Operation Perseus (1)
When the clock hit 10:14 a.m., Jinwoo felt certain.
“Looks like they’re not coming after all.”
Jinwoo turned to Sheriff and spoke. They had kept their ears pressed tight against the gap in the living room window, but no more helicopter sounds drifted in. During their earlier radio check, Yubin had confirmed the rotors were only audible from the Han River side.
“Ah, well… Those bastards can’t just circle this neighborhood forever. They’ve got the rest of Seoul to search, and it’s a fucking massive city.”
Sheriff sat beneath the window of the opposite room, munching loudly on a block of raw ramen he had found in the kitchen cabinet. The crisp crunch sounded almost appetizing.
Crack—! Crunch—!
Samsuk-i, who had scored his own snack, eagerly crushed the last fragment of noodles between his teeth. He attacked it with fierce enthusiasm, as if working out the frustration of missing out on the chocolate earlier.
“Those guys must think the Witch is dead,” Sheriff muttered through a mouthful of food. The unexpected analysis made Jinwoo’s eyes widen.
“Huh? How do you figure that?”
“If they thought she was alive, they’d be blasting shit like ‘Chairman Hwang, the rescue team has arrived!’ over their speakers. Instead they’re just flying around. They’re probably only checking for anything that looks like a zombie version of her.”
“Whoa. You can be pretty sharp sometimes, you know that?”
When Jinwoo offered the praise in an impressed tone, Sheriff snorted and tossed another oily piece of ramen into his mouth.
“Sharp my ass. That’s just basic logic. I’ve seen those black-helicopter pricks pull that exact stunt before.”
“We should get moving too.”
Jinwoo gazed down at the street outside. The zombies that had swarmed the avenue earlier, drawn by the cigarette smoke, had finally dispersed. It was the perfect window to move.
“Just like we planned—head one block forward, then cut right immediately. Got it, Sheriff? After that we slip straight into the Lotteria we spotted earlier.”
Two blocks to the right of their hidden villa lay the main road connected to Exit 1 of Saga-jeong Station. Each block was roughly a hundred meters, so including the sprint, they were looking at about two hundred and fifty meters total before they could stand on the avenue again. The buildings blocked a perfect view, but they had secured enough of a general line of sight to make it work.
“Yeah, I got it. Any zombies on that side?”
Sheriff stood and peered out the opposite window, nodding as he asked. Jinwoo cast his gaze into the distance once more before answering.
“No, not many visible right now.”
“How many would you say, counting everything you can see?”
Sheriff tossed the empty ramen bag into the moldy sink and asked. Jinwoo had already tallied the zombies between here and their objective.
“About ten. That’s nothing—we can clear them fast. Don’t worry about the ones in front of you, Sheriff. Just run straight through.”
“Fine. Then I’ll handle anything that jumps down from the upper floors. Even if you hear glass breaking behind you, don’t turn around and shoot.”
Sheriff brushed the ramen powder from the corner of his mouth, then pulled on his goggles and Kevlar gloves. With that gear, he wouldn’t have to worry about shards of glass falling from above.
The reason they were deliberately returning to Saga-jeong Station—despite the struggle it had taken to escape it—was to put Jinwoo’s new safe-travel idea into practice.
Of course, the trip back only required descending the subway stairs, so they wouldn’t face the same life-or-death risks as before. Still, preparing the route now would make future trips easier. If necessary, Yubin or Mingu could use the same path…
“What about the bodies?”
Sheriff asked, lifting his sledgehammer. Jinwoo shook his head as if it didn’t matter.
“We probably won’t come this way again, and even if we do, the corpses are tucked inside an alley. They won’t be easy to spot.”
“Works for me. Less work.”
Sheriff slowly rolled his shoulders, loosening the thick muscles. Simply not having to drag bodies into corners lifted a noticeable weight from his mind.
“Hey, Sheriff… Let’s ditch the oxygen tank. It’s just dead weight at this point.”
Right before they left, Jinwoo pointed at the tank Sheriff had been carrying. They would need fresh masks and tanks once they reached Myeonmok Station and moved onto the subway tracks, but they could grab spares from the fire-safety supply boxes stationed at every stop.
“Oh, right. Shit, I’ve been lugging this around without even thinking. Why didn’t you say something earlier, you bastard!”
Sheriff blinked as if he had never noticed the weight, then slipped off the straps. Any normal person would have had their shoulders screaming in protest, but the man’s raw strength was downright unfair.
Slosh—!
When he bent to set the tank and mask on the floor, the liquid inside the cooler sloshed loudly. There was far more fluid now than before. It almost sounded like a warning: if they wanted to keep the blood fresh, they had better hurry.
“Let’s go!”
Jinwoo charged down the stairs with his MP5 at the ready.
Tap-tap-tap—!
Hearing Sheriff and Samsuk-i pounding close behind, Jinwoo sprinted full-speed down the alley.
“Graaaah—!”
A zombie standing vacantly at the corner of the next block spotted the two sudden meals and let out a delighted roar. But—bang!
Jinwoo’s MP5 spat fire, punching a clean hole through the creature’s skull before the sound even left its throat.
Splat—! Thud—!
The pair and the dog raced past the collapsing zombie, its green brains splattering across the pavement, and immediately veered right.
“Grrrrraaaah—! Grrrr—!”
Zombies howled from every corner of the straight alley leading to Saga-jeong Station, but Jinwoo never slowed. He switched his selector to three-round burst and pulled the trigger.
Thud—! Rat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat—! Thud-thud-thud—!
With every burst, one or two zombies jerked and collapsed. By the time Jinwoo swapped magazines and fired three more rounds, all ten or so undead had been neatly eliminated.
Crash—!
The zombies that noticed them late and leaped from the second- and third-story windows were Sheriff’s problem.
“You fucker!”
Sheriff swung his hammer at anything that landed nearby or behind them, never falling far behind Jinwoo despite the violence. Moments later they reached the three-story storefront plastered with a poster that read “The Best Burgers Are Always at Lotteria.”
“Sheriff! You okay?”
After confirming no zombies lingered near the Saga-jeong Station exit, Jinwoo finally glanced back and shouted. Sheriff grabbed a charging zombie by the back of the neck and hurled it into a wall before answering.
“I told you not to look back! This is nothing!”
“Got it! Hurry inside!”
While Jinwoo nodded and dashed into the Lotteria with Samsuk-i, Sheriff raised his hammer high and brought it down on the back of the zombie’s skull where it had slammed into the wall.
Crunch—!
The impact was heavy and loud enough to reach Jinwoo’s tired eardrums even through the gunfire. He marveled again at Sheriff’s strength as he scanned the blood-stained interior of the restaurant.
“Nothing here… Hoo… Hoo…!”
Jinwoo switched on the flashlight attached to his MP5 and swept the beam across the overturned chairs and tables, advancing one cautious step at a time. A heavy stench of decay wafted from behind the counter where the refrigerators stood, but it lacked the distinct rot of zombies.
Thump—!
He had just finished checking the first floor and was about to head up the stairs to the second when Sheriff—having finished off the remaining alley zombies—followed him inside.
“Hmph. Lying through your teeth again.”
Sheriff pushed open the glass door bearing the “The Best Burgers Are Always at Lotteria!” poster and snorted in disbelief.
“I don’t know about the burgers, but this place is perfect for mirrors.”
Jinwoo climbed to the second floor and looked down through the wide front windows.
“From here you can just see the steep stairs and escalator connected to Exit 1. Which means they can see us from down there too. When Sheriff used the cigarette to draw aggro earlier, I thought I spotted a group delivery hotline number through the crowd of zombie heads. Guess I wasn’t imagining it.”
“Then let’s break some glass… Hnnngh!”
Sheriff approached the window, gestured for Jinwoo and Samsuk-i to step back, and raised his hammer high.
Crash—!
The moment they retreated, Sheriff swung with full force. The thick pane exploded into countless shards.
Tinkle—! Crack—! Shatter—!
The glass fragments rained onto the street two floors below, splintering with sharp sounds. Sheriff stared down at the mess for a moment, then smacked his own forehead as realization hit.
“Ah, damn it. Samsuk-i won’t be able to cross this now… Guess I’ll have to carry him. …Well, can’t be helped.”
Even while clicking his tongue, Sheriff immediately shattered the second pane. They had already wasted too much time dealing with the zombie horde in the station and the helicopters. There was no room left for hesitation over minor problems.
“Samsuk-i, stay there. Don’t follow.”
While Sheriff continued smashing windows, Jinwoo picked up a hamburger tray from the floor and headed for the restroom.
Bang—!
He kicked the restroom door open with his boot and slammed the buttstock of his MP5 into the mirror above the sink.
Shatter—!
Sharp fragments cascaded onto the counter. Wearing his Kevlar gloves, Jinwoo gathered the pieces and placed them on the tray.
“What are you going to do with those?”
When Jinwoo emerged carrying the tray of mirror shards, Sheriff asked in a pitying tone. Jinwoo pointed at the nearest table.
“What else? Glue the shards to that table and stand it up.”
“You’re seriously gonna sit here wrapping duct tape around every little piece? Bullshit. That sounds like some part-time envelope-stuffing gig. There’s a beauty salon right upstairs, a cosmetics shop next door, and clothing stores all over the place. …I thought there’d be tons of mirrors here. …Hey! Wait up!”
Grumbling, Sheriff waved his hand and immediately bounded down the stairs.
“Hnnng—! Now these are what I call mirrors.”
A short while later Sheriff returned carrying two full-length folding mirrors under one arm and a heavy eco-bag in the other.
“What’s in the bag?”
Jinwoo pointed. Sheriff set the mirrors down first, then opened the bag.
“More mirrors. The whole area’s full of them.”
He dumped an assortment onto the table—hand mirrors from the cosmetics shop, side mirrors ripped off cars, all shapes and sizes.
“Even better. We’ll stand these two upright on the sides, then attach the smaller ones on top at angles. That should eliminate every blind spot.”
Jinwoo set the full-length mirrors at a long angle so their edges touched the floor, then carefully affixed hand mirrors and side mirrors on the upper sections, adjusting their angles.
“Come to think of it, I remember reading about something similar in a book once.”
Sheriff sat beside him, tweaking the angle of the second mirror so the street reflected clearly.
“There’s a story like that?”
Jinwoo asked while taping a hand mirror in place. Sheriff spread his fingers and twirled them around his head.
“Yeah, mirrors! You know… Medusa. Looking at her turns you to stone, so the hero uses his shield like a mirror to watch her while he fights. Ah, fuck… What was that hero’s name? It’s right on the tip of my tongue… Per… Po… Pra… Peri… Ah, fuck it. I remember the guy flying around on a winged horse, but I can’t remember the damn name!”
“Per… Pro…”
The confusion proved contagious; Jinwoo frowned while winding tape, his own mind tangling. He definitely knew the name. It started with a P… Pro… The moment he tried to say it aloud, the thought snagged.
“All I can think of is Prometheus.”
Sheriff shook his head.
“No, that’s not it… That’s the fire-stealing guy, and it wasn’t that long. Four or five letters… Persephone? No… Prophe… Ah, fuck it! Forget it! Stop thinking about it!”
“Pfft.”
The sight of Sheriff taking the question so seriously made Jinwoo burst out laughing. It was hilarious that a giant whose brain seemed packed solid with muscle was muttering exotic names like Prometheus and Persephone.
“This good enough?”
After tilting the full-length mirror slightly forward and bracing it with table legs on both sides, Sheriff asked. Jinwoo nodded.
“Looks perfect.”
They would need to descend into the station to test the setup properly, but from here it seemed flawless. The smaller mirrors clustered at varying angles on the upper sections would let them see the entire road clearly.
“Let’s place these two at the subway exit so we can see the opposite side of the street too.”
Once the work was done, Jinwoo stood, picking up two fairly large hand mirrors.
“Sounds good. Hey, come here, you mutt!”
Sheriff walked over and effortlessly scooped up the heavy dog.
“Beautiful… I can see everything.”
After finishing the installation and descending into the station, Jinwoo and Sheriff looked up with satisfied expressions. Every angle of the mirrors mounted on the second floor of the Lotteria perfectly reflected the area around Exit 1 of Saga-jeong Station. No more gambling with their hearts, wondering whether zombies were passing by.
“If we set up something like this at Myeonmok Station before heading down, traveling back and forth to Costco will be way less stressful. We won’t even need to waste ammo clearing every zombie down there. Let’s go!”
Satisfied that his idea had been realized, Jinwoo clapped Sheriff on the shoulder and tossed him a small folding hand mirror.
“Oh, right! These are leftovers from the job. Give them to your girlfriend.”
“Jenny?”
Sheriff caught the mirror with an innocent blink.
“Bullshit. You know exactly which woman I mean—the one who promised you a Ferrari.”
Jinwoo delivered the jab and immediately burst out laughing, dashing up the stairs. An enraged Sheriff chased after him with murder in his eyes.
“You crazy bastard! You say that shit in front of Jenny and I’ll kill you! Huh? Hey, stop laughing and swear! Get back here, you asshole…!”