Humans are clumsy.
The party had ended in a clumsy mess, but there were still things that needed to be done.
"Is this how you do it?"
"Wrong."
"Hmm, then is this separating it?"
"Ding dong!"
In other words, right now I was learning how to build a bicycle generator from Harin.
Following her instructions to begin by separating and gathering materials, I was currently in the middle of disassembling a large washing machine at the coin laundry.
After separating the motor connection connectors, I recalled old memories.
Probably, the next step had been to fix a wrench onto that central nut there and then swing a hammer to loosen it.
"Hammer."
"Wow, oppa. You really have a good memory."
"Me."
I struck the wrench Harin had handed me with the hammer.
*Thwack—*
"... Uh. Yeah. It was definitely separated."
"Eh? Is this for real?"
The nut had shattered as is, and something had gone wrong.
Emergency.
Weeeeng— Weeeeng—
No warning.
Like that.
I had cleanly struck it and broken the motor in one go, so I got scolded by Harin.
So I repeated the same process carefully, extracted the motor, gathered every material, and moved on to production.
"Oppa, oppa."
"What."
While I assembled, cut, and tightened bolts and nuts according to Harin’s explanations, she muttered with a bored tone.
"Though it’s out of the blue, don’t you feel a bit stronger?"
"Suddenly?"
"No, when I was carrying the bicycle from the gym earlier, you didn’t hesitate and just carried it without resting."
"Daily exercise, farming, expeditions to Cheongdam, and even shooting. Of course you should be stronger."
That was obvious.
Thinking about my daily routine, it consisted of things that required strength to endure.
Isn’t it too harsh to see a man marching twenty kilometers with firearms, various clothes, padding, and a bulletproof vest?
"Really?"
"No, you, when I saw you this time, you did eight pull-ups without assistance."
Moreover, the person herself had already evolved into survival-optimized muscles. I wondered where all the food she had consumed had gone, but seeing her deliver eight straight pull-ups made it clear.
Surprised by the sight, I asked, and Harin confessed that she exercised whenever there was nothing to do in the air raid shelter.
"... I’m weak."
"Yeah, no. You’re really strong. You could charge in."
From my perspective, even the Imaginary KATUSA Warrior Lim Ju-cheol could be defeated. His lats seemed quite developed.
"Shut up."
"Okay."
And Harin glared at me quietly and raised her fist.
Let’s focus on the generator before getting hit.
It had been a while since I made one, so memories were coming back.
Of course, each person’s roles had completely changed—me as the main and Harin as assistant—but the familiar scenery from making it together many times remained.
"Insulating tape on the motor shaft and matching the shopping cart wheels?"
"Yes, that’s right. The frame here is complete."
The frame she made definitely felt cleaner and more organized than what I had made.
I mounted the motor on the frame, checked the pre-drilled holes, and fixed it with bolts and nuts.
"Wrench?"
"Here."
I tightened the loose parts firmly with the wrench she handed me.
"Help?"
"No, the order is correct. I...?"
"Ah, right."
Moving the motor fixing frame had been my job. I aligned the position so the frame and flywheel would contact, made fine adjustments and Harin’s confirmation, then fixed it to the floor with adhesive.
Anyway, that was how it went.
"Red, black, purple wires appeared."
"Do you remember this too?"
"Yeah, I don’t know."
Following Harin’s explanation, I stripped the wire insulation, connected the pre-prepared three-phase bridge diode.
Wrapped insulating tape around the connection points.
Then plugged the plus and minus into the terminal on the back of the UPS equipment.
I inserted the fuse that had been added with the explanation of ‘precious life,’ which made perfect sense.
It seemed roughly complete like this.
So.
I was trembling like a student being tested, waiting in front of the professor.
Harin turned the pedals and checked voltage with a multimeter, then soon gave me a thumbs up.
"Hmm, you did well? You have talent?"
"Me. Debtor Lee, the disciple of Doctor Rin, the authority on generator production."
I was the best scholar in this era, Debtor Lee.
"No, but what does that ‘Debtor’ mean that you keep using?"
"Don't know? It means debtor."
"Sigh..."
"What?"
I stated facts without a single wrong word, so what?
And.
"But you know."
A voice from beside us, not ours, came.
"Why?"
"Why did we have to have the maknae make our generator. Leaving the production expert."
Kim Min-seo.
We hadn’t returned home after the party ended, and this generator was my practice model for production and a replacement for the broken generator in the officetel.
"Senior, what are you talking about. Now it’s senior’s turn."
"Huh?"
Of course, during the party I had said I wouldn’t make the generator for free even if you welcome me like this, but at this point they were people I could consider reliable colleagues.
"Even if it’s just a transaction, coming to make a generator is weird. If the relationship is this much, it’s not like just anyone."
"Ah, really? You’re telling me?"
Now I thought I could stop being blunt.
I nodded with wide eyes to Kim Min-seo and Harin. Originally, Harin’s talk had been finished since we came for the party.
"Yes, we share all usable and necessary things. It seems okay."
"Ah..., um. Yeah. Thank you."
She answered with an awkward expression.
Actually.
I had wanted to tell her about the Sabonius wind turbine, but the officetel was too high and the surroundings too empty, so installing a wind turbine would be difficult.
"In that sense, how about moving again."
"What kind of talk is this."
If I moved to an appropriate place, the problem would be solved, so maybe it wasn’t bad to move again after looting all the supplies here.
Like that.
I shared the generator production method with Kim Min-seo and the Imaginary KATUSA Lim Ju-cheol, and we naturally moved for farming.
"How far have you farmed?"
"Almost all the way to Jungsmi Station along Line 9."
Choi Young-ho, the shining Marine from the 827th class, had been met at the apartment near Jungsmi.
"No, you looted all the way there too? Really?"
"Yeah. I checked the map, so check it."
So recently I had changed the route a bit.
After Eodong, the number of survivors increased sharply, so going there had no meaning.
The place we came to now was the area near Ujangsan Station, following the Line 5 route all the way down.
Harin checked the map book I gave her, then glanced at me with an amazed expression.
"Wow. Why were you so hardworking while I was gone."
"Just."
Just.
If I didn’t move my body without rest, gloomy thoughts kept rising in my head.
Because I was alone, it was too lonely and desolate, so I had to do something, and my mind was at least okay.
Of course, it didn’t come out of my mouth.
If I told Harin how hard it was, it would only increase her guilt.
"Can’t do it. Today I’ll really farm hard and find tuna mayo and sesame ramen."
"Will you?"
"I’m the type who does if I say I will, me."
"Try it."
If I say I will, I will.
I must not call it reduced.
Ah, why?
Don’t know. Just don’t call it if you don’t want to call it.
And.
Harin really found tuna mayo as if it was a promise before farming.
"Ah, ah? Found! T, tuna mayo! Oppa, really tuna mayo!"
"Aaah!!!!!!!!!! Kkiyooot!!!!!! Kkiieeeep!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I entered an appropriate building with plenty of caution, went up to the second floor, opened the door, passed the corpse that had become too familiar now, and found five cans of tuna mayo in the refrigerator.
I roared like a whale and showed Marine clapping, Marine breaking dance, and Marine b-boying.
"No, eh? Wait a minute oppa. Calm down for a bit."
"Aaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fil!!!!!!!!!! Su!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Crazy guy.
Even thinking by myself, the guy who does b-boying next to the corpse just for finding tuna mayo is only me.
But it was tuna mayo after half a year.
Discovering the tuna mayo that I had lived with the sad belief that it would have gone extinct is the greatest joy for me.
"Um..., oppa. This, first, we have to check the status after half a year or so..."
"Railai chachachaaak!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Heyaiiai ppapari piiiaak!!!!!!!!"
Maybe this was the blessing of Motherless Cha, the great Marine and eternal senior.
It might be the reward given to me who endured and advanced diligently following his guidance.
"Oppa."
"Aaah!"
"Why does it seem like you like it a lot more when I see you again?"
"Aaah...?"
"Oppa, is tuna mayo better than me?"
"Ah."
Fuck.
I should have just gone crazy a bit.