Episode 20.
Episode 20.
Yerin and I returned to the camping car.
We had things to prepare for the operation in two days. Arrows. The subway side said they'd make 100 for us, but it's better if we make more ourselves.
Yerin and I settled down in front of the camping car and started making arrows.
Whittling wood, smoothing it out, attaching the tips. It was simple, but time-consuming work.
Yerin helped diligently from the side. She was clumsy at first, but she gradually got used to it.
"Is this how I do it?"
Yerin asked while smoothing an arrow shaft. She came closer to watch my hand movements.
"Yes, like that. A bit smoother..."
Her shoulder touched my arm. A slight brushing sensation.
"Ah, I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
Yerin stepped back slightly. But she soon came close again. This time, to watch me attach the arrowheads.
"How do you do this?"
"Like this... hold it here..."
I reached out to demonstrate. Yerin's hand came up onto mine.
Our eyes met. Her cheeks flushed slightly. We froze in that state for a moment.
"U-um... like this?"
Yerin pulled her hand away and turned her head. An awkward silence flowed.
The sun dipped. It became evening.
Even while making arrows, a subtle atmosphere continued. Hands brushing, eyes meeting, shoulders touching.
It wasn't intentional. But it kept happening.
"Boss."
Yerin said.
"Yes?"
"Your shoulders look stiff. It must have been hard making arrows, right?"
"Yeah, a bit."
"Shall I... give you a massage?"
"A massage?"
"Yes. My hands are quite strong. We used to do it for each other when we were trainees."
Yerin said as if to dispel the awkwardness. But her cheeks were still red.
"Then... shall I take you up on that?"
"Yes, turn around."
I turned around. Yerin came behind me.
"Excuse me."
Her hands touched my shoulders. They were warm.
"Wow, they're really knotted. It's hard right here."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. It might hurt a little."
Yerin started kneading my shoulders. She had quite a bit of strength. She really did do it for others back when she was a trainee.
"Ugh..."
"Does it hurt?"
"No, it feels refreshing."
"That's a relief."
Her hands traveled up my shoulders to my neck. She pressed the back of my neck with her thumbs.
"This is knotted too."
"Well... I have been using the bow a lot to catch zombies. It mostly uses shoulder and back muscles."
"That's true. Since you're trying to do it all by yourself, Boss..."
Yerin's touch softened. Instead of kneading, she stroked down.
"I want to be more helpful too... I still can't shoot the crossbow well..."
"You're helping enough."
"Really?"
"Yes. Retrieving arrows, drone reconnaissance, and so on. It would have been tough without you, Yerin-ssi."
Her hands stopped for a moment. Then they started moving again. Slower this time.
"Thank you. For saying that."
Her hands came down to my back.
"I'll do this part too."
"It's okay. Just the shoulders are..."
"Your back must be knotted too. You shoot a bow, after all."
Yerin's hands pressed my back. It was over my clothes, but it felt refreshing.
"Boss, but it's not working well over your clothes."
"Is that so?"
"To do it properly... I think you'll need to take it off..."
I hesitated for a moment, then took off my T-shirt. My upper body was exposed.
I heard Yerin gasp behind me.
"Wow..."
"Why?"
"No... just... it's really amazing. Your body."
Her hands touched my bare skin. At first, she massaged normally. Kneading shoulders, pressing the back.
But her touch gradually changed. Rather than kneading... it felt like... stroking.
"Yerin-ssi?"
"Yes?"
"Is this still a massage?"
Her hands stopped.
"Ah... um..."
Yerin's voice became small.
"I, I'm sorry. Without realizing it..."
She took her hands off. There was a rustling sound from behind.
"I, I'll stop. It's embarrassing..."
I turned around. Yerin was covering her face with both hands. Even her ears were dyed red.
"Why are you like this?"
"I don't know... my hands just... ah, I'm so embarrassed..."
She muttered with her head bowed low.
"I'll go prepare dinner!"
Yerin stood up hurriedly and went inside the camping car. The door closed.
I was left alone. I chuckled.
As I put my T-shirt back on, I thought. Something... the atmosphere was changing.
By the promised day, Yerin and I had made 30 more arrows.
We headed to the subway shelter early in the morning.
Yerin covered her face with a mask, hat, and hood again this time.
When we arrived at the subway entrance, the guards recognized us.
"You've arrived. Representative Park is waiting for you."
We went inside. We passed the waiting room and headed to the conference room.
As we entered the conference room, Park Jung-su stood up.
"You've arrived."
"What about the arrows?"
"We made them all. It was a bit of a struggle to make them, but the quality is quite good."
"Thank you for your hard work."
Bundles of arrows were placed on the table. I took them out and examined them. They looked generally usable. The tips were properly attached too.
"You made them well."
"The person who used to do woodworking worked very hard."
"Please pass on my thanks."
I put the arrows into the golf bag. I filled the extra space in the bag Yerin was carrying.
"What about the personnel?"
"30 people are ready. They are waiting outside."
"Good. Before we depart, I will scout around the mart with the drone first."
I went outside the subway entrance and launched the drone. The mart was captured on the screen.
It was a large mart. The parking lot was wide, and the building was big. I could see one entrance in the front and one on the side.
Zombies were gathered near the entrance.
"There are about 50 around the entrance."
"Even just that is quite overwhelming..."
Park Jung-su swallowed hard.
"What about inside?"
I sent the drone closer to the entrance. I could see inside through the glass doors. It was dark, but I could see things moving.
There were quite a lot.
"At least 200 or more inside... it seems like there will be 300."
"300..."
Park Jung-su's face turned pale.
"Is it really possible? That number..."
"We'll see when we try."
I explained while pointing at the drone screen.
"First, I will clear out the zombies around the entrance. Once that's done, the personnel from the subway side should form a formation and wait at... around here at the front."
"And then?"
"I will lure the zombies inside the mart out and then take them down. It would be best if they were all finished off with the bow before they get close, but the ones that aren't will need to be handled by the waiting personnel."
"Luring them out... the worst-case scenario could happen. Like if too many come swarming in that we can't handle..."
"If it's a situation like that, we should just evacuate to the subway station."
"Understood."
"And please prepare 3 people who are fast on their feet. They are the people who will help retrieve arrows from the dead zombies."
"Good. Let's depart."
Before departing, Park Jung-su handed me and Yerin walkie-talkies for communication and taught us how to operate them.
We arrived in front of the mart.
30 personnel waited far behind. They were wearing sturdy armor and armed with iron pipes, baseball bats, axes, etc. There were also a few people holding bows and crossbows. They had nervous expressions.
"Yerin-ssi, stay by my side and replenish the arrows in my quiver as soon as they run out."
"Yes. Understood."
I am currently carrying a total of 50 arrows in two quivers.
She will fill the quiver immediately as soon as one of them becomes empty by my side.
Yerin and I started clearing out the zombies while circling the mart.
I fired the first shot at the group of zombies near the main entrance of the parking lot.
Shuk.
One zombie fell. Hearing the sound, the surrounding zombies turned their heads. Five of them ran toward us.
I activated Hawk's Eye. The world slowed down.
Five arrows flew in succession, and all five fell with arrows stuck in their heads.
I finished the start lightly.
"More are coming from over there!"
Someone shouted. Zombies were swarming from the mart side. About twenty of them.
I drew my bow. I fired rapidly like crazy.
Arrows flew without rest. Zombies fell one by one. Fortunately, they all rolled on the floor before they could even get close.
"Arrows."
Yerin filled my quiver with arrows. She quickly replenished them as soon as they were empty. Thanks to that, I could shoot without stopping the rapid fire.
Three personnel from the subway side ran forward and retrieved arrows from the fallen zombies. Yerin didn't have to run around herself.
Next, I hunted a group of ten, and then I cleared out a group of about fifteen.
All the zombies around the mart fell.
This time, I shot to my heart's content without worrying about arrows.
Corpses were sprawled on the outskirts of the mart. There were over fifty.
The subway personnel watching from behind were staring blankly.
"Is that... a person?"
"All that by himself..."
"Is that even possible?"
I heard murmuring.
"The outskirts are cleared."
I relayed to Park Jung-su via walkie-talkie.
"Now, I'm entering the main entrance."
Now I approached the mart's main entrance alone. I instructed Yerin to stay with the people far behind.
The glass main entrance was slightly open, and some parts were broken. I could see inside.
It was dark. But I could see things moving. There were quite a few zombies inside.
Before going inside, I first dealt with the zombies visible from the outside.
A total of 8 fell to arrows.
I carefully entered the first floor of the mart. It smelled dark and musty. Display shelves were messily knocked over, and trash and bloodstains were scattered on the floor.
I saw a pebble on the floor. I picked it up and threw it far away.
Tak. Tatak.
A light sound was made.
Some zombies turned their heads toward me. And they screamed.
"Kieeeeeek!"
More zombies reacted to that sound. Eyes flashed in the darkness.
I quickly turned around and went outside.
I took a position at a considerable distance from the main entrance, slightly in front of where the subway station people were waiting.
I held my bow and aimed at the entrance.
Zombies started pouring out through the mart entrance. It was like a giant wave.
"Damn, there are more than I thought."
Zzzzt.
Park Jung-su's urgent voice was heard from the walkie-talkie.
"Wh-what should we do? Should we retreat?"
"Just wait for now."
I answered briefly and started rapid firing.
"One, two... five... ten..."
Zombies fell. But they kept pouring out. It seemed like there was no end.
"Eleven, twelve... twenty..."
It was truly crazy rapid fire. Arrows flew without rest. Yerin quickly filled the empty quiver with arrows.
Shuk, shuk, shuk, shuk, shuk.
"Twenty-one... twenty-five... thirty..."
As it went past thirty, some got quite close to the subway people.
The waiting people started to tense up and grip their weapons.
"Thirty-five... forty... forty-five... fifty..."
The last arrow left the string and pierced the head of the last zombie.
"A total of 56."
Fortunately, I annihilated them all before they could even reach us.
Zombie corpses were sprawled from the mart entrance to the parking lot. There were no more coming out.
I picked up the walkie-talkie and said quietly.
"It's quiet now. Please collect all the arrows and bring them to me."
The subway people who had been sweating were silent. They were standing blankly. They had expressions of disbelief at what they had just seen, and expressions like they had just cheated death.
A moment later, the three people in charge of arrow retrieval ran forward. They started walking among the corpses and pulling out the arrows.
Yerin came to my side.
"That's amazing, Boss. 56 of them..."
"It's not over yet. It's just the beginning."
I looked inside the mart. I could still see things moving in the darkness.