho neatly took out a zombie with a swing.

Helen realized something.

She was no longer afraid of zombies.

Even when a zombie lunged at her, she didn’t flinch.

Helen hadn’t consciously noticed, but her fear of zombies was rooted in their physical threat.

Since she had studied zombies, having someone to protect her erased her last bit of resistance.

“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”

Seokho stood up after taking down a zombie and rubbed his sore back with his fists.

Helen looked at him with an open mouth.

Seokho noticed and tilted his head.

“Why?”

“N-Nothing…!”

“Silly.”

Seokho chuckled.

They stood in silence for a moment.

Seokho, seeing Helen’s dazed expression, reached into his pocket and handed her a small plastic bag.

“Here, a reward for today.”

Helen took it and asked.

“What is it?”

“Jerky.”

Thud-.

Helen trembled.

Her eyes widened.

“Savor it. I’m giving you some of what I saved for myself.”

She felt a tingling sensation in her chest.

Helen didn’t know what this feeling was and began to panic.

“Th-Thank you…!”

Helen Walker, 27 years old.

A genius who had amazed everyone with her brilliant mind since childhood.

A woman who decided to marry biology at 12 and pursued her academic passion.

In the middle of a ruined world, in a city of buildings, she experienced her first love, albeit very late.

…Of course, Helen herself was unaware of this fact.

End of Chapter