Chapter 5

The number had not been saved, but Yu-su knew who it belonged to. No matter how much he disliked Do Muwon or how bitterly he resented him, he could not ignore the call while knowing the man would die if left alone. Then there was the cream bun inside the plastic bag. Do Muwon might have survived the last time if he had not followed Yu-su downstairs, only to die alongside him.

Yu-su stared at the screen.

At last, he swiped to answer.

“Do Muwon.”

A breathless voice filled with confusion came through the speaker. Muwon sounded as though he genuinely had not expected Yu-su to pick up.

—“Jeong Yu-su…?”

“Who else would it be? You’re in the stairwell, right? Come up. Hurry.”

—“Where are you?”

“Emergency stairwell. Fifteenth floor.”

—“I’m coming right now.”

While Muwon climbed, Yu-su opened his internet browser. Nothing loaded, probably because millions of people were trying to access the network at once. The search page remained covered in blue, underlined phrases such as emergency breaking news, serial killings, zombies, and evacuation, but tapping them led nowhere.

The messenger application had also frozen, displaying only previews. Calls would probably stop working soon as well.

Yu-su struck the screen several times in frustration.

Footsteps drew closer from below. A familiar buzz-cut head appeared around the corner. Their gazes met.

Muwon’s brow tightened slightly before he acknowledged Yu-su with a curt nod.

“Jeong Yu-su.”

“Let’s get to the roof. Run.”

“…All right.”

Still soaked in sweat and clutching a plastic bag, Do Muwon looked exactly as he had before his death. Yu-su turned and began climbing first. Muwon followed, his eyes sweeping Yu-su from head to toe before he spoke.

“Fuck. It’s a complete shitshow downstairs. What about your floor?”

“The same.”

“What do you think those things are?”

Yu-su waited until he had recovered enough breath to answer.

“…Zombies.”

“Bullshit. Are we shooting a movie?”

“Save your breath. We need to move.”

“All right.”

Yu-su had died on the twenty-third floor during the previous repetition. If they reached it too late and that door opened again, zombies emerging from above and below would trap them in the stairwell.

They quickened their pace, passed the twenty-third floor, and were about to reach the twenty-fifth when a door opened somewhere below.

“H-help… Aaaaargh!”

The scream of someone still alive, yet destined to die again at this very moment, tore through the stairwell.

Yu-su flinched. His hand tightened into a fist until Muwon’s voice cut through the tension.

“Don’t get distracted. You’re the one who said we had to hurry.”

“…Right.”

Yu-su was certain he had not killed whoever was down there. Even so, the possibility that they might have survived if he had opened the emergency-stairwell door left him with a sticky, unpleasant feeling that clung to him.

Suddenly, his feet felt heavier.

What the hell am I doing, standing here like this? I can barely keep myself alive.

The goddamned thought proved prophetic almost immediately.

“Kieeek! Kyaaak!”

“Uuh… uuhhh… uuuuu…”

“Aah!”

The sounds came from directly above.

On the twenty-sixth floor, zombies had begun shrieking. They had likely heard the moans of the creatures filling the lower stairwell, along with Yu-su’s and Muwon’s ragged, unrestrained breathing.

Those without lower bodies dragged themselves down the steps using their arms, while the ones that still possessed legs climbed over them, steadily closing the gap.

“Jeong Yu-su.”

“I see them. They’re coming from above, and there are a lot.”

“Shit. The stairs below are packed too.”

Yu-su had been foolish enough to waste time worrying about other people. He had no chance to swallow the guilt or regret before another realization stopped him cold.

My head wasn’t in the game.

I overlooked it.

If the emergency door below had opened and released zombies into the stairwell, the same thing could happen on any floor they had not yet passed.

Yu-su bit his lip, and resolve hardened in his eyes.

“Do Muwon.”

“Yeah?”

“We’re going onto the twenty-fifth floor.”

They stood between the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth floors. The zombies pursuing them from below had already packed the lower stairwell, which explained Muwon’s warning.

Muwon glanced at the creatures converging from both directions, then looked back at Yu-su and clicked his tongue.

“Stay here and die, or move and die trying…”

“I’m going first.”

Yu-su started to descend, but Muwon seized his arm and hauled him back.

“What are you planning to break through them with, when you’re built like a dried twig? Stay behind me.”

“……”

“Let’s go.”

“Wait. At least take this.” Yu-su held out the broken mop handle. “…Be careful.”

“Yeah. Here we go!”

The weapon passed from Yu-su to Muwon. With a mighty swing, Muwon struck the swaying horde. He drove his broad shoulder into the group, crushed their collapsing bodies beneath him, then leapt down several steps in one swift motion.

Yu-su mirrored his movements, jumping over the stairs behind him.

“Grrr… aaah!”

“Kyaaaak!”

Hands clung to Yu-su’s ankles like drowned ghosts every time he kicked off the ground. Bones crunched beneath his shoes, and the wet, yielding sensation of rupturing entrails traveled through the soles and up his legs.

“Jeong Yu-su! Open the door!”

“Got it!”

Muwon gripped the mop handle horizontally and rammed it into the zombies reaching through the open emergency doorway. Using the narrow space he created, Yu-su stepped onto the handrail as though it were a balance beam. He ran along it, jumped, and landed behind Muwon beside the door.

Click.

Yu-su wrenched it open and slipped through. Muwon followed immediately.

“Where are we going?”

“The Division Head’s office!”

Every zombie in the emergency stairwell surged through after them. Like the Pied Piper leading a swarm of rats, Yu-su and Muwon sprinted down the hall with a long trail of living corpses pursuing them. The zombies could not catch up, but new ones kept appearing from every corner of the blood-soaked corridor.

“Jeong Yu-su! Watch out!”

“……!”

A zombie lunged from the side and grabbed Yu-su. He reacted instinctively, swinging his fist and shoving it away, but three or four more clung to him with wet, squelching sounds. Their combined weight dragged him sideways and sent him staggering.

“Move aside!”

Thwack!

As Yu-su stumbled backward and nearly fell, the broken mop handle in Muwon’s hands punched through the zombie’s chest.

“Graaaah! Aaaah!”

“Kieeeek… ugh…”

Muwon skewered three or four of them together like meat on a kebab, then shoved Yu-su forward with one hand.

“This goddamn building is huge. Are we almost there?”

“Just ahead.”

They were nearly at the Division Head’s office when another eruption of screams filled the hallway.

“Kyaaaaa!”

“Aah! Aaah!”

Muwon stared at the approaching mass. “Why the fuck are there so many?”

“Because everyone was working overtime!”

I told you not to work overtime!

The company had openly urged its employees to work late, ignoring repeated government warnings about excessive overtime. Now it was facing the consequences. The zombies in the secretary’s office beside the Division Head’s office had heard the disturbance and poured into the hallway.

Muwon cursed under his breath, lowered his shoulder, and charged forward like a football player. His massive frame collided with the approaching zombies and knocked them to the ground. Yu-su stepped over the fallen bodies and opened the electronic keypad beside the Division Head’s office.

Muwon knocked aside another zombie as it attempted to rise.

“But do you know the password?”

“Yeah.”

“How?”

“When I was a new hire, they sent me out to buy coffee.”

“Is the Division Head a fucking asshole or something?” Muwon muttered.

The lock clicked open.

Yu-su slipped inside, turned around, and extended a hand toward him. Behind Muwon, corpses flooded the hallway like a crimson tide.

“Do it, Muwon! Hurry!”

“Yeah!”

“Get lost!”

Muwon kicked a zombie backward as he retreated. He thrust one hand behind him, and Yu-su caught it, hauling him into the office.

“Done. I’m closing it!”

“Push with me!”

They slammed the door toward the frame. Just before the latch could catch, a blood-soaked arm thrust through the narrowing gap.

“Block it!” Yu-su shouted.

The door struck the limb with a heavy thud, crushing the bone beneath the pressure. Despite both men pushing with all their strength, the door would not close because the zombie’s forearm remained wedged inside.

“Graaah! Aaaah!”

“Kieek!”

Unable to feel pain, the living corpse howled while attempting to shove its other arm through the opening, completely ignoring the mangled limb trapped in the door. More hands from the pursuing swarm gradually reached through the gap.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

As more zombies seized the door, the opening widened. Each time Yu-su and Muwon forced it inward with all their strength, it closed slightly, only to be wrenched open again.

“Shit! It’s giving way!”

“We have to hold it!”

At this rate, the horde would inevitably engulf them.

Yu-su steadied himself and pressed his back against the door. His gaze darted wildly around the Division Head’s office.

Hurry. There has to be something.

His eyes swept across the room until a large, solid object gleaming with golden brilliance caught his attention.

A triangular nameplate rested on the desk.

[Division Head Kim Hyeoktae]

That’s it.

Yu-su had always considered the oversized ornament an absurd waste of company resources. Apparently, everything had its use.

“Do Muwon! Can you hold the door alone for a second?”

“Ha… fuck. I’ll have to try!”

Yu-su kicked off the floor and dashed toward the desk. The instant his weight left the door, it swung open violently. Muwon released a strained roar and barely managed to force it back. Yu-su seized the nameplate, rushed back, and slammed its heavy edge down on the arms protruding through the gap.

“Hold it a little longer!”

“Ghh… okay!”

Crunch.

Crunch.

Yu-su hammered down with every ounce of strength he possessed, pulverizing the trapped arms until flesh and bone were minced like ground meat.

“Last one!”

Air whistled as the door swung shut.

Bang!

Do Muwon threw his full weight against it, straining to keep the heavy door closed while Jeong Yu-su fumbled with the electronic keypad. His fingers had barely twisted the lock into place when the mechanism answered with a short electronic beep.

Then the screaming began.

“Kyyyaaaaahhh!”

“Graaaargh!”

Enraged at having lost their prey, the zombies hurled themselves against the door.

Thud, thud!

Every impact sent streaks of gore splattering across the translucent glass, coating it in a gruesome, glistening film.

“…Hey. I don’t think this thing’s going to hold.”

“Bookcase first. Let’s get it against the door.”

They lunged into motion. Together, they heaved a massive bookcase into place as though trying to bury the entrance beneath it, then immediately dragged a desk over to reinforce the barricade.

The zombies remained undeterred.

Thud!

A sharp, splintering crack echoed through the office. Hairline fractures spread across the door, forming a delicate yet deadly web.

“Damn it.”

“Do Muwon.”

As Muwon bent to move the remaining sofa, someone seized the back of his collar and yanked him upright.

“What?”

“Let’s go to the bathroom.”

“…The bathroom?”

Yu-su was already backing away, his gaze fixed on the fractured door. Muwon had barely taken his first step toward the bathroom when a piercing scream rang out from farther down the corridor.

“Kyyyaah!”

“Get away from me!”

An eerie silence descended outside the Division Head’s office.

It lasted no more than a heartbeat.

“Kyyyaaaaahhh!”

“Graaaargh!”

The zombies’ howls surged through the hallway once more.

“Help me! Ahhh!”

“Let go of me!”

Human wails tore through the corridor.

Yu-su and Muwon froze. Their eyes met for a brief second before both men slowly turned toward the door.

Someone else’s despair had become their salvation.

The shadows plastered against the fractured glass began slipping away one after another. The zombies had clearly turned toward the fresh source of noise. Something crashed violently outside, followed by frantic cries for help. Yu-su ground his teeth as the screams bored into his skull, but before he could move, a warm hand clamped firmly around his wrist.

“Hey. Don’t.”

“I know… I know.”

The zombies had swarmed toward the commotion. Yu-su and Muwon could have made enough noise to lure them back, perhaps giving the people outside a chance to escape.

But…

Yu-su stared at the door, its surface now covered in spiderweb cracks. One more direct impact would undoubtedly shatter it. If that happened, they would probably die before they could even run.

And if they died, could they come back again?

He had no intention of gambling his body on uncertain odds. Even if he knew for certain that they would revive after death, he had no desire to die in the first place.

Death was too vast, too incomprehensible, and too agonizing to accept. The terror was worse because he already knew exactly what it felt like to be dragged down, torn apart, and eaten alive by zombies. Even now, the memory sent phantom agony surging through him in broken waves. His body trembled uncontrollably, and his heart hammered so violently that it felt ready to burst from his chest.

Unable to step forward yet equally incapable of retreating, Yu-su stood frozen, his face twisted with anguish.

“No, please! Help me! Mom!”

The heartbreaking scream echoed through the hallway like someone’s final testament.

Ten seconds passed in a silence so complete that it seemed the entire world had stopped.

One minute followed.

Then five.

The zombies did not return to batter the door of the Division Head’s office. At last, Muwon became the first to move.

“Whew… Damn it.”

He peeled off his shirt, which was soaked through with sweat and blood. His upper body had flushed crimson from exertion, every muscle swollen and taut after the brutal struggle to hold the door shut. Dark bruises were already spreading across his shoulders and arms, while the veins along his neck and forehead stood out beneath his skin. Muwon wiped the blood and sweat from his face, then frowned at Yu-su, who remained fixed on the door.

“Jeong Yu-su. They’re gone. Stop staring.”

“…”

“Hey. That wasn’t our fault.”

Only then did Yu-su blink. His gaze briefly lifted toward Muwon before dropping to the floor.

Muwon clicked his tongue, frustration tightening his expression. “I told you not to dwell on it.”

“Not dwell on it…”

Yu-su raised a hand to rub his face, only to stop when he saw that his palms were still slick with blood that had not yet cooled. He could not shake the knowledge that they had survived through sheer luck, or that their safety had effectively been purchased with someone else’s life.

The guilt disgusted him.

So did the faint sliver of relief buried beneath it.

Worse still was the knowledge that he did not have the luxury of dwelling on either emotion for long. The realization made him feel even more pathetic.