Chapter 12

The zombies nearby had been whipped into a frenzy by the earlier noise, so the two men whispered with their heads nearly touching.

“We’re on the twenty-fifth floor, but we don’t know where the elevator car is stuck. It would be ideal if it were below us, but there’s a chance it could be blocking the shaft somewhere above.”

“True.”

“Our goal for today is the thirtieth floor. If we don’t hear any zombies, we’ll stop there and rest.”

“The thirtieth floor is the grand conference room. It should be empty.”

The grand conference room was opened only for large meetings or special events. Most of the time, it remained locked and unoccupied, which meant the likelihood of zombies being inside was extremely low.

Yu-su nodded, keeping his voice low and composed. “If we encounter the elevator car before reaching the thirtieth floor, we’ll stop on the floor beneath it, rest there, and figure out another route.”

“Understood. Then let’s start with the elevator doors.”

“Wait. Your shoulder…”

Jeong Yu-su scrambled to his feet, with Do Muwon rising close behind him. Before Yu-su could stop him, Muwon had already jammed his fingers into the narrow gap between the elevator doors. As the opening widened, Yu-su wedged his hands in beside Muwon’s, and together they forced the groaning metal doors apart.

“…Take it easy on your shoulder.”

“You should worry about your own hands. Think you can make it up?”

“No problem. They’re only a little sore.”

Do Muwon caught Yu-su by the wrist and carefully examined his palm, then turned his hand over to inspect the back. The skin was swollen and scored with scratches, but it still seemed functional enough.

“All right. Let’s go.”

“Hold on a moment,” Yu-su said with a quiet sigh. He leaned halfway through the opening and swept his flashlight through the shaft, examining the darkness both above and below. “I don’t think the elevator car is anywhere close.”

“That’s a relief.”

Muwon gathered up the bathrobe bundle, then pulled out a bottle of water. After drinking half, he passed the remainder to Yu-su.

Assuming they needed to survive for another three days, their water supply would be sufficient. Proper food was another matter, but although they had little of substance, they still carried plenty of small candies and chocolate cookies.

After considering it for a moment, Yu-su slowly drank the rest of the water and spoke up, “I’ll climb first.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t follow me right away. I’ll go up one floor, shine the light down, and signal when it’s safe for you to come after me.”

“Got it.”

After one final inspection of the corridor, Yu-su reached for his hiking backpack, but Do Muwon promptly snatched it away. Muwon slung it over his shoulders, checked every zipper, then glanced at the bundle Yu-su was carrying.

“I’ve been wondering about that since the beginning. What the hell is it?”

“…A bundle. There are things inside.” Yu-su was occupied with pulling the makeshift bathrobe bundle onto his back and fastening the improvised straps around his torso. “It might come in handy. I could even use it as a coat.”

“What are you, Santa Claus? Put that crap in my bag.”

“Your bag is already too full. No,” Yu-su said firmly, rejecting the suggestion without a second thought. He then switched on his headlamp and urged, “Let’s go.”

“Got it.”

Climbing the elevator shaft proved easier than either of them had expected.

“Grab the sections I wiped clean. Everything else is covered in oil.”

“Here?”

“Yeah, there. Watch where you put your feet.”

Yu-su climbed first, gripping exposed rebar and the steel framework as he guided Muwon toward the safest holds. Muwon followed without difficulty. Neither man lacked stamina, and although Yu-su’s hands throbbed, the pain remained bearable. The only serious obstacle was the cold.

Yu-su let out a long, strained breath.

Unlike the Division Head’s office, which had been properly insulated, the elevator shaft felt like an ice cavern. It was early February, and the cold snap that had begun several days earlier had transformed every steel beam and support into something resembling an enormous icicle. Without stopping regularly to massage warmth back into their fingers, continuing the climb would have been impossible.

“How much farther?” Muwon asked.

“Not much.”

“Jeong Yu-su.”

“What?”

“If you slip, don’t hesitate. Grab onto me.”

“…I’m not going to fall.”

Calling upon every shred of concentration they possessed, the two men reached the thirtieth floor without serious incident.

As expected, it was quiet.

The access route from the executive elevator lobby was normally kept locked, so throughout the entire climb, they heard zombies on the other side only once. Even so, the silence on the thirtieth floor was so complete that it convinced them none were inside.

The air slipping through the gaps also felt noticeably fresher.

After forcing open the elevator doors, Yu-su stepped into the hallway and stopped to catch his breath. Muwon pressed an ear to the door leading into the rest of the floor and listened for several moments before saying, “It’s completely quiet. Want to look around and see whether there’s anything useful?”

“…We already have enough supplies. Is it really worth the risk?”

“That’s a fair point.”

Muwon approached, drawing in a deep breath, while Yu-su retrieved the ointment from his bag.

“Let’s apply the medicine again first. Most of it has probably rubbed off.”

“Yeah. Please.”

Yu-su set the flashlight upright, using it like a lamp. Muwon took off his shirt and sat down, exposing his back. As Yu-su had anticipated, the fabric had removed most of the ointment. Several scabs had also broken open, leaving small droplets of blood shining on Muwon’s back and shoulders. With a frown, Yu-su applied fresh ointment to the wounds. As soon as he reached out to spread it on the skin, Muwon jerked away. ‘Whoa, damn. Are you insane?’

“…Why?”

“Why are your hands so fucking cold?”

Do Muwon twisted around and firmly caught the hand Yu-su had left suspended in the air.

Yu-su had no time to evade him. He froze as Muwon seized his other hand as well and pinned both beneath one broad palm.

Muwon’s callused thumb dragged slowly across the prominent bone of Yu-su’s wrist.

Yu-su bit his lip and swallowed the breath that nearly escaped him.

Muwon leaned closer.

“Are you really that cold?”

“It’s winter. Of course I’m cold… Let go before you start lecturing me.”

“Not when you’re about to freeze to death.”

Yu-su tried to pull away, edging his upper body backward, but resistance was useless. Muwon’s grip only tightened, his thick fingers and enormous palm completely engulfing Yu-su’s hands.

Do Muwon was unbearably hot.

The frozen blood in Yu-su’s fingers seemed to thaw all at once. Warmth rushed through his entire body and drew a shiver from him. Suppressing the painful breath threatening to slip out, Yu-su forced himself to sound indifferent.

“Stop exaggerating. They’re only a little cold.”

“You call this a little cold? Even the zombies are warmer than you.”

Yu-su could hardly deny it.

After several encounters, he had learned that zombies were not cold the way films and television so often portrayed them. If anything, their bodies had felt almost feverishly hot.

Warm blood. Soft skin.

That was what had made killing them feel even more guilt-ridden.

Yu-su released a quiet sigh and finally allowed the tension to leave his body.

“I’ll be fine if you leave me alone.”

“If I left you alone, you’d end up with frostbite.”

“Hmm…”

He had no response to that.

Once he had regained some measure of composure, Yu-su slowly raised the gaze he had instinctively lowered. Until then, he had been unable to look Muwon in the eye, his attention fixed entirely on the hands Muwon held captive.

A moment later, his pale lips parted.

“Do Muwon.”

“Hmm?”

Muwon looked up at the sound of his name, and their eyes met at close range.

Yu-su studied him in silence.

The flashlight’s glow diffused deep within those pitch-black eyes, burning there like reflected fire. Yet there was no trace of disgust, discomfort, or aversion in them.

He really must be fine with it.

He doesn’t seem bothered at all.

Not even about touching me.

Part of Yu-su felt relieved that there was no problem. Another part was furious that Do Muwon had apparently made peace with everything so easily, entirely on his own.

The two emotions spun through him until he felt almost dizzy, but one truth remained clear. As long as Do Muwon no longer cared about what had happened between them, Yu-su had no desire to drag the past out any further.

A faint smile touched his lips.

“Thank you.”

“…”

The sharp, hardened lines around Do Muwon’s eyes softened. In that instant, the natural gentleness Yu-su had always possessed seemed to shine all the more brilliantly.

This time, it was Muwon who stared at him in a daze.

Yu-su, however, had already lowered his gaze to the back of his hand.

A few seconds passed in silence.

Noticing the strange tension stretching between them, Jeong Yu-su met Do Muwon’s gaze again. His eyelashes, almost golden beneath the light, fluttered briefly, but the smile from moments before had vanished like spring snow beneath the sun.

“Why?”

“Nothing. Anyway, fuck. If you were cold, you should’ve said something.”

“You didn’t say your shoulder hurt, either.”

“You always have to get the last word.”

“Letting you have it would be cheating.”

A dry laugh escaped Do Muwon. He reached out and drew Jeong Yu-su’s hands between his palms. “The backs of your hands are warm now. Turn them over.”

“Fine.”

“You’re awfully obedient all of a sudden.”

“Because I’m cold.”

“…”

When Jeong Yu-su held out his palms, Do Muwon covered them with his own and clasped them tightly. His fingertips brushed lightly across Jeong Yu-su’s skin.

“You’ve got a lot of calluses, Jeong Yu-su.”

“It’d be stranger if I didn’t, after all these years.”

“Didn’t you say you’d been doing manual labor? How did you… How did you get by?”

Jeong Yu-su shrugged at the rare hesitation in his voice. “I got by. Like I told you, I worked construction for a while, then got hired here.”

“There had to be more to it than that.”

“Nothing worth talking about.”

“Feels like there must’ve been. You’ve changed a lot.”

Jeong Yu-su answered with a sigh, “How could I possibly be the same person I was in high school?”

“…”

A brief silence followed.

Do Muwon lowered his brows, his voice taking on a faintly crooked, sulky edge. “Hey. Aren’t you going to ask what I’ve been doing?”

“You’ve been all over the news. Even when I didn’t want to know, I still saw and heard everything,” Yu-su jabbed back.

“Could you leave out the part about not wanting to know?”

“No.”

Do Muwon squeezed his hands with petty force. Jeong Yu-su narrowed his eyes, yanked them free, and dusted them off.

“You were plastered across the news, photographs and all, when you joined the UDT instead of going to college.”

Muwon chuckled quietly, “That’s a little unfair.”

“Being famous must be a real pain.”

A husky laugh rumbled from Do Muwon’s chest. “Doesn’t seem so bad.”

“You’re disgusting, Do Muwon.”

“When have you ever been nice to me?”

Perhaps talking had cleared some of the turmoil from his head. Only yesterday, Jeong Yu-su had not wanted to exchange so much as a word with Do Muwon, yet now that they were speaking this naturally, it was not nearly as unpleasant as he had expected. Maybe things between them would be all right if they could continue like this. After all, they were trapped in a situation desperate enough to make old grievances seem almost trivial.

Now that warmth had returned all the way to his fingertips, Jeong Yu-su clenched and opened his hands twice before fixing his gaze on Do Muwon.

“Turn around and show me your back. Let’s put the medicine on.”

7:30 p.m., February 6.

Their long day came to an early end.

***