Chapter 30: Encounter
Chapter 30: Encounter
#
After several minutes of deliberation in front of the bungeoppang cart, I finally gave up.
We couldn't use it without breaking the lock anyway, so I decided to discuss it with everyone back at the apartment.
For the second time that day, I set the supplies we had scavenged down in the living room, and the three of us began sorting them.
We left the doors to Units 501 and 502 open and moved back and forth between them, storing the supplies in neat stacks.
I'd told Ga-yeong never to open the door while she was alone, so we had to sort the first load as well, which took quite a while.
As noon approached, we ended the morning after two scavenging runs and sat down to lunch.
"Ga-yeong, this young-radish kimchi is delicious. Is it homemade?"
"Yes, my mother made it. She makes our kimchi herself."
"Then I owe her my thanks. We get to enjoy it too. You still talk to your father, right?"
"Yes, once a day. He says everything is still fine."
Lunch was simple: noodles in broth with young-radish kimchi, prepared by Ga-yeong.
A garnish would have been nice, but we had few eggs left, and she planned to save them for other dishes.
I had only mentioned the kimchi because it tasted good, but the conversation soon turned to her parents, and her expression grew downcast.
"But how are we going to break the lock? We don't have bolt cutters or anything at home."
I could tell Seon-yeong was trying to change the subject.
She had to be struggling herself, yet she rarely showed it and was always looking out for Ga-yeong.
"I'm going to take a fire extinguisher and try smashing it. Even if we can't break the chain itself, I think we can break the joint connecting it to the lock body."
"Huh? We have a fire extinguisher?"
"Yeah. I saw a large one in the security office when we came in earlier."
I suddenly remembered breaking open a locker padlock with a fire extinguisher back in school.
When you don't have the right tool, you make do with what you've got.
After lunch, we agreed to rest separately until three.
We'd been on the move since dawn, so this would probably become our regular schedule: avoid the hottest part of the day and manage our stamina.
Seon-yeong said she'd wash up quickly and take a nap, then went into the master bedroom. Ga-yeong busied herself with something in the kitchen.
"Would you like some coffee?"
"That would be great. Do we still have any beans left?"
"A little. Iced?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Ga-yeong and I sat across from each other in the kitchen and drank coffee.
Only then did I notice a small point beneath the black T-shirt over Ga-yeong's chest.
Damn. She must have noticed where I was looking.
"Ah... When I'm alone, it's more comfortable without one, so I took it off earlier and forgot. You don't mind, do you?"
"N-no, I don't mind. Do whatever makes you comfortable."
"If you find coffee beans next time, bring them back. Since you'll be home at lunchtime now, I'll make you coffee every day!"
"All right. I'll be sure to look for some."
The conversation died in the awkward silence. I took my coffee into the hallway and smoked a cigarette.
I wasn't tired enough to need the midday break, so from now on, I planned to use that time to clear the other apartments.
Maybe I should start with the floors below us today.
I went back inside and fashioned a safety harness with the rope and D-shaped carabiner I had used before.
Ga-yeong soon came over and helped fasten it around me.
As she bent over to wrap the rope around my waist and thighs, the collar of her shirt fell open, giving me a brief glimpse inside.
Having done it once before, she finished quickly. When she straightened, I calmly looked away and climbed over the railing.
The half-erect bulge in my pants felt uncomfortably conspicuous.
She must have seen it all. Damn it.
"You don't need to come out. I'll deal with any zombies, change the door-lock codes, and come back. Wait, are all the locks the same model?"
"I'm not sure. Unless someone changed theirs separately, wouldn't they be the same?"
"Yeah. If not, I'll just remove the batteries. Anyway, don't push yourself too hard."
"Okay, be careful!"
Had I been the only one feeling awkward this entire time?
Ga-yeong saw me off without the slightest sign of discomfort.
I leapt down almost as if fleeing and caught the railing below.
The veranda window in this apartment was open too.
"Excuse me. I'm here to have a look around."
Kwaaaagh
I announced myself as I entered the living room, and a sound came from the master bedroom.
One confirmed, at least.
I cleared my mind, tightened my grip on the bat, and headed for the master bedroom.
#
I cleared Units 402, 302, and 202, then returned home.
From the fourth floor downward, I figured a fall wouldn't kill me, so I moved between floors without securing the rope.
None of the veranda windows were locked, so getting inside was easy.
I didn't find a single person, and Unit 202 was completely empty.
The zombie corpses in Units 402 and 302 would decompose indoors if left there. After wondering what to do, I left them for the time being and went back upstairs.
When I entered, Seon-yeong was awake and drinking coffee.
"You're back? Are you sure you don't need to rest?"
"I'm fine, really. I'll rest if I get tired. More importantly, there are zombie corpses in the apartment below us and on the third floor. What should we do with them?"
"Hmm... Good question. We're going to scavenge the apartments we cleared too, right?"
"Of course. Let's go out this afternoon, then after we come back and eat dinner, we can all search the other apartments together."
"All right. If we can find sacks large enough to move the corpses, let's bring some back and carry them outside the building."
We hadn't decided what to do with the corpses after that, but we could deal with it later. For now, we prepared to leave.
I smoked in the hallway while waiting for Seon-yeong, and she emerged ready a moment later.
Ga-yeong poked her head through the doorway behind her and saw us off.
Our plan for the afternoon was to clear the Hana Trading building.
Apart from the convenience-store building we had cleared that morning, the other buildings did not seem likely to offer much worth scavenging.
Most were residential or office-type officetels. We might find an unexpected prize, but they were low on the priority list.
On our way out of the apartment complex, we stopped at the security office and took the fire extinguisher.
"So, the bungeoppang cart first?"
"Let's leave the extinguisher there and clear Hana Trading first. We can try breaking the lock on our way back."
"All right. That route makes more sense."
We walked briskly and were passing the four-story building where Min-su was staying.
He must have seen us coming, because he was standing out on the road.
"Hello, Team Leader. Everything all right?"
"Hello. We're doing fine. What about you, Min-su?"
"I've been well, thanks to you. Nothing unusual has happened. I couldn't watch the entire time, but other than you two, no one has passed by."
"That's good to hear. We'll be on our way, then."
"All right. Stay safe."
He still did not exchange a word with Seon-yeong. After a brief conversation with me alone, we parted ways.
What was his problem?
I asked Seon-yeong as we walked, but she did not know either.
Since he refused to acknowledge her, she no longer seemed interested in speaking to him.
We arrived at the Hana Trading building while trading equally unproductive remarks.
We would first search the Company N store for anything else we needed, then clear the building floor by floor if time allowed.
"How about these? Trekking poles and wrist guards... Ah, we don't have a free hand for the poles. Should we just wear the wrist guards?"
"Yeah. We walk a lot, so let's use the wrist guards. Take the knee guards beside them too."
We entered the store and began scavenging like hyenas searching for prey.
We put the guards on immediately and packed several spares.
The store carried basic items such as clothing, shoes, and bags, as well as entire sections devoted to hiking and camping gear.
"Oh! Hey, look at this."
In a corner filled with camping supplies, Seon-yeong pointed at something with shining eyes.
"What is this... a folding camping wagon? We could use this, couldn't we?"
She had found a fabric storage wagon fitted with wheels.
The specifications listed a stainless-steel frame and Oxford-cloth fabric with a PU coating.
Seon-yeong was already searching for it on her phone.
"It says it can carry up to three hundred kilograms. What do you think?"
"It looks flimsy, but it must be sturdier than it seems. Let's load today's supplies into it and try taking them home."
The wagon let us carry far more, so we began sweeping up all kinds of merchandise and loading it inside.
We took the remaining digital watches, lightweight and titanium cookware sets, assorted camping utensils, several kinds of multi-tool, compressible padded jackets, and even a tent.
I had never been interested in camping, so I had not realized how many tools were designed to take up as little space as possible.
There was also a large bag for storing tent poles, big enough that it might work as a body bag.
"Seon-yeong, that's enough. We can't carry any more."
"Hah... That was a proper shopping spree. Huh? What's this? Why did you pack so many cookware sets?"
We had both been throwing things in at random, so neither of us knew exactly what or how much we had taken.
Fortunately, the expensive wagon appeared sturdy enough to justify its price.
We would be in trouble if it broke halfway home, though.
"This store really is huge. There's still so much left."
"Yeah, but we can't take everything. Let's bring this load home, sort through it, and decide what we absolutely need to collect next time."
Ding.
While Seon-yeong and I were talking, the faint sound of an elevator came from the hallway.
She must have heard it too, because we grabbed our bats at the same time and headed toward the hall.
Even while scavenging, we kept our bats tucked under our arms. In the brief interval between the chime and the doors opening, we managed to hide somewhere with a clear view of the elevator.
An elevator...
The completely unexpected, alien sound put me on edge as I watched the doors slowly slide open.