Chapter 34: No Time to Lie Around
Kim Jun had tossed and turned since dawn, tormented by a burning pain that refused to let him rest.
He couldn’t have slept more than two hours, but the first thing he did upon opening his eyes was lift both hands and test their movement.
Next, he wiggled his toes to make sure his feet still worked.
“Whew~”
Thankfully, his hands and feet moved without issue.
His neck, however, screamed with every twist, and his back throbbed so badly it was hard to even sit up.
“It’s fine. As long as my limbs work, I can get up soon enough.”
A simple fall on the street usually meant two weeks of recovery. Falling from the second floor should have meant at least five weeks.
But he couldn’t afford to just lie there.
He kept clenching and unclenching his fists, bending and straightening his legs, forcing his body to move. That was when he heard a soft knock at the door.
Knock. Knock.
“It’s open.”
With a click and a long creak, the door swung open. Mari flipped the switch for the wireless LED light on the wall, and warm light flooded the room, revealing her figure.
“You’re here?”
“Oppa, let me check on your condition.”
Mari brought her medical kit and began examining him carefully.
When Kim Jun painfully rolled over, she pressed gently on the bruises that had turned from angry red to deep purple beneath the layers of patches.
“Ow!”
“The contusions are pretty severe. It’s going to take some time for these to fade…”
“Do we have enough medicine?”
“I brought plenty of salicylic acid. It should help with the treatment.”
“Salici-what? What’s that?”
“It’s… at the pharmacy they mix it with other ingredients and sell it as Antiphlamine…”
“…”
She could have just said that from the beginning instead of using the medical term.
Mari took out the salicylic acid anti-inflammatory ointment, carefully peeled off each patch stuck to Kim Jun’s body, then applied the cream with meticulous care. She massaged every joint one by one.
Her pale, slender fingers worked over him in a thorough sports massage. Even though the pain made him want to die, Kim Jun gritted his teeth and endured it.
“Now turn over, please.”
When Kim Jun tried to roll over and push his upper body up, every muscle in his body screamed in protest.
Using his trembling hands to grip the bed and rise, he watched as Mari calmly examined his torso as well.
She pressed and kneaded from his collarbone downward. Since both arms moved properly, it didn’t look like there were any fractures.
That was when, beneath the sharp scent of ointment and patches, Kim Jun caught a faint whiff of alcohol on Mari’s body.
Didn’t she say she doesn’t drink?
It seemed she had tried to cover it with morning brushing, but she hadn’t quite erased the smell.
He quietly observed Mari as she treated him with focused silence.
Even though she had come straight from washing up with no makeup, her glossy ponytail, delicate face shape, and warm-toned skin were completely flawless.
Thanks to her diligent massage, his battered body felt noticeably better. She stood up quietly.
“I’ll check on you again later.”
“Ah, okay. Thanks.”
“It’s nothing.”
As she left, a small smile touched her lips. She looked like she was slowly overcoming yesterday’s trauma.
Kim Jun let out a soft chuckle and lay back down on the bed.
He was just about to catch up on the sleep he had missed at dawn when he heard the door to the next room open, followed immediately by a scream.
“Aaaaaagh!”
“Stay still! It’s healed a lot already! Just once and we’re done!”
“Stop poking the wound! Unnie! It hurts like hell!”
Looked like they were treating the cellulitis patient in the next room.
***
That morning, In Ah personally made rice balls and soup, arranging them neatly on a tray and bringing it to him.
After starving since yesterday, he ate with gusto, returned the tray, and lay down again. But the boredom soon got to him, so he asked In Ah for a hand gripper and did some light exercises. He also spent time smoking in the room with an ashtray nearby.
He passed the time that way until lunch, when the restlessness grew even worse.
Around then, the girls outside were busy with cleaning and today’s laundry. Some had even come down from the second floor, making the bathroom and water usage quite hectic. Suddenly, the door burst open.
“Visiting hours!”
“Oh, thanks.”
“Yesss~”
Emily walked in, gave his body a quick once-over, then casually lifted the edge of the bed.
“How’s your body?”
“Feels like I’m dying. There isn’t a single spot that doesn’t hurt.”
“Want me to massage you?”
When Emily sat on the bed and leaned in close, the scent of convenience store perfume hit him strongly.
“Hm? I’ll be gentle, I promise.”
“Ah, never mind. Just open that drawer over there.”
Kim Jun pointed to the drawer under the TV. Emily opened it and rummaged around.
“What exactly are we looking for~?”
“There should be a container with a tiger drawn on it, deeper inside.”
Following his instructions, Emily dug around and actually found a jar of ointment with a tiger illustration.
“Oh? This is it. Tiger Balm.”
The legendary tiger ointment. A cure-all salve supposedly good for bruises, athlete’s foot, and even headaches.
“That annoying girl used to slather this on after practice in the dorm and we’d fight like cats over it…”
“Then give it here. I’ll put it on myself.”
“No way~ I’ll apply it for you as a special service~”
Emily pushed Kim Jun onto his back and opened the tiger balm that he would have hated in the old days.
“I put on the tiger~ sprayed the ointment~ and finally made up my mind~ time to get ready for the showdown!”
“…”
It was clearly supposed to be the lyrics to her old hit song—“I put on the lipstick, sprayed the perfume~ and finally aimed at him, ready for the showdown!”—but she had strangely rewritten it while humming.
Still, she diligently applied it to all his sore spots. The smell was a bit much, but the intense heat it generated felt genuinely good.
“Now~ if I apply this lotion to your chest and stroke down your back…”
“…”
Kim Jun whipped his head around and met Emily’s eyes. She was dressed modestly, shrugging her shoulders with an innocent look.
“I’ve never done anything like that before, you know?”
“…You’re an idol.”
“That was three months ago.”
Emily had apparently already forgotten they used to be top stars. She was the type who would do all sorts of dangerous things if you mentioned her old internet cam days.
In the middle of that chaotic moment, Mari knocked and entered. She froze at the sight of Emily applying the tiger balm all over Kim Jun’s back.
“Oh my! You’re using a different ointment?”
“Ah, Mari unnie!”
Even as she continued spreading the thick layer of tiger balm across his back and waist, Mari muttered with concern.
“This works well, but you really shouldn’t overuse it…”
“I’ll see how it feels today. If it works, this might be better.”
“Then use just a little. How are you feeling elsewhere?”
“It hasn’t even been half a day. Nothing’s going to change that fast.”
Still, the swelling had gone down somewhat, and he was getting used to moving again.
Mari ran a few simple tests before leaving. Once she was gone, Emily whispered quietly to Kim Jun.
“When you were out farming, how was Mari unnie?”
“…Please don’t ask me things like that.”
***
After lying down for several days and moving little by little, Kim Jun finally got up after a full week, declaring that he would endure the remaining pain while working.
The first thing he did was gather everyone in the living room for a meal together.
After that, he resumed the well-digging work he had left unfinished last time.
“Hup! Let’s go!”
“Wow, those muscles are no joke!”
Do Kyung, now fully recovered from her cellulitis, energetically lifted the steel pipe they had connected.
She complained that the scabs on her heels were itchy and kept scratching them, but seeing her full of energy again brought a smile to Kim Jun’s lips.
“Oppa, you’re amazing too. You said you rolled down the stairs.”
“As long as nothing’s broken, it’s fine.”
After finishing the installation of the well pump motor, Kim Jun temporarily attached a rubber hose and prepared to start it up.
Even though he was still injured, he had left the well neglected for too long. Though he wasn’t religious, he drew a cross over his chest and shouted.
“Hit it!”
Gaya immediately flipped the switch. The motor roared to life with a loud rumble.
Whiiiiiiirrrrr—
Water from deep underground was being drawn up through the pipe buried forty meters down.
Everyone watched the results of their hard work with nervous anticipation. The motor installed above shook violently.
Splashhhhh—
“Oh my, it’s coming out!”
“Oppa, water’s coming!”
Kim Jun had already confirmed the water pouring from the hose, but he smiled at the girls cheering behind him.
“Uh… the color of the water?”
The girls who had run over saw that instead of clean fresh water, what came out was pitch-black muddy water. They began murmuring in disappointment.
“It’s normal.”
“What?”
“It’s muddy. How are we supposed to drink that?”
In response to Gaya and Do Kyung’s questions, Kim Jun caught the muddy water in a basin he had prepared in advance and explained.
“When you drive a pipe into the ground and pump water up, some soil naturally mixes in. Of course, we have to pump this out until clean water starts flowing.”
“How long do we have to pump?”
“Can’t say for sure.”
At Kim Jun’s words, the idols who had been helping all this time looked slightly disappointed.
“Hey, hey~ That’s why we made the water purifier in advance, remember? I’ll go up and bring it!”
Without anyone asking, Mari ran up to the second floor and came back huffing and puffing, carrying the purifier they had layered with gravel, soil, and old shirts.
Gaya and Do Kyung rushed over to help her with it. Emily looked around, dumped out the pack of soju that had been in a bucket, and brought the empty bucket over.
“Two of these won’t be enough. We’ll need to make a few more, right?”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Watching the girls take the initiative without being told, Kim Jun couldn’t help but smile.
They brought up unused clothes from the second floor and gravel and soil from the third. Kim Jun cut some wooden planks and made charcoal in an empty drum. What had started as two purification buckets quickly multiplied on the spot.
He didn’t know how much muddy water had accumulated underground, but as soon as water started flowing, they immediately built more purifiers. On a roll, they opened the two rainwater tanks that weren’t connected to the hand pump and inserted the purifiers into the openings.
This way, the muddy water from the well could simply be poured into the rainwater tanks, where it would filter itself as it flowed down.
Thanks to that project, Kim Jun and the girls worked until the sun went down.
“Whew~ That felt good.”
When Emily, her hands covered in soot, shouted in triumph, the others hugged each other, saying they had worked hard, and headed off happily for dinner.
Emily picked up the packs of soju she had dumped earlier and showed them to Kim Jun.
“Drinking party tonight?”
“…Yeah, let’s do it!”
His body was still aching anyway. He wanted to warm up with some strong soju.
Thus, they suddenly prepared for an evening feast. In Ah brought out canned Pacific saury and boiled kimchi stew. Everyone except those who disliked alcohol gathered for a pleasant time.
Mari in particular was surprising. Unlike before, she was adapting to the situation even though she couldn’t handle soju well.
“So you pour two shots like this, add cola, then drop in a couple of ice cubes?”
“It’s not a Jack Coke, it’s a So-Coke?”
“It’s drinkable. I make it often, so I know.”
They had stocked up heavily on carbonated drinks last time, but since they had expiration dates, Kim Jun generously told them to drink them whenever they wanted.
With the cooking equipment they had looted from the bakery, as long as they had ingredients, they could basically run a buffet—minus fresh meat, of course.
“Are we seriously going to spend Christmas here too?”
At Emily’s words, the mood briefly grew heavy until Rana spoke up.
“If we’re still here by then, should we all learn how to grind rice and wheat to make bread?”
“Oh, and catch wild animals, build a farm, and raise them too.”
“Ugh! Are we cavemen now?”
“That actually sounds good? We’d be making new history! Like the Lord God and the Eight Goddesses or something!”
“You crazy bitch, stop reading so many manhwa!”
The three—Emily, Gaya, and Rana—kept joking around, turning the situation into cheerful survival. Kim Jun chuckled softly and stepped outside for a smoke break.
As he lit a cigarette in front of the camper van, Mari soon quietly opened the door and came out.
“Whew~ Isn’t it cold?”
“It’s gotten a little chilly now.”
Kim Jun then checked under the vehicle he had crushed the zombie with and scrubbed clean with bleach last time.
Mari watched him silently.
She sipped the cocktail he had made for her, deliberately stayed by his side, and didn’t smoke. Every time he moved, she stuck close to him.
“Is there anywhere that still hurts?”
“My body’s fine now.”
“Hmm…”
Ever since that day, Mari had chosen to act like “nothing happened.”
Respecting her decision, Kim Jun had never brought it up again.
“Well, there must be other survivors out there somewhere.”
“Emily really thought we were the only ones left.”
Kim Jun stubbed out his finished cigarette on the ground and immediately lit another.
Since the two of them had come out together, there was clearly a lot to talk about.
“I’ll tell the others about it later.”
“No. For now, I think it’s better to keep our mouths shut.”
“!”
Kim Jun had thought about it a lot over the past week as well.
If he told them they had found new survivors, it would definitely spark hope.
But what if the girls also learned that “the survivor they met suddenly attacked them, Kim Jun nearly died, and Mari was almost dragged away and subjected to something horrible”?
Of course the girls would comfort them and share the pain.
But comfort lasted only a day or two. After that, the intense fear of the outside world would linger until this whole situation ended.
Until now, Kim Jun had been steadily taking down zombies one by one with his gun. The quantity and quality of their survival supplies had been improving, and they were in the adaptation phase. If at this point the girls learned that not only zombies but also insane murderers and perverted rapists without laws or morals could appear and that they themselves could become victims, it would be engraved in their minds. In the worst case, some might even panic at the mere thought of riding in the passenger seat during supply runs.
That was why, when checking the girls’ mental states, he had tried to gloss over Eun Ji’s sudden action last time. But that incident had only passed because Eun Ji herself had confessed first, saying she had “drunk water from the stream outside.”
This wasn’t good news, and the person involved was trying hard to remain calm, so he decided to let this one slide too.
“I can overlook most things, but I won’t ignore anything that shakes up the girls.”
“We’re trying too. That’s why we keep switching rooms on the second and third floors to sleep.”
“Yeah. Anyway, about the other survivor issue…”
“Who knows. Maybe later we’ll meet genuinely good people and get help from them.”
“Well, if that happens, we’ll have to share the news for real.”
For now, they sealed the matter. Kim Jun praised Mari for enduring it so strongly.
At that moment, Mari subtly peeked her head around from behind his back.
“You really are like a superhero.”
“No, I got distracted and put you in danger.”
The alcohol Mari wasn’t used to drinking had given her a buzz. She breathed out warmly, tickling his back.
“Come on, let’s go back inside.”
When Kim Jun took her hand, she obediently followed. She kept gently stroking the stomach that had been grabbed by the thugs last time.
Her gaze kept shifting back and forth between the hand touching her lower belly and Kim Jun’s broad back. It looked like she was deep in thought about something.
Unaware of her inner conflict, Kim Jun went back inside and continued the recovery celebration by reheating the cooled stew for round two and cracking open more soju.
***