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The typhoon arrived, and the wind and rain began to rage. I went up to the rooftop to collect water in the water tank but stumbled and fell.

“No, the wind! No!”

The rain poured down heavily, and the wind blew so fiercely that it was hard to keep my balance. Taking a single step felt like I might be blown away.

Even the raindrops flew almost horizontally, hitting my face, making it hard to keep my eyes open. As I wiped the water from my eyes, something like a black plastic bag stuck to my face.

I flailed my hands, trying to grab the trash stuck to my face, and finally managed to clear my vision.

The rain poured down so heavily that the world looked blurry. The rooftop of the villa, unable to drain, had turned into a swimming pool. The plastic trash I had nervously thrown was carried by the water flow, blocking the drain.

“Is the world trying to end…?”

When I forced my gaze outside the rooftop, I saw pigeons struggling to fly, tumbling in the wind. The wind was that strong.

The relentless rain and wind seemed determined to destroy the world. In areas with many signs or near construction sites, many people would likely be killed by objects falling in the strong wind.

The wind stopped for a moment. Now was the time. I quickly got up and opened the lid of the water tank.

Then, the wind blew fiercely again. I lost my grip on the lid, and it flew away with the wind.

I stared blankly at the scene and sighed.

“Let’s just stay home…”

With the wind and rain raging like this, there’s no need to do anything now. So I went back inside, dried myself with a towel, and stared out the window.

***

Today’s meal is ramen again. Jeondohyeong, who is on meal and dish duty, showed off his camping skills and cooked the ramen deliciously.

Cooking ramen for four people is tricky, but he seasoned it just right. Jeondohyeong smiled brightly, stuffing his mouth with noodles.

“It’s nice to think about camping when it rains like this. Eating ramen under a tent while listening to the rain is so delicious.”

“Isn’t this real camping?”

Sajihyeok, who was sipping the broth, looked out the window. The rattling window and raindrops pounding as if trying to break it.

“Collect rainwater to disinfect, pillage ramen, and eat in order of expiration. The world is wild.”

“No, camping isn’t about survival, it’s about romance and sentiment.”

I quietly ate my ramen. In a few months, ramen would become inedible. Once summer ends, the expiration date will be up.

Sure, the consumption period is eight months, but it’s only two months left. At most, it’ll be inedible by next year.

Park Yang-gun, who was drinking soju alone, shook the soju bottle.

“Aren’t we going to steal? We’re running out of alcohol.”

“How can we go out in this rain? Did you see outside? It’s completely flooded.”

He was right. There’s nothing we can do. The roads are completely submerged, and even the sidewalks are underwater. The streets are filled with trash and corpses, and even cars are barely visible.

Unless we’ve been starving for days, we can’t go out.

I swallowed my ramen and shook my head.

“If we go out now, we’ll die. We could fall into an open manhole, get hit by a falling sign, or drown in the current. The water is too dirty anyway.”

“But we’re out of alcohol… No. I’ll endure.”

For a while, the sound of eating continued in silence.

The gloomy weather affected everyone’s mood. It was easier to feel depressed than to think positively like Jeondohyeong, who reminisced about camping. Especially given the situation.

With no electricity, there’s nothing to do for leisure. Outside, there are only zombies and corpses. If you go out, you have to be wary of people or zombies.

It feels like the human spirit is slowly rotting.

But like fermentation, even if the spirit rots, it can produce something beneficial. For example, pillaging. The plan to pillage once the typhoon passes will lead their spirits in a positive direction.

“Is there anything we’re lacking?”

“Alcohol.”

“Besides alcohol.”

Jeondohyeong and Sajihyeok blinked and tilted their heads. Jeondohyeong spoke first.

“Electricity is the most lacking.”

“There’s nothing we can do about electricity. What about you, Sajihyeok?”

Electricity is impossible. It’s a precious resource that requires specialized skills to obtain. Repairing cars to convert fuel into electricity, acquiring solar-powered buildings, or using generators with electrical skills.

Sajihyeok shook his head.

“We still have plenty of cigarettes. Food is also sufficient, right? We have plenty of rice and kimchi. There doesn’t seem to be any essential resources we’re lacking.”

Rice and kimchi are excellent food resources. Rice can last up to two years if stored well, and kimchi can last several years without issue.

Pyeonghwa Villa, Villa Street, and the apartment complex—these three places provided enough rice and kimchi.

‘We’ve replaced hand sanitizer with soap. Except for alcohol and cigarettes, we’re not really lacking anything. Masks? We can use one for several days. We’re not really short on anything.’

I scratched my head.

We also have handguns and makeshift explosives. We’re not lacking in firepower either.

“Then… let’s go out once the weather clears. It’s good to stock up on alcohol. We can also check the city’s situation.”

Perhaps because we felt trapped indoors due to the weather, the companions nodded and began discussing where to go and who to pillage.

***

The typhoon passed quickly. After pouring rain for about three days, it lost its power.

But its destructive force was incomparable to the rainy season. The city was devastated. If you went up to the rooftop at night to see the city, there were almost no bright spots. Streetlights were out, and the lights of people living were nowhere to be seen.

Most areas had lost electricity.

The city looked even worse during the day.

On a clear day, I and my pillager companions went out to see the unrecognizable Villa Street.

“Is this really a city?”

“It’s not just ruins… It’s a disaster site.”

The streets were swept by muddy water. Even where the water had passed, there was more mud. The black asphalt was completely covered in dirt. Abandoned cars had turned into scrap metal after enduring both the rainy season and the typhoon.

I looked at a nearby car. A fallen street tree lay on top of it.

Turning my gaze, I saw bloated corpses. Bodies swept away by the current. Various insects gathered on the corpses, feeding on them. Cockroaches, flies, maggots…

The puddles and damp streets glistened. I scanned a few villa buildings. They were full of holes.

“The windows are really broken.”

“Ours were broken too.”

We had prepared, but the windows of the house where we stored supplies were shattered, causing us trouble. We hurriedly moved rice sacks and ate wet rice every day.

Sajihyeok gagged and moved away from the drowned corpse.

“Aren’t we going to clean up the corpses?”

“You clean them up.”

“I really can’t touch this…”

At that point, I snapped out of it. I pressed down my hat and pulled out my handgun, waving it.

“Do you all have your guns?”

The companions subtly showed their handguns. Hidden in their pockets. We had bought them from the police and distributed them to Jeondohyeong and Sajihyeok.

Jeondohyeong took out his phone and waved it.

“Let’s go to the streetlights first to charge our phones.”

“Right. Let’s go there.”

The typhoon had passed. It was time for people trapped indoors, those living without electricity, to gather to charge their devices.

We walked down the street, chatting.

The typhoon had passed, but would the streetlights be intact? Those people aren’t fools; they must have taken precautions. Even if the solar-powered streetlights were damaged, they must have repaired them somehow. Let’s get alcohol first…

As we talked, we encountered a zombie.

“Isn’t that a zombie?”

A zombie with its head buried in a puddle, drinking water, then reaching out to grab and eat weeds. The zombie sensed our presence and suddenly stood up, charging at us.

“Kreeeek!”

Its momentum was desperate. Like a beast that had starved for days and finally found food, it hunted with all its might.

But its appearance was pitiful. Its tangled hair was filthy, its face skeletal from weight loss. Its fingers, reaching out to us, were bony and dirty with mud.

“Ahh!”

We scattered left and right, raising our weapons. I raised my hammer and shouted.

“I’ll take care of it! Cover me!”

My focus was on the zombie. I gauged the distance. Its head swayed up and down. The timing to strike the top of its head.

One, two, three, I counted and swung the hammer down. The zombie twisted its body at the last moment, taking the blow on its shoulder. Thud, I felt the heavy impact, but the zombie pushed forward and knocked me down.

“Kreeeek!”

“Ahh!”

I fell backward. No time to worry about the pain in my tailbone or back from hitting the ground. The zombie gnashed its teeth, trying to bite my neck, drooling.

I pushed the zombie’s face away with my gloved hand, gritting my teeth.

“What are you doing! Cover me!”

“No, you’re too tangled up! If I hit it wrong, I might hit you!”

Against the blue sky, I saw the zombie’s face and my companions fumbling. Jeondohyeong hesitated with his hand axe.

Sajihyeok quickly raised a metal pipe.

“I’ll do it!”

“Sajihyeok, stay back!”

I don’t trust him. He’s the type to miss and hit me instead of the zombie.

“Should I shoot it?”

“Don’t!”

Then, Park Yang-gun pulled out a rope from his pocket. It was the red rope we used to open the front door lock before.

“Move.”

The red rope looped around the zombie’s neck, and Park Yang-gun pulled it tight, lifting the zombie’s head.

The zombie let out a single screech. Its hands, gripping me, flailed in the air. I quickly struggled free and swung the hammer hard.

A few strikes. The zombie’s limbs went limp, only its upper body lifted. Finally, I caught my breath.

“Really… What’s this over one zombie?”

It’s not easy to fight up close. Distance is the best weapon. Dropping things from the rooftop or shooting.

Don’t swing a hammer to save bullets.

Jeondohyeong awkwardly approached.

“Ah, we had a rope. Or we could have used a chokehold. I didn’t think of it in the rush.”

“It’s fine. Just do better next time.”

I wiped the zombie’s drool off my gloves in a nearby puddle and hurried on.

“If we see a zombie, don’t save bullets. It’s dangerous if they get close.”

“Handguns are hard to aim. It’s best not to fight.”

We crossed the city, where utility poles and power lines had fallen, church spires collapsed, crosses impaled cars, roads stripped of asphalt, neon signs sunk in puddles, all swept by the typhoon.

The sky was clear, but the wind blew so strongly that my baseball cap almost flew off. As I pressed down the brim, something suddenly hit my head hard.

“Ah!”

A dull pain spread, my vision swayed, and my body lost strength.

I sat down and pulled out my handgun, thinking someone had attacked.

But no.

My companions also drew their guns and looked up. They lowered their guns in confusion and looked at my feet.

Some kind of debris. Maybe a building tile, a broken pipe, or a balcony railing piece. Something too crude to be a thrown weapon.

“Did something fall in the wind?”

“There don’t seem to be people in the building.”

I opened my mouth. My head was spinning. Even with my bad luck, this is too much. I’d understand if a companion betrayed me or another survivor attacked.

But an injury from an accident? After fighting zombies and people without getting hurt.

I quickly took off my gloves and hat, feeling my head with clean hands. A sharp pain and sticky sensation.

My companions’ panicked voices reached me.

“Uh, you’re bleeding?”

“Bleeding?”

I looked at my hand. There was real blood. Instantly, all sorts of worries flooded my mind.

‘What if the object was contaminated with bacteria? Will the wound get infected? Is my brain okay? It doesn’t feel like a concussion.’

No, this isn’t the time for such thoughts. I need treatment. Proper treatment to prevent infection or other issues.

I gritted my teeth and put my hat back on.

“Let’s go to the Tower of Life.”

 

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