Chapter 53: Casual Flirting While Living Together?
After the looting run, Kim Jun finally enjoyed a deep, proper rest for the first time in a while.
In the days that followed, the top stars gathered during daylight hours, throwing themselves into knitting with surprising focus.
“So you insert it like this, then wrap the yarn around.”
“Oh, I see.”
“If you mess up the stitches, the whole thing falls apart. You have to stay concentrated from start to finish.”
“This is harder than it looks.”
When the balls of yarn and fabric were brought out, it was Eun Ji—as expected—who showed genuine interest and actually knew how to knit.
Matching her calm personality, she gathered the girls and patiently taught them. Everyone struggled and groaned, but they all worked hard to make their own clothes, socks, and other items.
“Ah, it unraveled again.”
“As expected, you’re only good at physical stuff.”
“Ugh! Seriously!”
Do Kyung kept making mistakes while knitting, and Emily teased her mercilessly from the side.
In the meantime, Rana and Nanika had scabs slowly forming over their wounds, so they began light exercise once the bruises started to fade.
“Unnie, this itches so bad I’m going to die.”
“I told you not to scratch! It’ll fall off naturally if you leave it alone. Why do you keep touching it?”
Mari, who changed their dressings every day, scolded Rana—who kept scratching despite being more composed than Nanika—after she ended up drawing blood through the scab.
Kim Jun, passing by and catching the scene, let out a small chuckle.
“Listen to the doctor when she talks. Keep that up and you’ll get cellulitis.”
“I know, I know. I just wish it would heal faster. Ow, ow, ow—”
Seeing that the external injuries were almost fully healed brought relief, and Rana felt even better when Mari assured her that the scabs on her face would fall off without leaving scars.
“Um… about the knitting you’re all doing outside.”
“Yeah? What about it?”
“Can I… try it too?”
Nanika was getting restless from lying down all the time and wanted something to do. She asked Eun Ji through the others.
After watching the peaceful daily life unfolding on the second floor, Kim Jun climbed up to the third floor and lit a cigarette outside.
“Huu—”
Lately, he truly felt like this place was turning into a proper village.
The girls’ mental health was stabilizing. They searched for necessary supplies, shared what they found, bumped shoulders while living together, and occasionally ended up having sex when the mood struck. Somehow, they had become one household.
During the day, Kim Jun would sometimes take a telescope up to the roof and scan the surroundings.
He marked the distant zombies as targets that would eventually need to be dealt with. If any got too close, he would snipe them down.
In his spare time, he maintained his weapons and even crafted tools to repair the guns that had been damaged last time.
Chik— Chiiiiik—
He ran the air compressor, pumping compressed air into the air gun, cleaned the dust from the shotgun barrel, disassembled the pistol to oil it, and finished the maintenance.
Just as he wrapped up the firearms maintenance, a woman came out huffing and puffing.
“Argh, seriously! I can’t even smack her for it!”
“Hm?”
The one stomping out and venting her frustration was Do Kyung.
Kim Jun gathered the guns and walked over to her.
“You were knitting fine earlier. What happened now?”
“Ah, Oppa.”
Do Kyung flinched when she saw him, then cleared her throat awkwardly.
“I-it’s nothing. It’s my first time knitting and Emily unnie keeps picking on me.”
“You two are always bickering, huh?”
“I debuted way before her!”
“We decided to go by age here, remember?”
Do Kyung was still fuming. Kim Jun opened up the camper van—not just the rear door, but the side door too—creating a simple rest area in a configuration they had used at the campsite but never tried here.
“Whoa—”
It was the same vehicle they traveled in every day, yet the moment highlighted that it was truly a recreational camping vehicle.
Kim Jun assembled the fold-out bed beside the camper into a sofa shape, sat down comfortably, and lit another cigarette.
Do Kyung watched him for a moment, then slowly shuffled over and sat down quietly.
Kim Jun opened the nearby mini-fridge, pulled out two vitamin drinks from the massive stash they had looted, and handed one to her.
“Thanks.”
“Cool your head a bit.”
Kim Jun opened his drink, took a sip, and gazed at the sky while enjoying his cigarette.
Looking at the incredibly clear blue sky, he suddenly wondered how many people were still alive now that the whole world had ended up like this.
The factories won’t be running. Civilization’s probably been completely reset. Would it even be possible to go back to normal life?
In those old post-apocalypse movies, it always took decades to rebuild civilization after a world war or zombie outbreak. He wasn’t sure if it would really be like that.
Then again, these days some movies end with the survivors adapting and living alongside the zombies, right?
Kim Jun wanted to run his happy circuit and imagine a happy ending no matter which direction things took.
At that moment, Do Kyung, who had been quietly watching him, spoke up.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“What are you thinking about so hard?”
“Just… stuff.”
Seeing Kim Jun lost in thought with a cigarette in hand, Do Kyung calmed down as well and spoke softly.
“That kid’s probably doing okay, right?”
“I’m sure she is.”
“I keep thinking about the noodles the monks served us. Those were so good.”
“Now that you mention it, I didn’t get to try them. You and Emily said you’d never forget that taste.”
Kim Jun made a mental note to try them himself the next time they visited the temple.
The conversation didn’t continue much longer. When silence settled in, Do Kyung slowly scooted closer to Kim Jun again.
But Kim Jun didn’t notice at all. He finished his cigarette, stood up, and stretched.
“What’s for dinner tonight?”
“Ah… I’m not sure.”
Do Kyung reached out as if to stop him from walking ahead, then looked at her own hand and let out a long sigh.
And so, in the midst of these peaceful days, another chance nearly presented itself.
“Eun Ji’s bar is open for the first time in a while.”
In the bar Eun Ji had set up during their daily routine, various cocktails were served. The ones gathered today were Do Kyung and Emily—fresh from the two-day, one-night temple looting run—along with Eun Ji and Kim Jun. The four of them enjoyed a modest little drinking party with cocktails in hand.
“Still got plenty to talk about, huh?”
“It was seriously spectacular. Like a movie. A total movie!”
Eun Ji smiled gently at Emily’s enthusiasm and prepared a new cocktail.
Emily drank it down, getting pleasantly tipsy, while Do Kyung—unusually—drank quite a lot beside her.
Kim Jun watched them with a small smile and said to Eun Ji, “It’s nice having you to set the mood while we all share stories.”
“I’m just doing what I can.”
“That sweater you’re making is impressive. When do you think it’ll be done?”
“A little under a month.”
“Whoa.”
Kim Jun felt genuine respect for Eun Ji when he realized how much time and care she was putting into it.
Emily, still knitting, chimed in.
“I’m going to make this. A chest-cutout dress. The back will be open like this too.”
She shrugged, describing the unique dress with its revealing chest opening that she planned to make and wear herself.
But Do Kyung couldn’t join in the conversation. She just stared at her own hands.
Kim Jun noticed and commented on her fingers, which were surprisingly rough and long for an idol.
“You said you trained for a long time, right?”
“Yes. If I hadn’t gotten injured, I might’ve gone to the Olympics instead of the stage.”
“So how did you end up going from volleyball to becoming an idol?”
At Kim Jun’s genuine question, Do Kyung quietly recalled that time.
“I got a pretty bad injury. The surgery made me miss an entire season.”
“Ah, sorry.”
“It’s fine. It was years ago. Our school specialized in arts and sports, and someone asked if I wanted to try modeling.”
“With those long legs, it makes sense.”
Do Kyung shot Emily a slight glare, but the blonde simply crunched on the peanuts and banana chips that had been served as snacks, acting like she didn’t care.
“Then the agency contacted me, saying it would be a waste to just do modeling. They offered to debut me right away in a powerful dance group.”
That was how the tallest dancer-center in girl group history—standing at 177 centimeters—had begun her career.
Kim Jun nodded. Even if she had succeeded as a volleyball player, her looks were outstanding. She probably would have had a massive fan club.
“Watching you work out, I can definitely see the power.”
“R-really?”
“Her body’s insanely toned. She’s got abs like chocolate.”
At Emily’s comment, Do Kyung—slightly drunk and feeling bold—lifted the hem of her t-shirt as if to show them.
“Uh, hey?”
“Oh my.”
Eun Ji watched quietly while Emily tried to stop her, wondering if the mood had gotten to her today.
Kim Jun, sitting right beside her, got a clear view of Do Kyung’s body as she lifted her top.
Her abs were like a carved statue—firm and defined. Above them, even though she covered them with her hand, her perky breasts and sports bra were slightly visible.
“Want to touch?”
“Is that okay?”
“Sure~”
Kim Jun’s hand made contact. As he slowly ran his fingers over her stomach, the sensation was soft yet firm with muscle. Do Kyung felt embarrassed but also proud of her physique.
Then, while stroking her abs, Kim Jun’s hand unconsciously moved up to the strap of her bra.
It was the same habit he had with Rana, Emily, and Mari—the pleasant feeling of touching the straps of a woman’s underwear while she was still wearing it.
At that moment, Do Kyung’s face flushed bright red. She jerked backward and quickly pulled her shirt down.
“Ah, um… not there.”
“Shit, sorry! I’m really sorry!”
Kim Jun immediately realized he had crossed a line and bowed his head. Do Kyung wasn’t angry—rather, she was so embarrassed that her flushed face wouldn’t calm down.
“Wow, you two are really hitting it off.”
Emily watched the scene with a mysterious smile, clearly understanding exactly what was happening.
Eun Ji quickly tried to smooth things over by filling a glass to the brim with whiskey and setting it in front of Kim Jun.
“W-what?!”
“What do you mean, what? It’s a penalty shot. Drink that in one go and apologize properly this time, Kim Jun Oppa?”
“…”
“You really don’t have to…”
Do Kyung wondered if she had ruined what might have been the perfect opportunity to get closer to Kim Jun—the man she had been conscious of ever since the looting trip.
Kim Jun looked at the 40-proof whiskey, picked it up, and downed it as his penalty. Emily clapped in delight.
“And with that, Eun Ji’s bar is closed for the night! Do Kyung, you should head up with us, right?”
“Ah, yeah.”
“Sorry. Earlier, I really…”
“It’s okay. I’m the one who lifted my shirt and told you to touch.”
Do Kyung couldn’t meet Kim Jun’s eyes. With her face still burning, she headed up to the third floor with Eun Ji.
As they climbed the stairs, she quietly asked Eun Ji.
“Unnie.”
“What? Should I go tell everyone what happened?”
“N-no, that’s not it. I just… in that situation… to keep things going… was that what I should’ve done?”
Having grown up in the worlds of athletics and entertainment since she was young, Do Kyung knew absolutely nothing about romance between men and women. This was all new territory.
Besides, they had already seen each other completely naked the first time they met. She hated herself for ruining the mood out of embarrassment.
Damn it! I should’ve just let him keep touching… No! What would Emily or Eun Ji unnie say? I don’t know! The alcohol suddenly made everything weird.
Watching Do Kyung mentally kicking herself over and over, Eun Ji asked softly.
“After the farming trip, you’ve fallen for that oppa, haven’t you?”
“E-eh?!”
“…It’s fine. You’re both adults. Strip away the idol stuff and everything else.”
Eun Ji gently stroked Do Kyung’s hair, then took her hand and suggested they head up together.
Do Kyung made up her mind that if another chance like this came, she would create a situation where it was just the two of them and seize it properly.
After all, being with her first man was embarrassing, and she felt self-conscious about carving out her place among the older and younger sisters who all lived together with him.
Unfortunately, because she had no dating experience, she didn’t realize that in the current hierarchy of his affections, she was quite far down the list.
“Be honest. You wanted to fuck her, didn’t you?”
“You want me to flick your forehead?”
After downing the whiskey penalty shot, Kim Jun’s own face was flushed. He was completely being led by Emily, who was acting coquettish across from him.
“I thought you didn’t like muscle girls, but she voluntarily lifted her shirt and told you to touch her abs. If that wasn’t a signal, what is?”
“Enough. I feel terrible for her.”
“Hmmm? I don’t feel bad at all?”
Emily slightly lifted her own top in that moment, causing her voluptuous breasts to jiggle.
“You can touch mine as much as you want, you know?”
In this situation, Emily was clearly looking for an opening to play the vixen.