A Mere Thread
Fortunately, the misunderstanding seemed to have been more or less cleared up.
"It did seem a little strange, honestly. You're not the type to do something like that, Oppa..."
She said that, but the look she'd given me while we were eating had been full of pure contempt.
"It was a misunderstanding! Why would I ever look at you like that, Oppa?!"
"When I reached for a side dish, you flinched and pulled back."
"That was just because your arm came close to me — I did it without thinking!"
"Whatever. I'm hurt."
Yejin looked flustered as she watched me sip my soy milk with that remark.
Once I explained my bizarre physical condition to her, she accepted it and understood right away. Maybe because I'd saved her life. It felt almost too quick — but then again, she'd seen firsthand just how weird my body was more than a few times already.
"...Please don't be mad, Oppa."
"I'm not mad. Just a little hurt. After everything I've done for you..."
Saying that when we'd known each other less than a day was pretty ridiculous, but Yejin — who owed me a mountain of life debts — couldn't deny a word of it.
She fidgeted for a moment, then set down the soy milk bottle we'd been sharing and spoke.
"Then... would you like me to give you a massage?"
"...?"
Hold on. Is this that kind of scene? Wait a second.
I slapped my own forehead with my palm, smacking the perverted devil working overtime in my frontal lobe.
Smack—
"Oppa?! What are you doing? Are you okay?"
"My forehead just itched. So what exactly do you mean by massage?"
Yejin stared with round eyes as my reddened forehead returned to its normal color in real time, then answered with a slightly awkward expression.
"I, I heard muscle massages are good for recovery... and you've been through so much, Oppa."
"So you're saying you'll rub my shoulders?"
"Yes... and maybe your arms and legs too?"
"Nah. Legs should be fine."
Just the upper body. If her hands went anywhere near my lower half, I might lose my mind.
Those words hovered at the edge of my lips, but looking at her innocent eyes fixed on me, I couldn't bring myself to say them out loud.
She's an adult who knows how things work. But her face is so babyish I keep getting confused.
I cut off the stray thoughts there and stayed still while Yejin massaged my shoulders.
Honestly, my muscles had taken a beating, but they were recovering in real time so I felt absolutely nothing. Still, more than that — her touch was healing something in my mind, I guess.
"So, where's your house exactly?"
"...Come on, I told you it's fine. I don't want to trouble you, Oppa."
"I want to go. Why are you arguing? Just answer me already."
At my slightly forceful tone, she stopped massaging, chewed on her words for a moment, then spoke.
"My sisters aren't even home anyway. They leave for school earlier than I do..."
"You said they're just starting middle school. They're already going to school?"
"Yes. First-years, specifically... they said they had some club activity."
"Middle school — the one up toward the mountain?"
"Yes. Chowon Middle School."
I furrowed my brow and started thinking.
Let's see. When did that mummy bastard first show up on TV spouting off?
The last time I'd checked while waiting for the bus was around 7:40. About ten minutes after that, I'd boarded the bus, and less than five minutes later I'd heard that noise.
"Middle school usually starts around 8:30, right?"
"Um... usually, yes. But the school my sisters go to said nine o'clock was the absolute latest."
"So your sisters went to school over an hour early."
Yejin nodded silently, and I reached my conclusion.
"Your sisters are probably safer than most places, at least. Not as safe as home, of course."
If they'd arrived over an hour early, most students and teachers wouldn't even be there yet. Fewer people meant fewer zombies, inevitably.
There was still one hypothesis lingering in the back of my mind, though.
"Unless those zombie bastards spawn naturally in every space regardless of population density — which would be a complete nightmare — the kids should be fine. Probably."
"...Ah."
If they just stayed put in their classroom and waited, maybe the police or military would eventually come rescue them.
No. Police are a stretch. Without proper armed forces, rescuing anyone in this situation is impossible.
That left only the military to hope for... and the more I thought about it, the more bleak it looked.
Power was completely out, communications were dead — there was no way the Ministry of Defense was functioning properly. And who knew what else that mummy bastard had up his sleeve.
Still. Just in case. Unlikely as it was.
"They wouldn't mess with firearms, right?"
"Pardon?"
I didn't answer Yejin's puzzled question. With a grim face, I walked to the living room and opened the window.
The afternoon sky under winter's lukewarm sunlight was disgustingly clear, but I hadn't opened the window for the weather I had no interest in.
What if they didn't just mess with firearms — what if they wrecked every military weapon the same way they killed the electricity and communications, and even took out helicopters and other transport?
It was an extreme hypothesis, sure. But if that kind of sabotage actually targeted every military force on the planet, not just Korea's...
I wasn't joking. Humanity would have no answer.
Frowning, I watched the sky for any helicopters or planes. Eventually I pulled my gaze away and started to turn toward Yejin — then stopped.
What's this?
I'd just noticed it.
Hanging right beside me, dangling in midair from above — a rope made of several jump ropes tied together, with a note attached.
I grabbed it, untied it, and unfolded the note.
If you could just look up once, I'd be truly grateful.
A single sentence written in an unnecessarily polite tone.
I read it and, as requested, tilted my head up to look at the floor directly above.
My eyes met those of a man on the third floor head-on. He flinched, then pulled the jump rope up, clipped on another sheet of notebook paper, and lowered it again.
I saw you clearing the area around this villa. I'd like to repay you somehow.
I looked back and forth between the note and the man with a blank expression, then went to get a ballpoint pen from the room, scribbled something roughly, and gestured for him to take it.
— What kind of repayment?
The shaggy-haired guy around my age hurriedly tore a fresh sheet and wrote.
We've got quite a few ramen packs and a gas burner at home. Let me treat you.
— We've got plenty of food on our end too?
I just figured with the power out, you might not be able to cook things like ramen.
He seemed oddly desperate. Judging by his expression, he wasn't trying any tricks.
Under my steady stare, he got the hint and sent down another paper.
Also, if you'll excuse me, I have one urgent proposal.
If he'd watched me clear out zombies, that kind of thought wouldn't even occur to him.
"Kim Yejin. Wait here for a bit. I'm going up a floor."
"Huh? Upstairs?"
Yejin, who'd been collecting the soy milk bottles from our meal and cleaning the table, blinked and asked.
"Is there actually another person? Not a zombie?"
"You're sharp as always. I'll be right back."
Going alone, most variables were covered. The only real risk was the guy luring me up so he could climb down through the window and mess with Yejin. So I'd just lock the window.
I opened the door and strode up the stairs. Just in case, I kept the force out of my ankles to stay quiet.
I gave a short knock on the right-hand door of the third floor, and the front door opened immediately.
"Thank you so much for actually coming. I, uh..."
He was a young man a bit taller than me with a very thin build, his face so pale he looked ready to collapse any second.
Then he shoved ramen packs and a gas burner into my arms and swallowed hard.
"This should be enough to show my appreciation for clearing the area. And also..."
He opened the door a little wider, revealing a pile of noodles and fuel canisters stacked near the entrance. I couldn't figure out what he was getting at.
"We've still got this much left. I'll give you half of all of it in exchange for one proposal."
He glanced inside the house, then spoke through cracked, dry lips.
"The pharmacy right next to the villa. Could you bring me just one asthma medication from there?"
"A pharmacy?"
I understood the situation immediately.
This guy looked fine himself. Family, then? His expression said it was pretty serious.
The request itself wasn't hard. Literally a stone's throw away. But anyone who wasn't me wouldn't dare go alone in this situation.
"I, I'm really sorry, but if you could hurry..."
"Understood. I'll get it for you."
I took a paper with the medication name written on it and a few ten-thousand-won bills from him, then looked at him once more.
"I'm not trying any tricks. Really. If you bring even one of the things written on that paper, I'll give you half — no, two-thirds."
Looking at that face, I finally nodded and accepted it. If that was acting, he'd have made a name for himself in Hollywood long ago. Suspicion ends here.
"I'll be back in five minutes. Half. Set it aside in advance."
"Ah, thank you! Really... huh?"
I opened the hallway window right there and perched on the railing. Then I glanced down once and let go.
I smirked at the man's dumbfounded face staring at me.
This is the fastest route. What can I say.
Whoooosh—
THUD—!
I felt cracks form in my shin and ankle with a sharp snap. Ignoring the sensation, I slowly stood up — and felt the real-time regeneration of bone, same as always.
How many fatal wounds have I already taken? Looking at that recovery speed, an injury like this takes less than ten seconds.
And just as I thought, before I'd even taken a few steps after landing, the cracks in the bone had completely filled in. No hindrance to walking at all.
I glanced up at the man — his mouth was hanging wide open as he stared at me. Guess I'd surprised him pretty thoroughly.
I waved a few times for him to go back inside, rotated my ankle a couple of times to loosen it, then kicked off the ground and ran.
Five-minute cut. Easy.
The corpses that turned toward the sound of my running and howled viciously — I ignored them completely.
To save one person's life, jumping from a third floor or running past zombies was more than worth it.
Of course, that applied to me alone — not other people.
That was a statement that only applied to me.