SWZ Ch 5

Up close, the man with the skeletal face had deeply sunken eyes, making him look like a moving corpse. His appearance reminded Jungwoo of the “Ghost of Freedom Highway,” which had become an internet sensation long ago.

The people who got out of the vans from the opposite side also looked emaciated and corpse-like, as if they were living day by day because they couldn’t die.

“Both of you, put your hands out here.”

After securing the goods, they bound the hands of both Hyuk and Jungwoo.

As Hyuk had predicted, they used duct tape, but Jungwoo, who had learned how to free himself from such bindings in the warehouse, quietly cheered inside. At the same time, he wondered just what kind of life Hyuk had led to know these things.

How could someone be so knowledgeable about this? He had said his life was full of ups and downs. While others were canoeing in the river of life, did this guy surf through a tsunami? Jungwoo decided to ask about Hyuk’s past once this incident was over.

The men tore off the duct tape with a ‘rip’ sound and bound their hands. They then turned Jungwoo’s backpack upside down and started shaking out its contents. Items tumbled out one by one from the once full bag.

Two half-eaten packs of jerky, three 250ml bottles of water, two packs of mint gum, and a quarter pack of lollipops. And…

“…”

“…”

“Oh, right.”

Three boxes of extured condoms.

“Cough.”

Damn, is this year’s misfortune particularly thick? He had forgotten to take them out of the bag after putting them in.

As Jungwoo rolled his eyes in embarrassment, the men, except for Hyuk, stared at him intently, their expressions questioning if what they saw was real.

“What’s this?”

“…Condoms.”

“…”

“Textured ones..”

A chilly silence followed.

“Want to try one?”

“Try what?”

After some thought, Han Jungwoo awkwardly picked up one of the condom boxes with his bound hands and handed it over.

“…Should I give you some individual ones too?”

Next, he pulled out individual packets of condoms from his pants pocket, which he had kept there, not knowing when he might need them.

‘Judging by how they look, they might faint from exhaustion if they try anything. But you never know with people’s stamina.’

Unlike the men who looked shocked, Han Jungwoo’s mind was only filled with trivial worries about whether these guys could use these condoms.

Hyuk quietly turned his gaze away, his chest heaving slightly, whether from holding back laughter or sighing.

“Are these guys joking?”

Not believing Jungwoo’s words, the group finally tore open one of the condom boxes.

Of course, there was no twist. Individually packaged condoms fell out one by one. The men’s already sunken eyes widened further.

“Really condoms?”

“Oh, don’t you know how to use them? Never tried?”

“Shit, what’s this?”

Han Jungwoo shook his bound hands back and forth.

“I’m not trying to be dismissive. You might not have tried them. Textured ones are a bit of an acquired taste, right? Haha.”

“Why carry condoms when you can’t even eat them? Are these guys playing around?”

“Well, um…”

In a certain sense, they are for consumption, just not by mouth.

Suspicion clung to the men’s eyes. Jungwoo couldn’t bring himself to say, “Yes, they’re for consumption, I planned to use them,” so he was inwardly frustrated.

The sense of crisis from earlier had vanished, leaving only embarrassment. Why did he have to bring three boxes of textured condoms of all things?

Finally, Hyuk, who had been quietly watching the scene, spoke in a low voice.

“Condoms can be used instead of canteens. You can collect water or store rainwater in them.”

“Drink water from these?”

Drinking water from condoms? This was news to Jungwoo too.

“They’re actually quite useful for that.”

That’s a lie. He never did that.

“Do you think we’d carry condoms for that situation? We’re not crazy.”

But that’s exactly why they were brought. And there’s a completely crazy person here who keeps begging for it every day.

“You expect us to believe that?”

“If you’re curious, try it. There are stories of people surviving accidents by using condoms as water containers.”

Surprisingly, this was true. Hyuk had actually read about such a case in an international news snippet.

Then, one of the men who had been listening quietly to Hyuk spoke up.

“Jinwan Hyung, now that you mention it, that makes sense. Condoms stretch well, right? And with the textured ones, they’re sturdy too. We could use them as canteens when it rains during our hunts.”

As the atmosphere seemed to calm down, Jungwoo let out a sigh of relief inside. Indeed, interpretation is often more important than the dream itself.

While the man called ‘Jinwan’ engaged in a silent showdown with Junghyuk, one of the gang pulled out a textured condom and stretched it.

Watching this, Jungwoo closed his eyes to suppress his laughter.

“Hyung, when we searched the trunk, there were only some half-drunk water bottles and moldy jerky. These guys are broke.”

“Shit, we’re screwed. Just bring the car. Take these guys to the camp, Seung-ok.”

At the command, the man called Seung-ok roughly shoved Hyuk and Jungwoo into the van.

At that moment, Hyuk’s eyes met Jungwoo’s confused gaze, his own eyes curving with interest.

Even if one is full of composure, isn’t it normal to feel some sense of crisis in such situations? Hyuk seemed truly to be a madman whose brain was dominated by dopamine and adrenaline.

Jungwoo sighed inwardly, fidgeting with his bound hands.

Despite the frightening situation, being with Hyuk somehow made him feel like everything would work out, diminishing his sense of crisis.

+++

A short while later, unfamiliar landscapes passed by outside the old window. Fortunately, Hyuk and Jungwoo’s Jeep was being towed by Jinwan’s gang rather than abandoned.

After keeping silent between Hyuk and the kidnappers for a while, Jungwoo cautiously spoke up.

“Where are you taking us?”

“…”

Right, they wouldn’t answer.

As Jungwoo pouted, Hyuk, who had been watching him, spoke instead.

“What do you need, resources or people?”

At that, the man holding the steering wheel glanced back and spoke slowly with dead eyes.

“Blood.”

“…”

So it’s people. Shit, this is just like that. Seeking a healthy, disease-free OHyung in his twenties. Immediate payment.

Jungwoo swallowed dryly and responded:

“AB, Rh-.”

“We’ll test it, and if it’s not, you die.”

Claiming to be the less common ABHyung rather than the more common A might give him a second longer to live. If it’s the rare Rh-, they might not kill him easily.

Hyuk, meeting Jungwoo’s eyes, smirked. He then crossed his legs arrogantly and spoke slowly:

“Either way, you die, whether it matches or not. Are you guys trying to make some kind of vaccine with human blood? Idiots. Even experts are still scratching their heads over this, and you think you can do something?”

“This guy talks too much!”

The man in the driver’s seat snapped back angrily.

Why can’t he just stay quiet! Whether they’re trying to make a vaccine or catch zombies, what’s the point of asking about such meaningless things!

Jungwoo’s eyes bulged in silent protest.

As expected, the man next to him, whose nerves seemed to be on edge, raised his hand to hit Hyuk.

No, not the face, please. Hyuk’s everything else is trash, but his face…

“Wait, leave his face out of this…!”

Could you hit him, but not his face, Jungwoo was about to say when Hyuk kicked the man who had raised his hand hard with his crossed leg.

With a thud, the man, hit in the groin, collapsed, foaming at the mouth. At the same time, Junghyuk, who had deftly cut through his duct tape, quickly pressed a blade to the neck of the man in the driver’s seat. It was the utility knife he had used to teach self-defense to Jungwoo.

“Huh, huh…”

The man in the driver’s seat turned pale as soon as the knife touched his neck.

“Keep driving. Act like nothing’s happened.”

Seeing Hyuk skillfully threaten, Jungwoo stood there with his mouth agape, blinking.

The form makes the man. Seeing a different side of Hyuk, who usually just flirted and made lewd jokes, Jungwoo felt his mind spinning in a new way.

The combination of the low, threatening voice and the veins bulging on his angry forearm hit Han Jungwoo hard in the back of his head.

‘I’ve added another weird fetish. Now I’m undeniably a hardcore pervert.’

He pushed aside his lament about his own libido and let out a sigh of relief towards Hyuk.

“I really aged ten years there.”

A triumphant smile spread across Hyuk’s smug face. Meanwhile, the man who was holding the steering wheel with trembling hands spoke with difficulty:

“W-where should I go?”

“Yeah, let’s go to your base camp.”

“Wh-what?!”

Even Jungwoo, who had been listening in admiration, jumped in surprise this time.

Instead of escaping, they’re going to the base camp? It’s like catching a tiger and then going into its den.

“Hyung, wait a minute. Why are we going to their base camp?”

“Our Jeep is at the back, and there are others following. If we escape or take a side road now, everything we’ve gathered will be lost. Isn’t that a waste?”

“It is a waste, but isn’t this too dangerous?”

Hyuk reached out, grabbed the duct tape from the passenger seat, and threw it towards Jungwoo.

“Instead, let’s do what you wanted to do.”

Huh? What I wanted? Jungwoo’s eyes widened.

“Binding play.”

“What? Suddenly? In this situation?”

His pupils shook wildly. Jungwoo turned his gaze towards the man in the driver’s seat.

Surely, he’s not suggesting we do binding play with him? That doesn’t seem like his taste.

Seeing Jungwoo’s lukewarm expression of confusion, Junghyuk added with a fox-like smile:

“Han Jungwoo, you’ll be tied up. And so will I.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“If we do it my way, we won’t have to go around looking for water or canned goods for a while. I don’t want to suffer a loss and run away after coming this far.”

What is this Hyung really talking about? Jungwoo grabbed his head in confusion.

Meanwhile, the man in the driver’s seat, listening to their conversation, felt like knocking his head against the windshield until he passed out.

‘These crazy bastards! What kind of conversation are they having…’

+++

One year and two months since the zombie outbreak worldwide.

As Hyuk had told Jungwoo, South Korea was maintaining its systems relatively well compared to other countries.

Government trucks regularly delivered supplies to various regions to help survivors live. Portable water purification kits were distributed to purify rainwater for drinking. Radio broadcasts aired disaster alerts and missing person searches daily.

But that was until about three months ago.

Overwhelmed by the rapidly increasing number of infected, the government gradually reduced the supply of goods. Portable water purification kits were now nowhere to be found.

Radio broadcasts only reported news related to large-scale infections, and there were no more broadcasts searching for missing people.

Kim Jinwan’s gang had decided that relying on government supplies was not enough for survival and was a group of people committed to ruthless self-sustenance.

This ‘ruthless self-sustenance’ included using others as bait or even selling human flesh to buy water, and also involved attempts to solve the fundamental problem of the ‘zombie outbreak.’

Zombies all had brain issues, so maybe we should try eating a healthy person’s brain?

Should we cover ourselves with charcoal powder, which is said to be effective for purification?

Maybe if we heat zombie blood and inject it, it could act like a vaccine…

All these were hypotheses put forth by Kim Jinwan’s gang, and of course, they were all nonsense. There was a truckload of other crazy acts that would have made Han Jungwoo gasp and roll his eyes if he’d heard them.

The reason for kidnapping Junghyuk and Jungwoo was an extension of this. They were currently conducting research to create a cure by combining the blood of healthy individuals with that of zombies.

Of course, calling it research was generous; in reality, it was just mad, futile attempts.

Hearing this from the man in the driver’s seat, Han Jungwoo couldn’t hide his dismay.

Would there be no regrets if they lived and died so ruthlessly? Shouldn’t they live and die like humans?

On the other hand, Junghyuk just nodded with a smile as if he had expected this. Unlike Jungwoo, he showed no dismay or surprise.

“The hunting team is here!”

The door of the van carrying the two men opened, and Junghyuk and Jungwoo, with their hands tied with duct tape, slowly emerged from the car.

The man who had been hit in the groin and the driver remained silent under Hyuk’s threat to cut off their fingers.

Originally, the cohesion of a group bound by selfishness is fragile. When Hyuk promised to just retrieve the car and bring back some water, the two men quietly backed down.

“Just the two of you today?”

“Yeah, but it was a bust. They had nothing, and we only recovered the car.”

At the base camp, about five or six people were gathered. It seemed that half of the group were hunters, and the other half were guards watching over the base camp.

Jungwoo blinked a couple of times as he looked at Hyuk. Hyuk, with a slight smile, gave a casual nod, signaling him not to worry.

⋮

About forty minutes earlier.

— Hyuk, even if I’m a pervert, I have no intention of fooling around with you in this situation! What kind of crazy bondage play is this?!

— Let’s save the fucking around for later.

— Regardless of whether we do it or not… I do want to have sex, but not in this situation! Are you out of your mind?

Jungwoo’s eyes darted around. He knew he wasn’t exactly normal, but the more he looked at this Hyuk, the more he seemed out of his mind.

Subduing the assailants was fine, but suddenly suggesting bondage play?

On top of that, he remembered that Jungwoo had a fantasy about bondage, which was even more annoying.

— I am in my right mind. With our current supplies, we can hold out for now, but not for a month, Jungwoo.

Hyuk said, twirling a box cutter in his hand.

He was right. With the supplies in the jeep, they could last about three weeks at most.

— So what?

— Don’t you think there might be something worth taking at their base camp?

— So, you’re saying we should raid it?

Finding supplies by wandering aimlessly seemed less appealing than raiding the kidnappers’ base camp to stock up. But wasn’t it too dangerous?

— I’ll sneak in and look for anything worth taking. You just wait quietly somewhere. If they threaten to kill you, tell them you’re an engineer. …You remember how to untie yourself, right?

Hyuk tore off a piece of tape and loosely wrapped it around Jungwoo’s wrist. Only then did Jungwoo understand the meaning of Hyuk’s “bondage play.”

In short, they would pretend to be captured, infiltrate the enemy’s base, and then steal from their storage.

⋮

…And that’s how they ended up here.

The duct tape around Jungwoo’s wrist was loose enough that he could free himself with a little effort, as Hyuk had shown him earlier.

“I regret teaming up with you, Hyuk.”

“Why? Isn’t it thrilling?”

Of course, it was thrilling. It was so thrilling that he felt like crying.

Jungwoo glared at Jinwan, who was pushing him and Junghyuk forward, and reluctantly moved his feet.

In a corner of the base camp, there was something like a cage, and inside it were zombies.

Oh my god. He used to think zombies ate humans, but now humans were raising zombies.

Seeing Jungwoo’s distorted expression, Jinwan scoffed.

“I bet the young one’s blood is fresher, right? What’s your blood type?”

“AB. I haven’t been tested yet.”

“How old are you?”

Jinwan looked at Jungwoo, who hesitated before answering.

“Twenty… one.”

“Nice. And him?”

Junghyuk calmly replied,

“Thirty-five.”

Thirty… what? Thirty-five?

“Leave the kid for now and draw blood from that guy first. Keep him on standby after that.”

Drawing blood or not, Jungwoo’s mind was echoing with the number “thirty-five.”

Thirty-five. A fourteen-year age difference. He started imagining a hypothetical scenario in his head.

‘Jinhee, this is my survival partner and sex partner, Hyuk. Hyuk, this is my best friend, Jin Jinhee.’

‘What? You don’t have a girlfriend, and you’re calling him your sex partner? How old is he?’

‘Um, he’s thirty-five. He’s fourteen years older than us.’

‘This bastard? Hello, police?’

Crazy. This wasn’t just a bastard; it was a wanted criminal-level bastard.

He lied about his age, saying he was six years younger? No wonder he didn’t answer when asked if he was a generation apart.

…Right, a fourteen-year difference isn’t a generation apart. It’s two years more than that.

Seeing Jungwoo’s confused expression, Hyuk smiled strangely and walked away. He seemed quite calm for someone about to have his blood drawn.

“Hey! Hurry up!”

At the continued urging, Jungwoo dragged his reluctant feet forward, thinking that if he got out of here safely, he would rip that shameless bastard’s dick off.

+++

Jinwan’s gang had set up their base camp in a large underground bookstore in downtown Seoul.

Until last year, the place was bustling with people. Now, it was a dark and desolate ruin.

Jungwoo quickly scanned the area.

Any stationery that could aid in survival seemed to have been stolen, leaving only books for kindling, old perfumes, children’s toys, and old records scattered on spare shelves.

“Stay here and don’t do anything stupid.”

One of the gang members locked him in the bookstore’s storage room. The sound of the door closing echoed, and an eerie darkness fell.

Jungwoo remembered Hyuk’s advice and quickly cut the duct tape from his wrist.

Although it was dark, fortunately, Jungwoo had taken Hyuk’s advice to always carry a light source and had a lighter hidden in his sock. He lit the lighter, and the small flame illuminated the area.

‘I wanted to go on a date with my girlfriend at the library when I got to college. But in reality, instead of a date, I’m locked up in a bookstore with a stranger.’

He rolled his eyes and sat down on a pile of books.

Hyuk didn’t seem too worried. For some reason, he seemed to be enjoying this apocalypse, especially these dangerous situations.

I shouldn’t talk, considering my hobby before meeting Hyuk was masturbating with sex toys in the base camp.

Perhaps because of that attitude, Hyuk seemed like he could calmly escape even from great crises.

Come to think of it, Hyuk had said to me, “I thought you would somehow manage to survive.” He probably had the same impression of me as I do of him now.

Our first meeting was when he was masturbating with a vibrator and a condom, so it makes sense he would think that.

“The problem isn’t Hyung, it’s me. Why did I get involved with a con artist like this?”

Mom was right. You should judge people by their character, not their appearance.

Jungwoo kicked over a pile of old magazines stacked in a corner of the room.

The magazines, which included academic journals, women’s fashion magazines, and performance magazines, collapsed to the floor. Among them was a naked photo of a man and a title: “Bad Girl.”

“Oh, what’s this?”

It was the cover of an adult magazine.

“Ahem, ahem.”

Jungwoo looked around the empty room, as if he were picking up a 1,000 won bill from the street, before bending down to pick up the magazine.

On the cover was a bald man with a hairy chest and a deep tan. Flipping through the pages quickly, he found photos that made his face flush.

Ah, indeed, listening to an elder’s advice was the right thing to do. There was definitely a lot to gain.

Just before arriving here, Hyuk had told him to stay still. He said he would gather everything they needed and somehow signal him, so Jungwoo shouldn’t cause any trouble.

Unless something unexpected happened, there was no need for him to do anything.

He grinned and started looking for other magazines.

He found several adult magazines, but the famous ones were already gone. It seemed that even in a world on the brink of collapse, human desire hadn’t completely disappeared.

Fortunately, the “Bad Girl” series that Jungwoo was looking for was still well-stocked. It seemed to be a niche magazine.

Jungwoo’s round eyes narrowed with curiosity. He sat down on the floor and picked up a few issues of the “Bad Girl” series.

Most of the covers featured macho men with tanned skin. Looking at the hair on their chests, he felt more curious than aroused.

‘Hmm, maybe macho men aren’t my type after all.’

Jungwoo clicked his tongue in disappointment and skimmed through the rest of the back issues. The subtitles were all shocking.

“Sexy Body You Want to Hold,” “My First Play,” “Thrilling Outsider,” “Screw Me, Engineer”…

Wait, what was that last one? Engineers do more than just screw things.

He tsked and put the magazine back on the shelf, but then he noticed an old back issue in the corner.

The subtitle read: “Decadent and Rebellious Hot Guys of Asia.”

“…….”

Decadent and rebellious hot guys? Maybe there are some handsome guys like Han Jungwoo.

“I’m curious about these decadent, rebellious hot guys.”

Let me see these decadent and rebellious hot guys.

Jungwoo eagerly pulled out the magazine and opened it.

…Or tried to. He actually opened it, then closed it again to look at the cover.

“…Huh? Did I see that wrong?”

Asia’s decadent and rebellious hot guys. Knox Cha (Knox Cha). Real name Cha Junghyuk.

“Why the hell is Hyung in here?”

Hyuk was wearing unbuckled blue jeans pulled down to reveal his underwear band, with his long black hair half-tied back. He had a rebellious and seductive expression, looking at Jungwoo with his head tilted.

His body was marked with what looked like deliberately drawn scratches and handprints, and a thick, opaque white oil dripped from his cheek down to his well-defined abs.

Junghyuk was licking the oil that had splashed onto his face. His eyes, wet with tears, looked seductive.

All sorts of explicit thoughts and questions flooded Jungwoo’s mind.

‘Wow, Hyung looks good with long hair. Whoever did this setup knew what they were doing. But more importantly, was Hyung a model?’

He couldn’t help but laugh.

Opening the magazine, he saw Hyuk’s name in the main section.

Behind several photos of him half-naked was a short interview.

Korean fashion model.

From a rising star to a charismatic man who captivates men and women alike. Knox.

Indeed, he is the kind of man who can charm anyone. After all, he’s the crazy guy who’s screwing someone fourteen years younger than him.

And with his English name being ‘Knox Cha,’ it sounded like ‘green tea,’ which was amusing and odd. Jungwoo put aside his thoughts and read the interview carefully.

Interviewer: Hello, Knox. Long time no see.

Knox: Hi, Celine. You look as beautiful as ever.

Interviewer: This time, we shot with the concept of ‘Decadent and Rebellious Hot Guys of Asia.’ It’s been five years since your debut. You’ve grown so much since then.

The interview didn’t contain anything special. It was mostly a review of his fashion work and runway shows over the years.

Jungwoo, who knew nothing about fashion, couldn’t tell how impressive these achievements were. But from the way the interviewer listed his accomplishments, he could tell that Hyuk was more than just an amateur working underground.

‘A man this famous… is raiding a survivor camp with me? And talking nonsense about drinking water from a condom?’

In disbelief, he turned the page. The following Q&A caught Jungwoo’s attention.

Interviewer: We’re a bit of a ‘special’ magazine, Knox. So, we want to ask you some special questions.

Knox: Oh, sure. I know what you mean. (Laughs)

Interviewer: We want to know about your sexual preferences. Do you have any favorite plays or fetishes?

Knox: I’m attracted to older women. The more active they are in bed, the better. I also enjoy slightly sadistic or rough play. Specifically, I like to dominate my partner.

Interviewer: Oh, you have a wild side. That fits well with this issue’s theme.

“Han Jungwoo, you must be crazy. I should have bought a lottery ticket before the zombie outbreak. What on earth is happening?”

Jungwoo felt dizzy. He closed the magazine, tucked it under his arm, and stared blankly at the flickering flame of the lighter.

When they first met, Hyuk had referred to himself as a “piece of trash,” which had shocked Jungwoo. But it seemed that in the modeling world, where beautiful women were abundant, Hyuk had enjoyed himself thoroughly.

‘Speaking of sadistic play, does that mean using whips or candles? I don’t like that.’

Jungwoo couldn’t believe the situation and lost himself in useless thoughts for a while. Because of that, he didn’t notice the commotion outside.

Some time later, the firmly locked shutter rolled up, and only then did Jungwoo realize that something unusual was happening outside.

He turned off the hot lighter and crouched on the warehouse floor. Through the gap in the shutter, he heard the sound of breaking objects and screams mixed together in a chaotic noise.

As he was about to stick his head out through the shutter to see what was happening outside,

“Aaaah!”

“Ah, shit! Whoa……!”

Jungwoo barely managed to cover his mouth. A man was desperately trying to squeeze his head through the partially open shutter. Fortunately, he wasn’t a zombie, but his expression was far from reassuring.

“Hey… save me! Save…….”

The man was dragged out with a painful scream, as if someone was pulling him from behind.

A terrifying cacophony of human screams and the groans of the undead poured out.

‘Could it be, maybe…’

He remembered the zombies in the cage he had seen when he was brought here. The lock on the cage didn’t look very sturdy.

…Damn it. He could guess what was happening outside without even looking. Had Hyuk been caught up in it too? He couldn’t have been bitten, could he?

Suddenly, his heart started racing. The sense of reality he had pushed to the back of his mind returned.

Being with a crazy person must have made him lose his mind too. Even though Hyuk had told him to stay still, he was still human after all.

If the zombies had escaped from the cage as expected, it wouldn’t be easy for Hyuk, who was outside with the kidnappers, to survive.

Jungwoo rolled up a magazine, lit the end with the lighter, and used it as a torch. There was nothing else around that could serve as a light source.

“Let’s get out of here, Han Jungwoo. Stay alert. There’s still so much I want to do. It would be too sad to die now.”

The storage space in the bookstore was too narrow to hide. If a zombie came in, he would have to play tag around a spare display case in the center.

Until now, Han Jungwoo had never been trapped in a confined space with zombies. That was one of the reasons he had survived so far.

In other words, once trapped with zombies, survival became extremely difficult.

‘I have to avoid that. Staying here is suicide.’

He approached the half-open shutter. He crumpled several pages of a thin academic journal, set them on fire, and threw them through the shutter. Soon, he heard the groans of the undead.

“Damn, there are quite a few nearby.”

This was troublesome. The number of zombies at the base camp entrance seemed to be at least a dozen.

In contrast, the number of survivors Jungwoo remembered was about twelve.

With more zombies than survivors, and considering how easily the man who had stuck his head through the shutter had been taken down, it was clear that the zombies had been released unexpectedly, perhaps due to a surprise attack or an accident.

This meant that if he went out now, he would likely encounter a horde of rampaging zombies.

“Cha Junghyuk, you said you wouldn’t let me die! Why do you always cause trouble wherever you go, you bastard!”

Now he couldn’t even call him Hyung. If this guy came back alive, he would definitely pull out all his hair, model or not.

He searched the spare display case, his only hope, for a solution. He needed something that could be used as a weapon.

Jungwoo remembered the old perfume bottles he had seen earlier on the display case. Perfume contains oil, which means it’s flammable.

“If only I had a soju bottle… Let’s give it a try.”

He gathered the perfume and some rolled-up thick posters, and slowly began pushing the spare display case out through the shutter. He planned to use it as a temporary shield.

As the display case and his body emerged from the warehouse, several zombies that had been feasting on a survivor’s corpse rushed toward him.

“Fuck, Cha Junghyuk, you crazy bastard! I’ve never fought a zombie bare-handed before!”

He shouted a string of curses and lit the end of a large poster soaked in perfume. Fortunately, the tightly rolled poster burned well, and he could swing it like a torch.

He thrust the burning end of the poster at an approaching zombie, and it caught fire. The zombie, with its head ablaze, collapsed after a few steps.

“Good, good… Keep it up, Jungwoo. Find Cha Junghyuk, that crazy bastard, see if he’s alive, steal any car, and get out of here.”

He cautiously pushed the display case forward.

The situation looked worse than expected. Most of the survivors were already dead on the floor or barely hiding behind a van parked at the base camp entrance.

There was no sign of Hyuk among them.

“Where the hell is this guy?”

Even though they were strangers and this bastard had put him in this hell, they had shared life and death for a week. He felt he should at least check if Hyuk was alive.

“Cha Junghyuk! Hyuk!”

As he called out Hyuk’s name, nearby zombies began to rush toward him.

“This is insane.”

The fire on the poster was burning down. As Jungwoo swung the shortened torch, another zombie charged at the display case he was using as a shield. The display case shook but didn’t topple over.

‘Damn it, this isn’t good. Why are these things so strong and crazy even though they’re already dead?’

Jungwoo immediately pushed the display case with his back and lit the end of another rolled-up poster. A starving disaster with its mouth wide open was scratching at the display case.

‘Hurry, hurry up and catch fire! Why won’t this burn?’

Maybe the perfume was too old. No matter how much he held the lighter to it, it only smoked a little and didn’t catch fire.

Eventually, the lighter flame flickered and died. It seemed to have run out of gas.

…I’m doomed.

“Damn, I think I’m really screwed.”

Should he have stayed in the warehouse until everyone outside was dead? That way, he could have lived another fifteen minutes. At least he could have seen his life flash before his eyes.

He threw away the charred poster and, as a last resort, tightly rolled up the magazine he had tucked under his arm.

It was the back issue of the magazine featuring Cha Junghyuk.

“Since it’s come to this, I’ll do something with this bastard.”

A rolled-up book can be a good self-defense weapon. Maybe. Even if the opponent is a zombie… It’s better than bare hands.

“Let’s run!”

As soon as Jungwoo stepped back from the display case, an approaching zombie knocked it over and lunged at him.

He prepared to swing a tightly rolled magazine with space between his hands. The outside of the rolled magazine began to get damp with the sweat from Jungwoo’s hands. Was this how he was going to die?

That’s when it happened.

With a screech of friction, a black van blocked Jungwoo’s path. The zombie, blocked by the car, started banging on the door, screaming.

“…Fuck.”

The driver’s door opened, and a man with a calm expression waved at Jungwoo. It was Junghyuk.

“Need a ride? Where to?”

“Hyung!”

This nutcase. Seeing that there was still composure on his face, it seemed he hadn’t been hurt or bitten, which was a stroke of luck.

“Scared, huh? I told you to stay put. Stop dawdling and get in. Not liking my pickup line?”

“Yes! Damn, it’s so bad!”

How could he say something like that with all this chaos? Does he have nine lives?

Seeing Hyuk unscathed made Jungwoo genuinely furious.

“There’s a lot of stuff in the passenger and back seats, so two people in the driver’s seat might be tough?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never driven a van!”

“Then just sit on me. No time to move stuff around.”

Jungwoo, with tears in his eyes, squeezed into the driver’s seat of the van. His upper body, touching the roof of the van, was awkwardly bent.

“Can you see my hands shaking? I nearly died! How could you expect me to just wait calmly in that situation?! Anyone could see that was a near-death scenario!”

He shoved his foot on the accelerator and stomped hard. The zombie scratching at the window was hit by the car, flying away and getting crushed.

Perhaps due to flirting with life and death, a thought suddenly crossed Jungwoo’s mind.

“Did Hyung open the cage door?”

“I did.”

“Are you crazy! What if you got bitten?”

“I didn’t get bitten.”

“Do you have multiple lives? Even I wouldn’t do something that crazy!”

Had he gathered everything necessary? From blankets and pillows to various edible foods, the back and passenger seats were packed. Among them was Jungwoo’s backpack, which had been taken by Jinwan.

“Hyung seems to have a screw loose. You keep warning me to be cautious of people, but you’re not scared of zombies?”

“People with intelligence are scarier than zombies. The ones who give up being human during a disaster are more frightening than the disaster itself. Remember that.”

This was like talking to a wall. Giving up on normal conversation, Jungwoo angrily turned the wheel, mowing down the approaching zombies.

His hands were trembling on the steering wheel, but his driving was still impeccable. Hyuk looked down at Jungwoo with eyes full of interest.

“Your face says you’re scared to death, but your driving is still ruthless.”

“Enough, Hyung. When we get back, we’re having a hearing.”

“Suddenly?”

“I’ve got a lot to ask Hyung.”

“Oh, about the ‘thirty-five’?”

“Among other things. The age, and your fearless scheming… and that.”

Jungwoo nodded towards a crumpled magazine he had thrown onto the passenger seat when he got in. Seeing the magazine cover, Hyuk burst into laughter.

“Right, that building used to be a bookstore. How did you find something like this in all that chaos? Weren’t you actually not scared at all? You… ouch, that hurts, Jungwoo.”

“Shut up. I thought I was going to die from fear, so keep quiet.”

Jungwoo elbowed Hyuk in the chest, then sent the last zombie blocking their way flying, neatly turning the vehicle to escape from the bookstore building.

At the entrance of the base camp stood Kim Jinwan, looking shocked. His left arm was bleeding with a large bite mark on it.

Leaving behind creatures sensing their impending doom, the two survivors drove out of the base camp leisurely.

Above the darkening sky, a small crescent moon was rising.