It had already been a week since we left the town with the strange cocoons. Contrary to my worries that we might run into another monster or encounter another strange phenomenon like that, nothing particularly noteworthy happened.
“What do you think of these? Aren’t they pretty?”
“……Mm, wouldn’t it be better to take something sturdy rather than something pretty?”
After passing through two more small rural towns, we arrived at a newly built city that had apparently not been around for very long. Just like before, there were a few zombies, but rather than attacking us, they were focused only on irrelevant things, and there were no people in sight.
“This one really is better.”
“Why did you ask for my opinion if you were going to do whatever you wanted?”
I grumbled lightly and went behind the counter. It was not food or medicine. Watching Baek Hyeonwoo carefully choose sneakers simply because the soles of my shoes had worn down a little made me think only that I wanted to hurry up, find somewhere to stay, and sleep.
Even so, I endured it and carefully examined the counter. The fact that we had not seen a single person since leaving the place where we lived bothered me more than a little. Had the government issued separate evacuation instructions that only we had missed? Had everyone been taken away all at once, leaving no one behind? Or perhaps we had really, unbelievably, only come across places where there happened to be no people.
The internet still did not work, and the radio did not respond at all. The landline was the same. Yet the electricity had still not gone out and continued to work perfectly well…….
Was that even possible? I would have to know something before I could tell whether it was strange or not, but having spent my entire life shut inside the house, all I could do was wonder.
“This one is the best.”
Meanwhile, Baek Hyeonwoo finally came back after choosing a pair of shoes. They were pure white sneakers with pale sky-blue accents. Without even asking what I thought, he lifted me up, sat me on the counter, and took off my shoes. It seemed he wanted to do even things like this for me.
If this had happened just a week ago, I would have pulled my feet away and said I could at least do this much on my own, but in that short span of time, I had grown accustomed to Baek Hyeonwoo waiting on me, so I merely lifted my feet slightly to make it easier for him to put them on.
“They suit you well. They’re pretty.”
“Really? They’re so white that they look like they’ll get dirty quickly.”
“Then we can just get another pair.”
People said you never knew what might happen in life, and apparently that was true. Until we left the house, I had trembled with fear and hoped I would not hold Baek Hyeonwoo back, and that even if I died, I would die instantly without too much pain. Yet here we were, shopping for shoes in an empty city.
“What about you?”
“I’m fine.”
“Since we came all the way here, you might as well choose some shoes too. I’ll pick them for you.”
“Will you?”
“Is there a color you want?”
“I like anything our Sihyeon chooses for me.”
When I held out my arms, Baek Hyeonwoo naturally picked me up again and set me down. It was not because the counter was high, but because my eldest brother could not bear even something as trivial as this. Setting aside how much he wanted to do everything for me, he seemed to think my body was a doll made of glass.
If I had simply jumped down just now, he definitely would have started with, ‘What if you sprain your ankle doing that?’ and gone all the way to, ‘You might end up having to amputate your ankle later because of complications.’ I did not want to deliberately give someone who had to stay with me twenty-four hours a day another reason to nag.
I carefully looked over the shoes in my own way, then scratched the back of my neck and glanced at him. Unlike me, who was wearing nothing more than comfortable, warm clothes, Baek Hyeonwoo was dressed as though he could pose for a fashion shoot at any moment.
“I think these would suit you best…… but they also seem like they might not match what you’re wearing now…….”
Even as I said that, laughter slipped out. Baek Hyeonwoo tilted his head as though he did not understand why I was laughing, but then took the sneakers I was holding and changed into them. Tap, tap, after striking the floor a few times with the toes of the shoes, he spoke with a satisfied expression.
“You can always change clothes. Then will you choose some clothes for me too?”
“Clothes? Choosing them isn’t difficult, but where are we going?”
“Should we go to a department store? We can eat there, look at some clothes, and then leave.”
It sounded exactly like a conversation between people who had gone out shopping. A zombie was dragging its leg along the road in front of the store even now, which made it feel even more out of place. By this point, I no longer said meaningless things like, ‘Wouldn’t a department store be dangerous?’ Baek Hyeonwoo was not someone who would ever lead me somewhere dangerous. He must have a plan.
Instead, I pointed at the zombie visible through the glass window and said,
“Let’s go after that one passes.”
Like everywhere else, the department store still had power and was brightly lit. Soft music continued to play, and the air conditioning was still running, so although it was slightly chilly, it was comfortable. If not for the objects strewn everywhere and the zombies slowly wandering around, it might even have felt as though we had rented out the entire department store.
“Careful.”
Perhaps because my attention had been stolen by a zombie standing blankly in front of the liquor refrigerator, I failed to notice the corpse lying ahead of me. Baek Hyeonwoo gently tugged on our joined hands in case I tripped over it, then lifted me up and pulled me into his arms.
“You should watch where you’re going.”
“Ah, sorry.”
I glanced back and saw a headless corpse lying facedown. Its skin was shriveled as though all the moisture had been drained from its body, and the sight somehow gave me chills, so I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. No matter how many times I saw corpses, I could not get used to them.
“Are you tired?”
“A little…….”
Perhaps because of the cooling system that continued to run, or perhaps for some other reason, the corpses inside the department store did not smell rotten. In fact, the stench coming from the zombies was worse.
“Do you want to rest? I’ll gather some food.”
“I hate being alone more.”
“Then at least keep your eyes closed.”
“……It’s not that bad.”
I muttered that, then slightly pulled my head back when I saw a zombie approaching.
Groooan-
The zombie in a hoodie looked around and sniffed quietly. Its jaw had not merely dropped downward. Its skin and muscles had rotted away until it hung near its collarbone, one eye was half dislodged and dangling, and its head seemed to have been crushed, because brain matter was running down from it.
Even after coming right up in front of us, it staggered elsewhere as though it had not seen us. If I had not experienced a zombie crawling through the window at home to attack me, I might have mistakenly believed they did not harm humans.
The stench was so severe that I could not suppress my retching at all. Worried that even the slightest sound might escape, I covered my mouth with one hand and buried my nose in my brother’s clothes. As I slowly breathed in, I caught Baek Hyeonwoo’s distinctive cool scent and finally felt as though I could survive.
Realizing that I was struggling, Baek Hyeonwoo quickened his pace. He moved without the slightest hesitation, as though he had visited this place several times before. Only after gathering several meal kits that had not expired, fresh fruit, and every tool needed for cooking did he enter somewhere.
“There, you’re all right now.”
“Phew…….”
Click, only after the door closed could I lift my head. I could breathe again. While I let out a long sigh, my brother carefully placed all the things piled on top of me onto the table one by one.
“Sit down.”
The place Baek Hyeonwoo had brought me to looked like a lounge. Judging by the luxurious interior and high-quality sofas, it did not seem to be a resting area for employees, but one intended for customers, specifically VIP customers.
There, we cooked and ate budae jjigae. By now, I did not even question it. I was merely grateful that there was a small kitchenette inside, so we did not have to go far to wash the ingredients.
“I think it’ll be a little difficult to find fresh ingredients until we arrive.”
After we finished eating, Baek Hyeonwoo said that with an apologetic expression, and I could not help laughing.
“I think it’s amazing that we’ve been able to eat like this until now.”
“But…….”
“So what? It’s not like I’ll die from skipping a few meals.”
“That’s not what I said. I said it would be difficult to find fresh ingredients. I never said I would let you go hungry.”
Baek Hyeonwoo, who had looked helplessly apologetic, instantly hardened his expression and replied.
“Ah, uh, really? Yeah. Sorry.”
His force was so frightening that I found myself nodding with a dazed expression and apologizing. I wondered whether saying I would be fine even if I skipped a few meals was really something worth reacting to so intensely.