CTLI — Chapter 17

“Hyung, behind you!”

At Choi Dohyun’s voice, I turned and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The moment the shot rang out, the zombie dropped. I exhaled roughly, massaged my stiff neck, and looked around. The train station, where we’d once struggled against a flood of mutants, was almost cleared now.

“Is everyone all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“I’m okay too.”

As soon as we confirmed that all the nearby zombies were dead, Yoon Seohwa came trotting over and inspected both me and Choi Dohyun with sharp eyes. After sighing in relief, she looked up at the sky once, then declared that raindrops were falling and cheerfully marched back inside the station.

“If a monster appears, we should run straight to the plaza.”

Choi Dohyun had come up beside me and whispered carefully. I nodded, clenching and releasing the sweat-slicked fist in my hand. I thought about how miserable it would be to die crushed under a pile of debris.

“Hyung, try not to get hurt… But don’t worry. I’ll reset right away…”

“……”

I paused at the mention of turning back time. My shoulders stiffened briefly. I turned to him and exhaled slowly. He still didn’t know that even if I died, I would come back again.

“What if Yoon Seohwa dies?”

My quiet voice made Choi Dohyun stop this time and stare at me. He always had a smiling face, but when he occasionally looked at me with a blank expression, as if trying to read my intentions, it sent a cold shiver down my neck from the disconnect.

“Why do you ask, hyung?”

His slow reply made me narrow my eyes. Choi Dohyun licked his lips and brushed the corner of his mouth, then stepped closer, right up to me. In his eyes, I saw a careful inspection, as if analyzing me.

“I think it was wrong not to reset right after Yoon Seohwa died.”

“……”

“But hyung… I couldn’t make that decision lightly.”

“……”

“I’ll do my best… but you matter more to me.”

I wanted to ask why. From beginning to end, Choi Dohyun had been blindly loyal to me. He already knew I wouldn’t harm him. He stuck to my side as if it were the most natural thing in the world and never once tried to leave.

Forcing a nod, I walked past him and quickly followed after Yoon Seohwa, who was now ahead. I wondered what kind of presence I really was to him.

“This feels kind of crappy.”

Yoon Seohwa spoke with a sulky face once she realized I had approached.

“What’s bothering you?”

At the sound of my voice, as gentle as I could manage, Yoon Seohwa glanced up at me, then pointed to the electronic signboard. It was completely dark, with nothing written on it.

“This place used to be really lively, you know? Packed with people…”

“Yes.”

“But seeing a place I used to know look like this… it’s just… weird, I guess. It’s only just starting to feel real now. Even though it’s been months…”

She trailed off and let out a bitter smile. Her slouched shoulders looked pitiful, so I gently raised my hand and patted them. At my clumsy, awkward touch, Yoon Seohwa looked up at me with a sheepish smile and shook her head.

“It’s fine. I think I just spent too long underground. I thought once I came out, everything would go back to normal.”

“I see…”

“You know what, mister?”

Suddenly, with a mischievous grin that didn’t suit the mood, Yoon Seohwa beckoned me with a wave of her hand. I hesitated, glancing around.

There were no zombies. Choi Dohyun was carefully scanning the area, as if trying to estimate when the monster would form. Outside, the rain was gradually getting heavier. Only after checking everything around me, like I was worried about being seen, did I finally lean in close.

“My life’s surprisingly hard to kill.”

“……”

“So don’t worry too much, okay?”

She added that she could take care of herself just fine, smiling softly. I drew in my chin slightly and bit my lip. Maybe it was because I remembered how she died, but her words struck me as strangely ironic.

And the fact that she was saying this out loud only made it clearer: I must have been visibly worried about her. I felt proud of her words, but they left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“I understand. But you’re still a civilian.”

“That’s true, but I’ve survived just fine so far.”

“Yes, even so, please try not to take unnecessary risks.”

“I know. I just mean don’t stress yourself out too much. What good is it if you get hurt because of that?”

She wasn’t wrong.

Yoon Seohwa seemed satisfied to have said what she wanted, stretching her back and standing tall. I straightened up as well and turned my head. Choi Dohyun, who had been watching us both, came over with a friendly tone.

“Are you two done talking?”

He gave each of us a light pat on the back, then grabbed our hands and urged us to head up to the second floor. Naturally, Choi Dohyun led us to the customer waiting room. The sight of him scanning an A4 paper was so familiar by now that I didn’t think much of it and just sat down.

The room was a mess, covered in zombie blood and debris, but compared to the underground, it felt clean. I just wiped away a bit of blood splatter on my face and glanced outside.

“A monster will show up soon. Yoon Seohwa, where does the second-floor emergency exit lead?”

“Oh, it connects to the first floor and the train platform. But the employee hallway is faster than going that way. Also, what monster are you talking about?”

“Does it need a key to open?”

“The emergency exit does, but the staff hallway just needs a fingerprint. The platform entrance needs a passcode.”

“You know it?”

“Of course. I used to work here. Wouldn’t it be weirder if I didn’t? But what do you mean, a monster? There’s a monster here?”

She widened her eyes in surprise. Choi Dohyun gave a half-hearted nod while organizing the weapons he had carefully collected on the way to the station. He handed Yoon Seohwa a spare magazine and sighed.

“Sorry. If we need to evacuate, I think you’ll have to lead.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. I’m actually glad I can help.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Yoon Seohwa smoothly swapped out her magazine and stuffed the spare into her pocket with practiced hands.

I looked back and forth between them with a complicated expression. Huff, huff. Yoon Seohwa, perhaps feeling the tension, raised and lowered her shoulders with a grin. She seemed far more favorable toward Choi Dohyun, who had just tasked her with something dangerous, than toward me who only tried to protect her.

“……”

I turned silently toward the window. From the way they spoke earlier, I could understand why Choi Dohyun said they needed Yoon Seohwa. Even if they could “clear” this without her, it would likely be far more difficult without her help.

As I moistened my dry mouth, I noticed something in the distance: zombies beginning to gather and squirm.

“It’s started.”

“……Got it.”

Choi Dohyun glanced my way, nodded with a tense expression. Yoon Seohwa, confused at first, peeked outside and then went pale once she saw what we had. Her expression twisted with horror.

“What the hell… What is that…?”

I heard her mumbling and asked,

“Do you think we can follow the plan?”

“Of course.”

With a light smile, Choi Dohyun stepped outside first. As the writhing mass continued to form, he headed directly toward the escalator and, without hesitation, pulled out a grenade and threw it.

Boom!

The explosive hit the forming mass dead-on and sent up a plume of black smoke, but the monster only slowed its fusion for a moment. It didn’t die, nor did it seem heavily damaged.

“Let’s go.”

Yoon Seohwa, tense with fear, didn’t respond. We silently exited the waiting room and followed behind Choi Dohyun. The monster stretched out, groaning in a threatening tone.

“That’s not a zombie anymore…”

“No. You’ll probably be seeing more like that from now on.”

“…That’s kind of thrilling. I like it.”

Listening to her drawn-out voice, I raised my shotgun. I fired a shot into the monster’s forehead as it charged toward us, then quickly ran down the stairs. The monster staggered briefly, but only for a moment. Tsk. Choi Dohyun clicked his tongue and casually tossed the grenade upward in his hand, catching it again.

“We’ll need to find its weak point.”

“We’ll figure it out soon enough.”

At my words, Choi Dohyun nodded and sprinted outside. Having moved first, he became the monster’s target as it began chasing him, black saliva dripping from its jaws. Yoon Seohwa reached out in panic, but I stopped her and began walking forward slowly.

“We’ll stick to the rear and flank it.”

“…Got it.”

Only after the monster’s long tail disappeared outside did I dash out.

Bang! Bang! The sharp cracks of grenades and gunfire rang out in rapid succession. Choi Dohyun rolled calmly to the side and ducked behind a fountain for cover.

[Kyareureuk]

Maybe it was annoyed that prey much smaller than itself kept dodging so nimbly, but the monster whipped its tail violently. The fountain where Choi Dohyun had hidden shattered in an instant, and he scowled as he raised his gun and aimed at the monster again.

Choi Dohyun crawled out through the debris and dashed toward the taxi stand.

Bang!

As the trigger was pulled, the monster’s head snapped forward and black blood burst out. I hadn’t expected much—our weapons had been useless until now—but when its head exploded, I couldn’t hide my shock and instinctively narrowed my eyes.

“Get down!”