Unprecedented
Humans are animals that cannot stand alone.
They are not called social animals for nothing, and especially in a crisis this extreme, every human being instinctively clusters together.
In a way, you could call it a species-specific strength—a wise response to danger. The problem is that herd instinct is not all upside.
Not only humans but every animal has its own individuality, and those differences between them lead, without fail, straight into conflict.
It is only a matter of degree—large or small. The phenomenon is common to every group.
There can be no exceptions.
"Goddamn it."
A full day had already passed since humanity met its end.
And surviving that day no differently from anyone else, huddled in a group—an utterly ordinary Korean man named Ju Minho muttered a curse under his breath and got to his feet.
There was no way he could have slept properly through a night spent tense with the knowledge that a zombie might come for him at any moment, and on top of that he had suffered some incomprehensible nightmare, so his morning condition was absolute rock bottom.
What the hell kind of dream was that, anyway?
Something that was neither zombie nor human had smashed through the department store's front entrance and come charging at him, and he had been desperately running for his life.
...Don't tell me that was the Grim Reaper or something. Please let it not have been a prophetic dream.
Having finally been caught and dragged off in that thing's grip when he opened his eyes, Ju Minho let out a weary sigh, clutched his throbbing head, and looked around.
Morning sunlight was pouring through the department store's massive glass doors, flooding the first floor, and people were waking one by one.
"Uuuugh."
And among them, one man stood out.
"Aaaargh... Son of a biiiitch!"
A man in his thirties, who had claimed the biggest sofa in the first-floor food court, rose with a thick curse and a stretch, then cracked his joints as he loosened up.
"Hey, you bastards. How long you planning to sleep? This your house or what?"
He poked his friends lying nearby and woke them in a clumsy regional drawl.
"Ah, shit... I'm up, so cut it out."
"Don't wanna? Don't wanna? Gonna keep going?"
"Ah. Seriously. Stop it."
His friends dodged his hands with faces full of irritation, but they did not push back any further.
If they did and he got serious, they would not be able to handle him.
Whatever else—money, status, anything—when it came to raw physical strength, that much was true.
That bastard's strength is seriously disgusting...
If I'd started lifting in high school, could I have taken him down?
Probably not, he figured.
That kind of natural physique was not something a few years of experience could overcome.
And knowing that himself, he just grinned at his friends' glares without a care in the world.
"What're you gonna do, staring at me like that? Bastards."
"...Who's staring? Just looking."
"Yeah. After everything we owe you from yesterday, Wangu."
At least half the zombies roaming the department store's first floor the day before had been taken care of by him.
"True enough, you all do owe me. Every single person here."
"......"
When Do Wangu swaggered and swept his gaze around, most people quietly lowered their eyes.
He was not wrong. Without him, they might not even have made it through a single night in this department store.
After rolling those thick shoulders, he suddenly settled his expression and spoke.
"Fuck, but what good is any of that? The world's already gone to shit."
Even if every person here owed him their lives, how the hell were you supposed to cash that in—
"What's the point of busting your ass when nothing comes back for it? Ptuh!"
He scowled fiercely, spat on the floor, and trudged off toward the bathroom.
His friends, who had been reading the room beside him, followed after.
Once they disappeared into the bathroom, people finally began to open their mouths a little.
"Ugh... With a temper that foul, you can't even look him in the eye."
"What, just 'cause he's big, he gets to do whatever? Everyone here suffered too."
A man who looked to be in his late twenties, part of a couple huddled against a marble pillar in the corner, grumbled.
...I agree with him, honestly.
But saying it so boldly behind someone's back instead of to their face just made it pathetic.
Ju Minho knew that perfectly well, so he simply kept his mouth shut and sat there looking miserable.
"You're right, honey. I think so too. What's so great about just being strong?"
Still, shouldn't you be the one keeping quiet?
Watching the woman clinging to the man chime in, Ju Minho almost unconsciously cut in.
When they had been fighting zombies the afternoon before, she had just been stomping her feet and cheering for her boyfriend—the man was one thing, but if that woman had any conscience, she had no business saying that.
Well. How many people without a conscience are there in this country, anyway?
Ju Minho gave a small shake of his head and tried to tune the couple out.
"Can't you say something to him?"
But he could not. Not after that one line from the woman.
...She's joking, right?
The moment he heard it, Ju Minho's face went blank with disbelief. Still, just in case, he looked at the man—and sure enough, he looked just as awkward.
"Huh? Ah... Still, that's a bit..."
"Why? You go talk to him. You're not the only one who suffered. Tell him to keep it down."
You didn't suffer at all...
Among the women here, even the middle-aged aunties and young students had all lent a hand fighting zombies. And she alone had done nothing, and now she was saying that?
He felt like he was going to lose his mind.
But separate from Ju Minho's thoughts, the man could not ignore his girlfriend's prodding.
"Look, no matter what, saying something like that in this situation is a bit..."
"It's because of this situation that we have to!"
"It's not as simple as it sounds. If things go wrong..."
"Honey."
What, you scared?
The moment those words came out, Ju Minho gave up.
Judging by that woman, if the man did not step up, she was ready to do it herself.
"Ha."
Even so, he did not seem like the type to fall for a provocation that cheap—
"Who's scared? Who said I was scared? I'll have you know I trained in jiu-jitsu!"
Ju Minho heaved a deep internal sigh.
"Hey. Wangu. You really gonna do it? That thing?"
After taking a satisfying piss in the bathroom, Do Wangu was about to wash his hands when no water came out. He slammed the sink in irritation, and his friend spoke up.
"Do what? Talk like that, how am I supposed to know?"
"You know—what you said last night before we went to sleep."
His friend glanced toward the bathroom exit, then continued.
"About food distribution and sleeping spots and all that. You said you'd control everything."
"Ah~ that?"
He grinned and roughly wiped his hands on a towel.
"More precisely, not me—us. How am I supposed to do that alone?"
"...You're really gonna do it?"
"What, I'm not?"
Do Wangu looked at them with genuine puzzlement, and his friends lost their words.
"Hey... Do Wangu. This isn't some movie. This is reality."
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
Do Wangu rolled his wrists and looked at his friend, who swallowed hard.
"I mean, generally speaking, right? People who suddenly go off the rails in a situation like this only exist in fiction. In reality, everyone bands together and..."
"Hey."
Do Wangu dropped his voice and cut him off.
"What the hell are you saying? You saying I'm going off the rails?"
"N-no. I didn't mean you. Of course what you said yesterday wasn't wrong. It wasn't, but at least we shouldn't just decide among ourselves—we should get the others' cooperation..."
Thud—
Do Wangu's heavy hand landed on his shoulder.
"You dumbass. You call that talking?"
"....."
His friends, who had known him since high school, knew full well how strong he was, how good he was in a fight, and how foul his temper was.
So they recognized that pushing him further right now could mean actually catching that fist.
Do Wangu bared his yellowed teeth with a grind and spat the words out.
"You think those people are gonna hear that and just happily cooperate?"
"Oh my! If our reliable Mr. Do Wangu takes control of this place, nothing could be more trustworthy! I approve!"
"That's right! I think so too! Ah, I want to hang off those sturdy arms! Wangu oppa!"
Do Wangu snorted as if it were absurd, then lowered his face to meet his idiot friend's eyes.
"You think they're gonna cheer like that? Huh? Don't make me laugh. Cooperation my ass."
"And all that movie crap and whatever other nonsense. It's because of a situation like this that we have to do it more. You know why?"
"Life is the real deal, you worthless piece of shit."
If he did not take control and keep the balance, things would go to hell before long, guaranteed.
Human groups without rules always fell apart eventually—that was the natural order.
Whether those rules were society's laws or one man's raw strength.
Do Wangu had learned that truth bone-deep since middle school, getting beaten with bats and fists.
Reality was crueler than any movie, and if you did not eat first, you got eaten. If you were going to make rules, you had to make the first move yourself or you would never feel secure.
He spat on the bathroom floor, pulled out a cigarette, and muttered.
"Calling this kind of idiot a friend... Should've just beat the shit out of him in high school and cut him off."
"....."
"Hey. Once I'm done with this smoke, all of you stick by my side. We're starting right away."
You just stand there and set the mood.
He swept his gaze over them as if daring anyone not to answer, and everyone had no choice but to nod reluctantly.