Safety First

I walked into the yard and latched the gate behind me. Thanks to the zombie business, my heart was still hammering in my chest.

Only this morning, I'd been reading that message with genuine curiosity, wondering what kind of reward might be waiting at the end of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it. Things were different now. What I really wanted to know was whether I would survive the next twenty-one days.

Yes, I'd succeeded in hunting a zombie — but the rush of triumph drained away fast, and all sorts of ugly thoughts came crawling into my head. I'd survived on pure luck back there. If more than one of them had surrounded me, the outcome would have been a bloody mess.

Hoo — I took a long, slow breath and steadied myself.

Don't be a coward! What's death got on you? And hey, you just fought a zombie and walked away in one piece!

The self-hypnosis worked, and my nerves settled somewhat. Still, the anxiety never quite went away entirely. When that happens, the best cure is to keep your hands busy. Focus on something, and the stray thoughts fade on their own.

I started butchering the two rabbits I'd caught that day. Skinned them, gutted them, and sliced the meat into thin strips. The strips went onto the drying net, and I tossed the pelts into a sunny spot. Dried and tanned, rabbit skins had their uses — but I wasn't exactly short on clothing at the moment. No point burning calories on busywork.

Before I knew it, the sun was going down.

What's that?

Smoke was rising in the distance. Something about it felt off, so I climbed the hill to get a better look. Several villagers had gathered in the rice paddies, feeding wood into two oil drums and setting them alight.

Why are they doing that?

It wasn't as if they didn't know zombies were drawn to firelight. A wire cage stood beside the drums — a sturdy frame welded together from the steel pipes people use for greenhouses.

I texted Jin-beom.

Ah. Now I had a rough idea what the villagers were thinking. If zombies showed up anywhere nearby, they wanted to draw them into the paddies instead of the village. That's why the cage had been built next to the fire — lured zombies would be safely contained inside, where people could pick them off with bows or guns.

Actually, that's a pretty solid strategy.

The fire had been lit at the midpoint between the village and my place here in Chestnut Valley. Which meant I'd be benefiting from this "zombie trap" too.

Whoooosh — a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠snowstorm swept in.

The valleys along the Dinosaur Ridge of Mount Seorak were bustling with people. They were Hyunsung Group personnel, searching for Honorary Chairman Ko Geon-hyuk. The search party had more than tripled since the early days, and leading them all was the Honorary Chairman's own granddaughter, Ko Se-rin. Every hour or so, she was on the phone to Chairman Ko Young-joon, demanding more manpower.

"Dad, send more people!"

Ser-in, this isn't something you solve by throwing bodies at it. It's been over a week already.

"So what's your point?"

It's below freezing out there, in the snow... are you seriously asking me that?

"Yes! Do you think Grandpa is dead, Dad?"

I'm telling you to think with your head, not your heart.

"Ugh, forget it! Send more people!"

The search hadn't been entirely without results. They'd found the bodies of two bodyguards who had fallen down the slope along with the Honorary Chairman. But the man himself was nowhere to be found.

When Ko Se-rin ended the call, her secretary, Han Kyung-hee, spoke up beside her. "Might the Honorary Chairman be in one of the nearby villages? There are three villages within fifteen kilometers of here."

Ko Se-rin fell into thought. This region still had working phone service. If her grandfather was in a nearby village yet unable to contact anyone, then he was either badly injured and unconscious, or suffering from memory loss. If that was truly the case, she would have to make contact with the villagers to get information.

If it went well, she might find her grandfather. But if it went badly, all she'd succeed in doing was broadcasting to the outside world that the founder of Hyunsung Group had been in an accident and gone missing.

Ko Se-rin gave her secretary the order. "Let's keep searching here a little longer. If that doesn't pan out, we'll check the nearby villages."

Another day passed. I wasn't going hunting today. No — I'd resolved not to hunt for a while. This wasn't yesterday's fear coming back to haunt me; I was more level-headed right now than I'd ever been.

Let's collect the reward first, then make a new plan after.

I had more than enough food to last twenty days, so there was no reason to rush. I had no idea what kind of reward this unknown entity messaging me might hand out — but assuming it wasn't some cruel prank, it would surely be something that improved my situation beyond what I had now.

If it gave me an abundance of food, I'd never need to go hunting at all. And if it gave me powerful weapons or armor capable of standing up to zombies, then from that point on I could simply gear up and hunt at my leisure.

Prey was getting scarcer by the day thanks to my competitors, but my life was the only one I had. What good would it do to stock up for tomorrow if I died today? So I decided to go with safety first.

Knock knock!

Someone rapped on the gate. Two knocks, then silence — so not a zombie. A person, then, actually knocking.

"Who is it?"

"It's me."

The Deoksu-ri Village Chief's voice. I had a rough idea why he'd come. I opened the gate. A hunting rifle hung in his hand.

"A grown man shows up and you can't even greet him properly?"

Things were tense enough without wasting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠energy on a squabble. "Good afternoon," I said.

"You ought to be down on your knees receiving my blessing, boy."

The Chief came into the yard and perched himself on the edge of the big clay water jar. "You see that fire they lit up by the Yangs' paddies yesterday?"

"Yes, sir."

"And why do you suppose they lit it?"

"To lure in the zombies, I'd guess?"

"Hmph. Quick on the uptake for a Seoul boy."

I didn't bother mentioning that Jin-beom had already told me.

"They could've lit it anywhere, but I chose that spot with you in mind."

Whether the Chief had genuinely made that call himself, or had been forced into that location by the other villagers and was now taking credit for generosity he never intended, I couldn't say.

"So, what I'm trying to say is—"

"I understand."

"Understand what, exactly?"

"That I'm to take shifts out there too."

The villagers had been rotating guard duty by the cage — keeping the drums fed with fuel so the fires never died, and dispatching any lured zombies. Given that I'd benefited from the paddies' fire, contributing my labor in return was only fair.

"Glad we're clear. You're on from tonight. Two hours at night, two hours by day."

The village's numbers weren't large. They were also running continuous neighborhood patrols around the village proper, and every shift had two-man teams — so roughly that much work per person made sense. It wasn't as if I was being singled out for overwork.

"Understood."

At the end of the day, this was just guard duty. It didn't mean becoming a full member of the village, sharing everything with them.

Finished with his business, the Chief rose and started toward the gate — then paused, turning his head back toward me.

"And one more thing... quit cutting elders off mid-sentence and acting like a Seoul boy."

As planned, I didn't go out hunting today. I drew water from the stream near the house and filled the barrels in my yard to the brim, keeping a wary eye on my surroundings the whole time in case a zombie appeared out of nowhere. In a little while, that stream would be frozen solid anyway.

Other than that, I did nothing. Even with my activity dialed down, I didn't cut back on how much I ate. If a zombie suddenly showed up, I couldn't afford to be fighting on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an empty stomach.

Besides, being at home put my mind at ease. The walls around a country house like mine were built high — higher than I am tall. I don't know who built this place or when, but they'd clearly made the walls high and thick to block out the bitter winter wind.

Guess I'd better head out soon.

It was 1:30 a.m. Time to prepare for my night shift. The Chief had come by earlier, and after he left, Jin-beom had called, apologizing that he'd have given me a heads-up in advance if he'd known my father would be showing up on the Chief's doorstep.

Through Jin-beom, I'd chosen the 2-to-4 a.m. slot for my night duty. Most of the villagers preferred the early evening and the hours just before dawn, since those let them sleep straight through without waking up mid-slumber.

But those in the know understood: the hours just before first light and just after dusk are the vulnerable windows. Light and darkness cross over in those stretches, and you could easily miss something approaching from a distance. My body was as tough as they came, but I'd picked the safest time regardless.

Feels like I'm heading to work after ages.

I layered on my clothes, grabbed my weapons, and set out. When I reached the paddies, Jin-beom was waiting for me — his shift had run from midnight to two.

"Any zombies?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

The village uncle sharing my shift broke into a wide grin when he saw me. "Hyeong-woo! Long time no see!"

"Good to see you, sir."

"Things are rough everywhere these days. Why are you out here all by yourself, anyway? Come live in the village."

"I'm comfortable at home. And it's not exactly far."

"Still, all the same..."

The man on night duty with me tonight was the Deoksu-ri Youth Association President. He arrived a short while later. "Hyeong-woo! Long time no see!"

"Good evening, sir."

"Hyeong-woo, quit holing up out here. Come move into the village."

He said the exact same thing, and I gave the exact same answer I'd given before. Jin-beom smirked at me, then pointed at a steel storage box set in the middle of the cage. "There's a rifle and ammo in there. For when the bow isn't enough."

The box was locked. Jin-beom moved to hand the key to the Youth Association President, but the man waved him off. "Just give it to Hyeong-woo. Young hands are quicker, most likely."

I took the key from Jin-beom. "Good work. Go home and get some rest."

"Man, night duty really takes me back to my army days. I kind of like it."

"If you like it that much, take two more hours. I'll go sleep."

"Yeah, I don't think so. Take care out there!"

The previous shift headed back toward the village. The Youth Association President pointed at the oil drum just outside the cage. "Hyeong-woo, have some potatoes."

"Sorry?"

"You roast potatoes while you're tending the fire."

Mention Gangwon Province, and potatoes are probably the first thing that springs to mind for most people. Deoksu-ri was no exception — everyone there grew them, and the surplus from what they sold sat stored in the village warehouses. That's what was roasting over the fire meant to lure the zombies. Most of the baked potatoes were carried back to the village, but a portion was set aside for whoever drew guard duty at the cage.

"Am I allowed to eat some too?"

"Of course you are. Living in Seoul has made you far too modest for your own good. Quit being shy and eat up — you're hungry, aren't you?"

I stepped outside the cage and picked up two roasted potatoes. They'd been sitting by the fire, so they still held their warmth.

Jackpot!

The thought that I could feast on roasted potatoes every single shift from now on put me in a great mood. Not just a good mood — a mood that made me want to cheer. Who cares about a few potatoes, you say? You clearly haven't been through an apocalypse.

That's when it happened.

Hm?

Someone was approaching from the direction of the village.

Jin-beom?

Had he forgotten something and come back for it? But there was something odd about the way the figure walked — an unsteady, shuffling gait.

A zombie?

The thought crossed my mind that it could be one drawn in by the firelight. I slipped back inside the cage and barred the door, nocked an arrow, and aimed at the unidentified figure.

But then—

"Hyeong-woo, don't shoot! Aigoo, that daft old coot is wandering around at night again!"

At the Youth Association President's words, I lowered my bow. Something Jin-beom had told me once came back to me. Right — a dementia patient had been taken in by the village.

I asked the Youth Association President, "That's him? The old man who showed up about a week ago?"

"Yep, that's the one."

I also remembered hearing that the old man bore a striking resemblance to Honorary Chairman Ko Geon-hyuk. Curiosity stirred in me.

No way. It couldn't be.

I stepped outside the cage and walked toward the old man.