Chapter 81 - Nights Are Even Busier
Kim Jun looked at the smoothly running camping generator and spoke.
“Didn’t we say a zombie horde broke into our house too?”
“Yes, that’s what you said earlier.”
“I think I’ve found the cause.”
“We’re running more than ten of these things. Thanks to that, we’ve got electricity to spare, but…”
They had tried to solve the noise issue on their own by putting the generators inside the warehouse or laying down styrofoam for soundproofing, but when combined, the whole area still ended up pretty loud.
“We’re going to need to prepare proper soundproofing too.”
To be certain they would need to run some experiments, but for now this was the most likely hypothesis for why the zombies kept swarming them.
“I’ll get ready as soon as I get back too.”
“Yes. First we’ll try treating the noise on this one, then look into the zombie appearances.”
“Oh, before that. If you have any spare wood, I might want to take some with me.”
“Wood, huh…”
Myeong Guk thought for a moment, then pulled back a sheet in one corner of the warehouse. Stacks of logs meant for firewood were revealed.
“Take as much as you need.”
“Nice~ Thanks.”
Seeing the lumber that filled one entire wall of the warehouse, Kim Jun called over Emily and Nanika. The three of them carried the wood out together.
The pieces they stacked neatly in the car could be used for all sorts of things once they got home.
After finishing their second trade, the night had grown completely dark. Only then did Kim Jun turn on the headlights and head back home.
As they left under the farewell waves of Myeong Guk and his wife, Nanika flinched at the sight of the zombies still sprawled across the ground.
“Alright~ let’s go.”
“Hoo…”
Other than the moon and stars in the sky and the car Kim Jun was currently driving, everything was pitch black.
In a place where not even a single ray of light could be found, Nanika realized that Kim Jun had always driven these roads in silence, and that her older and younger sisters had endured the same sight for the sake of survival.
“Looks like we’ll have a lot to do when we get home.”
“What are you going to make with that wood? It’d be nice to have another bed.”
At Emily’s words, Kim Jun let out a small chuckle.
“I’ll make one for you later when we raid a woodworking shop or something.”
“Huh? You can do that?”
“At this point, what can’t I make if I have the materials?”
Just as he said, as long as he had the materials, he now had the confidence to make anything necessary for survival.
And so, after two late-night trades that let them meet living survivors, the two top stars headed back while taking out a few zombies along the way. They returned home safely.
Of course, that was if you ignored the fact that every time a zombie appeared in the headlights, the girls screamed like they were watching a horror movie.
“Whoa, you brought back a lot of different stuff?”
Do Kyung easily lifted a sack of potatoes, while the youngest, Rana, and the eldest, Gaya, held hands to lift another sack together.
Kim Jun had personally carried a huge amount of lumber, and now everyone was gathered, moving the supplies one by one.
“Here!”
“Ah… this…”
Among all the supplies, Kim Jun had made sure to bring the sprouting tray that Eun Ji had requested and handed it to her.
“Thank you. I’ll grow some bean sprouts with this.”
“When they’re all grown, I’ll be expecting a bowl of soup.”
“Yes~ I’ll make it really delicious for you.”
They were sorting through everything, and the supplies inside the camper were steadily decreasing. That was when In Ah, who had been keeping her distance from Kim Jun but still tried to help whenever everyone worked together, stepped inside.
“Oh my, you brought so many clothes…!”
She saw the clothes Emily and Nanika had gathered and was about to pile them up in one spot when she stopped at the sight of a box deeper inside.
It was only natural. Inside were school uniforms that could be worn by teenagers, along with loose socks, prepared in every size.
“Uh, these…”
In Ah looked at the complete set of school uniforms from different schools—enough for all eight idols—and turned around.
“What are you doing? Bring out the rest.”
“No, it’s just that…”
The moment they saw the school uniform skirts and blouses In Ah was holding, everyone’s reactions were completely different.
Eun Ji stared at Kim Jun quietly without the slightest smile.
Gaya and Mari counted on their fingers as if calculating their own ages, alternating their gazes between the uniforms and Kim Jun’s face.
Rana and Do Kyung wore mysterious smiles, as if asking if this was his preference.
Kim Jun, understanding exactly what those looks meant, immediately explained himself.
“I didn’t pick these out.”
“Then should we throw them away?”
Emily whispered softly from behind him.
Technically, she was the one who had insisted on taking them, but Kim Jun ended up taking all the blame.
The silver lining was that more than half of the eight girls could probably wear them.
Anyway, in that awkward atmosphere, before heading upstairs Kim Jun spoke to Mari and Do Kyung who were organizing things in the warehouse.
“You two, when you come up, bring the WD-40 and the toolbox.”
“Ah, yes!”
Kim Jun carried the heavy sewing machine up to the second floor, and all the looted supplies were brought inside.
Once everything was in, he started working even though it was late at night just to avoid any more talk about the school uniforms.
“There are two things we need to do today.”
“Hmm, what are they?”
“First, this sewing machine we brought back. I’m going to take it apart, clean every piece, and then test it.”
“You’re doing it right now? Hmm.”
Some reactions suggested it could wait until tomorrow, but Kim Jun had decided to do it now to avoid being hounded with questions about the uniforms.
“And once I’m done fixing this, we’ll go down to the first floor and shut off all the generators except one.”
“Hm? Is there a reason?”
“I’ll tell you the reason while I’m working on this.”
When Mari and Do Kyung brought the toolbox along with the rust remover and lubricant that Kim Jun called “Abakem,” everyone gathered around.
After sitting the eight girls down, he wiped away the dust with a cloth and began disassembling the machine piece by piece with a screwdriver. That was when Kim Jun opened his mouth.
“While I was out trading with Myeong Guk’s family today, I realized something.”
At the word “realized,” six of them perked up their ears while Emily and Nanika, who had been with him today, looked like they already had an idea.
“Remember the two times the zombies tried to break into the house?”
“…”
“Whistle~”
It had been a terrifying situation for everyone, but among them, Emily and Eun Ji had calmly moved to take down the zombies, so they nodded quietly.
“The camping generator I received in the trade today, along with the chicken and duck… the noise and vibration it makes while running.”
“Ah!”
“Was that really the reason?”
“Oh no, then does that mean we can’t use electricity anymore?”
Only now realizing the truth, the girls began murmuring among themselves, worrying about what they should do from now on.
In that moment, Kim Jun had already disassembled the sewing machine and was scraping off the heavily rusted internal parts with a tool commonly called “Yasuri.”
He sharpened the needle, sprayed lubricant, and wiped everything down. Black grime peeled away.
Of course, his hands and eyes stayed busy repairing the old sewing machine as he continued speaking to them.
“Electricity is still essential for now.”
“Hmmm, if we calculate the electricity usage…”
Mari, the quickest at math among the eight, immediately listed their power consumption.
“The refrigerators on the second and third floors, the kimchi refrigerator, the washing machine, the induction stove, and also…”
“When you add it all up, the biggest power draw is the well pump.”
“Ah… does it consume that much electricity?”
“That’s why we hooked up so many generators.”
“The second biggest consumer is…”
“The electric fence.”
At Eun Ji’s answer, Kim Jun pointed at her and immediately gave a thumbs-up.
But that didn’t mean they could suddenly reduce their current use of electricity and water.
Dried squid wouldn’t produce water, and it didn’t feel right to force conservation on the girls who were already doing so well.
“So starting tomorrow, I’m going to build a soundproof box to contain the generator noise.”
“!”
“We’ll need a few things first. Some old clothes, wood, and a saw. We’ll have to make it ourselves.”
Since they couldn’t just stop running the generators immediately, he left only the bare minimum needed to run the well pump at night and turned everything else off.
Coming down from the second floor and stepping outside, he looked at the generators inside Warehouse 2 and shook his head.
Wiiiiiiing—
Rrrrrrrrr—
When they were all running together, the noise and vibration were clearly noticeable. He used to think this level was just normal country living, but that was no longer the case.
Click.
Kim Jun turned off the power. He left only the electric fence and well pump operational, shutting down everything else.
When he came back inside, Eun Ji was already threading the sewing machine he had repaired and mending clothes.
Rrrrrrrrr—
Eun Ji handled the hand-cranked sewing machine with great skill, and the other girls watched with fascination.
Meanwhile, Emily and Do Kyung decided to make some electricity in their spare time and dove into their workout routine.
The rest of the girls either went to bed early or took care of their own tasks. Kim Jun opened up a notebook and began sketching designs for the generator soundproof box.
As long as the design was solid, actually building it would be easy.
As the night grew late, one by one the girls went to sleep. Kim Jun turned off the lights, checked the situation outside past the curtains, and was about to quietly head to bed.
But at that moment, careful footsteps came from the master bedroom followed by a knock.
“Who is it?”
“The main event♥”
He could tell who it was just from the voice, but it was already 1 a.m.
“I’m tired.”
“Weren’t you tired from the start?”
She seemed to have gotten in the mood.
Kim Jun let out a quiet sigh and opened the door. As if she had been waiting, Emily came running in.
“Hey, you.”
“Does it suit me?”
Her outfit was incredible. Emily had taken the school uniforms they brought back—A Girls’ High, B Girls’ High, and C Academy—and mixed them together. But the size was clearly too small.
The blouse was the smallest one, stretched so tight it looked like it would rip at any moment. Emily’s dynamite chest was squeezed so firmly that her navel was completely exposed.
On top of that, the school uniform skirt had been forcibly shortened into a miniskirt, with a loosely fastened belt that swayed with every movement. Her hips and the flesh of her upper thighs spilled out, and she wore loose socks on her legs.
She chewed gum with a cocky swagger. Rather than a typical delinquent schoolgirl, she looked like something straight out of a Western adult video.
“What do you think?”
“Crazy… what the hell are you trying to do…”
“Ta-da, look at this.”
When she showed him the condom wrappers dangling from the hem of her skirt, Kim Jun couldn’t help but laugh.
“This is way too small for your body. Why are you wearing it like this?”
“Obviously because…”
Emily suddenly crouched down, then proudly puffed out her chest.
Rip— Pop!
In that instant, a button on her chest burst off, smacked Kim Jun in the forehead, and flew into the air.
He had only seen the trope of a chest so big it popped buttons in old comedies and manga, but she had recreated it in real life.
“I’ve always wanted to try this.♥”
“Haa~ seriously.”
In that moment, Kim Jun pulled Emily into his arms, grabbed her ass, and lifted her up.
“Kyaa~”
Lifting her like a spine buster, Kim Jun headed straight for the bed.