We Must Build Such a Shelter
Jun-hyeok had no choice but to trust his brother, Jun-ho. Even if someone were a die-hard football fan who knew the game inside and out, predicting not just the final score, but the minute details of the match in real-time, was impossible even for the greatest experts. Yet, his brother had done exactly that. Just as Jun-ho had predicted, Kim In-jae, the Korean defender for Fenerbahçe, had single-handedly blocked two critical scoring chances. Then, he had intercepted the ball outside the penalty box, dribbled it all the way to the center line, and delivered a brilliant pass. The moment that pass was launched, his brother had declared, "The goalkeeper is going to rush out and clear it," and at that exact second, the goalkeeper—who hadn't even been on the broadcast screen—charged out to clear the ball. Jun-hyeok felt a chill run down his spine. When Fenerbahçe, playing with only ten men, finally scored the comeback goal in second-half stoppage time just as his brother had said they would, Jun-hyeok decided to believe him. It felt as if his brother had experienced a "Precognitive Dream." The word regression was simply too absurd to believe.
"So... is the world really going to end? A zombie apocalypse?"
"Yeah. It’s a virus that only infects humans and primates due to some genetic quirk. Other animals are fine."
"Wait, what about the military? What about the U.S.? Their technology is insane. Are you saying even a country like the U.S. will fall?"
"*Sigh.* I thought the same thing when it first broke out. I thought, 'With our modern scientific technology, how could the world possibly end?' But it does. Looking back on it later, I realized it was inevitable."
"...?"
"It happened simultaneously all over the world in that short span of two or three days. The U.S. even descended into civil war."
Jun-ho spoke calmly about the past—or rather, the future—that he had witnessed and endured. "And the military is fundamentally designed to operate under the assumption that there is an enemy. Whether it’s war or terrorism, there’s a chain of command, orders, and operational objectives."
"That's true."
"But this is completely different. It’s not a specific enemy; it’s happening in cities, villages... almost every place where people are. It’s a situation where the citizens themselves turn into monsters. Do you think tactics and strategy mean anything in that?"
"Ah..."
"And besides, the military isn't immune to infection. If anything, because they live in communal quarters, they were even more vulnerable."
"..."
Jun-hyeok, having served in the military himself, understood immediately.
"Well, it’s not like everything is completely gone. If it were, would I have survived for over two years?"
"Huh?"
"Electricity and the internet were cut off within a month, so I can't be certain, but I’d guess about 20 percent of Korea survived? Maybe 30 percent at most. Other developed nations with strong military power and solid infrastructure probably fared similarly."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It’s because of the zombies' characteristics... but I’ll tell you about that later when we have time. That’s not the urgent part. Anyway, the reason I’m telling you this is..."
Jun-ho’s expression shifted.
"We need to prepare. While there’s still time... we need to prepare thoroughly."
"Prepare...? Oh, right, we should. Should we buy a massive amount of food? Should we tell people on the internet, or notify the government?"
"*Ha*, are you an idiot? Do you think people would believe you? Even you, my own brother, didn't believe me until a moment ago."
"Ah... well, that’s true, but..."
Jun-ho frowned. His brother wasn't stupid. But the fact that he was still reacting this way meant he was clearly confused. After all, if your brother suddenly started spouting off about a zombie apocalypse in the middle of the night, reacting with cold, logical judgment would be the more unnatural thing.
"But if you make more predictions like you did with the football match earlier..."
"No. Never even think about telling anyone. Especially don't bring up the government."
"Why?"
Jun-ho let out a long, weary sigh. "The presidential election is in a few months, right?"
"Oh! That's right. Who wins?"
"Yang Jin-cheol."
"Really? Yang Jin-cheol wins?"
"Yeah, he wins by a narrow margin. But the problem is..."
"The problem is...?"
Jun-hyeok, who had zero interest in politics, simply wore a look of pure curiosity.
"The Yang Jin-cheol administration is the most incompetent, pathetic regime in history."
"What?"
"I don't even want to talk about it. Just assume that every day, they commit the worst, most idiotic acts you can possibly imagine, and then some. They spent their entire term blundering, and after the outbreak hit, it was even more of a spectacle."
After the apocalypse began, the President, his ministers, and almost all high-ranking government officials had engaged in all sorts of insane behavior just to save their own skins. From the initial response to every single directive, the goal wasn't to save the nation or its people, but to preserve their own lives.
"Even after Yang Jin-cheol got infected and died, the Prime Minister and the ministers kept acting like complete morons. If I told those people what was going to happen in a few years, I guarantee you, they wouldn't prepare—they’d just look for ways to line their pockets and save themselves. And I’d be the first one they’d throw under the bus."
"..."
Jun-hyeok fell silent, stunned by the intense, visceral disgust his brother showed—a reaction far stronger than when he had spoken about the apocalypse itself. The Jun-ho he knew was usually calm and had a good judge of character. For his brother to react this way, the reality must have been even worse than his words suggested.
"Preparing for our own survival from here on out won't be easy."
"I suppose not. So, what should we do? Should I... not go back to school?"
"That goes without saying. First, let’s sell the house."
"The house? Ah, I guess we should head to some remote countryside where there are no people and stockpile water and food, right? If we sell the house and pool all our money, can we survive for about ten years?"
Jun-ho shook his head with a grim expression.
"We need to sell the house, take Dad’s insurance money and the settlement, and scrape together every cent I’ve saved. Then, we need to take out the maximum loan possible. And with all of that, we go all-in on a coin."
"A, a coin?"
"Yes. Selene Coin."
Jun-ho had spent over two years navigating the hellish apocalypse. And he hadn't been alone the entire time. From government shelters to various groups of survivors, he had brushed shoulders with many people, sometimes living and struggling alongside them. Among them were unique, unforgettable individuals.
Han Yeong-jung—people called him 'Han Pro.' He introduced himself as a full-time professional investor and wore a gold Rolex even after the world had ended. He kept a USB containing his cryptocurrency on a necklace, laughing and saying that once the world recovered, he would use it to build a skyscraper-sized shelter. He was a frivolous man, but it was rare to find someone who hadn't lost their sense of humor in the apocalypse, and Jun-ho hadn't disliked him for it. He seemed infinitely lighthearted on the surface, but Jun-ho knew the truth: Han Yeong-jung’s flippancy was a desperate struggle to keep from breaking.
There was a story he told often. At first, it sounded foolish, and later, a bit annoying. But after he died trying to save a child, those foolish and futile stories never left Jun-ho’s mind.
- If I’d known the world was going to end up like this, I would’ve cashed out everything and built a super-deluxe shelter. It’s such a shame.
- Huh? What kind of super-deluxe shelter? Well, eating, sleeping, and washing are a given. But also watching movies, playing games, working out... and heh heh! Dating, too. A shelter where we could enjoy everything we had before the world went to hell.
- Ah, but now that I think about it, even with all my money, that’d be tough. I’d need tens of billions, and I didn't manage to save that much.
- Come to think of it, that Selene Coin is such a waste. I got in at an average price of 3,000 won and dumped it as soon as it hit 10,000. The ride was too bumpy. But goddammit... who knew that after I sold, a bunch of whales would jump in and it would hit over 100,000 won in a few months?
- Anyway, if I’d just held onto Selene, I would’ve made about 20 billion won. It’s such a waste.
Han Yeong-jung would ramble on about the blueprints for a shelter he would build, under the assumption that he had held onto Selene Coin, made tens of billions, and known the world was going to end. At first, Jun-ho had listened with genuine interest, but after hearing it repeated so many times, it became tiresome. It sounded like the delusions of a loser trying to escape a hellish reality.
- Huh? Why do I imagine such impossible, useless things? Hey, is it any more realistic that a virus would spread across the world in three or four days and turn normal people into zombies? Is it realistic that half-dead things are walking around eating people?
That impossible, futile fantasy, which would never come to pass, might have been the very thing that kept Han Yeong-jung going in a ruined world. And after he died, that fantasy transferred to Jun-ho. Before falling asleep, Jun-ho would find himself imagining it, too. Just like the Little Match Girl in the fairy tale, who, in her final moments, envisioned a happiness that would never come within the small, flickering light of a match.
Jun-ho, a survivor living through the apocalypse, had also endured day by day through the fantasy he had caught from Han Yeong-jung.
'But now... I can make that fantasy a reality.'
Jun-ho’s body trembled faintly.
"Selene Coin?"
"It’s like this..." Jun-ho briefly explained who Han Yeong-jung was, then searched for Selene Coin on his phone and held it out. "Look."
"Whoa, it’s not even 7,000 won right now? And this rises to over 100,000 won by spring?"
"Yeah. It had something to do with stablecoins and pegging, but I don't trade crypto, so I don't know the technical stuff. Just know that it hits 100,000 won and then crashes hard. Trillions of won evaporate globally."
"So you’re saying you’re going to buy this now? And sell it when it hits 100,000?"
"That’s the plan. To build the shelter I have in mind, this is the only way."
"Uh... right. I sort of get what you’re saying. But what kind of shelter are you thinking of, exactly?"
Jun-hyeok gulped and asked. Even though his head was spinning and he couldn't do the math yet, if things went exactly as his brother said, he could really make tens of billions. But to pour all of that into a shelter?
"A place... where we can do everything."
"A place where we can do everything...?"
As Jun-hyeok tilted his head, Jun-ho slowly looked around the house. The things they had in this house right now—things they had taken for granted every day. But in reality, everything here was a distillation of modern civilization.
"Yeah. Just like our home now. A place where we can do anything we want, whenever we want. We have to build a shelter like that."
Jun-ho’s low voice was firmer and more resolute than ever.
* * *
After talking a little longer, the brothers returned to their respective rooms. Without hesitation, Jun-ho signed up for a cryptocurrency exchange and opened an account. He then scraped together every cent he could get his hands on and bought Selene Coin. Last year, his father had suddenly passed away in a traffic accident. The insurance money and death settlement from that accident totaled 800 million won. The money, which he hadn't touched because it was the price of his father’s life, had accrued a little interest over the year, totaling just under 820 million won. He poured all of that, plus the money he had saved while working, and every other scattered fund he had, totaling about 850 million won, into the coin. But it wasn't enough.
"I need to sell the house quickly, too."
Jun-ho immediately opened a real estate app and checked the market price. A unit of the same size in the 20-year-old apartment complex where the brothers lived was listed at 380 million won. Since they had done a full renovation three years ago, he figured if he listed it as a quick sale, dropping the price by 20 or 30 million won, it would sell in no time.
"*Hoo*..."
Once the purchase was complete, he finally felt like he could breathe. But Jun-ho couldn't easily fall asleep, and he ended up spending the night wide awake. He had to make the fantasy he had nightly indulged in—the one he’d used to briefly forget the miserable, apocalyptic world full of dangers—a reality.
But for now, the world was still functioning normally. Laws, institutions, permits, and regulations existed. Buying land, constructing a building, drawing power, and obtaining various permits would be an incredibly complex and arduous process. His head was bound to be spinning.
Finally, when it was time to get ready for work, Jun-ho shook his head vigorously.
"Let’s secure the funds first and solve the shelter problems one by one. We already have the site."
So, until the funds were secured, it was right to keep planning and refining. And while doing that...
"Let’s get in shape."
Physical strength was the foundation for surviving the apocalypse. To master the combat skills needed to handle various weapons, he first needed a sturdy body. Besides, it cost almost nothing, and he could start today.
Jun-ho opened the window. The dark sky was slowly beginning to brighten.
- Next is international news. NASA has observed a new asteroid. The asteroid is AX07, named Essex...
Listening to the sound drifting down from the TV in the apartment upstairs, Jun-ho steeled his resolve.