Chapter 136: Cheongpyeong
Chapter 136: Cheongpyeong
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"I'm sorry! There appears to have been a misunderstanding."
"Hic... What?"
"Once again, I sincerely apologize."
I sprang from my chair, bent a full ninety degrees at the waist, and apologized immediately.
The sooner one apologized, the better.
Though I was already considerably late.
At least I hadn't killed either of them or resorted to torture.
I hadn't crossed the final line beyond which the relationship could never be repaired.
I asked the anxious woman and the still-struggling man to calm down, then explained everything.
I told them that I'd come from Seoul and why I had traveled here.
I also explained that we had entered the campground only to spend one night.
"I've been attacked by other survivors several times, so I assumed this was another ambush..."
"I charged because you started throwing rocks at me."
The man spoke with a deeply aggrieved expression.
In his position, I'd have felt wronged too.
"I apologize again. I assumed you were attacking and misjudged the situation. I'll untie you immediately, and we'll leave at once."
"You think apologizing settles everything? You cause all this trouble and then simply leave?"
"I’m sorry. Then, modest though it is, we’ll leave some of our food as compensation."
"What use is food out here? Step outside and there's something edible everywhere."
"Then what can I do to make amends?"
Apparently, food held little value here.
In the city, scarcity drove women to sell their bodies and men to hunt other people.
The man I'd mistaken for a suspicious attacker grew even angrier after hearing my apology.
My willingness to apologize probably convinced him that I wasn't a bandit who had deliberately targeted them, freeing him to express his anger.
Although his words remained furious, visible relief softened his face.
He'd been beaten over a misunderstanding, so his resentment was understandable.
"You spoke casually enough before. How old are you?"
"I'm thirty-four this year."
"Right. You’re only twenty-four, and—what? Even if the world’s gone to hell, how could you hit someone in the head like that?"
"Honey, he said thirty-four. And stop. He felt threatened too. I don't think he's a bad person."
As the man became agitated, the woman silenced him with a look.
She restrained her husband while watching my expression from the corner of her eye.
'That was the sensible reaction.'
This was a world where even an ordinary citizen might harm another person merely because his mood had soured.
Despite my apology, she probably feared that I could change my mind at any moment.
When she checked my expression and intervened, the man closed his mouth.
The wife appeared to hold the upper hand in their marriage.
"I'm sorry. How should I compensate you? Please tell me if there's anything you want."
"No... Both sides experienced something unpleasant, but given the state of the world, this is already a fortunate conclusion."
"You don't need to remain so nervous. I truly will untie you and leave peacefully."
"Okay..."
I released the couple.
Contrary to her delicate appearance, the wife possessed the composure and decisiveness of a leader.
Once she assessed the situation, she no longer appeared anxious even with me standing directly before her.
Her husband, by contrast, grabbed his axe the instant his hands were free.
"Oh! Since you came from Seoul, perhaps you could share some information with us?"
"Information? Conditions are probably similar everywhere... What would you like to know?"
"First, I want to know what happened to the government and military. The internet stopped working. Oh, wait—this isn't the way to ask. You've not eaten yet, have you?"
"What? Ah, no. We only arrived in Cheongpyeong a short while ago."
"Then let's eat together while we talk, provided the three of you are comfortable with that."
The woman named Eun-byeol was bolder than I'd expected.
In her position, I'd have remained uneasy even after watching us leave.
A person could feel remorse now and change his mind later.
Being weaker in a direct fight would make that uncertainty even more frightening.
At her invitation, I glanced at Eun-ah and Hye-ji.
Hye-ji grinned while Eun-ah wore her customary blank expression.
'Apparently, they want me to decide.'
Eun-byeol waited silently.
'They wouldn't poison the food... Would they?'
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"Allow me to introduce myself properly. I'm Lee Eun-byeol, the owner of this campground, and this is my husband."
"Jang Gi-su."
He lifted his chin in greeting.
I accepted the woman’s outstretched hand and shook it.
"I'm Kim Tae-sik, from Seoul. These women are my companions."
"Hello! I'm Im Hye-ji. Your campground is beautiful."
"I'm Lee Eun-ah."
Since the couple appeared, Eun-ah had kept the hood of her raincoat pulled over her face.
Eun-byeol studied Eun-ah, whose name resembled her own.
She apparently found Eun-ah’s insistence on hiding her face strange.
"She's a large scar across her face."
"Ah... She can relax here, though."
"Eun-ah, it's all right."
I gently stroked Eun-ah’s back.
After a brief hesitation, she lowered the hood.
Eun-byeol and Gi-su glanced once at Eun-ah's face, then returned their attention to me without reacting.
Perhaps it was premature to judge, but they didn't seem malicious.
"Snake meat... We've not had much meat recently. This will be a treat."
"We obtained it by chance too, but it has a powerful smell."
After completing our introductions, we gathered around the campfire.
Gi-su greeted us, then busied himself bringing out a grill and more firewood.
When I rose to help, he waved me back down.
"It's not difficult, so please remain seated. I'll regard the three of you as... Guests."
"Thank you..."
As part of my apology, I offered the couple snake meat, smoked fish, strawberries, and other supplies.
They replied that fields full of vegetables lay nearby and offered to pack produce for us before we departed.
Eun-byeol and Hye-ji carried most of the conversation.
Coming from Seoul didn't mean that I possessed any extraordinary information.
Hye-ji, who had belonged to an organized group, probably knew more.
"My husband is an excellent cook. I haven’t been feeling well lately, so..."
"Aha! A man would need impressive skills to live with such a beautiful wife. At first I thought you were the one he had kidnapped. Ah... Are you actually older than me? I turned twenty-nine this year. How old are you?"
"Hoho. I'm older than you. And I was the one who did the kidnapping. I'm thirty-six. Didn't you see my identification earlier?"
"Whoa... Really? I didn't look at your age. My goodness, you look so young. Then how old is Mister?"
Eun-byeol was older than I'd assumed.
She was even two years older than me.
At that moment, her husband emerged carrying a tray loaded with various items.
"Gi-su is thirty-two. He looks wild because he's not shaved, but when cleaned up, he's adorable."
"Ah... Hohoho. So you've the four-year age gap that supposedly needs no compatibility reading. Goodness..."
Gi-su had brought tableware and numerous seasonings.
Along with salt and sugar, the tray held gochujang, soy sauce, pepper, and several other condiments we lacked.
He returned inside and emerged again carrying washed lettuce, peppers, green onions, garlic, and other accompaniments.
"Mmm... I'll add a little honey. You must be hungry, so let's grill it quickly."
Gi-su handled the preparation while Eun-byeol assembled a sauce with practiced speed.
The snake meat went onto the charcoal.
Tsssss.
Beside the sizzling meat, they placed a pot of spicy kimchi stew.
My mouth watered for the first time in ages.
"As you probably noticed while traveling here, this area is quiet compared with the city. There are almost no zombies nearby."
After questioning us, Eun-byeol began describing the neighborhood.
Both subway trains and the Gyeongchun Line stopped at Cheongpyeong Station, but service intervals were long.
Even on the first day of the outbreak, only two passengers had been waiting for a train.
Those passengers were Eun-byeol and Gi-su.
They had gone to the station around lunchtime to catch a train and encountered the Zombie Outbreak there.
"One employee turned into a zombie. She was a cleaner. The deputy stationmaster lured her away on a bicycle. The other employees said they needed to return home and left, so we came back here as well."
That had been the entire crisis.
In game terms, they had started on Easy Mode.
Afterward, they transferred the convenience store’s merchandise here to build a stockpile.
They searched the town for food, and even their occasional zombie encounters involved no more than two at once.
"Soon we'll be able to harvest corn as well. Meat is the difficult thing to obtain. We've soybeans, but..."
"Have you tried fishing in the stream?"
"We were preparing to try. We've no fishing rod, but we were making a net and fish trap."
After some thought, I offered them one of our fishing rods.
Hye-ji agreed to teach them how to use it before we left the next day.
"Do you drink alcohol?"
"Of course. We just haven’t been able to get any."
Gi-su went to the stream and pulled on a rope.
Canned beer.
"It's called Choru, a local beer. It tastes good."
"Thank you. I haven’t had beer in a long time."
"Hoho. We were saving these, but today is worth opening them."
I took a sip of the unusually named beer and ate a lettuce wrap filled with charcoal-scented meat.
Proper seasoning and charcoal grilling had removed almost all of the snake’s unpleasant odor.
A pepper dipped in ssamjang completed the bite.
The beer went down effortlessly.
Eun-ah stared at her can with trembling eyes, took one sip, and immediately set it down.
"What was the village you said you were seeking?"
"Choguljae. It lies considerably farther inland."
"Ah! I visited once while looking at land. I think the village had only three households..."
"Correct. When I visited last year, it had grown to four."
We discussed various matters and even finished the new potatoes the couple served.
By the time our conversation ended, the sun had set, and the couple offered us one of the wooden cabins.
"Brother Kim, be wary of wild animals on your way there. Most still avoid humans, but aggressive ones sometimes charge."
"Understood. Thank you. We ate extremely well today."
"Then rest well."
Gi-su specifically warned us about the Feral Dog Packs roaming the village.
The packs formed around downtown Cheongpyeong and its market had been steadily expanding their territory in search of food.
He knew little about Choguljae itself, but something resembling a weasel had once descended from the mountain across the stream.
The enormous animal had watched the couple from a distance before returning to the mountain, leaving them badly shaken.
"Let's wash and sleep. I'll bring the water. Come behind the cabin."
I sent Eun-ah and Hye-ji ahead to the improvised shower the couple had constructed.
We only needed to collect stream water and pour it into the tank Gi-su had installed above the stall.
We washed in turn, prepared for bed, and settled down.
Eun-ah and Hye-ji used the bunk bed against one wall, while I spread a mattress beside the opposite wall.
Eun-ah wanted to sleep beside me, but after a brief argument, I prevailed for once.
I told her that the alcohol had made me hot and the night was already too warm. She turned away dejectedly.
Some time passed after each of us settled into place.
Pitter-patter.
"Big Brother, it's me."
"Hm? Why are you still awake?"
"Heehee. I came to drain you before you fell asleep."
"No. Eun-ah is here."
"I checked. She's sleeping deeply. I'll be very quiet."
Hye-ji lifted my thin blanket and crawled beneath it.
I instinctively glanced toward Eun-ah and swallowed.
Hye-ji pressed close, and soft skin soon touched me.
She was completely naked.
Our bodies overlapped as her hand searched for my face.
Her lips soon met mine.
Schlick.
'What the hell? She's already soaking wet.'
Hye-ji appeared to have come not to drain me, but to relieve herself.