18. A New Home. (2)

While Soo-hyeon was opening the door, the men were diligently moving aluminum panels to the elevator and tearing apart cars to get more.

This is a new home, a new haven.

It needs to be fully fortified.

There can never be too many materials to reinforce the building.

Seeing them take the initiative to work shows they are definitely capable people.

The rental apartment floor on the 10th floor consisted of 20 units on the left and 20 on the right.

The women had already chosen and entered the houses they liked.

The grandma, Ye-eun, So-eun, and the new mother went in to make lunch, preparing kimchi fried rice and serving it to everyone.

Their cooking skills are really top-notch.

Everyone gobbled it up and continued opening the doors.

The apartments were empty.

Except for the old man who had died alone or committed suicide, there were no occupied units.

It seems the combination of unrented units, people who had gone to work before the apocalypse, and those who had gone down to find food and were caught had left the floor completely empty.

Moreover, the shoes and clothes in the closets indicated that most were single-person households.

The last apartment on the 10th floor.

I pressed the doorbell.

Ding-dong-

…Hmm?

I heard a rustling sound?

Turning around, I saw Soo-hyeon, the grandma, and So-eun’s faces change.

This was the first time we heard a sound from inside one of the 40 units we opened.

I pressed the doorbell again.

Ding-dong-

It was quiet.

I was sure I heard a sound.

I knocked and called out,

“Is anyone inside?”

Rustle.

Thump.

Cautious sounds.

Then, it went quiet.

I knocked again.

“If you’re in there, open the door. I’ll give you something to eat.”

Swish.

The sound of someone dragging their feet, very cautiously.

And it was close by.

They must have come to the door.

I said,

“I’m not a stranger. I just moved in next door.”

I shrugged and looked at the women.

“So, what should I say? We did move in, after all.”

The women had a strange, amused look on their faces.

There was still no sound from inside the room.

Soo-hyeon said,

“Hey, if you’re in there, open the door. I… I just moved in too.”

Then So-eun couldn’t hold back her laughter.

The grandma also laughed, though quietly.

Then a voice came from inside the room.

“W-Who is it? N-No one should be moving in next door… that’s impossible.”

It was a woman.

Her voice sounded quite young.

So-eun said,

“There’s no one left to live here. We’re just trying to survive. By the way, do you need anything to eat? I have chocolate.”

After a moment, the door opened a crack.

The safety lock only allowed a small gap.

She was quite pretty.

She was about 165 cm tall, maybe a bit taller.

She had a good figure, though only a glimpse through the gap.

I nodded.

“Hello.”

“Eek.”

Click.

The door closed.

…Why did she do that?

Soo-hyeon poked my back and pushed me.

“Ugh, you’re covered in blood. How can you stand there? Step back.”

Ah, right.

I had become so used to being covered in blood that I didn’t even notice.

I scratched my head and took a step back.

Soo-hyeon said,

“Hey, we’re not dangerous people. Can you open the door for a moment?”

“G-Go away. D-Don’t come here. I’ll call the police.”

…Hmm.

What police…?

There are no police now.

She must be quite scared and confused.

The women looked at me intently.

Yeah, well.

Standing in front of a stranger with blood all over me…

I shrugged and said,

“I don’t think it will work.”

The grandma sighed and knocked on the door.

“Hey, I’ll leave some food at the door. Is that okay?”

She was asking both the person inside and us. I don’t really care.

Soo-hyeon nodded and took a few chocolate bars from her pocket, placing them at the door.

“I left some chocolate bars.”

There was no response.

We decided to leave that apartment alone and gathered the people.

After opening 39 doors, it was already evening.

One of the inline skaters whistled as he looked at an apartment.

“Twenty pyeong. Not bad. The rent must be high, though?”

I was surprised and asked,

“Can you tell just by looking?”

“Yeah, I work in this field.”

Oh.

Twenty pyeong.

I’m terrible with such things and had no idea.

I thought it was only fifteen pyeong by the room alone.

With the balcony and everything, it’s about that size, I guess.

No wonder it felt spacious.

After dinner, we discussed our plans.

The building was almost completely open.

With the mart entrance cleared, anyone could just take the elevator to get in.

We needed to secure the mart.

Soo-hyeon was in charge of this task.

“I don’t think we can weld before clearing the mart. It’s quite noisy, and the light is bright.”

The sizzling and sparking of welding.

Moreover, the flashes…

Even if the human beasts have poor eyesight, they wouldn’t miss that.

Soo-hyeon said,

“I’ll lower the shutters and seal the bottom with silicone. If we apply it thickly, it should be sturdy, but… honestly, if several people grab and pull hard, they might tear it off.”

Uncle Hoon crossed his arms and nodded.

“That’s true. But what else can we do right now?”

He was right.

With human beasts swarming the mart, we couldn’t weld, and silicone alone wasn’t enough.

I said,

“We need to take turns keeping watch overnight.”

People looked at each other.

The inline skaters looked at each other and raised their hands.

“We can take turns.”

“Thought I was done with this after the military, but I guess not.”

Hmm.

They were all veterans.

Uncle Hoon also raised his hand.

“I’ll do it too, sir.”

Hmm.

Han Tae, I mean, Han Tae, watched carefully and didn’t raise his hand.

Right…

You don’t need to raise your hand.

It’s more worrying if you do.

So-eun, the inline skater women, Ye-eun, and Soo-hyeon also raised their hands.

Hmm.

I knew So-eun was tough, but to raise her hand first. Ye-eun has adapted to this situation quite well.

And Soo-hyeon.

She’s really diligent.

I smiled and said,

“Then, including me, those who raised their hands will take turns keeping watch.”

Uncle Hoon shook his head.

“Sir, no. You and Soo-hyeon have other tasks. You need to rest.”

The inline skaters nodded.

“Leave this to us. We’ll handle the mart.”

The women also chimed in.

“Soo-hyeon, you should rest too.”

“I saw your hands shaking earlier.”

…Shaking?

Looking at Soo-hyeon’s hands, they were red.

Ah, from using the cutter so much.

Soo-hyeon laughed and said,

“I’m fine.”

“Fine? Rest.”

She said this and stood up.

“Let’s do it this way. I’ll leave the schedule to you. I’ll rest a bit and then go check the mart.”

People waved at me.

“Yes, sir. Rest well.”

“Rest.”

I turned to go to the apartment I had chosen.

Then Soo-hyeon grabbed my hand and dragged me in.

Hmm… 1023.

Click.

The door closed.

There was no lock, so it didn’t fully close.

But, whatever.

No one here except the cockroaches would try to barge in.

We can install locks later.

The room Soo-hyeon dragged me into had a high-spec computer.

This might be one of the reasons she chose this apartment. A gamer wouldn’t pass up a high-spec computer for free.

“Stay here, bro. Wait, I need to go apply silicone. I’ll wash off the blood first.”

I smiled and started to take off my clothes.

“Sure. Call me if anything happens.”

“Got it.”

As she was about to leave, Soo-hyeon brushed my lower body and glanced at me with a smile.

I chuckled and went into the bathroom.

 * * *

6:00 PM.

I went down to the first floor.

I couldn’t see outside.

The shutters were all down.

The people…

Ah, they’re all by the side door.

So, this area is almost completely sealed off.

Following the shutters, I saw Soo-hyeon with a silicone applicator and the men helping her.

“Soo-hyeon, how’s it going?”

Soo-hyeon smiled at me.

“Almost done. I only need to do this one shutter. I’ll leave the broken glass as is. We need to move the bodies outside, and we might need to go out later. Why did you come down? You should rest more.”

I tapped the sword at my waist.

Uncle Hoon said,

“A-Are you going to the mart, sir?”

“Yes. It’s time.”

The inline skaters slowly approached me.

“Can we watch?”

“What’s your name?”

“How old are you?”

Hmm…

We haven’t introduced ourselves yet.

“Han Seong-hun, twenty-five.”

“I’m-“

I shook hands and introduced myself to the men.

But I forgot their names as soon as I heard them.

I’m sorry, but I don’t care.

But I know they’re older than me.

Twenty-eight, twenty-seven, thirty, something like that.

I said with a very interested face, though I had forgotten everything,

“I’ll be back. Take care of Soo-hyeon.”

“Don’t worry about me. Be careful, and don’t get hurt.”

I chuckled and walked to the mart.

Oh.

All the bodies have been cleared?

They must have thrown them outside.

I stretched my arms and looked beyond the mart.

…There are so many.

How to deal with them…

I glanced behind me.

The inline skaters were watching me, and Soo-hyeon and Uncle Hoon were applying silicone.

They can’t come this way.

Then, I need to lure them inside.

I drew my sword.

Swish-

I pushed the glass door open with my shoulder and entered.