HMT Chapter 6 (Part 1)

Sacrifice

“What are you talking about? Munsu?”

Yoon was focused on the unknown figure, and Jiwoo was focused on Yoon. When Yoon saw something approaching no more than ten meters from the main gate, he murmured Munsu’s name. Dohoon came up beside him with a look that said it made no sense.

Why would Munsu, who left in the police car, be walking back? They had even tried calling him earlier. He didn’t answer, and everyone had been worried.

“…What? That really is Munsu.”

But as the silhouette came more into view, Dohoon’s face twisted in shock. The kids who had backed away in fear now gathered behind Yoon in a tight cluster.

Their eyes widened just like Dohoon’s. Even Jiwoo, who kept glancing at Yoon, found his attention drawn to Munsu. Munsu looked nothing like he had when he left the pension.

He was usually blunt, but his eyes had always been clear. Now, he looked like a man whose soul had leaked out of him. His staggering steps looked ready to collapse at any moment. When only a few steps remained between him and the gate, Kim Min pointed at him with a trembling arm.

“Th-that’s blood, right?”

Munsu’s entire body was drenched in blood. His department jacket was nowhere to be seen. Wet, half-dried blood darkened his gray tracksuit.

A droplet hanging from the ends of his hair fell onto his face. The droplet slid from his already-red nose, grazed his chin, then dropped to the ground.

“Munsu…”

Han Min called out in a pained voice. The unfocused eyes slowly rolled toward him.

“Eek…!”

It felt like a corpse was meeting his gaze. Han Min shuddered and stepped back while rubbing his arms.

Munsu’s lips moved soundlessly. Everyone held their breath as he slowly reached out his right arm. His face, normally distinctly masculine, was soaked in blood, to the point they couldn’t even tell if he looked pale.

The only part of his face that was still white were his eyes. Each time his eyelids fluttered, the blood caught on his lashes rolled down his cheeks like red tears.

“What do we do… Shouldn’t we open the door already?”

Anyone could see his condition was dire. Seeing the tall, swaying body made Kim Min’s eyes redden. He grabbed the chain wrapped around the gate, but his hands were too stiff to move.

“What’s going on there? Who came?”

While the kids hesitated, Sujae, sensing something was wrong, walked toward the gate. Then he saw the blood-soaked Munsu.

“What the hell? Isn’t that a zombie? Why are you all just standing there! If a zombie comes at you, you kill it!”

“He’s not a zombie!”

Kim Min snapped back. If Munsu were a zombie, he would’ve already lunged at them with a scream.

Zombies threw themselves at the living without caring how broken their bodies became. But Munsu was different. He was walking toward the pension at a snail’s pace.

He was covered in blood, his gaze unfocused, clearly showing he had gone through something terrible outside. He looked like he was in deep shock.

“You little brat, how dare you raise your voice at an adult! If he’s not a zombie, then what is he! Are you all out of your minds? Do you want to die?”

Sujae didn’t see a friend in danger. To him, Munsu was simply someone who needed to be killed at the first sign of infection.

And Sujae was already annoyed at the kids from what happened during dinner. He could feel their disrespectful gazes. It infuriated him. Strictly speaking, he was the one who arrived at the pension first. The kids were just luggage Sangpil brought in later.

Once Sangpil left with the food, Sujae grew anxious. There were too many mouths to feed, and he needed to survive until soldiers arrived.

The elderly couple, Hosan, and the useful police officers were one thing, but the students were just freeloaders who got lucky.

Now that Sangpil was gone, Sujae believed everything left in the pension belonged to him, since he’d been the closest to Sangpil.

He truly believed that. And now, the students were gathered at the gate staring stupidly at a zombie without killing it. His temper erupted.

“Who here wants to die? Open your eyes. Does he look like a zombie to you? Have you ever faced a zombie up close? If you had, you’d see he’s nothing like them.”

Haena shot back, her anger rising. Seeing Sujae’s face redden like a baked sweet potato, Dohoon stepped in to calm things.

“Sir, he’s not a zombie. If he were, he’d already be charging at us to bite us. Come closer and look. He’s just injured.”

“Look at what? Forget it. Hosan! Hosan! Get out here! Something’s wrong! These kids are crazy! They’re trying to get us all killed!”

Even after Dohoon’s explanation, Sujae only grew more hysterical. He called for Hosan in a loud voice. Unlike small-framed Sujae, Hosan was physically strong from regular workouts. Sujae fully expected him to take his side.

“What’s going on? And why are you yelling? What if zombies hear you?”

Hosan walked over, cigarette between his lips, frowning. He had always disliked Sujae’s selfishness, and his tone showed it.

He was already tense because he hadn’t been able to contact Sangpil since he left for Seoul.

As he dragged his feet toward Sujae, his cigarette dropped from his lips. He recognized the blood-covered figure. Munsu was tall, second only to Yoon, making him easy to remember. The fact that he had volunteered to see off those leaving with the police had earned Hosan’s goodwill.

“What happened? Why is he like that?”

Hosan walked past the flushed and frantic Sujae without acknowledging him. Sujae tried to grab his arm, but Hosan shook him off roughly.

“We don’t know… He just appeared. He can’t even talk. He must’ve gone through something awful…”

Kim Min said through shaky breaths. Hosan stared seriously at Munsu, then ran to the box of weapons. His loose sneakers slipped off halfway, so he threw them aside and ran barefoot.

He returned holding a sickle. The kids froze at the sudden aggression. One of Yoon’s eyebrows twitched. His empty hands felt too bare. He longed for the hammer that should’ve been in that same box.

“You kids open the chain and bring him inside. I’ll get ready in case something happens. Didn’t you hear the broadcasts? You can get infected even without being bitten. Whether the blood on him is human or zombie, it’s bad. If it’s zombie blood, it’s practically a bomb. It would mean zombie blood got into some wound.”

Tension thickened around them. Sujae puffed up proudly, pleased Hosan sided with him. Kim Min’s grip on the chain tightened until the bones on his hand turned white.

He hated it, but he couldn’t argue. Some people did turn slowly even after infection.

“What are you all waiting for? What if other zombies show up!”

Hosan barked at them. Yoon exhaled slowly and pushed his hair back.

“All right. He has a point. Dohoon, go get ready to wash off the blood on Munsu. There’s a hose connected in the yard.”

Dohoon ran off immediately. Yoon then walked to Kim Min and nodded at the chain.

“Let’s undo it together. The rest of you keep an eye on Munsu. Let us know if he does anything strange.”

The chain had been cut with pliers by Dongwoo earlier, leaving it tangled like a rope. Yoon and Kim Min worked together to unravel it while Munsu only blinked blankly.

If Hosan swings that at Munsu, he could die.

Jiwoo stared nervously at the sickle, then ran to the box and grabbed a familiar shovel. Even if Munsu became dangerous, a shovel was better than a blade.

Seeing him, Han Min and Haena also grabbed less-lethal tools. Ayoung backed away toward the pension, unable to bring herself to hold a weapon or face Munsu if he charged.

Clatter…

The chain finally slipped free with a clear sound. As the gate opened with a creak, Munsu collapsed forward.

“Munsu!”

Kim Min grabbed his arm in alarm. Yoon grabbed the other and jerked his chin toward the pool. The hose was there. Dohoon was already waiting with water running.

“Be careful. He might move suddenly.”

As Yoon and Kim Min carried the collapsed Munsu toward the pool, Hosan followed with a warning, gripping the sickle tightly. His eyes stayed sharp, watching for the slightest sign of movement.

“I seriously don’t get what’s wrong with all of you. Can’t you tell just by seeing him collapse? You have to kill him before he turns into a zombie!”

Too scared to follow, Sujae retreated toward the pension, complaining loudly. His brows were furrowed in utter disbelief. Inside, he even tried to shut the door. Just before it closed, Ayoung rushed over and grabbed the handle.

“I-I want to go inside too.”

“At least one of you understands. Guess you’re not all idiots.”

Knowing she was a girl and agreed with him, Sujae readily let her in.

“What is going on?”

The elderly couple in their seventies, who had been hiding quietly in the pension, approached them. Sujae pressed a finger to his lips, signaling them to stay silent. The couple nervously stood behind them, watching the entrance.

But from the door, they couldn’t see the pool area, only the wide-open front gate. Sujae stomped in frustration and cursed.

“Idiots. Why the hell would they leave the gate open?”

The darkness beyond the gate felt ominous. At any moment, it seemed like zombies might drag their feet toward them. Feeling threatened but unwilling to go close himself, he didn’t even consider running out to shut the gate.

Instead, he locked the pension door. To see outside, they had to use the small kitchen window above the counter. Sujae, Ayoung, and the elderly couple pressed their faces to the tiny opening.

“Damn it. I can’t see anything.”

The already limited visibility was even worse through the narrow window. Ayoung worried about her friends but wiped her sweaty palms on her pants. She couldn’t say it aloud, but she agreed with Sujae. Munsu wasn’t behaving like a zombie yet, but it felt like only a matter of time.

With so much blood covering his hair and clothes, how could he possibly be fine?

Still… please let everyone be safe.

Even though she had run away in fear, a part of her desperately hoped her friends were unharmed.

While Ayoung silently prayed for them, the pool area was turning into a flood of water. As soon as Yoon and Kim Min set Munsu near him, Dohoon aimed the hose at him.

A strong blast of water swept him from head to toe. Despite the force, nearly like getting hit with a bucket, Munsu’s tightly shut eyes didn’t even twitch. That lifeless stillness made Kim Min nervously bite his lip.

Then some of the water splashed across Kim Min’s ankle. He flinched at the shockingly cold temperature, shivering.

“Isn’t this water way too cold? He’s going to catch a cold like this…”

The weather was cold enough that every breath showed white. In this kind of weather, a few minutes soaked in cold water could give even a healthy person a bad fever.

And Munsu had clearly gone through something severe outside. Even a normally healthy person could have their body fall apart after such trauma. Dohoon shook his head at Kim Min’s worried voice.

“I don’t think there’s any hot water here. This is the best we can do.”

But taking him inside for a warm bath wasn’t an option either. Hosan was watching every inch of Munsu with a razor-sharp gaze. And Yoon was doing the same. Once most of the blood washed off, Yoon held out his hand toward Dohoon.

Understanding the signal, Dohoon turned off the water. The ground around them was soaked in pinkish puddles. Yoon knelt beside Munsu and lifted his clothes without hesitation, checking every mark on his skin.

“Shouldn’t we… do that inside?”

Kim Min still looked deeply worried. Haena had turned completely away the moment Yoon flipped up Munsu’s shirt.

“If we’re checking, we should be thorough.”

Yoon subtly signaled to Hosan. Hosan was still tense, holding the sickle without a hint of wavering.

If Munsu had even a single suspicious wound or bite, Hosan looked ready to strike instantly. Unable to argue, Kim Min sat opposite Yoon and helped inspect his body.

“There’s no bite. You see it too, right? He does have some scratches, but they’re all small. The longest one was under his inner shirt, so blood wouldn’t have reached it.”

Yoon even removed Munsu’s shoes and socks to show his bare feet to Hosan. Only then did Hosan exhale a long, shaking breath.

“…Thank goodness. Then we should bring him inside. Like the kid said, he’ll catch a cold. And I have questions for him once he wakes up.”

Everyone agreed on that. They had countless questions, why he returned alone, and why he was drenched in blood.

With his clothes soaked through, Yoon and Kim Min each slung one of Munsu’s arms over their shoulders again. Yoon was taller, while Kim Min was shorter, so Munsu’s body slanted heavily to one side. Seeing his legs drag, Han Min stepped behind and lifted them.

After a brief hesitation, Jiwoo pointed toward the gate.

“I’ll go lock the gate again. Haena, can you go upstairs and turn the heater up? So Munsu won’t get cold.”

“Okay.”

For once, Haena didn’t argue. After watching her head toward the pension, Jiwoo hurried to the gate. His hands trembled as he closed it and wrapped the chain tightly around it again.

He was relieved Munsu returned alive, but the thought of what might have happened to the others tangled heavily in his mind.

Once the gate was secured again, he returned to the room, where things were mostly settled.

The room was warm compared to outside. Seeing Munsu lying on the bare floor worried Jiwoo, so he quickly spread a blanket under him. He and Kim Min worked together to lift Munsu onto it.

“We’ll wipe him down from here, Sunbae. Thank you for your help.”

Kim Min bowed to Yoon, who patted his shoulder in acknowledgment. Meanwhile, a faint red stain spread across the bedding. It was from the tracksuit, now soaked dark grey from absorbing so much water and blood.

I shouldn’t have put the blanket down first.

Jiwoo flushed at his mistake, then went to the bathroom and grabbed all the towels from the cabinet.

“Min, here are the towels.”

“Thanks.”

Kim Min took the towel from Jiwoo. Han Min started by taking off Munsu’s clothes first. No matter how much they wiped, keeping the wet clothes on would only waste towels. For now, they would dry his body while he stayed in only his underclothes, then cover him with a blanket, and wash the dirty clothes somewhere else. Luckily, there were spare clothes in the room that would fit him.

As Kim Min and Han Min focused on wiping down Munsu’s body, Yoon grabbed Jiwoo and Dohoon by the arms and guided them outside the room.

In the living room stood Hosan and Haena. Yejin and Jisoo, who had been resting in the girls’ lodging, were also there. With so many people gathered, the small living room felt cramped. Yoon pointed toward the door.

“You girls go back to your lodging.”

Jisoo parted her lips as if she wanted to say something, but when Yoon turned his gaze away coldly, she lowered her head and followed Yejin out.

“You should go in and rest now too, sir. We’ll call you right away when Munsu wakes up.”

Yoon then asked Hosan to step aside as well.

“It’s better if you all stay in a different room for now. I’ll bring the key. Even if there’s no bite mark, the broadcast said blood can cause infection if it gets into a wound. Staying in the same space might be dangerous.”

Hosan still looked uneasy. Munsu had returned covered in blood. If that blood belonged to a zombie, the danger still existed. When Sangpil left, he had entrusted Hosan with the keys to the pension rooms. Hosan planned to bring them a room key from the upper floor in the same building.

“We’d really appreciate that. It feels reassuring having you with us. As you know… Sujae ajusshi doesn’t seem to like us very much.”

Yoon narrowed his eyes slightly as he mentioned Sujae. Hosan had been watching the tension between Sujae and the students. Though he understood some of why Sujae grumbled, he was in a position where he had no choice but to side with the kids because of Sangpil’s request.

“Don’t worry about that. Before he left, the owner called me aside and asked me personally to stay with you until the end.”

Unlike Sangpil, Hosan had no family he would risk his life to find. After growing tired of living in Seoul and moving to Gapyeong, he cut off the relationships he had once barely held onto. If anything, he wanted to help the kids, who still had their whole lives ahead of them. Sangpil recognized that and had asked him for this favor. Since the students were about his daughter’s age, they weighed heavily on Sangpil’s heart too. With Sangpil’s fate unknown, Hosan resolved to prioritize their survival.

“Wait here for a moment. I’ll bring the key.”

After Hosan left the room, Yoon pushed back his bangs and noticed Jiwoo standing in one corner. In front of him stood Dohoon, hands on his hips. The two of them looked like a teacher scolding a student.

“Why did you move him onto the blanket and make things more complicated? Didn’t you see his clothes were completely soaked? You should’ve wiped him first, then put the blanket down. You wash that blanket later.”

“…Yes. I will, sunbae.”

Yoon let out a laugh, as if at a loss for words. Hearing that, Dohoon turned his head toward him.

“Yoon, doesn’t his behavior frustrate you too? I get that you look after him because you went to the same high school, but don’t just keep it all in. Tell him. Earlier he just stood there holding a shovel, doing nothing useful. If no one says anything, how’s he going to function properly later in society?”

Society? In a world that might end any day now.

Even though the Minister of Defense told people not to worry, Yoon wasn’t an optimistic person. He wasn’t a big fan of zombie movies, but he had seen a few famous ones.

In every story, the details differed, but zombie viruses spread quickly for similar reasons. People were more selfish than expected, and there were always those who distrusted everything the government said.

The broadcast recommended staying indoors until soldiers arrived, but how many people would actually do that?

Maybe for a few days. But unless they had already stocked enough food, people would eventually come out as soon as supplies ran low.

And the virus had spread through Seoul and Gyeonggi, the two most densely populated regions in the country. If it had started somewhere less populated, maybe things would have been different. By now, the number of zombies had likely exceeded the number of soldiers by well over fifty percent.

Even for them, it hadn’t taken long for the two buses carrying his classmates and the freshmen to be destroyed. Only about eleven survived, and even then one person was missing and another was lying half-dead in a room.

Give it a week, and the world could collapse into anarchy. Everything once taken for granted would be overturned.

Once the system fell apart, going to school in the morning, going to work, forming new groups, maintaining hierarchy, following unwritten rules and social habits, every bit of everyday life would crumble.

That void would be filled with fear, terror, selfishness, hostility, and the desire to survive even at the cost of others.

Watching Dohoon act high-and-mighty about “society” while speaking down to Jiwoo in a world that might not have one next week made Yoon’s lips twitch on their own. That condescending tone irritated him. He had always known this side of Dohoon. But he kept him close because he was useful. Dohoon was desperate to get closer to him.

Even the slightest hint that he considered Dohoon a little more special than the others made his face flush, and he would eagerly handle the tasks Yoon found bothersome. He wasn’t even bad at it. To Yoon, Dohoon was nothing more than someone convenient to use.

“Yoon, say something. If you keep letting him act however he wants, he’ll get worse. He’s definitely going to cause a bigger problem later!”

Growing impatient with Yoon’s silence, Dohoon pressed him again. Among the survivors, he believed he was now the closest to Yoon. But watching Yoon and Jiwoo grow closer only made a petty jealousy claw at him.

Even in a world full of zombies, Yoon’s abilities were overwhelming. The image of zombies collapsing one after another under his hammer remained vivid. Yoon wasn’t just smart and sociable, he had the physical strength and decisiveness to eliminate zombies.

Rubbing his throbbing right arm with his left, Dohoon looked up at him. He had injured it when the bus braked sharply. It wasn’t broken, but the swelling caused sharp pain whenever he moved.

Until this crisis ended, the only person he believed could protect him was Yoon. And now that Munsu, the next strongest, was in that condition, Yoon was without question the most suitable leader.

“Hey, go wash the blanket already. Don’t just stand there watching while your sunbaes are talking.”

Even when pushed to say something, Yoon kept his mouth firmly shut, so Dohoon turned his attention to the easier target: Jiwoo. He jabbed Jiwoo’s shoulder with the tip of his index finger. Caught off guard, Jiwoo’s body lurched forward.

“…Ah.”

Unable to regain his balance, Jiwoo’s upper body tilted backward. In an instant, both his torso and legs lost their sense of stability. Jiwoo reflexively shut his eyes. He braced for the pain that would hit his tailbone, but instead of the hard floor, a broad chest caught him.

“Dohoon, why would you push someone like that? Jiwoo almost fell just now.”

“…Yoon sunbae…”

Dohoon had also panicked when Jiwoo suddenly stumbled. But the moment he saw Yoon scolding him, the irritation he’d been holding back sharpened.

“Don’t tell me… you actually like him?”

It was ridiculous, but Yoon’s behavior toward Jiwoo was undeniably strange. He was kind to everyone, yet always drew a clear boundary no one could cross. But with Jiwoo, he allowed him inside that boundary in subtle ways.

Yoon had never hugged Dohoon like that, never patted his head gently, never sided with him unconditionally even when he was wrong. It made no sense for him to care this much about Jiwoo unless he actually liked him.

People said Yoon looked after Jiwoo because he was his underclassman from high school, and because Jiwoo had followed him into the Korean University law department. But as far as Dohoon knew, plenty of students joined the law department because they admired Yoon.

Seeing him show none of that kindness to others but show it to Jiwoo alone made Dohoon grind his teeth.

The one hit hardest by his accusation was Jiwoo. He froze, forgetting entirely that he was in Yoon’s arms. He couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. The idea that someone could think Yoon liked him was unbelievable.

To Jiwoo, it was as shocking as if the world had flipped upside down. Ridiculous. Yoon was just being compassionate, like he had been in high school. He simply pitied people who looked helpless.

He needed to tell Dohoon that it wasn’t like that, that there was a misunderstanding… but his lips felt glued shut.

He didn’t even have the courage to check Yoon’s expression. If Yoon had a horrified look on his face… if Jiwoo saw that, he felt he wouldn’t even be able to nurse his one-sided love anymore. His shoulders curled in on themselves.

“Of course I like him.”

“…What…?”

The answer dropped on their heads like a stone. Both Jiwoo and Dohoon stared wide-eyed. Jiwoo’s knees lost strength again, and he leaned fully into Yoon. Something he never even imagined seeing in real life was unfolding before his eyes.

The thought of Yoon discovering his feelings versus hearing Yoon say he liked him.

Even yesterday, when Yoon casually mentioned he knew Jiwoo had followed him into the same university and department, Jiwoo had been shocked. But Jiwoo convinced himself that Yoon would never know his feelings weren’t just admiration but something darker, tinged with desire.

Since Jiwoo was leaning into Yoon, he couldn’t see Yoon’s expression. But he could clearly see the emotions on Dohoon’s face twisting. His brows scrunched. His eyes darted between Yoon and Jiwoo with raw disgust and contempt.

His expression was like he was staring at a piece of garbage covered in filth. Jiwoo’s lips trembled. His heart pounded wildly. He had to say something. Because of him, even Yoon was being dragged into something dirty.

“I wouldn’t dislike someone who followed me all the way into university. And Dohoon, I like you too. You know how much easier my student council work is because of you. As a friend, of course I like you. I appreciate you a lot.”

Yoon spoke before Jiwoo had the chance to defend himself. The emotions flooding Dohoon’s face quickly evaporated. In their place came satisfaction. Having confirmed that he and Jiwoo held similar value in Yoon’s eyes, Dohoon’s bristling attitude softened.

Dohoon shot Jiwoo a mocking glance behind his glasses, as if he could see all the tangled emotions swirling inside him.

“So Dohoon, don’t be too harsh on Jiwoo. Especially now, we need to get along. …There aren’t many of us left.”

At Yoon’s final comment, Dohoon nodded obediently. Just as Yoon said, their numbers had drastically dropped.