Entering Hansarang Apartments
Entering Hansarang Apartments
The old man's story went something like this.
Ha Hui-ryeong's mother, butting heads with a group of survivors, had ended up seducing a young bachelor. The two had fallen for each other, piled into a car, and vanished into the night.
"I wasn't sure at first. There was this weird tension between them. But nobody guessed they'd actually hit it off, pack up, and bolt."
"No way. Are you serious...?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
It hit like a thunderclap.
Ha Hui-ryeong must have been stunned to her core, because her expression completely shattered.
The muscles in her face twitched grotesquely as she muttered, "Hah. Ha. F-for real...? My mom...?"
Then bewilderment rapidly gave way to fury.
Grinding her teeth, she spat out a torrent of abuse.
"No, is she seriously fucking insane!? We were talking as recently as yesterday, but she actually left days ago? That means she was straight-up bullshitting me! What the fuck, is that something a mother even does? And what—she found new love and took off? I fucking risked my life hauling ass here to rescue her, and this goddamn whore isn't even joking around...!"
Even as she raged, her voice stayed hoarse, like she was fighting a cold—probably trying to keep it down so she wouldn't pull zombie aggro.
The sight of it was almost funny, but she was genuinely furious, so I couldn't exactly laugh out loud. Shame.
"Unnie. Calm down a bit. Anger gives you wrinkles, you know."
"Yeah, Hui-ryeong. I get that you're angry, but she's still your mom. Calling her a whore is kind of harsh, don't you think?"
"Harsh my ass! Here I am, a perfectly fine daughter, still alive and well—and what? She falls for some young bachelor!? If that doesn't make her a whore, what the hell does!?"
Not that I couldn't understand where she was coming from.
Risking your life sprinting all the way here, only to discover your mother had taken a new lover—even a saint would've been seeing red.
Still, I wish she'd read the room before spouting that stuff.
Maybe because the group was mostly young women and respectable elders, the old man and his companions were, naturally, shooting her some dirty looks.
I let out a brief sigh and laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Hui-ryeong. Cool down a bit first. We've got an audience."
"He's right, miss. I understand you're worked up, but kicking up a ruckus outside like that isn't good. We still have scavenging to do, you know."
"Grrr, fine! I said fine!"
Clearly not happy about it, but she hadn't totally lost her reason.
Ha Hui-ryeong gave a tight nod and took several long, deep breaths.
Didn't do much to put out the fire, though.
Anyway, after that, we moved with the old man's group and started scouting the nearby commercial district.
While they gathered what they needed, we stood watch in case trouble showed up.
Once we'd finished looting, we headed back toward the apartment complex.
"I've sent word in the residents' group chat. You should be fine staying in your original unit for now."
"We need permission? It's her own place."
"Honestly, I couldn't care less. Problem is, other people aren't so easygoing. The guy running things as Building Representative is awfully particular."
The gray-haired old man clicked his tongue, like the thought left a bad taste.
"You're not outsiders, but from their perspective, you might as well be. Extra mouths to feed aren't exactly welcome, I guess."
That gave me the general picture.
Same building, different factions.
And the old man's group didn't look especially strong.
The total absence of young men confirmed as much.
Mostly frail elders and women, so... their standing probably wasn't great.
'Looks like we really are staying a while and then dipping out... Which side should I stick with?'
The faction holding real power—hostile to outsiders.
The marginalized faction—easy to manage.
I didn't agonize over it.
Latter. No question.
Mind made up, I looked at the man and woman who'd naturally latched onto us from behind.
"Exactly how far were you two planning on following us?"
At my question, she looked a little startled for a second, then quickly reset her expression into a gentle smile.
"Oh, were we not supposed to? Sorry. You hadn't said anything, so I assumed it was fine."
Must've been exhausted from supporting her boyfriend that whole time, but she smiled brightly anyway.
Brightness aside, the words themselves were pretty damn shameless.
"Wow. I seem to remember dropping some hints. And you're still coming at me like this?"
"If you'd flat-out refused, we would have left."
"So it's our fault now?"
"No, no. Just a misunderstanding on both sides. I'll apologize if we made things uncomfortable. Actually, I should start by thanking you. I was grateful you saved us back there. If it weren't for you... whew, I don't even want to imagine it. Thank you so much. Oh, that reminds me—we still haven't introduced ourselves, have we? Oh dear, got things out of order again. I'm Jeong Ji-min, and this is my boyfriend, Seong Jin-woo. Since fate brought us together, I hope we can get along."
Get along? What for?
I let my expression go sour.
The woman who'd introduced herself as Jeong Ji-min was even more thick-skinned than I'd guessed, talked like a submachine gun, and never once lost the smile.
Total shift from our first meeting, where she'd been sniffling—now she had a fluent tongue.
Her boyfriend, by contrast, just quietly ducked his head. Shy, maybe.
"Feels like I'm getting more than I deserve. Honestly, I wonder if this isn't all a little late."
"Sorry about that. I wasn't in any state to do it at the time. Might sound like an excuse, but I needed time to sort out my feelings, too. And my boyfriend was... well, his body was in rough shape, so it was hard to find the right timing."
As if genuinely sorry, Jeong Ji-min's voice carried a faint tremor of emotion.
Probably an act—but if she was going to lean into her own grievances that hard, I couldn't exactly keep picking fights about it.
"Hmph. This isn't really our concern, is it?"
Ha Hui-ryeong suddenly cut in.
She'd been muttering curses about her mother this whole time, and now she'd switched targets, glaring viciously with her eyes wide open.
Looking at her, she clearly had plenty of anger left to burn.
She'd already called her own mother a "whore," and not just me or Ha-yoon—even the old man leading us to the survivors' quarters had been appalled.
As we all held our breath, braced for whatever bullshit might come out of her mouth next, Jeong Ji-min—now the sudden target of displaced rage—meekly tucked tail and bowed her head.
"You're right. Of course. Yes, you're absolutely right. So, actually... would it be okay if we stuck with you awhile to repay you? I won't feel satisfied until I've paid off the debt."
"Repay us? What can you two even do?"
"We'll do anything you ask. Within reason, obviously, but we can accept most things."
"Hmm. Is that so...."
Ha Hui-ryeong twisted one corner of her mouth into her trademark smirk.
Which meant a malicious idea had popped into her head.
"Then can you offer him up, too?"
A sudden fastball out of absolutely nowhere.
Tone as light as asking someone to pass the water, but the content was anything but.
She couldn't have meant it seriously.
Ha Hui-ryeong had clearly just thrown it out to see what came back.
Her argument style was "fire first," after all.
"What? What do you mean by—!"
"Not you. I'm asking her."
Predictably, Jeong Ji-min's boyfriend scowled.
But the moment Ha Hui-ryeong's glare cut toward him, he yelped and shut his mouth tight.
A textbook case of "strong against the weak, weak against the strong"?
"That's... that's...."
I glanced sideways at Jeong Ji-min. She couldn't answer right away.
Thick-skinned as she was, a line like "Want to repay us? Sell that boyfriend's body" still left her reeling.
"You can't, right? Then why did you say you'd do anything? Was that a lie? Wow, this is actually kind of pissing me off now?"
"No, I... I said within reason...."
"If you're gonna play it that way, fine. But isn't that a little too convenient for you? That whole 'reason' thing is based on your standards. Are you trying to play word games with me right now?"
One minute she'd been shielding the girl out of pity, and now she was leading the charge to corner her.
Finding the whole spectacle absurd, Kim Ha-yoon tugged my sleeve and whispered.
"Is... is that okay?"
"No clue."
Kim Ha-yoon hadn't known her long, so she wouldn't get it, but this wasn't particularly unusual behavior from Ha Hui-ryeong.
Ha Hui-ryeong is like a reed.
She'd always had a reputation for flipping on a dime, zero conviction required.
"Kids these days, I swear."
The old man guiding us to the survivors' building muttered it with a frown.
The rest of his group had similar reactions.
They were disgusted by Ha Hui-ryeong's unfiltered rants and verbal abuse, but nobody stepped up to shout "I object!"
Everyone stayed bystanders—probably worried the wrong word might send stray sparks their way.
A truly wise decision.
That bitch really will throw hands.
Some random busybody interrupts? She'd send a fist flying before anything else.
So in this situation, I—the only one who maintained anything like a close relationship with her—had to step in.
"Hui-ryeong."
"What!"
She whipped her head toward me, eyes flaring wide.
God, that temper.
That blazing glare—straight-up wild wolf.
"Cut it out. Let's talk later."
"No! I'm seeing this through. She's been acting like she owns the place, like some kind of big shot—hick!"
"I said we'll talk later. Okay?"
I sidled up and laid my hand on her navel.
Gently traced the soft skin of her stomach over her clothes and whispered low. She froze with a girlish yelp.
I realize it every time—this chick is way too weak to physical contact.
Little stimulation and she melts like a popsicle.
Not that I'm complaining. Makes her easy to handle.
"F-fine. I said fine. Stop touching me."
Totally deflated, Ha Hui-ryeong fell into step beside me, demure as a prim young lady.
Didn't stop her from sneaking glances at me, though.
She seemed to be expecting something, but I deliberately ignored it and didn't push any further.
Time and place for everything....
"Wow. Your training skills are no joke."
A single dry observation from Kim Ha-yoon, who'd been quiet the whole time.
I looked at her, genuinely baffled.
"Training...?"
Well, her personality is basically a stray cat's, so maybe not the wrong word.
Anyway.
After many twists and turns, we arrived at Building 203—Ha Hui-ryeong's home.
For a corridor-style apartment building, the first-floor lobby was surprisingly roomy.
And full of people.
Bustling, like every survivor living here had assembled.
Mostly men, and their stares weren't particularly friendly.
Caution. Lust. Curiosity.
Man, this feels shitty.
The silent staring as we entered through the front door didn't last long; one of them approached the old man.
"Sir, these the ones from the apartment next to yours?"
"That's right. This young lady here is the daughter of the woman next door."
The man—looked early thirties at face value—slowly looked Ha Hui-ryeong up and down.
Did she feel those blatant eyes on her? Ha Hui-ryeong's brow tightened.
The man put on a business smile and spoke.
"Must be true. She does look like that woman. And the ones with her?"
Ha Hui-ryeong glanced between me and Kim Ha-yoon, then answered, voice sullen.
"Uh... um... they're my friends."
Friends. Friends, huh...
Word doesn't really connect to me.
Still, safe answer.
Way safer and better than tacking on some weird introduction.
As I was chewing on that, the man casually extended his hand.
"I see. Well, welcome. I'm the Building Representative, Seo Nam-woon. Since you used to live here, I hope you'll make yourselves comfortable. We do have our own rules, though, so as long as you follow those carefully during your stay, we won't interfere otherwise."
"Rules?"
Ha Hui-ryeong didn't take his hand. Just stared at it, wary.
He scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
"Yes. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, they say. Same principle here."
Building Representative Seo Nam-woon offered a slight smile and continued.
First. Every morning at 9 and evening at 21, all residents assemble in the first-floor lobby.
Second. Scavenging is conducted in groups of five.
Third. Collected food is shared equally among the team members who participated in the scavenging.
Fourth. Verbal abuse and physical violence between residents are forbidden. However, should a dispute arise, it must be reported to the Building Representative for mediation.
"That's it. Just follow these, please. Not too difficult, right?"
Well, true.
A hassle, but nothing unreasonable about it.
"Hey, what do you want to do?"
Ha Hui-ryeong poked my side and asked.
Kim Ha-yoon was also looking at me plainly, so the decision was pretty much in my hands.
'Answer's already set, obviously.'
Our mischievous mother-in-law—who'd been lying through her teeth, insisting she was fine, and then vanished without a trace.
To track her down, we needed to stay here a while and gather clues.
There was also the secondary objective of retrieving Ha Hui-ryeong's school uniform, but...
'Not bad, that woman...?'
One more thing.
A woman in a suit who'd suddenly snagged my attention.
Standing between two small children and a boy who looked like a student—she'd drawn my gaze and held it.
A beauty with deep black hair neatly parted and striking, defined features.
And that figure—slender and tall—absolutely delectable.
Whether not she was married was a secondary concern. She suited my aesthetic exactly.
"Fine. We accept."
Without letting my lecherous inner thoughts leak out, I grabbed his still-extended hand and shook it.