Chapter 19: Dull Days Indoors
Kim Jun hadn't gone out for farming or looting lately.
There was simply no need to, with all the supplies they had stockpiled. It wasn't a joke—ever since the last looting run with Emily, their two refrigerators and two kimchi refrigerators were packed to bursting with retort foods and canned goods. They even had enough spare clothes to fill an entire room.
Even if they never left the house, the nine of them could easily survive for three months just eating and sleeping.
For now, Kim Jun focused on dealing with the food that was about to spoil, planning to head out again once they had more space.
That led to the nine of them constantly bumping into each other in the house. They'd watched all the movies they could stand, and now they were hitting that raw, primal wall of boredom.
"This is fucking bullshit! There's nothing to do~!"
"Knock it off."
"Ugh, I'm dying of boredom!"
Among them, the one rolling around the most was the blonde beauty, Emily.
At first she'd been singing "Sex! Oh sex!!!" but now she was singing about how bored she was.
She spent two hours every day on the treadmill and stationary bike to generate electricity, which only made her thighs and ass even more firm and bouncy. Lounging around in an oversized t-shirt and leggings like that, she looked downright tempting.
Anyway, the current crisis was that now that they had enough to eat and survive, the stress from sheer boredom was starting to build up.
It was that strange feeling in the apocalypse—where food and shelter were secured—that time itself seemed to have stopped. Kim Jun had already worried about this exact situation.
While racking his brain for something to do, he rummaged through the master bedroom drawer and found something.
"Whoa, shit! This was here the whole time?"
He'd thought of it as his own personal hideout, but technically it was still his grandfather's room, filled with the old man's belongings.
While cleaning out the wardrobe, he'd discovered a set of Hwatu cards and a deck of playing cards.
Kim Jun let out a small chuckle as he picked them up. He'd lived here all this time without knowing they existed. He headed over to the girls with the cards in hand.
"Hey, everyone gather up!"
Since there was no looting or farming outside of meals, the top stars had all been zoning out in their own ways to kill time. They all came together at his call. Kim Jun pulled out the two decks.
"You guys all have those military blankets I gave you, right? Anyone here know how to play Hwatu or poker?"
For girls who were bored enough to die, this was the perfect toy.
"Whoa, are we playing Go-Stop or poker?"
When the oldest, Gaya, asked, the ones who knew how to play turned out to be Mari, Do Kyung, and In Ah.
When it came to the playing cards, Emily, Nanika, and Rana stepped forward.
In that situation, Eun Ji didn't belong to either group, but she said she knew the rules and quietly took a spot as an observer.
"Alright, we don't have money or chips. How about we bet on wrist flicks? Sound good?"
"Yeah, let's do it."
"If anyone calls out the wrong hand, I'm really gonna smack them, okay?"
"Then set the rules from the beginning!"
The girls got excited right away, and Kim Jun smiled as he watched them.
As expected, card games were the best way to make time fly—especially mixing Eastern and Western styles.
Watching them bet on wrist flicks among themselves, Kim Jun realized that just spectating was fun enough, and the time really did pass quickly.
As they played, the girls eventually started sharing stories from their past.
"This reminds me of the old days. You girls were really blessed to live that celebrity life."
"What? What do you mean?"
Gaya chuckled as she played her Hwatu card.
"Remember when we first joined as trainees? They put us in this abandoned house way out by the highway. There was nothing there—no water, no electricity. When it rained, the ceiling leaked."
"…Isn't that basically imprisonment?"
Kim Jun, who had been listening from the side, chimed in. Gaya shook her head.
"The company president said we needed to stay away from society's temptations, so he found us that place. We practiced dancing and singing all day. We were only allowed to use our phones for exactly thirty minutes after breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Curfew was eight o'clock sharp."
Minus the phone time, it sounded exactly like a military barracks for an independent company.
They endured three years there, spending their youth in that place, before they were finally put into a debut group. Even after that, they were constantly running around doing events and schedules.
"Living like this suddenly reminded me of that leaking ceiling whenever it rained."
Listening to Gaya's story, Mari, who had been playing cards with her, spoke up.
"I… studied nonstop at school for six years without a single day off. Then on top of that, I had to study acting, so it was like starting a whole new set of studies, you know?"
"Right. Mari, you were in medical school, weren't you? What was actually studying to become a doctor like?"
"Well… for the first two years it was basic biology and stuff, then it moved on to practical training and clinical education."
As Mari spoke, Do Kyung shouted "Go!" but everyone was too absorbed in the story to notice.
"During anatomy practice, the cadavers never had their mouths fully closed. Unlike on TV, they'd be slightly open like 'heh~'. If you pressed on them with your finger…"
"Ugh, that's horrifying!"
"Eek!"
Even though Mari said medical school had been hell, she kept spilling all her med school stories.
"One time during clinical rotation, I saw my first emergency patient. It was a motorcycle accident. The ambulance had been racing for thirty minutes… and the leg was completely shattered into three pieces…"
"Uwaaack—"
"They were going to amputate that crushed leg, but it turned out the on-duty trauma surgeon was Dr. Dent. Miraculously, they didn't have to cut it off. Though he was left with a disability."
Listening to the story, Kim Jun chuckled.
"I saw plenty of broken bones and smashed limbs during my time in the military."
"Ah, right. You were a soldier, weren't you?"
"If you'd stayed in, would you be leading troops around hunting zombies by now?"
Thinking about it, it probably wouldn't have been that different.
These delicate flower-like girls might not have seen it, but he could have played the war hero surrounded by the sweaty camaraderie of his comrades.
As the stories kept flowing, the girls had already played several rounds, and their wrists were turning bright red.
"Ha, one more round!"
When Do Kyung raised her finger, Gaya, Mari, and the others shrugged and picked up their Hwatu cards again.
"Tung!"
Gaya skillfully shuffled the cards while Mari, Do Kyung, and In Ah checked their hands.
From the side, loud cheers suddenly erupted.
"Uahahaha! Kyahahahahaha!!!"
"Holy shit! This is total bullshit!"
"Did you see that? Ace full house! I could've stripped you down to nothing but your panties!"
"Are we really taking clothes off?"
"What~? No way. We're not into that kind of girl-on-girl stuff."
While playing poker, Emily had pulled an ace-high full house and completely cleaned out Nanika and Rana.
The girls split between Eastern and Western card games, happily playing among themselves.
If they could just endure it like this, it seemed like they could shake off all the stress that had built up.
Except for one person.
"…"
Joo Eun-ji.
The leader of the group Eighteen.
She had also been a regular character on Girls Spirit, the show Kim Jun used to watch religiously, and was his favorite member.
But now she didn't fit in anywhere. Like Cinderella, she quietly did all the chores by herself. After realizing what Kim Jun had done with the other idols, she kept even more distance.
On top of that, she barely smiled in this situation, never shared anything about herself, and simply watched in silence.
Seeing her like that, Kim Jun quietly stood up.
"…Eun Ji."
"Yes?"
He took Eun Ji, who had answered in a dry, emotionless voice, and decided to do something with her.
"If you don't have anything to do, want to work on a project together?"
"Yes, let's do that."
Eun Ji stood up without hesitation and followed Kim Jun obediently.
***
Once they were outside, Kim Jun rummaged through the storage shed, looking for materials to make something.
"I know I put it somewhere around here…"
"…"
Meanwhile, Eun Ji silently cleaned up the messy pile of junk in the shed.
There were all kinds of tools, along with motors and pumps whose purposes she couldn't even guess.
She also noticed the military ration boxes they'd eaten last time, along with salt, vinegar, honey, and water jugs. She felt relieved knowing that the food supplies weren't just stacked neatly on the second and third floors but were tucked away in every corner.
Well… he must have had some confidence in his preparations if he brought all of us here.
Then she spotted the used condoms they'd found in abundance inside the camper van and thought of Emily.
That girl really does live life however she wants. Whoever seduced who first, if both of them are happy with it, it's not my place to judge…
At that moment, Kim Jun, who had been digging around for a while, finally found what he was looking for.
"Aha! There it is."
"!"
What Kim Jun brought out was a wide wooden plank, along with a saw and a metal ruler.
"Let's go outside and make this."
"Ah, okay."
Kim Jun handed the large wooden board to Eun Ji.
"You've got sandpaper over there, right? Sand down all the stains so they're not visible."
"Ah, sandpaper… isn't this just called 'bae-pa'?"
"Same thing. If you keep rubbing in one spot, you'll get blisters even with gloves on, so switch hands often."
"…Yes."
Eun Ji silently followed Kim Jun's instructions, sanding the plywood until it was clean and smooth.
Meanwhile, Kim Jun used scissors to carefully cut hardboard into identical sizes.
"Oppa, I'm done."
"Good. Then let's switch."
Kim Jun brushed the dust off the cleanly sanded plywood, then picked up a marker and ruler.
"You see the pieces I cut earlier? Stack three of the same size together and glue them with wood glue."
"Yes."
Kim Jun placed the ruler against the plywood and drew straight lines with the marker.
"Let's see… this size should be fine. Nine squares horizontally, ten vertically. Chariot, Elephant, Horse, Advisor, General… and Cannon."
What Kim Jun was making was none other than a Janggi board—Korean chess.
Even though Hwatu and poker were great for killing time, they needed variety like this to prevent depression and stress from building up in the future.
They had secured clothing, food, and shelter—everything necessary for survival—but people couldn't live on just that alone.
Next time I go looting, I should look for some toys.
With that thought, Kim Jun carefully drew out the Janggi board.
He then took the hardboard pieces that would become the game pieces—thickened by layering them with glue—and split them into two groups.
"Red or green? Which do you want?"
"Red, please."
Kim Jun drew the Chinese characters for the Han and Chu sides of Janggi on the remaining hardboard.
"Alright, just copy these in regular script. For the smaller ones write it like this, and for the bigger ones like that."
"…Ah, yes."
Eun Ji silently did as she was told. During the entire process, they didn't exchange a single word of casual conversation.
But working together in quiet diligence, they quickly put together a decent-looking Janggi board and pieces.
Finally, to create a satisfying clacking sound when the pieces hit each other, they finished the pieces with a coat of varnish.
"All done! Good work."
"Yes, Oppa."
"Do you know how to play Janggi?"
"No."
Once again, silence… but then Eun Ji slightly lifted the corners of her mouth and said,
"If you teach me, I'll give it a try."
"Sure."
It was the first time he'd seen any reaction from her. Kim Jun grinned.
***
That night.
Clack!
"Checkmate!"
"What the hell? When did that get there?"
"It's not just checkmate, it's a total trap! Since it's the King's Game, that means three hits, right? Forehead out! You're a volleyball player, so make it count!"
"Hey! Were you really there? Sis, did you move the piece?!"
Loud, chaotic voices echoed from the living room. Meanwhile, Kim Jun had set up a small table in the sliding door room and was sharing drinks with the other girls.
"She picked it up pretty fast once you taught her, huh?"
These days, most kids didn't know Janggi, and many didn't even know the rules for chess, so he hadn't been sure. But it looked like they were already about to start a league.
"Huu~ Janggi, huh… My seniors used to play it a lot. We'd be dead tired, but to stay awake we'd bet coffee on Janggi games."
Mari took a shot of soju as she reminisced.
"I know a bit about shogi instead of Janggi, but… you probably can't make that, right?"
"Shogi? Japanese chess? Hmm, I could make it if I tried."
"Ah, no! It's fine. I'll just learn Korean Janggi."
Nanika waved her hands, thinking she was causing trouble for Kim Jun.
Gaya leaned lightly against Kim Jun while drinking soju, as if the current atmosphere felt good. Kim Jun quietly stroked her hair.
"Hmm~ Is Gaya unnie sending signals today?"
"H-hey, you really say whatever comes to mind…"
Gaya jumped in surprise at Rana's direct attack.
Unfortunately, someone who only talked a big game had no idea what it was like to go bareback.
"Still, this atmosphere is really nice. It feels like we're all on vacation at a remote villa."
"Does that make me the villa caretaker?"
"Kyaha! Is that how it sounds?"
Everyone burst into giggles under the influence of the alcohol. To Kim Jun, they all just looked lovable.
At that moment, the door opened and Eun Ji came in.
Her face looked much brighter compared to earlier in the day. She placed the snacks she'd made herself on the drinking table.
"Instead of eating cup ramen as snacks every time, how about trying these?"
"Whoa? Amazing!"
She had coated canned Pacific saury in flour and deep-fried it, opened a can of whelks, boiled somen noodles, and made a whelk noodle dish using vegetables from their farm.
"You made this yourself? This is awesome!"
"All the side dishes so far… In Ah and I have been the ones making them."
"Oh right! That's true. Unnie isn't really the cooking type."
Anyway, today had a street food stall vibe as they tried Eun Ji's homemade snacks.
"Mmm, the fried saury is really well done."
The outside was crispy, the inside moist. Dipping it in soy sauce mixed with mustard was perfect.
"The whelk noodles are incredible too."
"Mmm, that sweet and sour flavor is exactly my taste."
Kim Jun held out his glass toward Eun Ji, who had gone to such lengths.
"Want a drink?"
"…"
Eun Ji seemed like she might keep her distance again.
But she quietly accepted the glass.
"Just one drink."
"As many as you want!"
It seemed like her heart was slowly beginning to open up.
Meanwhile, from the living room came a loud cry.
"N-no way?! Why is the Elephant there…"
"Checkmate. Emily unnie?"
"Hey, Seo In Ah! Take it back! Just take one move back!"
Earlier Emily had been jumping for joy, but now it seemed In Ah had caught her in a trap.
"Girls! Play Janggi a little quieter!"
And so, with their new toys, the girls spent the day having a lot of fun.