Good Friends
On the rooftop, Myeong Guk's bowstring and Kim Jun's shotgun roared fire into the night.
The sound carried clearly down to the three women on the floor below.
“Oh my?”
“I-it’s started!”
Myeong Guk’s wife clutched her head in panic, trembling so hard her whole body shook.
Mari and Rana had been worried about the approaching zombies too, but they comforted the frightened woman while calmly checking every lock and bolt on the doors.
It was impossible to tell who was the homeowner and who were the guests, but the gap between those who had survived this nightmare before and those who hadn’t was obvious.
Once Rana had secured the final lock, Mari gently took the hand of the unwell lady of the house.
“We haven’t even properly introduced ourselves, have we? I’m Mari. I’m a doctor.”
“Ah… You really are a doctor.”
Looking up at Mari through her large glasses with belated admiration, Myeong Guk’s wife finally introduced herself.
“I’m Su Yeong. I’m… twenty years old.”
“Oh! We’re the same age?”
Rana reached out to Su Yeong with a bright smile. When their hands met, Su Yeong studied her face carefully before asking the question that had been on her mind.
“You know… I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before…”
“Hmm~ You think so?”
Rana shrugged, then leaned her bare face closer so Su Yeong could get a better look.
“Ah, that singer from TV…”
“I’m Cha Nara!”
Thankfully the warm atmosphere helped all three women keep their nerves steady even while zombies gathered outside.
“Okay~ While the guys upstairs handle the zombies, let’s just wait calmly, the three of us.”
Su Yeong nodded, still holding Rana’s hand. But Mari glanced around the room, then up at the ceiling, and murmured softly.
“I think there’s one more…”
The arrow sliced through the air with a sharp whistle.
Thwack!
It punched straight through a zombie’s forehead with terrifying precision. Even under the harsh glare of the spotlight, Myeong Guk’s archery in the pitch darkness was nothing short of divine.
“Incredible,” Kim Jun muttered.
“One more!”
Myeong Guk nocked another arrow and drew the string. Not to be outdone, Kim Jun sighted down his infrared scope and squeezed the trigger.
Boom!
A zombie’s head exploded from the slug bullet, and the body crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
More than a dozen zombies charged at once like they’d received some silent signal, but the two survivors on the rooftop cut them all down in a merciless hail of arrows and buckshot.
Kim Jun let out a long breath and pulled out a cigarette, slipping it between his lips. Myeong Guk swept the area one last time with the spotlight, confirming not a single zombie remained, then killed the power.
“Thank you for your help.”
“In return, can we stay here for the night?”
“As long as you want.”
Kim Jun gave a small chuckle at the answer.
In this world where life and death hung by a thread, another survivor had just become a damn good friend.
The women inside breathed sighs of relief when the two men finally stepped through the door.
With the lights on, a very late dinner was laid out on the table.
“Whoa~ Look at all this food~”
“Goodness…”
The spread Su Yeong and Myeong Guk had prepared was enough to make their jaws drop. Steamed chicken fresh from the yard, a mountain of fried eggs, soy-braised beef, canned ham, homegrown peppers and perilla leaves, and a huge pile of rice mixed with wild greens.
Now they understood what a real countryside feast looked like. They immediately picked up their spoons and dug in.
Gathered together like a proper family meal, Myeong Guk and Su Yeong looked genuinely happy to be sharing their table with others after so long.
“Wow, I’ve never been this moved by eggs in my life!”
“Eat as much as you want!”
Rana placed a fried egg on her rice, squeezed ketchup over it, and smiled like the happiest person in the world when the yolk burst in her mouth.
“Oppa, she says that person really is the celebrity Cha Nara.”
“For real? I thought she looked familiar when I glanced at her earlier.”
“I wonder if she’ll recognize me too?”
When Mari asked playfully, Su Yeong’s eyes widened as she stared at her. Myeong Guk’s eyes grew even larger.
“Isn’t this person a celebrity too?”
“She said she’s a doctor.”
“No, you know! The female doctor from that drama Genius Surgeon!”
“That’s right~ The medic has arrived~”
When Mari quoted a famous line from the debut role that had won her a rookie award, both Myeong Guk and Su Yeong covered their mouths in shock.
“Oh my, oh my goodness!”
They were both huge fans who had seen the top stars many times in the media. If this weren’t a zombie apocalypse, they probably would have taken photos and posted them on social media immediately.
“How did two celebrities end up all the way out here?”
“Yeah. People like you eating at our house?”
“Well… it’s a long story, but we’re doing pretty well in this neighborhood.”
Rana winked at Kim Jun. He simply ate in silence with a small smile.
“Can we get autographs after dinner?”
“Of course~ As many as you want.”
After such warm hospitality, Kim Jun would have signed hundreds of autographs without complaint.
After the meal, coffee was served for dessert, and comfortable conversation flowed around the table.
“So… the outbreak happened and you two have been surviving together ever since?”
“There were three of us at first.”
“…”
Myeong Guk let out a small sigh and gave a bitter smile.
“My father was with us originally, but he had a chronic illness. We couldn’t get him to a hospital, and he passed away.”
“Oh no… I’m so sorry.”
“It’s all right.”
In this world, Myeong Guk had accepted that only the living could keep living. He quietly sipped his coffee.
The conversation continued. The pair had grown up like siblings in the same neighborhood, attending the same elementary, middle, and high schools. Myeong Guk had been recruited for archery at a university on a sports scholarship. He had come home for a visit when the zombie outbreak suddenly hit.
He had saved Su Yeong from the house next door, but her parents were killed in the attack. She was the only survivor. In the end, the childhood friends had lost their entire families and now depended on each other to survive.
“I had no idea you’d been through all that…”
“When this is all over, we’re going to have a proper wedding.”
“Oh… so that’s how it is…”
Rana rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a few rings she had secretly stashed away. She handed a gold ring to Su Yeong.
“Consider it a token of our meeting. Please take it.”
“Wha—huh?!”
“It’s a gift for both of you.”
Kim Jun looked at Rana and chuckled. She had been the one who collected the jewelry anyway. Giving one away wouldn’t hurt, especially since gold had little practical use in their current situation. Once the world returned to normal, maybe it would matter again. For now, it was just a pretty rock.
“Thank you so much.”
“Think of it as payment for the meal.”
Meanwhile, Myeong Guk spoke quietly to Kim Jun.
“If you’re staying the night, I’ll finish repairing the livestock pen tomorrow and give you a few chickens and ducks.”
“Oh~ Does that mean we get to keep eating eggs?”
Rana clapped her hands in delight—she had eaten five fried eggs at dinner alone—but Kim Jun shook his head.
“Don’t give us live ones. Kill them and give us the meat.”
“Pardon?”
“Live chickens aren’t a good idea right now.”
“Oppa, why not?!”
When Rana asked, Kim Jun wiggled his finger as he explained.
“Think about what happens in our neighborhood every time a rooster crows at dawn.”
“…Ah.”
Their own shelter sat in a quiet rural area with mostly unpaved roads, but Kim Jun and the eight top stars lived in a residential district where even small noises attracted zombies. The area had already suffered one major attack. A sudden cock-a-doodle-doo could easily become a deadly switch.
Kim Jun had no intention of turning down free food, but he figured it was smarter to take the meat rather than live birds.
Mari, who had been listening quietly, nodded in agreement.
“That makes sense. Let’s set up regular trade between our two places. We can exchange supplies whenever we need eggs or meat.”
“You’d really do that?”
Kim Jun looked around the room, then made up his mind.
“I noticed your spotlight, lights, and appliances. One solar panel probably isn’t enough. I’ll give you one of the generators from our vehicle.”
“Thank you.”
“We also have wallpaper and flooring we took from a hardware store. We can trade those for meat and eggs.”
And just like that, an on-the-spot agreement for mutual survival trading was made for the next day.
Just like the last time, kind-hearted survivors were proving that resource exchange after looting runs could make life significantly easier.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“You two have been living here alone, right?”
“Uh, yes. Why?”
Myeong Guk looked confused when Mari suddenly questioned him so seriously.
“When I arrived, you said your wife wasn’t feeling well, so I examined her. I gave her vitamins and iron supplements too.”
“Is… is there something wrong with Su Yeong’s body?”
The sudden shift in atmosphere made Myeong Guk ask gravely. Mari scratched her cheek, wondering how to phrase it, then decided to be direct.
“How often have you two been… intimate while staying here?”
“…Excuse me?”
“Sex. How many times per week?”
“Oh my?!”
“Hey!”
Rana stared at Su Yeong in shock while Kim Jun tried to stop Mari from continuing.
Both Su Yeong and Myeong Guk turned bright red. The flustered Su Yeong hid behind her husband, eyes darting behind her large glasses.
The modest-looking couple struggled to answer the sudden question.
“Well… we never really counted…”
“I’m guessing it was quite a lot?”
“Mari!” Kim Jun shouted.
Mari held up a hand to silence him. She wasn’t teasing—she was speaking as a doctor.
“You should refrain for the time being. Her body hasn’t stabilized yet, and the intense activity has only made her morning sickness worse.”
“Wh-what?!”
“In other words, your wife is pregnant.”
“!!!!”
Mari clearly explained that she had used her stethoscope to confirm it and provided the supplements for that reason.
She also revealed why she had corrected the count from “three women in the room” to “four” while the men were on the rooftop.
“There’s a pregnancy test in the car outside. If you want to check right now, we can bring it in.”
Mari went out with Kim Jun to retrieve the test. A short while later, Su Yeong emerged from the bathroom holding the stick with two vivid red lines, tears streaming down her face.
“It’s… it’s real…”
“…Oppa.”
The two couples embraced tightly and wept with joy. Kim Jun, Rana, and Mari quietly clapped for them.
Even in an apocalypse, new life could still begin.
The next morning.
Kim Jun and Myeong Guk woke at the first rooster’s crow and immediately started repairing the livestock pen.
They used tools and wire mesh from the camper to make sure the chickens and ducks that had escaped and gone half-wild could never get out again.
Watching the chicks and ducklings hatched from fertile eggs drink water from the well pump and peck at weeds and bugs, Kim Jun smiled. It looked like this household would have no problem securing a steady food supply.
“Here you go.”
“Wow, you caught quite a few.”
Myeong Guk had wrung the necks of five chickens and three ducks, drained the blood, and handed over the meat. He also gave them two trays of chicken eggs and one of duck eggs twisted in traditional straw, plus vegetables like peppers and zucchini.
In return, Kim Jun handed over flooring materials, a box of nails, diapers, and nutritional supplements they had taken from a medical supply store. The trade was completed smoothly.
“We’ll see you next time.”
“If you come again, honk the horn three times nearby. I’ll turn on the spotlight.”
Kim Jun made sure they had a clear way to signal each other in case he wasn’t there, so Su Yeong would know. With that, the two shelters established solid communication.
After the trade, they finally enjoyed a proper two-day, one-night supply run—the first good one in a long while—before heading home.
In the car, Rana thought back on their conversations and said, “My friend who’s the same age as me is going to be a mom. Wow~ I can’t even imagine it.”
“Yeah, it’s crazy.”
“Even in this situation, babies are still being born.”
Kim Jun nodded at Rana’s words.
Rana had seduced Kim Jun into having sex several times already, but she now realized it was something she absolutely couldn’t risk. She silently renewed her resolve to be extremely careful about contraception from now on.
Mari, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced at Kim Jun and spoke softly.
“If this situation lasts more than a year…”
“It won’t go on that long.”
“I said if. If it really does, I think I could do it.”
“Do what?”
“Have your baby, Oppa.”
“…”
For a split second, Kim Jun nearly slammed on the accelerator and brake at the same time.