Found Them
It was an early morning in September, the air crisp and slightly dry, matching the clear, bright sky. Park Deok-cheol, Park Seon-hui, and Jo Yu-na stood there, shifting their weight awkwardly, exchanging glances filled with embarrassment and unease. Dressed in khaki long-sleeved shirts, dark brown work pants, and rubber boots reaching their calves, the three of them looked like nothing more than common construction workers. No, even modern construction workers rarely dressed like that; they looked more like generic laborers A, B, and C. To top it off, they were wearing sun visors and handkerchiefs around their necks—the kind favored by middle-aged women. Though they didn't speak, they were all thinking the same thing.
"It feels like we're on '6 O'clock My Hometown'."
"This is how the seniors dress when they go mudflat fishing with their managers..."
Of course, even that would have been a dream program they would have killed to appear on. Unfortunately, the three of them weren't headed to a broadcast set or a famous YouTube channel; they were following a murder expert to perform labor, the nature of which they still didn't know. To make matters worse, they weren't alone. The younger man they’d seen yesterday was also there, carrying two guns and watching them with an intrigued look in his eyes.
"Follow me."
"Ah, yes."
The three hurried after the murder expert. As they walked, they carefully observed the place they hadn't been able to examine closely yesterday due to the chaos. More than ten container dwellings were arranged in a rectangular formation, and in one corner of the wide yard stood another structure that looked like a warehouse. Soon, the murder expert stopped in front of one of the containers.
Clank! Whirrrr...
"......!!!"
The three widened their eyes at the sight of the container splitting in half with a heavy mechanical sound. They realized simultaneously: this place was completely isolated from the outside world, and they were trapped. But that also meant this was a "safe zone" where no one could easily enter. Feeling a complex mix of 30 percent anxiety about being confined and 70 percent relief at being safe, the three followed the path down. It was unpaved but well-maintained and firm, about four meters wide. Both sides of the road were packed with large and small trees, obscuring what lay beyond. Conversely, it seemed unlikely that anyone from the outside could see the container settlement or the path they had just emerged from.
After walking for about five minutes through the quiet forest path, where only the sound of birds could be heard, they arrived at a fairly wide, cleared lot with packed earth.
***
Jun-ho pointed to one side and spoke to the three, who were blinking in confusion, perhaps surprised to find such a clearing in the middle of the mountains.
"Park Seon-hui and Jo Yu-na, grab shovels. Park Deok-cheol, grab a pickaxe and follow me."
The multipurpose electric vehicle they had been loaded onto like cargo yesterday was waiting there. The three quickly approached and grabbed the shovels and pickaxe as instructed.
"We’re going to level the ground from here to there. Park Deok-cheol, break up the protruding parts, and you two, use the shovels to pack it down and fill it with dirt. How about it? Easy, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Ah, yes."
Jun-ho was slightly surprised. He had expected them to be flustered, but they answered readily, even if they were a little nervous. He didn't show it, however, and continued.
"We're building a vinyl greenhouse here. The foundation leveling can't be off by even a fraction. If water pools inside or flows to one side, all the crops will die."
"Ah, I understand. I've done similar work a few times."
"Me too."
"I did it in Japan, too..."
This time, Jun-ho was the one who was flustered. Idols born and raised in the U.S. and Japan, not even Koreans, had done this kind of work? Well, he'd see when they actually started.
"Good. Then, proceed. The other tools and the basic blueprints are in the vehicle's cargo bed, so take them if you need them."
"Yes, sir."
Park Deok-cheol immediately found a protruding patch of ground and began swinging the pickaxe. With his feet spread shoulder-width apart, his left hand gripping the end of the handle, and his right hand placed two-thirds of the way up—the way he used his waist and lower body’s elasticity to drive the weight of his body into the swing, naturally sliding his right hand down the handle—it was a motion so proficient it could be called a textbook example of pickaxing.
"What is he...?"
Jun-ho just nodded calmly, but Jun-hyeok, who had been watching the scene from beside the electric vehicle, was beyond surprised; he was bewildered. A 21-year-old idol born in the U.S. with a pretty face was that good at pickaxing? But it wasn't just Park Deok-cheol. His younger sister, Park Seon-hui, was also shoveling quite well—no, considering she was a woman, it was unbelievable. Honestly, she was better than most men her age. The way she lightly rested her foot on the shovel blade to scoop the dirt, and the way she scooped just enough to maintain a steady speed without taking too much at once—it was impressive. She even knew how to push, scrape, and pack the dirt with the blade like a pro.
Jo Yu-na lacked the strength and speed of Park Seon-hui, but it was clear she had shoveled plenty somewhere before.
"This is crazy. They aren't idols; they would have been aces if they went to a construction site or a farm. Hyung, where did the Park siblings say they were from again?"
"Dallas, Texas."
"Dallas, Texas... what kind of place is that?"
Jun-ho was also quite surprised, though not as much as Jun-hyeok. He knew Dallas was one of the three largest cities in Texas, so why were kids born and raised there like this? Regardless, Jun-ho evaluated the three, who were showing abilities far beyond his expectations in the "manual labor" he hadn't held much hope for, with a cold, objective standard.
"The drone is up, but you keep a close watch. Make sure they stick to 45 minutes of work and 15 minutes of rest. Feed them well and give them water. Whether they take a nap or whatever, make sure they rest for an hour after lunch."
"Roger that. I'll supervise them properly. You go take care of your business, Hyung."
"Alright."
Leaving the supervision of the three idol laborers to Jun-hyeok, Jun-ho glanced at them as they worked with focus and left the clearing. He had expected it to take two or three days, but it looked like they might finish one vinyl greenhouse by the end of the day.
***
"Isn't it amazing? I was surprised too, but after searching for 'Dolsoe' and the 'Jeom Sisters,' it made sense."
"Is that so?"
Yoon Yeong-su, who had been watching the three work through the drone camera, continued.
"Yes. It's true that the Park siblings were born and raised in Dallas. But their grandfather was a first-generation immigrant who moved there in the 60s, and their father was born and raised in LA. But!"
Yoon Yeong-su quickly manipulated the computer to pull up an old, grainy photo.
"An incident happened here in '92. Yes, the LA Riots. And the Park siblings' grandfather and father were the famous 'Rooftop Koreans' you see here. The LA Korean Vigilante Group."
The Park family, who had been running a restaurant and a beauty salon in LA at the time, had fought for their lives. Fortunately, no one died, but their shops were destroyed and looted, causing massive losses. They eventually received compensation, but the grandfather, deeply traumatized, decided to move away from LA. That was how the whole family ended up settling in the suburbs of Dallas and starting over.
The Park siblings' father met a Korean-Irish woman there, married, and the two were born. Of course, up to this point, it was still hard to understand why the two siblings were so good at manual labor. However.
"The grandfather, who fought desperately in the middle of the LA Riots, developed trauma. So, he obsessively taught his grandchildren everything from firearms to self-defense from a young age. He took them hunting often, and it was a kind of survival training beyond just a hobby. That's how they were raised."
"On top of that, the family ran a small farm and restaurant where they grew their own ingredients, and they ran a beauty salon, so they helped with chores from a young age. They were familiar with tools because of their father, who worked for a construction company, right?"
"Yes. Apparently, if they didn't help with the family business, they didn't get an allowance. Anyway, the siblings' upbringing was so unique that it was briefly a topic of conversation in the idol world. Like, 'Wild Idol'? 'Survival Idol'? lol."
"I see. Well..."
Jun-ho began to understand why Park Deok-cheol, his sister, and Jo Yu-na had survived for nearly two weeks after the infrastructure like electricity and water had been completely cut off. If they had received that kind of training from their grandfather and father since childhood, their chances of survival would have been much higher than the average person.
"Then what about Jo Yu-na?"
"Ah, she's the complete opposite of the Park siblings."
Unlike Park Deok-cheol and Park Seon-hui, who received early survival education from their family, Jo Yu-na's mother's side was a wealthy family that still held onto the customs of the Japanese nobility, the 'Kazoku'. However.
"Calligraphy, piano, flower arranging, tea ceremony, embroidery, sewing, bonsai, gardening... she grew up receiving that kind of noble education, or 'ojousama' education in Japanese terms."
"So how did she know how to shovel?"
"Yes. Apparently, they had a greenhouse at home. She tended it with her mother every day. She attended high school in Japan for a year, and as a club activity, she grew a school garden and raised rabbits."
It was a part that made it slightly understandable why two girls with such starkly different nationalities and upbringings were best friends. The things they had learned and experienced since childhood were strangely similar. They were things that most 1020-generation kids growing up normally in Korea wouldn't have experienced.
"Not bad."
Jun-ho nodded slightly. He looked at the monitor screen, watching the three who had just finished installing the vinyl greenhouse anchors with Jun-hyeok and were now working hard on assembling the aluminum alloy pipe frame. Since the kids were working so well, Jun-hyeok seemed excited and was helping out here and there; it looked certain that one vinyl greenhouse would be completed within two to three hours. Of course, he would still watch them for the full four weeks and keep testing them.
"They're settled for now. How are Han Chang-oh and the Eoktens?"
Yoon Yeong-su quickly pulled up the footage from the high-rise apartment CCTV, the Hanalreum Nursing Home PTZ camera, and the two drones currently out in Gahyeon-ri onto the main monitor.
"The thugs from Han Chang-oh's group have taken over more than half of the townhouses. There are nearly 50 units, and they aren't like detached houses with yards; they're all packed together, so they were discovered recently. There are even more zombies there than in the detached house village."
Because of that, some of the surviving households in the townhouses had banded together. There were about 20 people across five or six households, but since seven or eight men of high school age or older who knew how to use their strength were "preparing," the thugs had temporarily stopped their expansion.
"What about the Eoktens?"
Since the guys he killed were all ignorant thugs, he hadn't even thought to ask, as they wouldn't have known the address of the short-term rental. There was no way guys who had been there for the first time in their lives could have explained the exact location.
"Ah, those bastards are the real problem. You know the guys you killed when you saved the Park siblings and Jo Yu-na? You'd think they'd investigate what happened to them, but they haven't moved since..."
Beep... Beep...
At that moment, a beep sounded, and AI Akina's professional voice followed.
> Scooters, bikes, and vehicles have been detected in the designated surveillance area.
"...! Switch the feed."
> Drone No. 02 is moving to the surveillance area.
The drone, which had been cruising at an altitude of 300 meters, moved at high speed. Soon, electric scooters, bikes, and a famous domestic electric car appeared between "Sang-dong," where two apartment complexes were located, and "Jung-dong," where the local residents lived—an area densely packed with small factories, old-fashioned mansions, and villas. Although there weren't that many zombies since half the area was vacant and abandoned, when 10 scooters, bikes, and vehicles appeared at once, about 50 zombies rushed at them like crazy.
"Whoa? They're good at driving, those thugs."
"That's not what's important. Put a follow on those bastards with the drone. Can you pinpoint where they just came from?"
"Probably?"
At Jun-ho's words, Yoon Yeong-su quickly manipulated the keyboard and mouse. Soon, Akina's voice was heard.
> Estimated location: 143-45-12, Gahyeon-ri, Gado-eup, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do. Error radius: 8 meters. Error probability: 2 percent.
Through VPR (Visual Place Recognition) technology, which Yoon Yeong-su had personally improved upon the original.
"Found them. These bastards..."
Murderous intent flared in Jun-ho's eyes as he finally pinpointed the hideout of the Eoktens, his top priority for elimination.