The Farm Idol and the Survival Idol (1)
“Boksagol, that place… most of the survivors are elderly, right?”
“Y-yeah, that’s right. There are about thirty people, but half of them are over seventy, and the rest are mostly women and children….”
“Seok-ho, you son of a….”
The man next to him ground his teeth at the only man in his forties, who was called Seok-ho. It seemed he was furious that Seok-ho had so carelessly revealed information about the Boksagol survivors to an outsider.
“Ah….”
Jun-ho looked between the flustered Seok-ho and the other men from the youth association and said, “I know what kind of neighborhood Boksagol is. I have no intention of raiding you, so you can worry or not as you please. Anyway, if you go the opposite direction from where you came, over there, you’ll find some water deer.”
“Excuse me…?”
To the bewildered men of the youth association, Jun-ho said calmly, “Large wild boars that you can’t take down with your air rifles often appear there, so it’s dangerous.”
“Ah….”
“And do you see that mountain over there?”
“The rocky mountain? If you cross that, you’ll reach Gahyeon-ri, right?”
It seemed they called the mountain behind the shelter the ‘Rocky Mountain’ because it was particularly full of boulders when viewed from this side.
“Yes. Never cross that mountain. Gahyeon-ri is currently crawling with thugs and delinquents. If you cross it for no reason and get caught, both Yeongho 2-ri and Boksagol will be in danger.”
“I-is that true?”
“Why would I lie to you? That’s why my colleagues and I never cross that mountain and only hunt in this vicinity. If you get caught by them, you’re dead. They’re the type of guys who kill everyone—adults and children alike—on sight. And they kidnap the women.”
Hearing that even this person, who looked like a ‘special forces operative’ who had just subdued them, didn’t even think about crossing the mountain, they were stunned.
“Crazy… we would’ve been in real trouble if we had kept going.”
“Whew, thanks for letting us know.”
The men of the Boksagol youth association, who had come out hunting to feed meat to their surviving families and neighbors, nodded with terrified faces.
‘Good. Now there’s no chance of them wandering into the safety zone.’
Jun-ho put on a sympathetic expression and asked, “But do you really need meat that badly?”
“Sigh… well, even if we can manage, the elderly and the children can’t just live on grass.”
They were likely their own parents or children.
“Then, how about this? I’ll give you what I caught. I caught two, but we only really need one. We’ve already stocked up on a few over the last few days.”
“……!”
“R-really? Is that for real?”
The eyes of the Boksagol youth association men went wide.
“Yes. It’s a hassle to carry both back anyway. I’ll just give you one. Let’s go.”
“T-thank you! Thank you so much!”
The men, who had been depressed just a moment ago, stood up with bright faces and bowed repeatedly.
And so, Jun-ho led the men of the Boksagol youth association to the spot where the water deer carcass, which the shelter’s turret had disposed of early that morning, was lying. It was a ‘win-win’ situation: it was convenient for him to easily dispose of the wild animal carcass that he didn’t need, and they got free meat.
Moreover, the hunting ground Jun-ho had just pointed out to them was a route that residents of other villages in the northeast of the shelter’s ‘safety zone,’ including Yeongho 2-ri, might potentially approach. If they were to hunt wild animals like water deer frequently, they would naturally monitor or ‘eliminate’ other villagers or outsiders approaching that area in advance.
‘It’s like killing two birds with one stone without lifting a finger.’
Just like Gahyeon-ri and the Hanalreum Nursing Home to the south of the shelter, the north now had Boksagol. One more defensive barrier and early warning system had been added around our shelter and the safety zone.
***
“So you’re saying Yangjin New Town is a mess too?”
“Yes. A lot of people died. Or they turned into zombies. As you know, that place is different from Yeongho 2-ri, right?”
At Jun-ho’s grave words, the men nodded repeatedly.
“That’s true. There are lots of apartment complexes and tons of people.”
“Plus, a lot of young people live there, brother. Doesn’t that mean the zombies are all fast, too?”
“I suppose so. We were lucky because the first ones appeared near the village hall, so the elderly were bitten first, but…”
The ‘Alpha’ of Yeongho 2-ri was the owner of the old supermarket right next to the village hall. It had finished mutating inside the supermarket early in the morning. The problem was that since it was a holiday, the elderly, having nothing to do, had visited the village hall from the morning, and the tragedy began because everyone had a habit of stopping by the supermarket.
Instead of running away from the zombies, quite a few of the elderly had voluntarily entered the supermarket and died or turned into zombies. And the elderly who lived and worked in the countryside were not all physically weak or ill. Since there were many people in the countryside who were still spry enough to be classified as ‘youth’ until their mid-sixties, Yeongho 2-ri had been completely devastated, centered around the village hall and the supermarket.
However, Boksagol, which was in a remote part of Yeongho 2-ri, had only been affected at the households near the entrance of the village, and thanks to the efforts of the youth association members, including the youth association president Kim Yong-cheol, who wore a Saemaul movement hat, over half of the people were able to survive.
“That’s right. That’s why it’s even more dangerous.”
While the youth association president Kim Yong-cheol and the only man in his forties, Ju Seok-ho, were busily butchering the water deer by a small stream, Jun-ho, having heard the stories of Yeongho 2-ri and Boksagol, shared information about Yangjin New Town and other areas he had observed with the PTZ camera as if he had ‘experienced it himself’ in return.
“I see. Oh my…”
“There’s nowhere to go, nowhere to go.”
“Our neighborhood is a mess too, so that place must be even worse. Anyway, thanks for letting us know, Mr. Jun-ho.”
“Don’t mention it. I just told you what I saw.”
Jun-ho disguised himself as a survivor who had barely managed to escape from the outskirts of Yangjin New Town. He claimed he had served in a special unit in the military and had been active in a survival club for a long time, making him very knowledgeable about firearms and survival. He also said he wasn’t alone, but was staying with the local hardware store owner, the pharmacy owner, and a few other members of the same survival club.
“We’re doing okay with food, but we were short on meat. As you know, in this situation, you need to replenish your protein to keep your strength up.”
“That’s right. That’s why we came out to catch even a water deer or a rabbit.”
“Yes. So if you just patrol around here, you’ll be able to catch water deer often. Roads are dangerous, so never travel on them. Only use the path you came with me on.”
Jun-ho brought them through ‘shadow areas’ where it was difficult to observe with the outpost’s PTZ camera, making it sound as if it were a path he and his colleagues had pioneered. Thus, the men of the Boksagol youth association would now patrol that area, monitoring for wild animals like water deer or wild boars, as well as outside intruders, and would eliminate them first.
If there were thirty survivors in the village, they would go hunting at least once a week, and perhaps they might even send a couple of people to stay there daily to protect their ‘territory.’
“Thank you, thank you. Oh my, the world has gone to ruin, but I never expected to meet such a decent person like Mr. Jun-ho.”
“Don’t mention it. Everyone has survived through such hardship. Even if we can’t help each other, we shouldn’t be killing each other to survive.”
“Indeed!”
“The young man is a hundred percent right.”
The men of the Boksagol youth association looked at Jun-ho with eyes full of admiration and nodded repeatedly. Not only did he not kill them, but he had readily given them a precious(?) water deer. On top of that, he had shown them a hunting point they could continue to use and even shared news from outside, such as Yangjin New Town and Gahyeon-ri. The Boksagol youth association men had come to trust Jun-ho completely, even regarding him as a benefactor.
“By the way, do you happen to know anything? I know about Yangjin New Town and Gahyeon-ri, but I have no idea what happened to other places.”
“Other places? Let’s see…”
Youth association president Kim Yong-cheol, who had told Ju Seok-ho to wrap up the butchered meat, approached while shaking his water-washed hands, then snapped his fingers.
“Ah! We don’t have to worry about rice, but are you short on rice over there?”
“Well, that’s true, but is there some?”
They also had tons of rice piled up in the low-temperature and ultra-low-temperature warehouses, but you could never have too much food.
“There is. You know the Nonghyup Warehouse in a corner of Yeongho 1-ri over there?”
“The Nonghyup Warehouse?”
“Yes. But since it was built early this year, it’s not even on the map. Anyway, there are dozens of tons of white rice and unpolished rice there. But we already have enough rice to eat for three or four years. And the road to get there seems too dangerous, so we don’t even think about going there.”
“……!”
It seemed he had hit the jackpot. Of course, there was plenty of rice in the shelter, but that was the share for the shelter’s residents. For Jun-ho, who wanted to bring all of Gahyeon-ri under the shelter’s influence, grain that could be consumed for a year or two before a population of hundreds or thousands could start farming in earnest was absolutely necessary. So he had identified a few Nonghyup warehouses in Namyangju marked on the map in advance, but the problem was that they were all somewhat far away, taking 20 to 30 minutes by car.
“How long does it take to get there from here?”
“It takes about 4 or 5 minutes by car, but since we can’t drive anymore, we’d have to walk, right? Then it would take about 30 minutes.”
Then, if he drove from the shelter to Gahyeon-ri and took the road heading that way, it would be around 10 minutes.
‘It’s impossible right now, but…’
After clearing out Gahyeon-ri, it seemed he would be able to use that newly built Nonghyup warehouse somehow.
“Thank you. But it will be difficult for now.”
“It’s okay if it’s a bit late. What was it called? Anyway, it was built with some cutting-edge construction method, so it maintains a temperature below 20 degrees without electricity. Since it was built not long ago, even the people of Yeongho 1-ri don’t know much about it.”
“I understand. Then, shall we get going now that you’ve packed all the meat?”
“Let’s do that.”
With bright expressions completely different from when they first met, the men of the Boksagol youth association carried the butchered water deer meat and started walking.
Thirty minutes later.
They arrived at the place where they had first met Jun-ho and expressed their gratitude to him once again.
“Oh my, thank you so much for today.”
“Don’t mention it. Anyway, we aren’t exactly overflowing with supplies either, but if we need something or have leftovers, let’s trade.”
“Ah, that sounds good.”
“But today is a bit difficult. How about we meet here at this time once every fifteen days? Or once a month? We can trade goods, and if you happen to hear any news about Yeongho 1-ri or other neighborhoods, please pass it on to me.”
“Let’s do that. Then, in what way…?”
“We keep dogs too. Let’s send the dogs first to check, and then have the people go.”
“That sounds reasonable. But, this guy Ddori is fierce, so if he sees another dog…”
“Our dog is similar to me. He should be fine with that guy.”
“I-is that so?”
Kim Yong-cheol, who saw Ddori still hiding behind his owner, unable to look Jun-ho straight in the eye, nodded.
“Well, this is a connection, so please take this too.”
“Oh my, why all this…”
“Whoa? Aren’t these medicines and bandages? There are even antibiotics!”
“Oh my, thank you! Thank you so much!”
When he handed over the first-aid kit pouch he always carried, Kim Yong-cheol and the men of the Boksagol youth association were extremely grateful, and they parted ways after agreeing to meet here again in fifteen days.
Thus, Jun-ho succeeded in turning the people of Boksagol, who might have become uninvited guests and hostile neighbors to our shelter’s safety zone, into friendly forces and free volunteer sentinels. Furthermore, he even found out the location of a Nonghyup warehouse nearby. With one water deer carcass that the shelter didn’t particularly need and one first-aid kit out of the hundreds he had, he had gained significant benefits.
- Wow… I knew it when you were seducing me, but I think you would’ve hit the jackpot even if you had been a con artist, boss. That’s why the women are also… oops!
“What are you talking about?”
- It’s nothinggg.
“You’re so dull. But what about the Park siblings? Are they hiding well?”
- Yes. They dug something like a bunker under the rock, and the two of them are hiding really well. They really are survival idols, as you said.
“…….”
Although they didn’t have any particularly great skills, the idol siblings Park Deok-cheol and Park Seon-hui seemed to definitely exceed the average in stamina, work ethic, and ‘survival ability.’
***
“Ah, is that so? Then are you going to keep trading with those people from now on?”
“Trading?”
At Park Deok-cheol’s words, Jun-ho tilted his head.
“Ah, business, no, trade.”
“Ah, exchange.”
“Yes, yes. That exchange.”
“We’ll see. But what does that have to do with you?”
“…I-it has nothing to do with me. I’m sorry.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Put on the A-frame carrier. We have to keep working.”
“Yes, sir.”
Park Deok-cheol, who had been feeling awkward, quickly shouldered the A-frame carrier loaded with barbed wire, and Jun-ho turned his gaze to Park Seon-hui.
“……!”
He felt suspicious at the sight of her glancing at him and then being startled when their eyes met, but Jun-ho just let it be and said, “They say it might rain tomorrow during the day or evening, so we have to get a lot done today. It might be a bit tough, but you can do it, right?”
“Yes! I-I can do it! Because I’m a farm idol and a survival idol!”
“…Yeah.”
He wondered why she was acting like that all of a sudden, but since he had heard from Yun Yeong-su about the conversation the siblings Park Deok-cheol and Park Seon-hui had about him, Jun-ho knew that she was just trying to prove her worth by working hard, even though she was scared of him, and wasn’t someone trying to gain something else.
However.
Jun-ho had no idea that Yun Yeong-su hadn’t conveyed a ‘minor part’ of the siblings’ conversation at all.
‘I should give them some meat for dinner today.’
He didn’t know that because of that very reason, Park Seon-hui thought he was a fan of Psyche Flare, and perhaps even her ‘personal fan.’ Thinking that if they finished the barbed wire installation work well today, he would give them seasoned pork ribs—her favorite Korean BBQ—as a special treat, he shouldered his A-frame carrier and started walking.