HMT Chapter 6 (Part 3)

“Jiwoo, you’re really upsetting me. I asked you yesterday not to avoid me, but today you won’t even look at me. So what else can I do? I’ll just have to keep you with me like this.”

“….”

Jiwoo had no words, even if he had ten mouths. He couldn’t shrug off Yoon’s arm weighing down his shoulder, and let himself be guided toward the one-floor building.

From inside, the muffled shouts of Dohoon and Sujae arguing spilled through the doorway.

“Who are you to check the food? You brats really lost your minds? Did everything I’ve said go in one ear and out the other? All this food is mine, how many times do I have to say it! I was the closest one to Sangpil, why are you sticking your noses in my business!”

“Who said this food is yours? Did you forget what the owner ajusshi said? He told us to share what’s left and survive until the military comes! Why are you making me repeat myself!”

“Shut up and get out. Not leaving? I swear…!”

Unable to win verbally, Sujae finally tried to use force. Dohoon flinched at the sudden aggression. Though smaller than Dohoon, Sujae’s twisted expression and wild energy made him look twice as fierce.

“Hong-ssi, if you’re going to keep acting selfish, then go back to the pension you used to run. I agree with these kids.”

“Hosan-ssi, really? You’re taking their side?”

Hosan arrived just then, a cigarette between his fingers, and backed Dohoon. He gestured for Yoon and Jiwoo, still standing by the door, to come inside. Yoon stepped in first, removing his shoes. Jiwoo followed and stood off to the side.

“You think I don’t know what happened to my pension? It’s a zombie den! My guests turned into zombies and infected everyone! You want me to die too?”

“But why do you keep stopping the kids from touching the food? You think zombies are the only thing that kills people? People die when they don’t eat too. We’re not even out of food yet. Being selfish right now won’t do.”

Sujae raged, but Hosan didn’t back down. He was ready to settle this argument once and for all.

When Hosan rolled up his sleeves to the elbow, Sujae immediately shrank back. Seeing no one around to support him, he shoved Hosan’s shoulder and stormed out of the pension.

“Fine! Do whatever you want! Just don’t come crying to me when the food runs out!”

Once he was gone, the pension fell quiet. Rubbing his brow, Hosan met Yoon’s eyes.

“You look like you’ve got something to say to me. Right?”

“Right. You really notice everything, ajusshi.”

In a calm tone, Yoon explained Munsu’s condition, that they needed fever medicine, that Dohoon would check the food supplies, and the tasks he had given to the others.

“No wonder… you really are sharp for a Korean University kid. I can’t just sit around either.”

Hosan began collecting empty bottles to fill with water for drinking and washing. Water, electricity, and heating were still working, but like Yoon said, they could fail at any time.

Unless the military really did wipe out the zombies quickly, as the Minister claimed, they had to assume the worst. That was how you increased your chances of survival.

“We got the medicine, so let’s go see Munsu.”

Fortunately, the pension had one first-aid kit. It held fever reducers, cold medicine, painkillers, disinfectant, cotton, bandages, ointment, just enough to use in an emergency.

Yoon grabbed Jiwoo’s arm, pulling him along. Jiwoo walked like a cow being led to slaughter.

Even when Yoon turned aside, all he saw of Jiwoo was the crown of his head and the round back of his skull. Jiwoo kept his head so low it was hard to see his plain, bespectacled face. Unconsciously, Yoon’s hand tightened around his arm. Unfortunately, it was the same arm he had grabbed hard the day before, and Jiwoo couldn’t bring himself to say it hurt, only his facial muscles scrunched in pain.

Yoon didn’t notice until they reached Room 201.

As he let go to open the door, Jiwoo swayed slightly. He regained balance quickly, but Yoon caught every bit of it.

“Hey, why are you stumbling? Are you hurt?”

“A-ah, it’s nothing.”

A faint crack formed between Yoon’s brows. When Jiwoo said nothing, it usually meant something was very wrong. After all the time Jiwoo had hovered around him, Yoon had learned plenty about how he behaved.

“Let me see your arm.”

Before Jiwoo could stop him, Yoon grabbed his left sleeve and yanked it up in one motion.

As Jiwoo’s arm was exposed, Yoon’s gaze turned icy.

“Our little hoobae… really…”

You’re a damn expert at ruining my mood.

Yoon’s expression cracked slightly when he saw the blotchy handprints all over Jiwoo’s pale arm. He swallowed whatever he was about to say and pulled the sleeve back down. He already knew Jiwoo was the type to endure things, but today it was frustrating enough to make him sigh.

Why did he keep caring about this brat.

He could have ignored the marks, but they prickled at him like a painful thorn on his tongue. And of all things, the pension didn’t have ointment for bruises. He didn’t think he’d grabbed him that hard, but Jiwoo’s skin was more delicate than expected.

“If someone else does that to you, tell them it hurts. Tell them not to. They won’t know unless you say something.”

Leaving only that, Yoon stepped into Room 201 first. Jiwoo looked at the door, the key still stuck in the knob, and gently touched his wrist where Yoon’s warmth lingered.

If it had been anyone else who grabbed him like that, Jiwoo would have told them to let go right away. But because it was Yoon, he felt a strange urge to endure even the pain. Even the mark on his arm felt like something he didn’t mind receiving. Everything Yoon gave him felt precious.

Sunbae seems angry…

The voice Yoon used before stepping in had been colder than yesterday. Jiwoo knew his own frustrating behavior must have upset him. Yoon might have felt bothered for hurting him without meaning to.

Even if he was angry, the words he said were sincere advice. Jiwoo could feel the genuine worry behind them, a fear that Jiwoo might get hurt by others because he never spoke up.

Will he notice how I feel if I don’t say anything…

The words about how people don’t know unless you speak had a different impact on Jiwoo. He never wanted Yoon to find out how he felt. To Yoon, he wanted to remain nothing more than the underclassman who admired him enough to follow him into the same university, the same department.

That way, he wouldn’t hope for anything beyond his station.

If only my heart listened to me…

He couldn’t tell whether the throbbing came from his arm or his chest. Jiwoo sighed quietly and grabbed the doorknob. If he stayed with Yoon any longer, he’d only upset him again. He planned to tell Haena and Han Min that he would take over watching Munsu.

But before he could speak, a shout broke out.

“Munsu!”

The urgent voice spilled out through the half-open door. Jiwoo hurriedly took off his shoes and rushed inside. The one shouting was Han Min, staring at the awakening Munsu with teary eyes.

“Are you okay? Do you know where you are?”

Haena wiped Munsu’s forehead with a towel as she spoke. Yoon stood leaning against the doorframe, watching. When he noticed Munsu trying to speak, Han Min removed the towel stuffed into his mouth.

“…dangerous.”

That was all Munsu managed. Just saying those three syllables exhausted him, and he closed his half-open eyes again.

His pinched brow looked unstable. The first thing he said after waking was a warning,and a vague one at that. Haena and Han Min exchanged worried looks. Han Min grabbed Munsu’s shoulders and shook him.

“Munsu, I know it’s hard, but try to wake up. Why did you come back alone? What happened to the owner ajusshi and Minji? And the police?”

They knew he was struggling, but time was urgent. The people who left hadn’t answered a single call. Only Munsu knew what had happened. If he passed out again, no one knew when he’d wake up.

Munsu’s eyelids twitched at Han Min’s question, but that was all.

“This won’t work. Han Min, let’s sit him up against the wall. He’ll come around faster.”

“Yeah, that’s better.”

Han Min slipped his arm under Munsu’s back and lifted him.

“I’ll help.”

Yoon, who’d been watching, stepped forward. Haena propped a pillow against the wall. With Yoon and Han Min’s help, Munsu leaned back against it. Han Min kept a hand on his shoulder to stop him from collapsing forward.

“Here’s water.”

Not wanting to stand uselessly, Jiwoo handed Haena a bottle. She opened it and pressed it to Munsu’s lips.

“Come on, Munsu, drink a little.”

Thankfully, Munsu swallowed the water. His throat bobbed several times.

“Haa…”

He let out a long breath and lifted his eyelids. His clouded eyes stared blankly at everyone gathered.

“You want more water?”

“…I’m fine.”

His voice was hoarse, but he was at least coherent now. Everyone watched his lips carefully, waiting for him to speak again.

“Why is it so noisy outside?”

Even with the windows closed, murmuring voices could be heard. Jiwoo hurried to the window. His lips parted at the sight outside.

“…the police are back.”

“What? The police? The same ones who left with the owner?”

“I think so. But…”

Jiwoo trailed off, unable to finish.

“Agh, just say it. What is it?”

As Haena pressed him, Yoon stepped beside Jiwoo. His eyes narrowed at what he saw.

“Guys, I think things just got really bad.”

With both Jiwoo and Yoon speaking vaguely, Haena and Han Min finally stood to look.

From the moment the word police was mentioned, Munsu had been trembling, barely able to breathe. And when they looked outside, they understood why.

“That guy… he’s holding Dohoon sunbae hostage, isn’t he? And that thing pointed at his head, that’s a gun, right?”

Han Min’s voice trembled as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Of the two familiar-faced officers, one had Dohoon in a chokehold, and the other was aiming a taser gun at the people gathered on the first floor, shouting something they couldn’t hear.

The police car parked inside the open front gate was splattered with so much blood its original color was barely visible.

Then it happened.

As soon as one of the officers shifted his gaze upward, Yoon ducked and yanked the kids beside him to the floor.

“Ah, sunbae, that hurts.”

Thrown to the floor without warning, Haena grimaced. Han Min didn’t even seem to feel the pain; he only blinked slowly. He was finally beginning to grasp that something impossible was happening. His shaken gaze drifted toward Munsu, who was trembling, pale as a sheet.

“Munsu, don’t tell me… when you said it was dangerous, you meant those cops? What on earth happened!”

Han Min grabbed Munsu’s shoulders tightly. Munsu’s sweat-soaked eyelashes trembled as he forced out words like someone being choked.

“E-everyone died… we didn’t even have time to stop it… I tried, Minji… I wanted to save her somehow…”

It was the first time anyone had seen Munsu collapse like this. After Yoon, he was the strongest support among the students. Quiet, not crude like many boys his age, loyal, hardworking, many of their classmates saw him as an older brother.

Han Min was one of them. And now this reliable Munsu was shaking and unable to speak properly.

“Munsu, are you saying those cops killed everyone? The owner ajusshi, the people who left with you, and even Minji?”

Instead of the stunned Han Min, Yoon calmly organized Munsu’s fragmented words. Munsu squeezed his eyes shut and nodded. Darkness filled his mind the moment his vision cut off.

Everything had gone smoothly when they first left the pension. Munsu sat in the back of the police car with the two officers, one driving and one in the passenger seat. He gripped the sickle he’d brought just in case, swallowing dryly over and over.

Seeing that, Jaemin looked at him in the rearview mirror and spoke gently.

‘Kid, don’t be so scared. Me and Lieutenant Hwang have done this plenty of times. Rotating zombies and shaking them off isn’t as hard as you think. No matter how fast they run, they can’t outrun a car. They can only bite people, they can’t chew through metal.’

Unlike Doochan, who looked mid-40s, Jaemin seemed late 20s, so he was easier to talk to. Just as Munsu began to ease up, another police car appeared ahead.

And that was when the nightmare started.

The smile vanished from Jaemin’s face. The siren wasn’t on yet because the zombies ahead weren’t numerous enough to be a threat. The owner ajusshi and Minji’s SUV followed carefully behind.

The road was a single, uneven lane with barely any asphalt, so the two police cars had to stop facing each other. The silence in their car was heavy. Munsu didn’t understand why the other officers’ expressions looked so grim when they’d met fellow police.

Tap, tap, tap.

Someone knocked on the driver-side window.

‘Hello.’

The window lowered, and a man wearing the same style of uniform as Doochan saluted with a hand near his eyebrow. He looked about Doochan’s age. Munsu naively thought things would go more smoothly with more officers joining them.

But things went wrong the moment confusion flickered across the new officer’s face.

‘Where did you come from? One of the nearby substations lost all contact, so…. wait, Hwang Doochan…? The Lieutenant Hwang I know…’

Bang.

Before the officer could finish, a sharp gunshot shattered the air.

‘Who the hell are you? Why are you pretending to be Lieutenant Hwang?’

‘And what if you did know? That bastard’s rotting in his underwear by now.’

‘What?’

Doochan’s first shot had been a blank. The shocked officer stumbled back and drew his gun to point at Doochan, but he was a beat too slow.

Bang.

A sharper crack struck Munsu’s eardrums. The officer collapsed backward, a hole in his forehead, his empty eyes unreal.

“Hey, what are you doing! What if there are more cops in the car!”

Jaemin shouted from the passenger seat. Doochan, no, whoever he really was, pointed his gun at Jaemin’s forehead.

‘Shut up. I was getting sick of pretending to be a cop anyway. Once the soldiers show up, we’ll be exposed. So we kill everyone here and run. And can’t you tell he’s alone? He got out of the car by himself.’

‘Fine, fine… okay, okay. Point that somewhere else, will you? My forehead’s burning.’

Jaemin raised his hands in surrender. The impostor stepped out of the car, snatched the dead officer’s weapon, and tossed it to Jaemin. His face showed no hint of remorse.

‘Finish this kid. I’ll take care of the rest.’

Leaving that command behind, the man headed toward the SUV carrying Sangpil. Munsu still couldn’t move. The man he thought was a cop had killed a cop.

What did he mean by “take care of the rest”?

Even in a world like this, Munsu had never seen a human kill another human. Zombies had once been people, but they weren’t anymore. Their appearance and behavior made that clear.

Now he realized monsters weren’t the only ones who killed humans. Humans could just as easily kill each other. A cold fear spread through him stronger than anything he’d felt facing a zombie.

‘Damn it. Things got fucked.’

Jaemin’s eyes changed. Fiddling with the gun he’d been thrown, he glanced at Munsu and smirked.

‘Hey, don’t just sit there like a log. Struggle a little. It’ll get my blood pumping.’

Complaining under his breath, he handled the gun awkwardly, unlike Doochan who’d been skilled with it. He frowned, dissatisfied.

‘I prefer knives…’

His finger twitched loosely on the trigger.

Bang.

The bullet grazed right past Munsu’s head. He snapped back to life.

If I stay here, I’ll die.

These men were more dangerous than zombies. They were going to kill him, kill Minji, kill the people who’d helped them.

He flung open the back door and sprinted. Behind him, the door slammed and curses rang out.

‘Kuh, cough…’

‘Kyaaak!’

‘S-save me… why are you doing this…’

A hellscape unfolded before Munsu’s eyes. The man with the gun slaughtered people without mercy. Each time a shot rang out, someone died without exception.

The air was filled with the noise of the dead, the dying, those screaming in terror, and those begging for their lives.

Among them, seeing Sangpil clutching his chest and vomiting blood in thick spurts made Munsu grit his teeth.

He and his friends were alive because of this man. If Sangpil hadn’t saved them, they would not have lasted long on top of that bus in the middle of winter, frozen to death, starved to death, or torn apart by the zombies. Either way, they would be dead.

But now, the man who had been practically their lifesaver was dying, and Munsu could do nothing. The crushing shame suffocated him. Then the gunman spotted him and swung the muzzle toward him.

‘That idiot. Can’t even do the one thing he was told.’

‘Don’t insult me. I can hear you, you know? What do you expect when it’s my first time using a gun? You being so good at shooting is what’s weird here!’

Their voices drifted as if from far away. The sight of the barrel pointed exactly at his forehead rooted Munsu to the ground. He needed to run, but his body wouldn’t move. His gaze locked with Minji’s terrified eyes.

Click.

‘What the… out of bullets already? Hey, hand me the gun. You weren’t going to hit anything anyway.’

‘Now you want it back? Seriously?’

By some miracle, the gun clicked empty. Realizing that hesitating again would mean certain death…

Thud!

‘You little…!’

Munsu lunged at the man. He had the better physique, and the man stumbled backward and landed hard on his backside.

‘Oh, now this is fun. Kid, I don’t enjoy killing things that just tremble. The thrill only comes when they fight back and thrash around.’

‘Quit talking nonsense and grab him!’

Ignoring the men yelling behind him, Munsu jumped from the car and seized Minji’s trembling wrist.

Then he ran.

He knew others were still alive, but the only thing he could do was escape with Minji.

‘Kraaak!’

The chaos had drawn zombies toward them. A zombie lunged from the front and Munsu kicked it in the gut, sprinting across the dirt road.

The frozen, half-iced ground was slippery even though it was dirt. He punched his thigh to keep his legs from giving out.

Thank god he’d memorized the road while riding in the car. The path back to the pension formed clearly in his mind. He had to warn his friends. The “police” weren’t police, they were murderers.

Those men planned to kill everyone here and then return to the pension and kill the others too. Munsu had survived while countless friends and sunbaes died. He couldn’t die here.

‘Damn zombie bastards.’

The only upside was that the zombies were slowing the murderers down. There were so many it made Munsu wonder where they’d been hiding.

‘Hic… M-Munsu, my leg… it’s cramping…’

Minji, who had been almost dragged along, faltered. Her calf seized up painfully. She turned back with a terrified expression.

‘You two, stop right there!’

‘Heh. Run further. Make it fun for us.’

The two men in police uniforms were chasing them like fiends.

‘Minji, get on my back. Hurry!’

Munsu crouched without hesitation. Minji hesitated only a second before grabbing his shoulders. Her tear-filled eyes shone clearly for that brief moment.

‘If we keep this up, we’ll both be caught… You should live, Munsu.’

‘What?’

Before Munsu could process her words, Minji shoved him down the slope.

She crashed into him hard, sending him rolling down the incline. Then she grabbed a rock from the ground.

Her time in the baseball club had paid off. The rock arced through the air and struck Jaemin square in the forehead.

‘You bitch!’

Bang!

Jaemin’s scream and the gunshot echoed almost at the same moment.

‘Kh…!’

With a final cry, Minji’s body collapsed.

Munsu fell into a rice paddy filled with rotting corpses. Buried in the pile of bodies, he could do nothing but listen as his friend died. He instinctively burrowed deeper under the corpses. The stench was overwhelming, but he covered his mouth and held back his gagging.

‘Where the hell did he go?’

‘Ungrateful little shit… How dare he…!’

The two men’s voices moved around erratically. The younger one’s breathing was ragged. The sickening, wet crunching sounds made Munsu clench his eyes shut. Minji’s dying groans finally fell silent.

The void was filled by the growing chorus of zombie shrieks.

‘Krrrk!’

‘Kraaah! Kaaak!’

‘Khaaaak!’

Tears streamed from Munsu’s tightly shut eyes. Murderers and zombies alike were swarming the area. Minji had sacrificed herself for him. He had to survive somehow, but everything around him felt hopeless.

‘Ajusshi! We need to move! There’s too many zombies!’

‘That brat’s not dead yet. If we don’t finish him, he’ll come back to haunt us.’

‘If we deal with him now, we’re the ones who’ll die!’

Their arguing drifted farther away. Munsu stayed hidden, silent, until even the zombies’ howls faded. The bodies around him hid his scent and form.

Even after the noise vanished, he couldn’t move for a long time.

Eventually, even the stench rotted into his mind. He could not shake the sounds of Sangpil dying, nor Minji’s last struggling breaths as she sacrificed herself.

Only when the blood soaking his body began to dry did Munsu crawl out of the corpse pile. He saw the slope he had fallen down. As he crawled upward, Minji’s crushed face came into view.

After that, his memories came in fragments.

Somehow, he staggered toward the pension, thinking only that he needed to warn the others.

He encountered a few zombies wandering the road, but instead of attacking, they only staggered past. Sometimes he found corpses on the ground; when he did, he smeared their rotten blood on his clothes and skin.

By the time the sun set, the sky burning red and the cold night air wrapping around him, he thought he glimpsed familiar faces through metal bars.

Then blackness swallowed him whole.

After struggling inside that nightmare for what felt like forever, Munsu finally regained consciousness.