MEMORIZE

Chapter 14 Split in half. =========================================================================

“Let’s not worry about the people who left, but about us right now. Wouldn’t it be better to go down the hill and get out of this forest?”

It was not about everyone, but about Ahn Hyun. As my eyes turned to Anhyun, Lee Yu-jung and Kim Han-byeol’s eyes naturally turned to Anhyun. Ahn Hyun, who has experience as an alley leader, did not seem to feel burdened by the crowd. As he rose from his seat with a willing consent, he bowed his head down the hill.

“It’s good to go down, but I’m wondering which way to go. Don’t you know where you are now?.”

Ahn Hyun, who raised his head again, said, alternately looking at the vacant lot where dead men are still swarming and the road that Park Dong-gul and his party followed. The road Park Dong-gul took was opposite to the vacant lot. I think I’ve been thinking a little bit, but in my view, it was never a good choice.

“Wouldn’t this be better?”

Kim Han-byul, who was quiet like the first time, pointed in one direction. When I followed her finger, it was pointing about 90 degrees around the vacant lot. Lee Yu-jung asked with a slightly anxious face when she thought she was measuring the distance from the vacant lot.

“Wouldn’t you rather go in the opposite direction of the vacant lot? I don’t think there’s much difference between the vacant lot and the distance.”

Here’s another person who thinks like Park Dong-gul.

An-hyun thought hard and soon exclaimed. He seemed to be far from studying, but he seemed to have a quick mind. Looking at Lee Yu-jung, who still tilted her head, Kim Han-byul calmly began to explain.

“It’s simple, they’re now heavily empty. Assuming they’re evenly distributed in this forest, it means that the other is as empty as it gets crowded. Then the most likely place is right around here.”

“The opposite direction of the vacant lot is that they may not be able to hear the commotion and remain the same. It might be more dangerous.”

Ahn Hyun’s supplementary explanation continued, and Kim Han-byeol nodded quietly as if he was right. It’s not exactly the same as the escape I thought, but it’s pretty much the same. Anyway, now I’m in a good mood and I’m smiling.

“It sounds like it. Does that mean the direction he went to could be the most dangerous?”

“That’s right. Anyway, let’s go down here and get out of the woods. Sol, stop getting up.”

“Huh? Yeah!”

Ansol hurriedly stood up at Anhyun’s words as he watched our conversation, sucking his fingers like a radish. Seeing me and Ahn Hyun decide things, everyone seemed to have no big complaints. Rather, I felt that the face and atmosphere were much more stable than when Park Dong-gul was present. In particular, Lee Yu-jung even smiled at Park Dong-gul’s hard work.

So the rest of me and my party quickly went down the hill.

*

It’s been about two hours since we went down the hill after deciding on the escape route. Perhaps because the dense trees stretched long enough to cover the sky, the forest was much darker than what was seen on the hill. For two hours, we were walking nonstop through the dark forest. Every step I took was followed by Ahn Hyun, who was at the forefront, with only the sound of brushing the soil and grass and regular breathing maintaining a constant flow.

The gloomy forest was quiet and larger than expected. But according to my memory, and if I keep walking speed now, I think I can get out of the forest before this evening. It occurred to me that angels may have intentionally dropped it in the middle of a forest with high difficulty, as people with good abilities gathered.

First of all, it was good to get out of this forest before this evening. This is because there were only clothes and weapons in the room of preparation and did not provide food or water. There was a separate place for such daily necessities. Rest room where you can take a half-day rest or save point where you can sleep for a day. Other ways were to plunder other users or search shops in the village.

“…brother.”

“Huh?”

The current leaders were Ahn Hyun and I, followed closely by Ahn Sol and Kim Han-byul. And with Lee Yu-jung in charge of the rear end, we were going out as wary as possible. Meanwhile, Ahn Sol pulled Ahn Hyun’s collar and chewed his mouth with a face open.

“I want to pee….”

“…….”

Everyone’s face was also awkward at Ansol’s shy words.

“Is he a fool?”

I looked a bit anchored, but I can’t believe it. I wonder how you have lived in modern times.

Ahn Hyun paused for a while and looked at us and asked.

“Can I stop here for a second. My brother has something to do.”

Fortunately, Lee Yu-jung and Kim Han-byul readily agreed. There seems to be something in common between women. Ansol must have been scared to go alone, but there was a happening in which she begged her brother to go with her, but Anhyun sent her alone.

Lee Yu-jung smirked as she watched Ansol walk down the aisle after eating a word from her brother. Before I knew it, she was sitting on the ground.

“Are you sure it’s okay? They could come at you again.”

“I’m looking carefully, so it’ll be fine. And it’s ridiculous if you can’t take care of the bathroom when you’re 19. How old are you to speak informally?

“Me? Twenty-two. You’re talking informally, too. But aren’t you younger than me? It looks like you’re just twenty or twenty.”

“I’m twenty-two, too.”

“Huh? We’re the same age. Why don’t we share a common name with each other now that this has happened?”

When Lee Yu-jung looked around everyone and said in a much more cheerful voice than before, Kim Han-byeol sat carefully after her, as if she was unintentionally tired of mental tension. Me and Ahn Hyun nodded and put their hips on the cold ground.

“We’ll leave as soon as he gets back, so let’s keep it simple. My name is Anhyun. Twenty-two years old.”

“What did you do before you came here?”

When asked by Lee Yu-jung, Ahn slightly scratched her face as if she was in trouble, but soon answered smoothly.

“I just worked part-time doing some local bully stuff. What about you?

“Me? My name is Lee Yoo-jung. The same age, 22. I was taking a leave of absence from college and preparing for the police officer exam.”

It’s a police officer exam. Is that your dream to be a policewoman? For some reason, I felt that the police uniform and Lee Yu-jung would go well together. Soon after, the two, who had been talking to each other after being the police officers, turned their heads to me and Kim Han-byul. It was Kim Han-byeol who couldn’t overcome their curious gaze and spoke first.

“Kim Hanbyul. I’m 21 years old. I’m a college student.”

“What university did you go to?”

“I went to Yonsei University.”

“Wow! You must be good at studying. I envy you.”

The two, who had been expressing admiration for a while, soon turned to me, who was left alone, and Kim Han-byeol also looked at me with an anticipated face. I felt awkward at the burdensome look but I met their expectations with a calm face as much as I could.

“Name is Kim Soo-hyun. I was 23, a soldier.”

“I found you!” Then talk comfortably. But my brother was in the army. It was the Air Force. Was it the Navy?”

“Then it’s you. I want to talk to you comfortably. What was your rank?”

Earlier, I thought she was simply strong, but Lee Yu-jung seemed to be cheerful by nature. At the same time, Ahn Hyun asked me if I was curious about the military.

“It was a sergeant in the army sergeant.”

“Too bad. You’ll be discharged if you wait a little longer.”

Looking at Lee Yu-jung’s grin, I smiled bitterly and added words.

“I’ve been discharged. I’m here the day I get back from the military service.”

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

What’s that? That sympathetic look? What’s this pathetic atmosphere?

“Why is everyone looking at you like that? I’m fine. I don’t feel much. So stop looking at me like that.”

Despite saying it was okay, the awkward silence fell between us again. Ahn Hyun coughed in vain and turned her head away, and Lee Yu-jung was looking at me with a face of pity. Even Kim Han-byul looked at me with pity. I really don’t care.

To evoke this awkward atmosphere, Lee Yu-jung deliberately changed the subject with a cheerful voice.

“It still feels like a dream to be here right now. Normally, I would study in the library and run outside to call my friend. I’ll sit in the lounge and chat a lot and go out to eat something delicious and study hard on my way home tomorrow. I would be like this.”

Everyone’s expression when they hear it turns hazy. Ahn Hyun also joined the ranks with a smile.

“Maybe I’ll go to the PC room part-time and whine with a customer who’s about to pay for it again. You don’t pay, you catch the hotshot. I got robbed by the boss because I didn’t clean up. I was at the counter and picked up Sol. What were you going to do when you got home?”

“Me?”

I tilted my head when I saw Anhyun suddenly turning the arrow to me. Well, it’s been more than 10 years, so I can’t think of anything. After a brief thought, I just decided to speak plainly.

“Well, maybe on my way home, breathing in the air of society, I realize I’m free now. And then I’ll stop by my house and bow to my mother and call my father. And after eating my mom’s delicious meal, I soaked myself in hot water…I mean, why is everyone looking at me like that? Don’t look at me like I’m looking at such a poor animal. I’m really fine.”

*

Ansol’s return from his business was able to complete the disturbance safely. I thought she was cute when I saw her bowing politely and saying, “I’m back.” But the sound was like a sign that we were back to reality. You wanted to get out of this hellish space for a very short time by introducing and chatting with each other. An-hyun sighed deeply and got up from his seat.

After a short break, we began to advance the dark forest again. Even if I and Ahn Hyun were in the lead, I was secretly leading the way. After sensing the surroundings, the deadmen were deliberately avoiding the place where there were few deadmen, so they could not meet a single one yet.

But it will not continue to be avoided. This is because the closer you get to the outskirts of the forest, the more evenly the dead men were distributed. All I could do was guide the deadmen in as few directions as possible.

The most worrisome of the dogs was Ansol. It is said to be moving in the least direction, but if we go any further, we may encounter dozens of deadmen there. It was uncertain whether Sol could respond calmly in that situation. At that time, Ahn Hyun shouted and stood tall.

“What’s wrong?”

“Shh.”

Coming out in the direction Ahn Hyun was pointing at, and when Lee Yoo-jung turned her head, three dead men were seen wandering around. Flaring our noses and smacking our lips must have smelled us again. Looking reflexively at Ansol, she clasped her eyes with her hands tightly covered in her mouth. I’ve overcome one crisis.

“Can your sense of smell tell you where we are, besides sight and hearing?”

“I guess so. Just bend down.”

Ahn quickly hid his body behind a big tree and hugged the brush into his arms. Lee Yu-jung, Kim Han-byul and I quickly followed him and waited for him to pass by. Ahn Hyun was seen raising his shield closely, but I shook my head for now. It was better to go out and train to kill the Deadman later. The reason is that although I don’t remember exactly why, in the rite of passage, users consistently agreed not to enter the forest.

We’ll be able to get out of the woods about half the distance we’ve come so far, based on the detection distance. He has avoided it well so far, but if he kills them now, he is likely to be surrounded again. When the deadmen gathered at the signal, there was really no answer.

Even if we take care of it, we have to take care of it at once without giving a signal, but it is far from being able to take care of three of them at once with a rock or shield. For a moment, the long sword at the waist rattled weakly. I thought I should have given it to Anhyun earlier. And in the meantime, the deadmen sniffed and moved one step at a time to the tree we were in.

============================ Review of the work ============================

1. typos and contextual corrections.