The Wielder's Winter (The Manifests Series #1)

{[34]} The Leader's Interim

Many would think that Yoon Minhyuk is an expert when it comes to building things and creating marvelous structures. Much like Hyungwon being a prodigy in mechanical engineering, he excelled in the field of civil engineering, and people would generally think that he was swimming in pools of money or living in a penthouse thanks to his abilities.

But that wasn't the case.

Because talents mean little if they're not recognized enough.

Despite his skills, Minhyuk wasn't at the top of the industry for several reasons. One of which is because his superiors always give him nothing but small projects and mostly deny his propositions in those projects. They were also always cramping him up with jobs and tasks that weren't even his expertise. Worst of all, he was overworked to the point where he was hospitalized, and even when he returned, he would get the same treatment from his superiors.

For most people, it was mistreatment. A kind of mistreatment that exists in any field of work--- even in the world of K-Pop.

But for Minhyuk, he had no choice. Despite the burden of the workload given to him, he loved what he did, and the pay was great, too, so he should have no problem dealing with it.

Although, of course, Minhyuk wished for better treatment. He didn't want to lose his creativity. His love for designing and planning for buildings and repairs. He didn't want his spark to blow out. But he had no choice but to endure it all.

His life would go on like this for years, until that fateful day of January.

He was about to go on another schedule of work when the icy bombs fell on Daegu, and the next thing he knew, he was right smack in a middle of an apocalypse.

He didn't understand what happened at first, but he knew its dangerous and he wanted to keep people safe from it. With his knowledge of repairing and establishing foundations and fortifications, he took the lead in turning the Seomun Market into an immediate apocalyptic settlement with the use of scrap metal, fallen debris, and chunks of cement and stone.

And he, together with Minji, Hyungwon, and the rest of the survivors in the Seomun Market, successfully made the place their makeshift settlement.

Due to his immediate and intricate efforts, he was voted leader of the settlement only just a few hours after the icy bombs fell.

Since then, life was tougher, for being a leader in an apocalyptic setting meant bigger roles and responsibilities. While he had freedom in planning for the structures that were needed for the settlement, he also had to deal with repairs consistently, establish rules, oversee incoming survivors and supplies, and resolve interpersonal conflict inside the base.

If there's any other consolation to Minhyuk being the settlement leader, however, it's that at least now, he was being recognized for his efforts. It didn't have pay, sure, but nothing could replace the sight of people around him being safe, secure, and calm, all thanks to him.

But he felt that it wasn't enough that he was there to become an engineer, a peacemaker, and an overseer. He wanted them to be inspired by his capacity to fight, too, so they would do the same should anything happen to the settlement. He had to set an example. He was a leader, after all, and he couldn't just watch Zeke, Jihyo, and the rest of their team deal with the threats outside alone. He had to help them sooner or later.

When he was told of the mission to save Sana and the others that were trapped in the E-World Amusement Park, he knew this was an opportunity to help them. And while the thrill of being part of a rescue team was giving Minhyuk life beyond being an engineer and leader, it wasn't really easy to do.