Chapter 24: Not Every Moment Is Joyful
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Minju was making progress. Xiaoguang could clearly feel her struggling to swallow. Looking at Minju’s lovely neck, he gently stroked it. Zombies had different personalities too—Minju was relatively gentle. Xiaoguang still remembered the time Bae Joo-hyun had sprayed instant-noodle broth from her nostrils. Stubborn Bae Joo-hyun.
“Eat properly. You can’t just rely on me to feed you. Think about it—what would you do if I weren’t here? Not eating won’t stop you from staying alive, but you need to understand how important food is to you. Look at Bae Joo-hyun’s little face. It’s already looking much rosier.”
Xiaoguang wasn’t making that up. Compared with Minju’s still somewhat pallid complexion, Bae Joo-hyun’s face clearly had more color. Whatever the real reason, Xiaoguang credited himself for it.
Feeding them was absolutely for the sake of their health. It definitely wasn’t because he disliked eating alone—or because he had the slightest bit of perverse enjoyment in it.
“If you can’t remember how to use chopsticks and spoons, you can use your hands. You don’t feel pain very strongly anyway. I won’t make anything too hot, so you won’t get burned.”
Muttering all the while, Xiaoguang tipped the last of the bowl into Minju’s mouth. Minju tilted her head back, and instant-noodle broth trickled from the corner of her lips. Xiaoguang looked at it and reached out a finger, but instead of wiping it away, he inexplicably leaned over and kissed it.
“Oh, hell, I’m losing my mind. How can you eat something a zombie has already eaten?”
Xiaoguang hurriedly spat twice. Minju turned to look at him, and the noodles still caught in her mouth fell out. Xiaoguang quickly held out the small bowl to catch them.
“Don’t just stand there watching. Eat.”
He poured them back into Minju’s mouth. When they seemed unwilling to go down, Xiaoguang helplessly used the spoon to press them downward. Once he pushed them to the back of her throat, everything was fine. At that point, she would spit some out while swallowing the rest.
After breakfast, he fastened Bae Joo-hyun’s plush costume around her open front, then wandered around the villa and found Minju a one-piece yoga outfit. He had to admit, she looked rather good in it.
Xiaoguang sat contentedly on the sofa, glancing first at the adorable Bae Joo-hyun in her plush costume, then at the pure yet alluring Kim Minju. Did this count as the happiness of having two women?
If he remembered correctly, that phrase referred to two women: one wife and one concubine.
Although Bae Joo-hyun was petite, she was formidable. She could wield an iron-chain hammer and crush a dog’s head, so she definitely had to be the wife.
Minju’s pretty face made her look as though she was born to be bullied. Add to that her timid nature, and she would make an excellent concubine.
“Ahh~”
Bae Joo-hyun let out a sound, bringing Xiaoguang back from his fantasies. He looked at her. What did she mean? Surely she wasn’t asking him to go outside again.
“Grrr~~”
The remote control was held out in front of him. Minju really was obedient. Bae Joo-hyun, Bae Joo-hyun—if you want to watch television, take a look at how Minju does it.
He switched on the television and, without thinking, started the SBS Gayo Daejeon. It could serve as background music. What had he planned to do yesterday, again?
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That was right. During the day, he would visit the neighboring estate and see whether there was anything worth salvaging.
Seeing Bae Joo-hyun and Kim Minju sitting side by side watching television, Xiaoguang put on his equipment by the door. Inside the house was one thing—he trusted them there—but outside, he could not afford to be careless.
“Ahh~~”
“I’m only going next door. Don’t worry. I’m just going to see whether there’s anything useful. I’ll be back soon.”
After saying that, Xiaoguang stood there in a daze for a moment. Had Bae Joo-hyun just been asking where he was going? Why did it feel as though he were a man heading out while his girlfriend asked where he was off to?
He looked at Bae Joo-hyun. She was watching television. So what had that sound meant? Was she chatting with Minju? But his earlier feeling had been unmistakable. He had clearly sensed Bae Joo-hyun asking where he was going.
He stared at her again. She did not even look his way. Somewhat dejected, Xiaoguang finished putting on his equipment. Heartless Bae Joo-hyun—now that she had a companion, she no longer followed him outside on his expeditions.
Xiaoguang left. Bae Joo-hyun suddenly turned toward the doorway. If Xiaoguang had seen her expression, he would certainly have been startled, because the corners of her mouth seemed to lift slightly. The tiny change looked almost like a smile.
“Grrr~~”
Minju raised an arm and pointed at the television. Bae Joo-hyun turned to look at her, then pressed her arm back down.
“Ahh~”
“Grrr~”
“Ahh~~”
Minju nodded, clasped both hands together between her thighs, and focused intently on the television. Bae Joo-hyun looked at Minju’s posture, then reached out and rubbed the top of her head.
~~~~
“What exactly is going on with this virus? I’m sure it isn’t based on a person’s character. That bastard Lee Seung-ri hasn’t completely lost his humanity, so how is it that all the servants who worked for him are dead?”
Talking to himself had become one of Xiaoguang’s habits over the past three months. He searched for supplies while speaking, which made it less likely that sudden noises would frighten him.
Ever since discovering that zombies did not gather into a frenzy at every sound, Xiaoguang had gone out in this state each time, muttering to himself. He would talk about how much he missed his parents, speak of the dreams he had once held, or simply curse this absurd world.
Now he also had Bae Joo-hyun to complain about. Remembering how Bae Joo-hyun had kicked Kim Minju out of the blankets the previous night, Xiaoguang picked up a bracelet in front of him. He wondered whether they still liked jewelry.
Ah, why think so much about it? If he wanted to see them wearing it, he would simply take it back.
The underground cold-storage room in this house was just as enormous. It was obvious that the families living in this area were all wealthy. Xiaoguang took a bag and put in two boxes of strawberries and several apples.
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The strawberries were clearly about to spoil. Such precious food could not be wasted, so Xiaoguang simply packed them all up.
The house even had a PS5. Xiaoguang smiled as he placed it in a box. How had he forgotten about such a wonderful way to pass the time? This was perfect. He would no longer have to spend every day watching two beautiful young women suffer stiffly and miserably while merely staying alive.
~~~~
He had not scavenged very many supplies, yet after all that rushing around, he was drenched in sweat. The weather was partly to blame, but there was no denying that Xiaoguang’s stamina had improved greatly over the past few months.
When he returned to the estate, he first removed his equipment and drank an entire bottle of water in a few loud gulps. Before laziness could set in, he hurriedly carried everything he wanted into the villa.
Looking at the piles of supplies stacked by the entrance, Xiaoguang decided to finish the job in one go and carried them into the various rooms. Wearing nothing but a pair of loose shorts, he huffed and puffed as he hauled everything around. The two beautiful girls on the sofa acted as though they could not see him.
“I give up. Even if I raised a little dog, it could at least help me carry things in its mouth. And here I am, foolishly bringing you beautiful gifts. What a fallen world. Even zombies have no gratitude. I suppose I only have myself to blame for being bewitched by your beauty.”
Complaining was one thing, but Xiaoguang liked to finish whatever he started. He continued organizing all the supplies piled outside the villa before slowly wandering back into the living room. Leaning against the wall, he looked at the two beauties, who were absorbed in the television.
After indulging himself in the sight of their beautiful faces, and with much of the sweat on his body evaporated, Xiaoguang headed straight for the swimming pool. For lunch, he planned to eat bread and fruit that were about to expire. In the height of summer, there was nothing happier than eating it while soaking in the pool.
He prepared the bread, a basin of strawberries, and three bottles of beer. Once everything was ready, Xiaoguang slid comfortably into the water and sprawled beside the pool, slowly enjoying the fruits of his labor.
Two pairs of feet approached. One pair was bare. Xiaoguang raised his head and looked at them.
“Weren’t you watching television?”
He hesitated. If he stripped both of them down to their bare skin and brought them into the pool, wouldn’t he end up getting aroused again? Today, Xiaoguang had intended to enjoy life on his own.
“How about you two skip the pool today and let my little brother rest for a day?”
“Ahh~”
“Grrr~~”
Xiaoguang suddenly felt that the life of a wealthy heir was not necessarily a life of endless revelry after all. Every few days, even his manhood needed a day off.
He picked up the basin floating in the pool, placed one strawberry into Bae Joo-hyun’s mouth, then another into Minju’s. Watching the red juice trickle from the corners of their mouths, Xiaoguang still could not resist. He let go of the little basin and stretched both arms out.
“I’m doing this for your own good, really. Look, Bae Joo-hyun’s bottom has clearly regained its firmness. Minju, be good and eat a little more.”
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