Chapter 55: A 55-Year-Old's Gotta Keep Living
When Kim Jun woke up that morning, a thick fog of depression hung over the entire house.
As usual, Eun Ji and In Ah had gone downstairs to prepare breakfast. Gaya was calling the others to set the table, and one by one they emerged to eat.
But the usual warmth was shattered.
Every single person looked completely out of it.
Kim Jun found the scene strange and asked, “What’s going on? Why does everyone look like this this morning?”
…
No one answered.
Kim Jun scratched his cheek awkwardly in the heavy silence. After a moment, Gaya spoke quietly.
“Today is…”
“Hm? What about today? Was it someone’s birthday again?”
That was when he noticed In Ah choking back tears once more.
“Today was apparently In Ah’s grandmother’s birthday.”
“Ah…”
“It suddenly came to mind… and ever since then…”
They had thought they were handling it well. But as their survival in this place stretched on, thoughts of their families had begun surfacing one by one. And now it had spread to everyone.
“I wonder if my mom and dad back home in Seoul… and my little siblings… are doing okay.”
When Do Kyung spoke up, Emily gave a bitter smile while staring at the ceiling.
“I hope Buena Park is all right.”
“Hic… hic… I’m sorry! I know I shouldn’t be doing this…”
But in the end Rana buried her face and broke into sobs.
The once-harmonious breakfast had turned into a gathering where everyone thought of their families, a place filled with tears and runny noses.
Kim Jun raised his hand to comfort them one by one, but seeing them all huddled together like that, his hand froze in midair. With a heavy heart, he stood up and walked outside.
Hiss— click.
He lit a cigarette and exhaled a long plume of smoke. Kim Jun had no idea how to fix a situation like this.
If food was running low, they could farm or go looting. If electricity was the problem, they could run the generator or expand the solar panels. If water ran short, they could raid nearby stores for bottled water or dig a well for groundwater.
But when the kids’ minds were hurting, what the hell was he supposed to do?
Just a few days ago they had been flirting, drinking together, even having sex. Yet with a single trigger, the tension they had maintained until now seemed to have plummeted straight into the abyss.
As Kim Jun chain-smoked and sighed deeply, lost in thought, someone quietly came down from the second floor.
“It’s because we’ve had too much free time.”
“!”
He turned to see Eun Ji, her clothes covered in the tear stains of the other girls. It looked like she and Gaya—the two big sisters—had finally managed to calm everyone down.
“We’ve been tense going outside where the zombies are swarming, but the things we brought back caused the girls’ emotions to swing wildly.”
“Mm.”
“After that, food became plentiful, electricity and water were no problem, so everyone just stayed inside the house all day. No phones, no internet.”
It was like being stuck in an old military barracks. Kim Jun could relate completely.
When people weren’t busy and had too much free time, stray thoughts tended to creep in. But this was an apocalyptic world. They could think of their families all they wanted, but they couldn’t meet them—couldn’t even know if they were alive or dead.
That pressure had been building, and today In Ah’s story had flipped the switch.
Kim Jun wondered if the solution was to work the girls so hard they wouldn’t have time to think. He stubbed out his last cigarette on the ground and said, “We’re having a feast tonight.”
“That’s a good idea. But how long will it last?”
Using alcohol to soothe them had worked once or twice. They had even made cocktails with the whiskey and soda they found, but it hadn’t lasted. And now they were in this state again.
But Kim Jun wasn’t thinking about the overflowing vegetables or canned goods this time.
“I’m heading out right now. Can you back me up?”
“Ah, well… it’s sudden, but I’ll get ready.”
Eun Ji immediately began preparing to join Kim Jun’s looting run.
The partner he chose was, of course, Gaya.
While the two oldest members got ready and gathered their gear, Kim Jun took Mari’s hand and said, “Can you look after the kids?”
“I’m not exactly a psychiatrist… but I’ll do my best to talk with all of them.”
Mari was the calmest one left behind, so Kim Jun felt safe leaving it to her.
As he was about to head out, Emily approached.
“Jun oppa, let me come too.”
“It’s already decided.”
“I need to smash something or go on a massive shopping spree. If I stay here any longer… I’m going to sink into that sea of tears with them.”
She had thought of her own family back in America, but clearly didn’t want to stay in that crying mess.
Kim Jun stroked Emily’s hair and said gently, “Our beloved Emily, can you help Mari take care of the other girls’ mental state?”
“Aww~ I’m really not good at that stuff.”
The words “beloved Emily” softened her resistance. She had been insisting on leaving the house to go kill zombies instead.
Kim Jun watched Gaya and Eun Ji strap on their arm guards and chest protectors, slingshot and staff in hand, then gave the other girls a thumbs-up.
“Cry! Go ahead and cry your hearts out! And when we get back tonight, we’ll have a proper feast. Let’s eat like we’re going to die tomorrow!”
“!!!”
Kim Jun strode out like a man heading off to prepare a special meal none of them had tasted in far too long—the best way he knew to heal their broken spirits.
“Let’s eat some meat today.”
“Sorry?”
“We’ve got soju, lettuce, and perilla leaves. We’ll grill it all. Even in times like these, we need days like this.”
Gaya, sitting in the passenger seat, widened her eyes at the word “meat.”
“Where would we even get it? Is there any fresh meat still good after all this time?”
“We’ll get it.”
Eun Ji, from the back seat, asked in a cynical tone, “Are we going hunting or something?”
“Yeah. That’s the plan.”
“!?”
“Oh my!”
Both women’s eyes widened in shock. In a world where anything could happen, Kim Jun wanted to hunt wild animals? Had he lost his mind?
“Are you serious?”
At Gaya’s question, Kim Jun nodded firmly, refusing to repeat himself.
“I’ve combined everything I’ve learned from the survivors we’ve met and the information we’ve gathered outside. I’m certain now—the water outside is safe to drink.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Eun Ji spoke up quietly from behind.
“Because I tried it first. I went to the stream where the wild dogs were drinking, scooped up a cup…”
“!?”
Gaya looked stunned, but Kim Jun continued.
“The police we met last time said the same thing. They couldn’t find much, but they survived by scavenging canned goods while moving through neighborhoods—or by eating wild animals.”
“Really?”
“I know what you’re thinking, but we’ve come this far. It’s worth trying at least once.”
Of course the risk was enormous. Not long ago, Kim Jun had been watching apocalypse movies in his house, and the girls had seen stories where crows and wild dogs ate zombie corpses and became infected from the blood. They had all been horrified.
Gaya kept in mind that when Kim Jun had shouted “Let’s eat like we’re going to die tomorrow!” he might not have been speaking figuratively.
“If… if someone has to taste it first, I’ll do it.”
“Eun Ji!”
“It’s fine, Gaya. I’ve done a lot already.”
Gaya tried to argue with Eun Ji’s reckless-sounding words, but Kim Jun spoke with conviction.
“That won’t happen. Trust me. I’ll try it first.”
With him putting it that way, Gaya reluctantly agreed.
They headed to the area of an old reservoir that had been completely cleared during the construction of a new city years ago.
Weeds had begun growing thick across the barren land. Abandoned excavators and bulldozers created an eerie atmosphere.
“I used to catch a ton of crucian carp here back in the day.”
Kim Jun recalled old memories, then immediately pulled out his gun.
“We should check the surroundings first. Let’s see how many zombies show up.”
He pressed hard on the horn.
Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!!!!
The repeated blasts echoed. The three of them scanned every inch of the area to see how many zombies would respond to the signal.
Eun Ji, in the back seat, said quietly, “Three zombies coming from behind toward the driver’s side, oppa.”
“Okay!”
Kim Jun slowly turned the vehicle, cracked open the window, and thrust the barrel out. He quickly dropped the slow-walking zombies with precise shots.
“Ah! Other side! More coming! Oh no! Those ones are running!!!”
At Gaya’s urgent cry, Kim Jun spun the car again. Seeing two sprinting zombies, he switched weapons.
The revolver fully loaded with bullets they had received from the police last time.
Kim Jun pulled the trigger on the charging zombies.
Bang— Bang— Bang—!!!
The handgun fire brought down even the fast ones beautifully. After that, six eyes swept the area, picking off every zombie they spotted.
After thirty minutes of observation with no more zombies in sight, Kim Jun gripped the wheel firmly and began circling the reservoir area.
They confirmed the zombies they had killed were truly dead, then slowly patrolled the surroundings.
As they drove along the overgrown off-road path that had once been leveled by bulldozers, Gaya and Eun Ji wondered what could possibly be hunted in a place like this.
When they reached the hill past the reservoir and the grassy area, Kim Jun looked at it and said, “This used to be a mountain too… If they had built apartments here, it would’ve caused a huge uproar because of the view.”
In the lonely silence left behind after civilization and time had vanished, Kim Jun spotted something and quietly raised his gun.
Click.
“Listen carefully. From now on, don’t make a single sound.”
“What is— Oh my!?”
“Unnie!”
Gaya also confirmed it through the binoculars from the passenger seat.
A bird had descended from a tall tree and was wandering around the mountain area.
Kim Jun aimed at the pheasant—one he had seen so often before the zombie outbreak that he was sick of them. It wasn’t a male ring-necked pheasant but a female.
Even during hunting season, catching one would have meant a fine, but now was not the time to worry about that.
I hope there’s a cop around later so I can get a ticket, he thought ironically as he calmly used the Air Gun for its original purpose.
Ping—
Flutter—
One shot, one kill. The hen pheasant sprayed blood from its head, flapped wildly on the ground, then went still in an instant.
Kim Jun slowly moved the car to retrieve it. As he was about to get out, Eun Ji said, “I’ll go get it.”
“No. It’s dangerous!”
“I should at least earn the meat.”
“Hey, hey!”
Kim Jun opened the back door as Eun Ji dashed out. She casually grabbed the blood-soaked dead pheasant and ran back.
She showed them the corpse.
“You hit it perfectly.”
“I told you it was dangerous! Why don’t you ever listen!”
“Oppa, you just focus on aiming. I’ll handle retrieving them.”
Eun Ji spoke as if she had become a hunting dog. Kim Jun sighed and set some ground rules.
Gaya would use the binoculars to spot prey. Kim Jun would aim and shoot. When the target was close enough, they would check the surroundings, then Eun Ji would quickly run out and retrieve it.
Kim Jun kept the engine running and continued scanning, saying there should be a male pheasant along with the female.
Before long, he spotted a green-headed male pheasant flapping its wings in a tree. He immediately pulled the trigger, dropping it to the ground.
Two pheasants—a decent haul.
While circling the reservoir, Kim Jun searched for the real prey he had been looking for.
After clearing the nearby zombies, they followed the path along the reservoir.
And then he finally found what he was after.
“Bravo!”
“?”
“Gaya, Eun Ji. Look over there.”
Kim Jun pointed not at the water but at the sky.
In the beautiful spot where the sun was beginning to set, they saw a flock of birds flying in a V formation.
“Oh my!”
“Whoa…”
A flock of ducks was flying by.
Wild mallards—the kind often seen on TV. Migratory birds that were stable enough in taste for anyone to eat.
“We’re definitely catching those today. Everyone get ready!”
Kim Jun slowly drove toward where the flock was heading, calculating the timing so that any birds he shot down would land on flat ground rather than in the water.
Calmly, no longer the zombie-hunting survivor but the true hunter, Kim Jun raised the Air Gun.
Click—
Ping!