Chapter 42. Carelessness

Chapter 42. Carelessness

After finishing lunch and tidying up, we gathered in the Living Room.

Gayoung was making coffee, and Seonyoung was taking her medicine.

“Oppa, so did you get a chance to talk to Minsu?”

“No, not really. He asked if I had a moment, I said I was busy, and he just went back inside. I got the feeling he was a bit sulky. Not that we’re close enough for him to be sulking, but still…”

During lunch, Gayoung had only talked about how uncomfortable she felt with Minsu constantly glancing at her. She said that at first, she stared back with a blank expression, but eventually, she pretended to be on guard and averted her gaze behind me. She asked how she felt and how Unnie felt, and later, we even speculated why he was acting that way, but we concluded that we didn’t know. Minsu’s mention was brief, ending with that.

I’m not sure if ‘brief’ is the right word, but compared to her detailed impressions of the Bungeoppang Cart, it was incredibly short.

“Unnie, from what I saw, he seemed a bit rude.”

Gayoung, who had brought three cups of coffee, chimed in after hearing our conversation.

“Mister and Unnie cleared out that Convenience Store Building and even shared supplies, right? Shouldn’t he at least feel a little grateful? But when we met earlier, he just came out, asked why we were there, then said he was short on food and asked if Mister had time. When Mister said he was busy, Minsu didn’t even listen to the rest and just went straight back inside.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, he just said what he wanted to say, something like ‘be careful on your way,’ and then went right back in.”

“Oppa, you must have been annoyed. He probably didn’t even greet you properly.”

“Exactly! When you see an elder, you should greet them first, not just jump straight to your business!”

“Hahaha. Gayoung, you sounded like such an old fogey just now.”

“Hehe, I tried saying something Mister might say. How was it?”

“Oh, it was funny, hehehe. But I wasn’t really upset because of Minsu. If I got stressed over things like that, I wouldn’t have been able to be a salesman. There are surprisingly many people like that.”

Gayoung’s words made me burst out laughing, a hearty laugh I hadn’t had in a while.

Seonyoung heard about my conversation with Minsu and became even more annoyed, complaining that she shouldn’t have shared supplies. She and Gayoung then started badmouthing Minsu together.

“Seonyoung, Gayoung, but listen.”

“Yes, Oppa, is there something else?”

“Yeah. I casually asked Minsu if anything unusual had happened. If you two were Minsu, what would you have told me first?”

“Naturally, I’d talk about other survivors coming in. Isn’t that the biggest event?”

“Right. If the Client people didn’t lie to us, and Director Kim’s Scan wasn’t wrong, then the number of people must have increased.”

“But it doesn’t seem like the Client people have any reason to lie to us, and the probability of Director Kim’s Ability Scan being wrong seems pretty low… right, Oppa?”

“I think so too. So, if we assume that one or two survivors have somehow made their way in and are staying there, I’d expect him to mention that first.”

“Could he be hiding something, perhaps?”

“That’s what I think. When I asked Minsu if anything unusual had happened, he brought up food. Of course, food is important, but it doesn’t seem like the right answer to a question like ‘anything unusual?’ Well… I couldn’t press him further.”

I wanted to prolong the conversation, but Minsu just went inside, making it awkward to hold him. If he felt like I was prying, he might become even more wary.

“But Minsu wouldn’t know that the Client has a Scan Ability, nor would he know that we’re in contact with the Client. That’s why I keep thinking he’s hiding something. If he’s hiding something, there must be a reason for it. I don’t want to, but there’s more than one suspicious thing right now.”

Through the brief conversation with Minsu, the three of us put our heads together, making various assumptions and speculations. All sorts of theories came up. From the assumption that Minsu was trying to use us, to the idea that Minsu and the Client people were colluding to deceive us.

With limited information, we started with assumptions and ended with speculations, unable to find a clear answer. Some assumptions lacked a plausible motive, while others were too far-fetched to be realistic.

“Alright, then let’s do this. From now on, if we have to visit or pass by that building, we’ll always be ready for combat and be careful. Both of you understand?”

“Yes, sir!” “Yeah, I will.”

“They always said you can’t trust anyone in this world. It’s still true now, and I believe a hungry person can do anything. Plus, other people have Abilities we don’t know about. This isn’t just about losing money; it’s a matter of life and death, so never let your guard down and stay vigilant. Meeting adjourned!”

“Roger that! But it felt like we just had a family meeting or some kind of strategy meeting. I think it would be good to have these meeting times whenever we have issues to discuss together in the future.”

“You’re right, regular meetings are good, and impromptu meetings will probably be necessary too. Oppa and Gayoung, if you have any worries or problems, tell us right away.”

Perhaps they enjoyed this time, as Seonyoung and Gayoung’s faces were bright despite discussing a potentially serious topic.

After tidying up, Gayoung brought a Whiteboard from her room and wrote, ‘Beware of Minsu!’

It felt as if Minsu had become some formidable villain.

She carried the Whiteboard and went to the Corridor-like space that connects the Living Room to the Inner Door. She took down a picture frame hanging on the wall and hung the Whiteboard in its place so we could check it every time we went out.

“Gayoung, there were two zombies in front of the 3rd floor Elevator. Want to try taking one out?”

“Yes, I’ll try.”

Gayoung replied with a determined expression. After our meeting at lunch, we each had two hours of free time. Seonyoung went to sleep, feeling the effects of her medicine, and Gayoung also went to her room to rest.

Since I had some time, I logged into Lost Stone for the first time in a while. Even with all this chaos, I could connect normally, and surprisingly, quite a few people were online. The disappointing part was that there were zero clan members logged in. I hoped they hadn’t all turned into zombies and were instead struggling to survive somewhere, as I watched other users’ chats.

People weren’t enjoying the game’s content but exchanging information. There were discussions on how to deal with zombies, people boasting about their Abilities, tips on where to find and efficiently store food, and even posts recruiting people by mentioning their residential areas. Various chats flooded both the trade channel and the world channel.

“Alright, then go up and approach them first. Let’s start by hitting the zombies from behind. When both of them have their backs turned, approach the closer zombie without making a sound and hit its skull with the driver head. Don’t worry about the other one. Understand?”

“Yes, I’ve done a lot of simulations.”

I just skimmed through the rapidly scrolling content, then turned off the game, checked MeTube, and prepared to go out again. It was time to start clearing Building 302, the building right next to our Apartment. Gayoung had said she would come along after resting, so we went out together and climbed the stairs of Building 302.

As we climbed, checking with the Hand Mirror, we confirmed two zombies on the 3rd floor. We quietly descended and I checked with Gayoung. It was time for Gayoung to face her first real combat.

Holding her Hand Mirror, Gayoung extended her hand to scan the 3rd floor Corridor. She held up two fingers, signaling that there were two zombies, then signaled me to wait. A moment later, Gayoung signaled that she would go first and then slowly began to move.

Whoosh! Thwack!

The Golf Club made a completely different sound than the Baseball Bat as it swung wide, accurately crushing the back of the zombie’s head. Almost simultaneously, I rushed forward, turning around and thrusting the Baseball Bat into the mouth of the zombie that was about to scream.

Thud. Thud.

With a slight delay, both zombies collapsed to the floor. Gayoung looked up the stairs, her ears perked, showing a wary expression. Relieved that she did better than expected, I noticed her hands trembling slightly. I gently held them for a moment before we started climbing the stairs again.

Always leading the way, it felt different to be behind her this time. The person in the back not only has to watch out for zombies but also pay attention to the movements of the person in front. I realized how quickly and appropriately Seonyoung had reacted all this time.

“It was like this last time too; they’re all gathered at the top here. Gayoung, there are at least five on the 20th floor. I can’t check the stairs leading to the Rooftop, so there might be more. What should we do?”

As we continued climbing the stairs, we confirmed that, just like in Building 301, the zombies were gathered on the top floors. So, we descended a few floors to discuss it with Gayoung.

“I haven’t used Shield once yet, so I have plenty of reserves. What do you think, Oppa?”

“I can handle five by myself. If Gayoung isn’t scared and can fight, I think it would be good to try using Shield against them this time.”

“Yes, I’ll do it. The situation we practiced most with Unnie was when multiple zombies swarmed Mister, so I think I can do it.”

“Alright, I trust you then. Let’s go.”

Honestly, it made me uneasy to entrust my back to her. However, I judged that I could handle it even if Gayoung froze up, so I decided to push forward. If we continue to fight together and synchronize our movements like this, there will come a day when I can truly trust her with my back. Trust isn’t built in a single moment, after all.