Chapter 40: Routine
Chapter 40: Routine
#
I decided I could work out how to spend the day later. First, I ate breakfast with Ga-yeong.
Ga-yeong was already bustling about in the kitchen, so I helped her set the table.
Breakfast was spicy bean sprout soup, red with chili powder, and pork loin braised with kimchi using yesterday's tonkatsu leftovers.
"Oh, pork first thing in the morning... you braise it wrapped in kimchi?"
"Is it a bit much for breakfast?"
"Not at all. It's great. Meat is the perfect breakfast."
"Hehe. You always eat well in the morning, so I thought it would be fine. Could you taste the seasoning?"
"Sure. Wow, that smells seriously good."
Ga-yeong scooped up some bean sprout soup and held the spoon out with one hand cupped underneath.
Maybe because she knew I preferred things on the bland side, it was spicy but not salty.
I gave her a silent thumbs-up and started scooping rice.
Ga-yeong ate quietly, perhaps finding it awkward to be eating just the two of us.
Without much to say either, I just focused on enjoying the delicious breakfast in front of me.
Everything on the table was red except the rice: bean sprout soup, pork braised with kimchi, kimchi, and cucumber salad. Still, I was hardly going to complain, and an all-red meal didn't seem strange.
"Tae-sik, are you going to stay home all day today?"
"Yeah, that's the plan for now. Ah, I might step out briefly a few times. To clear out the zombies in the next building over."
"Then could you help me with something? Whenever you feel like it after you've had some rest."
"Of course. What is it?"
"I want to move a display rack into Unit 501, so I tried lifting it, but it wouldn't budge. And with all the scavenging, I'm running out of space and some things aren't organized."
"Ah, so you're short on stuff like those display stands?"
"Yes, so I was going to move the one we use here into Unit 501. I think I can organize the things in our apartment with the drawers in my room and other furniture, even without the rack."
"In that case, let's leave the stuff at home and just pop out this morning to grab another display rack. Would the open shelves like the ones at the convenience store be easier? We could also grab one of those cabinets with doors, like a dresser, from another apartment. But those tend to be a bit smaller."
"I think a convenience store shelf would be better for organizing and using. They're big and you can fill them all the way up to the ceiling. But they're hard to bring back, and you're finally resting for once..."
It was my first proper day off, and she seemed to feel guilty asking me to work.
But honestly, I preferred moving my body over sitting still and resting.
Leaving aside the excess stamina, staying still made me anxious, as if death was inching a step closer.
Was this mental state some kind of compulsion?
"It's fine, so don't worry. I can easily manage that, and I'd go stir-crazy lounging around all day anyway. Tell me everything you need done. We can give the place a thorough cleaning and organize it together. There must be things in the other apartment you couldn't move alone. Let's take care of all of it."
"Okay, thank you. Then shall we do the dishes, have a cup of coffee, and get started?"
"Yeah, sounds good. Let's do it together."
"Then you make the coffee, Tae-sik. I want mine iced!"
I'd been wondering how to spend the day, so I was glad to hear Ga-yeong ask for help.
So I decided to just help her out with all the things she hadn't been able to do alone.
Even if it was just one day, doing something seemed better than simply resting.
I'd always liked cleaning and organizing anyway, so this counted as resting.
Since my body didn't need rest anyway, I decided to think of it as relaxation as long as my mind was at ease.
#
Ga-yeong finished the dishes and we enjoyed a brief, leisurely moment drinking coffee in the living room.
Maybe because the apartment had good natural light, the living room was bright even without the lights on.
Ga-yeong sat cross-legged on the sofa in short dolphin shorts, her pale legs almost glowing in the sunlight.
When I looked up, sunlight caught the fine hairs on her slender, pale forearms.
"Tae-sik, can I come with you when you go to get the display rack?"
"Yeah, of course. Then while we're out, let's practice moving around outside. I'll show you the hand signals I use with Seon-yeong."
"Okay, thank you. I'll work hard. So, um, even if I mess up a little, please don't hate me for it."
"Why would I hate you? And don't be too nervous just because we're going out. I can cover most things."
Ga-yeong was shorter and had a smaller frame than Seon-yeong.
She had a very slender build, and it suddenly saddened me that even someone so frail had no choice but to fight zombies.
Perhaps because she'd grown up comfortably, she also seemed rather soft-hearted, which worried me.
That made the courage it took to make such a difficult choice all the more commendable.
We finished our coffee and each got ready to go outside.
I followed the now-familiar routine, gathering the necessary gear, changing clothes, and putting on my backpack.
Ga-yeong quickly changed into her scavenging clothes and got her survival pack together.
She was holding a golf club in one hand.
It looked like one her mother had used. She'd chosen a slightly worn driver with a heavy head.
The first time we went out, she'd picked the lightest one, but with that, even if Ga-yeong swung with all her strength, she probably couldn't incapacitate a zombie.
I swung every club in the apartment and recommended a driver with suitable flex and weight.
Landing a hit to the head with the clubhead wouldn't be easy, but since Ga-yeong could also create a shield, she'd be fully capable of handling zombies if the conditions were right.
"Shall we head out? There isn't anything left at the convenience store in the shopping complex, so I'm planning to go to the one across the street in the drum academy building."
"Hoo... hoo... Okay, it's not that far."
"Yeah, I'll explain the hand signals on the way."
As we left the apartment, I went over the hand signals and various precautions with Ga-yeong.
I'd explained them several times already, but because this was her first proper scavenging trip, I went through them once more.
We weren't actually going out to gather supplies as usual, but she looked so tense, taking repeated deep breaths, that I kept her talking to help her relax.
We left the trolley behind. From the moment we stepped out of the building, I walked slightly ahead and kept quiet.
Actually, these days Seon-yeong and I sometimes chatted quietly when walking through already-cleared routes.
But this was Ga-yeong's first time, so I decided to train her the way we had trained ourselves in the beginning.
We quickly passed the apartment shopping complex that Ga-yeong was also familiar with.
Once we left the shopping complex and reached the road, I pointed out our usual cover and the places that required special attention.
With Ga-yeong beside me, I crossed the street cautiously, almost as if I had returned to the second day of the outbreak.
We checked abandoned cars and used a bus stop as cover while scouting until we reached the building with the drum academy.
After confirming from outside that there were no zombies inside, we entered the convenience store.
"When we find a closed door like this, we usually knock first. Zombies can't open it to come out, so sound gives us an initial idea of whether one is nearby."
Knock, knock, knock.
"If there's no response, there probably isn't a zombie right beside the door. Then we open it and check, but we still have to be careful."
"Okay, hehe. Because of a Schneider, like you always warn us about?"
"Yeah. Though I didn't come up with that name; Seon-yeong taught me. She nearly got bitten by one before."
"Yes, she told me. She said that if there's no response, I should block the zombie's mouth first no matter what, and then you'll save me."
"Yeah, it's best not to create a situation like that, but sometimes there's no choice. So now, let's get ready to deploy a shield and open the door."
Ga-yeong stood in front of the door, signaled to me, then carefully opened the convenience store's storage room door.
There were no zombies inside. I squeezed her shoulders to signal she could relax and praised her for doing well.
"Alright, now shall we pick out a display rack? They all look the same, but apparently the sizes differ."
"Yes, one moment. Let me take a look."
Someone had smashed every pane of glass in the convenience store.
I hadn't come this way in a while, so I hadn't noticed, but survivors seemed to be active in this area.
A few chairs that had been in the storage room were gone, and naturally, there were no remaining supplies at all.
It was so empty that the inside of the convenience store looked even more spacious.
"Tae-sik, I don't think we can use the racks here."
"Why? Size doesn't fit?"
"Yes. They're a different size, so we can't combine them with the one at home. And look at this."
I stepped closer and saw that the rack's frame was bent.
When we first arrived at the convenience store, the sight of the racks knocked over made me wonder if something had happened, but if they were bent this badly, had there been a fight in here?
"You're right, these are unusable. We'll have to try another convenience store."
"Where else?"
"The nearest one is the convenience store in Min-su's building. They probably aren't using the racks anyway. It's not far, so let's make a quick trip."
"Yep!"
She had relaxed somewhat on the way here and answered brightly even when I suggested going farther.
We put our masks back on after briefly removing them, exited the convenience store, and walked along the road.
"Tae-sik. Tae-sik."
"Hm? What?"
"Is this the bungeoppang cart?"
"Ah, you're seeing it for the first time. Yeah, this is it. The bungeoppang machine is in there too. Come on in for a second."
Walking along the road, Ga-yeong stopped in her tracks when she saw the tent of the street stall cart.
Since we might use it again later, I'd put the poles back in and set the tent up over the bungeoppang cart again.
We went inside, and the bungeoppang machine and fire extinguisher were still there.
"Ah, so that's the lock. It's smaller than I imagined. You could probably break it, couldn't you?"
"Yeah, I just left it since I don't need it right now. I'll think about it later if it becomes necessary."
"I'd only heard about it from her, so seeing it in person feels a bit surreal. Even though it's the neighborhood I lived in, it's like I'm visiting a place I've only seen on TV... It's strange."
I shook off the absurd feeling that we ought to take a commemorative photo and set out again.
It was a familiar route for me and Seon-yeong since we traveled it often, but it was the first place Ga-yeong was passing through since the zombie outbreak.
So even at small sounds from tree branches swaying in the wind, she'd startle and go on high alert.
Did we walk around that tensely in the beginning too?
Ga-yeong couldn't regulate her tension at all; she remained completely wound up.
Of course, it was far better than being careless, but excessive tension could slow reactions and also had the downside of making you tire faster.
The ideal was to stay alert while keeping the body relaxed and maintaining a careful watch.
It wasn't as easy as it sounded, but seeing Ga-yeong's shoulders completely stiff, I figured this wasn't good and ended up nagging her.
Even if it was for their own good, repeating it probably turned it into nagging anyway.
Then I remembered the saying about a frog forgetting its tadpole days. I was doing exactly that.
Seon-yeong and I had probably wandered around just as tense as Ga-yeong in the early days.
At night, our whole bodies would ache and we'd fall asleep as if we had passed out.
Ga-yeong would probably sleep like a log tonight too.
"There it is. Min-su and some other people may be inside, so don't panic if someone comes out. Keep as straight a face as possible."
"Yep."
I told her before we arrived, then slowly approached the building.
Min-su had removed the zombie corpses from the pavement earlier, so there was nothing gruesome to see.
The problem was if the people inside were the other two survivors instead of Min-su.
According to what Manager Lee had told me, I couldn't rule out the possibility that the two survivors who came from outside had killed Min-su.
If so, we'd be sticking our heads straight into a murderers' den.
I was uneasy about bringing Ga-yeong somewhere with unknown risks, but if I excluded every place with a possible danger, she would never be able to go anywhere.
Besides, even if we went to a convenience store farther away, we'd have no choice but to pass this building.
So I mentally prepared myself, signaled to Ga-yeong, and crossed the street.
On the outside, it looked as if nothing had changed.
The inside of the convenience store was also the same, aside from being empty of supplies, so we opened the door and went inside.