The Note in the Fridge
There were no zombies in the apartment building. Given the nature of this zombie apocalypse—where everyone was already infected from the start, with no initial patient zero—that was only natural. Still, I couldn't say for certain there weren't any survivors who had died outside. Three or four zombies wandering around wouldn't have been strange at all. Yet as I climbed all the way to the eleventh floor, I didn't see so much as a zombie's nose. Not that I was complaining. In times like these, the elevators obviously weren't working, so whether I liked it or not, I had to take the stairs. Getting cornered by a zombie on those narrow, steep steps would be asking for serious injury. Making it up without a single fight was pure luck. The situation was grim, but I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from twitching upward.
Grinning like an idiot, I bounded up the stairs. The moment I rounded the corner, a zombie whipped around to face me. It looked like a middle-aged woman in her fifties or sixties. I was about to smash it with my Beopbong when I hesitated. What if it was Kang Seonghwa's mother? So I stuck out my arm, ready to take a bite if necessary. Kang Seonghwa immediately swung and caved the zombie's head in.
"That's not family."
"Ah… right?"
"It's the lady from next door. I only knew her face…"
"…Well, that's how people live. You never know what'll happen. But…"
"Ah."
Our eyes naturally drifted to the door lock. Normally I would've just told him to open it without a second thought. But even if the lock ran on batteries, it had been left untouched for nearly two months. There was no way it would still work properly. That meant we'd have to resort to force.
"It's open."
"Huh?"
"The lock's a good one. Even without changing the batteries, it'll last a few months."
"O-oh. Really?"
"Let's go in."
Kang Seonghwa's apartment was enormous—nothing like the studio I'd lived in. Well, it was an apartment, so of course it was bigger. Even so, it felt larger than my original home. That wasn't important right now. Kang Seonghwa and I checked the place together. Thankfully, there were no signs of people. No zombies burst out, and there were no corpses inside. Only a thick layer of dust, as if the residents had been gone for a long time.
Kang Seonghwa wandered around like a man possessed. Then he spotted something and suddenly stared at the refrigerator.
"There's… a note here!"
"Oh, yeah. Read it."
After reading for a while, Kang Seonghwa handed me the note with watery eyes. It seemed he wanted me to read it too, since we'd come all this way. The handwriting was neat and tidy.
It said there was a military base near Haeundae in Busan. Father's friend had called them over, so the whole family was going with Father. If I came home later, I should head to Haeundae. In other words, Kang Seonghwa's family was likely still alive. Once you got inside a military base, surviving was relatively easy. Sure, later variants could block bullets, but only two months had passed so far.
"Major General Park Hakcheol…?"
The name on the note felt familiar. Major General Park Hakcheol had been a fairly important character in the original novel. He was a true soldier who quickly rallied the troops when the outbreak hit, trying to establish a foothold in Busan. I'd spoken with him once alongside Kang Siwoo, so the memory came back quickly.
"He's a friend of my father's. One of the rare soldiers among soldiers."
"Yeah, I thought the name sounded familiar. Who did I hear it from…?"
I was laying groundwork. Instinct told me this was a different lifeline than Kang Siwoo. Kang Siwoo was already planning to contact the military anyway—that was why Noh Changhun had gone to Haeundae too. I'd wanted to make connections there, and this was perfect timing. Escaping with Captain Han Daewi might not have been enough on its own.
I quickly put on a clueless, dumb smile. As expected, Kang Seonghwa took the bait and asked how I knew. Everything was going according to plan, so I continued casually.
"You heard I came from Jangyu, right?"
"Ah, yes."
"I met a captain there. I played bait to help him escape."
"Was that captain's name…?"
"It was unusual, so I remembered it. Captain Han Daewi."
"Ah, I know him. His name came up often when my father talked with his friend."
"Yeah. I saved his life and we talked a bit."
"Bait…"
Kang Seonghwa's expression as he looked at me was different from what I'd expected. I'd thought he'd offer to put in a good word with his father later—something like that. But the way he stared at me, almost like he was looking at a saint, felt off. He didn't know, but I was the kind of person who gobbled up other people's goodwill and then played dumb. A broken human being. I didn't deserve this kind of treatment, and receiving it left me feeling strangely unsettled. I kept my mouth shut so I wouldn't ruin the mood.
Of course, I wasn't planning to stay completely silent. If we took too long, the others would worry, so we needed to head back soon. I was about to say so when Kang Seonghwa spoke first.
"Thank you, Yeji."
"Don't mention it. Just give me some food or a headset later."
"Understood."
It had been a pleasant scouting run—nothing lost, only gains. The thought of bragging to Kang Siwoo and getting praised made strength surge through my body. Starting with small things like this was how you became a favorite subordinate. I couldn't demand things outright, but if I asked for a few items, he'd probably hand them over. Burning with happy delusions, I headed back to where Kim Yeonhua was waiting. Luckily, I didn't run into any zombies on the way either. My body was heating up a little, so I stayed cautious, but nothing happened until I got back inside the building.
Now I had to figure out how to get these survivors out. There were about twenty of them. Only three or four could fight. We had six people total. Simple math meant each of us would have to escort three survivors. Walking all the way back to campus like that would take at least two hours… which was impossible.
"I knew it. I have to go and come back."
"Pardon?"
"Yeonhua. I'll head to campus, explain the situation, and request backup."
"Ah, yes. I was worried about that too. There are just too many people."
"Yeah. We could force it, but let's do this safely."
"Understood."
A quick meeting was held. The point was simple: while I went to campus, how would everyone hold out? The conclusion was straightforward. Kang Seonghwa, who'd just scouted, would rest at the dojo to recover. Lee Ayoung would rest there too in case of emergencies. The rest of us, along with Kim Yeonhua's father, would loot the surrounding buildings. Once we filled the carts with food and returned, that would be it.
Surviving two hours was doable with the food we had, but there was procedure to follow. If Kang Siwoo wanted to rescue all the survivors properly, he'd need to expand the rescue team. That meant calculating additional supplies and manpower. Even if Professor Jeong Changhun and Kang Siwoo were good at those calculations, we should prepare to stay here at least a day. And the dojo didn't have enough food for twenty people to last a day—barely enough for one more meal.
We also had no transportation. That meant all twenty survivors would have to walk for two hours. If we had vehicles, they could eat less. But since they'd be walking, we needed to feed them properly—at least two solid meals. Calculating the quantities took some effort, but it didn't seem like an insurmountable problem. With the food we'd brought, looting one or two convenience stores should be enough.
"Then let's move!"
I wasn't the type to overthink things anyway. Sitting around clutching our heads wouldn't solve anything. Better to just charge in and figure it out later. I slung the Beopbong over my shoulder.
"There's a convenience store nearby, miss. We only managed to loot about half of it because we were in a rush…"
"Ah, over there?"
"Yes. Right there."
If zombies appeared, we'd barely be able to escape, but luck was on our side. We didn't see any zombies while dragging the carts to the store. I was really feeling the benefits of the secretion I'd tucked into my cleavage. I couldn't remember all the effects, but it probably repelled weaker zombies. Anyway, I smashed the entrance with the Beopbong and stepped inside the convenience store.