Chapter 107: The Importance of Vigilance
Today's dinner was more anticipated than any other.
Everyone had been shocked to hear that Eun Ji and Mari had gotten hurt after running into a wild boar during their scavenging run, but the boar meat dishes they brought back soon brought peace to the group.
Sizzle—
Scrape—
"Whoa~"
The beautiful girls marveled at the sight of the meat sizzling in the frying pan.
At that moment, it felt nothing short of miraculous.
"This is pork collar, and this is the samgyeopsal everyone loves."
"I've been dying for some samgyeopsal!"
As the meat grilled with a mouthwatering sizzle, hearts appeared in Emily's eyes.
"We'd have been in real trouble without Kim Jun oppa and Eun Ji unnie."
"But how'd you even spot the boar?"
"I heard this weird noise, so I grabbed my slingshot and peeked out the side door, and there was a boar that had wandered into the factory!"
"Oh my?!"
Mari recalled the events even with gauze taped to her cheek.
And Eun Ji, who had been at the heart of it all, quietly spoke up.
"That boar was huge. Like the size of a car."
"No way~ Boars aren't that big."
"It was. I thought it was a bear at first."
"Guess those YouTube videos were spot on with the size..."
"Boars get massive! Some are as big as grizzlies."
It had been a life-threatening situation, but since it was a beast rather than a zombie, it felt like a tale they'd tell for the rest of their lives.
And as Eun Ji, who had faced the greatest danger, naturally spun the story, Mari chimed in.
"I tripped over a tree stump trying to dodge the boar and tumbled. That's when Kim Jun oppa saw it and fired right away. But it didn't go down."
"Oh! And then?"
"Eun Ji unnie spotted it while getting out of the car, threw an oil bottle at it, and zapped it with the taser spear. Then it burst into flames!"
"You actually did that?!"
"We nearly died."
"Whoa... Creature Hunter!"
As Emily and Gaya kept asking questions, and the other girls' eyes sparkled with growing excitement, Kim Jun quietly flipped the meat to cook evenly.
In the meantime, In Ah headed to the kitchen with mushrooms from below, green chilies, perilla leaves, lettuce, and various other vegetables she'd picked.
She took out gochujang and doenjang from the fridge to make ssamjang, then paused.
"Kim Jun oppa got so pissed he grabbed an axe and smashed the boar three times."
"Ooh! Barbarian!"
"And the boar was still alive after that. Total zombie. A zombie!"
At that moment, Eun Ji quietly said to Mari,
"We took down a real zombie too."
"...Huh?!"
Mari scratched her cheek, realizing her metaphor had backfired, and touched her wound.
"Ow, sting!"
"Anyway, what about you, Mari? Of all places, your face..."
"I'm fine. Just a scrape."
It was just an abrasion, and with antibiotics and dressings at home, the scab would fall off in about a week and heal nicely.
"What about you, Eun Ji unnie? Didn't it bite you?"
"Not me—the clothes."
Eun Ji pointed to her torn sweater, brushing it off like no big deal.
"We'll know more tomorrow. If anything hurts after dinner, I'll ice it."
"Nah, have Jun oppa do it."
The human body throbs even from a minor fender-bender in a car; this was from a boar trampling over her.
They'd have to see where it ached come morning.
"Kim Jun oppa twisted his ankle too..."
"I put a patch on it. Good enough."
Kim Jun replied coolly, then used tongs to grab the fully cooked meat and snipped it with scissors.
Sizzle— sizzle—
He gave it one final sear as fat bubbled up, tossed in kimchi and stir-fried it, then announced to everyone,
"Alright! Dig in!"
At Kim Jun's words, they all grabbed chopsticks and savored a pork feast after months without.
"Mmm~♥"
"Hot hot— whoosh! So hot!"
"This meat is so good."
Each wrapped fresh perilla leaves or lettuce—still damp from rinsing—with kimchi, mushrooms, and sliced onions, dipping in salt and ssamjang. Happiness peaked in that moment.
Kim Jun, sitting last after prepping everything, plated some sliced meat just for In Ah.
"Here, try it."
"Roast boar... I had it once as a kid."
"It's delicious! A bit chewy, but still!"
"Bet it'd be great as seasoned pork too."
In Ah took a bite at the others' urging, smiled silently—100% meaning it was delicious.
Despite the insane events of the day, with the fridge now stocked with pork and firewood, they were simply content.
"We got tons of arrowroot too, so I gotta grind and dry that."
"What for?"
"Tteok or naengmyeon."
"Whoa, naengmyeon..."
Rana, munching a piece of meat, casually remarked,
"Nothing beats naengmyeon for dessert after meat!"
"Oh, I want naengmyeon!"
In Ah, after a hearty wrap, said,
"Then we'll make some. We have naengmyeon from the supermarket, right?"
"Yeah, let's do it!"
As the younger ones ate, Eun Ji started to rise quietly, but Gaya grabbed her arm.
"You worked hard today. I'll boil the noodles."
"Gaya unnie, you can't just boil them right away—you have to..."
"Got it~ Just enjoy the meat."
With today's heroes—Kim Jun, Eun Ji, and Mari—seated, Gaya and In Ah went to make dessert naengmyeon.
Rana and Nanika, sensing the vibe, soon joined to help their unnies, while Do Kyung pre-grilled meat ahead for when they returned.
"What if we run out later—gonna hunt more?"
"Hey, Emily."
"I'll go next time! I tagged along on Grandpa's hunts plenty."
Kim Jun pictured Emily in that situation: she'd charge in weapon-first like Eun Ji and get hurt.
"Boars rip people apart."
"I can rip too."
Watching Emily mercilessly slice Do Kyung's grilled boar with tongs, Kim Jun could only laugh.
Soon, dessert naengmyeon made with kimchi fridge dongchimi broth arrived, and Kim Jun cracked open a bottle of soju, passing glasses around.
That night, as they ate, laughed, and enjoyed together, everyone drifted off happily.
"How's the foot?"
"Almost better. You, Eun Ji?"
"Still icing it."
Breakfast was kimchi jjigae with leftover meat.
As Kim Jun soothed his stomach with the meaty stew, he prepped the next scavenging run as his body recovered.
"Next, gotta hit a scrap metal shop."
"For warehouse shelves?"
Kim Jun nodded at Mari's question.
"We'll leave the rice as-is but set rat traps for pest control. Then loot some drums nearby for an oil storage tank."
The idols nodded, figuring another big project was coming.
"With you and Eun Ji hurt, we'll handle house stuff for a bit."
"How about a full deep clean today?"
"Huh?"
Eun Ji suggested quietly over breakfast.
"The rooftop room's laundry area and bedding storage are full of junk. Tool shed's a mess too."
"Hmm~"
"Might as well sort it into storage units and toss the useless stuff, right?"
"Yeah, let's do it!"
Kim Jun rarely went to the rooftop, packed with previous tenants' abandoned items, but hadn't cared. The idols using it just for sleep had let it slide too.
"Gotta build new storage anyway—let's sort all the junk."
"New Year's deep clean."
Perfect way to start the new year.
"Catch!"
Kim Jun carried cut plywood to the rooftop, assembling wooden crates on-site and handing them over. Do Kyung took them inside.
"We can clear out everything in there?"
"Yeah, nothing of mine."
At Kim Jun's words, they emptied the laundry and bedding storage—finding all sorts of junk.
"Broken toy car."
"That family raised two kids. Toss."
"Photo album, but empty? Moldy too."
"Trash it."
"Clothes... ew, the smell!"
"Hey! Bag those! Could use as antifreeze covers later."
"Got it. Rana and Do Kyung, used clothes here. Gaya unnie, plastics."
"Okay!"
Under Eun Ji's direction, the deep clean progressed smoothly.
Kim Jun watched, assembling more plywood crates with nails and passing them along.
The rooftop junk got sorted that way. Downstairs, Mari, In Ah, Emily, and others cleared rooms and items.
Useless junk: plastic and metal scraps.
"Can't even recycle this stuff. What now?"
"Like this."
"!?"
As Gaya and Do Kyung wondered, Kim Jun lit a torch and burned it.
Plastic flared black smoke, mixed with bolts, nuts, glass shards.
Kim Jun stirred the molten goo like taffy with a spatula and hoe, then chopped it.
"Wrap in wire later for slingshot ammo."
"Ooh, really?"
"Once it hardens, I'll demo."
Kim Jun supported from outside amid tasks. The eight girls finished by evening.
Dinner: more pork, plus quail prepped Korean-fried for Rana.
New year overflowing with meat—abundant days.
"New Year's bar after so long?"
"Suddenly craving cocktails."
Kim Jun assembled the living room bar table for Eun Ji's bar after ages.
Though tired and wanting rest, she quietly set up drinks at his request, then fetched steeped liquor from storage.
"Shall we crack this?"
"O~"
Dried jujubes, ginkgo, acorns, chestnuts from Deokwon Mountain runs with In Ah—jujube liquor they'd never opened.
"Fitting for New Year's."
"Okay! Cheers!"
Eun Ji uncorked and poured into wine glasses; Kim Jun passed one to her.
"Tasty?"
"Mmm~ Well-aged."
One glass became two, two became three—a subtle jujube-scented session.
Soy-braised boar roast paired perfectly.
As drinks flowed, talk turned natural.
"That was too reckless."
"My call in the moment. Sorry."
"Nah. I'd have charged otherwise."
Boar talk led to personal insights.
"Getting along with the others lately?"
"Eh... I was shy."
"That outfit comfy?"
Not that cold, yet Eun Ji layered long sleeves indoors. He asked gently; she shook her head.
"Just privacy."
"Hmm~ Been curious awhile."
"Eh. Not a big deal."
"..."
As tipsiness built, Kim Jun said to her flushed face,
"Nice vibe like this? Hic—"
Eun Ji rose quietly at his hiccup, fetching something from the fridge.
"Those arrowroots from before. In Ah boiled 'em into tea."
"O~ Thanks."
Kim Jun gulped the chilled arrowroot tea to settle his stomach.
"Time to clean up."
Eun Ji, buzzed too, exhaled deeply, sipped tea, and slowly cleared dishes.
Watching her wobbly solo cleanup from behind, Kim Jun chuckled—then caught her as she lost balance and slumped.
"Eek!?"
Embraced from behind, Eun Ji flushed hotter amid the alcohol.
"Rest a bit?"
"!"
She caught his meaning indoors; her eyes narrowed.
"Thug..."
"Huh?"
"Haa~ That what you want?"
"Well..."
Supported by him, Eun Ji sighed long, fiddling her braided hair.
They'd grown closer over time—or so he'd thought. Her sudden seriousness felt like distance again; awkward.
Then she whispered right in his ear—one word.
"!"
Her reddened cheeks as she quietly asked,
"Okay?"
Kim Jun's heart pounded.