The Last Call
I lost myself so completely in the rhythm of drawing the bow that I nearly forgot why I had come here in the first place. It was the closest thing to a state of no-mind I had ever reached.
That's enough for today.
I lowered the bow, rounded the fence, and stepped back into the yard. All was quiet around the house. Chirp, chirp— every now and then, the only sound was birdsong.
When Grandma and I had lived here together, there were stretches of months when not a single soul came to visit. The land behind the house ran up the slopes of Mount Seorak, but since it connected to no hiking trail, no mountaineers ever came wandering down either.
The elders of Deoksu-ri used to tell a story about that—how the villagers of old hadn't even known the Korean War had broken out. The village was so remote that in three whole years of war, neither the South Korean army nor the North Korean army had ever once set foot there. If that place was remote, then this place, even more cut off, hardly needed mentioning.
Still, I resolved to refrain from blazing fires or needless noise. The smallest careless slip could draw zombies—or worse, people.
Should I just block off the access road entirely?
Felling trees and piling them across the unpaved track would go a long way toward keeping outside vehicles out. But with only a single road a car could travel, it would also make it that much harder for me to flee by car in an emergency. Blocking the road with the car itself was another option, though using my one and only precious SUV as a barricade struck me as a terrible idea.
I gazed at the SUV parked outside the gate and murmured, "So it's mine now, huh?"
Lunchtime had long since come and gone. Tension had smothered my appetite earlier, but skipping meals was no better than overeating—keeping to my meals was every bit as vital to survival.
Eat while you can.
I picked up the electric kettle from my gear. It was a "car kettle," the kind that plugged into a vehicle's cigarette lighter.
Vroom—
I started the engine. This car only supplied power to the lighter socket while the engine was running—which was actually a blessing. Forget to start the car, drain the battery dead while using electricity, and you were finished.
I filled the kettle, plugged it in, and waited. Before long, the water came to a rolling boil. I poured it over a cup of instant noodles, waited the three minutes, and peeled back the lid—spicy, savory steam billowed out in every direction.
There's no way the smell of ramyeon is carrying all the way to Deoksu-ri.
It was needless worry. The village was five kilometers away, and the wind was blowing the wrong direction to boot.
I left the driver's door open, perched on the seat, and began to eat. I couldn't quite relax—not with the thought that someone might come barreling in at any moment—but I'd placed the bow and arrows within arm's reach.
Slurp—
I hadn't been hungry at all earlier, but the moment the noodles hit my tongue, they were delicious. Cup ramyeon was simply meant to be eaten outdoors. I fished out every last strand of noodles and then tipped the broth back too. Pouring out ramyeon soup to cut down on sodium was behavior that made zero sense in my current situation. With things the way they were, even the chemical MSG dissolved in that broth felt like essential nutrition with not a gram to spare.
I drained every last drop. Then I cracked open a bottle of water and gulped it down. The temperature wasn't below freezing, but it was chilly out—the water was cold as if it had been sitting in a refrigerator.
Glug, glug—
As the cold water washed away the saltiness of the broth, I could almost taste sweetness on my tongue. A satisfying meal, all things considered. Thank you for the food!
Bzzz—
My phone buzzed. An incoming call. The caller was Team Leader Park—and it was a video call.
Now what?
About an hour had passed since Team Leader Park had hung up on me, using a meeting as his excuse. Could it be... that the zombies have already reached the heart of Seoul, where the company is?
The distance from Namdong-gu, Incheon to the office was roughly forty kilometers. Even a marathon runner would need two hours to cover it. One thing I'd learned from watching those videos over and over: the zombies' movement speed wasn't slow compared to a living human, but it wasn't superhumanly fast either.
There's no way they've already closed that distance.
I pressed the answer button. Team Leader Park's face filled the screen—terror-stricken.
Ten minutes earlier.
Team Leader Park was driving toward a hotel. Six years married, father of two—a family man. And yet he carried one secret he could never breathe a word of to anyone.
"Oppa, where are you right now?"
"Almost there. Just wait a little longer."
"I've been waiting so long my neck's about to fall off!"
Team Leader Park had a lover. A graduate student. They'd met through the industry-academia partnership project the company had pushed last year, and he had fallen for her as if under a spell.
To be fair, Park In-ho had been a self-admitted, universally acknowledged paragon of straight living. Outside of company dinners, he never once strayed after hours—he went straight home, every day. If his quitting time suddenly changed, his wife was bound to grow suspicious. Which meant the only time he could see his lover with any peace of mind was lunch.
Ordinarily they met at a love motel in the eating alley near the office, but his lover complained she was sick of motels, so for once he'd booked a proper hotel. Hotels close to the company were outrageously priced. Searching for somewhere cheaper with decent amenities had taken him quite a ways out.
A little farther west from here and you'd be in Incheon—far too distant for a lunch-hour round trip. So he'd booked a meeting with a partner company near the hotel and filed for a business trip. He could allow himself a little leisure.
"You bastard, Park In-ho."
He cursed himself, staring at the family photo stuck to his dashboard, conscience gnawing at him. But there was no stopping it. Body and soul, he ached for her.
The light ahead flipped to red. He stopped at the crosswalk.
Screech—
A woman's scream rang out from somewhere. He turned his head toward the sound.
A thunderous rush—
An enormous crowd of people came pouring onto the road.
What the—? Some kind of protest?
There was no order to it whatsoever. He had never seen a demonstration this violent.
Keeeak—
Several of them let out spine-chilling cries and bore down on his car. Sensing the threat, he hurriedly locked every door and rolled the windows all the way up.
Thud! Thud!
They swarmed around the car, hammering the body with fists and kicks.
"What is wrong with these people? Have they all gone insane together?"
Team Leader Park studied their faces. Not one of them had any focus in their eyes. And thick, viscous fluid was dribbling from their mouths. Only one word surfaced in his mind.
Zombies!
With cars jammed solid in front and behind, there was no driving anywhere. And I can't get out either.
He searched the internet on his phone, eyes sweeping left and right as he scrolled through the breaking news. Before long, he understood the situation. A horrific calamity that had begun in Songdo, Incheon was spreading east at terrifying speed. Zombies—unbelievable even with his own eyes.
I have to warn my family, now!
He called his wife immediately. Pick up, please—please! Without even realizing it, he drummed his foot against the floor.
Boom! Boom!
The zombies encircling the car kept multiplying. There was no telling how much longer the body would hold. The glass looked ready to shatter at any moment. Hope for himself was already gone—he knew that for certain now. But his family had to live. It took a moment like this to finally understand: what he had truly loved was his wife and children. The lover waiting for him in a nearby hotel didn't even register in his mind.
"Honey? What is it at this hour?"
Thankfully, his wife picked up. Their home was in Gangdong-gu, on Seoul's eastern side—the area was still safe. He gave her the gist as briefly as he could.
"Leave right now with the kids and head to your parents' house!"
The zombies were spreading from the west, so fleeing east was the right call. Her family home was in Samcheok, Gangwon Province. It wasn't as if only Samcheok lay to the east, but he judged that with what little time remained, it was best to go somewhere with family ties. He was the sole heir of three generations, and his parents had passed away not long ago—his only relatives were his wife's family.
"What are you talking about all of a sudden? Go to my parents' house right now? The kids are all at daycare."
"Honey, listen to me. Am I the kind of man who jokes about things?"
"No. That serious streak of yours is why I married you."
"There's chaos over by Incheon right now."
"What kind of chaos?"
"No time to explain. Just get the car and go—pick the kids up from daycare and head to your parents' place!"
Besides the sedan he used for his commute, there was another SUV at the house. Hearing his voice, she knew something enormous had broken loose.
"Okay! But what about you?"
"I..."
Crack, crack—
The windshield was beginning to spiderweb. Soon the glass would give and the zombies would pour into the car. But he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth.
"I'll follow right behind you."
"You promise you're okay?"
"No time to dawdle! Just go, now!"
Click.
He hung up first. Only then did the tears burst from his eyes. Fear prickled at him from the zombies glaring at him through the glass, but the grief of never seeing his family again was far, far greater.
Tick, tick—
The second hand of the wristwatch his wife had given him for his birthday ticked on, mocking him with the little time he had left. This is really it. Is there no one else I should warn?
Suddenly, Assistant Manager Kim came to mind. He called me earlier—asked if I'd seen the news. The man clearly knew something, and had reached out because of it. Team Leader Park dialed him.
Video call.
Riiing—
One ring, and he picked up. But the scene behind Assistant Manager Kim wasn't a hospital. He could see dense forest—an open field somewhere out in the countryside.
Ahem—
Team Leader Park cleared his throat and asked, "Assistant Manager Kim, where are you right now?"
Between his team leader's expression and the faint shrieks of zombies bleeding through the call, I could piece together exactly what he was facing. There was no reason to lie even now, but no need to detail my location either.
"Gangwon Province."
"Gangwon, huh... you went awfully far for a hospital."
Even in the grip of terror, Team Leader Park managed a hollow smile for me. This time, it was my turn to ask.
"Where are you, Team Leader? Near the office? Have the zombies already reached you?"
"No. I'm near Incheon."
"You're on a business trip?"
He didn't answer my question. Instead he asked me another.
"That call earlier—you were trying to warn me I was in danger, weren't you?"
I nodded. His face crumpled into something hollow and defeated.
"Heaven gave me one chance... and I threw it away with my head stuck somewhere it didn't belong. Honestly... I suppose this is what happens when you live carrying that kind of sin."
I couldn't say exactly what he meant by that. But the regret etched across his face spoke for itself.
"You're the lucky one, Assistant Manager Kim. All the way out in Gangwon, far from here... huh?"
He tilted his head and looked at me.
"Wait. Did you already know? This morning—did you know?"
I hesitated over how to answer. But the chance to answer was gone forever.
Crash!
Team Leader Park's windshield shattered, and a throng of hands and heads surged into the car.
Keeeak!
The zombies began tearing at his body with a frenzy.