No Peaceful Days
From the very first hours of morning, a major accident shattered the peace.
The sound of heartbroken sobbing—“Waaaah… sob! Hwaaaang!”—echoed alongside frantic knocking that dragged Kim Jun out of sleep. The moment he stepped outside with a groggy face, the tragic scene before him jolted him wide awake.
Rana and Nanika were being supported by Do Kyung and In Ah, both girls soaked in blood.
“What the hell! What happened to them?”
“Oppa! Sob… huuu…”
The instant Rana saw Kim Jun her tears burst free again. Behind her, Nanika was trying to hold hers back, but her body was covered in cuts and scrapes. Kim Jun immediately set about preparing hot water and disinfectant.
Mari grabbed the medical kit without a word and led the two into the inner room to begin treatment. The other girls, startled by the commotion, crowded around in confusion and worry for their injured younger sisters.
While Mari worked inside, Kim Jun headed straight out. From the veranda he could see the trail of bloodstains leading down the stairs between the second and third floors, along with an overturned basket of vegetables that had spilled everywhere.
“Ha…”
Eun Ji, who had been cleaning the rooftop room and hurried down, was already wiping away the bloodstains and gathering the scattered vegetables.
“Looks like they slipped right there. I hope they didn’t hurt themselves too badly…”
“What?”
“That spot’s been bothering me for a while now.”
Eun Ji pointed to a place on the stairs where the paint had peeled away. When Kim Jun climbed up to inspect it, he immediately understood exactly why the girls had fallen and tumbled.
“Ah, this is seriously dangerous… How did I never notice this?”
The staircase was the only path connecting the second and third floors. Years ago, after a leak in the second-floor ceiling, the entire stretch from the rooftop room to the stairs had been coated in waterproof paint. It prevented leaks during the rainy season, but time had turned the surface slick and polished—treacherous underfoot.
They had been going up and down freely without thinking about it, but the morning fog had left the painted stairs damp. The two girls had slipped, rolled, and ended up badly hurt. One of them had lost a slipper in the fall; the sole was worn smooth from long use.
Imagining how much worse it could have been, Kim Jun clutched his head in frustration.
He and Eun Ji fetched some old towels and wiped down the dew-covered steps, deciding the area needed immediate repairs. When they returned inside, In Ah was hurriedly cooking porridge for the injured girls. Mari finally emerged after calming the two patients.
“Haa…”
“How are they?”
“Thankfully, no damage to their teeth or bones. Rana has a small scrape on her forehead—it didn’t tear open—and abrasions on her arms and legs. Nanika’s about the same. I don’t think either needs stitches.”
She had washed the wounds, disinfected them, bandaged them with gauze, and given them anti-inflammatory medicine.
“It’ll take about two weeks for the scabs to form and heal properly. More than the injuries, though, I think they’re both badly shaken.”
“…”
“Oppa, I made porridge. For breakfast, maybe we should start with this…”
“Give it here. I’ll take it to them.”
Kim Jun accepted the tray In Ah had prepared and opened the door. The two idols lying in bed struggled to sit up.
“Ow!”
Gauze covered them like they’d been beaten black and blue. Bruises were already blooming across their limbs. It was clear they would need several days of complete rest.
“Oppa…”
“Huuuu…”
Kim Jun quietly set the tray on the bed and spoke gently.
“Aigoo, I’m sorry. After seeing where you fell, I realize I need to install some anti-slip strips there. I can’t believe I never noticed it.”
“N-no, it’s not your fault! We just weren’t looking where we were going…”
“Take good care of yourselves. Eat the porridge slowly and rest comfortably.”
He stroked both girls’ hair. Rana, with a band-aid on her forehead, winced in pain but still leaned into his touch.
Back in the living room, Kim Jun ate while letting out a long sigh.
“How on earth did both of them fall at the same time?”
To Emily’s question, Gaya and Eun Ji—who had discovered them first—explained.
“I asked them to pick some mushrooms and tomatoes from the garden plot for side dishes… They were carrying them down the stairs and slipped.”
“I was scared out of my mind. There was this huge crash, then screams everywhere. When I ran out, the second-floor veranda was covered in blood…”
“They didn’t get hurt too badly. Still, in two or three days when the scabs start forming, it’s going to sting and swell like crazy.”
“Aigoo~ They really shouldn’t get hurt. Last time I scraped my heel and ended up bedridden for days.”
Do Kyung let out heavy sighs, remembering how a simple scrape had turned into cellulitis. She and Mari had gone out with Kim Jun to find medical tools.
While everyone ate, Eun Ji quietly spoke to Kim Jun.
“You said earlier that you’d fix the stairs, right? I’ll help.”
“Yeah, let’s work on it together outside.”
“Jun oppa, want me to help too?”
When Emily thrust her hand into the air, he nodded.
“Mari and Gaya, please look after the injured girls. In Ah, I know it’s extra work, but keep making porridge and some nutritious food for them until they can come out and eat properly.”
“Yes, I will.”
“Do Kyung, handle the hand-washing that Nanika usually does, and organize the attic in her place.”
“Ah~ No problem at all. Housework is actually easier for me!”
With two of the eight girls sidelined by injury, Kim Jun assigned tasks to each person to keep the day’s work on track.
After the meal, he went to the storage shed and brought out supplies. They didn’t have proper anti-slip tape, so he’d decided on sandpaper as an alternative.
“We’ll glue sandpaper onto rubber scraps and attach them to each step.”
“So we just need to make all of these?”
“Once they’re done, we’ll stick one at the end of every step. Eun Ji and Emily, work on them with me today.”
“Hmm~”
After watching Kim Jun’s demonstration once, Emily and Eun Ji measured and began crafting their own anti-slip pads. Kim Jun kept an eye on their work while his own hands never stopped moving, producing pad after pad.
“After lunch, let’s install all of them.”
“Okay~”
“Yes!”
When they checked on the bedridden girls at lunchtime, their condition had worsened.
“Aang~ What do we do? Your face is twice as big now.”
Her normally tiny face—small enough to hide behind a single CD—had swollen dramatically after hitting her forehead. It was painful to look at.
“We need to ice it a lot. Here’s some ice.”
“Thank you~ Oppa!”
Rana immediately pressed the plastic bag of ice to her forehead. Nanika lay quietly, her entire body aching too much to move.
“Thin slices of beef would work best, but we don’t have any fresh meat.”
“What are you even saying when we have proper dressing pads?”
Mari, who had come to check the wounds, gave Kim Jun a stern look when he mentioned “raw beef for bruises.”
“Besides, if we have meat we should eat it, not waste it on bruises.”
“I agree! But now I’m craving steak.”
It had been months since any of them had seen fresh meat. The thought of hunting or fishing crossed Kim Jun’s mind when the situation grew urgent. In Ah, who had been quietly preparing the meal, came in, saw the two patients, and gently asked.
“Steak… How about I make it hamburger style instead?”
“In Ah unnie! That’s perfect! It was so, so delicious last time for Eun Ji unnie’s birthday.”
“Yeah, let’s go with that for dinner tonight.”
“Thank you… Shine unnie.”
Even with aching bodies, Rana threw her arms up in celebration while Nanika kept expressing her gratitude.
After lunch, in the afternoon, they finished attaching the anti-slip pads to every step between the second and third floors. To prevent any future accidents, they also lined the veranda railing with scrap styrofoam—both to block drafts and to act as a protective cushion.
“All done.”
“Whoa, it feels solid!”
Emily tapped the wall lightly, then gave it a bump with her shoulder for good measure.
“Hey! What are you doing? That’s dangerous!”
“Heh~ Safety test?”
Kim Jun quickly grabbed her. If the styrofoam gave way, she would hit the railing and possibly fall. Eun Ji watched silently, then walked to the exact spot where Rana and Nanika had slipped. She firmly stomped down on the peeled paint to smooth it, then added another layer of glue beside the existing patch.
***
“You really know how to cook.”
“Yes~ Thank you. That’s the best compliment I could ask for.”
In Ah had ground up the spam and sausages they’d stockpiled from the convenience store and turned them into a Western-style hamburger steak. Seeing everyone enjoy it brought a warm smile to her face.
The two patients went to sleep early. The day’s work had finished ahead of schedule, so once the sun went down they opened drinks again.
Yesterday had been Eun Ji’s bar night. Today it was soju. Before that there had been the group dinner, and even further back, the night they had drunk themselves senseless after the failed survivor rescue.
“We’ve been drinking a lot lately.”
“There’s more than enough alcohol, so why not?”
Normally everyone would have joined for a drink, but Mari had volunteered to stay in the same room as the injured girls to look after them. In Ah and Do Kyung weren’t especially close to Kim Jun when it came to sharing drinks. Eun Ji and Gaya, who always moved as a pair and shared a room, had already left.
That left Emily as tonight’s natural drinking partner.
After his late-night conversation with bartender Eun Ji the previous dawn, Kim Jun had been in the mood, but everyone else had already been asleep. He had gone to bed disappointed and alone.
Now, with Emily—who always matched his pace when drinking—sitting across from him, her face was already flushed. She smiled with her eyes.
“The side dishes are great.”
“This hamburger steak is the best.”
Emily chewed a piece dipped in ketchup, rinsed her mouth with soju, and took a long gulp. In the warm atmosphere, the curves of her chest inside her t-shirt became even more noticeable.
Kim Jun glanced at her while drinking. Noticing his look, Emily spoke up.
“Hey, Jun oppa. I have one favor to ask.”
“Mm, what is it?”
“We need to go gather supplies soon, right? This time let’s focus on clothes.”
“Clothes, huh…”
Among the three basic needs—food, clothing, and shelter—they had a decent stock of the first and last. Clothing, however, always seemed to be in short supply. Wearing the same outfits for days on end was bad enough, but the underwear situation was especially painful.
Ill-fitting bras were pure torture. They had been rotating the sports bras taken from the hiking store last time, but that clearly wasn’t enough. They needed proper lingerie and everyday underwear for women in their twenties, plus plenty of winter clothes for the girls.
“I’m tired of wearing these auntie-style bras and panties. I’d love to wear something lacy for once.”
“If we’re looking for a store that carries clothes you girls can actually wear…”
“Good. Let’s find a place like that and make a trip.”
“Jun oppa, you promise?”
Emily held out her pale hand. Kim Jun hooked his pinky around hers without even remembering when he had made the original promise.
With a pleasant buzz settling in, he led Emily up to the third floor where he had cushioned the railing with the soft styrofoam. But tonight she seemed to be in the mood as well. She quietly held his hand, her face flushed, and pointed toward the master bedroom instead.
Kim Jun thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“That’s too much.”
Emily threw herself into his arms, whining in a voice that mixed the scent of shampoo with soju. Kim Jun spoke softly.
“We can’t do that with the injured girls right next door, can we?”
“Still… it’s a shame. I just want to stay with you a little longer, Jun oppa.”
He stroked the hair of the woman clinging to him like a lover, thought for a moment, then quietly opened the front gate. Instead of heading upstairs, he led Emily down the stairs to the first floor.
“Then shall we really go rest over there?”
“…!”
The camping car—which had recently been used only for showers and the toilet since they weren’t going out to farm—revealed its sleek form in the moonlight.
Seeing the look on his face, Emily gave him a bashful smile.
After that, the resting place for the two of them became somewhere outside the house.