The Shelf Gauntlet
Nine people in total had gathered in the kitchen.
Kang Youngman, scrutinizing each of them one by one, stroked his beard and asked,
"Now that everyone's here, tell us. What do you intend to do?"
"You bet. Alright, everyone, listen up."
Han Jaejeong looked around.
The kitchen was enormous.
Given the hospital's nature—dozens at a time, hundreds per shift coming in to eat—it had to be.
What caught Jaejeong's eye were the stainless steel shelves lined up neatly everywhere.
Usually equipped with sinks, but these were flat worktables.
About waist-high.
Perfect for standing and prepping vegetables or rinsing ingredients and lining them up.
So what did Jaejeong plan to do with these shelves?
"We're getting out of here using three of these shelves."
The group fell silent for a moment.
His explanation was so straightforward it left them dumbfounded, exchanging glances.
They all tried picturing it in their heads, but no clear solution came to mind.
Kang Youngman spoke up.
"Can't you explain it a bit more kindly?"
"Everyone, come out here."
Jaejeong led them to the door leading out to the cafeteria.
Beyond the blinds, faint shadows of infected prowling outside flickered.
"We'll place shelves on either side of the door. Line them up lengthwise like a corridor, then cap the end crosswise—forming a shivers shape."
"And then?"
Youngman asked patiently.
"Three people behind each shelf, weapons ready."
"Surely your brilliant idea isn't..."
"We'll kill every last one of them and get out."
The cafeteria went quiet again.
As complex expressions crossed their faces, the man who had been attacked by Lee Beom-sik shook his head.
"Impossible."
"Why impossible?"
Jaejeong tilted his head.
"I don't know how much you all know about these zombies, but their speed and strength are beyond what we can handle. I get what you're saying. But it's too dangerous. The second that door opens, they'll climb over each other to rush in."
"He's right. And none of us have ever fought them. Sure, we've seen on TV that headshots kill them. But knowing that and doing it are two different things."
His colleague chimed in agreement.
Jaejeong nodded.
He wasn't wrong.
Of course, when the door opened, they'd charge like starving beasts.
If that's all he'd considered, he wouldn't have brought it up in the first place.
"This solves it."
Jaejeong pulled out a length of sturdy white rope.
It was the kind the cafeteria staff hung aprons, gloves, and rags on to dry after washing.
The man rubbed his swollen red neck and asked,
"What're you gonna do with that?"
"Tie the handles together at this length. When the door opens partway, the rope goes taut and stops it from opening further. Naturally, they can't all pile in at once—maybe one or two at most."
Jaejeong explained as he tied the handles using a special military knot.
The cafeteria's doors were double swing doors that opened from both sides.
With some slack in the rope connecting the handles, the door would only open just wide enough for one person, as described.
His plan: deal with the infected one or two at a time slipping through the gap.
If executed well, they could clear the hallway without a single casualty.
But the man thought differently.
He stroked his swollen nape and pointed at the rope tied to the handle.
"How long's that thin rope gonna hold?"
"Well, this knot won't come undone. Unless the whole rope snaps. Though if you yanked it, maybe."
The man seemed more stung by the "you" than the casual speech.
But he wasn't dumb enough to pick a fight over something so petty and outdated.
At least Jaejeong was someone he could talk to.
"Don't you know zombies shatter tempered glass when they charge? You think luring a bunch and funneling them through a narrow gap is gonna work? How long do you think that door'll last?"
"I never said lure them all at once, so chill. And can't you read the room?"
At Jaejeong's words, the man glanced around.
It was dim inside, but he could clearly see Beom-sik and Anna glaring daggers at him.
"One slip and we're dead anytime. Isn't it natural to be on edge? Do I gotta watch my words even for questions?"
"If you can't do it, sit it out. Not forcing you. If you're gonna whine like a kid about every damn detail, shut up and stay put. We'll handle it. And I don't care. Rope snaps, door shatters—whatever. Nine of us, and we can't hold one narrow entrance? Better off dying now."
Jaejeong turned away coldly.
Truth be told, the man had a point.
The blinds protected the glass walls, but if the door opened, they'd all swarm it.
The door might not hold the weight, rip right off, and flood them all at once—ruining the plan.
"What now? We need every hand."
Youngman said, looking troubled.
"We'll do it ourselves. Anyone who wants to live will join. No will, no way. They're nitpicking when death's the same either way and there's no better plan?"
"I get the idea. It's feasible. But the start's crucial."
"Why?"
Anna asked.
"You'll lure and pick them off one or two at a time at first. So you gotta handle the early ones perfectly from the right spots to make the next easier. Think about it—bodies pile up sloppily at the entrance, they can't get in and start shoving with brute force. Noise draws more, door shatters quick."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
"So... what exactly are you gonna do about it?"
Lee Beom-sik, who had been listening silently, finally spoke.
"Lure 'em one by one through the gap and take 'em out. If the door rips or rope breaks and they swarm? Everyone fends for themselves best they can. What's the point of a plan in a head-on break?"
"Brutally honest, huh."
Beom-sik gave a wry smile.
Jaejeong glanced worriedly at Chaemin and Hyun-soo.
"You two are the issue... You'll cover anything Beom-sik or Old Man Youngman miss. Anything breaking through, I'll smash head-on. Got it?"
They hesitated, then nodded.
"We have to."
"No choice..."
They looked tougher than when they'd survived the earlier crisis.
Soon after, the group formed a defensive wall like a fortress wall in a shivers shape with the shelves.
They gripped their weapons.
Even the three cafeteria workers who had seemed reluctant joined, armed.
The man nearly killed by Beom-sik had taped a kitchen knife tightly to the end of a mop handle.
Another, like Jaejeong earlier, shielded his body with a cardboard box and wielded a meat tenderizer.
The middle-aged woman who had lit the way with her flashlight while they moved the shelves paced empty-handed.
Youngman asked,
"How do you plan the lure?"
"That's the tricky part, honestly..."
Anna spoke up, face lighting with an idea.
"Their hearing's too sensitive, so visual lure? We don't know exactly what noise volume affects what radius."
"Oh, good thinking. Just crack the door and show our faces?"
"No. Seeing us direct would excite them like a loud noise. For example..."
Everyone waited for her next words.
"Flashlight. Yeah, lure with the flashlight? She has no weapon, so when we open the door, she shines it from the center. From the zombies' view, the light blinds them—can't see a thing around it?"
"M-me?"
The woman's face paled with tension as she swallowed hard.
Anna quickly snatched the flashlight.
"Watch. Stand here, just flick it on signal. Flick off on signal, we handle the zombie. No danger. You can do it, right?"
"Just on... and off?"
"Yep, that's it."
The woman finally sighed in relief.
Positions were set.
Beom-sik and Youngman faced each other across the lengthwise shelves flanking the door.
Next to them: the three workers and Anna.
Deepest, facing the door head-on: Jaejeong, Chaemin, and Hyun-soo.
Beom-sik and Youngman gripped the handles and eased the doors open slowly.
No noise—that was key.
They had to lure with flashlight spilling out.
On signal, the woman flicked it on.
Click!
Light leaked through the gap wide enough for one person.
In the hall, infected wandered slowly, seeking stimuli.
No reaction yet.
Everyone swallowed dryly.
The calm before the storm.
Rain pattered, faint sunlight filtering through blinds into the hall.
The moment light reflected off the hall wall in their pupils...
One infected spotted it.
The woman shook the flashlight lightly as instructed.
Then a problem.
They just clawed at the light on the wall, ignoring the cafeteria.
No lure like this.
Beom-sik and Youngman straining to hold the heavy doors wouldn't last.
Jaejeong urgently signaled her to kill it.
Click!
Grraaah!
The instant light died with the switch sound, three infected whipped toward the cafeteria.
Dim hall light through the gap hit Jaejeong's shoulder.
Click!
Flashlight on again.
Now they faced the light pouring from inside.
Definitely quieter than direct sight or sound.
Letting out weird nasal wheezes—breaths or whatever—the three shuffled toward the cafeteria.
Creak.
With the sound, Beom-sik and Youngman let go of the handles.
The three infected were shoving the door open themselves now—no need to hold.
The woman's face twisted in horror as she shone the light on them.
First time seeing them this close, probably.
Shunk!
One of the three finally squeezed through the gap.
But no attack yet.
Lure it deeper inside first.
Bodies at the entrance would be trouble.
Thud, thud.
Like a prisoner marching to the gallows, the infected staggered in, joints twisting unnaturally.
People lined on both sides? It noticed nothing.
Meant they couldn't see in the dark any better than humans.
Just before it reached the crosswise shelf where Jaejeong, Chaemin, and Hyun-soo stood...
Click!
The flashlight went out.