27. What Fell from the Sky. (3)

I have no thoughts.

Because I have no thoughts.

I don’t know what I’m looking at or why it’s here.

I’m holding a piece of paper.

An A4 sheet.

It doesn’t look like it was printed, but rather produced by a printer.

On the paper, a phone number is written.

[Please contact us]

Along with a short message.

And below the message and number:

A screen is drawn.

A glass wall.

And beyond the glass wall, a shattered side door.

The entrance to the mart, faintly visible through the glass.

The human beasts standing at the entrance.

A man, holding a sword, slicing through them.

…It’s me.

I’m printed on the paper.

Next to me, in front of me, So-hyeon, Ye-eun, Jeong-seo, and the others, including Mr. Hoon, are all staring at me with wide eyes.

Too many questions flood my mind, and I don’t know where to start.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“…Where did this come from?”

Han-tae, or rather, Ddungnae, answered.

“Bro, I was on the rooftop, and a small plane passed right above us. It was dropping something like rain, and when I looked, it was this.”

“…You mean a small plane?”

“Yes, bro.”

I bit my lower lip and looked down at the paper again.

The small planes that started appearing recently.

The ones that kept flying around the sky, dropping something.

They were dropping this.

They were dropping papers with me printed on them.

People are looking at me.

…I still don’t know what to say.

I looked at Han-tae.

“…Why were you on the rooftop?”

Han-tae hesitated, glancing at the others.

I slowly said,

“…Quit smoking. Or at least cut down.”

Han-tae nodded, looking down.

“Yes, bro.”

With the windows closed, the only place Han-tae could smoke was either the 5th or 6th floor or the rooftop.

Anyway.

That’s not the important part.

“…But why is this here…”

Murmuring, I looked at the people, and So-hyeon’s expression caught my attention.

…Ah.

…Ah!

So-hyeon!

This scene, it’s the one when I led the people into this building and cleared out the beasts at the entrance!

The person who recorded it with a phone was So-hyeon!

I looked at So-hyeon.

I don’t know what my expression is.

My eyes are angry, but my mouth is smiling.

“What did you do?”

So-hyeon glanced around nervously.

People’s attention was on her.

So-hyeon said,

“…I uploaded it to YouTube…”

YouTube.

YouTube?

YouTube?!

I searched my pocket and pulled out my phone.

So-hyeon handed me her phone, which already had YouTube open.

Taking her phone, I saw that it was indeed the video she had shown me before.

I pressed play.

People crowded around to watch the phone.

Bodies lining the streets.

I walked toward the bodies lying from the mart’s side door to the sidewalk.

My hand on the hilt of my sword, I walked without fear, my back turned, and stepped forward confidently.

Then, I started running.

I sprinted up the stairs and entered.

The human beasts turned their heads.

Roars echoed.

And, in an instant, I struck.

The sound was like a splash, with blood spurting from their heads, and the charging beasts fell motionless.

I stood there, drenched in blood.

Sword in both hands.

Head bowed slightly.

“…………”

I felt the renewed gaze of the people.

Even though they had seen me wield a sword several times, this scene was definitely awe-inspiring.

I avoided their gaze and looked down at the video.

Comments appeared.

[Good editing skills. But this is inappropriate for such times…]

[Impossible. It’s a lie.]

[If it’s real, please save us.]

[Don’t get your hopes up. Someone trapped at home edited this from a movie. Don’t fall for it.]

[Zombie crisis and superhero. While people starve to death. Yeah.]

[Why did you post this?]

…The comments are negative.

No one believes it.

I wouldn’t believe it either if I were them.

“…When did you upload it?”

So-hyeon smiled awkwardly and said,

“Probably the next day…?”

The next day…

Almost immediately after.

I handed back the phone and looked at the paper again.

…Please contact us.

I don’t know who printed and dropped these papers.

But I understand a few things.

This person believes the YouTube video.

And they have a rough idea of where the video was filmed.

So, they must have been flying around the city, dropping these papers.

They didn’t drop them directly on the mart building, perhaps thinking it was just a group that stopped by to farm.

They probably thought it was someone living nearby and kept dropping them around the area.

“Mr. Seong-hun, what will you do? Will you contact them?”

Jun-hyuk asked.

Mr. Hoon said,

“Sir, what if something goes wrong when you contact them? With all those beasts out there. If anything happens… this place is…”

…Mr. Hoon is right.

The zombie wave has occupied the city for ten days.

So far, we’ve had peaceful days.

But we can’t move rashly.

The beasts haven’t moved yet.

If we’re not careful, they might all swarm this building, and everything could end.

I looked out the window.

It was night.

The day’s work had ended hours ago.

It was well past bedtime.

But no one could sleep.

If I don’t say something, these people will keep waiting.

I took a deep breath and said,

“Let’s rest for today. I’ll think about contacting them while I sleep. Go to bed.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Yes, Mr. Seong-hun.”

The people bowed to me and returned to their rooms.

The next morning.

I went up to the rooftop with my bow, and people followed.

They wanted to know.

Whether I would contact them or not.

In this building, where we mostly eat, play, and have sex, this was probably the most interesting thing that had happened.

For some, it was the most concerning or worrying thing.

I put down two cylindrical quivers filled with arrows and turned around.

Everyone was looking at me.

“Bro, what will you do? Have you thought about it?”

“Mr. Seong-hun, please contact them. Okay?”

“But, I’m a bit worried…”

As So-hyeon spoke, others started chiming in.

By now, people knew that talking calmly on the rooftop wouldn’t provoke the zombie wave below, but having so many people chatting wasn’t ideal.

I raised my hand.

People quieted down.

“I’ll contact them.”

Everyone’s attention was on me.

I said,

“Mr. Hoon is right. We can’t risk anything. If they suggest coming here or anything, we should refuse. But we should at least ask who they are and why they’re dropping these papers.”

The reactions were varied.

Some nodded in agreement, while others looked worried.

I put my bow back in its quiver and took out my phone.

I dialed the number.

“…Phew.”

“Bro, speaker, speaker.”

So-hyeun waved her hand up and down.

People gathered as I turned on the speaker.

…Man.

Just one phone call, and everyone’s so worked up.

With people like this, I’m getting nervous too.

I cleared my throat and pressed the call button.

Calling.

The signal went through.

Just a plain ringtone.

A sound was heard.

The sound of the call being answered.

“Hello, who is this?”

A man.

A quite polite voice.

Hard to tell by voice alone, but maybe late 30s? Or older.

“I saw the flyer you dropped. I’m calling because I saw it. Where are you?”

“Ah, yes. The flyer.”

The tone became slightly tired.

“I apologize, but we are looking for the person with the sword in the flyer. If you’re calling to ask who that person is or if the video is real or fake, we have nothing to say.”

…Ah.

It seems they’ve received many calls.

Given how the flyers were dropped, and there are survivors out there, people probably picked them up and called.

The fatigue in his voice and tone suggests they’ve received many calls.

I said,

“I’m the person you’re looking for.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’m the one with the sword in the video.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

I heard some commotion.

After a moment, a voice spoke.

This time, it was a different person.

“Did you just say it’s you?”

A quite old voice.

Raspy and rough.

I answered,

“Yes.”

The old voice on the other end carefully asked,

“May I ask your name? And I would also like to confirm if the video is real or fake.”

I looked around at the people.

Jeong-seo.

Jeong-seo shook her head slowly.

I nodded and said,

“I can’t give you my name. I can only tell you that the video is real. But, where are you? Who are you, and why are you looking for me?”

The old voice answered,

“This is the Office of the President of the Republic of Korea.”