Destruction — Chapter 4
by Brie“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it make more sense to shower together?”
“T-Together?!”
At Woobeom’s offhand comment, Saejin nearly jumped. Sure, if they were in a public bathhouse, seeing each other naked wouldn’t be a big deal. But this was a cramped apartment bathroom—and sharing it with a stranger? That was a whole different story. Shaking his head furiously to erase any improper thoughts, Saejin rubbed his flushed face.
“We both came from outside, so it makes sense to wash up at once and disinfect the bathroom afterward.”
As if it were his own home, Woobeom casually opened drawers, suggesting they get started with disinfection. Saejin followed behind with quick steps but stopped him before he could start rifling through everything else. For the sake of his privacy, he had to stop the man from tearing through his apartment.
“What are you looking for?”
“Bleach. Sodium hypochlorite should help break down the virus.”
“Oh…”
Smart. Saejin noted the thought with brief admiration and opened the shoe cabinet. With so little storage in the one-room apartment, he kept cleaning supplies there. While Saejin pulled out the heavy bottle of bleach, Woobeom began stripping off his clothes with rough hands. Saejin had accepted the shared shower idea in theory—but now, faced with the man’s bare skin, he lost grip on the bleach bottle.
Blushing furiously, he scrambled to pick it up.
“A guy like you…”
Clicking his tongue like he was indulging a child, Woobeom left only his underwear on and tossed the rest into the washing machine.
“Strip.”
“…Right now?”
“Were you planning to shower with your clothes on?”
“I mean, no, but…”
Sure, it had been his idea, but Saejin couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed by how at home Woobeom seemed to act. This doesn’t feel right at all… Just as that thought flickered through his mind, a shadow and the scent of cigarettes filled his senses. Woobeom reached for his sleeve, mumbling something about how kids always needed help with everything. He was simply trying to hold the sleeve so it would slip off easier.
“I-I’ll do it myself!”
Saejin shoved him away in panic and bit his tongue in the process. He did his best to collect himself. Woobeom, watching his reaction with a faint smirk, finally turned away and headed for the bathroom, saying he’d go in first. Honestly, it was baffling how someone could act so casual in a stranger’s house.
Only once Woobeom disappeared behind the door did Saejin begin undressing. Repeating to himself that this was strictly for virus prevention helped calm the chaos in his mind.
He tossed his clothes into the washer, poured in more detergent than usual, and started the wash cycle. The sound of running water could already be heard from the bathroom—Woobeom had begun rinsing off. Carrying the bleach, Saejin pushed open the half-closed door.
Unsurprisingly, Woobeom wasn’t wearing a single thread. It was a bit awkward, sure, but with his back turned and focused on washing, it didn’t throw Saejin too far off.
As he prepared in the corner, Saejin noticed the scars on the man’s back—and his eyes widened without a sound. Though they had long since healed, the wounds were obvious, ranging from palm-sized slashes to gashes as long as an arm. It was hard to find a single clean patch of skin. These weren’t injuries one could get from normal day-to-day life.
“How did you… end up like this?”
Unable to contain his curiosity, Saejin gently laid a hand on the man’s back. Woobeom flinched at the sudden touch but quickly regained composure. Lifting the showerhead, he began rinsing off the soap suds evenly across his body. Water ran down his bronzed skin, following the contours of his muscles, and hit the floor with soft splashes.
Trying to avoid the stray water, Saejin stepped back—only to slip on the foam collecting at his feet. His body lurched to the side, and he clenched his eyes shut, bracing for impact.
“Maybe I should’ve called him a baby, not just a kid…”
Woobeom caught Saejin around the waist, steadying him before he fell. Saejin, saved from hitting his head, froze in place. The culprit was the heavy pressure against his stomach—something large and unmistakable.
Pale with shock, Saejin slowly looked down at his belly.
What pressed against him couldn’t even be called just a body part. It was monstrous. He couldn’t believe that was something human. His mind reeled.
“Th-That… that’s… touching….”
“What?”
Woobeom, clearly annoyed, clicked his tongue at Saejin’s trembling hand pointing downward. Shaken, Saejin pulled himself away in a flurry. Woobeom, as if suddenly remembering, reached for a towel and wrapped it around his waist.
Sharing a shower had clearly been a bad idea from the start.
Woobeom reminded him to pour bleach over the floor once he came out and then left the bathroom. Saejin, still frozen, clutched his chest as his heart raced uncontrollably. Even now, the image of what had touched him lingered in his mind. The more he remembered, the less believable it felt. Shaking his head slowly, he wondered for a moment—maybe the real monster isn’t the zombie outside, but Jung Woobeom himself.
The ridiculous thought came and went.
‘That tattoo though…’
To hurry through his shower, Saejin poured water over his head and wiped his face, staring blankly into the air. As the steam thickened, the tattoo on Woobeom’s ribs slowly resurfaced in his mind. It looked like a cross, but the image was marred, as if it had been gouged out with a blade. Between the damaged tattoo and the numerous scars on his upper body, it was clear that Jung Woobeom had quite a story behind him.
‘Focus, Yoon Saejin. What good would it do me to know…’
There was no point in learning about the circumstances of a man he would part ways with soon. More importantly, he had neither the reason nor the right to be curious about Woobeom’s past. Determined to rid himself of useless thoughts, Saejin turned the water pressure up, causing droplets to splash in every direction.
Soon the bathroom was filled with the scent of body wash. Saejin dried off and, as a final step, sprinkled bleach across the floor. He must’ve misjudged the amount, because the sharp stench climbed into the steam and hit him hard.
Holding his breath, he stepped out of the bathroom—and ran straight into Woobeom, who was loading laundry into the dryer. Somehow, Woobeom had already found and put on the clothes Saejin had meant to give him.
“How’d you know those were for you?”
“They were still in the packaging, shoved in the corner.”
Woobeom added that nothing else looked remotely close to his size anyway.
“Yoon Saejin.”
It was the first time Woobeom had said his name aloud. Just three syllables, yet they felt oddly unfamiliar. That low, relaxed voice settled into Saejin’s ears, and he looked up, asking what was wrong. Woobeom brushed his damp hair back with a slightly troubled look. Saejin had no idea what he was about to say.
“Looks like we won’t be going out anytime soon.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“You should see for yourself.”
Saying it would be easier to understand by seeing rather than hearing, he brought Saejin to the front door. A peephole was set into the door, letting them view the hallway. Woobeom tapped on it lightly. Taking the hint, Saejin closed one eye and peered through the small glass window.
And just like that, he understood what it meant to be so shocked that not even a scream would come out.
“Jesus—!”
His heart leapt into his throat, making his jaw ache. Saejin shut his eyes tight and flinched, staggering back. Then he turned to Woobeom and groaned in disbelief. Right on the other side of the door was a monster, standing so close it nearly blocked the peephole. Had its head shifted just slightly to the left, it would’ve covered the lens entirely—and they wouldn’t have seen anything at all.
If that had been the case, they might have opened the door, unaware of the danger waiting outside. Just because the creature didn’t show aggression didn’t mean it couldn’t walk. It seemed to gravitate toward sounds, and had they opened the door, they would’ve come face to face with it in an instant.
“You saw it, right?”
Woobeom gave a small nod. He could’ve just explained it with words. Annoyed, Saejin shoved him back toward the room. Woobeom smirked, apparently amused by his reaction.
The dryer still had about an hour to go. Maybe by then the monster stuck to the front door would wander off. Saejin allowed himself that tiny bit of hope.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“I’m not someone who sleeps a lot.”
“Must be nice. I could sleep all day if I had the chance.”
“At that point, your daily life must be a mess.”
“…That was obviously a bit of exaggeration.”
The clock was nearing midnight. Normally, he wouldn’t be drowsy at this hour, but the heavy drinking had left him sluggish. Boiling water in the electric kettle, Saejin made instant coffee for both of them. He handed Woobeom a cup as he took a sip of the steaming caffeine.
After a few sips, Woobeom finally broke his silence.
“Don’t you need to contact someone? Not that it would work. Everything seems to be down.”
“Contact? Oh… You mean my parents?”
The warmth from the coffee felt good. Saejin rolled the cup between his hands, blinking a few times. Woobeom must’ve assumed he was just a student living away from his parents. Which, well, wasn’t completely off. He had left the director, who’d acted as a parental figure.
Saejin had grown up in an orphanage and didn’t remember his parents’ faces or voices.
“I don’t have any. Parents, I mean.”
“I see.”
Woobeom drank his coffee as if it were nothing. Most people would’ve awkwardly apologized, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere. Since that was the reaction Saejin had always gotten, he found the man’s dry, emotionless response oddly refreshing. In that lack of sentiment, he felt strangely at ease.
Perhaps it was the calm of the early morning, but Saejin finally asked something he’d been holding back.
“Hey, hyung. I’ve been curious about something… Would you tell me?”
Woobeom watched him inching closer and, sensing a hassle, shook his head decisively. Saejin muttered under his breath, something like, ‘He could at least hear what I’m curious about…’
Saejin, who had been sitting with the quiet and heavy-voiced Woobeom, eventually couldn’t bear the silence and dozed off completely. He nodded off so much that at some point he was flat-out asleep with his forehead pressed to the table.
When Woobeom finally shook him awake, Saejin rubbed his bleary eyes and looked around. It seemed the dryer had finished running too, because Woobeom was back in the same outfit he’d worn when they first met.
“What— Did I sleep for a whole hour?”
He had slept so deeply that his throat had gone hoarse. Letting out a rough cough to wake up his vocal cords, Saejin got to his feet, sluggishly moving to block Woobeom, who was heading toward the shoe cabinet.
“Wait, let me check first.”
Given how quiet residential areas usually were, he hadn’t expected the zombies to just wander off. Still, he’d hoped the one blocking the front door might have moved on. But that small hope was crushed when he peered through the peephole and saw the same charred skin. The zombie was still there, pressed up against the door as if honey had been smeared on it. Its fluids had even smeared onto the lens, making the view hazy.