Episode 25.
Episode 25.
I opened my eyes.
Something was strange. My body wouldn't move.
Yerin was right in front of me. I thought she had been hugging me from behind last night, but she must have turned around while sleeping.
Now, we were tangled up, facing each other. My arm was wrapped around Yerin's waist, and Yerin's hand was clutching my chest.
My heart started racing. Anyone who saw this position would have no choice but to misunderstand. No, it wasn't a misunderstanding; it was the truth. We did sleep while hugging.
Yerin's face was right in front of my nose.
She was sleeping. Her breathing was steady.
Seeing her up close, her skin was insane. I couldn't see any pores. Her eyelashes were long, her nose line was smooth, and her lips... I never thought I'd have the chance to see an idol this close in my life. This distance would be absolutely impossible if not for the apocalypse.
Without realizing it, my hand went up.
I lightly brushed Yerin's cheek with my fingertips. It was soft. Unbelievably soft.
Yerin's eyelids trembled slightly. It looked like she was about to wake up.
I pulled my hand back. I carefully removed my arm from Yerin's waist and sat up. It wasn't easy to get out because the bed was narrow, but my Physical Enhancement Ability was useful for things like this. Without a sound, without a tremor.
I covered her back up with the blanket. Yerin fumbled around the empty space with her hand as if looking for something, then hugged the blanket and fell back asleep.
I went outside. The morning air was cold, but my face was still burning.
What the hell am I doing, touching a sleeping woman's face?
I pulled at my hair once and took a deep breath.
When I came out, Jung-hoon was taking out a burner, and Su-jin was washing cups.
It's a normal morning. Considering the world has ended.
3 days passed.
Nothing major happened. It was a relatively peaceful and stable time.
Every morning, I launched the drone to check the enemy group's movements.
The bastards used the Food Factory as their base, and occasionally small groups went out. It seemed like they were raiding places and coming back. Sometimes the vehicles were loaded with supplies, and sometimes they were dragging people along.
For now, they weren't coming in our direction.
In the meantime, a routine was established.
Wake up in the morning, drone reconnaissance. Then breakfast. After eating, I would take my bow, patrol the vicinity, and deal with any zombies I saw. It wasn't a large number, but they were steadily piling up.
Jung-hoon and Su-jin were in charge of making arrows. They made over a hundred in three days, so our total stock exceeded 300. This was quite enough.
In the afternoon, we did shooting practice. I drew a circle on a wooden board to make a target. Not just Yerin, but Jung-hoon and Su-jin participated too. In an emergency, anyone needs to be able to shoot.
Yerin improved the fastest. At first, she could barely hit it from less than 10 meters away, but within three days, she was hitting the target from 20 meters.
"I hit it!"
Yerin shouted.
"Hitting the target and hitting a head are different things."
"Hey, but I still did well."
She grumbled, but picked up the crossbow again. Gritting her teeth.
Jung-hoon took charge of vehicle maintenance and equipment management. He checked the engine status of the two campers, checked the tire pressure, and organized the spare fuel.
Su-jin organized the medical supply inventory and took charge of water purification.
Like a single team, everyone's roles settled in.
At night, we started standing guard. One person, 2-hour shifts. It fit perfectly from sunset to sunrise.
I placed a chair in the vacant lot in front of the Staria Camper and sat down to watch the surroundings.
That night was my turn.
I sat on the chair in the vacant lot and scanned the darkness. The moonlight was quite bright.
The door of the Staria Camper opened, and someone came out.
It was Su-jin.
She was holding two cups in her hands.
"I couldn't sleep. I made something warm."
"Thank you."
I took the cup. It was warm cocoa. Steam was rising from it.
Su-jin sat on the chair next to me. Leaving one space between us. It was the usual distance.
We sat in silence for a while. I could hear crickets. The howling of a zombie could be heard from afar, but it seemed quite a distance away.
"Min-woo-ssi, I think you're amazing."
It was out of the blue.
"What is?"
"Everything. You killed hundreds of zombies alone, scouted every day, and planned operations. It's a bit better now that the three of us are here, but before that, you did everything by yourself."
"Yerin helped me."
"Still. If it weren't for you, Min-woo-ssi, we would all be dead. Jung-hoon and I too."
Su-jin took a sip of cocoa.
"I don't know how lucky I am to be next to someone like you in this world. It's really reassuring."
I didn't know how to answer, so I just drank the cocoa.
Silence flowed. It seemed like Su-jin wanted to say something more. Her fingers holding the cup moved slightly.
"Min-woo-ssi."
"Yes."
"I, can I tell you a story?"
"Go ahead."
Su-jin looked down at the cup on her lap. She hesitated for a long time.
"At the subway shelter. A man named Kim Tae-ho was the leader."
"I know. That he did bad things to women."
"Yes. To me too."
Her voice was calm. It seemed like she was deliberately removing emotion.
"At first, it was appeasement. He said he'd give me more food, give me a good spot, protect me. He asked how I would live alone when the world had become like this. When I refused, he changed."
Su-jin looked into the surface of the cocoa.
"He didn't give me food. He starved me for two days. Then he came back and said the same thing. This time, he didn't smile. He said if I didn't listen, he would kick me outside. At night. Outside where zombies roam."
She paused for a moment and then continued.
"So I had no choice but to give in... and I was violated. Not just once. For several days."
My heart skipped a beat.
"After Jung-hoon found out, he beat Kim Tae-ho until he almost killed him. That was the trigger for Kim Tae-ho getting kicked out."
"Jung-hoon-ssi did?"
"Surprising, right? Actually, we were just acquaintances who had spoken a few words at the shelter. Jung-hoon and I. But as soon as he found out about that, he rushed at Kim Tae-ho."
Su-jin laughed softly. It was a lonely laugh.
"After that, he stayed by my side the whole time. He took care of my meals, and slept nearby when it was time to sleep. That's how we started dating."
No wonder. From the moment I first saw them, I thought they were a bit of an mismatched couple.
A pretty nurse and a rough mechanic. Their personalities seemed different too. So that was the story behind it.
To risk his life for someone he'd only spoken a few words to. Jung-hoon, that guy is deeper than I thought.
Su-jin's shoulders were trembling slightly. But she wasn't crying. She was gritting her teeth to keep from crying.
"Jung-hoon knows, but whenever this story comes up, his eyes look like he's going to go crazy. I can't bring it up."
"Su-jin-ssi."
"Yes."
"Thank you for telling me."
Su-jin lifted her head. Her eyes were wet.
"Min-woo-ssi, you don't waver. Even when watching people die through the drone, you judge calmly."
She trailed off.
"I thought you wouldn't waver no matter what story you heard... and I thought it was right to tell you everything about us without hiding anything."
I'm not unwavering; I'm just not showing it. I didn't say that.
"If you're having a hard time, tell me anytime. I'll listen."
Su-jin nodded. Smallly. She wiped the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Thank you. Really."
At that moment, Su-jin's shoulders shook violently. It was as if what she had been holding back burst out all at once.
Tears flowed down without a sound. She was biting her lip hard, but her chin was trembling.
"I'm sorry. Suddenly."
Su-jin bowed her head. And slowly leaned toward me. Her forehead touched my shoulder.
My body stiffened.
The body heat transmitted from Su-jin's forehead was warm. I could feel tears soaking into my shoulder. Her slender trembling was transmitted entirely.
What should I do? She's Jung-hoon-ssi's girlfriend.
But I couldn't push her away right now. What she had been swallowing alone for days was overflowing.
I raised my hand and slowly stroked Su-jin's back. It was a different feeling from Yerin.
If Yerin had a flashy and voluminous body, Su-jin had slender yet soft curves. The sensation transmitted under my palm was strangely different.
"It's okay."
At those words, Su-jin cried more. Still, there was no sound. Only her shoulders heaved.
About a minute passed. Su-jin pulled herself away. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and turned her head. There was a wet mark left on my shoulder.
"I'm sorry. For this."
"There's nothing to apologize for."
Su-jin forced a smile. Her nose was red and swollen.
"Go inside and get some sleep."
"Yes..."
Su-jin stood up. She walked two steps and then looked back.
"Can I talk to you next time too?"
"Of course."
Su-jin returned to the Staria Camper. The door closed.
I took a sip of cocoa. It had gone cold.
My shoulder was damp. Su-jin's tears were cooling down.
Kim Tae-ho. He's already a dead guy. I saw him fall after getting shot in the back of the head on the drone screen. At that time, I just thought a bad guy died miserably.
Didn't he die too easily?
The next morning. As soon as I launched the drone, my heart dropped.
Two vehicles came out of the enemy group. The direction was towards us.
The four of us stared at the tablet screen. No one said a word. Jung-hoon's jaw tightened, and Su-jin bit her lip. Yerin grabbed my sleeve.
The vehicles got closer and closer.
Contrary to expectations, the vehicles turned west. It wasn't towards us.
I let out a breath. But I couldn't relax. I followed them with the drone.
There were 8 people who got out of the cars. I saw two air rifles. The rest had steel pipes and baseball bats.
The bastards entered a building. A two-story commercial building. It seemed like people were hiding inside.
A moment later, the door opened, and people were dragged out.
Three men, two women.
Two were in normal clothes. The other three were different. One man and two women were wearing flight attendant uniforms. Navy jackets and scarves. It had been over ten days since the zombie outbreak, but they were still wearing uniforms. They must have been hiding without even clothes to change into.
I zoomed in.
The faces of the two women were magnified. One was a face I didn't know.
The other one.
My hand stopped.
Choi Seo-yoon.
A junior from the same department. Four years younger than me.
The day she entered, she drew all the attention of the men.
Anyone could see she was a goddess. Tall, long straight hair, white skin, big eyes. Men lined up, and women were jealous.
I didn't know what happened to her after graduation. So she became a flight attendant.
The Seo-yoon on the screen was indeed the face I remembered. However, her hair, which looked like it hadn't been washed for days, and her torn scarf were far from the shining appearance of her college days.
The bastards discussed something in front of the five people dragged out. A guy nodding, a guy pointing with his finger. It was like an appraisal.
They put the male flight attendant in the car. It seemed they judged him to be useful.
The other two men were made to sit on the ground.
Pak. Pak.
It was the same method again. Putting the air rifle to the back of the head. The two men fell forward. Seo-yoon let out a small scream.
They put the two women in the car, and the vehicle departed.
I followed with the drone.
I thought it was towards the factory, but the car stopped in the middle. A quiet road. There were only a few empty houses and fields around.
The men got out. They took out cigarettes, lit them, and laughed while leisurely exhaling smoke.
The two women were also dragged out. Seo-yoon and the other flight attendant woman were stood on the road.
One man grabbed Seo-yoon's chin and turned her face. He examined it this way and that. Another bastard groped the body of the woman next to her.
The women started to cry. They seemed to be shaking their heads and begging.
One guy, who had smoked his cigarette to the end, crushed the butt with his foot and pointed to an empty house next to the road.
While giggling, the other bastards grabbed the women's arms. A scream burst from Seo-yoon's mouth as she was dragged away, but it was soon covered by a hand.
I put down the tablet.
"I have to go."
I grabbed my bow and slung the quiver over my shoulder.