Trust
Yang Jin-ju's declaration forged us, crowded into that narrow machine room, into an alliance that shared a single goal: to break through beyond the Buk-gu District Office Sports Ground.
Of course the foundation was not mutual trust, but a precarious bargain of interlocking desperation and calculation. For now, though, that was enough.
"Alright. Then let's start by checking our gear."
Yang Jin-ju no longer treated us as guests. The lowered gun and her softened tone made it clear we were now teammates who had boarded the same boat, each with a role to play.
"Come to think of it, you've been living on the road a long time. Are your shoes okay?"
She looked over the worn-out sneakers on Yeong-ju and me. The soles of mine were tattered and barely held together with glue; Yeong-ju's had split sides patched with old cloth and tied up—more like foot wrappings than shoes.
With so much more walking and running than before, shoes wore out fast. That was only natural.
"Follow me. I've got something to show you."
Yang Jin-ju led us out of the machine room. A few steps down the dim corridor brought us to a closed door, which Nam Jin-ju opened with familiar ease.
Inside, a pleasant leather scent mixed with a sight rare in this ruined world.
"Here. There should be at least one pair that fits among these."
The room looked like a military supply depot, dozens of combat boots neatly arranged by size. Most were old-style ROK Army combat boots, but mixed in were newer desert boots and what looked like U.S. military ones. A light dusting of dust, but most were in good condition.
"What is all this...? Did you two run a military surplus side hustle?"
I asked blankly, and Nam Jin-ju shrugged.
"No way. There was a military goods store on the first floor of this building.
We got lucky and found it first early on. The shutter was locked, and since it wasn't a priority like food, no one else touched it. So we moved everything useful up here."
"You wear these too? Why just give them to us...?"
Yeong-ju asked with a suspicious look. Glancing down, Yang Jin-ju and Nam Jin-ju wore ordinary hiking boots. Yang Jin-ju pointed to her ankle and answered curtly.
"Those are sturdy but heavy.
We can't run long in them—ankles give out. For everyday, light and broken-in is best.
But you're a guy, and she'll be walking a lot, so these are better than those worn-out shoes. They'll protect your feet even if you step on something sharp."
Then Yang Jin-ju hesitated a moment, looking between me and Yeong-ju, and added,
"...And anyway, we're on the same side now. If a teammate gets hurt, it's our loss too, right?"
Soon she asked my shoe size, then found a pair of combat boots that looked perfect from the shelf and handed them over.
They felt heavy and solid. I took off my old sneakers and carefully slipped my feet into the combat boots. The firm support wrapping my ankles and the reassurance from the thick soles were beyond words.
Beside me, Yeong-ju let out a small gasp of delight.
"Wow... these are really sturdy."
Yeong-ju took a small-sized pair of military boots that fit her feet, her eyes sparkling like a child's. She turned the shoes this way and that, running her fingers over the carefully stitched parts, and smiled.
It was a pure, unadorned childlike expression I hadn't seen on her face once in the past five months.
"Thank you. Really."
Yang Jin-ju seemed a bit flustered by Yeong-ju's reaction, clearing her throat awkwardly and looking away.
"It's nothing. Hurry and try them on. We need to check if they fit."
Yeong-ju tightly laced up the combat boots, stood, and jumped in place a few times. The heavy thuds echoed on the floor, and a satisfied smile spread across her face.
"There's more to give you... one more thing. Let's move."
With us now armed with combat boots, Yang Jin-ju led us back into the corridor. Showing a hint of hesitation again, the two of them took us to what looked like a wall at the end of the hallway.
"Camouflage?"
But looking closer, it wasn't a wall—it was a huge wooden board painted to cleverly match the surrounding wallpaper. Fragments and cobwebs were deliberately stuck to the edges, making it look like a long-collapsed, blocked wall.
"What's this now?"
"Call it our ace in the hole?"
Nam Jin-ju grinned triumphantly and pushed one corner of the board. It slid inward silently, revealing a hidden space.
"...Good heavens."
There, like an armory, five K-2 rifles stood neatly, oiled, with several metal boxes that looked like ammo cans stacked beside them.
"...Didn't you just say you weren't in the business?"
"I told you we looted the military goods store."
This was on a whole different level from military surplus. Overwhelming firepower that put a couple of pistols to shame. With this kind of armament, we could even charge through a small zombie horde head-on.
"Did that military goods store... sell guns too?"
"No. We risked our lives to bring these."
Yang Jin-ju's eyes briefly clouded, as if looking back to some day in the past.
"I told you last night, right? The 50th Division soldiers went into that apartment complex and were wiped out?
We approached the overturned military truck much later, when the numbers around had thinned a bit... Inside, next to the corpses, were these. Jin-ju and I carried them between the two of us, running through the zombies to get here. We nearly died more than once on the way."
"...Impressive."
I could hardly believe two women had carried these heavy rifles through a zombie swarm all the way here.
"Take one each. These are your weapons now."
Nam Jin-ju had already picked up a K-2 rifle and slung it over her shoulder with practiced ease.
Yeong-ju and I hesitated. This was different from the boots. With one of these rifles, we could threaten them right now and take everything.
"You're... really giving these to us? Are you sure?"
I asked carefully, and Yeong-ju, sharing the same thought, didn't readily pick up a gun, staring at Yang Jin-ju.
At that moment, a belated flash of regret crossed Nam Jin-ju's face, and Yang Jin-ju, not missing her friend's worry, let out a deep sigh.
"Don't worry. We won't give you the bullets yet. We'll hand out the magazines right before we leave."
That honesty put me at ease.
It made clear they weren't fully trusting us, just cooperating within a controllable range.
"And honestly, those guns are too heavy for us, and the recoil's too strong... Hard to handle properly.
They were really just emergency insurance.
Anyway, to break through that apartment complex, two pistols won't cut it. If you two use these, it's good for us too."
Hearing that, Yeong-ju and I nodded and each picked up a K-2 rifle.
"Alright, there's one last place to go."
"What, there's more?"
Yang Jin-ju said, looking at us fully armed, and Yeong-ju raised her voice wondering if there was something else, but Yang Jin-ju shook her head.
"No, I mean we should go check the highest point nearby that we can reach."
Yang Jin-ju took us back up to the building's rooftop. The cold morning air seeped deep into our lungs. She stood at the rooftop railing and pointed beyond, to the apartment complex where a sea of zombies stretched out.
"There."
The place she pointed to wasn't the center of the complex. At the edge of the complex, a bit separated from the other apartments, stood a building that stuck out alone, looking like a solitary apartment.
It seemed a bit lower in floors than the other buildings, and the structure looked slightly different.
"See that apartment over there? Apartment Building 108. That's our first target point."
"Why specifically there? It looks the same as the other apartments."
I asked, and Yang Jin-ju answered.
"It's different. That's a rental apartment building. So it's subtly separated from the other sale apartment complex, and the structure is simple. And most importantly, from that apartment's rooftop to our hideout building's rooftop, the straight-line distance is only about seventy meters."
Seventy meters... It was a long distance, but much closer compared to the distances between the other buildings.
"So, how are we going to cross over there? Fly like Superman or something?"
As talk continued different from breaking through the sports ground, Yeong-ju spoke sarcastically as if frustrated, and Yang Jin-ju glared at her before continuing.
"Of course not, but our only hope is there, so I'm talking about this."
Then she moved toward something covered with a tarp in the corner of the rooftop, and with Nam Jin-ju, they pulled off the tarp.
A moment later, several thick ropes, climbing harnesses, pulleys, and something like a large harpoon gun with a big hook appeared from under the tarp.
"With this... we plan to connect a rope to that apartment's rooftop. Then cross over on it."
The plan from Yang Jin-ju's mouth was bold to the point of recklessness. Even if it succeeded, it meant entrusting four lives to a single rope and crossing over a sea of zombies...
"That's crazy."
Yeong-ju said quietly.
"...Maybe so."
Yang Jin-ju admitted.
"But there's no other way besides that crazy stunt.
If we just get over to Apartment Building 108 safely, from there we can cross the apartment rooftops one by one and approach near the Buk-gu District Office Sports Ground.
We've already mapped out a route where the buildings are relatively close. The problem is how to cross that first gate of seventy meters of open air."
I looked at Apartment Building 108, which would decide our fate. Backlit by the faint morning sun, the apartment looked like a giant tombstone.
"Then, let's decide each of our roles now."
Yang Jin-ju said with resolve. Her voice no longer trembled. She was staking everything on this reckless plan, and Yeong-ju said nothing more, just nodding.