The People Who Hanged Themselves
The People Who Hanged Themselves
"Kyaaa... Uboop!!!"
The closed door opened and I was startled too, but I immediately turned around and clamped my hand over the screaming Kim Minseo's mouth.
Because the bastards already swarming in were more than enough; there was no need to add any more to the mix here.
"Shut up and take off your panties."
"......"
Kim Minseo looked at me with wide eyes, as if asking what kind of dog bullshit I was spewing.
Since I had no time to explain, I used even the hand covering her mouth to grab her pants and yanked them down hard, and—
Rip-tuku!!!
Along with a bursting buckle, the pants and panties caught on my fingers simultaneously slid down to her ankles.
"O-, oppa!!"
Oppa, my ass.
Tuk-
"Kyaak!!"
Theolsaek!
Lightly pushing Kim Minseo's stomach to knock her over into the opened door, I stripped off the pants and panties caught around her ankles, letting the pants fly away while clutching only her panties.
Fuck, time is way too tight here?
"Krak!!"
"Kraaak!!"
If it were just one or two zombies, I could deal with the bastards first and continue the task leisurely, but all the zombies that had been following us from the road were swarming in.
A number of zombies easily exceeding thirty.
Whoosh- Kagang! Kagang! Kagang!!
While the crowbar I threw into the room hit the floor and made a ruckus, I shoved a baseball bat through the leg hole of the panties, poked the panties through the round hole where the missing doorknob used to be, and pulled hard on the protruding fabric from the inside.
Of course, I was already inside the door.
Bang!!
Thump-thump-thump-thump!!
"Phew.... That was close."
The reason I stripped Kim Minseo's panties off and pulled that whole circus act despite having no time was to secure the door, which wouldn't stay shut because of the missing doorknob.
Since the handle was gone, a door that might open all on its own if left alone would be held firmly shut by the baseball bat hanging on the outside and the panties pulling on that baseball bat.
And like this....
Sseuk-
If you hook the tight waistband of the panties onto the doorknob right next to it—
Tak!
There's no need to keep pulling on it anymore.
It's not that sturdy of a device, but since the zombies outside aren't pulling the door open and are just slamming their bodies against it like they are right now, there's zero chance the panties will snap.
As long as it isn't pushed from the inside hard enough to snap them.
"O-, oppa.. are you in there..?"
When the door was open, the sunlight pouring in made the inside bright, but except for the light leaking through the round hole where the panties passed through, it was now pitch black.
Then I should turn on the lights first.
"Take out your lighter."
"Ah! Yes!"
Chiik- Chiik- Hwaruk!
"Kya... Uboop..!"
"Scream one more time and I'll toss you outside."
"......"
Judging by the hand covering her mouth moving up and down, she seemed to be nodding.
Now Kim Minseo would relight the extinguished lighter, but I also thrust my hand into my bag, took out a lighter, and lit it.
It wasn't very visible with just a single lighter flame, but when I picked up a couple of paper towels piled high next to us—apparently a supply room—and dropped them on the floor to set them on fire, the corpses that had made Kim Minseo scream several times revealed themselves.
Six hanging corpses.
"Uwoouk!!"
"Phew.. fuck.. what a foul stench.."
At the terrible stench, Kim Minseo dry-heaved and I pinched my nose.
It's truly amazing how the human body works; the stench that hadn't been noticed moments ago due to the emergency situation suddenly pierced our noses, perhaps because the brain judged it safe now.
But what's even stranger is that there was no particular smell outside.
Could it be because the zombies ate the corpses clean down to not even a single bone fragment?
"O-, oppa.. ugh..! Can't we get out of here quickly? Uwoouk..!"
That's exactly what I wanted to say.
Because I wanted to say goodbye to these foul-smelling corpses even a second faster.
Along with the gradually dying flames, I picked up the crowbar discarded on the floor and stood in front of a door that seemed to connect to the interior of the department store.
First, press my ear against it to check once, and then tap the door lightly with the crowbar to check once more.
No particular sounds could be heard.
But will it open?
Click-
The door opened smoothly along with the turning doorknob.
Ah, fuck.
Putting other things aside, at least clean air was coming in, so I felt like I could breathe again.
Well, though it wasn't that great of a smell either.
Kiiiik-
An unpleasant sound that didn't quite fit a door in a department store, no matter if it was a supply storage room, echoed, but once I went out into the hallway, I understood why.
"No wonder it makes a sound."
The door was dented and twisted like a bumpy unpaved road.
The door was covered in traces of zombies pounding away relentlessly as they chased the people who chose suicide.
Well, that was none of my business.
Walking down a short hallway of about five steps and sticking my head out past the turning corner, I saw a few zombies lingering along the long stretch of the hallway.
It wasn't a number I couldn't handle, but if there was one thing that bothered me...
"There might be some inside the bathroom too."
"......"
Right, as Kim Minseo said, it wasn't certain how many zombies were inside that bathroom.
But what the hell is she doing right now?
Squish!!
Kneeling on the floor with her left hand lowered, Kim Minseo had poked her face right between my crotch while prone; I pushed her head down to shove her back inside, then threw the lighter I was holding in my hand.
Tak!! Tak! Taaaak-
The zombies reacted in unison as the lighter bounced twice on the floor and slid away.
"Krak!!"
"Kraaak!!"
"Krak!"
However, my gaze was directed not at the zombies dropping to the floor chasing the noisy lighter sliding past my feet, but at the bathroom entrance.
I needed to check if other zombies were coming out from there...
"One came out."
"......"
Kim Minseo had poked her head out between my crotch again to stare down the hallway.
Is she a kid? Why is her curiosity so strong?
Fine. Well, looking is one thing.
But what if a situation arose where I had to move urgently?
We'd inevitably tangle and fall over.
Even if I didn't fall, Kim Minseo would definitely stumble and fumble, and we'd be saying our final goodbyes to the mortal world.
Therefore, bending my knees slightly, I sat right on top of Kim Minseo's head, then followed her face as she naturally retreated to avoid my rear end, pushing her back with my butt.
Squish!!
"Ahem..!!"
Fuck, I almost screamed!
This crazy bitch, seriously!!
Whoosh!!
When I glared at Kim Minseo, who had turned her head and bitten my butt, she acted completely innocent, looking around empty surroundings as if nothing had happened.
Ha... should I kill her?
If I find a woman here who can replace Kim Minseo, I'll seriously consider it.
Let's keep her alive until then, at least.
Sseuk-
Squeeeeze!!
"......"
Raising my left hand and clenching it into a fist to warn her not to mess around anymore, I left Kim Minseo behind as she turned her head sideways to avoid my gaze, and poked my head back out into the hallway.
"Krak!"
"Kraaaa!!"
Realizing there was no prey, the zombies rose to their feet one by one, totaling seven including the one that came out of the bathroom.
But why are there so few people in a department store?
Ah, it wasn't business hours yet.
Zombies appeared during commuting hours, so of course there were no people.
Then there's no particular need to worry about being seen, right?
Sseuk-
Straightening my slightly hunched body, I gripped the crowbar in my right hand and strode confidently out into the hallway.
Around seven of them is a piece of cake.
"Hey, zombie pals."
"Krak!!"
"Kraaak!!"
The zombies reacted in unison to my voice and rushed forward, while Kim Minseo scrambled in a panic back into the supply storage room.
And me, swinging my crowbar.
Whoish!!
Thwack!!
The zombie whose head was smashed by the swung crowbar spun around like it was dancing a passionate tango, getting tangled with its friends rushing from the side and back, while I swung the crowbar back in reverse and struck the second zombie's head.
Seven.
If seven zombies rush you from all directions in an open space, even someone like me would have to run away first.
And then create an advantageous situation for myself, or narrow down the numbers step-by-step while creating a positional and numerical stalemate favorable to me.
But if these bastards are swarming straight ahead en masse, I can deal with seven of them without needing to run away at all.
Because, just like a moment ago, they tangle with each other and naturally create an advantageous situation for me.
Of course, the story would be different if the number was so large that even if I smashed one guy to tangle them up, the ones behind would push right through without caring.
Anyway, right now I'm worried about...
"I can just beat them to death."
Whoish!!
Thwack!!!
Judging by the furniture and fixtures piled high at the entrance, it means there are definitely people who survived inside this department store.
Because it's a bit of a stretch to say the people who hanged themselves in the supply room moved all those things.
Of course, 8 days have passed, so it's technically possible even for six people, but why would they block the entrance to survive and then hang themselves?
That's a bit weird.
Well, maybe they waited for a rescue team, realized there was no hope, and ultimately made the extreme choice of suicide.
"There definitely seem to be living people here..."
"Whoa... can I have this too??"
"......"
Good grief, does she think she's on a shopping trip?
Kim Minseo, who was trembling in fear just when the zombies were wandering around, was now wandering through the neatly cleaned-up first floor of the department store, distracted by sightseeing at items whose owners had vanished.
Aside from asking me if she could have them, both of her hands were already full of shopping bags containing expensive-looking bags and shoes.
And the pants I tore had long since been replaced with luxury brands.
For reference, there were six in the tucked-away back hallway, but looking at the entire first floor, there were well over fifty zombies.
Thanks to that, I had quite a hard time killing them all.
And judging by how many staff members there were, zombies were still sneaking out and showing their faces.
"Careful~ A zombie's coming over there."
"H-, help me!"
"Why should I?"
"Krak!!"
"Kyaak!!"
The lunging zombie and the screaming Kim Minseo.
In a way, it looks like a dangerous situation, but it's not dangerous at all.
Because while I was killing over fifty zombies, Kim Minseo wasn't just standing around watching.
Furthermore...
Riiiiip!!
Tudu-du-duk-
The shopping bags ripped by the zombie's hands and the luxury bags spilling out onto the floor soiled with the dead zombie's blood and corpse.
Because if that happens, she completely loses her mind.
"Damn it..!! That one was the last one!!"
"Kroa.."
Stab!!!
Even before the zombie could reach out its hand again, Kim Minseo's Chinese cleaver plunged into the zombie's head.
What on earth are those bags, that a person turns into this state?
Frankly, Kim Minseo's movements just now were faster and sharper than when she was in danger herself.
If every zombie had been carrying a pretty luxury bag, wouldn't Kim Minseo have killed them all instead of me?
To steal the bags.
"What do I do.. It's a white bag.... Hining.."
"Sigh...."
A sigh naturally comes out at the sight of Kim Minseo squatting on the floor without even checking if the zombie is dead, inspecting the dropped bag.
It's not even going to be used as a weapon, so why is she acting like that over some stupid bag in a world like this?
"Hey, don't weigh your body down uselessly and throw them all away. Everything inside the bags too."
"A-, all of it??"
"Why? You don't want to? Should I throw you away instead?"
"N-, no! Then just this one..!"
"......"
"Hining.. I really wanted this one...."
Kim Minseo pulled out the luxury bag wrapped tightly in a shopping bag and safely stowed inside, holding it to her chest and looking at me with tearing eyes, but I strode over, snatched the bag away roughly, and hurled it up into the air.
And.
Thwack!!!
"Home run~"
"Ah-ah..!"
Reaching out trembling fingertips toward the luxury bag flying far away after being hit by the crowbar, Kim Minseo let out a gasp, then whipped her body around to face me and...
"You idiot!!"
"......"
Whoosh!!
Pat-at-at-at!!
"Such a crazy..."
Kim Minseo pulling down my panties to my knees and turning around to run away.
No, why is she acting like that all of a sudden?
Is she truly crazy? Or is her memory like a goldfish?
When was she trembling in fear of me, someone who beats people to death, and now she's acting like we're siblings or something?
No, calling it a sibling relationship is putting it nicely; this is just climbing all over me.
Hoo... fine. I'll make sure to correct your bad habits today.
"Get over here, you crazy bitch!!"
"Kyaaaak!!!"
Dodging me as I chased her, Kim Minseo abruptly changed direction and dashed up the stopped escalator.
Well, I was planning to go up to the second floor anyway.
There are no survivors on the first floor, and no particularly worthwhile items to salvage.
But is that girl genuinely crazy? Or has she lost her fear just because she caught a few zombies?
What on earth does she expect to be up there as she runs up?
Yeah, she needs to get a harsh taste of it once so she'll come to her senses.
Anyway, looks like there really is something up there?
As soon as Kim Minseo climbed up the escalator and reached the second floor, she stopped dead in her tracks and didn't move at all.
Moreover, staring blankly in just one direction.
I don't know what on earth is... up there, but let's grab that bitch first.
Grab!
"Hey, are you actually out of your mind? Do I look like your friend?"
Sseuk- Thuk.. Thuk..
Kim Minseo's hand, slowly lifted up towards me as I spoke while grabbing her by the back of the neck, feebly tapped against my chest.
"O-, oppa... look over there...."
"......"
At Kim Minseo's trembling voice, as she still stared fixedly at a single spot despite being grabbed by me, I too turned my head toward where her gaze was directed.
Where my gaze turned, a helicopter that had caught attention even from outside had crashed halfway through the outer wall of the building, and dangling in clusters from the helicopter's tail protruding outside the outer wall were people.
Like clusters of grapes.
"Uwoouk!!"
After letting out a loud dry heave, Kim Minseo squatted on the floor and vomited.
It was a sight even more grotesque than the corpses of the six people who committed suicide by hanging.
Whether their necks were bound with a single piece of cloth, the people's faces were clustered together densely just like literal bunches of grapes.
Of course, the people whose necks were hung from the relatively small propeller on the tail end were already all dead.
But there was no way they were hung up there after they were already dead.
That clearly meant someone hung the corpses.
No, whether they were corpses at the time they were hung... or if they were hung while still alive, nobody could possibly know.
Because the people who knew the answer were already all dead.
But exactly one person would know.
The human who hung them.
No, it might be humans.
Anyway....
"Looks like I'm not the only crazy bastard in this district."