Just Five More Nights
I'd ended up inside a zombie apocalypse novel. After that, I spent some time catching up with the people I was glad to see again.
Captain Han Daewi had successfully escaped from Jangyu to Busan. Everyone he'd taken with him had survived, and there were no injuries. He praised me for doing a proper job of drawing the zombies' attention. I hadn't done it to get praised, but it still felt good to hear.
The story after that was pretty much what I already knew. They'd joined this division and spent a while clearing out zombies to secure a safe space for the citizens. During that process, Yeji's father had played a major role, which meant the good news that the whole family could live safely.
The last time I'd seen them, Yeji's mother had trouble walking. I'd been quietly worried, but from what I heard, everything seemed fine.
“I thought you were dead…”
“Come on, I don't die that easily.”
It was surprising that everyone had assumed I was dead. Even after hearing it from Noh Changhun, they'd been half in doubt. Honestly, I could understand. The number of zombies I'd faced back then had exceeded a hundred. No one would have thought I'd survive in the middle of that swarm.
Still, they laughed and said it was good I was alive like this. Then Yeji's father left first for another errand. It seemed he had to act as a messenger and couldn't stay. I wanted to catch up more, but I held back. That wasn't what mattered right now.
I poked Noh Changhun in the side, signaling him to hurry up and give his report. Fortunately he caught on quickly and started briefing them.
“Heh.”
I naturally slipped away from the spot. Listening to that kind of report wouldn't help me understand anything anyway. I'd just ask Noh Changhun for the three-line summary later.
With nothing to do, I wandered around to see if there was anything I could help with. But unlike the campus, there was almost nothing for me here. As expected from the military, they had a strict daily schedule and stuck to it. The post-its stuck all over the hallways made that clear. Look—the cleaning zones and checklists were even crudely drawn out.
“Hmm…”
I naturally started feeling bored. If I'd had an actual task, it might have been less dull. Still, I had no intention of going back to where Noh Changhun was reporting. I'd just end up staring blankly into space since I wouldn't understand a thing.
Which district, which neighborhood, which road to use to occupy which building. It was best to leave the planning and thinking to others. I'd just charge in with my Beopbong at the front.
“But there are a lot of kids here?”
Since this was the second defense line, I'd assumed it would be mostly adults. But there were far more students in uniforms and young children than I'd expected.
It didn't take long to figure out why. The third defense line had limited capacity. The safe residential zones were restricted, so this was a temporary stay until they could expand the area and pull in more manpower. That meant a lot of kids were waiting to move to the relatively safer third line.
Yet some children insisted on staying in the second defense line, which left me with complicated feelings. The ones who didn't know anything and stayed because of promises with their parents—I could understand that. They'd grow up eventually and realize what those promises really meant.
It was the same context as when Yeji had asked me to play tag with her.
But the students who clearly understood the goal and still chose to stay made my chest ache. Their families and friends had been killed by zombies, so they were staying to get revenge. Their determination to steadily kill zombies, gain experience, and push forward was obvious.
I wasn't that reliable a person. I was an adult with such pathetic social skills it felt embarrassing to even call myself human. Even so, I could tell something was twisted. The fact that I couldn't point out exactly what was twisted made my insides burn.
“...There wasn't a description like this in the novel.”
In the end I crossed my arms and cursed Noh Changhun. It was the only way to feel a little better. I'd originally meant to look around the high school, but my mind had grown heavy. And I realized all over again that this was reality. It wasn't the world inside a novel—for those kids and the people staying here, this was real life.
“Aish, damn it.”
My head felt cluttered. Thinking deeply about this stuff always gave me a headache. Maybe it was because the habit of living without thinking had taken root in my brain. Part of me wanted to mentally declare that they'd figure it out on their own. But they obviously couldn't, so I wanted to help. The feeling was similar to when I first met Yeji, which made it even more complicated.
“That's dangerous!”
I instantly raised my Beopbong and bunted the baseball flying straight at me. It must have been thrown hard—the ball sailed over the command post and rolled across the playground.
I could guess who the culprit was. A child was hiding around the corner. I hesitated for a second—should I chase or let it go? It seemed fine to pretend it never happened. But when the kid poked their head out again after running away, I changed my mind.
“You'll get in trouble if you're caught!”
That kid was wearing my headset. In other words, the headset I'd given to Yeji. I didn't know why a boy was using it, but I at least needed to question him and get the full story.
I ignored the worst-case scenario flashing through my mind. Fortunately the boy wasn't that fast. For some reason, it felt like he was deliberately waiting for me.
Ignoring the stares of everyone else, I chased the boy through every corner of the school. When I saw him slip into the third-floor girls' changing room, I opened the door.
“Gotcha—huh?!”
“Unnie!”
Inside, Yeji was sitting neatly in my outer clothes. She'd apparently taken very good care of them. Even after more than a month, they looked almost the same as when I'd given them to her.
The boy sat beside her, holding her hand. I wanted to demand what their relationship was, but I held back. They seemed to get along fine on their own, and above all, there was a cat.
“Were you taking care of the cat?”
“Yes.”
Yeji smiled brightly. I set every other question aside and asked how she'd been. Fortunately, she seemed to be living safely and happily here. Her mother worked in the cafeteria, and her father had been promoted to sergeant. She'd made many friends in similar situations, and this boy was her closest friend. They'd gotten close while raising the cat together...
“...”
No matter how I looked at him, this boy seemed to be suffering from PTSD. His eyes lacked any spark, and the way he pressed the headset down tight, closing his eyes for long moments before opening them, was clearly abnormal. At the same time, I roughly understood why Yeji had given him her headset. It was a gift from the unnie who saved her, and wearing it meant you couldn't hear the sounds. She'd probably offered it to comfort him.
Fortunately, none of the terrible things I'd worried about had happened. Yeji seemed to be struggling mentally to some degree too, but this was an environment where she could recover quickly.
“The cat's cute.”
“Right, Unnie!”
“...”
“Does he not talk?”
“He only talks when he's with me. He's really shy around strangers.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yes. But he's incredibly smart and knows so much!”
Yeji went on for a while about the boy. His name was Kang Jinhyuk. He was the same age as her. Smiling like a girl in love, she listed only his good points. Kang Jinhyuk sat there smiling brightly too, which soured my mood.
I knew it was a good thing they were getting along so well... But why did even these little kids get to have a pure, innocent romance, all sweet and lovey-dovey? Why did I have to pick the worst option in every balance game? Why did I have to fake a one-day marriage with Noh Changhun just because I didn't want to get into a catfight?
The unfairness of it all sent complicated emotions swirling through me.
Still, the cat, Yeji, and Kang Jinhyuk were all so cute that I quickly settled back into a comfortable mood.
“Now that I think about it, Unnie.”
“Yeah?”
“How long are you going to stay here?”
“I don't know.”
“...Huh?”
“Unnie doesn't know either. It feels like we'll be staying pretty relaxed, but I haven't decided yet.”
“Then...”
Yeji swallowed hard. She slowly exchanged glances with Kang Jinhyuk, then raised her left hand and spread her fingers wide.
“Just five nights...?”
“Aww.”
It was too cute. I almost wanted to settle down here for good. Forget Kang Siwoo, Kim Yeonhwa, or anyone else—I just wanted to live here, working alongside these people.
But I slowly composed myself and smiled.
“At most, seven nights.”
“Seven nights...!”
“Unnie has places to go and a lot to do. Can you understand?”
“Of course! By any chance... can we sleep together?”
“Of course. I'll be here for a while, so call me when it's bedtime.”
“J-Jinhyuk...”
Kang Jinhyuk lightly pinched Yeji's cheek. She stroked it, still smiling brightly. It seemed she'd finally realized this was real.
Then she started asking what had happened to me in the meantime. I summarized the story for a while until it seemed Noh Changhun was looking for me, so I stepped out of the changing room.