Han Haeri
The next morning, Kang Dohyun woke up and checked his status window while showering.
'Satisfying.'
He hadn't gained any particularly good achievements recently, and the skills he'd acquired hadn't thrilled him either, but the new trait he'd just obtained—Drone (Mobility Specialized)—was so good it made all of that irrelevant.
'With the Hit skill and the Aim skill, I can maximize their effectiveness even further when using the drone.'
He'd been a little disappointed that his close-combat power was slightly inferior to his younger brother's, but fortunately, Dohyun had now gained the ability to deliver precise long-range attacks.
'And besides, it's not that I'm weak in close combat—it's just that Dohun is too strong.'
His brother had simply gotten excellent traits and skills, which was why he was so powerful. It wasn't as if Dohyun was weak in melee fighting.
If Kang Dohun was a close-combat specialist, then Kang Dohyun could fight using drones for long-range attacks and high mobility.
He closed the status window and organized his thoughts.
'Han Haeri...'
His mind grew complicated when he thought about her.
'She's gotten a lot weaker.'
She was pretty and he liked her, but she was nothing more than a sex slave. Yet here he was, feeling concerned because she'd cried so pitifully.
'Hmm.'
Dohyun wrestled with the thought while showering.
When he finished and stepped out of the room, he found her in the kitchen wearing an apron and cooking.
'Bubbling...'
"You're up."
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, thanks to you."
She smiled. Her eyes were badly swollen, but she showed him a smile nonetheless. Seeing her like that, Dohyun's heart wavered once more.
Once breakfast was ready, the three of them began eating together.
"Wow, breakfast is really good today, huh?"
"Yes, it's really delicious."
Both brothers were satisfied with the meal Haeri had prepared. She'd managed to create a variety of dishes despite the limited ingredients.
But then—
"Haeri-ssi, thank you for everything."
Dohyun spoke first. Then Dohun followed.
"Thank you for taking care of my brother for a while."
Both brothers gave her a gentlemanly farewell.
To her, their farewells felt like a death sentence. She had no confidence she could survive alone in this harsh world.
So she stood up from her seat and performed a deep, formal bow toward Kang Dohyun.
"....."
The brothers were caught off guard by the sudden deep bow, but Haeri spoke calmly.
"Thank you for saving me. And thank you for letting me live as a human being at the end."
"I probably won't see either of you again after we part today. But I will never forget this kindness."
Her farewell was nearly identical to a last testament.
When Haeri spoke like that, the brothers were momentarily speechless.
Dohun glanced at his brother's expression.
'What do we do, hyung?'
He'd already been uneasy about leaving Haeri behind, and now that she'd said her farewells like that, Dohyun realized he couldn't just walk away from her.
"Dohun, can you wait until the morning?"
"Of course, no problem."
With his brother's permission, Dohyun decided to invest a little time in her.
After finishing their meal, Dohyun led Haeri into his room.
"Take off your clothes."
"Huh? Yes."
At Dohyun's instruction, Haeri naturally removed her clothes. Being naked in front of him meant nothing to her.
"Try wearing this."
But his next action was unexpected. He handed her the spare leather jacket and pants he usually carried with him.
Haeri put on the leather jacket and pants as instructed. The pants were very loose, but the jacket fit well enough.
"The size doesn't match, but wear it anyway. And put on the leather gloves, and the goggles."
He helped her gear up. Haeri felt awkward, but she put on all the equipment.
"For a weapon... this would be good."
She chose a spear from among the weapons the lawless had been using.
It had the disadvantage of being large, but for a beginner, a spear was the best weapon to use.
Once Haeri was fully equipped, Dohyun led her up to the roof of the house. And then—
'Roar.'
He summoned his drone.
"Get on."
"Yes."
The two of them got on the drone together and began moving.
As Dohyun traveled with Haeri, he called himself an idiot more times than he could count.
'Weak-hearted bastard. Was I really this soft?'
Before his regression, he hadn't even blinked when he saw someone about to commit suicide. Yet he couldn't just let Haeri's situation pass.
'Hong Jinhee was a different case, though...'
He had helped Hong Jinhee before, but that was an action he'd taken to earn the Reasonable Rapist achievement, and since it was early in the apocalypse, she had a high chance of surviving with just a little help.
Haeri was different. The first month had already passed, so even if he helped her now, she'd be behind everyone else. And she was so pretty that she'd stand out, making it hard to survive.
'Still, four hours. Just four hours.'
Dohyun decided to help her for four hours. That way, at least, his conscience would feel better.
About ten minutes later, after flying east on the drone, they came upon a small village where the zombies hadn't yet been cleared out.
Dohyun landed about a hundred meters away from the zombies, using Presence Detection to gauge their position.
"There are zombies ahead. I'll help you, so try hunting them."
"Huh? Me?"
Haeri was flustered, but Dohyun didn't waste time and spoke firmly.
"If you don't kill them, you'll die. If you're already prepared to die, then fight according to my orders."
Haeri was scared, but—
"Yes, if it's Dohyun-ssi's order, I'll follow it."
Her favorability toward him had already surpassed the maximum, bordering on devotion, so she decided to follow his words unconditionally.
Dohyun and Haeri carefully entered the alleyway. And then—
'Grrr...'
They spotted a zombie sitting on the wall. Dohyun drew his crossbow first.
'Thwack, thwack!'
The bolts struck the zombie's thighs with precision.
"Kuek."
The zombie, having discovered the two of them from the attack, hobbled toward them slowly.
"Go ahead and stab its head."
Haeri thrust the spear she was holding into the zombie's head.
'Thwack!'
'Huh?'
She'd taken down the zombie in a single strike—unexpectedly. Haeri herself was surprised.
"D-d-did... did I kill it?"
"Yes, good job."
Dohyun even clapped for her, genuinely impressed.
After hunting the first zombie, Dohyun checked Haeri's status window.
"Huh... what?"
Her base trait was Temptation—a trait that added damage against men. And this gender-based effect also worked on zombies.
On top of that, the skill she'd gained at level 2 was Enchantment—a skill that momentarily bewitched men and lowered their attention.
In other words, it was a skill good for survival.
'An attack-focused trait, but survival skills?'
She'd gotten better traits and skills than he'd expected.
"Alright, let's check until our next skill."
"Yes."
At Dohyun's instruction, Haeri hunted several more zombies with determination, and when she reached level 3—
"I got another skill."
It was Camouflage—a skill that, when standing still, blended her with her surroundings and made her hard to notice.
'Survival-focused.'
Enchantment and Camouflage—with just these two skills, if she was clever enough, she could easily slip past the eyes of other lawless people.
After the apocalypse, Haeri had submitted to everything in order to survive. That was why these skills had appeared for her.
For the remaining time, Dohyun explained to Haeri how to use her traits and skills.
"Your attack power is higher against men, so focus on hunting male zombies."
"When you encounter people, hide using Enchantment and Camouflage. Trust in your skills."
"Travel through rural areas, not big cities. That'll increase your survival chances."
"Don't cut your hair, and don't wash it. You need to hide how pretty you are."
While teaching her to hunt zombies, Dohyun spared no advice on how to survive.
1:30 PM
At exactly 1:30 PM, Dohyun and Haeri returned on the drone.
Haeri had changed a lot in just four hours. She looked like a warrior woman painted in zombie blood.
Dohun, who had been waiting at the village head's house, asked—
"Hyung, should we go now?"
"Yeah, let's go now."
Since they'd packed their belongings in advance, Dohyun slung the bag his brother handed him over his shoulder.
And now, facing the moment he truly had to part with Haeri, he spoke.
"Haeri-ssi, honestly, you're pretty. But you're a very dirty woman."
The words "dirty woman" felt like a dagger piercing Haeri's chest. She had been forced, yes, but it was true that she'd been with too many men since the apocalypse.
"I don't want to be the owner of a dirty rag. But if I can be the owner of a warrior woman, then that's possible."
"Warrior woman..."
Haeri chewed over the words warrior woman.
It was the same as saying she had to become a warrior woman to stay by Kang Dohyun's side—the man she loved and followed.
"Honestly, I don't think you'll survive. But I helped you because leaving you like this would make me uncomfortable. So I wish you survive."
After finishing his words, Dohyun signaled to Dohun that it was time to head out.
"Haeri-ssi, there's a lot of food here and a lot to pack. Take care of it well before you leave."
Dohun gave his final farewell as well, and the brothers left the village head's house, beginning their walk toward Daejeon.
Haeri stood there for a long time, watching the brothers walk away.
Tears poured down her face, blurring her vision, but she still watched her master leave.
'When we meet again, I'll make you acknowledge me.'
She made her resolve, and once the brothers disappeared from her sight, she entered the village head's house. And then—
'Snip.'
First, she cut her long hair with scissors. Then she smeared soot on her face to make it dirty.
She packed her bag. Then, wearing the equipment Dohyun had given her as a final gift, she began to walk.
In the opposite direction from the brothers, toward the rural areas where few people remained, she set off to grow stronger.