The Last Supper
Once everything was more or less wrapped up, I divided the group and assigned them to their rooms. I put my fucktoys—Jeong Minji, Kim Ye-jeong, and Choi Jihye—in Minji's apartment, Room 210. The rest of them—Choi Jihun, Lee Jeong-a, Jeong Hyeong-uk, and Jeong Ju-ho—were relegated to my place, Room 209.
I chained Hyeong-uk and Ju-ho to my bed frame, handcuffed with their hands in front. Out of the goodness of my heart, I figured keeping their hands cuffed behind their backs indefinitely would be too agonizing, so I let Hyeong-uk have his hands in front just like Ju-ho. Since there was always a chance they might try to jump me, I had a fully armed Jihye stand guard right next to me. As for Jihun and Jeonga, I told them they could just relax on my bed.
After moving and organizing all our gear, I lay down on Minji's bed for a bit. I pulled Ye-jeong—who was still handcuffed in front—against me from behind, idly fondling her breasts as I rested. Before long, my stomach began to rumble. Outside the window, the sky was a hazy, featureless gray from the radioactive fallout. With the power out and all communications dead, there was absolutely nothing to do—no Nookpia to read, no RadioTube to watch. If only Dust Wiki were working...
Looking around the room, I didn't have high hopes for dinner. Jihye was sitting on the floor, glaring at me with clear discontent, while Minji just stared silently at the floorboards. Neither of them looked like they could cook to save their lives. That was when my mind drifted back to Ye-jeong, whose breasts I was still mindlessly kneading. Didn't Jihye mention earlier that Ye-jeong used to work as a lunch lady at her school?
"Mother-in-law," I called out. "What kind of meal can we make without using too much water? Just using the ingredients we have in this apartment. Enough to feed eight people."
Ye-jeong fell into thought for a moment at my question.
"How about kimchi fried rice and stir-fried pork?" she suggested softly. "Since the fridge lost power, we should probably finish off the remaining pork today anyway."
That was a great idea. I could bring Jeonga over too—she was a housewife, after all, so she could help cook. Surely a full-time housewife could manage kimchi fried rice and stir-fried pork, dishes even I knew how to make.
I punched in the passcode on the digital door lock and stepped back into my apartment.
"Mother-in-law Lee Jeonga, why don't you come over to Minji's place with me?"
As I went to fetch Lee Jeonga, I noticed Ju-ho glaring at me. Hyeong-uk must have whispered something to him while I was gone. Choi Jihun was watching me with intense, wary eyes, and Jeonga looked absolutely terrified. Glancing down at myself, I realized I couldn't blame them. In all the chaos of the nuclear blast, I hadn't even changed out of the clothes that had been drenched in the blood of that fast zombie back at Suah University Hospital.
"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, don't worry," I said smoothly. "I'm just asking her to help make dinner. Jihye is right here with me, so what could possibly happen?"
"Who are you calling father-in-law?" Jihun spat.
"Would you rather be handcuffed and chained up next to those two?"
My threat instantly shut Jihye's father up. I grabbed a change of clothes from my room and headed back to Minji's apartment with Jeonga in tow. Despite her terror, she followed me without a word. Seeing her act so timidly made her look remarkably like Minji.
When we arrived at Minji's place, Ye-jeong and Jeonga exchanged awkward glances.
"You two will be making dinner together tonight," I instructed. "Can you manage kimchi fried rice and stir-fried pork?"
"Of course," Ye-jeong replied.
"Yes," Jeonga murmured.
At least they were cooperative. Since she needed to cook, I unlocked Ye-jeong's handcuffs.
Since there were only my fucktoys around, I didn't think twice about stripping off my blood-stained clothes right there in Minji's room to change. But then I felt a strange gaze on me. I looked up and saw Jeonga staring at my bare body as I changed. Ah, right. Jeonga was here too. The moment our eyes met, she quickly averted her gaze. What, does her husband not satisfy her? Is she sexually frustrated?
Ye-jeong and Jeonga began inspecting the kitchen, checking the available utensils and seasonings. From the camper van, we had brought two stoves: a heavy-duty camping burner and a standard portable gas stove. Consequently, we had two types of butane canisters—the large ones designed for the camping burner, and the regular-sized ones commonly used at home.
They had probably kept both either as a backup—fearing they wouldn't be able to find the specialized large canisters at regular supermarkets while traveling—or simply to cook two things at once. After all, using a pressure cooker and a pot simultaneously required two heat sources. While an electric rice cooker was an option, the camper van's rooftop solar panels clearly wouldn't generate enough electricity to power one comfortably.
"Where do you even buy those massive canisters for the camping burner? I doubt normal supermarkets stock them," I asked Ye-jeong, suddenly curious.
"Oh, that's actually LPG, not butane," Ye-jeong explained. "There are specific places where you have to get propane gas refilled. Regular automotive LPG stations won't do it. At first, we used a burner that took standard butane, but the flame was too weak because of its small size, and it barely worked in the cold winter. So we sold it secondhand and upgraded to this one."
Looking closer at the canister, I noticed "LPG" printed in small letters on the side.
Jeonga washed the rice and placed the pressure cooker onto the portable gas stove, seemingly unfamiliar and awkward with the heavy-duty camping burner. Meanwhile, Ye-jeong slipped on plastic gloves and began prepping the pork shoulder we had brought from my place, tossing it with a splash of soju and sugar. Next, she chopped onions and green onions. After slicing some chili peppers, she mixed in red pepper flakes, minced garlic, soybean paste, soy sauce, salt, corn syrup, red pepper paste, sesame oil, and a bit of bottled water. I noticed all the seasonings were from my apartment. I guess the camper van was too cramped to keep a diverse pantry.
Ye-jeong pulled a frying pan from the cabinet under Minji's sink, drizzled it with cooking oil, and set it over the camping burner to sear the pork. Once the meat was cooked through, she poured in the marinade she had prepared, stir-frying it before tossing in the chopped onions and green onions.
While Ye-jeong worked on the pork, Jeonga chopped green onions, carrots, and onions, then finely minced the kimchi we had brought from my place. Once finished, she waited patiently for Ye-jeong to wrap up.
As Ye-jeong plated the finished stir-fried pork, I spoke up.
"Let's save the dishes for later so we don't waste water. I have a large frying pan at my place, I'll go grab it."
Hiss— Shhhhh—
By the time I returned with the pan, the pressure cooker was letting out a loud hiss of steam, signaling the rice was almost done. Jeonga turned off the portable gas stove to let the rice steam.
Jeonga drizzled oil into the clean frying pan, placed it over the burner Ye-jeong had just used, and began sautéing the chopped green onions, carrots, and onions. After about five minutes, Jeonga turned to her.
"Ye-jeong, I think the rice is ready. Could you open the lid and scoop some out?"
Jeonga then added the finely chopped kimchi to the sautéed vegetables, stir-frying them together. Finally, she tossed in some red pepper flakes and soy sauce, let it cook a bit longer, and then folded in the rice Ye-jeong had scooped out, mixing everything thoroughly.
"Could you make some fried eggs too? One for each of us," Jeonga requested.
Ye-jeong moved the rice cooker aside, placed a small frying pan from the camper van onto the now-vacant portable stove, and began frying the eggs.
Seeing that the food was just about ready, I called out to Jihye and Minji.
"Take this key and bring your parents over."
I handed Jihye the key to the padlock securing the chains. Soon, Jihye and Minji returned, leading Jeong Hyeong-uk, Jeong Ju-ho, and Choi Jihun into the room.
While Ye-jeong and Jeonga began portioning out the food for everyone, I noticed Jihye and Minji just standing there, doing nothing.
"What are you two doing? If your mothers are serving the food, the least you can do is set the table."
At my scolding, Jihye and Minji finally dragged their feet, sluggishly setting out the spoons and chopsticks. Fortunately, with the utensils and bowls we had salvaged from the camper van combined with what was already in Minji's and my apartments, we had more than enough to go around.
It was, in a very literal sense, our last supper. The fridge in Ye-jeong's camper van had been small, meaning their fresh ingredients were limited, and we had used up every last bit of them for tonight's dinner. We still had canned tuna and spam, so we weren't going to starve tomorrow, but this was the absolute end of fresh meat and vegetables. The food looked delicious, but I could barely register the taste or smell.
Come to think of it, my own mother had been a terrible cook. She had been too busy working to raise me on her own to ever have time for cooking. Besides, my maternal grandmother—who had been a single mother herself before committing suicide when my mother was only twenty—had never had the chance to teach her either. Still, my mother had at least known how to make kimchi, which made her a better cook than Minji.
Hyeong-uk and Ju-ho ate their meals with their hands still cuffed in front of them. We ate in absolute silence, the atmosphere as suffocatingly grim as a funeral home. The vibe was completely depressing.
"Minji, sing us a song to liven things up," I ordered.
At my words, everyone at the table froze and stared at me. I glared back, and they quickly averted their eyes.
"Do I... do I really have to sing right now?" Minji protested, her voice trembling.
"Would you rather do a striptease in front of your parents, or just sing a damn song?"
I didn't actually intend to strip my woman naked in front of everyone, but my foul mood made the words come out incredibly harsh.
"Oh, honey~ don't be like that," Jihye cooed, sliding close and clinging to my arm while warily reading my expression.
Sniff... hic...
As Minji began to sob, Jihye pulled her into a hug, gently patting her back.
"Come on, Minji, stop crying! You know Darling doesn't mean it because he hates you, right?"
And here I thought she was just her high school bully, but look at her playing the protective older sister. Was it a case of 'only I get to torment her, and I won't tolerate anyone else doing it'? Realizing I had indeed gone a bit too far, I decided to apologize. It wasn't like I was actually angry with Minji anyway.
"I guess I was a bit too harsh. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."
Hearing my apology, Minji's eyes went wide with sheer shock, looking like a gazelle that had just seen a lion offer it grass. Then, she suddenly burst into a fit of hiccups.
Hic! Sniff... Hic!
"Take a sip of water, pinch your nose, and hold your breath for a bit. It'll stop."
She did exactly as I said, and her hiccups subsided almost instantly. With that, the tension in the room finally dissipated, and we managed to finish our dinner in a slightly more relaxed atmosphere.
It was barely half past six, but the sun had already set, plunging the apartment into darkness. I turned on my smartphone flashlight, rummaged through our gear, and switched on one of the lanterns we had taken from the camper van.
"Jihye, Minji, you two do the dishes. Fill the sink with water first so we don't waste any."
Once they finished cleaning up, Jihye and I escorted Hyeong-uk, Ju-ho, Jihun, and Jeonga back to my apartment. I threaded the heavy chains through Hyeong-uk and Ju-ho's handcuffs, padlocking them securely to the bed frame once more. I bid Jihun and Jeonga goodnight before leaving.
"Sleep well, Father-in-law, Mother-in-law. And don't try to wash up tomorrow morning. Ju-ho said we can't use the water from the rooftop tank for seventy-two hours because of the radiation."
With that, I returned to Minji's apartment. Since I had violated Ye-jeong, she likely still harbored deep resentment toward me. I couldn't trust her yet, so I cuffed her hands in front of her again. When it came time to sleep, I realized Minji's bed was nowhere near large enough to fit four people.
"Jihye, Minji, lay the blankets we got from the camper van on the floor and sleep there. I'll sleep on the bed with Mother-in-law. It only makes sense for her to have the bed, right? You two are young, so you can handle the floor."
Jihye looked visibly annoyed, but what was she going to do about it? With absolutely nothing else to do, we turned in early. I fell asleep with my hands full of Ye-jeong's breasts, pretending they were my mother's. Well, my mother's breasts had actually been small, more like Minji's.
Still, while Ye-jeong's breasts were wonderfully large, they were a bit saggy. The Cat Mom Grandmother from Room 504 had looked at least ten years younger after her awakening; I wondered if Ye-jeong would undergo a similar rejuvenation soon.