The Protagonist's Trap
I had transmigrated into a zombie apocalypse novel. I briefly considered taking another shower, but held back. It wasn't just because water was scarce; I was also feeling lazy. More than that, I didn't want to get dragged into anyone else's business by moving around unnecessarily. So I just sprawled out on the bed and passed out like a log. Thankfully, no one stopped me, and I didn't have any dreams, so I slept pretty comfortably.
"Hwaaam..."
When I woke up, the first thing I did was stretch. I wiped my face with some wet wipes, checked that everything was fine, and then headed outside. There were quite a few people in the dorm that I hadn't seen before. The female students we'd rescued yesterday, some from the Bumin Campus, that sort of thing. Naturally, it made me worried. The more people there were, the more resources we'd have to consume.
It seemed Kang Siwoo had secretly set up a vegetable garden on the Gudeok Campus, but even that wouldn't be enough once the population grew this large. Food and drinking water aside, even the water for daily use would run short. Clothes and other daily necessities would become scarce too. Honestly, I wanted to draw a clear line and say it wasn't my problem, just doing whatever I was told.
But when I thought about it again, I realized I was inevitably going to end up at the forefront anyway. In that case, I needed to come up with more efficient methods. Thanks to this damn body I'd ended up in, I couldn't even use the excuse of resting due to injury. A few bites of an energy bar could heal bite wounds from zombies, after all. If I wanted to avoid doing unnecessary work, I had to rack my brain right now. I needed to mobilize every bit of my original novel knowledge to create substitutes. Otherwise, I'd keep getting dragged out under the pretext of searching for supplies.
"Ughhh...!"
No matter how much I thought about it, no decent ideas came to mind. So I decided to head up to the roof of the dorm to enjoy the view. It didn't seem like I'd be called anytime soon, and I'd wanted to see it once. The campus scenery that had only ever appeared in the novel, that is.
Looking down from the rooftop, I could see the patrolling students and Kang Siwoo's group. They were probably treating it as a patrol while doing group running exercises. But when I checked the time, it was already 7 AM, which seemed odd. The guy who usually ran at 5 or 6 in the morning was running again at 7? It looked like he was warming up the same group of kids. Wait a second... those were wheelbarrows and shovels.
"Fuck."
I instinctively knew. I'd forgotten that bastard wasn't the type to sit still just because he wasn't going outside for a while. He was clearly planning to let the students who'd gone out last time rest while putting the idle ones to work building fields. They could transplant the plants that grew from zombie corpses and cultivate their fruits. There was a mountain right behind the campus, after all. Plus, animals didn't turn into zombies unless they died from bite wounds, so it was safe to slaughter and eat them. There'd even been a line describing that in the novel.
That bastard was definitely planning to raise animals too.
"S-somewhere to hide...!"
And he was definitely going to put me to work. I could already hear a voice calling "Yeji-ssi" near my ear. Looking down, I saw him heading straight toward the female dorm. His determination to take me along no matter what was crystal clear. Honestly, if I were in his position, I'd probably work someone like me to the bone too, but still!
"Can't you just let a person rest...!"
I couldn't hide in the female dorm. Because Kang Siwoo was coming this way. That guy was an expert at finding people, so hiding in the same building was impossible. That meant I had to run to the male dorm. If I could buy some time there and then hide in another building, maybe he'd give up.
So I dashed down the stairs, only to spot a familiar face.
"Unnie!"
"O-oh, Yeonhwa. Haha, hi..."
"Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?"
"You don't need to know. No, I mean... if Siwoo comes looking for me, tell him I'm not here! I'm going!"
".....Siwoo?"
Kim Yeonhwa made a face like she couldn't understand. But I was too desperate to care. I was definitely going to get worked to death. He'd show up with that smiling face, say he'd prepared something for Yeji-ssi, and then put me to work.
Luckily, there was a connecting passage between the female and male dorms. If my memory was correct, it was for fire evacuation but had been turned into something like a smoking room. It was supposed to be locked at certain times, but in this situation, it was highly likely they'd left it open.
"I-it's open!"
Thankfully, the passage was unlocked. Ignoring the cigarette ashes and insect corpses on the floor as best I could, I ran through the passage and entered the male dorm. As expected, all eyes immediately focused on me. Their expressions seemed to ask why this person was here, but fortunately I didn't need to pay them any mind. As long as no one blocked my path, it was fine. I quietly turned down the hallway and then collided with someone.
The person was incredibly muscular. Since we'd both been running, the impact made my whole body throb with pain.
"Aghhh..."
"Oof..."
"Kang... Seonghwa...?"
"Lee Yeji... nim?"
Our eyes met for a moment. Then I got up first and started running. That guy had a seedling shovel hanging from his waist. He must have been called by Kang Siwoo. As if to prove my thoughts right, I heard Kang Seonghwa calling after me from behind. He said Kang Siwoo was looking for me, but that wasn't my problem!
My whole body hurt, but this much would regenerate and heal quickly. Finally, just as I reached the entrance of the male dorm, the door opened and Kang Siwoo appeared. A kind smile played on his lips, and his eyes held a gentle, sweet warmth. To top it all off, he was holding a shovel in his left hand.
"I've been looking for you, Yeji-ssi."
"Why are you looking for me!? And how did you get here!?"
"Here."
"Ah. I'm not feeling well today..."
"I didn't quite catch that?"
Kang Siwoo handed me the shovel with a smile. It was perfectly weighted for me, as if to say this was just right for someone like me. I took it for now, but in my heart I still wanted to run away. But it seemed like running wasn't an option anymore. Kang Seonghwa had appeared right behind me, panting heavily as he caught his breath.
"Today we're going up the mountain to dig up fallen leaves and soil. We'll use that to make leaf mold and such."
"Wow, that sounds... really interesting. Yeah..."
"You'll have to come with us, Yeji-ssi."
"I told you I'm not feeling well today..."
"Someone who isn't feeling well ran all the way from the female dorm to here?"
"N-no, I'm not joking..."
I tried to look as pitiful as possible, but the outcome was already decided. I'd been meekly escorted by the two of them all the way to the path leading up the mountain behind the campus. And this bastard Kang Siwoo had only brought his sword, saying he'd handle any possible zombies himself? I had no idea how many zombies could possibly be on the mountain for him to act like that. There might be some, but at most they'd be a few Normal Zombies. A few Normal Zombies would be finished with one swing of Kang Siwoo's arm, so this was basically him slacking off.
In my heart I wanted to protest how unfair this was and refuse to go, but...
"You're really strong, Lee Yeji-nim."
"I'm sorry..."
"No, it was simply a compliment. That's all."
After all, I'd slammed into Kang Seonghwa with full force and run away without even apologizing. With that kind of karma hanging over me, I couldn't refuse. In the end, I had no choice but to quietly follow the others and start hiking up the mountain.
Fortunately, the work wasn't as grueling as I'd feared. All I had to do was gather the unknown debris that had fallen near the trees and mix it with soil. They said they'd spread it across the plaza inside the campus. Once the field was roughly prepared, the plants would take care of the rest. Honestly, in any other situation I would've cursed them for being so pushy, but right now Kang Siwoo was right. The plants that grew from zombie corpses had incredible vitality.
Besides, more food wouldn't be bad for me either. I'd recover faster, and they wouldn't nag me to go get more supplies. So I gritted my teeth, scooped up soil and debris with the shovel, and dumped it into the wheelbarrow. They kept warning me to be careful not to cause a landslide. In my mind I wanted to throw the shovel at them and yell that they should do it themselves. But I held it in and just kept moving the shovel diligently.
Now that I looked, I was working the hardest. Even though the others were getting tired, drinking water, and eating snacks. No, thinking about it again, this was unfair? Some people got to rest before coming up the mountain to shovel, while others had to fight a big battle yesterday and then come up the mountain to shovel. Naturally, shouldn't the person who rested be the one shoveling better??
"Seriously, no stamina at all."
"What did you say, Yeji-ssi?"
"Nothing..."
Maybe sensing the political undertones in my muttering, Kang Siwoo's expression grew serious. His gaze seemed to warn that if I tried any instigation here, a blade might find its way to my throat. Even if I hated seeing everyone else resting, I had no choice but to stay quiet. Still, I was angry, so after working a bit I sat down in the shade of a tree.
"You've worked hard, Yeji-ssi."
"Am I the only person in this university you can order around?"
"Well, it's not necessarily like that, but..."
"Then why do you keep calling only me?"
"If I can't see you, Yeji-ssi, I get anxious. You know that, right?"
"Ah."
His eyes were filled with sticky malice that seemed to say if I did anything suspicious, I wouldn't die easily. I wondered how many times he'd been stabbed in the back by humans over those ten years to become like this. It felt like the moment I was caught doing anything political while he trusted me, I'd disappear without a trace. Of course, since saving my own life was my top priority, I quietly nodded and picked up the shovel as if nothing had happened. Then I started shoveling harder than anyone else.