Different From the Others (2)
"Whew..." Even as he let out a sigh of relief, Jun-ho had to admit that his body wasn't just "a little" strange—it was "considerably" strange. But since it was a good kind of strange, there was no reason to worry, and the fact that he wouldn't become a zombie was far more important. However, there was a separate, unexpected problem.
"I grew taller..."
He had always told people he was 175 centimeters tall—technically 174 point something, but he rounded up. Now, he was 178 centimeters. He had felt something was off because all his clothes felt tight, but he never imagined it was because he had grown. He had been a person whose everything, starting with his name, was the definition of ordinary, but now, at least in height, he had drifted away from the average. Of course, his physical condition couldn't be called "ordinary" anymore, either.
Jun-ho decided not to dig any deeper. Regression itself was an unrealistic situation; he had neither the reason nor the luxury to rack his brain over this phenomenon. To him, the fact that he wouldn't become a zombie was what mattered most.
The basement renovations were completed while he was getting his comprehensive medical checkup and waiting for the results. The basement wasn't that large, and since he had hired several workers, it was finished in just two days. The house had been built very sturdily from the start, and the previous owner had maintained it exceptionally well. Jun-ho felt lucky once again that he had found this place.
The technician who did the work said humidity wouldn't be an issue, but just in case, Jun-ho decided to rent an air conditioner with powerful automatic drying and dehumidifying functions for the basement. Buying one outright would have cost over 2 million KRW including installation, but the rental fee for the same product was only in the 40,000 KRW range per month. Once the apocalypse broke out, it would simply become his anyway, and since they provided regular cleaning and maintenance until then, there was no reason to buy it himself.
While his younger brother, Jun-hyeok, was out at his part-time job, the air conditioner installation was finished, and the CCTV technician arrived. The technician, whom he had met a few days prior, installed the standard CCTV cameras Jun-ho had purchased in advance: one above the main gate, one next to the parking area, and one along the wall. Then, he installed the high-performance PTZ Camera—the centerpiece of the system—on the satellite antenna mast on the roof.
Jun-ho estimated the height and asked, "If you install it at this height, will I be able to see past the alleyway all the way to the main road?"
"Yes. It’s a model that rotates 360 degrees, so you can check everything around this house. In this neighborhood, the houses are either single-story or two-story, so there won't be anything blocking your view."
The PTZ camera handled both data and power through a single cable, so the installation was quick. About an hour after the work began, four surveillance feeds appeared on two 30-inch monitors Jun-ho had purchased separately.
"Monitor 1 is for checking all four cameras simultaneously in a quad-split view. Monitor 2 is for viewing specific cameras like this. Since I've set the PTZ as channel 1, the PTZ feed will usually be the one showing..."
Perhaps because he had sold such an expensive PTZ camera, the technician was enthusiastic as he explained the camera's features, how to use the dedicated software, and precautions before leaving.
Jun-ho operated the PTZ camera as the technician had shown him and examined the monitors. The 6-lane road connected to the alley leading to his house was approximately 120 meters away in a straight line. The PTZ camera showed not only that road but also the apartment complex across from it with crystal clarity. Furthermore, using the zoom function, he could clearly observe the master bedrooms and living rooms of apartments over 200 meters away. Since he had no hobby of peeping into other people's homes, Jun-ho turned the camera to focus on the road.
"Incredible."
He could even see the curved corner area of the 6-lane road, which was over 600 meters away. And that wasn't the end of it. He was told that when switched to night mode, he could identify objects over 300 meters away even in the pitch-black dark. There was a reason a single CCTV camera cost over 7 million KRW.
"If I install several of these around the shelter..."
If he divided the zones efficiently and installed them in a way that surrounded the shelter, he would be able to maintain perfect surveillance, day or night. Just then, a truck appeared on the PTZ camera feed, entering the alleyway toward his house. Impressed by the camera's performance—which clearly showed the company name "Sang-dong Solar Tech," the license plate, and even the driver's face—Jun-ho quickly turned off the monitors and headed out of the basement.
The solar company's truck had arrived.
"Oh? You were already out here. Hello. We're here to install the solar panels."
Two men in work clothes stepped out of the truck.
"Yes, hello."
Jun-ho approached them naturally, exchanged greetings, and said, "Would it be alright if I watched from the side while you install them? I'm quite interested in solar power."
The technician, who looked to be in his 30s, nodded. "Sure, feel free to watch. You can ask if you have any questions."
Perhaps because they were a company connected to the city hall, they were extremely kind. Jun-ho followed the two men around, listening and learning various things. While there was information on the internet, watching a professional technician work in person while hearing their explanations made it much easier to understand.
There were only five panels, so the installation finished quickly. As Jun-ho had requested, they decided to install the 10kW lithium iron phosphate battery and the hybrid inverter in the basement. The technician checked the basement ventilation, securely fixed the inverter to a suitable interior wall, and then connected the various wires one by one. Jun-ho filmed all the work with his smartphone, asking questions and getting answers whenever he had a chance.
After the technician finished installing the ATS box and the small, low-noise household diesel generator, he connected the generator to the inverter's AC input port and said, "This acts to automatically turn on the generator if the main power cuts out. It automatically starts after a 5-second standby and shuts down automatically when power returns. You don't need to touch it separately. It also detects the generator input to charge the battery and sends electricity to the house."
Once the installation was complete, the technician took out a laptop. "I'll enter the inverter settings. I'll set the priority to solar power, then the battery, and finally the generator. And you can also set a timer to use only the battery during the evening hours."
The technician clicked through the UI and finished the settings one by one. Afterward, he flipped the circuit breaker to test for a power outage. After the electricity went out for a few seconds, the diesel generator turned on with a low hum, the inverter screen changed to 'Generator Input Detected,' and the lights came back on.
"Success. Now you won't have to worry even if the power goes out. Oh, and please change the generator engine oil after one month. After that, you can change it once every six months."
After finishing the monitoring system setup on the computer Jun-ho was using, the technician said, "Now, you can see the daily power generation and cumulative generation here. You can also check it on your smartphone."
"Is there a way to view it only offline?"
In the apocalypse, the internet would be cut off. Therefore, Jun-ho planned to have a separate server and run a local network.
"You'd have to set it up separately, but yes, it's possible. You can just connect it to a local server instead of Wi-Fi."
"I see. By the way, with this, I'll be fine even if the electricity goes out completely, right?"
At Jun-ho's question, the technician, who was packing his gear to head to the yard, laughed. "Of course. In the case of your house, you can easily produce about 12kW if the weather is good. Even if it's cloudy or raining, you'll get about 5kW. But you keep the computer off and unplug electronic devices you don't use often, right? Then you usually only use 4 or 5kW of electricity a day. So you'll be fine even if there's a power outage on a rainy day."
"And there's the ESS battery too, right?"
"Yes. Since there's always 7 or 8kW stored in the battery, it won't be a problem if there's a power outage during the rainy season as long as you use electricity sparingly. Plus, since you installed a diesel generator, well, if you just prepare a few large containers of fuel, you'll be invincible. Haha."
"I tend to worry a lot. Anyway, thank you for all your hard work. I appreciate you teaching me all these things."
"Oh, it's nothing. Well, we'll be going now!"
"Yes. Thank you for your hard work."
The truck soon drove away. Having finished the solar power installation, Jun-ho stared at the UI screen on his smartphone and muttered the information he had heard today.
"Use double-sided reflective solar panels and lay down aluminum flooring. And he said efficiency would go up even more if I installed an automatic cleaning robot?"
Of course, he said the cost would increase exponentially in that case. That was why even people who installed solar panels on a large scale to register as electricity sellers usually didn't go that far.
"But I'm different."
When it came to the shelter's power supply and the various equipment and facilities needed, he couldn't afford to worry about cost-effectiveness. He had to choose the one with the absolute best performance and efficiency. In the truest sense, money was not a goal for Jun-ho, but merely a tool.
Vrrrrm! As soon as he heard his phone vibrating, Jun-ho's eyes snapped open. 5:00 AM. His brother, who had come home late after meeting friends yesterday, would still be fast asleep. Still, since moving to this house, he had been waking up between 6:00 and 7:00 AM every morning, so he would probably do the same today.
Jun-ho, who had simply washed his face and brushed his teeth, put on his workout clothes, shouldered a backpack containing underwear and extra workout gear, and left the house.
Tap, tap. After lightly jumping a few times in front of the gate, Jun-ho sprinted down the alley. His destination was Sang-dong, where the gym he had registered for yesterday—which opened in the early morning—was located. If he didn't go directly along the road but circled around Chuni Mountain, it was about 8 kilometers. From the day after he moved in until yesterday, he had only circled the mountain, which was about 4 kilometers. It hadn't been that difficult, and feeling like something was missing, he had intentionally registered for a gym in Sang-dong.
Since the gym his brother Jun-hyeok attended was also in Sang-dong, he planned to work out at the gym starting next month and then go straight to the martial arts gym to learn combat sports.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap...! Jun-ho didn't run lightly like he did when he used to jog around Simgokcheon. 'Didn't the people doing marathons on the internet say that's usually the speed to cover 100 meters in about 20 seconds?' So Jun-ho ran at a similar speed. That was how he had been running around the mountain since moving here.
Jun-ho, who had run in a circle around the mountain along the alleyways where there were almost no people, ran toward Sang-dong along the early morning road where few cars were driving. A few pedestrians who were diligent enough to be out at this hour looked at him with surprised eyes, but he didn't care.
"Hoo... hoo... hoo..."
He just continued to breathe naturally as he ran and ran. Had he run about 5 kilometers? As he entered the Sinjung-dong Station area, Jun-ho felt it getting a little difficult. But it wasn't a level he couldn't endure. Just then, he saw the traffic light at the Sinjung-dong Station intersection turn green in the distance. The distance was about 100 meters. Jun-ho decided to sprint.
Pak-pak-pak-pak-pak! Jun-ho, who had run while taking the cold wind of the late autumn dawn head-on, arrived in front of the crosswalk just as the green light was blinking, and eventually succeeded in crossing before the signal changed. Feeling strangely good, Jun-ho continued running at his original speed. After running for about 10 more minutes, Jun-ho arrived at the gym building.
When he stopped his smartwatch timer, the record was 30 minutes and 28 seconds. Satisfied that he had broken the 30-minute mark, Jun-ho climbed the stairs, thinking that at his current level, he might be at the level of an amateur marathoner.
Jun-ho was ignorant. He didn't know that the information he had gotten from the internet was the average for a professional marathoner, not an amateur. He didn't know that for most amateur marathoners, a "sub-4"—finishing within 4 hours—was a source of pride and a goal. He didn't even suspect the fact that at his current level, it might be possible for him to finish a full marathon course in under 3 hours, or perhaps even in the 2-hour-and-30-minute range.
In many ways, Jun-ho was now completely different from others.