Chapter 128: Traveling Together
Chapter 128: Traveling Together
#
The morning sun climbed higher, and the mist over the river dispersed.
While I spoke with Hye-ji, Eun-ah woke and came outside.
As always, she walked straight over and threw herself into my arms.
I held her briefly, then followed our routine of visiting the restroom together before breakfast.
Ever since I began traveling with the two women, I had been visiting restrooms far too often.
I hadn't restrained Hye-ji since the previous night, so she could go alone. Even so, I suspected I'd accompany her often for entirely different reasons.
'The kid really has no interest in Hye-ji at all.'
Eun-ah ate breakfast pressed tightly against my side.
While we ate, Hye-ji bustled around packing our belongings and cleaning the campsite.
One might have expected Eun-ah to wonder why Hye-ji wasn't eating, but she showed no curiosity and focused entirely on her meal.
"Eun-ah, wash up and prepare to leave. I'll finish cleaning here."
"..."
"All right... Let's go together."
When I told Eun-ah to wash alone after breakfast, she immediately looked miserable.
With no other choice, I took her hand and accompanied her to the shower building again.
That didn't mean I followed her inside.
While she washed, I waited outside and killed time with a cigarette.
'What a waste of time. There has to be some solution...'
"Big Brother Tae-sik."
"Oh? Are you finished?"
"Yeah... let's go."
Fortunately, she no longer took as long as she had during that first shower in the zombie zone.
We would have no chance to wash for some time once we resumed traveling, so I abandoned the issue and returned to the camper.
We packed up after our single night beside the Han River, which had felt like a brief vacation.
#
"Let's climb up here."
"This feels strange. Is it because we're walking onto an expressway...?"
"Probably because we're entering through the exit. We're going against traffic."
We entered the expressway through the interchange.
It was a six-lane road divided by a central barrier.
Numerous vehicles lay severely wrecked across it.
"I'm going to move a little faster. Hye-ji, tell me if you can't keep up."
"Okay~"
As we passed the abandoned vehicles, we saw many skeletons in horrifying condition.
Some lacked entire sections; others had been twisted into grotesque angles.
Judging from the remains, even if those people had transformed into zombies, their injuries would have left them unable to move before they became corpses.
I ignored the bones and increased my pace.
I wanted to cover as much distance as possible while the morning remained cool.
Once on the expressway, I expected our travel speed to improve.
That expectation soon encountered an obstacle.
"Uh... How do we get past that?"
"Right. The road is completely blocked."
Overturned vehicles sealed every lane.
There were more than twenty at a glance.
It was a massive pileup.
"Ah, shit. Why am I being stupid? Let's cross to the other carriageway."
"Oh? Right."
We climbed over to the nearly empty opposite lanes.
There were so few vehicles that we could almost sprint.
Even a clueless wrong-way driver would have had no trouble here.
"We're running."
"Understood!"
There were no serious obstacles, and Enchantment had reinforced the handcart.
With the conditions aligned, I accelerated from a walk into a light run.
Whenever an isolated zombie emerged, I dispatched it without stopping.
Most appeared from the shoulder.
"Huff... huff..."
"Are you all right? Can you keep running?"
"Huff... yes... I'm sorry..."
Had we been running for roughly thirty minutes?
The second obstacle was Hye-ji's stamina.
She'd chased us as hard as she could before collapsing from exhaustion.
On reflection, maintaining the run for thirty minutes was already impressive.
"Ah... I wish we could find a bicycle somewhere."
"Huff... huff... I'm sorry..."
I slowed to a walk and searched for another way to maintain a high travel speed.
Then my gaze settled on Eun-ah, who sat comfortably atop the handcart.
She was using Enchantment, but that should have preserved most of her stamina. Could she and Hye-ji simply switch places?
"Eun-ah."
Shake, shake.
As though reading my thoughts, Eun-ah ended the Enchantment and shook her head.
Her stamina was probably better than Hye-ji’s.
"Hmm... Then what if both of you ride together? You could continue Enchanting it as well."
Shake, shake.
I hadn't expected her to refuse even that.
They say children become spoiled when indulged too much.
I wondered whether I needed to scold her once and restore some discipline.
"Don't think bad thoughts."
"Huh?"
"You had a bad look on your face just now, Big Brother."
The little thing was far too perceptive.
"What are we supposed to do if you reject every option? If you compromised just a little, we could travel much faster."
"..."
"Um... I'll try harder and run. I've caught my breath now."
When I said something she disliked, Eun-ah looked like the most wronged person alive.
She appeared almost betrayed.
In the end, we alternated between walking and running throughout the morning.
A chilly atmosphere settled between Eun-ah and me.
#
[Il-yeon Tunnel No. 1]
"Let's rest inside the tunnel."
We moved deeper inside, checked the surroundings, and settled down.
It was the hottest part of the day.
At least the tunnel interior was somewhat cooler.
"Haah... I want another shower. All this sweat... Ugh."
"If we continue past this tunnel, we'll eventually reach the Bukhan River. Depending on the circumstances, we can see whether washing there tonight is possible."
"All right. Are we eating immediately?"
"Yeah. Let's keep it simple and eat some of the remaining energy bars."
The moment she confirmed the area was safe, Hye-ji dropped to the ground as though fainting.
She appeared to have exhausted every bit of stamina.
'She has eaten nothing since morning except semen, after all...'
Before eating, we decided to dampen sports towels and wipe ourselves down.
That way we could relax comfortably during the break.
Because we'd filled the one-hundred-liter tank with Han River water, we could afford this minor luxury.
I pulled off my shirt and wiped myself down.
Cooling only the neck and armpits lowered body temperature considerably.
Like me, Hye-ji removed her shirt and bra, openly exposing her breasts as she wiped away the sweat.
After what had happened that morning, she apparently felt no embarrassment before me.
Eun-ah, perhaps still sulking, remained silently seated on the handcart.
'Sigh... Why is she the one sulking?'
"Eun-ah, come down. You sweated too. At least take off the raincoat. Why are you still hiding beneath it?"
"Hold me..."
"Pfft... All right."
The moment I addressed her, she extended her arms as though she'd been waiting.
I lifted her down and pulled back her hood.
Tear tracks covered her face. She'd apparently been crying.
"Eun-ah, were you that upset? There was no need to cry."
"No... Water for me too."
Eun-ah rummaged through her backpack and retrieved her sports towel.
After I dampened it, she hesitated before removing her raincoat and shirt.
Her sports bra appeared beneath them, straining as though her enormous breasts might burst free.
Eun-ah glanced at Hye-ji once, decided removing the bra was impossible, and wiped her sweat while still wearing it.
When I openly stared, she blushed and turned away.
"Heh heh heh."
"Don't laugh..."
With her back to me, Eun-ah lifted one breast with her hand.
She used the towel to wipe the fold where its underside met her torso.
I couldn't see directly from behind, but the area was probably drenched in sweat.
"Would you like me to wipe your back?"
"Huh? Oh, thanks."
At that moment, I'd been staring absentmindedly at the side of Eun-ah's breast visible beneath her raised arm.
Hye-ji's approach and question snapped me back to reality.
Both of her breasts swayed with each step.
Hye-ji's chest was large enough to move noticeably, but after Eun-ah's enormous breasts, it seemed almost modest.
"Go away. I'll wipe his back."
"Oh. Okay..."
Eun-ah hurriedly turned and blocked Hye-ji's path.
Then she took her own towel and approached me.
Hye-ji watched with a faint smile before returning to the duffel bag.
"Big Brother, your back..."
"Oh, thank you. Eun-ah is finally going to wipe my back."
"Just turn around..."
Perhaps she'd moved too hastily.
As Eun-ah approached, one breast slipped partially free of her bra.
A red nipple peeked out and greeted my eyes.
'A pleasure to meet you, nipple.'
After silently greeting the nipple I was seeing for the first time, I pretended not to notice and turned around.
Eun-ah wiped my back with the same towel she'd just used on her breasts.
I imagined a faintly sweet scent coming from it.
#
After a simple meal, we brewed coffee.
Until then, Hye-ji had tried to minimize the amount of food she consumed.
Even she didn't refuse coffee.
We rested briefly over our drinks.
Eun-ah looked at me while holding a tissue.
Leaving Hye-ji behind, the two of us stepped outside the tunnel.
"Eun-ah, tell me honestly. Do you dislike the idea of sharing the handcart with her too?"
I asked as we climbed over the guardrail and entered the thick grass.
Eun-ah waited until both of us had finished urinating before answering.
"That woman makes me uncomfortable."
"Why? What about her bothers you?"
"I don't know... It's difficult to explain."
Eun-ah couldn't identify the precise reason.
She wasn't, though, hating Hye-ji without any cause.
According to her, Hye-ji seemed to be subtly inserting herself between the two of us.
Eun-ah had acted hostile to make her displeasure clear.
It wasn't a problem I could resolve immediately.
After the brief conversation, we returned to the tunnel, and Hye-ji stood.
Saying that she also needed to relieve herself, she headed outside.
"Then what am I supposed to do...?"
The mutter escaped because I knew we could have traveled farther had we not spent so much of the morning walking.
"Big Brother Tae-sik. Here."
"Huh? What's this for?"
Having overheard me, Eun-ah retrieved something from the handcart.
She often called my name for no particular reason.
Finding that habit both pitiable and adorable, I accepted what she offered.
It was a rope and a spare combat vest.
"I'm lighter than the backpack..."
"Ah... Heh heh."
I had assumed she was thinking only of her own feelings like a child.
Realizing that she'd been wrestling with the same problem as me made me proud of her.
"How much do you weigh, Eun-ah? The backpack may actually be lighter."
"...No, it's not!"
When I looked her up and down, she hurriedly covered her chest with both arms.
I hadn't meant the question specifically in reference to her breasts.
Her bust must have been a source of insecurity.
Seeing her on the verge of tears only made me want to tease her further.