Chapter 40: Grace and Virtue
After packing two generous loads, Kim Jun stepped back and opened the door to the opposite vinyl greenhouse.
While In Ah checked first and cautiously slipped away, Kim Jun stood with his back turned to the monks deep in Zen meditation and quietly spoke.
“Sorry for just taking these. Things are what they are right now.”
The Old Monk said nothing, but the sturdy monk beside him replied.
“We need tools to light the furnace. If you happen to have any, sir…”
At that moment, Kim Jun pulled several lighters from his pocket and set them on the ground.
“I’m leaving these lighters here.”
“Heh heh heh. If the crops you’ve taken today aren’t enough, please come back in three days. We’ll leave some vegetables grown at the temple in front of the greenhouse.”
“Head Monk!”
Even now, the Old Monk offered to provide more if they ran short, saying he would leave crops there in three days.
Kim Jun had not fully lowered his guard, but he noted the three-day mark and left the area for the time being.
As he hurried down the mountain with In Ah, the heavy double bags slowed their descent.
Even then, Kim Jun kept glancing behind him, half-expecting the monks to follow.
In Ah, completely unaware of the tension, hummed cheerfully the whole way down.
“We really met some wonderful people. I go to church, yet here I am receiving gifts from Buddhists.”
“Hmm…”
“This is the first survivor we’ve encountered, right? We should tell the others.”
“I’ll handle that.”
Everyone except Kim Jun and Mari would see this as their first contact with other survivors and feel a surge of hope.
When they reached the camper, Kim Jun and In Ah loaded the two double bags of vegetables into the rear compartment, climbed in, and started the engine.
“Survivor monks living in the mountains…”
Since he was already out, Kim Jun decided to loop around the roads near Deokwon Mountain.
It was an impulsive patrol—circling the temple area to see if anything suspicious stood out.
That was when a column of zombies appeared ahead.
“Oh my?!”
“Hmm…”
Ughhh… Graaahhh…
The zombies shuffled slowly toward Deokwon Mountain, following the scent of blood and completely blocking the road.
There were about ten of them, mostly wearing work clothes or hiking gear. A small excavator sat idle at what looked like a nearby construction site.
Looting that equipment would be a huge score, but reckless action was out of the question.
“Still, I should pay for the vegetables we received.”
If left alone, the zombies would climb Deokwon Mountain straight toward Jeongto Temple. Kim Jun turned the vehicle, lowered the window, and thrust the barrel out.
As if declaring they would never reach this far or climb the mountain, he pulled the trigger.
Ting— clack—
When lead pellets weren’t enough, he mixed in slug rounds. Before drawing the air pistol from his coat, Kim Jun picked the zombies off one by one with precise long-range shots.
In Ah watched nervously from the passenger seat. When the eighth zombie dropped, she clenched both fists. The moment the final two fell in quick succession, she accidentally shouted “Nice!” and earned a sharp rebuke from Kim Jun.
In the end, the road ran red with blood and became blocked by zombie corpses.
The dead would melt away in a few days, so he decided to check back then. It was time to head home.
Back at the house, Kim Jun immediately opened the rear door and lifted the safely stored vegetables with both arms.
They had finished looting earlier than expected, so everyone greeted them warmly. The sight of the fresh mountain greens, cabbages, radishes, and more packed to the brim left them awestruck.
“Holy crap, jackpot!”
“You gathered all of this?”
“Did you raid a whole farm? Where did all this come from?”
It was a scene you would never see outside a variety show—bright young idols in their early to mid-twenties getting emotional over cabbages, mugwort, radishes, and acorns instead of money or jewelry.
After finishing the day’s looting, Kim Jun stepped outside for a short rest while the girls prepared to process the vegetables.
Flick— hiss—
When he reached Warehouse No. 2 with a cigarette between his lips, the smoothly running well pump motor and the mountain of rice stacked behind it brought a smile to his face.
They had gone through two bags so far. At nine mouths, this stock would easily last several years.
Seeing such abundant food, Kim Jun stretched, feeling deeply reassured, and headed back inside.
There, the eight girls were already washing and trimming the vegetables they had brought.
“Okay~ tomorrow we’ll make kimchi. For now, let’s prepare some side dishes with this mugwort, wild chives, and lettuce.”
In Ah made the wild chive sauce her grandmother had been famous for, a quick lettuce-and-onion salad, and washed the mugwort thoroughly before adding it to the soybean paste soup.
It was a late dinner, but the first time since Eun Ji’s birthday that the number of side dishes had more than doubled. As promised earlier, Kim Jun quietly told In Ah.
“Let’s make bibimbap with the washed ingredients.”
“Yes! I’ll portion it so everyone can serve themselves!”
Thus, with mugwort soybean paste stew and various seasoned greens, they enjoyed a bibimbap feast mixed with gochujang and sesame oil.
When they ate the mixture of water parsley, shepherd’s purse, spinach, and lettuce together, they all felt genuine happiness in this place and shared a warm meal.
That evening they held a modest gathering with the whiskey from the convenience store and talked about the day’s events.
“They were monks?”
“Incredibly generous people. The greenhouse was packed with cabbages and radishes. We were digging them up when we suddenly ran into them.”
“There really are other survivors!”
“Yeah! If we keep searching for people one by one like this, it’ll work out!”
As the girls’ hopeful thoughts spun wildly, exactly two people could not watch the scene comfortably.
“Oppa, so you’re going back in three days?”
“…”
Kim Jun did not answer In Ah’s question right away.
The monks had clearly told them to take as much as they wanted. They had even said to return in three days if it wasn’t enough.
In a world where every scrap of food mattered, he should gladly go receive it. But because of ‘that incident,’ he knew people could be far more terrifying than zombies.
Mari also smiled awkwardly, hiding her true feelings as she chimed in about “the first survivors we’ve met.”
“So, should we go check one more time?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to go? Even if we start farming on the first-floor shops, it’ll take a long time.”
“And winter is coming soon.”
They needed to move for survival, yet Kim Jun alone sat quietly sipping whiskey and simply listening to the girls’ conversation.
Noticing the heavy atmosphere, Eun Ji let out a soft sigh and said.
“I’ll go with you.”
“?”
“In Ah is making kimchi with what we brought today, so she’ll sit this one out. I’ll go instead.”
“No. I’ll go again this time.”
“There’s no need.”
At that moment, Emily pointed at Do Kyung.
“Eun Ji unnie, if we’re carrying heavy loads anyway, why not send her this time?”
“…”
“R-right! I really haven’t gone outside alone yet! Oppa, let me go!”
Do Kyung raised her hand, pushed forward by the others.
It was heartening to see the girls willing to act, but Kim Jun had to consider it carefully.
He looked steadily at Gaya, who was in charge of the girls while he was away.
“Um, should I go? I’ve gone out the most to gather supplies here, after all.”
“Well… actually, I haven’t been outside yet either…”
When even Nanika quietly raised her hand, it was clear she too had never ventured out.
Rana simply shrugged as if she would do whatever she was told, while In Ah waited hesitantly for a decision.
With all eight girls volunteering after seeing the survivors, Kim Jun made up his mind.
“Fine! We’ll do it this way.”
Flick— hiss—
Kim Jun stepped outside, lit a cigarette, and began preparing his plan for three days later.
This time he would take two companions instead of one.
Eun Ji would ride in the passenger seat. Do Kyung would stay inside the camper with weapons and a scope, ready for any unexpected situation.
If the monks provided fresh vegetables as promised, he would accept them gratefully. If not, the two sharp-eyed women would spot any trap immediately and they would withdraw.
He was confident they would not lose in a direct fight. For the worst-case scenario, he had the air pistol, the axe, and the nut sling that had proven so useful before.
“Monks living nobly in the mountains…”
Eun Ji, who had followed Kim Jun outside and joined the three-day team, muttered to herself before speaking softly.
“Now that I think about it, they seem like they could hold out well.”
“Hmm?”
“Drinking well water, farming in an uninhabited mountain, living and eating inside a temple… Even if electricity is cut, they’d only need one candle for their practice, right?”
“That’s true.”
“If they feel mentally overwhelmed, they can chant sutras to calm their hearts. With little connection to the secular world, the risks are low too.”
“You know a lot. Were you a Buddhist?”
“I went on a lot of temple stays.”
Eun Ji stopped there and looked toward Warehouse No. 2.
“They say generosity comes from a full storehouse. They must have quite a stock themselves.”
“From what we saw, it looked like there were more than two people.”
At Kim Jun’s answer, Eun Ji nodded, her expectations for the next looting trip rising.
Do Kyung, who had been quietly listening to the pair, spoke cautiously.
“Um, oppa. I really don’t know the outside situation, but…”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“Do you really just drive along, shoot zombies with a gun, push forward like that… Is that how it works?”
“Pretty much.”
“…”
Despite her athletic build, Do Kyung flinched at the description, already showing fear.
“But since oppa will be there… it’ll be safe, right?”
Eun Ji answered for him.
“It’s safe. I’ve been out twice, so I know.”
“…”
Eun Ji patted Do Kyung’s shoulder and reassured her that she would do fine. Kim Jun finished his cigarette and prepared to head back inside.
For the next three days the girls made kimchi with the cabbages and radishes they had received.
Kim Jun also went around the property, repairing anything that needed fixing.
After hearing the power seemed a little low last time, he checked the heating panels and solar batteries, serviced the vehicle batteries that were running low, and tuned every diesel and gasoline camping generator.
Afterward he organized the rainwater tank and applied lubricant to all the joints to prevent rust, focusing entirely on facility maintenance.
Just because it wasn’t a looting day didn’t mean he could sit idle while the girls cooked.
Later, while generating electricity on the cycle and treadmill inside the house, he watched the girls pounding cooked cabbage in a rubber basin and chuckled.
“I’m not sure this will turn out well.”
“Whatever it becomes, we need it, so we have to make it.”
Though they had cabbage, radish, salt, and red pepper powder, they substituted the missing ingredients with what they had—using soda instead of plum extract or pears, and the broth from canned saury instead of salted seafood. The result was cabbage kimchi, cubed radish kimchi, and dongchimi.
“Ah~ I want bossam.”
“…”
Everyone flinched at Emily’s sudden remark.
“You wrap freshly made kimchi around boiled pork, take a big bite—then wash it down with a glass of makgeolli!”
“Where are we supposed to get meat? Should we hunt a wild boar?”
“Hmm. If we hunt it ourselves, would the meat be safe from infection?”
“Try it. I won’t stop you.”
“I’ll cheer you on. Just don’t die.”
Gaya and Do Kyung spoke coolly. Emily sighed as if the mood had been ruined and peeled off her rubber gloves.
That evening’s dinner was satisfying, filled with freshly made kimchi geotjeori and countless seasoned vegetable dishes.
After the kimjang kimchi had begun ripening nicely inside the kimchi refrigerator, the promised three days arrived and Kim Jun prepared to move.
“Everyone ate well, right?”
“Yes. We can leave right away.”
Eun Ji remained as calm as ever, while Do Kyung sat in the rear of the camper, nodding with an anxious face.
The camper was loaded with supplies. Kim Jun stepped firmly on the accelerator, heading toward Jeongto Temple.
Having eaten lunch and departed in the ample afternoon hours, the group minimized contact with zombies on the route they had already cleared once.
Do Kyung screamed from the back seat every time she saw the corpses of zombies they had killed scattered along the roadside, but Eun Ji comforted her from the passenger seat, and they somehow reached Deokwon Mountain.
“Whew.”
With a tense expression, Kim Jun stroked the shotgun beside him.
He still didn’t know whether this was a trap or genuine mercy.
The man once called a humanist for trusting people so readily had brought two companions as backup just in case.
They arrived at the entrance with the [Deokwon Mountain Neighborhood Park] sign where he had gone up with In Ah the day before.
And there, both Eun Ji and Kim Jun opened their mouths at the same time.
“Huh?”
“Oh my?”
“W-what is it? What?”
Something waited at the exact parking spot where they had gotten out yesterday to forage.
Boxes were stacked high. Before stepping out, Kim Jun grabbed his gun.
Eun Ji, following his orders, scanned the surroundings. If she sensed even the slightest presence, she would blow the whistle immediately.
With his gun raised and aimed at the mountainside, Kim Jun used one hand to tear open the top of the nearest box.
What he saw made his mouth fall open once again.
Inside were freshly harvested vegetables.
A box filled with cabbages and radishes. The next contained zucchini, leafy greens, water parsley, yam, arrowroot, and more.
The following box was packed with bean sprouts, mung bean sprouts, soybeans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other staples.
Seeing the enormous quantity, Kim Jun was speechless. He looked around but sensed no presence whatsoever.
“…”
At Kim Jun’s quiet gesture, Eun Ji stepped out holding her cane.
She too stared blankly at the boxes overflowing with vegetables before speaking.
“Is this truly the Buddha’s grace?”
“Did I… suspect them for nothing?”
“It’s understandable. In this situation…”
For now, Kim Jun loaded everything and opened the camper’s rear door.
He called the startled Do Kyung outside and together they stored all the vegetables in the warehouse.
“What… what is all this? Are these the vegetables the monks promised? Oh my god…”
Seeing the wide variety of fresh produce, it was clear they would be able to eat plenty of fresh vitamins.
“Do Kyung.”
“Ah, yes, oppa!”
“Let’s bring out what we have inside too.”
Feeling ashamed for having doubted them when their kindness had been genuine, Kim Jun decided to repay the favor willingly after accepting everything.
That evening.
“Head Monk, I can go alone.”
“Heh heh heh. Two is always better than one.”
The Old Monk and Seong Jeong were descending Deokwon Mountain by the light of a single oil lantern rather than an electric lamp.
After the previous encounter, they had willingly offered their remaining vegetables to the survivor Kim Jun’s group. Worried it might be difficult for them to come all the way, they had left the boxes at the entrance.
Even with the possibility of zombies appearing, the Old Monk remained calm while Seong Jeong moved to protect him at all costs.
“Head Monk, look over there!”
“Heh heh heh. Did they not take them?”
The Old Monk shook his head, thinking the vegetable boxes they had stacked were still there.
“Head Monk, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Those are not the items we left.”
“Hmm?”
As they drew closer, they saw that where they had placed their own vegetables, different items were now stacked.
Two bags of unpolished rice piled beneath a straw mat, two cans clearly labeled ‘kerosene,’ and a first-aid kit filled with various emergency medicines.
“Head Monk, this is…”
“It seems we have received a great donation from believers guided here by the Buddha.”
The Old Monk clasped his hands and offered a benevolent smile and bow toward the spot where the items had been left.
Thanks to this, they would have the fire and fuel they needed, and they could feed rice instead of cabbage soup or raw vegetables to the believers inside.
* * *