004
004
"Let's start with a meal first."
"Then I will return to my home and wait."
"How are you planning to eat?"
"I have some leftover energy bars. I plan to make do with that for a meal."
"Forget it. Let's eat together."
Kang Mu-yeol's eyes widened.
"But you need to save supplies...."
"It's fine. You went through a lot of trouble securing the house. Don't worry about food. Could you heat up two packs of frozen rice and set the table?"
"...!"
Kang Mu-yeol awkwardly took out the utensils and placed them on the table.
I took the frozen pork belly out of the freezer.
"...That is!?"
"If you've been moving your body, you need to replenish your protein. Is pork belly okay?"
"Of course, of course it is!"
Chiiiiik—
I turned on the gas and put the frozen pork belly on the frying pan.
The smell of meat filled the house.
Chureureup!
Kang Mu-yeol swallowed his drool.
Then, as if he couldn't take it anymore, he jumped up from his seat.
"I've been treated this well, I can't let you grill the meat too! I'll grill it. Please, sit comfortably!"
"No, it's fine. Then please take out some lettuce and kimchi from the fridge."
"Ah, yes. Understood. Is there anything else you need me to do?"
"If there are any side dishes you want to eat, feel free to take them out."
"To go that far...! Kimchi and lettuce are enough!"
Kang Mu-yeol took out the kimchi and lettuce from the fridge.
Meanwhile, I put the grilled frozen pork belly on a plate and served it on the table.
"Eat before it gets cold."
Kang Mu-yeol didn't pick up his chopsticks even with the meat in front of him.
Only when I took a spoonful of rice did Kang Mu-yeol start eating.
And he ate a piece of meat.
"Heuuuueup!"
Kang Mu-yeol stared at me with wide, round eyes.
"Did I burn it a bit?"
"No! It's delicious! It's so delicious I'm about to cry...!"
Kang Mu-yeol ate the meat ravenously.
He even made wraps with lettuce.
The meal continued without a single conversation.
Since Kang Mu-yeol was stuffing his face, there was no timing to talk.
Plus, I naturally preferred a quiet meal anyway.
The meal ended only after the plates were emptied without a single piece of meat left.
Kang Mu-yeol patted his stomach, enjoyed a moment of leisure, and then stood up.
"I will do the dishes."
Kang Mu-yeol, who had stood up confidently, suddenly hesitated.
"Ah... the water...."
"Then please take care of the dishes. The water works fine."
"Yes? You mean the water works fine?"
I turned on the sink faucet.
Swaaaaa—!
Steam rose from the sink.
'It seems like the water runs even better than before the zombie outbreak.'
Is this what a Safe House is?
"No, how is the water...!"
Kang Mu-yeol couldn't close his mouth.
He put the dishes in the sink as if possessed.
He stood there blankly for a while, touching the warm water.
"Um... I'm sure hot water will come out fine at your place too, Mr. Mu-yeol. Probably."
Since Kang Mu-yeol's house was also designated as a Safe House, wouldn't hot water come out fine there too?
I wasn't sure, but I guessed so for now.
"R-really...? You mean hot water comes out?"
Kang Mu-yeol was surprised without a moment's rest.
It felt like I had already seen it over ten times.
"Really, really...."
Kang Mu-yeol couldn't even finish his sentence properly.
In the end, he couldn't finish his sentence and did the dishes wearing red rubber gloves.
"Oh...!"
He kept exclaiming while doing the dishes.
Kang Mu-yeol finished the dishes and took off the rubber gloves.
Dish soap was splattered all over the sink, and the countertop was soaked with water.
He was good at smashing zombie heads, but it seemed he didn't have much talent for doing dishes.
'I can just clean up after him.'
I told Kang Mu-yeol that he worked hard on the dishes, so he should go home and rest.
Kang Mu-yeol bowed his head repeatedly and left without showing his back.
"If there is anything you need me to do, please knock on the wall anytime. I will come running immediately."
The front door closed.
The house finally became quiet.
I cleaned up the messy sink and lay down on the sofa to rest.
Kang Mu-yeol entered Unit 403, which had now become his home.
"My own home...."
The dream of owning a home was long and arduous.
It was only after the zombie outbreak that I achieved the dream of owning a home.
I had gotten a clean house that I couldn't even dream of after the zombie outbreak.
Kang Mu-yeol entered the bathroom, still wearing his blood-stained clothes and holding his baseball bat.
The bathroom, which had been splattered with blood everywhere, was as clean as if it had just been cleaned.
He stood the bat next to the shower booth and turned on the shower water.
The bathroom was soon filled with steam.
"Wow...."
Kang Mu-yeol stood under the stream of water while still wearing his bloody clothes.
It felt like his fatigue was melting away.
His body soon felt weary and relaxed.
After standing under the water for a while, Kang Mu-yeol took off his clothes and stomped on them with his feet.
Bloody water flowed into the drain.
The shampoo, body wash, and cleansing foam were also new products.
Kang Mu-yeol washed every corner of his body.
He turned off the shower and wrung out his clothes by hand.
He opened the bathroom cabinet.
There was a neatly folded new towel.
After drying himself, Kang Mu-yeol came out of the bathroom.
There were new underwear and t-shirts in the storage under the bed.
In the past, he would have hesitated at the sight of underwear of unknown origin, but now was not the time to be picky about such things.
Rather, he wanted to feel the texture of the new clothes quickly.
"Wow...."
Kang Mu-yeol changed into the new clothes.
He could feel the fluffiness.
There was a drying rack on the veranda.
He hung the clothes he had stomped on the drying rack.
Having finished his tasks, Kang Mu-yeol jumped onto the bed.
The mattress supported his body, and the blanket wrapped around him.
"Wow...."
Kang Mu-yeol fell asleep without even realizing it.
"Loyalty, loyalty...."
Kang Mu-yeol went back home, and I was left alone.
I lay on the sofa and ruminated on the Status Window that had appeared earlier.
"Did it say Tenant Development?"
Then the Tenant list appeared.
Currently, there was only one tenant, Kang Mu-yeol.
When I tapped on Kang Mu-yeol, his Status Window appeared.
「Name : Kang Mu-yeol」
「Job : Warrior」
「Level : 4」
"Level 4, huh."
No wonder his form when smashing zombies wasn't ordinary.
It was high compared to my current level.
Since my level is 2.
There was a Level Up button below Kang Mu-yeol's Status Window.
I pressed the button.
「Leveling up consumes 4 Coins.」
「Would you like to increase the level?」
「Yes / No」
"It costs 4 Coins?"
It only cost 1 Coin to replenish supplies, but 4 Coins to level up?
"Isn't that too much?"
There was no Level Up button on my Status Window.
It meant I could only raise the level of the tenant, Kang Mu-yeol.
Not that I could raise my own level anyway.
I just pressed the 'Yes' button.
「'Kang Mu-yeol' has leveled up.」
"Oh, what? It leveled up?"
I pressed it without thinking, expecting to be short on Coins, but the level went up.
"How many Coins did I have?"
I checked my Status Window.
「Coins held : 7」
A whopping 7 Coins remained.
I definitely had 0 Coins after replenishing supplies.
Since 4 Coins were consumed for Kang Mu-yeol's level up, that means I originally had 11 Coins.
"They did say a reward came in when I secured Unit 403. Did 11 Coins come in then?"
There was nothing else that could have brought in Coins.
And no Status Window message had popped up either.
That was when it happened.
A crashing sound was heard from next door, and then someone knocked on the front door again.
Kung kung kung!
Judging by the knocking pattern, it was Kang Mu-yeol.
-It's me, Kang Mu-yeol!
I told him to rest at home, so why did he come back suddenly?
When I opened the front door, a cleanly washed Kang Mu-yeol was standing in front of me.
Strangely, his eyes were puffy.
His voice was also hoarse.
"I suddenly saw a window saying my level went up. Did you do this, Mr. Min-jun?"
"Ah, were you sleeping? I'm sorry for waking you. I didn't know a message would be sent."
"No, no! I suddenly felt my body become lighter, so I came to find you."
"It's nothing, so don't worry. Did the water come out fine?"
"It had been a long time since I showered in warm water. The water pressure was also very good."
"Did you do the laundry too?"
"I just roughly stomped on it with soap bubbles."
"The washing machine will work fine too."
"...!"
Kang Mu-yeol was surprised again.
"I pledge my loyalty to you!"
"That's reassuring. Anyway, go back to sleep. Come over for a meal tomorrow morning. You need to sleep well to move again, right?"
"Yes! Then good night to you too, Mr. Min-jun!"
Kang Mu-yeol saluted and closed the front door.
"Amazing...."
It felt like I had gained a fanatic.
Morning came.
I knocked on the wall to call Kang Mu-yeol.
Not even ten seconds after I knocked, there was a knock on my front door.
Kang Mu-yeol, wearing different clothes from yesterday's pajamas, was standing there holding his baseball bat.
"You can come comfortably when eating breakfast."
"No! This is comfortable."
"Hey, I'm just asking just in case... are you a soldier?"
"I was discharged a while ago. Before the zombie outbreak started."
"Were you a career soldier?"
"Yes? No. I just served as an active-duty soldier."
He showed such disciplined behavior that I thought he was a career soldier, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
We ate breakfast lightly.
When Kang Mu-yeol said he would do the dishes, I told him to just leave them.
It felt like I would end up doing the work twice anyway.
Instead, I assigned Kang Mu-yeol what he needed to do today.
"I think we need to clear up around the building. Just in case other survivors might come looking."
"Are you taking them in as tenants?"
"If they're worth taking in."
"Understood. Don't worry. I will clear it up cleanly."
Kang Mu-yeol raised his baseball bat with a determined look in his eyes.
"Then I'll be going."
"Take care of yourself. Safety is the priority above all else. You know that, right?"
"Yes! Don't worry! My body is much lighter than before."
Kang Mu-yeol saluted and went outside.
I stood in front of the window and watched the floor below.
As soon as Kang Mu-yeol went outside, the zombies that were in a dormant state woke up and approached Kang Mu-yeol.
Kang Mu-yeol swung powerfully.
Peoeok!
The baseball bat struck the zombie's head.
Then, only the zombie's head separated and flew to the opposite wall, crashing into it.
The head that hit the wall scattered, almost turning into powder.
"...That's incredible destructive power."
Kang Mu-yeol didn't get tired.
He smashed all the approaching zombies.
"Hahahahahahahahahaha!"
He looked very happy.