The Sweet Taste of Survival
I had returned to the Bumin Campus acting like nothing had happened. To be precise, I told them that an attack had come but the two of us had handled it just fine. The rainwater I’d poured over myself to wash off the blood? I explained it away as zombie filth that had splattered on me. There was even a variant called a Boomer that seemed like a subspecies of the Cannon Fodder type. Normally it acted as a meat shield, then charged in and exploded. Anyway, the guy rattled off explanations like a flowing stream, so there wasn’t much for me to do. I just chimed in at the right moments and tried to remember the names of the variants. That was basically the extent of my contribution.
And while I’d said we’d drop the honorifics, I realized that doing so right now would be a terrible idea. We’d come back together after less than an hour, and if only one of us suddenly started speaking casually? It would be obvious that something had happened. Suspicion would immediately turn into misunderstanding, and that misunderstanding would stab me right in the back. So before we arrived, I’d suggested we keep using polite speech in public. Kang Siwoo had responded with an unreadable smile. At the time I’d wondered what it meant, but now I understood perfectly.
Kim Yeonhwa smiled as if she were genuinely worried about me. But I, who roughly understood the situation, couldn’t smile at all. My instincts were screaming. Handle this wrong and you die. She was subtly probing whether I had crossed the line or not. Right now it looked like unconscious information gathering, but the moment she caught even one thing, she’d probably latch on and never let go.
Did I have allies here? It didn’t seem like it. Even Lee Ayoung was glancing at me from a distance. At least the guys seemed to be on my side.
Even that felt ambiguous. It wasn’t really support so much as pity. Was this how Hwang Hui felt when King Sejong refused his resignation? In the end, while I was stuck in that awkward limbo, Kang Siwoo called for me. The reason was obvious. I looked recovered enough, so he probably wanted me to play radar again.
From now on, we will return to Seunghak Campus. The journey should take between two to three hours, so please stay alert.
Strike while the iron is hot, as they say. It didn’t take long before, under Kang Siwoo’s lead, the survivors finished preparing to leave. Honestly, I hadn’t expected them to gather so quickly. No matter how you looked at it, not everyone would trust us. The only thing we had in common was that we all went to the same university. They didn’t know our intentions or what we were thinking, yet they were willing to follow us just like that.
Still… if I were in their shoes, I probably would have gone too. That was how much influence Kang Siwoo held here. So I obediently offered him my left arm and gripped Beopbong in my right hand. Maybe I looked a little unsteady, because Kang Siwoo spoke up.
Thinking about it again, he was right. I slightly opened the side pocket of the unused bag and slipped Beopbong inside. I hadn’t wanted to put it in the main compartment because of the blood and gore. This way, if something happened I could just reach behind me, grab it, and pull it out. While I was putting the weapon away, Kang Siwoo scanned the surroundings and gave a slow nod. Then he opened the building door and stepped outside first.
That was when I realized one crucial fact. I have to stay at the front with this bastard the whole time. It was completely different from the easy ride I’d imagined, but I didn’t have the courage to say it out loud. After all, I’d just been thoroughly skewered by him not long ago. We’d smiled and agreed to cooperate, but the power dynamic was crystal clear. So even if I was scared, I had no choice but to pretend I was fine. And look at this guy—grinning like an idiot. He knew I was afraid of taking the lead and was deliberately provoking me.
Strangely, the fear vanished in an instant. Maybe it was the slight surge of anger, but I could endure it now. Kang Siwoo seemed satisfied with that reaction. For the rest of the way to Seunghak Campus, he kept subtly poking at my nerves. What annoyed me even more than the poking was how he kept praising me too. Whenever I spotted a variant or handled zombies well in combat so I wouldn’t get hurt, he would quietly offer praise and encouragement where others couldn’t hear. I wondered why he bothered with both the stick and the carrot. Then—
It should have taken at least three to four hours, factoring in fights with zombies. Yet we’d only been walking for an hour and we were already halfway. It was practically like strolling through the city before the outbreak. Covering half the distance in one hour with this many people and zero casualties? Of course everyone was excited. All four of their faces were visibly brighter. We’d gained far more than expected. Simply scouting and returning would have been a success, but we were also bringing back survivors? This was huge. By now they were probably cheering inside. Even Kang Siwoo’s lips kept twitching upward as he struggled to contain his smile. There was no way the others wouldn’t be happy too.
I wanted to grin like an idiot as well, but I held back. My body was starting to heat up.
Kang Siwoo released my left arm and drew his sword. We were just passing through an intersection. Zombies were pouring in from every direction except the way we’d come. But the truly dangerous ones were only in front of us. A few Hunters and some Poisoners. Nothing Kang Siwoo couldn’t handle quickly. While he did that, the rest of us would take care of the regular zombies. We just had to protect the few survivors who couldn’t fight at all.
So, as naturally as breathing, I pulled Beopbong from the bag and swung it.
“Grrraaah…!”
“Grrrrraaaa…!”
“Grrk?!”
The head of one regular zombie flew through the air. Back when I first used Beopbong, swinging it wrong would make my wrist ache. Now I was so used to it that I felt like I could do anything with this thing. Well, I’d been using it this whole time—if I still wasn’t used to it, that would be the real problem.
“More importantly…”
While keeping three zombies at bay with Beopbong, I glanced sideways. The scene in front could only be described as hell on earth. Every time Kang Siwoo flashed left and right, arms and legs flew into the air. He seemed to be neutralizing the less dangerous zombies so they wouldn’t get in the way, while prioritizing the truly threatening variants. Thanks to that strategy, several Poisoners sprayed blood and stopped moving in an instant. The sword finally pierced the neck of the desperately struggling Hunter. Its head flew up, then rolled across the ground.
Honestly, only Kang Siwoo could pull that off. If I tried it, I’d have been grabbed by the zombies and beaten half to death. It really was a different flavor from Noh Changhun. If Changhun was all about smashing everything to bits for that satisfying crunch, Siwoo was pure technique—clean, elegant, and a feast for the eyes.
That said, it was about time I cleaned up my own share.
I held Beopbong horizontally and shoved hard. The zombies in front tumbled over like bowling pins. I swung at the ones coming from behind while stomping on the neck of a fallen zombie. Since I was wearing sneakers, I couldn’t neatly sever the head like Noh Changhun. So I had no choice but to stab down with the end of Beopbong like I was pounding rice cakes, then swing again. Fortunately, the zombies I was responsible for went down quickly.
And if I, a one-trick Beopbong user, had finished my share, the others must have wiped out their zombies long ago. Which they had.
Combat complete. Check yourselves for injuries. Given the situation, we will leave the corpses and move on.
Kang Siwoo scanned the area and sheathed his sword. During those few minutes, the others checked their wounds and reorganized. Even then he didn’t let his guard down; he reached for my arm again. Once he confirmed everything was safe and the formation was back in order, he once more led the group toward Seunghak Campus.
My head spun for a second. There was no way he meant an actual stroll. Mentioning the injured and then suggesting a walk? Anyone could see this was code for “we’re low on medicine, let’s raid a pharmacy.” Still, he was at least pretending to ask my opinion. But if he felt bad about it, shouldn’t he just not drag me along? There were so many capable people besides me. Look at Kim Daehan and Kim Kijun. Those two hunted zombies like they were the same person. Kim Yeonhwa was picking off heads from a distance with perfect timing. Lee Ayoung was spinning that crude spear of hers like a whirlwind even though her mouth must have been sore from the effort. No matter how you looked at it, there were plenty of skilled fighters. So why was he choosing me, whose only real assets were Beopbong and radar duty?
In my heart I wanted to snap that I’d rather rest in the dorm. Especially after everything I’d been through today. I’d been stabbed, beaten by zombies—surely that was enough. But there was only one thing I could say.
So I gritted my teeth and gave the answer I knew Kang Siwoo would like.
Noh Changhun, you son of a bitch. If you sent me here knowing it would be like this… the next time we meet, no matter what anyone says, I’m going to slam a gut punch so hard it’ll echo.