I'm Sorry
I'm Sorry
I really didn't know.
I had thought about wanting to slam down with my elbow, but I never imagined I would actually strike Jung Minchae's crown with my elbow.
"Kyaa!!"
The scream coming from beside me—is it surprising that I struck a woman's head with my elbow?
No, they're screaming at this crazy woman's actions.
"Keuak! Keuaak!!"
Jung Minchae, still trying to bite me with her teeth even after getting her crown struck by my elbow.
"What, what are you doing..! You crazy bitch!!"
I'm shoving her neck with all my strength, gripping her throat with my left hand so hard the veins on the back of my hand are bulging, but she won't budge—she's that strong.
"Fuck, if only there were no one watching..!"
"Eu... Eukak!!"
"What?! Get away!!"
"Kkyahaaak!!!"
"......"
In an instant, screams erupt from everywhere, and the subway car becomes a chaotic mess.
I decided to just do as I pleased, caring nothing for the gazes of the people around me.
Because first, I had to get this crazy woman off me.
Ah, I've lived long enough to end up beating a woman.
Ppeok!!
My knee slams into her stomach, and only then does Jung Minchae stagger back, retreating.
But as if she took no real damage, she immediately lunges at me again, and my hands move.
Ppeok! Peo-eok!!!
A clean left uppercut that lifts Jung Minchae's chin as she charges, followed by a right hook.
If someone had captured this on camera, I would become a bastard that the era would condemn.
Because I'm a man who hits a woman much smaller than me, and without mercy, with my fists.
But actually, this isn't the first time I've hit a woman.
First grade of elementary school.
Back then, I did hit a girl who was grabbing my hair and fighting, but afterward I was thrown to the ground and stomped on indiscriminately—a dark history I want to forget.
Well, thanks to that, I learned boxing and mixed martial arts in middle and high school, walking around with my shoulders proudly back.
It's even helping in a situation like this.
Teol-sseok! Seu-eu-euk-
Jung Minchae slumps sideways like a dead tree from my clean combo, sliding across the floor.
For a moment, guilt and a sense of remorse wash over me, but even if the same situation were to repeat, my actions wouldn't change.
Because I'm only protecting myself from a woman who, with thick veins protruding even on her face and bloodshot eyes, rushes to bite me.
And seeing what that crazy woman is doing now proves my actions were not wrong.
Kkwah-aak!!
Kwadeuk!!
Euak!!!
Jung Minchae grabs a man's ankle with both hands and bites his shin clean.
With that, the man screams and falls to the ground.
If I hadn't hit her, she'd be biting my face like that.
I first look away from her and quickly scan the surroundings, following the screams coming from all directions.
It's not just Jung Minchae.
Has everyone really gone mad? Everywhere, people like Jung Minchae are biting innocent people.
Kwajik!!
A horrible sound suddenly rings out.
"Fuck... what the hell is this..?!"
Flesh tears off from the leg of the man Jung Minchae was biting, and blood gushes out.
And that horrible sound echoes everywhere; in an instant, the subway car becomes a hell of blood splattering everywhere along with the tearing screams of people.
"Move!! I said move!!"
"Go quickly!!"
"Who's blocking?!"
"Push! Just push them!!"
With no order at all, people push each other, trample on the fallen, and flee to the next car.
For a moment, I flinch and consider following them.
But is it safe over there? Are there no insane people like Jung Minchae there?
I can't be sure.
No, I'm certain there must be.
Then my choice is.
Hwik-
I quickly spin around, smash the glass of the emergency door opener with my elbow, turn the lever inside, and pull the door with all my might.
Damn it!
In movies, they open so easily!
"Just open...!!!"
As I struggle to pull the stubborn door, the woman who was on top of me, along with nearby people, wedge their hands into the small gap and start pulling with all their might.
As expected, when people work together, nothing is impossible.
Deuk- Deu-eu-euk-
Finally, the door opens.
And people shove past my shoulders, jumping out before me.
Truly, even if you search with your eyes peeled, there's no order at all.
And the bastards who didn't even help open the door are the first to jump out—a truly disgraceful sight.
Of course, seeing this does relieve me somehow.
Euak!!
Aak!!
Jumping down onto the dark tracks without checking where you're stepping is extremely dangerous.
It's common sense that anyone with even a little bit of brain would know.
So I check the track floor with my phone light, avoid the people rolling around clutching their legs, and jump down safely.
Then, as I land, I hear a voice.
"Excuse, excuse me..!"
A woman looking at me with pitiful eyes.
It's that woman again.
What connection does she have with me? She keeps showing up.
Sigh... fine, let's help her.
Jjak! Jjak!
"Jump."
I clap my hands twice and spread my arms, and the woman who was hesitating, crouched in front of the door—
"Move!"
"Kyaa!!"
She gets knocked down by the feet of the people pushing from behind.
Fortunately, toward me.
But is that really fortunate?
Deopseok!
"Eueuk..!!"
Fuck, I'm not even married and I almost broke my back.
Fortunately, my back seems somewhat okay; I set down the woman I caught, then lean against the wall and pat my back. Meanwhile, the woman turns on her phone flashlight and comes over to gently tap my back.
"Are, are you okay..?"
"Ah, well..."
But can I really afford to be this relaxed?
What if that crazy bitch chases us all the way here...
Fuck, they say words become seeds, but thoughts too?!
"Run!"
"What??"
Keuak!!
Kkyuak!!
The woman screams at the monstrous roar erupting from Jung Minchae's mouth as she jumps down, then runs past me.
Why don't I run, you ask?
"What the hell are you?! You crazy bitch!!"
Hwi-ik!!
Ppaak!!!
I twist my body and kick Jung Minchae's head squarely as she lunges toward the man lying in front of me.
All those lunch breaks in school soaking my uniform in sweat playing soccer finally pay off.
Ppeok!!
Teol-sseok-
"What, is she dead..?"
Jung Minchae, kicked by my foot, hits the back of her head against a subway wheel and doesn't move.
Well, it would be stranger if she didn't die after being kicked that hard.
Especially since she hit her head on a metal wheel.
So now I'm a murderer?
Before that thought could dominate my mind, something strange appeared before my eyes.
Something really strange.
[You have acquired 2 Coins.]
"What the hell is this..?"
For a moment, I can't believe what I'm seeing, so I close my eyes and shake my head.
And when I slowly open my eyes again...
"......"
It's gone.
The translucent message window that was floating in front of me.
Yeah, I must have seen it wrong.
And even if I saw it correctly, I don't have time to dwell on it.
Keuak!!
Keuaak!!
Because not just Jung Minchae, but mad people are starting to jump out through the open subway doors one by one.
But if this weren't reality, I would have thought this.
Zombies.
Their appearance now is indescribable by any word other than 'zombie'.
No, they look exactly like the word 'zombie' suits them perfectly.
But that's just a monster created in someone's imagination, something that cannot exist in the real world.
However, other than that, there's no way to explain those people rushing madly with veins bulging on their faces and blood smeared all over.
"Fuck, this isn't a train going to Busan!!"
Jabak! Jabak! Jabak! Jabak!
I turn around and start running, quickly catching up to the woman who passed me.
"Excuse me!"
"Kkyaa!"
I grab the wrist of the woman, who's running in a half-crouched posture, and start running like crazy.
Behind us, normal people and the mad humans suspected to be zombies start chasing.
"Heok.. Heok.. Heok.."
"Haa.. Haa.. Haa.."
Just how far do we have to run?
No, wouldn't it be better to go back?
Since the train stopped not long after leaving the station, the nearest station is in the opposite direction.
But if that scene I thought I saw wrong is real...
That place would be a mess too.
Let's just run. The next station can't be that far.
Jabak- Jabak- Jabak- Jabak-
I was mistaken.
The next station, which I thought would arrive soon, doesn't appear no matter how long I run, and my legs, which had been running frantically, are now trudging along like yesterday.
"Excuse me..! Let's rest a little..! Hah.. hah.."
"......"
The woman is struggling more than I am.
Of course, a woman's stamina is bound to be weaker compared to a man who exercises regularly.
That doesn't mean I'm not tired either.
"Huuu..."
I let out a sigh, shine my phone light behind us, confirm that I see no one and hear no sounds, then thump down onto the ground.
Of course, not on a patch full of sharp stones, but on the cold, smooth track.
And the woman, who had been sitting next to me gasping for breath, turns her head and asks.
"What on earth is going on..?"
"I don't know. But in situations like this, people usually fall in love."
"What..?"
"That's what I've seen in dramas and movies."
"......"
"You looked too serious, so I made a joke. Why so stern?"
"No, I'm not being stern.. I'm sorry if it seemed that way.."
The most common thing this nameless woman has said to me is 'sorry'.
Just by her looks, she seems like a fresh young office worker around my age, so 'sorry' must be stuck in her vocabulary.
Of course, she did bump into my face and almost broke my back, so she really does have things to be sorry for.
"But I think you're really amazing.."
"What is?"
"That, how you handled that woman... and how you even took me along to escape..."
"Come on, what's so great about hitting a woman? Ah! And that's the first time I've hit a woman. It was unavoidable given the situation."
"I know.. If I could have done it, I would have too.."
I didn't bother mentioning that I hit a girl in first grade.
Strictly speaking, I was hit, not the one hitting.
And one-sidedly at that.
"Then let's start moving now."
"Al, already??"
"Do you know when they'll chase us? Let's rest after we find a safe place with at least a door."
"Ah.. yes..."
I start walking again with the woman, who reluctantly gets up.
And the chase that isn't over yet.
Jabak! Jabak! Jabak! Jabak!
"Euahaha!!"
"Stop chasing us!!"
"This fucking..!"
"Keua! Keua!"
"Keuaak!!"
People who fell behind us are dragging mad humans toward here.
Just fucking die, why do you keep chasing?!
"What are you doing?! Run!"
"Ah... yes!!"
Contrary to her energetic reply, a desperate sound comes.
Before she can even take a step, the woman trips over the rail she was sitting on and falls.
"This clutz..!"
"Ah..!"
The woman grabs her ankle and knee with different hands, moaning in pain.
Fuck, this woman is so frustrating.
I want to abandon her, but my conscience screams at me not to just leave her.
I crouch in front of her first and, though I'm not a doctor, check her ankle and knee with my phone light before asking.
"Can't you get up? Can't you run?!"
"No, no! I can go! I can run!"
As if afraid I might abandon her, the woman hastily shouts, tries to get up and step on her twisted right foot, but it doesn't go well, and she sits back down with a small yelp.
And now I had to choose.
Leave her or carry her on my back.
Or stay here and face those mad humans.
"Keuak!"
"Keuaak!!"
"Deopseok!"
"Please, please..!"
The woman grabs my hand with both hands, shaking her head with a tearful face.
"Ha... I am such a..!"
"I'm sorry."
"Tak!"
I slap her hand away, turn around, and start running.
I've hesitated enough, and helped enough.
I'm not her parent; I don't have to take responsibility to the end.
And even though she has good breasts and a decent face, it's not worth risking my life.
If she were a bit prettier, I might have carried her and run.
Anyway.
"H, hey!! Hey!! You, you bastard!!!"
That woman has no conscience either.
She curses me as a bastard after I helped her that much?
Fuck, good thing I abandoned her.
Damn, I've run this far and still the next station doesn't appear.
Was it always this far?
No, it's just that I'm incomparably slower than a subway.
Still, it's a relief that there's one more stopped subway.
Since I haven't encountered any mad humans coming this way, maybe that subway car doesn't have those crazy zombie-like people.
Of course, seeing how quiet it is, it seems more unfortunate than fortunate.
Jabak.. jabak.. jabak..
I walk toward the stopped subway, trying to minimize my footsteps.
Even when I get close, I don't hear a single voice.
Maybe there's a station nearby and everyone already got out?
If so, that's fortunate, but something feels off.
I decide to check inside before just passing this subway.
To see if the place I'm aiming for is safe.
Seu-eu-euk-
I straighten my hunched back, raise myself, and peek with just my eyes through the open door.
My eyes dart left and right rapidly.
Damn, it seems the same thing happened here too—bloodstains everywhere.
That means if I keep moving forward, I'll just be chasing after those suspected zombie people myself.
Then...
"Utssya!"
With a light yell, I push myself up with my arms and climb into the subway car.
There are mad humans chasing from behind, but if I close the open doors, this becomes a safe space of my own.
But when I turn my head to the side...
"Whoa, fuck..! You scared me!"
All the connecting doors between cars are open.
Maybe it's just me, but it's because of the bloodstains everywhere.
"Fuck... perfect atmosphere for ghosts to appear.."
I've never once believed in ghosts until now, but in a situation where there are zombie-like humans, there's no rule that ghosts can't show up.
Well, I'll worry about ghosts if I meet them. For now, I start closing the open doors.
One, two, three, four.
After closing all four doors, just as I reach out to close the door connecting to the next car—
"Keeuuuu..!"
"S... Sparta!!"
A variety show clip I saw online comes to mind.
The scene where a muscular entertainer called a 'god' runs through an open subway like this and chases a national MC.
And from just about three cars away, a monster—whether zombie or madman—turns its head toward me.
"Kuaaak!!!"
Dadadadadak!!
The moment our eyes meet, it starts running toward me like crazy.
"This is insane..!"