Chapter 1 Part 9

As I pressed my forehead against the glass door and looked at the opposite side where they were walking, I noticed a zombie in a school uniform slowly approaching. As the horrifying scene of a gruesome massacre unfolded in my mind, my heart raced, and blood drained from my face. 

Do Ji-hyuk and Yoo Min-ho were both incredibly talented and remarkable individuals, but in front of the zombies, they were nothing more than mere flesh. Whether they were a beloved top star or someone living a miserable life begging for love, physical pain was equal for everyone. When flesh is torn, blood spills, and the moment of death is agonizing, it applies equally to all human beings with life. Do Ji-hyuk sensed that something was off and spoke. 

“…That student, it seems like they’re injured somewhere.” 

“What? Did they get into an accident… Wait, something’s strange.”

With a horrifying scream, the sound of footsteps grew louder and the distance between the zombies and the two men quickly narrowed. Only one minute left. Rationally speaking, it would have been right to just watch quietly. I had been a bystander even when countless people died inside the cafe. After all, I knew that Yoo Min-ho and Do Ji-hyuk would come back to life once time passed. But in the moment when the zombies attacked the two men, I threw all rational judgment aside and impulsively pushed open the convenience store door. 

It was a spontaneous and instinctive action. 

“Step back!” 

I shouted with lightning speed and kicked the zombie’s stomach with all my strength, causing it to stumble and fall. The zombie was running so fast that when it collided with me, it felt like being hit by a truck. I also fell back from the impact. Damn it. Aren’t zombies supposed to be slow and sluggish? These fucking zombies in this fucked-up world were so fast that it sent shivers down my spine. 

“What the fuck, what’s going on? Why is this happening?” 

I heard Yoo Min-ho cursing in confusion behind me. Standing next to him, Do Ji-hyuk looked at the zombie, whose neck was twisted like a rag, with a terrified expression. Crazy, why did I come out when I could have just stayed inside the convenience store? I couldn’t understand why I had impulsively acted as a hero, knowing that everything would reset if I just stayed still.

However, as always in this damn world, there was no room for me to think. It was because the fallen zombie, with its joints dislocated, was getting up with bizarre body movements. It seemed like it was not just angry, judging by the disgusting sound it made. …Hasn’t one minute passed yet? For the first time, I had to wait until 20:04. 

“…L-Let’s quickly go into the convenience store!” 

But even with my urgent shout, the two men, who were mesmerized by the zombie’s dislocated joint show, couldn’t move from their spot. It wasn’t a reaction I didn’t understand. I, too, was completely frozen when I first saw a zombie and ended up being eaten without being able to do anything. I grabbed Yoo Min-ho by the collar, who was still in shock, and shook him vigorously. 

“Yoo Min-ho! Snap out of it! If you want to live, go into the convenience store right now!” 

After saying that, I pushed him towards Do Ji-hyuk and forcefully kicked the chest of the zombie that had just stood up, causing it to fall back. When I saw the zombie flailing its arms desperately under my feet, I couldn’t help but think that I had gone crazy. I couldn’t understand why I was going to such lengths for those two. One thing was certain, I didn’t want to see Yoo Min-ho torn apart by a zombie. 

Perhaps because I am ‘Lee Chae-eun’ in this place, I couldn’t just stand by and watch him. She had a role of being excessively attached to Yoo Min-ho. At the moment, I couldn’t explain my actions other than that.

As I stepped on the chest of the zombie, which was wriggling and moving, I felt like I was about to faint from fear. …What time is it now? Hasn’t one minute passed yet? Fortunately, I saw Do Ji-hyuk, who had regained his senses, dragging Yoo Min-ho into the convenience store to hide. I also had to move quickly. Since I caused a commotion, hyena-like zombies would soon gather and swarm us. But I really didn’t know what to do. I searched my pockets for anything that could be used as a weapon, and I found a box cutter that I had been holding onto just before running out of the convenience store. 

There was no time to hesitate. I plunged the box cutter, still wrapped in plastic, directly into one of the zombie’s eyes. The sensation that I felt from my fingertips was nauseating. No matter how much of a zombie it was, it was a body that was alive just a moment ago. I felt like my sanity was crumbling. 

But I couldn’t just stand there stupidly and get eaten again. It was really sickening to see myself turn into chunks of meat and have my limbs torn apart. If I was lucky, they could quickly end my life by biting my neck, but if I got caught by one that tasted my arms and legs first, it would be a separate kind of hell. 

As soon as I stabbed the zombie’s eye with the box cutter, I turned my body towards the direction of the convenience store. The zombie, whether it couldn’t feel physical pain or didn’t show any signs of pain, immediately got up and chased after me. It felt like my heart was about to burst out of my mouth. Pushing my physical abilities to the limit, I barely made it to the entrance of the convenience store and desperately tried to open the glass door. 

…But to my surprise, the tightly closed door didn’t budge.

The part-time worker raised his arm to lock the upper part of the thin glass door. His face, staring not at me, but right behind me without even blinking, was filled with terror. As I quickly turned my body to the side due to a foreboding feeling, the zombie that was following right behind me crashed loudly into the glass door. What should I do now? My hands were trembling. Should I just commit suicide? It seemed better than being torn apart to death until my whole body became a rag. However, the only weapon, the box cutter, was still stuck in the zombie’s right eyeball. 

At that moment, the zombie that had fallen against the convenience store door slowly got up. The zombie with one eye popping out was terrifying just by its appearance. Instinctively, I took a step back, regardless of my will. With each step I took backward, the zombie also closed the distance between us step by step. It felt like the moment before a predator pounced, crouching down heavily, as if measuring the timing. My whole body trembled, and breathing became increasingly difficult. Being pushed into an extreme situation, my mind kept getting hazy. 

Who the hell made such a crazy dog-like movie? Come to think of it, they mentioned to remember the intention behind the writing. I hadn’t thought deeply about it, focusing only on the intention of the writing, but they clearly said to remember it. That meant I already knew the intention of someone who had written the scenario for this movie. 

…No way, it couldn’t have been me, right? 

Just as I had that thought, the zombie that was about three steps away suddenly rushed towards me. My body leaned back, hitting the ground from the back of my head. Amidst that, I mustered the last of my strength, grabbing the zombie’s neck and head with both hands as it lunged at me, but it was no longer possible.

My finger was buried in the half-fallen flesh of the zombie’s neck. The slimy sensation was so disgusting that I felt like I was going to throw up. It was only at that point that I finally realized one possibility. It could be that I might have written the damn zombie movie’s screenplay. 

The blood and fluid that flowed from the zombie’s eye socket dripped down and smeared my face. In an instant, the vomit came in waves, and I tilted my head to the side and spewed a torrent of vomit onto the floor.

…Ah, this won’t work. It seemed better to give up and aim for a reset. With that thought in mind, I grabbed the zombie’s forehead with the hand that was pushing it away and pulled its hair, trying to drag it towards my neck. It was at that moment, with a dull thud, that the raging zombie writhed on the ground. In the midst of the sudden change in the situation, I was bewildered, and beyond my blurred vision tainted with the zombie’s blood, I saw the figure of a large man.