Companion 2
Seo Yeong-ju left the dining hall and headed for the multipurpose room without a moment's hesitation.
Nam Jin-ju was waiting there just as promised, crouched quietly on a mat spread across the floor, fidgeting with her fingers. The instant she saw Yeong-ju step inside, she sprang to her feet. Her eyes held a mixture of anticipation and unease.
"Unni!"
Watching her light up like an eager puppy, Yeong-ju found herself lost in thought. Where was she even supposed to begin with this pure, timid girl? Should she be as blunt as she had been with Yang Jin-ju? Or should she soften it, circle around the subject so she wouldn't hurt her?
She was still turning it over when Nam Jin-ju, of all people, broke the silence.
"Um… Unni."
Hands clasped neatly in front of her, she asked with extreme care — but her eyes were utterly serious.
"Do I… also have to, you know… have sex with Yeong-chan oppa?"
The pure, unfiltered directness of it left even Yeong-ju momentarily flustered. She coughed awkwardly and stared at Nam Jin-ju, who looked just as lost as she felt.
Then Nam Jin-ju tried to sound like the adult in the room.
"Come on, Unni. Compared to Yang Jin-ju and you, I'm only a tiny bit shorter. My birthday already passed — I'm twenty-one now. I know how these things work!"
Yeong-ju pulled herself together, looked Nam Jin-ju up and down — the girl was easily a full seven centimeters shorter — and let out a snort of laughter.
"It's not just your height that's a tiny bit short. Your conscience seems a whole lot shorter."
"Unni, come on—!"
As Nam Jin-ju pouted and whined, Yeong-ju drove the nail in deeper.
"And… your chest is even smaller?"
"Unni!"
The sharp, indignant shout rang cheerfully through the empty multipurpose room. By the time the echo faded, the heavy tension that had hung between the two women had melted away as if it had never existed. Yeong-ju couldn't hold back the laugh that slipped out of her.
In the much softer atmosphere, Yeong-ju dropped heavily onto the mat. She patted the spot beside her, signaling Nam Jin-ju to sit. After a brief hesitation, Nam Jin-ju carefully settled across from her.
Yeong-ju didn't bother dancing around it any longer. Calmly, from beginning to end, she recounted everything she had discussed with Yang Jin-ju just a short while ago.
"Yang Jin-ju came to me before and said this."
Hugging her knees, she spoke as evenly as if she were telling someone else's story.
"She already knew that going outside with Yeong-chan to hunt zombies was the surest way to become a Companion. But she admitted she was scared. Scared for herself — and even more than that, she said dragging you back into that hell would be unforgivable."
Nam Jin-ju listened in silence, nodding.
"So she came up with another method. Raising his affection. But she figured that would look to anyone like she was making a move on my man, so she wanted my permission first. She thought the worst thing that could happen was this little group falling apart over a guy."
Yeong-ju went on.
"So I told her. Is this really the time for us to be sparring over one man? There are monster bastards out there, and if we screw up, we all die. If you're going to do it, do it properly — don't half-ass it, just push hard and get it done. Because if even that method works, we can finally move on to the next stage."
Having heard it all, Nam Jin-ju neither startled nor wavered. Her reaction was far more mature than Yeong-ju had expected.
"…Honestly, I'd already figured as much."
She spoke quietly.
"I knew we didn't have many options left. We have to raise the Shelter's level, and for that we have to become 'residents.' If fighting isn't the way… then something else would be needed. Jin-ju… really was thinking of me."
She paused, then looked Yeong-ju straight in the eye with the air of someone who had made up her mind.
"So… what do you think, Unni?"
It wasn't a question seeking agreement on the plan. It was asking for Yeong-ju's own most honest feelings — the private heart of the woman watching all of this unfold.
"Huh?"
Caught off guard, Yeong-ju lost her words for a moment. It was hard to believe something like that had come from the girl who always seemed so childlike. She frowned slightly and asked back.
"…What do you mean by that? What's supposed to be okay?"
Instead of answering, Nam Jin-ju leaned back against the wall the way Yeong-ju had, gazing up at the softly lit ceiling. And then, almost as if talking to herself, she began to speak with quiet composure.
"Last night… Jin-ju wasn't in my room. At first I thought she'd gone to the bathroom, or maybe the support room, but even after waiting a long time she never came back. So I just… went to sleep."
Her voice was far calmer than her age suggested.
"And this morning she came out of Yeong-chan oppa's room. Both of them had a completely different energy than usual. No matter how bad I am at reading people, I could tell that much."
Having said that much, Nam Jin-ju turned her gaze from the wall to Yeong-ju. And at last, with extreme care, she asked the question she had truly wanted to ask.
"Unni… with things like this happening one after another, are you really okay with it?"
At that, Yeong-ju let out a short laugh. She was freshly surprised by how deep and grown-up Nam Jin-ju turned out to be. Only then did Seo Yeong-ju begin to see her as an equal — as one woman speaking to another.
"I told Yang Jin-ju this too."
Still looking at the ceiling, she spoke evenly.
"Lately, living together, having sex, rolling around with him… somehow this stupid confidence started building up. Like, 'Ah, so this bastard really does like me after all.'"
When she finished, she scooted her hips over toward Nam Jin-ju until their shoulders touched. Leaning against the wall herself, gazing up at the ceiling, she added,
"So… it's bearable. Besides, this isn't really the time to be fussing over my feelings anyway."
Nam Jin-ju thought for a moment, then spoke in a very small voice — but one full of sincerity.
"Well… we still have plenty of emergency rations left, and we do have time… so we don't have to do it today, right? If you're okay with it, Unni… we could leave a little gap. You don't have to rush on my account."
It was the best consideration and comfort Nam Jin-ju could offer. Yeong-ju quietly rested her head on Nam Jin-ju's shoulder.
"…Unni?"
Nam Jin-ju held her breath. The full weight of the unni who had always seemed so strong and mature settled against her. Wanting to comfort her even a little more, she stayed perfectly still.
But after a minute or two, Yeong-ju suddenly lifted her head and grinned at Nam Jin-ju with pure mischief.
"Hey. You."
"…Yes?"
"Is it because you're short? Leaning on your shoulder is killing my neck."
She rubbed her neck with exaggerated drama. The joke, bursting out of such a serious mood, left Nam Jin-ju momentarily blank.
"…Unni!"
She shouted belatedly, full of indignation — but Yeong-ju was already clutching her stomach laughing.
Barely getting her laughter under control, she ruffled Nam Jin-ju's hair into a complete mess.
"You just focus on getting your own heart ready. I'm not shoving you into Yeong-chan's room today, so loosen up a little."
With that, she stood first. Nam Jin-ju let out a helpless little sigh — aigoo — and rose after her, wearing a warm smile mixed with relief and gratitude.
They were about to leave the multipurpose room together when Yeong-ju suddenly stopped and turned back. Her expression was as serious as a senior briefing a junior before surgery.
"But… I'm worried, so I have to ask."
"Yes?"
When Nam Jin-ju looked up in confusion, Yeong-ju hesitated for a beat. Then she cleared her throat and changed tack.
"When you… have sex. Foreplay and all that. You know about that stuff, right?"
"Ah…"
At the blunt question, Nam Jin-ju's face flushed crimson in an instant, the red racing all the way down her neck.
"D-do you… know a lot about it, Unni?"
She asked back in a voice as thin as a mosquito's. Seo Yeong-ju coughed awkwardly and answered.
"I just… did whatever I'd picked up here and there, so I don't really know that much either…"
She paused, then stepped closer to Nam Jin-ju and lowered her voice, as if passing on a critical secret technique.
"From what I figured out… when you're using your mouth, you have to be insanely careful not to let your teeth touch. That seems like the most important part. If you mess up and, you know… scratch that thing, you're in real trouble, right?"
She delivered her experience like a calm field report.
"And guys… if you swallow the semen, they apparently just fall head over heels… or something. I've heard talk like that. That's about all I know, though…"
Under that raw, practical(?) explanation, Nam Jin-ju's face had gone so red it looked ready to burst. She couldn't bring herself to look at Seo Yeong-ju's face and stared only at her own toes.
Then, suddenly, Nam Jin-ju's head snapped up. Her eyes sparkled like someone who had just found the one solution in the middle of despair.
"Then! Should we call Yang Jin-ju over and ask her too? She… did it last night, so she might know more than I do! She's got actual experience!"
Saying so, she grabbed Seo Yeong-ju's arm and practically bounced out of the multipurpose room in high spirits.
Even as she was being dragged along, Seo Yeong-ju couldn't help snorting out a laugh. Somehow, this pure yet bold idea of hers was growing on her.