Chapter 10

Yu-su released a heavy breath and set down the empty milk carton. “Just thinking. Being a soldier is probably the most dangerous job in the world right now.”

“God, you’re not wrong.”

Everything about this was fucked. Muwon stretched both arms over his head, muttering under his breath.

The weight left behind by their hushed conversation eased by a fraction, and Yu-su deliberately lightened his tone.

“At least you never had to worry about finding a job, Do Muwon.”

“Hey. I studied my ass off for that position.”

Crunch, crunch.

The sound of Muwon chewing a coffee-flavored cracker brought their meager late lunch to an end. It was around then that the calm expression Yu-su had so rarely worn of late began to fracture.

“…?”

While clearing away the trash, he swept his gaze over their surroundings out of habit, then abruptly shot to his feet and hurried toward the window.

“Do Muwon.”

“Yeah? What?”

“Look over there.”

“What?”

Muwon came over and followed the direction of Yu-su’s pointing finger. Whether driven by sheer desperation or outright insanity, a person drenched in blood was sprinting down the street, pursued by an entire pack of running zombies.

“That’s one creative way to kill yourself.”

“Not that. Don’t you see something strange?”

“What?”

Yu-su gripped the windowsill until his knuckles blanched. His gaze remained fixed on the zombies for another moment before rising to meet Muwon’s eyes.

Gulp.

His Adam’s apple bobbed.

“Those things weren’t running yesterday.”

Thud.

A sinister noise sounded behind them. Yu-su and Muwon turned their heads at the same time, moving slowly, like men being forced to confront something they desperately wished not to see.

Scrape. Crack. Tear.

The zombies were clawing at the office door.

“Oh, fuck.”

Graaah!

A long, piercing howl shook the entire building. The creatures seemed to know that prey waited beyond the threshold. Hairline fractures spread rapidly across the door, each new split releasing an ominous, splintering crack.

Yu-su and Muwon moved at once, sweeping everything scattered across the carpet into a bathrobe and the hiking backpack.

“We’re taking all of this and moving to the bathroom.”

“Got it.”

The horde multiplied with terrifying speed, bodies slamming against the wood again and again. The door, already blackened with dried blood, was soon slick with fresh, vivid crimson.

There was no time to check or sort anything properly. Phones, bottles of water, and whatever else lay within reach vanished into the bags beneath Muwon’s frantic hands as he cursed through clenched teeth.

“They were fine a minute ago.”

“I don’t know. Why did they change?”

“Fuck. It’s one thing after another.”

Already on the verge of collapse, the door shrieked beneath the weight of the dead pressing against it. Their wailing seeped through every widening crack, growing clearer by the second, a literal countdown to Yu-su and Muwon’s deaths.

“Let’s go! Hurry!”

“Yeah!”

Clutching the white bundle fashioned from the bathrobe and the stuffed hiking backpack, the two men ducked into the bathroom.

At that exact moment, the office door gave way.

Crash!

Kyaaack!

Skin tore away on jagged shards as the zombies forced their arms and heads through the wreckage, shrieking at the fleeing men.

Graaah!

“Ah, aaagh!”

The bookshelf barricade was already pitching forward, moments from collapsing completely. Muwon slammed the bathroom door shut and twisted the lock, swearing violently, while Yu-su hurled the bag through the opening in the ceiling.

“I’m going up first.”

“Yeah.”

Yu-su jumped and caught the edge of collapsing completely.

Muwon slammed the bathroom door shut and twisted the lock the opening. Beneath him, Muwon raised both hands and braced his palms beneath Yu-su’s feet.

“Step on my hands.”

“Thanks.”

Pushing off Muwon’s palms, Yu-su planted a foot on his shoulder and slipped smoothly into the crawlspace. The narrow void above the ceiling was pitch-black and heavy with the smell of dust.

“Can you get in?”

“Hold on. Fuck, look how narrow this thing is.”

The opening Yu-su had passed through so easily was far too cramped for Muwon. He hauled himself upward as though performing a pull-up, but his shoulders jammed against the sides before they could pass through.

He was wedged fast.

Yu-su had badly underestimated Do Muwon’s build. Then again, perhaps Muwon had simply grown far larger than the high schooler Yu-su remembered. Even amid the chaos, the sight of Muwon’s head protruding from the opening like a plant in a flowerpot would have been almost ridiculous.

Their eyes met.

“This looks fucking impossible. You should go on without me.”

“You think I’d do that? Just wait.”

The bookshelf collapsed on the other side with a crash that shook the room like an earthquake. The zombies surged inside and immediately began clawing at the bathroom door.

Kyaaa!

The flimsy plywood, covered by nothing more than a wood-grain sticker, was already creaking. The horrifying stench of putrefaction crept closer.

“We’re going together. Give me a second.”

Yu-su had not torn open the ceiling just to save himself. The risk of making noise had delayed him, but the drywall should have broken easily enough once he committed to it. Bracing himself against the steel frame above the ceiling, Yu-su gripped the shortened hiking pole and drove it into the edge of the board.

Bang! Bang!

The corners of the drywall began to crumble, but the noise was deafening inside the cramped space. Beyond the bathroom door, the zombies’ howls swelled as though competing with every strike.

Break. Hurry.

Gritting his teeth, Yu-su poured all his strength into one final thrust.

Snap.

The pole broke in half with a grim crack.

Yu-su froze.

The board had felt strangely denser than ordinary ceiling material. Apparently, the builders had used a mixture of different supplies. Of course they had. This was a construction company, after all. They would hardly have built the place carelessly.

It was a thoroughly useless realization under the circumstances.

Yu-su discarded the broken pole and began hammering the board with his bare fists.

Human knuckles against drywall far harder than it appeared. The outcome was obvious, but Yu-su refused to stop.

“Jeong Yu-su. Hey, stop. You’re going to break your hand.”

“Shut up. Just a little more!”

Muwon tried punching the ceiling from below while forcing his body farther into the gap, but his position gave him almost no leverage. He could not exactly shave down his shoulder blades, either, and nothing he tried produced any result.

Then it happened.

Crack.

A section of the white bathroom door burst inward. An arm covered in blood, its veins bulging beneath shredded skin, thrust through the hole.

Kyaaack!

The zombie’s head twisted into view at an unnatural angle. Its eyes burned with a frenzied, manic light as it thrashed its arm wildly. The hole widened beneath the assault, and the stench of decay flooded the bathroom.

Every trace of color drained from Yu-su’s already pale face.

Muwon’s gaze moved between the ceiling and the failing door. He dragged in a deep, ragged breath, then bared his teeth in a crooked grin.

“Of all the places for Division Head Kim Hyeoktae’s fucking toilet to be, it had to become our grave. Fuck this.”

“Stop talking bullshit. There has to be a way.”

“Jeong Yu-su, listen. If I die here…”

“Shut the hell up!” Yu-su barked, cutting him off. Then something caught in his mind, and he fell abruptly silent. “…Wait.”

Muwon stared up at him.

“That bastard Kim Hyeoktae.”

“Jeong Yu-su?”

“Kim Hyeoktae!”

Yu-su bellowed the name as he reached for the bundle made from the bathrobe. He tore it open and yanked something free.

The nameplate read: Division Head Kim Hyeoktae.

“Watch out for the debris!”

“Oh.”

CRACK!

The sharp edge of the nameplate slammed down from above. A deep fracture tore across the plasterboard with a violent rattle.

Gold flashed once, twice, and then a third time.

On the fourth strike, the ceiling gave way.

Crumble.

The ceiling panel collapsed at the exact moment the bathroom door burst inward.

Graaah!

“Get over here! Now!”

“Shit!”

The bathroom entrance was narrow, and the zombies trying to force their way through became tangled over one another. Reaching hungrily for the tempting legs of their prey, they tripped, fell, and obstructed one another, buying the two men a precious few seconds.

Muwon gripped the edge of the widened ceiling opening with his right hand, twisted his body, and forced his left arm through. A short, sharp grunt escaped him as he pulled. His torso rose first, followed by his knees, all in one fluid movement.

Snap.

A zombie’s bloodied fingertip barely grazed the toe of his shoe.

Graa, gaaah!

“Aaaah!”

Furious that the prey they had been staring at only moments earlier had slipped beyond their reach, the zombies shrieked from below.

Yu-su set the division head’s nameplate aside and pressed one trembling hand against his chest, struggling to steady his racing heart. Beside him, Muwon released a sharp breath and rolled out his shoulders and arms.

“Honestly, that scared the shit out of me.”

“Haa…”

Their physical stamina and mental resolve had both been wrung dry within minutes. Dizziness swept through Yu-su, but there was no time to linger.

The zombies below had worked themselves into a frenzy. They howled and reached upward, shoving one another aside, while those that fell were trampled beneath the rest. As bodies piled upon bodies, the forest of grasping hands rose slightly higher.

They were still nowhere near the ceiling, but there was no reason to take unnecessary chances.

Yu-su switched on his flashlight and looked Muwon over.

“Let’s move before more of them gather.”

“Yeah.”

He tapped the round ventilation duct extending through the crawlspace.

“We’ll follow this for now and keep quiet. It’s dusty, so keep your mouth closed.”

“…Yeah.”

The two men crawled through the ceiling void. Only the scrape of their knees and the occasional stifled breath of a suppressed cough disturbed the darkness.

As Muwon brushed aside a wire that had caught around his foot, the muffled cries of zombies drifted up from below.

This should be the secretary’s office. We moved left from the bathroom, so if we keep going straight a little farther…

Inside such a narrow space, even the shortest distance seemed to take an eternity.

After they had crawled farther and endured several changes in the height of the ceiling, Yu-su finally stopped. He reached one hand behind him, intending to signal a warning so Muwon could see it.

He never got the chance.

Thump.

The sensation of something striking his backside came first.

Yu-su went rigid.

“Ah, shit.”

Muwon had failed to stop in time and rammed his head directly into Yu-su’s ass.

“Warn me before you stop. Are you insane?”

“You think I’m enjoying this? Stop talking and keep quiet.”

Yu-su swallowed a sigh and pressed his ear to the floor.

Silence.

Thank God.

Using the knife, he loosened the ventilation duct’s fasteners and carefully pried open a section. Then he peered through the widening gap. The room below had no windows and lay submerged in absolute darkness. Only the thin beam of his flashlight moved through it, fluttering over the walls like a pale butterfly. The space was not particularly large, though the ceiling was high. Clean marble tiles covered the floor, untouched by blood.

Directly ahead stood a pair of elevator doors.

Most importantly, there was no sound, and the smell of decay was faint.

“Let’s go down. It’s a long drop, so be careful.”

“Where are we?”

“The executive elevator lobby.”