Karaoke Room
The energy that had built up until now spread through my entire body and slowly seeped in. I smiled at the cool sensation for just a moment.
Crunch—
I bit down hard on my lip and bowed my head against the pain of bones and muscles shattering and tearing. If they saw me like this, they would only worry.
That agony finally ended after about five minutes.
"Hoo..."
My whole body was soaked in cold sweat. Feeling as if every ounce of strength had drained out of me, I leaned against the wall and quietly closed my eyes.
When I opened my eyes again, a ceiling came into view. I slowly lifted my head. There was a table and a karaoke machine beyond it. Then my gaze met So-hye's.
"You're awake?"
She sprang up from her seat and came straight over, laying a hand on my forehead.
"Your fever's gone down a lot."
"Fever?"
"Seong-won, you collapsed at the karaoke entrance. Your whole body was burning hot like a fireball, and you were drenched in cold sweat. So we carried you here and cleaned you up a bit."
"Where's An Ga-hee?"
"She said she was going to sleep a little in the next room."
With So-hye's support I rose slowly from the chair. I stretched and moved my body this way and that, but I still couldn't feel any real change.
Did my body not grow after all?
I was still turning that doubt over when she held out a can.
"You just woke up, so your throat must be dry. Drink this. There's plenty of drinks here."
"Thanks."
I took the Ceylon tea, drained it in one go, and tossed the empty can into the trash. It went in clean.
"Tell me what happened after I passed out."
"Nothing much. We moved you, then the two of us walked around the karaoke checking for anything dangerous."
"No one was here?"
"No. The door was wide open, so I figured there'd be at least one zombie or person inside. There wasn't."
I'd have to look over the place myself later. They might have missed something with a quick check.
"After that we pulled food from the storage room and each of us ate and drank while we rested. Being a karaoke, there was actually a decent amount of supplies."
"Alcohol and drinks. And puffed snacks or dried seafood, that sort of thing?"
"Yes. There was fruit too, but it had all gone rotten, so we dumped it in one of the rooms. The smell was awful."
"Good work."
I stroked So-hye's hair. She closed her eyes and nuzzled against my hand like she was enjoying it.
"I'm going to check on An Ga-hee."
"I'll come with you!"
We left the room together and stepped into the one next door. The air vibrated with cigarette smoke. An Ga-hee lay sprawled across the big sofa.
"Oh, you're up?"
She only lifted her head a little to glance at the doorway, then slowly sat up. A cigarette hung from her lips.
"You took a separate room just so you could smoke?"
"Well, that was part of it. And you might've been bitten, right? Call it a kind of quarantine."
"Then you should've taken So-hye with you too."
"I did try. You think I'm that selfish? But she kept insisting there was no way you'd been bitten, so I finally gave up trying to convince her."
I turned my head toward So-hye. Her eyes sparkled brightly, as if to say I did good, right? I gave her a light smack on the head.
"Next time something like this happens, just go quietly. What if I'd actually turned into a zombie?"
"...I didn't think that was possible. While we were cleaning you off I checked your whole body. There wasn't a single bite mark."
"You can get infected without being bitten."
If a zombie's fluids or blood entered the body, the chance of infection was high. Even if not, the virus might already be floating in the air.
"Still..."
"If either of you gets infected, I'll smash your heads the same way. If I hesitate because of old feelings, other people could get hurt. So you do the same to me. Got it?"
"Okay~"
"...Yes."
I got firm answers from both women. Satisfied, I walked over to An Ga-hee and snatched the cigarette. I put it between my lips and took a long drag; the hit made me feel a little better.
"Hey, you asshole!"
She scowled and stood up, but I ignored her and smoked the rest of it down to the filter. An Ga-hee clicked her tongue, shoved a snack into her mouth, and leaned back against the sofa.
Crunch crunch—
"So what now?"
"First we move rooms, then we talk. The smell in here is too strong."
"You're smoking too, so what's the big deal?"
"You don't know smokers hate other people's smoke? And So-hye's here."
Secondhand smoke was supposed to be even worse for you, wasn't it?
"Fine."
We moved back to the next room and each sat on the sofa with a drink in hand.
I pulled out my phone and checked the time—nine in the evening. Kim Min-ho had messaged asking when I was coming back, so I replied that we'd return tomorrow.
"Going back today looks impossible. Moving at night is too dangerous."
"Right."
"We'll spend the night here, then head back while reading the situation. We don't even know what it's like outside right now."
"Got it."
"I think that's best too."
"What about dinner?"
At my question they both shook the bowls of snacks they were holding. That was their way of saying they'd just made do with those.
"Nothing that actually counts as a meal?"
"Not that I saw. This isn't some karaoke joint where you can eat food and drink while you sing, so why would there be real food? Oh, there is alcohol, though. Want some?"
"I'm good. Then we'll call it each of us handling our own. I'll grab something for myself. So-hye, can you show me the storage room?"
"Yes!"
I went with her to the storage room. Snacks, dried seafood, and drinks were stacked high. I carried an assortment of snacks back to the room.
"You're going to eat all that?"
"Yeah. I'm hungry, and they're too bulky to take with us anyway."
"True enough."
Once the snacks were piled on the table I tore open a bag and dumped it into my mouth. After sleeping all day my stomach was growling like crazy.
Crunch crunch—
I polished off a full eight bags of snacks. After four cans of drinks on top of that, my stomach finally felt a little full.
"Insane appetite. I thought I was watching a mukbang YouTuber. Did you always eat this much?"
"I'm just hungrier than usual today. Maybe because I used a lot of strength earlier?"
The fuller my stomach got, the more vitality seemed to circulate through my body. My best guess was that it had something to do with the new ability I'd gained.
In the end I only finished the meal after I'd drained every snack and drink I'd brought.
"Hoo."
"Wow, you ate all of that?"
"Snack-eating hippo. You're a snack-eating hippo."
An Ga-hee stared at me like I was a lunatic. I ignored the look and stood up.
"Time to sleep soon. Separate rooms, or all together?"
"I think we should sleep together. It'll be easier to react if something dangerous happens."
"She's got a point. Honestly the atmosphere here is a little creepy. Sleeping alone would be kind of scary."
Following the two women's opinion, we gathered in the room with the biggest sofa and all lay down together. The soft skin pressing against me from both sides felt good.
"Hehe."
So-hye wrapped her arms around me. The slight tremor in her body told me being cut off like this still frightened her a little. I patted her back to reassure her.
"Can't you do that kind of thing when I'm not around?"
"Then go sleep in another room."
"That's a bit..."
We held each other for a while. So-hye's breathing gradually slowed and grew quiet. When the arm around my back went limp, I carefully eased myself free.
"Mmm..."
I turned my head. An Ga-hee was already asleep too. After everything that had happened during the day, she must have been exhausted.
I can't sleep.
I, on the other hand, had already slept deeply, so I felt none of that drowsiness. If anything, after filling up on snacks and drinks, power was overflowing through my whole body.
"Hoo."
I closed my eyes for about five minutes, then finally sat up slowly. Staying like this, I knew I would never get to sleep.
And honestly, I'm curious what kind of ability this is.
Careful not to wake them, I gathered my clothes and weapons and stepped outside.
While I'm at it, I might as well do a little scouting.
Coming outside at night was normally insane. You couldn't even tell where the zombies were, and one wrong move could get you jumped by something that came out of the dark. But for me right now, that wasn't a problem at all.
I can see.
The surroundings looked as bright as broad daylight. It felt exactly like wearing night-vision goggles. Probably an ability that appeared after the energy spread through my body.
They wouldn't have put me through that kind of pain just to hand me something this minor. Some kind of change had to have taken place in my body.
I need to confirm it myself.
I finished dressing, gripped the felling axe in my right hand, and felt my heart start to pound. I walked down the corridor and stopped in front of the steel door.
Kraaaaah—
When I pressed my ear to the door, faint cries drifted through. The ones that had chased me earlier still seemed to be hanging around in the basement.
I took the handle in my left hand and pushed gently. The door swung open little by little, revealing a zombie.
Whack!
The instant its red eyes met mine I swung the felling axe and sheared through its neck. The blade buried itself more than halfway.
Thud!
I shoved the head with my fist; a wet crunch sounded as the neck tore free. Watching it collapse in a spray of blood, I stepped outside.
Four more zombies were in sight. They must have reacted to the noise, because they slowly turned. The moment their eyes locked with mine, I curled the corner of my mouth.
There was no one here I needed to protect, and no reason to hold back. In other words, I could cut loose however I wanted.
Kraaaaaah—!
Watching those red eyes flash, I launched myself forward.