episode_0003

It was lucky. That’s the only way to put it.

A virus suddenly emerged one day, centered around the metropolitan area. Half of the population turned into zombies in an instant, tearing apart their friends, colleagues, lovers, parents, and children.

To make matters worse, there were nuclear bomb attacks from North Korea and zombies flooding down like a wave from the north. Without any proper response, both the military and the metropolitan area were devastated.

Ian and his childhood friend, Cha Do-ah, were having a meal in a commercial building. It was the same scene there. People with bloodshot eyes crazily devouring those sitting next to them.

Those who were bitten soon had their eyes turn red and rushed towards other victims. Ian, desperately wielding a chair to protect Do-ah in the chaos. Suddenly, the building collapsed.

Fortunately, the building only partially collapsed, and they were unharmed. By chance, they met their high school classmate, Ha Ji-yoo, who was training in the same building’s dojo, and the three somehow managed to survive by joining forces.

Adjacent to the collapsed area was a large convenience store, where they sustained themselves with its food and cleared the debris in the direction of the incoming wind.

After several days, miraculously emerging back into the world, Seoul was already in ruins.

“We were really lucky… that’s all…”

Ian smiled bitterly. The flickering flames cast shadows on his face.

In the dark living room without electricity, Ian relied on a faint candlelight to finish his story.

Listening to his story, I felt like I could understand why Yoon Si-woo stole the food and ran away.

Cha Do-ah, sticking close to Ian like a scared puppy, nervously glanced at me.

Despite telling her not to worry, Ha Ji-yoo continued to patrol near the window, keeping an eye on the surroundings. Of course, I was also included in her surveillance. Whenever Ha Ji-yoo’s gaze brushed past me, I felt a chilling sensation under my chin.

Ian himself still seemed slightly excited by the first survivor he had met…

An awkward tension hung in the air. If Ian hadn’t been there, I would have been left behind.

A sense of unease crept in. Well, even if I hadn’t been there, they would have managed just fine, but being in the early stages, I could see many shortcomings.

It started with choosing a place to stay. When the group decided to enter the apartment building because there were fewer zombies nearby, I stretched out my arms to stop them.

“It’s dangerous.”

“?”

The three looked at me with puzzled expressions.

“High-rise buildings are dangerous. If you settle on the upper floors, you’ll have limited escape routes if zombies swarm in. Plus, zombies are sensitive to noise. If one screams, all the zombies in the building might come rushing in.”

The three seemed unaware of this. Ha Ji-yoo was the first to break the silence. She turned her head and spoke up.

“Hmph, even if a few slow ones come at me, I can handle them.”

Perhaps caught off guard by the unexpected remark from the one she had ignored, her cheeks were slightly flushed.

It was surprising. Was this her true personality? I hadn’t paid much attention to her character, as she was likely to die early on, but more than that…

“No, Si-woo is right. When we faintly heard gunshots during the day, most of the nearby zombies headed in that direction.”

Ian’s words were immediately met with nods of agreement from Ha Ji-yoo.

As expected… it’s a matter of perspective… Even if their appearance and physicality make sense, it was still unpleasant.

After that, Ian took the lead in actively considering my opinions and together, we set out to find a place to stay.

“That house over there seems suitable.”

I pointed my finger straight ahead to an old two-story detached house located in the villa complex. There were quite a few zombies on the front road, and three of them were shuffling around in the small yard.

“Are there too many zombies nearby?” Ian asked, tilting his head.

“Look, the wall is quite high. If we just take care of the ones in the yard, the zombies won’t be able to spot us. There are no broken windows, and the door is securely closed. It’s likely that the owner wasn’t home when the situation occurred. There might be useful things inside,” I explained.

“Yeah, that makes sense…”

“And in old houses like this without separate stairs to the rooftop, there should be a ladder somewhere. If things go south, we can escape by hanging a ladder from that second-floor window to the adjacent building.”

As I finished speaking, Ian’s eyes looked different as he expressed genuine admiration.

“But Siwoo, how do you know all this so well?”

Well, I just followed what you did.

Of course, I couldn’t say that, so I evaded the question.

“Haha, I’ve watched a lot of movies and novels about zombies.”

In reality, the only thing I had seen was the original novel of this world…

Feeling embarrassed, I muttered to myself to lighten the mood.

“Um… now, how do we take care of those zombies without making any noise?”

Although I said this, I already had a plan in my mind. It wasn’t anything grand, just me going down and subduing the three of them.

I didn’t have confidence in acting stealthily, but for now, this was the best option. What could they do even if they suspected me?

“Alright, then I’ll…”

“I’ll go.”

Interrupting me, Hajiyu darted ahead.

“Huh? Uh, uh? This is the third floor.”

Looking flustered, I glanced at Ian, but he just shook his head as if he couldn’t stop her and patted my shoulder as if to understand.

What? Do you feel competitive with me? If you act recklessly like that and get into an accident…

My last thought was cut off.

With cat-like agility, Hajiyu stepped on the wall and landed in the yard.

Thud, it wasn’t loud, but there was a distinct sound. I furrowed my brows.

Zombies. Individually, they weren’t that strong. What made them scary was the fact that they came in hordes.

When one zombie recognized a human and screamed while rushing towards them, the others attracted by the chain reaction would also scream at the sight of the human, and the cycle would continue, gradually attracting more zombies.

It didn’t matter what noise I made, the zombies would just look at me, so it didn’t matter, but Hajiyu…

As expected, the landing sound wasn’t small, and a zombie nearby turned towards Hajiyu.

Damn, now not only do I have to abandon the shelter I found, but I also have to figure out how to save Hajiyu. Did my reckless behavior create another danger? I pondered.

She wasn’t visible. In the blink of an eye, a zombie’s neck shot up into the air where the flash had passed. Without time to be surprised, Hajiyu ran out.

Almost simultaneously, the bodies and heads of the remaining two zombies separated from each other where the light had passed.

Almost simultaneously, three heads fell to the ground.

I could only gape in shock.

Anyway, the character who dies in the early stages and becomes useless when the weapon changes to a firearm, so I wasn’t paying attention. Ah, that’s why they were balancing the power and quickly exiting.

“I get surprised every time I see it.”

I unknowingly nodded my head at Ian’s voice.

Yeah, I was surprised too. Above all, the way she moved so agilely with that big chest.

And when she jumped, I accidentally saw it. The pure white panties with a cat character that didn’t match her personality…

“Should we move too?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah.”

At Ian’s words, I brushed off the memorable scene and looked down.

The distance between the 3rd floor of the current building and the adjacent building was close enough to consider jumping, but the problem was landing on the ground.

If I misstep and even twist my ankle, it would be a disaster. Ideally, I just wanted to go down the stairs and enter through the main entrance… but I wanted to hide my abilities as much as possible…

“Are you okay?”

I quickly turned to Ian. It wasn’t a mocking look, but a genuinely concerned gaze. Only then did I realize that cold sweat was running down my spine.

Gritting my teeth, I couldn’t hesitate in moments of danger. I stepped on the window sill and leaped. My body floated lighter than I expected. Steadily stepping on the ledge, all I had to do was land…

With a sliding sensation, my foot suddenly lifted into the air. My body spun half a circle. It was like diving headfirst into the ground.

I suppressed the urge to scream that was about to burst out. I might be fine, but if a zombie attracted attention to our group, it would be a big problem. I couldn’t afford to play such a prank.

Sensing trouble, I instinctively closed my eyes to prepare for the impending impact.

But instead of a shock, what I felt in my head was…

Thud-

An airbag boasting incredible cushioning.

I was then enveloped in something soft and toppled onto the ground.

“Ugh-.”

With a low groan, I shook my dizzy head to assess the situation. The impact wasn’t as severe as I thought. So, the soft something that wrapped around me and cushioned my fall… Ah!

I immediately lifted my head. The wide embrace that surrounded my head. Contrasted with it was the owner’s cold voice.

“Move.”

Feeling as if a knife was pressed against my neck, I quickly got up.

“Uh, cough. S-Sorry.”

With a slightly annoyed expression, Hajiyu got up and glared at me with cat-like eyes.

“If you don’t have the ability, don’t act tough.”

Damn it… even though this is where I found it. What nonsense. I won’t spare you later.

Anyway, I had to quietly shut my mouth since I almost played a prank and received help.

Looking up, Ian was wiping his chest with a look of resignation.

But the real problem was Chadoa. As the people around him died, he awakened and became stronger, so he was literally a burden now.

I wondered how he would cross, but surprisingly, he followed easily. Just by being carried on Ian’s back.

Ian effortlessly threw the burden first, then carried Chadoa on his back and landed smoothly on the ledge. He then gently lowered Chadoa down and descended to the ground himself.

I had forgotten about Ian’s impressive physical abilities, just like Hajiyu’s monstrous movements. He just specialized in a different way.

As Ian approached me, I thought he was going to say something about what just happened, but that wasn’t the case.

“Understand, even though Jiyou may seem strict on the outside, he’s warm on the inside.”

I just dryly nodded my head.

That must be just for you.