Chapter 27
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Candidate Group
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"...Who are you?"
A voice thick with wariness came from beyond the barricade.
"Just passersby. We'd like to rest here for a bit."
A moment later, murmurs rose up, and a flashlight beam swept over us through a gap. The light blinded me, making me squint.
"Kill the light."
At my cold command, the other side flinched and lowered the beam.
Furniture creaked from inside, and part of the barricade was shoved aside as several young women came into view.
They clutched crude weapons—metal pipes, baseball bats, kitchen knives.
Pushing through them came a young man and woman.
The man looked to be in his mid-twenties, dressed in baggy sweats, with a friendly face. He screamed leader of the group. Beside him stood a woman with sharp eyes, arms crossed, glaring at us. Their similar features suggested siblings.
"What brings you here?"
"Passing through. Wondered if we could rest a spell."
"Ah... Sorry, but we've got a big group and supplies are tight. Can't take in outsiders."
Rejection.
The response I'd expected. Who'd eagerly welcome strangers?
"Rejection, huh... That's a problem. Zombies are swarming outside, and we're beat."
"Try looking somewhere else..."
The woman next to him chimed in, arms still crossed.
"From what I can see, you've only got that one bat. Don't cause a fuss—just go. Can't you see we've got numbers?"
Her gaze locked on the baseball bat Sua held. My main rifle was hidden behind my back, out of sight.
I smirked and gripped my gun.
"A fuss, you say. If a fuss breaks out here, who loses?"
"...!"
The moment they saw the gun, all three faces hardened—not with fear first, but suspicion.
"What? A gun?"
"No way it's real. Probably a gas gun or BB toy."
"Where'd you get a rifle like that in Korea?"
I could hear them whispering among themselves.
Fair enough. Even I'd doubt a civilian packing a modern assault rifle smack in the middle of South Korea.
Part of me wanted to just spray them, but ammo was precious. I held back.
"Curious? Want a demo shot? But you'd have to bet your life."
I flicked the selector to semi-auto and swung the muzzle their way. A burly guy flinched and stepped back.
The young leader hurriedly raised his hands.
"N-no, calm down!"
"Then open the door."
"...Got it. One sec."
The leader gave a nod, and the burly guy started clearing the barricade. Sofa and desks scraped aside, opening a gap big enough for people.
"Let's go in."
I sent Sua ahead first, then followed, keeping distance. Just in case they rushed us.
The lobby was bigger than I'd thought. Shattered windows were boarded up, and blankets and mattresses covered the floor.
"I'm Kang Min-woo, leader of this group. This is my sister, Kang Min-ju."
Siblings after all.
"Whatever. Give me the rundown."
I plopped arrogantly onto a lobby corner sofa, resting the gun across my knees.
Kang Min-woo eyed me cautiously before speaking.
"We're survivors from nearby apartments and shops. Fled zombies and holed up here in this motel. Helping each other hold out."
"Numbers?"
"About twenty now."
Twenty.
More than I'd figured.
That many mouths to feed—supplies had to be razor-thin. Impressive they'd lasted.
But I wasn't there for their survival story.
'Twenty, huh...'
How many women among them? Any to my taste?
My bunker still had empty rooms. Plenty of food.
I propped my chin and asked casually.
"Women?"
"Pardon?"
"How many women?"
Kang Min-woo stammered, flustered.
"Uh, about half... But why...?"
"Bring 'em all."
"What?!"
"Wanna see their faces. Won't take long."
My blunt demand set Kang Min-ju off.
"Hey! We let you in as guests, and this is how you act?"
"Rude? Me?"
Sua tapped my arm beside me.
"Oppa... Don't... Let's just stay quiet and go. Okay?"
She shook her head.
But I'd already made up my mind.
I grabbed Sua's ass hard with one hand.
"Ahk!"
She yelped and twisted. I whispered in her ear.
"Stay put. I'll handle it."
Under my grip, she bit her lip and quieted.
I turned back to Kang Min-woo.
"Don't make this annoying. Bring all the women. Every last one."
"Look... That's tough. They're resting, and scared of strangers..."
He looked troubled, signaling refusal.
"You don't wanna fight either, right? We've got way more people. Let's just part amicably..."
He tried playing peacemaker.
Boring.
Wasting time talking with these types.
Instead of words, I raised the gun.
Aimed at a picture frame on the wall, right by Kang Min-woo's head. Pulled the trigger.
Thud!
Crash!
The frame's glass shattered, shards raining down.
Suppressor or not, the indoor crack echoed terror.
"Eek?!"
Kang Min-woo screamed and dropped. Kang Min-ju and the burly guy froze.
It was real.
If that guy had aimed at my head instead of the picture...
The realization sank in.
"No long talks. Next one's a head."
My voice was calm, laced with murder.
Kang Min-woo trembled like a leaf, glancing at his sister.
"M-Min-ju... Get... get the girls..."
"O-Oppa... But..."
"Hurry! We're dead meat!"
At his desperate cry, Kang Min-ju bit her lip and bolted for the stairs.
Moments later.
Murmurs from upstairs, and women started descending one by one.
Terror on their faces.
Mostly aunties over thirty, or haggard from neglect.
Arms crossed, I eyed them like a judge.
'Pass, pass, pass...'
Not one caught my eye.
No match for my bunker's well-kept girls, weathered by the outside.
Then.
Amid the women on the stairs, a familiar face.
Gaunt frame, messy hair, hollow eyes.
I Ye-jin.
The bitch who'd invaded my bunker, lost her crew, got rotten food, and got booted.
"Hah."
I let out a dry laugh.
How the hell was she alive?
Ye-jin spotted me, eyes bulging like she'd seen a ghost.
She ducked her head quick, trying to hide in the crowd, but too late.
"You."
I pointed. She stiffened.
"Come here."
The other women edged away, clearing a path. Ye-jin trudged forward like a cow to slaughter.
"O-Oppa..."
"Tough little thing. Still kicking?"
"W-Well..."
She glanced around, voice crawling with excuses.
"I'm... good at running... Hid in the woods... Saw these folks pass and joined..."
"The food I gave you? Figured it'd kill you."
"Ugh... I'm not... an idiot... Knew it was bad from the smell... Tossed it..."
Tough bitch.
Had to respect that survival instinct. Breaking through zombie hordes alone to crawl here.
"Stand over there for now."
I shoved Ye-jin aside and scanned the stairs again.
Most were down.
No good ones? Disappointing—then the last two caught my eye.
One was Kang Min-ju.
Behind her, a strikingly beautiful woman.
"Ho..."
Like finding a pearl in mud.
Even in this hellhole, she shone. Tiny face, doe eyes, pert nose.
No makeup, yet prettier than most idols.
I beckoned them.
"You three. Step forward."
I Ye-jin, Kang Min-ju, the beauty.
They lined up before me.
The rest? Irrelevant.
"Name, age, job. Speak."
Kang Min-ju glared venomously.
"Kang Min-ju. 26. Worked nearby. Happy?"
Prickly. Small chest, but those fierce eyes stirred conquest. Tight A-cup maybe.
Next, the beauty.
Trembling hard, scared stiff.
"I-I'm... Han So-hee... Twenty..."
"Job?"
"Uh, idol... Unknown idol... Was at a nearby event..."
Bingo. My eye didn't lie.
"Experienced?"
"P-Pardon? Oh, no... Never... Dating ban..."
Virgin.
Visual center looks.
Had to take her.
Last, I Ye-jin.
"You... know me..."
She shot me pitiful eyes.
"Yeah. Traitor nurse aide... You even a real aide?"
"Y-Yes!"
"Hard to trust a backstabber's word."
Her face flushed crimson, but no retort.
Situation clear.
Han So-hee: definite yes. Kang Min-ju and I Ye-jin: maybe.
Kang Min-ju's attitude grated, but bitches like her begged sweet in bed. Threaten with her brother, easy to handle.
Problem was I Ye-jin.
She knew my bunker's location.
Quiet now, but a ticking bomb—could blab anytime, stab me in the back.
Cleanest to kill her...
Then.
Sensing my dilemma, Ye-jin suddenly grabbed my pant leg, clinging.
"Oppa! Please! Take me with you!"
Her outburst drew murmurs.
"I'll be good! No backstabbing like last time! I'll eat little, clean, fuck whenever you want... Please, bunk—"
"You crazy bitch...!"
I clamped her mouth shut fast.
Almost said "bunker."
Bad if bunker talk spread here. No need alerting twenty people to my hideout.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
Ye-jin thrashed in my grip.
Kang Min-ju and the other women eyed us differently now.
Suspicion mixed with curiosity.
Air shifted oddly.
I yanked Ye-jin up by her hair.
"Shut it. I'll decide."
Brain running calculations.
Kill her here, unrest. Leave her, info leak risk.
Take and watch? Or...
My gaze swept the terrified Han So-hee, venomous Kang Min-ju, groveling I Ye-jin.
Time to choose.
I readjusted my grip on the gun, lips curling.
"This is fun."