Hostile Welcome
The fire extinguisher sprayed out in an instant.
Whoosh!
Pure white foam began filling the entire area.
The hideously decayed faces vanished behind the foam in a heartbeat.
Even the sunlight pouring through the doorway couldn't pierce the white haze.
Han Jaejeong backed away steadily, spraying without pause.
How long did he keep at it?
Pfft! Pfft!
Only when the extinguisher started hissing like a leak did silence finally return to the surroundings.
No more shrieks, no footsteps.
The three of them stared wordlessly at the foam choking the narrow, elongated entrance to the annex.
A tension so thick they couldn't even swallow.
It felt like the infected could burst through the mist at any second—no one dared speak.
Jaejeong, at the front, began lowering the extinguisher slowly. Incredibly slowly.
It was an unbelievably deliberate motion.
Plip. Plip.
Sweat dripping from his jaw shattered against the marble floor.
The lobby was so still that even that faint sound echoed.
The extinguisher finally touched the floor.
Jaejeong rose as if performing mime, then backed away.
The other two followed, holding their breath.
Not once did they tear their eyes from the entrance.
They're in there.
Tangled up or sprawled out, whatever—they were definitely inside.
But why?
If they reacted to something, there should be noise. But nothing.
That was it.
The infected made no move to claw through the smoke, no attempt to look out.
If they were going to run, now was the time.
No matter the reason—they had to get out of here.
The cautious footsteps quickened to a jog.
Emergency exit!
Their eyes darted, searching for it.
Just beyond a nearby informational bulletin board, past a massive pillar, a green light glowed.
Jaejeong's grip tightened on his sledgehammer as he ran.
Something might be lurking behind that pillar.
If they ran into an infected there, the noise of dealing with it could draw the horde from the entrance.
Dread washed over him despite his calm as he rounded the desk and reached the pillar.
Thankfully, nothing.
But he had to check thoroughly.
Infected could pop up anywhere.
Nothing? Safe?
Jaejeong's eyes swept the area fast.
Then he whipped around.
Still clear.
The passageway remained shrouded in thick foam; no infected in sight.
A brief moment to breathe.
The only sound was their breathing—pure quiet.
Kang Youngman, staring at the drifting foam, whispered,
"You... I can scarcely believe my eyes. How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"To use the fire extinguisher there. And that they'd stay trapped inside."
"Beats me. It was just the only thing in sight."
"My thanks all the same. You could've left me and saved precious time."
"Well..."
Thinking back, yeah.
Shutting the door on Youngman would've been the rational call.
In that situation, anyway.
It would've separated them completely from the infected and saved a ton of hassle.
One slip, and all three could've died.
From Youngman's view, Jaejeong's choice was gratitude-worthy.
But Jaejeong and Lee Beom-sik saw it differently.
They'd come here for his daughter.
Letting him die didn't add up.
And even if things changed, their choice wouldn't have.
Jaejeong would've run to die together if needed.
That was his life.
He'd always chosen symbiosis over going solo.
Jaejeong trailed off, eyes shifting to the emergency exit.
"No reaction even after all that racket? Looks like the first floor's empty. Let's head up."
Just as the three exchanged glances to decide entry order—
An unexpected twist.
Grraaah!
A hand shot from the shadows under the pillar.
It grabbed Youngman's ankle; he crashed into the emergency door.
Clang!
The racket echoed through the lobby.
The infected crawling from the shadows had no lower body.
Even split in half, it snapped its jaws in blind instinct.
Should've brought the extinguisher.
As Youngman struggled to rise, Jaejeong scanned around.
No time to find anything useful.
With a short sigh, Jaejeong kicked its skull like a soccer ball.
Thwack—
His shoe smeared black ooze.
The mushy-headed infected slumped, still clutching the ankle.
Youngman shook it free and suddenly scanned around.
The crash must've done it.
The worst they'd feared happened.
The foam-choked entrance had settled, revealing the interior.
Nothing in the annex's narrow passage where infected should be.
They were charging at the group.
Footsteps and roars erupted from everywhere.
The sounds ricocheted off marble floors and walls, squeezing their throats.
"Open the door!"
Youngman bellowed, prying free.
But Beom-sik's face paled at the handle.
What? No way... locked?
Seeing it, Jaejeong yelled,
"What're you doing? Open it!"
"It's locked."
Beom-sik shook his head, but the noise drowned him.
"Fuck! Get over here!"
Jaejeong tried too—no dice.
No matter the strength, a locked handle wouldn't budge.
Infected incoming.
A black mass swarmed, blotting out sunlight through windows, endless.
End of the line?
Despair flickered—
Click!
The jammed door swung open.
A woman in a white coat stood beyond.
Jaejeong met her eyes.
Not alike at all, yet eerily similar.
Especially the eyes beneath neatly tied hair.
They carried Youngman's shadow somehow.
"Get in!"
Jaejeong snapped out of his daze at her shout.
Sounds crashed into his ears like waves, yanking him back.
Bare feet slapping tile, shattering glass and pots, flesh piling on fallen bodies.
Bang!
The door slammed shut, snuffing faint light; darkness swallowed the space.
Only a flashlight sweeping slowly remained.
"Minyoung?"
"Dad!"
The beam hit the wall, but it was clear.
The father-daughter reunion across death's river was fierce.
As the embrace lingered silently, Jaejeong cleared his throat watching.
"Ahem! Power out, huh? Lemme see, switch..."
His hand found a large switch.
Click, click.
Just noise—no light.
Power fully cut.
The tearful reunion rolled on regardless.
"Knew you'd make it."
"How'd you get here?"
"Had to. Can't decide my path till I know you're safe. These folks... yeah... can't see here, so let's talk upstairs."
"Yes, follow carefully. Oh, power went last night. Just this building. No idea why. Something they touched? Heard a transformer blow..."
Minyoung explained quietly after the clicks.
Beom-sik, listening intently, caught one word.
"'We'? You're not alone?"
He regretted it instantly, slapping his face.
Minyoung whipped around, shining the light on him.
"No way I'd survive alone in this place. Who're you? Don't recognize you. Same unit as Dad? Nah, too young... suddenly banmal."
"No, uh... point the light up."
"Oh, sorry."
Beom-sik waved; she got it, withdrew the beam, and climbed.
Her reaction to banmal—pure, innocent curiosity—left him stumped.
Jaejeong, trailing and eavesdropping, sensed something unique in her, beyond ordinary folk.
What to call it?
Quirky? Pure? Hard to pin.
And maintaining everyday vibes in this hell.
Or utterly detached from it all.
Her normalcy made Jaejeong doubt they'd just cheated death—reality felt unreal.
"What floor?"
Jaejeong asked from the dark, flashlight his guide, voice booming like in a cave.
"Everyone's on 3. Rooftop has folks signaling for rescue. But... they won't welcome us."
Creak—
Minyoung flung open the door, killed the light, face troubled.
Third floor: labs, equipment storage lined up.
Pillars dotted corridors; people scattered around.
As she'd said—no welcome for newbies.
Or more like outright hostility.
Those lounging shot death glares.
Killing intent so thick it boiled Jaejeong's blood just meeting eyes.
Counterproductive, really.
That's how he saw it.
In desperate times, wasting manpower on this? Surprising.
Don't bow here.
Even if it turns friendly later, start firm or struggle.
The air demanded it.
"What're you staring at? Never seen people?"
Jaejeong scowled, sweeping the room to hold ground.
But they didn't back down.
Eyes grew fiercer.
"We... we said don't open the door! What? Gotta save people? You a doctor, so what?"
"Fuck doctors in this mess!"
Sharp barbs flew at Minyoung from everywhere.
Amid shouts, a child's wail mixed in.
"That's... my dad. Couldn't leave him to die."
Minyoung stood firm amid blame, face emotionless.
"Lost my daughter here! Your family special? If I hadn't come to this madhouse..." She clutched her chest, sobbing. "My baby..."
A middle-aged woman wailed.
Jaejeong exhaled sharply, stepping forward again.
Had to know why.
Infected People