Live, and Someday...
Whirrrr! The low-noise diesel generator roared to life, feeding electricity into the DC fast charger. The charger, having converted the AC into high-voltage DC, began pumping power into the electric vehicles and batteries.
‘So that’s how they were using the electricity.’
Jun-ho nodded to himself. He had been curious about how Major Lee Seok-jin managed to operate electric vehicles, drones, and other electronic devices. They had been carrying a small diesel generator and diesel fuel in their trucks, running the generator every night to recharge.
"Is the fuel supply sufficient?" Jun-ho asked casually. The sergeant, who had been in the transport maintenance unit, wiped his nose and replied.
"It’s not exactly plentiful, but we can manage for about a fortnight. We can always siphon more if we find other diesel vehicles along the way. And whatever is left in gas stations or tanker trucks should be fine until this summer."
Unless it was stored in a warehouse like Jun-ho’s shelter—where all sorts of additives were poured in, the containers were hermetically sealed, and the temperature and humidity were kept strictly constant—fuel rarely lasted longer than a year.
"Then let's collect some fuel from the abandoned cars in this neighborhood tomorrow."
"Oh, shall we? A drum or so should be enough for the time being. But I’m not sure if the Major will allow it..."
As the sergeant glanced nervously at Major Lee Seok-jin, who was talking to the other officers in the distance, Jun-ho spoke up.
"What’s the harm? We’re just taking fuel from a few ownerless cars. Major! It’s okay, right?"
"...Excuse me?"
"The fuel, sir. The maintenance guy here says they need some, so let’s siphon it from the cars in this neighborhood tomorrow."
"...Very well. Maintenance Chief, get it done early tomorrow morning."
"Yes, sir! And, uh, thank you for looking out for us."
Perhaps because they were maintenance personnel, the sergeant was incredibly grateful for Jun-ho’s intervention.
"Don't mention it. Anyway, keep up the hard work."
"Yes, yes!"
Jun-ho approached Major Lee Seok-jin and the other officers.
"So, have you reached a conclusion?"
At Jun-ho’s question, Major Lee Seok-jin clicked his tongue with a troubled expression. Then, the two lieutenants and a Master Sergeant who looked to be in his fifties resumed their argument.
"No, I understand what you're saying, but we have to think about our kids. How can you expect soldiers who handle administration, medical duties, or cooking to fight in a battalion?"
"Still, it makes no sense to split up in a situation like this."
"Master Sergeant Park. It’s not just one or two; there are over ten of them."
"No, I said I’d take responsibility! I’ll stay behind and look after them. Why are you all being so frustrating?"
The two lieutenants and the Master Sergeant had been arguing for over thirty minutes about what to do with the non-combat personnel. One might think Major Lee Seok-jin could simply settle it by pulling rank, but the problem was that Master Sergeant Park had more seniority than the Major and belonged to an entirely different unit. Crucially, Master Sergeant Park’s argument was logically sound.
"You all saw them earlier, didn't you? They were trembling, unable to even fire their rifles properly. Two of them had their glasses broken in the chaos, so they can’t even distinguish between a zombie and a person beyond twenty meters. How can you expect them to fight?"
Master Sergeant Park turned to Major Lee Seok-jin.
"Major. Even if the situation is dire, you know that forcing non-combatants into battle is counterproductive, right? This isn't peacetime; what if they make a mistake and cause an accident?"
"......"
"Let’s just leave them here. I told you I’d take responsibility. Damn it, I don't even know if my own wife and kids are dead or alive, so let me at least look after these kids. Please!?"
"Master Sergeant Park, that’s enough. I understand your position, but you aren't the only one without news of your family."
"...That was my mistake. I apologize."
Master Sergeant Park, who had snapped without meaning to, sighed and looked away. Everyone here had family. And most of them didn't know if they were dead or alive. Yet, they were excellent soldiers simply for following Major Lee Seok-jin’s orders.
"......"
Perhaps reminded of their own families, a heavy, gloomy silence settled over them. That was when Jun-ho stepped in.
"Excuse me, would you mind hearing me out?"
"...Yes?"
Under the gaze of the four soldiers, Jun-ho spoke calmly.
"In my opinion, the Master Sergeant here makes a valid point. And the lieutenants’ arguments are also valid."
"Well..."
Ignoring Lieutenant Jeong, who wore an expression as if to say, 'What kind of obvious thing is he saying?', Jun-ho continued quickly.
"Why don't you just treat this place as a supply depot?"
"......!?"
"This warehouse alone has about 40 tons of rice. If you combine it with the other two, it’s over 100 tons. But the Major said you were only taking about 3 or 4 tons, right?"
"That is correct."
They couldn't even load more than 4 tons onto two trucks already packed with various supplies, and that amount was enough to feed 200 people for over a month.
"You never know what might happen. So, as Master Sergeant Park suggested, leave the non-combatants or the soldiers with severe PTSD here. You can claim the rice in this warehouse as your own share."
"Pardon?"
"If it weren't for you, the people in this neighborhood wouldn't even know there was rice here. Even if they did, they would never have been able to get in. So, if you claim ownership, no one can say a word."
"But..."
"I know. You're wondering if the ROK Army, which protects its citizens, can do such a thing, right? So, why not give the other two warehouses to the local residents and only claim ownership of this one? Who would complain? And besides."
Jun-ho decided to drive the point home to Major Lee Seok-jin, who couldn't hide his conflict.
"If the non-combatants stay here and get friendly with the local residents to help each other out, wouldn't that be fulfilling the duty of the military in its own way? Civil assistance, or something like that. I think it’s killing two birds with one stone."
"......"
As Major Lee Seok-jin looked up slightly, the three soldiers swallowed hard, looking back and forth between him and Jun-ho.
"Anyway, I apologize if I’ve overstepped. The decision is yours to make. I’m going to go get some fresh air."
Bowing his head, Jun-ho exited through the back door of the warehouse. He walked past the soldiers who were busy cooking rice from the warehouse and headed to the front gate, where the zombie corpses had been cleared away.
"I got permission from Major Lee Seok-jin. I’m going to step out for some air."
"Yes, sir. Go ahead."
The soldiers on guard duty let Jun-ho pass without question. In fact, they even saluted him as if he were an officer. They had all seen the impressive performance of Jun-ho, the reserve survivor who had been 'captured' earlier that day.
"I’ll be back in about 30 minutes, so keep up the good work."
"Yes, sir. Be careful."
"Will do."
Waving at the young soldiers around Baek Su-ho’s age, Jun-ho headed toward Yeongho 2-ri. As soon as he turned a corner and confirmed no one was watching, he retraced the path he had taken earlier that day at high speed.
Tap, tap... tap, tap, tap...!
Whoosh!
Jun-ho sprinted down the road, devoid of both zombies and people, and arrived at the spot where he had first encountered Major Lee Seok-jin’s troops in less than ten minutes. It had taken over an hour to walk the distance earlier, matching the soldiers' marching pace, but Jun-ho could cover it in no time on his own.
"There it is."
Returning to the marked location, Jun-ho quickly dug up the ground and retrieved the vacuum-sealed waterproof bag and its contents.
Beep!
"Hey, can you hear me?"
- Master Lee Jun-ho. I hear you. It has been a little over half a day, but it feels like several days have passed.
Feeling a strange sense of relief at the voice of the AI, Akina, Jun-ho said, "Prepare the items I’m about to tell you for Jun-hyeok..."
Jun-ho listed the support items for the brave soldiers of the ROK Army, who would become another defensive barrier and friendly force for his shelter and the safe zone.
*
*
*
Perhaps Jun-ho’s persuasion had worked; Major Lee Seok-jin decided to leave the non-combatants and the soldiers who showed signs of PTSD from today’s battle in Yeongho 2-ri. Including Master Sergeant Park, there were 16 of them. It was not a small number. The expressions of the soldiers left behind were gloomy. They couldn't lift their heads due to guilt toward their comrades. But no one blamed them. Because they had all participated in the battle earlier that day, and they knew all too well—regardless of the degree—how terrifying and difficult a life-or-death battle against man-eating zombies was. It was impressive that they had overcome it, but it was not something to be criticized for failing to do so. Especially when it came to 'comrades-in-arms' who had crossed the line of death together.
*
*
*
"Load it carefully, carefully."
"Hey! Bring the stuff to divide the ammunition!"
"I told you, didn't I? If you collect the plastic from the combat rations, it’ll come in handy someday! Keep collecting them from now on."
Jun-ho walked past the busy soldiers, some loading subdivided rice onto trucks, others organizing ammunition, and some making rice balls with steaming hot rice. He waved at the maintenance sergeant and a few soldiers who were in front of the main gate.
"So, is everyone gathered?"
"Oh, you’re here!"
"Yes. Shall we go?"
Jun-ho, along with the maintenance sergeant and six soldiers, went around the village, siphoning fuel from abandoned diesel cars and searching buildings that had been occupied by zombies until yesterday but were now empty, gathering anything useful.
"Ptooey! This one’s usable. Drain it all."
"Yes, sir!"
At the words of the sergeant, who had just spat out the fuel he’d accidentally tasted, the soldiers used a hose to drain the diesel from the fuel tank of a diesel SUV into a jerry can. Jun-ho, who was pretending to keep watch with his air rifle, spoke casually to the sergeant, who was inspecting another abandoned vehicle.
"Sergeant Choi. Do you see that hardware store over there?"
"Yes? Oh, yes, Hyung-nim."
The maintenance sergeant, who was two years younger than Jun-ho, had started calling Jun-ho 'Hyung-nim' after he readily joined them for the work.
"But we already have all the equipment in the hardware store. I don’t think we need to go there..."
"I know. But I heard from the old folks in my village. The owner of that hardware store ran the shop for a very long time, and he used to fix the villagers' farm machinery and cars on the side."
"Oh, really?"
Jun-ho clicked his tongue at the sergeant, who looked as if he were asking why that mattered.
"You’re so dense. That means he might have useful oil or additives."
"Ah!"
"I heard there’s a warehouse next to the hardware store, so let’s check it out. I checked it out last night while I was taking a walk, just in case, and there was no one there."
"W-well, let’s do that! Guys, come over here!"
Soon, Jun-ho, accompanied by a few soldiers, went to the small warehouse attached to the hardware store. He used a bolt cutter to cut the chain, which looked surprisingly new compared to the dilapidated warehouse, and entered with the soldiers.
A moment later.
"Hey, hey, we hit the jackpot."
"Pardon?"
"Just take all of this and get out. We’re really lucky."
The items Jun-ho was excitedly pulling out, as if he had just discovered them by chance, were things he and Park Deok-cheol had left the previous night at the place they usually met the people from the Boksagol Youth Association. Jun-ho had quietly slipped out of the warehouse, avoiding the night watch, and brought them here.
"Wow! Aren't these antioxidants and additives? There’s lubricant, engine oil, grease, and even antifreeze!"
"See? It was worth searching, just like I said. Let’s pack these up and raid other places."
"Yes, sir!"
Encouraged by their first successful scavenging, the sergeant and the soldiers followed Jun-ho to various places, siphoning fuel from abandoned diesel cars and scavenging. They were incredibly lucky(?), achieving the feat of scavenging a large amount of bandages, various emergency medicines, sugar, salt, and even fermented pastes, perilla oil, salted seafood, and pickles made by the elderly villagers themselves.
*
*
*
Major Lee Seok-jin and his troops, having finished preparations for their early morning departure, left again, leaving 16 comrades behind in the warehouse. Since they had decided the previous night and already said their goodbyes, there was no dramatic scene. Major Lee Seok-jin only told Master Sergeant Park to protect the place and take good care of the soldiers, and Master Sergeant Park replied with a stiff face that he would surely complete his mission, and they saluted each other.
"Master Sergeant. I’ll come by to check on you occasionally, but you must have a tough heart. Be prepared to even cripple one or two people in this neighborhood if you have to."
"Don't worry. In my 20 years of military life, I’ve become seasoned at dealing with troublemakers near the base. Since these aren't even people I know, I can be even tougher."
Master Sergeant Park grinned at Jun-ho’s request. With that, those who were to stay remained, and those who were to leave departed. Jun-ho, riding in an electric vehicle with Major Lee Seok-jin, acted as if he had known the route—which he had confirmed for safety by flying a drone from the shelter at dawn—all along, guiding them for about half a day.
Eventually, around 2:00 PM, they arrived near a national highway that skirted the outside of Gahyeon-ri and ran along the Bukhan River.
"From here on, I’m not entirely sure either. But if you follow this road, you should reach Ungilsan Station."
"Hmm. So you mean we can reach Paldang and Dosim Station through that station?"
"Yes. I’ve been to this neighborhood by subway and bus before. On weekends or holidays, the interval between trains is over 30 minutes. There probably won't be any trains for at least three or four stops."
Since it was almost certain that the zombies had moved along the tracks, Jun-ho knew there wouldn't be any trains from Ungilsan Station to at least Dosim Station, but he pretended not to know.
"Understood. I suppose we’ll have to leave that to luck."
Major Lee Seok-jin nodded and looked at Jun-ho with a new expression. To Major Lee Seok-jin, whose face clearly showed he wanted to say many things, Jun-ho smiled and spoke first.
"Are you grateful to me?"
"Excuse me? Oh, yes. Thank you, Mr. Lee Jun-ho. Thank you very much."
Because he had gained so much thanks to the man he had met by chance, Major Lee Seok-jin expressed his sincere gratitude. Jun-ho decided to deliver one last 'gift' to this honest ROK Army officer—a gift that was cruel on one hand, but most important on the other.
"But Major. Do you know something?"
"Yes? What is it?"
"When I took you to the warehouse yesterday. If I had had other intentions, I might have had some trashy people waiting there in advance. And then, we could have attacked. Starting with you and the two officers here, Bang!"
"......!!!"
Major Lee Seok-jin’s eyes widened. And the two lieutenants, who had come out to see Jun-ho off, also gaped.
"Or, when I went out for a walk last evening, I could have brought people with me and raided the warehouse. When fighting zombies, I could have knocked any one of them down, stolen their guns, and run away. Oh, and I could have put something in the sugar and salt we found today to give you and all your troops food poisoning. How about that? Do you think it would have been impossible?"
"L...Lee Jun-ho. T-that is currently..."
"It’s just a hypothesis, a hypothesis. But."
Jun-ho changed his expression. Jun-ho, who had regained the face of a 'slaughterer'—a regressor who had experienced the apocalypse twice and had executed countless zombies and humans—spoke in a cold voice to Major Lee Seok-jin and the two officers, who were startled and taken aback.
"I didn't do that, but the people you meet in the future might. No, they definitely will. So, from now on, never trust people easily. Not for your sake, Major, but for the sake of those friends there."
"......!"
Following Jun-ho’s gaze, Major Lee Seok-jin and the officers slowly turned their heads toward the soldiers. The soldiers were happily eating rice balls made with salt and pickles at dawn. They were real warriors who had now experienced actual combat, but the three officers felt goosebumps on their arms as they looked at the soldiers, who now had the innocent faces of their peers while eating.
They had finally realized the weight of the 'responsibility' they carried.
"Keep my words in mind. And... I sincerely wish you and this unit good fortune. You must survive. I hope we can meet again someday, alive."
Without waiting for an answer, Jun-ho ran off quickly down the path he had come.
"......"
However, the three people, who had finally fully realized the cruel reality of the apocalypse, couldn't even think of calling out to Jun-ho and just stared blankly at his retreating back.