RE: Survival - Chapter 3

The spread was fast. In the previous timeline, it had taken about two days for the zombies to cause chaos.

There had been news about mysterious deaths, and reports of people pronounced dead rising to bite others. The internet and social media buzzed for a day or two with hot reactions.

‘Isn’t this a zombie apocalypse?’

‘The Walking Dead!!’

‘Recruiting party members to seize the Blue House amidst the chaos (1/999)’

Silly posts like these flooded the networks until horrifying images and eyewitness accounts started appearing, triggering real panic. By the third day, when communication networks were severed, the slaughter began in earnest.

In other words, there had been a clear point of origin, and if the government had acted wisely, there had been a chance to contain the situation. But things were different now.

This time, the crisis spread swiftly without warning. There were no signs, no news reports. It seemed there were multiple points of origin.

Suddenly, this fast.

What had changed? Why had things changed?

One thing he could guess was that his regression might have something to do with it.

Yohan turned his gaze to a large TV on display at a Samsung electronics store.

Breaking news was being broadcast on the TV.

“This is breaking news. On December 16, 2016, an unknown disease has broken out across the country, including Seoul, Busan, Daegu, and Gwangju, with many people infected. Symptoms include loss of reason, heightened aggression, and violent behavior such as attacking or biting others. The Blue House has stated that it is considering declaring a state of national emergency, viewing the situation as a war or a national disaster of equivalent severity…”

Social media was noisy too, with chaos that mirrored the reaction on the third day of the previous timeline.

‘I can’t delay any longer.’

Just as Yohan was about to turn to leave, someone approached him.

With a swift motion, Yohan spun around, drawing his knife. The well-honed blade shot toward the target with precision.

Just before the knife could pierce the person’s pupil—

“W-wait!”

It was a human. The knife stopped mid-air.

It was someone Yohan knew: Im Jung-mi, a second-year employee from the facilities team at Kyungseong Industries.

“Jung-mi?”

She was panting, hands on her knees, as if she had run all the way here.

“What’s going on?”

“Just… give me a second.”

Yohan’s eyes quickly scanned her entire body.

There were red bloodstains on her shoes and pants. It was clear that the blood wasn’t from her.

The pub must have descended into chaos after he left, and she had managed to escape in time.

‘A woman with enough sense to get out of danger.’

Yohan’s assessment of her was rather positive.

She raised her hand as if to grab Yohan’s arm, but he stopped her.

“Maybe you didn’t hear me earlier—don’t touch me. I won’t be held responsible if I accidentally kill you. And are you bitten or injured anywhere?”

“No, I’m not. But what on earth is happening?”

“I don’t know. I don’t have time to explain. What do you need?”

“You don’t have to be so cold. I thought we were pretty close.”

She gave him a disappointed look.

There was no doubt that they had been friendly colleagues back when he was working. But unfortunately, that was nearly four years ago for Yohan. Four years was plenty of time for even close relationships to fade.

“Sorry, but I’m in a hurry. If there’s nothing urgent, I’ll be going.”

“Just… just one favor!”

As she spoke, her anxious eyes darted around. Although zombies were appearing in some areas, they weren’t yet a serious threat here.

Zombies were dangerous only when they appeared ‘suddenly’ and in ‘large numbers.’ Of course, even a single zombie could be deadly for an inexperienced person who didn’t know how to handle them.

Either way, Yohan was reluctant to travel with anyone. He didn’t need more people to look after from the start.

Although he knew she was a good person, no one could predict how people might change in extreme situations. And Yohan was determined to avoid the unpredictable.

“I’ll pass. I’m not the kind of person who has the luxury of looking out for others.”

“You live in Incheon, right? Just take me with you to Incheon. I won’t ask for anything more.”

She also commuted from Incheon, which brought back some distant memories. But that wasn’t a reason for Yohan to take her along. In an apocalypse, it was best to avoid traveling with others, regardless of gender.

“Take the subway, the bus, or a taxi.”

Without saying anything, Jung-mi held out her phone, showing a video. On the screen, a subway car was filled with blood and gore in a gruesome scene.

Yohan frowned.

“I was checking social media throughout the company dinner. It’s all over the place—people are calling this a zombie apocalypse. The internet is flooded with horrifying photos. I kept thinking something was wrong, and then you suddenly left the pub as if you knew something. Right after you left, everything went to hell.”

Yohan revised his opinion of her.

“So I ran here. I felt like I had to…”

She was someone who could survive at least a year—provided she didn’t run into terrible luck.

“It’s strange that you carry such a terrifying knife. It’s strange that you tried to stab someone just now. You don’t seem like the Yohan I used to know. It’s scary.”

Yohan cut her off.

Her instincts were impressive, but there was no time to waste. Things would only get worse from here.

“I’m heading to Bucheon. I’ll take the motorcycle. If the roads get bad, I’ll walk. If you can’t keep up, I’ll leave you behind. And if things get dangerous, I won’t help you. We travel together only as far as Bucheon.”

“Got it.”

“And one more thing.”

Yohan held out his hand. When she looked confused, Yohan added an explanation.

“Pay me for the help. Anything will do—just not money.”

Acts of kindness without compensation only led to trouble. At Yohan’s unexpectedly serious expression, Jung-mi stiffened and reluctantly removed her accessories and watch, handing them over. She tried to force a smile, but the smile on her tense face looked awkward.

Just then, a sharp scream rang out from across the street. A woman being chased by a zombie seemed to have tripped. One of her high heels was broken, dangling awkwardly.

She was about to be bitten at any moment.

“Oh, oh…”

Jung-mi looked back and forth between Yohan and the woman, stamping her feet anxiously. Without a change in expression, Yohan turned his gaze away.

The crunching sound of flesh being torn apart and the woman’s scream pounded in his ears from a short distance away. His pace quickened.

Yohan headed straight to a nearby convenience store. It appeared the staff had already evacuated, as the door was locked.

*Crash!*

He picked up a brick from the ground and shattered the glass window of the store.

At the sound, a few lifeless eyes turned toward him. Yohan swiftly stabbed his knife precisely into the temple of an approaching zombie.

Jung-mi, holding her hands tightly over her mouth to suppress her fear, watched from behind.

Yohan smashed the wailing alarm with the brick and stepped inside the store.

He collected only the essentials: food, water, a lighter, and a flashlight.

After placing the supplies into his bag, he pulled out a map book.

‘Take Nodul-ro to Gukhoe-daero, and then onto the Outer Ring Expressway.’

With some leeway, they could reach the shelter in about three or four hours.

In the early stages, main roads were safer than city streets. Of course, as the infection spread, nowhere would be safe.

Yohan stood up, and Jung-mi quickly followed suit with a flinch.

As Yohan was about to head out, he noticed Jung-mi nervously grabbing a box cutter. He sighed lightly.

“That thing’s not going to kill a zombie. Put it down.”

“What? But…”

“You’ll only get yourself killed trying to use that.”

From the side of his bag, Yohan pulled out a knife and handed it to her. It was a lightweight knife, about the size of a paring knife.

“You need to stab the brain precisely. Or, you could cut off their neck. You can also kill them by stabbing the heart, but it takes about three minutes for them to die that way. They might collapse as if dead, only to get back up and bite you. Always aim for the head unless you’re fighting from a distance.”

Many people had died foolishly, failing to target the vital points accurately.

“The temple, the eyes, and the cervical spine. These are the easiest places to stab. Drive the knife deep into the brain and pull it out quickly. Even after being stabbed, they can still retaliate for up to 30 seconds.”

“Got it. Okay.”

That should be enough kindness.

Surviving is fate, and so is dying.

“Also, grab a pair of slippers. If your feet hurt too much while walking, switch them out along the way.”

This journey was going to be tough.

Yohan started the engine of the motorbike parked nearby. He could feel Jung-mi climb on behind him.

—

Yohan and Jung-mi entered the main road through Nodul-ro. But once they reached a point where vehicles and survivors blocked the shoulder, rendering the bike useless, Yohan abandoned it without hesitation. He had plenty of spare bikes anyway.

Nearly four hours into their walk, they reached a large road, and the number of infected thinned out dramatically—almost none in sight. It seemed Yeouido might have been one of the origin points.

However,

*Honk! Hoooonk!*

Even though it was long past rush hour, the road was completely jammed. Yohan glanced at his watch—it was 11 p.m. A tricky time to either stop or move forward.

Jung-mi had kept up better than expected.

Following his advice, she alternated between flat shoes and slippers, keeping pace without slowing him down. Her resilience was impressive.

Yohan’s estimation of her lifespan kept increasing.

At some point, he had developed a habit of translating people’s lives into numerical survival odds. Rather than thinking, “This person must have lived such-and-such a life,” he was more interested in, “How long will this person live?” or “When will this person die?”

For the first six months, the brave or cautious survive.

From six months onward, only the lucky survive.

After a year, the survivors are not only lucky but also cold-hearted.

By the third year, the survivors are those whose coldness has curdled into malice.

The ones willing to sacrifice others for their own survival. Most of the people Yohan encountered in his third year had been like that.

“By the way, this traffic isn’t clearing at all,” Jung-mi said.

She was right.

Even amidst the chaos, for the road to be this congested…

‘Something’s blocking the way.’

This wasn’t just a traffic accident.

There were zombies.

Yohan deliberated.

Should they push forward, take a detour, or stop and wait until morning?

‘We need to go through the main road.’

Attacks in isolated areas were deadlier. Darkness made things even worse. It was safer to move through wide, open spaces.

There would likely be a confrontation along the way, but that didn’t worry him. He saw it as a chance to sharpen his combat instincts one last time before going into hiding.

Having made up his mind, Yohan sat down on the roadside and massaged his legs. As he stretched and warmed up, Jung-mi looked at him curiously.

“We’ll probably have to fight our way through some zombies soon.”