Chapter 43. Carelessness

Chapter 43. Carelessness

Thwack! Crunch!

Aaaargh!

I gripped the handle and middle of the Baseball Bat firmly with both hands and charged forward. I aimed for the head of the nearest Zombie, extending only the hand holding the middle of the bat, and shattered its skull with the bat’s head.

My eyes darted around, quickly assessing the positions of the remaining Zombies.

“Shield, Shield, Shield!”

From behind me, Gayoung deployed Shields in rapid succession. Like Seonyoung, Gayoung’s Ability was Shield, but its specific characteristics were different. Gayoung could generate multiple Shields at once.

Thump! Thump! Clink!

Opaque Shields materialized in front of the heads of two Zombies rushing from the left and right, blocking their bites. Another Shield appeared before a Zombie charging from the front, but it shattered instantly upon impact with the Zombie’s body.

The Zombie that broke through the Shield lost its balance and stumbled, its head tilting forward. I adjusted my grip on the Baseball Bat and brought it down from above, smashing the Zombie’s head, which was now at the perfect height. At the same moment, Gayoung’s Golf Club struck the head of a Zombie that had paused momentarily on my right.

“Gayoung, front!”

I shouted briefly, retrieving the Baseball Bat and tucking it under my arm. A Zombie I hadn’t spotted with my Hand Mirror was leaping from the rooftop stairs, launching itself at me. I sidestepped slightly to avoid it, watching its arms flail uselessly. As the Zombie flew past me, I timed it perfectly and shoved its side with all my might.

“Shield, Shield!”

Gayoung, who had somehow run past me to my right, created two Shields, simultaneously trapping two Zombies charging from the front. I confirmed that the Zombie I had pushed flew into the Zombie on the left, sending both tumbling to the ground, then turned my attention back to the front. Gayoung was swinging her Golf Club at the Zombie on the right among those in front.

Whoosh! Thwack!

The Zombie, whose movement was blocked by the Shield, had its crown caved in by the Golf Club swung from above. I lunged at the Zombie next to it, which had just witnessed its comrade’s head being crushed, and kicked its solar plexus with one foot. The front kick, passing beneath the generated Shield, sent the Zombie flying towards the Elevator.

Leaving the airborne Zombie to Gayoung, I turned my body towards the two Zombies that were trying to get back up after falling.

Whoosh! Thwack! Thwack!

Holding the Baseball Bat upside down so the head pointed downwards, I used it like a pestle to crush the two Zombie heads, as if pounding them in a mortar. As I turned after “pounding,” Gayoung was striking the head of a fallen Zombie and looking my way.

“It’s over. Good job, Gayoung.”

I paused to observe the surroundings, checking all the way up to the rooftop stairs, but there were no remaining Zombies. Including the Zombie on the stairs, which was within the expected range, we had dealt with a total of six Zombies.

“Ha… ha… ha…”

Gayoung was breathing heavily, unable to reply, trying to catch her breath. It had been a short battle, barely a minute or two, but she had pushed her muscles to their limit, and her ragged breathing wouldn’t subside. To calm her breathing, we went downstairs and sat on the steps, taking a short break.

After a while, Gayoung recovered and began to chatter.

“Mister, you worked so hard. Watching you fight, you’re really amazing. How do you move so fast?”

“It’s just the effect of my Ability. You did incredibly well too, Gayoung. You used your Ability so cleverly and didn’t even get scared. I know the Shield’s range is short, so it must have been frightening, but you did great.”

“It was scarier on the 3rd floor earlier. Just now, you said you trusted me, and you charged ahead, so I felt like I had to do something…”

It seemed my words of trust had an effect.

“So I moved frantically without even time to be scared. Honestly, I couldn’t pay attention to my surroundings; I just kept hitting the heads in front of me, and before I knew it, it was over!”

“How many Shields do you have left?”

“I don’t think I can use it anymore. It feels like it would hurt a lot if I tried again.”

“You know how to raise your Acquired Abilities, right? Since the detailed characteristics are different, the usage methods will also change. If you develop it well, Gayoung, your Ability will have many ways to be utilized.”

“Yes, I need to research how to use it better. I thought it was a failure because it broke so easily compared to Unnie’s Shield, so I’m relieved.”

It was a relief that Gayoung had fought so admirably against the Zombies. I continued to praise her for that, showering her with compliments on her excellent Ability usage, as we headed back home.

Upon arriving home, I told Gayoung to shower and rest first, then grabbed the Corpse Bag and headed to the neighboring building. On my way back, I noticed Gayoung looked like she wouldn’t be able to get up tomorrow if she moved any more, so I went to clean up alone. Her Stamina was much lower compared to Seonyoung’s, but there was no need to compare the two. Gayoung had done well enough today, and as she continued like this, her Stamina would improve, and her Combat Prowess would grow stronger.

Now, all that remained was to properly dispose of the Zombie Corpses in the Recycling Area before they decomposed. It would require several trips, but I planned to finish early today, so I quickened my pace.

After dropping off the last Zombie Corpse at the Recycling Area and returning home, I heard the sound of women talking and laughing from the Master Bedroom. Seonyoung must have woken up, and I pictured Gayoung, freshly showered, clinging to Seonyoung. She was probably chattering away, boasting about her exploits.

They didn’t seem to have noticed my return. To avoid disturbing them, I tidied up my Farming Clothes, quietly stopped by the Study, and then headed to the Living Room Restroom. In truth, I quickly went to shower, eager to leave Gayoung’s chatter to Seonyoung.

“Gayoung, congratulations on successfully completing your first battle. Let’s all live healthy and well from now on. Cheers!”

“Hehe, thank you. Mister and Unnie did everything too, so it’s a little embarrassing to receive such congratulations, but it feels so good. Unnie, Mister! Thank you for everything, and I love you both!”

After showering, I sat in the living room, relaxing and looking up information about other regions on my Cell Phone. After some time, their Girls’ Talk seemed to have ended, and Seonyoung and Gayoung came out of the room together. They then suggested we have a Family Dinner to celebrate Gayoung’s first battle.

“Oppa, your skin looks a little better, actually? Is it just my imagination?”

“Yeah, probably just your imagination, hehe. Seonyoung, why don’t you stop drinking? Shouldn’t you still be careful?”

“I haven’t even had one can yet! Just this one, please?”

Seonyoung boldly declared that she felt fine after a day of rest and wanted Chimaek. She said she’d try making it herself since we had Frozen Chicken, and although I was worried, I was pushed into the Master Bedroom by the combined momentum of the two women, who seemed to have formed a united front. They told me to go inside and not nag.

Anyway, we ended up having a Family Dinner with two chickens that, while not quite restaurant quality, looked pretty decent, along with beer.

Family…

Did those two already think of each other as family? It hadn’t even been a month since we started living together in this house.

“Mister, so from tomorrow, will all three of us go out together?”

“Well, Gayoung doesn’t seem to struggle with fighting Zombies as much as I thought, so it would be good to go Farming together and raise your Acquired Abilities, but the problem seems to be your Stamina. If you follow your Unnie around all day, you’ll probably collapse in a single day.”

“Hmph… you’re right… My hands are still shaking right now.”

“Hehehe, maybe Gayoung needs to do some Weight Training?”

“Ugh, at this rate, we’ll end up Farming at a Gym.”

Was I taking the meaning of “family” too seriously compared to them? Or did they just use “Family Dinner” casually, like “let’s have a party,” and I was the only one overthinking it?

“Oppa, what if we increase the proportion of apartment clean-up and you do that with Gayoung instead? Going out fully together might be too much.”

“Hmm… then let’s do this. For now, we’ll maintain the morning schedule as is, and in the afternoon, instead of going out to Farm, you and Gayoung will clear out the apartments. Seonyoung can rest during that time. Then, from evening, all of us will Farm the apartments we cleared in the afternoon. How does that sound?”

“I like it! Moving like that for a while and seeing my Stamina improve, we can gradually increase our activity time. Unnie will get a bit more rest too.”

“Yeah, I did feel like I needed a bit more rest. Following Oppa around all the time really wears me out.”

“Alright, then we’ll do that. And tomorrow, after you wake up, both of you check your condition and let me know.”

I felt like I had reacted too sensitively to the word “family.” After my parents passed away, I harbored a lot of resentment towards the world. Later, that resentment turned into self-resentment. It had been a long time, but those vivid memories still tormented me. Perhaps it was because I had a drink after a long time, but old memories kept resurfacing.

With such joyful people right in front of me, I felt like I’d lived all these years in vain, digging myself into a hole alone. I should stop and enjoy myself with them.

Suddenly, it struck me that being able to care for each other and laugh together in such a difficult world was an incredible stroke of luck. Perhaps Seonyoung had already had the thought I was having now, the thought I only managed to grasp after seeing the two women laughing while I was digging myself into a hole.

That’s why she suggested a Family Dinner. We had, without realizing it, become like family, relying on each other to endure these difficult days.

“Oppa, are you done now? Why are you sighing to yourself for so long? I told you to tell me if you have any worries.”

“No, it’s resolved now. So stop with the Mind Reading.”

“Mister, I can do Mind Reading too. You were having naughty thoughts because Unnie said she was fine, weren’t you?”

“Ugh, both of you stop drinking. Why did you ask for beer so much when you can’t even finish one can?”

“Right, Gayoung’s a Lightweight. From what she was saying earlier, she sounded like a total heavy drinker. Maybe you should stop drinking and go inside?”

“No, I’m not drunk. You’re trying to ditch me and do something naughty, aren’t you? I know everything. But Unnie can’t yet. Unnie’s still hurting.”

“Wow, she talks a lot even when she’s drunk…”

It seemed Gayoung’s limit was less than one can of beer, and Seonyoung wasn’t in normal condition either, so as promised, she only had one can and stopped on her own. I also drank about three cans, then called it a night and started cleaning up.

But then, Seonyoung, whom I had trusted, threw the drunk Gayoung at me and ran off, claiming she wanted to shower. I felt a profound sense of betrayal as I washed the dishes and cleaned up the mess, all while having to listen to Gayoung’s incessant chatter. I wished she’d just gone to bed quietly when she was drunk, but she kept talking, slumped over the kitchen table.

“Mister, when did you get so tall? And why are you so tanned? Do you look like your dad or your mom? I was this tall in sixth grade, how old were you when you were this tall?”

Did she really have so many questions? Questions about me and stories about herself came out in a jumbled mess. She didn’t seem to expect answers; even when I stayed silent, Gayoung’s mouth kept going without a break. For my mental well-being, I quickly finished cleaning and hoisted Gayoung onto my shoulder.

Thump.

“Gayoung, you need to sleep early to grow tall. Good night.”

I practically tossed the chattering Gayoung onto the bed and made my escape. To confront Seonyoung about this, I lay on the Master Bedroom bed, waiting for her to finish showering.

“Oppa, are you mad?”

“Yes, you’re a traitor.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t be mad. I’m always with Gayoung. I just asked for one day, that’s all!”

Seonyoung slowly approached, untying the front of her Bathrobe. The sense of betrayal I felt towards Seonyoung vanished in less than ten seconds. As she rubbed her body against mine, her bathrobe open, I found my lips curving into a silly grin, completely disarmed by her charm.

Submitting to Seonyoung’s aegyo, I stopped my half-joking scolding and began to kiss her. Just as the mood was building and we were caressing each other’s bodies, the Master Bedroom door suddenly burst open, and Gayoung appeared, whining.

Bang!

“Unnie! Mister~ Don’t leave me out, sniff…”

Why are you showing up at this exact moment? And why are you crying? I’m the one who wants to cry. And please, just give me some space to put my clothes on…