episode_0025

The group showed their agreement with my suggestion to move.

I felt awkward, as if the small kindness I showed in an extreme situation was overly appreciated.

But from the perspective of someone making demands on the group, it was fortunate.

I hoped that their soaring morale wouldn’t easily break.

First, before setting off, I made quick preparations.

Tearing up jeans to create makeshift armor.

Simple, like I did for Dong-woo, but effective.

It was rudimentary and didn’t look great, but it was better than nothing.

However, the reaction was surprisingly positive.

Perhaps it provided a reassuring feeling of protection, as I could see determination in their eyes. At the same time, a sense of tension also settled in, as they seemed to realize they were truly about to go outside.

The will to live, the desire to try. The fear and tension of walking into danger.

Conflicting emotions mixed, making the atmosphere in the space slightly heavy, and everyone’s chatter gradually subsided.

While everyone composed themselves, I repacked the water and food that had been laid out.

I took the heaviest duffel bag, and the relatively lighter bags were given to the burly Young-cheol.

Everyone except the elderly couple was given a crowbar.

I took the lead. Behind me, Dong-woo and Jihyeok assisted the elderly couple.

Behind them were Shia and Bomi. Young-cheol and Byeongsu brought up the rear.

The preparations were complete, but I was worried about how much strength they could muster.

Everyone had consumed water and food but hadn’t rested much.

Marching with weakened stamina, not yet recovered, would be too much.

There were also frail elderly people among us.

No matter how much I might rampage, if someone collapsed midway, it would be a huge problem.

Overall, the situation was unfavorable for us.

*I just have to avoid overdoing it.*

If I’m taking on the risk, I don’t push myself too hard.

I execute what I can, one step at a time.

If it’s complicated, I untangle the twisted thread and approach it simply.

A lesson I learned myself in the past to survive.

Simple is best.

Keep it simple.

“We’re going to walk outside and find a place to hide.”

When I briefly told the ready group, their unspoken looks conveyed a response of ‘Surely, that’s the plan?’

“Everyone is weak, so we will move slowly. We’ll match the pace of the two elderly people. Dong-woo and Kim Jihyeok, please assist them. Also, a long distance is too much, so we’ll go somewhere close. And to properly rest, we’re aiming for a motel.”

I elaborated on the simple plan.

It was a simple plan, but it made them aware of the process and the outcome.

The difference between doing something knowingly and doing it unknowingly is surprisingly large.

It’s the difference between running a race with a visible finish line and one without.

Just this reduced the mental burden and narrowed the gap to success.

Ideally, we would go outside and not encounter any zombies.

But the probability of that was low.

These were ordinary people, unlike me.

If they saw a zombie, they might panic, or be consumed by fear and freeze.

I hoped that everyone wouldn’t be consumed by the bloodlust and terror emanating from the dead.

If they failed, they would just become fresh chunks of meat wandering the streets.

“Even if it’s hard, just look at the back of the person in front of you and follow.”

A classic method for group movement.

Classics are classics because they always work.

“Then, let’s move.”

Everyone pressed their lips firmly together and took their first steps.

It was a short distance, but it was their own movement for survival.

Everyone exited the lounge and began to follow me.

Even with their resolve, their rigid expressions were unavoidable.

How often does a person encounter corpses in their life?

Everyone seemed to feel a great deal of risk, but with me here, there was no problem.

I was confident I could save them, no matter what.

The place we were heading to was a motel nearby.

I had seen it when I escorted the thugs out and surveyed the surroundings.

I hadn’t specifically committed it to memory, so it was fortunate that it connected like this.

It was located somewhere in the middle, on the boundary between the abandoned redevelopment zone and the nearby residential area.

About a 20-minute walk from Times Square, where we started.

If luck was on our side, we might not encounter any zombies, or only a small number.

In game terms, it was like guiding a new player, who had just started, to an inn.

They were riddled with handicaps, but I, the helper, was here.

It wasn’t like we were breaking through a horde of zombies, so there was no problem.

The important thing was that these people had squeezed out their courage and taken action.

For their initiative, a new resting place for survival wouldn’t be a bad reward for a successful quest.

Our quiet movement continued.

I didn’t rush the group, who were tense and stiff with effort.

I made sure not to strain the elderly’s steps.

Step by step, we advanced towards the motel.

Fortunately, the start was good.

We exited through the back door and walked along the redevelopment zone, but so far, no zombies had appeared. Even though it was a short distance, I was a little worried about the group, whose bodies were hunched in fear of when zombies might jump out.

Already suffering from fatigue, they were profusely sweating while cowering.

Their stiff facial expressions clearly showed intense tension.

It was understandable.

Still, they were following well so far.

Despite their struggles, their eyes were clear, which wasn’t bad.

However, seeing their faces gradually turning pale, despite their will, concerned me.

I needed to prepare for them to rest immediately once we reached the motel.

This time, I wouldn’t make a mistake; I’d dispose of the bodies right away.

It was my fault for thinking of eating and sleeping among corpses.

Reflecting inwardly, I continued walking, keeping an eye on the group.

As we left the redevelopment zone and approached the motel, faint low growls of zombies could be heard from all directions.

The group flinched as if they heard it too, but at my reassurance, they resumed their steps.

Moving continuously with exhausted bodies amid tension, the group struggled quite a bit.

They didn’t show it, but everyone’s breathing was ragged.

Dong-woo was probably the only one doing okay.

Perhaps thanks to his experience of breaking through zombies with me, he seemed relatively better than the others. I wondered if he was brave or just easily scared.

Whether he knew my thoughts or not, Dong-woo, clinging to his grandparents, was faithfully doing what he needed to do. He was admirable.

While I walked with such thoughts, a zombie suddenly burst out of an alley.

It appeared without any warning.

It seemed to have been still at the edge of the alley and reacted to the sound of our footsteps.

It burst out so suddenly that I almost flinched.

The zombie ran at us, letting out a monstrous shriek that made my brows furrow.

Behind it, five more zombies followed.

Judging by their clothes, they seemed to be local residents, dressed in everyday clothes.

There were traces of severe damage to their bodies, bitten and torn everywhere.

They all shrieked, scratching their vocal cords as if squeezing out a fit of rage, and charged.

It felt like a deranged lunatic having a seizure was charging.

But beyond that, I didn’t feel any sensation stimulating the back of my neck.

It seemed the zombies nearby weren’t at a dangerous level yet.

Just as the startled group gasped when the zombies suddenly appeared.

“Calm down.”

I said a word to the group and swung the crowbar in my hand, rushing forward.

***

Kim Jihyeok wanted to trust Seonghan.

The reason was, as he himself mentioned earlier, his judgment.

And on top of that, there was Kim Jihyeok’s intuition.

An intuition gained through sharp insight and experience during his long career in the entertainment industry.

This intuition, honed over time, couldn’t be easily explained in words, but it became a key that brought Kim Jihyeok a string of successes.

It also guided him toward good outcomes in judging works and people.

He combined this with his own thoughts.

That’s how Kim Jihyeok became who he was today.

Of course, he had gone through countless ups and downs before that.

That’s why Kim Jihyeok’s ‘intuition’, along with his ‘mental fortitude’, was famous among those who knew him.

That was also why his manager, Park Youngchul, had accepted Kim Jihyeok’s words about his intuition.

When Kim Jihyeok’s intuition met Seonghan and they spoke briefly,

it sent a signal. That he should follow this person.

Along with that clear feeling, a calm conversation had led him to believe that Seonghan was not a bad person. Furthermore, seeing Seonghan come to their location, breaking through the zombies, gave him hope for a way to escape.

The escape method was explained so simply that he wondered if Seonghan was even thinking when he spoke. But now, trusting him felt like the right choice.

Everyone, including Kim Jihyeok, was tired and weak.

Going outside, where those monsters swarmed, in such a physical state…

He could only think of going out to die.

But Seonghan spoke calmly and resolutely.

He didn’t elaborate or make long speeches.

Anyway, there were no other options.

In a desperate situation where no rescue team was coming, they didn’t refuse the hand Seonghan offered.

As a result, they left the lounge, which they had thought would be their grave, and came out onto the street.

Along the way, seeing the corpses of those monsters that had killed people, their heads all burst open and lifeless, he felt like vomiting but barely managed to hold it in.

He felt that his choice was not wrong.

At the same time, he wondered.

How was that person capable of such things?

Putting his curiosity about Seonghan aside, he followed exactly as he was told.

The strange sounds from all directions, whether zombie screams or roars, caused the fear he had suppressed to well up.

He gritted his teeth, clinging to his sanity, which he wanted to let go of.

He forcibly moved his body, which wanted to give out and collapse.

As his vision narrowed and everything went white, he saw Seonghan’s back.

He struggled to cling to it, as if entangled, not wanting to lose sight.

He wanted to faint from the growing fear caused by the sounds from all directions, but he couldn’t.

Just as he was barely holding on, several zombies suddenly burst out.

Hearing their monstrous shrieks that sent chills down his spine and seeing their hideous appearances, the memories he had tried so hard to forget vividly resurfaced.

When they were in the middle of filming in the Times Square hall.

When their usual daily life shattered in an instant.

Acquaintances, colleagues, and many people nearby.

He remembered the moment they were all attacked, right there.

He didn’t know if it was pain, anger, or both. The horrifying screams that a normal person couldn’t make. Their faces distorted, monstrous enough to be called monsters. Their discolored teeth, clearly visible and utterly disgusting. Their pale, corpse-like skin with prominent black veins.

Their eyes, clouded like a dead fish’s, filled with a ferocious emotion—no, a sensation—that was difficult to understand in a corpse’s gaze, overflowing.

He remembered seeing such beings tearing at and devouring those close to him.

He remembered the moments flesh was ripped and blood splattered.

Those moments where monstrous shrieks and the victims’ painful screams mingled.

Kim Jihyeok, having survived, was tormented.

Due to his actor’s nature, his instantaneous memory was exceptional.

The shocking scenes of those moments, impactful enough to be etched into his mind just by seeing them, inversely used Kim Jihyeok’s strength as an actor to push him to his limit.

He had desperately tried to ignore, hide, and suppress it.

But now, he was facing those objects of terror directly in front of him.

He couldn’t do anything because of the vividly replaying memories.

Just now, he was sure he had met their eyes.

Murderous intent to kill him? A hunger to devour him?

He didn’t know if ’emotion’ was the right word for them…

But it felt like a great rage mixed with negative things.

Receiving that raw emotion directly, his mind went blank.

His body froze, and his feet, beyond his control, wouldn’t move.

Was this what it felt like to face a savage beast, like a rabid butcher dog?

No, it felt like something more than that.

But Kim Jihyeok could no longer continue his thoughts.

The moment he faced the zombies, Kim Jihyeok was consumed by fear.

Not just Kim Jihyeok, but everyone in the group was consumed by fear.

One thought flashed through his frozen mind.

*Death.*

As he stood, eyes wide, seeing only that one thought, watching the zombies charging at him.

“Calm down.”

Seonghan, who had indifferently tossed out a single word, began to move.

And Kim Jihyeok saw.

The beings that had approached him with such terror instantly burst and collapsed.

Seonghan swung the heavy blunt weapon relentlessly, as if it were a thin switch. At a speed so fast it was difficult to discern properly.

Whenever he swung it, only the sound of air being sliced and the dull thud of a watermelon bursting could be heard.

But that alone was enough.

Kim Jihyeok couldn’t see clearly, but he certainly recognized that every time Seonghan moved, those monsters died.

Seonghan, swinging his arms and moving forward, was simply calm.

He was so calm that he even seemed relaxed.

Kim Jihyeok wanted to ask Seonghan.

If he wasn’t scared. How he could keep moving forward.

But Kim Jihyeok couldn’t speak.

Something welled up inside him, constricting his throat.

Kim Jihyeok felt blood rush to his face and his eyes sting.

He couldn’t control his own trembling lower lip.

“…Oh… You must have been very surprised. It’s okay now.”

The charging zombies lay collapsed, all having lost their heads.

In the midst of them, he met Seonghan’s gaze, who was looking at them.

Ultimately, tears flowed from Kim Jihyeok’s eyes.

Kim Jihyeok, who had cried in front of others, felt no shame.

Instead, a much stronger feeling of relief welled up from deep within his chest.

The relief of being alive.

It might not quite fit the current situation, but it was a poignant ecstasy.

And it was the same for the other group members.

Seeing the trembling group wiping their eyes, Seonghan merely scratched his head.