SRW | Chapter 12

Unable to withstand the intense opposition, Lee Hyunwoo reluctantly nodded. It was ultimately decided to wait two more days for rescue teams and then relocate afterward.

“Where are we going?”

“What about going outside the school? There’s a supermarket just two blocks away…”

“That’s too far.”

“What about the school cafeteria?”

“It’s on the opposite side of the gym…”

“Isn’t that fine? The staff cafeteria is connected to the kitchen and has no windows. We’d be safe there.”

The consensus eventually narrowed down to the cafeteria. There would likely be survivors there, including our class president. However, I planned to head to the clubroom instead. Of course, I had no intention of taking all these people with me.

‘How many should I cut loose…?’

As I coldly calculated who to leave behind, the memory of sacrificing others to survive in my dream suddenly appeared in my mind. In the dream, I couldn’t understand how I could use and discard people so easily. How could someone treat others like that? I swore I wouldn’t lose my humanity like that. But now, faced with reality, I found myself calculating limited resources and the growing number of mouths to feed. I was already thinking of abandoning people. I wanted to survive, no matter what.

‘That’s why Cha Yuhyeok is dangerous.’

The reason Cha Yuhyeok felt uneasy even after sparing Kim Jaeyoung wasn’t just because Kim Jaeyoung was my subordinate. While the kind-hearted people sided with Kim Jaeyoung and saved him, Cha Yuhyeok saw his true nature. The ‘Evil’ written in his alignment.

Cha Yuhyeok had a skill that allowed him to see others’ alignments. Alignment was the ‘unchangeable’ nature of a person, categorized into Good, Evil, and Neutral.

• Good: Would not kill innocent people for personal gain.
• Neutral: Could make either good or evil choices, heavily influenced by their surroundings. Most humans fell into this category.
• Evil: Would kill innocent people for personal gain.

Being Good didn’t necessarily mean being kind, and being Evil didn’t always mean being wicked. Cha Yuhyeok knew this, but he still rejected those with Evil alignments. He believed they wouldn’t contribute to the survival of the majority. Even if an Evil-aligned person hadn’t done anything wrong, he would exile them from the group. In this world, being exiled meant certain death. And if someone like me in the dream, who actively did evil things, were to be exiled… The image of my gruesome death flashed in my mind. It sent a chill down my spine.

For me and Kim Jaeyoung, who were both with Evil alignments, to survive that righteous psychopath… I guess we’ll have to live virtuously. Ugh.

“…The cafeteria? Do you really think this many people can make it there safely? If you want to die, go ahead.”

When I raised my hand and sneered, the room fell silent. Everyone here knew who I was. I was known as the most notorious troublemaker in school. They chatted among themselves but avoided speaking to me. On the other hand, they clearly wanted to get closer to Kim Jaeyoung. His daring actions of going outside twice and sharing his limited food with others left a good impression. In this extremely unstable situation, it was only natural to want to rely on someone as calm and composed as Kim Jaeyoung. But since I was stuck to him like glue, their attempts failed.

“The clubroom on the second floor of the library building would’ve been empty during class hours. The lights would’ve been off too.”

“But… if it’s not the cafeteria, there’s no place with food.”

“Aren’t there clubs that stock snacks? I’m not saying we should stay there long, but we can hold out for a day before heading to the cafeteria. It’s safer than going straight to the cafeteria. What do you think?”

The idea seemed reasonable, and everyone reacted positively. Lee Hyunwoo nodded too. Of course, it sounded plausible. I’d been thinking about it since yesterday. I chuckled to myself and buried myself deeper in the blanket.

If someone dies on the way, it’s not my problem. It’s not my fault. But if we make it to the clubroom safely, I’ll share some food. Isn’t that incredibly kind of me?

*

Two more days passed, and still, no rescue teams came. We rummaged through the storage room and grabbed anything that could serve as a weapon. As planned, we decided to head to the clubroom. Three out of twenty-three refused to join, believing going outside was suicidal. Lee Hyunwoo tried to persuade them for a long time, but it didn’t work. We gave them half of the remaining food and packed the rest into our bags. I wrapped bandages around my collapsible baton to secure it in my hand and detached the mop head from a mop before handing it to Kim Jaeyoung.

Twenty of us exited through the gym window. Those inside lifted the window quietly, and those outside helped the others climb out. I sent everyone else out first and was the last to climb through.

A murmur spread among the kids as they looked around. It was hard to believe this eerie place under the red moonlight was Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

Moving as a group of twenty could be dangerous, so we split into two teams, keeping some distance between us. Team A included Lee Hyunwoo and Bear (Kang Deokho), while Team B included me and Kim Jaeyoung. Team B followed Team A at a distance where their tails were barely visible. Lee Hyunwoo picked up rocks and threw them ahead to check for danger before moving forward. Because of this, the journey was excruciatingly slow.

Grrrl.

The sound of a monster’s breath came from nearby. My heightened senses warned me it was coming from behind. I gestured to the guy behind me to follow Team A and slowly moved toward the rear of Team B.

Grrrrrl….

Wait, was I the only one hearing this? Everyone looked at me strangely as I walked in the opposite direction.

Kyaaaah!

“Ugh, ahhh!”

It wasn’t my imagination. A monster appeared at the back, grabbing a male student who screamed before disappearing into the darkness. I immediately grabbed Kim Jaeyoung’s arm. The others, pale-faced, clenched their mouths shut and quickened their pace. Before we left, I had sternly warned everyone: even if someone was attacked, they must not scream. Since their lives depended on it, they followed this rule well.

A scream came from Team A. Ah, damn it. I hoped it wasn’t Lee Hyunwoo or Bear. Kim Jaeyoung and I moved at the back of Team B. My body was drenched in cold sweat. If a horde of monsters showed up here, I’d have to grab Kim Jaeyoung and run.

“Ah!”

A girl walking ahead suddenly screamed as something brushed against her leg. It was the dry leaves of an uprooted tree lying on the ground. Kim Jaeyoung and I quickly stepped back to distance ourselves from her. At the same time, three small monsters with wrinkled skin lunged at her.

Kikikikik.

Kikikikik.

Kikikik.

“S-save me…! Ahhh!”

The girl’s throat was torn, and she gurgled before falling silent. The three monsters laughed grotesquely as they tore into her corpse. Suddenly, they turned their heads toward me and Kim Jaeyoung. They lunged at us in an instant. I gritted my teeth and swung my baton, smashing one’s head. I needed to deal with these monsters quickly and catch up with the front of the group. This time, I gripped the baton with both hands and took out the remaining two in one sweep. The three monsters writhed on the ground, trying to get up.

“Run.”

I pushed Kim Jaeyoung’s back. Then, I continued to fend off the three monsters chasing us with my baton.

Thud, thwack—! Thud—!

‘Ugh, these zombie-like bastards!’

They were small, only reaching up to my waist, and flew back with one hit, so I thought they were weak. But like zombies, they kept getting up and following us. If we caught up with the front like this, it would cause problems. How do I deal with this? If only I had a sharp weapon instead of this baton…! I overestimated my strength. Kim Jaeyoung and I had no choice but to catch up with the tail of Team B.

Kikikik.

Hearing the eerie laughter, the kids at the back of Team B turned pale and started running forward in panic.

Then, Kim Jaeyoung grabbed the collar of a short male student in front of him.

“……?!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Kim Jaeyoung yanked the boy backward. The boy didn’t even scream, his eyes wide as he tumbled to the ground with a loud crash.

Kikikikik!

The three monsters chasing us leaped high into the air toward the fallen boy.

‘Damn… this guy’s really insane.’

Thanks to Kim Jaeyoung, we escaped the monsters safely. Even after sending someone to their death, no guilt showed on his face. He just furrowed his brows, breathing heavily as if running was exhausting. I pushed his back to help him keep running.