Chapter 6: Change
Chapter 6: Change
#
No 'Schneider's cat'—or rather, no zombie—jumped out at us in the hallway.
The stairwell was clear too.
We reached the rooftop door in silence, with only the rain sounding around us.
Seon-yeong gave me another silent signal and took hold of the door handle.
My gaze kept straying to the faint outline of her body through the garbage bag.
'Focus, you idiot. One moment of carelessness is all it takes.'
Rattle, rattle.
"Team Leader... it's locked."
"Damn... I didn't think of that. Why did I assume it would be open?"
There were two reasons I wanted to check the rooftop.
First, although it seemed unlikely, someone on the roof might have turned into a zombie.
Second, I wanted to see the roads beyond the playing field.
When I looked from the third-floor window, the fence around the field had blocked the road from view.
"The fact that it's locked suggests there aren't any zombies up there. Let's head back."
I couldn't think of any way to open the locked door and check the rooftop.
Wearing garbage bags and keyed up with tension, our little expedition ended with only half its goals achieved.
By the time we returned to the supply room, the sun was already setting.
"Looks like it'll be dark soon. We should rest here tonight and head out early tomorrow, don't you think?"
"Yes, I'm exhausted. Ugh... I thought I had decent stamina, but I feel like I'm dying."
We tried to make a plan for what to do next.
The most urgent thing was food.
We had enough water for now, but we hadn't eaten since lunchtime.
The next morning, we'd head out early and make finding food our first priority.
I looked at Seon-yeong, who had slumped onto the sofa, hesitated, then sat beside her.
Sitting on the cold, bare floor would mean I couldn't rest properly and might end up feeling even worse.
On the cramped sofa, even the slightest attempt to relax brought our bare skin into contact.
'Her hair is still wet.'
My hair was short enough to be fine, but Seon-yeong's was still damp.
Was it okay for her to stay wet like that for so long?
Her body heat would keep being sapped away.
She was already low on stamina, and I was worried she might catch a cold.
"It'll be cramped, but I'll sit beside you. I need to rest as comfortably as possible so my body can recover."
"Of course. Don't worry about me. We can't afford to be fussy in this situation. Still, I wonder if our clothes will ever dry. The temperature still swings a lot this time of year; it feels like it'll be cold tonight."
"Right. Getting around tomorrow is one thing, but I'm already worried about tonight. We haven't eaten anything. If we came down with a bad cold... ugh, I don't even want to think about it."
In these harsh conditions, even a cold was frightening.
If we got sick while exhausted, our lives could be at risk.
After sleeping, we'd have to go outside without knowing how many zombies awaited us.
We had the option of holding out here in relative safety, but we both immediately dismissed that idea.
If we didn't eat and continued weakening, we'd enter a vicious cycle that would be very hard to escape.
'I had to recover as much as possible tonight.'
As I thought about recovery, the Status Window suddenly came to mind.
When I focused on Enhanced Recovery and wished to raise it, Available Points decreased.
A 1 appeared beside Enhanced Recovery instead.
* Transformation: Optimization
* Enhanced Recovery (1)
* Available Points: 3
'So I could raise it? That meant my body's ability to recover would improve, right?'
But what did improved recovery actually entail?
The explanation was far too vague.
Stamina recovery was the only obvious interpretation.
I couldn't know for certain, but I spent all my remaining Available Points and raised Enhanced Recovery to 4.
"Should we get ready for bed?"
"Yes. Let's sleep early."
After resting for a while, we went to the restroom together, took turns using the toilet, brushed our teeth, and returned.
There was toothpaste but no toothbrushes, so we had to use our fingers.
I found myself tensing up again when we opened the door.
The zombie that had burst from a supposedly safe storage room seemed to have left me traumatized.
#
Patter, patter.
Night had fully fallen.
The sky through the supply room's small window was pitch-black, with faint silhouettes of storm clouds.
Rain tapped the glass and echoed softly through the cramped room.
"Team Leader. Come lie down here. I think we'll both be able to rest more comfortably."
As we rested side by side on the sofa, Seon-yeong spoke in a low voice as though she'd made a decision.
She stood up, looked at me, and spread out the blanket she'd been wrapped in.
I thought the dim outline of her body looked beautiful.
"If we rest our heads on the armrests, we can lie down, right? Ah, my feet still stick out a little."
When I lay down as she suggested, the problem became obvious.
This sofa was cheap junk.
The armrest was low enough to serve as a pillow, but my lower back sank so deeply that my body bent awkwardly.
I couldn't tell which was better, just sitting up to rest or lying down.
"I'll squeeze in between you and the backrest. Could you move your arm aside a little?"
Seon-yeong spread the blanket she'd had wrapped around herself and draped it over me.
Then, she carefully climbed over my body.
She wriggled into position, and we shared the blanket.
Like that, we ended up lying side-by-side, pressed tightly together, almost like lovers.
To rest properly, a person needed to lie down comfortably.
Once we were settled side by side, I was certain lying down was the better choice.
"It's too cramped, right? It must feel stuffy. Are you okay?"
"It's a little cramped, but your body is warm, Team Leader, and that feels nice. I've been freezing for a while. Haa... maybe I'm just tired, but I think I could fall asleep like this."
As Seon-yeong spoke, her breath tickled the nape of my neck.
That was because we were lying on our sides, facing each other.
Staying like this would no doubt be uncomfortable and stuffy.
But sharing body heat under one blanket was definitely warming me.
'Ah, shit. What do I do?'
Seon-yeong's soft skin against mine.
The yielding softness of her rounded breasts pressed against my chest.
The body of a woman who'd been nothing more than a company colleague just this morning was now vividly real against every part of me.
My erection rose on its own and pressed against her stomach.
But neither Seon-yeong nor I said anything. We simply lay still.
We remained like that in silence for a long time, sharing each other's warmth.
'Gulp.'
At some point, I found myself lowering my head little by little toward Seon-yeong's dimly lit face.
Haa... Haa...
As I drew closer, I heard the deep, steady breathing of someone asleep.
Barely ten minutes seemed to have passed since we'd settled down.
Then again, if I was this exhausted, how much harder must it have been for Seon-yeong?
I pulled the disheveled blanket up and wrapped it around her shoulders.
My body was tired, but a torrent of thoughts kept sleep away.
It wasn't even close to my usual bedtime.
'Anyway, it really was warmer like this.'
Thump, thump.
Thump.
I couldn't tell if it was my heartbeat or Ms. Choi's.
Listening to the quiet, steady beat, my last thought was that I wouldn't fall asleep. Then consciousness faded.
#
'Ugh, that's bright.'
The rain that had arrived with the zombies and made everything harder had stopped overnight.
I woke squinting against sunlight stabbing my eyes.
'Ah... when did I fall asleep?'
When I opened my eyes, I saw Seon-yeong still sleeping deeply.
Despite the uncomfortable sleeping arrangement, I'd slept deeply without waking up even once in the middle of the night.
'Oh? I felt better than yesterday.'
Feeling surprisingly refreshed, I sat up and saw Seon-yeong scowling at the sunlight.
Careful not to wake her, I propped some items up on the windowsill to cast a shadow over her.
I drank some water and started stretching.
As I loosened up my body, I definitely felt none of that typical morning stiffness.
Given how uncomfortable our bed had been, I'd assumed I'd be sore and aching all over.
Was this the effect of my ability?
Health mattered enormously, zombie outbreak or not.
Thinking about it that way, Enhanced Recovery seemed like a pretty good ability after all.
I'd been so envious of Seon-yeong's shield the day before.
It might not be a flashy ability like a shield, but I should be grateful I had anything at all.
Seriously... damn.
I looked down to find my erection standing proudly at attention.
Did Enhanced Recovery include sexual stamina too?
It was strange to call it recovery when I hadn't expended anything.
Either way, the morning wood put me in a surprisingly good mood.
"Team Leader, when did you wake up?"
After I'd stretched for a while, Seon-yeong woke up too.
She sat up on her side, and the blanket slipped down to her waist.
In the bright light, I couldn't help noticing how generous nature had been to her figure.
"Team Leader? You slept well, right? Are you okay?"
"Ah, yes. I feel great. Did you sleep well too, Seon-yeong?"
Seon-yeong's voice brought me back.
I dragged my gaze away from her generous figure.
I handed her some water, and we checked each other's condition.
When I said I felt much better than usual, perhaps because of my ability, Seon-yeong was so pleased she even clapped.
Ah... when she laughed and jiggled like that, those generous curves drew me in again.
"I'm better than I thought I'd be, too. I have some muscle aches, but considering everything, I feel incredibly good!"
"That's a relief. Well then, shall we get ready and head out?"
As expected, our clothes hadn't dried.
They smelled pretty bad, too, but without any real complaints, we both gathered up our damp clothes, got dressed, and prepared to leave.
As we went to the restroom together, the military buddy system suddenly came to mind.
We hadn't actually said anything to each other, but it seemed we'd silently agreed not to act alone.
"I think we've got everything, right?"
"Yes. Though there wasn't much to pack, anyway. We don't even have a single bag between us."
Each of us stuffed two bottles of water into our pockets and carried a baseball bat, ready to leave.
Our hunger was getting worse, so we needed to hurry.
"You're right. Let's go, then."
"Yep. Let's do our best today!"
The start of a day that had changed completely overnight.
The morning was clearly different from the one before and our situation grim, but we accepted the change and opened the door.