Dead Boar
“Argh!”
A craftsman doesn't pick and choose his tools.
“Fuck!”
Unfortunately, that didn't apply to Go Cheon-su.
Surrounded by three zombies, Go Cheon-su was on the verge of becoming shish kebab any second now. He swung his bat wildly to barely fend them off, stumbling around like a lost idiot.
“Eeeek!”
As he wrestled with one that had latched on, the other two charged. He threw himself sideways to dodge, but in the process, he dropped the bat by mistake.
“No!”
He wasn't using it well, but a weapon was still a weapon. He scrambled to grab it and swung desperately at the oncoming zombies.
Hitting them squarely was tough. Go Cheon-su switched tactics and slammed the baseball bat into the ground instead.
Crack!
The bat splintered roughly, cutting his hand. But this wasn't just self-harm.
Raaargh!
Exploiting how the zombies always bunched up together, Go Cheon-su thrust the broken bat through all three of their necks at once.
Grk. Grrgl.
With their bodies impaled on each other, the zombies staggered awkwardly before collapsing.
While the zombies twitched tangled together, Go Cheon-su bolted for the rooftop exit. Who knew when more might climb up the stairs from below? He had to run.
He dashed toward his studio apartment.
“Please, please.”
Reaching the third floor, he peeked down the hallway—no zombies in sight, thankfully. He quickly unlocked the door lock and slipped inside.
The familiar surroundings drew a sigh from him.
“Haa, goddamn it.”
But he snapped back to reality fast. He grabbed a fresh shirt, changed, and started rummaging through the room.
For some reason, finding his keys was a pain.
“Where the hell are you?!”
He knew where he usually kept them, but they weren't there. Sweating bullets after a frantic search, he suddenly felt something heavy in his pocket.
“Huh?”
The keys were in his pocket. He'd thought it was just his phone—his mistake.
Go Cheon-su sighed and peered out the peephole. No zombies in the hallway. He cracked the door open cautiously and stepped out.
Heading outside, he couldn't help but let out a groan.
“Fuck, there are so many……”
Zombies were everywhere. To survive, he had to get out of here.
He crouched low and crept to the parking lot behind the building, spotting a scooter. He jammed in the key and fired it up.
Vroom-vroom-vroom.
The rickety scooter roared deafeningly.
Grrrk?!
Zombies reacted to the noise and swarmed. Without hesitation, Go Cheon-su twisted the throttle.
The scooter shot forward smoothly—
Crash!
—only to slam into a zombie and flip over.
“Aaaah!”
Go Cheon-su wailed as he heaved the scooter upright. Zombies were closing in fast. No way he'd escape like this.
He ditched his scooter and sprinted elsewhere. At the corner of the lot, he hunted for another bike. Of course, no keys—hopeless.
“Wait……”
A small shed nearby—the landlord's. Decent odds his bike and keys were inside.
The flimsy partition door gave way with a shoulder charge. Go Cheon-su dove in and rummaged for keys.
“Keys……! Keys!”
He hadn't yelled for keys this desperately even when his growth stalled at 175cm. Desperation paid off—he found them on a shelf.
Go Cheon-su hopped on the bike in the shed.
It felt unfamiliar compared to his usual ride, but the basics were the same. Key in, ignition on, and he gunned it through the busted door.
Zombies were swarming here too. Instead of the lot exit, Go Cheon-su veered onto the adjacent pedestrian trail.
Vroooom!
The bike kicked up dirt on the hillside path.
“Ugh, fuck.”
Not a mountain bike, so handling sucked. At least the trail made escape possible.
Who knew when a zombie might pop up? He floored it like a maniac until he hit a neighborhood gym on the ridge.
Raaargh.
Zombie groans. A few elderly ones shuffled toward him slowly.
Sad, but Go Cheon-su wasn't the type for that. Otherwise, he wouldn't be a jobless streamer.
Vroooom!
He plowed through the approaching elder zombies and kept going.
No guilt before zombies. Weaving through the gym facilities on his bike, Go Cheon-su headed down the slope toward City Hall.
Thud-thud-thud.
The bike felt ready to flip any second, but his mental state was shakier.
Mom and Dad……!
The elders reminded him of his aging parents. They lived a bit farther out, so checking in person was tough—he needed to call.
Raaargh.
Another zombie ahead, undeterred. But this was downhill—better for jumping.
With that in mind, he twisted the throttle.
Vrooom.
Result? He hit a rock, launched high, veered off-path, and slid down the steep embankment.
“Wha—wait! Kyaaah!”
Not a cliff, but no bike trail. The bike rolled sideways; Go Cheon-su tumbled into a pile of leaves, screaming.
Thunk.
The bike snagged somewhere. Go Cheon-su flew solo, landing by a small stream.
“Guh?”
The impact blew his eyes wide. He blanked out for minutes before gasping back to reality.
“……Fuck.”
Staggering up, he checked himself. No weapon, so he grabbed a sturdy branch and followed the stream.
Rustle.
His heightened senses kicked in—he scanned around. Just a bird? Nothing visible.
He pulled out his phone to check the situation.
“Nothing works……”
Calls wouldn't connect. First time seeing “text send failed.” Tried popular messengers—down. Shockingly, only Line worked.
“What the…… how's this even possible.”
Portals were down too, yet Line sent messages. But his parents didn't use it.
“Argh, I told them to get on this ages ago! Why won't anyone use it?!”
He clawed his hair in frustration, but too late now. Even if sent, no guarantee they'd receive.
Rustle.
Another noise—he whipped around. A wild boar.
“Oh, just……”
Better than zombies, he thought—until chills hit. The boar's eyes glared blood-red at him.
“No way……”
Hesitating, Go Cheon-su spun as the Dead Boar charged.
“Uwaaaah!”
Squeeee!
Like a runaway train. Go Cheon-su flailed like a balloon, sprinting along the streambed.
Splash-splash!
He dove into water to slow it—big mistake.
“Fuck, shit!”
No effect on the Dead Boar. Go Cheon-su just slowed himself.
Bad call, but salvageable. Downstream, a deep “no entry” zone.
“Come on! Follow me!”
He taunted it in. Grabbed an emergency rope from a stake, looped it on, tucked a tube under his arm, and jumped into the deep.
Whoosh.
Vortex pulled him. Terror gripped his heart, but not now.
Squeeee!
Dumb Dead Boar leaped after.
“Please…… please……!”
It fought the current, closing to 1m.
“Uwaaaah!”
As he splashed wildly, it suddenly yanked under.
Squelch……
Dead Boar thrashed atop the whirlpool.
Grrgl.
Even underwater, it lunged for his ankle. Go Cheon-su kicked away each time.
Grrglgl……
Finally, it dragged into the depths.
“Haa, haaa.”
Go Cheon-su exhaled shakily.
He hauled the rope up slowly.
“Haa haa.”
Soaked to the bone, everything felt heavier. He ditched the tube, wrung out his clothes, redressed, and slumped by a dead tree.
Raaargh……
“Ah, fuck. Gonna lose my mind.”
Zombies from the ridge descending. No choice—he trudged on.
City Hall had an emergency shelter, he recalled. Not sure if accurate, but closest public spot.
“Hm?”
Spotted an air pump downhill. Nozzle like a gas pump—for brushing off trail dirt.
Raaargh!
“Ack!”
Zombie ambush—he blasted it with air.
Hiss!!!
Zombie's face rippled, hesitated—then charged.
Raaargh!
“Take this!”
Shoved the valve in its mouth, pumped furiously.
Hiss! Hiiiiss!
Zombie chomped at his hand but compressed air repelled it.
“Get lost!”
Tripped it, jammed the valve in as it rose, locked it open.
Hiiiiiss!
Grk, grrrgh!
Zombie flailed, bloated.
While it inflated, Go Cheon-su bolted.
“Huff, huff……”
Even basic training wasn't this much running. As limits hit, buildings appeared below.
“City Hall! It's City Hall……!”
Close to the mountain—uncertain safety.
“Something's off……”
Bad vibes. Should be guarded, but no one.
“Why's it empty?”
Reached the lot—few cars, doors ajar. Blood splatters everywhere, ominous.
Bam!
Turned at the noise. Zombie had slammed into a car, collapsed—probably overexcited spotting him.
Problem: Wee-oo-wee-oo! Car alarm blaring.
“Why me, seriously!”
Go Cheon-su despaired, yelling as he dashed into City Hall.