Chapter 2 Part 5

However, my relief was short-lived. Just as we barely managed to open the door, a zombie unexpectedly lunged towards me.

Shit, it was surprising. I flinched involuntarily and leaned back, causing Yoo Min-ho to stand beside me and mercilessly strike the forehead of the zombie with the bottom part of his extinguisher. With a ‘pop’, the zombie lost its balance and fell backwards. This extraordinary guy didn’t hesitate for a moment while hitting people.

“You’re shaking, Lee Chae-eun.”

“I told you, my name isn’t Lee Chae-eun.”

“Fine… Seo Ki-hyeon. If we survive here, let’s talk afterwards.”

“…Okay.”

As soon as one zombie collapsed, another one attacked on top of it. Once again, Yoo Min-ho swiftly struck the zombie’s head. The fallen zombie’s skull seemed crushed from the force of the blow… Damn, shouldn’t he have been a baseball pitcher or boxer instead of an actor? Despite being so young, he showed no mercy or fear.

However, at the same time, I felt relieved by his unhesitating actions. Was this guy so reliable?Yes, he was trustworthy enough that I could overlook him calling me by name despite our six-year age difference. But there was no room for admiration. As Yoo Min-ho swung the fire extinguisher, a hand suddenly emerged from somewhere and grabbed his shoulder.

Grrr. I looked towards the sound of the noise to see the woman who first became a zombie in the cafe rushing towards Yoo Min-ho with her mouth open wide. At this moment, there was no time to think about guilt or anything else. Reflexively, I stuck the bamboo spear into the woman’s face. The fear that Yoo Min-ho might die overwhelmed my brain. Instinctively, I acted before any secondary problems arose due to his death.

Despite being Yoo Min-ho, he seemed frightened by seeing a woman’s face slashed with a knife right before his eyes, and his already pale face became even whiter. I pulled out the blade from under her eyes, then thrust it under her neck and pushed back forcefully. Simultaneously, a chilling vibration was felt through the knife as a strange gurgling sound emerged from the woman’s mouth. Fortunately, the hand gripping Yoo Min-ho went limp, and her body fell backward. At that moment, my rationality partially returned to me, though my heart still pounded fiercely.

“S-Sorry… I didn’t see her.”

“…Huff, huff. Right now, push away and run!”

With those words, I pushed back the bookcase with all my strength. If we delayed any longer, the zombies that had fallen into the real estate office would gather and create an irreversible situation. However, even at my signal, the real estate agent didn’t move an inch. She seemed to be searching for her son beyond the fallen bookcase.

“Hyeon-ho-ya, Hyeon-ho-ya.” Her desperate cries sent a shiver down my spine. At that moment, someone grabbed my hand and started running in the opposite direction.

“Fuck, are you out of your mind?”

…It was Yoo Min-ho. The sight of him quickly pulling me along overlapped with his actions from the previous round when he grabbed my hand and sprinted towards the real estate office. What the hell was this guy? He cared too much to simply be a character in a movie. Strangely, it didn’t match the image of ‘Yoo Min-ho’ that I originally remembered. This kind of guy becoming a serial killer later on? It felt like he was completely out of character.

As we ran madly away, the screams of the real estate agent echoed behind us. Accompanied by her sorrowful cries, we luckily managed to reach the emergency stairs in the middle of the corridor. However, words like ‘lucky’ or ‘miraculous’ didn’t feel appropriate. The biggest contributor to the success of this reckless plan was the agent herself, desperately searching for her son. 

Once inside the emergency staircase, I pushed my body against the wall and collapsed onto the cold floor. With a clang, the bloodstained knife rolled across the ground. As Do Ji-hyuk entered last and locked the emergency exit door, confusion set in alongside the relief of having survived. Was this world truly based on a movie? It felt incredibly strange that these people here were merely characters from a movie. Even now, the real estate agent’s screams seemed to echo in my ears, making me feel like my mind might crumble.

“…eun… Lee Chae-eun! Shit, Seo Ki-hyeon. Will you wake up?” In my confused state of mind, I raised my head and saw Yoo Min-ho calling out my name. Seeing his white face covered with blood slowly brought back my rationality. Yes, we have to live. We must survive and get out of here. Firstly, if Do Ji-hyuk and Yoo Min-ho didn’t die, there was no need for time to rewind again. If that could happen, it might be possible to escape this hell forever.

I regained my composure once more and tried to stand when… Bang, bang-bang! The iron door loudly shook out of rhythm. It seemed the zombies had reached behind the door. With a cold expression, Do Ji-hyuk looked at the shaking fire door and spoke slowly:

“…Let’s go upstairs first. We need to get out of this damn building immediately.”

“Didn’t you say you would stay in the real estate office while waiting for rescue, Do Ji-hyuk-ssi? Why are you suddenly becoming impatient?”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes right now. Those people… I don’t know if it’s appropriate to call them people anymore, but something isn’t normal here. If infection can occur through contact alone, we shouldn’t open the shutters. This building… should be closed off.”

“…Fuck, I haven’t received the full payment from this building yet.”

Between the arguing men, I checked the time and it was 20:36. If we escape through the second-floor corridor window as planned, everything should be fine. I grabbed the knife that had been thrown on the floor again and climbed the emergency stairs. However, there was an ominous feeling that something was being missed. The loud noises coming from behind me started to form a concrete shape in my mind, which I wanted to ignore all along.

Why? Initially, when I blocked the entrance with the bookcase, the zombies passed by without noticing. Yet now, they persisted until breaking the glass wall and continue to bang relentlessly on the completely obstructed fire door. As these thoughts unfolded, my heart began pounding ominously.

However, I couldn’t think for too long. Suddenly, something fell on my head from above. The liquid dripped down my scalp and flowed under my chin. Unconsciously, I wiped it with my palm… It was dark blood, emitting a foul smell like it had rotted.

A chill ran down my spine. 

Without thinking, I stretched out my hand to stop Do Ji-hyuk and Yoo Min-ho from climbing further up the stairs. Gruk, gruk. Faint sounds of bubbling started coming from somewhere, becoming louder and more distinct over time within the narrow corridor. At the same time, despair gradually swelled inside me.

…Where did I go wrong? The fire door was definitely closed. A zombie couldn’t turn a handle if it couldn’t even push through a glass door. Could it be that the woman in the cafe wasn’t the first who became a zombie? Before my confused mind could sort itself out, something rolled down from the stairs. It hit the emergency exit wall with a ‘thud’. It was the shape of a student wearing a uniform.

For a while, I didn’t even think about running away as I watched the zombie with its bones twisted unnaturally. Despite having broken bones, the zombie calmly stood up on two feet. Blood dripped over the entire school uniform, and long streams of black blood flowed down the marble steps.

By the time I came to my senses, Do Ji-hyuk had already fallen. The zombie climbed over him instantly, biting down on his shoulder with a disgusting sound as blood spurted out…

…Once again, it was another failure.