Destruction — Chapter 35

The zombies that had been wandering the mountains had decreased greatly over time. Leaving Saejin behind wouldn’t be extremely dangerous, but there was no harm in being cautious. It seemed wiser to take him into town rather than risk something happening while he stayed alone to guard the villa.

After some time, Saejin emerged, fully ready. The heat from the hair dryer had clearly been strong; his face was flushed like a peach.

I really am turning into a lunatic day by day.

Comparing an adult man to a peach? Ridiculous. Woobeom resisted the urge to smack his own cheek. Just then, Saejin held out his arm, asking him to help tape the sleeves of his raincoat. While straightening the oversized sleeve to wrap the tape, Woobeom glanced at how long and loose the clothing was and spoke.

“Let’s check the situation in town, and if it looks safe, we’ll stop by a clothing store too.”

“Really?”

He had assumed he’d be stuck wearing Woobeom’s clothes the entire time they stayed at the villa, so this was good news. Could he finally say goodbye to these baggy outfits? Saejin prayed desperately that they would pass by a clothing store on the way.

* * *

It had been a long time since he last wore a hat and mask. Thanks to running around the mountain during training, he no longer ran out of breath from wearing a mask, but the stuffy feeling around his mouth and nose was still uncomfortable. Adjusting the mask here and there, Saejin lifted the brim of his hat to widen his field of view. At least while going down the mountain, he could afford to wear the hat and mask a bit loosely. Before, he used to pant just from following behind Woobeom, but now he could keep up without trouble.

To get into town, they needed the van. They couldn’t reach the spot it was parked by going straight through the woods, so even if it took time, they headed down toward the property’s main gate.

Even after leaving the private land, they walked for quite a while before a paved road came into view. Seeing the gray asphalt again felt strangely nostalgic. Before the virus outbreak, the ground had been something he stepped on without thinking, but after living at the villa, he hadn’t touched asphalt at all. Running in the mountains meant slipping often on rocks and loose dirt. Walking with light steps, Saejin overtook Woobeom and was the first to step onto the road. Yes, this feeling. The non-slippery friction was oddly satisfying.

It wasn’t that dirt paths were bad. Falling on natural ground meant plenty of things that softened the impact, so he rarely got hurt. But for training and exercise, asphalt, which gripped the soles better, was definitely superior. The proof was his bruised knees and shins.

…Though that was mostly because hyung never went easy on me.

To make him catch on quickly, Woobeom had pushed Saejin hard. It wasn’t a bad thing, but Saejin still felt a tiny bit sulky about how harsh he became during training.

“Good, it still starts.”

He’d worried that the van might have broken down after being left untouched for months, especially through winter. Closing the hood after checking it, Woobeom climbed into the driver’s seat and honked. He was calling Saejin, who was distracted. Climbing into the passenger seat in a hurry, Saejin flinched at the sight of shattered glass scattered all across the back seats. There were even dried bloodstains stuck to the leather.

Seeing it again made it feel even worse… and made him feel guilty toward hyung.

Looking around at the wrecked interior brought back faint memories of that day. Woobeom carrying his limp body up the mountain. Not abandoning him. Staying with him to the very end. He was grateful for that.

“We’re leaving.”

As the vehicle picked up speed, the cloth that had been taped over the broken window finally gave way and blew off. With more than a month left before spring, the cold was brutal. The wind rushed in violently and slapped against Saejin’s entire body like it meant to freeze him solid.

To avoid slowing down his movements, he had to wear as few layers as possible under the raincoat. Saejin at least had a T-shirt under a long-sleeve shirt, but Woobeom wore only a single thin shirt. Unlike Saejin, who hugged his arms tightly against the cold, Woobeom didn’t react at all. Maybe it was because he had a lot of muscle. Watching him in awe, Saejin kept sneaking glances, pretending it was just jealousy over his resistance to cold.

“Do you think radios will still be stocked in big stores, or would they already be picked clean?”

Stores that sold groceries and electronics together were usually in busy parts of town, so they would eventually find one if they searched. But months had passed since the virus first erupted; it was questionable whether any supermarket had survived intact. As food shortages worsened, big stores would definitely have been targeted.

“Who knows… We’ll have to see.”

Saejin nodded. Without the ability to see the future, there was no way to give a definite answer.

Holding down his windblown bangs, Saejin wrinkled his nose. A rotten stench grew stronger as they got closer to civilization. It was enough to understand how someone could die from suffocating on the smell alone. The stench seeped through the mask, stinging his eyes. When Saejin groaned, Woobeom, still focused on the road, held out a piece of candy.

“It’s mint flavored. Better than nothing.”

“Huh? Isn’t this a quit-smoking candy?”

The answer was yes. The villa had all sorts of things lying around. Even quit-smoking candy, which didn’t suit a heavy smoker like Woobeom, was stacked in containers. Staring at the candy in his palm, Saejin suddenly felt puzzled.

Come to think of it… hyung hasn’t smoked at all recently, has he?

Noticing it, the plastic container now looked emptier than before. At the villa, Saejin sometimes leaned on Woobeom out of boredom, and each time he remembered smelling toothpaste. He assumed it was because Woobeom was exceptionally clean. Now that he thought about it, Woobeom must have been chewing these candies then too.

Is he quitting smoking?

It must’ve been some kind of change of heart. Quietly cheering him on, Saejin popped the spicy mint into his mouth. Quit-smoking candies had a harsh bite that burned the throat. Wincing, Saejin sniffled at the fiery scent. In a different sense, it was excellent at blocking out smells.

“How… how does asphalt even crack like this?”

It looked like a bomb had gone off. Sitting upright and staring at the road, Saejin muttered at the bizarre sight. Staying holed up at the villa meant he had no idea what had been happening outside. The ground that should have been flat was warped, making the tires skid at times. The constant uneasy bouncing made his backside ache.

“…Tch.”

Feeling the vehicle shake as it bounced up and down, Woobeom clicked his tongue. The tires could blow if he wasn’t careful, so he couldn’t speed up. Thankfully, not every road was like this. After creeping along for a good while, the van reached a fork and moved onto a road in slightly better condition. Not knowing if another wrecked path lay ahead, Woobeom raised the driving speed as much as he safely could. The scenery outside the window shifted rapidly, and rows of storefronts began to appear.

“Let’s get out.”

“We’re not going farther?”

“With the engine noise, driving down narrow streets is dangerous. The roads are crowded too.”

Monsters could be shaken off somehow, but people were troublesome. It wasn’t just incubating carriers he had to worry about. Survivors asking for help were also a problem.

“Grab that.”

When Saejin tried to get out empty-handed, Woobeom pointed at the hammer he had set down near the floor earlier. Its weight and impact force made it a good blunt weapon for a beginner like Saejin. The only downside was the short handle, which meant blood might splash on him, but the raincoat handled that issue.

Realizing he had almost forgotten, Saejin slapped his forehead and picked up the hammer. Turning off the engine and pulling out the key, Woobeom walked around the van toward the sidewalk where Saejin was standing.

“It really is quiet… If we’d driven farther, we definitely would’ve drawn attention.”

Assuming people were hiding nearby, a moving vehicle was not ideal. Standing still in a place with no sound felt like being inside an isolated room cut off from the outside world.

“Watch your step.”

He gave a brief warning to Saejin, who had been distracted looking around. Woobeom’s eyes were sharper than usual. Monsters or people could jump out at them from anywhere. And since he wasn’t alone but had Saejin beside him, his guard was heightened even more.

After the warning, Saejin kept his eyes on the ground as he walked, lifting his heels to avoid the crunching shards of glass. With everything silent, even the sound of breaking glass grated on his nerves. As the scattered pieces increased, he sighed and walked closer to Woobeom’s side. There was less broken glass where Woobeom stepped, so there was less to worry about.

It looked like this neighborhood had already been ransacked. Buildings with glass exteriors were all shattered. Even from a glance, it was clear anything useful had already been taken.

“There aren’t many monsters, so we’re not fighting them. Save your stamina.”

“Yes, I agree.”

They hadn’t planned it beforehand, but Saejin scanned storefront signs while Woobeom watched the surroundings.

“Hyung…”

“What.”

“Can I… hold your hand?”

“…What?”

“I don’t mean anything weird by it. It’s just… in case something happens. We might have to run suddenly, and… well… you know.”

He hadn’t even heard Woobeom’s answer yet, but Saejin, embarrassed by his own words, waved his hands around as he hurriedly piled on excuses. Was this really something to ramble about this much? Woobeom wondered if he had unconsciously been giving him reason to overthink.

“Hold it.”

Holding hands lightly wasn’t going to wear off his skin, so there was no reason to refuse. And if they really had to run for their lives, grabbing Saejin’s hand would help keep their speeds closer. Not to mention, without a working phone, if they got separated, things would turn disastrous. In a monster-filled city, nothing was more troublesome than trying to find someone who’d gone missing.

“…What are you doing.”

“You said I could hold it.”

Saejin pressed his fist against his mouth, coughing awkwardly as he tried to hide his embarrassment. Woobeom had said he could hold his hand, not interlock fingers. Saejin’s boldness always exceeded Woobeom’s expectations.

Even though both were wearing gloves, and the warmth of each other’s skin didn’t touch, it still cracked Woobeom’s composure. Through the gloves, Saejin’s fingers felt much thinner than his own, and the image burned clearly into his mind. If he squeezed too hard, those small, delicate fingers felt like they’d snap. How could a grown man’s hands be this small? After dealing with rough, calloused hands all his life, holding the hand of a kid who seemed untouched by hardship made him oddly unsettled.

He wasn’t the only one shaken. Biting his lower lip, Saejin desperately hoped his pounding heart would calm down. At this rate, he might collapse from exhaustion before they even found a radio. Exhaling slowly, he felt the lump in his throat finally loosen.

“We should be careful from here.”

In the empty street ahead, a few monsters began to appear. Fortunately, they were all in terrible condition. Most looked like corpses with their flesh hanging loose, so frail their limbs might fall off from a slight push. Even if they followed the sound of the two talking, their speed was no threat. A toddler barely learning to walk would be faster.

Leaning lightly against Woobeom’s arm, Saejin focused all his attention on reading the shabby shop signs. It hadn’t even been a year, just a few months, yet the entire street looked like a ruin. Most signs were faded, and some had cobwebs, making the place look like a film set. He finally understood how frightening it was when human presence and maintenance disappeared.

For everything to fall apart just from lack of upkeep…

Without checking the signs, it was hard to tell what any of the shops originally sold. Florist, bakery, hair salon, Saejin traced the remaining letters one by one. As he walked, something tugged his hand, pulling him to a stop. Woobeom, scanning the opposite side of the street, had found an electronics store. Through the shattered glass wall, they could see items still scattered on some shelves.

“You found it? Wow! There are still things left!”

Hope sparked at the possibility of finding a radio. The two dashed across the road and hurried into the store, even though no one was following them.

“Be careful.”

Many parts of the store were either stripped bare or collapsed, making it a poor place for anyone to hide. Still, Saejin answered and split off toward a corner display, rummaging through the shelves. The deeper shelves, far from the broken windows, were extremely dim. Squinting and fumbling over the faded lettering on boxes, Saejin eventually lifted his head. He couldn’t read anything clearly in this lighting; he’d be here all night at this rate.

Carrying an armful of random items from the scant shelves, he walked toward the brighter front. Before setting them down, he nudged aside broken glass with his foot. Kneeling, he began reading labels one by one.

Digital clocks, kitchen scales… The section he had searched held nothing useful. Of course it didn’t. Anything worthwhile would have been taken immediately. Feeling deflated, he brushed off his knees and stood, when a box on the floor caught his eye. He’d assumed it was empty since it had been lying there from the start, but when he picked it up, it was unexpectedly heavy.