One Month Ago: Final Preparations
That evening, the friends gathered in the dining hall to sort their gear. Yubin, Jinwoo, and Sheriff pulled items from boxes and packed them into their personal backpacks while the others sat around them, offering a steady stream of advice.
Compared to the early days when they had faced zombies armed with nothing but a shovel and a hammer, their equipment had come a long way. Even so, meticulous preparation remained essential—especially for a long-term trip outside the base.
“……Driver. Wrench. Knife.”
Every time Yubin read an item from the long list on his paper, Jinwoo and Sheriff lifted the corresponding piece of gear to show him before tucking it away.
Even though they would be traveling as a team, the importance of each person’s standard backpack had not diminished in the slightest. If an unexpected situation left someone isolated, whether or not they had that pack could dramatically shift their odds of survival.
“Flashlight and headlamp.”
“Here!”
Sheriff and Jinwoo held up the flashlight and headlamp, then swapped in fresh batteries and tested them again. The chance of receiving a defective unit was extremely low, but there was no harm in double-checking while they still had the luxury of time.
“Six spare batteries each. Put them in a ziplock bag. Seal it tight so no water gets in.”
Yubin handed out the AAA batteries to everyone, never forgetting to add a reminder.
Watching him, Jinwoo let out a small chuckle. It finally made sense how these guys had survived an entire month in the zombie world without a single gun between them. To be more precise, it would be more accurate to say they had lived in relative comfort rather than merely survived.
“One liter of water, four calorie bars, and a bag of candy. Sheriff, add two more calorie bars for yourself. Jinwoo, grab two cans of dog food for Samsuk-i.”
Yubin instructed them to take extra food. Sheriff’s large frame meant he burned more calories in a single day.
Even after that, the list still had plenty of items left: a newly filled Zippo lighter, one candle, a pack of cigarettes to distract zombies, disinfectant, bandages, an emergency medical kit, and six 45-centimeter cable ties. Those ties had countless uses—from tourniquets to restraints, locking doors, or securing wire mesh.
“……Spare Kevlar gloves, ten meters of rope, blue tape, walkie-talkie, and a whistle. Attach the whistle to the multitool keychain.”
Even if the walkie-talkie failed, the whistle would still produce sound. Beyond signaling their location if isolated, it could be used to exchange simple signals with the others.
“One towel, space blanket. Vinyl rain poncho and spare socks.”
Yubin pulled a cotton towel, a space blanket, a cheap vinyl poncho, and a thick pair of hiking socks from the box and distributed them.
“Damn, if we’d had one of these back then, we wouldn’t have shivered ourselves to sleep in the Gangwon mountains.”
Jinwoo shook his head at the mere memory as he accepted the thin folded space blanket. The thing weighed almost nothing, yet its windproofing and heat-retention capabilities were outstanding.
“How did you endure that cold every day?”
Terra, who had been leaning against Jenny’s shoulder, asked with a face full of sympathy. Jinwoo shrugged and wrapped his arms around himself.
“Like this. Just keep shivering until you fall asleep. Trying to think of good things the whole time.”
“What kind of good things?”
“Huh? Um… well, stuff from before the zombie outbreak. Memories of drinking with friends and cracking jokes, or dreams about suddenly having a ridiculous amount of bullets…”
Truth be told, I thought about you two the most…
Jinwoo nearly jumped when he realized Terra might be reading his mind. He kept the real answer to himself. On those bitterly cold nights in Gangwon Province, he had fallen asleep imagining them.
Beautiful Jenny and Terra hugging him, showering him with kisses… rather sweet, sometimes intense fantasies. When even that failed to bring sleep, he would stare for a moment at the Pink Punch photo he had taped inside his helmet. It brought him comfort. Since he never imagined he would actually meet the era’s top idols, their faces in that photo had been the best lullaby he could give himself.
Of course, he could never say any of that in front of the girls themselves. He would never be able to look them in the eye again.
“……Ultralight puffer jacket.”
Once Jinwoo finished answering, Yubin continued down the list. Sheriff tilted his head as he picked up the neatly folded ultralight puffer jacket and stuffed it into his small pack.
“Do we really need this already? I think a hoodie and windbreaker would be enough.”
“It’s almost the end of November. Nights are going to be cold. We might not need them, but they don’t take up much space. Better safe than sorry.”
Yubin answered in his usual safety-first manner and packed two ultralight jackets into his own bag. Sheriff blinked in confusion.
“Why are you taking two?”
“Oh, this one… is for Mingu. Last time I saw him, he was only wearing that suit jacket. I doubt he’ll bring extra clothes this time either.”
“That guy and his damn pride! Who the hell wears a full suit in a zombie apocalypse? And it’s always those dark, gloomy colors too.”
Sheriff clicked his tongue. Samsik, who had been injecting coating liquid into a balloon and rubbing it evenly, pointed at Sheriff’s gray hoodie.
“You’re one to talk. Last time we hit the department store you only grabbed Nike stuff. You’re still wearing it now. Back when we were doing construction jobs, you used to buy three-thousand-won used clothes with me at the flea market all the time.”
“Huh?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected counterattack, Sheriff faltered before firing back.
“That’s different, you idiot! This is… practical! It’s not like a suit!”
“But you still like that swoosh logo, right? Haha. Be honest, Sheriff!”
Samsik traced the Nike swoosh in the air with his finger. Taekwondo Girl came to the rescue of the speechless Sheriff.
“It looks good on you.”
“R-really?”
Sheriff finally relaxed and let out a small sigh. Even as the jokes flew back and forth, Yubin remained completely focused on checking items off his list.
“One pack of wet wipes. One hand warmer. Marker, goggles…”
As Yubin picked up each item and placed it in front of his friends’ backpacks, he kept his head down. He could feel Jenny sitting across from him, staring at him without blinking. It made him nervous. Being loved by someone so beautiful filled his chest with fluttering joy, but he didn’t want the others to notice.
No… to be exact, it wasn’t that he didn’t want them to notice. He was worried. And… unsure. For now they lived together like this, but Jenny and he came from completely different worlds. If they were truly lucky and their efforts succeeded in resolving the zombie crisis… she would have to return to being everyone’s idol once more.
“Um… Jenny. Could you grab the masks from that box in the back?”
Yubin gave her a small errand to divert her attention. He figured she might stop staring if she moved around and changed position.
“Do we need these too?”
Jenny returned with four 3M dust masks. Yubin nodded.
“Yeah. Sometimes the stench of rotting corpses is overwhelming. You’ll need them if you’re working in a place like that.”
It had already been four months since the mass zombie outbreak. If they were unlucky, they might have to spend a night surrounded by bodies that had been decaying for the entire four months, covered in dust no one had cleared. In those situations, goggles and masks were essential.
“Is it worse than summer?”
Jenny looked worried. Yubin answered casually.
“Well… it’s not hot, so the smell probably doesn’t spread as intensely, but it’s definitely not going to get any better.”
“Then take a few more.”
Jenny pressed two masks into Yubin’s right hand, her fingertips brushing his ever so lightly. Her slender, long fingers were as endlessly soft as always. Even though she had developed calluses from practicing marksmanship, the sensation still felt like a dream.
“I will. These are just personal emergency supplies. I’ll pack plenty more in that big bag over there.”
Yubin pointed at the large duffel bag where Jinwoo was carefully stuffing magazines. Jinwoo was stacking them with deadly seriousness, laying each one down neatly.
“How many rounds are you taking, bro?”
When Gyuyeong asked, Jinwoo answered without even needing to count.
“This bag has twenty K-2 magazines—that’s six hundred rounds. Five Lapua Magnum magazines, fifty rounds. And…”
Jinwoo patted his personal backpack and continued.
“Ten more K-2 magazines here. Two Lapua Magnum magazines. And six K-2 magazines in the tactical vest.”
As he listed the numbers, a proud little smile spread across Jinwoo’s lips. He looked like a squirrel that had stuffed its tree hollow full of acorns.
Huff huff huff—!
Samsuk-i, who had been staying close to Jinwoo, opened his big mouth in a pleased, boastful pant.
“Whoa, that’s over a thousand rounds.”
Gyuyeong sounded genuinely impressed. But Jinwoo’s expression suggested he didn’t think it was a lot at all.
“You never know what might happen.”
He unzipped the front pocket of the duffel bag to show them. A Glock 19 with an RMR red dot and tactical flashlight attached, plus two fifteen-round spare magazines, were secured inside with Velcro. It was the meticulousness of a human weapon. Anyone who messed with this guy… would simply die.
“Hey, aren’t you two taking guns?”
Taekwondo Girl asked Yubin and Sheriff.
“We are, but…”
Sheriff thumped his backpack. The front pocket also held a loaded Glock and two spare magazines. Still, he didn’t look like he relied on them much.
“They’re really just insurance. Honestly, I’m not that good with them. If the target’s standing still, maybe. But running zombies? No way I’m hitting them with this. I’m more comfortable with this.”
What Sheriff picked up was the sledgehammer he had used since their days at the welfare center. It was incredibly heavy and large—most people couldn’t swing it freely—but Sheriff had protected both his friends and himself with it all this time.
“I have a pistol too, and I packed two MP5s for communal use in case of emergency. Don’t worry.”
Yubin, trying to ease their concerns, pointed at Jinwoo.
“Besides… with him around, how often do you think we’ll actually need to shoot?”
“True…”
Taekwondo Girl nodded immediately, convinced. With Jinwoo’s marksmanship, he could wipe out dozens of zombies in the blink of an eye. And for even larger hordes, they had Yubin’s brain to plan ahead so they would never even encounter them.
“……One more hammer, two shovels, two crowbars each. Electric drill box…”
After finishing the check of personal standard backpacks, Yubin moved on to the list of shared supplies. Tools could double as close-combat weapons, so it was better to bring extras even if they were a little heavy.
“Generator, fuel, engine oil, ice maker, cooler…”
“This thing’s heavy. And bulky. Whew~.”
Samsik lifted the portable generator’s handle with both hands and whistled lightly. The thing weighed eighty kilograms even without fuel—already heavier than most grown men. Adding the portable ice maker meant at least two trips even if two people carried it.
“We still need it,” Yubin replied.
To preserve Terra’s blood stably, they needed ice, which required electricity. There would probably be a refrigerator at the site, but Yubin did not want to gamble on even that small variable. Terra’s blood was far too precious for such risks. It might sound absurd to put a price on human blood… but right now, Terra’s blood was the most valuable resource in the world.
“Well, I can carry it,” Sheriff muttered as if it were no big deal.
Newbie, who had been quietly watching the communal bags and supplies, tilted his head.
“But… isn’t the food and water a bit short?”
The total supplies came to six two-liter bottles of water, twenty-four packs of solid combat rations, and one bag of dog food for Samsuk-i. In other words, it was only enough for four adults and one large dog for two days. Their scheduled trip was eight days long. Even counting the emergency rations in their personal packs, they were still five days short.
“We can procure that much on site,” Yubin said.
Even with helicopter transport, there were limits to weight and volume. Taking enough food to eat and drink freely was impossible anyway, and it would be close to waste. It was far better to bring more ammunition for Jinwoo than forty liters of water.
“Jinwoo oppa, are you taking that helmet again this time?”
Terra asked after whispering something to Jenny.
“Hm?”
Surprised by the unexpected question, Jinwoo touched his hi-bar helmet. He was no longer a soldier and no one was forcing him to wear it, yet he always ended up packing it. This helmet, too, had traveled with him from Gangwon to Seoul.
“……I am. It feels wrong without it.”
“I knew it! Here!”
Jenny smiled brightly and handed him something thin. When he peeled off the outer paper, a Polaroid photograph appeared.
“It’s you two…”
Jinwoo murmured, entranced. Jenny and Terra, wearing short dresses and pressed close together, smiling in the photo—the two beautiful girls were breathtaking. They had both done their makeup and outfits with great care. And beside each of their legs were small autographs. Along with the message ‘We love you, Jinwoo oppa.’
“Oh my god…!”
Jinwoo felt a surge of emotion and wiped his mouth. Suddenly he remembered the squad members who had worked with Sergeant An to steal the Pink Punch poster from the gas station. If those people were still alive and could see this… how happy they would be.
“Gyuyeong took it for us the day before yesterday,” Terra explained, a little shy.
“Oppa, that photo you have taped inside your helmet looked really worn out. We thought you could replace it with this.”
“Thank you, but…”
Jinwoo stared blankly for a moment, then spoke.
“In movies, the guys who carry stuff like this around always end up dying…”
“Hah!”
Jenny’s mouth fell open in disbelief.
“Then don’t use it! Give it back!”
“Yeah, hand it over! You crazy bastard! You don’t even know how to be grateful!”
Even Sheriff, who had no business getting involved, joined in with a loud voice. The dining hall quickly descended into chaos.
“No, no! I was just saying! It’s a joke! A joke!”
Jinwoo desperately fended off Jenny’s hand, protecting the photo with his whole body.
“……Fishing hooks, helium gas, and balloons are all packed. Should we add one more bundle of laundry line and spare smoke grenades per person? Or would that make the personal backpacks too full?”
Paying no attention to the commotion beside him, Yubin chewed on a hangnail and kept his entire focus on the supply list. And so… the night before their departure grew late.