The Girl Next Door, Lee So-hye

The blaring alarm dragged me out of bed in a half-stumbling haze. I pissed in the bathroom, pulled a bottle of water from the fridge, and drank.

"Hoo."

Only after cracking the window and lighting a cigarette did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my morning routine finally feel complete.

For the past week I hadn't broken that sequence even once. Of course, it was starting to look like I'd need to change it up a little. The stench of rotting corpses rising from outside was enough to turn my stomach.

Watching the zombies crawl around down below, it suddenly hit me that I hadn't spoken to another human being in a while.

The convenience store was the last time.

If someone asked whether I missed the sound of a human voice, the answer was no. I just felt bored with living. If I'd run out of food, I probably would have forced myself outside by now — but that wasn't the case either.

Something ought to happen already.

I flicked the spent cigarette out the window, shut it, and sat down at the table. I stuck a lunchbox nearing its expiration date into the microwave. While it heated, I stayed in the chair and scrolled through my phone.

Today, as always, the messages were piled sky-high.

It had been packed solid from day one, but none of it was particularly useful.

Most of it was trivial daily chatter or straight-up whining.

Sure, the occasional plea for help would pop up — but nobody ever answered.

A chat room where people casually traded small talk about their day while completely ignoring anything that might actually cost someone their life.

Kind of entertaining, honestly.

There wasn't any useful information to speak of, but I had exactly one reason for checking this place.

"What a fucking loser…"

I was here to watch this girl-obsessed bastard. Conversations like that had a way of making my self-esteem bubble right up.

Park Chang-ho was a truly admirable human being.

The world had gone to hell, and he was still killing himself trying to get laid.

He hadn't always been like this. Hell, back in the department he'd been treated like he barely existed. Never showed up to MT trips, never came out for drinks.

Not that anyone cared.

A frame that easily cleared a hundred kilos, a face carpeted in acne, and every day he'd sit there without even headphones on, blasting a game full of women moaning at full volume. Who the hell was going to approach him?

Honestly, I'd completely forgotten Park Chang-ho even existed. And then out of nowhere he shows up in the group chat, stamping his presence into everyone's awareness.

I had no idea what changed him. But one thing was certain — in this boring-ass world, he was one of the few people who still managed to entertain me.

Ding—

Two minutes had slipped by while I was reading. I got up and brought the lunchbox over. I was just about to open the lid and start ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠breakfast when—

Knock knock—

A knock at the front door. I stood, walked over, and picked up the hammer I'd left on top of the shoe cabinet.

Who the hell is that?

In a full week I hadn't heard a single sign of life in the hallway. Same now.

If someone were checking for survivors, they would've knocked on other doors first — and I would've heard it. The fact that I hadn't meant they'd come straight to me. Which meant they had business with me specifically.

Careful not to make a sound, I put my eye to the peephole. A woman. A familiar face.

The girl next door?

Why had she come to me? No weapon in her hands, so it didn't look like she meant to attack — though she could've had something hidden under her clothes.

Knock knock knock—

When I didn't respond, the girl next door glanced around and knocked again. She rubbed the back of her neck; her legs wouldn't stay still.

Under normal circumstances, the right move was not to open the door.

Open the only exit for someone when I had no idea what she might do? If I just ignored her, she'd leave on her own. Then I could go back to living exactly the way I had been.

Creak—

That would have been truly the worst outcome. Another day of the same boring routine? That was worse than being dead.

"Ah—!"

The moment I opened the door, the woman took a step back. My reflection filled her widened pupils.

"Ah."

She sniffed the air. I even heard the wet sound of her swallowing.

"If we talk out here, zombies might come. Come inside for now."

I kept my voice low and stepped aside. She clasped both hands tightly together, licking her lips as her eyes flicked between me and the room.

"If you're uneasy, you're free to turn around and go back."

"I-I'll come in."

I started to close the door and she jammed her hand into the gap. I stepped aside again, and she finally came inside.

Beep-beep-beep—

The sound of the door locking made her flinch. Then she took a few more steps in and let out a breath of pure awe.

"Wow… waaah…"

She'd spotted the boxes, no doubt. I'd cleaned out an entire convenience store by myself — there was every kind of thing in here.

To her, it must have looked like a treasure vault.

"Y-you were in the middle of a meal."

"Yeah. You showed up right as I was about to eat breakfast."

"I-I see."

Grrrk—

The girl next door suddenly dropped her head. Both her ears had gone bright red — it was pretty cute, honestly. She was good-looking, too. On the rare occasions we'd crossed paths, my girlfriend used to get jealous.

And the outfit's nice.

A white short-sleeve tee and dolphin shorts. The kind of look no man could hate.

"If you're hungry, want a lunchbox? I've got a few that are about to expire."

"R-really!?"

Her head snapped up and she asked in a loud voice.

"Of course. We're neighbors. I can manage that much consideration."

"Th-then I'll set aside my shame and take just one. T-turning it down wouldn't be polite either…!"

"Sure. Check the fridge and grab one."

"Yes — yes!"

Both her cheeks flushed red. Breathing hard, she went to the fridge and pulled out a lunchbox.

Of all the options, she'd picked the one with the biggest portion and the highest calorie count.

"You should at least heat it in the microwave first."

She'd been about to dig in cold, so I spoke up quickly. Precious food — it'd be a waste to eat it like that.

"Ah! Y-yes, s-sorry."

She put the lunchbox in the microwave and hit the button three times.

Whiiirrr—

She stared through the glass at the spinning lunchbox like she was under a spell. Her legs still wouldn't stop moving, but it felt completely different from before.

Like a puppy.

The looks, the behavior — she gave off the vibe of an adorable little dog. I found myself thinking it'd be nice to have a girlfriend like that.

Ding!

The microwave chimed and she snatched the lunchbox out. She sat at the table and was about to start eating when—

"Hold on a second."

The chopsticks aimed at the pork cutlet froze midair.

"W-why?"

"There's something I want to ask before you eat."

"C-can't I eat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first and then answer?"

"And if I say no?"

She looked up at me with bright, shining eyes. They were full of desperate hope — but I wasn't simple enough to fold over something that small.

"You don't like that?"

I set the hammer down gently on the table. Her pupils blew wide like they might burst, and she bit down hard on her lip.

"If you don't like it, just say so anytime."

"……N-no. It's fine."

She carefully set the chopsticks down, placed both hands on her knees, and straightened her back.

"W-what did you want to know?"

"What's your name?"

"I'm Lee So-hye."

It suited her.

"Lee So-hye, you've been starving for days, haven't you?"

"Yes. I mostly ordered delivery, so there wasn't much edible left in my place. And I didn't have the courage to go outside, so I just kept going hungry."

Maybe she figured the faster the Q&A ended, the sooner she could eat. She was volunteering information I hadn't even asked for.

"I see. Delivery isn't cheap. Your family must be well-off?"

"My family supported me reasonably well, and I also did modeling gigs. That let me live pretty comfortably."

A model!

Well — with looks and a body like that, it tracks.

The light questions had confirmed she was willing to cooperate. Time for the real one.

"So-hye, you came here to get food from me. That's right, isn't it?"

"Yes. That's right."

"Then on what basis did you come looking for me? When I killed my girlfriend, you saw it and ran. You watched that happen — so why come to me?"

Any normal person would have done everything possible to avoid me. She knew what kind of guy I was, and she still showed up?

"Th-the first time I saw it, I was completely terrified. But after everything started, I thought about it again and realized — you hadn't killed a person. You'd killed a zombie."

I'd assumed my body had blocked the view and the chaos of the moment would keep her from processing it. She had a sharp eye.

"A-and about a week ago? I saw you going back and forth through the building carrying boxes. From that, I figured you had a lot of food."

Fair enough. Anyone watching would've thought I was hauling supplies.

"And every day I could smell cigarette smoke. That's how I knew you were still next door."

"Pretty sharp, aren't you?"

"O-oh, thank you?"

Good eye, quick on the uptake, and the guts to gamble through the danger. She was a pretty solid woman.

"Then one last question. Answer this and you can eat the lunchbox."

"Yes!"

She answered with a bright little smile.

"You said you came here to get food from me. So what were you planning to give me in exchange?"

So-hye's body went rigid. What kind of answer would she give?

Hopefully the one I'm thinking of.