A Night Too Deep
Hyun-soo felt like time itself had slowed to a crawl the moment the door opened and Beom-sik stepped out.
Beom-sik, who had been trying to peel off the tape to the end, finally succeeded in hurling the whole bundled mass away using centrifugal force.
The tape-wrapped bundle soared high into the sky.
The infected standing on the road all turned their gazes toward the truck.
One spin, two spins, three spins.
Diing! Diing! Diing! Diing!
The alarm blared across the area—a sound that could wake even the soundest sleeper in a rage.
The effect was perfect.
The creatures seemed about to turn toward Beom-sik, but soon they were chasing after the noise instead.
Hyun-soo, leaning halfway out the window, watched the bundle fly.
It caught perfectly on a tree, refusing to fall to the ground.
A flawless success.
Whether it was intentional or not didn't matter.
The result was better than expected.
What counted was that the horde clogging the road was now swarming toward a tree dozens of meters away.
Confirming it had snagged, Beom-sik flashed a brilliant grin at Hyun-soo.
Hyun-soo realized for the first time that Beom-sik was capable of smiling like that.
"What're you waiting for? Get out here!"
"Right!"
Hyun-soo leaped out the window and hurried after him.
While the two crossed the road, inside the gas station office, they were frantically shoving the sofa aside and opening the door.
Following Beom-sik, Hyun-soo—hat back on—slipped inside.
Faces they thought they'd never see again reunited.
Youngman locked the door, yanked off Hyun-soo's cap, and ruffled his hair roughly.
"You little cutie! I knew you'd make it! Of course you did."
"Ack! My hair's a mess now!"
Minyoung, watching, let out a sigh of relief.
Beside her, Jaejeong and Beom-sik eyed each other.
No words were needed; their faces radiated reunion's quiet joy.
Their gripped hands stayed clasped for a long while.
Anna, observing, shook her head with a smile—then suddenly smacked Hyun-soo's back.
"Ow! Why?!"
"Wander off on your own one more time, and I'll shoot you myself first."
"Got it. Sorry."
Hyun-soo bowed his head in apology.
"You thug bro, quit acting so reckless too. Got it? I really thought we'd lost you both for good."
"Depends on what you do."
"Get out, then. Just go."
Anna shoved Beom-sik's back with exaggerated flair.
Everyone—watchers and talkers alike—beamed with laughter.
How long had it been since they'd all smiled like this?
For the group, grins had grown so foreign amid the endless grim days.
"How about we crash here tonight? There's even a bathroom and showers. A lounge area too—perfect for a solid rest till dawn, then head out at first light?"
"Sounds good. Everyone's beat anyway. What a marathon of a day."
Minyoung chimed in agreement.
Jaejeong glanced outside.
The gas station was a fair distance away, but the naked eye could still make out the infected swarming there in droves—not ideal.
Yet there was nowhere else to go.
Heading out now for anything would cost too much, physically and in visibility. Too risky without clear sightlines.
Daylight favored the uninfected far more.
"What do you think?"
Jaejeong asked.
"Why ask? Do what you want."
Beom-sik sounded gruff, but it meant he'd follow Jaejeong's lead.
Something invisible now bound the two.
"Then we stay and sleep. No rush means rest up—but last sleeper sets the watch rotation. One hour each, no slacking."
Nods all around. Hyun-soo raised his hand.
"I'll take the last shift. Waking up then means I won't fall back asleep easy."
"Sensitive for a tough-looking guy. Then you start first shift."
Anna eyed him curiously.
"That works. But what do I look tough like?"
"Like you got no thoughts in that head."
"Sis too."
"Why you—!"
"I'll shower first!"
Grabbing a bag with towel and underwear, Hyun-soo bolted for the shower door.
One by one, they showered and changed into clothes scavenged from the hospital basement multi-plaza.
Soon after.
The lights in the lounge—connected to the office by a narrow door—went out.
Anna and Minyoung bedded down there; the men claimed the office.
Three long sofas provided ample space.
For everyone but Jaejeong.
His frame never fit sofas anyway, so he spread a gas station jacket from the storeroom on the floor and lay down.
"Hey... what the hell was that, anyway?"
In the quiet hush, first-watch Hyun-soo asked from his perch by the window.
Youngman, tossing uncomfortably, replied.
"What?"
"The zombies. First time I've seen 'em herd like that. Running kicked up a dust storm like a typhoon. Still gives me chills."
"Half-crazed by something, you mean."
"What could do that?"
"Who knows..."
The talk died there.
No ready answers surfaced.
Anything like that happen?
Just idle thoughts.
Then, from Beom-sik—who'd seemed fast asleep and motionless—came a voice.
"The helicopter."
"Helicopter?"
Hyun-soo asked.
"Yeah. You wouldn't know, but that army captain—Kang something—mentioned it before. Choppers draw 'em in with the noise. And ours flew low for rescue, plus the explosion. That's it."
"Oh! Yeah, makes sense. Helicopter it was."
"Spot on. Nothing else fits."
Youngman agreed.
As the three swapped takes on the day's chaos, Jaejeong—facing the wall—couldn't close his eyes.
Exhaustion tugged at him like collapse, but sleep wouldn't come.
Shut his eyes, and they appeared.
First: Kim Chaemin, tying his nail-less finger with a necktie to hold off the infected.
Darkness behind closed lids revived it all.
His own sledgehammer smashing skull; Chaemin untying his tie for a tourniquet.
Infected roars, bone crunching inward, the terrified screams of the female staffer.
Eyes snapped open.
Like magic, it vanished.
The vivid sounds tormenting his ears, the movie-reel memory unspooling—gone.
Close them again...
Helicopter roar splitting his skull.
Just before firing the rifle snatched from Hyun-soo.
Two men in the cockpit straining to avoid the rooftop.
Co-pilot's eyes met his; face twisted in an instant.
As he opened his mouth to shout at the pilot—
Bang! Bang!
Two shots rang out.
Blood sprayed from chest and mouth; they lost the controls.
The chopper plummeted with razor-thin clearance.
Deafening blast; heat seared his soles.
Jaejeong forced his eyes open.
Lids burned with fatigue.
But courage failed to shut them again.
Dream or reality? The line blurred.
Again?
Overwhelmed, Jaejeong finally surrendered to exhaustion.
Through the window: the studio interior.
A woman with a knife, standing.
Choi PD.
Terror on her face, screaming.
Beom-sik beside her, shaking his head.
Cut to Youngman and Captain Kang's comms; her joy at rescue team's approach, crystal clear.
Then...
Her scream as she fell.
Even tumbling, she flung her opposite arm toward the roof to live.
But like flailing in water, it fell short—vanished from sight.
He could have saved her.
As she walked the edge, Jaejeong had sensed unease.
But hadn't stopped her.
Not because he didn't care if Choi PD died.
Just never thought it would happen.
The echo resounded.
The stranger woman's scream haunted his ears relentlessly.
What to do? No clue.
Heart squeezed by maddening impatience.
A chokehold pressure—eyes flew open in shock.
Morning.
Not dawn breaking—just morning.
Jaejeong bolted upright in alarm.
All around: dead asleep.
Whose watch?
Hyun-soo next after his shift.
But Hyun-soo lay sprawled on the floor, the one meant to wake him.
Wall clock: 9 a.m.
Nearly ten hours.
More shocking: no one else stirred.
Outside: the tree with the alarm—horde beneath it, gone.
Where'd they all go?
"Whoa, shit! What?"
Hyun-soo jolted awake at Jaejeong's rustling.
Glanced between clock and Jaejeong, memory foggy.
"Why didn't you wake me?"
"Uh, you looked wiped out, hyung. Haha."
"Fine. Then you pulled my shift after. Hey, Lee Beom-sik. Up."
"Sorry. Meant just to rest my eyes a sec."
Hyun-soo scratched his head.
"But we all slept great—no issues!"
"You're last shift from now on. No exceptions."
Jaejeong warned, rousing everyone.
They woke stunned—not just at skipping watch, but crashing ten hours in this dump, no one stirring from unease.
That tired, they must've been.
Still, the deep sleep refreshed them; faces brighter than yesterday.
While Beom-sik chewed out Hyun-soo like he wanted him dead, Jaejeong stepped outside.
A sharp chill hung in the air.
Summer's end or not, this felt too soon.
Sky above: clearer than ever.
When was the last such pristine blue? Couldn't recall.
Climate shift already?
Makes sense—factories, power plants, cars all halted at once.
Or maybe the urban heat islands gone cold.
Youngman followed, stretching.
Voiced Jaejeong's thoughts.
"What kinda weather's this chill? Summer's done. But was it ever this brisk this early? Anyway, where'd they all vanish to?"
"No idea. Not a single one."
Jaejeong shaded his eyes, scanning.
Not one in sight.
Something big enough to lure the whole horde? They'd have felt it too.
What happened?
"Found 'em!"
Both whipped around.
Unannounced voice: Anna.
Up on the gas station roof unnoticed, binoculars sweeping the area.
Jaejeong asked.
"What?"
"Come up. See for yourself—you won't believe it otherwise."
Jaejeong and Youngman climbed the ladder, baffled.
"What's the deal?"
Anna just thrust the binoculars.
Jaejeong peered where her finger pointed.
Adjusted magnification down, then up.
A seething mass.
All infected.
Nothing to yesterday's dust storm, but thousands at least.
"Why there?"
"Beats me."
Anna shrugged; Youngman took the binoculars next, witnessing it.
"Swarming, arms up like at a concert. Freddie Mercury reborn couldn't pull that crowd."
"Whatever the reason, it's good for us. Grab the fuel and let's roll."
Down below, Jaejeong hefted a full jerry can, waiting for the group.
Beom-sik and Hyun-soo joined last, faces washed like cats.
One task left.
Yeouido.
Infected People