The One That Watched
“Ah……”
Han Jaejeong hesitated, his mouth hanging open.
Unable to bear the sight of Kang Minyoung's ashen face, Anna jumped in with the answer.
“It shouldn't matter much, right? Probably not. They're not gonna drag non-combat folks along on a search mission.”
“Non-combat?”
Jaejeong stared at her in genuine surprise.
“Non-combat? You know terms like that?”
“Why? Isn't that what you call 'em in situations like this?”
“Yeah, true. Just surprised, that's all. Anyway, Minyoung, don't worry too much. Someone's gotta stay back and guard the transmitter. But you—switching to casual speech so naturally now……”
“Then let's do it that way and head to the rooftop. We've gotta shove those things underground first, yeah?”
Jaejeong shook his head with a wry smile as Anna strode out of the clinic. He followed after her.
Minyoung, left alone, quickly sorted the meds and hurried to catch up.
Up on the rooftop, preparations were in full swing to herd the infected underground.
The sky hung heavy with storm clouds, threatening to unleash a downpour any second.
“Gonna pour buckets soon.”
Kang Youngman muttered as he fused arrows with firecrackers.
Gale-force winds battered the tent covering the transmitter, making it flap precariously.
Anna lit a firecracker arrow and loosed a practice shot.
The onlookers wondered if the wind would even let it fly straight.
Thwang!
But as if mocking their doubts, the arrow streaked true.
It arced perfectly before vanishing into the gaping maw of the underground parking lot.
Everyone gaped in awe—except Anna, who looked utterly unfazed.
She'd calculated the wind's direction and force from the start.
Nothing surprising about it.
Soon after……
Bang! Boom boom!
The explosions drew the infected in droves.
But one arrow's worth had its limits.
They swarmed only as far as the ramp leading underground before scattering again.
Anna held out her hand. Lee Beom-sik handed her another firecracker-tipped arrow.
She pretended to draw the string, gauged the angle, then glanced back at him.
“Alright, let's start. Keep those arrows coming quick. One or two won't cut it.”
Beom-sik nodded.
The rooftop floor was piled with firecracker arrows Youngman and Jaejeong had prepped.
The twang of the bowstring rang out nonstop. Anna's hands blurred into motion, and arrows rained into the depths below.
A cacophony of fireworks erupted soon after.
The infected prowling outside charged toward the underground in unison.
It was like an impregnable fortress crumbling under assault—fierce, relentless.
The frontrunners tumbled down the slope, but the horde surged over them like waves, trampling without a care.
Heads burst and bodies crushed underfoot in the stampede.
Watching it all, Jaejeong frowned.
Those things had no intellect left—no hope whatsoever.
This wasn't some illness meds could fix.
Just monsters chasing raw stimuli.
No pill was curing that.
Then—
As the infected vanished below, something on the now-empty ground snatched the group's attention.
Jaejeong's gaze dropped too.
A lone infected, standing stock-still.
While the rest chased the bangs, this one hadn't budged.
Not even a twitch.
It just stared toward the noise.
Minyoung rapped the railing.
“One's still left!”
“What the hell? Why isn't it going?”
Anna nocked an arrow with an irritated sigh.
Thwang!
The shot arced away, swallowed by the underground gloom.
Explosions and guttural howls echoed back up.
But……
The thing didn't move.
Jaejeong's brow furrowed.
A shared unease rippled across the group's faces.
And then it tracked the arrow's path with its eyes—eerie, unnatural.
A human reflex, sure. But this wasn't human.
That made it all the creepier.
Zombies didn't act like people.
Jaejeong's eyes widened suddenly.
It was turning.
The thing, which had been facing the underground, pivoted toward the rooftop group.
Everyone froze.
Head to toe, it was a textbook infected—rotting, unmistakable.
No doubt about it.
Yet it turned fully, then lifted its gaze to stare right up at them.
Chills ran down their spines.
Sunken, decayed sockets.
A fragile membrane of an eyeball swiveled upward.
Coincidence?
No.
Impossible.
No intelligence, no such action.
It tilted its head oddly, almost thoughtfully, then scanned the annex building.
“H-Hey, it's not thinking of coming up here, is it?”
Minyoung stammered in shock.
She wasn't alone.
Jaejeong, Beom-sik, Anna, Youngman—all sensed the same dread.
Couldn't pinpoint what it eyed, but the implication was clear.
It was scouting the structure.
Its gaze swung back to the rooftop. Jaejeong met its eyes.
Absurd.
Dead man walking.
Just a virus-ridden corpse.
Brain-dead meat puppet, refusing to die.
As Jaejeong rationalized it away, an arrow whistled through the wind and punched through its skull.
Anna lowered her bow, face twisted in disgust as she turned away.
But Minyoung suddenly blocked her path.
“Why'd you do that?”
“Do what?”
Anna blinked, baffled.
“Why kill it?”
“You wanna let it live?”
All eyes turned to Minyoung.
Anna's shot was textbook—no issue there.
Killing infected was survival 101.
But Minyoung saw it differently.
“Zombies don't act like that. It was aware of us.”
“So what, it's human now?”
“Not that, but we can't say for sure it's not. What if……”
“Sis.”
Anna's face hardened.
She paused, thoughtful, then sighed deeply.
“If that thing was human, the zombies would've ripped it apart before I even shot. Right?”
Minyoung had no retort.
Just like Anna said—if it was human, sprawled on the ground, it'd be long dead by now. Multiple times over.
But the unease lingered.
Not impossible. A mutant, maybe. Special case.
Just wildly unlikely.
“Don't overthink it, Minyoung. Just a monster.”
Youngman patted her shoulder as she brooded.
The talk wrapped up, but yeah—it was weird.
Even to Jaejeong.
Plip.
Jaejeong's eyes twitched as he listened to the father-daughter exchange.
Raindrop.
Sporadic at first, then doubling, tripling—pouring in sheets.
No time to waste.
Those clouds looked nasty; any noise might drag the horde back out.
“Let's head down now. If thunder pulls 'em out while we're in the main building, we're trapped.”
The group rushed down the stairs.
Last out, Jaejeong glanced skyward.
Thick clouds blanketed the heavens, inching along.
Silent lightning flickered through the murk.
This storm wasn't passing quick.
Down below, survivors who'd watched through windows buzzed with excitement.
Time to drop the truth bomb.
Minyoung stepped forward. Beom-sik and Youngman averted their eyes.
How would they react, knowing no rescue was coming?
Minyoung spoke carefully.
“I have news. Please stay calm and listen.”
All eyes locked on her face.
“Rescue…… isn't coming.”
The lobby went dead silent, like ice water dumped over them.
Minyoung clamped her mouth shut—and questions, despair exploded.
“Why?”
“Goddammit! Then why'd they take our stuff? Where's my bag?”
“We dying here?”
“We're fucked. All dead.”
Predictably heated.
Curses crept in.
Youngman, who'd been pacing, stepped up abruptly.
Couldn't stomach the anger and blame aimed at his daughter anymore.
His roar boomed like thunder.
“Hear her out! There's gotta be a reason rescue can't come!”
“It's fine, Dad. They're just disappointed.”
She was right.
Disappointment etched every face.
A few barked loudest, but the rest felt it too.
Maybe that's why.
Minyoung seemed more deflated than before.
Youngman's bellow quieted them briefly, but they fired back twice as hard.
“Hey, you there—old man. Come here.”
Jaejeong couldn't take it anymore and waded in.
His tree-trunk arms strained his t-shirt as he lumbered forward, legs too thick for any graceful stride.
Pure gangster swagger, straight out of a flick.
Beom-sik grimaced.
Didn't expect to see that walk here.
Thick as pot lids, his fingers crooked menacingly, face twisted.
Intimidating as hell.
But against dozens?
Even hyenas mob a lion.
And they had every right to be pissed.
The cursing guy faltered, then scowled harder.
“Punk kid mouthing off to adults…… No uncle teach you manners? Hey, stop! I said stop! Fuck!”
Jaejeong closed in steadily. The man panicked, voice rising.
Now close enough to touch.
“You say come, I come. What's with the yapping? Cut the cursing. Think we can't? We didn't send rescue packing—they said they can't come. Why take it out on us?”
Jaejeong swept a glare that promised punches, silencing the room.
The guy just swallowed hard, no comeback.
Couldn't really pin blame on them anyway.
A middle-aged woman pushed forward from the back.
Old money aura radiated off her—most rich folks couldn't touch it.
“Why can't they come? Least give us a reason.”
“Yeouido safe zone. Helicopter'd have to fly near there to reach us—risk drawing the infected straight to it. No approval. Fuel's too low to detour anyway.”
“Approval? From who?”
“Who else? The big shots up top.”
“Wait— no other choppers? Seoul's dry, fine, but Daejeon, other cities…… Argh, frustrating. Get me the guy in charge. I'll talk sense into him. Phone's gotta connect sometime. Insane.”
Jaejeong looked awkward.
If he was right, these folks thought the outbreak was Seoul-only.
He scanned the crowd slowly.
All waiting on answers, same delusion etched on their faces.
They were clueless. Way too clueless.
Mountain after mountain.
Where to even start?
Hadn't they seen the news?
No—hospital outbreak meant they might've caught wind earlier than him or Beom-sik.
Before broadcasts even hit.
Comms were up then; they'd have heard something.
Anyway, time to explain.
“Well……”
Jaejeong scratched his temple, face troubled.
Infected