HMT Chapter 2 (Part 2)

“Grr… aaaargh…!”

Sangjin screamed in agony and clawed at his face with all ten fingers. Wherever his nails dragged, his skin reddened and lifted. His face, once tanned attractively enough to make his friends jealous, was now drenched in blood within seconds.

It was a horrifying sight. The commotion inside stirred the monsters swarming around the bus, exciting them further. They rammed the bus without caring about breaking their own bodies, making the entire vehicle rock side to side.

“Mom… I don’t want to die…”

“The police still aren’t answering? What the hell are they doing with our tax money!”

“We’re all gonna die… all of us…”

The worsening situation drew different reactions from each student, but one thing they all shared was the paralysis of their reason under overwhelming fear.

“H-Han Sangjin…”

Seeing Sangjin with his head lowered, Kyungtae called his name in a trembling voice. His earlier bravado had vanished completely.

“Grrr…”

A sound no human should be able to make rumbled from Sangjin’s throat. Kyungtae’s face twisted in terror. His wildly shaking pupils darted everywhere. Unfortunately for him, he was the one standing closest after provoking Sangjin moments ago.

Holding his breath so as not to provoke him further, he slowly backed away. He had taken only a few steps before he bumped into someone, everyone was trying to distance themselves from Sangjin, and the space had reached its limit.

Just then, Sangjin lifted his head.

“Kehaaaak…!”

“Ah! Shit!”

His fully transformed face stretched open as he lunged at him. His mouth was so wide that the skin around it reddened, as if tearing. Kyungtae felt a sting at the corners of his own mouth just watching it. With nowhere left to run, Kyungtae grabbed someone’s arm behind him and yanked them forward as a shield.

“Aaah…!”

Thought and reason gone, Sangjin ignored the fleeing Kyungtae and sank his teeth into the neck of the student shoved in front of him. The young student, whose features still held traces of baby fat, contorted in pure agony. Blood spurted from his pale neck.

The spray arced through the air and splashed across Sangjin’s face. As the dying student met the eyes of a friend beyond Sangjin, he forced out his final words like a dying will.

“S-save… me… gk…”

Before he could finish, the life drained rapidly from his eyes. Sangjin tore away flesh and chewed loudly before burying his face into the neck again.

Thud.

The student’s body, drenched in blood below the neck, collapsed to the floor like a broken bundle of straw. With his life gone, he no longer held Sangjin’s attention. The monster’s burning eyes darted around, searching for the next victim.

“Ugh…”

“Shit…”

Students who met Sangjin’s gaze blanched and scrambled to find someplace to flee. But the interior of the bus was nothing more than a maze of dead ends.

“Gkk…”

Another student was caught and had their throat torn open. Sangjin’s bite landed exactly where the artery passed, sending sticky, dark blood splashing in every direction again.

It took only minutes for the entire bus interior to become soaked in blood. After the second victim came the third, then the fourth. All of them had their throats ripped, the pooling blood gathering into a spreading puddle on the floor.

“H-Haena… what do we do…?”

Ayoung, driven all the way to the very back seats, grabbed Haena’s arm and shook it. Her small face was drenched in tears. Monsters still crowded the windows. But they couldn’t keep running around like this forever.

Unless they killed Sangjin, the same tragedy that happened in the front bus would repeat here.

Bang, bang, bang…

At that moment, knocking came from the window. The students clustered at the back all turned toward the sound. Seeing Han Min’s face through the glass, Haena rushed toward it. She used the hammer in her hand to strike the edge of the window.

Her grip kept weakening, but she gritted her teeth and swung with more force. At first, the window didn’t budge, but with repeated strikes, cracks spread until the glass finally shattered. Cold night air poured in, carrying the stench of rot.

“Han Min!”

“Kim Haena, get out of there now!”

Han Min reached out. Haena handed him the bags she had been holding.

“Hey, this isn’t what’s important right now!”

“Just take it, hurry!”

Pressed by Haena, Han Min reluctantly grabbed the bags and tossed them up. Seeing an escape route forming, Ayoung moved past Haena toward the front. The moment the others realized the same, students surged toward the window.

“Move! Move your asses!”

Kyungtae was among them. Several students were shoved to the ground by his force. Haena scowled and blocked him by pushing Ayoung forward first.

“Ayoung, you go first.”

“R-really?”

“No time!”

Ayoung desperately wanted to escape anyway. As she moved toward the window ahead of Haena, Han Min frowned briefly, but then spotted monsters crawling toward the opening and called out urgently.

“Shit. Ayoung, grab my hand, now!”

“O-okay…!”

Ayoung stepped onto the window frame with Han Min’s help.

“Kyaaah…!”

“Screeee!”

A monster spotted her and limped forward at alarming speed. Ayoung screamed instinctively and clung to Han Min’s arm like a lifeline. In her panic to survive, she exerted more strength than usual, dragging Han Min toward the edge. Startled, he grabbed the bus frame to steady himself.

“Han Min…!”

Thankfully, Kim Min grabbed Han Min’s arm from beside him. With both of them supporting her, Ayoung managed to climb onto the roof. The monster’s fingertips scraped her ankle as she made it up.

“What about Haena?”

“No idea. I sent Ayoung first.”

The person Han Min most wanted to save was Haena. He leaned over the edge again, trying to pull her up, but the situation had changed. A classmate who had turned into a monster was already at the broken window, reaching inside the bus and shrieking.

That wasn’t the only chaos unfolding. After seeing Ayoung escape through the window, the other students all rushed toward it.

The frantic banging on the bus windows mixed with the monsters’ howls and the screams inside. Meanwhile, Sangjin continued increasing his victims one by one, like a wolf let loose in a flock of sheep.

“…It’s a mess.”

Arms crossed, Kim Yoon clicked his tongue as he observed. A little while ago, there had been an argument between Han Min and Kim Min on top of the bus.

Something must have happened to Haena. I need to go down there.

How? Look at all the zombies surrounding us!

They had exhausted themselves stomping and shouting to draw the monsters forward and had finally collapsed to catch their breath.

So the zombies had circled back around the bus, waiting for prey to crawl out. A few still reached up toward the rooftop, but there were only a few of them.

Unless they jumped down, the rooftop was still safe, for now.

Han Min insisted they had to pull Haena out even if it meant risking their lives. Kim Min, afraid something would happen to him, tried to stop him.

Their tense back-and-forth was broken by a scream tearing through the bus interior. The four of them looked toward the sound.

Kim Yoon realized one of his predictions had been right. Something had happened inside. Likely one of the front bus survivors had transformed. How interesting.

He didn’t care who it was. Whoever rushed at him would simply get their skull smashed.

The one who grew desperate was Han Min.

See? Something definitely happened in there!

Dammit…

At that point, even Kim Min couldn’t stop him. The two of them teamed up and searched the bus for a window with the fewest monsters. The only spot without a single zombie was directly across from the window where they were supposed to meet Haena.

Monsters still gathered only five steps away, but all of them had legs twisted in unnatural directions.

Even if they attracted attention, they thought they might have enough time to pull Haena out.

And that led to their current situation. Fortunately, Haena had at least thrown the bags up first. Kim Yoon brushed his hair back as he looked at the four bags dropped carelessly at their feet.

Ayoung lay flat, crying. Han Min and Kim Min paced anxiously, unable to stay still. Surprisingly, Jiwoo was the calmest. His thick glasses hid half his face, making it hard to read his expression.

But his tightly pressed lips stood out. Kim Yoon expected him to speak up about saving the people below like Han Min and Kim Min did, but he didn’t. Unexpected.

Perhaps sensing the gaze, Jiwoo turned toward him. Through the lenses, his small eyes widened.

The restless pupils, the reddening ears, familiar to the point of boredom. Jiwoo’s reactions were always the same whenever he looked at him. To Kim Yoon, Jiwoo was nothing more than a bothersome presence.

He had long noticed Jiwoo’s feelings. Every time he sensed a stare and turned his head, Jiwoo would be there, lingering at the edge of his vision like a shadow. And every time they spoke, those round ears flushed red. After seeing it so many times, it was impossible not to notice.

The reason he allowed Jiwoo to hover around him was simple: Jiwoo was quieter than everyone else. He never approached too much. That alone made him tolerable. And it was the only reason Kim Yoon had gone to sit beside him on the bus earlier.

Anyone else would have irritated him the entire ride just by sitting next to him.

Kim Yoon briefly imagined pushing Jiwoo off the side of the bus. Even then, would the boy still blush while looking at him? A cruel curiosity twisted inside him. He curled his fingers into a fist to keep himself from reaching out.

“S-Sunbae…”

Unable to withstand Kim Yoon’s direct stare, Jiwoo’s lips trembled open. Under the moonlight, Kim Yoon’s face carried a strange, unreal aura, as if he’d vanish like a mirage if touched. Jiwoo had no choice but to speak.

Jiwoo’s voice became a cue. Kim Yoon wiped away his earlier cruel thoughts and put on a gentle smile. Even in the dark, the blush spreading across Jiwoo’s ears lingered in his mind like an afterimage.

“Yeah, Jiwoo. Stay here with the bags and Ayoung. I think I need to go save the others.”

Kim Yoon reached out and brushed his hand over Jiwoo’s head. Jiwoo straightened his shoulders with new determination, eager to prove himself this time. Passing him, Kim Yoon crouched at the edge to survey below. Unlike earlier, several of the bus windows were now shattered.

“Kihyaaaak!”

“Aaaah…!”

“Help… please…!”

The monsters’ howls and the humans’ screams tangled together, rattling the icy night air.

A genuine smile grew on Kim Yoon’s lips, different from the polite one before. The desperate death throes of the victims sounded strangely pleasing.

The music of blood-soaked screams, using human vitality as the score, as if creating a world with only one song.

His smile looked elegant enough to draw admiration, but his eyes darkened. His gaze toward the flailing bodies below was colder than the winter wind.

Even on the rocking bus roof, Kim Yoon’s posture remained steady. Han Min and Kim Min approached him. His eyes slid toward them.

Even while smiling, something dangerous radiated from him. Han Min swallowed hard.

“S-Sunbae, I’m really sorry, but could you please save Haena…?”

“…We don’t think we can do it on our own.”

They admitted it quickly. In this chaos, trying to save Haena without one of them getting hurt was nearly impossible. But with Kim Yoon’s help, it was different.

All three of them, except for Ayoung, were alive only because of Kim Yoon.

If he helped, Haena would be able to come up onto the bus roof without being bitten. When Kim Yoon didn’t answer right away, Kim Min and Han Min’s faces darkened. They felt embarrassed even asking. No matter how physically capable he was, Kim Yoon would still have to take a risk to save Haena.

For them, Haena was someone worth risking their lives for. But to Kim Yoon, she was just a junior from the year below.

Only after the two of them swallowed hard several times did Kim Yoon finally stand. He lightly tapped the shoulders of the two who resembled each other like brothers.

“Of course we should save her. We got the bags thanks to her.”

“Th-thank you!”

“We’ll never forget this kindness!”

Both bowed their heads deeply. Kim Yoon watched them with eyes as expressionless as a doll’s.

His cold gaze hid beneath the shadow of his long, fan-like eyelashes. To Jiwoo, however, he looked like a benevolent figure straight out of a painting. But the ease with which he offered himself up to danger sent a ripple of fear through Jiwoo’s fingertips.

Sunbae must not get hurt…

Of course, Jiwoo also worried about Haena. He pitied everyone struggling to survive. But if he put their lives on the scale against Kim Yoon’s safety, Jiwoo’s scale would always tip sharply toward the latter.

Jiwoo checked on the still-crying Ayoung and the bags. He reached out carefully and touched Ayoung’s shoulder. She flinched as if splashed with cold water, lifting her tear-streaked face.

“Sorry for startling you. I just need to ask a favor…”

“…What is it?”

Ayoung eyed him warily. With the darkness surrounding them, Jiwoo’s face behind those thick glasses looked more shadowy than usual. She immediately lifted her hand to cover the shoulder Jiwoo had touched. Embarrassed, Jiwoo stepped back with an awkward smile.

“Could you watch these bags? I think I need to go too.”

He gently nudged the four bags toward her, and only then did Ayoung relax. Sniffling, she nodded.

With that worry off his mind, Jiwoo stood. He searched for Kim Yoon first. Kim Yoon was already leading the charge, fully focused on rescuing others. Perched on the edge of the bus, his long legs kicked down at the monsters leaping toward the window with merciless precision.

Thud, thump, crack…

The sneakers that had been pure white were now soaked with blood. Every time the sound of impact rang out, a monster collapsed to the ground. A human would have been knocked unconscious from such a blow. But the monsters only shrieked louder as they pushed themselves back up and charged again.

“Grrrk…”

“Kyaaah!”

Kim Yoon silently smashed their skulls each time they rose. Thankfully, their movements grew slower. Even if they felt no pain, those whose faces caved in or whose eyes burst lost their sense of direction.

Some wandered off into the fields, unable to follow the noise. As Kim Yoon kept kicking ruthlessly, an opening formed at one of the windows. With the monsters cleared from the front, Dohoon seized the chance and stuck his head out.

“Y-Yoon! I’m here! Yejin’s beside me too!”

“Heuu… Dohoon, we need to get out now…!”

Yejin pushed his back with trembling, sweat-soaked hands. Sangjin, dripping blood from his hair, was advancing steadily. He had already killed more than ten people. When Yejin’s eyes fell on a body slumped half over an armrest, she saw it twitch.

There was no mistaking what that meant. Soon, the number of monsters they would have to flee from wouldn’t be just Sangjin, it would be everyone he had killed.

“Kim Yoon! Pull me up!”

Dohoon had seen the same. He ran to the window and reached upward, unable to figure out how to climb with his poor athletic sense, even though he was strong.

“Kyaaaah!”

As he struggled, one of the monsters Kim Yoon had kicked earlier rose again. Even with one eye crushed, its remaining eye glared wildly, sending shivers down Dohoon’s spine.

“Ugh, shit!”

He threw his foot onto the window frame without thinking. Losing his balance, he pitched forward out the window. With a short sigh, Kim Yoon reached down and grabbed the back of his neck. Choked, Dohoon squeezed his eyes shut.

“Cough, cough…”

His body, lifted completely off the ground, hit the cold roof with a thud. On all fours, Dohoon coughed repeatedly. After a few blinks, his blurry vision cleared.

“Th-thanks…”

Rough though the method was, he had survived thanks to Kim Yoon. And now he remembered Yejin, still trapped inside.

“Yejin, cough…Yeji…”

Kim Yoon was already waiting for Yejin to jump like Dohoon had. But she didn’t appear.

“Kyaaah! Don’t pull me!”

Her head appeared, then disappeared again. His patience was thinning. And he could feel two pairs of eyes drilling into the side of his face. Kim Min and Han Min were watching him, silently demanding he hurry up and save Haena too.

So damn annoying.

Hidden in the dark, Kim Yoon’s eyes glinted dangerously. Like Yejin, Haena was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, the monsters kept attacking. One that got close had its remaining eye crushed beneath his shoe.

“Krhaaak…!”

The monster that had lost both its eyes stretched its arms forward and made a horrible sound. Thud… The tip of a sneaker smashed into its mouth.

Broken teeth mixed with rotten blood dripped down its chin. That face, which had been full of excitement for the MT trip just that morning, was now mangled and soaked in blood. Even in that state, the monster thrashed like a freshly caught fish.

They still hadn’t figured out how to kill the monsters for sure. Kim Yoon suspected that decapitating them or crushing their skulls until they caved in would work. If their hearts were still beating, crushing them too would probably kill them.

Dozens of methods to kill the monsters flickered through Kim Yoon’s mind. Unloading his extreme irritation through violence helped, but not enough. His vision felt tinged with red. If he kept going like this, he was going to do something big. So he raised his voice.

“Yejin! Get out the window and reach your hand out! I’ll grab you!”

For now, he intended to save both Yejin and Haena. Among the irritating people, Yejin was one of the few who bothered him less. Unless he killed everyone on the roof, he needed a group of survivors who would move according to his will.

“Hic… Yoon…”

Hearing his voice, Yejin pushed away the hands of the classmates pulling at her and headed for the window. Everyone had lost their sanity in fear. After Ayoung and then Dohoon escaped safely, their selfishness reached its peak.

If someone next to them escaped first, the number of available victims decreased, meaning their own chances of dying increased.

Just as Yejin grabbed the window frame…

“You’re planning to survive alone, is that it?!”

Jisoo clung to her back. Yejin grit her teeth and hardened her heart. If she hesitated any longer, she really would end up like the others, bitten in the neck by Sangjin. She rammed her elbow into Jisoo’s face.

“Agh…!”

Hit square on the nose, Jisoo staggered as blood poured down. Yejin used the moment to slip through the window just like Dohoon had.

“Yoon, help me…! Kyah!”

But Yejin was instantly yanked back inside.

“Did you just hit me, you bitch?!”

Jisoo ripped off the mask she had always worn. She was the type who monopolized the attention of boys, freshmen, sophomores, seniors alike, with an idol-like face.

Maybe it was because people liked her, Yejin had never once heard Jisoo curse. But now her face was distorted, and she used violence filled with murderous intent without hesitation.

A burning sensation shot across Yejin’s scalp as her hair was yanked so hard it felt like it was being torn out. The hair tie holding her hair together snapped away.

“Let go of me…!”

Yejin desperately grabbed Jisoo’s hair in return. Blood-matted strands wrapped around her fingers. The counterattack made Jisoo falter briefly. Their strength was similar, and the stalemate dragged on. But fighting like this wasn’t helping anyone survive.

“Grrk, kkk…”

“Grrr…”

Yejin’s prediction was right. The students who had died after being bitten by Sangjin began showing strange symptoms. The sound of joints twisting rang through the bus. The eyes of the students who hadn’t escaped yet filled with panic.

“Kyaaaaak…!”

The first student Sangjin had bitten revealed bright red eyes. The black veins spreading across his face looked like the flare marking the beginning of a tragedy.

“Fuck! Everyone get the hell away from me!”

Gyeongtae had also tried escaping through the window several times and failed. His face was still twisted with the same selfish desire to survive alone, even after causing numerous casualties.

He shoved people indiscriminately. By now, more than ten students inside the bus had turned into monsters.

It was absolute chaos. Haena lifted her trembling body from under a seat and bolted toward the window.

“Kim Haena! Why aren’t you out yet!”

“Haena! We’re over here! Come this way, okay?!”

Her friends’ voices reached her. Haena perched on the window frame and kicked a monster lunging at her chest.

“Kyaaaak!”

It was a girl from their class. Fortunately, she was shorter than Haena. Though she had fallen, she immediately scrambled back up to lunge again, but Haena managed to reach her friends.

Kim Min and Han Min each grabbed one of Haena’s hands. Her body lifted halfway into the air before jerking to a stop.

“Ugh, let go…!”

“Kyak! Kyak!”

Haena raised one foot and kicked hard at the monster clutching her ankle. Thud, thud. It was the same classmate she’d knocked down moments earlier. The girl chomped at Haena’s shoe and tried to bite into her leg. Knowing a single bite meant the end, Haena kicked frantically, but the monster’s grip was stronger than expected.

“Kim Haena…!”

“Ugh, fuck, just please get up here…!”

Kim Min and Han Min pulled with all their strength until their faces turned red. But the monster’s hunger was overwhelming. Like someone hanging from a cliff, the creature clung fiercely, dragging both Kim Min and Han Min little by little toward the window.

At this rate, not only Haena but Kim Min and Han Min would fall off the bus. What would happen after that was obvious. They wouldn’t get more than a few steps before the monsters swarmed them and tore them apart.

Horrifying images filled Han Min’s mind. He hesitated, stuck between two choices: do they all die together, or does he abandon Haena?

“Han Min, what are you doing! You’re getting pulled in!”

Maybe it was because he’d gotten lost in thought, but his strength had slipped. Seeing Han Min being dragged forward helplessly, Kim Min panicked.

Han Min’s fingers twitched. His eyes trembled as he watched Haena struggle desperately to stay alive.

His grip was weakening. In that moment, Haena met his eyes. And somehow, as if she had understood everything, she smiled at him.

His nose stung. The fact that he had even considered abandoning her to survive horrified him. Blinking rapidly, he forced strength back into his limbs.

Even if he survived by sacrificing his friend, life afterward would be another hell. A lifetime of guilt would crush him. No matter what happened, it was better to give everything he had in this moment.

He tightened his grip on Haena’s hand so hard the bones on the back of his hand protruded. Haena sniffled, refusing to give up, and kicked at the zombie clinging to her.

“I’ll pull her up. You two get that zombie off her.”

Just when the struggle was going nowhere, Kim Yoon appeared like a savior. What the two boys couldn’t accomplish even together, Kim Yoon managed with one decisive effort. He grabbed Haena’s wrist and hauled her upward. The zombie still clinging to her leg was dragged into the air with her.

“Ugh, let go of me! Please!”

At Kim Yoon’s signal, Han Min kicked the zombie.

“Krrr, kyaaaak!”

He recognized her. She had been known for mixing soju and beer extremely well at gatherings. Even with her grotesque appearance, traces of her living face remained, and Han Min’s legs nearly buckled.

“Han Min.”

The firm voice snapped him back. He scrubbed at his wet eyes, clenched his teeth, and swung his foot down hard.

“Kiheeeek!”

The monster clinging to Haena like a leech finally dropped. Kim Min pulled Haena into a tight hug and burst into long-suppressed tears.

“Huuh… Haena…”

“Am I dead? I’m standing right here, so why are you bawling?”

Despite her words, Haena’s eyes were already red. She waved a hand toward Han Min, who stood awkwardly nearby.

“Han Min, why are you standing there? Get over here.”

Even though he had changed his mind at the last moment, the guilt of having considered abandoning her lingered deeply. Han Min stood frozen under her warm, unwavering gaze until Jiwoo gently pushed his back.

“She’s waiting for you, Min.”

“Kkh…!”

Even if she asked him whether he tried to kill her, he wouldn’t have had an excuse. Yet she still looked at him with the same warmth. Han Min finally clung to her and cried.

“…Thank goodness.”

To Jiwoo, the friendship between the three shone so brightly it felt both amazing and worth protecting.

But he soon shifted his attention away and followed Kim Yoon with his eyes. He fiddled with the drink bottle he’d taken from the bag earlier. It was a vitamin C drink, according to the label.

There was fighting for survival all around them, but to Jiwoo, the one struggling the most was Kim Yoon.

Kim Yoon had already saved Ayoung, Dohoon, Haena, and several others. The bus roof that had felt spacious with four people now seemed cramped with so many survivors gathered.

“Kim Yoon, I think Yejin’s over here!”

Jiwoo wished he could rest even a little. He was terrified that Kim Yoon would collapse from exhaustion and be put in danger. As soon as he finished saving Haena, Kim Yoon was already walking toward Dohoon, who was calling for help again.

Jiwoo let out a small sigh and followed behind the broad back.

Kim Yoon had sensed Jiwoo’s presence for a while. The smaller boy seemed to think he was being quiet, but his lingering around was irritating.

Every time Kim Yoon glanced back, Jiwoo’s lips parted like he had something to say. The sight alone was frustrating, so Kim Yoon ignored him and approached Dohoon.

“Where?”

He had called for Yejin earlier, intending to pull her up. But she never managed to time it right. She would stick her head out for a moment, only to be yanked back inside. Honestly, he had assumed she was already dead.

He decided not to waste time waiting and started pulling up anyone he could reach instead. Just now, he had used his strength to save Haena. Even Kim Yoon wasn’t immune to exhaustion.

He stretched his aching right arm and pressed Dohoon again.

“Dohoon, where’d you see Yejin?”

“Uh, she was definitely coming out this way earlier. But she got dragged back inside. I think someone keeps stopping her…”

Dohoon’s voice wavered. He had abandoned his friend to save himself. If they failed to rescue Yejin now, living afterward would be unbearable.

“This is insane… Yejin! Han Yejin!”

Dohoon knew Kim Yoon couldn’t save only Yejin forever. Even now, cries for help echoed from every direction.

“Lee Jisoo! At this rate we’re both going to die! So let’s get out through that side together!”

Through the monster screams, Dohoon’s voice faintly reached Yejin. She made up her mind. If she stayed, they would both die.

Jisoo hadn’t grabbed Yejin’s hair out of spite, she just wanted to live. Neither of them had the luxury to keep fighting.

Almost simultaneously, both released their grips. There wasn’t even time to fix their wildly tangled hair.

“Kyaaaaak…!”

A monster lunged nearby. Yejin grabbed Jisoo’s wrist and yanked her.

She moved quickly, kicking the incoming monster in the stomach.

“Krrrik!”

Fortunately, even if monsters became stronger and faster, their weight didn’t increase. Since it had belonged to a girl around her size, the kick knocked it backward.

“Kyaaak!”

The problem was that as it fell, it bumped into another monster moving in the opposite direction. The second monster turned its head.

Its mouth was drenched with blood and flesh.

It was Sangjin.

He shoved aside the monster blocking his path. The one pushed back toppled over an empty seat, landing on top of a student hiding beneath it.

“U-ugh, ahhh…!”

The student tried to scramble up, but the monster’s jaws were faster.

“Let go! Please… let go of me…!”

Crying, the student grabbed at the monster’s hair, pulling desperately. But the creature’s teeth sank into the skin, scraping bone. The agony was indescribable. The student shook and clawed but the monster remained relentless.

It bit and tore until the hand looked like a rag. Then it lunged for the student’s tear-soaked cheek.

“Kkyaaaah…!”

Another chilling scream echoed through the bus. Yejin stared, tears spilling down her cheeks, as she watched a junior being devoured by a monster. If she hadn’t kicked that monster earlier, she might have been the one torn apart alive.

“Han Yejin, what are you doing! Get a grip!”

Jisoo grabbed Yejin’s shoulders and shook her. The two of them were waiting for the right moment, bodies pressed near the window, ready to slip out. Reaching the window had been good, except three monsters, once their friends, were now gathered right in front of it.

If they tried to climb out carelessly, one of those twisted sets of fingers might grab them and yank them straight to the ground. While they were hesitating, one student who had been trying to escape through the neighboring window was seized by a monster and dragged down.

“N-no! Help me, please… you guys…!”

With a face twisted in terror, the student looked up at Yejin and Jisoo, pleading. He reached desperately for them as if begging for a rope from the heavens, only for his fingertips to disappear into a monster’s mouth.

“Aaahhh…!”

The desperate scream slapped the air. The shriek of someone dying lured the monsters who had been inching toward Yejin and Jisoo. They swarmed over the fallen student, piling onto him. Their teeth sank mercilessly into his body, which was crushed like a dried fish beneath their weight.

His screams were swallowed by the monsters’ snarling. Yejin was frozen in shock.

“Kihiiiiik…!”

Sangjin lunged toward them.

“Kyaaah!”

Jisoo screamed and threw herself out through the window. They knew they shouldn’t provoke the monsters, but when death arrived right in front of them, such thoughts were useless.

Her body tilted backward. Yejin’s hand stretching toward her appeared in slow motion. Believing she would end up like the classmate now being devoured, torn apart and screaming, Jisoo could only cry.

“Lee Jisoo!”

Just when she had abandoned everything, a familiar voice called her name. She opened her eyes to see Kim Yoon reaching out. Her last chance.

Jisoo grabbed his hand. Her body flew upward, and her palm slapped against the icy metal of the bus exterior before she realized she was alive.

“Y-Yoon…”

She tried to thank him. Earlier, when Kyungtae had taken control of the bus interior, she hadn’t dared say a word. She liked Kim Yoon, but she didn’t want that feeling to drive her into danger.

But now that he had saved her life, the affection she kept buried ignited like wildfire. She reached out and grabbed his arm. She could feel the firm muscle beneath his jacket. Her cheeks flushed…
And Kim Yoon harshly shook her hand off.

His gaze was fixed on Yejin, still straddling the window frame and fighting to survive.

“Yejin! Grab my hand!”

“Hic… I want to, but…!”

Yejin kicked at Sangjin’s face with everything she had. Once he had recognized her as prey, Sangjin wouldn’t even glance elsewhere. Several students were still trapped inside, and those bitten by Sangjin had become monsters as well. The bus interior was absolute chaos.

“Kim Yoon, what do we do? At this rate Yejin’s really going to get bitten!”

Coming from someone who didn’t have the courage to go help himself. Dohoon clung to Kim Yoon like he was a universal problem-solver, chattering helplessly, and it made Kim Yoon’s eyes narrow in irritation.

After moving nonstop, his breathing had grown rough. His condition hadn’t been good to begin with, he hadn’t slept properly, and his body felt slow today. Even so, he had been running around like his feet were on fire, yet the situation showed no sign of ending.

Behind him, he could hear murmuring. Most of the people making noise were those he had saved. His patience was thinning.

If only he had a weapon. With one in his hand, he would smash those screeching monsters’ heads open until blood sprayed like a fountain.

A buried instinct boiled up inside him. His fist tightened until the bones rose sharply beneath the skin.

“Yoon, please save me…!”

Yejin begged through tears. Night had fallen completely. Without the faint light spilling from inside the bus, they wouldn’t even be able to see their own feet out here. Even the few streetlights scattered around the pension area were mysteriously dark.

The pension was in a remote place, but it was still a village. Some house, somewhere, should have been lit. Yet everything was darkness.

Which meant… no one outside could see what was happening here.

Even if everyone except him turned into monsters, the world would chalk it up as an unavoidable accident.

Events straight out of a movie were happening in real life. No one had been prepared. If the government had known this was coming, they would have taken action long ago.

Several students had called the police, countless others had tried reaching friends and family. But no one was coming.

Even though monsters shrieked, students died screaming, and survivors cried for help, there wasn’t a single sign of life anywhere near the road.

An overwhelming urge washed over him, to let it all happen. In just a few minutes, the ones inside would lose their remaining reason anyway.

Kim Yoon looked around the bus roof. Including himself, there were barely ten survivors left. If he walked over and kicked them off one by one, soon only he would remain.

But he shook his head, clearing his thoughts. The reason he didn’t act on every impulse was simple. If everyone here turned into monsters, even he couldn’t escape. Not without a machine gun.

“Didn’t know my will to live was this strong…”

The desire to survive barely outweighed his boredom and annoyance. That too might change before long.

“Haa…”

He exhaled deeply and looked toward Yejin, who was somehow still avoiding being bitten. Thankfully, she wasn’t the only prey left. Though Sangjin focused solely on Yejin, the other monsters scattered among the remaining students.