The Apartment Complex
Thankfully, the crying wasn’t too loud. After dealing with zombies, she must have realized how important staying quiet was, because even though it had started out pretty loud, it gradually got softer. So for a while, I just watched Kim Yeonhua crying in her parents’ arms. The other students were celebrating like it was their own family being saved, which was a relief. We’d pulled off about half the mission, so now all that was left was getting everyone back to the school safely. Of course, the anger still boiling inside me hadn’t gone anywhere.
I had enough sense not to flop down and complain about being in pain right in front of Kim Yeonhua’s father. Besides, my regeneration was so fast that the bruises from earlier had already vanished. Best to just pretend nothing happened and go whine to Kang Siwoo instead. He was surprisingly good at taking care of people’s mental state, so I figured I’d pester him for a while.
“More importantly…” I casually opened the door to the boxing gym and peeked inside. The surrounding shops had been looted way too thoroughly for it to have been just the two of them. A single convenience store would’ve been enough for two people to survive two months. Actually, they wouldn’t even have finished everything—one store should’ve left some supplies behind. But every food shop had been cleaned out, which was suspicious.
I knew from personal experience that Kim Yeonhua’s father could probably take down most mutant zombies. So…
“Just as I thought.”
There were more people inside the gym. As expected, it looked like Kim Yeonhua’s father and the others had been scavenging food to stay alive. They must’ve started with the nearest shops and kept looting whenever supplies ran low. And then I spotted the most ominous banner: Children’s Boxing Tournament.
“We’re screwed…”
“Yeji-nim, is something wrong?”
“Hey, Seonghwa. My head’s killing me right now.”
“Ah.”
Kang Seonghwa’s expression hardened. Yeah, that made sense. Inside the gym were nearly twenty people staring at us uneasily. It was the same situation as Bumin Campus, only worse. At least there everyone had been college students. Even if some were out of shape, it was still better than having the elderly and children. Here, there were barely any men left—twelve minors, four women, and four men. Excluding the ordinary parents and the minors, only two or three people could actually fight. We had Kim Yeonhua’s father, but even with him, we couldn’t escort all these people on our own. If only Kang Siwoo were here… but he wasn’t.
Luckily, Kang Siwoo had already planned for situations like this. He’d told us that if there were too many people to rescue, we should take our time gathering supplies and wait a few days. Since I’d already explained where we were going, if we didn’t return, a follow-up rescue team would be sent out. Then we could just head back to the university together with them. Except…
“Ha, seriously.”
I wasn’t supposed to get involved in politics, so I’d deliberately left everything to Kang Siwoo and stayed out of it. But there were people who were jealous of him. Plenty had opposed the rescue operation he proposed last time. To shut them up and solidify his position, we couldn’t let a follow-up team be dispatched. Professor Jeong Changhun would keep the community running while Kang Siwoo was away, but there’d definitely be a lot of complaints in the meantime. That would mess up my plan for a peaceful beekeeping life. So here, I had to use my bike.
“Uh, Yeonhua!”
“Yes? Ah, yes.”
“If you’ve calmed down, could you gather everyone for a moment? I think we need to make a plan…”
“Yes, unni.”
Kim Yeonhua wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled. I felt a pang of sadness knowing I couldn’t even complain about getting punched earlier. Well, whatever. The bruise didn’t even show on me anyway. Nothing happened, ta-da! I had plenty of other things to worry about, so I ignored the guilty look Kim Yeonhua’s father was giving me and spoke up.
“Everyone, gather around!”
Explaining things to them wasn’t difficult. We were from the university campus over there. We’d come because we heard Kim Yeonhua’s family was here. But don’t get too loud and rowdy! We hadn’t expected this many people, so we’ll need backup. I’ll head back to the university alone and return, so everyone just rest and don’t fight. Once I explained it like that, it was over. Of course, I dumped all the actual work on the students. Kim Yeonhua stayed with her father to calm everyone down. Since they already knew her, the others settled quickly. Kim Kijun and Kim Daehan checked the community’s supplies with Kim Yeonhua’s mother. Meanwhile, Lee Ayoung tended to the wounded again.
“Hey, Seonghwa. What are you doing? Didn’t I give you a job earlier?”
This guy was just supposed to run errands for everyone else, but he kept sighing like crazy. It wasn’t because I got punched or anything. How could I let someone just stand around doing nothing? I was about to tell him to stand guard if he had nothing to do when I noticed Kang Seonghwa frowning. He’d been like that ever since he couldn’t do what he wanted. So I poked him repeatedly, ready to grill him.
“What’s wrong with you today?”
“My house is nearby.”
“Oh.”
“So I’m a bit on edge today.”
“W-well, the rescue team’s purpose is to save people, so… why didn’t you say anything…?”
“My father’s a soldier, so I figured it wouldn’t be a problem. That’s why I kept quiet.”
“No, but still… that’s a bit…”
“I’ll just wait for the next opportunity. If it really comes down to it, I’ll speak up then.”
Looking at his face, it was obvious he wasn’t okay at all. He clearly wanted to go home but was holding it in. And here I was, about to scold him for it. I couldn’t even look him in the eye from the guilt.
“Uh, Seonghwa…?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s your house?”
“Seorim Apartments, 11th floor, right nearby.”
“1… 11th floor…?”
“I can see your eye twitching.”
I regretted asking. An apartment? That was going to be a pain. Even if there was a lot to gain, apartments didn’t offer much. Was I really going to drag myself to a place that might not even have his family, just because I felt bad? But I had to go. What else could I do? My conscience, which had been quiet for a while, was starting to sting again.
“We were going to do reconnaissance anyway…! Let’s go and come back. Think of it as a date with noona.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with that?”
“C’mon, you said it’s nearby. We can just zip over and back.”
“I’ll ask one more time—are you really okay with this? You could die.”
“Me?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. Me dying? Maybe if there were dangerous mutants, but me? It had been scary and unpleasant earlier, but not anymore. How could a guy be scared? I wasn’t going to let that happen.
“Let’s go! Lead the way!”
“Ah.”
Kang Seonghwa let out a short groan. Ignoring his muttering about flipping some weird switch, I explained the plan to the others. While we were at it, we’d check out some unlooted shops near Kang Seonghwa’s house. Kim Kijun and Kim Daehan’s supply analysis showed we were short on things anyway, and we needed medicine too. No reason to hesitate. I was planning to go all out from the start. After all, if I backed down after hearing that, I wouldn’t be a man. And I was feeling petty, so I was definitely going all the way to Seorim Apartments.
“Let’s move!”
“Haa…”
So I dragged Kang Seonghwa, who was just sighing heavily like we were doomed, outside the building. There was nothing to worry about anyway. Not a single zombie was in sight on the streets. And even if there were, we had Unlucky Noh Changhun and me right here. Kang Seonghwa fought with raw strength like Noh Changhun, so his ability was focused on short bursts. Once that time ran out, he’d get a bit weaker. That’s when I came in—as a meat shield. If I could hold out until Kang Seonghwa recovered, we could wipe out most zombies. It felt just like wandering around Jangyu, so my shoulders were squared with confidence. I could even take down regular zombies myself now, so there was nothing to fear.
“See? Nothing happened, right?”
“Your optimism is truly something else.”
“Hey.”
“It was a joke. That’s the apartment, Yeji-nim.”
“Yeah.”
Apartment complexes were basically zombie habitats. Whether zombies were trapped inside the units or gathered in the parking lots nearby, there were always plenty of them. Of course, having them trapped inside was preferable. Fortunately, this complex didn’t seem to have any visible zombies. So as long as we were careful about noise, we’d be fine. I’d already mapped out our return route and spotted two convenience stores that hadn’t been looted yet.
“Later, if your dad’s still alive, you’ll let me know, right?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Hehe, this is how you build connections.”
Kang Seonghwa’s face scrunched up before softening into a gentle smile. Now that we’d come this far, going inside his house was a given. Of course he’d be in a good mood. Hoping I could at least get a spoonful of honey out of this later, I followed him into the apartment building where his home was.