Cabin Fever in the Closet

The mannequin sprawled across the building entrance must have helped. Inside, it was quieter than I expected—especially compared to the living hell raging outside.

The city was being torn apart. The massive department store right next door made it hit even harder. I'd turned off the echo sonar, yet the sound of shattering glass walls still hammered my ears.

For the first time, I felt genuine fear toward the zombies. The dead had become one colossal living organism, swallowing the city whole. Other hunters might have already been caught in the chaos. But right now...

'This isn't the time to worry about other people.'

The building's interior was shaking violently too. The sounds of doors and furniture being smashed echoed from every direction.

'Good thing I checked that cabinet earlier.'

The cabinet had kept us safe so far. It was a hiding tactic I'd come up with while watching videos. I'd wondered if staying completely silent might let us hide like this—and it actually worked. Still, it wasn't perfectly safe. The zombies were stomping and smashing right on top of the cabinet. Thankfully it was sturdy enough not to get crushed.

Every time it happened, Yu Sia, curled up in my arms, would flinch and tremble. This was hardly the moment for thoughts like these, but...

'Ugh.'

The soft sensation was problematic. She must have felt the same way, because she kept trying to shift her position. But the space was so cramped there wasn't much she could do. I patted her shoulder, silently telling her to hang in there. She finally gave up and relaxed against me.

'She's kind of heavy.'

If I said that out loud, I'd get punched, right? The weight couldn't be helped, though. Her gear was seriously substantial.

'Walking around with all this on...'

It must have been even harder for her since she was a woman. Then, as if she'd reached the same conclusion, Yu Sia stowed her weapon and shield into her subspace bag. Next came the thick riding jacket and helmet.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa?'

The sensation against me grew even softer. Oh my god. If this keeps up, I'm going to lose my mind...

The inside of the cabinet was pitch black—no moonlight reached us at all. It was an environment where you couldn't help but focus entirely on touch!

'Our Father who art in heaven...'

I recited the Lord's Prayer to try and ignore the feeling.

'Namu Amitabha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva...'

I even chanted Buddhist scriptures. A dramatic interfaith merger born of sheer desperation. That's how dire the situation was.

Flinch!

A sudden shift made my body jerk. Yu Sia lightly tapped my shoulder in response. Then she traced something on my chest with her finger.

How the hell was I supposed to answer that? And I couldn't exactly put my hands on her body, could I? Wouldn't that cross a serious line?

'Is this some kind of scheme from Yu Sia?!'

To cancel out the debt from the ghost boots! 'If you don't want to go to prison, let's just pretend this never happened?' It was possible!

'Wait, am I overthinking this?'

The more I tried to think of something else, the more random thoughts flooded in.

Was she asking because she expected an answer? Instead of replying, I gently patted her back.

She flinched again. Hey, why are you the one flinching after asking? Your Honor, I swear I was trying to stay perfectly still!

It was a tense situation, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but thanks to our very particular circumstances, the sense of danger faded into the background as time passed. About three hours went by like that. The waves outside still hadn't stopped, of course.

Gurgle.

A sound came from Yu Sia's stomach. She let out a tiny gasp.

'No wonder she's hungry.'

With her body enhanced like that, her energy consumption must be insane. All she'd eaten was a cup of ramen.

'Food is one thing, but...'

We couldn't sleep either. If we dozed off and made any noise, it would be game over. So we had no choice but to stay awake, bodies pressed together.

'Don't think about it. Don't think about it.'

I started mentally singing the national anthem. Please don't let this be my final act of patriotism.

Another three hours passed.

'We should be able to head out soon.'

The building had been quiet for a while now. The zombies must have all moved on. It still sounded chaotic outside, but...

'We should be fine to leave now.'

I activated the echo sonar to check. No guttural growls nearby.

"Sia."

"Yeah..."

"I think it's safe to go out now."

"Haa... finally. But how ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do we get out?"

"Ah?"

Right. I'd only been focused on surviving. I hadn't thought about the exit strategy. Yu Sia went quiet too, apparently drawing a blank.

"Oh."

"What? Did you think of something?"

I had. But...

"Well, it's a bit..."

"What is it? Just tell me."

"This is purely for escaping. There's absolutely no other meaning behind it."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Just say it already."

I groaned internally.

"We have to hold each other tight and roll sideways."

It wouldn't be easy, but there was no other way.

"Ugh."

Yu Sia looked just as uncomfortable as I felt. It's not like I wanted to do this either. Probably.

"No choice. Let's do it."

"Got it. Put your gear back on first. We might get hurt while rolling."

"Okay."

Once she was fully equipped again...

"I'm ready," she whispered, sounding embarrassed.

Don't whisper like that!

"Then let's start."

With our arms wrapped tightly around each other...

"One, two, three!"

I rolled hard from left to right.

Clunk.

"Oh, that worked?"

It still wasn't enough momentum.

"We need more force. As soon as we roll one way, immediately roll back the other way."

"Okay, let's try."

We held each other tight again. Rolled left—clunk. Then right—

Whoosh.

"One more time!"

THUD!

The cabinet finally tipped over. The full force of the impact slammed into my back.

"Jaeha, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just gonna lie here ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for a second."

"Then... I'll head out first."

"Sure."

Yu Sia quickly scrambled out of the cabinet. Whew. I survived. In more ways than one.

After slapping pain relief patches all over my body, I crawled out and was hit by a delicious smell. Yu Sia was cooking something.

'Perfect timing. I'm starving.'

The building was quiet inside, but the chaos outside continued. Hopefully eating would help pass the time until it died down. I sat a short distance away.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

The awkward atmosphere was almost unbearable.

"What are you making?"

"Kimchi stew."

"Wait, for real? Actual kimchi stew?"

You could make kimchi stew inside the tower?

Yu Sia lifted the lid of the small pot.

"Whoa."

It was bubbling away nicely.

"It's a retort pouch version. I just added some canned ham."

"Ah. Where'd you get it?"

I'd never heard of anything like that on the Hunter Gallery. Even cup ramen was pretty rare.

"You can find them in mid-sized marts on the second floor. Smaller stores don't carry them."

A mart that size must have been hard to clear.

"So it's a pretty rare item, huh?"

"Hehe, yeah."

Yu Sia smiled proudly. She had every right to. It couldn't have been easy.

"It's ready."

"Thanks for the meal."

Bubbling kimchi stew paired with instant rice. Quite the luxurious meal under the circumstances.

'We're not eating separately this time, huh?'

I glanced at Yu Sia while we ate. Her face was faintly visible in the darkness, delicate features outlined by moonlight. Sia really was beautiful...

After finishing the meal, we planned our next move.

"Should we cross the road again?"

"Yeah. This place is too dangerous."

No matter what, we couldn't keep farming here. The area was surrounded by roads on all sides. One loud noise and the zombies would swarm.

"How about over there?"

The shopping district across the street looked perfect for farming.

"I was thinking the same thing."

Great minds think alike.

"Let's head back to our base first, then slowly clear this area as we go?"

"Sounds good."

We checked our gear one last time.

"Ready to move?"

She nodded.

We slipped out of the building in silence.

'Wow...'

The city was in absolute ruins. It wasn't just the structures we'd passed through. Building exteriors, abandoned vehicles, street trees, lampposts, sidewalk blocks, even the asphalt—everything bore the scars of destruction.

'Gotta be careful.'

The biggest problem was all the debris crunching underfoot with every step. One wrong move and I'd trip and roll. And if that happened...

I lowered my body until my nose nearly touched the ground. Focusing hard, I took one careful step after another. In that suffocating tension, I spent three whole minutes crossing what should have taken ten seconds.

"Grrrrk."

"Gwooooo."

We slipped past the tightly packed zombies and made our way back to base.

'Finally feels like I can breathe.'

The roads were the most dangerous, but the shopping district was no joke either. Once the aggro started, the ones sleeping inside buildings would come pouring out.

"Let's start clearing from that building."

"Got it."

We couldn't skip any of them. Leaving even one behind out of laziness could block our escape route later. At least most of the buildings were closed off, which helped.

The moment we entered the jokbal restaurant—

Thud! I grabbed a collapsing zombie and pinned it down.

Kwajik! Yu Sia took one down too.

'Hm?'

But something was off with Yu Sia. She was standing still. I activated the echo sonar—there were no zombies nearby.

"Sia, is something wrong?"

When I asked, she answered excitedly.

"I got a skill!"

"Whoa! What is it?"

"Stealthy Strike!"

"Finally!"

This would make us much safer, and clearing areas would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be easier too. Less concentration drain.

"Thank you. It's all because you told me about it, Jaeha. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have even known this skill existed."

"Hmm, was it that big a deal?"

I'd shared how I got it, but the conditions didn't seem that difficult.

"Of course! I couldn't get it all this time."

True. If it had been easy, she would've gotten it long ago.

"What exactly are the acquisition conditions?"

"Maybe it was because of this axe?"

That made sense. The axe I'd lent her was an E-grade sturdy hand axe. Strong enough to crack a zombie's skull in one hit, and it didn't make too much noise. Items with those exact specs wouldn't be easy to find.

"Here. Thanks for letting me use it."

"No problem."

Now that she'd gotten the skill, we swapped weapons back.

"Want me to tell you how I got my skill too?"

"Oh, yes please!"

Yu Sia probably had some great skills.

"You have to fight a zombie horde head-on and win. You'll probably have to do it alone, though."

"Yeah, that's not happening."

I immediately refused. I didn't have anything like her Adrenaline skill.

We were deep in conversation about advanced skill acquisition methods when—

Twinkle.

"Oh!"

I spotted an item under the workbench.