Big Sister Gaya (1)
Three days had passed since Kim Jun brought the eight top stars to his house.
Kim Jun pulled vegetables and tofu from the refrigerator that were on the verge of spoiling and started boiling a stew.
“Man, I really am boiling shit soup for a bunch of idols…”
He deliberately made it thin like military mess hall soup. It was meant to settle their stomachs.
Thanks to that, today’s main dish was once again watery porridge and doenjang soup boiled with what might as well have been Han River water. Still, the girls ate it in grateful silence.
Maybe because they had strictly controlled their diets during their idol days, none of them raided the fridge no matter how hungry they got.
At least they’re easy to manage. That’s a relief.
As Kim Jun quietly scanned the eight idols, his eyes met Emily’s.
She gave him a sly smile and deliberately tugged down the collar of her t-shirt. A flash of pale skin and deep cleavage appeared.
“…”
Kim Jun pretended not to notice, turned his head, and spoke while eating.
“You all remember what I said last time, right?”
“Oh, you mean when we need supplies, we go out together to get them?”
“Yeah. We’re heading out today.”
“!!!”
For a moment, all eight of them widened their eyes in pure terror.
They had to go outside—where those horrible zombies were—and gather survival supplies themselves.
“Hmm, so… who’s going first?”
At Emily’s question, Kim Jun let out a small chuckle and pointed at her with his spoon.
“You’re up next time.”
“But I could be such a good partner…”
She flapped her t-shirt again, flashing her chest as if she’d been robbed of a chance. The other girls stared at her like she had lost her mind.
With no broadcasting stations or performances left, Emily had completely abandoned any need to look like a heavenly star. She dressed as loosely as she wanted.
While everyone was exchanging awkward glances, Gaya spoke up quietly.
“Since I’m the oldest, I’ll go with you.”
“Good. Eat up, then get ready in an hour.”
“Yes.”
When Gaya answered, Mari suddenly blushed bright red.
Kim Jun noticed her fidgeting and pointed at her with his spoon.
“Former doctor lady? Got something to say?”
“It’s Mari. I’m an actress now…”
“Right. Actress Kang Mari? Go ahead.”
Mari struggled to find the words, then finally gathered her courage.
“Um… the girls… once a month…”
“Ah! We’re out of pads!”
In that instant, it wasn’t just Mari whose face burned.
The other idols blushed too. Only Emily, Gaya, and Eun Ji tried to keep calm expressions.
“Why are you embarrassed about something like that? Just say we need them.”
“Tampons? Super important! Especially the P&G ones.”
“Got it! I’ll grab some if I see them!”
After the meal, at Gaya’s direction, everyone began washing dishes and cleaning. Kim Jun headed into the master bedroom.
He pulled out a notebook and started writing down everything they needed.
“Let’s see… we haven’t been able to brush our teeth properly and have just been gargling with mouthwash, so toothbrushes and toothpaste… pads… underwear… should I just sweep up every size?”
He listed various things, but these were all lower priority.
What Kim Jun planned to prioritize on this run were salt, gasoline, batteries, butane gas, and similar essentials.
City gas would be cut off soon. These were all things they needed to prepare in advance.
After arming himself and before putting Gaya in the car, Kim Jun stepped outside and headed for the warehouse.
When he saw the booby traps attached to the wall, he was relieved to see that no zombies had made it up here.
[Grrraaah—]
“!”
The sound of a zombie groaning from beyond the wall, coming from the villa.
A zombie was visible on the rooftop.
The distance was about thirty meters.
Kim Jun let out a sigh and reached into his pocket for the air gun he had prepared.
He had about ten lead pellets the size of a pinky fingernail. He pulled back the bolt and loaded one.
“Alright… let’s end this with one shot. One shot…”
When he looked through the scope, he froze in shock.
“!”
It was the old woman from Gamnamu-gol whom he had seen often when his grandfather was still alive.
“Ah, shit…”
The days when he knew exactly how many spoons the neighbors had were long gone, but Kim Jun still remembered the grandmother next door and the uncle down the street from his childhood.
Seeing the old woman from Gamnamu-gol already turned into a zombie, his heart ached fiercely. Still, he placed his finger on the trigger.
Without hesitation, he fired.
Ting—
With the quiet sound of the air gun, blood sprayed from the zombie’s head. The old woman staggered and collapsed.
Kim Jun, who had just killed the grandmother he had known for twenty years, muttered bitterly.
“I’m sorry… Back in middle school, Grandpa and I fought over the water ditch and I secretly sprinkled boric acid on your sweet potato field. Let’s call it even with this.”
Come to think of it, that old lady had ruined his family’s farming for a whole year before she turned. The memory of debt collectors slapping seizure notices on their house suddenly resurfaced.
Having taken down one zombie first thing in the morning, Kim Jun grabbed supplies from the warehouse and then headed to the wall beside it.
He stepped into the vegetable garden and smashed two more soju bottles, scattering the glass.
“Please, I’m begging you… hold out until the rescue team arrives…”
If he could, he would have laid the electric wires he used for catching roe deer across the whole area, but he had to conserve energy.
“Gaya, come here.”
“Yes? Oh, yes!”
Kim Jun called Gaya over and handed her the equipment he had prepared.
“Strap these on your arms and legs.”
“What are these…?”
“Arm guards and shin guards. We used them for soccer in the military. They’re a bit dusty but they’ll still work.”
He fastened the soccer guards to Gaya’s limbs, wrapped them tightly with plastic wrap, and then made her a weapon.
He attached a bicycle saddle to his grandfather’s old cane, tied it securely, and handed it to her.
“When you see a zombie, just shove this thing at it. The priority is not getting bitten.”
“The gun… are you the only one using it?”
“Have you ever fired one?”
“…No.”
Kim Jun gently stroked her hair and finished preparing to leave.
After making sure the girls understood to lock the doors properly, he got in the car, opened the front gate, and drove out.
As they headed back into the zombie-infested outside world, Gaya sat with a face full of tension. She clutched the cane Kim Jun had given her, trembling violently.
“Don’t be so nervous. Just stick close to me.”
Click!
Kim Jun loaded the shotgun so he could fire at any moment and drove down the alley marked with burn scars from Molotov cocktails.
He searched for roads where zombies were nowhere in sight.
“Oppa! Over there!”
When Gaya shouted about zombies chasing them from behind on the road, Kim Jun checked the rearview mirror and stepped on the gas.
“I’ll take care of them when we come back.”
“Th-there too!”
[Uuuuurrrrgh!!!]
When zombies poured out from between parked cars on a side street, Kim Jun pulled out the shotgun barrel and fired instantly.
Boom—
He blew the head off one zombie that was visible nearby.
Every time the gunshot rang out, Gaya flinched hard.
Leaving her reaction behind, Kim Jun scanned for places to gather supplies.
The road to the traditional market was out—too many zombies.
The gas station and convenience store he usually visited were out—zombies kept appearing.
The road to the big box store in the new city via the national highway was out—crawling with zombies.
He kept searching side roads, looking for any path with the fewest zombies possible.
“Wait, if we take this road…”
Kim Jun looked down the street and said,
“There aren’t many zombies under the overpass? Let’s go that way.”
“What’s… an overpass?”
“The area under the elevated highway. There are lots of mobile vendors selling goods out of bongo trucks down there. We should search that area.”
Kim Jun drove toward the alley where the truck vendors gathered under the overpass. Two or three zombies were visible.
He checked the rearview mirror, then sharply turned the wheel and stopped.
Screeeech—
“Eek?!”
As Gaya flinched behind the acrylic barrier, Kim Jun raised the shotgun.
“If you see a zombie in the rearview mirror, tell me immediately.”
“Y-yes!”
Gaya decided to trust Kim Jun completely in this situation. She covered her ears and focused on the rearview mirror.
On the other side, Kim Jun cracked the window, stuck the shotgun barrel out, and aimed at the zombies through the scope.
This was something he did often.
He would stop the car fifty meters away to hunt magpies, crows, or pheasants on transmission towers, barely poke the barrel out the window, aim… and one shot, one kill.
Kim Jun steadied his mind and aimed at the zombies that had once been truck vendors before they were infected.
Without hesitation, he counted to three and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Crunch!
The shotgun’s slug bullet instantly blew off one zombie’s head.
The other two zombies immediately screamed in the direction of the noise and charged.
[Kyaaaaah!]
“Crazy! Both of them are runners?”
In the few days they had been fighting, there had been occasional fast zombies mixed in among the slow, crawling ones. Unfortunately, both of these were runners.
And they were incredibly fast. They closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
Kim Jun calmly aimed his gun… right when Gaya saw them.
“Kyaaaaaah!!!!”
Bang— Bang!
“!?”
Because the angle was bad, he had been leaning against the acrylic panel between the seats to aim. The sudden scream and the impact against his back made the gun shake, and the trigger was pulled.
Bang—
[Crack!]
He had nearly fired the shotgun inside the car. The ricochet could have been disastrous.
“Damn it!”
Kim Jun fired again quickly, but the bullet only grazed the zombie’s head.
[Grrraaaah!]
The impact wasn’t enough. The zombie charged again.
When it got within ten… five… three meters, Kim Jun reflexively loaded with one hand and fired again.
Bang!
This time he hit one squarely in the head. The moment the other zombie that had been following closed in…
Bang!
He reflexively drew the pistol from his waist and shot the zombie that had gotten within two meters.
He immediately stepped on the accelerator and pulled away.
Vroooooom—
Just as he managed to shake off the two, a swarm of zombies came running from far away.
More than twenty of them, with about three runners among them.
Kim Jun ground his teeth and shouted.
“Hey, you stupid bitch! If you interfere with my aim one more time—!”
“Hic?!”
The double curse had slipped out in the heat of the moment. Gaya immediately clapped both hands over her mouth and buried her head under the passenger-side dashboard.
She was the one who had been told to watch the rearview mirror, yet she had fallen into a panic.
Kim Jun started to say something, then just shook his head.
Yeah. It’s better if she just stays still.
Kim Jun calmly created distance and used the shotgun to take down the three runners in quick succession.
“Hooo…”
After killing the three running zombies, he stepped on the gas to put distance between them and the rest.
When he reached a stretch of road with no zombies, he had already passed the rice paddies and arrived at the most remote part of Sosa-beol City—Seongpyeong-myeon.
“Ah… this place really is nothing but rice fields…?”
Then one building caught his eye.
[Cheol-woo’s General Store]
Outside the store with its shattered glass windows were umbrellas, shoes, and other goods. Inside, it was packed with all kinds of items.
“Oh, fuck yes… Hey! Let’s get out.”
“Huh?”
“Can’t you move? Then just stay there.”
“N-no… I-I’ll get out!”
Even though she had been nothing but dead weight so far on this first supply run that they had set rules for, Gaya felt she had to do something. She bit her own finger and stepped out of the car.
When the two of them entered the store, there were fortunately no zombies inside.
The first stop of their looting run was the general store.
Kim Jun grabbed portable gasoline for Zippo lighters, batteries, New Sugar, and various tools he saw nearby.
When Gaya went further inside, he shouted,
“Go in and grab everything we need!”
At Kim Jun’s shout, the sound of things clattering and falling echoed as Gaya hurriedly gathered items.
The boxes she grabbed contained women’s underwear, though the designs looked like something middle-aged women would wear.
She also took winged sanitary pads like those sold in convenience stores, tweezers, nail clippers, ankle socks, body lotion, hand cream, and more.
Gaya quickly scooped everything up, ran back, and dumped it all into the passenger seat she had been sitting in.
Seeing her run back in a hurry to grab more, Kim Jun nodded. At least she was trying to do something.
While they continued gathering supplies, a sudden scream rang out.
“Kyaaaaaah!?”
“!?”
[Uuuurrrgh—]
When he looked up, this was the scene before him.
A zombie was charging at Gaya. She reflexively thrust the cane with the bicycle saddle at the zombie in front of her and desperately struggled.
Kim Jun immediately raised the shotgun and yelled,
“Get down!!!”
“!”
The moment Gaya reflexively dropped, he fired.
Bang!
Splat—
The zombie had been barely held back by the cane, now two or three meters away. The slug bullet beautifully took its head clean off.
The blood that sprayed out splattered across Gaya’s back.
When the dazed Gaya lifted her head, what she saw was the zombie with its head blown off…
“Hiiik?!”
“Come here!”
At Kim Jun’s shout, Gaya crawled backward on trembling limbs. He patted her gently and said,
“Take off all the clothes you’re wearing right now.”
“What?”
Kim Jun pointed at the refrigerator pants and t-shirts hanging where Gaya had been gathering things.
“Take everything off immediately and change into those. Oh, and…”
Before he could finish, Gaya rushed over. Forgetting all shame, she stripped off her clothes and changed into what looked like an old lady’s baggy work pants and a t-shirt.
When she approached him again, Kim Jun grabbed a can of Effkil he saw nearby and sprayed it on her blood-splattered hair.
Hisssss—
“I don’t know if this will disinfect it, but…”
A former music program Triple Crown winner and an idol who had sold a million albums was now standing there in baggy work pants, drenched in Effkil on her hair and back.
They filled the camper van completely with supplies from the general store and drove back home in complete silence.
When they arrived, Kim Jun got out, checked the surroundings, parked the car, and let out a long breath.
“Hooo…”
Having finally finished everything, Kim Jun exhaled. Beside him, Gaya was so drained she couldn’t even get out of the car.
Seeing her completely out of it, Kim Jun felt a pang of guilt and spoke softly.
“Hoo, we’re back now. It’s over. Was I too harsh earlier?”
“O-oppa… I, I, right now I just…”
Seeing Gaya still trembling, her teeth chattering, Kim Jun got out and opened the passenger door for her.
It was true he had been a bit rough with her today.
These girls had once shown dreams and hope on TV. Yet here he was, dragging them around and making them see horrible things.
“I-I’m sorry… I really…”
“It’s fine. If you really feel bad, you can give me a kiss later. For now, go wash up and rest—mmph?!”
Gaya suddenly threw herself into Kim Jun’s arms and kissed him.
She licked his lips, then pushed her tongue inside, seeking his. Their tongues tangled.
Pressed against his chest, the pounding of her heart in the center of her modest breasts was clearly felt by Kim Jun as well.
With hazy eyes, Gaya desperately clung to him, kissing him over and over. Then she looked up at him with a completely dazed face…
Was this a survival instinct? Or had it come from her panicked state?
Kim Jun, who had suddenly received a deep kiss from an idol, quietly wrapped one arm around her and comforted her.
“It’s okay… Jeez, you’re completely out of it, huh?”
“U-uuuhhh…”
“Let’s go inside and disinfect your clothes.”
“…”
Kim Jun was greeted warmly by the seven idols who had been waiting inside. The underwear and daily necessities Gaya had looted were distributed to each of them.
That night, Gaya buried herself under two military blankets and cried her eyes out. The sound reached all the way to the master bedroom.