Yoon Seolhee, all of five-foot-seven, came rushing in with a rubber knife in her hand.
When the blade flashed quickly toward his waist, Junho knocked her wrist aside with his left hand and pushed against the back of her hand to change its direction.
At the same time, he wrapped her elbow and cut off the path of the follow-up attack headed for his neck.
It was a movement that defended and countered at once, with enough force behind it that her elbow might have bent the wrong way if he had really committed.
In response, Yoon Seolhee shifted her footing to change her center, pretended to let go of the knife, then shot her left hand toward the back of Junho’s neck like lightning.
In that instant, Junho tucked his chin and raised his shoulder to protect his neck, while at the same time trapping Yoon Seolhee’s hand between both of his and twisting free in a rotational movement.
“Whoa...”
Not just Junhyeok, who was watching from right beside them, but even the other trainees farther away who had been sneaking glances at Junho and Yoon Seolhee let out sounds of admiration.
“...You’re impressive.”
Yoon Seolhee, who rarely showed much expression, straightened her rumpled uniform with a look that didn’t bother hiding her admiration.
“You were going easy on me, that’s all. Want to keep going?”
It wasn’t false modesty. Junho knew she had deliberately adjusted her strength.
Of course, so had he.
If either of them had gone all out, something would have ended up broken or cracked.
“No. That’s enough. But are you really from a recon unit? Even when I went through special-operations training, I never saw a conscript as skilled as you.”
“That’s right. I was in special operations, and even the career guys probably wouldn’t be able to handle my brother. He’s my brother and all, but he’s kind of insane.”
Junhyeok cut in.
At that, Yoon Seolhee gave him a fresh look, as if reassessing him.
“Were you? So both brothers came out of hard units.”
“Man, compared to you, ma’am? I seriously respect you.”
Junhyeok’s eyes shone. He already knew Yoon Seolhee was a former special-forces NCO, and less than ten minutes ago he had gotten properly schooled by her himself.
Then Yoon Seolhee’s expression turned cold on the spot.
“Please call me Manager Yoon Seolhee. And I’m twenty-eight.”
“Ah—”
It was obvious to anyone that the “ma’am” had rubbed her the wrong way.
“Then, Mr. Lee Junho. I was a little pushy today, so thank you again for going along with it.”
“No. I’m the one who should be thanking you for the opportunity. But Manager, may I ask you something?”
“Yes.”
“Do you go anywhere besides this place? I mean, besides Krav Maga—do you do any other kind of training?”
Yoon Seolhee’s expression shifted slightly at the question.
“I do, but why are you asking?”
“Oh, I’m just really interested in training. Military stuff too. That’s part of why I’m learning Krav Maga. Anyway, I’ve gotten pretty curious lately about PMC-related things, so I was wondering if you happened to know an academy.”
“You mean a tactical school. It’s not like you’re actually trying to get into that line of work. Is it a hobby?”
“Not really a hobby. I just want to learn a lot of different things. I even deliberately volunteered for the recon unit back in basic training.”
That was a lie. What had actually happened was that he hadn’t known any better, a recon-unit NCO had asked who had martial arts certifications, and he had raised his hand without thinking and gotten pulled in.
But of course Yoon Seolhee had no way of knowing that, and she nodded.
“I see. If you really want to learn properly, I can introduce you. There’s a school run by someone who was in UDT and trained with the SEALs multiple times.”
“I see. I’d really appreciate the introduction.”
“All right. I’ll reach out.”
“Thank you very much.”
Junho bowed politely.
In truth, that was exactly why he had accepted Yoon Seolhee’s request to spar.
She had been out of special forces for only a little over two years, so her special-unit connections were probably still alive and well.
Among Kang Baekho’s guards and attendants, the only two Junho had at least some familiarity with were Park Cheolwoo and Yoon Seolhee. And compared to Park Cheolwoo, who carried an aura that made him hard to approach, Yoon Seolhee was around his age and much easier to ask.
“Are you interested in anything else?”
“Anything else?”
“Do you know parkour, by any chance?”
“Of course I do. Do you do parkour too?”
Junho brightened immediately.
Parkour—free running that overcomes obstacles and uses the urban environment as efficiently as possible.
There was no need to explain how effective a discipline centered entirely on efficiency, fast movement, and running would be in the apocalypse.
“Yes. I’ve been learning it as a hobby for about half a year. If you’re interested, I can introduce you there too.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“It’s really no trouble. I’ll contact you tomorrow.”
Yoon Seolhee had looked a little cold on the outside, but it turned out she had a brisk, straightforward personality, and Junho was sincerely grateful.
“Thank you. I can’t just let this go with empty hands, so at least let me—”
“No. It’s fine.”
“No, it isn’t. That wouldn’t be right.”
Yoon Seolhee, who had been looking at him with a slightly odd gaze, finally spoke.
“The truth is, I have a favorable impression of you, Mr. Lee Junho.”
“...What?”
For a second, Junho blinked, wondering if he had heard wrong.
Then Yoon Seolhee tilted her head once, suddenly realized something, and her face flushed bright red.
“N-no, not that kind of favorable impression. It’s because you’re close with our president—President Kang Baekho—and he likes you too, yes, that’s what I mean. Our president doesn’t personally take a liking to that many people. So from the perspective of someone who serves right by his side...”
“Ah, I understand what you mean.”
Junho cut in and rescued Yoon Seolhee from her rambling.
“So all I have to do is stay close with ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Brother Baekho and get along with him even better?”
“Yes, yes. Exactly that. If you just keep getting along with our president the way you are now, I’d be grateful too.”
Yoon Seolhee, flustered enough to actually fan herself with her hand—something she didn’t normally do—made Junho fight down the smile trying to escape.
“All right. I’ll do as you say, Manager. Then—”
Patter patter!
At that moment, something black came hurrying over in a comically fussy rush and stopped beside them.
“Junho hyung! That was seriously amazing! You’re the best!”
It was Choi Hyunwoo.
“Seriously, I couldn’t even see your hands and feet. Hyung, it’s not just that you got in shape from working out. Seriously, hyung, you’re—”
Still too excited to hide it as he practically worshiped Junho, Hyunwoo’s gaze suddenly shifted to Yoon Seolhee, who at some point had already recovered her usual cool expression.
“Ghk...!”
His eyes went wide, and Hyunwoo clapped a hand over his mouth and shuffled backward toward Junhyeok.
Yoon Seolhee acted as if she didn’t even see him and dipped her head slightly to Junho.
“Then, Mr. Lee Junho, I’ll contact you tomorrow.”
“Yes, Manager. Take care.”
After exchanging a polite farewell with Junho, Yoon Seolhee strode right past them without hesitation.
Still covering his mouth, Hyunwoo stared at her firm back and muttered under his breath.
“Holy shit... she’s a goddess...”
“Ah, this idiot’s doing it again.”
“Hey, hey, who’s that goddess?”
Clicking his tongue as he looked at his pathetic best friend, Junhyeok answered.
“She’s one of Brother Baekho’s attendants, the one I told you about before. Former special forces. Crazy strong. She one-shotted me too.”
“Yeah, I saw you rolling around like trash earlier. But damn, why is she that pretty? She’s unreal. And that body’s just perfect.”
“Quit talking bullshit and get back to class, dumbass.”
While Hyunwoo and Junhyeok bickered, Junho went over and said goodbye to the Krav Maga instructor.
There were ten sessions total, which meant five more remained, and the instructor said he would teach Junho every technique he knew.
He also turned out to have information about the tactical school Yoon Seolhee had mentioned.
The instructor knew the people teaching there too.
“Because of the law, they use rubber knives and BB guns for training, but it’s probably the best place in the country. You’ll be able to learn all the basics—CQB, CQC, even urban warfare. One of my academy buddies used to teach there, so I’ll put in a word too.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Haha. It’s nothing. Still, I had no idea you knew Seolhee.”
“There’s someone she protects that I have ties to.”
“Ah, that person from Kangho Group? I heard he’s got a good personality and is easygoing for a chaebol guy. Anyway, this is interesting.”
“Yes, I was surprised too. I had no idea Manager Yoon Seolhee came here.”
“No, that’s not what I find interesting...”
With a teasing look, the instructor went on.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Seolhee talk that much or act that friendly with a guy her own age.”
“...What?”
“Back when she was active duty, her nickname was Yoon Demon. One of the junior guys called her Yoon Fairy one time instead, and she beat the absolute hell out of him. Anyway, this is the first time I’ve seen anything like it. Pretty wild. Yoon Demon, and her face even turned red. Heh.”
***
The next day, just as promised, Junho got the contact information and details for both the tactical school and the parkour academy from Yoon Seolhee.
He went to both places immediately, and maybe thanks to Yoon Seolhee’s introduction, they were both extremely courteous and, above all, highly systematic and professional.
The tactical school in particular went far beyond the vague level Junho had been imagining, even if they did not use live firearms.
In fact, when Junho mentioned that if he got the chance, he wanted to go to the United States and do a short intensive course at a civilian academy there, the tactical school instructor said he could connect him with an academy in Nevada where someone he knew worked as an instructor.
One connection brought another. It was a small world, and the network stretched beyond national borders.
Junho was highly satisfied. Because he had connected with Kang Baekho, he had met Yoon Seolhee, and through Yoon Seolhee he had been able to put a plan that had previously been somewhat vague into action with ease.
At the same time, it made him think he needed to be a little more careful with people he had known or met before the regression.
There was a high chance they would still follow the same fate they had before once the apocalypse broke out, but there was always the possibility that his influence could knock them off that path.
In any case, Junho and Junhyeok signed up for both the tactical school and parkour too, which meant they would now be able to learn survival and combat skills on an even higher level.
Time passed in the meantime.
The shelter finished the design phase and moved into full-scale construction, and the brothers had no trouble obtaining hunting licenses and firearms possession permits as well.
So one day in May, with the air turning quietly warmer during the day, Junho walked into a gun shop openly intending to buy firearms.
And he had already decided which models he wanted.
“I’d like to see the ones with the largest air cylinders and the simplest mechanisms.”
In the apocalypse, air rifles were the best, because they were easy to replicate and could still fire multiple shots even after their power was increased.
Of course, submachine guns and semiautomatic rifles fitted with suppressors and using subsonic rounds were essential too.
But in an ambush situation from concealment and cover, when killing zombies inside a hundred meters, modified high-powered air rifles were far more efficient.
Given that it was still uncertain whether he would actually be able to get submachine guns and semiautomatic rifles, choosing air rifles first was the obvious move.
More than anything, air rifles were much quieter, and he would not have to worry about “ammunition resupply.”
If an air rifle upgraded to over 100 joules fired tungsten rounds made in the shelter workshop instead of ordinary lead pellets, it could reliably deal with zombies inside a hundred meters. And as long as they had tungsten prepared in bulk, ammunition would effectively never become a problem.
That said, smaller-cylinder air-rifle models had a serious weakness: after just a little over ten shots, the air would run low and the power would drop sharply.
So from the start, he needed to buy models with large air cylinders, then through replication and modification make them capable of firing over twenty shots.
“Air rifles? These days most people are looking for shotguns...”
“No. Air rifles. Show me the biggest-caliber models with the largest air cylinders. If I like them, I’ll buy every one you’ve got. For today, I’m thinking about three to start.”
“Oh, sir, you should’ve said so sooner.”
The gun-shop owner’s face split into a grin at once, and he started unlocking the display case and taking out the air rifles.
