episode_0072

There is a good example of this.

There was a marathon race in the past.

The race had reached its climax, and the moment of decision was approaching.

The leading runner fell into ecstasy just a few meters from the finish line.

His victory was beyond doubt.

As he smiled broadly and raised both arms, the spectators cheered in unison.

Aware of the enthusiastic cheers and gazes, his race speed decreased.

The moment he savored victory, just a few steps from the finish line.

Suddenly, someone appeared from behind, overtook him, and claimed victory instead.

The former leader wore a dumbfounded, blank expression before belatedly realizing the truth.

He ran again belatedly, but victory had vanished before his eyes like a mirage.

The hero of the great comeback, who snatched the spotlight, was the second-place runner who had not given up until the very end.

The price of carelessness just a few meters from the finish line was great.

The careless runner lost wealth and honor before his eyes, suffering a humiliating defeat and the ridicule of the entire world.

The second-place runner, who had not given up, received wealth, honor, and praise, being hailed as a role model for athletes.

The reality I live and breathe in now is different from sports.

However, the common premise that the price of carelessness can be losing everything remains unchanged.

A word that holds unchanging value across all times and places, regardless of gender, age, or dimension.

Carelessness.

I pride myself on knowing the weight of that word well.

Conscious of the zombies, I spoke sparingly and maintained my focus.

But I failed to notice any sign of movement.

More precisely, my reaction was slow.

Growl—

Thwack—!!

My hand shot out instinctively.

Fortunately, I subdued it before it could let out a scream.

‘There was no sign at all!’

My right hand, gripping the crowbar, shot out and smashed the zombie’s head before I even registered the situation. It felt as if it had truly sprung from thin air.

‘What—’

Before I could even complete my thought, my eyes met with gazes from within the dark shadows.

Multiple pairs of eyes gleamed with killing intent.

They were clearly the murky gray eyes of a corpse.

Absurdly, the corpse’s eyes seemed to emit a faint red glow.

Like a red signal warning of danger.

And as if to prove they were dangerous, they all rushed at me simultaneously.

The zombies that appeared as if bursting from the old building’s entrance stretched out their hands to tear at me. It felt like an illusion of rotten tree roots coming to life and lunging.

The zombies stretched their hands from the dark shadows into the light.

Pale, blackened dead skin and rotting, burst fingertips.

The lingering roots trying to entangle me reached out to within close range.

Crack—!!

I bent my arm and struck upward with my elbow.

Thump—!!

I lowered my body and slammed the raised elbow straight down.

The sensation of bones repeatedly shattering traveled up from the tip of my elbow.

The zombie’s figure, vaguely visible in the darkness, was pushed back, its jaw and sternum pulverized. Simultaneously, several more zombies following behind it tumbled down.

The moment I realized there weren’t just one or two zombies.

Grab! Snatch—!

The moment I took down the zombie, my arm and shoulder were seized.

“Seonghan!”

“Oppa!”

Jihyeok hyung and Shia’s surprised voices were heard.

I rotated the crowbar as if sliding it from my hand, gripping it in the middle.

At the same time, I held it horizontally and extended my arms as if punching.

Roar—!!

Scream—!!

“Hmph!”

The zombies lunged with bared teeth, blocked by the crowbar.

Standing firm in the narrow building entrance, I could see zombies squirming and thrashing beyond.

There were many of them.

The moment I registered the number of zombies, hands shot out from below.

As my lower body was seized, an indescribable revulsion wrapped around my legs.

An intense chill spread through me, making my body tremble, and surged upwards.

‘These bastards!!’

Without realizing it, curses welled up within me.

The zombies in front of me reeked of rotten fish and snarled viciously.

Keeping my gaze fixed on them, I spoke to my companions behind me.

“Wait a moment.”

A deep surge of anger began to rise from the depths of my chest.

***

It had happened in an instant.

It was the moment when the bodies of the companions, about to let out a sigh of relief, froze.

Suddenly, zombie arms shot out and grabbed Seonghan.

They hadn’t realized it in the narrow alley, but once they registered it, it was the entrance to an old building.

Had they been lying in ambush in the darkness?

The corpses’ hands clung to Seonghan’s body, which was resisting at a speed too fast to properly see.

The companions who witnessed it in real-time were greatly startled and froze.

“Seonghan!”

“Oppa!”

Among the companions, Jihyeok and Shia reacted the fastest.

Jihyeok threw down the short crowbar he was holding and reached for his pistol.

Shia tried to rush at Seonghan without thinking.

Then Seonghan’s voice reached them.

“Wait a moment.”

A deeply subdued voice, somehow sounding angry.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Seonghan pushed the zombies aside and went inside the building.

At that absurd sight, the companions let out silent screams.

The men, holding the weapons in their hands, tried to rush to Seonghan.

Shia threw down her bag and tried to approach without thinking.

Jihyeok unhesitatingly drew the pistol he had been hesitant to pick up.

“Wait!”

What stopped everyone was Dong-woo’s urgent, quiet cry.

He quickly stepped forward, grabbing Jihyeok and Shia’s arms to stop them.

“Please wait a moment!”

“What are you saying—?”

“No! No! If you go in now, you’ll only hinder Jihyeok hyung, so just wait—!”

“Get out of the way right now! You fatty!”

“F-fatty….”

Dong-woo was deeply hurt by Shia’s abusive language, as she had half lost her mind.

Jihyeok, pushing away Dong-woo’s arm, whose mouth was shut, became angry.

“Let go.”

“No, Jihyeok hyung! Really, just a moment!”

“Why are you really like this—?”

Splat—!!

“?!?!”

Crunch—!! Thud thud thud! Thwack! Thwack!

Dull, tearing sounds began to emanate from the dark building entrance where Seonghan had pushed his way in. At the gruesome sounds, which made them feel pain just by listening, the companions froze once more.

“W-what? What kind of sou—?”

Crumble—!!

The sound of something being smashed.

Rip—!!

The sound of something being torn.

Horrible ASMR that shouldn’t be heard from a human body.

Hearing those sounds, Shia’s eyes widened so much it seemed they might pop out.

The companions flinched with each sound.

“Oh, Oppa…no…”

What could she have been imagining?

Shia, calling Seonghan as if possessed, swayed.

Boom—!!

A tremendous sound erupted from inside, where Seonghan had gone.

Though very slight, everyone felt a small tremor under their feet.

“……”

The companions were speechless.

They didn’t know what was happening inside, but they couldn’t move.

“Now now. It’s alright, so everyone calm down a bit.”

Only one person.

Only Dong-woo was calmly reassuring the others.

People were dumbfounded by Dong-woo’s attitude.

That’s when it happened.

Splash— Splash—

They heard someone walking out from inside.

Making sounds as if stepping in puddles.

The moment everyone held their breath at that sound…

“Ugh. These damned bastards are making a fuss and messing around. Scaring people.”

Everyone was speechless at the sight of Seonghan, who appeared with leisurely steps, muttering coarse words.

“By the way, what was Shia saying ‘no’ to?”

No one could answer Seonghan’s question.

That’s because Seonghan had returned covered in blood in just a short time.

More precisely, bodily fluids presumed to be the dark bluish blood of zombies.

Seonghan, drenched in a liquid that looked absolutely unhealthy for skin, was almost indistinguishable as human or zombie.

Everyone wondered if Seonghan was safe, but their mouths wouldn’t open easily.

The recent incident and Seonghan’s appearance were that shocking.

Even Jihyeok hyung could only mouth silently, unable to utter a word.

Shia stumbled and struggled to get up from her spot.

And slowly approached Seonghan.

With a gait as if possessed by something.

***

My head is ringing.

Drenched in zombie fluids, my nose was beyond numb—my head ached.

As I gently flicked off the bits of flesh and organ sticking to my body with my fingertips, Shia approached.

“Don’t come closer. This is dirty.”

“……”

Shia stopped at my deterrent and looked at me blankly.

Her eyes looked half-dead, so she must have been very surprised.

“O-Oppa. Are you alright?”

“Huh? Yeah. I’m fine. It’s just the smell is a bit strong.”

“R-really?”

“Seonghan. Are you hurt anywhere? Let’s check.”

“Seonghan. Let’s check if you have any injuries.”

“Ah, no. I’m really fine. Not even a scratch.”

Everyone, without exception, rushed to worry about my well-being.

It was a very ticklish and fluffy situation, and I almost felt awkward, but seeing Dong-woo grinning a step behind me, my mood cooled slightly.

‘That guy….’

Dong-woo, who had experienced my strength at least a little, seemed to have long since put aside any worries about me.

‘Why are you looking so proud?’

Seeing Dong-woo, not me, puffing out his chest with pride, I almost laughed. But this was absolutely no time to laugh.

The companions were more preoccupied with worrying about me than about the zombies.

Even Jihyeok hyung, who was always calm, was bouncing around excitedly beside me.

“Oppa. Are you really okay?”

“I told you, don’t worry……Are you crying?”

“Ah, no.”

Shia, who abruptly ducked her head and turned away, soon slung the bag she had thrown on the ground back onto her shoulders. At her actions, the companions, though still filled with worry, at least retrieved their own backpacks.

Jihyeok hyung also awkwardly put the pistol he had been holding back into its holster, no one knew when he had drawn it. It was a relief he had only drawn it.

‘If he had actually shot it….’

If a gunshot had rung out, an extremely difficult extra stage might have opened up.

It was truly fortunate that we passed through safely.

Seeing me confront the zombies, everyone seemed to have intended to rush at the zombies for my sake. As they worried about me, I noticed the companions had put down their bags and were clutching their weapons tightly.

Hyung probably drew his gun for that reason too.

While I was smashing zombies inside, I seemed to have vaguely heard Dong-woo stopping everyone.

Truly a good job.

Despite looking like a bear, he timed it well.

I want to praise him, but I suppose I should put it off for a bit later.

A slightly awkward atmosphere flowed between me and the companions right now.

Perhaps it was the awkwardness that followed the great worry and then the confirmation of safety.

This unfamiliar situation was quite embarrassing.

“…Ahem. F-first. Let’s get out of here. There might be more zombies nearby, so we’ll move.”

Having no immediate answer, I ended up changing the subject.

The companions, perhaps implicitly agreeing, followed without a word.

In a not-so-bad awkwardness, we left the alley where the small incident occurred and set out on our way again.

Checking at the alley entrance, we were quite far from the market entrance where the zombies had been swarming.

‘Dozens are better than hundreds.’

I decided to think positively.

Leaving the distant cries of zombies behind, we walked along the road.

Unlike what the map showed, the street was shorter than expected.

Soon, a crossroads appeared in front of us.

To the left across the street, an apartment complex was visible.

And…

“We just need to go that way. We don’t have much further to go now.”

Representative Choi, pointing the way, was slightly excited.

The place he pointed to was a small path to the right of the apartment complex.

Wide enough for one car to pass.

The path was oddly well-paved.

Following Representative Choi’s guidance, we walked towards our destination.

The former playground of celebrities, which would become our shelter.

Now, it was Representative Choi’s safe house.

We were almost there now.

At that fact, our footsteps became a little lighter.

And so, we began to walk up the small path.