Triple Border (1)
“What the hell do you mean? Why can’t we go that way?”
When Jinwoo asked, completely lost, the Sheriff shook his head as if the very idea disgusted him.
“There are way too many of those fucking zombie bastards.”
It wasn’t exactly groundbreaking news, so Jinwoo’s curiosity only grew. He already knew there were zombies waiting behind the barrier of train cars. For a while now, the creatures had been making their presence known with constant low growls.
“How many are we talking? We can just shoot them, right?”
Jinwoo patted the MP5 tucked against his side. It wasn’t as familiar to him as the K-2 slung across his back, but at a distance of a few dozen meters, the submachine gun wasn’t likely to miss by much. He had brought plenty of 9mm rounds, and they were still far enough from the welfare center that gunfire shouldn’t carry that far.
“Haa… Well, it’s just… Never mind. Come up here and see for yourself.”
The Sheriff had been about to explain but quickly changed his mind. He leaned toward Jinwoo, reaching out with one arm.
Thud—!
The moment Jinwoo leapt up and grabbed the Sheriff’s hand, the bigger man hauled him up as easily as a crane lifting cargo.
“…Holy shit.”
The instant he stood on the side of the overturned train car, a groan escaped Jinwoo’s lips. He finally understood why the Sheriff had said they couldn’t go this way—and why the stench had been so overwhelmingly bad for the past few minutes. As far as their headlamps could reach, the dark tunnel was packed wall-to-wall with zombies.
“This many?”
Jinwoo pulled his mask up tighter and let out a long sigh. Every breath dragged the rotten air deep into his lungs. The collapsed train cars blocking the tracks for dozens of meters had kept the horde from getting any closer, but there were easily hundreds of zombies gathered here.
Every time he turned his head and the beam swept in a new direction, more faces emerged from the darkness. Trying to gun them all down one by one would burn through almost every round in the MP5. And even then, they might not be able to wipe them all out.
Graaaagh—! Guuuuuurgh—!
The zombies that had been wandering relatively close spotted Jinwoo and the Sheriff and began leaping wildly in excitement.
Arf—!
On the other side of the train-car wall, Samsuk-i—left alone in the dark—let out a short, anxious bark and began frantically scratching at the side of the car, afraid they might forget him.
“It’s okay, Samsuk. We’ll be right down. Stay there.”
After calming the dog, Jinwoo turned his gaze forward again. The headlamp’s light cast huge shadows across the tunnel walls, making the writhing mass of zombies look even larger than it already was. Either way, the sight was nothing short of horrifying.
“Why are they all clustered in this one area?”
“These bastards were probably trying to head south but got blocked by this mess, so they all stopped here.”
The Sheriff stomped the heel of his safety boot against the train car. It made sense. The height and smooth surface of the overturned cars weren’t something zombies could easily climb over. The few that had gotten lucky and made it past the barrier would have continued south, while the rest were left circling aimlessly on this side. The logic fit perfectly.
“Shooting them all really does seem impossible…”
Jinwoo had been roughly counting the zombies when the Sheriff suddenly spoke first.
“Let’s head up to the surface and take the road. Just one station.”
“Ugh…”
Jinwoo tilted his head back in exasperation.
“I was literally about to say the same thing…”
“Yeah? Then it’s settled. Let’s do that. Agreement reached!”
The Sheriff answered as if there had never been a problem. Jinwoo shook his head slightly and continued.
“Now that you’re the one saying it, I’m getting nervous. Feels like a bad plan.”
“You crazy bastard! Why are you talking like I’m some thick-skulled idiot who ruins everything I touch?”
Even when the Sheriff blew up in frustration, it did nothing to ease Jinwoo’s unease.
“I mean… you’re not exactly the type to overthink things…”
Jinwoo pressed the transmit button on the walkie-talkie attached to his tactical vest, muttering with clear reluctance.
“The radio doesn’t work down here, does it?”
“Of course not. We’re this deep underground.”
The Sheriff snorted as if the question was ridiculous. Jinwoo clicked his tongue bitterly. Leaving the subway tracks to move on the surface was a move that carried serious risk.
Unlike yesterday, when they had watched the zombies’ movements from a rooftop and only crossed one quiet station, today they wouldn’t even have Yubin’s radio support. They had already traveled more than three stations underground, so Yubin’s line of sight couldn’t possibly reach the area around Sagajeong Station.
“Hey! What are you doing, dumbass?”
The Sheriff slapped Jinwoo’s shoulder, snapping him out of his daze, and jerked his thumb back the way they had come.
“Let’s get out first. Even if we wanted to ask Yubin for a plan, we’d have to go up before the radio would work anyway. Goddamn, this smell is fucking awful.”
The Sheriff leapt lightly down onto the tracks where Samsuk-i was eagerly waiting. Realizing that standing around any longer would only mean breathing more of the stench, Jinwoo followed him down from the train car. The two men and one dog retraced their steps for dozens of meters until they reached the Sagajeong Station platform, then climbed the stairs toward the station concourse.
“Jinwoo, look over there!”
Once past the ticket gates, the Sheriff turned his head left. His headlamp illuminated two zombies slowly shambling toward them.
“You saw them that fast? Don’t you have any blind spots?”
Jinwoo couldn’t help but be impressed as he raised the barrel of his MP5. The Sheriff really was… completely lacking in cunning, but his body was built for combat like nothing Jinwoo had ever seen.
Thump—! Thump—!
The moment Jinwoo pulled the trigger, both zombies collapsed, brains splattering across the floor.
“More over there.”
The Sheriff had already spotted another group and pointed toward the escalators. They had been hidden in complete darkness with no sound at all… It seemed the guy wasn’t really seeing them—he was sensing their presence like some martial arts master from a wuxia novel.
Thud—! Thump—! Thump—!
This time, Jinwoo dropped three more zombies with three precise 9mm rounds.
“Should we clear the bodies?”
The Sheriff asked with a clearly unwilling expression. Jinwoo shook his head.
“No need. They won’t make it this far anyway. And… if they did show up, they’d realize we didn’t come through the tracks. With that many zombies on the other side…”
If a search team mistook the corpses for signs of survivors hiding nearby and swept the area, that would actually be welcome news. It would make the area around Gunja Station relatively safer.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m sick of dragging zombie corpses around too. We’ve already got enough shit to carry.”
The Sheriff readily agreed. As the two of them moved cautiously upward, staying alert, they reached the level connected to the surface—where Jenny and Terra greeted them with bright smiles. It was a huge cosmetics advertisement plastered on the subway station wall.
“They’re beautiful.”
The Sheriff grinned from ear to ear, looking genuinely happy just from seeing them. Jinwoo, mouth slightly agape, murmured in agreement.
“They really are…”
Terra, holding a pink lipstick and smiling shyly, and Jenny, holding a red one and staring provocatively—both of them were stunning. It was as if they belonged to a world that no longer existed…
The station interior was stained with blood and littered with long-dead corpses, yet around that advertisement, it almost felt like a fresh, clean scent was drifting through the air. No—it was bringing back the exact fragrance Jinwoo remembered from the girls, the one he had smelled up close. Their laughter and gentle voices seemed to echo clearly in his ears.
Just five days ago, he had been eating with them, joking around, practicing shooting together…
Jinwoo blinked slowly, lost in thought. Why had he left that heavenly place to come to this hell? What was he even doing here?
“This guy… his eyes look a little gone.”
The Sheriff glanced at him, then held out the oxygen mask while opening the valve on the tank.
“Hey, hey! Before we go any higher, take another hit of this. You can’t fight properly if you’re dizzy.”
“Yeah. Good idea.”
Jinwoo didn’t refuse. He pulled down his mask and pressed the respirator to his face. The air in the tunnels was truly toxic—filled with the stench of zombies, bacteria from rotting corpses, rampant mold, and four months’ worth of trapped underground dust. If his head hadn’t been getting fuzzy, that would have been the strange part.
“Huuu…! Huuu…!”
While Jinwoo breathed in the clean oxygen and rekindled his fading resolve, the Sheriff gazed at the advertisement with a satisfied expression and blew the girls a kiss.
“I love you girls! Oppa’s coming soon!”
“You crazy bastard…”
Jinwoo let out a short laugh and passed the respirator to Samsuk-i. Even though it looked like he and the dog would have to stay behind at this station with the Witch for the next three days, the Sheriff remained as optimistic and confident as ever. It was like the concept of discouragement didn’t even exist in his head.
“Yubin? Yubin! You there?”
A little later, while the Sheriff was taking his turn with the oxygen, Jinwoo pressed the transmit button on the walkie-talkie. They were only on the first basement level, so he had hoped the signal wouldn’t face too much interference… but once again, there was no reply. He called Yubin’s name several more times. Still nothing.
“See? I told you it wouldn’t work here. We need to go higher.”
The Sheriff closed the oxygen tank valve and continued.
“So what are we going to do?”
“Huu…”
Jinwoo stared at the stairs and escalator leading to Exit 1 of Sagajeong Station, lost in thought for a moment. Climbing those stairs just a few meters away meant facing the outside world of the zombie apocalypse. After three months of never once observing it, they had zero information about how many zombies roamed the streets or how frequently they appeared. And they would have to walk more than a kilometer to reach the next subway station.
What would Yubin think? What kind of plan would he come up with?
Jinwoo thought hard. With the tunnel route now blocked, they had two main options.
The first was to push straight through bravely. Since they ultimately needed to reach Sangbong Costco to board Grandpa Paul’s helicopter, clearing a path today would make things easier later.
The second—and Jinwoo was certain this was what Yubin would suggest—was to return to the cinema at Gunja Station, prepare thoroughly, and set out again. At the very least, they needed some faster means of transportation, like bicycles, so they would have a chance to escape if they suddenly ran into a horde.
Jinwoo knew the second option was safer. But it would waste a tremendous amount of time. Walking all the way back to Gunja Station from here, gathering supplies, and heading out again would already burn through hours… and if the helicopter left during that time, they would be completely stuck for the rest of the day.
“Hurry up and decide, you idiot. Stop standing there wasting time. What are we doing?”
The Sheriff shook his massive shoulders from side to side like a whining child. Every time he moved, the sound of water sloshing inside the cooler on his back could be heard.
Splash—! Splash—!
It was a tiny sound, but to Jinwoo it rang like a deadly warning. Even though they had sealed it so tightly with tape, a considerable amount of ice had already melted. And once melting had begun, the rate would only accelerate.
In other words, if they returned to Gunja Station now, the precious blood inside the cooler would become unusable.
“Sheriff.”
Jinwoo, who had been quietly staring at the image of Terra on the advertisement, shook his head slightly and spoke.
“Going back would probably be safer… but haa, I can’t just let blood taken from such a fragile girl go to waste.”
“That’s exactly what I’ve been saying, you dumbass. That’s why I’ve been telling you to go.”
The Sheriff thumped his own chest and stepped forward, looking ready to sprint up the stairs and charge outside.
“No, no—wait a second.”
Jinwoo hurriedly stepped in front of him.
“What’s your plan?”
“Simple. First, we light a cigarette and throw it outside. If all hell breaks loose up there, we don’t go out. That means there are way too many zombies. Then we hide for a bit and repeat the cigarette test.”
“Oh…”
It was a surprisingly decent plan. Jinwoo stroked his chin, narrowing his eyes. Since they couldn’t see the surface at all right now, it seemed like a fairly reliable method.
“See? Killer strategy, right? These bastards always underestimate me. They think I’m some idiot like Samsik…”
Grumbling, the Sheriff took off his standard backpack, set it on the floor, and rummaged for cigarettes and a lighter. After slinging the pack back on, he stuck an unwrapped cigarette in his mouth.
“Wait!”
A thought suddenly flashed through Jinwoo’s mind. He grabbed the Sheriff’s wrist in alarm. The Sheriff frowned.
“What now…? Seriously, man…”
“That plan… it’s got no safety net. Like Yubin would say… we need to create an escape route first.”
“An escape route?”
“Yeah! Think like Yubin. What if you throw the cigarette and hundreds of zombies come swarming all at once? Then what? Where do you run? And before that—how do you even create distance? Those things are way faster than us.”
They couldn’t hear any zombie moans right now, but their sense of smell had already grown used to the stench. Even if there were zombies just a few dozen meters away, they might not notice at all.
“Ah…”
Jinwoo’s question seemed to hit the mark. The Sheriff couldn’t come up with an immediate answer. They could run back down to the tracks and return to Gunja, but that would be nothing but a pointless, life-risking waste of time.
“We need a Plan B. Let’s see… here.”
Jinwoo pointed at the station area map posted right beside the exit and continued explaining.
“Exit 2 is the closest one behind us, so if things go south, we head that way.”
Sagajeong Station had an unusual layout. Exits 1 and 2 weren’t facing each other—they were quite far apart along the north-south axis.
“Can’t your creepy sixth sense tell you if there are any up there? Doesn’t your skin tingle or something?”
“Hey, fuck you! There are hundreds of them crawling around down there—how is that supposed to help me sense anything up top? My skin’s been crawling nonstop since we got here.”
Jinwoo rolled up his jacket sleeve to show the goosebumps, then pointed at their backpacks.
“To buy ourselves enough time to run to Exit 2, we need to set a trap. Sheriff, take out your rope too.”
Jinwoo pulled a 10-meter rope from his standard backpack and began untying the knots. But the Sheriff spread both hands helplessly.
“Don’t have one. We used it at the Han River. When we tied up the door of that boat café, we used both Yubin’s and mine. There wasn’t time to untie them.”
“Then…”
If you had time to grab the Witch’s clothes, you should’ve grabbed your rope first! There was even a mountaineering shop right next door… Jinwoo had been about to scold him but simply shook his head instead.
“Never mind. Now that we know, we’ll grab something similar when we get to Costco.”
They had run into a huge unexpected situation because of the Witch, and there had been too many things to do. The guy had probably been too distracted.
“But why do we need rope?”
The Sheriff asked.
“To tie it across and block the path.”
Jinwoo pointed at the stair railing.
Even if it only tripped the first few zombies that came running down, it would buy them enough time to escape. It was a tactic Yubin had used often, so Jinwoo was familiar with it.
“…Will this be enough?”
After tying the rope across both railings at the one-fifth point of the stairs, Jinwoo tilted his head, looking somewhat unsatisfied. He had thought doubling it would make the trap more reliable… but now it felt a little shaky.