Raiding the Junkyard
Kim Jun readied his gun to fire on the spot, while Rana in the passenger seat moved to open her window.
But at that exact moment, a heavy impact slammed down onto the roof of Kim Jun’s camper van.
THUD! THUMP!
“What the hell?!”
Rana, who had been opening the window, jolted at the sudden blow from above and smacked her head against the dashboard.
Kim Jun shouted immediately at the banging noise coming from the roof.
“Do Kyung! Don’t open the window!”
Rattle—
“?!”
“I-I just closed it!”
At the fear in Do Kyung’s voice from the back, Kim Jun slammed the gear into reverse and pulled back fast.
Right then, a clattering sound rang out as a zombie tumbled and rolled across the front windshield.
“Eek?!”
The scream slipped out before Rana clapped both hands over her mouth.
The area ahead was a sea of blood, and as the vehicle reversed, the zombie’s origin became clear.
[LIEN ENFORCEMENT IN PROGRESS]
It had fallen from an old, abandoned building where a half-torn banner fluttered in the wind.
The zombie wore a red vest with [STRUGGLE] printed across it. As it staggered, trying to rise again, Kim Jun spun the wheel, leveled his revolver, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The zombie dropped with a single shot to the head.
Kim Jun hit the horn to check for any more above, just in case.
BEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!!
He deliberately blasted the sound loud. Tension coiled through him as he readied both pistols, eyes scanning the roofline for more zombies.
Before long, they began to shuffle forward.
“Uuuuurgh… uuuuurgh…”
“They’re coming!”
Kim Jun spotted zombies approaching from the front, crossing over the shopping district, and readied his weapons.
“Keep the doors shut! I’ll handle every last one.”
“Ugh…”
Rana and Do Kyung huddled tight, fear radiating off them.
In a situation like this, it was honestly better. Unlike Eun Ji or Emily—who would insist on opening the doors to help because they thought they could see the angles—it was safer for these two to stay low and stay quiet.
Bang— Bang— Bang— Bang—
He dropped every zombie he saw. When the first revolver ran dry, he instantly drew the second and kept firing.
Luckily, none of the runners appeared, which made the fight far smoother than it could have been.
Click—
After burning through both revolvers, he pulled out the shotgun. Only three or four zombies remained.
Kim Jun aimed and fired, dropping them one by one with single clean shots.
Click— Bang!
Once all four were down, he stopped the vehicle and scanned carefully for any that might still be twitching.
“Watch the front for me.”
“Yes, oppa!”
Kim Jun opened the console box and checked their ammunition supply.
“Revolver rounds… I really can’t afford to burn through these.”
The bullets they’d taken from the Sinreung-myeon police station were visibly dwindling. Still, he couldn’t carry empty guns, so he loaded what he had. At this rate, though, the revolver would soon join the air gun on the shelf.
For now, he loaded a single revolver and stowed the rest back in the console. He also checked the shotgun’s slugs and loaded a mix of buckshot alongside them.
There was no longer any point saving special ammo. Whatever he had, he would use.
Once the firearms were ready, Kim Jun wiped the windshield clean with the wipers and eased the camper forward.
The junk shop was just ahead. He wanted to get clear of this corpse-choked area first, then inspect the vehicle properly.
After finally escaping the back alleys of the traditional market, Kim Jun stopped the camper on a bridge overlooking the stream.
“Wait here. I need to check the outside of the car.”
He stepped out first. Through Do Kyung he retrieved the sprayer and bleach from the rear compartment, then climbed onto the roof.
The bloody smear where the zombie had landed stood out starkly across the middle of the roof-box carrier.
“Ugh…”
This was a first. A zombie dropping on top of them like that.
Part of him wanted to rig the roof with knives or spikes as a trap, but he decided to clean it off now and think about it properly once they were home.
After spraying bleach and scrubbing away the traces, Kim Jun climbed down, lit a cigarette, and stared at the stream below the bridge.
Last time, Eun Ji had caused a huge scene after drinking that water. But since then he’d seen survivors from Sinreung-myeon and other places using it out of necessity.
If things ever stabilized, he thought, he should set up some traps and fishing rods here. Catch whatever fish might still be alive.
Of course, that would only be if the situation grew truly desperate.
“Hoo— Let’s go.”
Kim Jun flicked the cigarette butt to the ground, climbed into the driver’s seat, and started the engine.
After clearing out that pack of zombies, the road ahead was mercifully quiet. Only a few scattered undead appeared in the far distance.
Rana and Do Kyung finally relaxed in the back. When the camper jolted along the narrow, sloping alley, they gripped the handles tightly, eager to reach their destination and start looting.
Fifteen minutes later the vehicle stopped. A massive mountain of scrap metal rose before them.
“Whoa~”
“There’s a place like this?”
They followed the one-way slope inward. Tucked inside a thick stretch of forest sat a junk shop, flanked by a variety store truck and what looked like an old electronics repair shop.
Calling it an electronics shop was generous. It was packed with junked appliances—useless CRT televisions and ancient refrigerators stacked outside like tombstones.
Kim Jun followed standard procedure.
Before looting, he stopped the vehicle, laid on the horn, and gave himself time to smoke a full cigarette. Only then did he step out slowly.
He circled the nearby buildings, confirmed nothing dangerous lurked, then let the two women exit.
“Rana, keep watch. Do Kyung, come with me. We’re looting the junk shop.”
“Yes, oppa!”
Rana raised her crossbow and scanned the perimeter while Kim Jun and Do Kyung stepped inside the shop.
Slate tiles, mold-covered discarded clothing, burst sacks of wastepaper, and rusted scrap metal that looked like it would give you tetanus from a single scratch filled the space.
Kim Jun searched for anything useful. His eyes landed on the wire mesh at the entrance. Even after all this time it remained sturdy, and the PVC coating had kept its internal condition decent.
“Do Kyung. Let’s cut this down and take it.”
“Huh? Oh… this?”
“Hand me the nippers.”
Do Kyung pulled the tools from her waistband that Kim Jun had told her to carry. She tried cutting with a pair of nippers, but the mesh was too thick.
“Ah, damn. Guess we’ll need the bolt cutters?”
Even with all his strength it was slow work. At this rate it would take half the day.
They decided to look for other useful items inside the shop instead.
“Oppa, what about these?”
“Take them.”
Do Kyung found a basket overflowing with screws and nails and claimed it. Next they gathered axes without handles, hammers, and other metal pieces that could be turned into tools back home.
“There are so many drums, but where’s the jack… There it is!”
Kim Jun spotted the tool and taught Rana and Do Kyung how to use it while they stood outside.
“Watch. Roll it like this and position the drum in front.”
“Mmm?”
“See this latch? Hook it onto the rim of the drum, then step here with your foot…”
Screeeeech—
The jack lifted the drum and locked it in place. Kim Jun dragged it slowly toward the camper.
“That’s how you use it.”
“Ooh…”
“Your turn.”
“Yes, oppa!”
While Kim Jun hunted for empty drums, Do Kyung worked the jack and ferried them one by one. Every drum inside was empty. Later they could cut the lids off or install faucets—versatile containers.
Kim Jun kept hauling drums out with Do Kyung’s help while Rana searched the electronics shop beside them.
She had just picked up a portable DVD player that looked decent when something suddenly glinted inside it.
“What the hell!!!!!”
“?!”
Click!
Kim Jun sprinted toward the scream coming from the electronics shop.
A black shadow burst out, brushed past him, and fled.
“Kyaa?!”
“Fuck! What the— Aah~”
The strange creature that had been hiding inside the shop had leaped out in front of Rana, shoved past Kim Jun, and now bared its sharp teeth.
Grrrr— Grrrr—!!!
“Hoo…”
It was a raccoon.
Thankfully it hadn’t bitten or scratched Rana—its teeth and claws were clean. After growling threateningly for a moment, it bolted when Kim Jun raised the shotgun, vanishing from sight.
“Ugh… What was that? A dog?”
“Raccoon. You didn’t get bitten, right?”
“Ah, no. It charged straight at me but didn’t scratch me.”
Rana still looked uncomfortable. She kept tugging at the clothes the creature had run across and sprayed hand sanitizer liberally over the area.
“Find anything good in there?”
“This… Can I take it?”
What Rana held up was the portable DVD player.
It had been popular years ago for fishing trips or campsites, but after smartphones and tablets arrived it became a useless gadget—something you kept but never used.
“Just that by itself isn’t much.”
“There were tons of movies in boxes inside.”
“Then take them too.”
“Yes!”
After that, Rana and Kim Jun thoroughly looted the electronics shop.
Coffee pots, electric grills, rice cookers, microwaves, warming cabinets—anything of useful size, even if they already had some at home, went into the camper van.
The bulky items quickly filled the vehicle. While they were loading, Do Kyung found something besides the jack.
“Oppa! Look at this.”
“Huh? Where’d you get that?”
Do Kyung brought over a bolt cutter, slightly rusted but still functional.
“It was with the drums.”
“Perfect. We’ll use this to cut that wire mesh.”
“Got it!”
Finally, Kim Jun used the bolt cutters to slice through the junk shop’s fence, rolled it up, stowed it in the carrier box, and called an end to the day’s looting.
Once they returned home, Kim Jun set the new items outside. The freshly acquired DVDs led to an extended movie session with the girls.
“Oh~ They’ve got the whole series?”
“Crazy, how old is this movie?”
“They have this one? I’ve been wanting to watch it.”
These were films you could watch with one click on any OTT platform, yet experiencing them one by one in analog felt refreshingly new.
That night they used precious electricity to watch movies, and everyone was absorbed in the stories. Kim Jun quietly slipped away to his room.
He spent time cleaning his firearms, performing maintenance on his gear, and taking care of personal tasks. The day slipped by quickly.
It was already past one in the morning. As he prepared to sleep, he decided to have a quiet glass of soju before bed and stepped outside.
“!”
A light glowed in the dark night. When he went to check, he found Rana.
“Not sleeping?”
“Shh!”
The others had gone to bed after watching, but Rana sat alone, playing a movie on the charged portable DVD player.
“This is part two, then part three…”
She was completely immersed in a franchise superhero film that had dozens of installments. Kim Jun opened the kitchen fridge, looking for soju and snacks.
Rana, watching the screen like a firefly in the dimness, quietly approached him.
“Oppa…”
“Yeah?”
“Can we watch it together inside?”
“…”
“I’ll get the snacks ready.”
At her suggestion, Kim Jun nodded. It had been a long time since he’d watched a superhero movie. The corners of Rana’s mouth curved upward in a small, satisfied smile.