Youth Rental Housing and Hiddink
"Alright, take a break and get ready. I'll go see Kim Min-ho."
I stood up and grabbed my lumber axe. I had no real intention of fighting him, but you never knew how a situation might turn.
"You gonna talk about what we discussed earlier right away?"
"Yes. We're heading out soon anyway. So now's the best time to talk."
I figured Kim Min-ho had to be thoroughly confused right now. Screams had been ringing out one after another from the building he lived in — that much was only natural.
And yet he hadn't reacted at all, which meant he was probably waiting to see how things played out. Or he might have already left. Either way, I needed to make contact as soon as possible.
"Yeah, go ahead."
"Come back safe."
"Right."
Watching So-hye and An Ga-hee wave, I stepped out into the hallway. Come to think of it, I still needed to set up barricades, but now that I was living on the fourth floor, I just couldn't muster the motivation.
People really are selfish, I thought as I headed down the stairs. When I knocked on the door of unit 301, a rustling sound came from inside.
Hasn't left yet.
That was a relief, but it was still too early to let my guard down. What mattered was the attitude he'd take.
"…What do you want?"
Through the door cracked open on its chain, Kim Min-ho asked with hollow eyes. Both corners of his eyes were narrowed, and one hand was casually hidden from view.
His purpose was obvious, but I pretended not to notice and spoke.
"I came because I want to make a deal."
"A deal…?"
"Yes. Aren't you curious about what happened yesterday?"
"Seeing you show up like this, I can roughly guess."
"You won't know how well reality matches your predictions until you confirm it yourself."
Bang!
I slammed the door hard, and he flinched back in shock. The hand he'd been hiding held a kitchen knife.
"For example, you might have expected I wouldn't attack you, Kim Min-ho — but what's to stop me from suddenly going crazy and running wild?"
"…I never thought that. If anything, I had no idea what you might do. You could easily have killed me, or you could have left me alone. Both seemed possible."
Kim Min-ho glared at me sharply as he shot back. His voice trembled slightly — so he was scared after all.
"And why did you think that?"
"Because I don't know what kind of person you are. You seem rational one moment, then completely irrational the next. There's no pattern to you."
He swallowed hard. I caught a glimpse of him gripping the kitchen knife tightly.
"If you don't know someone's intentions, you don't know their goals. And if you don't know their goals, you can't predict their next move at all. That's why I couldn't be sure."
"So in other words, I'm like a rugby ball bouncing all over the place, and that makes you uneasy. Because someday I might attack you?"
"Yes."
"If that's your reason, you don't need to worry. Truth is, my way of operating is very simple."
"…What is it?"
Kim Min-ho swallowed again. His bangs were clumped together with cold sweat.
"I act based on whether something benefits me or is useless to me. If someone helps me, I never harm them. But if they become a threat, I cut them down without mercy."
"So you're keeping that woman So-hye around because you think she's useful?"
"That's right."
"…Not very convincing."
I shrugged. If he was going to react like that even after I'd explained this much, I had nothing more to say.
In reality, So-hye had been a huge help. Not just in terms of sexual desire — she'd been useful in actual combat too.
"Well. Believe it or not, that's your call. I never really intended to make you understand in the first place. I didn't come here to recruit you as a companion — I came to make a deal."
"To make a deal, you'd need to persuade me, wouldn't you?"
"I don't think that's strictly necessary. Words aren't the only way, are they?"
I grinned and casually loosened the leather sheath of my lumber axe. A soft thud echoed through the quiet.
"What's it going to be?"
He gripped the doorknob tightly, then let go. He let out a long sigh and scrubbed his face dry.
"I never had a choice to begin with, did I?"
"I won't deny it. But there's a saying, isn't there? If you can't avoid it, enjoy it."
"How the hell am I supposed to enjoy something I can't avoid? Tch. Fine. I'll take the deal."
"Good thinking. This won't be a bad arrangement for you either, Kim Min-ho."
I carefully explained Ha Min-gi and the landlord couple's end, along with the conversation I'd just had with the two women. Kim Min-ho's face, which had been thoroughly crumpled, gradually relaxed until he finally cracked a slight smile.
"…So that's what it was about."
He let out a hollow laugh.
"If I'd known it was something like this, I would have been a bit more friendly."
"So will you accept my proposal?"
"Yes. It's actually what I was hoping for. Unless our food runs out, I don't particularly want to go outside."
That was a little unexpected. He'd seemed pretty resolute.
"You've been outside plenty of times, so you might not get it, but the outside is hell. Not just zombies — you have to deal with humans who've turned into raiders too. Just thinking about it is exhausting."
"You haven't even gone out yet, and you already know about raiders?"
He hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Have you checked the online communities recently?"
"No. Aside from the news, I don't look at the internet at all."
Spending time on places like that was a waste — better to go out scavenging or talk with So-hye.
"Then I recommend you take a look. The communities are just as chaotic as the outside right now."
"We're planning to head out right away, so could you give me a quick rundown?"
"News about raiders is spreading across all the communities. There are quite a few posts saying you should be more careful of people than zombies."
"That's true enough."
Zombies were simple, but humans could think. That alone made them plenty troublesome.
"People who hold grudges against the raiders have been posting their locations on the communities, and there's one near here."
"A raider base?"
"Yes. It's actually quite close. There's that place called Dream of Korea about a ten-minute walk from here. The government built it as public youth housing and rented it out."
"I know it."
The name was so ridiculous I still remembered it. Something about it being a place where young people could pursue their dreams — that's why they'd given it that stupid name.
"There's a rumor that everyone living there is a raider."
"…That's an inconvenient rumor."
A place full of able-bodied young men turned into a raider base. Just thinking about it was a headache.
"That's why I don't want to go out. This whole area's already been stripped bare, so you'd have to go to a commercial district at least — and those places will be crawling with both zombies and raiders."
"I understand how you feel, but we still have to go out. You can't avoid it forever, after all."
I actually hoped we'd run into them. Right now they'd still be split into groups searching for food separately.
But if they finished looting this whole area and started attacking places where people lived? From that point on, it would be unmanageable.
In the end, nothing changed the fact that we had to go outside.
"Understood. Since I'm not going with you anyway, I won't say anything more."
"Yes. Thanks for the useful information. I'll make sure to repay you. If you get more info like this, let me know. I'll pay you properly each time."
"Then I'd be grateful."
I stuck my hand through the gap in the door. He swallowed hard, then took it.
"Looking forward to working with you."
"Yes. Same here."
When the door closed, I headed back up the stairs. When I got home, the two women were sprawled out on the sofa, rolling around.
"What took you so long?"
An Ga-hee asked, her head hanging back over the edge. So-hye quickly sat up and settled herself demurely.
"I had various things to discuss with Kim Min-ho. Plus, I brought back some pretty useful information."
"What is it?"
I relayed what I'd just heard to them. An Ga-hee frowned, and So-hye's face went slightly pale.
"Th-then what do we do?"
"For now, nothing changes about going outside. The fact that those bastards are active means the resources out there are being depleted at a rapid pace."
If we delayed any longer, we might end up with nothing left to scavenge at all.
"I agree. You can't refuse to make kimchi just because you're afraid of maggots."
"Exactly."
"Still…"
"If you're that scared, stay home. I was uneasy about leaving Kim Min-ho alone here anyway."
At An Ga-hee's words, So-hye bit her lip. In the end, she shook her head firmly.
"I'll go with you too."
"Good. That's more like it."
"Alright, let's get ready to head out."
When I started to move, An Ga-hee grabbed my wrist.
"Hold on."
"What is it?"
"Before we go out, let's ditch this fucking formal speech. How about we all talk casually and just call each other by name? It'll be way more efficient outside."
"What are you, Hiddink?"
"What's Hiddink?"
At that, I shut my mouth. So-hye looked like she didn't know either.
"I think we need to change how we address each other and how we talk, just for smoother communication. I'm already speaking casually, so you two should too. Wouldn't that be more comfortable for everyone?"
"What's your real reason?"
"…That formal speech is so cringy I can't stand listening to it."
"Alright… fine. Well, this is more comfortable for me too."
The only reason I'd been using formal speech this whole time was to avoid putting people on edge. A stranger speaking casually right off the bat looked less safe than one using polite language, didn't it?
But An Ga-hee and So-hye weren't strangers anymore, so it didn't really matter.
"Yeah. That's it. We're the same age anyway — talking formally to each other was so weird!"
She laughed like a weight had been lifted off her chest. Then she turned her head and met So-hye's eyes.
"What about you?"
"I-I'm younger anyway… and this feels more comfortable, so I'll keep talking like this…"
"Fine. Well. I can't force you."
An Ga-hee furrowed her brow slightly and nodded.
"Alright. Now that we've sorted out the names and speech, let's head out!"
It was her first time going outside, and she looked to be in a great mood. Just like I'd felt when I first met her — she really was a weird girl.
"Whoa… whoa…"