Chapter 95

If only the zombie apocalypse didn’t happen. If only it was all a dream. If that was the case, Yohan would have gone into debt and would have been chased down by loan sharks. Despite knowing that, Yohan believed in his past life and prepared for the apocalypse. Even if the apocalypse didn’t happen and he ended up with a miserable life, it wouldn’t be as bad as being miserable during the apocalypse. Yohan had been obsessed with survival and the ability to gather supplies was the only thing he gained from his three years in the previous timeline.

“When I woke up, I just couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t think of it as just a dream. No, it felt like…it didn’t matter even if it was a dream. Those three years…I didn’t think about anything else other than survival every single day. That’s why I quit my job and prepared for the apocalypse…as if I was preparing for war. The Kkachiul Station shelter you guys saw…and the Yeongjongdo shelter that we’re going to now.”

Yohan wanted to survive. No, he wanted to live. In the previous timeline, before joining Noah, his last comrade, Yohan survived all alone. He would abandon his comrades if necessary. If their camp was in danger, he would be the first to escape. But in his final year in the previous timeline, he had a comrade who he trusted to watch his back. It was during this time, when they were living, not just surviving, that he felt the most alive. They had helped him realize something more important than just survival.

“That’s all. I don’t know what you guys are thinking right now, but once we get to Yeongjongdo, everything that I prepared is done. I’ve used up all the cards that I’ve prepared and gotten rid of all the enemies that I’m aware of. After this, it’s an unknown world. Can we reveal the shelter now? Will it be safe? Will another strong enemy appear? That’s always been on the top of my mind and I can’t predict any of it. That’s why…whenever you guys look at me as if I’m some kind of god…it’s a bit of a burden.”

Yohan sounded a bit scornful of himself. He had more to say, but stopped when he noticed Saeri crying in front of him. Tears were rolling down her face and her nose was running as well. Jung Eun was crying next to her, but she stopped to comfort Saeri. Yohan sheepishly tossed away his empty beer can and grabbed a fresh one.

“I didn’t think any of that was sad…”

“It’s just…sniff…sad…sniff…unfortunate…”

“I’m not sure what you’re saying. Speak after you’re done crying.” Yohan sipped his beer. The taste of carbonated liquid and the smell of barley filled his senses. After a while, Saeri finished crying and spoke.

“You’ve experienced this hard life…twice…and it’s just unfortunate. I feel sorry for you…also, the fact that you didn’t have anyone to talk to about it and had to struggle by yourself…”

“Well, thanks to this, I was able to survive. Sorry for spoiling our fun time.”

They still had a lot of questions, but no one was willing to take the initiative and ask. All the recon team members felt the same as Saeri.

“Um…sorry for interrupting during a serious conversation…” Sweeper spoke up first. Everyone looked at him. “Wait, bros…I know I’m good-looking, but if you all look at me at the same time, it’s embarrassing. I just wanted to ask someone to toss me some of that beef jerky over there if no one was going to eat it.”

“…” Everyone blinked in silence for a moment. Finally, Ha Jin tossed over the beef jerky.

“Oh thanks left hand bro.”

“Peach.”

“Huh?”

“Give me that peach. Over there.”

Sweeper tossed over some canned peaches and Ha Jin caught it. The can was already opened slightly and some of the nectar splashed out and onto Ha Jin’s face.

“What a waste.” Ha Jin wiped his face with his hand and licked it off his hand. Saeri, who was sitting next to him, started complaining about the disgusting behavior, forgetting that she was crying just moments ago.

Yohan laughed out loud as the easy-going atmosphere returned. No one cared about keeping up pretenses with the people around them. They ate and drank, leaving piles of empty cans around them. Yohan was thankful for the new comrades that he had established in this timeline. To him, Sweeper and Ha Jin were worth 1000 soldiers. They were strong, trustworthy, and friendly. Even now, when Yohan had ruined the mood, the two of them brought it back with little to no effort at all.

“Bro, pass the braised beef.” Sweeper said, pointing at a container next to Ha Jin. Ha Jin popped the lid off with his prosthetic arm and poured some of the meat and sauce into his mouth.

“Man, seriously? Do you want me to call you pig bro?”

“Do that if you want one of your arms cut off.”

“Wanna try?”

“Anytime.”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but get a room, you two. There’s a bed downstairs.” Yohan cut in as the two started growling at each other.

Ha Jin and Sweeper quieted down and sat down. Once again, the mood of the drinking party recovered and became lively. Yohan returned to the railing by the edge of the roof to monitor the border while the recon team members split off into different groups and chatted amongst themselves. It was an idyllic scene that made it hard to believe that they were in the middle of an apocalypse. Among the chatter, Jung Hwan and Ah Young was a hot topic. Jae Ho, who used to work as a reporter and loved hot scoops, took the initiative and was bugging Jung Hwan for the details.

“Just tell me exactly what your relationship is with Ah Young. Didn’t you like Saeri?”

“What the heck are you saying!?” Jung Hwan’s face turned as red as a tomato as he glanced nervously over to Saeri. Saeri heard her name and perked up.

“Are you guys talking about something fun?” Saeri grabbed her beer and came over. She put her jacket on the floor across from Jung Hwan and sat on it.

“Everyone knows except you, dummy. I’m sure Saeri knows too. There’s no way a fox like her wouldn’t…”

“Jae Ho.” Saeri glared at the former reporter.

“Ah, sorry. I’m mentally and physically weakened by the alcohol.” Jae Ho immediately backed off on the subject of Saeri.

“No…gah…no way…” Jung Hwan mumbled to himself mournfully.

“Right, leaving the topic of Saeri aside…what happened with Ah Young? Tell me.” Jae Ho pressured Jung Hwan some more. Sweeper, who was chewing on some beef jerky, spat out some tough tendon bits and joined in on the conversation.

“You should know, it’s love at first sight. It’s Jung Hwan’s tearful effort to make use of his fresh, never-been-used, dick!”

The men in the group laughed out loud at Sweeper’s remark while the girls frowned. They felt that the dirty men took their jokes too far, especially when it came to Jung Hwan. As if to further confirm their thoughts, Ha Jin joined in as well.

“I don’t think it’s love at first sight, it’s more primal. Look. No matter how you look at it, she’s just a student. You’re crossing the line of being a decent human being.”

“Let me explain…” Jung Hwan looked ready to burst into tears.

“See, he’s not even denying it. As long as they use protection, it’s okay. The world is doomed anyway, it’s not like the law or child services still exists.”

“If you think back to ancient times, it wouldn’t be strange for a girl of Ah Young’s age to have kids.”

“Bros, please…”

As the men continued to tease Jung Hwan, Jung Eun and Saeri had their own side conversation.

“Perverts,” Jung Eun said.

“Let them be. When guys are together, they only talk about three things,” Saeri replied.

“Oh…military, soccer, and perverted things?”

“Women, racy stories, and perverted things they did with a woman.”

“Are you making a sexist remark there? Sweeper chimed in, eavesdropping on the women’s conversation.

“You old farts started it first!”

Laughter filled the air. After everyone had their fill of food and drink, Jae Ho took out a polaroid camera. No one knew where he had acquired it.

“Hey, everyone gather up.” Jae Ho set up the camera.

Despite all the teasing and complaints earlier, everyone was friendly as they got close to each other for the photo. Jae Ho made sure that Yohan, who was still standing by the railings by himself, was in frame and snapped the shutter button. Due to the lack of lighting, the photo was a bit blurry, but happiness could be clearly seen, etched on everyone’s faces. Jae Ho scribbled a quick note on the bottom of the photo.

‘September 2017. Last night at the Bucheon Union Camp.’

The night breeze was warm, as if to reflect the atmosphere of the party.

* * *

Early the next morning, everyone was busy. They gathered at the designated time and packed their belongings. Yohan went around to carefully inspect everyone’s equipment and the shared supplies. For the majority of the camp members, this was their first time traveling long distance. It was Yohan’s job to make sure that they weren’t taking along unnecessary things and to ensure that nothing important was left behind. Once he finished his inspection, Yohan explained the travel plans.

“We’re going to split up into three groups, the front, middle, and rear groups. The groups will travel at least 15 minutes apart from one another. Sweeper will lead the front group and Ha Jin will take the rear. The large construction machine will be in the front, firearms and ammunition supplies in the middle, and the rest of the supplies in the rear.”

They had to be wary of zombies waves while moving. Additionally, they had to keep the supplies away from the construction machine since they would get in the way of it clearing the path. Everyone, including himself, would need easy access to guns and ammo, which is why those supplies stayed with the middle group.

Since the construction machine was sure to make a lot of noise and attract zombies, the majority of combatants were in the front group to deal with them. And, while the middle group was technically safer than the rear group, they were an important link between the other two groups and had the majority of the remaining combatants so that they could go help either end at any time.

It was the first time Yohan travelled with a group this large. He had to worry about clearing the path while also keeping the survivors safe. This wasn’t a recon mission where they could just retreat if things got dangerous. They were moving bases and the whole group could potentially die. Preparations started early in the morning, but they didn’t finish until the afternoon. Finally, after checking everything a few times, Yohan signalled that they were ready.

— “This is the front group. We’ll start moving then.”

“Got it.”

The barrier made of stacked cars crashed to the ground as the construction machine made its way forward. It was a mess left for the people inheriting the camp to clean up. There were still plenty of construction machines left behind in the camp, so it wasn’t an issue. They headed west to get on the freeway.

Yohan made a brief stop at the Bucheon City Hall. This was the mercenaries’ base. Since it was along the way, they made sure to stop by to say goodbye. The nearby streets were clear and the old man was already there to see them off. He wore his usual cheerful and cool expression as he extended his hand to Yohan.

“It was fun.” Yohan clasped the old man’s hands.

“I thought you would try to get me to go with you at least once.” The old man grumbled.

Yohan smiled gently. He barely trusted people that he had been with for over a month. The two groups had only fought side by side for a few days. Yohan wasn’t soft-hearted enough to bring them along to the second shelter. It was unfortunate though. Since they had lost a lot of combatants, the mercenaries’ power would have made them stronger. They were brave, loyal, and confident. However, there were too many unknown variables. These weren’t people that lived with them in their camp for a while. As they look for a fresh start at the second shelter, they still have to be wary of things like the cult survivors.

“If it was just you, I would think about it.”

“It’s your loss, kid.” The old man raised his other hand and handed Yohan a crumpled up piece of paper. “I know if I asked you where you were going, you wouldn’t tell me. If we change our FM radio frequency for whatever reason, we’ll use the frequencies listed here in this order. If you want to make another deal, call me.”

“Okay.”

“And here.” The old man handed over a box. “It’s a goodbye present, kid.”

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