The Body That Never Tires
Getting dragged into a zombie apocalypse novel had its ups and downs. Picking up some decent gym equipment and working out together wasn't so bad. Bench presses, squats—stuff like that to build up the body. That part was fine. I'd even tested my three-rep max. But there was one tiny problem: my regeneration was so good that working out didn't actually do anything.
Normally, exercise tears up muscle fibers during the strain, and protein rebuilds them bigger. Yet no matter how hard I pushed through a deadlift for dozens of minutes, I never got tired. Mental fatigue piled up, sure, but my body just wouldn't wear out. I could probably crank the intensity way up, but...
"There's no way they've got that kind of gear here."
"Sounds like the same issue Siwoo oppa has. He keeps complaining the weights aren't heavy enough."
"His problem is technique. Mine's completely different. I have to rely on raw strength."
"True... How much do you think that is right now?"
"Huh?"
The bar had all sorts of plates hanging off it, but I couldn't tell the total at a glance. I wasn't exactly a regular at the gym—breathing was about the extent of my usual workout. This body only started doing intense stuff after I ended up here. Still, those looked like 10 kg plates... six of them, so maybe 80 kg total?
"Two 10 kg plates and four 20 kg plates, plus the bar at 20 kg. That's 120 kg."
"What?!"
"I can lift 120 kg too, so it's not a problem for me..."
"Wait, haven't we been doing this for dozens of minutes already?"
"You've probably done at least fifty reps."
"...Huh?"
Kim Yeonhua stared at me like she couldn't believe I wasn't exhausted. But I really wasn't. I was a little mentally drained, yeah, but my body still felt fresh—like I could keep going forever. No joke, if I'd done manual labor with this body back in the day, I would've made thousands by now. Unfortunately, that wasn't exactly a good thing in this situation. It meant I could work unpaid without rest. Kang Siwoo would obviously work me to the bone if he found out.
"So this stays between us and Siwoo, got it?"
"Ah, yes."
"I'm already getting worked to death. He'll just pile on more if he knows."
"Haha..."
Kim Yeonhua nodded in understanding. In novel terms, I was basically that one idiot heroine the author suddenly starts pushing hard in the middle of an established cast. Naturally, the original "fixed stones" would be foaming at the mouth. But if even this girl was pitying me, just how badly was I being exploited? It was so unfair.
Last time she'd even snuck me snacks and canned food, saying her sister looked hungry. Thankfully, she didn't seem like the type to rat me out to Kang Siwoo. The other people in the gym were on my side too—they knew how inhuman my workload was, so they wouldn't snitch.
"Come to think of it, unni."
"Yeah?"
"Are you really okay with being completely excluded from the meetings?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know, the meetings at Hyeonlim-gwan. That's where all the important decisions get made."
"That?"
"Yeah. Everything from food distribution to... well, everything gets decided and announced there. Don't tell me..."
I knew exactly what she was worried about. She probably thought I was doing all the work but getting none of the recognition. Honestly, though, anything that required actual brainpower was a hassle. If I had to use my head, I'd rather do it in my own field. Queen-bee antics using my looks? Stirring up drama to collapse the community and invite zombie attacks? That was about the only thing I was good at. When my life was directly on the line my brain did work overtime, but I had zero desire to rack my head that hard just because someone shoved a knife to my throat.
Besides, even if I sat in on the meetings, I wouldn't have any opinions to offer. I'd just space out staring at the ceiling the whole time, nodding along before leaving. It was way more comfortable to sit or lie in my room and listen to Kang Siwoo's briefing afterward. And it wasn't like I'd be treated poorly anyway. I wandered around campus doing odd jobs whenever I wasn't sleeping. At this point, if someone didn't know my face they'd have to be a spy. Some people even recognized me without knowing Kang Siwoo's face. As for electricity and water... I only used my dorm room to sleep, so did I really need power?
"I can shower whenever I want now, can't I?"
"Well, seeing how you came back in one piece... you must've cleaned out all the way to the Nakdong River, huh?"
"Yeah. We won't be short on water anymore."
"Then what about everything else...? Food and drinking water. You don't even seem to know how the meal distribution works..."
"Ah, that?"
It was a little embarrassing to admit in front of Kim Yeonhua. Ever since I'd arrived on campus, I'd been eating at least two meals a day with Kang Siwoo. Naturally, sharing meals with him meant I'd never gone short on food or water. That wasn't all, either. Whenever there was work to do and no one else around, people would bribe me with food. "Yeji-ssi, we found some delicious chicken in the Spiders' territory..." Stuff like that. Between all the food and work, I'd never once had to eat less. These days I was even starting to look forward to what new snacks they'd offer next.
When I roughly explained that she didn't need to worry, Kim Yeonhua smiled like she found it funny.
"It really does seem like that."
"Like what?"
"You know, Pavlov's dog."
"Oh."
"Still, it wasn't as bad as I was worried about."
"What were you worried about?"
"I thought you'd been blackmailed with some weakness and were being worked to death. I figured no one could work that hard otherwise."
Of course, the blackmail part was true, but I'd rather die than admit it. So we just smiled at each other for a while, joking about the rumors. Still, when you really thought about it, I was being blackmailed... I didn't want to fall out of favor when one wrong move could get me killed. He'd straight-up said that if I showed any signs of political maneuvering, I wouldn't die pretty. So yeah, technically I was being exploited through blackmail, but... for now, I wanted to tell myself I was the one using Kang Siwoo. It wasn't just mental gymnastics either—I'd come to this community because I needed him. Even if Noh Changhun and I had gone to Haeundae instead, we would've secured a decent position there. But Kang Siwoo's campus faction needed to grow if it was going to be useful. That thought was at least a small comfort.
Kang Siwoo and I were practically glued together these days, right? And that guy was an insane workaholic. Plus, he ground down capable people for the sake of the community's stability. Obviously he wouldn't grind down someone like me who was always right next to him. I'd thought time was just flying by because I wasn't doing much work, but apparently half of it was because I was basically a slave.
"...I really need to ask for a bigger share."
"You definitely get less than you work for."
"Even the occasional chicken or pizza isn't enough..."
"You get those too?"
"Yeah. Why? Can't you eat them?"
"No, I'm just glad you're getting something at all."
"What the hell is my treatment even like at this point..."
"You're the undisputed second-in-command. Siwoo oppa handles the brains, you handle the body, unni."
Second-in-command... That title felt like a stretch. I didn't have anywhere near Kang Siwoo's authority, I wasn't getting paid proportionally to my work, and my opinions didn't shape the community. To anyone looking, I was just a regular odd-job worker. Still, being called second-in-command felt nice. Yeah, this campus was definitely recruiting me and rising fast. Without me, the community wouldn't function. A few ominous thoughts—like being told to fetch water—did cross my mind, but still! The fact that I'd become an important person here felt pretty good.
"Come to think of it, I always find it amazing whenever I see you, unni."
"Yeah?"
"That headset. It feels like it gets replaced every time it breaks."
"This thing... I can't sleep without it, and more importantly..."
"More importantly?"
I hesitated, embarrassed to say it out loud. After that fight with General, the headset Noh Changhun gave me had broken. One of the male students who knew my situation had given me his own, saying he wouldn't need it anymore since he had earphones. At first I'd just accepted it and used it normally, but over the past week it'd started feeling more like a gesture of goodwill.
"Everyone keeps offering me headsets, saying they're grateful?"
"Yeah... I've got three cat-ear headsets in my room right now."
"And plenty of normal ones too, I bet?"
"Obviously. Plus they break or get lost pretty often, so I've already gone through three spares."
"Ah, unni. After we finish and shower, want to take a quick walk?"
"Huh? Is that okay?"
"Don't want to?"
Kim Yeonhua asked while wrapping a nearby towel around her neck. It wasn't that I didn't want to, but I was worried Kang Siwoo might call for me. He always came looking for me whenever there was heavy lifting to do. But she said she'd cover for me if anyone showed up—even if Kang Siwoo came himself, she'd stop him from making me work. That put me at ease. We'd already cleared out the surrounding zombies, so another attack was unlikely. One day of relaxing and chatting should be fine. So I nodded and accepted the offer.