Chapter 2 Part 6

Thump, thump, thump. A series of sickening sounds made me look ahead again. Zombies that had tumbled down the stairs were colliding against the wall, one after another. Most of them had severely damaged limbs, making it impossible for them to walk properly. Behind them, a horde of zombies with relatively intact limbs were crowding down the stairs. It seemed like there was a cram school or something on the second floor, since most of them were students wearing uniforms. And surprisingly, mixed among them were the same people I saw at the cafe.

…There could only be two explanations for this situation. Either there was a zombie intelligent enough to open fire doors or… the woman at the cafe wasn’t the first person who became a zombie. This was a hopeless situation. Dealing with either possibility would be difficult.

A piercing scream made me glance to the side. A zombie clung onto Do Ji-hyuk, its teeth buried in his neck, shaking its head violently. I struck my knife into the zombie’s skull with all my might, but I couldn’t get it to stop. Don’t zombies die from brain injuries in most zombie movies? A hollow laugh escaped my lips.

It seemed Do Ji-hyuk was beyond saving. In other words, there was no hope for this round. Yoo Min-ho, who hadn’t given up yet, grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the stairs leading underground. However, we didn’t get far before our path was blocked again. A few zombies were emerging from underground as well. When I turned around, dozens of zombies had already surrounded where Do Ji-hyuk stood earlier.

I felt utterly disheartened. The disappointment was immense, considering how much I had hoped to escape this building this time. My mind went numb, making each breath feel painful, as if my lungs were shrinking. I couldn’t figure out what else to do. Even if we died here and reset, I couldn’t think of any alternative plan. It might’ve worked if I could immediately rush to the real estate office upon resetting and bring them here, but the biggest hurdle was that only I could remember these events.

Yoo Min-ho still couldn’t give up and was spraying the fire extinguisher at the zombies. It wasn’t clear if Do Ji-hyuk’s persistent breath continued or if his death wasn’t affected by the reset, but this hellish situation persisted. 

At that moment, something emerged through the dense smoke and bit my arm. No matter how many times I experienced it, I couldn’t get used to the feeling of blunt teeth piercing my skin. Rather, I wished it would end quickly. Yoo Min-ho grabbed the hair of the zombie biting my arm and punched its face repeatedly.

I watched blankly as Yoo Min-ho continued to struggle until the end. Unaware that time would reset, he looked utterly desperate, like this was the final moment of his life, like he would never get another chance. The desperation of a man backed into a corner emanated from him.

Thanks to his efforts, the zombie was finally torn away from my arm, but blood poured relentlessly from the mangled flesh. A horrifying pain surged through me, but surprisingly, I felt strangely indifferent even with death looming over me. As I thought that all of this must be some horrible nightmare, Yoo Min-ho did something I couldn’t comprehend.

He pushed me into a corner and turned his back to the zombies, shielding me with his own body. It was like… protecting their child as parents would do.

“…Ugh. Ughh!”

Every time the zombies rushed from all sides and bit him, the shock was transmitted entirely to me as well. Was he crazy? I couldn’t understand why he was doing this for me. Even if he protected me from the zombies while getting bitten himself, it wasn’t like I could survive. In short, what he was doing now was meaningless and incomprehensible.

“…What are you doing?”

“…Arghh. Ugh!”

He couldn’t answer my question. He bit his lips hard enough to draw blood, enduring the terrible pain as pieces of flesh were torn from him. Watching Yoo Min-ho being eaten alive made my heart pound wildly.

“…Still not moving? Shit, get out of the way. Why are you doing this to me? Really!”

“…Haa.”

“…Stop, please. Why do you keep… Ahh…”

I could feel Yoo Min-ho’s gaze weakening right in front of me. His heavy eyelids gradually blinked slower until they closed firmly, never to open again. The strength left his hands, which had been holding onto the wall till the end to prevent zombies from reaching me. His body slumped and leaned heavily against my shoulder.

“…Yoo Min-ho.”

I called his name softly but he couldn’t answer. I felt Yoo Min-ho’s rough breathing gradually fading away near my ear. Was it due to the shock of feeling someone else’s death? My heart started racing and hot tears threatened to pour down my face.

Why did Yoo Min-ho save me twice, and why was it so hard for me to bear his death? Despite being confused because I didn’t remember anything, my heart felt painfully squeezed. At that moment, I heard a faint voice by my ear:

“…Hyung.”

It might’ve just been a groan or gasping for breath before dying. However, to my ears, it sounded like he was calling me ‘hyung’. At the same time I heard his call, something snapped in my mind and my hazy memories started to take shape little by little.

Finally, I realized it. The man who died protecting me right in front of my eyes—Yoo Min-ho wasn’t a character from this movie. Just as I had taken on Lee Chae-eun’s role, Yoo Min-ho did likewise with another character.

Now, I clearly remembered it. The protagonist of this damn movie was the cellist Lee Chae-eun, businessman Do Ji-hyuk…

…and top star Cha Min-jae.

Then who exactly was Yoo Min-ho? Come to think of it, I had never heard anyone call his name before. The sudden realization left me confused.

“…W-Wait. Don’t die yet!”

“…..”

“…Yoo Min-ho!”

However, death remained as unkind as always. Leaving behind all unresolved confusion, I returned alone to 19:21. In an instant, my surroundings became blurred and the pain from where the zombie bit my arm gradually faded away. Instead of the nauseating sounds of zombies groaning, familiar classical music flowed into my ears. For a moment, I stared at the peaceful scene inside the cafe, feeling dazed. Even now, just before my breath stopped, I could hear Yoo Min-ho’s faint breathing somewhere nearby.

“…Fucking… shit…”

Ah. Now I knew why Yoo Min-ho felt like he was out of character. He wasn’t a character from this damn zombie movie like me. Then who was Yoo Min-ho? Why did I know his name? Was he someone I knew before committing suicide in my real life?

I couldn’t sort out the confusion in my head when suddenly, my phone vibrated. Surprised, I checked and found a new text message had arrived. However, I didn’t know how to interpret its contents:

[Shouldn’t you start remembering by now?] 19:21

[At this rate, that kid will remember first.] 19:21

…My head was spinning. Who exactly is sending these messages, and what do they want from me? Does ‘that kid’ refer to Yoo Min-ho? Why Yoo Min-ho…? Just as I reached this thought, there was a loud retching sound near the back door. When I looked over, I saw the woman vomiting blood. A sight so sickeningly familiar that it made me want to vomit.

Thinking about it, everything always started with that woman. All the misfortunes and deaths stemmed from her actions. She appeared to be around late forties, undeniably beautiful by anyone’s standards, but witnessing her spewing black blood was utterly repulsive.

If I could just get rid of this woman, there would be no need to persuade the real estate agent, Do Ji-hyuk and Yoo Min-ho to go up the emergency stairs. In fact, to get the real estate agent moving, I had to take his son from the convenience store. As soon as that thought occurred, my body moved on its own. 

I grabbed the metal chair I had been sitting on with one hand and dragged it towards the woman.  To think I was approaching a zombie I couldn’t even make eye contact with when I first landed in this place… It seemed my progress had been remarkable.