Chapter 36. Routine

Chapter 36. Routine

Finally, we finished clearing out Building 301, where we live.

As we began the Apartment clearing operation, we uncovered a grim truth: there’s only one survivor left in our building.

In contrast, we’d dealt with 29 Zombies.

A simple calculation suggests that out of 30 people, 29 have turned into Zombies.

Of course, this margin of error is quite significant.

With two households per floor across 20 floors, each building houses a total of 40 households.

We can’t possibly calculate how many people originally lived here, how many were out, or how many returned.

We didn’t even include the Zombies found in the hallways or stairwells.

And there were even some Apartments with two Zombies inside.

I didn’t keep records, so I don’t remember exactly how many homes that was.

So, even I, someone terrible at math, know that assuming a 30:1 ratio of people turning into Zombies is a flawed calculation.

Yet, I still consider the situation dire because while the initial Zombie transformation rate on the first day might have been lower than that calculation, the probability that fewer than one in thirty people are still alive now seems high.

Even without formal education, I know that humans are incredibly vulnerable when they can’t form a society.

Click.

“Oh, Mister? You’re back so soon!”

“Yeah, I’m back. Didn’t have much left to do. Ah… you just showered, my bad. I’ll head in quickly.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m all covered up anyway.”

I arrived home, opened the door, and walked in, only to run into Gayoung, who was just coming out of the Living Room Restroom after showering.

Usually, Seonyoung and I go out, and she showers in the morning, but it seems she didn’t have time today and just showered now.

She claimed she was fine because she was ‘all covered up,’ but she was only wearing underwear and wrapped in a single towel. I wondered if that truly counted as ‘fine’.

Is that considered acceptable these days?

Anyway, I reflexively apologized and retreated into the Study.

The clothes we wear when going outside are called Farming Clothes, and the outermost layer is always waterproof.

We’ve placed a Hanger between the Apartment’s Inner Door and the Entrance Door, where we change and prepare our gear.

It was time to replace my gloves, so I checked if there were any in the Study.

Actually, asking Gayoung would have been the quickest way, but I couldn’t just grab her and ask right then, so I came in here instead.

With nothing else to do, I turned on the Computer and logged into MeTube.

I hadn’t been accessing MeTube much lately.

That’s because, at some point, only grim videos started appearing: people committing suicide, pleas for help, hordes of Zombies, and so on.

Even if they were strangers, it was hard to watch people in such terrible, suffering states.

Still, I occasionally checked thumbnails for information, but Survival Man’s video uploads had stopped three days ago.

He’d been uploading short videos just to show he was alive, and I hoped nothing bad had happened to him.

Eventually, I turned off the Computer and went back to the Living Room.

“Gayoung?”

“Yes, Mister, just a moment. Actually, would you like to come in?”

“Yeah, I wanted to ask you something.”

This was the first time I’d ever opened Gayoung’s room since we started living here.

After getting permission, I stepped inside to find Gayoung sitting at her dressing table, a hairdryer in one hand, seemingly drying her hair.

But… did you really mean I could come in when you’re only wearing panties and a tank top?

What’s more, the tank top Gayoung was wearing, as far as I knew, fell into the category of women’s underwear.

“It’s not urgent. Should I come back later?”

“No, it’s really fine. What did you want to ask?”

“Ah… those black half-coated gloves, you know? Could you check how many are left? Let me know later after you’ve checked.”

I stated my business and left immediately, without even waiting for an answer.

Perhaps I’m too much of a Confucian boy, but I felt uncomfortable being in the same space.

I didn’t even know where to look.

It seemed Gayoung had opened up to me a little too much.

While I was briefly in the Kitchen packing Emergency Medicine and preparing to go out in the afternoon, Gayoung and Seonyoung emerged simultaneously.

It seemed Seonyoung had also rested a bit before getting into her Farming Clothes and coming out to prepare.

“Mister, you mean the waterproof-coated gloves, right?”

“Yeah. Not the regular work gloves.”

“Okay, just a moment. Hmm… there are three pairs left. Should I get one out for you?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Gayoung tapped on her Tablet a few times, then immediately headed to the Living Room Balcony.

It was a shame there were only three pairs of waterproof-coated gloves left.

They were hard to find in Convenience Stores.

“Oppa, have you leveled up your new ability?”

“Yeah, I only put 10 points into it for now.”

“Oh, really? How does it feel? When will I get a new one, I wonder…”

“Honestly, I can’t get a feel for this one. When I first leveled up Body Reinforcement, I immediately felt my body improving, you know? But this time, I really can’t tell.”

“Sigh, nothing’s ever easy, is it?”

“Ready to go?”

“Mhm. We can leave right away.”

“Oh, right. Seonyoung, let’s stop by the client’s place on the way. Manager Lee said he had something to tell us.”

I took the new gloves from Gayoung, put them on, and we set off immediately.

By the way, Manager Lee had been texting me every little detail about this and that until now, so why did he want to meet in person?

Harboring a small question, I quickly made my way to the Officetel building.

Knock, knock, knock.

I knocked on the door of Apartment 201 at the client’s Officetel.

For a while, the hallways and parking lot had been a mess from clearing out all the Apartments, but now that it seemed finished, the interior looked tidy.

Manager Lee and Assistant Manager Jeon had settled into Apartments 201 and 202 respectively, while the two women were staying on the 4th floor.

They said they’d emptied many rooms on the 3rd floor to use it as a storage.

“Teacher, you’ve arrived.”

“No, Manager. Please stop calling me ‘Teacher’. I’m not actually a teacher. And I told you to speak comfortably with me.”

“I couldn’t possibly do that to my savior. And you know, don’t you? If I speak casually, my attitude will become casual too. I must continue to use formal speech, if only for my own sake.”

It didn’t seem like someone like him would cross the line or relax easily just by speaking a bit more casually.

Yet, he insisted on maintaining formal speech…

He was so stubborn that I’d half-given up trying to convince him.

“Would you care for a cup of tea? Though we only have Convenience Store tea bags.”

“I already had some before I came.”

“I’m fine too.”

“Then, since you two are busy, I’ll get straight to the point.”

Following his lead, Seonyoung and I sat side-by-side on the Living Room Sofa, and Manager Lee pulled a chair from the Kitchen to sit opposite us.

Taking a look around the Apartment, which I was entering for the first time, I saw that this man had kept it incredibly neat and organized.

It seemed he had gathered items from various Apartments, as there were all sorts of appliances and diverse goods visible.

“About… that person named Minsu you mentioned last time, Teacher?”

“Yes. I told you he was staying in a four-story building.”

“We thought we should get a grasp of the terrain there and roughly know the way, so we went out to the four-lane road the day before yesterday. We were on our way back after a big loop.”

I had mentioned it beforehand, partly to warn them about Minsu, and partly because the Convenience Store in his building had nothing left to scavenge, so I didn’t want them to waste their time.

I didn’t mention my bad feeling; I just conveyed the facts: how we met and the circumstances under which he was staying in that building.

“The Director often uses their ability in the evenings on the way home, partly to practice. Whenever they can. But didn’t you say Minsu was living alone?”

“Yes, he survived alone from the start and lives by himself using supplies from the Convenience Store. As far as I know, he doesn’t seem to go out anywhere either.”

“The Director scanned that four-story building and said there were three survivors. So far, the Director’s Scans have been quite accurate for people, even if the Zombie count is sometimes off.”

“Oh, really? Hmm… I wonder where two more people came from. We haven’t been paying attention lately, so we didn’t know that.”

“But the reason I specifically wanted to meet and talk is that there’s something a bit strange. Of course, we’re probably not the only survivors, and the number could increase, but…”

“That’s true. Even if we’re moving around the same area, we might often pass each other without noticing. We have to be so quiet, after all.”

“Yes. But the Director continued to Scan that building afterward. Their ability has grown stronger, allowing them to Scan a certain range even from a considerable distance. However, they said the number of people dropped to two yesterday. They even scanned again at lunchtime before you two arrived, and there are still only two human signatures in the building.”

“Three people the day before yesterday, but two since yesterday… They only confirmed this via Scan and didn’t actually see anyone with their own eyes, right?”

“Yes, even though it’s close, they weren’t monitoring it all day. We can’t even see the entrance from our side. And it’s possible the Director’s ability misidentified something. They’re confident, but they don’t have extensive experience yet.”

“That’s possible. Anyway, thank you for letting us know. Please inform us if any other unusual things like this happen. We’ll also let you know if we find out anything.”

I’d heard an unexpected story, but soon realized it was plausible and replied nonchalantly.

“Yes, I’ll keep checking whenever I have a chance. By the way, where are you headed today?”

“Do you know the Hospital Building behind that Trade Building?”

“Of course. I even knew the director there personally.”

“Oh, I see. We’re going to clear out those buildings. And we just finished clearing the Hana Trade Building recently. If there’s anything you need to retrieve from there, you’re welcome to go in.”

“Thank you, Teacher… Our employees can finally rest easy now. That had been weighing on my mind ever since we left. You truly are amazing.”

“Not at all. Do you happen to have any Emergency Medicine?”

“Yes, after clearing out all the Apartments, we found some medicine here and there, so we have a decent amount. Though we don’t have antibiotics or skin medication…”

“Then we’ll clear the area, gather some medicine, and stop by again on our way back. If you’re not here, we’ll leave it in the Boiler Room, so don’t wait for us.”

“Thank you, Teacher. Seonyoung, thank you so much every time as well.”

He kept bowing repeatedly, his eyes even welling up with tears, making me feel so burdened that I practically fled the building.

Having shed his Suit for a Tracksuit, he had a good physique for his age and a macho appearance, yet it seemed he was quite sensitive.

Seonyoung also kept bowing alongside him, humbly declining his thanks, and her expression brightened considerably once we were outside.

“Wow… Oppa, I find Manager Lee a bit difficult. Even though he’s incredibly polite, he gives off a vibe like a seasoned politician, you know?”

“Hahaha, really? I guess he probably had good political skills. He might have been part of Director Kim’s faction too. As for me, I’m completely clueless about that kind of stuff, so I wouldn’t know, but his excessive politeness does feel a bit burdensome.”

“You never needed to exercise political skill, Oppa. The rumor about the CEO, when he was drunk, calling you his son, spread quite a bit around the company.”

“What, that spread? It was just Manager Kim and Jinsu there at the time. That guy sure can’t keep a secret…”

“Yeah, anyway, Manager Lee seems like a good person, but he’s definitely not someone you can take lightly.”

On the way to the building with the Pharmacy, Seonyoung and I naturally discussed the client’s people.

We hadn’t talked much with Assistant Manager Jeon, Director Kim, or the officetel survivor lady, so we couldn’t get a full read on them, but first impressions still counted.

The impressions people had of others had both similarities and quite a few differences.

Though I used to be a salesman in my younger days, Seonyoung seems to have much better insight into people than I do.

After all, I was something of a parachute hire.

“Oppa, Ice Cream? Let’s take a short break.”

“Sure, let’s rest a bit before clearing the building. But I wonder if it’s still okay to eat Ice Cream.”

As we neared our destination, we came across a shop selling various flavors of Ice Cream, and we naturally walked in.

Even though it was past noon, just a short walk outside made me sweat.

Seonyoung also had beads of sweat on her forehead.

We entered the cool shop and wiped away the sweat with handkerchiefs…

That’s strange. Why did I only sweat this much?

Was it a bit cooler today?