Chapter 2 Part 4

As soon as I finished speaking, Do Ji-hyuk asked me a question. His usually calm face was filled with fear and astonishment. In the previous round, around 20 zombies gathered when the glass wall broke. Fortunately, there weren’t that many zombies yet. However, if we delayed any further, it would quickly become like the situation in the previous round. A quick decision needed to be made.

“I said those things outside eat people. And if you get infected… you will change like them. …In other words, just like…”

“…Zombies?” This time, Yoo Min-ho completed my sentence. He had a surprisingly calm expression on his face. Considering he had previously grabbed my hand due to fear, this reaction seemed strange to me.

“…Yes. They become infected and aggressive like a zombie virus. The building is effectively closed due to the shutters, while outside is filled with those people. I would like us to stay here longer but the walls of this store are glass. It won’t hold up for long and will eventually break. Then the zombies will pour inside… You know what will happen after that.”

Now their faces started to show gradual despair. This was a familiar emotion that I always felt alone, yet sharing it with others didn’t provide any comfort. Without hesitation, I quickly continued speaking, “Therefore, I am thinking about leaving from here.”

I knew it was crazy. However, if we continued to stay inside this real estate office, there would be 100% death. Of course, once I died, it would reset but now I didn’t want to experience such a terrible death again. When I thought about Yoo Min-ho dying at 20:04 when the reset occurred, I wanted to live even more. The first person to respond to my words was Yoo Min-ho.

“I… agree.”

“Are you crazy? Haven’t you looked outside? There are only monster-like people everywhere. We will die as soon as we go out.”

“Then what should we do? If we stay here, everyone will nicely die. Isn’t it much better than just sitting quietly and waiting for death?”

“This is tempered glass. It is stronger than you think and won’t break easily. Waiting for rescue here is a much wiser decision than going outside.”

“That is your wish.”

I ignored the two bickering people and grabbed a fire extinguisher located on one side of the real estate office. Then I asked the agent sitting absent-mindedly if she had any weapons, finding a utility knife in a desk drawer corner. It was an unexpected gain. This seemed much more useful than a stationery cutter blade. After looking around, I discovered a plastic broom and mop standing against one wall. I fixed the utility knife to the end of the broom with tape and continued speaking:

“After climbing up to the second floor through the emergency stairs, my plan is to escape through the corridor window. As soon as we open the back door, I intend to push the bookshelf forward like a shield… But this plan isn’t feasible for me alone. I need Do Ji-hyuk’s assistance.”

I handed Do Ji-hyuk a makeshift spear made by connecting a knife and broomstick, which he readily accepted. It was much more reassuring than going unarmed. Leaving behind the stunned Do Ji-hyuk with his shoddy handmade spear, I now grasped the mop handle firmly. If broken sharply, it could serve as a weapon. However, surprisingly sturdy, even brutal kicks barely managed to bend the mop handle.

“Move aside, you’re damn weak.”

Yoo Min-ho effortlessly snatched the mop from my hand, snapped it easily, and handed it back to me. The sharply fractured wooden end resembled a formidable killing tool. With such a pretty face, where did his brute strength come from? Though frustrating, on one level, I felt reassured by his monstrous power. In order to survive, being strong is far more advantageous than being feeble.

“I will also go.”

As even the agent sitting on the floor agreed to leave, Do Ji-hyuk couldn’t insist any further. I emptied all the books from the bookshelf while trying to calm my trembling heart. We might die. In fact, Yoo Min-ho and I had once failed this operation when we tried it alone. However, there was no other way. At that time, there were two of us but now there are four. There was hope in numbers. 

My hands shook uncontrollably. It would be great if everything went according to plan, but I knew life rarely followed our plans perfectly. Moreover, failure meant losing our lives.

I, who had given up my life to end it, now decided to go outside where zombies were rampant in order to survive. On one hand, I felt like this entire situation was someone’s malicious prank.

“Hey. Are you scared?” A tap on the shoulder made me look up and see Yoo Min-ho looking down at me. 

Yes, if we failed again, he would also die. There were still many things left unsaid between us. How much did he remember from before the reset? Did he truly believe that I wasn’t Lee Chae-eun? It was a mountain of puzzles waiting to be solved. If I died and reset once more, there was a high possibility that Yoo Min-ho wouldn’t even recall these current events. The thought alone tightened my chest with frustration.

“Be brave and take this.” I handed him the fire extinguisher. 

He didn’t understand my intention and asked, “What am I supposed to do with a fire extinguisher?”

“…It surprisingly works as a weapon. With this–.”

“You’re kidding me? Someone gets a knife while I get this crap?”

“Fuck, it’s discrimination.”

Despite his complaints, he quietly took the fire extinguisher. It would be nice if there was a better weapon but this wasn’t a situation where we could choose. The number of zombies seemed to be increasing rapidly, causing the glass windows to shake loudly like they were about to break. 

I took a deep breath and quickly spoke, “Miss Agent and Do Ji-hyuk-ssi should stay inside with bookcases in front of them. The remaining two people will stand on either side to prevent zombies from entering through the bookcases as we move towards the wall. We won’t last long like this. When I give the signal, push the bookcases towards the zombies and run in the opposite direction. Our goal is the center of the building where there’s an emergency staircase. Once we reach there, it’ll be considered successful. It has a fireproof door that can’t be broken… So, absolutely, absolutely do not get caught.”

“…..”

“…..”

“…..”

It was a sloppy plan. However, even Do Ji-hyuk, who was a competent businessman, couldn’t come up with anything better. The real estate agent hadn’t recovered from the shock and didn’t respond while Yoo Min-ho stared at the fire extinguisher with an unreadable expression on his face. 

Well, how could the agent be okay when there was her son walking around outside with chunks of flesh missing from his face? Just as I thought this, cracks started to appear in the glass windows of the store. There was no more time to delay. We lined up, standing near the door when Do Ji-hyuk handed me something. It was the bamboo spear that I had just made.

“You use it. This is much better than a mop.”

I grasped the inferior bamboo spear with both hands, feeling determined. I had previously poked out zombie eyes with a cutter blade. Now stabbing them with a bamboo spear wasn’t a problem. 

Once they were human but now… they were just monsters. I didn’t want any sense of guilt. As I was thinking this way and about to turn the key at the top, zombies poured inside as the glass windows shattered at one end of the store. Without hesitation, I unlocked the door and pushed it outward with all my might.

Unlike the previous round where we failed due to an overwhelming strength difference, fortunately, the bookcase started to gradually move towards the hallway. This was thanks to the real estate agent and Do Ji-hyuk joining in, along with the fact that the sudden influx of zombies through the broken windows relatively cleared the area near the door. It was unexpected luck. However, my relief was short-lived. Just as we barely managed to open the door, a zombie unexpectedly lunged towards me.