So Sweet! (3)
The tires screamed as they spun violently, launching the car forward with the two men inside. Sheriff quickly wrenched the wheel and sped toward the center of the road.
Krrrrraaak—!
The zombies that had leaped at Jinwoo slashed at empty air before smashing face-first into the asphalt and collapsing. Right behind them, more than ten additional zombies came sprinting with their jaws wide open.
Graaaaawr—! Graaaah—!
Their roars punched straight into the heart, completely drowning out the booming bass of MC Hammer. Both side mirrors were filled with the zombies’ rotting faces. The lead monster’s arm looked like it could reach the trunk if it stretched just a little farther.
Vrooooooom—!
Even though the Genesis Coupe was racing at full throttle, the zombies maintained a hair’s-breadth distance, chasing like mad.
“Just as I thought… it’s not the 380…”
Sheriff wrinkled his nose, clearly disappointed by the car’s less-than-ideal instant acceleration. Still, this was undeniably a sports car with a two-liter turbocharged engine. The gap between 21st-century automotive technology and monstrous zombies soon began to widen.
“Slow down a bit now, Sheriff! The ones in the back are starting to fall off.”
Jinwoo, who had been leaning out the window to check behind them, called out. The distance to the lead group had already stretched beyond thirty meters. He was worried that if they pulled too far ahead, the stragglers at the very back might lose interest and simply stop.
“Okay! I’ll wait for them. Fair play and all that.”
Sheriff moved his foot from the accelerator to the brake, easing off the gas before swinging the wheel to the side.
Screeeech—!
The moment the car veered left, the zombies that had been sprinting at top speed failed to turn properly and tumbled across the rain-slicked road. Just before they hit the curb, Sheriff yanked the wheel hard to the right again.
Screeech—!
A few more zombies, unable to overcome their momentum, tripped and collapsed with their legs twisted beneath them. Thanks to the brief slowdown and zigzag driving, the distance to the trailing zombies had shortened considerably.
—Ssssssh…! …you doing? That… ssssh! …ya? Ssssh…!
Only seconds later did they realize Yubin’s voice was coming from the walkie-talkie sitting in the cup holder. The music blasting through the speakers had been so loud that neither Jinwoo nor Sheriff had noticed.
“Hey, turn that down!”
Sheriff snatched the walkie-talkie and held it to his ear. The instant Jinwoo lowered the volume, Yubin’s voice finally reached their ringing eardrums.
—Ssssh…! That sports car blasting music right now! Is that you guys? Sheriff! Can you hear me? Ssssh…! Hello? Sheriff! Answer me! Ssssh…!
Judging by the desperate, urgent tone, the kid had clearly been trying to reach them for quite a while. Sheriff quickly pressed the transmit button and shouted.
“Yeah! It’s us! The white Gen Coupe! What’s up?”
—Ssssh…! No… if it was a sports car you should’ve… told me in advance! I naturally assumed it was a four-door sedan… and then something weird suddenly appeared and I got startled! Ssssh…!
“Ah, well… I didn’t think it was that special. Honestly, I didn’t even consider a two-door coupe particularly unique. I just thought, oh, a car. After all, it was the only working vehicle we had!”
Sheriff broke into a cold sweat but tried to sound casual as he lied. There was no way he could admit he had chosen this car over the Porter simply because he wanted to drive a sports car. Yubin would definitely lecture him again about picking something impractical.
—Ssssh…! Where are you guys even going? Why did you suddenly… ssssh…! drag the zombies in the opposite direction? Ssssh…!
Yubin asked again. From his vantage point on the rooftop, the bizarre fishing expedition—dozens of zombies trailing behind a speeding car—must have looked extremely strange.
“We’re trying to lure the zombies a bit farther away! Jinwoo said it was too much of a hassle to hide the corpses one by one, so we decided to drag them into an alley in another block and shoot them there. I thought it would be easier that way too…”
Thud—!
A dull impact suddenly rang out from behind. Sheriff glanced at the rearview mirror in surprise. While he had been distracted by the radio, the zombies had closed the gap and were now slapping and clawing at the trunk.
“These sons of bitches—are they scratching my car?”
Sheriff cursed at the zombies in a furious voice before yelling into the walkie-talkie.
“Anyway, it’s us, so don’t worry, YB! We’ll clean them up quick and head back!”
After ending the transmission, Sheriff shifted gears and picked up a little speed. He didn’t forget to scold Jinwoo either.
“Hey, that cigarette’s burned out! Put in a new one!”
“Oh, already…”
Jinwoo, who had been focused on watching outside, nodded and pulled out a fresh cigarette.
“Cough, cough! Ugh…! Ptui! Ptooey!”
Once again, Jinwoo grimaced at the bitter smoke, turned toward the window, and spat. Sheriff looked displeased and raised his voice.
“Aish! Don’t spit in my car! And don’t throw the butts out either!”
“Will you stop saying ‘my car,’ you lunatic? We just picked it up!”
Jinwoo replied in annoyance and shoved the new cigarettes into the air vent.
Hooooosh…!
Fresh gray smoke poured from the newly lit cigarette and drifted toward the rain-soaked street. Drawn by the scent, the heat, and the presence of living humans, the zombies continued sprinting at full speed, howling wildly. They were utterly consumed by madness…
“Turn left up there!”
When the intersection he had been watching for appeared, Jinwoo pointed to indicate the direction.
Splaassh—!
The Genesis Coupe splashed through a small puddle, spraying water in every direction as it nimbly turned left. The moment it entered the corner, it rapidly accelerated again.
Graaaaaah—!
The thirty-odd zombies hot on the car’s tail all roared at once. The prospect of losing their long-awaited prey was driving them into a frenzy.
Screeeeech—!
The speeding car came to a halt after making a sharp ninety-degree right turn just a few dozen centimeters before a dead-end alley. Almost simultaneously, Jinwoo threw open the passenger door and stepped out.
Graaaah—!
The lead zombies who had just rounded the corner spotted Jinwoo in their line of fire and roared in what sounded like triumphant cheers. But their joy was short-lived. Before their long howls could even finish, Jinwoo had already taken aim and pulled the trigger.
Bang—! Bang bang—! Baaang—! Bang bang—!
Every time a gunshot echoed inside the narrow alley, a zombie with a hole through its head collapsed.
Thump—! Thud—!
Their corpses rolled and tumbled into the ground-level parking lot of a large family restaurant. Since the actual dining area began on the second floor, anyone looking down from above would never realize that the shaded parking lot below was now piled high with bodies.
Kraaaaah—! Bang, bang bang—! Graaaak! Bang bang—! Graaah—! Baaang—! Bang—!
For a while afterward, the alley continued to echo with the tremendous noise of zombie slaughter. Whenever the creatures came screaming in, Jinwoo simply adjusted the barrel slightly and squeezed the trigger. Their corpses flew through the air, splattering brain matter across the wet road before piling up in the shadows of the parking lot.
Baaang—!
With a single final shot to the forehead of the last zombie, sending it flying into the parking area, Jinwoo muttered emotionlessly.
“Twenty-nine of them.”
“Ugh, this guy…”
Sheriff muttered, visibly creeped out.
“Do you realize how psychopathic your tone and expression were just now?”
“No?”
Jinwoo was busy swapping magazines. He picked up the empty one he had dropped on the ground, slid it into his tactical vest, and shook his head with an utterly calm face.
“I just like things to be precise. This plan worked out perfectly—we wiped out all the nearby zombies in one go. No need to hide them one by one. It was flawless…”
As he gazed with satisfaction at the zombies piled in the parking shade, a familiar howl drifted from the direction of Gunja Station.
Graaaah—! Graaaaaah—!
Jinwoo and Sheriff exchanged glances. They had thought they’d drawn every last one, but it seemed a few more had been left behind.
“Pfft! So much for ‘flawless.’”
Sheriff let out a short laugh as he shifted gears.
“Stop talking shit and get in, dumbass! We need to finish these last ones off quick so we can relax and go into the theater.”
“Ugh, those idiots…”
Yubin, watching the southern road from the rooftop, rubbed his forehead and let out a small sigh.
“Why are they pulling all those stunts with the car just to kill zombies… They could’ve just stopped and shot them…”
Screeeech—! Vroooom—!
Even as he complained, the white sports car was still performing acrobatic maneuvers on the wet road, playing tag with the final remaining zombie. And yet, the car itself wasn’t running them over. Killing the zombies remained Jinwoo’s job alone.
Bang—! Crash—!
The moment Jinwoo stepped out of the car and pulled the trigger, the stubbornly pursuing zombie collapsed flat on the sidewalk. With that, the roughly thirty zombies that had been left in front of the Gunja Station theater were finally cleaned up.
—Ssssh…! All done! We’re taking the stuff out of the trunk and heading up now! Ssssh…!
Sheriff’s voice crackled over the walkie-talkie. Yubin pressed the transmit button and replied.
“Got it. I don’t see any zombies around right now, but still—be careful.”
—Ssssh…! YB, want to set up a code? Two short knocks and one long one on the door means it’s us.
At Sheriff’s silly joke, Yubin gave a bitter smile.
“What do we need a code for? I can see everything clearly from here. Just come up.”
After ending the call, Yubin went down the stairs to the fourteenth floor to let Mingu know.
“Bro! They’re back. Everyone’s safe.”
“Of course they are.”
Mingu answered curtly. He had never even considered the possibility that the Gorilla or Jinwoo might get hurt. If they couldn’t even handle gathering supplies at this range, they wouldn’t have survived this long on their own in the first place.
A short while later, the sound of hurried footsteps announced the arrival of Sheriff, Jinwoo, and Samsuk-i.
“Wow, you guys brought back so much?”
Yubin asked as he took one of the two bags. Sheriff smiled with satisfaction.
“Well, we pretty much got everything we need. …Ah, it really feels gloomy with all this rain. Good thing we found a car. Otherwise we would’ve gotten soaked and probably caught a cold.”
Sheriff shook the raindrops from his hair and jacket, then snorted when he saw the Witch sitting with a blanket wrapped tightly around her legs.
“But what’s with her? She looks like she’s got malaria. Must be freezing.”
The building’s interior had been filled with cold air for months without any heating, but even so, her reaction seemed a bit excessive.
“Leave me alone please. I like it this way. Okay?”
The Witch pulled the blanket even tighter and raised one hand in a clear signal that she didn’t want to talk anymore. No matter what that muscleman said, she had firmly decided she would not take off this blanket. With four men gathered in one place, the situation was already dangerous enough. In her opinion, adding visual stimulation with her torn skirt and shapely legs would be a terrible idea. After all, she was simply too attractive.
“That’s because you’re not moving your body. Stop sitting still and walk around or exercise a little. You’ll warm up right away. Look at me.”
Sheriff set down the bag and took off his Gore-Tex jacket. Having just run up the stairs carrying heavy loads, his hooded zip-up was drenched in sweat.
“No thanks.”
The Witch rejected his suggestion and pressed herself even closer to the wall. If she could, she would have crawled inside it. Still, Sheriff refused to give up.
“If you keep acting like a lazy bum you’ll catch the flu and we can’t even treat you here, you stupid girl! There’s nothing else to do anyway, so at least exercise and keep your body temperature up! You have to stay alive if we’re going to exchange you as a hostage or whatever!”
“How am I supposed to exercise in an environment like this? These shoes are way too tight, and my feet are in such terrible condition…”
The Witch pointed at her feet, which were covered in multiple layers of bloody bandages, and grumbled. She already felt like crying from the miserable situation, yet this muscleman kept trampling on her pride.
“I knew you’d whine like that, so I brought these. …Hey, put these on!”
Sheriff rummaged through the bag and tossed a brand-new pair of sneakers at her feet with a thwack. Then he pulled out new clothes still wrapped in clear plastic.
“And give YB back his jacket! He’ll need a parka if he’s going up to the roof at night.”
It was a full set of training clothes and a lightweight parka. The Witch, who had not expected any gifts, widened her eyes and was momentarily speechless.
“Oh my…”
“Oh right. Put on some socks too. Your feet will hurt a lot less.”
Sheriff tapped his forehead as if he had almost forgotten and tossed her a bundle of thick sports socks. They were also brand new, still bundled together in a pack of three.
‘…What is this? Why does my chest feel so warm? The great Hwang Nayeon getting emotional over cheap gifts like these…’
The Witch blinked rapidly, eyes slightly moist, and only managed to regain her composure after taking a few deep breaths. Only then did she realize why her heart had been racing.
‘That’s right… I wasn’t excited because of the items themselves. I sensed an opportunity. A critical opportunity to safely overcome this crisis!’
The Witch looked up at the towering Sheriff and thought to herself. This muscleman, as powerful as the reincarnation of Hercules, still couldn’t take his eyes off her.
‘So it’s you! The tool I can use to break through this crisis. The number one man who volunteered to become my slave first, completely captivated by my beauty and charm.’
This man had risked running through a horde of zombies just to bring her clothes and shoes. That could only mean he was completely smitten.
‘Then I shall capture you completely. So deeply that you can never escape…’
Having made up her mind, the Witch gave Sheriff a gentle, sweet smile.
“This is such a sweet present. I’m really touched. Thank you! I won’t forget it.”
She finished with a dramatic flourish, brushing her hair behind her ear and shooting him a seductive glance. She expected that level of sexiness would be enough to completely melt his heart…
“Yeah, whatever. More importantly… at least wipe your mouth with a wet tissue or something.”
Sheriff frowned as if looking at something hideous and twirled his finger around his own mouth.
“What is that? You still have that white dried foam around your lips. No matter how bad things are, it’s still gross to look at. Tsk.”