HMT Chapter 2 (Part 1)

Blood-soaked Bus

“Ghk, cough, cough…”

He thought he was going to die. The moment his throat was squeezed, Han Min saw stars burst before his eyes. If even a little more time had passed, he wouldn’t have died to the monsters but suffocated instead. His neck hurt where the dept hoodie had scraped him, but Han Min still bowed his head first toward Kim Yoon.

“Th… thank you…”

If it hadn’t been for Kim Yoon, he wouldn’t even be catching his breath right now.

At Han Min’s thanks, Kim Yoon only gave a slight nod. He too had used a lot of strength in a short time, and his chest rose and fell faintly.

Panting, Han Min searched for Kim Min. The scream that had torn at his eardrums wouldn’t leave his mind. Thankfully, he spotted Kim Min curled up to one side. Seeing him rolled up like a pill bug made his chest ache.

He forced his powerless body to move and approached Kim Min. After confirming Han Min had safely climbed up, Jiwoo had also sat down beside Kim Min. The hand gently rubbing his trembling back was full of sympathy.

“Hey, Kim Min. You okay?”

With a voice that had gone completely hoarse, Han Min asked after him. His head was lowered so his face couldn’t be seen. When Han Min smoothed back his tangled hair, Kim Min slowly lifted his head.

“Hueeeng…”

The moment he saw him, Kim Min burst into tears, and Han Min’s face twisted as well. Kim Min rubbed his swollen eyelids once and threw his arms around Han Min’s neck. Feeling his friend’s warmth finally made him realize he was alive. No joke, just moments ago, he had really gone to the brink of death.

Kim Min had been kicking and shoving the monsters one by one as they lunged at him. Then he missed the one approaching from the side.

‘Kak, kak, kak…!’

The face pressed close, with glasses embedded into the skin, was familiar. His nose was crushed, but he could still be recognized. A senior he barely remembered the name of because he was always so quiet. Lee Yujin. Her face was covered in raised black veins and reeked of rot.

Seeing the chunks of flesh still caught in her teeth made him gag. Her clicking teeth came right up to him as if pleased. The reflection of his own face in her glossy eyes looked exactly like a soon-to-die victim in a horror movie.

‘Aaaah…!’

He barely managed to block her under the chin with his arm and shove her away. If he’d been even a moment slower, his nose or cheek would’ve been bitten off. Every time her teeth snapped together, goosebumps ran down his spine. A few strands of hair were caught and yanked out in her mouth.

‘Uheok…!’

As soon as the sound escaped his throat, a pain like his scalp was being ripped off hit him, and his vision flipped. When he looked around, the monsters baring their teeth at him moments ago were gone. Only then did Kim Min fully confront the fear that had overwhelmed him.

His body shook so hard his teeth chattered. The sound reminded him of the monsters’ snapping jaws, and tears and snot streamed endlessly down his face.

“Since you’re crying, now you’re making me want to cry too…”

Han Min peeled Kim Min off him and pouted. Seeing the tear-soaked corners of his friend’s eyes, Kim Min started crying again, and Han Min hugged him tightly and cried with him.

“Thank god… really…”

Seeing the two who had somehow survived the monsters, Jiwoo finally steadied his shaken heart. The moment his tension eased, his whole body ached. When he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, it was drenched in cold sweat. Even as he rubbed his damp hand, his eyes kept sneaking toward Kim Yoon.

Jiwoo hesitated, then stood up. Thinking back, he had already survived multiple times thanks to Kim Yoon. Once when he cluelessly reached out to Sangjin. And once when he climbed up onto this bus.

There was no way he would have climbed this height alone. Remembering the strong grip that had hauled him up made his cheeks burn.

On top of that, Kim Yoon had pulled him up first out of the three. If he had stayed below, Jiwoo probably wouldn’t have lasted like Kim Min and Han Min. He likely would’ve been torn apart in moments.

The monsters were strong. Even people much smaller than Kim Min and Han Min became powerful enough to overpower them once they turned.

Being saved by the person he had secretly admired for so long was as unreal as the monsters surrounding them.

“Um… Sunbae…”

At the small voice, Kim Yoon, who’d been scanning around the bus, turned to Jiwoo. Then he realized he was still holding Jiwoo’s dept hoodie in his hand.

“Oh, this. You must be cold. Hurry and put it on.”

He must’ve thought Jiwoo came over because of the hoodie. Jiwoo quickly shook his head to deny it, but he actually was cold, so he carefully accepted the hoodie. Even though it had just been with Kim Yoon for a moment, the clothing felt special. Jiwoo hugged the hoodie tightly and bent at the waist.

“Th-thank you for saving me…!”

It was the loudest he had ever spoken in his life. Even Kim Min and Han Min stopped crying and looked up. The monsters echoed his voice in return.

“Kieeek!”

“Kyaaaak… kyaak!”

“Krhaa…!”

Their shrieks echoed all around them. Jiwoo’s face went pale. He froze, still bent in half. If he wasn’t mistaken, the bus was shaking from side to side.

The few people who had escaped the front bus were now sheltering inside it. Everyone currently on top of the bus had originally been riding the rear bus.

Meaning dozens of people who had turned into monsters were surrounding this one. Since it wasn’t an empty bus and still full of people, it only swayed instead of tipping over. Even so, Jiwoo lost his balance in his bent posture and fell.

“Uuugh, what do we do now?”

Kim Min crawled over like a four-legged creature and spoke to Kim Yoon. Han Min followed right behind him.

“Hey, go with me. Don’t ditch me and go alone.”

The two, who looked so alike, also had the same swollen eyes, like rice cakes stuck on their eyelids. Kim Min and Han Min stopped by Kim Yoon’s feet, and Jiwoo, having regained his senses, rubbed his aching knee and looked up at him with the others.

Kim Yoon took a moment to steady his breath as the clustered faces looked up at him like he was their savior. His brows seemed furrowed, and he turned his head aside.

He retraced how they ended up in this mess. He’d been sleeping peacefully when an annoying voice woke him. He stepped outside the bus, practically shoved out, then rescued the survivors with Dohoon.

Several things piled up, and now he was here on top of a bus with three burdens instead of inside it. They were all terrified after seeing those monsters and weren’t thinking straight. But to Kim Yoon, those things weren’t much different from the ones gathered in front of him now.

In other words, they were just as damn irritating. Any living thing brought him discomfort and annoyance.

He felt as though the mask he always wore was beginning to slip. He’d already shown violent tendencies more than once. But no one noticed, and those he attacked hadn’t been people anymore, so it went unnoticed.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you mean? I need to call the police!”

“…Do they even answer?”

“…No.”

Noticing that Kim Yoon had fallen deep into thought, Kim Min took out the phone he had in his pocket. He immediately dialed 112, but only the ringing tone played; no call connected.

Han Min opened his recent call list and pressed the number saved as Mom. The longer the ringing continued, the more chewed-up his lower lip became.

“What the hell, why isn’t she picking up…”

She always nagged him to call her at least once a day.

But instead of the voice he wanted most to hear right now, all he got was the automated message saying the person could not take the call. Tears that had paused now swelled to the brim again.

“My mom isn’t picking up either… damn it, these things didn’t just show up here, right? They saw that video of us too. Doesn’t that mean Seoul is even worse? They really look like zombies. Otherwise, why would anyone bite into living people like that…”

Watching Han Min try calling his mother, Kim Min also tried calling his own. When his call also failed to connect, he roughly scrubbed both hands over his face.

They had all been perfectly fine people until just before leaving school. Then the bus flipped, and only some managed to escape. Everyone who came out of the front bus after Sangjin was no longer human.

Every single one of them had been bitten somewhere, their appearance warped. Seeing something like that, straight out of a movie, unfold live in front of them just left them hopeless.

Mom…

While Kim Min and Han Min grew emotional over failing to reach their families, Jiwoo quietly sank into his own thoughts.

Even hearing the word Mom wasn’t enough to give Jiwoo the courage to press her number. His mother might actually be hoping he’d get caught up in this disaster and die. His father and older brother were no different, they were all less than strangers to him.

Worried that someone might notice he had no one to call, Jiwoo fiddled with his phone for no reason. When he opened the call history, all he saw were unknown numbers. Mostly ones starting with 070.

But it seemed he wasn’t the only one not planning to contact family. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kim Yoon standing with one hand shoved in his pocket, silently watching the swarm of monsters circling them. The lonely look on his face made Jiwoo wonder.

Why isn’t Sunbae calling his family?

A memory flashed, Kim Yoon’s high school graduation day. That day, people had surrounded him as always. Underclassmen crowding close just to hand him flowers and say hello. Friends lining up in a long line to take pictures with him.

And the middle-aged man and woman who had hired a professional photographer and watched proudly from the side, they looked just like Kim Yoon.

Anyone could see it. They loved him.

Of course they did. Loving Kim Yoon was easier than not loving him.

He risked his life to save me and the others. He even saved Sangjin.

He had even given up climbing onto the bus because of them. Anyone acting purely out of survival instinct would have chosen to get inside the bus first.

Even in a situation like this, his righteousness never changes.

Jiwoo clasped his hands together. A wind blew through him, carrying memories from the past. Warmer than now, scented faintly with flowers, yet his body had trembled like cold water had been poured over him. That day still felt as clear as yesterday.

His chest thudded. His heartbeat pounded like he was running, just like before. Falling again for someone he had already given his heart to, Jiwoo was experiencing that in a place completely different from the past.

“Hic… Mom…”

“Stop crying. You’re a man, don’t bawl nonstop.”

“You don’t want to see your mom? And also, telling a guy not to cry is sexist, you know. You were just crying your eyes out too.”

“What are you talking about. Your mom and my mom are both probably somewhere safe right now and can’t answer. You don’t know the power of Korean moms?”

Jiwoo snapped out of his memories at the sound of their bickering. Han Min was patting Kim Min’s shoulder, trying his best to offer something positive as Kim Min’s eyes reddened again.

Maybe Seoul really was in a better situation than here. Since it had far more people, the police and military would have rushed there first.

Jiwoo looked around. At some point, the sun had begun to set. The sky streaked with deep orange would’ve been beautiful any other day, but right now it only made him feel more trapped.

If it were summer, it might be different. But winter nights were far too cold to endure outdoors.

He had an undershirt beneath his hoodie, and the dept jacket over it. But the dept jacket wasn’t a real winter coat. Thick or not, it was nothing compared to padded jackets filled with down or feathers. Even with his arms crossed, once he recognized the cold, his body couldn’t stop shaking.

“Damn it, even the weather’s freezing… Hey, what was your name again? Siwoo or something…?”

Still sniffling, Kim Min hunched his neck like a turtle and asked Jiwoo, who looked cold as well.

“…Jiwoo. Nam Jiwoo.”

Used to situations like this, Jiwoo quietly told him his name. Kim Min’s face flushed red with embarrassment at having said the wrong one. He blinked rapidly, then apologized in a shrinking voice.

“Sorry. I can’t even remember my classmate’s name. I’m such an idiot, seriously.”

“It’s okay. Most people don’t know my name anyway… I’m really quiet.”

Actually, Jiwoo found it more surprising when someone did remember his name. That thought always brought one face to mind.

Behind thick lenses, round eyes subtly shifted sideways. As if sensing that look, Kim Yoon stopped scanning their surroundings and walked toward them. Feeling as though his thoughts had been exposed, Jiwoo jerked his head down.

“Guys, it looks like we’ll have to stay up here for the night. Is everyone okay with that?”

The sunset painting the sky in many colors had already begun fading into darkness. Night had fallen, but the monsters surrounding them still looked full of energy.

Maybe because they already knew prey was on top of the bus, none of them showed signs of leaving. A human would’ve tired out by now, but once they had turned, these creatures didn’t seem to feel fatigue at all. They clung to the bus nonstop, shrieking and reaching upward.

It was a relief their intelligence seemed to have dropped. If they had the sense to climb each other like a tower, the four of them would already be dead.

“…Would it be impossible to get inside the bus?”

It was no different from camping out, except this was midwinter. Staying outside all night was far colder than being inside the bus. At least until the fuel ran out, the heater would still blow a little warm air.

“If we break a window and get inside within three seconds, we could pull it off. Assuming the people inside don’t just stand there and watch.”

Kim Yoon shrugged. Inside the bus was Kim Kyungtae, who had screamed at them to shut the door even while they were running for their lives. By now, he was probably acting like the leader among the remaining survivors.

Dohoon and Yejin were also inside, but in a chaotic situation like this, someone violent tended to become the leader. Since he always clashed with Kim Yoon, not having to see his face was almost a relief.

It would have been better if he had turned into a monster too. Then he could’ve smashed his head without holding back. Just like he had imagined doing dozens of times before.

“…People are seriously awful. How could they just shut the door on us?”

Han Min grumbled, voice full of resentment. Kim Min nodded in agreement. Both of them were frowning, but with their swollen, rice-cake-like eyes, they only looked ridiculous. Blinking his puffy eyes, Han Min rubbed his stomach when it growled and let out a deep sigh.

“It’s cold and I’m hungry… I have snacks in my bag… Should I try asking them to hand it over?”

“Yeah, let’s try. How much battery do you have?”

“I’m at twenty percent.”

“Then you call. I’m at eleven.”

At Kim Min’s words, Han Min used his phone to call Haena inside the bus. If anyone would take the risk to give them food, it would be her. When the ringing sounded for the third time, a familiar voice finally answered.

—Hey, are you okay?

“Kim Haena! You picked up!”

Overjoyed, Han Min accidentally answered far too loudly.

“Kyaaaak…!”

“Kiaak! Kyaak!”

Triggered by the noise, the monsters’ shrieks grew even louder. Realizing his mistake, Han Min immediately covered his mouth. His round eyes flicked toward Kim Yoon, whose expression had frozen.

Feeling a throbbing in his temples, Kim Yoon massaged the space between his brows and steadied his breath.

Maybe it’s better to ditch them all and find a way to survive alone.

But he immediately concluded that even he couldn’t get through this situation by himself. If he had a weapon and they weren’t surrounded by dozens of monsters, maybe. But right now, he had nothing but his bare hands.

Think of them as human shields.

Kim Yoon glanced at Jiwoo, Kim Min, and Han Min one by one. He had already done more than enough. He had saved each of them at least once. If monsters had taken over Seoul as well, then the whole country was likely in the same state of chaos.

The systems meant to keep the country safe must have collapsed. Otherwise, after dozens of 112 calls from the group, there was no way it would still be this quiet. Showing pity in a world like this was the fastest way to die.

“Can I talk to Haena for a moment?”

“Ah, yes, yes…!”

Han Min handed his phone to Kim Yoon. The moment he held it to his ear, the loud voice on the other end forced him to pull the phone away until she calmed down.

“Haena, it’s me. Kim Yoon.”

—Sunbae…?

The voice that had been scolding Han Min for being reckless instantly softened. Kim Yoon let her cough awkwardly while he walked toward the edge.

“How is it inside? If we say we want to come in, the others will refuse, right?”

—…Yes.

As expected. With monsters surrounding the bus, they wouldn’t want to take any risks. Even if those already inside were fine, letting in people who had directly been exposed to monsters would be foolish.

If Kim Yoon were inside, he would have made the same decision. But staying out here wasn’t an option either. With no warm clothing and no food, waiting until morning was practically suicide. Kim Yoon decided to be shameless.

“Then could you gather the bags for us and toss them up? We’ll draw the monsters to one side. Throw everything through a window on the other side. We might have to break a window. Will the others complain?”

While talking to her, Kim Yoon studied the monsters’ positions. They were spread out, but overall more crowded toward the front of the bus.

Haena didn’t answer for a while, likely because his request was difficult. But Kim Yoon knew her well. With Han Min and Kim Min outside with him, she wouldn’t refuse.

Ignoring the silence, he looked for the spot with the highest chance of success.

“If we say the driver’s seat is on the left side, then break the rearmost window on the right and throw the bags through there.”

—I’ll try!

Just as he expected. Cutting off her hesitation, Haena answered loudly. Once he was done, Kim Yoon handed the phone back to Han Min.

“Haena, Sunbae wants to talk to you again.”

—You really…

The nagging resumed, and Han Min silently endured it until he finally cut her off. In cold weather, phone batteries always drained faster. With no way to charge, they had to conserve it as much as possible.

“Hey, my ears are gonna bleed. If you’re that worried, put lots of food in our bags and send them up. And if you have a blanket or something, lend it. We’re freezing to death up here. My mouth’s about to go crooked.”

Han Min had heard everything Kim Yoon discussed with Haena. If they couldn’t go inside, they at least wanted their things.

“Yeah, Haena. I’m seriously freezing… My nose is running…”

Kim Min added his voice beside him. By now, it was completely dark around them. The moon gave enough light to see, but the cold was the real problem. It felt like the temperature had dropped ten degrees from earlier. His jaw shook uncontrollably under the thin clothes he’d worn out of vanity.

“Sunbae, Haena says she’s going to toss our bags this way.”

“Good. Then Han Min, catch them well when she throws them, and we’ll go over there and draw the monsters.”

At Kim Yoon’s words, he signaled to Kim Min and Jiwoo. Jiwoo stood up with his frozen body. Warmth filled his dark eyes as he looked at Kim Yoon’s back. His body was cold, but his heart was warm.

Honestly, it would’ve been stranger not to panic in a situation like this. Classmates and seniors who had been completely fine that morning had turned into monsters in an instant. If things had gone differently, he might have become one of the creatures crawling around the bus right now.

It was definitely dangerous, but he didn’t feel as scared as he thought he would. And that was because he was with Kim Yoon. Today had been a day where misfortune and happiness coexisted for Jiwoo. But thinking about it more, the happiness outweighed the misfortune.

Not only had Kim Yoon sat beside him earlier, but now they were facing life and death together. He didn’t know if this luck would last even an hour longer, but Jiwoo had already decided, he would give up his life to protect him.

Even if he had only ever been helped by him, if sacrificing himself could save Kim Yoon, that was enough. His life had never been one he clung to. Kim Yoon had given hope to someone who had been living simply because he couldn’t die.

Someone who showed him that he, too, could matter to someone. If he could die for him, maybe that would make his life meaningful. Someone like him didn’t need to live long, Kim Yoon surviving would be better for the world.

“From now on, we’re going to stomp our feet and yell. To pull all of them to this side. You both can do that, right?”

“Yes!”

“Yeah.”

Jiwoo’s eyes shone brightly with resolve. Seeing Jiwoo’s determined expression, Kim Yoon gave a faint smile, as if thinking something to himself.

“Both of you, be careful not to fall.”

At Kim Yoon’s signal, Jiwoo stomped his foot with force. But the moment he began, his resolve shattered instantly.

A sharp pain burst from his tailbone. His surroundings looked strange. Just moments ago, he had been staring into the glowing eyes of the monsters, but now he saw dark, empty fields.

Only then did Jiwoo realize he had fallen before even managing a single proper stomp. The moment he understood that, he wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

He had fallen so loudly that Kim Yoon’s attention was now on him. And it wasn’t as if Kim Yoon had asked him to do something difficult. Unable to even manage that, Jiwoo felt so pathetic that even his ears turned red.

“Hey, are you okay? That was a pretty loud thud.”

Kim Min frowned like he was the one hurt and patted Jiwoo’s shoulder.

“I-I’m fine.”

Mortified, Jiwoo forced himself up despite the throbbing pain. Because Jiwoo had fallen, Kim Yoon and Kim Min had paused as well. Feeling their eyes on him, Jiwoo stomped first. The heavy thumping echoed beneath his feet.

Once they knew Jiwoo was fine, Kim Yoon and Kim Min fully joined in gathering the monsters’ attention.

“There’s some fresh meat over here! If you want a bite, come get it!”

Kim Min taunted the monsters with words they couldn’t understand, while Kim Yoon pressed his thumb and index finger together and brought them to his lips.

“Fweeeet!”

A sharp whistle cut through the darkness. The monsters, whose heads had been snapping left and right at the sound of Jiwoo’s stomps, finally noticed the prey atop the bus. Dozens of crimson eyes turned in unison.

“Kihyaaaak!”

One of them, whose lips were particularly red around the mouth, let out a shriek. That was the start. Monsters raced toward the three of them. Some, whose legs were both bent at impossible angles, scraped along the ground with their jaws snapping as they crawled. Seeing the monsters rush to the front, Han Min lay flat in the direction of the windows.

“Kim Haena…!”

He tried to speak loudly while keeping his voice as low as possible, terrified the monsters would come rushing back if he was too loud.

Kim Yoon had already told Haena exactly which window to use. By now the window should have been broken, and the four bags should have been thrown out to them. But nothing happened. Only silence. A bad feeling crept in.

With no other choice, Han Min伸 reached his hand down and knocked on the closed window with his fist.

“Kim Haena, we’re here!”

Thinking she might have gotten the position wrong, he continued sending signals, refusing to give up hope. His knuckles throbbed as he knocked repeatedly. Tiny beads of sweat formed along his forehead and the bridge of his nose. A cold wind swept by, drying the sweat and making his shoulders tremble.

“What the hell are they doing…!”

Right about now, they should have been at the pension, having a barbecue. He had even saved his snacks on the bus, looking forward to eating plenty of meat. His stomach growled. He couldn’t stop thinking about the snacks tucked in his bag.

“Kim Haena, Haena…!”

He called out desperately for his classmate. He wasn’t the only one suffering. The others stomping on the bus had to be starving too. Even Kim Min’s shouts had grown weaker. The thudding footsteps had also decreased. They were all exhausted.

Bang, bang, bang!

“Kim Haena! Over here! Throw our bags!”

If this went on, nothing would work. Han Min slammed the window harder than he ever had, raising his voice. At this point, he was ready to break the window with his bare fist.

“Kyaaaah…!”

But trouble always finds noise.

Most of the monsters had gathered near the front of the bus, but the noise Han Min made drew the attention of one lingering at the edge. Seeing the monster dragging its broken leg toward him, Han Min screamed with veins bulging in his neck. Rage surged at the situation refusing to go his way.

“Aaah! Damn it!”

They hadn’t asked to be let inside. All they wanted were their bags.

The Haena he knew wouldn’t ignore a promise. Which meant someone inside was stopping her.

Probably the same ones who slammed the door shut in their faces when they ran for their lives.

He recalled the face he saw through the closing door. A senior with a sleazy expression whose behavior was just as trashy.

He wasn’t even an athletics major, yet swaggered arrogantly toward underclassmen. He was the number one sophomore freshmen avoided. Kim Min had complained about him many times, especially about his nearly bleached-white hair that made him look even more obnoxious.

“I’m not letting him get away with this…”

It was only speculation, but if Kyungtae really was the one stopping Haena, Han Min had no intention of letting it slide.

“Kiaaak!”

“Ugh, damn…”

At some point, a monster had crawled right up close, jaws gaping as its arm shot forward. Han Min pushed backward with his elbow and retreated. The window he had been knocking on was now smeared with a monster’s blood-soaked forehead. What had been dusty glass slowly turned a murky red.

“What the hell, Han Min. Why’d you come back up? Where’s our bag?”

Kim Min, who had been eagerly waiting, asked with a crushed voice.

“…The window isn’t breaking. I think something happened inside the bus.”

“What…?”

Kim Min’s legs gave out and he collapsed. Jiwoo also stopped stomping. The situation was sinking further into despair. The sun had completely disappeared.

Their bodies, tense and strained since the disaster began, were now screaming with exhaustion. Jiwoo’s vision kept going black at the edges. If they didn’t eat something soon, they wouldn’t last the night. And the cold was rapidly draining what little strength they had left.

Sleeping outside in this weather could kill them. They desperately hoped the people inside would toss out blankets at least, or their coats. Unlike those outside, the people in the bus were safe from losing body heat.

How long could they survive up here?

Unless the monsters surrounding the bus moved elsewhere by sheer luck, they were like rats trapped in a jar.

With no food, no supplies for the cold, they might only last a few hours. No amount of thinking gave them a solution; the despair stayed thick. Jiwoo tucked his trembling fingers into a fist and looked at Kim Yoon. He too had stopped moving and was watching Han Min.

“Haena couldn’t even get near the window?”

“…Yeah.”

At Kim Yoon’s question, Han Min managed to answer. His throat was tight. The pain in his clenched fist only fueled his frustration.

“Hm.”

Kim Yoon stroked his chin, trying to piece the situation together.

It’s probably one of two possibilities.

His sharp gaze swept over the monsters, every one of them bearing bite marks somewhere on their bodies. Some had chunks of flesh torn out. If a turned person bit someone, that person would transform too.

Inside the bus were the survivors who had escaped from the front bus. If even one of them had been bitten, everything would unfold exactly as it had in the first bus.

But it’s too quiet for that. If someone had turned, the inside would be chaos.

Only the shrieks of the monsters below, reaching up toward them, filled the air.

It was possible that any noise inside the bus had been drowned out by the monsters. But even so, at least one person should have tried to run out by now. Especially since he and the others had conveniently distracted the monsters to one side.

Unless… Kim Kyungtae stopped them.

He was definitely the type to do it. Maybe he was threatening the others, telling them the ones on top were as good as dead anyway, so they should save resources for themselves.

And Kim Yoon’s assumption was exactly correct. At that moment, Haena was pinned to a seat with Kyungtae gripping her arm.

“Let go of me! I said let go! Sunbae, this is violence! Do you think you’ll get away with this?”

“What, you think I won’t? You think anyone’s coming to save you? You got the police on the line? Huh? Can you reach them?”

Haena bit her lip, glaring daggers at him. Ayoung sat beside her with her head bowed, too intimidated to speak.

“Those bastards up there won’t survive the night anyway! How are they gonna make it in this cold? Wearing just dept jackets? And who knows. Maybe one of them has already been bitten.”

Kyungtae’s aggression kept everyone silent. But inside, many of them secretly agreed with him.

Especially the ones who had fled from the front bus, they were dominating the mood. Their vivid accounts had terrified those who hadn’t yet encountered the monsters up close.

And the sight of the monsters outside, former classmates now drenched in blood and screaming, only added to the fear.

Even calling 112 or 119 resulted in nothing. Many had lost connection mid-call with family or friends. Anxiety and terror filled the bus. Keeping one’s sanity was difficult. Fear had grown far stronger than compassion.

Some students, including Haena, argued that they should still save the people on top of the bus. But every time, Kyungtae shut down the suggestion immediately.

The problem was that the majority sided with Kyungtae. So Haena had reluctantly decided to at least pass their bags up as requested.

She had approached the driver and taken the small hammer meant for breaking windows. Her plan was to settle the urgent need first, then gather those who shared her view to outvote Kyungtae later.

She sensed that Dohoon and Yejin, members of the student council, also didn’t approve of the current situation. She thought breaking one window wouldn’t be something Kyungtae would stop.

But Kyungtae was even more selfish than she had expected.

She never imagined she’d meet a movie-like villain in a moment like this. Haena steeled herself. If she let Kyungtae keep control, her friends would die.

“If that’s the logic you’re using, shouldn’t we check your body too, Sunbae? You’re one of the survivors from the front bus.”

“What?”

There was a flaw in his argument. He was claiming that the ones on the roof might have been bitten and therefore couldn’t enter. But if that were the rule, he and the other survivors from the first bus were also potential risks.

“Am I wrong? You were tangled up with those monsters too. Can you guarantee you weren’t bitten or scratched? In movies, sometimes you get infected even without a bite. And those people always pretend they’re fine before turning suddenly.”

As Haena’s voice grew louder, the murmuring increased. Her argument made sense. The students from the rear bus edged away from the front bus survivors. The atmosphere shifted rapidly, and Kyungtae raised his hand in anger.

“You little brats, you don’t listen unless someone beats it into you!”

“Kyungtae, stop…”

Dohoon, who had been watching silently, stepped in and grabbed his arm. Kyungtae’s face reddened with humiliation when he realized Dohoon was stronger than he expected.

“Let go! Didn’t you hear her? She’s talking nonsense!”

The more Kyungtae rampaged, the colder the first-year students’ expressions grew. He was a sophomore, but many had kept quiet because he dominated the mood.

Kim Min and Han Min had been friendly with most of the students. Though closest to Haena, they had shared drinks with nearly everyone in their year.

“Sunbae, aren’t you going too far? If you keep this up, we won’t just sit here quietly.”

The biggest first-year, Moonsoo, stepped forward. His closely shaved head shone slightly under the lights.

“You idiots lost your minds? You think you can disrespect a senior? Lee Dohoon, are you seriously just going to stand there and watch them do this?”

“…Honestly, you’re the one going too far. I’m worried about Kim Yoon too. If you hadn’t slammed the door earlier, he and the others could have come in safely.”

Hearing even Dohoon side against him, Kyungtae’s voice cracked with outrage.

“Aaaaagh!”

Taking advantage of the chaos, Haena rose from her seat. She grabbed the four bags scattered on the floor and clutched them to her chest. As she headed toward the back, Kyungtae tried to grab her again, but failed.

Moonsoo blocked him like a gatekeeper. His eyes, normally soft, were now sharp, leaving Kyungtae unable to advance.

“…Damn it, Kim Kyungtae. This is all your fault. I almost died because of you too.”

The mood shifted again when Sangjin, who had been sitting and breathing heavily, got to his feet.

He was the second-tallest among the sophomores, and when he stood, his head nearly touched the ceiling.

His face was drenched in cold sweat. He looked pale, like someone who had just stepped out of a sauna. With his pride already bruised by Haena, Dohoon, and Moonsoo pushing back against him, Kyungtae reacted instantly to Sangjin’s words.

“You hesitated at the entrance like an idiot. Don’t blame me. You almost died because you’re stupid, you dumb bastard.”

At the barrage of insults, veins spread like spiderwebs around Sangjin’s eyes. A girl standing behind him grabbed her friend’s arm and shook her.

“Hey, hey… look…”

It was a familiar scene. In the front bus, she had sat across the aisle from Yujin. Yujin’s face had been pale with cold sweat, and dark veins had crawled up her neck in the same way.

The moment she saw the black veins spreading along the back of Sangjin’s neck, goosebumps ran over her skin. She and her friend stumbled backward.

Another nightmare was about to begin.

“Idiot… idiot, is it…”

After being insulted repeatedly, Sangjin laughed as if stunned. Kyungtae, seeing the dark veins spreading across Sangjin’s face, went pale.

“Shit, he’s infected! He was bitten!”

Why hadn’t they noticed sooner?

They had been so distracted by the argument with Haena that they hadn’t noticed Sangjin. There were no obvious bite marks, so they had realized too late.

“Kyaaaah!”

“What do we do? Where do we run?”

“Does anyone have a weapon?”

Chaos exploded inside the bus.

Haena reached the back of the bus, where she was supposed to pass the bags to Han Min, then froze.

A monster with blood-red eyes was slamming its forehead against the window. Blood poured from its split skin, but it kept smashing its head against the glass while baring its teeth. At the same time, chaos erupted toward the front of the bus. Haena watched Sangjin with anxious eyes.