Chapter 17: Exploration
Having already tasted the mature body of Lee Soyeon, it was time to move on to the younger ones.
When I briefly returned to reality for a rest, what I saw was students in school uniforms. So what thoughts could I possibly have had there?
I needed to give Lee Soyeon some rest and create something new to enjoy.
This was a world where the strong ruled as kings and the survivors followed the law.
With clear goals set, I had to move forward.
Of course, it was never going to be easy.
To be honest, there was no way I could cover 1.5 kilometers without encountering at least one zombie, and the possibility of multiple ones was not something I could rule out.
I started along the road on my electric bike. Sure enough, the moment I veered off the main path, about ten zombies were wandering around.
“Heh heh…”
They were right in front of me. I was crazy to go straight at them. But turning back meant I’d have to do some parkour.
First, I checked the arrow count on my bow. Ten arrows in total.
If I was lucky, I could reduce their numbers significantly. As long as I hit them properly.
I advanced slowly forward, using my body to propel the electric bike.
Those things were wandering between stores and cars.
I wanted to shoot them with my bow without attracting attention, but would it really be that easy?
More than anything, even while passing through the residential area, strange noises were coming from all directions. Of course, they had to be zombies. There was no way people could still be surviving.
Six months had passed since the outbreak, and electricity had been cut for two months. If they hadn’t stockpiled food in advance, it was only natural that they were struggling.
Lee Soyeon had survived by not going out much and stocking up on supplies.
What about the rest?
They either ran away or turned into zombies.
The moment a zombie entered my range, my bow arrow flew straight toward its head and hit true.
The zombie collapsed to the ground with a thud, and I moved a little closer.
“Gya… gya…”
While the zombies’ voices were getting closer, I shot an arrow at another wandering one nearby.
With two shots, I took down two of them. The remaining ones were either farther away or blocked by cars, so they had some breathing room.
“It’s deeply embedded.”
I pulled back the bowstring with force. At that moment, my vision briefly caught the sky and the building ahead.
Something was visible there.
A zombie with a rotten face and one eye missing.
We made eye contact.
The moment that sensation swept through my entire body, the zombie’s mouth opened and my heart temperature rose in tandem.
The window shattered as one zombie fell onto the car.
The resulting enormous noise spread everywhere, and I immediately sensed that I had been spotted.
“Kyaahaaa?”
“Gyaak!”
The zombies rushed toward me one by one.
And the one that had fallen from the car began to writhe on the ground like a wriggling worm, letting out a scream.
The zombies’ voices shifted from confusion to certainty and then to pure beastly rage.
In that instant, my hand moved to the handle faster than ever before, and the electric bike shot forward at full speed.
“Hup!”
But was it too sudden? The bike was shaking violently from the uncontrollable speed.
“Shit!”
Balance was collapsing within the dangerously swaying handle.
That was why sudden acceleration was dangerous.
The moment an oncoming car appeared in front of the electric bike I had been recklessly riding, I braced myself.
With a loud thud, my body slammed into the ground.
“Agh…”
I quickly stopped the electric bike that had spun like a wheel, but footsteps sounded from behind.
I couldn’t stay like this here.
I quickly stood the bike back up and ran. Something rough was already pushing the electric bike from behind.
“Kyaahhaak!”
Even without looking, I could tell a zombie had lunged at me.
At that moment, I urgently pressed the button on the rear seat.
A disgusting sound rang out, and the bike became lighter.
While the electric bike accelerated, a zombie ran right beside me.
It was a real beast.
Its fangs were sharp, and drool dripped from its mouth as it swiped at me.
“You bastard!”
I immediately grabbed a steel pipe in one hand and hurled it.
Recovery would come later. Right now, I focused solely on escaping.
After running mindlessly until the zombies’ voices faded, I finally reached the area where Lee Soyeon was.
I couldn’t show her such a filthy sight. By the way, these zombies were tough.
Four or five of them had followed me all the way here.
But conversely, four or five was manageable.
“Let’s go, electric bike.”
The modifications weren’t for show. Moreover, I hadn’t even tested them yet.
“I can do it. It’s possible.”
The rear wheel blade had been prepared solely for this moment.
I left the four charging zombies behind and charged forward again. My bike began its charge.
Our eyes met with the zombies, and the hellish race had begun.
First, one.
The moment I turned the handle right in front of it, the zombie’s ankle was severed and it collapsed.
Then another one.
I successfully handled this one by turning the handle sharply.
Another one came running like a dog and collided with the bike.
“Ugh!”
But this one was also handled when it was flung away.
Up to the third one.
The fourth one had no time to react. By now, a rotting, decayed-faced zombie had already pounced right beside me.
I flipped over once more and finally faced the zombie one-on-one.
“You bastard!”
It was a wild beast. It writhed and tried to bite my helmet while trying to stab its nails into my face.
“Get lost!”
I struck its face with my elbow and pushed it away with my whole body, but it kept coming back.
It was clearly stronger than an ordinary person.
I pulled out my final weapon, the knife, and stabbed it straight into the zombie’s head.
“Kyaak!”
I stabbed it even harder as it struggled wildly. Once the zombie calmed down, I stood up, leaving behind the helmet with nail marks all over it.
“This is tough.”
I realized anew that catching zombies with a primitive fighting style without traps or fancy equipment required a lot of effort.
How many more would I have to catch?
I felt the need for a gun, but for now, I decided to focus on pioneering.
By reducing their numbers like this, I would be able to reach the school or other places smoothly.
I stood the bike back up, and pain shot through my body.
“Is that natural?”
I had spun the bike twice. Even if it was a vest, there would naturally be aftereffects.
“It hurts.”
But the weapon I had fired needed to be recovered. I fired the bow at the zombies that were wriggling with their feet cut off.
“I need to recover…”
I could hold on. I couldn’t just stop here. Jin Dohyuk, would you give up here? The high school was right in front of me?
After dealing with the wriggling zombies at the recovery point, I met eyes with more zombies.
“…”
“Haa…”
The electric bike had been incredibly busy that day. First, I retreated.
*
The best thing for a wife is to wear a pretty apron and cook for her husband when he comes home.
Having a beautiful appearance was a bonus. Right now, I was waiting for this sight.
A beautiful and kind wife cooking for her husband.
In front of my eyes, Lee Soyeon was grilling spam. Military stir-fried kimchi and meatballs were already on the table in front of me.
Even the fried rice called nasiggeum was there.
This was a feast in an apocalypse where food was hard to come by.
To be honest, I thought the important point wasn’t that Lee Soyeon was cooking it, but rather that she was making it for me.
Lee Soyeon glanced at me while grilling the spam.
“What were you doing that made you so restless?”
“Fighting zombies. I was really struggling with a few dozen of them?”
“You really think it’s possible?”
Her tone was strangely testing.
“Of course. Sorry, but if you provide the materials, I can bring a gun. Then hunting will be even easier.”
“Amazing. A gun is hard to get too.”
Lee Soyeon naturally handed me a plate and sat across from me.
By the way, she said she wasn’t eating because she was tired.
“If you don’t eat, it’ll be bad for your body, right?”
“I’m fine.”
“Now it’s not fine.”
Although a hint of resistance remained, I didn’t bother with it. A few days had passed; I needed to properly subdue her more thoroughly.
“By the way, do you have any bandages?”
“All emergency ones. I prepared them when I was young following my parents.”
“You’re quite old.”
Lee Soyeon had a first-aid kit. Our parents had one too, I think.
“I’m sorry for being old.”
“I’m complimenting you.”
Now, with rice, it was time for a proper meal.
And what I felt now was that Lee Soyeon was speaking without holding back, revealing some emotion.
This was Lee Soyeon in her normal state.
It was different from when I had been mindlessly drinking and passed out. Although she spoke softly, it was the same.
“It’s nice to eat warm food. Especially from you.”
I took a big bite and put the food in my mouth. I tasted the spam and meatballs.
Kimchi? Meat came first, and the rest were side dishes.
I ate mindlessly, and Lee Soyeon’s voice was soft.
“You eat well.”
“Because I’m young.”
“Don’t talk while eating. You’ll drool.”
She really sounded like a mom.
But such conversations were enjoyable to me. Who would have known I would be like this with Lee Soyeon in front of me?
While I ate ravenously, Lee Soyeon didn’t take her eyes off me.
“Why?”
“Just…”
She spoke weakly, then suddenly looked at me sharply.
“How old exactly are you? You’re younger than me, right?”
“You think I’m old? Twenty…”
Two years younger, but by this standard, twenty-four, right?
“Twenty-four. That’s a thirteen-year difference.”
“It’s not like a middle schooler.”
Lee Soyeon dropped a line. And silence flowed between me and Lee Soyeon.
“Were you worried?”
“…”
Lee Soyeon’s face flushed as she avoided my gaze. When I forced it, it was just a meaningless conversation to gain submission, but she had been worried, hadn’t she?
Why did Lee Soyeon suddenly look so cute?
I wanted to pick her up and carry her to the bed right now. But I had to hold back. There was still a lot of time left today.
“Cute.”
“Cute?”
I saw Lee Soyeon’s gaze shake urgently. Honestly, I enjoyed watching that expression.
The look of a beauty in distress.
At the same time, I extended my foot and touched between Lee Soyeon’s legs.
“!”
I watched Lee Soyeon’s panicked expression as she hurriedly closed her legs.
“Spread your thighs a little?”
“…”
“Spread.”
I spoke in a strong tone again, and Lee Soyeon began to relax the strength between her legs as if she had given up.
And my foot leisurely crushed the space between them.
“There, saying something like this now… Eek! But… ah…”
I slowly rubbed and crushed the place that had tormented Lee Soyeon countless times with my foot.
Lee Soyeon, who had been writhing her body, peeked and opened her mouth.
“I’ve been…! I’m much older… a little… attitude… eek!”
“I refuse. If you use honorifics with me, maybe, but I won’t change my attitude.”
“No… that’s funny! Too… haa…”
“I’ll think it’s useless later anyway, right? So remember this.”
Lee Soyeon had a dejected expression. But calling me “noona” was already wrong. She was my possession, and she had to be loyal to me.
For a while, while tormenting her, a slightly damp feeling was transmitted to my toes through her underwear.
“By the way, the goal this time is Seonrim High School. I plan to go there first.”
Lee Soyeon, who had bowed her body in front of me, could no longer speak.
She tried to lower her hand, then suddenly looked at me in surprise.
A good choice.
When I nodded, both hands remained unable to move, gripping the table and letting out groans.
The meal was long over, and from now on it was my own dessert.
After that, for another ten minutes, my toes completed their mission and brought Lee Soyeon’s traces as trophies.
“Haa… haa…”
Lee Soyeon was breathing hard, to the point where she could barely endure.
But she stood up anyway.
“Do you know anything about that place?”
“…”
“Shelters. I heard there’s a shelter at the school. And people who were hunting on the roads… said they were gathering with militias nearby.”
Lee Soyeon wiped her sweaty forehead and stood up with effort.
This was actually good information. No need to panic, and preparation was possible.
I supported Lee Soyeon and kissed her forehead.
“Thank you. Then I’ll go to work, so rest.”
“Yeah…”
Still, I put the well-responding Lee Soyeon to bed and headed back to Seonrim High School.