Jeong Jimin
Jeong Jimin
If Jeong Ji-min's life were a road, it would be a broad, level highway without a single steep slope.
A well-off family. A sprawling social circle that made her look like an all-rounder. A face free of sharp angles. Admission to Seoul National University. A handsome boyfriend... the list went on.
A future where she could simply coast on a smooth tailwind.
The kind of happiness anyone would wish for.
Jeong Ji-min had lived exactly that life.
And she'd assumed it would stay that way forever.
After all, what could possibly topple a tower built on foundations that solid in a single moment?
Unless the apocalypse broke out, her daily routine was clearly going to roll on unchanged.
'But I never imagined the apocalypse would actually come.'
They say fortune is fickle—like the old proverb about the old man losing his horse.
Her life, every part of it, was twisted beyond recognition in a single night.
Her well-off family was now untraceable.
Her wide social circle was reduced to ash.
In this ruined world, a fancy degree had become utterly useless.
Only her handsome boyfriend remained as a comfort.
A man who'd also lived a smooth, easy life, just like her.
In a world where no one could be trusted, the one person who'd stayed by her side—her boyfriend.
He—Seong Jin-woo—was, to her, more reliable than anyone.
He was the one who'd protected her when the corpses swarmed.
He was the one who'd comforted her while she trembled in fear.
But.
-You guys are seriously dumb. You actually fell for that?
Even that trust didn't last long.
When they were betrayed by beasts wearing human skin.
When she watched him just stand there helplessly while those beasts did as they pleased.
When she was left to endure the shame and humiliation all alone.
It was safe to say her rose-colored glasses for Seong Jin-woo shattered completely.
Now, all she had left was a boyfriend who could barely move—just a tall, decent-looking shell who inspired zero confidence.
That was why Jeong Ji-min followed those three without letting them out of her sight.
Salvation that had appeared like a miracle at the very moment she'd been forced to accept a brutal, powerless reality.
Yes, she'd been handed a life-saving favor.
-I-I'm coming again...! I'm, I'm coming...!
-Me too, me too! Together...! Together...!
...Even if their dispositions were obscene and unethical, there was no disputing they were benefactors to whom she owed an unrepayable debt.
If they hadn't helped her, her fate would've clearly been to end up some thug's whore or doormat.
So she wanted to repay them.
'...They really are people I'm grateful to. Even if they don't seem particularly interested in us.'
Of course, she also had the self-serving aim of riding their coattails.
Their words and actions weren't trustworthy, but the power they wielded was the real thing.
The ability to turn a person into powder in a split second. A sharp baptism of ice. Overwhelming physical prowess. An iron club wreathed in sparks.
People packing supernatural abilities like something out of fiction were clearly going to be a huge help for survival.
'Whether I use gratitude as an excuse or spout cringey flattery, I have to do something to catch their attention.'
Once we start talking and build up even a little fondness, it'll be harder for them to push us away.
She was well aware it was shameless and calculating for someone who'd been given a favor.
But still, if it was for the sake of surviving, things like a conscience were meant to be thrown out.
Struggling desperately to survive isn't wrong.
Even if that meant clinging to someone else like a coward, she had to keep breathing first if she wanted to plan for the days ahead.
At least, Jeong Ji-min believed that was right.
'But it really isn't easy.'
So she'd been watching for the right moment to get closer, intending to weaponize her vaunted sociability.
But every time their eyes met, that day's threesome flickered through her mind, making it hard.
From the perspective of someone who pursued platonic romance, the three of them and their sexual antics were simply too debauched.
"Ji-min, was following them this far really the right call? They could suddenly change their minds and turn on us...."
Her boyfriend, Seong Jin-woo, brought up that concern every single time.
He hadn't actually peeked at their lovemaking the way Jeong Ji-min had, but he definitely knew about their brazenness from the sounds leaking outside.
"Oh, come on, oppa. How many times have you said that now? I told you. It's safer to stick close to those people. I get what you're worried about, but they don't seem like the type to force us into anything. And more than anything, I never want to go through something like last time ever again."
We don't have a choice if we want to live.
As always, Jeong Ji-min deflected her boyfriend's complaints—which were less genuine concern and more just him griping—with the same argument.
"...Fine."
Then, openly wearing an expression that said he wasn't happy about it, he'd back off a step.
It was proof that even he, the one who'd brought it up, knew his objections were flimsy.
'If you're just going to oppose things blindly, why don't you just stay quiet.'
A pattern that had already repeated dozens of times.
Now it was truly getting sickening.
At least come up with a sharp, constructive idea before you start grumbling.
Wasn't he aware that constantly mumbling complaints at every turn, not just once or twice, only wore out the people around him?
She still liked him, but the more he kept showing this side of himself, the more disenchanted she grew.
'Why does he keep saying things that drain me like this?'
She was already dying from the mental and physical exhaustion of having to support him, and her boyfriend, who didn't even grasp how she felt, was deeply hurtful.
She also felt anxious, wondering if she'd have to keep looking after him like this from now on.
Especially since the sight of him limping on one leg didn't look promising.
'Getting proper medical treatment... is probably going to be difficult.'
That was why she felt an even greater need to latch onto strong people.
People who weren't like that previous gang of thugs—people she could negotiate with and reach a reasonable compromise.
Siding with people who would respect her position at least to some degree was the best option.
If there was a problem...
Contrary to her expectations, the three she considered the leading candidates were, every single one of them, formidable figures.
-Then can you lend her to me, too?
Her name... was it Hui-ryeong?
A hot-tempered woman with a fierce vibe, the kind who looked like she'd chewed up plenty of guys back in the day.
Her disposition was rough and cheap, but her personal combat strength was the highest in the group.
On top of that, true to her simple nature, she had absolutely no filter.
Enough to fluster even Jeong Ji-min.
-.....
Second was a woman named Ha-yoon.
In contrast to her graceful, composed appearance, she wore a perpetually cynical air.
Sometimes, when she aimed that cold, settled gaze at Jeong Ji-min and Seong Jin-woo, there was something deeply disquieting about it, something hard to put into words.
For that reason, Jeong Ji-min instinctively felt it would be difficult to get close to that woman.
-How far are you people planning to follow us?
Lastly, there was the man at the center of those two women.
She didn't know his name.
But that man was unmistakably the group's focal point.
While he seemed to be pulled along by the momentum of the two women, at certain moments he grabbed the reins and took control of the mood.
'That man's intentions are what matter most.'
If she wanted to blend into the group naturally, targeting the real power was the standard approach.
The catch, however, was... he had a pretty strong inclination toward sex.
It was that man whose eyes had lit up at Hui-ryeong's vulgar suggestion that she sell her body.
He pretended otherwise, but his gaze was blatant.
Honestly, it was unpleasant.
Because he wasn't the type who gave off an impression that would stir any attraction, even as a polite lie.
If you divided men into alphas and betas in modern slang, he was a figure who teetered precariously on the edge of being not even a beta, but something like a gamma(?).
Feeling a physiological revulsion was only natural.
Hui-ryeong's proposal... was truly, truly the absolute last resort, to be pulled out in the worst possible situation.
Well, even if she didn't necessarily offer her body, there were plenty of other methods, weren't there?
Jeong Ji-min believed that liking someone didn't only take the form of male-female attraction.
She could just make use of her specialty and approach them that way.
A specialty (特技).
The thing she was best at.
For instance... ugh, now that I'm actually trying to think of one, nothing comes to mind.
'That I go to Seoul National University? That my family has some money? Ah, geez, none of that means anything in this situation. What else is there besides that?'
While she was racking her brain from every angle over how to advertise her usefulness—
"Dearie, go on into any empty room and get some sleep. I'm an old man, so it might not smell great; if you want, you can spray this around. Oh, and eat this, too."
She heard the voice of the old man, Ttaekttaeki Yeonggam, on whom they'd unexpectedly ended up imposing.
Jeong Ji-min turned her head slightly to look at him.
He wore a fond smile, as if looking at a fine grandchild, as he handed her a can of Febreze and a chocolate bar.
For all his rough nickname, he was incredibly kind.
When the man and Ha-yoon had followed Hui-ryeong and disappeared into the neighboring apartment, he'd taken in Jeong Ji-min and her boyfriend, who'd been left awkwardly stranded.
His kindness was excessive, though she didn't know the reason.
Maybe because she was the right age to be his granddaughter?
It felt less like he had some lecherous ulterior motive... and more like he was projecting someone else onto her.
Jeong Ji-min privately thought, 'What a windfall,' but she did her best not to show it, waving her hands in polite refusal.
"No, no. You eat it, sir. I'm fine."
"Aigoo, and with a kind heart, too, I see. No, no. Eat up. Young people should eat more than old folks."
"Ahaha, really, it's okay. I'm full."
"Tch. Then just keep it. Eat it later when you're hungry."
He practically forced the chocolate bar into her hand.
Then, saying he was tired and would sleep first, he retreated to his room.
Shortly after, Seong Jin-woo, too, after making some pained sounds, dropped into a deep sleep.
"Haah..."
Left alone like that, Jeong Ji-min let out a long exhale.
How to put it—with no one to confide her worries to, her mind was troubled in too many ways.
If it had been a few days ago, she would have leaned on her boyfriend without hesitation... but now, even he didn't feel right for that.
Because she'd realized he was someone she needed to take care of, not someone she could lean on.
'They're probably... at it again, right?'
As she sat still, spacing out for a long while, the faces of the three people next door suddenly surfaced in her mind.
It was now their second day staying at Hansarang Apartments.
Since they were people who indulged in a promiscuous sex life, they were probably mid-round by now, or had already finished the act and were resting.
'Is it really that good...?'
Suddenly, scenes from that vulgar lovemaking flashed through her head one after another.
The genitals that stood imposingly erect, still asserting their presence even after ruthlessly pounding two women.
An overwhelming virility powerful enough to fill both women's sexes.
In terms of size, honestly, it was just slightly above average, but its staying power was no joke.
Not like someone who just shakes it a few times and then shoots all at once.
'Am I really just sexually frustrated?'
Recalling that made her head grow heated on its own.
She'd once heard from an older unnie that 'In a relationship between a man and a woman, sexual compatibility is everything.'
That if the compatibility was too good, even if they fought like they'd kill each other and broke up, they'd ultimately fail to forget each other and end up back together—or something like that?
In that sense, Seong Jin-woo was... somewhat, no, just the tiniest bit unsatisfactory.
But that man.
If it was that man, a sex demon capable of fully satisfying two women...
'What the hell am I thinking...!'
Jeong Ji-min, who'd been twirling a lock of her dyed blonde hair, shook her head firmly from side to side.
Wasn't this trashy of her?
She already had a boyfriend.
Even if he'd become a burden she had to nurse, the affection she'd built up over time hadn't dropped to the point of running dry.
It was against all morals.
While her lover was still alive and well, getting physically entangled with a stranger was a clear betrayal.
She knew it was the easiest path, but she didn't have the slightest, tiniest desire to lie beneath a man with no principles and act coquettish...
'Betrayal? It's for survival—is that really betrayal?'
Not the slightest...
'No. No matter how you look at it, that'd really make you a whore. Besides, you think you want to do it with such a plain-looking guy? Have you no pride? What happened to the high-and-mighty Jeong Ji-min of the past?'
Not even...
'Does your pride put food on the table? Let's be honest. You're pent up. Once you have a good go, you'll see your thoughts do a complete one-eighty.'
'Even so, what's the use? Can you handle it afterward? You'd definitely regret it. You'd end up carrying guilt and tormented for the rest of your life.'
'Nonsense! I guarantee you won't have a spare moment for that piddling guilt! If he's got stamina left after handling two women, he's a natural-born sex machine! Just close your eyes once and you can shoot straight to Hong Kong! Plus, your safety is guaranteed on top of it! Isn't that more than a fair trade-off?'
Not the slightest, not even a bit...
"This is driving me crazy, seriously...."
Impure thoughts writhed in her chest.
Even as her reason screamed no, the heat pooling in her lower belly kept craving pure instinct.
Crinkle.
The wrapper of the chocolate bar crumpled.
It was a night of deepening anguish.
*
-Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang, and before long, the door swung open.
The person who greeted Jeong Ji-min was a man in shabby shorts and a T-shirt.
The reddish nape of his neck was the first thing that caught her eye.
And right after, the subtle, distinctive scent of a man and woman who'd just made love drifted out.
'They did it. They definitely did. Had themselves quite the romp.'
While she was harboring such sentiments, he looked at her with a slightly narrowed brow, as if dissatisfied about something, and spoke.
"What's this about, in the middle of the night all of a sudden?"
Beats me. I don't know why I'm doing this either.
Jeong Ji-min was anxious, on one hand, but she didn't let it show, putting on a warm, friendly smile.
"Excuse me. Do you have a moment?"
Let's just do what I always do.
Being brazen was my specialty, after all.