BOW Chapter 2 (Part 3)
by Brie“Yeah! I’m contract! And what?! What does it matter, you bastard?! This company hired me! Is this a place I’m not allowed to be?! You son of a…!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Jinsik, having lost all reason, punched Kwon’s face over and over.
“Ugh! Guh…! Cough!”
“You…!”
Wham.
“What…!”
Wham.
“Makes you! So great, huh?!”
Wham.
With each word he spat out, Jinsik’s fist slammed mercilessly into Kwon’s face. His eyes had rolled back completely; he wasn’t seeing anything anymore.
“Guh… ugh…”
“You bastard! You want me to deal with mutants?! Why?! Why are you doing this to me?!”
“S, stop… ugh!”
Kwon’s face burst open almost instantly under the blows. He writhed on the floor, crawling like the mutants in the hallway.
“Haa… ha… Where are you going, Executive Director.”
“S… save me…”
“A contract worker wants to have a chat!”
Jinsik grabbed him by the hair as Kwon crawled away, and with gritted teeth slammed his head into the tile floor.
“Assistant manager Hong… help me, guh!”
Thud…
Kwon reached a hand toward Jiyeon, begging for help.
Seeing that, Jinsik growled and slammed his head down again.
Dark red blood spread across the kitchen tiles.
“Assistant manager Hong… please… Aaaaah!”
Kwon somehow lifted his head, staring at Jiyeon with a ruined face.
Jiyeon, who had stepped back in shock at Jinsik’s sudden outburst, hesitated and slowly approached.
“……”
Then he met Jinsik’s gaze.
His trembling pupils looked hollow.
Seeing Jinsik savagely beating Kwon filled Jiyeon with a boiling heat he couldn’t suppress.
It wasn’t righteousness, just the natural anger and disgust any person would feel toward this kind of injustice.
“Cough… I… I’m going to die at this rate! Assistant manager Hong! Help me! I’m begging you!”
Kwon scrambled away from Jinsik and crawled toward Jiyeon, reaching out desperately.
Jiyeon looked down at him with a cold, bug-crushing stare and finally spoke.
“That… isn’t really my concern, is it.”
“Haah.”
Leaving Executive Director Kwon and Park Jinsik alone in the kitchen, Jiyeon let out a heavy sigh. Even up to the moment he stepped outside, he kept thinking, “Is it really okay to walk out like this?” but in the end, he avoided the scene.
Park Jinsik had practically looked ready to kill Executive Director Kwon. Even knowing that, Jiyeon chose to stand by and watch. Maybe that was why his chest felt tangled and heavy. He had felt guilt after watching his coworkers die, bitten by mutants, yet seeing Executive Director Kwon beaten to a pulp by Park Jinsik stirred no sympathy or guilt in him at all, and that unsettled him even more.
He couldn’t bring himself to go back to his spot, weighed down by the sticky discomfort inside him, so he just kept staring at the kitchen door.
“Jiyeon!”
Someone grabbed Jiyeon’s shoulder from behind and pulled him into an embrace. It should have startled him, but the familiar scent made him turn around with an awkward expression instead of shock.
“I was looking everywhere for you because I couldn’t find you.”
The hand Suhyeong had wrapped around Jiyeon’s shoulder trembled faintly. The lighting was dim, so it was hard to see his expression clearly, but it seemed like even his face had gone pale. Luckily, most of the employees were still asleep, and the few who were awake looked exhausted, too drained to notice the two of them. Still, if anyone did see them like this, they would definitely think it strange.
“I was afraid you might have gone out into the hallway… or that bastard Executive Director Kwon might have laid a hand on you… I thought I was going to lose my mind.”
“Team Leader…”
Suhyeong pressed his face against Jiyeon’s shoulder and drew in a shuddering breath. He had to push him away before someone saw them. But seeing how genuinely worried Suhyeong looked, Jiyeon couldn’t bring himself to shove him off.
“I… I was in the kitchen for a moment.”
“The kitchen? Why were you in there?”
“…”
At Jiyeon’s answer, Suhyeong’s eyes moved to the tightly closed kitchen door. Jiyeon hesitated, wondering if he should tell him what had happened inside. At that moment, the door opened, and Park Jinsik stepped out, looking half out of his mind.
The moment Suhyeong saw Jinsik’s face, his expression hardened. Then he turned Jiyeon toward his side and began urgently checking him over. Because of that nervous haste, Jiyeon couldn’t even check what kind of state Executive Director Kwon was in inside the kitchen.
“What did that bastard do to you?!”
“Huh? Oh, no. I’m fine, but Executive Director Kwon is…”
“Executive Director Kwon? He’s in there too?”
“Yes. But something happened. Jinsik hit him… pretty badly…”
“You’re not hurt anywhere?”
“Sorry? Oh, no. I’m fine.”
Cutting off everything that didn’t matter, Suhyeong only kept checking Jiyeon’s safety. Jiyeon nodded numbly, bewildered. As soon as he did, Suhyeong acted like that was all he needed to hear and didn’t ask anything further, leading Jiyeon back to his spot. He must have been really startled when Jiyeon disappeared, because he buried his face in Jiyeon’s palm and murmured,
“Haah. Good. As long as you’re not hurt, that’s all that matters.”
Jiyeon quickly pulled his hand away, his face growing hot. It was his first time being worried about like this, and he had no idea how to respond.
“I… I told you not to touch me like that. It makes me feel weird.”
“Weird?”
Suhyeong lifted his head and looked at Jiyeon’s flushed face. Then his expression shifted into a mischievous yet soft smile.
“How? Does your heart race or flutter or something?”
“…”
“Hmm? Weird how? Tell me.”
He poked Jiyeon’s shoulder, urging an answer. It was obvious he was teasing him, and Jiyeon shot him a glare. But that smile on Suhyeong’s face looked so natural. Seeing it, Jiyeon felt something twist inside him like a stomach cramp. He always felt that way whenever Suhyeong smiled with his whole heart.
“Jiyeon. Hmm?”
He had always been kind and polite to everyone, but now he was smiling brightly like a mischievous kid, genuinely waiting for Jiyeon’s reaction. Maybe that was why, for the first time, he looked human rather than perfect. As their normal lives collapsed, the mask Suhyeong used to wear had fallen away, leaving behind someone who looked almost childlike.
“Do you feel your heart race when you look at me, Team Leader?”
Not expecting Jiyeon to counter with a question, Suhyeong’s eyes widened. Then he shrugged as if Jiyeon had asked something obvious.
“I told you I like you. Isn’t that the natural reaction?”
“…”
Suhyeong answered without a hint of hesitation. His certainty made Jiyeon’s chest feel heavier, and he bit his lip. He’d wondered if Suhyeong’s feelings might not be genuine, but with him answering like this, it couldn’t be anything but real.
Has anyone ever liked me this sincerely?
The thought came out of nowhere.
It wasn’t that he had never dated. But every relationship Jiyeon had been in had always felt lukewarm. Mostly because his partners expected too much from him. Jiyeon didn’t know how to receive love or how to give it, so he could never show the level of affection they wanted.
But Suhyeong was different. Even when he bought Jiyeon food, he never pushed his feelings onto him. Even after confessing, he didn’t pressure Jiyeon for an answer. And because of that, Jiyeon had no idea how he was supposed to respond to the confession. He just wanted to run away.
“Team Leader. I’m sorry, but…”
Jiyeon lowered his voice. Even though he had started with a negative phrase like “I’m sorry,” Suhyeong still answered brightly with a simple “Yeah?” The unnecessary gentleness made Jiyeon speak even more slowly.
“I can’t give you an answer to your confession.”
Not wanting to pretend he hadn’t noticed Suhyeong’s steady affection anymore, Jiyeon gave an unclear reply that was neither a yes nor a no.
“Even if I said okay, it’s not like we can start dating in a situation like this.”
“So when the situation allows it, you would date me?”
“That’s not what I meant…!”
Trying not to hurt Suhyeong’s feelings, Jiyeon tiptoed around his words too much, making them sound odd. It ended up sounding like he would accept the confession once things settled down.
“I… I’ve never dated a man before. Also! It’d be an office romance. You’re not supposed to do that, you know?”
He rambled nonsense, not even knowing what he was saying anymore, startled by how sharply Suhyeong’s question had struck him. He felt as if he’d been caught, caught having started to feel differently about Yoon Suhyeong.
“Anyway, right now I don’t have the room to like anybody…”
As Jiyeon lowered his head, his voice shrinking smaller and smaller, Suhyeong let out a soft laugh and suddenly held out his pinky finger.
“Alright. You don’t have to give me an answer. Just make one promise with me.”
“Promise? Wh-what kind?”
Jiyeon’s eyes wavered. A promise? For a moment, he wondered if Suhyeong was going to drag him to some athletic facility again. But the promise Suhyeong asked for was nothing like what he expected.
“Stay alive until the end.”
Suhyeong spoke in a low, heavy voice.
“Promise me you’ll survive.”
“…”
He extended his pinky again. It wasn’t a joke. His expression was stern and solemn, not playful at all. Jiyeon blinked and looked down at Suhyeong’s long, smooth finger.
“Alright.”
He didn’t know if it was a promise he could actually keep, but it was also not something he could refuse. So Jiyeon hooked his finger around Suhyeong’s.
A long time had passed since Jiyeon and Park Jinsik had left the kitchen, but Executive Director Kwon was nowhere to be seen. Park Jinsik sat curled up in the farthest corner of the cafeteria, not moving a muscle. From that alone, Jiyeon could guess what had happened to Executive Director Kwon.
He was probably… dead, or close to it.
“I… I killed someone… I… killed someone…”
Park Jinsik’s face was as pale as a corpse as he kept repeating the same words, his whole body trembling. Jiyeon wanted to go over and ask if he was alright, but he couldn’t. He clearly wasn’t alright. Jiyeon had fallen into overwhelming panic even when he stabbed mutated Team Leader Park in the throat. But Jinsik had beaten a living person, someone who wasn’t even a mutant, so badly he was close to death. There was no way he could be fine. And since Jiyeon had neither stopped it nor helped, but had run away, he didn’t feel he had the right to ask if Jinsik was okay.
“Anyway, where the hell did that bald bastard go? Haven’t seen even a shadow of him.”
Chewing on the chocolates Suhyeong had brought from the 5th floor and shared around, Jang Joohee spoke up. The “bald bastard” she mentioned was Executive Director Kwon Hyuksu. At her words, Kim Hyungseok glanced around the cafeteria and said,
“I think it’s been a few hours since we last saw him.”
“Right? Just earlier, he was throwing a fit about people’s sleeping spots.”
Choi Sunghwa must have disliked Executive Director Kwon immensely, because she ended up using a curse word without realizing it. Listening to them, Jiyeon bit down on his lip. Only hours ago, Executive Director Kwon had been strutting around the cafeteria like some politician campaigning for votes. No wonder, everyone was starting to question where he had gone.
“I know. I know where he is.”
Jiyeon lowered his voice after checking the surroundings.
“Executive Director Kwon… I think he’s dead.”
“What?!”
“What do you mean?”
Everyone stared at Jiyeon with wide eyes, confused. Suhyeong, who already seemed aware of what must have happened to Executive Director Kwon, calmly pressed a few chocolates into Jiyeon’s hand. Having simply watched while Park Jinsik beat Executive Director Kwon nearly to death, Jiyeon fiddled nervously with the chocolates as he continued.
“It’s a long story, but in the kitchen earlier… Jinsik beat him pretty badly…”
“Gasp. Jinsik killed him?!”
“I’m not sure, but even if he’s alive, he’s definitely not in good shape.”
“Oh my god. I knew something like that would happen to that jerk.”
“He brought it on himself.”
Jiyeon briefly explained what had happened in the kitchen. Of the group… Joohee, Sunghwa, even Hyungseok, not one of them showed the slightest sympathy toward Executive Director Kwon. And it was no wonder. He was the one who had driven Park Jinsik to that state.
“Then we should leave now.”
It was Suhyeong, who’d been quiet up until then. Only now did they notice he already had his backpack on, as if he’d prepared to head out.
“Right now? The sun isn’t even up yet.”
“What difference does sunrise make? Going out in the morning will just give the others something to gossip about.”
At Joohee’s comment, Suhyeong replied flatly. She couldn’t find anything to argue back with and nodded. He hadn’t shown it, but Suhyeong had already been sorting through the situation and planning what they needed to do next. His conclusion was simple: they had to get out quickly.
If people discovered Executive Director Kwon, chaos was inevitable no matter what condition he was in. Like it or not, he had been the leader so far, and everyone had been following his instructions. Losing him would throw the group into panic, and someone would be blamed. And that “someone” would very likely be them, those who currently stood out like a sore thumb. There was no need to linger and get caught in the coming uproar.
“Then what about Jinsik?”
“Leave him. His mental state is a wreck right now. If he comes with us, it’ll be bad for everyone.”
Though Suhyeong’s words could sound cold, they were true. Jiyeon kept his mouth shut and swallowed a sigh. From what he could see, Jinsik wasn’t thinking straight at all. If he went outside like that, the results would be disastrous. It was better for him to stay in the cafeteria and face what he had done.
“Alright then, let’s go. Hyungseok, set your phone alarm for five minutes later and hand it to me.”
Suhyeong stood up. The sudden decisiveness caught the others off guard, but they eventually followed his lead. Hyungseok handed over his phone after setting the alarm.
“As I said earlier, I’ll go out first and throw the phone. The rest of you come out when the alarm rings.”
“…”
“…”
Everyone stared at him with complicated expressions. This… his willingness to take on the most dangerous task, was the reason no one complained even when he made decisions that seemed authoritarian.
“Team Leader!”
Jiyeon called out urgently. Suhyeong, standing in front of the glass door barricaded with tables and chairs, turned his head.
“You have to survive too.”
“….”
“Promise me.”
Suhyeong’s eyes widened slightly, surprised by the unexpected words. He didn’t answer. Instead, he gave a faint, blurry smile.
“I’m going.”
Before Jiyeon could say anything more, he unlocked the door, jumped over the tables blocking it, and slipped quickly into the hallway.
“…”
Jiyeon bit his lip as he watched Suhyeong’s silhouette disappear into the pitch-black darkness. Only now did he realize, Suhyeong showed almost no will to survive. Everything he had done until now had been solely for Jiyeon’s sake. It was something someone in love might do, but Suhyeong seemed to have zero attachment to his own life. That was what unsettled him. He felt like Suhyeong would throw his life away the moment things got bad.
“Do you think Team Leader Yoon will be alright? We should’ve gone with him. Ah…”
Apparently, Jiyeon wasn’t the only one worried. Kim Hyungseok paced nervously by the door, muttering. Sunghwa and Joohee, holding their makeshift spears, mop handles strapped with kitchen knives, kept checking the time over and over.
Three minutes passed since Suhyeong went out. Outside, only the faint groans of mutants could be heard; nothing else. Thankfully, it seemed the mutants hadn’t noticed him.
“One minute left!”
Sunghwa shouted urgently after checking the time. A thick tension settled among the four remaining people. Soon the minute changed.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Everyone by the door held their breath.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
The time they had set passed, but there was no sound. Not a thing. Something was definitely wrong. Everyone froze. Jiyeon felt his blood turn cold.
“Why… why isn’t there any sound?”
Joohee spoke first. Then Sunghwa shot a nervous glance at Hyungseok.
“It was your phone, right? Did you set the time correctly?”
“H-he said five minutes later, so I set it for 16.”
“Did you check if it was AM or PM?”
“Huh? Oh…!”
At Sunghwa’s question, Hyungseok’s face drained of color. He must have made a mistake. Mixing up AM and PM when setting alarms was common. Even Jiyeon had done it many times. But in this situation, it wasn’t just an inconvenience, it was unforgivable.
“Call it! Call your number!”
“Joohee, all communication is down. Calls won’t go through.”
Jiyeon shook his head, and Joohee’s face scrunched up as if she might cry.
“T-then what do we do now?”
“We still have your phones, right? Either one of you set an alarm and give it to me. I’ll go.”
Panicked, Jiyeon reached out toward Joohee and Sunghwa, gesturing for a phone. The mutants didn’t seem to have sensed Suhyeong yet, but they didn’t have time to waste. They needed to lure them away as soon as possible.
“Here. I set it for exactly three minutes later.”
Sunghwa quickly adjusted the alarm and handed her phone to Jiyeon. At that moment, Hyungseok snatched the phone out of Jiyeon’s hand.
“It was my mistake, so I’ll go.”
Before Jiyeon could protest, Hyungseok stood before the door, clutching the spear in one hand and the phone in the other. He tried to sound calm, but his voice trembled.
“Fwoo…”
Bracing himself with a deep breath, Hyungseok gripped the table blocking the door. Just as he was about to climb over…
“I killed someone….”
Someone staggered toward him.
“Mr. Park Jinsik?!”
“I… I killed… someone… hngh…”
Park Jinsik, with a hollow, empty face like a man whose soul had fled, shoved Hyungseok aside.
“Wait! Jinsik!”
And before anyone could stop him, he opened the glass door and ran out into the hallway.
About twenty minutes before Suhyeong went out into the hallway.
“Um… are you okay?”
Someone spoke to Park Jinsik, who was curled up in a corner of the cafeteria like a caterpillar. Jinsik, who had been staring blankly at the black ceiling with a vacant expression, turned his head to see who it was. It was an employee he sometimes rode the elevator with on the way to work. Unlike Jinsik’s flimsy paper-printed, laminated badge, the man wore a PVC employee card around his neck. He was a full-time worker.
“I’ve been thinking about it since earlier, but Executive Director Kwon really went too far.”
“…”
“Who discriminates against contract workers nowadays? It’s absurd, and it makes me so angry.”
The man cursed at Executive Director Kwon on Jinsik’s behalf. Jinsik only listened silently without reacting at all. The man, a full-time employee, was saying these things now only out of a bit of guilt and pity. He said he was furious about the unfair treatment toward contract workers, yet when Jinsik was being humiliated and discriminated against earlier, he had kept his head down in the crowd, pretending not to exist. Now he was trying to soothe his conscience by pretending to offer comfort.
“To be honest, someone like Executive Director Kwon wouldn’t have any right to complain even if he got bitten by a mutant.”
“…”
At those words, Jinsik, who had been staring blankly, flinched hard. Only a few minutes earlier, he had beaten Executive Director Kwon senseless in the kitchen. His right hand and beige shirt were stained with Kwon’s blood, but maybe because it was dark, the man didn’t notice.
Executive Director Kwon was probably dead. After the final blow, he had let out a strangled gasp and gone limp, the life drained from his face like a corpse.
“I-I killed him…”
“…What?”
“I killed him. I really… killed him.”
Once again facing the reality of what he had done, Park Jinsik began trembling like someone struck by chills. Then he repeated the same words over and over like a madman. The strangeness of his voice and expression made the man back away in alarm and leave the spot.
“Wh-what do I do… I’m… I’m…”
With fear and panic peaking, Park Jinsik buried his face into his knees, shaking all over. He didn’t know how long he stayed like that, but the people around him began murmuring.
“What’s that? What are they doing at the door?”
“I think they’re trying to go out?”
Go out?
Hearing the whispers, Jinsik slowly lifted his head and looked toward the door. Through his hazy vision, he saw Assistant Manager Hong Jiyeon, the one who had helped him earlier. Jiyeon stood by the front entrance, fidgeting nervously with the other employees. Staring blankly at the scene, Jinsik slowly stood up and staggered toward them. It wasn’t because he intended to do anything. He just wanted to escape the crushing pressure weighing down on him.
“I killed someone…”
“Mr. Park Jinsik?!”
Jiyeon called out urgently as Jinsik suddenly shoved past Kim Hyungseok and stepped outside through the door. But as if possessed, Jinsik didn’t stop and ran straight into the hallway.
Alone in the hallway, Suhyeong held his breath and observed the mutants lurking in the pitch-black darkness where he couldn’t even see a step ahead. Contrary to his worries, the space right outside the entrance was fairly empty. Only three or four mutants were wandering around. That didn’t mean it was safe, so Suhyeong didn’t move rashly and instead focused on the sounds around him.
“Grrrhhk…”
A mutant growled right in front of him. The sound was close enough that the rotting, sickening stench of its flesh numbed his nose. If he made one wrong move, he could be bitten immediately, but Suhyeong stayed calm.
He pressed his body as close as possible to the wall, then lowered himself onto one knee. Placing the phone on the floor, he gave it a firm push forward.
Ssssssk….
Thunk.
Sliding smoothly across the artificial marble floor, the phone hit something and stopped. Judging by the sound, it hadn’t gone very far. Suhyeong clicked his tongue softly. He had originally planned to throw it, but that risked breaking it, so he decided to push it instead. Either way, his job was done. Now he just needed the alarm to ring.
But even after the expected time passed, the alarm didn’t go off.
“Great.”
Sensing something had gone wrong, Suhyeong frowned and stood up. The people inside must have realized the alarm didn’t ring. That meant someone would probably come out to help.
Letting several people pour into an unsecured hallway at once was dangerous. Even if they tried again with another alarm, they had no idea what could happen during the gap before it rang. So before that happened, he needed to deal with the mutants roaming in the hallway.
“…”
Suhyeong blinked slowly and heavily. As his eyes adjusted, he could barely make out the vague shapes of obstacles in front of him. He still couldn’t distinguish objects or people, but he had to at least move toward the center of the corridor and draw the mutants’ attention so the others could slip to the elevator.
“Team Leader, you have to survive too.”
Before leaving the cafeteria, Jiyeon had said those words. They echoed in his mind and clung to his ankles, but it couldn’t be helped. From the beginning, Suhyeong had been someone who lived simply because he couldn’t die. So dying now wouldn’t change much.
Step.
Gripping the golf club tightly, he took one step into the darkness. At the sound of his shoe hitting the floor, the mutants turned their heads and let out hoarse, rattling screeches.
“Alright. Handsome, pretty Team Leader Yoon is right here.”
“Kyaaaagh!”
“Graaaagh!”
He tapped the golf club lightly against the floor, signaling his location to his former coworkers. The moment they recognized where he was, the mutants lunged, thrashing excitedly.
“Yeah. Don’t just hover by the door, come over here.”
Raising his arm high, he prepared to strike the ground harder with the golf club.
“…”
Right before the club’s head hit the cold marble…
The cafeteria door flew open and someone burst out.
It was Park Jinsik.
“Hhk… hngh…”
Without warning, he stepped out into the hallway and began walking through the mutant-filled corridor, sobbing like a ghost wailing at a funeral.
“Kraaaagh!”
There was no way the mutants would ignore someone suddenly bursting into the darkness and announcing his presence in every direction. The mutants that had been moving toward Suhyeong changed course and charged at Park Jinsik instead.
“M-Mr. Jinsik!”
A beat too late, Kim Hyungseok came out into the hallway and called after him. Jiyeon, Choi Sunghwa, and Jang Joohee followed out as well. As soon as they all stepped out, one of the employees still inside panicked and locked the glass door from the inside. They were now completely shut out of the cafeteria, unable to return.
Beep-beep-beep-beep! Beep-beep-beep-beep!
To make matters worse, the phone Kim Hyungseok was holding began to ring. The timing couldn’t have been worse. Even though they couldn’t see them, they could feel mutants from all directions converging at the loud noise. It was a split-second-from-disaster moment.
“Kyaaaagh!”
“Graaaagh!”
“Hyungseok! Your phone! Throw the phone!”
Jiyeon shouted urgently, and Hyungseok hurled the phone somewhere into the darkness.
Beep-beep-beep-beep! Beep-beep-beep!
For the first time, Jiyeon realized that even sound had shape. He couldn’t see it, yet he could feel the phone cutting through the air in an arc by the way the sound shifted. The phone landed far away with a small thud.
“Kyak! Kakh!”
“Kyaaaaaagh!”
“Graaagh!”
Following the sound, the mutants in the darkness screeched and turned toward where the phone had flown. Everyone who had felt their hearts drop a moment earlier exhaled a shaky sigh of relief. But it was too soon to relax.
“Over here! This way!”
Using the flashlight function on her phone, Jang Joohee illuminated the corridor leading to the elevator and called out in a low voice.
“Team Leader! Why are you just standing there?!”
Spotting Suhyeong frozen in the middle of the hallway, Jiyeon rushed to him. Grabbing his hand, he pulled him along, running toward the elevator as fast as he could.
Reaching the elevator first, Jang Joohee pressed the button to go down. It took about ten seconds for the elevator, which had been stopped on the seventh floor, to reach the third.
Third floor. Doors opening.
The announcement chimed as the elevator doors slid open.
“Kyaaaaaaaagh!”
As soon as the doors opened, a mutant with a face completely collapsed and melted lunged out from inside.
“Kyaaaah! What the hell is that!”
Jang Joohee, who had been standing right in front of the elevator, screamed and stumbled backward. The mutant opened its mouth wide and leapt toward her. Suhyeong had warned them this could happen if they used the elevator, but facing the situation for real, everyone panicked.
“Graaaagh!”
“Aaah!”
“Joohee! Stab it with what you’re holding!”
At Choi Sunghwa’s frantic shout, Jang Joohee shrieked and swung the spear in her hands on instinct.
Thuck―!
By sheer luck, the spear pierced straight into the mutant’s gaping mouth.
“Gurk, urk, ggaaagh…”
“Eugh! That’s disgusting!”
The mutant impaled on the spear convulsed, spewing dark red blood. The kitchen knife tied to the end tore through the melted flesh inside its mouth and pierced through the back of its head. It had once been the CEO of Haseong Media Company. But no one recognized the face, crushed and distorted into something unhuman.
“Hurry, get in!”
Kim Hyungseok grabbed the back of the mutant’s neck, yanked it off the spear, and helped the terrified Jang Joohee into the elevator.
“Kyaaaagh!”
“Kakh!”
Some of the mutants who had been following the sound of the ringing phone had apparently heard Joohee’s scream; they turned direction and started approaching the elevator.
“What about Team Leader Yoon and Assistant Manager Hong?!”
Realizing only now that Suhyeong and Jiyeon weren’t with them, Choi Sunghwa frantically looked around.
“I think they’re still out in the hallway!”
Doors closing.
Sunghwa quickly hit the button to reopen the elevator doors and looked toward the corridor. She saw Suhyeong and Jiyeon running toward them, and right behind them, mutants were close on their heels.
“We have to close the door! If we wait any longer, those things will climb in too! Team Leader! Assistant Manager! Hurry!”
Jang Joohee jumped anxiously, calling out to them. Meanwhile, the mutants closing in on the elevator grew dangerously close.
“I’m… I’m closing it!”
Making the rational decision, Choi Sunghwa moved her hand from the open button to the close button. She bit down hard on her lip and pressed it. The elevator doors began to slide shut. At this rate, they would close before Suhyeong and Jiyeon reached them.
“Ah! Wait! Hah, hah!”
“Jiyeon. Hold on tight.”
“What? Huh, ah!”
Without warning, Suhyeong scooped Jiyeon up by the back of his knees and waist. Cradled in a princess carry, Jiyeon yelped and clung tightly to Suhyeong’s neck. Suhyeong sprinted at incredible speed and leapt through the narrow gap left in the closing doors.
Thud!
Their bodies, barely squeezed inside in time, slammed into the wall. The impact made the cramped elevator shake dangerously.
“Kyaaaaagh!”
“Graaaagh!”
By a hair’s breadth, the elevator doors shut completely. The mutants pounded on them violently. Worried they might hit a button and open the doors, Hyungseok quickly searched the control panel and pressed the emergency stop switch.
“Haa… haah… That was seriously way too close.”
“Whew… Is everyone okay?”
“I think so…”
Only after confirming everyone was safe did the tension drain from Choi Sunghwa, and she collapsed weakly to the floor, breathing heavily.
“…”
“…”
Relief at surviving and the terrifying shock of what they had just experienced mixed together, weighing the air down with a heavy silence. No one felt able to celebrate. While they exchanged uneasy glances, Jang Joohee slowly raised her head and looked at Hyungseok.
“Mr. Kim.”
“Huh? Y-yes?”
“Did you play baseball? Your throwing form was insane.”
Jang Joohee had been standing right beside him when he threw the phone earlier. The memory of his unexpectedly perfect pitching motion must have come back to her, because she stared at him with curiosity. Embarrassed, Hyungseok scratched his head, face flushed.
“H-how did you know? I was on the high school baseball team.”
“Oh, really?”
The reply was so unexpected that even the normally quiet Choi Sunghwa widened her eyes and joined in the conversation.
“Yes. I quit because of an injury, though.”
“Oh… I see. Sorry…. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s alright. Even if I’d kept playing, I wouldn’t have made it as a pro. I wasn’t that talented.”
Hyungseok laughed awkwardly. Thanks to their conversation, the deadly tension began to dissolve. Nearby, Jiyeon pressed his face into Suhyeong’s shoulder, trying to steady his breath. Ever since the phone alarm failed to ring, his heart had been racing wildly. But wrapped in Suhyeong’s warm body heat, it began to slowly find its rhythm again.
“Mm… Jiyeon.”
“…?”
Feeling Suhyeong’s gaze from above, Jiyeon lifted his head slightly. When their eyes met, Suhyeong gave him a small, teasing smile.
“I don’t mind, but… are you planning to stay in my arms the whole time?”
“Huh? Ah…! P-put me down!”
Realizing belatedly that he was still being held, Jiyeon flailed in embarrassment. Suhyeong looked disappointed, but gently set him down. Even through the thick long padding he wore, the spots on the back of his knees and at his waist where Suhyeong had held him felt strangely warm and tingly.
“But… what about Mr. Jinsik…”
Standing in the corner, Kim Hyungseok carefully brought up Park Jinsik’s name. Shadows fell over everyone’s faces again. Unable to overcome the guilt of killing Executive Director Kwon, Jinsik had walked straight into the mutants and been ripped apart. But thanks to him, Suhyeong was still alive.
“Well then… should we go to the first floor?”
Already back on her feet, Choi Sunghwa looked at Suhyeong and asked. As though he had naturally become the group’s leader, Suhyeong shook his head and reached toward the control panel. Then he pressed the button for B1, the basement parking lot.