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Strong winds and heavy rains were frequent during the summer. Maybe there was a typhoon among them, but since the internet was down, we might have missed it.

So, the preparation was simple.

We stuffed newspapers into the window frames to protect the precious glass from breaking, nailed planks to the warehouse windows just in case, and assessed how long we could hold out with the stockpiled supplies.

“Staying inside is the best option. Everyone, prepare to hold out at home.”

I stepped out onto Villa Street, gathered the mercenaries, and gave them a light warning.

Natural disasters are enemies you can’t defeat. You can’t kill them. You just have to hunker down and endure.

One mercenary raised his hand.

“What about water and guard duty?”

“Direct it to the water tank. Don’t leave pots or anything outside; they’ll just blow away in the wind.”

The mercenaries had experienced the same natural disasters in the city as I had. They nodded lightly.

“Good thing there’s a water tank on the roof. The place I used to live didn’t have one…”

Though it’s an old villa building, that has its advantages. I waved my hand and casually said, “This place is better than a high-rise apartment. Imagine living on the 50th floor.”

“Just thinking about going up and down the stairs is terrifying.”

No, this isn’t the time for such talk. Guard duty. I fiddled with my mask and looked around the building.

“If the weather’s fine, stand guard. If it’s stormy, take turns by building. I doubt anyone would attack through the storm, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Everyone understood.

Then, raindrops began to fall. Looking up, dark clouds quickly approached, blocking the sunlight. The wind also blew fiercely.

“If there’s any trouble, open the window and shout.”

I pressed down my baseball cap, which was about to fly off, and turned to head back home. It’s not the time to be outside when a storm is coming.

***

Staying inside meant no danger. The storm raged against the windows, but I spent a peaceful time. The typhoon didn’t scare me.

‘The electricity and water are already gone; what more could go wrong?’

Standing by the window, I looked down at the road. Yellow muddy water flowed worse than a river. In a normal world, this would be chaos, but in the apocalypse, it wasn’t particularly bad.

In fact, there were some benefits. With the weather like this, we could collect water and not worry about raids.

Hunkered down at home, all we had to do was eat our stockpiled food, enjoying a leisurely life.

Watching the flooded streets, cooking with the remaining resources, taking vitamins while exercising, planning scenarios to take down the military and alliances, strategizing how to deal with survivors, and sometimes reading books.

That’s when it happened.

“Huh?”

As the wind blew fiercely, even the secured windows rattled. Suddenly, a road sign broke off and flew like a shuriken, straight toward my window.

I ducked and covered my head as the window shattered loudly.

Crash!

“No way.”

The sign that grazed my head landed with a clang in the middle of the room. I stared at it blankly. Looking down at myself, I saw my body glistening.

I was covered in glass shards. Cold raindrops stung my skin, sending a chill through me. I stood there dazed for a while.

This isn’t right, is it? What did I do to deserve this?

“…Right. Standing by the window was my mistake.”

I slowly got up, shivering. Like a wet dog shaking off water, I shook off the glass shards.

Bad luck isn’t new to me. At least I wasn’t hurt. It’s better than last time when I got hit by falling debris and cracked my head.

The storm raged through the broken window, swirling around the room. Everything in the room flew around like a whirlwind—masks, tissues, ramen packets, instant food wrappers.

Rain poured in like a shower, soaking the room.

It’s too much trouble to clean up now. I turned to leave the room but stopped at the computer. The computer, drenched and ruined.

“My scenarios…”

That computer held all the scenarios I had written. None succeeded, but they were the scenarios I had racked my brain to create. Proof of my past.

Even in a world without electricity, shouldn’t I save that computer?

My feet wouldn’t move.

How long did I stand there? Trash flying in the storm stuck to my face. I snapped out of it and peeled off the trash.

“Right, what past?”

The past from six months ago. Even the future six months from now feels too distant to care about. It’s a waste of mental energy.

Besides, aren’t I happily writing scenarios in reality now?

I walked out of the room with light steps and slammed the door shut.

***

The typhoon’s effects lasted for three days. It was a manageable time. We shuffled out into the streets as the sun peeked out.

But the faces weren’t bright.

“Boss, the gas is out.”

“Mine too.”

Looking around, all the houses had their gas cut off. It was bound to happen. Now, even fire has become a thing of the past. We have to gather firewood and start fires ourselves.

This isn’t an easy problem. In a world rampant with viruses, we need to boil water as well as cook food.

But as a leader, there’s no need to show a lack of confidence.

“That lasted a while. The gas is like a zombie, isn’t it? What infrastructure lasts six months? It’s brutal, really.”

I casually joked and sat on the mud-covered car hood.

“There’s plenty to burn in the world. We don’t have to worry about fire for a while. Boiling water? No big deal. Jeondohyeong!”

“Yeah?”

Jeondohyeong, who had been cooped up and restless, turned to me, stretching. He’s useful at times like this.

“Didn’t you use a stove or something while camping?”

“A wood stove or camping stove? Yeah, I did. I probably still have it somewhere.”

“Let’s set that up on the roof.”

Jeondohyeong’s camping car, parked long ago, was broken, but he had moved the resources inside. He quickly pulled out various camping tools—lanterns, pins, and such.

Jeondohyeong scratched his head.

“What about firewood?”

“Firewood’s everywhere.”

I pointed around. Fallen trees were everywhere. My finger then pointed from the villa building to the city center.

“Abandoned furniture can all be used. If not, we can take it from survivors’ houses.”

“That’s a lot of work. Can’t we still use gas burners?”

No, we can’t. We saw the alliance making bombs with butane gas. We might figure out that trick, so we need to save it for emergencies.

“Save that. Only use it when absolutely necessary.”

As we talked, one mercenary hesitantly spoke up.

“One wood stove won’t be enough. Shouldn’t we get a drum or something?”

I quickly nodded.

“Good idea.”

Drums can be used too. The more things to start a fire, the better. A thought crossed my mind. The gas is out. Fire is as important as water.

Wouldn’t people head to the mountains? Not to live, but to areas near the mountains where firewood is easier to gather. I mentally checked a few nearby mountains on my mental map.

Then Park Yang-gun approached me after looking around the villa building.

“Your window’s broken. Shouldn’t we get a new one?”

“Maybe when we get the chance.”

It’s still warm. No rush. One room turning into ruins isn’t a problem for me. In fact, the ruin vibe is nice. Sitting quietly helps me organize my thoughts.

I stretched and grabbed a hammer.

“Let’s get to work. Our stockpiled food is running out, right?”

“Yes!”

Everyone moved at once, gearing up. They went into their rooms, put on helmets and vests, grabbed rifles, and pulled carts.

We had been cooped up at home during the typhoon. That meant we couldn’t loot and only consumed resources. We need to replenish that.

We set off happily.

Arriving at the river area, we lost our smiles. Words failed us. The river, swept by the typhoon, was in ruins.

“Didn’t the people here die too?”

Cars abandoned on the streets were swept away by the torrent, scattered and even stuck in the river. Trees and utility poles were no exception.

Drowned corpses lay on the streets.

I thought calmly.

“No. It rained a lot. They could survive on rainwater. They wouldn’t risk coming to the river to fetch water.”

“What about fishermen?”

Turning my head, Park Yang-gun muttered while looking at the swollen river.

“People who used traps or fishing to get food might have had to come here.”

“That’s true, but they’re a minority. The survivors in the river area are probably still alive.”

The famine hasn’t fully started yet. We can continue our operations for a while.

“Someone’s coming.”

Just then, someone came to check the river’s condition. We caught him and got some information. But after looting, we looked at the resources in the cart with dark faces.

There wasn’t much. We had consumed the stockpiled resources during the three days of the typhoon.

It’s only early autumn, but it already feels off. The cool air feels chilly.

 

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