Biezom Pocalypse 16

“…….”

“I’m not trying to say something crazy….”

“I know. I know what you’re trying to say.”

“…You know? Did you feel it too? That Jae-i….”

Still has his consciousness.

Do-hyun dropped his gaze at Chae-rim’s unfinished words, seeming to drift briefly into his own thoughts. Chae-rim silently turned over the words she hadn’t been able to bring herself to say aloud, and watched him.

When she’d first brought this up with Do-hyun, she’d expected him to look uncomfortable. Maybe even go beyond discomfort — snap at her for talking nonsense, or get worked up asking her if she was serious.

But the Do-hyun in front of her right now was, if anything, remarkably calm. Not worked up in the slightest. Chae-rim studied him closely — the direction of his gaze, the movement of the muscles in his face, the rhythm of his breathing — and then quietly spoke.

“Do-hyun….”

“…….”

“You saw something, didn’t you.”

It made sense. There were only two possible reasons why Do-hyun — someone who would tense up the moment Jae-i’s name was even mentioned — could be this calm right now.

Either he wasn’t taking what she said seriously at all.

Or he had already seen something from Jae-i himself. Something even more certain than what she’d witnessed.

“What happened between you and Jae-i? Did he say something? What does Jae-yun know? Wasn’t he there with you?”

Do-hyun’s personality left the first possibility open enough, but right now, he didn’t look like he was dismissing her. More than anything, he’d already gotten ahead of her — saying he knew before she even brought Jae-i up — which made the second possibility feel all the more certain.

Do-hyun quietly took in the stream of questions, absently touching his ear, and then opened his mouth.

“Ask one thing at a time.”

“That’s because you don’t answer fast enough. Just tell me. Have you talked to Jae-yun about it?”

Chae-rim knew that pressing harder wouldn’t get her more answers, but even so, Do-hyun’s unexpected reaction made her feel strangely impatient.

Do-hyun seemed to sense that, and after a measured pause, he answered.

“Jae-yun doesn’t know. It was only me who saw it.”

“…….”

“He wouldn’t easily believe it anyway.”

Chae-rim went quiet this time at Do-hyun’s composed words. His language was still restrained, as it always was, but there seemed to be a great deal packed into those short sentences.

After a brief silence, she spoke again.

“…Then what about you?”

“…….”

“What did you see that makes you so sure?”

She didn’t know every side of Do-hyun, but from watching him through their time at school together, she knew he wasn’t the type to say things without conviction.

That was how she knew. Do-hyun was telling the truth.

Chae-rim waited, tension quietly coiling in her chest, watching Do-hyun’s closed mouth for the moment it would open. And then, slowly but unmistakably, it did.

“He pushed me away.”

“…….”

“The look in his eyes when he stared at me was clear. Focused. Like he genuinely recognized me.”

It was still the kind of thing that was hard to believe with a clear head — and yet Do-hyun’s voice carried no trace of doubt.

Chae-rim held his gaze for a long moment, searching his eyes for any sign of wavering, and found none. She sank down to the ground, legs folding beneath her.

“That can’t be real….”

Is that actually possible? Was what I felt right?

Chae-rim placed her hands on her trembling knees and brought back the image of Han Jae-i she’d seen.

Something was definitely off about him. A zombie who doesn’t attack people. And if what Do-hyun is saying is true, it wasn’t just that he didn’t attack — he actually helped Do-hyun on purpose….

“…So, so then what is Jae-i? Are you saying he might not be a zombie?”

Do-hyun gave a small, quiet tsk at the sound of Chae-rim’s voice, rattled and unsteady with confusion. Nothing had been confirmed yet — but this much, at least, he could say with certainty.

That Han Jae-i was different from an ordinary zombie. And that there was still reason to hold onto hope.

After a brief pause, Do-hyun pushed up his shirt sleeve and held out his wrist toward Chae-rim where she’d sunk to the ground.

“Nothing is certain. But I have no intention of giving up on Han Jae-i.”

And there on the wrist he extended was the red imprint of a hand — the mark left by Jae-i’s grip, tight and unmistakable. Watching the color deepen slowly with time, it was clear the red mark would soon darken into a purple bruise.

Chae-rim stared at the mark before her and looked up.

“I will get him back. No matter what.”

At those words, Chae-rim went still for a moment. She was just gathering herself to ask something when —

“…What? How are you going to—”

“Hey, what are you two doing over there?”

She turned toward the voice. It was Lee Min-jae. He’d poked his upper body around the corner of the wall and was looking at the two of them, huddled in the corner, with a puzzled expression.

The atmosphere shifted in an instant. Chae-rim was about to hurriedly push herself up when Do-hyun moved first — stepping away from where he’d been leaning and tucking one hand into his pocket as he walked casually over to Min-jae. And Chae-rim noted that the hand now in his pocket was the same hand he’d been showing her.

Do-hyun reached Min-jae first and draped his free arm around Min-jae’s shoulder as he stood there blankly.

“Just talking for a bit.”

“Hm? What about?”

“Hmm… talking behind your back?”

“Wh — what? Did I do something wrong?”

I’m joking, you idiot. Do-hyun’s voice drifted back as the two of them slowly moved away. Chae-rim watched from where she stood, and Do-hyun turned his head back to look at her, mouthing something without a sound.

We’ll talk later.

Chae-rim watched the two of them grow smaller in the distance. Only after their voices had faded far enough that she couldn’t hear them anymore did she let out a long breath and drop her head.

But the turmoil in her chest refused to settle.

* * *

If someone asked what was most needed when a zombie outbreak of unknown duration hit — the answer was a positive mindset that could get you back on your feet no matter what happened.

And the one who embodied that quality most actively was none other than Kim Jae-yun.

While everyone else sat on the pool floor watching the sun rise in silence, Jae-yun came dragging over a mattress and a large piece of fabric from somewhere, dropped them onto the floor with a thwack, and said,

“Hey, if we anchor this down properly, couldn’t we make it into like a tent?”

The “piece of fabric,” to be fair, was closer in size to a large blanket. Looking at the fixed pins at each corner, it seemed like he’d stripped some kind of promotional banner off the outside wall of the school.

Top-ranked educational institution as selected by the Ministry of Education — a school of excellence for cultivating global talent! The tagline was familiar enough that it was clearly something they’d passed by every single day coming and going from school.

Min-jae came over to Jae-yun, who had spread out the mat and was turning the crumpled fabric over in his hands, and helped hold it as he asked,

“Can you actually make a tent out of this?”

“Make a tent? Kim Jae-yun is actually so dumb. Spend that time going out to find food instead.”

But the answer came not from Jae-yun, but from Hong Seok-hui. Still, it seems like it might be useful though….

When Min-jae muttered that, Jae-yun whipped his head around and said,

“See — he said it seems useful. And a place to sleep is important. What’s the harm in making one?”

“We’re not going to live here forever, so what’s the point of setting up a sleeping space. Why don’t you just build a house and move in.”

“Even if we’re here just one day, we should be comfortable. And there’s got to be at least one person here who’d want to use the mat. Hey, Han Chae-rim. You want to use the mat?”

Another noisy argument broke out, and in the middle of it, everyone’s eyes suddenly turned to Chae-rim, who Jae-yun had just called out. Chae-rim, who was lying down with her navy cardigan as a pillow, didn’t even spare them a glance and answered flatly,

“No. I’ll toughen up.”

“See, what did I tell you.”

That single dry, detached line from Chae-rim sent their eyes swinging back to Jae-yun. She hadn’t exactly taken Seok-hui’s side, but Seok-hui acted as though he had Chae-rim squarely in his corner and turned on Jae-yun with renewed energy.

The bickering sounds that followed came right back, but Chae-rim didn’t look at them — she rolled completely over onto her other side to look at Do-hyun, who was sitting far away.

What on earth is Do-hyun thinking.

“I will get him back. No matter what.”

Chae-rim replayed the conversation she and Do-hyun had shared just the two of them.

After Min-jae’s appearance had cut it short in that unsatisfying way, Do-hyun had spent the whole time since returning here sitting apart from the group, leaning against the wall.

She’d considered going over to ask him about what he’d said, but given the situation, slipping off for a private conversation again seemed like it would only invite suspicion. Especially since Min-jae had already caught them talking once.

“Nothing is certain. But I have no intention of giving up on Han Jae-i.”

Besides — even if she asked, she doubted Do-hyun would tell her.

But she couldn’t pretend she hadn’t heard it either. Couldn’t just ignore a plan she’d already been made aware of.

“Haah….”

In the end, all she could do right now was breathe out that sigh, and turn over Do-hyun’s hidden intentions — already spoken and scattered into the air — and think about how in the world Jae-i could possibly be saved. Because if there was truly, truly even a one-in-a-million chance of saving Jae-i, they had to do everything in their power to make it happen.

Surviving here first, of course, being the top priority.

Chae-rim rolled over onto her back so she could see the pool ceiling above her. The gentle, quiet sound of the water, and this place that no zombie had yet broken into — it felt like an island adrift and cut off from the rest of the world. An island floating on the sea, knowing nothing of what was happening on the mainland — whether there were landslides, whether everything had fallen into chaos.

Lying here with her eyes quietly closed, everything in the real world started to feel unreal. If I never took a single step off this island, she thought, maybe everything loud and terrible outside it would stop having anything to do with me.

But reality wasn’t so forgiving — and that much, Chae-rim couldn’t close her eyes and run from.

It was already the full second day since the zombie outbreak had begun, and still nothing from the outside world.

Could it be that it’s not just us — that everyone in the country is going through this right now. Or maybe, even worse — that we’re the only ones who’ve survived at all. She was thinking that when —

“Oh? Where are you going?”

Do-hyun, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, suddenly got to his feet. He brushed off his knees and began walking past Chae-rim in the direction of where Jae-yun was.

Jae-yun spotted him and looked up to ask, and Do-hyun responded by patting Jae-yun on the shoulder and gesturing with a tilt of his head.

“Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“To get weapons.”

Min-jae, who had been watching, jumped in.

“Should I come too?”

“No. You three stay here and hold down the base. Someone has to stay and guard it. The situation still looks manageable for now, so I’ll go and be back while we still have time.”

“Okay, got it….”

Min-jae’s voice dropped a little, and he pulled his knees to his chest. At the same time, Jae-yun set down the fabric he’d been holding and hauled himself up with a grunt. He patted Min-jae on the back and said, hyung’s going and coming back.

Jae-yun hadn’t shown even a flicker of reluctance at Do-hyun’s sudden call, not even a hint of why me. Chae-rim found herself thinking that maybe the reason Jae-yun was the most likely to survive among all of them was precisely that attitude — that relentless, uncomplaining positivity.

“Come back safe.”

Chae-rim, who had been watching all of this from where she lay on the floor, opened her mouth quietly and called out to Do-hyun. Whatever the circumstances, in a situation like this, all they could do was look out for one another and lean on each other.

Do-hyun, hearing that, stopped mid-step and turned to look at Chae-rim. No words passed between them, but Chae-rim understood.

We are going to survive this, one way or another. We will hold on stubbornly and escape this suffocating place and reclaim our ordinary lives. And we will put everything back where it belongs.

She had promised herself that, hundreds of times over.