Chapter 9 Preparation (5)

In the early morning, a loud ringing echoed through the quiet attic.

The noisy alarm made my head throb.

Despite my intention to get up and turn off the alarm, my body, still deeply asleep, showed no signs of movement.

“Ugh… it hurts…”

Last night, perhaps due to the labor I would never normally do, my entire body ached with muscle pain, and every joint screamed in agony.

The neighborhood had become noisy with the sounds of police and ambulance crews responding to another infection, making it impossible to sleep.

People started to avoid going out after midnight, and only then did the neighborhood quiet down, allowing me to finally fall asleep.

Online, people exhibiting strange symptoms were starting to be called “infected” (Infecter).

The internet and media were flooded with various opinions about the current situation, and it seemed the government was struggling to come up with a clear response.

It had been 6 days since the meteorite fell, and 3 days since the store manager showed strange symptoms.

Despite the appearance of infected individuals in various parts of the world, the number of infections was still so small that people didn't seem to feel a sense of urgency.

But my instinct told me it was dangerous.

It was neither too early nor too late in the morning.

Despite the muscle pain that made every movement feel like my limbs were being torn apart, I thought I needed to prepare more for survival.

I got up to observe the situation in the neighborhood and headed out of the attic.

Leaning against the rooftop railing, I saw that the police cars that had been patrolling since yesterday were still on duty, and the neighborhood watch uncles were also patrolling in groups.

Rumble… rumble…

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Thinking it had been quiet all night, an infected person suddenly appeared and ran towards the neighborhood watch uncles who were patrolling.

“It’s an infected! Mr. Choi and Mr. Kim, grab the arms from both sides. I’ll put a gag in the mouth.”

“Right, be careful not to get bitten!”

The neighborhood watch uncles, who seemed to have experience dealing with infected individuals, efficiently divided roles, surrounded, and subdued the infected, then handed them over to the rescue team after reporting to 119.

Watching from the rooftop, I felt a chill run down my spine.

‘That person… wasn’t he bitten by another infected yesterday?’

The infected person who was just subdued and taken to the hospital was someone I recognized from the convenience store where he often bought cigarettes.

He was a man in his mid-30s who, until a few days ago, had been a regular customer at the convenience store, showing no signs of red eyes or coughing.

Yesterday, while I was sitting at the cash register window, I saw him being bitten on the arm by an infected person in the neighborhood. I watched as he received treatment from the ambulance crew and returned home.

‘Is it not only people with respiratory diseases who change, but also those bitten by infected individuals? But the incubation period was supposed to be over 3 days. Why did he change in just one day?’

Without clear information, I could only make guesses based on the observed phenomena to find patterns.

No matter how much I pondered, I couldn't definitively conclude anything in the current situation.

However, my predictions about the future seemed to gain more credibility, so I decided to focus on securing the necessary supplies for survival.

Last night, I suddenly worried about the approaching winter.

It might seem strange to worry about winter during the hottest part of summer, but as a "prepper enthusiast," the compulsion to think and prepare far ahead never left me.

‘I’ll prepare for the long term. I need to be ready to survive for years! If the worst doesn’t happen, I’ll have to move to a place where the manager can’t find me…’

The items I ordered and the preparations for the upcoming winter would cost at least tens of millions of won.

It was a bold and crazy move to use the manager’s credit and assets to make these preparations, and the anxiety never stopped while I was doing it.

Thinking I needed to secure fuel for winter heating and generators, I called a nearby gas station.

“Are you open for business?”

“I’m curious if you can deliver gasoline and kerosene.”

The three drums in the current rooftop storage were already full, so I didn’t have containers for a large amount of oil.

“Sorry, do you sell oil drums?”

“How many do you currently have?”

“I’d like to order 90 drums of diesel, 50 drums of kerosene, and 60 drums of gasoline. The address is…”

The places where I could live safely in the future are the manager’s house and the attic.

After considering various factors, I decided to live in the attic because it would allow me to quickly observe and respond to external situations.

The manager’s house is well-insulated, but it uses city gas for heating, which would be useless if the gas supply is cut off.

In contrast, the attic, though poorly insulated, uses a boiler that runs on coal and diesel, so I could heat it as long as I had coal and diesel.

‘Besides, I have a kerosene heater, so living in the attic is more advantageous.’

There were a few dozen pieces of coal and 2-3 drums of kerosene left in the corner of the storage from last year, but I felt it was never enough to be prepared.

Thinking I needed to buy more coal, I called a coal supplier.

The coal supplier, perhaps because it was summer, didn’t answer the phone.

‘…This is the only place to buy coal in the area.’

Ordering coal from elsewhere would be too far for delivery, and since it’s summer, they might not be in business.

After making several calls, I concluded that I could get coal in a few days but not immediately.

To get more information about the current social atmosphere and the infected, I turned on my computer and browsed internet forums, SNS, and YouTube.

The more I looked, the more I confirmed that my predictions were correct.

SNS was filled with videos and photos of infected people rampaging, and taking selfies with infected individuals had become a trend among young people.

On YouTube and personal broadcasts, many broadcasters were using infected individuals as content to gain subscribers and likes, showing no awareness of the severity of the situation.

Seeing a broadcaster get bitten by an infected person during a live broadcast didn’t even evoke sympathy.

Internet forums were flooded with sensational titles aimed at increasing views.

However, some posts supported my theories and provided useful information I hadn’t seen before, helping me to organize my thoughts.

I called Mr. Baekhoon to share the new information I had gathered.

“Yes. Have you seriously considered what I told you yesterday?”

“Yes, I think it’s too dangerous to go to my mom’s place right now. I’ll wait and see how the situation develops.”

“Ah! Mr. Baekhoon. It seems that being bitten by infected individuals can also cause infection. Moreover, the incubation period seems to have shortened to 1-2 days, unlike the initial 3 days. The virus might be mutating, so be careful.”

I also sent Mr. Baekhoon useful information and articles I had saved.

The muscle pain had become somewhat familiar, but the hunger in my stomach was more painful.

However, I decided to start a serious weight loss plan from last night, eating only one 200g can of chicken breast and water per meal.

Although there was plenty of food, I needed to lose weight to improve my chances of survival and start conserving food regularly.

‘If I’m too heavy and slow, I’ll become prey. I must survive to meet my mom.’

For a moment, I thought, ‘If I had decided to lose weight earlier, would I have lived a more confident and fulfilling life without being socially ignored?’

But such thoughts were meaningless now. I needed to focus on the future.

Putting aside useless thoughts, I massaged my limbs to relieve the muscle pain and did some simple stretching.

“Ugh… ugh… ugh…”

The groans came involuntarily, but I couldn’t stop.

Enduring the pain, I stretched from head to toe, ate a can of chicken breast, and was resting when I received a call from the gas station employee.

“Understood. I’ll come down right away.”

The neighborhood was still being maintained by the police and neighborhood watch uncles, but I still carried a steel pipe and cautiously went down to the first floor.

“Here’s the transaction record. How will you pay?”

Oil drum (20L) unit price: 5,000 won, quantity: 200, total: 1,000,000 won

Diesel (1L) unit price: 1,270 won, quantity: 1,800L, total: 2,286,000 won

Kerosene (1L) unit price: 980 won, quantity: 1,000L, total: 980,000 won

Gasoline (1L) unit price: 1,400 won, quantity: 1,200L, total: 1,680,000 won

Delivery fee: 300,000 won

Total: 6,246,000 won (including VAT)

I was unsure how to pay.

‘How much cash is in the convenience store’s safe?’

While the gas station employee was unloading the oil drums, I went through the back door of the convenience store and gathered the cash, but it was only a little over 1 million won.

‘I can’t pay with cash… I’m sorry, manager. I’ll use the card since I won’t have to pay it back anyway.’

I grabbed the business card used to purchase items for the convenience store. I went outside and handed the card to the gas station employee who was waiting to be paid after unloading the oil drums.

“I’ll pay by card. Please charge it in one installment.”

The gas station employee took out a portable card terminal from the truck and charged 6,246,000 won.

“Please sign here.”

After signing, the gas station employee gave me the card and receipt and left.

From the elevator entrance to the front of the first-floor entrance, the oil drums were lined up.

I looked around, worried that an infected person might appear, but there was no one in sight.

Feeling safe, I was about to load the oil drums into the elevator and take them to the 5th floor when someone spoke to me without making a sound.

“Hey, convenience store brother, hello.”

“Aaaaaah.”

Thud—Bang!

I was so startled that I thought I was having a heart attack. After calming down, I turned around to see two familiar children staring at me.

‘Ah… I really got a scare. They’re the siblings who live on the 3rd or 4th floor, right?’

The young siblings were holding a black plastic bag in one hand, seemingly from a trip somewhere.

“