Fevered Revelations on Jeokro
I ended up inside a zombie apocalypse novel. One thing was certain: I had somehow survived. I could feel someone lifting me and carrying me away. It wasn’t the moans of zombies but a familiar male voice, so I knew exactly who it was. He kept repeating “Yeji-ssi, Yeji-ssi,” and muttering that he didn’t know whether to like it or hate it. It seemed Kang Siwoo had come to rescue me just in time.
Honestly, I had thought dying would be perfectly normal. No one else knew where I was, so they couldn’t help me. I couldn’t move a single finger. A zombie could have shown up at any moment. I had already resigned myself to death, repeating it like a mantra. But life really is unpredictable.
After more time passed while being carried like that, I finally managed to open my eyes. My vision had cleared somewhat, so I slowly looked up to see who it was.
“Kang… Siwoo?”
“It appears you’ve regained consciousness. I’m not sure what happened, however.”
“Ah, heh. A Monster. I took it down…”
“…You are remarkably still alive. There must have been several hundred of them, at least.”
“Well, that’s because I’m the ultimate, you know.”
My voice came out hoarse. I tried to sound cheerful, but my body refused to cooperate. Hallucinations flickered at the edges of my sight, phantom sounds rang in my ears, and even being held caused so much pain that broken groans slipped out between my words. Still, the thought that I was alive made everything feel okay, so I closed my eyes again.
“Can I leave the rest to you? My condition is seriously bad.”
“As you command. I will deliver you safely to the campus.”
“How did you even get here?”
“I rode a bicycle. It broke halfway, so I ran the rest of the way.”
“You actually found me? I really thought I was going to die without anyone knowing.”
“You are carrying the General’s Secretion Pouch, are you not? My sense of smell is rather keen.”
“That’s terrifying.”
Well, I could understand it. After fighting zombies for ten years, he must have encountered those variants countless times. It made sense that he would never forget that distinctive stench. The original novel had mentioned his sharp senses anyway.
Surprisingly, my body didn’t feel as bad as I expected. Given our less-than-friendly relationship, I had assumed he would sling me over his shoulder like a sack of rice. Instead, Kang Siwoo was holding me gently, like a princess in a fairytale.
“Where are we going, though?”
“Did you intend to return in that state? Covered in filth and blood. Hygiene is a concern.”
“Ah, we should probably disinfect… No, never mind. My wounds should have mostly healed by now.”
We entered a suitable building, and Kang Siwoo carefully set me down on the floor. I thought I might be able to move by then, but that was wishful thinking; no strength came to my limbs. All I could manage was breathing and speaking. Even turning my head felt impossibly stiff.
“Hold your breath.”
“What? Oh.”
Water splashed across my forehead, washing away the sticky grime. My vision grew much brighter, and the cold water felt wonderful. Maybe it only felt cold because my body temperature was so high. Kang Siwoo crouched down and began carefully wiping me clean. He meticulously cleaned my face and limbs. For everything else, he simply sat me up or laid me down and poured water over me to rinse the filth away.
“Once we return to campus, you can wash properly.”
“Ugh. I smell like corpses.”
“You will grow accustomed to it. More importantly… how are you still alive?”
“How should I know?”
“There was blood in your ears and pooled in your nose. The volume of bleeding must have been considerable…”
“I said I don’t know.”
I shot him a look that said if I knew that, would I be in this state? then let out a weak chuckle. A clot of blood rose in my throat; I coughed it up onto the ground and laughed again.
“Are you able to move at all?”
“I can’t. If I could move in the first place, I would have ridden Jeokro back.”
“…Jeokro? Did you name that bicycle as well?”
“If you’re jealous, you can have it.”
“Are you telling me to die?”
“Don’t the chosen ones avoid death?”
“It is not Bucephalus, you know.”
Kang Siwoo laughed as if he couldn’t believe me and gently lifted me again. Clearly familiar with the situation, his next actions were efficient. He pulled out a soft rope and tied my waist securely to his own so I wouldn’t fall off while riding Jeokro. The position pressed me against his back like a lover’s embrace, which felt strangely intimate. I knew he tied people this way regardless of gender whenever they rode something together, but still.
He gave Beopbong a quick rinse, hung it from his belt, and mounted Jeokro.
“It may be somewhat uncomfortable.”
“Mmm.”
“I intend to pedal quite rapidly. I would rather avoid cleaning up corpses.”
“Who’s dying here?”
“Are you aware that you have been speaking in the voice of someone on the verge of death this entire time?”
“Heh.”
Honestly, I still wasn’t sure I would survive. Losing consciousness felt like it would mean the end, so even though it was exhausting, I kept forcing myself to talk. I picked a suitable topic and began.
“You know… I thought I might end up falling for the person who came to save me right now?”
“I probably would have as well. Near-death experiences tend to do that. However…”
“Weren’t you supposed to have someone you liked? That person… was a bad friend.”
“Ah.”
“I only said that in the first place because I didn’t want the hassle. Our relationship is decent, but… I don’t like him that way.”
“I understand. Becoming entangled in such matters is exhausting.”
“If he ever finds out… he’s going to tease me mercilessly. Ah, damn it. Now I suddenly miss him.”
I vomited another clot of blood onto the road, and silence fell for a moment. But if I stopped talking, it felt like my mind would truly slip away, so I started babbling again. Since I was already seeing hallucinations, talking about the officetel seemed like a good idea. I launched straight into the story.
I had been living alone in an officetel when my younger brother came to rescue me. It looked like he had been fleeing in a panic but turned back thinking of me and his friends. There was a zombie in the neighboring unit. Naturally, they all died. But that wasn’t the end of it.
“He went out to save them, I think. Yeah… he went out. Holding a kitchen knife. ‘Noona, noona!’ he kept calling. I couldn’t just hide there scared, so I followed. But it was already too late. Or was it? No, he might have been able to survive.”
“…Such things were common in the beginning. People believed a bite would turn you into the same kind of zombie.”
“My parents were away on a trip, and I was playing with friends at home. Then Mom called saying Dad was biting people. The call with her cut off too. The kids pulled themselves together and ran, eventually reaching my place. They all knew me, so they said they couldn’t leave me behind and would take me along. We made it to the officetel, but they died fighting.”
“And your brother…?”
“He killed the friends and then took his own life.”
“…My condolences. May they rest in a better place.”
“He said I wasn’t coming to my senses, so take off the headset and listen to him. In the process everything got covered in blood. No matter how much I washed, it felt like the blood kept coming back. So I can’t wear clothes anymore. Stupid, right? It seems my unconscious mind finds comfort in smooth, clean limbs.”
Kang Siwoo remained silent for a while. I joked that he had suddenly gone quiet, asked if my story sounded that ridiculous, then let out a long sigh. At some point my body grew burning hot. It wasn’t the radar activating—just a high fever. Maintaining consciousness became incredibly difficult. The hallucinations that had only flickered earlier now appeared vividly. Even though there were no Monsters around, it felt as if they were crushing my entire body.
“Hey… when someone’s talking to you… listen, Siwoo-ssi…”
“…I have been listening.”
“Like this? When you’re driving with a woman? You can’t just sit there like a blockhead.”
The words spilled out like I had drunk too much. After that sudden old-man lecture, I explained about Lee Yeji. Then I joked that Captain Han Daewi’s name sounded funny, and recounted how Beopbong had saved my life. It was pure stream of consciousness—meaningless words driven by some primal instinct that I had to keep talking no matter what. Kang Siwoo listened patiently, only once suggesting I should conserve my strength.
“Fifteen more minutes of hard pedaling and we will arrive.”
“Wow. That’s fast.”
“You have been talking for quite a long time. In that case, may I ask one question?”
“Sure, go ahead. Full privacy dump in progress.”
“Since earlier, your hair has appeared pure white. Almost silver.”
“…Pardon?”
“I do have a theory. When the virus mutates, certain parts of the body sometimes change in unique ways.”
“What are you saying?”
“Like Kim Yeonhua and her father, who emit red glows from their eyes.”
“No, before that. Before that. What about my eye color?”
“It looks white. The irises are red. I was thinking it looked exceptionally beautiful.”
“Ah.”
Long straight hair. White hair. The strange certainty that I shouldn’t cut it. Someone laughing and saying noona’s long hair was the prettiest in the world. All those fragments flooded my mind like fruit and milk tossed into a blender. Thoughts, hallucinations, and phantom voices swirled together until I could barely stay sane. The fear that losing consciousness now would be the end made me fumble for Kang Siwoo’s waist. I laced my fingers together and held on with everything I had. It didn’t seem to help. My forehead still burned as if on fire, and now a sickly-sweet smell was leaking from my mouth.
If this hadn’t been the tail end of autumn. If I hadn’t gotten completely soaked while washing. If I hadn’t been wearing clothes that left my limbs exposed, the heat would have already killed me. I was barely clinging to awareness, but even that was becoming impossible. Opening my eyes felt too difficult, so I simply buried my face against Kang Siwoo’s back and laughed.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I’m not dying. This isn’t some deathbed enlightenment.”
“That is fortunate, but…”
“You said it was pretty. My hair.”
“Yes. Even now it remains white, and it is beautiful. It does seem to be slowly returning to black, however.”
A strange warmth rose inside me. I grinned foolishly, then slowly lifted my head.
“Our Hyunseo once said noona’s hair was the best in the world. He told me that when I get a girlfriend, I should find someone exactly like her.”
It felt like another piece of a forgotten puzzle had clicked into place—the puzzle of those two weeks in the officetel. One more fragment had found its position. I didn’t even know why those words had left my mouth. Still, I hoped I would understand more later as I closed my eyes. Maintaining consciousness was becoming too difficult now.