《Apocalypse: Apparently, I Can See Zombies》


 Chapter 1- You Look Like Shit Jin-woo

    The usually busy streets of Itaewon werecking in traffic due to the early morning. The sun was also nowhere in sight making the slightly deserted streets in this area of Itaewon look eerily creepy.


    Step¡­ Step¡­


    A woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties was seen walking along the sidewalks.


    She paid no mind to the red stop lights and instead jaywalked across the streets in a hurry.


    She wore a brown coat along with simple ck work pants.


    Her slightlybored breath came out in white puffs due to the cold season. However, the cold weather was lessening since it was ending around this time of the month.


    The woman walked for a bit, maneuvering through the narrow streets before she turned onto a rather sketchy-looking alleyway.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    She looked around at all the buildings, seeming to be searching for something. After a bit of looking, she saw a building with a tiger sign above its entrance.


    She moved towards the two-story building and went around the back. There she came upon a small flight of stairs that led down to an underground area of the building.


    After she reached the bottom of the steps, she took off the ck leather glove on her right hand and knocked firmly on the door.


    Atch on top of the door opened and a pair of eyes appeared there staring at the woman.


    "It''s me, Myung-hee," the woman said.


    The eyes shifted for a moment and a few muffled voices could be heard before thetch was closed and the door was opened.


    A burly man was revealed at the entrance of the doorway, who shifted to the side to let Myung-hee inside.


    After stepping inside the building, Myung-hee started taking off her other glove. As she moved forward she looked around.


    However, her actions paused for a second as she saw a few men with guns in their hands. They were examining them and talking among themselves in a foreignnguage she recognized to be English, though no one there looked to be from any overseas country.


    Quite a peculiar sight, Myung-hee thought. Perhaps they found it morefortable to speak a foreignnguage.


    Myung-hee suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and looked up from the guns in men''s hands to their tattooed-covered faces to see that they had stopped talking to stare back at her.


    Myung-hee became somewhat nervous, but a voice suddenly came from the middle of the room.


    "Mrs. Lee, wee!"


    A desk was in the middle of the room with a twenty-something-year-old man in a chair behind it.


    His torso was bare, and a tattoo of a tiger was disyed on his chest. His face had a few piercings as well. When he smiled while calling out to Myung-hee rather happily, the ones on his lips jiggled a bit.


    Myung-hee slowly walked over to the desk while trying to ignore the gazes of the several dozen men in the room looking at her.


    Looking down at the man at the desk, Myung-hee asked.


    "Did you get what I asked for?"


    The man smirked and answered in a high-pitched voice.


    "Well of course!"


    He then reached into a drawer next to him and took out a small brown envelope.


    Seeing the envelope, Myung-hee''s face showed joy and she grabbed for it, but the man suddenly pulled it just out of her reach.


    "Do you have the money?"


    Myung-hee was first upset but quickly unzipped her coat and took out a brown paper bag before cing it on the table.


    The man held the envelope between his fingers as he picked up the brown bag and opened it. A good amount of cash was seen inside, and the man flipped through them with his finger while holding it next to his ears.


    His expression showed concentration as if he was focused on counting the money.


    With thest p, his finger ran through everything, but his face fell before he looked at Myung-hee and said.


    "This is short three million Won."


    "What?! You said to bring two million, that''s two million! What are you talking about that it''s now short three million?!"


    The man held up his hand to stop one of his men from approaching Myung-hee before he calmly said.


    "Turns out the item you requested was a lot harder to get. Three million Won on top of this or you get nothing."


    The man waved the envelope in front of Myung-hee in a teasing manner.


    Myung-hee gritted her teeth, but after a moment of silence, she reached into the other inside pocket of her coat before taking out another brown bag.


    "Ah! So you came prepared, how smart of you, Mrs. Lee."


    Myung-hee mmed down the bag on the table hard, obviously annoyed by this man.


    The man only smirked before he lifted his hand to give Myung-hee the small envelope.


    Myung-hee went to take it, but the man once again pulled back his hand.


    Seeing this, Myung-hee was about to fly into a rage despite where she was, but the man suddenly spoke up.


    "Rx."


    He then stood up from his chair and walked to the back of the room. There on the wall, he opened a safe and took out another envelope.


    He then returned and handed her that one.


    Myung-hee slowly took it out of his hand but her eyes still wandered towards the one he was going to hand her previously.


    The man smirked before he ced that envelope back into the drawer behind the table.


    "No need to think too deeply about it."


    Myung-hee frowned slightly but she immediately ignored it and instead focused on the envelope.


    Her eager eyes trembled uncontrobly when she slowly pulled out the item to view it.


    "We good?" the man asked.


    Coming to, Myung-hee ced the item back inside the envelope before putting it in her coat. She then said with a nod.


    "Yes."


    With that, Myung-hee didn''t waste time getting out of this sketchy ce. She got what she wanted and due to her excitement and eagerness, she hurriedly rushed back home.


    ¡­.


    *Beep*


    *Beep*


    *Beep*


    A typical scene one might find in Itaewon this early in the morning, or all of Seoul for that matter, was someone sleepily rushing to turn off their annoying rm.


    One more minute they would tell themselves, only to have the backup rm go off ten minutester.


    They would have no one to curse at but their past selves for their current situation.


    After turning off his second rm, Jin-woo pulled the cover from over his head before slowly getting up.


    His face looked sleep-deprived and faint dark bags could be seen under his eyes. It was evident something was keeping him awakest night.


    A nightmare perhaps.


    Scratching his disheveled hair, Jin-woo picked up his sses from his bedside table before he got up from his bed and went to his bathroom down the hall from his room.


    Looking at himself in the bathroom mirror, Jin-woo squinted his eyes before murmuring drowsily.


    "You look like shit, Jin-woo."

 Chapter 2- First Day In High School

    Jin-woo was of average height with delicate-looking features.


    He wasn''t ugly, but he wasn''t idol-level handsome.


    After letting out a sigh in front of the mirror, Jin-woo slowly took off his clothes to take a shower. However, he paused on his way toward the tub when he saw himself in the full-body mirror.


    A body that showed signs that he was once exercising was seen, but those muscles gained had faded away some time ago only leaving a few outlines here and there. But what was more eye-catching was the bruises and the small burn marks on his chest and forearms.


    His finger lightly rubbed over a recent-looking bruise on his left abdomen. It didn''t hurt anymore but his pale skin made it look worse than it was.


    After staring for a few minutes, Jin-woo snapped out of his thoughts and then went to take his shower.


    It was a couple of minutes when he exited and wrapped a towel around his waist and hair before heading back to his room.


    However, because of his now foggy sses, he wasn''t paying attention and ended up bumping into someone on his way out.


    "Watch where you''re going."


    *Thud*


    The person shoved him into the wall as they limply passed.


    The towel on Jin-woo''s head fell, and he looked at his father''s slightly blurry back before he apologized.


    "Sorry."


    "Worthless fuck."


    Jin-woo flinched upon hearing the immediate response but thought internally.


    ''But there''s a bathroom downstairs¡­''


    Jin-woo didn''t wait around and picked up his towel before going back to his room.


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    ..


    In the full-body mirror in his room, Jin-woo struggled to tie his tie. He eventually did a slightly decent job he was satisfied with before he put on his ck zer that had his school''s emblem ISH on it.


    On his way out the door, he had to pause and head to his dresser. He took up a small container and after taking off his sses he wore his contacts. Squinting to make sure they were in ce Jin-woo then paused to stare at a small box on his dresser that was wrapped like a gift.


    After a momentary daze with him just staring at the box, Jin-woo reached out and picked up the simple ck digital watch next to it before finally leaving his bedroom. On his way to the bathroom, the sound of someone entering the front door downstairs entered his ears.


    "Jin!"


    "Yes, mom?"


    Jin-woo paused his steps.


    "Are you ready yet? Don''t forget to carry your medication and take it at lunch, I''m leaving in five minutes so hurry up!"


    "I know, I was just about to get it."


    Jin-woo entered the bathroom and opened the ss cab above the sink.


    "Huh?"


    Immediately, something weird caught his attention.


    Two of his brown medicine bottles were opened, he only remembered ever opening one this past week.


    Confused, Jin-woo took up the one he found at the back hidden away from sight. He knew it was open from the sealing tag having been broken.


    "Is he still taking my pills?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    He should have known or why else would hee up here?


    Jin-woo frowned but returned the bottle where he found it. He then took out a small clear bag from his brown pants and ced one of the white pills from the other bottle inside.


    Putting away the bottle and then the small clear bag, Jin-woo left the bathroom and headed downstairs.


    Walking to his front door he saw his mother fixing her clothes while waiting for him.


    "Are you ready?" Myung-hee asked her son.


    "Yes."


    "Good, I''mte for work so let''s hurry."


    They both were about to leave but a hoarse voice suddenly came from the living room sofa.


    "Hey, one of you get me a beer from the fridge would you."


    *Cough*


    *Cough*


    The owner of the voice suddenly coughed violently.


    Myung-hee showed a face that said she couldn''t be bothered before she remembered something and headed upstairs.


    Jin-woo wasn''t sure why his mother went upstairs. His parents'' room and bathroom were all downstairs. Though he didn''t think about it much. He went to the fridge in the kitchen before he walked over to his father, who was slouching on the couch, and handed him his beer.


    Lee Sung-ho grabbed the beer from his son''s hand but not before squeezing the one he had been drinking and throwing it at his feet.


    Jin-woo stared at his father who looked like a drunkard you might see outside next to those street bars. His face had unshaven stubbles, and his fat gut protruded from his undershirt that had old stains from two days prior.


    With a VPN the TV in front of him was on an overseas weapon specialist channel that featured weapons used in various countries by the military.


    Jin-woo recognized the gun they were showing to be a K5 semi-automatic pistol.


    His mind involuntarily went over its unconventional specs while his father drank his beer.


    "Remember when I was teaching you about those guns? Those were some good father-son times we had even though your mother waspletely against it."


    His father''s words snap Jin-woo out of his thoughts and he lowered his head instead of looking at his father.


    He knew what wasing next, but like a soldier, he stood at attention.


    Lee Sung-ho''s expression suddenly went dark, and he threw the now empty beer can, hitting Jin-woo''s forehead.


    Jin-woo didn''t flinch when the beer can made contact, despite the fact it had broken his skin and drew blood.


    "I regret those times. If I could go back, I would have never wasted so much time on you. It''s because of you that I was discharged from the Marine Corps you piece of worthless fuck."


    Jin-woo''s eyes involuntarilynded on his father''s knee where there was arge scar running down to his ankle.


    "Get the hell away from me you psychopathic piece of shit!"


    "Yes sir."


    Jin-woo said respectfully before he turned around and picked up his backpack next to the door. The door then closed behind him as he headed outside.


    Outside, he walked to the garage and entered his mother''s ck Genesis; the garage door was already open allowing him to see outside.


    Myung-hee soon came and got into the car. Upon seeing the cut on Jin-woo''s forehead, she simply ignored it and instead said.


    "Buckle up."


    Jin-woo did as his mother told him before they drove out of their garage to their destination.


    A silent thirty-minute driveter Myung-hee stopped in front of a high school. Kids around Jin-woo''s age in the same uniform as him were seen entering through its gates.


    Jin-woo unbuckled his seat belt and got out, but he heard his mother suddenly say.


    "This is your first day in high school, I don''t want to get called from work to hear that you forgot to take your medication on time again. It''s annoying and it needs to stop. You''re turning sixteen soon so start acting like the adult you are."

 Chapter 3- HBTR Labs

    "Yes, mother."


    "And here, put this band-aid on, don''t draw unnecessary attention."


    After handing the band-aid Myung-hee took out of the glovepartment to Jin-woo, she watched him put it on before she turned away, not giving her son any more attention. Looking at the time on her watch, she cursed before she sped off into traffic. A few honks were heard as she cut some people off.


    Jin-woo turned and slowly walked up to the gates about to enter the school, but someone suddenly appeared next to him and wrapped their hand around his shoulders.


    Turning his head, Jin-woo saw a youth around his age who had dyed blond hair with a pierced right ear.


    "Can you not cling to me?" Jin-woo said.


    The boy, who was named Seong, turned his gaze away from a few female students in front to look at Jin-woo.


    "Wow, you look like shit Jin. What? Did you not get enough sleep because you were nervous about starting high school?"


    Seong said before he made a "tsk tsk" sound.


    "Come on Jin, what''s so bad about starting high school? It''s the start of a new chapter in our adolescent lives."


    While saying that Seong got close to Jin-woo''s face and waved his hand at the high school as if to present it to him.


    The school''s name was seen at the top of its entrance spelling Itaewon Stars High. The road leading towards the campus with the cherry blossoms trees on the sides painted a picturesque scenery.


    "And then there''s that."


    Seong''s hand suddenly dipped as he motioned to the few girls walking some distance away.


    "Three, two, one¡­"


    As Seong counted down and at the exact moment he reached zero, a wind suddenly blew through the area and lifted the girls'' skirts slightly.


    With a perverted look on his face, Seong released a sigh filled with contentment.


    "Short skirts, I''m telling you high school is the best. But damn it, all the girls are wearing shorts underneath or wearable leggings cause it''s still so fucking cold."


    As Seong said that he secured the red scarf around his neck more tightly.


    Jin-woo looked around at the girls casually before he moved forward. Though he couldn''t help butment.


    "I guess you''re right, but it''s March so the cold season is just about to end."


    A few girls who were walking by suddenly turned to Jin-woo and looked at him strangely before talking in hush whispers among themselves.


    Jin-woo felt Seong''s hand tighten around his shoulders.


    "Don''t pay those western blondes any mind, they''re always gossiping even when there''s nothing to gossip about."


    Seong said referring to the immacte blonde hair the girls were rocking. Though said girls were local students.


    The school wasn''t an international one, but foreign students were moremon here than in most schools in this district.


    Jin-woo headed for the high school''s auditorium from memory as he had been to the school briefly for the Entrance Exams. Itaewon Stars High Entrance Ceremony was being held there and the two chatted while moving with the crowd of first-year students. Though Seong was the one mostly doing the talking.


    ....


    Myung-hee drove beyond the speed limit towards her work. Other drivers honked their car horns and tried not to furiously roar at her car as she dangerously cut them off. Her car looked like it belonged to someone of a certain status.


    It took around forty minutes for Myung-hee to reach her workce. She passed through a security check with several armed guards after showing her ID and then drove to her designated parking spot outside.


    Quickly gathering her handbag and fixing her hair and make-up in the rearview mirror, she flew out of her car.


    Her destination was the main building of this facility that had both the Korean name and the English name, Human Biology, and Technology Research Labs, or HBTR, written on a sign next to the entrance; the English name being a bit bigger might be a factor that showed it was apany from overseas.


    While walking up the ramp to the entrance, Myung-hee searched through her bag to see if she brought the envelope. Seeing the brown envelope neatly tucked into a corner, she smiled and then focused on entering through the sliding door, to which she immediately received greetings.


    "Oh, good morning Mrs. Lee."


    "Good morning Mrs. Lee."


    "Good¡­"


    Several people in whiteb coats rushed to greet her with a bow.


    Myung-hee nodded and took the initiative to step past them in the line and toward the decontaminated checkpoint.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Stepping inside the ss chamber, Myung-hee had her hair whipped about as streams of white puffs blew from various muzzles inside.


    With a green light and a ding, the chamber doors opened, allowing her to continue her way inside the building.


    However, as she was walking off, one of the few security guards near the chamber stopped her and said.


    "Wait Miss, your bag hasn''t been checked as yet."


    Myung-hee froze upon hearing that.


    Turning around, she saw the person who asked was a new guard she hadn''t seen before. He was young, around his early twenties.


    Myung-hee frowned, she wasn''t going to hand over her bag when that item was inside.


    As she was thinking of something to get out of being searched, another security guard nearby, a ck middle-aged man, saw this and immediately interrupted the young man.


    "No Mrs. Lee, you don''t have to do that. Sorry for keeping up your time, you can go on ahead."


    Myung-hee, hearing this, sighed in her heart but nodded casually at that security guard as she said.


    "It''s fine, Jimmy."


    She then turned around and walked away.


    After she left, the security guard named Jimmy turned to the young man and said.


    "Look kid, I''m in charge of your training so I''ll tell you this, there is an unspoken rule between us guards that trivial checks like that for people like her are unnecessary. You don''t want to upset someone like that here for something so minor and then get fired, okay?"


    The young man hearing this nodded his head and said.


    "Yes, sir."


    However, he then asked after a moment.


    "Sir, who is she?"


    Jimmy, who had looked away, turned back to him and responded.


    "She''s the assistant of the Lab Chief, but I heard she''s more of a partner to her than an assistant. But those might be rumors. Either way, be careful next time."


    A surprised expression appeared on the young man''s face. He hadn''t expected the person he stopped to be someone with such an important position in the facility.


    He couldn''t help but be worried now.

 Chapter 4- Unnecessary Attention

    It was loud and bustling as Jin-woo and Seong filed out of the auditorium with the other first-year students.


    "Don''t you think that speech the principal gave was aplete waste of time? At least that person who came first in the Entrance Exam speech wasn''t so bad."


    Seong said as he intertwined his fingers behind his head.


    "But now that it''s over, we''ll get to see which ss you and I get to stay in for our first year. Hopefully, it''s one with a lot of girls."


    Seong was almost drooling at the thought of such a scenario.


    In the crowd, Jin-woo tried to ignore Seong who was being a straight-up pervert.


    He moved from the auditorium and entered the main school building in no time.


    The names and ss positions of the first years were ced in the first hall. Numerous students could be seen sandwiching together to get a better look at the noticeboard.


    Jin-woo could barely make out his name from the edge of the crowd.


    "Hey! It looks like we''ll be in ss 1A, that''s on the second floor. I think they organize the sses on how well students perform in the Entrance Exams. You didn''t get the top grade but you''re still a bookworm in my opinion."


    Seong tried to punch Jin-woo''s shoulder, but he instinctively dodged it before saying.


    "I''m leaving, I don''t like crowds."


    "Mom, you don''t have to stay any longer, the Entrance Ceremony is over so you can go to work now."


    Before Jin-woo could take the stairs nearby to the second floor, he overheard a boy talking to his mother in a depressed tone.


    Jin-woo stopped to look at them.


    Parents were allowed to apany their kids to the Entrance Ceremony, but his own parents didn''te. His mother thought this was his first day of school, somehow forgetting it was just his Entrance Ceremony.


    While looking at the mother and son, Jin-woo heard Seong from next to him say.


    "You''re fine, let''s go. You don''t need to look so glum every time you know? You need to cheer up, maybe you''ll make some new friends in high school."


    Without looking at Seong, Jin-woo''s expression became unnatural as he responded.


    "Everyone in the entire school thinks I''m a freak, I can''t see how I''ll make any friends here."


    As soon as Jin-woo said that two youths, one wearing sses and the other a bit on the chubby side, walked past while staring at him with the same strange expressions the girls at the school''s entrance had.


    Jin-woo groaned inwardly at that and decided to keep his mouth shut.


    Seong turned to re at the two youths before he turned to Jin-woo and said.


    "Look Jin, not everyone thinks you''re crazy. Plus, who cares about their opinion anyway?"


    Jin-woo tried to ignore Seong, but as they headed up the stairs he didn''t hold out for long before he responded.


    "Everyone was there and now they think I''m crazy. It doesn''t help that they''ve seen me talking to you."


    No students were walking along the stairs.


    Jin-woo suddenly stopped, and next to him was a ne window. He turned to look outside where the ser field was visible from here, but he also saw his blurry reflection in the ss window.


    Only his reflection.


    Seong didn''t have one.


    Looking away from the window, Jin-woo continued up to the second floor by himself.


    "Not cool Jin, how can you talk about your best friend like that?"


    "You''re not my friend, he''s dead. You''re just a hallucination that won''t go away no matter how many pills I take."


    Jin-woo immediately pped back in a harsh whisper. However, they had reached the second floor, and more than a few kids overheard his mumbles.


    Familiar looks appeared in their eyes, but Jin-woo ignored them and took a corner.


    After several more minutes, fewer and fewer students came into his view.


    With another corner, Jin-woo paused as he saw no one walking along this hallway.


    Seong sarcastically asked from the side.


    "Are you lost? Seriously, didn''t you go to middle school here and take the Entrance Exams here? How can you not know your schoolyout by now?"


    An annoyed look came over Jin-woo''s face as he responded.


    "The middle school and high school are onpletely different sides of the campus. Even then, the high school is split into the west wing and the east wing. And did I get the chance to look around after the Entrance Exams? No."


    Jin-woo ignored Seong and began searching around until he found a map on a wall nearby. After examining it he realized that he had somehow ended up on the west wing.


    ss 1A was on the east wing.


    He found this absurd as he would need to cross a bridge connecting the two wings. At what point did he cross it?


    "Damn it."


    "Ha, way to go scatterbrains, do you know how long you''ve been walking?"


    "Shut up, and don''t talk to me when I''m in front of other people. Why do you only show up when I''m at school and nowhere else?"


    "How should I know, it''s your brain that''s making you see me," Seong shrugged as he said that.


    Several minutester, Jin-woo was seen standing in front of a door that had a sign with ss 1A written above it.


    He could hear students already inside the ssroom, making him hesitate to open the door. If he did open the door, he was about to draw attention to himself as one of thest students to enter. His hand froze towards its handle, his anxiety at the highest it''s been in a while.


    Seong was leaning against the wall just staring at him debating whether to enter.


    After a few seconds, Jin-woo let his hand drop and he turned away.


    "Let''s go, I''ll juste back tomorrow, school doesn''t start until then anyway."


    However, the door suddenly mmed open, and the rush of noise battered Jin-woo''s ears. Three boys were seen chatting andughing as they walked out. When they saw him, they paused and soon, strange smiles came over their faces.


    "Freak! Don''t tell me you''re in this ss too? Hahaha!"


    The one at the front of the group said before grabbing Jin-woo''s shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.


    He had ash-brown hair with a bit of ck in it. He also had features that made him look menacing even when smiling. His zer was missing, and his white sleeves were rolled up to his elbow. With this look along with his tie hanging loosely around his neck, he resembled a typical delinquent.


    The youth lowered his head next to Jin-woo''s ears and whispered.


    "Let''s have a good year, alright freak?"


    The boy was named Park Seo-joon. The leader of Jin-woo''s bullies.


    After raising his head back up, Seo-joon smiled and patted Jin-woo''s shoulder harder than necessary before walking around him.


    His two followers who both looked equally delinquent bumped their shoulders into him as they walked by.


    Left standing there in front of the door Jin-woo opted to enter, only to see that Seo-joon''s shout had drawn attention.


    While squeezing his bag straps, he went to find a seat but realized all of the back seats were taken, leaving only the middle and front ones'' empty.


    "Seems like you missed the best seats that wouldn''t draw attention."


    Jin-woo ignored Seong and decided to take a middle-row seat on the far-right side column. The in windows next to him allowed him to see the hall outside.


    His only hope was that the seats would be rearranged tomorrow so he could get a back seat. However, being of average height he might be ced at the front rather than the back.


    After sighing internally, Jin-woo took his seat. All eyes left him, and the chattering of the students started once again.


    With nothing to do, Jin-woo took out his phone, opened up ToonWeb and blocked out Seong.


    Time passed like this with more and more studentsing in to fill up the seats.


    Cliques were already being formed by people who had been in the same ss since middle school, while Jin-woo continued to sit alone scrolling through his phone.


    Suddenly, the chattering quieted down quite a bit. This drew Jin-woo''s attention, and he looked up. What he saw was a mountain of a person barely squeezing through the door.


    "Holy shit, that guy''s fricking huge!"


    Surprise exmations came from some students in the ssroom.


    As the tall student walked in, someone suddenly yelled in shock from across the ss in fluent English.


    "Micah?! What the hell, how did you get so tall?!"


    The tall student named Micah smiled and walked over to the one who yelled and a few others.


    "Are you surprised?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Micah''s British ent was present as he said this with a grin.


    "Surprised? Are you trying to be the next LeBron, what have you been eating over winter break?"


    While the students in the ssroom were reeling back from Micah''s height, anothermotion suddenly urred.


    "Hey look, Kim Mai-sun is in our ss."


    "What, really?"


    As a petite girl with mixed features walked in with an entourage, she drew all the males'' eyes in the ssroom.


    Jin-woo hearing this instinctively ducked his head as if to hide.


    As the beautiful girl named Mai-sun entered the ssroom, she looked around for a seat, but her eyes suddenlynded on Jin-woo who was trying to blend into his surroundings like a chameleon.


    She paused before walking over to him with a smile. After tapping his shoulder, she cheerfully asked.


    "Jin-woo! How was your winter break?"


    She also took a seat on top of his desk, her unfettered mid-thigh skirt moving up a bit to reveal she wasn''t wearing any shorts underneath.


    Jin-woo leaned back in his seat away from her, but from the corner of his eyes, he could see a few people in the ssroom giving him disgusted looks.


    ''Great, just what I needed¡­ unnecessary attention.''

 Chapter 5- I’m Sorry Too

    Trying not to feel upset by Mai-sun''s actions, Jin-woo turned back to his phone and simply asked.


    "What do you want Mai?"


    Mai-sun frowned at his unweing tone before she asked.


    "Is that any way to treat a childhood friend? I just want to check up on you after what happened."


    Mai-sun showed a concerned expression as she said thosest words.


    Without looking up, Jin-woo coldly responded.


    "You doing that is more troubling for me, can you stop?"


    "What''s with you? Why are you treating Mai-sun like this after she''s showing concern for someone like you?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    A girl from Mai-sun entourage suddenly said, her face twisting into a repulsed expression.


    This drew a few more people''s attention and Jin-woo knew it. Though he only continued to scroll through his phone, ignoring Mai-sun and everyone else looking at him.


    "Come on Mai, why do you even try to talk to this freak anyway."


    Mai-sun and the girls left, leaving Jin-woo alone.


    At the same time, a teacher walked in.


    "Alright, all phones away for a minute and take your seats."


    Jin-woo put away his phone, and a few chairs scraped as everyone took their seats.


    The seat to the left of him shifted before someone took a seat.


    Jin-woo looked over but had his heart drop when he saw Mai-sun.


    Mai-sun gave him a wave and an innocent smile, but Jin-woo was now dreading his uing school days.


    Both Mai-sun and Seo-joon were in the same ss as him, what could be worse?


    "I''m your homeroom and P.E. teacher, Ms. Choi, and I''m happy to be here with you all."


    "I''m not."


    Seo-Joon from the back of the ss chimed in with ackadaisical expression.


    "Well, since this isn''t an official school day, you, mister¡­"


    Ms. Choi paused to look down at her desk.


    "Mister Park Seon-joon¡­ Oh! You''re teacher Park''s son?"


    Ms. Choi finished with surprise, before going on to say.


    "Well, today is mostly for you first years to look around your new campus and get ustomed to the change in environment. After lunch hours, you can all head home to be back here for the first day of regr school tomorrow. I''ll leave you guys alone as well, but first¡­"


    Ms. Choi went through a few things on her desk before she took up a marker to write on the whiteboard.


    "Let''s elect the Cass President and ss VP. Anyone can be nominated except by themselves, we''ll have a vote when all the names are listed."


    Turning to the entire ss, she then asked.


    "So, who''s first?"


    Immediately, a girl raised her hand and said.


    "I nominate Ye-Jun."


    A few more girls raised their hands and voted for a student named Ye-Jun.


    Seeing this, Ms. Choi said amused.


    "From all of these nominations, it would seem voting is unnecessary. Alright, which student is named Ye-Jun?"


    A hand raised from the front of the ss and attached to that hand was a really handsome youth in sses. He had short straight ck hair and features that made a few girls have dazed eyes as they looked at him, obviously from infatuation.


    Looking at this student, Ms. Choi showed a bit of joy as she said.


    "No wonder you''re so popr, you''re ''the'' Ho Ye-Jun who took second ce all semesters in our middle school. You''ve also managed to snag first ce on the Entrance Exams as well. Your speech earlier was also the best out of the ones previously done by students ced first, but don''t tell anyone I said that, ha-ha.


    The boy named Ye-Jun nodded his head casually before fixing his sses with his finger.


    Afterward, Ms. Choi turned to the board and wrote Ye-jun''s name under the header ''ss President.''


    "Now, how about the ss VP, any nominations?"


    Immediately, a few boys raise their hands, and one after another they all nominate Mai-sun.


    Seeing practically the same scenario ying out, Ms. Choi found this situation even more amusing.


    "It seems this ss has two popr stars. Ms. Kim is second on the entrance exams, I''m quite happy getting to teach two outstanding first-year students this year."


    Ms. Choi then went to write Mai-sun''s name on the board, but Mai-sun suddenly lifted her hand and spoke up.


    "Actually Ms. Choi, I don''t want to be ss VP. I nominate Jin-woo and give all of my votes to him."


    Hearing this, Jin-woo immediately did a double take and snapped his head to face her. He only saw her giving him that same innocent smile.


    "This girl is malicious; I really don''t like her."


    Seong, who had appeared next to Jin-woo some time ago, said with a frown, and Jin-woo couldn''t help but agree with him as he red at Mai-sun.


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    ..


    In a corridor of HBTR Labs, Myung-hee could be seen rushing after a female in a whiteb coat.


    "Wait! Mrs. Kim, please allow me to be on this project. I''ve been by your side this entire time and I think I have a way to fix the pill''s form, so it works! Just give me a chance to show you what I''ve been working on!"


    Thedy named Mrs. Kim simply kept on walking as if she didn''t hear Myung-hee.


    As she approached her office, Myung-hee got desperate and said again.


    "Madelyn, why won''t you let me on this project? I was the one who helped you before so you can''t just exclude me from this after all that I''ve down for you. It''s not fair to me!"


    Madelyn went to swipe her key card to open the ss office door, but hearing Myung-hee, she paused. After letting out a sigh, she then turned to her and said.


    "Look Myung-hee, you''re a very smart person. Someone whom I''m lucky to have as an assistant. Even I think your talents are being wasted working for me.


    "When you offered to help me develop the Av1 Form that could help treat your son''s illness, I only agreed because the program was about to shut down and be counted as a failure. But this time it''s different. Numerous investors have poured time and money into this, investors who are very powerful and frightening.


    Even your government has shown interest in this program, and because of that I can''t just allow anyone on the team."


    With a ding and a green light, the office door was opened.


    Before entering, Madelyn continued.


    "I wasn''t able to give you credit for helping me develop the Av1 Form since someone without qualifications and authorization being involved in experiments would lead to an investigation and possibly the facility shutting down, but I gave you a share of the profits because I''m a good friend. I''m being a good friend now when I''m telling you to let this go.


    You can''t help me any more than you already have without something going wrong and I can''t have that. We''ve reached a significant breakthrough recently, so we''ll manage just fine without your help."


    After trying to dissuade Myung-hee from being involved, Madelyn was about to enter her office but Myung-hee suddenly spoke up.


    "This isn''t about getting recognition or money."


    Looking Madelyn in the eyes, Myung-hee continued to say.


    "It''s about the work, and it''s always been about that. I would sacrifice anything for it."


    A sad expression appeared on Madelyn''s face as she heard that before she said.


    "I''m sorry Myung-hee, not this time."


    With a click, the door closed in front of Myung-hee''s face.


    "Well, I''m sorry too."


    An angry light flickered across Myung-hee''s eyes as she mumbled those words.


    Sharply turning on her heels, a determined look was present on her face as she left the area.


    Soon after, her figure could be seen walking into the female''s bathroom.


    Not five minutester, emergency rms started ring across the entire five-acre facility.


    People were then seen rushing out of that bathroom into the hall, coughing profusely as smoke furiously bellow out of the open door.


    While the screams of the panicking people in the hallway rang out, Myung-Hee could be seen in the middle covering her face.


    She looked around for a brief moment before going in another direction from the exit the security guards nearby were ushering people towards.

 Chapter 6- Found You

    Everywhere was dark, the only light being the red monotonous shes along the corridors.


    With each turn Myung-hee made she nced up at the various cameras.


    At thest corner, she turned but had to hurriedly rush behind it once again.


    "What''s happening?"


    "I don''t know, the fire rm just went off."


    "But there was no fire on the cameras. Stay here and monitor the situation, I''ll go check what''s going on. But if you see anything on the monitors, quickly get out of here, okay?"


    "Yes, boss."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    A young and old security guard was talking in front of a door before the old security guard hurriedly left.


    Thankfully it was in the opposite direction and not where Myung-hee was hiding.


    Moving from behind the corner she quickly approached the door.


    She nced through the small window on the door to see the young security guard inside with his back turned to the door.


    An anxious expression appeared on Myung-hee''s face as she looked around. Her eyes suddenly stopped on the fire extinguisher on the wall nearby.


    The young security guard was skimming through the camera videos to see what exactly happened. He focused on a monitor that was showing a female''s bathroom, and skipping forward he saw that smoke was suddenly billowing out and people rushing outside.


    ''This was purposely instigated?''


    His eyes narrowed, and he continued to watch the people in the hallway for anyone suspicious.


    His eyes happened to catch sight of Myung-hee heading away from everyone else but the camera was blocked by smoke so he couldn''t see her face clearly.


    The security guard went to check the other cameras along the halls, but at the same time, the door behind him suddenly burst open.


    "Who?!"


    The guard yelled and pulled the gun by his side, but as he turned around only white smoke greeted him and he was blinded.


    "Ahh!! My eyes!!"


    The security guard covered his eyes and backed away but ended up bumping into the desk behind him.


    Myung-hee took this opportunity when he was blinded to hit him over the head with the fire extinguisher. A sickening crack echoed out as it made contact with the man''s skull, instantly knocking him out.


    Myung-hee hadbored breaths but she threw down the fire extinguisher and went to the desk with the dozen monitors.


    Myung-Hee had worn her ck gloves and she tapped away at the keyboard. With a few clicks of the mouse, a pop-up screen appeared on the center monitor.


    "Enter Identification To Shut Down Monitor System."


    Myung-hee seeing this quickly went back to the security guard to retrieve his key card. She then swiped it through a key slot nearby and the pop-up disappeared to reveal another one that said¡­


    "Are You Sure You Want To Shut Down Monitor System?"


    "Yes/No"


    Myung-Hee went to click ''Yes'' with the mouse but paused her actions.


    "Wait¡­"


    After releasing that mumble, she paused shutting down the monitor system and instead went to erase thest twenty minutes of the selected monitors she passed and memorized.


    When that was done, she watched as the monitors all turned ck one by one.


    Fixing her handbag over her shoulder, Myung-hee then rushed out of the security station and towards her true goal.


    While sneaking around, she had to hide inside rooms from a few security guards who were escorting people outside.


    "Let''s go! Let''s go!"


    A few people passed by the door she was in before she exited.


    The rms were still ring as she walked along the empty hallways. It gave her an unnerving feeling, but she moved forwards as fast as she could, nheless.


    She soon reached a restricted area of thepound that had numerous signs that said no trespassing without authorization.


    Stopping at a cross-section, Myung-hee looked to the left and right of her before she took the right path.


    She quickly approached a huge and intimidating metal door. Without any hesitation, Myung-hee searched through her handbag to take out a key card.


    As she did, a memory reyed in her mind.


    She was waiting outside the bathroom for Madelyn while holding herb coat. She had stealthily removed the key card clipped to her cor and reced it with one that looked extremely identical.


    That scene came right before she chased after Madelyn begging her to be let onto the program.


    Remembering that the key card she bought from that gang had actually worked when Madelyn entered her office, Myung-hee only snorted and said.


    "I didn''t trust them to give me a working key card, so I decided to swap them. That was my original intention anyway, so it didn''t matter if it worked or not."


    Myung-hee then ced the stolen key card on the door''s scanner and with a confirmation click and a green light, it slowly opened.


    As it did, white mist escaped the room along with a freezing chill, showing just how cold the temperature inside was.


    "The experimental pills need a cold environment to stay inactive. I understood that when I saw the papers about it, but why so cold? Has the pill be more unstable?"


    Myung-hee''s breath came out in white puffs as she spoke to herself in the room.


    Looking around, there were specially designed hazmat suits on the wall for the cold, but she decided to ignore them since there was no time to follow protocol.


    The entire room was filled with science equipment, but what immediately caught her eye was the separate room at the back.


    Approaching the door, she looked through the small ss window to see a single desk in the room that had a metal tray on top of it.


    Seeing the grey pills on the metal tray, her heart fluttered.


    "Found you."


    Myung-hee went to open the door, but she struggled to scan the key card as her hands were trembling. Not from the cold, but from the adrenaline pumping through her body due to excitement.


    She soon managed to open the door and enter, but immediately felt the temperature drop even more.


    On the room''s walls, there was even frost present.


    Theb coat Myung-Hee was wearing didn''t do anything about the cold, but she was only focused on the metal tray.


    Her eyes trembled as she dug through her handbag and took out a brown medicinal bottle that had white pills inside.


    Taking up one of the various holding tools nearby, she picked up one of the seven gray pills and ced it inside the already-opened medicinal bottle.

 Chapter 7- Av13 Serum

    After putting the medicinal bottle back into her handbag, Myung-hee turned to leave as she got what she came for.


    However, something suddenly came over her.


    "If I can''t work on this, why should anyone else?"


    A ridiculing smile appeared on Myung-hee''s lips before she turned back to the table and flipped over the metal tray.


    With a loud tter, the pills went scattering everywhere, but Myung-Hee found them one by one and stomped on them with her heels. By the time she was finished her feet were in pain.


    She then finished it off by flipping over the table as well, causing a mess in the entire room.


    Walking out of a separate room, Myung-hee felt that her anger hadn''t subsided. Looking around for a moment, she grabbed a Bunsen Burner and after looking through a row of ss cabs she took out several vials.


    She then threw those vial bottles on the ground shattering them. Then lit the Bunsen Burner and threw it onto the ground.


    Immediately, the liquid inside the bottle caught on fire and soon spread throughout the room.


    Before she left, Myung-hee did one final thing. She looked through a cab of documents and found one that was titled Av13 Serum.


    Taking out her phone she hurriedly took pictures of the pages before she threw the document into the fire.


    She then left, but not before looking back with a small smile on her lips as the room went up in mes.


    "Let''s go! Everyone out! Everyone out!"


    At the entrance of the HBTR Labs, Myung-hee was seen moving through the rushing crowd.


    As she exited the building, she saw police cars and fire trucks parked out front.


    Suddenly, exmations of shock swept across the crowd and a few people pointed at the billowing smoke and mesing from a section of HBTR Labs.


    "FOOL!! I thought you said this was a false rm!!"


    "It was!"


    "Right, right, but then what the hell am I looking at?!!"


    A firefighter could be heard yelling at an old security guard before he turned and addressed his crew.


    "Everyone be prepared to go in and get the hose ready, NOW!!"


    In the middle of all the noise and chaos, Myung-hee was seen twisting and turning as she moved through the crowd of people.


    "Excuse me, ma''am! Ma''am, excuse me!"


    Myung-hee jumped as a security guard grabbed her shoulder.


    "I''m sorry ma''am but would youe this way, please."


    The security guard motioned to an area to the side where people with bags were being searched.


    Fixing the handbag around her shoulder, Myung-hee said defensively.


    "What for? Are you people seriously doing this in the middle of a crisis?"


    "I''m sorry ma''am but it was ordered by the Lab Chief."


    Hearing that, Myung-hee only hesitated for a brief moment before she headed over to where everyone was being checked.


    After some time, she was next in line. At the front, Madelyn was standing by the side with an apprehensive look on her face. Meanwhile, the security guard next to her was searching through a male worker''sputer bag.


    Seeing that nothing was in the man''s bag Madelyn dismissively waved her hand and said.


    "You''re free to go."


    As Myung-hee stepped up next, Madelyn saw her, and she took the initiative to approach her.


    "Oh my god, Myung-hee are you alright? You''re not hurt, are you?"


    Madelyn''s expression was full of worry as she came up to Myung-hee and hugged her.


    "I''m not hurt, I''m fine."


    "That''s good to hear. You don''t mind being searched, right? I can''t let something that isn''t supposed to leave thisb be taken away by someone."


    "No-no, of course not, I understand this is standard procedure."


    Myung-hee said reassuringly, but in her chest, her heart was beating wildly causing loud thuds to echo in her ears. She happened to nce towards the Swat Team that were off to the side fully armed with guns.


    From the fact that they were here, it showed just how important this ce was to someone high up in the government.


    Myung-hee handed her bag to the security guard doing checks.


    The guard wasted no time opening it and taking out the contents before cing them on a table close by.


    Soon, the brown pill bottle appeared in the security guard''s hand.


    Myung-hee''s breath hitched in her throat as the security guard asked with a serious expression.


    "What''s this?"


    Madelyn to the side saw the pill bottle and hurriedly spoke up.


    "Oh, it''s your son''s pills. It''s alright, she has permission from me to take those when she needs to."


    Turning away from the guard to Myung-hee, Madelyn asked.


    "How is your son by the way? Have the pills been helping him?"


    Myung-hee took her handbag the security guard handed back to her before she smiled and responded.


    "It''s working for the most part, if only he remembers to take them at school."


    Madelyn smiled at that before saying.


    "That pill was developed to treat children diagnosed with schizophrenia early on. We spected that the drug would be more effective when the illness is developing in children at an early age. However, such an illness is unpredictable and could be caused by several factors even as an adult.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    We''re still looking into the problem, but I''m d your son is getting the help he needs since calls wereing in saying it wasn''t treating people who hadn''t developed it at an early age. So, I guess your son is lucky in some twisted way."


    Myung-hee, hearing the concern Madelyn showed for her son, smiled a genuine smile and said.


    "Thank you, Madelyn. For everything you''ve done for me and my family."


    Madelyn softly rubbed Myung-hee''s shoulder in aforting manner and went to speak, but a firefighter suddenly approached the area in a hurry.


    "Ms. Evergreen, the section of the facility has been confirmed. It''s the north wing section."


    Hearing that, Madelyn''s face immediately drained of blood and a frantic expression appeared on her face.


    "No-no-no-no, this can''t be happening!"


    Madelyn rushed past the firefighter to go see for herself the damage done to theb.


    After watching Madelyn leave, Myung-hee hefted her handbag up her shoulder before she turned to walk towards the parking lot where her car was.

 Chapter 8- Caught Red Handed

    With a few scribbles, Ms. Choi wrote down Jin-woo''s name under ss VP.


    "So, there''s not two, but three stars in my ssroom! Now that the ss President and ss VP are selected, I''ll leave you students to mingle."


    Ding~ Ding~ Ding~


    Hearing the bell signaling for lunch, Ms. Choi showed a surprised expression before saying.


    "Oh, and just in time. Everyone can go grab lunch, the cafeteria is open just for you first-years.


    "Ye-jun and Jin-woo, I need your help for a moment before you two leave for lunch."


    Jin-woo got up and left with Ms. Choi but not before looking at Mai-sun with displeasure. He noticed as he left that more than a few people were looking at him.


    Getting the VP of the ss was more attention than he wanted. He had wanted to refuse, but Ms. Choi had already made the decision before even asking if he wanted it.


    What''s with her?


    Jin-woo followed her along the halls, while next to him was the handsome Ye-Jun who was busy fixing his sses.


    "Hey, Jin cheer up, maybe getting VP will get you some friends."


    Jin-woo ignored Seong who was walking next to him as well. For a hallucination, he was too optimistic.


    After walking in silence for some time, the group reached the teachers'' office and entered.


    Walking by the other teachers'' desks, Ms. Choi would get greetings from the other teachers, expressing their jealousy for her getting assigned ss 1A.


    Both Ye-Jun and Jin-woo stood in front of the desk while Ms. Choi shuffled a few papers around.


    "I''m sorry to ask this of you both, but could you carry a few boxes to the Science Lab and Computer Lab?"


    Ms. Choi pointed at five boxes filled with various equipment and books nearby.


    Ye-Jun smiled and said.


    "It''s no trouble, Ms. Choi, as the ss President you can rely on me in the future."


    Ye-Jun then turned to Jin-woo and said.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I''ll go to the Computer Lab; you head to the Science Lab."


    Without waiting for a response from him, Ye-Jun went to pick up the two boxesbeledputerb.


    Jin-woo ignored themanding tone of Ye-Jun and took up the remaining three boxes. Despite being quite heavy, he was rtively rxed as he carried them. Soon he and Ye-Jun were walking along the hall with a deafening silence hanging between them.


    Suddenly, Ye-Jun spoke up to break the silence.


    "Jin-woo, right? What''s your rtionship with Mai-sun? Surely, you two aren''t dating, right?"


    "Wow, look at this guy."


    Seong suddenly said as he walked next to Ye-Jun and stared at him up close.


    "No."


    Jin-woo answered bluntly.


    Looking at Jin-woo with a look that said he wasn''t convinced, Ye-Jun then said.


    "Really? But it doesn''t seem that way to me."


    "Why are you asking me this?"


    Jin-woo turned to look at Ye-Jun for the first time. They both stared at each other for a moment before Ye-Jun looked away and said.


    "I asked her out, but she rejected me. I was wondering if she has a boyfriend, and I thought it might be you when I also saw how close she''s acting to you in ss. She even gave the ss VP position to you."


    The corner where they separated to go to the different Labs came up and the two paused.


    "Ha! This bastard, so that''s his deal."


    In the middle of this tense atmosphere, Seong suddenly spoke up. He looked amused by the situation as he ced a hand on Jin-woo''s shoulder.


    Ignoring him, Jin-woo responded.


    "I''m not her boyfriend. Our parents just know each other from work so we met often in middle school, that''s all. We couldn''t even be called friends."


    Bncing the two boxes with one hand, Ye-Jun fixed his sses before he said.


    "Good¡­ I was honestly worried over nothing. How could she ever be interested in a freak like you?"


    He then turned and walked away, leaving Jin-woo to look at his back with an expressionless face.


    "Forget that guy, and I take back what I said about his speech being great. He seems like the type to put on a nice boy facade while being rotten and disgusting on the inside."


    Jin-woo looked away and continued to the Science Lab. It took him a minute or two of looking around, but he eventually found it.


    Having his hands full, Jin-woo struggled to open the sliding door with his indoor shoes.


    "I would help, but¡­"


    Seong who was nearby said with a shrug.


    "I appreciate the thought."


    With a soft click, Jin-woo managed to open the unlockedb door. But as he pushed it open further with his foot and was about to enter, weird, muffled voices suddenly entered his ears.


    "Ahh, yes~ yes~ Fuck me harder, ahh~ ahh~"


    Jin-woo stopped in his tracks and looked up to see a couple having sex on one of the many desks in the Lab. He couldn''t help but stand therepletely frozen in shock.


    The man having sex with the girl had his back to him, while the girl was being blocked from seeing him. This caused them to continue without knowing someone had entered the room.


    "Ahh, cuming-I''m cuming."


    The man grunted out.


    "Ahh~"


    The girl moaned in pleasure as her head leaned back while taking the man''s load. She then came back up to kiss the man, however, this allowed her to see over his shoulder that the door was wide open with Jin-woo standing there staring at them nkly.


    The girl''s face went pale white before she involuntarily let out a scream while pushing the man away to cover up her exposed breasts.


    The man seeing her reaction, turned around to see Jin-woo, hisid dick in clear view. But luckily for Jin-woo who was too frozen in shock to have the thought to turn away, the man was quick to pull up his pants.


    Completely enraged that he was caught in this situation the man angrily yelled at Jin-woo.


    "Fucking kid, get out and close the door!!"


    Jin-woo didn''t need to be told twice and he hurriedly stepped back before closing the door with his foot. His heart was racing with nervousness as he stood there, not believing he had just witnessed that.


    Meanwhile, Seong had a frozen expression on his face as he stared at the closed door. He slowly turned to Jin-woo and asked.


    "You saw that right? That girl the teacher was having sex with was a student, right?"

 Chapter 9- You’re Not Real

    "Obviously I saw Seong, and that teacher is¡­"


    The door was pulled open and Jin-woo stepped to the side as the girl hurriedly left the room with her head down.


    Soon, the teacher came out to stand in front of Jin-woo, a rolled-up attendance book in hand and a dark look on his face.


    He silently stood there looking at Jin-woo for a moment before asking.


    "What''s your name and ss?"


    "Don''t say anything! This adulterer and pedo doesn''t recognize you, if he does our school life is really done for!" Seong immediately yelled.


    Seeing Jin-woo''s silence, the teacher''s hand tightened around the folded attendance book, and with a whack, he hit Jin-woo over the head.


    "You''re not answering a teacher when you''ve been asked a question? Are kids nowadays so disrespectful to us teachers? Huh? Answer me!"


    Whack¡­ Whack¡­


    Jin-woo had his head lowered as he silently epted the hits, but his hands gripped the bottom of the boxes he was holding.


    "This damn old thing!" Seong yelled angrily and red at the teacher.


    After pping Jin-woo consecutively a few times, the teacher suddenly grabbed Jin-woo''s face and lifted it.


    "Look at me you little brat."


    The teacher''s eyes were wide with a threatening look in them.


    "Don''t you dare mention this to anyone, do you understand me?"


    While being forcefully backed up against the wall, Jin-woo stared at this teacher with a passive expression on his face. His eyes then happened to nce at the name tag on his shirt that said ''Teacher Park.''


    Seo-Joon''s father.


    Not getting a response from him, a frustrated expression appeared on Teacher Park''s face, and he squeezed harder leaving red marks on Jin-woo''s cheeks. Especially from his wedding ring on his finger.


    However, someone suddenly called from a distance.


    "Is something wrong here?"


    Both Jin-woo and Teacher Park turned to see a middle-aged man in a white coat walking towards them.


    Teacher Park let go of Jin-woo with a frown.


    "Jin-woo, are you okay?"


    Jin-woo slowly nodded. After seeing this, the man then turned to Teacher Park and said with a frown.


    "Teacher Park, this is no way to treat students. If I see something like this happen again, I''ll have to report you."


    However, Teacher Park wasn''t listening to him. His ears perked up at hearing Jin-woo''s name.


    "Oh, so you are Lee Song-ho''s son, you should have said so sooner."


    Teacher Park said that with a smile, but there was something in his voice that sounded extremely threatening. Not to mention the way he said Jin-woo''s father''s name, it sounded like there were some bitter resentments in his voice.


    Afterward, Teacher Park indifferently looked at the man who was still frowning at him. He then simply brushed past him and walked away saying nothing to him, rather he left a few parting words to Jin-woo.


    "Kids like you should know when to listen to your teachers."


    After watching Teacher Park leave, the man turned to Jin-woo and asked with concern.


    "Jin-woo, what happened here? Did you do something to upset Teacher Park, or was it something else?"


    Jin-woo paused for a moment before he said.


    "It''s nothing, I just interrupted him when he was doing something."


    "Okay, here, let me take these boxes inside. Have you taken your medication yet? You need to go do that as soon as possible, and remember, if you need anything I''m at the nurse''s office, okay?"


    "Yeah, I know. Thanks, Mr. Soh."


    "No problem, it''s my job as the school nurse to take care of you students."


    With that, Mr. Soh entered the Science Lab while Jin-woo turned around and left in search of a bathroom before entering it. After quickly rushing into one of the stalls he sat on the toilet and clutched his knees. His breathing became morebored by the second.


    His hands soon tighten into fists making his knuckles white. His chest started to visibly rise and fall rapidly.


    Jin-woo closed his eyes and tried to calm his emotions, but the events from before just continued to rey in his mind.


    Having no way to release these pent-up emotions, Jin-woo suddenly got up and angrily mmed his fist against the stall doors. He repeatedly punched it until his knuckles actually started to bleed.


    "FUCK!!"


    m!


    "Who does that bastard think he is?!"


    m!


    "If it wasn''t for the fact that he was a Teacher I would have ripped his arm off for touching me with that hand!"


    m!


    With one final punch to the door, Jin-woo let out a pained wine.


    "Ah, my hand hurts."


    "Well, what do you expect if you punch the stall door like that," Seong said from outside.


    "Shut up, I don''t want to hear that from my own hallucination."


    Jin-woo responded as he came out of the stall. At the same time a beeping sound suddenly came from the watch around his wrist.


    Without looking at the watch, Jin-woo dismissed the rm beforeing up to the sink. He allowed the water to run over his sore knuckles which caused him to wince in pain. He also washed his face, finding it disgusting Teacher Park actually grabbed it with his hand. Afterward, he examined his cheeks where the red finger marks his fingers made were beginning to fade somewhat.


    Sighing, Jin-woo then reached into his pocket and took out the small clear bag with his pill medication. After he took the pill with some of the water from the sink, Seong behind him faded in and out for a brief moment before his body stabilized.


    Without opening his eyes, Jin-woo asked.


    "Are you still there?"


    "You tell me Jin."


    Hearing Seong''s voice immediately respond, Jin-woo covered his face with his handspletely defeated.


    "Why are you still here, why won''t you just go away."


    "That''s no way to treat your best friend, Jin."


    Jin-woo turned and angrily yelled at Seong.


    "No, you''re not! What did you find out that day when we were at the library that made you so excited? Why did you keep telling me in the car to wait until we got home for you to tell me? If you can answer this then I''ll believe you''re real!"


    Seong looked at Jin-woo who looked agitated and was on the verge of crying. He hesitated. After a moment he slowly said.


    "I don''t know, I can''t remember."


    "No, just stop. It''s not that you can''t remember, it''s because I don''t know. Seong diedst year and I''m only seeing you because my brain''s messed up. I might react to your presence but you''re not real."


    Jin-woo suddenly walked over to Seong and grabbed his hand. He then lifted it up and turned to the mirror over the sinks.


    The image of himself weirdly holding nothing but empty air could be seen.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "See? Nothing. I can feel your hand, your warmth, but you aren''t real."


    "Ahh!"


    Jin-woo squeezed Seong''s hand causing him to release a yelp, but that was just part of his hallucination as well. Perhaps deep down his brain wanted Seong to be real despite everything he said.


    Jin-woo looked at Seong''s face and felt a stabbing pain in his heart making him lower his head.


    "I''m going crazy talking to myself. You''re not real, but why do I wish you were? Instead of you, I wish the real Seong was here."


    Ovee with emotion, Jin-woo felt his eyes sting and tears began to form in them.


    Seong looked at Jin-woo, a sad expression appearing on his face.


    "Jin, I really wish I was."


    "I said shut up! Don''t talk-"


    Before Jin-woo could finish his words, the bathroom door was suddenly pushed open hard causing it to m against the door stopper.


    "Oh look! It''s the school''s freak!"


    As bad timing would have it, Seo-joon and his crew just walked in.

 Chapter 10- First Fight In High School

    Immediately as Seo-joon and his twockeys entered the bathroom the smell of cigarettes forced its way into Jin-woo''s nostrils.


    "Damn it, why did this bastard of all peoplee to this random bathroom to smoke? Didn''t we already have to deal with his father just now? How miserable."


    Seong said, nervousness and frustration evident in his voice.


    "There''s three of them, you can take them if they jump you right?"


    Jin-woo didn''t answer Seong and only stared at Seo-joon with an expressionless face.


    Seo-joon ced the cigarette between his lips before he slowly made his way over to Jin-woo. He stopped in front of him then took the cigarette from his mouth and looked down.


    He was slightly taller than Jin-woo.


    Then, contrary to blowing the smoke in Jin-woo''s face, Seo-joon suddenly turned his head to the side and blew. Afterward, he smiled and said with augh.


    "Haha, freak don''t look at me like that, is it because of the cigarette? Right, right, I remember you saying something about hating them back in our middle school Track Club. You were so vulnerable with me that time, don''t worry I''ll get rid of it now."


    Seo-joon wore an apologetic expression, but he held the cigarette by its bud and waved it in front of Jin-woo''s face. His words did not match his actions, amon theme for Seo-joon in his arsenal of torment.


    "What? You don''t believe me when I''m trying to be so considerate?"


    Seo-joon said when he saw that Jin-woo was still staring at him coldly. The cigarette he held was still close to Jin-woo''s face. The twockeys at the back who were smoking as well snickered when they saw this.


    Seo-joon patted Jin-woo''s shoulder while saying in a hurt tone.


    "I really mean it Jin, I''ll put it out now, okay? Just stick out your tongue."


    Seo-joon''s pat suddenly turned into him grabbing the back of Jin-woo''s head. Jin-woo immediately acted and grabbed Seo-joon''s other hand that wanted to burn him with the cigarette.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The twockeys flicked their cigarettes into the sinks before moving forward to grab Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo tried to step back but Seo-joon''s hand around the back of his neck wasn''t budging.


    Eyes turning even colder, Jin-woo regted one of his hands that was holding back Seo-joon''s hand to direct a punch to Seo-joon''s left side.


    "Ugh¡­ fuck¡­"


    Seo-joon''s hand instinctively let go of Jin-woo''s neck and he stumbled back while clutching his side. His cigarette fell to the ground as well.


    The twockeys angrily approached, one of them stepping on the cigarette crushing it as he nted his feet firmly and swung for Jin-woo''s head.


    Free to retreat, Jin-woo took a step back and pulled his head out of the way in time for the firstckey''s fist to swing past his face. Jin-woo wasn''t one to act passively, he was already pissed off way before they came. His leg struck out with impable timing, aiming to kick the firstckey in his stomach. However, the secondckey took this opportunity to aim a fist at his face.


    Jin-woo abandoned his kick and lifted his forearm to block the fist.


    The sound of flesh meeting flesh through clothing was heard in the bathroom. A numbing sensation immediately ran through Jin-woo''s forearm, but he ignored it and made another move. His arms opened to lock the secondckey''s hand before he could pull it back.


    "Fucker¡­!"


    The secondckey became slightly off bnce as he was dragged over. Jin-woo used him as a shield to stop the firstckey that recovered and was approaching. Afterward his leg kicked out and this time it connected. Due to the force of the kick to his stomach, the secondckey released a groaned as he flew back into the first one, who was knocked over in the process.


    "Yeah! Get those bastards! Fuck them up!"


    This entire time Seong was cheering noisily for Jin-woo in the back, but Jin-woo was more annoyed by the distraction than anything.


    Seo-joon had already recovered and he walked over to his twockeys that just made a fool out of themselves.


    "You two idiots can''t even beat this freak. Well, it''s not anything new."


    The firstckey helped the second one up who was rubbing his chest. Both of them red murderously at Jin-woo before moving forward with Seo-joon.


    "Damn it, three against one, fight fair you delinquent bastards!"


    Seong yelled when he saw that the situation was turning for the worse.


    Jin-woo looked coldly at Seo-joon and his twockeys approaching. He raised his fists in a boxing stance not willing to go down with a fight.


    Seo-joon upon seeing thisughed out loud and said.


    "Haha, right, a Track prodigy, a Boxing prodigy, a Taekwondo prodigy. You had names like that back in middle school, huh? Mister Athletic! Mister Multitalented! The middle schooler who even outshone his seniors in High School! Haha, but now everyone sees you for what you really are, a freak.


    Good thing that bastard is dead, what was his name again? Ah~ Who cares, he was pretty annoying. He was the one who always broke us up before the teachers were called in these situations, right? But not anymore."


    Seo-joon grinned as he stared at Jin-woo who had be angry. However, if one was paying attention to Seo-joon''s voice one would be able to tell it slightly dropped an octave when he said thosest words, while an imperceptible emotion flickered past his eyes.


    Jin-woo''s body had long begun to tremble at the mention of Seong and his eyes turned red as he red murderously at Seo-joon. He dropped his boxing stance and suddenly charged at Seo-joon in a blind rage.


    "No! Fuck, snap out of it Jin, that''s what he wants!"


    Seong tried to stop Jin-woo but obviously failed.


    Jin-woo pounced on Seo-joon and the two fell onto the ground with Jin-woo on top.


    Like a crazed bear mauling a hunter that took a shot at it unprovoked, Jin-woo unleashed a fury of punches at Seo-joon''s face.


    Unfortunately, Seo-joon was ready and had already guarded his face with his forearms. Worse, the twockeys took this opportunity to attack an unguarded Jin-woo.


    What happened next wasn''t a surprise.


    Sounds of ferocious beatings echoed out in the bathroom and softly drifted out into the empty hallway.


    This was a somewhat secluded bathroom that was some distance away from the Science Lab. On normal days, there would be students passing by this area, but this wasn''t a normal day, so not many people were walking by to hear the loud shouts and fighting inside.


    Step¡­ Step¡­ Step¡­


    After some time, Mr. Soh, the male nurse who had helped Sol earlier, happened to being by here from Science Lab.


    As he was passing by the bathroom, he heard a shout and he stopped. However, just then, the bell signaling lunch was almost over went off.


    "Ah, already? I haven''t even eaten those delicious sandwiches yet!"


    Mr. Soh forgot about the shout he heard from the bathroom and turned to hurry to his office.

 Chapter 11- Someone Broken

    Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­


    Seo-joon knelt over Jin-woo while breathing heavily. He looked down at Jin-woo who was on his back, his face bloodied beyond recognition. He then nced at his bloody knuckles, a frown appearing on his face as he was finally feeling the pain after his adrenaline wore off.


    After shaking his hands to relieve the dull pain, Seo-joon leaned down and started taking out Jin-woo''s contacts. However, Jin-woo who was somehow still conscious weakly grabbed his hands in an attempt to stop him.


    "*Tsk¡­* Even in this state you''re still resisting? Hold him down."


    The twockeys who had been watching from the side moved forward without a word and held down Jin-woo''s hands. Not long after, Seo-joon took out Jin-woo''s contacts before getting up and heading to one of the stalls. The sound of a toilet flushing could be heard before Seo-joon walked out.


    Walking over to Jin-woo, Seo-jun looked at his wrist and saw the watch. His brows instantly creased for some reason when heid eyes on it. Bending down he took the watch from Jin-woo and pocketed it without a word. After that he started patting down Jin-woo''s pockets. He even opened his zer and searched its inside pockets.


    However, even after searching all of Jin-woo''s pockets, he didn''t find what he was looking for.


    "Looks like you already took it. "


    "Hyung, I saw a small bag on the sink."


    "Hm?"


    Seo-joon raised an eyebrow upon hearing Lackey One''s words. He got up and looked around the sink. Sure enough, he saw a small clear white bag on one of the sinks'' edges.


    Seo-joon picked up the clear white bag and said annoyed.


    "He really took it. Seems like I got here toote."


    Seo-joon threw the clear white bag over his shoulder before looking down at Jin-woo still sprawled on the ground. He tilted his head in thought before saying.


    "Take off his clothes."


    Amused expressions appeared on the twockeys'' faces and they took off Jin-woo''s unbuttoned zer. They were then about to take off his white shirt, but when Seo-joon saw that they were about to rip the buttons he stopped them.


    "Whoa, whoa, unbutton his shirt first. Do you know how hard it is to sew buttons back on? Even I''m not that cruel!"


    Seo-joon crouched down in front of Jin-woo after saying this before taking out a cigarette to smoke.


    The twockeys did as he said and began unbuttoning Jin-woo''s shirt. This action seemed to trigger Jin-woo as he began to struggle again, this time more fiercely. However, it was useless, he could barely feel his arms and his head was so fuzzy that he could barely coordinate those arms.


    It didn''t take long for the twockeys to unbutton Jin-woo''s shirt, but as they pulled it open to take it off him, their hands paused momentarily when they saw the bruises and cigarette burns on his torso.


    They didn''t remember hitting him in the areas where they saw the bruises, and neither did they put out their cigarettes on him, even in the past when they picked on him, they never thought to do something like that.


    Seo-joon''s actions before likely weren''t serious.


    Though rather than bullying, the twockeys would call this sort of thing a sparring match, since Jin-woo wasn''t so weak as to allow himself to be bullied. It had even be some sort of rivalry for them to fight at least once a day to varying degrees, sometimes they''d win and sometimes they''d lose.


    If they really went and did something like put out cigarettes on him, then he might corner them when Seo-joon wasn''t around, which they naturally dreaded.


    Even Seo-joon paused smoking his cigarette when he saw those bruises.


    "You guys head back to ss first."


    Seo-joon suddenly broke the silence between them.


    The twockeys nced at each other and hesitated, but Seo-joon calmly said.


    "Did your ears stop working all of a sudden or something?"


    Even though Seo-joon wasn''t looking at them, nor was there anger in his voice, the twockeys'' hearts skipped a beat.


    "Then we''ll see you in ss, Hyung."


    Lackey two said as he and Lackey One got up and left the bathroom.


    Silence then fell in the room and Seo-joon smoked his cigarette while looking at Jin-woo who was starting to move.


    After what felt like forever, Jin-woo made his way to the wall nearby and propped himself against it.


    He ignored Seo-joon''s presence and with trembling hands tried to button up his shirt.


    Seo-joon only smoked his cigarette and watched him silently trying and failing to even get one button done.


    Suddenly, Seo-joon snickered and strangely suggested.


    "Let me help you with that."


    He then fixed the cigarette between his lips before he got up and walked over to Jin-woo. After crouching next to him, he pushed Jin-woo''s hands away and then began buttoning his shirt.


    Jin-woo didn''t react to Seo-joon''s strange actions. First was because this wasn''t the first time Seo-joon did something like this, and second was that in his current state, Jin-woo couldn''t even stop him if he wanted to.


    "There you go¡­"


    Seo-joon said and patted Jin-woo''s right cheek after finishing buttoning his shirt. He then got up and walked over to the sink to wash his bloody knuckles. While looking at the blood being washed from his hands, he spoke again.


    "It looks like that old man of yours is kicking your ass at home. You''re getting beaten up at school and home, you have a sad life Jin. I almost feel bad for you¡­ Almost."


    Jin-woo didn''t respond, no, he wasn''t even listening to Seo-joon.


    "That bastard, what''s his deal?"


    However, that didn''t stop Seong from voicing his current thoughts. He was ring at Seo-joon as he sat next to Jin-woo and leaned on the wall with him.


    "Hey, are you okay Jin? Don''t listen to that guy, he doesn''t know anything. If I wasn''t like this, I would have-"


    "Just shut up. I said you''re not real so stop talking like you are."


    Jin-woo said cutting off Seong. However, even though he was muttering, Seo-joon had heard him. He paused washing his hand at Jin-woo''s first sentence, and he nned to turn around to continue where he left off beating him, but upon hearing Jin-woo''s next words his head snapped up and he looked at him through the mirror.


    Seo-joon stared at Jin-woo as if waiting for him to speak again, but after seeing that he was staying silent with his head down, he looked away.


    "Freak."


    Seo-joon muttered before he flicked his finished cigarette into the sink and walked out of the bathroom. However, he said something aloud as he left.


    "We''ll be seeing each other for the entire year, see you tomorrow friend-killer~"


    Jin-woo''s body visibly jerked at Seo-joon''s words.


    Seo-joon''sughter echoed right after and lingered in the bathroom for a moment before fading away.


    It took nearly an hour for Jin-woo to regain the strength to stand up. After cleaning up his appearance the best he could, he left the bathroom and headed for his ssroom to grab his bag.


    The first years who hade for their Entrance Ceremony were already leaving after lunch. Lunchtime was already over so the halls were devoid of people as Jin-woo headed for his ssroom.


    After reaching ss 1A, Jin-woo slid open the door and entered.


    No one was inside.


    Jin-woo walked to his desk and picked up his bag. As he was about to leave the ssroom he reached into his bag and took out a mask. He then left the ssroom after wearing it and walked down the empty halls to leave school.


    At the front gate, there were still a few kids loitering aroundughing and chatting. Jin-woo walked past them and stopped at an empty spot just outside the school gate.


    Seong who had been silently following him had begun fading away after passing the gate.


    Seong gazed at Jin-woo''s back as he opened his mouth and said.


    "See you tomorrow, Jin."


    After that, hepletely disappeared.


    Jin-woo felt a bitter feeling rose in his heart.


    Seong died at the start of the winter break, merely three months ago. It took his mother forcing him to go to school to take the Entrance Exams that he left the house for the first time. But it was then that Seong suddenly appeared for the first time, and he had a panic attack in front of everyone.


    He was able to calm down and eventually take the exams, but news had already begun to spread about him seeing his dead friend before freaking out. But that wasn''t even the end of it as rumors started going around about how he was the reason Seong died and that''s why he had be crazy.


    His once ster reputation had drastically changed. The people who had once looked at him with admiration for his athletic ability and felt sympathy when they found out about his condition now looked at him with caution and disgust.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Seong had been like a mediator between him and everyone else in the world. He had helped him, hid him from prying eyes whenever he had an episode. It had even gotten to a point where Seong could pinpoint potential triggers and shield him before they affected him. If he wasn''t able to stop it before his episode happened, he would be the only person who could calm him down.


    Seong made him feel normal when he wasn''t.


    However, he had be dependent on him and now without him, without a mediator between him and the outside world, everyone was free to see who he really was¡­ someone broken.


    Jin-woo''s grip tightened around his bag straps as he walked off. His mother was the one who usually picked him up from school, but that was in the past.


    Jin-woo fitted his hands inside his pocket and decided to head to a nearby bus stop to get home.

 Chapter 12- I Need Your Help

    *Click¡­*


    The sound of the front door being opened by a key could be heard before Myung-hee hurried inside. She was in such a rush to get into her house that she forgot to lock her garage door.


    After entering the house, she mmed the door shut and with quick steps she passed the bedroom she shared with her husband and made her way to her home office. However, as she made her way there, said husband had woken up from the door mming.


    Sung-ho sat up from the couch in the living room and saw that the person who woke him up was his wife. He frowned at being woken up, but also from confusion as to why his wife was home so early. Though he didn''t intend to ask, he was about toy back down and drift to sleep. However, his stomach felt empty after not eating or drinking anything all day except beer.


    "Hey, do you have any money in that purse?"


    Myung-hee paid her husband no mind as she pulled out a key from her handbag before unlocking the office door and then entering.


    Sung-ho didn''t give up. He got up and walked over to the office door and began knocking on it rather loudly.


    "Hey, didn''t you hear what I said?!"


    His muffled voice traveled through the door and entered the room for Myung-hee to hear.


    Myung-hee grunted in annoyance at her husband''s actions before she continued to ignore him. She took out her phone from her handbag before she threw the handbag onto the couch that was in one corner of the room.


    On this couch was a ruffled nket and a small pillow. There was a small table next to it that had a half-eaten ramen atop it with chopsticks still sticking out of it. The two bookshelves at either side of the room that were supposed to be filled with books were instead filled with binding folders bursting with documents.


    The missing books in question were scattered around the floor of the room in stacked piles.


    More documents were spread out on the desk situated under the window at the back of the office, as well as scattered on the floor along with the books.


    Simply put, the room was a mess.


    Myung-hee hopped over the documents and books and made her way toward theputer on the desk. She was about to transfer the pictures she had taken of the Av13 Serum files, but her phone suddenly rang, startling her. But looking at the caller ID, Myung-hee felt her heart sink a little.


    After contemting for a moment, Myung-hee decided to swipe up and answer the call.


    "Hello, Madelyn?"


    "Myung-hee, I''m sorry but I need you toe back to the Lab."


    "Why, is something wrong?"


    Myung-hee felt her heart rise to her throat and she thought back on her actions wondering where she had gone wrong. However, to her relief, Madelyn responded.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Oh, nothing''s wrong. It''s just that I''ve decided to bring you on to that project you asked to join."


    "Really? I thought you said I couldn''t join before?"


    A sigh could be heard from the phone as Madelyn exined.


    "That was before. The fire that started today destroyed all of the physical research and even the samples of the Serum we managed to turn into consumable pills. All that was left was to test its effects, but this happened before we could.


    Thankfully we were able to save some of the digital research from theputer in the fire. The issue is, to prevent the Serum from leaking we kept most of the data physical. The digital data we recovered only has a basic outline of the Serum. We don''t even have the data on creating the consumable pills, so we essentially have to start from scratch. You''re one of the best Pharmaceutical Chemist I know, so if there is anyone who can help us recreate the Serum from the limited data we have it''s you.


    The higher-ups in charge of this project are really angry and I don''t know who else to turn to, will you help me Myung-hee?"


    Myung-hee could hear the desperation in Madelyn''s voice and she couldn''t help but crack a smile. However, she quicklyposed her emotions and said with sincerity.


    "Of course, of course I''m willing to help you, Madelyn, but I''m not sure if you should put so much trust in me. I don''t really know if I''ll be able to help that much, there must be more qualified people than me out there that could help, right?"


    "Myung-hee, don''t put yourself down. The higher-ups have called a few professionals from overseas to help, butpared to working with strangers, I feel more assured working with a friend. Plus, I can attest that your skills aren''t any less than those people."


    Myung-hee didn''t immediately respond, it seemed like she was hesitating.


    "I know you''re worried about being so openly involved while not having the proper qualifications as a Pharmaceutical Chemist, but with me leading the project no one would question your qualifications. Myung-hee please, I need your help."


    Madelyn said once again, and as if she had been convinced Myung-hee sighed and said.


    "Okay, I''ll be there soon."


    "Great! We can work on this as soon as you get to my office. Drive safely."


    "Okay, bye."


    After saying that, Myung-hee hung up the phone. Her hands squeezed her phone tightly while excitement spread across her face.


    To be honest this wasn''t part of her n.


    She had only wanted to steal a sample of the Av13 Serum and the research. With those, she would be able to work on the Serum herself. After perfecting it, she would find someone to sell thepleted research to and make a fortune.


    She was still wondering who to sell that information to, but she was sure she could find someone, after all, who wouldn''t want the opportunity to get their hands on a pill that could theoretically cure nearly eighty percent of the world''s illnesses?

 Chapter 13- Freezeframe

    When Myung-hee initially discovered what Madelyn was working on, she knew this was something that was going to change the world. She wanted to be a part of that, and if Madelyn didn''t want her to join then she would be the one to bring about that change.


    However, all of her scheming turned out to be for nothing.


    She had destroyed the research and the Av13 experimental pills out of anger, only to have Madelyn calling to bring her onto the project. Now she didn''t have to risk doing this illegally but legitimately create this pill.


    Myung-hee looked at her phone and then at her handbag on the couch. Suddenly an idea struck her.


    If she were to use this data and the pill, she not only would be able to recreate the Av13 Serum, but she would also be able to even lead the team in the creation of the finished product.


    Myung-hee hurriedly transferred the pictures from her phone to herputer. After she took out her sim from the phone and tossed it into her desk drawer. In the same drawer were several phones in boxes that were of a simr model to her phone.


    After taking out one of these unopened phones she ced her sim inside. Myung-hee then headed for her handbag and took out the bottle of her son''s medication pills that had the Av13 pill mixed inside. She left it on her desk before opening her office door to leave.


    However, as soon as she opened the door, she bumped into her husband who hadn''t given up.


    "Have you decided to stop ignoring me?"


    Myung-hee looked up at her husband''s face. This was the first time in three months that she was looking at him so closely, and she could hardly recognize the man in front of her.


    Unkempt hair, unshaven stubbles, and drool dripping at the side of his lips. But it wasn''t just his appearance that had changed, his personality had also changed.


    Her Husband had always been strict to the point of overbearing due to his profession, but he was also very principled and knew when not to force his views on others, because of that one could say that he was kind.


    However, after the ident that cost him his job, his strictness morphed into ill-tempered outbursts. All initially directed at himself only to move on to the world and the people around him, especially the one he deemed the cause of him losing his job.


    But this was a slow progress that took a while to ur, and she had watched it all as it happened while not being able to do anything, try as she might. Soon, she had reached her limit and had given up.


    In only three months their entire family had changed so drastically. Myung-hee herself had changed as well and she knew it. With the pressure of looking after an ill-tempered husband, a sick child who needed constant supervision after a traumatic event, and a job that demanded keen focus. With all of that, she simply couldn''t bear it.


    Myung-hee had to choose, and she chose her job. She no longer took on a mother role or a wife role and instead buried her head in her work.


    Myung-hee justified this by telling herself that she had to fully focus on her work to support this family since her husband had given up and blown through his savings.


    Indeed because of this decision she managed to create a pill that not only helped her son''s condition but allowed her to make enough money to the point that her family didn''t have to worry about it for the rest of their lives.


    However, despite all this, deep down she knew she was only running away from the burdening responsibilities. The pill had helped her son, but she hardly bothered to check if he was fine, and while she had made enough money so her husband didn''t have to work, she was only facilitating his deteriorating mental state rather than fixing his problems.


    For example, he was constantly asking her for money like he was doing now so he could go out and spend all night drinking with strangers.


    Usually, she would just give him a few million Won, but after realizing that he would just spend it all, she decided to just give him a few thousand every day. But today, Myung-hee couldn''t be bothered to deal with him. She ignored her husband and turned around to lock her office door with her only key. Afterward, she hurried past him to leave the house.


    Sung-ho called for her, but she didn''t respond. The door mmed shut behind her as she left him alone in the house.


    Sung-ho heard his wife''s car leaving the garage soon after. He scratched his belly through his stained shirt, unconcerned that he was ignored. He then turned and entered the bedroom he once shared with his wife. After some time, he came back out with a in-looking key thatcked any design.


    Sung-ho approached his wife''s office door and with this in key, he opened the once locked door. He then casually entered the room, hoping to find some money his wife might have identally leftin around.


    However, after he entered the room and began looking around, Sung-ho''s eyes eventually came tond on the bottle of pills that was situated on top of a few papers on the desk.


    Sung-ho''s eyebrows lifted slightly before he quickly walked towards the desk.


    ...


    After hanging up her call, Madelyn looked at the man dressed in military uniform who was seated opposite her on a couch before saying coldly.


    "She''s on her way."


    The man merely responded with a grunt.


    Judging by his appearance, he looked to be around histe fifties. His face, which was locked in a stern expression, gave off the feeling of him being angry when he wasn''t. He had his arms folded and his back straight as he sat in his seat.


    With his posture as well as the uniform he wore and hismanding presence, one could guess he was a rather high-ranking member of the South Korean military army.


    However, this man wasn''t just a high-ranking member of the military, he was the Marshal, the most powerful person in the army.


    Both the Marshal and Madelyn sat opposite each other in silence. However, they weren''t the only ones inside the office room.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Standing off to the side was a regr soldier in uniform. This soldier''s face was expressionless as he held a tablet in his hands with the screen facing Madelyn and the Marshal.


    On this screen was the freezeframe of a video, a video that looked to have been taken by a monitoring camera by its lowered angle to the ground. The freezeframe showed a hallway, and in this hallway was a person frozen mid-stride while looking up at the camera.


    The face of the person was clearly visible, and it was of Myung-hee.

 Chapter 14- A Young Chaebol

    Inside the office, Sung-ho picked up the brown pill bottle and nced at thebel. After confirming they were indeed the pills his son used, he smiled and turned to leave.


    He didn''t find any money but at least he found these pills.


    Sung-ho left the room and decided to head out to a local bar he frequented. Walking over to the expensive-looking coffee table between the couch and the TV perched on the wall, Sung-ho unscrewed the pill bottle and after turning it over in his palm, he raised the palm to his mouth and swallowed the pills.


    He neither looked at the pills for a final confirmation nor counted how many he was swallowing, maybe the number was three or four?


    Sung-ho shook a few of the upturned beer cans that littered the expensive wooden table. After finding one that still had some content inside, he drank it to get the pills down.


    With a ng Sung-ho then tossed the empty beer can onto the table, but due to his off throw the beer can merely hit the edge of the table and then rolled onto the ground, adding to the ones already there. However, Sung-ho had already turned to leave. After wearing a tracksuit jacket on the rack next to the exit he finally left the house.


    The pills were already forgotten by him on the small end table next to the couch.


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    ..


    Jin-woo lived among the wealthier houses in Itaewon''s upscale residential area. Though even among these houses his own stood out for being one of the bigger ones.


    However, despite being arge house it had an old feel to it. The red bricks that made up the outside wall and the house itself made it seem like it was built two decades ago. The trees against the wall as well as the vine bushes spilling over for passersby on the narrow road to see didn''t help either.


    But with that said, the perfectly arranged red bricks did give the house a somewhat elegant and sophisticated feeling.


    Jin-woo''s house wasn''t the only one with this design in the area too, so this particr street gave off the sense of a uniform feeling when walking by.


    After making his way past his neighbor''s luxurious-looking cars parked next to their houses, Jin-woo reached his front gate. He reached into his pocket and pulled out three sets of keys, about to use one to open the gate. However, when he was about to put the key inside the lock, the faint sound of a car stopping behind him was heard.


    An all-ck Kia Mohave SUV had suddenly stopped behind him. Inside were a few kids that looked even younger than Jin-woo. One had to wonder why such young kids were driving.


    "Is that him?"


    One of the youths in the back seat of the car asked while looking out the window at Jin-woo.


    "Yeah, that''s him."


    Confirmation came from the youth driving the car before a crack suddenly echoed out next to Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo''s hand holding the key froze and he nced to the side to see that someone behind him had thrown an egg at him that shattered on the wall next to him. It had slightly startled him, but he didn''t let it show outwardly. He calmly turned around, just in time to see the car speeding off with the youths inside wearing wicked grins on their faces.


    "Damn freak! My Mom was going to buy that house for me!!"


    The youth driving the car yelled as he looked back at Jin-woo out the window. However, because he wasn''t looking at the road while driving, he unintentionally swerved close to a passerby who had to throw herself to the ground to get out of the way.


    The girl was wearing a white mask that covered her face, but it was evident from her sudden curse that she was shocked by the car almost hitting her.


    Jin-woo paused and waited for thedy to approach before asking.


    "Are you okay?"


    Jin-woo''s voice was slightly muffled due to him still wearing his mask.


    Thedy looked over at Jin-woo and said with a smile behind her own mask.


    "Oh, thank you, I''m fine."


    Hearing her voice, Jin-woo unconsciously deduced her age to be around her early to mid-twenties. He then looked down at the slightly blurry object in the girl''s hand.


    The girl saw this and also realized that Jin-woo was about to enter thisrge house. She hurriedly said.


    "I was just filming the area for a video to post on my channel, if you don''t want me to film your house then I can delete this part."


    Jin-woo nodded but then shook his head.


    "I''ll appreciate it if you didn''t add my face in particr, but you misunderstand."


    Pointing above his head and at the end of the street where there were cameras, he then added.


    "The cameras here are too blurry. The person who nearly hit you just now is the third son of the SLB Group''s CEO, I can''t see clearly at the moment, but I recognize his voice. He also lives a few houses down and he''s only thirteen."


    Jin-woo said no more than this as he lowered his hand, but the girl seemed to understand his intentions as her eyes momentarily lit up before she looked down at the camera in her hand which had never stopped recording.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The girl then looked up at Jin-woo and thanked him for a second time.


    "Thank you."


    "Hm, just remember to cut me out of the video."


    The girl nodded vigorously before she turned and rushed off in the direction she came from.


    Whether she filed awsuit or sold the footage to a thirsty publication, Jin-woo didn''t know what she would do, but either was fine for him as long as he wasn''t involved.


    Jin-woo watched the girl leave before he turned and went to ce the key into the gate''s blurry keyhole. However, as he did, the gate he thought was locked suddenly swung open.


    Jin-woo stood frozen looking at this scene with his hand in the air. However, he could only sigh at the carelessness before entering and locking the gate behind him.


    Walking on the small pathway marked by t stones, Jin-woo reached his front door and punched in a four-digit code to open it. After entering his home, he took off his shoes and ced them on the shoe rack nearby.


    While walking to his room on the second floor, Jin-woo nced at the couch. Thankfully, his father had gone out, perhaps to a bar.


    Jin-woo was about to walk past this area, but through his blurry vision, he spotted something on the end table. What he thought he saw caused him to frown slightly.


    He walked over and picked up the object from the end table. Sure enough, it was his pills. Jin-woo could tell from the bottle''s design without him having to try and read thebel with his blurry eyesight.


    "He''s not even trying to hide the fact that he''s taking my pills anymore."


    He had noticed that his pills were being opened by someone around a month ago. He didn''t particrly have any notion of finding out who it was and just epted it. But a little over a week ago he happened to enter his bathroom and saw his father going through his cab.


    Perhaps out of shame for being caught in the act, heshed out and Jin-woo suffered a blow to his side. The bruise on his torso was a result of that.


    Gripping the pill bottle, Jin-woo contemted whether to take it with him or leave it here. He didn''t know if his mother knew his father was taking his pills, he hadn''t brought it up to her.


    After a while of deliberating, Jin-woo decided to take the pill bottle with him. Perhaps this was only an insignificant effort to stop his father from taking more pills, but deep down he truly wished his father would get better.


    On the second floor, Jin-woo put the pills back in the cab. He searched inside and confirmed that these were the ones he had pulled himself and ced at the front. There was one more at the back with the seal tag torn that his father was taking.


    After closing the cab, Jin-woo went to work washing his bloodied uniform and taking a shower right after.


    With the door to his room tightly shut, Jin-wooy on his bed reading weics in his sses. This one in particr he was reading was quite long. It was a typical hero''s journey about a boy with a special bloodline rising through the ranks of an academy and fighting terrifying demons that gue the world.


    Even as the sun went down and night came, Jin-woo was still reading. He only stopped when his stomach grumbled inint.


    After cooking something from the ingredients in the fridge, Jin-woo ate alone at the dinner table. His eyes were still glued to his phone while his finger continuously scrolled upward.


    For anyone else thisrge and eerily silent house would have unnerved them, but Jin-woo had gotten used to it. He actually preferred it this way.


    After he finished eating, Jin-woo washed the dishes and headed back to his room. He continued reading hisic until he fell asleep with his phone still in his hand and his sses slightly crooked on his face.

 Chapter 15- One Little Star, Two Little Star…

    A sudden scream pierced through the small family home of the Lee residences. It was that of a small child, and the heart-wrenching pain and anguish heard within it would cause anyone to feel greatly rmed.


    Lee Myung-hee ran into her son''s small room in a hurry. Panic was written all over her face as she came to the bedside of her son who had sat up in the bed.


    "Jin, what''s wrong? Are you okay?"


    She asked frantically, however, the seven-year-old Jin-woo seemed even more frantic than her as he hurriedly asked.


    "Dad, where''s Dad?!"


    "Jin, calm down. Today is your father''sst day remember, he has to leave to catch an early flight for work."


    "No, he can''t, he mustn''t leave!"


    "Jin!"


    After yelling that Jin-woo flipped over his covers and rushed out of his room while his mother called for him.


    The sound of the old boards creaking beneath Jin-woo''s small feet echoed rapidly as he made his way down the hall and the flight stairs, which he skipped over one or two at a time. Surprisingly the steps his little feetnded on did not let out a creak despite looking no different from the floorboard.


    As Jin-woo made it to the bottom of the steps, he saw the blurry back of his father who was about to exit through the open door. He was wearing a in ck hat while carrying arge military bag on his back.


    "Dad!"


    Jin-woo cried out as he rushed up to his father and practically dived forward to wrap his arms around his waist.


    Sung-ho had heard the small pitter-patter of footsteps behind him and had turned around just in time to have his son jumping towards him.


    "Whoa! Jin-woo, what did I say about running along the hallway and down the stairs without your sses? They''re old and you might trip and hurt yourself."


    After catching his son, Sung-ho scolded him, however, upon feeling Jin-woo''s tight hug around his waist and his unresponsiveness while burring his head inside his abdomen, a sinking feeling slowly settled in Sung-ho''s stomach.


    Trying to make his voice sound as calm as possible, Sung-ho patted his son''s head and said.


    "Jin-woo, remember you have school today so you can''t be up so early."


    "¡­"


    No response came from Jin-woo and Sung-ho showed a troubled expression to his wife as she came downstairs.


    Myung-hee''s expression was also filled with worry as she looked at her son holding onto her husband as if he wasn''t nning on letting go.


    "Jin-woo? Your father is sorry, but I have to leave for work. I won''t be able to see you for a while, but I''ll be back before you know it."


    Sung-ho tried to soothe Jin-woo still patting his headfortingly.


    After staying silent for a moment, Jin-woo''s muffled voice was heard asking.


    "Dad, can''t you stay a bit longer?"


    Jin-woo raised his head to look up at his father.


    Sung-ho looked down at his son and seeing his pleading expression, he hesitated.


    "Jin, your father must leave for work. If he''ste it will be very bad so he can''t stay any longer. If you behave, I''ll allow you to eat your favorite ramen cup noodle before you go to school, okay?"


    Myung-hee said gently as she stepped forward to get Jin-woo to let go.


    Jin-woo''s small face was filled with hesitation, but he still let go of his father.


    Both Myung-hee and Sung-ho breathe a sigh of relief in their heart.


    Sung-ho then turned to leave, but as Jin-woo watched his father leave through the door tears well up in his eyes.


    "Dad, please don''t go. You''re going to get hurt¡­. Please, don''t go."


    Sung-ho and Myung-hee seeing this realized they had felt relief too soon.


    "Jin-woo, it''s okay your father is fine. Look he''s standing right there."


    Myung-hee bent down and tried tofort Jin-woo, but Jin-woo shook his head and said.


    "No, he''s going to get hurt! Please don''t go, stay, please."


    "Jin, your father really can''t stay, he has to leave."


    Jin-woo with tears running down his cheeks looked at his mother kneeling in front of him, and then at his father who was half a foot out the door.


    It felt like no matter what he said, his father was still going to leave.


    When little Jin-woo realized this more tears spilled from his eyes and sobs escaped his lips.


    "Why won''t you believe me¡­ *Sobs* Dad¡­ He-He''s going to get hurt. I don''t want him to get hurt but you won''t believe me! *Sobs*"


    Jin-woo''s sobs got louder and louder, and his words soon became incoherent. He seemed so distraught.


    Sung-ho hurried over and knelt in front of his son and said.


    "No, Jin-woo, we believe you. Look, I''m fine, I''m not going to get hurt, okay? You don''t have to cry."


    "That''s right, Jin, we believe you, but you have to calm down first and talk to us."


    Despite Sung-ho and Myung-hee''s words offort, Jin-woo only continued to cry while repeating the same words over and over.


    "You don''t believe me, you never believe me."


    After trying and failing to calm down his son, Sung-ho looked at his wife with a frown and asked slightly angry.


    "Did you make sure he took the pillsst night?"


    "Yes, I did."


    Myung-hee slightly snapped at her husband, she was a bit upset that he would ask her something like that. How could she have forgotten?


    "Really? Then howe this is happening?"


    Sung-ho pressed, but Myung-hee''s eyes flickered with anger, and she suddenly stood up. She looked down at her husband and spat.


    "What are you asking? I was personally there to see Jin take them. Maybe if you were herest night instead of out drinking you would have known that!"


    "Stop shouting in front of our son, didn''t the Doctor warn us not to lose our temper in front of Jin-woo?"


    "Don''t use our son''s condition to your advantage, that''s just despicable!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Sung-ho suddenly stood up, his face a mixture of anger and annoyance as he retorted.


    "I am the one using our son''s condition to my advantage? What about you, do you even care about our son? How many times have I gotten a call from the school about Jin-woo not taking his pills because they couldn''t get through to you? Are you even human, what kind of mother would ignore her son like that?!"


    "Don''t you dare use me of not being a good mother! Everything I do is for Jin and this family!"


    As the argument between Myung-hee and Sung-ho got louder and louder, their screams mixed with Jin-woo''s sobs creating a chaotic scene.


    Suddenly, a boy who looked to be around seven or eight with a backpack appeared at the gate of the Lee family residence. Upon seeing the scene at the doorway of the house, he hurriedly opened the gate and rushed towards the house.


    "Jin!"


    He ignored the quarreling couple and ran up to Jin-woo.


    "Seong¡­? *Hup*"


    Jin-woo looked up and through his slightly blurry vision and misty eyes, he saw Seong. He burst into more tears and jumped to hug Seong.


    Seong returned his friend''s hug and whispered softly.


    "It''s okay, it''s okay. One little star, two little star¡­"


    Seong began counting while rubbing Jin-woo''s back.


    "Come on Jin, count with me."


    Through his sobbing, Jin-woo counted along with Seong and soon he began to calm down.

 Chapter 16- I’m Sorry…

    Sung-ho and Myung-hee, who had stopped arguing due to Seong''s sudden appearance, looked at him and released a sigh of relief internally.


    After getting his friend to calm down, Seong asked.


    "Jin, what happened? Did you have another nightmare?"


    Jin, being a head shorter than Seong had his head buried in Seong''s chest. He nodded before muttering.


    "Dad was in a car, and it crashed. I don''t want him to leave."


    Without questioning Jin-woo''s words, Seong thought for a moment then turned to a silent Sung-ho and asked.


    "Mr. Lee, is it okay if you drive me and Jin to school? I know it''s early, but I think that will make Jin feel better. Will that be okay, Jin?"


    Seong turned back to Jin to ask, and after Jin-woo nodded his head, he turned back to get an answer from Sung-ho.


    Sung-ho hesitated. Not because he didn''t want to or that he would bete for work, but they only had one car and his wife had to go to work in a few minutes. He won''t be able to return to pick her up and get her to work on time.


    Seeing her husband hesitating, Myung-hee knew why so she said.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "It''s fine if I''mte to work, Madelyn won''t be angry. However, you''re going to miss your flight, will your work be okay with you beingte?"


    Sung-ho shook his head and said.


    "It''s fine if I''mte, knowing those guys I won''t be the only one."


    Sung-ho chuckled and then said to Jin-woo.


    "Jin, you can go and get ready, I''ll drive you to school."


    "En."


    Jin-woo nodded, but he was still hugging Seong.


    Seeing this, Seongughed softly and asked.


    "Do you want me to help you get ready for school, Jin? I can even wash your back for you."


    Jin-woo immediately leaped back away from Seong and said annoyed.


    "Am I so little I need someone''s help bathing myself?"


    "Haha, then I''ll wait down here for you to get ready."


    Jin-woo nodded before he turned and ran up the stairs.


    "Jin-woo!"


    Sung-ho immediately yelled in exasperation.


    "You always scold him for running up the stairs, but he never falls. He even steps on the ones that doesn''t creak so you wouldn''t hear him running up and down."


    Myung-hee said with a smile but Sung-ho responded with a frown.


    "Just because he hasn''t fallen yet doesn''t mean he won''t fall soon or one of them gives out. I want to fix them, but why bother when we''ll be moving out soon?"


    Myung-hee nodded in agreement then turned to Seong and said with a smile.


    "Seong, thank you for always helping Jin-woo. You even go out of your way to tutor him. I don''t know what we would do without you sometimes."


    Seong grinned and said.


    "Ms. Lee, I think I''m the one taking advantage of Jin-woo. I always bother him during lunch to y table tennis with me, and I even drag him over to my house on the weekends to y video games."


    "I can''t see how that is you taking advantage of him, I''m sure Jin-woo enjoys ying with you. You''re the first friend he has made since he started school. If not for that illness¡­"


    Myung-hee stopped talking and let out a sigh.


    Seong suddenly puffed out his chest and said reassuringly.


    "Don''t worry, Ms. Lee, I''m sure you''ll find a way to help Jin. I''m studying to be a world-renowned Doctor so we can both work together to find a way to help Jin in the future."


    Myung-hee couldn''t help but have a smile spread across her face. She patted Seong''s head and said.


    "Just where did a guardian angel like youe from, so cute."


    Myung-hee began pinching Seong''s rosy cheeks. Seong seemed to enjoy the attention as he ced his hands on his hips and allowed her to pinch his cheeks.


    Meanwhile, Sung-ho heard Seong''s words, and he looked over at his wife and suddenly felt guilty. He knew why his wife was so knee-deep in her work at that smallpany, but he still went and said all those things to her. He soon made up his mind to apologize to her after he dropped off his son and Seong at school.


    "Seong, you''vee so early, have you eaten anything yet?"


    Sung-ho asked, and Seong shook his head.


    "Dad hasn''te home because of a case he''s working on, and Mom left super early today because she got called in due to a patient. She did leave me pocket money though."


    Seong reached into his pocket and took out the money his mother left him.


    "But¡­ I think she identally left a bit more than necessary."


    Seong added while looking down at the two paper notes that had ''50000'' written on them.


    Both Myung-hee and Sung-ho were speechless at the sight.


    Patting Seong''s head, Myung-hee said.


    "Come, I''ll prepare something for you while getting Jin-woo''s lunch ready."


    Seong nodded before he stuffed the notes back into his pockets and followed Myung-hee to the kitchen.


    Sung-ho watched them as they went before shaking his head slightly. He had already spoken to Seong''s parents, but it couldn''t be helped due to their work. So, he and his wife sort of became his guardians during times like these.


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    ..


    It didn''t take long for Jin-woo to get ready and head downstairs. There he hurriedly ate the remaining portion of the food his mother prepared for Seong,pletely ignoring is own before leaving the house with his father and Seong.


    Inside the family car that had a few scratches here and there on its bumper, Jin-woo and Seong were excitedly reading aic on Seong''s phone while their father drove them to school.


    "Hey, Jin."


    Jin-woo suddenly heard Seong call for him and he looked up from the phone.


    "Yeah?"


    Jin-woo fixed his sses on his nose before staring at Seong questioningly.


    Smiling warmly, Seong asked.


    "How can you dream so peacefully when you''re the reason I''m dead?"


    Jin-woo froze and looked at Seong with a confused expression. He happened to nce at his father in the driver''s seat, but he was slumped over a white airbag with half his face covered in blood. The car''s windshield was also cracked so he couldn''t see outside.


    "Wha-What''s happening?"


    Jin-woo stuttered as he turned back to look at Seong, however, the smiling child Seong was gone. What reced him was a grown Seong who had blood covering his dyed blond hair and face. His head was slumped against the crack window making the blood drip onto the red scarf around his neck. His body was only held in a sitting position due to his seat belt.


    Jin-woo felt his stomach churning while a cold shiver traversed throughout his body to settle at his fingertips. Car horns and what sounded like a distant ambnce filled his ears until everything became disorientating.


    "Seong?"


    Tears well up in Jin-woo''s eyes as he reached out to touch Seong with his shivering fingertips. However, before he could, Seong''s eyes suddenly snapped open before he lunged at Jin-woo, wrapping his hands around his neck.


    "Se-Seong¡­"


    Jin-woo frantically tried to get Seong''s fingers untangled from around his neck, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn''t.


    Jin-woo looked up and saw that Seong was staring at him with an expressionless face. But something in his eyes made it seem as if he was carefully watching as thest breath was choked out of him.


    "Se-Seong, I''m sorry¡­ Se-Seong¡­"


    Jin-woo choked out, but he suddenly opened his eyes and quickly sat up in his bed.


    *Cough*


    *Cough*


    *Cough*


    Jin-woo held his throat as he coughed violently and tried to catch his breath. The sensation of being choked faded away like it was never there.


    After catching his breath, Jin-woo took off his sses he had gone to bed in and sobbed uncontrobly in his sheets.

 Chapter 17- Still Wasn’t Home

    It took a while for Jin-woo to calm down after his nightmare. After wearing his sses, he searched for his phone to see what time it was and saw that it was 5:03 am.


    No wonder it was still somewhat dark outside his window, it was way too early. He shouldn''t have woken up until 6:30 to get ready by 7 and reach school before the first bell at 8.


    Jin-woo internally checked his Mtonin levels and realized that they were fast disappearing despite him still feeling extremely lethargic. He decided to get up since he wasn''t going back to sleep, and truthfully, he feared going back to sleep.


    Swinging his foot over the side of his bed, Jin-woo turned off his rm before getting up. He left his room and shuffled down the hall to his bathroom.


    Filling his bathtub with cold water, Jin-woo got in after removing his clothes. He hadn''t taken a cold bath like this in forever, the feeling was familiar. However, he usually did this after going for a run. On the days that Seong stayed over, or he stayed over at Seong''s house, they would go for a run before taking a cold bath together.


    Though he was the one who usually had to drag Seong through every step of the way, and it was a nightmare to get him inside the tub.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jin-woo couldn''t help but smile while recalling those memories. However, shes of the recent nightmare interrupted his recollection, and his smile was reced by self-loathing.


    Jin-woo rested his head against the edge of the tub and allowed the cold water to do its work. The bruises he got from his fight with Seo-joon, and hisckeys started to hurt less, and his weariness began fading away.


    After fifteen minutes, Jin-woo got out of the bath and exited the bathroom; he then made his way back to his room.


    When he came out, he was wearing white track pants with ck stripes on the sides. He was topless and had a towel over his head to dry his hair.


    The sounds of Jin-woo''s footsteps were nonexistent as he made his way down the hall and the stairs to the first floor. Upon reaching the living room he walked over to the couch. When he saw no new beer discarded on the table, he concluded that his father hadn''t returned home.


    Heading to the kitchen and grabbing a white garbage bag, Jin-woo picked up the beer cans and cleaned up the area; the sound of the vacuum against the furnished floor echoed in the silent house. Hefting the garbage bag, Jin-woo then left to throw it out. The door closing behind him left an eerie silence lingering throughout the house, which was soon broken by the door opening as Jin-woo reentered.


    Jin-woo had a frown on his face as he entered the house and closed the door behind him. This was because as he was throwing away the garbage, he saw that the garage door was left wide open with his mother''s car missing. He didn''t take notice of thising home yesterday, so he wasn''t sure if it was left open overnight or if his mother had returned when he was asleep and left it open after leaving.


    Jin-woo checked his phone and seeing that it was 5:53 am, an inexplicable feeling of unease rose in his heart for some reason. However, he buried it and decided to spend his hour of free time reading hisic before he had to get ready for school.


    But not before grabbing a container filled with grapes from the fridge.


    Plopping down on the couch, Jin-woo read hisic while asionally picking up a grape from the container and eating it.


    Time flies when you''re having fun. By the time Jin-woo snapped out of it, he checked his phone to see that it was 6:47 am.


    Jin-woo cursed under his breath and he rushed to return the container that had nearly half of the grapes eaten in the fridge before heading up to his room. He was in such a rush that the towel he had forgotten was on his head, almost fell if it wasn''t for his quick reaction catching it.


    In his room, Jin-woo got dressed in under eight minutes but spent a good four minutes on his tie. Afterward, he checked his timetable to see what subjects he had for the first day of school, and what he saw made him frown a bit.


    "We have P.E. right before lunch?"


    Jin-woo thought for a moment and after formting a n for Seo-joon and hisckeys in his mind, his frown disappeared. cing his subject books in his bag and his P.E. gear in a separate drawstring bag, Jin-woo then headed for his dresser to wear his contacts. However¡­


    "Damn it."


    Jin-woo cursed as he looked at the empty contacts container. He looked at the sses perched on his nose in his dresser mirror and sighed. But suddenly he sighed once more.


    While remembering his missing contacts, Jin-woo also remembered his missing watch.


    Jin-woo nced at the small box on his dresser that was wrapped like a gift. After staring at it for a moment, he reached forward and gently picked it up.


    Pulling loose the string tied around the small box, Jin-woo slowly opened the cover and looked inside. A watch with a small white card on top of it stared back at him.


    Jin-woo felt his eyes sting while a stuffing feeling began filling his nose.


    Putting down the box''s cover, Jin-woo picked up the small white card and turned it over to see that words were written on it.


    ''To my best friend Jin, so if I''m not there to remind you to take your medication, here''s a watch for you.


    -Love, your best friend Seong.''


    Drip¡­ Drip¡­


    Tears fell from Jin-woo''s cheeks andnded on his thumb. He hurriedly shifted the paper right after, so they didn''t ruin it.


    After taking off his sses to wipe his tears, Jin-woo looked at the watch inside the box. It was a ck Casio G-Shock watch.


    Jin-woo carefully took the watch out and ced the note inside before putting away the box. He then gazed at the watch for a moment before securing it around his wrist. He was then about to set an rm for 12:15 pm but Jin-woo realized there was already an rm set. When he checked and saw the rm was set to 12:00 pm, he almost let out a loudugh.


    Jin-woo could hear Seong''s voice filled with annoyance, urging him to set his rm at 12:00 pm instead of 12:15 pm.


    The reason why he set his rm at 12:15 was because he didn''t want it to go off while he was in ss or when he was around a lot of people. However, Seong would always scold him by saying his health was more important than someone else''s opinion of him, though Jin-woo never listened to him.


    Jin-woo smiled and chose not to change the rm. After fixing himself in the mirror, he picked up his packed backpack and was about to leave his room. However, upon realizing that his vision was blurry, Jin-woo turned back to grab his sses.


    He was already used to his contacts so having to pick up his sses in the morning felt foreign to him.


    With sses in hand, Jin-woo walked down the hall to his bathroom. cing his sses on the sink''s edge, he opened the ss cab above it and took out his pill bottle. Jin-woo then took out the clear white bag from his pocket and tilted the pill bottle over its opening.


    After seeing a blurry pill fall inside, he ced back the pill bottle into the cab and pocketed the small clear white bag.


    Grabbing his sses off the sink''s edge, Jin-woo then made his way downstairs.


    However, that uneasy feeling that had been buried by him suddenly rose once again when his mother still wasn''t home.

 Chapter 18- Do What You Have To Do

    Jin-woo turned and walked to his mother''s office to knock on the door.


    "Mom?"


    After not hearing an answer, Jin-woo walked back to the living room and sat on the couch. He took out his phone and seeing that the time was 7:09am, the uneasy feeling turned into slight fear. This was because his mother had never been thiste.


    Even though his mother had closed off herself to him, Jin-woo noticed that she would never neglect him past a certain extent. When he had shut himself off in his room after getting home from the hospital, his mother would always check up on him every morning before visiting his father in the hospital.


    She practically dragged him out of bed to attend Seong''s funeral and go to the Entrance Exams. Nine out of ten times she was the first person he saw in the morning. So, now that he was sitting here not being able to see her, the fear of something happening to her couldn''t help but grip him.


    Jin-woo unlocked his phone by cing his thumb against the power button and then clicked on his home security app. He skimmed through yesterday''s video. There was no sound, so he only saw his mothering home and entering her office. After talking with his father, she left, leaving the garage door open.


    Jin-woo finished the video and confirmed that neither his mother nor father came home yesterday.


    Jin-woo gripped his phone and after breathing in and out to calm himself down, he used his phone to call his mother.


    After ringing for a moment, the call went through.


    "Mom? Where are you? Are you going to drive me to school?"


    "Jin-woo? Is that you?"


    Jin-woo paused when he heard this voice, it wasn''t his mother.


    "Madelyn?"


    "Oh, how did you know it was me? Did you recognize my voice?"


    "Yes."


    "Hm, you have a good memory like my daughter told me. Even though I''m a family friend we hardly spoke to each other. You should reallye for a visit sometime. Even though I''m hardly home due to work, Mai-sun would like it very much."


    Jin-woo felt his skin crawl when he heard that, but he stayedposed and said.


    "I''ll visit sometime in the future, but is my mother okay? Can I speak to her?"


    "Oh, right, your mother is working on a special project we can''t discuss openly. Unfortunately, this also means that phones are kept under lock and key. I was just passing by where the phones were kept and saw that you were calling so I answered. You have school to get to, but I think your mother is quite busy, so she won''t be able to drive you to school.


    Do you want me to send someone to pick you up?"


    "Um, no, that won''t be necessary. I just wanted to make sure my mom is okay."


    "Well, she is doing great. This project we''re working on is quite extraordinary, so she''s been tied to her chair since she got here. I''ll tell her you called, so don''t worry."


    "Okay, goodbye."


    "En."


    After the call ended, Jin-woo stared at his phone screen that had a picture of him and Seong that was taken back in middle school. His expression was filled with worry.


    "Why would you keep a phone in an interrogation room?"


    Jin-woo had once taken a call from a police officer who was investigating the winter ident from his bedroom because the doctor had said he wasn''t fit for any travel due to his trauma.


    So, because of this, he got to know what it sounded like to talk to someone while they were in an interrogation room. But if he was somehow wrong, and Madelyn wasn''t inside an interrogation room, then the room she was in was extremely small and confined.


    She said she was walking past the area where the phones were kept when she saw his mother''s phone ringing. Unless she lied about that, or his mother''s phone was instantly recognizable from the likely rest, then her story didn''t add up. Not to mention, why was his mother''s phone still on if it was confiscated for secrecy?


    Jin-woo suddenly shook his head.


    "I''m doing it again."


    This was one of his ws that Seong would always worry about for him. Jin-woo sometimes got too caught up in his thoughts and overanalyzing the smallest details that could be mere coincidences.


    It was a blessing in that it allowed him to recall even the most obscure events that happened around him, but also a curse that if left alone could likely spiral into an episode of delusional thoughts.


    Jin-woo was quick to cut off his train of thought before he spiraled. He then got up and after putting on his shoes that were by the door, he headed outside.


    Outside, he walked to the outside side door of the garage, and upon entering, his eyesnded on a blue tarp in one corner. Walking towards it, he flipped the tarp over to reveal the milky white electric scooter.


    His father had bought this for him inte November as an early Christmas gift. He had said there might be days when his mother would be too busy to drive him to school so he could ride this instead. Jin-woo also recalled his father had gifted one to Seong as well so they could ride to school together.


    Jin-woo went over to a side wall of the garage and picked up the scooter keys. With a screech, the electric scooter was started for the first time.


    Jin-woo got on and after wearing the helmet on the scooter''s handle, he directed it out of the garage. He was a bit nervous since he was technically not allowed to ride this until he was sixteen. However, his birthday was March 15, a mere two days away. He should be able to get away with it.


    After leaving the garage, Jin-woo used the security app on his phone to close its door. He then checked if the doors and windows of the house were all locked before he left on his scooter for his first day of school.


    ¡­.


    After hanging up the call, Madelyn looked at Myung-hee across from her and said with a cold expression.


    "When you decided to go after my research did you think about your family at all? Did you think about Jin-woo?"


    Myung-hee had her hands and feet tied to the chair she was sitting in. Her hair was in disarray and abrasions could be seen on her cheeks. At the same time, the corner of her lip was dripping with blood that fell onto her clothes as she held her head down.


    "Wouldn''t it be best if we take in her family?"


    The Marshal, who was standing off to the side in front of the one-sided mirror with folded arms, asked with a frown.


    Madelyn immediately shook her head and said.


    "That isn''t necessary, the fewer people we involve in this, the better it would be to keep it a secret that the research was stolen."


    The Marshal nodded in agreement with that then shifted his gaze onto Myung-hee and said.


    "She isn''t talking, since you''ve done it your way then I''ll do it my way."


    Hearing that, Madelyn looked at Myung-hee and let out a sigh. For the life of her, she could not understand why someone like Myung-hee who she deeply trusted would betray her like this. Was this all because she didn''t allow her onto the project?


    Ten years ago, both of them had practically built this once-smallpany into what it is today, a global conglomerate that does international contracts with World Leaders. If it was money then Myung-hee had plenty, she made sure of that.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Suddenly, Madelyn thought back to what Myung-hee had told her before the fire broke out yesterday.


    "It''s about the work, and it''s always been about that. I would sacrifice anything for it."


    "All of this for recognition?"


    Madelyn said while staring at Myung-hee withplex emotions in her eyes. After a moment she sighed once more before saying while getting up.


    "Do what you have to do, that research data is too important. Perhaps she even stole the AV13 pills. If she did, we need to retrieve them quickly. I''ll also send a few people to search her home to see if we find anything."


    "Hm, I can have some of my men help with that."


    The Marshal said with a nod before Madelyn turned and left the interrogation room.


    ...


    Hey guys, how are you enjoying the book so far? Let me know in thements or leave a review! Thanks for reading :)

 Chapter 19- Asan Hospital

    March 13, 2020, 12:09am.


    The narrow streets of Itaewon were as bustling as always, with native citizens and foreign tourists exploring the bars that had bright signs that lit up the night in various colors.


    On one particr street, a young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties with dyed blond hair and piercings was walking together with a rather beautiful woman in a short skirt. He had his hand wrapped around her shoulders as they walked and chatted.


    "Oh, you like this new hair color? I had one of my men dye it just yesterday."


    "Anything looks good on you baby."


    The girl responded as she stealthily slipped her hand inside the man''s shirt that was unbuttoned at the top. This slightly revealed the tattoo on the man''s chest that looked to be of a tiger.


    "Oh? Do you wanna ditch the bars and head back to my ce? I have some good stuff there."


    The woman''s bright red lips parted in a seductive smile but before she could respond, her eyes caught sight of something in the narrow alleyway they were passing.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Oh my god, is that a person?"


    The man turned to where the woman was now pointing and looked inside the alleyway.


    Further inside the alleywaycked light, so the man instinctively squinted his eyes. Sure enough, he could vaguely make out someone''s feet poking out of the darkness into the light.


    "Shit, you''re right, it''s a person."


    The young man instantly stopped and walked over to check on the person.


    Inside the alleyway, the space was only big enough to allow around three fully grown adults to lie down side-by-side.


    The young man entered the alleyway and after shimming his way next to the person, he bent over while using the wall as a support to examine what had happened to them. However, the alleyway was too dark, and it took time for his eyes to adjust. He could barely make out that the person was a man who was wearing a tracksuit jacket and shorts, but weirdly he saw some white stuff at the man''s mouth.


    "Shit, did he choke to death?"


    The young man''s back straightened instantly as he recoiled from the potentially dead body.


    "What?! He''s dead?"


    The woman who had been watching off to the side was shocked as well and took a few steps back.


    "I don''t know, I should check."


    The young man said as he steeled his emotions and crouched down to get closer to the dead man.


    "Hey, be careful."


    The woman warned, but the young man waved off her warning while saying.


    "What''s there to be worried about? Instead, you should call the ambnce."


    The woman perked up in realization and nodded before she reached into her handbag to take out her phone.


    Meanwhile, the young man was over the dead man, and with his eyes adjusted to the darkness while being a bit closer, he was able to see a lot more details.


    Along with the foam at the man''s mouth, strange markings were running along his entire face.


    "What¡­"


    The young man muttered in confusion but soon his eyes drifted down to the man''s left hand that was just next to his feet. He saw that the strange ck marks were there as well. Suddenly, he realized that those weren''t markings, but the man''s veins.


    "Poison?"


    The young man looked back up at the man''s face with a questioning expression before he reached out to shake the man to check if he was really dead.


    "Hey, are you still alive?"


    The woman had long taken out her phone and after unlocking it she went to dial the police. However, a sudden shout from the young man frightened her to the point she almost jumped out of her skin.


    "FUCK!"


    The woman quickly looked up to see that her potential one-night stand had sprung up from the ground before stumbling back out of the alleyway. The man who they thought was dead was lunging forward at him. Bothnd on the ground with the supposedly dead man on top.


    "Fuck, what are you doing?! Get off me!"


    The young man cursed and tried to push the man off, but the man with a pot belly was too heavy.


    However, after his initial anger, the young man nced up at the man''s face, and what he saw sent cold chills down his spine.


    The man''s eyes werepletely bloodshot and were dancing crazily in their sockets. The ck veins on his face were pulsating and wriggling, giving off the feeling they were worms beneath his skin rather than veins.


    A portion of the foam at the man''s mouth fell onto the young man''s shocked face as the man opened his mouth as if to bite him.


    The young man instantly snapped out of his stupor and let out a squeal of horror. His human instincts told him that this man was definitely dead, but why was he still moving and trying to bite him?


    "Zo¡­ Zom-!"


    Before the man could cry out, the man on top of him was struck in the back of the head causing a sickening crack to echo out.


    The woman threw the piece of metal pipe she found nearby to the side and rushed towards the young man.


    "Are you okay?"


    The young man didn''t respond and only hurriedly crawled up from the ground, all while staring at the man lying face down with trembling eyes.


    By now the narrow streets had people stopping to watch what was going on.


    Several minutester the young man was sitting on the back of an ambnce while holding a pack of ice on the back of his head.


    "I already told you; I don''t know the guy. I thought he was hurt and tried to help, but he just attacked me instead."


    The officer stopped writing in his notebook and looked up to nod before saying.


    "Okay, that''s all the questions I have. You should probably get that checked."


    The police officer pointed at the man''s head with his pen before walking away.


    "That''s right you might have a concussion so it''s best if youe back with us."


    One of the EMTs who were securing a body bag on the stretcher inside the back of the ambnce said while looking at the young man.


    The young man hearing that turned to look at the body bag before saying warily.


    "I''m not getting in this ambnce with that thing."


    The EMT, who was a young woman, showed a weird expression before exining.


    "Don''t worry, it''s not like he can attack you now that he''s dead."


    "That''s the point-"


    "Boss!"


    A shout suddenly interrupted their conversation, and a few men in all ck with tattoos on their faces were seen hurrying over to this ce.


    The young man got up from the edge of the ambnce and said.


    "I''ll have my people take me to the hospital. Oh, and be careful with that thing. Something''s weird about it."


    As the men in ck approached, the young man motioned to the bald man at the front. The bald man without a word took out a cigarette and handed it to him.


    After the young man ced the cigarette between his lips, the bald man lit it.


    The female EMT looked at the young man and shook her head before she went to close the doors. However, the young man suddenly turned to look back and asked.


    "Wait, where are you taking that thing?"


    "To the hospital?"


    The young man clicked his tongue at the female EMT who was now giving the back of his head a worried look.


    "I mean which hospital."


    "We''re taking him to the nearest hospital. Come on, we have to go."


    The other male EMT inside the ambnce said annoyed. The female EMT nodded and then closed the doors.


    The young man watched as the ambnce drove off while smoking his cigarette.


    "Where''s the nearest hospital?"


    The bald man paused for a second upon hearing his boss''s sudden question, but soon he responded.


    "Boss, there are a few hospitals close by, but I recognize that ambnce, it''s from Asan Hospital that''s just a few minutes away."


    The young man still holding the ice pack at the back of his head blew out a puff of smoke and then said.


    "Good, let''s not go to that one."


    The young man then turned to leave, but the woman who hadn''t yet left came up to him and grabbed his arm.


    "Hey, why not head to Asan Hospital? I heard that the Prime Minister is going to visit there for some fundraiser, we might be able to see him."


    The young man suddenly froze in his steps, and the cigarette he was holding between his fingers slipped and fell to the ground. Quickly, he turned his head to look at the ambnce, but it was already gone.

 Chapter 20- A Smell That Lingers

    Present time, March 13, 2020, 7:38 am.


    Jin-woo didn''t draw much attention when he rode his scooter into school. More than a few students were doing the same. There was even a designated parking area between their Gymnasium and High School for students'' scooters and bicycles.


    While driving through the gate and passing the cherry blossom trees, Seong suddenly appeared behind Jin-woo with his arms wrapped around his waist.


    "You actually rode the scooter to school! But aren''t you still underage to ride one? What if you were stopped by an officer and had to show your student ID?"


    "It''s not like I was caught. Besides, my birthday is in two days."


    "Hm, I guess."


    Jin-woo rode to the parking area and got off to move his scooter to an empty spot. Seong got off as well and followed behind him.


    "Jin, what are we going to do about that thing?"


    Seong suddenly asked as he secured the red scarf around his neck.


    "What thing?"


    Jin-woo asked slightly confused as he parked his scooter and took off his helmet.


    "Y''know, that thing we saw in the Lab, what are we going to do? Are we going to report it to the school or go straight to the police?"


    Jin-woo ced his helmet on one of the scooter''s handles before he paused. After a moment of silence, he turned off the scooter and said.


    "I don''t know."


    Pocketing the scooter key, Jin-woo turned to head to his ss. He was a bitte.


    "What do you mean? Don''t tell me you''re not nning on doing anything when you''ve seen something like that!"


    Seong said in distress as he walked alongside Jin-woo.


    "No, I obviously want to do something about it, but I genuinely don''t know what to do. Remember, the School''s Chairwoman is Seo-joon''s grandmother, meaning she''s Teacher Park''s mother. Going to the school is meaningless. As for the police, it''s my word against Teacher Park''s. Do you think an usation like that from a person with my illness would be taken seriously?


    And what if the girl doesn''t want everyone to know? She could just say I''m lying. I don''t know her circumstances but from what I saw she didn''t seem unwilling."


    Seong went silent for a moment then sighed.


    "You''re right."


    "Don''t worry, I''ll think up something."


    "What? Like taking a video next time? Wait, maybe not that."


    Seong said and then frowned in thought before having his eyes light up.


    "What about Nurse Soh? Maybe he could help."


    Jin-woo immediately shook his head and then asked a strange question.


    "Do you know what I hate about cannabis?"


    "Cannabis? You mean weed?"


    Jin-woo nodded and then answered his own question.


    "What I hate about it is that it has a distinct smell that lingers on you. Worse, if you''re too used to its smell, you might not even notice."


    Jin-woo nced at Seong and added.


    "I found some in your room, remember? I was worried that you would get caught by your Dad so I made you flush everything down the toilet and promise never to use it again. However, from time to time I could faintly smell iting from you."


    Seong looked at Jin-woo with a shocked expression, but soon he scratched the back of his head and said softly.


    "I didn''t know that."


    "It''s used to treat insomnia in some offhanded cases, so I understand."


    Seong looked even more shocked now.


    "You¡­ You knew that I had insomnia?"


    Jin-woo nodded and then whispered.


    "There''s a lot of things I know that you thought you were keeping a secret from me, and I wished I had told you and tried to help you¡­ I really wasn''t a good friend to you Seong, I''m sorry."


    Seong went silent, however, it seemed he suddenly realized something, and he quickly looked at Jin-woo with wide eyes.


    "I-I''m not the real Seong."


    "I know."


    Seong paused at Jin-woo''s response. He then looked around at the students they were passing before he leaned close to Jin-woo and whispered.


    "We''re still in public, y''know."


    Jin-woo nodded.


    "I know."


    Seong stared at Jin-woo who didn''t have a change in expression as they walked.


    Perhaps thinking that Jin-woo might not have understood what he meant, Seong whispered once more.


    "Didn''t you say I shouldn''t talk to you in public? You''re even responding back!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jin-woo smiled slightly and said.


    "You don''t have to whisper, it''s not like anyone can hear you."


    A male student who was walking by happened to overhear Jin-woo and he turned to look at him strangely. However, Jin-woo ignored his gaze.


    Seong smiled embarrassingly and straightened his back. However, he suddenly let out a happyugh before he went to wrap his hand around Jin-woo''s neck.


    Jin-woo, however, immediately dodged his hand by suddenly crouching down to check his shoce. But if one thought about it, he was wearing the school''s indoor shoes so there was no shoce to check.


    Coming back up while fixing his backpack and drawstring bag, Jin-wo said annoyed.


    "Don''t go too far."


    Seong smiled slightly before the two made their way to ss 1A.


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    ..


    The sliding door to the Nurse''s Office was suddenly pulled open hard. Teacher Park then came marching in while closing the door behind him.


    Nurse Soh who was in the middle of biting one of his sandwiches, paused and looked at Teacher Park with a frown.


    "Can you not try and break my door every time you enter?"


    Teacher Park ignored Nurse Soh''sint as he walked over and suddenly picked up the second sandwich inside a container nearby before saying.


    "Have you contacted the drivers?"


    Nurse Soh watched as Teacher Park bit into his sandwich with an annoyed expression.


    "Yesterday you ate my sandwiches before I could even taste them. No wonder you were crazy enough tomit a crime in school, and you were even caught."


    Swallowing what was in his mouth, Teacher Park said dismissively.


    "Don''t worry about that, I''m handling it. What about the drivers?"


    Nurse Soh nodded and said.


    "I''ve already contacted the two of them. They should arrive around noon to collect the water."


    "And the main source?"


    "I paid one of the security guards to just leave thetch open this morning so it''s easier to siphon the water."


    "Great, if everything goes well, we could really make some money from the school''s water supply."


    Nurse Soh pause biting into his sandwich once again to say.


    "Don''t you feel bad stealing from your mother''s school?"


    Teacher Park smiled ambiguously at Nurse Soh before saying with his mouth full.


    "I didn''t tell you this, but I''ve already convinced her to turn a blind eye. She even helped me out a bit by telling the school that a waterpany woulde today to do a standard water check. So, the guard at the back of the school should let the drivers in without a problem."


    Nurse Soh was shocked when he heard that.


    "Chairwoman Mrs. Park seems to favor her son a lot, even after having to pay several million Won in hush money to that girl''s parents from your previous school."


    Teacher Park finished his sandwich and then said.


    "I''m leaving for my new ss; I''ll check up on things at lunch."


    Nurse Soh nodded and finally took a bite of his sandwich.


    Before turning around, Teacher Parkmented.


    "The weed leaves a after smell, my wife almost caught me yesterday so be careful with that."


    Nurse Soh nodded casually before going to take another bite, however, he suddenly realized something and turned to Teacher Park who just opened the door before asking.


    "Wait, you got a new ss?"


    Teacher Park didn''t pause his steps and simply waved his folded attendance book and said.


    "Didn''t I tell you? I''m handling things."


    Though Nurse Soh couldn''t see his face, he could tell Teacher Park was smiling. After the door closed, he pondered about Teacher Park''s cryptic words. However, he soon ignored them and went back to his cannabis-filled sandwich as it didn''t concern him.

 Chapter 21- Blurring Lines

    As Jin-woo and Seong walked to ss 1A, Seong would chatter away while Jin-woo would answer him asionally. Though Jin-woo tried not to make it obvious he was talking to himself.


    He thought about buying earphones to carry to school since talking to his hallucinations looked like it was going to be a norm, but he figured it made no difference since the perception everyone had of him was that he was crazy. So why bother trying to put a Band-Aid on their fixed perception of him?


    As for him making talking to his hallucinations normal, when Jin-woo first saw Seong during the Entrance Exams, his mother took him to a doctor afterward as this was the first time he was having hallucinations. The doctor at that time cautioned him to try not to interact with his hallucinations since this could blur the line between reality and fiction for him.


    However, Jin-woo was now doing just that, though he was trying not to think about it.


    But the doctor also said that the antipsychotic medication he was taking was the most effective product on the market to prevent his hallucinations, and Jin-woo believed that since it was something his mother created. However, three strikes and he was out, the three times he came to school he saw Seong.


    Jin-woo soon reached the door of ss 1A and he could hear the chatter of the students inside. A slight smile hung on his lips as Seong chattered away about aic they once read together.


    Without much thought Jin-woo slid open the door and stepped forward to enter his ss, however, someone wasing out and the two bumped into each other.


    "Oh, I''m sor-."


    "Look where you''re going freak."


    Jin-woo''s hand fixing his sses paused as he looked at ss President Ye-jun.


    Ye-jun words were said extremely softly so even the students near the door couldn''t hear his words.


    Fixing his own sses, Ye-jun brushed past Jin-woo and walked off. Seong ced his hands on Jin-woo''s shouldersfortingly and the two watched him walk off.


    "Wait, those sses, they''re fake, right?"


    Seong suddenly asked and Jin-woo made a noise of agreement.


    Seong immediately sneered and then spat.


    "What a pretentious fucker."


    Jin-woo didn''tment and instead turned around to enter the ssroom.


    "Hey! Why are you sote, it''s almost time for the first bell to ring!"


    One student in the back of the ss was heard calling over the din of the other chattering students while waving toward the ssroom entrance where Jin-woo was.


    Jin-woo paused momentarily, but a voice suddenly said from behind.


    "Sorry, I want to enter."


    Jin-woo instinctively stepped aside, and a youth with a military-style haircut hurried past him while heaving like a fish onnd


    "I woke upte, so I had to rush here!"


    Thete youth said as he reached into his pocket and took out an inhaler before cing it to his lips and taking a deep breath.


    Jin-woo''s focus shifted from the two friends and he entered the ssroom. He had been slightly anxious just now, he thought someone was actually calling out to him. But a small part of him also felt disappointed when he realized that wasn''t the case.


    As he walked to the back of the ss to put down his backpack and drawstring bag, Jin-woo made his way to his seat from yesterday. It didn''t matter if the seats were rearranged now as he was already drawing attention by being the ss VP.


    Seong watched as Jin-woo sat down before saying.


    "You should really try and make some friends this year Jin. As much as I like that you''re finally talking to me, you eventually have to meet new people."


    Jin-woo didn''t respond. He looked at his watch and saw that it was 7:54 am. There wasn''t any time for him to read hisics.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Seeing that Jin-woo was ignoring him, Seong shrugged helplessly before he turned and wandered off to the front of the ssroom.


    Jin-woo leaned on his desk and propped his chin up while watching Seong insert himself into a friends of boys, who were huddled around one boy holding a phone that was ying a video. As the boys let outughter so did he. Seong even had his arms wrapped around two students'' shoulders.


    After observing for a while, Jin-woo slowly lifted one of his hands and covered his eyes. He then lowered it after some time, but Seong was still there.


    Jin-woo paused. After thinking for a moment, he then closed his eyes and muttered under his breath.


    "Seong."


    Not even a second after Jin-woo muttered Seong''s name, Seong''s voice was heard next to him.


    "Hm? You called Jin?"


    Jin-woo''s eyes immediately snapped open and his heart trembled slightly as he gazed at Seong standing next to him.


    Noticing Jin-woo''s perturbed expression, Seong asked concerned.


    "Hey, what''s wrong? Did something happen?"


    Jin-woo took a moment to calm himself, then asked seriously.


    "How did you hear me from all the way over there."


    Seong tilted his head at the question.


    "I don''t know, I was over there watching a video when I heard your voice calling for me. Was I hearing things?"


    Seong''s face showed a doubtful expression, and Jin-woo silently observed him. However, he suddenly realized what he was doing, and his heart sank.


    He was treating Seong as if he was real. Obviously, Seong would hear him since his brain would make it so he did.


    Jin-woo now understood the doctor''s words. The lines between reality and his hallucinations were blurring.


    However, after a moment of hesitation, Jin-woo asked again.


    "What was the contents of the video they were watching?"


    Without noticing the meaning behind Jin-woo''s words, Seong said with augh.


    "Oh, it''s hrious! You know that spoiled brat we would bump into when we go for our morning runs the times I slept over at your house? Well, turns out he was caught on camera almost hitting someone while driving his mother''s car! However, what''s even worse is that rumors are alsoing out that he would go into forums for luxury car fans and pretend to be a woman to scam unsuspecting rich men."


    Jin-woo was momentarily amused by this news, however, he was worried whether his mind was making Seong say all this. He wanted to go over those students to check but opted against it. Instead, he took out his phone to check himself.


    Unbeknownst to Jin-woo, a pair of eyes were staring at him from across the ssroom.


    "Seo-joon, did you see the video that''s going viral? It''s a clip of the actor H-"


    Before one of hisckeys next to him could finish his words, Seo-joon cut him off.


    "Not interested."


    Seo-joon then continued to gaze at Jin-woo talking to himself for a moment before he nned on getting up and walking over to him.


    However¡­


    Ding~


    Ding~


    Ding~


    "Alright, students put away those phones and settle down."


    Ms. Choi walked into the ssroom right on time.


    The school had the typical no-phone policy and other things like no dyed hair, but the teachers were prettyx with enforcing these perceived rigid rules.


    Seo-joon nced at Jin-woo before looking away and sitting back down.


    The students who were in their cliques in various areas of the ssroom all went back to their seats.


    Jin-woo had to put away his phone before he could search up anything. At the same time, the seat next to him was pulled back. He immediately sighed internally out of exasperation.


    "Jin-woo, what happen to your face?"


    Mai-sun asked directly after seeing Jin-woo''s face.


    A majority of the wounds on Jin-woo''s face were already healed, but with one look one could see a few discolored spots on his cheeks, as well as the cut on his bottom lip.


    "Seo-joon and his goons jumped me in the bathroom. What? Are you going to go fight them for me?"


    Despite Jin-woo''s sarcasm, Mai-sun responded seriously.


    "I can''t fight them off, but I can report it to the school. They have a strict no-bullying policy so Seo-joon and his friends will get in trouble."


    Jin-woo''s expression abruptly changed. He looked at Mai-sun and said coldly.


    "I''ll never forgive you if you did that."

 Chapter 22- Becoming A Target

    Jin-woo wasn''t afraid of reporting Seo-joon and the others for bullying him or even that they were smoking, but there was no point in doing so as the report would just be thrown out. Not only was Seo-joon the grandson of the chairwoman of ISH with considerable influence in the business world, but he was also a star among South Korea''s younger generation in the track and field scene.


    His name was even known internationally.


    In all honesty, Seo-joon didn''t even have toe to school, he could go pro and participate in U18petitions, even when he was back in middle school.


    He and Seong spected that the reason he hadn''t dropped out to focus on going pro was because he wanted to continue bullying him.


    Mai-Sun pouted at Jin-woo''s words, but before she could say anything, Ms. Choi spoke up.


    "All right everyone, I have some changes that I''d like to announce. Unfortunately, I won''t be your homeroom or P.E. teacher anymore, your ss has been assigned to someone else."


    The students were all slightly surprised to hear that, it was quite abrupt. As MS. Choi turned to the open door so did the gazes of the students. Soon everyone saw their new homeroom, and P. E. teacher casually sauntered in with a rolled-up attendance book.


    Everyone couldn''t help but nce at Seo-joon when this teacher walked in to see that his expression had changed.


    However, while everyone was observing Seo-joon''s mild reaction, they missed Jin-woo''s face dramatically changing into a stunned expression.


    "Fuck."


    Seong cursed next to Jin-woo, while Ms. Choi introduced her recement.


    "Everyone, this is Teacher Park. He will be your new homeroom and P. E. teacher."


    Teacher Park smiled slightly and said.


    "This decision is sudden, but I hope everyone doesn''t feel too much aversion to it. I have a good track record with your seniors, and they even call me Cool Teacher Park."


    Some of the students cringed when they heard that name, but internally they all unknowingly epted Teacher Park as a recement.


    Ms. Choi smiled and said.


    "Okay, I''ll be leaving this ss to you Teacher Park."


    Teacher Park nodded as Ms. Choi turned and left the ssroom, the door closing behind her. He then looked around the ss full of students and said.


    "Since it''s the first day, I think most of the teachers arex, so they won''t mind you running a littlete for morning assembly. I want to hear a quick introduction of yourselves, perhaps your likes and dislikes to get to know you better. So, I''ll call on you guys randomly. Okay, the first person, you. Stand up and introduce yourself."


    Teacher Park said this while pointing straight at Jin-woo. Every pair of eyes in the room swiveled and thennded on him.


    Jin-woo''s heart immediately grew cold as he stared at Teacher Park from across the room.


    Seeing that Jin-woo didn''t immediately stand up to introduce himself, Teacher Park frowned and said.


    "Jin-woo, did you not hear what I said? Stand up and introduce yourself¡­ And that watch."


    As if realizing the watch on Jin-woo''s wrist, Teacher Park added.


    "It''s not appropriate to wear watches like that in school, so bring it here."


    Jin-woo clenched his fists, but he suddenly stood up, his chair harshly scraping against the ground. Due to the silence of the ssroom, it was especially ear-grating.


    "Jin, don''t do anything rash."


    Seong immediately said worriedly from the side. However, his worry was unnecessary as Jin-woo had already calmed down. With an expressionless face, he looked at Teacher Park and said tly.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "My name is Lee Jin-woo. I don''t particrly like anything besides reading weics, but recently I found out I specifically dislike the smell of cannabis. Also¡­"


    Jin-woo suddenly paused and he seemed to hesitate to say his next words. But eventually, he continued on to say.


    "I''ve also been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and I had it for most of my life."


    Jin-woo quickly spotted the expressions of a few students change when he said that, but he added.


    "There''s amon misconception that people with schizophrenia are unstable and aggressive, but they are more of a harm to themselves than the people around them. Ny-nine percent of people with it would iste themselves from the world than run around attacking random people on the streets."


    After saying that Jin-woo sat back down.


    This was actually the first time he spoke openly about his illness. Seong seemed caught off guard but quickly gave him a thumbs up.


    However, someone from across the room suddenly shouted.


    "I heard that you see things, is that true?"


    Most of the students in the ss looked over at Jin-woo, they were perhaps morbidly curious to hear his answer.


    Jin-woo hesitated, never expecting a question like that. But shortly he nodded his head.


    "Yeah, I do."


    "Wait, really? So, are you seeing them now? Is it like seeing a ghost or something? Is it-Ugh!"


    The youth tried asking again, but the tall youth who could barely fit through the ssroom door yesterday, leaned forward in his seat and bonked the youth on the head.


    However, Jin-woo surprisingly answered without much thought.


    "Yeah, he''s standing next to you."


    The youth who was now rubbing his head couldn''t help but stiffen in his seat when he heard Jin-woo''s ominous words. A few students in the ssroom also felt chills running down their spines.


    The youth and everyone looked at the space next to the youth''s desk warily. However, Jin-woo suddenly said.


    "I''m joking."


    "¡­"


    A sudden silence overcame the ssroom.


    "Pfft."


    However, amid the silence, the tall foreign student behind the youth suddenly let out a stifled snicker.


    The youth, and some other students, however, red at Jin-woo half out of anger and half out of embarrassment for being tricked.


    "Dude, that was not funny."


    The youth said while looking at Jin-woo from across the ssroom. Though Jin-woo merely shrugged. But he hadn''t lied, Seong had walked over there after the youth asked his first question.


    The foreign student behind the youth suddenly raised his hand and said.


    "I have a question. You said you had that illness most of your life, how long was that exactly?"


    Jin-woo opened his mouth to answer, but Teacher Park, who had been silent all this while suddenly spoke up.


    "This isn''t a Q&A about your illness. Your introduction is finished but I thought I told you to bring your watch here."


    "Teacher Park, the school made an exception since my watch is used to remind me to take my medication. If I gave it to you and happen not to take my pills on time, the school will be held liable if I happen to go crazy and start attacking my fellow students."


    Hearing that, everyone in the ss had dumbfounded expressions appear on their faces.


    "Are you serious?! Didn''t you just say that ny-nine percent of people with schizophrenia weren''t dangerous?!"


    The youth from before was the first to stand up and voice his grievances that perhaps everyone was simrly feeling.


    Jin-woo turned to the youth and said.


    "Who knows, I''ve never missed a day taking my recent medication, I might be in that one percent."


    Suddenly everyone looked at Jin-woo with caution. However, stifled snickers could be hearding from the foreign youth once again.


    It was because of this that the students immediately realized Jin-woo was messing with them again. It seems like this ssmate of theirs had a morbid sense of humor, but his deadpan expression when delivering his jokes made them more frightening.


    However, Teacher Park''s face contorted into a hideous expression, and he spat out his next words like a venomous snake.


    "Bring it, now."


    The sudden change in Teacher Park''s demeanor caught the students off guard, and silence descended on the ssroom once more.


    However, before this silence could persist for long, a chair harshly scraping against the floor echoed out.


    Everyone immediately turned to the source of the noise to see Seo-joon getting up.


    "What are you idiots sitting around for? We have ss in the Science Lab for our first period after morning assembly, let''s go."


    Seo-joon said to his twockeys as he fitted his hands in his pockets and walked to the front of the ssroom to leave. He didn''t so much as nce at his father who was staring at him with a frown.


    "Move it."


    Seo-joon added as he opened the door and left.


    The twockeys looked at each other for a moment before they got up and hurried after Seo-joon. However, they did bow slightly when they were passing Teacher Park.


    With Seo-joon leading the way, the other students who didn''t feel like introducing themselves tentatively got up and after grabbing their books from their bags at the back they left the room after bowing slightly to Teacher Park. It might be toote to attend assembly, so they decided to just head straight to ss.


    Teacher Park remained silent as this happened, and the other students took this as a sign of agreement, so they all got up to leave.


    Jin-woo was among these students leaving, but he couldn''t help but notice that Teacher Park''s gaze was fixed on him.


    Suddenly Teacher Park smiled and said.


    "Fine, we''ll pick this back up during P.E. ss."


    It wasn''t clear whether he meant this for the entire ss, or just for Jin-woo. However, either way, Jin-woo felt like a big red target had suddenly been ced on his back.

 Chapter 23- An Unfamiliar Notification Chime

    March 13, 2020, 11:00am.


    Ding~


    Ding~


    Ding~


    The bell for the second period rang for the High Schoolers. The halls were noisy as students chattered and made their way to their next ss.


    Normally students would remain in ssrooms while teachers moved from ss to ss, but ISH was different as different rooms were built for various subjects that a ss could use. The High School was quite big, not to mention the Middle School and Elementary campuses, so they could afford to do this.


    However, a teacher would have to book an open slot for their ss in advance if they wanted to use those rooms.


    Among the students in the noisy hall, the students from ss 1A were heading back to their ss from the Science Lab. Upon entering the ss, they saw Teacher Park casually sitting around the teacher''s desk.


    Jin-woo entered the room and when he saw Teacher Park he got the feeling the man had never left.


    Teacher Park didn''t take notice of Jin-woo, he simply stood up and spoke over the noisy ssroom.


    "Grab your gear and head to the Gymnasium, we''ll have a small volleyball tournament for boys and girls."


    A few students eximed in excitement when they heard that. For first years like them, depending on the P.E. teachers, they wouldn''t be able to y a Sport in P.E. for the first couple of weeks in the semester and instead, the teacher would make them do some simple exercises. This was likely because the teacher couldn''t be bothered.


    However, it seemed Teacher Park was really cool. A few male students couldn''t help but cup the sides of their mouths with their hands and hollered praises.


    Teacher Park didn''t bother reprimanding them and instead smiled and shook his head. This small action further convinced the students, especially the boys, that he was actually easygoing.


    However, when a few boys requested ser instead of volleyball, he immediately dismissed them by waving them away with his rolled-up attendance folder.


    "I''ll be heading to the Gymnasium; you guys hurry up."


    Teacher Park said then tapped his shoulder with his attendance folder and walked out of the ssroom. However, when he was passing through the door, he finally turned and cast a cold nce toward the figure at the back of the room.


    As if sensing the intense gaze on his back, Jin-woo nced behind him, however, he saw no one.


    "AHH! What are you doing?!"


    Just as Jin-woo was about to turn around to grab his drawstring bag, a sudden scream was heard. He turned and saw that it hade from one of the remaining girls in the ss. One of the boys had decided to start changing right where he was. Jin-woo recognized the boy to be the youth who asked him all those questions about his schizophrenia.


    The youth, who was still in his underwear, looked dumbfounded when the girl let out a scream. He then realized something, and he smiled awkwardly before saying.


    "Sorry, I was in an all-male ss for every semester in middle school so we would just change in ss for P.E., but I forgot I wasn''t in middle school anymore. I''m really sorry, haha."


    The youth tried to awkwardlyugh off the situation, but the girl didn''t respond, she had already turned to leave the room with a huff with the other female students.


    A few of the male students let out peals ofughter at the youth''s expense. Feeling embarrassed, the youth decided to just finish changing in a hurry.


    "Haha, it''s okay, I was in an all-male ss a few times in middle school too, so I was about to change here but I stopped in time when I saw the girls."


    One male student in the crowd said and a few echoed simr sentiments.


    However, this didn''t lessen the youth''s embarrassment. However, he felt a bit better when a few male students decided to change here instead of the Gymnasium since all the girls had already left.


    Jin-woo had already turned back to grab his drawstring bag. He was about to turn and rush out, however, he suddenly heard a weird sounding from his backpack.


    It was his phone.


    The sound was a notification alert, but it sounded different from when a message came in. In fact, it was the first time he had heard this specific notification chime.


    Jin-woo unzipped his backpack and took out his phone. His fingerprint unlocked it before he swiped down to see the notification bar.


    There Jin-woo saw that the notification was from his home security app. However, the big words ''INTRUDER'' within the message caused his heart to skip a beat. Without any hesitation, he clicked on the notification and his phone darkened for a second as it shifted to his home security app.


    "Jin, what''s up?"


    Seong suddenly said from behind Jin-woo. However, he didn''t get a response.


    "Hm?"


    Seong ced his hands on Jin-woo''s shoulders and tiptoed to see over his shoulder at what he was looking at.


    A video was ying out on Jin-woo''s phone. His front door was kicked down before several men dressed in full military gear swarmed into his house with submachine guns.


    Jin-woo''s eyes involuntarily focused on the guns they were carrying and was shocked as well as baffled when he recognized them.


    ''Those are DK7 submachine guns... Why is the White Tiger Armed Forces raiding my house?''


    The ''White Tiger'' was a special group in the army that was mostly handpicked to execute urban counter-terrorism and quick-reaction missions.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jin-woo wanted to continue observing them, however, as the men went from room to room searching around, the feed of the cameras in each room of the house was cut off as they were destroyed.


    Jin-woo remained silent as he continually switched to different cameras one after another as they were destroyed. Thest camera was in the living room. It was really high up, so it took a while for the intruders to destroy it, but eventually, they did.


    However, during thest few seconds before this camera was destroyed, Jin-woo saw them kick down his mother''s office door beforeing out with herputer. At the corner of the camera, he also saw them enter his bathroom. It looked like they were carrying something as they came out, but that was when the camera was destroyed.


    "Wha-What the fuck?"


    Seong was so shocked by the scene he let out an involuntary curse.


    Jin-woo, however, was oddly calm as he nned to rewatch the saved footage. However, a voice suddenly sounded from next to him.


    "What kind of video are you watching?"


    "Fuck!"


    Seong let out another curse due to his surprise. Both he and Jin-woo immediately turned their heads to see that it was the youth from before.


    How long had he been standing there?


    Jin-woo was so focused on his phone that he hadn''t noticed him. He also wasn''t sure if the youth saw the videos.


    "Nothing, just a random video."


    Jin-woo said offhandedly before he ced the phone back into his bag.


    The youth casually nodded, before he smiled and said.


    "My name is Yoon-min. Oh, and this big guy here is Micah."


    The youth called Yoon-min turned and pointed at the foreign youth called Micah.


    Micah smiled and nodded at Jin-woo as he zipped up the school''s light blue tracksuit jacket. Jin-woo returned the nod.


    "Wait, why did you change into your winter P.E. gear?"


    Yoon-min suddenly asked as he looked at the tracksuit Micah was wearing.


    "Cause mate, the regr P.E. gear I bought from the school couldn''t fit me."


    "Then where did you get this P.E. gear?"


    "I borrowed it from Sammy."


    "Oh, right. Your cousin attended this schoolst year."


    The two youths had switched to English during their conversation, though it seemed unintentional.


    Jin-woo stood there silently as they talked. Seong meanwhile, was looking at Micah while trying to guess how tall he was.


    As if realizing their switch innguage, they turned to look at the silent Jin-woo. Perhaps thinking theirnguage change when talking had put him off, Yoon-min apologized.


    "Sorry about that, we do that too often."


    "It''s okay, I can speak English."


    "Fluently?"


    Micah asked, and Jin-woo nodded.


    "Oh, cool."


    Yoon-min said while Micah''s eyes lit up slightly.


    "Wait, Jin, tell them you can speak fournguages! I bet they''ll be mind-blown if you start speaking Mandarin. No, maybe say something in Japanese. Hurry, say that one famous line everyone knows from that popr anime!"


    It took everything Jin-woo had not to turn and tell Seong to shut up.


    "What are you waiting for? Hurry and change so we can go, everyone has already left."


    Yoon-min said, but Jin-woo nced across the ssroom where a pair of eyes were watching him coldly. Like how a predator would watch its prey.

 Chapter 24- Wrong Color

    Shaking his head, Jin-woo said.


    "You can go ahead first; I''ll catch up soon."


    Jin-woo was ncing behind Yoon-min at the remaining people in the ssroom, but Yoon-min suddenly frowned at him and asked.


    "Why, is it because I''m gay?"


    Jin-woo,pletely caught off guard, looked at Yoon-min with a stunned expression.


    "Jin, what are you doing? Hurry and apologize."


    Seong quickly said from the side when he saw Jin-woo had frozen up.


    Jin-woo hurriedly bowed and apologized.


    "No, sorry, that wasn''t what I meant. I-"


    "Pfft."


    Jin-woo was interrupted by a stifled snicker and he couldn''t help but look up to see that Yoon-min was on the verge of bursting outughing.


    Jin-woo silently rose from his bow but his eyebrows were twitching incessantly. Yoon-min managed to calm down enough to pat his shoulder and said.


    "Don''t be too upset since you started it first. We''ll get going, but I want to ask, do you n on changing after we leave because you''re one of those guys who gets embarrassed to be seen? I wouldn''t expect that from Mr. Multitalen-Ugh!"


    Micah, who had been silent up until now, suddenly bonked Yoon-min on the back of his head and said in English while dragging him away.


    "Mate, that mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble!"


    "No, my head is going to crack open before that happens."


    Yoon-min jumped onto Micah''s back and the two friends bickered even as they left. Jin-woo watched as they exited the ssroom, and he was somewhat reminded of Seong and him.


    But without a word, Jin-woo then turned and looked at the remaining people in the ssroom once again.


    Seo-joon was seated on top of a desk at the front of the room, and he stared back at Jin-woo along with his twockeys next to him.


    Jin-woo had long realized he was sitting there waiting for him while blocking off the only door leading out of the ssroom. Jin-woo knew this was going to happen, so he wasn''t surprised.


    The n he formted to deal with Seo-joon shed passed Jin-woo''s mind and after confirming there were no footsteps in the hallway, he slung his draw string bag over his shoulder. Then, without hesitation, he turned and dashed toward his desk.


    Seo-joon didn''t react at first, but he quickly realized what Jin-woo was nning and he jumped up from the desk to chase after him.


    However, it was toote.


    Jin-woo, having already calcted the distance between him and Seo-joon, was quite rxed as he ran to his desk and jumped.


    The windows that showed a view of the hallway from the ssroom were thoserge ss sliding windows. On normal days they would only be open about halfway, but Jin-woo''s average height frame slipped through the window over his desk, which was uncharacteristically all the way open. He went through without touching the window frame andnded in the hallway with a roll.


    After dying for so long, everyone had already entered their ss, so no one was there in the hallway to witness Jin-woo''s crazy actions.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Hurriedly getting up, the soles of Jin-woo''s indoor shoes squeaked against the ground as he practically glided down the empty hallway.


    Seo-joon''s threats to stop drifted into his ears from the window, but Jin-woo ignored them and kept running.


    "Hey, Jin. Is this really a good n? You might have gotten away today but he''s going to be more cautious next time."


    Seong said while running alongside Jin-woo as they turned a few corners.


    Jin-woo didn''t stop as he decided to find a bathroom to quickly change. In response to Seong''s question, he frowned and said.


    "It''s not that I''m running away from Seo-joon because I''m afraid of confronting him, it''s just because I realize he''s targeting me before I take my medication."


    Seong seemed to sink into his thoughts for a moment before he agreed.


    "Yeah, this is the first time since the Track Club that he''s specifically targeting you before lunch."


    Jin-woo frowned having been reminded of that incident. When he first entered middle school with Seong, he had joined a few clubs, and the Track Club was one of them. It was there he first met Seo-joon, and they got along at first.


    However, when Jin-woo started to perform better than him Seo-joon became antagonistic towards him.


    It started with his clothes going missing, but it got to the point where they would get into fistfights on almost a daily basis. Both their parents were called each time, but it was just kids getting into small scuffles until it took a maddening turn when Seo-joon almost identally killed him.


    Seo-joon had been stealing his medication from his bag, but Seong always had backups on him, so this wasn''t a problem. However, rather than stealing his medication this time, Seo-joon reced them with some other pills.


    Jin-woo quickly realized the difference in taste and forcefully vomited them out. But he was still slightly affected by them and based on his symptoms it was likely the pills he swallowed were illegal drugs.


    Things then escted after his mother brought him to the doctor and found out that if those pills had fully dissolved before he spat them out, they would have shed with the medications he was already on and potentially led to a seizure or cardiac arrest. His parents obviously went mental, especially his father, and they went straight to the police rather than the school.


    If not, they knew Seo-joon''s grandmother would just try and cover it up.


    However, this all happened in private. Seo-joon''s grandmother seemingly had some friends in the police department who kept everything under wraps so that even the teachers and students in ISH didn''t know.


    When questioned, Seo-joon denied having reced his pills with drugs, but because the pills were lost after Jin-woo vomited them in the toilet, and no one saw him personally go into his bag, Seo-joon got off scot-free. It also didn''t help that his grandmother during the entire investigation persistently imed that Jin-woo was the one who took them himself and lied to get her grandson in trouble.


    However, Seo-joon was eventually forced to face a two-week suspension after other students testified that he was bullying Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo ultimately left the Track Club, and Seo-joon came back from suspension to be the main star there like he wanted.


    However, during his initial meeting with Seo-joon, Jin-woo''s impression of him was as good as Seong''s. So, he told him about his illness. As he suspected, Seo-joon was understanding and for a short period, he and Seong were practically on the same wavelength when it came to helping him.


    So, after Seo-joon came back from suspension, rumors of him having schizophrenia began spreading among the students.


    Jin-woo and Seong thought that Seo-joon was the one who was spreading it, but because his reputation of being an athletic star sort of damped the rumors Jin-woo didn''t confront him.


    Seong, however, was especially angry at Seo-joon for revealing his illness and went looking for him, only toe back with a bruised cheek.


    Ever since then, Seo-joon would make trouble for them every chance he got and Jin-woo would immediately retaliate despite Seong''s protests.


    Inside a bathroom stall, Jin-woo, after putting on his shirt, went to pick up his sses from the water tank. However, he stopped and instead reached into his school pants pocket to take out the small clear white bag. He stared down at the slightly blurry pill inside as he recalled his rtionship with Seo-joon.


    There were no pockets on his P.E. shorts, but he didn''t want his medication to leave his sight for even a second.


    As Jin-woo was thinking about where to put the small bag, he suddenly frowned and squinted at the pill inside of it.


    "Jin, what''s wrong? Are you okay in there?"


    Seong suddenly called from outside.


    "I''m fine¡­ It''s just that, this pill¡­"


    Jin-woo picked up his sses from the water tank and put them on. Then looking down at the grayish pill inside the clear white bag, his brows furrowed even deeper.


    "¡­the color is wrong."

 Chapter 25- No One Speaks Up For The Freak

    "Wrong color? Jin, what do you mean?"


    "¡­"


    "Jin, you''re scaring me, what''s wrong?"


    Seong said again when he didn''t get a response from Jin-woo, and panic could be heard in his voice.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I''m fine Seong."


    Jin-woo finally responded. He was looking down at the pill in his hand with profound confusion. He was sure he hadn''t identally picked up another pill bottle.


    Maybe some of the pills were gray and he hadn''t realized it before?


    Jin-woo came up with this theory, but he somewhat doubted this. His mother had helped create this pill in November and he had slowly transitioned to them during thest days of middle school before he went on winter break. It''s been over three months; he would have noticed if any of the pills were gray instead of white.


    ''If the pill is wrong, then did this get mixed in with my pills?''


    Jin-woo recalled this bottle was the one he found in the living room. Nothing was certain, but one thing was sure, regardless of his conclusions he couldn''t take this pill.


    This caused an uneasy feeling to settle in Jin-woo''s heart as he realized he would go without his medication today.


    Jin-woo sighed. He had missed days taking his medication in the past, but nothing significant happened so he could afford to miss it just today.


    Jin-woo looked at the weird gray pill in thought then slipped it between his underwear and P.E. shorts'' waistband. He then left the stall with his drawstring bag and Seong was there waiting for him, a worried expression on his face.


    Smiling, Jin-woo said.


    "Really, I''m fine Seong."


    "You''re never fine when you say you''re fine, I know you Jin."


    "I don''t know where to put my uniform now."


    Jin-woo said looking down at the drawstring bag in his hand.


    Seong knew he was changing the topic, but he could only grumble under his breath before he then suggested.


    "Just leave it here, it''s notmon that someone goes through a random bag left in the bathroom."


    Jin-woo thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement. He went to thest stall and hung the drawstrings on the door inside before pulling the door close to make it look like someone might still be inside.


    "Let''s go, we''re probablyte."


    Jin-woo said as he hurried to leave the bathroom. Seong nodded and followed behind him, however, Jin-woo suddenly asked.


    "Why didn''t you just enter the stall? It''s not like the door could have stopped you."


    "I tried but I couldn''t."


    As Jin-woo pushed the bathroom door open he thought internally.


    ''I guess there would be some logic to my hallucinations or else I would be able to tell them apart from reality.''


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    ..


    "YOU''RE LATE!!"


    Teacher Park with his arms folded immediately screamed at Jin-woo as he came running into the gymnasium.


    Jin-woo was expecting this reaction so his expression was calm as he came up and apologized. However, the students who had already done their warmups and were now forming teams to start the mini-tournament were all shocked and stopped what they were doing to look over.


    "Bastard, he''s doing this on purpose."


    Seong said while ring at Teacher Park.


    "Start your warmup, and since you''rete you''ll do twentyps around the gymnasium."


    The students who were all looking over were slightly taken aback. The gymnasium was by no means small as it could hold all of ISH''s High Schoolers and then some. They were also only required to run fiveps around it but Jin-woo had to do twenty.


    It was at this point that some started to realize Teacher Park had it out for Jin-woo for some reason.


    Jin-woo, however, simply nodded his head and turned to get started.


    "Wait!"


    Teacher Park suddenly yelled and stepped forward to grab Jin-woo''s wrist.


    Jin-woo initially paused at the shout but quickly took a step back when he saw Teacher Park grabbing towards him. After dodging Teacher Park''s grasp, Jin-woo''s face turned even more expressionless as he asked coldly.


    "Teacher Park, is there something I can help you with?"


    Having failed to grab Jin-woo, Teacher Park''s face twisted into something far removed from what was considered a normal human expression. Eyes ring, he growled.


    "Didn''t I say those watches aren''t allowed? Hand it over or else you''ll have to dops for the entire session!"


    Jin-woo remained silent as he stared at Teacher Park. He couldn''t help but wonder who he hated more¡ª the father who was nothing more than a worthless adult, or the son who derived pleasure from tormenting him.


    Without a word, Jin-woo turned and started his run.


    Teacher Park looked on coldly as Jin-woo ran off without a word. However, if one looked closely, one might notice the slight curvature at the corner of his lips.


    Looking away from Jin-woo, Teacher Park turned to the silent students to say with a slight smile.


    "Okay, get into your teams, remember boys and girls separate. We need to hurry if you want to y a few games. The tournament will be a knockout tournament, so we''ll have one round with the first to six points wins. Come on, get ready."


    Due to Teacher Park''s gentle urging, the students somewhat forgot his earlier treatment of Jin-woo. However, there were a few people who nced at Jin-woo.


    Ye-jun was one of those people. He fixed his sses and looked at Jin-woo running with a detached expression.


    "Teacher Park is so unfair; how could he do that?"


    "Yeah, I know right? Why couldn''t he just let us y in one big tournament? I wanted to partner with Ye-jun."


    "*Tsk*¡­ ss President is really popr, huh?"


    One of the three youths Ye-jun chose to be on his team said from his seat on the ground. The other two youths in the team expressed simr sentiments.


    Ye-jun remained calm as if he didn''t hear anything. However, if someone had closely looked at him a few seconds ago, they would have seen that he did have a slight frown between his brows when he initially heard the girls'' words. That was because he thought that someone was actually speaking up for Jin-woo.


    ''How could that be? He''s just a freak that no one wants to be friends with.''


    Ye-jun nced at Jin-woo one more time before he turned to focus on the tournament.


    However, he suddenly heard someone say.


    "Teacher Park, you''re not really going to make Jin-woo run for the entire session, right?"


    Ye-jun couldn''t help but freeze. He quickly turned his head to the voice, and he saw that it was the foreign youth who had spoken up. If he recalled correctly, his name was Micah.


    "That''s right, since Jin-woo has an illness surely Teacher Park wouldn''t want to jeopardize the safety of a student?"


    Yoon-min''s voice came right after Micah''s, and Ye-jun couldn''t help but frown when he saw this scene.

 Chapter 26- A Similar Pair Of Glasses

    Teacher Park''s eyes casually swept over Micah and Yoon-min before he asked tly.


    "Do you want to join him?"


    Everyone was now watching this scene. Contrary to expectations, Yoon-min and Micah nodded at Teacher Park''s question, which was more of a threat.


    Teacher Park''s expression turned slightly gloomy when he saw Micah and Yoon-min nodding. He coldly said.


    "Fine, you two can go runps for the entire session with him."


    Yoon-min casually nodded once more, not seeming to mind having to run for about forty minutes straight. However, just as he and Micah turned around to start running, Yoon-min suddenly smacked his forehead and spun around to say.


    "Oh, right, I forgot to mention Teacher Park, Micah and I both have asthma so if we faint after running for so long could you get someone to take us to the nurse''s office, or perhaps the hospital?"


    Everyone''s expressions turned strange when they heard that, and they couldn''t help but nce at Teacher Park.


    Teacher Park''s expression was even more gloomy at this point.


    "Twentyps. No less."


    Teacher Park relented since even if Yoon-min was lying he truly couldn''t risk it, especially when there were so many witnesses to testify against him.


    Yoon-min grinned before he and Micah ran to catch up to Jin-woo.


    "Jin, it seems like you made some friends!"


    Seong, who was running alongside Jin-woo, said excitedly.


    Jin-woo didn''t respond. Watching as Yoon-min and Micah jogged over, he felt a strange feeling rise in his heart. Fear? Excitement? Anxiousness? He didn''t know what it was.


    "Hey there Mr. Multitalented, you don''t mind if we join you, right?"


    Yoon-min said with augh as he and Micah came up to run on either side of Jin-woo. Seong had to reluctantly take the far-right side next to Yoon-min.


    "You guys didn''t have to do this."


    "What are you saying? It''s perfectly normal to help a friend, right?"


    "A friend?"


    Jin-woo looked at Yoon-min slightly taken aback.


    "Yeah, you''ve passed the ''vibe check,'' so Micah and I want you to be our friend."


    "Vibe check? What''s that?"


    Yoon-min had said ''vibe check'' in English and even though Jin-woo spoke thenguage, he wasn''t familiar with its colloquialisms.


    Seeing Jin-woo''s confused expression, Yoon-min smiled and exined.


    "It just means you''re not a bad guy. You didn''t mind us switchingnguages while talking since you can speak English, and you didn''t even flinch when I told you I was gay."


    Yoon-min was using his fingers to list the various things he observed from Jin-woo.


    "Oh, there''s also your morbid sense of humor. I find it off-putting, but Micah thinks it''s hrious."


    Jin-woo nced at Micah, who smiled slightly at him.


    With that, Yoon-min stopped listing and turned to Jin-woo to ask.


    "So, friends?"


    Jin-woo slowly nodded but then said.


    "But you really didn''t have to get yourselves in trouble for me when you have asthma."


    Yoon-min clicked his tongue and said in English with annoyance.


    "That bastard ispletely sus the way how he chose to separate the girls from us boys, we don''t trust him. It''s also obvious he''s hiding a nasty personality. But you don''t have to worry about our asthma. Actually, I don''t have it, Micah''s the only one who does. But even then, he''s never had to use his inhaler since elementary school, so he doesn''t even carry it around anymore."


    Yoon-min had a cheeky smile on his lips as he said thosest words.


    Seeing this, Jin-woo understood that these two had nned everything. Chuckling he said.


    "Still, you probably shouldn''t have joined me."


    "Why?"


    Yoon-min asked with a frown, not understanding Jin-woo''s thought process. Without looking at him Jin-woo responded.


    "Because they''re slightly upset that you rudely came next to me and forced them to run way over there."


    Jin-woo motioned to the right of Yoon-min as he said that.


    Immediately as Yoon-min heard that, all his hair stood on end and a cold chill ran down his spine. He didn''t even look to his right, without hesitation, he shifted over to run alongside Micah to the left.


    In response to Yoon-min''s frightened reaction, Micah let out a loudugh while Jin-woo chuckled slightly.


    "God damn it Micah, it''s not funny! Now I really regret helping him out."


    As the three youthsughed and argued while running, Ye-jun who had his hand on his knees while breathing heavily, looked over at them.


    Standing upright, Ye-jun then took off his sses that were fogging up to clean them. As he watched Jin-woo and the others, he couldn''t help but mutter under his breath.


    "Since when did that freak make friends?"


    Ye-jun, however, didn''t expect a voice to respond next to him.


    "You left ss before the first bell so of course you wouldn''t know."


    Shocked, Ye-jun turned and looked at the person.


    "M-Mai-sun."


    Ye-jun stammered slightly, a bit flustered that Mai-sun was the one who had caught his slip-up.


    However, Mai-sun didn''t seem to notice his flustered state as she handed him a towel and said.


    "Here, you can use my towel. My team got knocked out in the first round so I didn''t get a chance to use it."


    "¡­Thank you."


    After a pause, Ye-jun said while taking the towel from Mai-sun to wipe his face.


    Mai-sun meanwhile, nced at the pair of sses in Ye-jun''s hand before saying in slight surprise.


    "Oh, what a coincidence! That looks like the sses I bought for Seong''s birthday back in middle school. I left it inside his locker as a surprise, but he didn''t even wear them."


    Suddenly, the hand Ye-jun was using to wipe his face with the towel paused.


    "I was so embarrassed I didn''t bother asking if he had thrown them out."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Mai-sun suddenly added, and Ye-jun''s hand that had paused continued, but if one was looking closely, they might not have realized the pause was unnatural.


    After wiping his sweat, Ye-jun calmly wore his sses and tried to hand back the towel to Mai-sun.


    Mai-sun didn''t reach out to take it but instead smiled and said.


    "Since your group passed the second round you can keep it for the next game. You were also extremely exhausted after this round so make sure to rest properly and drink some water."


    After saying that, Mai-sun smiled sweetly before she turned and left.


    Ye-jun watched as Mai-sun left, herst words echoing in his ears like a crisp bell chime.


    While fixing his sses, Ye-jun nced at Jin-woo who was still runningps around the gymnasium at a steady pace. It had been more than a few minutes since he started running but he wasn''t even sweating, yet here he waspletely exhausted.


    Ye-jun''s eyes watching Jin-woo turned grim as he clenched the towel in his hand tightly.

 Chapter 27- I Have Something To Announce

    Huff¡­


    Huff¡­


    Huff¡­


    Jin-woo, Yoon-min, and Micah came to a stop after finally finishing the twentyps. A few students who were watching the final match of the mini-tournament nced at them with knowing smiles before turning back to see Ye-jun scoring the fifth point for his team. The girls'' cheers filled the entire gymnasium.


    The reason these students were giving Jin-woo and the others knowing smiles was because they had intentionally slowed down their pace when running. By the time they finished the twentyps, the session was about to end, giving Teacher Park no chance to target them again.


    Teacher Park did give them dark looks from time to time as they ran, but that was all he could do as he didn''t state how fast they shouldplete theps.


    So Jin-woo, Yoon-min, and Micah still ended up running for the entire session, however, they had paced themselves, so they weren''t exhausted after.


    Nheless, they were still a bit tired, especially Yoon-min.


    The three stopped some distance away from the crowd of students watching the game. Yoon-min immediately dropped to the ground to rest followed by Micah.


    Jin-woo remained standing, and though he looked rtively less exhausted than Micah and Yoon-min, his face dripped with sweat and his light blue P.E. shirt had patches of wet marks on it. Jin-woo pinched and pulled his cor to unstick his shirt from his skin, while also trying to cool himself down.


    "Damn it, Micah, fan me."


    Yoon-min said as he shifted to sit between Micah''s legs with his back leaning against him. A content expression appeared on Yoon-min face when Micahplied and started fanning him with his hands. However, Yoon-min happened to nce up at Jin-woo to see he was still standing, clicking his tongue he said.


    "How can you still stay standing? Looks like they don''t call you Mr. Multitalented for nothing."


    Jin-woo nced over at Yoon-min and Micah, and it suddenly came to him that there might be more to their rtionship. However, he quickly stopped his overthinking train of thought and chose not to ask.


    Jin-woo opened his mouth to respond to Yoon-min, however, loud cheering suddenly came from the crowd of students.


    Jin-woo looked, and by listening to their shouts he found out the mini-tournament had finished.


    "*Tsk*¡­That guy''s team won."


    Seong said from the side while looking through the crowd at Ye-jun. Everyone was singing his praises.


    "Looks like our ss President''s team won, but that''s because he wasn''t up against our school''s Mr. Multitalented and Micah!"


    Yoon-min said while looking over at the cheering crowd as well.


    Jin-woo didn''t show much reaction as he looked on. He soon nced away to look at his watch.


    It was 11:52 am.


    "Okay, the mini-tournament is over, and the winner is ss President Ye-jun''s team for the boys, while the girl''s tournament was won by Eun-ju''s team."


    Eun-ju was a rather tall and beautiful girl who wore a ponytail. With one look one would be able to tell she was quite athletic.


    The students all cheered after Teacher''s Park''s announcement. However, he calmed everyone down to say once again.


    "The session is about to end for lunch, but I want you all to gather at the tennis court outside, I have something important to announce."


    Jin-woo had been watching from afar and suddenly saw Teacher Park briefly nce at him. He wasn''t the only one who saw this, Yoon-min said with a frown.


    "Did he just nce at us?"


    "No, he was ncing at me."


    Jin-woo said with a calm expression, however, Yoon-min corrected him.


    "No, he was ncing at us."


    He especially emphasized ''us.''


    "If he really is nning on targeting you in front of everyone, we''re not just going to stand by and do nothing."


    Micah added.


    "Right! But I don''t get it, why is he targeting you? Did something happen?"


    Yoon-min said while looking up at Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo paused, but before he could say anything, Teacher Park continued speaking.


    "You guys can go take a break to drink some water and change if you want before meeting up, but if you don''t want to lose a few minutes of your lunchtime then you should probably make it quick."


    The students hearing that all either rush towards the gymnasium bathroom or the exit to get to their ss.


    "I''ll tell you guyster."


    Jin-woo said before he turned to leave. Yoon-min and Micah couldn''t get a word in as Jin-woo rushed off.


    Outside, a few students chose to head to the public water pipes next to the gymnasium to cool down. Jin-woo went unnoticed as he walked by a group of boys who had found a hose from somewhere and were taking turns spraying each other.


    Looking at this scene one would think that these youths were still in middle school, though perhaps it''s that they haven''t fully adjusted to being a High Schooler yet.


    Theughter from the group faded from Jin-woo''s senses as he went to the far corner of the gymnasium. There was a row of water pipes here for students to drink from, but due to remoteness, not many studentse by here.


    Jin-woo, after drinking a few mouthfuls of water took off his sses and used his shirt to wipe his face.


    "Jin, are you really nning on telling Yoon-min and Micah about Teacher Park?"


    "I-"


    Before Jin-woo could respond, a figure suddenly popped out from around the nearby corner before grabbing Jin-woo''s shirt and pulling it further over his face with one hand while using another to firmly wrap around his neck.


    "Did you really think you could get away from me so easily?"


    A voice filled with amused mockery whispered into Jin-woo''s ear. He recognized the voice.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It was Seo-joon.


    ''Damn it.''


    Jin-woo cursed internally. He hadn''t seen Seo-joon or hisckeys when he entered the gymnasium, so he thought he had gone off to some bathroom to smoke. However, he would have never expected that he would be waiting for him here.


    But how did Seo-joon know he would be here, or was it just a coincidence?

 Chapter 28- So I Can Look In His Shorts

    "Seo-joon, let g-!"


    "Shush, be quiet."


    Seo-joon hurriedly covered Jin-woo''s mouth and nced at the youths who were still ying with the hose several dozen meters away.


    With an arm firmly locked around Jin-woo''s neck and the other covering his mouth through the shirt that still covered his face, Seo-joon started dragging Jin-woo towards the back of the gymnasium, kicking and struggling.


    The back of the gymnasium almost resembles a construction site with those stair towers connected by sections lining up against the wall. A wall with sparse butrge windows at the very top, and several metal pipes varying in size running along the bottom.


    Some of therger pipes seemed to enter the ground from the gymnasium and travel in the direction of the High School building, the west wing of which that was visible from this angle.


    Leaning against one of those big pipes was one of Seo-joon''sckeys, while the second one was standing in front of him.


    "Hyung is still pissed that bastard got away."


    Lackey One said blowing out a cloud of smoke. Lackey Two nodded and replied.


    "Yeah, and Jin isn''t going to wait around at the end of school to be caught, so we''ll likely have to wait until tomorrow.''


    Both of them werementing about not being able to catch Jin-woo while smoking to relieve their grievances. However, they heard sounds from the corner, and they turned to see their Hyung dragging someone over.


    Theckeys perked up; they threw away their unfinished cigarettes, adding to the many others on the ground before going over to help Seo-joon.


    However, as they grabbed this person''s arm to keep him from struggling, they were filled with confusion.


    "Hyung, who is this?"


    Lackey One asked while struggling to hold this unknown person''s arm. They had never targeted someone other than Jin-woo before. Was their Hyung so angry he decided to target a random student?


    Seo-joon smirked and said amused.


    "Who else could it be?"


    Immediately after Seo-joon said that the person who had his face covered said coldly.


    "I said let me go."


    Lackey One and Lackey Two recognized that cold voice almost immediately and they couldn''t help but look at Jin-woo''s covered face with stunned expressions.


    "Sure thing."


    Seo-joon said and after dragging Jin-woo to where they were smoking, he threw him onto the ground.


    Jin-woo was finally able to get his shirt off his face.


    "Holy shit, it''s really him!"


    Lackey One yelled excitedly when he saw that it was indeed Jin-woo.


    "I was taking a piss at the corner when I heard someone at the pipes. When I looked, who did I see?"


    Seo-joon chuckled, his previously sulky mood now lifted because of Jin-woo''s appearance.


    Jin-woo while massaging his aching throat, red up murderously at Seo-joon. But all of a sudden, he realized that his vision was blurry.


    He had left his sses on the water pipes.


    However, the consequence of going up against Seo-joon and hisckeys with his bad eyesight was suddenly overshadowed as Jin-woo recalled what Seo-joon said he was doing before he covered his mouth and dragged him here.


    Jin-woo''s body trembled, and his anger immediately red up. He got up wanting to feel his fist against Seo-joon''s face, but Seo-joon reacted quickly.


    Thump!


    Seo-joon sent out a ruthless kick to Jin-woo''s chest. Jin-woo got the wind knocked out of him and he fell to the ground gasping while clutching his chest.


    "Damn it, Jin, get up!"


    Seong, who had been frantic since Seo-joon grabbed Jin-woo, yelled from the side. However, Seo-joon didn''t stop, he raised his foot and repeatedly stomped on Jin-woo. He was especially aiming for his face and abdomen.


    Lackey One and Lackey Two didn''t join in and only watched silently from the side. They knew their Hyung was extremely pissed.


    Seo-joon who was continuously stomping on Jin-woo only stopped when a beeping sound suddenly came from Jin-woo''s watch.


    Seo-joon''s foot paused in the air above the watch. Jin-woo was covering his head with his hands so Seo-joon had stomped on the watch a couple of times.


    Seo-joon shifted his foot and looked down at the watch. His previously expressionless face suddenly had a small change when he saw it. Suddenly he bent down and grabbed Jin-woo''s wrist to examine the watch. After Seo-joon saw that it was undamaged he unintentionally released a sigh of relief. But his expression suddenly returned to normal, and he nced at Jin-woo who was battered and bruised.


    "Since I caught you before lunch that means you haven''t taken it yet."


    Seo-joon said before looking Jin-woo up and down.


    "I know you always keep your medication on you after that little ident in the Track Club. Come on, where did you put, in your shorts?"


    Seo-joon kept Jin-woo''s right wrist firmly in his grasp before he went to grab Jin-woo''s shorts, but Jin-woo used his other arm to p his hand away.


    "F-Fuck off Joon¡­ I already took it at the water pipes."


    Seo-joon, having his hand pped away, saw red. He swung his hand out and pped Jin-woo across the face. Adding a bright red handprint along with the bruises on his face and busted lip. He then climbed over Jin-woo and started punching him.


    Jin-woo covered his head with his arms but his arms soon became numb, and he was unable to stop several fists from breaking his defenses.


    Only after a few minutes did Seo-joone back to his senses and stopped his mauling. He looked down at Jin-woo''s bloodied and unresponsive face before shimmying down his legs to grab his shorts once again.


    However, as he did, Jin-woo suddenly grabbed his hand. Seo-joon frowned and tried to pull the hand away, but Jin-woo''s grip was like an iron mp.


    Seo-joon looked annoyed on the surface, but internally, he was slightly impressed that Jin-woo could still move in his current condition.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    But then again, Seo-joon knew this was another aspect of Jin-woo that made him a freak. His ridiculous ability to take a beating.


    Turning to the twockeys behind him, Seo-joon ordered.


    "Come over here and hold him down so I can look in his shorts."


    Theckeys looked at Seo-joon with strange expressions. Rather than stepping forward, they actually took several steps back. It even seemed as if they were ready to turn and run away.


    "Hyung¡­"


    Lackey One started to say.


    "¡­We can help you bully Jin-woo, but this is taking things too far."


    "Yeah, Hyung, maybe you should calm down and think about this first."


    Lackey Two added with a solemn nod.


    "What?"


    Seo-joon looked at the two fools in front of him with furrowed brows not really understanding what they were saying. But then, he suddenly realized what they were insinuating, and the thought itself alone made him recoil in disgust while his face became a mixture of anger and disbelief.


    However, Seo-joon''s expression soon became cold as he shot a murderous re at his twockeys and roared.


    "Idiots! Hold him down so I can find his medication!"

 Chapter 29- Why Is That?

    The twockeys flinched, but having realized that they misunderstood the situation, they hurried over to hold down Jin-woo''s hands.


    With an expressionless face, Seo-joon casually stuck his hand inside Jin-woo''s shorts and searched the gap between the waistband of his underwear.


    After not finding anything on the left, he moved to the right.


    At this moment, Jin-woo, who had been motionless, suddenly slipped out of Lackey Two''s grip to throw a punch at Seo-joon''s face.


    However, due to his blurry vision and slow attack because of the current state of his arms after blocking Seo-joon''s kicks and punches, Jin-woo missed Seo-joon''s face by a hair''s breadth as he quickly dodged to the side.


    Seo-joon red at Lackey Two.


    "S-Sorry Hyung."


    Lackey Two apologized and this time decided to put his knee and entire weight onto Jin-woo''s arm along with Lackey One.


    Seo-joon went back to searching for Jin-woo''s medication, but even as his hand moved around, he couldn''t find anything which caused him to frown.


    The twockeys who had been watching silently felt that something was wrong. They had sensed it yesterday when they met up with Jin-woo in the bathroom, but now it was more evident.


    They were there back in middle school when Seo-joon got the two-week suspension, in fact, they had got a one-week suspension for being involved as well. So, they knew that Seo-joon once targeted Jin-woo''s medication a few times, however, since the incident he never did.


    That was until now.


    But the thing was,pared to how Seo-joon was going after Jin-woo''s medication now to back then, he almost seemed frantic, desperate even, to find his medication.


    Seo-joon was just about to tell the twockeys to turn Jin-woo over after not finding the pill, but his fingers suddenly brushed against something. Eyes shing, Seo-joon reached further down and pinched the object with his fingers before pulling it out.


    Looking at the clear white bag with a pill inside it, Seo-joon smiled slightly and then stood up.


    "Asshole, I''m going to report you for sexual assault. Even if I''m considered crazy, your Track career will still be affected."


    Jin-woo suddenly lifted his head and spoke to Seo-joon.


    The twockeys looked at Jin-woo surprised, not expecting him to still be able to move.


    "Let me go."


    Jin-woo said as he shrugged off the twockeys.


    Seo-joon motioned to the twockeys and they released Jin-woo. He then looked down at Jin-woo and mocked him.


    "So, you could move all along. Don''t tell me you didn''t because you were getting off on me searching you?"


    Seo-joon made it a point to nce down at Jin-woo''s lower half after saying that. The twockeys also looked and weird expressions appeared on their faces.


    Jin-woo managed to sit up, but that was all he could do without copsing back to the ground. He ignored Seo-joon''s words and said.


    "Why bother, that''s not my pill."


    Seo-joon raised an eyebrow.


    "It''s not? Then you wouldn''t mind if I¡­"


    Seo-joon opened the small clear bag, and after drawing out his words, he turned to look at the pipes running along the gymnasium before walking over to an especiallyrge one that entered the gymnasium building while running along with the others into the ground.


    "¡­Throw it away."


    Seo-joon finished his sentence as he stopped next to therge pipe that had atch on its upright corner that was open. He raised his hand and slowly tilted the opening of the bag over the opentch, all while making eye contact with Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo and the twockeys watched one silently as the pill fell out of the bag into the opentch.


    Seeing that Jin-woo didn''t react to his medication being thrown away, Seo-joon got bored and tossed the clear white bag over his shoulder. He then walked over to Jin-woo and crouched down in front of him.


    Smiling, Seo-joon pulled out a cigarette and lit it. After inhaling a puff of the cigarette, he blew it in Jin-woo''s face.


    Seo-joon thenid his arm on his knee and rested his head against it in a rxed manner, all while asionally taking puffs from his cigarette. The twockeys went back to smoking as well, realizing Seo-joon was done for the day.


    Seo-joon and Jin-woo remained silent as they stared at each other. The only difference between their stares was that Seo-joon seemed to be waiting for something.


    After a while, Seo-joon blew out a puff of smoke and broke the silence.


    "Go on, rat me out. I guess more rumors are gonna pop up about you being seen in the bathroom with a guy. Maybe it''ll be Yoon-min from our ss, I can tell you''re about to make friends with him, but we can''t have that. Haha."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Seo-joon chuckledpletely amused by his ns.


    Jin-woo''s eyes turned colder as he stared at Seo-joon. Seeing this, Seo-joon paused smoking his cigarette and his expression briefly became serious as he said.


    "You''re nothing but a fucking parasite Jin, that''s all you are. Youtch onto anyone whoes near you, and you suck and suck until there''s nothing left of them. Then after you''re done you throw them away and move on. Why bother making friends? Just look at what you did to Seong, you both were in the backseat of that car but he died in that head-on collision while you survived. Why is that?"


    Jin-woo''s eyes immediately red with anger as he red at Seo-joon, but he suddenly nced away.


    "Jin don''t listen to him. That isn''t true at all!"


    Seong said while kneeling next to Jin-woo and ring at Seo-joon.


    Seeing Jin-woo look away, Seo-joon sneered and twisted the knife.


    "What? You feeling guilty, Jin? Your best friend died because of you! And then what? You wannae to school and make friends like nothing ever happened, like he never existed!!"


    "¡­"


    Jin-woo remained silent at Seo-joon''s increasingly loud yells, but one could see that his fists were clenched tight. However, Seo-joon''s next words caused his head to snap up.


    "You freak... why weren''t you killed instead of Seong?"


    Jin-woo looked at Seo-joon utterly confused by his words. Seo-joon''s voice was barely above a whisper, but he was so close that Jin-woo had definitely heard him clearly. But that was the reason why he was so confused.


    Jin-woo tried his best to see what kind of expression Seo-joon was wearing, but he couldn''t see his face clearly despite him being so close.


    "What the fuck are you looking at?"


    Seo-joon suddenly cursed before flicking his half-finished cigarette at Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo flinched back and closed his eyes when the cigarette hit his forehead. Thankfully it was the bud of the cigarette that hit his forehead rather than the lit part.


    However, when Jin-woo opened his eyes, he vaguely saw something fall from beneath Seo-joon''s chin.


    St~


    The sound that ''something'' made when hitting the ground was wet and sloppy.


    Jin-woo''s eyes instinctively drifted to where that object had fallen onto the ground, and what he saw through his blurry vision caused his entire body to stiffen.


    It was¡­ a piece of flesh.

 Chapter 30- Let’s Get Started

    Jin-woo didn''t want to believe what he was seeing, but even though his eyes were blurry without his sses, his brain told him that the object on the ground was a piece of flesh.


    Itnded with a st due to the bright red blood coating it. The skin was facing downward while the inside of the flesh was facing upright, giving Jin-woo a clear view of what was beneath a human''s skin.


    It looked like a slice of beef doused with gravy and soya sauce.


    After his brain made thatparison, Jin-woo almost gagged.


    Seo-joon, who was taking out a box of cigarettes from his top pocket to smoke another one, paused when he saw Jin-woo''s expression. He followed Jin-woo''s gaze to see what he was looking at and when he saw nothing he frowned.


    "What the fuck are you looking at freak?"


    Seo-joon''s words caused Jin-woo to slowly look up from the piece of flesh and at Seo-joon''s face. Jin-woo''s pupils immediately constricted and with an expression of horror, he ignored the pain his body was in and scrambled backward.


    "What the fuck¡­"


    Seo-joon let out a curse due to Jin-woo''s sudden reaction, but his eyes suddenly shed before he lunged at Jin-woo and grabbed his cor.


    "No, let me go!"


    Jin-woo yelled and frantically tried to get away from Seo-joon, but Seo-joon pulled him closer and asked.


    "What are you seeing?"


    "Get off!"


    Jin-woo yelled in response and struggled even more fiercely.


    "Bastard, I said what do you see?!"


    A struggle ensued as Seo-joon tried to hold onto Jin-woo, while Jin-woo was furiously trying to escape. The sudden screaming and scuffle caused the twockeys to turn around and hurry over


    As they came over, Jin-woo''s face drained of blood as he looked at them.


    Gray skin, rotten and bloodied flesh that was peeling off as they rushed over. Jin-woo''s heart started to beat rapidly and a sense of dread overcame his entire being.


    "No, get off me!"


    Jin-woo turned back to Seo-joon and his struggles to get away intensified tenfold.


    "Bastard, just answer me."


    Seo-joon growled as he tightly held onto Jin-woo''s cor not willing to let him go.


    Jin-woo, however, didn''t even register his questions. He stared into Seo-joon''s empty sockets and tremor after tremor ran throughout his body. The skin on Seo-joon''s face started falling off revealing the flesh beneath his skin, and the white bones of his cheeks.


    The flesh fell onto Jin-woo apanied by blood that looked cker than red.


    Jin-woo could feel the cold sensation as the flesh from Seo-joon''s face hit his hand on its way to the ground. He could taste the now ck blood that spurted onto his face and identally seeped into his mouth. It was slightly bitter with a somewhat acidic aftertaste and sludgy texture.


    Vile.


    Unpleasant.


    Disgusting.


    Such words could not describe what Jin-woo was feeling right now.


    The ck blood was releasing an acrid smell that permeated his senses. His stomach churned and finally couldn''t handle it.


    "Uahck¡­"


    Jin-woo turned his head to the side and vomited out the contents in his stomach.


    "Fuck!"


    Seo-joon cursed and immediately let Jin-woo go before backing away. The twockeys who hade over to hold down Jin-woo also retreated in shock.


    "What happened to him?"


    Lackey One asked as Jin-woo continued to vomit.


    However, there was soon nothing in Jin-woo''s stomach and he began heaving air.


    "Jin, calm down, calm down."


    Seong with slight panic knelt next to Jin-woo and tried to get him to calm down.


    Jin-woo was double over, his stomach continued to contract even though nothing wasing out. But he wished something woulde out because that would at least distract him from the pain that coursed through his body every time his stomach violently contracted.


    "Jin, please try to calm down. Just focus on my voice, okay?"


    With tears rolling down his cheeks, Jin-woo finally managed to stop heaving thanks to Seong''s help.


    "Seong, I- *hup*¡­ I thought nothing would¡­ *hup*¡­ happen. But¡­*hup*"


    Jin-woo tried to speak, but he could barely get the words out without sobbing.


    "I know, it''s okay Jin. Just calm down, and focus on breathing, alright?"


    Seong said while rubbing Jin-woo''s back.


    Meanwhile, Seo-joon and the twockeys were watching Jin-woo.


    "Who is he talking to?"


    Lackey One asked with a strange expression.


    "I think he said Seong, but isn''t he dead?"


    Lackey Two added.


    "Unless¡­ He really is a freak."


    Lackey One said once again as he looked at Jin-woo with a wary expression.


    Seo-joon, however, was staring at Jin-woo without saying anything. With his face expressionless, it was hard to tell what he was thinking at the moment.


    "Jin,e on, count with me. One little star, two little star¡­"


    Seong started counting, and Jin-woo started counting along with him in a shaky voice; finally beginning to fully calm down after a while.


    "Now he''s muttering to himself."


    Lackey One said as they could hardly hear what Jin-woo was saying from here.


    Seo-joon stepped forward about to approach Jin-woo, however, a loud sound suddenly echoed out. Everyone turned to see that a truck had turned off the road leading to the school gate and was driving behind the west wing and east wing of the High School in this direction.


    Even though this back area wasn''t an official road, it wasrge enough for about three cars to drive side by side.


    "Shit, Hyung let''s go."


    Seo-joon hesitated as he looked at Jin-woo. However, he soon clicked his tongue and with his twockeys he turned and hurried off.


    Jin-woo wiped his lips as he watched them go. His vision was still blurry, but he was no longer hallucinating. Nevertheless, what happened just now still made his heart shudder in fear.


    As Jin-woo slowly got up, the truck came to a stop some distance away before two drivers came out.


    "Hey kid, are you okay?"


    One of the drivers asked when he saw the blood on Jin-woo''s face.


    Jin-woo only nodded before he turned and hurried off.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "*Tsk*¡­ So even a school like this has students getting bullied."


    The second drivermented before spitting off to the side.


    "Yeah, but what else is new? We''re getting paid to steal from this school''s water supply, but we''ve been let into the campus so easily. What does that tell yah about this school?"


    The second driver didn''t respond but he agreed with a nod.


    "Hm, here it is."


    The first driver said as he made his way over to arge pipe running alongside the gymnasium that had atched open. He then turned to the second driver and said.


    "Grab the hose, and let''s get started."


    The second driver nodded and then turned to get the hose from behind the truck.

 Chapter 31- Getting Back At Seo-joon

    As Jin-woo hobbled away, he held his chest. Out of all the hits that hurt the most, it was the first kick Seo-joon aimed at his chest. He was unguarded, having no defenses up. As for the other kicks and punches, he was able to protect his vitals with only a few punchesnding on his cheeks causing bruises on his face, and kicks to his side that made his abdomen ache a little.


    Nevertheless, the pain was intense as it wasing from more than one area on Jin-woo''s body. It almost felt like ants were continuously biting him over and over again.


    Jin-woo heard the voices of the two drivers as they spoke, but he ignored them and turned the corner to leave. However, as he turned the corner, a figure brushed past him. Both he and the figure made eye contact, and Jin-woo couldn''t help having his expression turned cold. But he was quick to look away and hurried off.


    Teacher Park paused in his steps and nced at Jin-woo''s back. A cold sneer slid onto his lips when he saw the state Jin-woo was in.


    "Student Lee, make sure you''re present at the tennis court."


    After saying that Teacher Park let out a soft chuckle before he finally turned the corner.


    Teacher Park saw the truck and the two drivers as he turned the corner, which caused his mood to be lifted even more. However, seeing one of the drivers standing to the side giving instructions to the other driver who was driving the truck closer to the pipes, his expression became irate.


    "What are you doing?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The first driver, who was directing the second driver in the truck, paused to look at Teacher Park storming over. The second driver also leaned out the window to look at him.


    "Are you Teacher Park?"


    The first driver asked, his eyes shing murderously while his hand shifted to the inside of his zipped-down jumpsuit jacket. The second driver also did something simr.


    Completely oblivious to their actions, Teacher Park snorted and said.


    "Who else could I be? Answer me, what are you guys doing?"


    The two drivers lowered their hands. The first driver then exined.


    "The hose isn''t long enough to reach the main source so we''re just moving the truck forward."


    Teacher Park''s eyes red with anger, and he yelled.


    "Idiots! Weren''t you told in the beginning toe in from the back of the school?! If you had then the truck would be facing the other way allowing you to easily connect the hose and get the water before quickly leaving!"


    The first driver frowned and said.


    "There''s no way we could turn around on this road, so even if we hade in from the back like you said we''d still have to leave through the front gate. What''s the difference if we came in from the back or front then? Plus, we would have moved the truck forward and connected the hose already if not for you interrupting us."


    Teacher Park red at the first driver, but he realized what he said made sense, so he snorted once more before saying


    "Fine, then hurry up get the water and leave."


    "Okay, but shouldn''t you move first?"


    The second driver in the truck spoke for the first time.


    Teacher Park had stopped right in front of the truck. He had to awkwardly move out of the way, but hepensated for his embarrassment by standing off to the side and aggressively instructing the two men on what to do.


    The two drivers were annoyed as what he was saying didn''t make an ounce of sense to them. They simply ignored him for the most part and hurried with what they were doing so they could leave.


    At the water pipes around the corner, Jin-woo bent over and spat out the water in his mouth into the stretch of concrete sink under the pipes. He watched as the water with a tinge of red in it flowed away.


    "Are you okay Jin?"


    Seong asked by the side as he rubbed Jin-woo''s back.


    Jin-woo nodded silently. He soon straightened up and picked up his sses on the water pipes before putting them on.


    Having cleaned up his face, Jin-woo looked rtively fine aside from a few bruises and swelling on his cheeks, in addition to his busted lip. However, despite looking rtively fine, it was obvious that he was just in a fight.


    Jin-woo turned to leave, and Seong couldn''t help but ask worriedly.


    "Are we heading to the outdoor tennis court? Maybe we should sneak back to ss, it''s not like that bastard can punish us when it''s already lunchtime."


    Jin-woo stayed silent for a beat before he shook his head.


    "Yoon-min and Micah are probably already there waiting for me."


    "Yeah, and so could Joon and hisckeys."


    Jin-woo''s eyes suddenly shed with an intense light before he said.


    "Seo-joon doesn''t show his true colors in the open for fear of staining his Track career so he won''t do anything in front of so many people. But that makes no difference. After school is over, I''m going to find an opportunity to get back at him."


    "Wha-What?! You''re already like this but you want to go look for more trouble?!"


    Seong yelledpletely shocked by Jin-woo''s sudden deration. Before he could dissuade Jin-woo from doing something so crazy, Jin-woo spoke up.


    "He went too far this time; I didn''t even get tond a single hit on him. If I just go home with all this pent-up anger, then I might die of frustration on the way."


    Upon recalling his home, Jin-woo''s thoughts momentarily drifted to his home being raided. He should call his mother after this.


    Upon hearing Jin-woo''s words and seeing the serious expression on his face, Seong knew he couldn''t convince him otherwise.


    "Even in situations like this, you don''t like to lose."


    Seong muttered under his breath before letting out a sigh.


    Jin-woo smiled and said nothing.


    However, internally, Jin-woo''s thoughts were aplete mess. Seo-joon''s words about Seong from before were repeatedly echoing in his mind. Something about the way he said it made Jin-woo question Seo-joon''s actions up until now. He too, like the twockeys, was beginning to realize Seo-joon was behaving strangely.


    Of course, Jin-woo''s also recalled the hallucinations from earlier. He had never experienced anything like them before. The first time he had a hallucination was during the Entrance Exams when he saw Seong and had a panic attack. If it weren''t for Seong calming him down back then and even now, he wouldn''t know what would have happened.


    Jin-woo wasn''t sure how to feel about that either, whether it was healthy to indulge in his hallucinations because they helped him, or not because it might get worse like what he saw Seo-joon and hisckeys turn into.


    As these thoughts rose in Jin-woo''s mind,plex emotions began to hammer at his heart like tidal waves. Soon, he unknowingly reached the outdoor tennis court through the silent high school campus.

 Chapter 32- Dead Silent

    The tennis ''courts'' were a short distance away from the gymnasium, they were along the way if one wanted to head to the elementary school campus.


    Standing on any of the tennis courts that lined up against each other, one would be able to see the football field at the center of the three campuses as well as the west and east wings of the High School which was only a short jog away on the right.


    However, the ss windows that reflected the afternoon sun prevented those curious from seeing directly into the High School''s wing that was closest to them, which was the west wing.


    The middle school was directly across from the high school on the other side of the football field, but it was somewhat difficult to see from the tennis courts due to the distance and the trees in the way.


    Even though the three levels of schooling were considered to be on the samerge campus, they somewhat operated individually, with only a few of their facility usage ovepping with each other.


    Jin-woo made his way to the tennis court that had his ss gathered inside it. There were four tennis courts in total and a green metal fence curved out at the top surrounded them. The gaps in the fence were narrow, barely allowing the tip of a human finger to go through it so the tennis balls wouldn''t slip through.


    Some of the students were leaning against the green fence and chatting, while others were casually sitting on the ground.


    As Jin-woo pushed open the utched gate and entered the tennis court, he unintentionally noted that some students had already changed into their uniforms.


    "Why did Teacher Park leave all of a sudden? The lunch bell already rang, but we''re stuck here waiting."


    Jin-woo overheard a group of youths'' conversation as he walked by them to the back of the tennis court where there were fewer students.


    Only a few people took notice of Jin-woo, and when they did and saw the faint bruises on his face and his busted lip, they couldn''t help but nce at Seo-joon who was sitting with hisckeys while leaning against the fence.


    Jin-woo ignored the stares and soon saw Yoon-min and Micah at the back before heading towards them.


    "Jin, where were you? That bastard was here just now waiting even though most of the students had already gathered. He was definitely waiting for you. We thought he went looking for you after he left, did he-"


    Yoon-min was discussing the events that happened when Jin-woo wasn''t here, but as Jin-woo got closer he saw the bruises on his face, and he went silent. Micah''s expression also changed, his brows furrowing deeply.


    In English with a bit of a British ent, Micah asked.


    "Did Teacher Park do that?"


    Jin-woo shook his head as he sat down beside them and leaned against the fence.


    Yoon-min, who was leaning against Micah slowly sat up and asked seriously.


    "Jin, who was it?"


    Jin-woo shook his head once more and said with assurance.


    "It''s fine, I''m not that hurt. Plus, I''m already plotting my revenge for when school lets out."


    Jin-woo tried to brush off the topic, but Yoon-min''s eyes narrowed before he said.


    "It''s Seo-joon, right? Why bother waiting until after school?"


    Yoon-min turned to re at Seo-joon across the tennis court before getting up ready to confront him.


    Even though the news of Jin-woo almost dying back in middle school was kept a secret, all of the students knew that Jin-woo and Seo-joon were always in conflict. It was hard not to know when they were fighting almost every day back in middle school.


    Yoon-min had to admit at the time he didn''t consider this his problem. Even now, if Jin-woo had been bullied by Seo-joon this morning before he had that interaction with Jin-woo, Yoon-min wouldn''t have spoken up. However, everything was different now that he got to know Jin-woo and had be friends with him.


    But just as Yoon-min got ready to storm over to Seo-joon, Jin-woo quickly grabbed him and said.


    "You don''t have to confront him, it''s not that serious that you have to stand up for me."


    Yoon-min looked down at Jin-woo''s face and he couldn''t help but angrily say.


    "Not that serious? Jin, your face is all messed up and there are still footprints on your P.E. jersey. It looks pretty serious to me."


    Jin-woo shook his head and wanted to pull back Yoon-min, but Yoon-min shrugged off his hold and got ready to march over to Seo-joon.


    Jin-woo panicked and he turned to Micah asking for help with his eyes.


    Micah didn''t hesitate to quickly grab Yoon-min and forcefully pull him back to sit down.


    "What are you doing? Can''t you see that you''ll be outnumbered if you go over there? Plus, you couldn''t fight off a kid in elementary school even if you tried."


    Yoon-min frowned in response to Micah''sment, but he actually didn''t refute his statement. Despite his lean figure, he wasn''t the athletic type.


    Jin-woo sighed in relief when he saw that a disaster had been averted. He realized out of the two Micah was the silent and more coolheaded one.


    However, Micah''s following actions caused Jin-woo to be dumbfounded.


    "Let me do it instead."


    Micah said menacingly as he stood up, his height of about 1.9 meters casting a long shadow on Jin-woo who was sitting on the ground and staring dumbly up at him.


    Jin-woo only snapped out of it and scrambled up to stop Micah when he saw that he was about to charge over to Seo-joon.


    Jin-woo felt rather helpless at these two, he really didn''t need help in dealing with Seo-joon. Though, at the same time, he couldn''t help but feel a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. No one had stood up for him since Seong died.


    Meanwhile, Seong wasughing at the scene off to the side.


    However, as Jin-woo was about to rush forward to stop Micah, the faint sound of ss shattering echoed out.


    "Oh my god, someone just jumped!"


    A female student abruptly let out a cry filled with horror and shock along with the shattering of ss.


    The students who were sitting on the ground hurriedly got up and with the already standing students, they all moved towards the edge of the tennis court to look out at the west wing of the High School visible from here.


    One of the windows reflecting the light of the afternoon sun was shattered vaguely revealing the inside of the High School. On the ground beneath the window, the body of the studenty motionless with fragmented ss surrounding them.


    "Oh my god, what happened?"


    "Jesus, did someone really jump?"


    "What if someone pushed them?"


    "What?! Wouldn''t that be murder?"


    "Shit, I can''t believe someone is dead. This is going to be on the news for sure."


    Everyone immediately began talking over each other, expressing different emotions ranging from shock to utter disbelief.


    "Police! Someone called the police instead of standing around!"


    Yoon-min was the one to yell as he stood with Micah and Jin-woo while looking out at the shocking scene.


    Jin-woo instinctively reached for his pocket but realized along with everyone else who did a simr action that they had left their phones in ss.


    "Damn it, I don''t have my phone."


    "Wait, you guys didn''t carry your phones with you?"


    One student in his P.E. jersey asked a few students who had changed into their uniforms. The students in uniforms shook their heads.


    "No, I thought I would just leave it in my bag since we were told to gather here by Teacher Park."


    "Yeah, me too."


    "Even if we don''t call the police, someone in the school must have already called them."


    One student said, but another voice suddenly spoke.


    "Wait, something''s wrong, why hasn''t anyone gone to check on that person?"


    Upon hearing this, everyone turned to the body that fell through the window and saw that no one had approached.


    "Wait, now that I think about it, isn''t it kind of quiet? It''s lunch break but why isn''t there anyone outside?"


    Another voice spoke up in doubt, and everyone couldn''t help but nce at the empty football field which would normally be filled with a few students at this time during lunch.


    Suddenly, the atmosphere became somewhat eerie, as if reality had been disced. It was lunch, and someone had fallen through the window, but the school was still so dead silent.


    "Look, there are people inside the building."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    One female student said while pointing at the broken window. Inside the west wing of the high school, a few indistinct shadowy figures could be seen rapidly moving back and forth.

 Chapter 33- No One Is Leaving

    "Oh no, it looks like something''s happening inside the school."


    "Is it a school shooting?"


    The atmosphere became stifling when this spection was put forth. Everyone was nervous but at the same time thankful that they weren''t inside the school right now.


    "You guys, that person might still be alive after falling from the second floor. I''m going to help."


    One male student said before turning around and rushing out of the tennis court toward the body beneath the broken window. A few male students and even female students agreed and also followed this youth''s lead. In all, about a dozen people left the tennis court, leaving the others behind to watch as they jog towards the body.


    Among these people was Jin-woo. He was watching the students rushing towards the body beneath the window when a high-pitched sound suddenly started ringing in his ears.


    "Ugh!"


    Jin-woo cried out and clutched his ears in an attempt to block out the sound. However, it wasn''ting from the surroundings but rather it felt like it wasing from inside his head somehow.


    "Jin, are you okay?"


    Yoon-min asked as he hurriedly steadied Jin-woo before he could fall. Micah stepped forward as well to help.


    "I-UGH!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jin-wo tried to talk, but the ringing suddenly intensified. All of a sudden, he felt a warm liquid on his palms.


    "J-Jin, your ears are bleeding! What''s happening?!"


    Yoon-min cried out in panic which drew a few students'' attention. However, the students outside finally reached the body beneath the window, and that drew back their attention.


    Jin-woo had fallen to his knees and was bent over in a fetal position while clutching at his bleeding ears.


    "Jin¡­"


    A faint voice broke through the intense high-pitched sound.


    It was Seong.


    Jin-woo''s eyes were squeezed shut, but he opened them slightly when he heard the voice. Inside his eyes, his ck pupils were flickering with a strange red hue. The scene was bizarre and unnatural.


    Just barely opening his eyes had Jin-woo feeling as if his retina was being stabbed repeatedly with a needle by someone. However, he managed to open them enough to see Seong who was kneeling in front of himpletely fade away.


    As he gave Jin-woo one final look, a surprised expression mixed with relief was seen on his face.


    Something was wrong.


    Something was terribly wrong.


    This feeling suddenly appeared in Jin-woo''s heart until itpletely filled his entire being. The feeling became so intense that his fight or flight mood kicked in and his heart started to beat wildly in his chest from adrenaline, almost as loudly as the high pitch sound.


    Micah and Yoon-min were both kneeling next to Jin-woo panicking and not knowing what to do, but Jin-woo couldn''t hear their concerned voices nor was he focused on them. His gaze passed through the feet of the students standing against the green fence andnded on the students outside who were checking on the body beneath the window.


    All of a sudden, the feeling that he was about to die gripped Jin-woo''s consciousness causing his entire body to shake uncontrobly.


    No, this feeling was too intense, it wasn''t just him¡­ everyone here was about to die.


    Jin-woo''s eyes never left the dozen or so students who were all surrounding the body beneath the window. The red light filling his ck pupils gradually increased in intensity until his pupils fully became red.


    "It looks like the person isn''t dead, I''m going to go see what''s happening."


    "Yeah, I''m going too."


    "Did someone say it was a school shooting? That''s probably not the case, either someone jumped out the window or someone pushed them out."


    The students from ss 1A all discussed the situation as they decided to leave the tennis court.


    Jin-woo finally had a clear view of the students gathered around the body beneath the window, and the feeling of impending disaster grew stronger and stronger. Worse, the feeling was somehowing from the students gathered around the body beneath the window.


    Jin-woo squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. The feeling of everyone dying, the intense ringing in his ears, everything became unbearable until he forcefully made himself stand up.


    The moment he stood up the ringing in his ears stopped. Not because he stood up, but because he made a decision. However, the feeling of everyone dying was still there. Jin-woo''s pupils, which had returned to normal, looked at the students gathering around the somewhat narrowed gate to leave the tennis court. That feeling of impending disaster continued to grow more assertive without fading away.


    Jin-woo didn''t know what that ringing sound was, but this feeling that something terrible was going to happen was extremely familiar to him. He had felt it on numerous asions when he was young, but no one had believed him then, not even his parents.


    As the blood from his ears flowed down his cheeks and dripped onto his shirt, Jin-woo gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He had grown-out of believing his delusional thoughts and because the people around him kept constantly saying it was due to his schizophrenia. But¡­ this feeling was unlike anything he had felt before, so much so he was forced to act on it.


    "STOP!!"


    Jin-woo suddenly yelled before he dashed towards the crowd of students. Yoon-min and Micah who were by the side trying to talk to him werepletely ignored.


    After shoving his way into the crowd, Jin-woo started grabbing students by the cor and dragging them back from the gate.


    "Huh? What the hell are you doing?!"


    "Ugh, stop, let go!"


    "What is wrong with you?!"


    "Damn it, who is this?!"


    Cries of anger and confusion came from the students after they were either dragged back by their cors or shoved to the side.


    Micah and Yoon-min who were momentarily caught off-guard by Jin-woo''s sudden actions, immediately rush forward.


    "Damn it, what''s with him? Is he having an episode?"


    Yoon-min asked while running, and Micah thinking back on what Jin-woo said earlier this morning had his face fall.


    "Jin! Stop!"


    Yoon-min yelled as he and Micah tried to get through the crowd to reach Jin-woo who was still madly shoving students away.


    "Wait? Jin-woo? Damn it, it''s that freak!"


    "Is he going crazy?"


    "Fuck, he''s probably off his medication, get away from him."


    The students upon realizing the person shoving them was Jin-woo, immediately abandoned leaving the tennis court and backed away cautiously.


    Seo-joon, who was watching from the back of the crowd with hisckeys narrowed his eyes at Jin-woo.


    As the students backed away, Jin-woo stood there alone blocking the narrow gate leading out of the tennis court. He nced at the more than a dozen students who left through the gate before he came, and a panicked expression settled on his face.


    "Jin, what are you doing?"


    Yoon-min and Micah push their way to the front of the crowd of students, which surrounded Jin-woo in a semi-circle.


    Jin-woo nced away from the students outside to look at Yoon-min and Micah. He then nced around for Seong, but he didn''t see him anywhere.


    But looking back at Micah and Yoon-min and seeing their worried expressions, Jin-woo released a smile and said.


    "I''m fine."


    However, after saying that Jin-woo turned around and closed the gate leading out of the tennis court, eventching its bolt.


    Despite Jin-woo''s calm smile, the students all felt a chill go down their spines when they saw him close the gate. They were now locked up in here with this freak. Who knows what he was capable of?


    "What are you doing freak? Let us out!"


    One male student yelled, rather than being fearful of Jin-woo he was pissed.


    Jin-woo didn''t turn around to respond and instead released a breath of air. The moment he had locked the gate, that intense feeling of danger had abruptly be faint.


    The intensity of the feeling suddenly lessening caused him to release that sigh.


    Jin-woo then turned back around under the various gazes of the students, and after sweeping his gaze across his fellow students, he opened his mouth to say.


    "If you go outside, you''ll all die. So... no one is leaving."

 Chapter 34- I’m Staging A Mutiny

    "You''re crazy! Let us out!"


    One of the girls in the ss immediately yelled at Jin-woo when she heard his ominous but ludicrous words. However, she didn''t daree forward.


    Jin-woo shook his head and stood up straight. It looked like he was prepared to fight anyone who tried to get past him.


    "That''s it, move out of the way."


    One boy among the crowd who was a bit taller for his age shoved his ssmates to get to the front. Micah who was closest to the youth wasn''t able to grab him in time before he rushed at Jin-woo.


    In only a few speedy steps the boy''s menacing face was in front of Jin-woo. He lunged forward and wrapped his hands around Jin-woo''s waist.


    The boy went for a typical tackle to force Jin-woo to the ground using his strength as an advantage. However, after Jin-woo stumbled back from the boy''s charging force, he fixed one foot behind him and bent his knees.


    The boy forcefully tried to lift Jin-woo and m him to the ground, but Jin-woo seemed as if he was rooted to the ground.


    The boy was somewhat astonished that he was so weak he couldn''t even lift Jin-woo who was smaller than him, no matter how hard he tried. Then before he could react, Jin-woo''s arms, which were by his side in the boy''s hold, suddenly flexed.


    The boy''s tight grip was instantly broken, and the situation reversed as Jin-woo gripped the boy''s shoulders like an iron mp. At this time four more boys stepped forward from the crowd.


    "No, stop!"


    Yoon-min yelled and he along with Micah stopped two of them, but the other two boys rushed toward Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo twisted his body and flung the boy in his hold to one of the charging youths blocking his advance, before stepping forward to kick the other boy''s leg. The boy felt an acute pain surge through his shin, and he let out a grunt as his leg gave out underneath him. Then, in his vision, he saw Jin-woo''s knee growingrger andrger.


    Jin-woo actions were almost instinctual but before he could bash the boy''s face with his knee, he managed to stop it just inches away from his face.


    The boy, having thought his face was about to be ttened, fell back onto his butt and looked up at Jin-woo with fearful eyes.


    This series of actions only took ce in a span of a few seconds, and everyone seeing Jin-woo easily fending off three boys in that period felt like they had just witnessed a scene straight out of an action movie.


    "Damn."


    Yoon-min eximed while looking at Jin-woo lowering his knee. He then recalled his actions of trying to confront Seo-joon for Jin-woo''s sake, and he realized Jin-woo definitely didn''t need help fighting his battles.


    Yoon-min let out augh then gave Jin-woo a thumbs up and said.


    "As expected of Mr. Multitalented."


    The students hearing this finally recalled Jin-woo''s reputation and that he was hailed as a prodigy in boxing and Taekwondo. A few of them who were thinking of charging at Jin-woopletely changed their minds.


    The three boys who initially attacked Jin-woo retreated into the crowd. Having sessfully intimidated his ssmates, Jin-woo said calmly.


    "As the ss VP, I order that no one leaves."


    The students now also recalled that Jin-woo was their ss VP, and he indeed had some authority tomand them when a teacher wasn''t present.


    That was like a nail in the coffin and some of the students reluctantly agreed to his request. But some were discontent, and questions as well as opposingments began flying.


    "Why do we have to stay here?"


    "Yeah, and how long do you expect us to stay here?"


    "Just let us out!"


    "That''s right, you can''t keep us in here!"


    These students shouted over each other as if it were a riot. Micah and Yoon-min looked around realizing the situation wasn''t going well.


    Jin-woo, however, was calm. He nced back at the students surrounding the body beneath the window, and sure enough the sense of danger was still there, although it was faint. But, like a timer, Jin-woo could sense that it wasing. He never had this feeling, of the sense of danger being a timer before; it was always vague and unclear when he was younger.


    But how was Jin-woo supposed to exin this feeling to everyone? Hey guys, I can sense that all of you are going to die if you leave, but you have to trust me and it''s definitely not because of my schizophrenia?


    Looking back at the noisy students, Jin-woo thought for a moment then spoke up over the noise.


    "A student is dead, but even until now no teachers or adults areing to check. As the ss VP I''m partially responsible for your safety, so until a teacher appears on the scene and makes sure everything is safe, we need to all stay here."


    Most of the opposition from the crowd quieted down as what Jin-woo said did make sense. Even as the minutes ticked by no teacher or even other students wereing out of the school to check on the student that fell out of the building. Something must have happened inside the school.


    However, an opposing voice came from within the crowd once again.


    "You''re just the ss VP so you can''t make arbitrary decisions without consulting me first."


    Everyone''s gaze turned to see that the speaker was Ye-jun. Some students'' eyes lit up as perhaps Ye-jun could make Jin-woo back down.


    Ye-jun stepped forward under the gazes of everyone, and Mai-sun who was next to him took this opportunity to approach the front of the crowd as well.


    Stopping in front of Jin-woo, Ye-jun fixed his sses on his nose before looking at Jin-woo impassively and saying a single word.


    "Move."


    Jin-woo stared at Ye-jun silently before saying.


    "I''m staging a mutiny and removing you from duty. I''m the ss President now."


    "...."


    "What?"


    Ye-jun said after a beat of silence, momentarily taken aback by Jin-woo''s absurd promation. But his face suddenly twitched and he said.


    "You think you''re a pirate or something?"


    "Jin, you said we would all die if we left. Did you really take your medication today?"


    Mai-sun brought up what Jin-woo first said as she looked at him with a questioning expression.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Yeah, he did say that."


    "Wait, so could he be having a manic episode or something? I heard that people with schizophrenia have delusional thoughts."


    Whispers of doubt soon came from the crowd of students.


    Jin-woo nced at Mai-sun and Ye-jun before he went silent. He wasn''t sure what else to say to dy things, though after dying for so long, that timer was about to reach zero. As for what was about to happen when it did, Jin-woo didn''t know.


    Ye-jun snorted when he saw Jin-woo remaining silent.


    "Someone go and move him so we can leave."


    As soon as Ye-jun said that three boys stepped forward. They were his friends and teammates from the volleyball tournament.


    "You guys heard the ss President''s orders."


    The boy at the front said as he smirked at Jin-woo.


    Three more boys responded to the call and stepped forward.


    "Wait, shouldn''t we at least hear him out first?"


    Yoon-min said as he put out his hand to stop one of the boys.


    Yoon-min didn''t know if Jin-woo was really having an episode or not, but after interacting with him he truly couldn''t see him acting like this without a reason, and Yoon-min would rather have Jin-woo exin that reason than not hearing him out.


    Micah felt the same way as he also stood out.


    "Ignore them."


    The boys hesitated at first when they saw Micah step out, but upon hearing Ye-jun''smand they continued forward.


    Four boys out of the six bypassed Micah and Yoon-min and rushed at Jin-woo.

 Chapter 35- Time Is Up

    Jin-woo was dauntless.


    As the first of the four boys approached, he went from a casual standing position to his foot mming against the boy''s shoulder. His leg was a blur, and unable to react the boy was sent stumbling to the side.


    Jin-woo''s body then pivoted and his other leg swept out at the second boy.


    Having enough time to react to Jin-woo''s kick, the second boy shifted his body in a position to tank Jin-woo''s foot and then catch it. But the moment Jin-woo''s legnded on his chest it felt like a wooden bat had mmed against his sternum, the pain caused him to let out a cry of agony.


    The force of Jin-woo''s kick was so strong it swept the second boy off his feet and made himnd a few meters away in front of the crowd of students.


    The sounds of Jin-woo''s kicksnding on the two boys sounded impactful and it caused everyone to instinctively wince.


    The remaining two boys, however, were equally dauntless and they used Jin-woo being upied with the first two boys to approach.


    The third boy threw out a punch which Jin-woo barely dodged, but the fourth boy used this chance to wrap his hand around Jin-woo''s neck.


    "Come here."


    The fourth boy said as he quickly retreated so Jin-woo would lose his footing. The third boy also approached and further held down Jin-woo.


    Before Jin-woo could think of a way to get away from the twos'' grasp, a few more boys sprinted out from the side of the crowd and grabbed onto him.


    "Quick, hold his arms!"


    "Damn it, why is he so strong?"


    Thud!


    "ARG!!"


    Jin-woo''s leg suddenlyshed out and one boy let out a cry before copsing to the ground clutching his thigh.


    "Fuck, forget his hands, grab his legs before he cripples someone!"


    It took seven boys dogpiling Jin-woo before they could wear him out.


    "Jin!"


    Yoon-min called out from across the crowd, but he and Micah were being blocked by more boys.


    "Move him over there until he calms down."


    Ye-jun said as he dismissively waved his hand to the side.


    "Finally, we can leave."


    "To think he would try and lock us up in here."


    "Yeah, but don''t you think it''s strange? He was warning us about going out after someone fell through the window."


    "¡­"


    "Wait... You don''t think he has something to do with it do you?"


    The students all came up with different spections about the reason behind Jin-woo''s weird behavior, but despite the dark theories put forth, they didn''t hesitate to move toward the gate to leave.


    "Let go!"


    Jin-woo yelled as he watched his ss unlock the gate to leave.


    "What''s with you, Vice Prez? Just calm down."


    One of the boys holding Jin-woo said; he was holding Jin-woo not because of Ye-jun but because he was somewhat worried about this ss VP of his.


    Jin-woo tried to struggle some more before he finally gave up. He watched helplessly as more people from his ss left the tennis court. Suddenly, the sense of danger lingering at the back of his mind dramatically spiked.


    Jin-woo''s expression became solemn as he shifted his gaze back to the body beneath the window.


    "Let him go, get off him!"


    Yoon-min and Micah finally got past the blockade and rushed up to shove the boys holding Jin-woo. They all let Jin-woo go seeing that he had calmed down.


    "Jin, are you okay?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Yoon-min asked after ring at the seven boys who had been holding Jin-woo.


    However, Jin-woo didn''t answer or even look in his direction. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the students gathered around the body beneath the window.


    "Jin?"


    Yoon-min called out to Jin-woo again, even waving his hand in front of his face, but Jin-woo continued to remain silent.


    Yoon-min and Micah couldn''t help but share a look of worry when they saw this.


    Suddenly, Jin-woo said in a slightly hoarse voice.


    "Time is up."


    When Yoon-min was about to ask Jin-woo what he meant, a sound ofmotion came from the students who were gathered around the body beneath the window.


    Yoon-min and Micah looked over to see everyone scattering frantically¡ªthe screams erupting from the mouths of the female students reaching all the way over here.


    "What the¡­?"


    Yoon-min tried to ask what was happening, but his face along with Micah''s suddenly stiffened when they got a clear view of the body beneath the window after everyone ran away.


    The body that was initially lying motionlessly on the ground, was now bent over a male student. Another boy, perhaps a friend of this male student, instead of retreating, dived toward the female student on top of his friend.


    Two more boys stepped forward to help and they finally managed to pry the female student off. But as they were holding down the frantically struggling female student, the male student who was attacked suddenly began twisting about on the ground. Then in the next second, he stopped, only to suddenly spring up from the ground and sped toward the nearest female student who was too slow in retreating.


    Shrill screams echoed out from the female student as this boy jumped on top of her before he began¡­


    "Wha-What the fuck? Is he biting her?"


    Yoon-min asked while staring at the strange scene with a confused expression. However, the trembling of his voice gave away that he was getting nervous. A word had sprung into his head when he saw this scene, but Yoon-min denied it almost immediately, this wasn''t some movie.


    However, he wasn''t the only one who had this worde to mind when they saw this scene. Micah and Jin-woo, as well as the students who just exited the tennis court, had simrly thought about that word.


    "What are you doing?! RUN!!"


    Jin-woo was the first to react, and he screamed at his ssmates who were just standing outside the tennis court like rigid posts.


    Jin-woo''s shout seemed to knock some sense back into the students as everyone hurriedly turned and rushed back to the tennis court.


    "What''s going on?! Why is he biting her?!"


    "Damn it, isn''t that a fucking zombie?!"


    "Are you being serious? Those aren''t real! Those two must have gone crazy or something!"


    The students began to panic as they returned to the tennis court. At the same time, the dozen or so students who had first gone out to look at the body wereing back.


    Jin-woo immediately rushed towards the gate shoving his ssmates aside. The feeling of danger was ring in his head causing his heart to palpitate with fear. By the time he reached the wide-open gated entrance, all the students who were initially outside and could move had entered the tennis court¡­ except for one girl.


    As this girl came staggering towards the entrance of the tennis court, Jin-woo suddenly mmed the gate shut and quickly bolted it.


    "No! What are you doing, let me in?!"


    The girl cried out in panic when she saw that was locked out. However, Jin-woo only took a step back and looked down at the hand she was cradling. The girl''s other hand was covering the area, but Jin-woo could see blood spilling out from between her fingers.


    A cold chill worm its way up Jin-woo''s spine and reached his brain, causing his head to go numb. Heart beating wildly in his chest, Jin-woo took another step back away from the gate.

 Chapter 36- An Elaborate Hoax

    "Please, let me in!"


    *Rattle*


    *Rattle*


    The girl, with tears streaming down her face, cried out once more while mming her hand against the locked gate.


    Jin-woo remained silent, just standing there while watching her.


    Suddenly someone from the crowd yelled.


    "What are you doing?! Why aren''t you letting her in?!"


    Jin-woo turned around and saw a male student pushing his way towards the front of the crowd.


    "Ho-jin!"


    The girl outside yelled when she saw the boy.


    "Soo-ha, I''ming!"


    The boy, who was named Ho-jin, had his eyes turned red and he charged towards the gate.


    "Stop!"


    Jin-woo immediately stepped in front of the boy blocking his path. The boy''s eyes seemed to turn even redder, and he roared.


    "MOVE!"


    The boy grabbed Jin-woo''s cor, and a struggle ensued as he tried to get past Jin-woo.


    "There are three more tennis courts she can go to, stop being an idiot and calm down!"


    "I said move!"


    The boypletely ignored Jin-woo''s reasoning and swung at him. Jin-woo easily dodged the fist, and using the boy''s momentum he pulled him forward and wrapped a hand around his neck to restrain him.


    "Ho-jin!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The girl from outside watched as this happened with a worried expression on her face.


    "Let go! Let me go!"


    Ho-jin twisted his body trying to get out of Jin-woo''s grasp.


    "Damn it, just calm down. Like I said she can go to another tennis court."


    "I don''t care about that, I want to get out, let me out!"


    "Jin! Come on man, don''t be stupid."


    "Yeah man, something is going on and it isn''t safe to go outside."


    Two boys hurriedly stepped out of the crowd. Jin-woo initially thought they were talking to him, but realized they were likely friends of Ho-jin.


    As the two boys stepped out of the crowd, they nced at the girl outside and the wound on her hand that she was holding. Thest thing they wanted was for her toe in, regardless of if that wound wasn''t like they suspected. The crowd of students all felt the same, which was why they didn''t speak up for Jin-woo to let her in.


    Tears appeared at the corner of Ho-jin''s eyes, and he calmed down before saying.


    "I don''t care, just let me go. If you don''t want us to stay here, we''ll go to another tennis court."


    Upon hearing that, Jin-woo nced at the west wing of the high school. The girl was still being eaten by the boy, and as for the two boys who had been holding down the female student who fell through the window, one had made it back unharmed and was currently off to one side of the tennis court curled up while watching the other boy being eaten by the female student.


    At any moment those zombies were going to look up to find a bunch of food all gathered together in one ce.


    Jin-woo hesitated for a moment, but then let go of Ho-jin.


    Ho-jin after being let go, hurriedly rushed to open the gate. He bent down to check on his girlfriend''s hand, but she kept the wound hidden.


    "Soo-ha, let me see."


    Ho-jin said frantically as he pulled her hand away. When the wound was revealed Soo-ha immediately began crying.


    As his girlfriend''s sobs entered his ears, Ho-jin silently looked at the wound on her hand.


    It was a bite wound.


    Even though twoyers of clothes were covering her hand, the force of the bite had pierced them and sank into her flesh.


    *ng*


    Ho-jin heard a sound and he turned around to see that Jin-woo had closed the gate. His heart sank slightly and his gaze roamed around his ssmates who were silently observing him as if they were waiting for something to happen.


    For his death?


    Suddenly, he felt his girlfriend grab his zer and say through her sobs.


    "Ho-jin, I''m sorry."


    Ho-jin turned around, and immediately he saw faint ck lines on his girlfriend''s face. His body froze for a second, but he clenched his fist before he suddenly smiled slightly and said.


    "It''s okay,e on, let''s go to another tennis court."


    "I-I can''t feel my legs. Ho-jin just-"


    "It''s okay, I can just carry you."


    After saying that Ho-jin wrapped his hands around his girlfriend and scooped her up. He then made his way along the fence to the next tennis court.


    Soo-ha bit her lip, and tears ran down her face incessantly. She was lying when she said she couldn''t walk.


    "Ho-jin, I''m sorry. You don''t have toe with me, go back to the others."


    Ho-jin stayed silent as he continued to walk, however, tears slowly formed in his eyes before rolling down his cheeks.


    The tearsnded on Soo-ha, and she looked up. Seeing her boyfriend crying she couldn''t help but cry more herself.


    Ho-jin was looking straight ahead as he walked, so he wasn''t able to see that the ck lines on her face had be more pronounced. But he seemed to know intuitively as more tears formed in his eyes and rolled down.


    Jin-woo and the other students watched as Ho-jin carried Soo-ha to the tennis court next to theirs. He sat down with her in hisp and closed his eyes.


    The students couldn''t help but have a mix of emotions rise in their hearts when they saw this. It was still somewhat hard to grasp that what they''d witnessed so far was real. Maybe this was some borate hoax by some big mediapany, like a semi-reality TV series where students were pranked by having a zombie virus outbreak happen at their school.


    Perhaps that''s why they were so conveniently left here by Teacher Park, and a student just so happened to fall out of the west wing window where they got a clear view of it. Maybe the teachers and the entire school were in on it and that''s why they didn''t see them even though it was lunch break.


    More than a few students had these thoughts swirling in their minds right now, and some were even so convinced of them that they started smiling while looking around trying to find the hidden cameras used in this prank.


    Jin-woo!


    He was acting way too strangely before. He must have been in on it since everything started only after he came back. He was the one saying something bad was going to happen if they went out, so that was a dead giveaway for them to figure it out!


    Some students walked up to Jin-woo about to confront him, but two things happened next thatpletely crushed these students'' disillusioned thoughts.


    The first was Soo-ha. She suddenly started to shake violently while being gripped in Ho-jin''s arms.


    The second was a soft but distinctive thud. This thud sounded like it came from a human body falling to the ground from a high altitude. But after the first thud, there was a second, then a third, then a fourth.


    All the students turned to the broken window of the west wing to shockingly see one body after another falling through it andnding on the ground.


    Those were zombies, and it wasn''t just a few.


    ***


    Important announcement in author''s notes please read.

 Chapter 37- More Harm Than Good

    "No! Help me!"


    A male student out of desperation had impulsively jumped out the west wing''s broken window. He managed tond safely from the second floor but was toote to recover, perhaps due to shock in his legs from falling from such a high ce. This gave the two zombies, the one eating the girl and the one eating the boy, a chance to lunge at him before he could get up.


    The male student''s screams echoed out as the zombies that followed him out the window, eithernded on top of him or next to him before joining the two zombies in devouring him.


    The first two zombies seemed to snarl at theters, but after the zombies that fell through the window snarled in return, what looked like a confrontation about to erupt didn''t happen and the two groups eventually went back to eating.


    The students on the tennis court all watch the harrowing scene of this male student getting eaten in dead silence. But suddenly, several students dropped to the ground and began sobbing uncontrobly. Thest hope that all of this was fake was shattered, and the reality of their situation began to ruthlessly settle in.


    "How is this possible? Is this really a zombie apocalypse?"


    "I can''t stay here; I have to go home!"


    "Idiot, if this is happening here then what''s stopping it from happening outside? The government might even be mobilizing the army already to deal with the zombies."


    "How do you know that? What if the outbreak is starting here? I mean, why did it start in the middle of the day after everyone had already entered school? It doesn''t take that long to turn from what I saw, probably four minutes or less, so no one could have carried the virus in during the morning and then became a zombie at lunch, likely, it started here."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "If that''s the case, does that mean the outside world is still safe? Then we need to escape and go tell the authorities!"


    "Idiot, we can''t leave! The zombie has probably already taken over the school, how can we get out? Plus, who is to say the zombies haven''t already left the school to start the apocalypse?"


    "I don''t care about that, I''m leaving anyway! Not just this school, I''m going to leave Itaewon, and Korea altogether! You guys'' better hurry up, if our school is really ground zero for this zombie virus then we might have a chance to get as far away from this ce as possible before it spreads!"


    "Yeah, right. Forget about leaving Korea, no ne will be flying right now. And how are you going to leave Itaewon? By train? Where do you n on going after leaving, Busan? Idiot, haven''t you watch any zombie movies?"


    The male student who said this had a look of scorn on his face as he looked at the boy who suggested leaving.


    The boy who suggested leaving in response sneered and said.


    "Yeah, I have watched zombie movies and that''s why I won''t stay in this school. What if the government decides to bomb this ce because it''s ground zero?"


    The look of scorn on the male student''s face fell, and he suddenly began sweating.


    "How can the government bomb us, this isn''t a movie, stop scaring me."


    The students of ss 1A now knowing they were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, had varied reactions. Somepletely broke down in despair, while others started nning to leave, determined to survive. However, weirdly, some male students who have perhaps read too many novels andics started excitingly chanting the word ''status.''


    Jin-woo looked over at these students with a weird expression on his face. He and Seong had only ever read pure fantasyics, so he wasn''t sure why they were performing that action and even getting disappointed afterward.


    From the crowd, Yoon-min''s voice suddenly spoke over the noise.


    "Enough! Can you guys take this seriously? Forget any zombie movies, zombieics, or anything zombie-rted you''ve read before! This is real life and something that someone else conjured up for entertainment doesn''t apply here!"


    All the students quieted down somewhat. Yoon-min, seeing this, looked around at everyone and said with a serious expression.


    "We have to decide what to do, and fast. That hoard is going to target us at any moment, and we''ll be surrounded. Are we going to stay here and wait for rescue, or are we going to-"


    However, before Yoon-min could finish his sentence, a piercing scream thundered out from the tennis court next to theirs. Everyone turned to look, and immediately their faces went pale.


    Soo-ha was now straddling Ho-jin with her teeth buried in his neck. Blood was gushing everywhere but his screams didn''t lessen, it only increased.


    However, Jin-woo''s eyes suddenly met Ho-jin''s from across the fence, and in those eyes, he saw burning hatred.


    Jin-woo''s face changed and he suddenly spun around and looked at the more than a dozen zombies that were beneath the broken window.


    One.


    Two.


    Three.


    Four.


    Four of those zombies'' heads suddenly snapped up before they turned to look in this direction. At the next moment, they dashed toward the tennis court. That was enough to alert the rest, and they all tracked behind the four, following Ho-jin''s screams.


    "This bastard! He''s purposely screaming to draw the hoard to us!"


    One of the two boys who had stepped forward to help Ho-jin¡ª his friends¡ªsaid angrily as he walked over and kicked the fence.


    All the students'' faces changed, while some red at Ho-jin. However, he had long stopped screaming, only gurgles came from him as blood filled his mouth and spilled onto his zer, staining the golden emblem ''ISH'' red.


    BANG!


    BANG!


    In no time the hoard of zombies crossed the jogging distance between the west wing of the high school and the tennis court before mming into the fence surrounding the courts.


    The students who were seated on the ground near the fence all scrambled up and backed away. The zombies pressed themselves up against the fence, snarling at them like starving animals that finally found food.


    The students'' faces were drained of blood, and they began to panic.


    "What are we going to do now?"


    "No, I don''t want to die!"


    "Damn it! We can''t stay here, what if these zombies draw more to us?"


    "Yeah, from what we saw when they fell, more are definitely in the west wing."


    As these statements began to fly around, some students nced at Jin-woo and Ye-jun. They were the ss President and ss VP, when there was no teacher around, they were responsible for protecting them. Some students also nced at Yoon-min, his earlier disy of taking charge almost seemed like second nature to him.


    But only a few students here who were in the same ss with Yoon-min in middle school knew that he had been the ss President for every one of his middle school sses, and the votes were unanimous since everyone in those sses were his friends. In fact, 1/3 of the students in middle school were either his friends or people who knew him and had a favorable impression of him.


    However, at this moment, neither Yoon-min nor Ye-jun knew what to do so they remained silent.


    As for Jin-woo, he stepped away and headed to a bench at the back of the tennis court, leaving the students to discuss things among themselves. Rather than sitting on the bench, Jin-woo sat on the ground and leaned his back against it. He kept his head down, knees drawn close to his chest, and eyes closed.


    Now that he had calmed down somewhat, he was beginning to realize that the sense of danger that he felt hade from the zombies. But why was that? Why could he predict a zombie outbreak happening? Maybe it was a coincidence?


    Jin-woo shook his head.


    After everything he felt and saw just now, he couldn''t just pass it off as a coincidence. The truth is in to see, he had somehow predicted the zombiesing after his ss.


    Thinking back to what could have happened if he hadn''t stopped that girl froming onto the tennis court, Jin-woo shivered slightly.


    If he had to guess, maybe he had an ability like Spiderman where he can sense danger in advance? But Jin-woo didn''t know why or how he had such an ability.


    Perhaps it didn''t even matter if he had it since it didn''t seem like he could do anything about it, and it also didn''t look like it was going away anytime soon.


    However, Jin-woo couldn''t help but contemte whether this ability had something to do with his schizophrenia. Maybe this ability had caused his schizophrenia?


    Jin-woo suddenly shook his head once again and let out a sigh.


    He didn''t want to think along those lines... He didn''t want to convince himself that his entire life was a lie, that he had been living in fear and mistreatment because of an illness he didn''t have. He really didn''t want to find out that what he had wasn''t a crippling illness, but some superhuman power. That would do more harm than good to him.


    As Jin-woo was in his thoughts, he suddenly felt something bump against his forehead. He nced up and saw that someone was holding a bottle of water in front of him. Jin-woo instinctively took the water, though after taking it he looked up, and then froze.


    The person he saw was none other than his bully Seo-joon.

 Chapter 38- We Choose You

    Jin-woo gripped the water bottle and red at Seo-joon. Just as he was about to toss the water bottle aside, Seo-joon blew out the puff of smoke he was holding in and said.


    "What? You think I poisoned the water? Fine, toss it away if you want."


    After saying that, Seo-joon turned and sat down on the seat next to Jin-woo. He didn''t pay Jin-woo any more attention as he continued smoking his cigarette.


    Jin-woo nced at him briefly, before looking down at the bottle in his hand. It was only now he realized he was a bit thirsty after fighting off over ten people.


    After twisting the bottle cap slightly to test if it was open before, Jin-woo finally concluded it wasn''t tampered with.


    After unscrewing the bottle, Jin-woo ced it to his lips and drank it by mouthfuls. He had his eyes closed while he gulped down the water, but after his fourth mouthful, he opened his eyes only to see that the contents in the bottle had turned bright red.


    All of a sudden, the refreshing water Jin-woo was tasting became slightly viscous while having a metallic vor to it.


    He was drinking blood.


    Jin-woo immediately pulled the bottle from his mouth and tossed it away. He then began retching violently. However, as he vomited, what came out was not the blood he thought he had drunk, but water with a mix of bile fluids in his stomach.


    Jin-woo nced at the bottle he had tossed away and saw that it had returned to normal. However, the lingering taste of the blood in his mouth made him somewhat convinced that he had actually drunk blood. That water had definitely turned into blood just now, and no matter what anyone told him he would not believe them because he could taste it in his mouth.


    Jin-woo''s body started to tremble uncontrobly as his stomach violently contracted. He was vomiting but nothing wasing out.


    A familiar scene was ying out, but unlike before, there was no one here to help him. After Seong disappeared, Jin-woo hadn''t seen him since.


    "Se-Seong¡­"


    Jin-woo muttered between his gagging, and soon tears appeared at the corners of his eyes. All of a sudden, he felt like he was all alone, and the hole in his heart that appeared after Seong''s death, but was patched up when he hallucinated him, was now left wide open with nothing to fill it, or even cover it up.


    Jin-woo was ovee with this feeling, and even though he managed to stop himself from gagging every three seconds, he couldn''t help but have tears stream down his face.


    However, amid these tumultuous emotions threatening to drown him, Jin-woo felt a hand gently rubbing his back and heard a familiar nursery rhyme.


    "One little star, two little star¡­"


    Jin-woo instinctively began counting along in his head, and by the time he reached ten, he hadpletely calmed down.


    However, now that he had calmed down, he realized that even though the nursery rhyme was familiar, the voice waspletely different.


    Jin-woo couldn''t help but quickly spin his head around, and immediately he was somewhat at a loss for words when instead of Seong, it was Seo-joon kneeling behind him.


    Seo-joon retrieved his hand that was gently rubbing Jin-woo''s back and calmly asked.


    "Have you calmed down?"


    "You¡­ How do you know that nursery rhyme?"


    Jin-woo asked a question of his own rather than answering, but Seo-joon only looked at him for a moment before he was about to get up.


    However, Jin-woo quickly grabbed his hand and hurriedly asked.


    "Joon, answer me! How do you know that nursery rhyme? Did Seong tell you?"


    After a beat of silence, Seo-joon emphatically responded.


    "No, he didn''t tell me. If he had, I would have used it back in the Track Club instead of running to go get him. You''re squeezing my hand too tight, let go."


    Seo-joon said before trying to get Jin-woo to let him go. However, Jin-woo''s grip only got tighter as he asked again with a stern expression.


    "Then how, how did you know if Seong hadn''t told you? Did you¡­"¡ª Jin-woo suddenly hesitated but eventually continued¡ª "Can you see him too?"


    Seo-joon upon hearing this had his entire body stiffened and he looked at Jin-woo silently. After a moment he slowly asked.


    "You can see Seong?"


    Jin-woo nodded slowly after hearing Seo-joon''s question. But he suddenly realized that the question was strange, however, Jin-woo couldn''t tell what about it was strange.


    After seeing Jin-woo nod, a sh of light appeared in Seo-joon''s eyes and then disappeared.


    Looking down at the G-Shock watch around Jin-woo''s right wrist, Seo-joon said with a chuckle.


    "That''s the watch Seong gave you right? You didn''t change the rm from what I saw when I was kicking your ass."


    Jin-woo''s mind went nk for a split second as he couldn''t understand how Seo-joon could have possibly known that.


    "Joon, what''s going on, tell me. How do you know all these things?"


    "Let go of my hand first."


    Jin-woo hesitated, but eventually let go of Seo-joon''s hand. He then watched as Seo-joon took out another cigarette from the pack in his top pocket. After lighting it and taking a puff before blowing it out, Seo-joon stayed silent as he knelt in front of him for a moment before he finally spoke.


    "I don''t like staying at home so whenever school is on break, I''d stay over at my aunt''s house. She''s already retired but she owns a private library in Gangnam."


    Jin-woo was at first confused by Seo-joon''s initial words, but after hearing the mention of a library in Gangnam, his body shook slightly.


    As if he didn''t realize Jin-woo''s reaction, Seo-joon continued.


    "When I had nothing to do at my aunt''s house, I would head to the library to read some books or help the staff with some stuff."¡ªSeo-joon paused to take a puff of his cigarette before resuming his narration¡ª"During the winter break I stayed at my aunt''s ce as usual, but unlike before where I would head to the library and bury my head in books or help the staff, I met Seong there.


    After he cursed at me and was kicked out, he came back the next day andpletely ignored me."


    Jin-woo hearing this couldn''t help but recall that during the days leading up to the ident, Seong was going to the library every morning beforeing to his house. He also recalled that at one point Seong hade to his house angry, saying he was kicked out of said library. Jin-woo had asked why, but Seong brushed off the topic. He didn''t even tell him why he was going to the library.


    Jin-woo was feeling aplex of emotions, but he soon buried his thoughts and listened as Seo-joon continued.


    "After our first initial interaction at the library, we didn''t talk to each other for the other few days he came in. However, on thest day, he came to me asking for some kind of science book. One thing led to another, and we started talking. During our chat, the topded on the reason he was at the library, and he told me it was because of you."


    Seo-joon nced at Jin-woo for a second then looked away and continued.


    "Before he could say much, he suddenly got an urgent phone call which made him rush out of the library, leaving the books he was reading on the desk. When I went over there to clear the books, I saw that he had left a journal. I went outside to give it back to him, but before I could, I saw him getting into your dad''s car before it sped away.


    I thought I would give it back to him tomorrow but after a few days of waiting, I heard that he was dead."


    Jin-woo lowered his head and remained silent.


    That urgent phone call that made Seong leave the library in a hurry was from him. He had his father drive him to the library to surprise Seong, but on the way there he had a panic attack. As for what triggered his panic attack, Jin-woo didn''t know, it just came suddenly, and it was uncontroble.


    The car crash happened at that time because his father was too focused on him in the back seat and missed that a driver was trying to cut him off.


    All three of them were wearing their seatbelts, but Seong was stretched over to his side trying to calm him down. When the car crashed and spun, the inertia caused his head to m against the window.


    He was on life support for a few days because of brain damage, but he ultimately died in hisa.


    Jin had watched it all happen through a ss window. The sound of that heart monitor going dead and Seong mother''s loud wails as she copsed in the hospital hallway had haunted him throughout the winter break, and it still does as the guilt never left him.


    As Jin-woo recalled all of this, his nose became a little stuffy.


    "You asked me how I know that nursery rhyme and about that watch, it''s because it''s in the journal Seong left behind."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Where is it?"


    Jin-woo suddenly looked up and asked.


    Seo-joon paused smoking his cigarette and stared at Jin-woo for a second then said.


    "It''s in my bag back in ss."


    Jin-woo gritted his teeth when he heard that, and he nced at the zombies that were making a ruckus against the fence.


    Seo-joon saw this but said nothing and only went back to smoking his cigarette.


    Jin-woo, as if making up his mind, suddenly stood up. However, at that moment, Ye-jun parted from the crowd of students and approached him.


    "We choose you."


    Jin-woo looked over at him and asked with furrowed brows.


    "What are you talking about?"


    Ye-jun stopped fifteen steps away and after fixing his sses he looked at Jin-woo before saying coolly.


    "We need someone to lure the zombies away so the rest of us can escape. After we discuss things, we choose you."


    ***


    I''ll try to do long chapters like these in the future when I can''t upload two chapters.

 Chapter 39- Do Me A Favor

    "I don''t agree to this!!"


    Yoon-min yelled and quickly stormed over to confront Ye-jun.


    "It doesn''t matter if you agree or not, we had a vote and the majority voted that he''s the best candidate to lead the monsters away."


    Ye-jun said and Yoon-min''s expression became frustrated. He shoved Ye-jun''s shoulder and said aggressively.


    "I''m not letting you send my friend to his death. You were the one who came up with this selfish n so why aren''t you the one volunteering to lead the zombies away? Is your title of ss President just for show? Huh?"


    Yoon-min shoved Ye-jun once more, but at that moment one of Ye-jun''s friends stepped forward and shoved him back while saying.


    "Hey, what''s your problem? Are you saying that no one but your friends should be sacrificed? Who''s the selfish one here, huh?"


    The youth stepped forward to shove Yoon-min again but stopped when Micah, standing behind Yoon-min, cast a murderous re towards him.


    Ye-jun pulled back his friend and while fixing his sses he looked at Yoon-min and calmly retorted.


    "Someone has to stay back and lead everyone through this disaster. Plus, if there is anyone among us who is more qualified for this task it''s the so-called Mr. Multitalented."


    Hearing Ye-jun''s words, the students of ss 1A couldn''t help but agree in their hearts. That was the reason most of them choose Jin-woo. Him taking on so many people at once had left a deep impression on them. The only other person they could think of to do this besides him was Seo-joon since he was considered a track star athlete.


    However, it would take more than just being a fast runner to survive being bait for a zombie hoard. In addition to Jin-woo being a decent runner from what they saw in the gymnasium, he could also defend himself well.


    The students of ss 1A didn''t choose Jin-woo on a whim or because of his reputation, he truly was the most capable one among them. Some even thought that sending him away instead of making him stay here and help them was a bad decision.


    Yoon-min knew all of this, but he still worried about Jin-woo''s safety. His condition was extremely unpredictable because of his illness¡ª who knows what might happen if he was left alone?


    Yoon-min gritted his teeth and said.


    "I''ll go instead."


    However, Micah ced a hand on Yoon-min''s shoulder and said while shaking his head.


    "No, you can''t run for shit. I''ll go."


    Yoon-min turned to look at Micah, a hesitant and worried expression on his face. But before he could say anything, Jin-woo spoke up at this moment.


    "It''s fine, I''ll go. I was nning on leaving anyway."


    Micah and Yoon-min turned to look at Jin-woo, but Jin-woo shook his head. Seeing this, Micah and Yoon-min knew he had already made up his mind.


    "We''ll have to draw the monsters away from the gate, everyone gather at the back and make some noise."


    After addressing the ss, Ye-jun looked at Jin-woo and said.


    "Get ready, as soon as the gate is cleared of them make a run for it. But you have to make sure all of them are following and choose your direction from now. Avoid the gymnasium at all costs, since that''s where we n to hold up. If you make it to the main building, find out the situation outside and try to report it back to us somehow.


    You can use the announcement system on the third floor to tell us in the gymnasium, but you''d have to make it there first."


    After saying all of that, Ye-jun fixed his sses and turned around to join the students at the back of the tennis court. Some of the zombies outside were already following their movements, circling the tennis court and mming against the fence, scaring some of the students into backing away.


    Yoon-min looked at Jin-woo and tears well up in his eyes as he stepped forward to hug him.


    "You can''t die, okay?"


    Jin-woo was a bit touched that Yoon-min cared for him this much.


    "Don''t worry, I don''t n on dying, but you guys should be careful as well. I''ll try to help you guys after I leave."


    After Micah patted Jin-woo''s shoulder, he and Yoon-min joined the rest of the ss at the back.


    Only Seo-joon was left, he was still sitting on the seat smoking his cigarette. Jin-woo looked over at him but said nothing. He instead turned to focus on the remaining zombie hoard at the gate.


    Four had already circled the tennis court following the students, while another three were close to Ho-Jin and So-ha''s tennis court leaving over a dozen at the gate.


    Jin-woo was finally able to scrutinize these zombies closely, and he couldn''t help but slightly feel this wasn''t real, that it was probably just one of his nightmares or an excruciatingly long hallucination. However, the wild and aggressive snarlsing from the kids still in their uniforms, told him this was all real.


    These kids who were once in ss chatting with friends, who were around his age, were now all pressed up against the fence carelessly stumbling over each other as they sought to eat him alive. They were no longer humans and have incredulously be monsters only seen in horror flicks.


    How did this happen?


    Even if they manage to survive this school, what then?


    What would the world outside look like after this zombie virus outbreak?


    Are they really seeing the start of the end of the world?


    ''Mom¡­ Dad.''


    Jin-woo couldn''t help but worry about his parents. His heart started to beat rapidly from sudden anxiety, and he closed his eyes to try and calm his emotions.


    BANG!!


    A loud sound echoed out causing Jin-woo to jump slightly. He quickly opened his eyes and turned to the noise to see that it was his ssmates starting to draw the attention of the zombies.


    "Why are you so jumpy?"


    A voice came from next to Jin-woo and he turned to see it was Seo-joon.


    "Aren''t you the least a bit worried about this situation?"


    While observing Seo-joon, Jin-woo couldn''t help but note how calm he seemed.


    Seo-joon took onest puff of his cigarette before flicking away the bud to the side. The bud flew towards the tennis court nearby and urately hit So-ha who had joined the other zombies in snarling at them. Her mouth was covered in blood and Ho-jin was lying motionlessly against the fence,pletely drenched in his own blood.


    It had been more than four minutes since he was bitten but he hadn''t yet turned for some reason.


    After flicking away his finished cigarette, Seo-joon looked at the zombies at the gate and said faintly.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "The world was already fucked from the start, at least something interesting is happening before it ends."


    Seo-joon reached into his top pocket for his pack of cigarettes to smoke another one, but upon looking inside it he saw that it was empty. Clicking his tongue, Seo-joon then asked.


    "Freak, do me a favor."


    ***


    Hey guys, sorry for theck of updates. After the hurricane my power has been out, so I had to head to my local library. I don''t know when the power will return but I''ll still try and upload more frequently till then.


    Oh, and I saw that more readers have appeared since I''ve been gone. Vol one is over, and we''re a few chaps into the second vol so feel free to leave a review of what you think of the book so far.

 Chapter 40- A Pack Of Cigarettes

    Jin-woo already realized that Seo-joon had lost his mind, some people just can''t handle the mental pressure of an impending apocalypse, so he was only half listening to him. He was mostly focused on the zombies, more of them were being drawn toward the back of the tennis court, leaving just under a dozen of them at the gate.


    However, Jin-woo still answered Seo-joon halfheartedly.


    "What is it?


    "When you get to my bag, grab the extra pack of smokes inside for me."


    Jin-woo turned to stare at Seo-joon with a somewhat dubious expression. After a moment he shook his head and returned his focus to the zombies.


    "They aren''t being drawn over."


    Jin-woo muttered upon seeing that the eight zombies remained at the gate refusing to budge. However, if the students made louder noises, it might draw the attention of more zombies from the west wing.


    "This isn''t working."


    Yoon-min said at the back with a frown as he looked at the remaining zombies. They were shouting and hitting the fence, but they seemed oblivious to their efforts.


    "I thought zombies react to sound, why isn''t it working?"


    "Are we really going to be stuck here?"


    "Damn it, I haven''t eaten lunch, I''ll starve here before the zombies eat me."


    Yoon-min got slightly annoyed at his ssmatesining, and didn''t he say they should forget those zombie horror flicks? Sound might work by drawing them over, but it was unrealistic to think it would work unconditionally.


    Before Yoon-min could caution them again, Ye-jun spoke up.


    "Since sound isn''t working, then we just have to use a different method."


    "Have you thought of something?"


    Mai-sun asked as she stepped out of the crowd of students.


    Ye-jun nodded confidently while fixing his sses. He then looked around at the students and asked.


    "Does anyone have something sharp? Enough to pierce the skin."


    "I have a safety pin."


    A girl immediately said before unclipping a safety pin that had fixed a purple ribbon to her zer and handing it to Ye-jun.


    Ye-jun took the safety pin and everyone then watched as he unhesitantly used it to stab his fingertip. Confusion spread among the ss when they saw this, but Ye-jun didn''t exin and only turned around to walk past Jin-woo and Seo-joon toward the gate.


    Drip.


    Drip.


    Drip.


    The faint sound of the blood falling to the ground from Ye-jun''s finger could be heard amidst the snarls from the zombies. After stopping in front of the gate, he indifferently gazed at the snarling zombies before lifting his bleeding finger and flicking it towards them.


    Like oil being carelessly thrown into a fire pit, the zombies explosively erupted, bing more frenzied than before when a few drops of blood fell amongst them. It was to the point that the small bolt keeping the fence locked was beginning to rattle as if it was going to be ripped apart at any moment.


    The students seeing this felt a jolt in their hearts. Meanwhile, Jin-woo''s eyes narrowed and he nced to the side at So-ha who had be equally more frenzied. He realized she hadn''t exactly eaten Ho-jin but rather she had drunk his blood.


    Yoon-min at the back also frowned since this was evidence that he was right, these zombies were nothing like the ones in the movies that eat brains or flesh.


    Ye-jun walked along the side of the fence, flicking the blood from his finger at the following zombies. Soon, all of the zombies were gathered at the back of the tennis court, including the three that were at Ho-jin and So-ha''s tennis court.


    "Jin!"


    Jin-woo heard Yoon-min call out to him for him to start, but he was already rushing toward the gate.


    In one swift motion, Jin-woo unlocked the gate and was about to step outside to run for his life. However, Seo-joon suddenly called out from behind.


    "Wait!"


    Jin-woo paused momentarily and turned around. He saw Seo-joon walking towards him but at an extremely leisurely pace without an ounce of urgency.


    Seeing this, Jin-woo wondered if this idiot had truly gone crazy.


    "What? Why did you stop me?"


    Jin-woo asked in a hurry after Seo-joon approached.


    In response, Seo-joon said calmly.


    "I think this is where I tell you that you should listen to those feelings you have and that you should thank me for throwing away your medication. Hold out your hand."


    Jin-woo was a bit confused by Seo-joon''s words, but he instinctively held out his hand. Seo-joon then ced something inside his hand and it was an empty cigarette box. However, it felt weighty so Jin-woo shook it slightly and heard something inside of it.


    "What-"


    Jin-woo looked up ready to ask Seo-joon why he gave him this box, but he was cut off by Seo-joon shoving him outside the gate.


    Jin-woo was quick to regain his bnce, and he red at Seo-joon who had already locked the gate.


    "Bastard."


    Jin-woo cursed and lifted his hand about to throw the cigarette box at him, but Seo-joon suddenly said.


    "If you head to the teachers'' office there''s something in my old man''s locked drawer that can help you."


    Jin-woo''s hand that was about to throw the cigarette box suddenly paused. Expression flickering, he shook the box once again, and from the sound, he finally realized that there was a key inside.


    Suddenly, a bone-chilling screech echoed out from further down the tennis court. A zombie had broken away from the hoard and was rushing back towards Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo, however, seemed as if he didn''t see the zombie and continued to stare at Seo-joon.


    Seo-joon simrly stared back at Jin-woo, both making eye contact from across the fence.


    After a second, Jin-woo suddenly clicked his tongue and said.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "This doesn''t change the fact that I''m going to beat the crap out of you for earlier."


    Jin-woo clenched the cigarette box tightly in his hand and then kicked the gate. Using the rebounding force, he pushed himself back to dodge the lounging zombie. As the zombie crashed onto the ground, Jin-woo turned and sprinted towards the high school.


    The other zombies noticed him as he ran past, and they all began chasing after him.


    "Don''t forget to grab the pack of cigarettes!"


    Seo-joon suddenly yelled after Jin-woo, who had already passed the gymnasium and arrived near the broken window of the west wing.


    Jin-woo suddenly stopped and turned to lift his hand high above his head to extend his middle finger towards Seo-joon.


    The zombies who were slightly far behind him closed the distance. Jin-woo nced at them and seeing that all the two dozen or so zombies were following him, he turned and continued running.


    He aimed to get to his ss on the east wing and retrieve Seong''s journal.

 Chapter 41- Becoming A Living Dead

    As Jin-woo was running past the broken window, he nced up. He didn''t see anyone through the window, neither zombies nor students. He wasn''t sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. He then nced at the middle school across the football field to his left.


    Was the zombie outbreak happening at his former middle school and elementary school as well?


    Jin-woo wasn''t sure.


    With the speed fitting of a former star of the Track Club, Jin-woo ran past the west wing of the high school and reached the east wing. After a sharp right turn with him skating momentarily, he directly skipped over the few steps in front of the entrance and stopped at the wide-open double doors.


    Jin-woo then turned back to look at the zombies who were on his heels for a second time as well as the tennis court. He saw that his ssmates were already sprinting towards the gymnasium. However, a zombie thatgged behind the horde chasing him suddenly stopped and turned around to look at them.


    Jin-woo''s face changed at that but then his heart sank to the pit of his stomach when he saw that several more were stopping.


    The first zombie that stopped immediately dashed toward the students of ss 1A, causing mass panic among them. However, before more zombies could follow behind the first Jin-woo immediately stepped forward and roared at the top of his lungs.


    "BASTARDS!! WHAT ARE YOU STOPPING FOR!!"


    However, this action immediately ced Jin-woo in a deadly situation. The zombie leading the horde that was chasing him was already running up the steps.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Shit."


    Jin-woo cursed and quickly kicked out. His kicknded on the zombie''s chest, and it was sent stumble back down the stairs, getting the way of ones behind it, temporarily halting their advance.


    Jin-woo didn''t waste any more time, he swiftly retreated into the high school and pulled the double doors closed. As he did, he cast one final nce at the gymnasium to see that his shouting had little to no effect. One zombie that had stopped came chasing him once again, but four plus the first one was tracking back to the gymnasium.


    What made Jin-woo''s eyes redden was judging by these zombies'' speed, which was no different from a regr person at full speed, they were going to reach the tail end of the students rushing into the gymnasium.


    "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"


    Jin-woo cursed, however, he could do nothing but close the doors.


    BANG!


    Immediately after he closed it, the zombie horde violently mmed against it. Jin-woo flinched back and nced at them through the small windows that were at eye level on the double doors.


    These double doors were luckily reced over the winter break by the school. After having the ss doors crack orpletely shatter one too many times by a bunch of rowdy high schoolers hurrying out of school after thest bell, the school reced them with these metal double doors.


    However, as the horde continuously mmed against the doors, Jin-woo''s attention couldn''t help but drift toward the rattling hinges.


    They were bound to fly off at any moment.


    Jin-woo buried his worry for the students in his ss and hurriedly turned to sprint down the hall. He passed the notice board that still listed the names and designated sses for the new high schoolers, beforeing to the bottom of the stairs leading up to the second floor.


    Jin-woo was still clenching the cigarette box in his hand. The stairs were at a crossroads, and if he took a right after passing it, he could reach the teachers'' office. But Jin-woo''s top priority was Seong''s journal.


    However, after Jin-woo skipped up several steps he suddenly stopped in his tracks. His expression then flickered incessantly as he heard a particr noise.


    After a bit of hesitation, Jin-woo walked down the stairs and leaned his head forward to look around the corner. After looking right and then left, Jin-woo''s gaze settled back to the right. The noise wasing from there.


    BANG!!


    The sound of the horde mming against the doors caused Jin-woo to quickly look behind him. Even from all the way down the hall he could see the door trembling on their fragile hinges.


    Jin-woo gritted his teeth, and after steeling himself he turned around and made a right for the noise. With hurried steps, he approached a closed set of metal doors simr to the ones at the entrance.


    The reason for Jin-woo''s actions was simple.


    After stopping at the double doors, he nced through one of the small windows to observe the scene beyond it.


    It was the east wing''s cafeteria, and it was currently filled with students eating. The noise Jin-woo heard previously was the boisterousughter and cacophony of chatteringing from the students.


    While observing this scene, Jin-woo recalled what was behind the entrance of the school doors and he couldn''t help but have a cold chill worm its way down his spine.


    Mind racing, Jin-woo immediately began thinking of a way to warn these people.


    All of a sudden, it was the tennis court incident starting all over again where no one would believe him.


    Theughing and chattering of the students in the cafeteria filled Jin-woo''s ears, but so did the increasingly loud banging that wasing from the hallway further down.


    As both his heart and mind were racing, Jin-woo suddenly spotted a fire rm on the wall next to him. With eyes shing, he reached up to pull it, hoping it would not only alert these students but everyone in the east wing who might not realize the virus outbreak. But before Jin-woo could pull the fire rm, all of a sudden, a familiar sense of danger appeared in his mind.


    However, this time it came mming against his consciousness much harder than the first time. It made him slightly dizzy while at the same time inducing cold sweat to break out all over him.


    This made Jin-woo aware of the fact that if he pulled this fire rm, he would die. No, this stronger feeling made him realize the danger wasn''t about him or anyone else dying. Rather the danger was something else, but equally terrifying.


    It was him... bing a living dead.


    A zombie.

 Chapter 42- There Are Zombies Outside!!

    Jin-woo didn''t know why pulling the fire rm would cause him to turn into a zombie, nor did he have time to think too deeply about it. Despite deciding not to pull the fire rm, and getting rid of the sense of danger as soon as it came, his mind was still reeling from its aftereffects.


    At the same time, he happened to nce through the window into the cafeteria, and the once lively scene with studentsughing and chatting had turned into a pile of bloody corpses strewn about haphazardly.


    Swash!


    A loud noise that sounded like a huge wave hitting a coastline echoed in Jin-woo''s ear, and he turned to his right to see a sea of blood turning a corner before barreling down the hallway toward him. A familiar but stronger stench of blood proliferated his senses, and his stomach slightly churned when he saw what looked like human flesh and unsorted body parts tumbling about in the blood.


    However, in the blink of an eye, all of that vanished into thin air. Then, a sudden loud yell brought Jin-woo back to his senses.


    "What! Are you serious?!"


    Jin-woo turned to look through the window to see that it was just a male student yelling while he chatted with his friends around one of the many tables.


    Everything had returned to normal, but Jin-woo''s nose twitched as the faint smell of blood still lingered in his nose.


    After taking a deep breath and exhaling it, Jin-woo looked through the small window at the students in the cafeteria once more before making up his mind.


    With a few bounces in ce, Jin-woo tried to get himself in the right state of mind. Then, in one swift motion, he pushed the double doors open and rushed inside. However, he acted too fast, and his legs tangled beneath him causing him to crash hard onto the ground.


    This caused a brief silence to descend in the cafeteria as most of the students stopped talking to look over at this person. They all watched as Jin-woo hurriedly got back up and frantically gestured behind him with a finger before yelling loudly.


    "There''s a school shooter! Someone called the police and locked the cafeteria doors! HURRY!!"


    "Wha-What?!"


    One male student immediately eximed in shock as he flew up from his seat. The other students reacted simrly as they all looked at Jin-woo with horror-stricken faces.


    Immediately questions and cries of panic began to fly around.


    "Is that true? Is someone really attacking the school!"


    "Hurry and close the doors!"


    "Where''s my phone?! I''m going to call the cops!"


    "Damn it, what''s happening?! This can''t be real; he must be pranking us or something!"


    Voices of contention also appeared, and the main one came from an adult who was supervising the students on lunch serving duty. From behind the lunch area, he looked at Jin-woo with a frown and said.


    "Young man don''t make up such lies. What are you trying to do?"


    "No, I''m telling the truth! Me and my ssmates were outside, and we saw it happen in the west wing. My ssmates rushed into the gymnasium while I came here to warn everyone. I don''t know if the attackers are in the east wing as well, but since they''ve started on the top floor, we still have time to barricade the cafeteria and wait for the police to arrive!"


    After hearing Jin-woo''s words, one youth''s face pale and he stuttered out.


    "Y-You said they, there''s more than one shooter?"


    "Yes, and they''reing! Hurry and lock the doors!"


    After yelling that, Jin-woo turned and dashed out the door.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Wait, where are you going?!"


    The only adult in the cafeteria yelled after Jin-woo as he came from around the serving area.


    "I have to tell the other students who don''t know. Please believe me and lock the doors!"


    The double metal doors closed with a thud behind Jin-woo before one male student suddenly dashed forward and bolted them. Simrly, someone ran to the other exit and locked those doors. At the same time, everyone began taking out their phones to call the police.


    Jin-woo''s panic expression was too real for them to just pass it off as a prank, so everyone began freaking out, which caused a cacophony of noise to fill the cafeteria with tensions rising by the second.


    The youth who had immediately locked the door behind Jin-woo, stayed and nced out the window. He saw Jin-woo turn to look to his right before spinning around and dashing to the left down the hall.


    The youth upon seeing this had his heart shudder thinking that perhaps a shooter wasing down the hall. However, instead of a single shooter, he saw several figures dashing passed the door heading after Jin-woo.


    The youth momentarily paused at this scene as the figures weren''t carrying any guns. Frowning, the youth was just about to let out a loud curse and tell everyone Jin-woo was lying, however, the words got stuck in his throat as one of the figures running past the door suddenly stopped and turned to stare at him.


    Disheveled hair, bloodshot eyes, ck veins, gray flesh, mouth and clothes covered in blood. The youth''s face went ashen when he saw this female student.


    "Wha-What the fuck?"


    He asked aloud but rather than getting an intelligible response, he received a screech instead. The zombie then dashed towards the door and mmed against it, the small window cracked from the headlong impact.


    The youth, filled with horror, immediately stumbled back and identally fell on his rear. However, he quickly scrambled up and yelled while pointing at the doors.


    "Zom-Zombie! There are zombies outside!!"


    His yelling immediately drew the other students'' attention, but most of them were either confused by his words or slightly annoyed.


    What was he talking about, that there were some zombies outside?


    The youth, seeing that no one reacted to his words, yelled once again.


    "I''m being serious! A zombie just mmed against the window with her head and cracked it; Look! Look!"


    Everyone followed the youths pointing and looked at the window to see that it was indeed crack, but then¡­


    BANG!


    Everyone slightly jumped as a sudden loud noise came from the door. It was as if a wild animal had madly mmed against it with the full force of its body.


    Suddenly, Jin-woo''s previous im and now this youth''s words caused everyone to silently stare at the door with wary expressions¡ª as if waiting for something to happen.


    BANG!


    BANG!


    BANG!

 Chapter 43- Careless

    "Shit, they were chasing after that kid who left, but now they''ve turned to us! Damn it, hurry barricade the door!"


    The youth was frantic, and he grabbed one of the long benches in the cafeteria before trying to haul it over to the door.


    "Stop, what are you doing?!"


    The only adult in the cafeteria was a middle-aged man. With an apron around his waist and a mesh hat, he came storming over with a stern expression.


    "Mr. we have to-"


    The youth tried exining the dire situation to the middle-aged man, but he was cut off.


    "Enough, are you in on his prank? Don''t you kids have anything better to do?"


    BANG!


    Another loud noise came from the door. The middle-aged man nced at it and then walked over. Looking through the remaining window at the scene outside, he was suddenly met face-to-face with a snarling zombie.


    The middle-aged man frightened by the sudden jump scare leapt back. This also caused the students in the cafeteria to hurriedly retreat in response.


    However, after his initial fear, the middle-aged man red at the female student out of anger and embarrassment.


    "What is that makeup? Just what are you kids doing out there!"


    The middle-aged man then reached toward the door''s somewhatrge bolt about to open it.


    "No, wait!"


    The youth cried out, but the middle-aged man had already made up his mind to go out and give these pranksters a good... taste of his blood.


    However, just as the middle-aged man ced his hand against the door bolt to wrench it open, an object came sailing across the room to hit the back of his head.


    THUD!


    "Fu-Who threw that?"


    The middle-aged man almost let out a curse if not for him remembering where he was. He red at the students in the room, however, no one spoke up on who threw the object. Suddenly he felt a warm liquid on his fingers, and he pulled his hand from behind his head to see that it was blood.


    "Damn it, what hit me?"


    The man cursed once more as he looked down at the object that had hit him. There on the ground, he saw a somewhat smallic book that had a bit of blood stain on one of its pointy corners.


    "Fuck, it was a book?"


    The man cursed under his breath, while his eyes involuntarilynded on the cover title of thisic.


    It read, ''Zom-100.''*


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Jin-woo was running at full speed down the hallway with over a dozen zombies chasing him.


    Suddenly, a faint ''ding'' echoed followed by what sounded like metal ttering on the floor. Jin-woo''s steps momentarily halted as he nced down at the cigarette box in his hand. The lid was crooked, and the inside was empty.


    Jin-woo quickly looked at the ground further behind him and saw a small key, however, it was toote to retrieve it as the leading zombie stepped over it and quickly closed the distance.


    "Shit."


    Jin-woo could only turn on his heels and continue running. After turning one final corner, he reached the teachers'' office which was the second door to the right of the hall. Without hesitation, Jin-woo opened the sliding door and slipped inside the room before slowly closing the door behind him.


    While crouching on the ground against the door, he heard the snarls of the zombies as they passed by. Despite this, Jin-woo kept his posture low as he weaved his way through the teachers'' office desks. This was because of therge windows that could allow someone to have a clear view of the office from the hallway.


    He had once been thankful for theserge windows in each room in the school but now Jin-woo was cursing their bad design.


    The teachers'' office was empty as expected since the teachers were off eating lunch. Like the students, they had their own designated cafeteria on the ground floor.


    Along with the teachers'' office and cafeterias, there were rooms for indoor table tennis, the library, the Administrative Office, and a few spare rooms for storage as well as the janitorial supplies on the ground floor. The second floor was where the ssrooms were, the east wing specifically had all the first years here, as well as one or two sses for second years.


    As for the third floor and fourth floors, the first was the floor that had spare rooms for the various subjects that teachers could book in advance, like the Science Lab and Computer Lab. The nurse''s station was here as well. The second was for Clubs, like the Literature Club, the Chess Club, and the Gaming Club.


    Jin-woo recalled theyout of the school as he wondered why he hadn''t seen anyone while running here. It was after he did this that he realized why and that was because today was the day most first-year students chose their Clubs. So, if all the first years weren''t in that cafeteria, then the rest were likely on the fourth floor.


    As for the second years and third years on the west wing, most of the second years were back in school, but almost all the third years were still out either studying at home or taking extra lessons for the uing Suneung.*n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''Since it''s like that then it''s no wonder it hasn''t spread to the east wing yet. Well, I''m not sure, but at the very least they haven''t reached the bottom floors.''


    Jin-woo thought this to himself as he continued to check the name tags on the desks for teacher Park''s desk. He concluded that he still had time to reach his ssroom and even make it back to the gymnasium before the virus spread to the entire school, but he would have to hurry.


    Suddenly, Jin-woo saw the standing namete ''Teacher Park'' on the desk in front of him and he directly checked the bottom-most drawer among the ones to the side.


    Click.


    The drawer Jin-woo thought would be locked, was unexpectedly open. Perhaps, whatever Seo-joon wanted him to find was in the other drawers? He just jumped the gun and thought it would likely be in a locked bottom drawer.


    However, as Jin-woo was about to close the drawer to check the two above it, he caught a glimpse of something beneath some clutters of papers in the drawer. With just that glimpse Jin-woo knew what it was.


    Reaching into the drawer, Jin-woo shifted the papers to reveal a small ck revolver gun. It was inside a metal gun holder but from the handle and parts visible, he could easily tell that the gun was a model 60 from the Smith and Wessonpany. Why was he able to confidently identify the gun with such little details? Because these were the guns used by the police.


    ''But why was it here?''


    Jin-woo wasn''t surprised teacher Park had this gun. He knew that his father and Teacher Park had a history of being in the army together, but while his father moved up Teacher Park ''voluntarily'' left to be a P.E. teacher.


    No, what he was surprised about was that he would actually bring it to school and keep it in an open drawer. And though teacher Park might have been in the army and was technically allowed to own a gun, there were regtions on the type of gun he was allowed to have, and a gun designated for the police wasn''t one of them.


    Well, Jin-woo wasn''t sure, he hadn''t been as enthusiastic about guns to study their models and rules on owning them as he once was in the past.


    However, he would still criticize this idiot for carelessly leaving it here for someone to easily ess it. But, as Jin-woo was doing so in his mind, he turned over the gun holder and suddenly saw a keyhole on the other side.


    "...."


    "Fuck."


    Perhaps he was the careless one.


    ***


    *Zom-100 is a zombie manga/anime.


    *Suneung is the entrance exams high schoolers in South Korea take for entering college CSAT. For those familiar with South Korea, it''s that really important exam that have almost all of the country on ''lockdown per se'' when students take it.

 Chapter 44- Too Ridiculous

    "BASTARDS!! WHAT ARE YOU STOPPING FOR!!"


    The students of ss 1A heard Jin-woo''s booming voice and the ones at the front of the group running towards the gymnasium turned to look behind them to see if people were actually stopping. However, they saw that everyone was instead madly sprinting forward with all their might.


    It was only after looking back to the front did these students realize Jin-woo was referring to some of the zombies in the horde that was chasing him. One had stopped to stare at them, with five more soon stopping.


    Upon seeing this, the students all cried out in horror, and those who weren''t sprinting with all their might before were giving a hundred and twenty percent of their efforts now.


    "Shit, they''reing!"


    Yoon-min who was somewhat at the back of the group along with Micah, Ye-jun, and Mai-sun, yelled.


    Everyone also saw when the first zombie that stopped started running toward them before four out of the five behind it followed suit.


    "Hurry! Hurry!"


    Eun-ju, the athletic female student who had won the girl''s mini volleyball tournament, was one of the few students along with some male students who had already reached the gymnasium entrance and were urging the others to enter.


    "Shit, we aren''t going to make it!"


    One male student at the back cried out in panic when he saw that the five zombies were closer to the gymnasium entrance than they were by a few meters. Yoon-min, Micah Ye-jun, Mai-sun, and six other female students were among this group.


    "Quick close the door!"


    A male student next to Eun-ju yelled before he went to grab one of the double metal doors of the gymnasium. However, Eun-ju immediately stopped him.


    "What are you doing? The others haven''t entered yet!"


    "Damn it, do you want to get bitten? Close the fucking door!"


    The male student yelled and went to push away Eun-ju to close both the double doors, however, he was instead shoved away. Eun-ju then stood still at the entrance staring coldly at the five zombies that were increasingly approaching.


    Her actions were simple, there were only five zombies and there were over twenty of them, if they worked together, they would be able to fend them off and get everyone to safety; why should anyone get left behind?


    However, a frantic cry suddenly came from the group of students rushing towards the gymnasium.


    "MICAH!"


    Eun-ju turned around to see what happened, however, a looming figure suddenly sped past her and rushed toward the approaching zombies. She quickly looked forward after the figure passed and saw that it was that tall foreign student named Micah.


    Micah had been matching Yoon-min''s speed all this while, but upon realizing that they wouldn''t be able to enter the gymnasium without confronting the zombies he suddenly sped forward to intercept them.


    Upon meeting the first zombie head-on, it was as if a small minivan had collided with an eighteen-wheeler truck. The zombie was sent flying backward toward the others behind it. Two were knocked down, while the remaining two stumbled over the three zombies and charged at Micah.


    Micah tactfully shifted to the side and the zombies followed his movements, one behind the other. Now he was facing one at a time rather than two at once.


    "Micah!"


    Yoon-min yelled once again, he and the others had now reached the steps leading to the gymnasium entrance.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "What are you waiting for?! Go!"


    Micah yelled back angrily before he kicked away the first zombie that lunged at him. He was doing everything in his power to avoid their mouths, if only he had a weapon or something.


    Yoon-min watched as Micah fought off the two zombies and his eyes turned red. He stepped forward wanting to help, but as if Micah could predict what he was thinking he growled.


    "Don''t even think ofing over here! I''ll be fine as long as I don''t get bitten! Just go, I''ll find safety somewhere else!"


    Yoon-min paused in his steps but clenched his fists.


    After dealing with the second zombie Micah nced over at Yoon-min and seeing that he was just standing there, he barked at him.


    "Didn''t you hear what I said?!"


    Micah was especially anxious as the three zombies from before had recovered and were now setting their sights on Yoon-min and the others.


    "Yoon-min!"


    At that moment, Mai-sun grabbed Yoon-min''s hand as she and Ye-jun were running past to go up the steps at the entrance. Yoon-min didn''t resist her pull, but he met Micah''s gaze from a distance, and tears well up in his eyes. However, he didn''t say anymore, instead, he turned around and rushed up the stairs. Meanwhile, Micah returned his focus to the two zombies.


    The three zombies, having already recovered, rushed towards the pile of food hurrying to enter the gymnasium. Eun-ju reacted quickly and kicked one of them before it coulde up the steps.


    However, as Eun-ju dealt with one of the zombies, the remaining two snarled as they moved toward Yoon-min and the others.


    But suddenly¡­


    "Ah!"


    Mai-sun in her panic to get up the steps tripped; Yoon-min was pulled back due to holding her hand, but at the same time her hand slipped out of his.


    "Fuck! Are you serious?!"


    Yoon-min yelled in disbelief, and he wondered if he was in a zombie movie because this was too ridiculous.


    One of the two zombies didn''t hesitate to lunge at Mai-sun who had tripped.


    "Mai-sun!"


    Ye-jun yelled as he hurriedly tracked back to help, but Yoon-min, being closer, was the first one to make a move.


    "Ahh!"


    Releasing a cry, Yoon-min suddenly threw himself at the female zombie that was moments away from straddling Mai-sun and biting her. Both he and the zombie tumbled down the steps as a result.


    The fifth zombie was thankfully not here to take advantage of this moment. One student had thought to slip away from the crowd, thinking that the zombies would go after a crowd than him alone. However, the moment he retreated from the group that was hurrying up the stairs, the fifth zombie turned and rushed towards him.


    Out of fear, the male student turned around and ran off. But perhaps because of panic, he didn''t head back towards the tennis court but instead turned left, heading to the water pipes next to the gymnasium.


    Ye-jun reached Mai-sun and helped her up. Both of them along with Eun-jun then retreated to the double doors. The other students of ss 1A instead of helping were just watching the scene outside from as far away as they could.


    Yoon-min groaned as he got up. The female zombie he tackled was the first zombie that had fallen through the west wing''s window, her leg seemed broken which hindered her somewhat from getting up immediately.


    This gave Yoon-min a chance to rush up the steps, however, as he took a step forward an intense pain suddenly shot through his right leg from his ankle which made him let out a loud cry of agony and stumble on the first few steps.


    "Yoon-min, look out!"


    Eun-ju suddenly yelled from the entrance, her face going pale.


    Her cry alerted Micah who had just fended off the two zombies once again. He looked over at the gymnasium entrance, only to see that a zombie was on top of Yoon-min''s back, its teeth ripping into him.

 Chapter 45- I’m About To Turn

    "YOON-MIN!!"


    Micah couldn''t believe the scene in front of him, he immediately abandoned the two zombies and sprinted towards Yoon-min, he could hear the sound of his heart thundering in his ears. Quickly reaching the stairs, he kicked away the female zombie Yoon-min had tackled and then dragged the zombie Eun-ju had kicked down the stairs off of Yoon-min''s back before flinging it to the side.


    The sight that greeted Micah was a deep bite wound on Yoon-min''s back that had bright blood oozing out.


    "Damn it, Yoon-min. Get up."


    Micah''s expression was pain as he bent down to help Yoon-min up.


    "No, leave me, go."


    Yoon-min tried to push Micah away, but Micah firmly grabbed his wrist and pulled him up. He was then about to carry Yoon-min up the steps before the zombies recovered, the two he dealt with were already rushing over. However, at that moment something ttered on the ground and then slid in front of Micah and Yoon-min.


    It was a wooden bat.


    Yoon-min and Micah looked up from the bat on the ground, only to see Ye-jun pulling closed one of the double doors. One of his friends was closing the second one, while another one of his friends was holding Eun-ju at the back.


    "What are you doing?!"


    Micah yelled when he saw that they were closing the doors. However, Ye-jun merely fixed his sses on his nose and gave him and Yoon-min an impassive look without responding.


    Bang!


    ng!


    The sound of the door being closed, and the bolt locking afterward was heard. Despite the snarls of the four zombies that were charging at them from behind, if one listened closely perhaps one could hear Micah and Yoon-min''s hearts frosting over as they grew cold.


    ¡­


    Ha!


    Ha!


    Ha!


    "No! Leave me alone!"


    tter!


    The male student who was being chased by the fifth zombie was breathing heavily. He flung some metal pipes leaning against the wall on the ground behind him to slow down the zombie. He had no time to grab one as the zombie was literally on his heels.


    The zombie tripped over the pipes just as it was about to grab the youth, however, it quickly recovered and not knowing what fatigue was, easily caught up to the already exhausted youth.


    The youth cried out in panic as he ran past the water pipes and turned the corner to reach the back of the gymnasium. However, his turn gave the zombie the chance to catch up and it lunged at his back.


    The boy crashed to the ground with the zombie on top of him. However, at that moment of despair, the boy suddenly saw teacher Park leaning against a pipe smoking.


    "Te-Teacher Park, please, save me!"


    Shocked by the sudden appearance of two students, Teacher Park quickly flicked away the cigarette he was smoking. He was initially nning on staying here until the lunch break was almost over before heading back to the tennis court.


    After doing so he had nned on pinning the me for the students missing lunch on Jin-woo, however, who would have guessed that one of his students would appear now?


    ncing at his watch, Teacher Park saw that it was 12: 42 pm.


    "What are you kids doing?"


    He asked looking up from his watch, before he pushed off the pipe intending to approach the two students.


    "Teacher Park, save-ugh!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The boy was on his back fending off the zombie, but as he looked at Teacher Park to ask for help for a second time, the zombie took that chance to bite into his neck.


    Blood immediately gushed out of the boy''s throat like a fountain, and he began to struggle under the zombie. Teacher Park upon seeing this had his expression change drastically.


    "Stop! What the hell do you think you''re doing?!''


    Stepping forward, Teacher Park was about to break up this madness, however, his shout made the zombie suddenly stop and slowly look up at him.


    Teacher Park froze in his steps as he locked gazes with the zombie. All of a sudden, a cold chill ran down his spine and a feeling of danger rose in his heart. It was as if he was face-to-face with a wolf rather than a human.


    The boy beneath the zombie had long ceased his struggle having died a slow and agonizing death. The zombie slowly stood up, all while staring at Teacher Park.


    Teacher Park in response instinctively took a step back.


    "Stay back, I''ll be reporting this to the school and have your parents called in for what you did."


    Teacher Park tried to threaten, but the zombie in response suddenly dashed towards him.


    Teacher Park instinctively reached for his waist but upon feeling nothing there, he remembered that his gun was left in a drawer at his desk; his heart dropped at this realization.


    "No, get back! Stay back!"


    Teacher Park cried out as he turned and started running away. Due to his head-start, he managed to reach the end of the gymnasium and turn the corner; however, the zombie was right behind him on his tail.


    A few minutes after this, sounds of running could be heard and soon, Micah''s tall frame could be seen turning the corner where the water pipes were. He had Yoon-min on his back as he ran, while three zombies chased him from behind.


    "Micah, you idiot, stop carrying me. I can feel it¡­ I''m about to turn."


    "Quiet."


    Micah retorted harshly between his heavy breathing. He then ran toward the stair tower against the gymnasium and began climbing it to the top.


    The three zombies followed from behind relentlessly. Yoon-min weakly turned his head to look back at them, but his gaze was blurry, and he could barely keep his eyelids open.


    Yoon-min sighed in his heart before he turned back around and rested his chin on Micah''s shoulder.


    "Micah... I..."


    Yoon-min tried to speak but his voice ultimately trailed off. The exhaustion was too much to bear, and it eventually engulfed him.


    Yoon-min''s arms that were wrapped around Micah''s neck loosened and dropped to his side. He would have fallen backward if not for Micah reacting on time and catching him.


    "Yoon-min? Yoon-min!"


    Micah called out for Yoon-min, his voice filled with desperation, but there was no response, only silence. Immediately, tears pooled in Micah''s eyes before rolling down his cheeks. However, he bit his lip hard and continued heading towards the gymnasium''s roof.


    Along with tears welling up in Micah''s eyes, there was a burning sense of anger, anger that seemed to have stemmed from the depths of his heart.

 Chapter 46- Goodbye Mate

    Ha!


    Ha!


    Micah reached the roof of the gymnasium and was breathing heavily. Hended from the ledge with a thud before he hurried over to the other side of the roof and leaned Yoon-min against the wall.


    ng!


    Bang!


    The messy footsteps of the zombies echoed out behind him before the first one frantically rushed over the ledge andnded hard on the roof. The others followed suit and simrlynded haphazardly on the ground.


    There were many metal bars scattered on the roof, likely from the discarded sections of the stair tower that the construction workers renovating the gymnasium this winter forgot, or ignored cleaning up.


    Micah picked up one nearby that was around a meter in length and rushed toward the zombies before they could get up.


    Bang!


    The sound of metal making contact with a human''s skull was very distinct. There was even a faint sound of something cracking that apanied it.


    Angered beyond reason, Micah had not held back any of his strength, and like a world-renowned baseball yer, he swung the metal bar and sent the first zombie tipping over the edge of the roof, its skull bursting open in a gruesome fashion.


    While the sound of the first zombie falling against the stair tower to the ground echoed out, Micah quickly swung at the second one which was lunging at him from the ground.


    Stay tuned with empire


    Bang!


    Micah swung down with all his strength, but rather than hitting the zombie''s head, the metal bar missed and instead hit the zombie''s neck, which was followed by a sickening crack echoing out.


    The zombie fell to the ground, its limbs unmoving due to its spine being fractured, however, its mouth was still opening and closing as it snarled at Micah.


    Due to utilizing his full strength in both swings, Micah was unable to gather his strength in time to deal with the third zombie. Mid-swing, the zombie lunged at Micah, and having alreadymitted to the swing he was unable to retreat in time. The zombie like a starving wolf sunk its teeth into Micah''s forearm.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Micah reacted with panic at first, but suddenly a strange calmness settled into his heart. He silently stared at the zombie clutching his arm while burring its teeth further into his skin.


    Micah could actually feel his blood being sucked out by the zombie.


    Browsing together into a frown, Micah turned and calmly walked to the edge of the gymnasium roof, the zombie that was still clinging to his arm while biting him stumbled forward with him.


    Bang!


    After reaching the edge of the roof, Micah smashed the zombie''s head with a metal bar, and the force made the zombie release its bite and stumble back. It tilted over the ledge that was just below waist height, and with an added kick from Micah it was sent over fully. The sound of its body hitting the ground came momentster.


    ng~


    Micah let the metal bar fall out of his hand before he turned and walked over to Yoon-min leaning against the wall.


    Yoon-min''s face was already full of ck markings, along with some visible on his arms and legs.


    Micah crouched down next to him and shook his shoulders gently while calling out.


    "Yoon-min¡­ Yoon-min, wake up."


    After not getting a response, Micah ced two fingers against Yoon-min''s neck to check his pulse.


    One second¡­


    Two seconds¡­


    Three seconds¡­


    Micah retrieved his hand after three seconds.


    He didn''t feel anything.


    "Damn it, Yoon-min. Why didn''t you just enter the gymnasium like I asked? Why bother trying to be a hero, didn''t you say this wasn''t some movie?"


    Micah asked as he lowered his head, however, momentster he began to sob softly. His hand on Yoon-min''s shoulder trembled along with his shoulders.


    After a minute of crying Micah seemed to calm down somewhat. He sniffled and then said while wiping his face.


    "I wish this were a movie. If it was, you would have definitely been revived somehow because you didn''t deserve to die like this. As for that two-faced bastard Ye-jun and that ungrateful cunt, even after I be a zombie I''ll torment them throughout the school."


    That deep-rooted hatred in Micah''s heart rose once again and set his eyes a ze. However, it dimmed for a moment as he nced at Yoon-min one final time.


    For some reason, Yoon-min wasn''t turning like the other students after getting bitten, but this was simr to Ho-jin back at the tennis court.


    Micah suspected there were types for this zombie virus, but he didn''t have time to ponder about it. There was no doubt about what would happen to him after being bitten, he could feel it. His inner organs felt like they were burning, and his heartbeat was way past the pace of what was considered normal.


    What was more telling, he felt this urge, this inkling of thirst, as if he was severely dehydrated.


    The feeling was faint, but it was rapidly getting worse.


    Micah ruffled Yoon-min''s hair and said with a slight smile.


    "Goodbye, mate."


    He then stood up and went to sit on the edge of the roof next to Yoon-min. ncing down at his hand, he saw that despite his light skin tone, it was clearly visible that his veins had turned pitch-ck.


    Micah nced up and overlooked the school''s football field while his timer ticked down.


    After two minutes his body began to shake. Micah gritted his teeth, and he bared the pain of his organs being set ame, especially his lungs, they felt like they were in an inferno.


    But all of a sudden, the intense pain suddenly disappeared. However, Micah''s body cked as he went unconscious; being on the edge, he fell from the roof as a result. Though, at thest moment before he turned, his eyes had drifted from the field to the middle school across from it.


    Small figures could be seen running around, but the way in which they were running around was reminiscent of the zombies Micah had seen so far.


    There were zombies on the middle school campus, which meant the virus had already spread from the high school.


    ''Jin''s gonna have it hard... I hope he at least survives.''


    This was thest thought that ran through Micah''s mind as he fell from the edge of the roof andnded on the steps leading to the gymnasium''s entrance unmoving.

 Chapter 47- Was He Real?

    ''What am I supposed to do with this?''


    Jin-woo thought to himself as he looked at the gun sealed within a metal case. After closing the drawer, he weaved through the desks and returned to the office entrance. He then opened the sliding door just enough to stick his head out and check the hallways.


    After seeing no zombies in sight or hearing their snarls, Jin-woo opened the door further and slipped out. He tipped-toed to the corner after closing the door and looked down the hall where he hade from. It was empty, and from here, he could see the small key on the ground reflecting the hallway light above.


    Without hesitation, Jin-woo moved, sprinting down the hallway. His steps were like a cat''s,pletely silent. His P.E. sneakers, which were friction-resistant, made no sound, even as he suddenly stopped for a brief second to bend down and pick up the key before sprinting off again.


    Jin-woo tracked back toward the cafeteria, pausing at every corner to check for zombies.


    Upon reaching the cafeteria, he sighed in relief to see that the doors were still closed. There were markings on the doors with even one of the ss windows cracked, but as long as it remained closed.


    However, an uneasy feeling suddenly rose with Jin-woo''s heart.


    Why was it so silent?


    ''No, no, no.''


    Jin-woo''s steps quickened and he soon reached the doors to look through the intact ss window. But the scene beyond immediately caused his body to tremble uncontrobly.


    He didn''t understand.


    Why did this happen?


    In the cafeteria, bloodied bodies were strewn about haphazardly with the desks and chairs scattered all about.


    The scene was no different from what he had hallucinated before.


    No.


    Wait.


    It was exactly the same.


    Jin-woo''s eyes narrowed slightly as carefully recalled the hallucination he previously had and matched them with the scene before him. Shock rose in his heart when he concluded that they were indeed identical, except for few bodies being missing or in different positions.


    "The images I say before¡­ were visions of the future?"


    Jin-woo couldn''t help but mutter in slight disbelief. Was his ability was this absurd? He thought it was just sensing danger before.


    Suddenly, a startling thought struck Jin-woo, it was like a bomb had gone off in his mind and it even made him stumble back from the door. His face constantly alternated between shock, confusion, and sadness. However, Jin-woo also felt a bit of catharsis.


    He had just realized that all those times when he was young, and had sent his parents into panic, might not have been in vain.


    Jin-woo felt sad that he caused his parents to go through all of that as it wasn''t easy taking care of a young child who kept having nightmares and waking up thinking they were real, but he also felt a type of happiness that he did because those nightmares might have been real.


    However, as Jin-woo nced back through the window at the carnage in the cafeteria, this bit of happiness was immediately snuffed out. He wasn''t able to save these people at all despite supposedly having this so-called future vision. The students were fewer while the back door was wide open, which wasn''t in his vision. Meaning some students had likely escaped.


    Nevertheless, this didn''t relieve the heavy feeling of guilt that began to weigh down on his heart.


    "I''m sorry."


    Jin-woo muttered as he clenched the key and gun in his hands before he turned and ran off.


    Upon reaching the corner that had the stairs leading up to the second floor, he began climbing it three steps at a time. As he did, Jin-woo couldn''t help but have his mind wander back to his ability. Did he really have some kind of power to tell the future or was it just a coincidence that his hallucinations resembled the scene in the cafeteria?


    But also, if he really had the ability to see the future through hallucinations¡­ what about Seong who he was seeing all this while?


    Was he not a hallucination?


    Was he¡­ real?


    Jin-woo had to stop midway up the steps. This thought caused a mix of emotions to rise in his heart. However, he immediately recovered and shook his head. This really wasn''t the time to be so distracted.


    Jin-woo was about to continue up the stairs, but he realized he was at a familiar window. He could see the football field from here, which was to the right, as well as the entrance of the gymnasium which was to the left.


    Jin-woo''s gaze quicklynded on the gymnasium''s entrance, but his expression suddenly stiffened.


    There at the gymnasium''s entrance... below the stairs... was a body.


    Jin-woo silently examined the body as best as he could from this distance and soon released the breath he was holding.


    From the uniform the body was wearing he could tell it was one of the five zombies that had chased after his ssmates. Jin-woo cast one final nce at the tightly shut doors of the gymnasium entrance, and after releasing another breath of relief knowing that everyone was safe, he turned and continued up the stairs.


    After reaching the second floor, Jin-woo''s speed slowed down considerably while he stuck to the sides of the hallways.


    As he had suspected, there was no one on the second floor. However, even though he suspected it, he still found it strange that not even a single person was in the hallway. This was not even mentioning the eerie silence along the hallway and the ssrooms he passed.


    As Jin-woo got closer to his ssroom but still saw no one in sight, something told him to look inside the ssrooms.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The next ssroom Jin-woo passed he looked inside through the small window on the door¡­ but it was empty.


    He did this for the next ssrooms along the hallways and they were simrly devoid of people. However, in thest ssroom he peeked in before he turned the final corner to reach his ss, he saw something.


    Two female students were seen at the back of the ssroom sitting together at a desk. Their heads were lying on the table motionless. From the food on the table, it could be inferred that they were in the middle of eating their food.


    Jin-woo ced his hand on the door handle about to open it to check what had happened, but a figure suddenly appeared in the periphery of his vision at the window that caused him to freeze.


    A male student was walking around the ssroom aimlessly.


    However, upon closer look, Jin-woo discovered that the back of the boy''s hands was covered in ck markings.


    The male student suddenly snapped his head around and looked at the door with dead fish-like eyes. Jin-woo had to duck to hide hurriedly.


    After staying motionless momentarily to ensure the zombie hadn''t seen him, Jin-woo released a breath of air. But his brows soon came together in confusion as to what was going on.


    Some students seemed to have been infected by the virus but rather than turning, they seemed to have just quietly died.


    "Could there be more than one kind of virus? One that turns you into a zombie, but another that silently kills? Or is it the same virus but it affects people differently?"


    Jin-woo muttered in contemtion, but soon had to put this at the back of his mind for now. He would think about this along with his ability more in-depth after he found Seong''s dairy and settled down in a safe ce.


    Remaining in his crouched position, Jin-woo peeked around the corner, and halfway down the hall on the left, a sign that read ss 1A could be seen.


    Seong''s journal was in there.


    Jin-woo was about to rush forward, but before he could he suddenly caught sight of his P.E. shorts and paused.


    ''Shit, that''s right, my phone isn''t inside the ssroom. I left it in the bathroom.'' Experience more on empire


    Jin-woo was at a ''T'' crossroad and was on the left-side hallway. His ssroom was along the hallway in the middle but the bathroom where he left this phone was in the direction across the hallway in front of him.


    After a bit of hesitation, Jin-woo clenched his teeth.


    ''Damn it.''


    While cursing internally, he got up and rushed towards the hallway in front of him.


    He had to get his phone.


    That was the onlymunication he had with the outside world¡­ and also his parents.

 Chapter 48- The Call Went Through

    A piercing screech echoed off the bathroom walls before a loud thud echoed out. That loud thud was Jin-woo falling onto his back after having a zombie suddenly charge at him. He had made it here only ever encountering zombies locked in ssrooms. So, he should have been on high alert after entering the bathroom, but he had beenpletely careless.


    Enjoy more content from empire


    Jin-woo didn''t have time to wonder why his ''spider senses'' didn''t kick in to warn him of the danger, the zombie''s teeth were making an ominous sound as they snapped together in front of his face.


    Being so close up, Jin-woo was forced to get a good look at the zombie''s face, and he recognized this male student, he was someone from his ss. If Jin-woo remembered correctly, he was the youth he had mistakenly thought had called out to him this morning.


    With aplicated emotion rising in his heart, Jin-woo suddenly shifted his entire upper body to the right while moving his hands fending off the zombie to the left. Then in another quick maneuver, he grabbed the back of the zombie''s neck and forcefully mmed its face into the ground.


    Now on top of the zombie''s back having sessfully restrained it, Jin-woo hesitated, thatplex feeling stirring inside of him growing stronger.


    After a long while, Jin-woo released a stifled breath.


    "I can''t do it."


    Jin-woo kept the zombie pinned down as he slowly removed the tie from around its neck. It wasn''t difficult for him to tie the zombie''s hands behind its back. After that was done, he dragged it into the first stall and left it on its back snarling and struggling.


    This should restrain it until he left.


    After picking up the now uncased gun, Jin-woo ced it on one of the sinks before quickly moving towards thest stall to retrieve his drawstring bag. However, on his way there he suddenly spotted something through the ajar door of the second tost stall.


    Jin-woo stopped in his tracks and then turned and approached the stall door. Upon pushing it open slightly, the sight before him came into a full picture. It was that of a male student, seated on the ground while motionlessly leaning against the toilet.


    This male student was also from ss 1A. Jin-woo recognized him as the chubby youth who the first youth had called out to this morning. He and the youth were friends.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    One particr detail that Jin-woo immediately noticed about this chubby youth''s appearance, was the ck lines on his face and hands. But, upon further examination of the body from a distance, he also realized there were no bite marks visible as well.


    Jin-woo''s heart quivered.


    What did this mean?


    The virus wasn''t transmitted through the zombies'' bite¡­ but something else.


    Jin-woo''s thoughts raced while panic soon settled in since if this was true, then the virus could have likely already infected him without him knowing.


    ''Is it airborne?''


    Jin-woo asked internally, but suddenly shook his head and denied that thought. If that were the case, then he should have long turned.


    Also, his senses hadn''t alerted him of anything.


    ''But how was the virus transmitted to this person?''


    As Jin-woo was trying to decipher this issue, he stepped into the stall hoping to flip the chubby boy over to see if he had a bite mark on his back or something.


    However, the moment Jin-woo ced his foot inside the stall, he suddenly withdrew it. A sense of danger almost as strong as when he was about to pull the fire rm had red up in his mind, causing his heart to skip a beat.


    Looking at the chubby youth leaning against the toilet, Jin-woo could easily tell this danger came from him.


    ''Was he a zombie but hadn''t woken up yet?''


    Jin-woo carefully looked at the chubby youth but ruled out that possibility. With brows furrowed, his thoughts began to race as he tried to understand why he sensed danger from this dead body just now.


    Suddenly, an idea struck him.


    "Skin-to-skin contact?"


    Jin-woo blurted out loud and his eyes went wide with panic. As if on instinct he swiftly turned around and went to one of the sinks to wash his hands.


    Reason told him that his actions were futile if the virus could actually be transmitted through contact with a zombie. It wasn''t something a little hand soap and water could get rid of. However, Jin-woo ignored this logical reasoning due to his panic.


    After getting a bit of soap into his hand from the dispenser on the wall, Jin-woo hurriedly motioned his hand over the pipe to turn on the water. He was then about to wash his hands as thoroughly as he could, but a sense of danger so great it overwhelmed his panic emotions hit him and caused him to pause momentarily.


    Jin-woo''s hands were mere inches away from the water running from the pipe. He didn''t move it away immediately despite the sense of danger in his mind growing stronger and stronger as time passed. He simply stared at the watering out of the pipe in silence.


    Like any normal motion sensor pipe, the water was soon cut off. The sense of danger rising in Jin-woo''s mind quickly faded into nothing, and he finally shifted his hand from the pipe.


    Jin-woo turned his hand over. The water from the pipe had hit the sink and sshed small droplets onto the back of his hand. However, the sense of danger still quietly disappeared from his mind.


    Jin-woo stared at these droplets of water for a long while before he walked over to the tissue dispenser and grabbed a few rolls to wipe away the soap and droplets of water on his hands.


    After doing this, Jin-woo then approached thest stall and removed his drawstring bag from the door before sitting down on the toilet seat. He then used this chance to gather his thoughts. After a moment, he consolidated all his knowledge into three main points.


    ''Firstly, from the sense of danger just now and theck of bite wound on that body, the virus likelyes from the school''s water supply. Secondly, the virus affects people differently, either it turns them into zombies, or it kills them immediately upon contact. And thirdly, the virus is transmitted differently based on the infected person.


    It''s transmitted from someone who has turned by being bitten, and then by touch by someone who had died immediately.''


    After sorting out his thoughts, Jin-woo nced down at the back of his hand and added additional information.


    "The virus in the water only infects someone who hase into contact with it in high dosage."


    Jin-woo''s face shifted.


    "No wonder I sensed danger when I was about to pull the fire rm. I thought it was because the loud sound would rile up the zombies but turns out it was due to the water in the sprinklers carrying the virus."


    Suddenly, Jin-woo looked down at the drawstring bag in hisp. He hadn''t forgotten what he came here for. Hurriedly opening the bag, he ruffled through it and finally fished out his phone at the bottom.


    After unlocking his phone, Jin-woo went to his contacts and redial thest number he had called.


    The first ring¡­


    The second ring¡­


    The third ring¡­


    The phone rang three times before there was a click¡­ the call went through.


    "Mom! Where are you, are you okay?"


    Jin-woo involuntarily yelled after having the call go through. However, his relief of this fact suddenly got thrown out the window upon hearing the voice at the other end.


    "Jin-woo? It''s me, Madelyn. Aren''t you still in school right now? I think lunch break is also a few minutes away from ending, aren''t you afraid the teachers will catch you on your phone?"

 Chapter 49- A Short Fifteen Second Video

    Jin-woo''s face turned grim and he coldly asked.


    "Why are you picking up my mother''s phone? What have you done to her? If you don''t tell me now, then I''ll¡­ I''ll¡­"


    Jin-woo''s voice faltered at the end. He was about to say he was going to call the police, but he remembered that the ''White Tiger'' armed forces had raided his home. If Madelyn was rted to it, then someone high up in the military must be behind her.


    After a moment of silence from both Jin-woo and Madelyn, Jin-woo''s tone got softer as he asked.


    "Madelyn, what happened to my mother? Has¡­ Has she stolen something?"


    A sigh was heard from the other end of the phone before Madelyn asked.


    "Jin-woo, what do you know? If you know something, then it''s best if you speak up now."


    "I¡­ I don''t know anything. I saw the ''White Tiger'' armed forces break into my house and grab my mother''sputer, so, I just thought she likely stolepany secrets."


    Another sigh came from Madelyn before she said tiredly.


    "I don''t know how else to say this, but that''s right, your mother indeed stolepany secrets. But it''s not just anypany secrets, this is rted to high-ranking officials in the government. She might get life in prison for what she did."


    Hearing this, it was like a truck had mmed into Jin-woo''s chest the way it constricted. Tears couldn''t help but form in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks.


    ¡­.


    Madelyn was in her office in HBTR Labs. She was standing by the window looking through the shades at the construction workers outside as she listened to the small boy''s faint sobbing at the other end of the phone.


    Aplicated expression appeared on her face, and she couldn''t help but release a sigh in her heart.


    ''Myung-hee, you-''


    Madelyn was unable to finish her sentence. After a moment she then said.


    "Jin-woo, I''m sorry to ask this of you after informing you of something like this, but it''s important. Perhaps it''ll help your mother receive less time, I''ll also put in a word as well."


    Sounds of sniffles came from the phone before Madelyn heard the boypose himself and ask.


    "W-What is it?"


    Seeing that the boy had already recovered somewhat, Madelyn internally nodded before she said.


    "What your mother stole wasn''t onlypany secrets, but she also stole an experimental pill sample from ourbs. She refuses to talk, but we suspect that she snuck out the pills using one of your medication bottles. We''ve searched your house, but we haven''t found it. However, if you''re willing toe down and talk to your mother, perhaps she''ll-"


    Madelyn wasn''t able to finish her sentence as the boy on the other end of the call abruptly cut her off.


    "I have it."


    Those words cause Madelyn to be taken aback. But her face soon lit up, though, before she could say anything the boy said once again.


    "I picked up a pill bottle from my living room yesterday. When I was leaving for school this morning, I wasn''t wearing my sses when I took out a pill to take during lunch, so I only realized the pill was different from usual when I was at school. Was the experimental pill gray?"


    "Uh, yes, yes! They were gray! So, you really have it, that''s good, that''s good. With this, I''ll be able to argue for a lesser sentence for your mother. Don''t worry, I''ll send someone to pick you up from school. Also, be careful about how you handle the pill.


    It''s a pill made to treat various diseases and illnesses, but we haven''t gone through clinical trials as yet to see how it will affect the human body."


    After Madelyn said that dead silence descended on the other end of the phone. Not even the sound of breathing could be heard as if the boy was holding his breath.


    "Jin-woo, what happened? Did you perhaps take the pill by ident?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Madelyn recalled that lunch was almost about toe to an end for the boy, and he had said he was going to take his pills at lunch. She couldn''t help but panic.


    "Don''t worry Jin-woo, I''ll send a doctor as well. You''re going to be okay, nothing bad will happen."


    "I¡­"


    Madelyn heard the boy start speaking but stopped. But she smiled and


    reassured him.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t go back on my promise, I''ll still help your mother. In fact, this is slightly better. The data we can collect from you after taking the pill will likely be more valuable than what your mother stole, especially how it helps with your schizophrenia."


    "¡­Okay."


    Madelyn heard the boy say after a bit of silence. However, she still sensed that something was wrong. And indeed, there were as she suddenly heard from the other end of the phone.


    "There is something I need to tell you, and you have to believe me."


    Madelyn became slightly serious due to the boy''s tone of voice.


    "Jin-woo, what is it? Tell me."


    After a beat of silence, Madelyn heard the boy speak, however, his words almost caused her to let out a chuckle.


    "There are zombies in my school. I need you to send the ''White Tiger'' armed forces to rescue us. My ssmates are currently inside the gymnasium, Mai-sun is also there. Please, you have to hurry before the virus spreads any further."


    Madelyn cracked an amused smile while saying.


    "Jin-woo, I''m not sure what''s going on, is there some kind of event happening at your school? That daughter of mine said nothing about it. She never tells me anything these days."


    Madelyn then let out a sigh, but she suddenly heard the boy say once again.


    "No, I''m telling the truth. Wait, I''ll send you a picture."


    Madelyn heard a few rustling soundsing from the end of the phone before she felt a buzz as a notification came in. Taking the phone from her ear for a second, she clicked on the notification and was sent to the messaging app.


    The photo was blurry for a second as it was still being downloaded, but in an instant, it cleared up.


    Madelyn stared at the photo and the amused smile grew on her lips.


    The photo was of a slightly chubby boy leaning against a toilet seat. There were ck lines on his pale face and arms, which was likely due to make-up.


    Madelyn was about toment on the realistic depiction of someone infected, but suddenly her phone buzzed once again.


    Another message came in, but this time it was a short fifteen-second video.


    Madelyn casually clicked on the video and after a small buffer, it began to y.


    The video started with the image of the chubby boy leaning against the toilet, before the angle then shifted like the person was slowly turning around. It soon came to a stop on a mirror.


    Madelyn saw the reflection of a small boy with a somewhat familiar face.


    ''This is Jin-woo? He''s grown so much since Ist saw him. Hm? He''s wearing his P. E. clothes, did he have P.


    E. before lunch, or is this a part of the event?''


    As these thoughts appeared in Madelyn''s mind, the contents of the video changed as the camera shifted from the mirror to face the middle of the bathroom. It then shook for a moment as it moved forward towards thest stall on the left.


    "Hm?"


    Madelyn couldn''t help but furrow her brows slightly. There was a faint sound of snarling and screeching in the background. It sounded like it wasing from an animal being butchered alive. There was also a sound of something harshly banging against the ground, along with a bit of wetness to it, like an object hitting a puddle. Your next chapter awaits on empire


    It kind of sent a shiver down Madelyn''s spine as she didn''t believe a human could make such an animalistic sound.


    However, this thought made her even more confused because from how loud the sound was getting, it was obvious that it wasing from thest stall.


    Unknowingly Madelyn''s grip on the phone tightened, while a foreboding feeling began to rise in her heart.


    At that moment, the door to the stall was pushed open by a hand, and as it swung open, Madelyn was greeted with the sight inside of the stall.


    The scene almost made her drop the phone in her hand.


    There inside the stall, was a boy in student uniform with his hands tied behind his back. The screeching Madelyn thought wasing from an animal was actuallying from the mouth of this boy, however, what was more horrifying was that the boy, in an attempt to get up while he was on his belly, was mming his head against the ground.


    Blood had already seeped out of his forehead and covered most of the stall''s white tiled floor. This painted such a contrast of colors that it added anotheryer of horror to the scene. But at the same time could that be called blood? It was a sickly ck color rather than red.

 Chapter 50- Thrown Under The Bus

    "Wh-What in god''s name? What''s going on, what happened to that child."


    "Did you watch the video? It''s a zombie I tied up, but there are more in the school. Right now I''m currently in one of the school''s bathrooms. I don''t know how far the virus has spread, but it has already been about an hour now so maybe most of the students in the school have already been turned."


    Madelyn''s face went through multiple changes before she said.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "This¡­ How is this possible? A virus? Zombies? Jin-woo, are you really not trying to trick me? Tell the truth."


    "No, I''m not, this is real, please believe me, Aunty Madelyn."


    Hearing the pleading in Jin-woo''s voice, Madelyn had her mind spun and she couldn''t help but rey the video once again. She observed everything in more detail, trying to find some ws in the video, but the more she watched the paler her face became.


    She wasn''t a fan of zombie movies, but this was too realistic.


    "Mai-sun! Where did you say Mai-sun was?"


    "Don''t worry she''s safe. She''s in the gymnasium with the rest of my ssmates. But we aren''t going to remain safe for long if we remain inside the school, can you send help?"


    Madelyn nodded solemnly and said.


    "Yes, I''ll have the Marshal send the White Tiger squad to the school. Are you still in the bathroom? Try to stay there until help arrives. No, wait, find another room away from that zombie. Keep your phone on you at all times and I''ll call again to check up on you."


    "Okay, thank you, Aunty Madelyn. Ah, wait! I need to tell you something else about the virus. Ites from the water pipes in the school and it''s affecting the students differently. Some turn into zombies while some died like in the first picture I sent you. The virus is also transmitted differently depending on the infected person.


    When you''re bitten by a zombie you get infected and turn in less than four minutes, but for the second type, you''ll get infected if youe into contact with that person."


    Madelyn''s eyes shed in surprise but quickly said.


    "That''s valuable information, good job Jin-woo. But find a safe ce to hide until help arrives, okay?"


    "Okay."


    "Alright, I''ll go send help now. And Jin-woo, keep my daughter safe until then."


    "¡­I''ll try."


    "That''s enough."


    Click.


    The call ended, and Madelyn stared at her phone in a daze. She still found this phone call somewhat unbelievable. However, she immediately snapped out of her trance and went to find the Marshal.


    Regardless of if this is true or not, she didn''t want to take the chance when her daughter was in danger.


    However, as Madelyn turned around to rush out of her office, the door was pushed open before the Marshal walked in.


    "Good, you''re here! Quick send the White Tiger forces to Itaewon Stars High, there has been a deadly virus outbreak!"


    "What?!"


    The Marshal, whose face always wore a stern expression, turned into one of shock.


    "Not only that, but this virus is causing something straight out of a zombie horror flick."


    After saying this, Madelyn passed Myung-hee''s phone to the Marshal. The Marshal took it and then immediately clicked y on the video.


    As the video yed, the Marshal''s face slowly got uglier and uglier as the seconds went by.


    When the fifteen-second video was finished, the Marshal let out a loud curse.


    "Fuck!"


    He then threw the phone back to Madelyn and rushed toward the office door.


    Madelyn, upon seeing his reaction, was taken aback.


    "Wait! Where are you going? Don''t you believe me? We need to send help to the school!"


    The Marshal suddenly stopped dead in his tracks before he turned and spat out.


    "It''s not that I don''t believe you, how can I not when I just received reports that the President and the Prime Minister are both trapped within Gueumgang Asan hospital because of a virus outbreak?"


    "Wh-What?!"


    It was Madelyn''s time to stare at the Marshal in shock.


    With a serious expression, the Marshal added.


    "The infected person was first brought in during the morning before the President and Prime Minister went to Asan hospital, but sometime after the President and Prime Minister arrived people in the hospital started getting sick before bing feral and biting visitors.


    What''s worse, while thepletely healthy workers in the hospital were attacking people in mass, the sick patients and even the terminally ill ones began dying one by one."


    The Marshal then stared directly into Madelyn''s eyes before saying once again.


    "The first patient discovered with this mysterious virus is named Lee Sung-ho. Sounds familiar?"


    "Wh-What? Sung-ho? Myung-hee''s husband?"


    Madelyn''s face changed, but as the Marshal stared at her and realized she hadn''t pieced the puzzle together, he coldly stated.


    "Who was the one who sent you this video? Wasn''t it that woman''s son? Is it really a coincidence that this virus is urring where they both are?"


    Upon hearing this, Madelyn''s expression paled slightly as she somewhat put the puzzles together.


    "Don''t tell¡­ Don''t tell me this has something to do with the experimental pills Myung-hee stole?"


    "We''ve already moved that woman into a quarantine room and ryed the message to her that her husband died from the virus the pill caused. Afterward, she suddenly started crying saying that she had ced the pill bottle in her room and didn''t know how he got to it."


    Madelyn''s face changed rapidly, then she said.


    "No, if Sung-ho took the experimental pill how did the virus reach Jin-woo''s sch-"


    Madelyn suddenly stopped talking as she remembered she just had a conversation with Jin-woo and he confirmed he had the pill.


    "Wait, that child said he identally took the AV13 pill, but he was fine."


    "What?"


    The Marshal looked at Madelyn with a confused expression. Only the experimental pill could exin the cause of this sudden virus, but someone swallowed it and was fine?


    However, Madelyn''s pupils suddenly constricted before she whispered.


    "No, he also said the virus infected the students in the school from the water supply."


    "What?!"


    The Marshal yelled, but Madelyn ignored him. Soon her face slowly becameplicated as she said.


    "I said I would help Myung-hee lessen her sentence if he had that pill, but it looks like he lied and said he had it. The pill must have somehow gotten into the school''s main water supply and infected the students."


    The Marshal''s face turned gloomy as he looked at Madelyn with a cold gaze.


    "That woman is as good as dead."


    "What do you mean?"


    Madelyn immediately asked while frowning at the Marshal''s words.


    The Marshal snorted and said.


    "We''ve already started the testing to find a cure for the virus from the research recovered from that woman''sputer, and she will be our first test subject after it''splete."


    "What?! You can''t do that?!"


    Madelyn yelled in shock before turning to rush out the door. However, a man and woman in military uniform suddenly blocked the doorway.


    Madelyn''s expression changed when she saw this scene. She then turned around and red at the Marshal.


    "Don''t tell me you n on pinning this virus outbreak on me?"


    The Marshal''s eyes flickered, and he didn''t bother hiding it.


    "When this mess is all over and questions need answering, someone has to take the fall."


    Madelyn clenched her fists, but it kind of frightened her how quickly she was being thrown under the bus. She even suspected that they were using Myung-hee as a test subject to silence her.


    However, Madelyn''s eyes flickered for a second then sheughed and said.


    "You haven''t silenced me yet probably because you need my help."


    "Indeed, you''re the one who created this virus, so you''ll be the one to help make the cure."


    Madelyn frowned.


    "I did not create a virus; something must have gone wrong after..."


    Suddenly, Madelyn recalled that Myung-hee had ced the Av13 pill inside a bottle filled with their first sessful drug, the Av1 pills.


    Enjoy exclusive content from empire


    ''Don''t tell me that''s the cause? Cross-contamination? But how? We had already killed those foreign bacteria from the meteor after we created the Av1 pills. How did they survive? If that is truly the case, then after those bacteria encounter the Av13 pill it would surely contaminate it.


    Even those Av1 pills might bepromised.''


    It was here that Madelyn realized why Sung-ho was infected even though Jin-woo had the Av13 pill.


    "It seems you''ve already found a solution to this problem. I''ll leave you to it then. You''re now the single-most important person in the world, these guards will remain close to you to ensure your safety."


    After saying that, the Marshal walked past Madelyn and left the office.


    Madelyn furiously red at his back, but internally, she couldn''t help but sigh. Afterposing herself, she walked to the office door and said in a growling tone while shoving the male and female soldiers.


    "Get out of my way."


    The male and female soldier stepped aside, and Madelyn snorted coldly before she hurried towards the mainb that was relocated after it was burnt down. Despite her circumstances, she couldn''t just sit back and not help.

 Chapter 51- A Tragic Comedy

    On the road leading to the scenic Banpo Bridge that connects Yongsan District to Seocho District, a truck that looked like a typical water truck was seen. It was rather inconspicuous as it was currently stuck in traffic among many smaller cars.


    "Just what the hell is going on, did an ident happen on Banpo Bridge?"


    The somewhat slim second driver currently driving the car said annoyed.


    "Looks like it."


    The burly first driver, who now had taken off the upper part of his jumper suit revealing his white sleeveless shirt, said while resting his hand against the truck''s window.


    The handle of a gun could be seen sticking out of his waist, while in addition, a tattoo of a ck tiger could vaguely be seen sticking out from the side of his shirt, its tail wrapping around his right forearm that rested on the window.


    Not long after, the two saw a traffic officer weaving through the middle of the traffic while announcing something using a microphone. From the faint curses they heard from the drivers ahead, it seemed what was being announced wasn''t anything good.


    "I repeat, Banpo Bridge is currently off limits, an emergency construction is currently ongoing. You''ll have to turn around and go back."


    The traffic officer''s voice finally reached the two drivers, and their faces turned ugly upon hearing the announcement.


    As the traffic officer was passing by the truck, the second driver at the steering wheel stopped him.


    "Hey, wait. Come up here, we need to ask you some questions."


    He motioned for the traffic officer to climb up to the window of the truck.


    The traffic officer gave the second driver a side-eyed nce before he ignored him and went to continue making the announcement with his microphone. However, the second driver''s tone dropped a few octaves, and he said once again.


    "Hey, I saide up here."


    The traffic officer paused and looked back at the second driver with a frown, but as if thinking of something, he suddenly moved forward and climbed up to the window of the truck.


    After climbing up, the first thing the traffic officer''s eyesnded on was the gun tucked into the first driver''s waist. However, his surprised eyes soonnded on the ck tiger on the first driver''s chest, who pulled down his sleeveless shirt to show him.


    The traffic officer''s surprise faded before he gave a nod.


    The second driver at the wheel asked.


    "Why are you turning back everyone? It''s not for some emergency construction, right?"


    The traffic officer shook his head, and after ncing around at the other cars, he lowered his voice and whispered.


    "There''s a Marshal order to shut down Yongsan District, no one can get in or out."


    "What?"


    "Seriously?"


    The two drivers said simultaneously in disbelief.


    "So, what about Dongjak Bridge, is it off limits too?"


    The traffic officer nodded and said.


    "Yeah, if you really have to cross, you''ll probably have to detour and cross using Hannam Bridge."


    "Damn it, just what''s going on? Why is the Marshal giving such a frightening order? Wait, is he even allowed to lock down an entire district? What''s the President even doing allowing something like this to happen?"


    The first driver saidpletely irritated. However, the traffic officer in response suddenly looked around and then dipped his head into the window and spoke in an even quieter tone.


    "Don''t let this slip, but I heard some information that said the order was given by the Marshal because the President and the Prime Minister are both trapped inside Asan hospital."


    The two drivers were so taken aback by this piece of news they were momentarily speechless. The second driver was the first to recover and he hurriedly asked in a low voice.


    "What do you mean, how are they trapped?"


    "It''s a deadly virus. I''m not sure of the specific details, but it''s confirmed that whoeveres into contact with it dies almost immediately. That''s also why the Marshal order was given to lock down Yongsan, what if it spreads?"


    "Jesus, what kind of virus is that? Aren''t we fucked?"


    The first driver said, his face wearing an apprehensive expression.


    "Remember, don''t let this slip or it''ll send not just Korea but the entire world into panic!"


    After saying that, the traffic officer jumped from the truck and returned to making his announcement with his microphone.


    Inside the truck, the second driver said.


    "Let''s get the fuck out of here. I''ll also contact the boss to let him know."


    The second driver nodded to that suggestion, and soon the first driver took out his phone to make the call. However, he clicked his tongue and said.


    "There''s no service in the area."


    "They must have cut it so that the news of the virus doesn''t spread. I''m guessing the power is also cut."


    The first driver clicked his tongue once more before he threw his phone onto the dashboard. But a secondter, his face suddenly changed dramatically, and let out a loud curse.


    "FUCK."


    "Shit, what are you yelling for? You almost scared me to death."


    The second driver said while looking over at hispanion with a frown.


    "The hospital, what was the name of the hospital the guy said the virus outbreak happened at?"


    Thinking for a moment, the second driver answered.


    "I think he said the Asan hospital. It must be the one near Yongsan Park."


    "And which hospital did the boss say he was going to this morning?"


    "The boss? I think he said he was going to¡­"


    The second driver''s voice suddenly trailed off as his face rapidly changed. He and the first driver nced at each other, their eyes simrly reflecting the seriousness in the other''s gaze.


    ¡­


    After hanging up, Jin-woo stared at the phone in his hand nkly. His mind felt like it was spinning, jumbling up his thoughts. He could hear the loud pounding of his heart in his ears, and soon he felt as if he was about to faint.


    How would one react if they found out that they were likely responsible for kickstarting the end of the world?


    Since this was previously a rather fantasy-like question, it was hard to tell how an individual would react. However, that fantasy-like scenario is on the verge of happening and Jin-woo had just indirectly received information that he was the cause of it.


    So, now that this hypothetical question wasn''t hypothetical anymore, how did Jin-woo react?


    He startedughing.


    It started off as a forced smile and then a chuckle, but it soon turned into full-blown hystericalughter that was so loud the sound bounced off the walls of the bathroom.


    If Jin-woo''s life was a movie and someone had watched it up until this moment, they would have suspected he had gone crazy, while also questioning why the showrunners would suddenly make himugh in a situation like this. Continue your adventure at empire


    Some might have even directly paused the movie before turning to their significant other and saying the following words, ''his reaction is so unrealistic, who wrote the script for this movie?''


    However, the truth was that no one knew how they or someone else would react in this situation. For Jin-woo, this was his way of coping. For him tough his ass off as if his life had suddenly switched genres to a tragicedy.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 52- A Massive Bear Hug

    It didn''t take long for Jin-woo''sughter to die down and the seriousness of the situation to sink in. But he gritted his teeth and said defiantly.


    "I identally brought the pill to school, but it''s not like I was the idiot who thought it was a good idea to throw it inside the school''s water supply. Besides, even if that pill were actually my medication, no sane person would drop a medication for schizophrenia into a water source. Damn it, it''s not entirely my fault."


    After absolving himself of most of the me for this zombie apocalypse, Jin-woo gathered his uniform and phone into his drawstring bag before slipping it on and exiting the stall.


    ''Even if I don''t have the pill, Madelyn will do everything in her power to send the White Tiger armed forces to help since Mai-sun is also in danger. But¡­ once she finds out I don''t have the pill she might not help Mom.''


    Jin-woo was in his thoughts as he reached the bathroom exit, but he suddenly paused.


    ''That''s if she already hasn''t realized the pill is what caused the virus to spread like I did.''


    Jin-woo got a little bit nervous. Not because he thought the rescue efforts would decrease if Madelyn found out, but what would be his fate after it was revealed he started the apocalypse.


    "I''m already a freak in the eyes of my ssmates and they even avoid me like the gue. Admittedly, things felt like they had changed somewhat, but wouldn''t me being the cause of them in the middle of the zombie apocalypse return things to how it was before, or even worse? Damn it."¡ª Jin-woo suddenly gritted his teeth and added with hatred spurting from his eyes¡ª"I''m not the only one at fault!"


    Forcefully pulling the door open, Jin-woo exited the bathroom. However, before the door could close, he suddenly slipped back into the bathroom.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Jin-woo then walked over to the sink and grabbed the gun he identally left. His face was full of embarrassment as he hurriedly left the bathroom. Thankfully no one saw him.


    After leaving the bathroom, Jin-woo quickly made his way to his ssroom. He had wasted quite some time in the bathroom, and the zombies on the third and fourth floors could have already wandered their way down. However, as he cautiously made his way down the hallways, he didn''t spot any zombies except the trapped ones in the ssrooms.


    Jin-woo had a clear path to ss 1A, and soon he was standing right in front of its door. After peaking through the small window into the room to make sure it was empty, he opened the sliding door and slipped inside.


    After closing the door behind him gently, Jin-woo''s steps were quick and light as he weaved through the desks to approach the shelves at the back of the room. However, he paused upon reaching the shelves and nced at the various bags in them.


    "He didn''t tell me which one was his bag. Do I have to search all of them?"


    Jin-woo frowned and scratched the back of his head.


    After a moment, he closed his eyes and tried to recall every instance he had seen Seo-joon between yesterday and today. However, after he did, he realized that Seo-joon didn''t have his bag during any of those times.


    Jin-woo reopened his eyes and let out a sigh. He had to search all thirty or so bags.


    Aftering to terms with having to do this tedious action, Jin-woo was about to start searching the bags on the right shelves. Seo-joon''s bag would likely be there since his seat was to the right where the windows were that showed the outside.


    Jin-woo walked over to the right shelves and bent down to start searching the bottom-most shelf for the bag before going up. However, when his hand reached out to grab the bag there, a strange emotion appeared in his heart before fading away.


    The emotion was strange to Jin-woo because it felt out of ce. It was an emotion of emptiness as if he had suddenly lost something very important to him.


    Jin-woo thought for a moment then reached out for another bag. The feeling of loss appeared once again and then disappeared.


    As Jin-woo had suspected, this was his ability. However, he was a bit taken aback that it also had this functionality. It was like that blindfold game he used to y with Seong when they were younger, its name was Hot or Cold.


    Jin-woo smiled slightly and used both hands to wave towards the bags on the shelves. He did this until he felt an emotion different from before, and he did on the third shelf.


    After promising himself not to be surprised anymore by his ability, Jin-woo opened the navy blue Jansport bag and reached inside to feel around. An excited feeling was rising in his heart, but he could tell a portion of this emotion was due to his ability. He didn''t know why it was this specific emotion though.


    Not long after, Jin-woo''s hand grabbed what felt like books from the bag. Indeed, he pulled out two school notebooks, but on top of these notebooks was another book about half their size with a brown cover.


    ''Seong''s Research Journal.''


    Jin-woo saw the name elegantly written in English on the cover, and his smile grew wider. That feeling of excitement in him also continued to grow even after finding the book. Though, he didn''t mind.


    However, as the feeling of excitement in Jin-woo''s heart reached a crescendo, the words on the cover of the journal began to blur in his eyes even though he still had on his sses.


    Jin-woo didn''t have time to think as a high-pitched sound suddenly erupted in his ears, while his pupils began to pulsate with a red glow.


    But unlike before, these symptoms disappeared just as quickly as they appeared.


    Before Jin-woo could recover from this sudden ringing he suddenly heard a loud voice echoing behind him.


    "Yes! That actually worked! Haha! Now Jin, hurry and open it. And you have to praise me because I did a lot of research to find out your-"


    The person wasn''t able to finish their words since Jin-woo suddenly spun around and looked at them.


    Seong, who saw Jin-woo suddenly turned around jolted, and also turned around to look at the door to the ssroom. However, seeing nothing there, he frowned.


    "Huh? What did you see Jin?"


    Seong asked as he turned back around to look at Jin-woo. But he quickly noticed that Jin-woo was staring directly at him.


    "You¡­"


    Seong tried to say, but his words trailed off and he just stood there in a dazepletely at a loss for words, arge part of him not believing that Jin-woo could actually see him. However, he suddenly saw tears well up in Jin-woo''s eyes before he softly called out.


    "Seong¡­"


    Seong''s body shook, and he stared at Jin-woo nkly. He couldn''t help but reach out and tentatively touch Jin-woo. Upon feeling his fingers make contact with Jin-woo''s body, Seong suddenly burst outughing with tears welling up in his eyes.


    "Jin! You can finally see me!"


    Seong yelled before he quickly jumped forward and gave Jin-woo a massive bear hug.


    "Damn it. What do you mean I can finally see you, don''t tell me you were here all along?"


    Jin-woo asked feigning annoyance as he tightly hugged Seong, tears rolling down his cheeks incessantly.

 Chapter 53- Execution-Style

    In Asan Hospital, a group of people were steadily running along one of the narrow corridors on the second floor. The lights overhead flickered in and out as the generator tried to keep the power on in the Hospital. However, even though the group was thankful for the small amount of light, the way they were flickering in and out sent the atmosphere within the corridor to shit.


    It also didn''t help that bloody bodiesy strewn in the middle of the corridor which they had to step over.


    This group of people had certain distinctions. There was one group at the back that wore ck clothes, but when one looked at them one could tell they were thugs that could star in a gangster movie. There were five of them, with the one leading them who looked to be in his mid tote twenties. He was also shirtless, revealing the ck tiger tattoo sprawled across his chest.


    This shirtless man, as well as the others he led, all had handguns which they used to secure the back of the group.


    Meanwhile, at the front of the group were men dressed in ck suits and ties. With one look one could tell they were trained professionals that could star in a high-budget spy movie. There were six of them and they too had handguns. All of them were keenly observing the end of the corridor up ahead as if the moment they saw the shadow of something moving they would pull the trigger.


    Between the group of thugs and bodyguards were two middle-aged men in suits. The one at the front wore a calm expression on his face as he focused on maintaining his pace with the bodyguards ahead. However, if one could observe his eyes at this moment, one would be able to tell that deep down he was extremely nervous.


    It was just that years of experience allowed him to feign calmness even if the sky was copsing.


    The middle-aged man behind him, however, was unable to feign calm. His face showed a terrified expression and as his eyes darted around, he became more horrified when he caught sight of the dead bodies beneath his feet.


    "Fuck."


    Despite looking at the bodies, he identally tripped over one of them and crashed to the ground. Everyone was forced to stop as a result.


    "Prime Minister, we have to hurry, we''ll soon reach the roof."


    The middle-aged man at the front said as he reached out a helping hand to the Prime Minister.


    For a second the Prime Minister forgot the situation he was in. The sheer calmness radiating from the man with his hand outstretched affected him and calmed him down somewhat. He nodded firmly and said.


    "I apologize Mr. President."


    The Prime Minister was then about to grab the President''s hand; however, a chilling screech rang out in the narrow corridor before a zombie slipped through the ajar door between the President and the bodyguards and stumbled into the corridor.


    "Fuck!"


    "Mr. President watch out!"


    Bang!


    Bang!


    The bodyguards cried out before shots rang out. They shot at the zombie, but it simply charged at them while taking the bullets. At the same time, several more zombies stumbled out of the room, effectively cutting off the bodyguards from the others.


    For the first time, the President''s face changed to one of panic and he stumbled back as some of the zombies charged in this direction.


    "Mr. President!"


    The Prime Minister suddenly jumped up from the ground and hurriedly shoved the president towards the thugs who were quicklying over before turning to meet the oing zombies. He held up his hands to block the first zombie, but he suddenly released a wretched scream as the zombie bit down on his forearm.


    "Damn it."


    The shirtless leader of the thugs cursed before pushing the President to the side and aiming his gun at the Prime Minister.


    The President seeing this yelled at him.


    "Wait! Stop!"


    However, the young man had already pulled the trigger.


    A loud bang echoed out in the corridor before the zombie biting the Prime Minister had its forehead pierced by a bullet.


    In quick session, four more gunshots rang out and the four zombies charging in this direction dropped to the ground with a bullet hole in the center of their foreheads.


    One of the thugs rushed forward to pick up the Prime Minister who was clutching his forearm on the ground. However, at that moment when everyone thought they had escaped the deadly situation, a loudmotion happened at the end of the corridor where the bodyguards were. Their screams rang out along with gunshots as a swarm of zombies suddenly swallowed them.


    "Fuck, the sound of the gunshots led them right to us."


    The shirtless young man cursed, but suddenly one of his underlings yelled from behind.


    "Boss, behind us!"


    The young man quickly spun around to look, and his face turned grim as another horde of zombies blocked their path of retreat. It seemed as if all the zombies on this floor were congregating in this area.


    The young man had no time to think, he suddenly rushed towards a door to the side of the corridor looking for an escape route, however, it was locked.


    "Boss, this one''s open!"


    One of the thugs yelled from a few paces down, before he turned to the zombie horde behind them and began firing to dy them so everyone could enter the room.


    The young man fitted the gun in his waist before he then grabbed the President and rushed towards the door. The thug carrying the Prime Minister immediately followed from behind.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It was close, but everyone managed to enter the room just as the horde of zombies reached them. The bodyguards had already died, leaving the zombies there tobine with the others and bombard the door.


    In the fully lit room that looked like a patient recovery area from the several beds inside, the group collectively released tired breaths of air after barricading the door with two of the beds and a wooden cab with ss doors.


    "Boss, what are we going to do now?"


    One of the four thugs asked, and the rest turned to look at the young man. But the young man didn''t respond, he instead walked over to the President who was sitting on a stool while wrapping the Prime Minister''s wound.


    After stopping beside the President, the young man asked.


    "How is the wound?"


    "It''s going to take more than this to kill me."


    The Prime Minister responded with a forced a smile. The President, however, remained silent and simply continued to wrap the Prime Minister''s forearm with the bandages he found inside the cab.


    The young man nodded at the Prime Minister''s words, but after taking one look at the bloody bandages wrapped around the man''s forearm, he suddenly pulled out the gun that was tucked in his waist and with one fluid motion aimed it at the Prime Minister''s head and shot him dead execution-style.

 Chapter 54- A Familiar Voice

    As the Prime Minister''s lifeless body fell back onto the bed, the thugs'' expressions didn''t change in the slightest at their boss''s actions.


    The President, however, upon staring nkly at his Prime Minister''s corpse for a moment he turned and roared at the young man.


    "What have you done?! Do you think you''ll get away with killing the Prime Minister of this country?!"


    The young man in response to the President''s words, suddenly pressed the gun against his forehead.


    "You want to die old man?"


    The President was first taken aback, but he soon recovered and stared at the young man with a steady gaze.


    After a moment of silence, the young man suddenly pulled the trigger. However, instead of a gunshot going off the gun clicked and was out of bullets.


    The Present didn''t so much as flinch when the young man pulled the trigger.


    "*Tsk*¡­ What a badass. That''s the President of our country for you."


    The young man couldn''t help but marvel before he retrieved his gun.


    The President released an internal sigh of relief. Only he alone knew how much willpower it took him not to have flinched when the trigger was pulled.


    Looking up at the young man before him, the President asked seriously.


    "Were you really nning on killing me just now?"


    The young man pulled out the empty magazine from the gun and tossed it aside before saying casually.


    "Rx Mr. President, I count my bullets."


    "Just from that and without mentioning your marksmanship, I doubt you haven''t done any military training."


    The young man chuckled and then said.


    "Mr. President, you''re looking at the youngest person to be recruited into the White Tiger armed forces. Though after that guy kicked me out, I''m just the leader of the ck Tiger Gang now."


    The young man motioned to the dead Prime Minister on the bed after saying this.


    The President couldn''t help but be taken aback, but he suddenly frowned and asked.


    "What happened?"


    The young man remained silent for a moment then said with another chuckle.


    "Don''t act like you can''t take a guess, the military isn''t exactly a ce that rewards a tree that sticks out too much and is proud about it."


    "Nonsense! Our military encourages outstanding individuals to stand out and make a name for themselves. If it''s otherwise, then where would this country be in the future?"


    The young man looked at the President with a slight smile on his lips then shook his head.


    "Maybe don''t bring corrupt people under you who don''t share your ideals."


    The President paused momentarily and then nced at the dead body on the bed before letting out a sigh.


    "Favoritism and pandering are inevitable when in politics."


    But after saying this the President smiled and said.


    "If you have nothing to do after this then we can talk about reassigning you to the White Tiger group. There''s actually another youth within the White Tiger force currently named Han Soo. His marksmanship is already the best among the squad despite his young age and should be no less than yours. If you two were tobine forces it might lead to something great."


    After the President extended an offer to the young man, the four thugs suddenly looked at each other before bursting outughing. The young man also startedughing.


    The President seeing this didn''t get upset but was curious about their reactions.


    Seeing the President''s expression, the young man extended his hand for a handshake while saying with a smirk.


    "Name''s Han Kai, nice to meet you, Mr. President."


    The President instinctively reached out and shook Kai''s hand, but his face showed a shocked expression as he looked at him.


    "Your surname is Han? Are you rted to Han Soo?"


    With the smirk still on his lips, Kai said derisively.


    "I taught that little brat everything he knows. I haven''t been keeping up with White Tiger since I left, but to think he joined them from the marines. He even has everyone convinced he''s some outstanding marksman. Ha! Don''t tell me he''s nning on following in his Hyung''s footsteps?"


    Kai was very amused at this sudden piece of news. But he soon changed the topic before the President could ask any more questions.


    "Why don''t you carry a gun?"


    Kai took out thest magazine he had in his back pocket and fitted it inside the handgun before throwing it to the President.


    "If you both had a gun then maybe he wouldn''t have ended up like that."


    Kai said while once again referring to the Prime Minister.


    The President held the gun with both hands and looked at it. Kai, seeing this hesitated before asking.


    "You do know how to use a gun right?"


    The President hearing this couldn''t help but smile. Then in one fluid motion, he flicked out the magazine and after ncing at it he fitted it back inside the gun before chambering a round by pulling back the slider with an audible click.


    The four thugs looked rather impressed at the fluidity, while Kai clicked his tongue and said.


    "The slingshot method to chamber around? Badass, really badass."


    "Now, do you have a n on how to get out of here?"


    The President asked as he got up and tucked the gun in his waist.


    Kai in response, thought for a moment before he reached behind him and pulled out a revolver with aically long barrel. He then aimed it at the wall behind the President and fired.


    The four thugs slowly got up, but they showed puzzled expressions along with the President at Kai''s actions.


    Kai didn''t exin and only walked over to where the bullet had pierced the wall. He looked through it and after seeing the room on the other side, he fitted the revolver back into his waist before saying.


    "It''s a drywall, we can break it down and circle around the zombies."


    The four thugs and the President''s eyes lit up in understanding.


    "We can pull apart the bedframes to break the wall."


    One of the thugs said before he moved towards one of the beds in the room.


    Kai nced at the barricade door. Even now the banging of the zombies hadn''t lessened, rather it was growing louder and louder. Frowning he said seriously.


    "We should hurry, this door won''t be able to hold out for much longer."


    Everyone nodded and set off to break down the walls. Kai nced away from the door to help as well, however, the moment he nced away, rapid-fire gunshots began to ring out in the corridor beyond the door.


    Everyone in the room froze before their gazesnded back on the door.


    The gunshots continued to ring out along with the screeching of the zombies for a few minutes before it died down. Soon, a knock could be heard on the door before a faint voice asked.


    "Is there someone inside? We''re here to help."


    "Yes, I''m the President and we''re in here!"


    The President immediately said.


    "Mr. President? Hey, we''ve found the President he''s still alive!"


    The voice was first surprised before he began yelling at his colleagues.


    "Mr. President we''re the White Tiger force, we''ve been deployed to rescue you."


    Everyone upon hearing the mention of the name ''White Tiger'' was slightly taken aback. Weren''t they just talking about this group?


    The President was the first to recover and rushed to move the barricade from the door.


    The four thugs soon went to help while Kai stood at the back and watched.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Stay tuned to empire


    "*Tsk*¡­ Wasted my bullet for no reason."


    Kai muttered under his breath as the barricade was moved and the door was opened.


    Immediately, a group of men decked in full military gear rushed into the room, some with their Dk7 submachine guns and others with rifles, all raised high in the air.


    Kai watched as they secured the President and checked his men. One came over to him but he waved them off.


    "Team Leader, look at this!"


    Suddenly a shout was heard. Kai turned to see that one of the men was near the bed next to the Prime Minister''s body.


    Someone near the door where the President was moved forwards after hearing the call. After examining the body, this person turned to look directly at Kai.


    "Did you do this?"


    Kai raised an eyebrow, but he didn''t deny it.


    "Yeah, it was me who killed him. He was about to turn, though the bastard deserved it even if that wasn''t the case."


    "What?"


    The soldier who called over the Team Leader suddenly pointed his gun at Kai. The other soldiers who were in the room also raised their guns and pointed at Kai.


    "Wait! Don''t shoot, this man has saved my life!"


    The President suddenly stepped forward before the four thugs could.


    Upon seeing this, the soldiers pointing their guns at Kai hesitated, but the man who was called Team Leader held up his hand. Immediately, the soldier''s hesitation disappeared, and their guns retracted from Kai.


    Throughout all of this Kai was calmly folding his hands over his chest.


    "Let''s go, there''s a helicopter on standby above the roof."


    The Team Leader said before he moved towards the door.


    Kai, however, suddenly stepped forward in front of him.


    "What?"


    The Team Leader asked upon seeing Kai standing in front of him.


    "How do you know it was me who shot that guy? I wasn''t holding a gun."


    Kai asked as he stared at the Team Leader''s covered face with suspicion. Even though this person''s voice was slightly muffled by the ski mask he wore, Kai felt that it was extremely familiar.

 Chapter 55- Extremely Conniving

    "You''re wasting time, get out of the way."


    The Team Leader said indifferently, before moving around Kai to leave. The other soldiers had already escorted the President out of the room, they were only waiting for the two.


    However, before the Team Leader could leave through the door, Kai snorted and said.


    "Damn brat, is this how you treat your older brother who sacrificed everything for you?"


    The Team Leader suddenly stopped, then motioned to the soldiers outside to go on without him. The third floor had been cleared by them, so the only threat was the zombies remaining on the second floor they were on and the one on the ground floor.


    After the soldiers received the order and left, silence descended in the room but was soon broken.


    "I don''t have a gang leader for an older brother."


    The Team Leader suddenly turned around and retorted.


    Kai in response snorted once more and then said with irritation.


    "After everything I sacrificed for you to stay in the military, how else was I going to survive in this world? What? You didn''t expect me to be some cashier at 7-Eleven did you? Why don''t you show some gratefulness you little brat."


    Han Soo silently stared at this older brother of his who he hadn''t seen in nearly ten years. After a while, he sighed and then took off his helmet and ski mask. His face was revealed, and with one look one would be able to tell that they were brothers.


    Despite being around four years apart, Kai had always been short and looked younger than his age, so they were often mistaken as twins growing up.


    Kai with his arms still folded, looked at his younger brother''s face and a bit of sadness shed past his eyes.


    "You look more like dad than me."


    He suddenly whispered, and Han Soo just nodded without saying a word.


    Seeing his silence, Kai smiled and opened his folded arms while beckoning to his little brother he hadn''t seen in a while.


    Han Soo grunted but still walked forward.


    "Damn brat, why didn''t you tell me you were recruited into the White Tiger forces when we talked a month ago? You''re even a Team Leader already."


    Kai asked as he hugged his little brother.


    "I didn''t want to make you jealous, no matter how much I wanted to brag. I even broke your marksmanship recorded for a new recruit."


    Kai clicked his tongue at that, but Han Soo suddenly pulled away and asked.


    "What are you doing here? Shouldn''t you be in Itaewon?"


    Kai suddenly waved his hand dismissively and said annoyed.


    "Don''t even ask. I was the first one to get attacked by that zombie who caused this mess, but after hearing that it was being sent to Asan hospital where the Prime Minister was, I decided on a whim to go as well to keep an eye on it. But who would have known that the virus didn''t spread from a bite like in the movies but by justing into contact with the body?


    I watch all those movies for nothing!"


    "Wait, you came into contact with patient zero?"


    Han Soo asked with slight surprise, and Kia nodded but said reassuringly.


    "Yeah, but I''m fine somehow."


    Han Soo did a once-over nce of his brother before he nodded. After hesitating for a moment, he then said.


    "I actually know that person, he''s the senior I told you about who helped me back then, and he''s also the one who rmended me to the White Tiger forces."


    "Oh."


    Kai responded but thought internally.


    ''So, he''s the guy who always looked out for little Soo. I decided to reach out to his family and offer help in any way I could after I heard he was in an ident, but only the wife ever replied, and it was to by some ID.''


    "Team Leader, the President is secured."


    Han Soo turned around and nodded at the soldier who came to the doorway. He then turned to Kai and said.


    "You should hurry, the zombies on the ground floor coulde up at any moment and I don''t think you have enough bullet in that thing to fend them off."


    Han Soo nced at theically long revolver.


    Kai frowned at that.


    "Why does it sound like you aren''ting?"


    Han Soo checked the bullets in his rifle and the magazines he had remaining before he motioned to the soldier outside. The soldier walked over and handed over two magazines from his vest pockets.


    "I still have a mission to retrieve a blood sample from patient zero."


    "What? Why? Why not take a blood sample from another infected person instead?"


    Han Soo shook his head.


    "It''s important we get the blood from the source of the virus. It''s so we can make a cure."


    Kai''s frown deepened as he looked at the lone soldier at the door.


    "Where''s the rest of your squad?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "¡­It''s a solo mission."


    Click.


    Han Soo said after a moment of silence, and his gun clicked as he finished his check.


    "Are you crazy?! That guy is still in the emergency room on the ground floor, and you''re telling me you want to go down there alone?!"


    Discover exclusive tales on empire


    Han Soo opened his mouth to respond, but before he could Kai clicked his tongue and then walked around him to approach the soldier by the door.


    "Hey, give me that rifle and your remaining ammo."


    Surprisingly, the soldier didn''t object and obediently handed over his gun. He even handed over his entire vest rather than just the remaining magazines in its pockets. All while a shimmer of admiration could be seen in his eyes as he looked at Kai.


    "What are you doing? You''re noting with me."


    Han Soo said as he rushed over to stop his brother, but Kai snorted and pped his hand away.


    "The hell I''m not, I''m not leaving my little brother to go on a suicide mission all by himself."


    Han Soo frowned at the soldier who gave away his gun and vest. The soldier, however, kept his head down not meeting his gaze.


    Even now his brother''s name was still talked about within the White Tiger armed forces, and it was well known that he was the younger brother of such a legendary figure.


    "Hyung-"


    Han Soo turned to Kai who was putting on the vest to dissuade him, but Kai waved him off and turned to the four thugs who hadn''t left yet.


    "You guys leave. After you make it out gather everyone and tell them the situation. Be on standby for my orders after I return."


    The four thugs were hesitant to leave but eventually, they nodded and soon left with the now gunless and vestless soldier.


    "Why didn''t you guys infiltrate the hospital from the ground floor and wipe out the zombies in one go?"


    Han Soo had alreadye to terms with his brother tagging along, so he simply answered.


    "A ground assault is impossible; the virus has already spread from the hospital. It''s estimated that over ny percent of people within a fifty-kilometer radius of the hospital is already infected, and the area of infected is steadily growing."


    Kai paused upon hearing that, but soon shook his head and said.


    "Looks like the world is going to shit."


    Hefting the rifle slung around his shoulder, Kai walked out of the room, followed by Han Soo.


    As they walked along the corridor, a single gunshot suddenly rang out as Kai passed a zombie who was still moving slightly. At the same time, he asked another question that had been on his mind this entire time.


    "Why was the Prime Minister and President visiting a small hospital like this? Was it really for some fundraiser?"


    Han Soo nodded.


    "They were nning on jointly doing arge-scale schrship fundraiser with the Asan Foundation. However, the President was supposed to visit the main Asan Medical Center in Gangnam while the Prime Minister visited the ones nearby. The President only decided toe here on a whim."


    Kai clicked his tongue and said.


    "Can you imagine what would have happened if I hadn''t decided toe here? The President would have died, and the country would have been leaderless in the middle of an apocalypse!"


    Han Soo''s eyes suddenly shed.


    "Hyung, don''t tell me that was the reason you came here? And the Prime Minister..."


    Kai snorted.


    "Do you think I can predict the future? Like I said I only came here to observe the zombie that attacked me to see what they would do with it. If it came to it, I was even prepared to report a potential zombie virus outbreak to the Prime Minister."


    Han Soo looked at this brother, not believing a word he said. The Prime Minister was the one who pulled some strings to have him dismissed from the army, why would he report to him about some potential zombie virus outbreak?


    Rather, Han Soo suspected that his brother purposely came here hoping for an outbreak to happen so he could use that chance to kill the Prime Minister.


    The fact that the Prime Minister was indeed killed by his brother made him eighty percent sure of his guess.


    Han Soo sighed.


    Everyone knew his brother''s marksmanship was Godly, but only a few knew that he was extremely conniving. If he weren''t then he wouldn''t have merely been dismissed from the army after beating those four chaebols who had bullied him during his enlistment half to death.

 Chapter 56- Collective Guilt

    Ding~


    Ding~n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Ding~


    The bell signaling that lunch had finished suddenly went off, and the students of ss 1A were momentarily frightened by the sudden loud sound. Only when the bell stopped ringing after a few seconds did they calm down.


    Among the students seated in the middle of the gymnasium, there were four students, two males and two females.


    One of the male students stood out for his natural blonde hair and mixed features. Said blonde hair was cut at the sides and back, but long enough at the top for the boy to tie it into a ponytail while leaving a few strands to dangle at the sides of his face.


    This boy was named Liam. He was rather well-known within the school for his looks. Once in middle school, the girls made a list of the most handsome male students, and he had ranked third. However, themon consensus was that his looks were no less inferior than first and second ce, Seong and Ye-jun.


    It was just that some students were biased for these two because they also ranked first and second in terms of grades in the entire school.


    As for his background, it wasn''t behind as well since his father owned a rather sessful Gaming Company in Find, while his mother was the heiress to a simrly sessful Gaming Empire in South Korea. His parents'' marriage had even been a hot topic in South Korea for a while since it involved a sort of merger between two gaming giants.


    "Damn it, what if that bell draws the zombies to us?"


    Liam overheard a male student say and he looked over to see some of the students were heading towards the windows that let you see the front of the Gymnasium. He soon looked away and picked up the water bottle next to him to empty thest trickling drops of content within it.


    Smacking his lips, Liam looked over at the smashed vending machine in a corner of the gymnasium and sighed.


    "Guys, I''m heading to the bathroom to get some water."


    "Liam, you can drink mine."


    One of the girls perked up and offered the remaining water in her bottle. However, Liam shook his head.


    "No, it''s fine."


    After getting up, Liam walked over to the male bathroom. He threw his empty water bottle in the trash can nearby as he walked in.


    The second male student who had a buzz cut watched as Liam left while saying softly.


    "He''s really affected by Yoon-min''s death."


    The two girls hearing Yoon-min being mentioned lowered their heads. One responded softly.


    "Almost everyone feels the same, we just left him and Micah out there."


    The youth with the buzz cut had his eyes shing with anger as he said.


    "Everyone initially thought that all of us made it, but when we saw the zombies outside attacking Yoon-min and the others we froze because of fear, and by the time any of us thought to help, Yoon-min had already been bitten and Ye-jun had ordered for the door to be closed."


    After sighing, the youth with the buzz cut added.


    "Liam was close to Micah and Yoon-min, but he was at the back of the crowd when it all happened. If he knew that Yoon-min and Micah were the ones out there, he definitely would have charged outside. But¡­"


    The youth''s words trailed off before sadness descended on the group.


    "Maybe Micah survived, if it was one of us out there we might not have survived, but since it''s him he has a better chance out of all of us."


    One of the girls said trying to lift the atmosphere, but the youth could only force a smile. He really didn''t have any hope of this happening.


    "Micah! I see Micah outside!!"


    A loud shout suddenly echoed out in the gymnasium causing the buzz-cut youth to be momentarily stunned. Then with a bright smile, he jumped up.


    At that time Liam wasing out of the bathroom and also heard the shout, which caused him to rush over. He and the buzz-cut youth along with the girls and some other students approached the window.


    The shout hade from a youth who was looking through the window. Due to its height, he had to stand on another male student''s shoulder to see through it.


    "Are you sure it''s Micah?"


    Liam was the first to ask.


    The boy at the window looked out once more to confirm. The window he was at was too far to the left of the gymnasium to see the entrance where a figure was seen standing, but there was no mistaking that tall figure for someone else.


    Nodding the boy said excitedly.


    "Yeah, it''s definitely him!"


    Liam suddenly turned about to rush towards the entrance and open the door, however, Ye-jun stopped him.


    "Wait, are you sure he hadn''t be a zombie?"


    Everyone''s excitement, including Liam''s, disappeared upon hearing this question and they turned to look at the youth at the window.


    The youth''s excitement had also diminished somewhat as he could only see Micah''s back.


    "Micah! Micah!"


    The boy tried calling out, but Micah remained standing where he was as if he didn''t hear him.


    "He''s¡­ he''s not answering me."


    Liam''s face turned pale when he heard that, and a bit of sadness washed over the gathered crowd. Most of them were feeling guilty because of what happened, so hearing that Micah might have survived filled them with relief. But if he ended up wandering back here as a zombie¡­


    "Wait, maybe he just can''t hear me. Let me open the window a bit more."


    After saying this, the youth tried to push the window open further from the initial small crack. However, in the process, his hand slipped, and he almost fell sideways.


    "Hey, be careful!"


    The youth beneath him said worriedly as he did his best to stabilize his posture.


    After recovering, the youth managed to open the stiff window further before he called out to Micah. However, he tried to do so a bit softer than usual, enough for Micah to hear him and possibly turn around, but not loud enough to draw attention to himself so high up if it were a zombie.


    "Micah!"


    As the boy''s voice drifted out of the window, Micah suddenly turned around.


    Seeing this the boy became excited once more.


    "Guys open the door, he isn''t turned! He-"


    The boy''s voice suddenly got stuck in his throat when Micah fully turned around, looked up, and then stared directly at him with his gray and lifeless pupils. His somewhat fluffy, curly hair shifted to the side as he also strangely but deliberately tilted his head slightly.

 Chapter 57- Schrodinger’s Cat

    Meeting the gaze of those gray fish-like eyes, the boy was so startled that he instinctively flinched back. The boy beneath him let out a surprise curse as he did his best to break his fall.


    With a hard thud, the boy who was at the window managed to fall to the ground unharmed, but he turned and saw that people had already run to the door to open it. Horrified, he quickly yelled.


    "No, wait! He''s a zombie! Don''t open the door!"


    Liam, who was about to open the door, stopped. However, his hand hesitated on thetch for some time before Ye-jun suddenly said from behind him.


    "Are you going to open the door and put everyone in here at risk?"


    Liam turned to look at him and then swept his gaze over the other students who were watching him nervously.


    Taking his hand off thetch, Liam said indifferently.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I''m not stupid enough to do something like that."


    After saying that, he walked back to the center of the gymnasium, bumping his shoulder against Ye-jun as he went by him.


    Ye-jun fixed his sses that shifted slightly, not minding Liam''s actions.


    As everyone''s emotions began settling down, they looked away from the door and began dispersing.


    However, the boy who was at the window suddenly called out.


    "Wait, I have something to say, and I think everyone should hear!"


    Everyone paused and looked over at the youth curiously.


    After getting everyone''s attention, the youth suddenly wore a hesitant expression on his face, but soon he gritted his teeth and prefaced his following words.


    "Look, I know this might sound ridiculous, or you think I might be sensing things wrong but, I think¡­ I think Micah heard his name and turned around."


    Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback.


    Ye-jun frowned and asked.


    "What do you mean he heard his name and turned around? Be more specific."


    "How specific do you want me to be? When I called out to Micah, he turned around. But even though those ck lines were on his face, and his eyes had turned gray like those zombies that chased us, I don''t know, I just got the feeling that he turned around specifically because he heard his name being called."


    Everyone fell into silence after hearing this, a few somewhat believed the youth''s words, but others frowned and decided to leave.


    "Look, I know I sound crazy, but I know what I felt. He''s definitely a zombie, but he''s different from the others. After I called his name, he didn''t go crazy and rush towards me like a wild animal like the other zombies, he just looked at me silently as if he was waiting for me to say something. That''s why I was so unnerved by his stare that I identally fell."


    "We can''t simply trust what you ''think'' you sensed. The main thing is that you saw that he had turned, he''s no longer a human but one of those monsters. If you think otherwise, then climb out the window and go check. If there''s no news of Jin-woo in the next hour, we''ll decide whether to leave and seek help or stay here until help arrives. But until then, the door stays closed."


    The youth was sitting on the ground cross-legged. Under Ye-jun''s calm gaze, he lowered his head and said no more.


    However, as everyone thought that this matter had passed, a male student suddenly said from the crowd.


    "What if he''s zombified but retains some parts of his consciousness? That would exin his human-like reaction."


    Everyone perked up upon hearing this, but Ye-jun shook his head and said.


    "I think you''ve watched too many movies."


    "Admittedly, I''ve binge-watched almost every zombie movie there is with my elder sister, but is it really out of the realm of possibility that what I''m saying might be true? After all, there''s a saying that reality inspires fiction, but at the same time, reality is more unbelievable than fiction. There''s even a theory that might exin how someone can still be conscious while being a zombie.


    I don''t remember the specifics, but it involves a cat inside a box with poison."


    This youth looked around to see if anyone knew what he was talking about, but everyone just looked around in confusion.


    Ye-jun frowned and was about to say something, but a voice spoke up at this time.


    "Do you mean Schr?dinger''s Cat?"


    "Yeah, that''s it!"


    The youth dered as he turned to the voice, but he was shocked to see that the speaker was Seo-joon.


    Taking out the lollipop from his mouth, Seo-joon looked at the youth and casually continued.


    "It''s not entirely a theory, but more like a thought experiment to exin the absurdity of Quantum Mechanics. Plus, you''re slightly using it wrong. It''s a thought experiment that simplifies how two atoms can supposedly be superimposed onto each other, which can result in this now single atom being in two states at once.


    Sure, in the experiment the states used on the cat are whether it''s dead or alive while inside the box, or both simultaneously, but those aren''t the only two states that the experiment epasses.


    For example, rather than that guy out there being dead and alive, or more specifically his brain being conscious and unconscious at the same time, the experiment even poses the thought that someone''s brain can perceive the present and the future simultaneously."


    As everyone was listening to Seo-joon''s exnation, no one immediately took notice of Liam who suddenly copsed onto the ground and began convulsing.


    ¡­


    "My brain can process the present and the future simultaneously?"


    Jin-woo was currently sitting on the ground leaning against the bookshelves as he flipped through Seong''s journal.


    "Yeah, that''s the theory I came up with to exin your ability."


    Jin-woo remained silent as he tried to take this all in. Seong seeing this added.


    "At first, I wanted to be a Neurologist and study the brain as well as how schizophrenia affects it to help you. I even contacted a lot of well-known Doctors who specialized in this field and interviewed them. However, it was after that did I found something odd."


    Jin-woo came out of his thoughts and looked at Seong beside him. Seong met his gaze and continued with a smile.


    "I realize that your case of schizophrenia was somewhat rare. Not rare in the sense that it''s different from others but rare in the sense that it develops in an umon way than the norm."

 Chapter 58- A Riled-up Horde

    "How so?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Jin-woo asked.


    "Well, for example, schizophrenia can develop in various ways, but outside of the ''scientifically proven'' ways and the ones that don''t fit your situation, there are three main ones I want to focus on for you. Either you develop it through gics, through severe trauma, or naturally due to someplications in the brain, or a chemical imbnce.


    For you it was believed that it developed naturally after ruling out the first two and because of your sleep terrors when you were younger."


    Jin-woo hearing this said.


    "Mom said for the first six months after I was born, I didn''t cry. It even got to the point that she and Dad would think I was dead if not for them seeing me breathe. However, after I turned six months old, I cried every day at midnight on the dot up until I turned six.


    It was at that time Mom began working with Aunt Madelyn and was able to afford to take me to an expert, who diagnosed me with sleep terrors and prescribed sleep medication."


    Jin-woo lowered his head after saying this.


    Seong patted his back and said.


    "Yeah, that''s right. First, you were diagnosed with sleep terrors, and then a year after that you were diagnosed with schizophrenia. I also met you around that time when we were in Elementary School."


    Jin-woo smiled when he heard that, and so did Seong, but he soon continued.


    "When I interviewed those experts, they all said the same thing, that sleep and schizophrenia are deeply connected, though the exact connections are still being studied. So, because of this, I asked if having sleep terrors at a young age can be a sign of early development of schizophrenia. The answers I got for this question were all confident yes.


    However, after exining that I have a friend who had sleep terrors since they were six months old every day at exactly midnight until they were six, I then asked them if this might have been a strong indication of schizophrenia developing early on.


    But after a brief pause, instead of answering yes or no, they would ask if I was just making stuff up because sleep terrors that happened so early andsted for that long while at a time so specific was unprecedented in the medical field. I even had some directly hang up on me, ha-ha."


    Seong chuckled in amusement at thatst sentence. However, Jin-woo looked over with aplicated expression on his face. That one sentence was merely a snippet of what Seong had gone through while trying to help him. Plus, he was sure it wasn''t easy to get those professionals to be interviewed by a random high schooler in South Korea.


    Seong seemed to know what Jin-woo was thinking and he simply shrugged while saying.


    "It wasn''t difficult, I just had to flex some of my smarts at the right people to make them see I''m an up-anding prodigy while saying that I want to learn from the current greats, and I might alsoe under them in the future."


    Though Seong was nonchnt, the words he spoke were anything but. Soon he continued his exnation.


    "I suspect the so-called expert who diagnosed your mother thought she was just exaggerating the length of your sleep terror while also thinking it was a coincidence you would cry at midnight and that it was probably due to your diet or something.


    All in all, that doctor was a sham, I made sure everyone knew it too." ¨CSeong''s eyes suddenly shed with a gloomy look, but it quickly faded before he got back onto the topic¡ª"After the interviews, I started to get suspicious that you didn''t have schizophrenia at all, and it was this bit of doubt that led me to focus on your sleep terrors more.


    The first one I looked into was that time when I visited your old house in Gangnam and sang you that nursery rhyme for the first time. That''s why I was going to that library, I was researching the car crashes that happen along the route your father would have taken to the airport."


    Upon reaching here, Seong looked over at Jin-woo and finished with a smile. Explore stories on empire


    "I finally found what I was looking for the day before the ident. The day when you had that night terror and your father was supposed to leave, a truck carrying construction pipes overturned near Gimpo Airport. Thankfully, no one died¡­ All thanks to you that is!"


    Seong suddenly reached out and started ruffling Jin-woo''s hair. At the same time, he sighed and said.


    "I found a few more information like this after recalling some of the night terrors you would have, so I knew this wasn''t a coincidence. I realized that my friends'' dreams could somehow predict the future. I was excited, but equally nervous that this would end like any other FD* horror movie, but thankfully I was wrong.


    During the day of the ident, I was theorizing why you had this ability and found Schr?dinger''s thought experiment. It fits your case perfectly and it even makes sense why you started crying when you were six months old. That''s around the time the brain''s Temporal Lobe, which stores and retrieves memories while being responsible fornguageprehension, starts to develop rapidly."


    Seong''s hand gently patted Jin-woo''s head as he suddenly said softly.


    "It''s not your fault Jin. Even though you don''t have schizophrenia, those visions can still be considered sleep terrors, and I can''t exin how much trauma it would cause to someone who had it for as long as you have. Sudden and unexinable panic attacks are just one of many symptoms from that trauma."


    Jin-woo kept his head lowered and remained silent. He was trying not to cry.


    After rubbing his eyes, he asked while looking over at Seong.


    "You exin my ability to see the future, but you haven''t exined the reason why I can see you. Seeing your ghost isn''t exactly rted to future sight."


    Seong frowned in thought while scratching his chin. After a while, he said defeatedly.


    "Honestly, I have no idea, there''s no scientific exnation for this. The only exnation I can think of is that you''re a spiritual prophet who was bestowed with powers by a higher being to see the future andmunicate with the dead."


    "Haha¡­"


    "Haha¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    Jin-woo and Seong both startedughing but they soon stopped and nced at each other, their eyes mirroring each other''s skepticism.


    Hesitating, Jin-woo asked.


    "You don''t think that''s really the case, right?"


    "I¡­ I don''t know."


    As the two youths were grappling with the possibility of the existence of a God, the second bell signaling the start of the session after lunch suddenly rang out.


    Jin-woo nced at the speaker in the right corner at the back of the room and said.


    "I''m worried this noise will set off the zombies. I might have to go to the fourth floor and tell everyone that help ising."


    A difficult expression appeared on Jin-woo''s face as he contemted going through with this. However, a cacophony of noise suddenly drifted in from the slightly open windows that show part of the football field outside.


    Seong and Jin-woo both jumped up and rushed towards a window. They then saw a horde of zombies spilling out onto the football field and spreading out in every direction.


    With one look at these students in uniforms, they could tell they were second years from the west wing.


    However, what made the two start to panic slightly was that many of these zombies were heading in the direction of the gymnasium.


    ss 1A was to the far right of the east wing as opposed to the gymnasium, which was to the left, so they were unable to see the gymnasium to understand why the zombies were heading in that direction.


    However, they felt like it couldn''t be anything good.


    ***


    *FD=Final Destination

 Chapter 59- Dimensions

    "Something must have happened at the gymnasium."


    Jin-woo said worriedly as he stared at the numerous zombies down below. Itaewon Stars High School campus was extremelyrge, even bigger than most international schools, and this was without mentioning the middle school and elementary school campuses.


    In total, there were between 1500-2000 students attending the high school at once. Since the third years weren''t attending school, the current number of students on campus was about 2/3 of that number. However, 2/3 of 2000 was still arge number.


    Jin-woo didn''t know how many students were alive in the school, but because of the suddenness of the virus outbreak, it might unfortunately just be in the dozens.


    So, after being a bit conservative, that meant there were at least one thousand zombies within the school. But this wasn''t adding the teachers and other staff members working at the school.


    Jin-woo''s thoughts stirred with worry. He was in a position where he could slightly help the remaining students who were alive within the school by heading to the fourth floor where the broadcasting room was and informing them that help was on the way. But that would put him in unnecessary danger when he could just stay inside this ssroom, which was safe, and wait until help arrived.


    Seong looked over at Jin-woo and saw the struggling expression on his face. Intuitively knowing what he was worried about, Seong exined.


    "Jin, there''s no reason to go to the fourth floor. The broadcasting club has a direct line to the speakers around the school for assigned school announcements but remember that the teachers would sometimes want to make an urgent announcement. At that time, they would head to the security station on the ground floor.


    The monitors for the cameras around the school are also there so you could get a better understanding of the situation within the school."


    Jin-woo''s eyes shed upon hearing that, and he suddenly looked up at the left corner of the back of the ssroom. He had almost forgotten that, unlike their middle school, the high school campus had cameras in the ssrooms and hallways. Though there weren''t any in the bathrooms or at the back of the campus.


    "Let''s go."


    Jin-woo immediately made a decision and he headed to the door to leave after putting Seong''s journal in his drawstring bag on his back and securing the gun in his waist. Seong was one step ahead of him and had reached the door within the blink of an eye. Literally.


    A few steps from reaching the door, Jin-woo stared at Seong with a bit of surprise.


    "You can teleport?"


    "Haha, what?"


    Seong couldn''t help butugh upon hearing Jin-woo''s words.


    "Remember I''m just a specter, the naturalws of the living don''t apply to me. Watch this."


    Seong said while puffing out his chest before he turned to walk through the closed door.


    However¡­


    Thud!


    "Ack!"


    An audible sound echoed as Seong mmed headfirst into the door, he immediately released a groan and clutched his nose.


    It was Jin-woo''s turn to let out augh and ask.


    "What are you doing?"


    "Damn it, something''s wrong, Jin. I was able to walk through the doors and walls just fine before."


    Seong said while massaging his nose and staring at the door in confusion.


    Hearing this, Jin-woo paused and then asked.


    "There was a sound when you bumped into the door, does that mean you have a physical body?"


    "I don''t know. Maybe?"


    Seong''s eyes were filled with even more confusion.


    "Try opening the door."


    Jin-woo suggested, and Seong nodded before reaching out to open the door.


    With a soft click and a swoosh, the sliding door was slightly pulled open by Seong.


    "This¡­ How is this possible? Does this mean I''m not a ghost?"


    Seong was shocked, and so was Jin-woo who muttered softly.


    "It actually worked."


    However, just then, Jin-woo''s vision blurred for a second while a feeling of distortion clouded his senses, but these sensations quickly cleared up. However, his pupils suddenly constricted when the scene in front of him had somehow reverted back to Seong holding onto thetch of the closed door.


    Seong immediately retrieved his hand from the door and then took several shaky steps back. He looked at Jin-woo with a mix of confusion and fear in his eyes as he asked.


    "I opened the door just now, right?"


    Jin-woo''s expression turned serious as he nodded.


    Seong sighed in relief and said.


    "Okay, good, I thought it was only me."


    "But what just happened? You opened the door, but then it felt as if it was all an illusion¡­ or rather-"


    Jin-woo suddenly stopped talking, and Seong looked over worriedly.


    "Jin, what is it?"


    Jin-woo hesitated for a moment then said with a forced smile.


    "This might sound strange, but I don''t know how else to describe it. But just now, I felt like you really had opened the door, but as if it was a mistake, it corrected itself¡­ the world corrected itself I mean."


    Seong suddenly went into deep thought upon hearing that. After a moment, he nced down at his hand and said.


    "It definitely felt like I opened the door too¡­ Jin, I think I might be wrong about your ability, or at least it might be moreplicated than I thought."


    "What do you mean?"


    Seong approached the door and looked at it closely while rubbing his still aching nose. After some time, he turned to Jin-woo and responded.


    "The theory about you seeing the future is correct, but Schrodinger''s Cat also involves the theory of parallel universes. Simply put, each time you have to make a decision, a parallel universe is created where you chose the option you didn''t.


    I think what you''re seeing isn''t exactly the direct oue of the future from the present, but parallel universes for each decision you or someone else is going to make. For some reason though, you only see visions of a parallel universe where something bad happens."


    Jin-woo could somewhat understand this concept, Seong had always been great at exining things to him even when they studied together. However, there was something he didn''t understand.


    Stay tuned for updates on empire


    "I get that, but how does this involve what just happened?"


    Seong smiled and suddenly positioned his palms outstretched in front of him, one hovering above the other. Eyes shing with excitement he suddenly yelled.


    "Dimensions! There are parallel universes like the ones I just exined but there are also variousyers of dimensions stacked on top of each other."¡ªSeong wiggled his left-hand underneath his right and then added¡ª"If you were to draw an object on a piece of paper, then that object would be in the first dimension.


    But you, the person who drew the object, would be in the third Dimension!" ¨CSeong did a final wiggle of his right hand above his left hand.


    "So, does that mean I can see a higher dimension, like the fourth dimension?"


    Seong, still smiling, shook his head before suddenly opening his arms and saying.


    "Think bigger Jin! You can''t just see the fourth dimension; you might even be able to see all of them!"


    "All of them? How many are there?"


    Seong paused for a moment then opened his hands even further and said.


    "Infinite!"


    Jin-woo chuckled.


    "Well, that sounds tiring."


    Seong lowered his hands and looked at Jin-woo with an envious expression before saying.


    "You have no idea the shockwave your ability would cause to the scientific world, how many theories could be proven in an instant. Take me for example. There are theories that the reason why humans can''t see ghosts is because th-I, exist on a higher ne of existence, a higher level of dimension."


    Jin-woo came to a sudden realization.


    "So, what just happened when you opened the door was that you opened it in another dimension but not in the current one?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Correct, but this also means that I won''t be able to help you."


    Seong looked at Jin-woo sadly, but Jin-woo smiled and said.


    "You''ve already helped me a lot. Come on, let''s go."


    Jin-woo said as he moved forward and opened the door. However, immediately after he opened the door a piercing screech resounded in his ears, while a rotten smell assaulted his nose from the zombie''s mouth in front of him.


    ***


    A/N: I wonder if you guys now figured out why the book is sci-fi and not horror-thriller. Can you guess the direction the third volume will head in? But are you enjoying it so far? Also, I should have probably mention in my pinned review that I also watch the ''Three Body Problem.'' If you haven''t seen this Netflix series, go watch it, you''re missing out!

 Chapter 60- I Wont Ever Forgive You!

    "Jin, watch out!"


    Seong yelled and suddenly jumped in front of Jin-woo, however, the zombie passed right through him as it lunged at Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo was caught off guard, but his instincts kicked in and he retreated a few steps before pulling out the gun from his waist and in one quick motion pulled the trigger. The sound of the bullet leaving the gun bounced off the walls of the ssroom as it pierced the zombie''s forehead.


    Thud!


    Jin-woo quickly moved to the side as the zombie''s bodynded on the ground and slid due to its forward momentum.


    Seong looked at the zombie on the ground and clenched his fists.


    "Damn it, you almost got bitten and I couldn''t even do anything. I really hate this."


    Jin-woo looked away from the body. It was that of a male student who was no older than himself. Burying theplicated feelings in his chest, he then blew on the barrel of the gun and waved it a few times before sticking it back into his waist. While tightening the string around the waist of his P.E. shorts, Jin-woo shot a re at Seong and said reprimandingly.


    "You better be thankful you''re like that, what were you thinking suddenly jumping in front of me out of nowhere? Have you forgotten that I''m the one who knows how to fight?"


    This was one of the few things that would cause the two to have disagreements and even sometimes full-blown fights where they don''t talk to each other, though not for more than a day.


    Just as Jin-woo had be dependent on Seong in their rtionship, Seong had also be extremely protective of him which extended far beyond just helping Jin-woo with his illness.


    At times Seong would be slightly overbearing in his care even neglecting his own interests, which would cause Jin-woo to be conflicted because he was feeling that Seong was going too far, but at the same time he was the very one who so deeply depended on him.


    Every time Jin-woo would bring up the topic that Seong didn''t need to go so far for him, Seong''s response would always be, to varying degrees, ''he was just looking out for him and didn''t want anything bad happening to him.''


    Which was frustrating for Jin-woo because it also felt like Seong was validating his shorings that resulted from his illness.


    The entire reason why Jin-woo was so focused on athletics to the point of joining multiple clubs in middle school, was because it was his struggling attempt to make up for those shorings his schizophrenia caused.


    However, Seong, being so protective as if he couldn''t walk outside without falling down and scraping his knee, invalidated all of his struggles to feel in control of some aspects of his life.


    But despite how upset this made Jin-woo feel, he found it hard to voice since denying Seong''s help felt just as worse, maybe even more so.


    So, more often than not when this topic came up, the two of them would aimlessly but-heads because of their own pent-up frustration of the other.


    Seong pursed his lips at Jin-woo''s words. Regardless of anything, he could not sit still if he saw Jin-woo harmed in any way. But Jin-woo walked over to him and flicked his forehead.


    Seong grunted inint but suddenly said.


    "You just crossed who knows how many dimensions just to flick your best friend''s forehead."


    "You can still make a joke in this situation?"


    Jin-woo shot Seong another re before he turned to peek out the door. After looking down the two halls and seeing them empty he said.


    "We should hurry. It seems like the zombies are starting to reach the lower floors."


    "Wait a second, you forgot the cigarettes."


    Seong said before Jin-woo could step out the door.


    "Huh? What cigarettes?"


    Jin-woo turned to look at Seong with a confused expression.


    "Don''t you remember? Seo-joon''s cigarettes."


    The confusion faded from Jin-woo''s face, and he recalled Seo-joon indeed asked him to grab a pack of cigarettes from his backpack. However, he scowled and said.


    "That bastard shoulde grab it himself if he wants it."


    Jin-woo got ready to leave once again, but Seong hurriedly said.


    "Jin, he did give you the key for the gun in exchange for the cigarettes."


    Hearing that, Jin-woo looked down at the gun tucked in his waist and hesitated slightly. However, he suddenly realized something, and he turned to look at Seong with a strange expression.


    "Why does it sound like you''re looking out for him?"


    "No, that''s¡­"


    Seong''s words suddenly trailed off, and he nced away from Jin-woo''s gaze. But after a moment he said.


    "Look, Jin, Seo-joon isn''t really a bad person, he''s just¡­ just¡­"


    Seong''s words trailed off again before he rubbed the back of his head.


    "You can''t even make up an excuse for him. But why are you trying to? Seong, are you forgetting how much he tormented us back in middle school? He even swapped out my pills which almost gave me a seizure, and when he was caught he just denied it was him."


    "Ah, you see, the reason he was bullying us was so he could get my attention. Sorry, that''s my fault. But for that ident, I don''t think he was responsible."


    Jin-woo frowned upon hearing that. Not because of Seong''s second sentence. He too had doubted whether Seo-joon was the one who switched his pills or not. He could still recall when Seo-joon was called into the principal''s office and his shocked expression when he found out.


    Jin-woo had even seen a bit of panic and worry in his eyes when he looked at him.


    However, all the doubt Jin-woo had that Seo-joon might not have been the one was thrown out the window after rumors about his illness began to spread right after he came back. But he wasn''t surprised Seong had the same thought he initially had, rather he was confused about the former part of Seong''s sentence.


    Thinking back to when Seo-joon was told about his medication being swapped, Jin-woo recalled an insignificant detail he had observed during that time. Seo-joon had briefly nced at Seong who was next to him in the office as if he was assessing his reaction.


    Jin-woo thought it was nothing at first and treated it like all the other small details he tended to hyper-fixate on, but now he didn''t think so.


    "Seong, what do you mean he was trying to get your attention?"


    Seong hesitated for a moment then opened his mouth to speak, but upon seeing the confused expression on Jin-woo''s face, he closed his mouth and looked away.


    Jin-woo upon seeing this, paused for a moment before he suddenly turned and walked back to the shelves where the backpacks were.


    After taking out the pack of cigarettes from Seo-joon''s backpack and cing it inside his drawstring bag, he walked back over to Seong and grabbed his hand.


    "Let''s go, we''ve wasted too much time already."


    Jin-woo said as he nced out the door before hurrying out.


    "Jin-"


    Seong tried to say, but Jin-woo interrupted him.


    "It''s fine, you don''t need to exin anything. Even if you asked me for my heart I would give it to you without hesitation, much less trying to make up with that bastard."


    Seong''s face suddenly changed upon hearing that and he said seriously.


    "I wouldn''t ask for it even if I was dying for a second time, so don''t say something so ominous. Do you know how many red gs you would have triggered if we were in a movie?"


    Jin-woo chuckled at that before he let go of Seong''s hand and squatted down at a corner.


    Both youths peeked around the corner to check for zombies, but Seong with a face full of doubt suddenly asked in a low whisper.


    "Wait Jin, what you said just now about you giving me your heart, you weren''t actually talking about love, right? Remember I''m a ghost, how would we even date?"


    Jin-woo shot Seong a peculiar look before he left the corner in a crouched position. Shaking his head, he then said without looking back. Stay connected with empire


    "Wouldn''t you have to think about Mai-sun''s feelings first before thinking about how we would date?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "W-WHAT?!"


    Seong, who was mimicking Jin-woo''s crouched position, immediately straightened his back and let out a frightened yell. Thankfully, he was just a ghost, or he would have alerted every zombie on the second floor.


    Rushing to catch up with Jin-woo, Seong said begrudgingly.


    "Jin, I really won''t forgive you if you let it slip that I''m still in this world. If you do and that girl starts stalking me again, I won''t ever forgive you!"


    Jin-woo wanted tough after hearing the fear in Seong''s voice, but he couldn''t due to the situation he was in. Lowering his voice he said.


    "I''ll try, but don''t me me if I identally respond to you in front of her and she asks me about it."


    Seong''s mouth suddenly mped shut.


    Jin-woo did his best not to burst outughing, as he and Seong made their way down the stairs to the first floor and headed to the security station.

 Chapter 61- Reversed Roles

    At the end of the hall at a corner, Seong motioned for Jin-woo toe forward. Jin-woo''s steps were quick, he reached the corner and turned it. Seong had already appeared at another corner at the end of this hall, and once again motioned for Jin-woo to move forward.


    This was how the two made their way safely past the teachers'' office and reached the security station. The zombies they met on the way were tactfully avoided for fear of alerting more.


    Jin-woo reached the metal door of the security station, and Seong, who was at the end of the hall up ahead, appeared next to him and shook his head before saying.


    "That hall is clear."


    Jin-woo nodded before he reached for the handle of the metal door and tried turning it.


    Click.


    Jin-woo and Seong''s expressions suddenly fell. That wasn''t the sound of the door opening, but the sound of Jin-woo trying to turn the handle but couldn''t. The door was locked.


    "It''s actually locked."


    Jin-woo looked through the small window on the metal door and saw several monitors in the dark room. He turned to Seong and asked.


    "Is it really impossible to faze through it?"


    Seong nced at the door and extended his hand towards it, however, his hand was blocked. Shaking his head Seong said despondently.


    "I can''t. Ever since you recover the ability to see me again, I felt like somews of the living have bound me."


    "Are you saying it might be because of me?"


    Seong paused for a moment then nodded affirmatively.


    "Yeah, it might be because of your ability. To some extent, I think I exist between this dimension and another one."


    Hearing this, Jin-woo closely observed Seong. He was wearing the same clothes as when he had died, regr ck pants and white sneakers, with a blue sweater and a white long-sleeve shirt underneath that peeked out from the slightly folded sleeves of the blue sweater. He also still had that red scarf around his neck.


    Jin-woo nced at the red scarf and reached out to see if he could grab it. However, his hand froze as the red scarf suddenly appeared in his hand.


    Jin-woo looked at the red scarf in his hand in momentary shock, while Seong as if feeling his neck suddenly bare reached up to feel that his scarf was gone. He happened to catch sight of it in Jin-woo''s hand and was equally shocked. Discover more stories at empire


    The two youths silently stared at the red scarf before ncing up at each other. Seong was the first to speak.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "How were you able to do that?"


    "I don''t know, I just reached out to see if I can change your fixed appearance then it suddenly appeared in my hand."


    Eyes shing, Seong immediately said.


    "Try doing it again."


    Without another word, Jin-woo nced at Seong''s blue sweater. Suddenly, it disappeared, but this time it didn''t appear in Jin-woo''s hand. It almost seemed as if it was erased from existence.


    "So that''s how it is."


    Seong muttered under his breath when he saw his blue sweater vanish. Abruptly, his white long-sleeved shirt disappeared as well, leaving his upper half exposed.


    Seong suddenly shivered. For some reason, it felt as if he was inside a walk-in refrigerator without a shirt.


    "Ah, Jin, you can stop now."


    Jin-woo didn''t seem to hear Seong and was instead fascinated by his ability to control something with merely his thoughts.


    Seong''s pants and sneakers suddenly disappeared next, which left him stunned for a moment. But upon seeing that was Jin-woo ncing at the only piece of clothes he still had on he yelled indignantly.


    "Jin!"


    Jin-woo seemed to finally snap out of it and he realized that Seong was actually shivering. With a thought he quickly returned Seong''s clothes and asked.


    "Why are you cold?"


    After breathing out a sigh of relief, Seong secured the red scarf around his neck and then responded.


    "I don''t think it''s just my clothes that are fixed, I think I''m stuck on the day I died, it was winter then."


    After warming up a little, Seong further asked.


    "Try seeing if you can change my height."


    "Your height?"


    Jin-woo didn''t think too deeply about Seong''s request and concentrated on his legs. However, even after a few seconds nothing happened.


    "It looks like I can''t."


    Jin-woo said after stopping his attempt. He saw a thoughtful expression appear on Seong''s face, and he knew he was thinking up an exnation.


    After a while Seong said.


    "If this is my soul, then it means you don''t have control over it, but since I''m originally from another ne of existence you do have control of how I''m perceived within this dimension. Hence the clothes youst saw me in." ¨CSeong suddenly nced at Jin-woo and then added with a smile¡ª"I guess this would mean you''re my only connection to this world."


    Jin-woo felt his heart stir slightly when he heard that. It was extremely ironic since their roles were once reversed.


    "If I can''t change anything about your soul body, then that means I can''t make you faze through this do-"


    Jin-woo had turned to look at the metal door as he spoke, but he stopped upon seeing a pair of eyes staring at him through the small window. Seong looked over when he saw Jin-woo''s reaction and saw the pair of eyes as well.


    After Jin-woo noticed the pair of eyes, it retreated into the room. However, a momentter there was the sound of a click. Jin-woo reached for the door handle and it opened with a twist.


    Jin-woo and Seong nced at each other before pushing the door and entering the room before closing it.


    Inside the room was dark, but the lights from the dozen or so monitors allowed Jin-woo to see quite clearly. Immediately his eyesnded on the right of the room where he saw a girl with a bob cut standing next to a boy and another girl sitting on the ground.


    All three of them were silently staring at Jin-woo with cautious expressions.


    "Jin."


    Jin-woo suddenly heard a call from Seong, and he turned to see him pointing to the left of the room. His face hardened when he saw two bodies there an adult in security guard clothes and another male student.


    The male student''s face looked like it was smashed in by a blunt object, he was unmoving. But the security guard was still alive, though he had turned into a zombie from the ck veins on his face and his gray pupils. He was struggling on the ground with his mouth gagged, it seemed like his arms and legs were broken.


    Jin-woo also saw a fire extinguisher covered in blood close by, possibly the object used on both parties.


    "You can stay here as long as you don''t cause any trouble."


    The boy sitting on the ground was the first one to speak up while ncing at the gun tucked in Jin-woo''s waist with apprehension.

 Chapter 62- Phone Call

    Jin-woo looked over at the three students and nodded. He didn''t ask what had happened and simply moved towards the monitors. Closely observing them as they switch between the various cameras, he soon located the ones on the fourth floor.


    However, a chill went down Jin-woo''s spine. Throughout all the halls on the fourth floor, there was not a single one where there wasn''t a horde of zombies. It was to the point that the stairs leading down to the third floor were clogged full of them.


    Jin-woo swallowed hard, he couldn''t imagine how foolish he was for thinking it was a good idea to head to the fourth floor.


    The cameras here only show the east wing. But Jin-woo soon saw one monitor that showed the situation on the bridge on the fourth floor that connected the east wing and the west wing. There were zombies there as well; they were walking back and forth.


    This signaled to Jin-woo that the situation on the west wing was no different than the east. He was then about to look away from the monitor, but he suddenly realized something that caused his pupils to contract.


    The zombies that were walking back and forth on the bridge weren''t bumping into each other, there was almost a sort of order to their actions as they moved back and forth.


    Jin-woo nced at Seong next to him before looking back at the monitor. Seong, seeing his look, focused on where he was looking and quickly found the monitor showing the bridge. As he observed the scene, his face changed, and he also reacted with shock. However, he suddenly remembered something and turn to Jin-woo to ask.


    "Did you notice how those zombies acted back at the tennis court when they fell outside of the window? It was like two different hordes of animals fighting over food."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jin-woo''s expression was serious, and he couldn''t help but say under his breath.


    "This means they have a bit of intelligence, at the very least on an instinctual level."


    The boy and the two girls nced over at Jin-woo upon hearing his mutter. One of the girls whispered.


    "Doesn''t he look familiar? He looks like that person from ss 1A they call a freak."


    The boy hearing this had his expression change before he hurriedly turned to the girl and said.


    "That''s him but be quiet before he hears you. Can''t you see he has a gun?"


    The girl mped her mouth shut upon hearing this and looked at Jin-woo with a look of uncertainty.


    Jin-woo didn''t hear the girl''s words as he wasn''t paying attention to the three. Looking away from the bridge, he started to check the club rooms for any signs of survivors.


    Suddenly, on a monitor disying the Broadcasting Club on the fourth floor, Jin-woo saw a girl. She was hiding inside the sound booth where the broadcasting station was, while zombies were on the outside roaming around.


    The sound booth was separated by a ne ss window, and the girl was hiding underneath it. The situation looked rather dangerous since if she so much as moved or made a sound the zombies would smash the window and enter the booth.


    After noting this girl''s location, Jin-woo moved on to the other club rooms, however, all he saw were zombies with a few of them scattered on the ground killed.


    Jin-woo could just imagine the scene of the virus from the water supply infecting a student, and in trying to help, the other students had unknowingly doomed themselves. From the dead zombies inside the rooms, it could be seen that some students had been alive and were fighting off the zombies, however, Jin-woo only saw zombies now.


    Even after moving onto the third floor, Jin-woo still saw no survivors. His heart couldn''t help but drop. He had underestimated how fast the virus could spread; it didn''t even give the students a chance to fight back. He also saw a few teachers and staff as zombies.


    After not spotting a single survivor on the third floor, Jin-woo wanted to hold onto the hope that they might just be hiding in the bathrooms where there were no cameras, but upon remembering being attacked in a bathroom, this thought died as soon as it came.


    Jin-woo numbly nced away from the monitors showing the third floor and turned to the ones showing the second floor. He had only checked the ones on the way to his ssroom, and there were many more he missed.


    As the monitors were switching between cameras, suddenly, his eyes shed as he saw a ssroom filled with students before it switched cameras. Jin-woo hurriedly controlled the operation of this monitor and switched it back to the ssroom.


    Seeing so many students inside the ssroom, around thirty or forty students, and even two female teachers and four male teachers, some of the gloominess in Jin-woo''s heart faded a bit. It was hard for him to not me himself for the virus outbreak, and he felt more than responsible for every person''s death.


    That was the entire reason why he was contemting going to the fourth floor in the first ce.


    Seeing these students and teachers, Jin-woo felt the responsibility to help them. He saw that all of them were on the ground, hiding from the zombies that would asionally walk down the hallway past therge ne windows on the wall. Experience tales at empire


    Jin-woo checked the first floor for survivors but saw no one. The girl on the third floor and these students in the ssroom were the only ones still alive in the east wing. He also remembered the three behind him.


    "Jin."


    Seong called out from next to Jin-woo as he pointed at a switch near the buttons that control the monitor showing the ssroom.


    "This PA system is quite advanced; it can iste your voice so only the speakers shown within this monitor can project it. You press this red button to iste your voice to the speakers, and then hold onto the button on the radio to speak."


    Jin-woo recalled that Seong was a part of their middle school''s Student Council and was familiar with PA systems since they had to make announcements. He nodded at Seong''s exnation but pointed at the knob next to the red button and asked.


    "Is this the volume?"


    "Yeah, it is."


    Thinking for a moment, Jin-woo decided on what to do. He had to wait until there were no zombies along the hallway of the ssroom before speaking to the students. The girl on the third floor''s case was a bit trickier, as he would need to lure the zombies away first.


    After formting his n, Jin-woo found the monitors showing the hallway in front of the ssroom thanks to Seong''s help.


    Jin-woo couldn''t help but wonder if Seong was using his photographic memory since he wasn''t looking at the map next to them on the wall.


    Putting aside whether a ghost had a photographic memory, Jin-woo then began to observe the monitors to wait for the opportune moment to talk to the students and teachers in the ssroom, a part of him desperately wanted to tell them that help was on the way.


    Perhaps it was his futile attempt to make up for partially causing all of this.


    However, Jin-woo''s attention was grabbed by the faint vibrationsing from his drawstring bag. Quickly taking it off, Jin-woo fished out his phone from inside and looked at it to see that it was a call from his mom, or rather Madelyn.


    "Hello, Aunt Madelyn?"


    Jin-woo said after answering the phone.


    "Jin-woo, something has gone wrong, I can''t talk for long, so you need to listen to me carefully."

 Chapter 63- What Are We Going To Do?

    Jin-woo''s heart couldn''t help but sink to the pit of his stomach when he heard Madelyn''s words. He suppressed his urge to ask what happened to her since her voice sounded quite hoarse.


    Just then Madelyn quickly spoke.


    "Jin-woo I''m sorry, I might not be able to save your mother. I also won''t be able to send the White Tiger forces to rescue you and Mai-sun, the Marshal instead sent them to rescue the President and Prime Minister since they were in danger because of another virus outbreak at the hospital they were visiting."


    Jin-woo''s chest constricted when he heard Madelyn''s first sentence, but he started to panic upon hearing the ones after.


    "No, what do you mean the White Tiger forces can''te? And what happened to my mom? Is she¡­ is she dead?"


    Madelyn seemed to pause for a moment before she said in a helpless tone.


    "Jin-woo, I''m truly sorry. The Marshal is nning on pinning the outbreak of the virus on me, and in order to silence your mother he ns on using her as the first experiment for a cure. I''m responsible for making the cure so that''s why he hasn''t gotten rid of me as yet. I can perhaps stall your mother''s fate until they bring back your father''s body but-"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Madelyn seemed to have realized what she had just said, and she suddenly stopped talking. However, it was toote, Jin-woo had already heard her.


    Eyes widening, Jin-woo asked in a panic.


    "My father? What happened to my father?!"


    "¡­He''s the cause of the virus outbreak at the hospital where the President and Prime Minister are at."


    Madelyn said after a beat of silence.


    "Your medication was made using the same source as the Av13 pill, but because they were processed differently and were mixed together when your mother stole them, some form of mutation urred between them. I think this was what is causing the virus."


    Jin-woo recalled he had found the pill bottle next to his father''s couch, and he also saw him take his medication before leaving the house yesterday when he had checked the footage of his house camera.


    Jin-woo didn''t particrly know how to react, he felt somewhat numb.


    Seong had a profound position within his family. Before they had moved to Itaewon from Gangnam, his parents'' marriage was extremely strained due to his night terrors. He had only started taking sleep medication when he was six, but before that, his parents would wake up to his screaming in the middle of the night for the past six years.


    Jin-woo still had memories of his mother and father arguing during that time, their nerves stretched thin due to stress. However, after his mother and father saved up enough money to move to their first home in Itaewon for a ''fresh start,'' everything became ten times as worse when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia just as they were getting ready to move.


    Even though he was already registered to attend ISH Elementary School in Itaewon, the expenses of the medication and treatment forced them to postpone the move for a year.


    But it was at this darkest hour for their family that a guardian angel as his mother describes descended on them.


    At that time, Jin-woo''s thoughts and emotions were extremely chaotic because of his nightmares. Only a few days out of the week would he be able to attend school, leaving his parents to argue about who would stay home with him when he couldn''t. But after meeting Seong, Jin-woo''s chaotic thoughts and emotions, which even he never understood, were understood by the unnaturally intelligent Seong.


    It was with this understanding that Seong came up with many ways to help him, to the point that his nightmares abruptly stopped.


    At that time, Seong would often let him stay at his house in Itaewon during the weekends and sometimes even all week, which allowed his parents to take a break for the first time.


    Seong''s existence was irreceable, and it was because of this that when he died, his family crumbled apart in just the span of four months.


    Jin-woo had be dependent on Seong, but so had his parents to some extent.


    During those months after Seong''s death, his parents were not in the right state of mind mentally. But even so, up until then, they were all happy together.


    Those four months Jin-woo experienced, all the abuse, all the mistreatment, the neglect. None of it could overshadow thest ten years of happiness.


    So, how could he not feel pain upon hearing that his mother was going to die, while his father was already dead?


    Hearing Jin-woo''s silence on the other end, Madelyn spoke up.


    "Jin-woo, the White Tiger forces have sessfully rescued the President and their returning. However, I sent a few people who worked for thepany to rescue you and Mai-sun. They should be arriving in an hour or so. I also gave them your number so they will contact you after they arrive."


    Hearing this, Jin-woo''s body stiffened.


    "What about the other students?"


    "¡­"


    Silence suddenly came from the other end of the phone after Jin-woo asked that question.


    "Jin-woo¡­"¡ªMadelyn finally started speaking, but it seemed she was picking her words carefully¡ª"They''re moving using an armored vehicle so only a few people can be carried inside."


    Hearing this, Jin-woo understood her words. She meant that he should be careful of the number of people he told this to, perhaps he could bring some of his friends along, but not strangers.


    Jin-woo nced at the ssroom filled with students and six teachers on the monitor before clenching his fist tightly.


    The three students who had been silently listening to Jin-woo''s conversation had their faces change multiple times upon hearing the mention that the virus was spreading in other areas outside the school. They also noted that Jin-woo''s parents were involved, perhaps even Jin-woo himself was involved too.


    The three youths were looking at Jin-woo suspiciously at first, but upon hearing theter part of the conversation about a rescueing, their suspicion towards Jin-woo were dashed away to be reced by hope and pleading in their hearts for him to take them with him.


    Jin-woo had never thought to leave the room to talk to Madelyn so that these three couldn''t hear him because he wasn''t expecting her to say what she did, he thought it was an update on the White Tiger forcesing to rescue everyone. He was too emotional after hearing about his parents'' deaths that by the time he realized it was already toote, they had heard a few things they shouldn''t have.


    Jin-woo nced over at the three students. For a split second, the thought of killing them actually crossed his mind.


    Seong, who had been silently listening off to the side with a pained expression, also came to his senses and casually nced over at the three students.


    The boy saw Jin-woo look over at them and he seemed to have realized something as his face changed before he hurriedly said.


    "No, don''t kill us, we won''t say anything. We swear!"


    The two girls, hearing the boy''s words, nced at the gun in Jin-woo''s waist and also recalled what they had just heard. Suddenly, their faces drained of blood, and they looked at Jin-woo with pleading expressions.


    "Who is that?"


    Madelyn suddenly asked from the phone.


    "They''re three students I found. They overheard our conversation."


    Jin-woo said truthfully, which caused Madelyn to go silent for a moment before saying.


    "If it''s three students then along with you and Mai-sun at least two or three more students can be helped."


    Upon hearing Madelyn''s words, the three in the corner of the room showed relief expressions. But soon excitement began to rise in their hearts.


    Jin-woo, however, stayed silent.


    "Jin-woo, before the rescue team arrives, I hope you can help Mai-sun until then, please, I beg you. I''ll also try to buy time for your mother. We''ve sent some people to recover a blood sample from your father''s body; if I receive it, I might be able to make a cure so your mother doesn''t turn during her experiment.


    As long as she doesn''t turn, I can guarantee her safety using some of my connections in the government."


    "¡­Okay, I''ll protect her."


    Jin-woo said after a pause.


    Madelyn noticed that Jin-woo gave a firm reply rather than the previous one where he said he would try. She seemed to smile at the other end of the phone as she said.


    "Remember, the team will arrive in an hour, be careful until then. I have to go, goodbye."


    Click.


    The phone quickly hung up, and Jin-woo looked at it with a cold expression.


    "She''s lying about saving Aunty."


    Seong suddenly said from the side with an equally cold expression.


    "I know, but she had to so I would help Mai-sun."


    Seong paused, then looked at Jin-woo with a worried expression.


    "What are we going to do?"


    Find adventures on empire


    Jin-woo didn''t respond and only nced at the monitor showing the ssroom.


    After observing those people in the ssroom, as well as the girl in the broadcasting booth for a while, Jin-woo suddenly turned around and walked over to the still struggling zombie.


    The boy and the two girls watched in silence as Jin-woo walked across the room and stopped near the zombie. However, their eyes suddenly popped open in shock as they witnessed him abruptly pull out the gun that was tucked in his waist and shoot the zombie in its head.

 Chapter 64- Start Of The Experiment

    After shooting the zombie, Jin-woo turned to look at the three students huddled up in the corner. Seong walked over next to him and looked at them as well.


    "Are we going to¡­ you know."


    Seong asked.


    Jin-woo gripped the revolver and he frowned at the three students. Suddenly, he raised his hand and pointed the gun at them.


    "No, wait! We swear we won''t say anything!"


    The boy immediately yelled in fright and the two girls also began trembling.


    "Be quiet."


    Jin-woo said coldly, and the boy immediately closed his mouth.


    With an indifferent tone, Jin-woo warned.


    "If you tell anyone about the armored trucking then I''ll kill you. Do you understand?"


    The boy and the two girls nodded their heads vigorously. They then breathe a sigh of relief after seeing Jin-woo lowering the gun.


    After giving his warning, Jin-woo paid the three no more attention and instead turned to the zombie he just shot. His eyesnded on the gun strapped to its waist and he bent down to remove it along with the tactical belt.


    Upon checking the contents of the tactical belt, aside from the handgun, there was a baton, a pepper spray, two magazine clips, and a set of keys.


    After checking the items in the belt, Jin-woo silently secured it around his waist. The security guard''s build was only slightlyrger than his, so the belt fitted perfectly.


    While Jin-woo was wordlessly securing the belt around his waist, Seong shot him a worried look from the side and said.


    "You didn''t warn them not to mention you were involved in spreading the virus."


    After a moment of silence, Jin-woo responded.


    "It doesn''t matter if they tell everyone I''m involved, things can''t get any worse than it is now."


    Hearing the dismissiveness in Jin-woo''s tone, Seong couldn''t help but be sad and release an internal sigh.


    "If it came out that you were involved, then you won''t be able to make any friends. They might not even be grateful for your help."


    Jin-woo paused upon hearing that but then said with a slight smile.


    "I already made friends with Yoon-min and Micah. Plus, I still have you."


    It was Seong''s turn to pause, but he then smiled as well and said.


    "That''s right, knowing Yoon-min he probably won''t me you too much if you properly exin things. As for Micah, he''ll just go along with anything Yoon-min says."


    "Wh-Who are you talking to?"


    Jin-woo suddenly heard the voice of one of the girls ask. He turned to look at them and saw that they were staring at him with uneasy expressions.


    At this point, Jin-woo didn''t care how others perceived him, so he casually answered.


    "I''m talking to my friend; can you be quiet?"


    Jin-woo then went back to ignoring them, but the three looked at each other with rmed expressions. They were half convinced that Jin-woo had suddenly gone crazy, but that was if he wasn''t already crazy from the rumors they heard about him. However, they chose to keep quiet since he was their only ticket out of here.


    Click.


    Jin-woo inserted back the magazine into the gun after checking the number of bullets inside before holstering it to his waist.


    "What''s next?"


    Seong asked from the side, and Jin-woo frowned as he tapped the side of the revolver with his right index finger. After a moment he said.


    "I need to understand what happened at the gymnasium. Can you leave my side to go check?"


    "Hmm, I can try, but I have a feeling it won''t work."


    Without a word, Jin-woo walked over to the door and opened it slightly for Seong to slip out. He then hurriedly closed it. He wasn''t worried about the gunshot or any loud noise traveling outside and attracting zombies because this room was soundproof.


    Jin-woo was nning on waiting to see what would happen after he closed the door, but not even a second after he closed it, Seong suddenly appeared next to him.


    Seong looked taken aback as he looked around to see that he was back inside the security room. Turning to Jin-woo he smiled bitterly and said.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "As I thought, I can''t leave your side, or at least your perception."


    Jin-woo thought for a moment then his eyes lit up before he asked.


    "If you can only exist within my perception, what if I was looking through a monitor?"


    Hearing that, Seong''s eyes also lit up and he turned to look at the monitors.


    "We can only try."


    Seong hurried towards the monitors with Jin-woo following behind.


    Thud.


    Jin-woo''s foot suddenly bumped against something on the ground. He briefly nced at it to see that it was a broken monitor.


    It was probably broken during a fight with the zombie. Not thinking much about it, Jin-woo reached the monitors.


    After looking for a moment, he pointed at one.


    "This one. It shows the entrance of the east wing. If you stand there, you''ll be able to see the gymnasium."


    Seong nodded.


    Jin-woo then kept his gaze on the monitor and a secondter Seong disappeared and then appeared at the entrance of the east wing.


    On the monitor, Jin-woo watched as Seong looked around and then stared ahead in the direction of the gymnasium.


    The zombies that could be seen roaming in the distance obviously didn''t take notice of him.


    However, it was only after a few seconds did Jin-woo wondered if Seong could return. But his worries were in vain as Seong suddenly nced up at the camera before reappearing next to him.


    Jin-woo looked over and saw a gloomy expression on his friend''s face. His heart tightened slightly.


    "What did you see?"


    Seong looked at Jin-woo and said worriedly.


    "I saw zombies swarming into the gymnasium."


    Upon hearing that, Jin-woo immediately clenched his fists, and guilt started to batter his heart.


    If only he hadn''t taken up that bottle.


    If only he had worn his sses while taking out his medication.


    If only he hadn''t kept that pill on him for Seo-joon to find.


    There were so many times he had a chance to prevent the virus from spreading in the school, but each time he made the worse choice.


    "Jin-"


    Seong saw Jin-woo''s expression and was about to speak, however, static noise suddenly came from the radio on the control panel in front of them before a voice filled with annoyance was heard saying.


    "Freak, I don''t see my cigarettes on you, but you better have them in that drawstring bag."


    Upon hearing the voice, both Jin-woo and Seong nced at the radio with shocked expressions.


    "Seo-joon?"


    "Seo-joon?"


    Both of them exim at the same time.


    ¡­


    Just as Madelyn hung up her phone and ced it inside herb coat pocket, theb door was pushed open before the Marshal walked in.


    "It''s time for testing to start. Shouldn''t you be there to observe?"


    Madelyn was at a desk typing away on theputer. She didn''t look at the Marshal as she coldly responded.


    "Why are you so persistent in starting the testing so soon? I already told you, that cure doesn''t have a high chance of working, I would need patient zero''s blood sample first to make a stronger one."


    The Marshal folded his hands and then snorted before saying.


    "Don''t think I don''t know that you''ve sent people to that school. I''ll allow it, I even added another armored truck so the children who might have survived could be saved." Continue your adventure at empire


    Madelyn paused when she heard that before turning to look at the Marshal with slight surprise.


    Seeing Madelyn''s surprised expression, the Marshal became annoyed.


    "I said I won''t be sending the White Tiger forces to the school, not that I won''t send no help at all. Do you truly believe I am so heartless that I would just leave those children to get infected? From what you said, along with your daughter, there is at least a ss of students in that school.


    My number one priority right now is to save as many citizens as possible while covering up that woman''s mistake. Instead of rotting in jail, she''s better off atoning for her sins by helping to make a cure for the virus she caused. Are you noting?"


    Madelyn remained silent for a moment before she stood up and walked towards the door.


    However, as she was passing the Marshal to leave, the Marshal extended his hand.


    "I''ll take that phone."


    Madelyn paused, but she soon reached into her pocket and pulled out Myung-hee''s phone to give to the Marshal with an expressionless face.


    Both the Marshal and Madelyn then left theb and walked along the white hallways to reach another room. After pushing the door open and entering, arge in ss window was the first thing one saw. Through that window was a room that had three people dressed in white hazmat suits inside. They were all gathered around a nted table that had someone strapped down on it.


    It was a sedated Myung-hee.


    She was in a white hospital gown while an IV drip was in her arm.


    After the Marshal and Madelyn stopped at the window, the Marshal signaled to the three people in hazmat suits to administer the virus.


    One of the three nodded and then picked up one of two syringes filled with ck liquid on a table nearby. He then removed the IV drip from Myung-hee''s arm before injecting the ck liquid inside her.

 Chapter 65- The Single Most Important Boy In The World

    After all the ck liquid was injected into Myung-hee''s arm, the three people in hazmat suits retreated a few steps and waited.


    One minute.


    Myung-hee''s body began to shake violently.


    Discover more content at empire


    Two minutes.


    The veins in her body started to turn ck.


    Three minutes.


    The shaking suddenly intensified while her heart monitor released endless beeping sounds as if this were a prelude that she was about to turn.


    Four minutes.


    Myung-hee''s body abruptly stopped shaking, and the heart monitors almost tlined, it was barely showing signs of her heart beating with considerable time between each one.


    Another minute went by, and the three people in hazmat suits started to nce around at each other in confusion. They then looked at the Marshal through the window not knowing what to do.


    The Marshal, seeing this, nced at his watch to check the time before asking with a frown.


    "What''s going on?"


    Madelyn, who was looking at Myung-hee, had her eyes flicker with doubt as well before exining.


    "The Av13 pill was initially created to cure various conditions, and we did this by introducing the Av13 pill to the viruses that cause these illnesses. It''s because of this that it has now be a virus that is able to recognize a disease or virus in a human''s body andtch on to it.


    But rather than curing said disease or virus, it instead absorbs it before spreading through the person''s body andpletely shuts down their organs, sending them into aa no different from death. As for people without a disease or virus within them, a defection in their genes, the Av13 pill will spread to their brains and turn them into monsters that seek blood containing a disease or virus."


    After saying all of this, Madelyn turned to the Marshal and asked.


    "Did you test her for any illnesses?"


    The Marshal''s expression was grim as he answered.


    "Of course we did, and her results came back clean."


    Myung-hee was supposed to be a monster that thirsted for blood, not the other type of infected. With this, they would be able to know whether it was possible to make a cure that could return the zombies to normal or a cure that could merely prevent one from turning into a zombie.


    If Myung-hee was the former infected who had their organs destroyed beyond what medicine could fix, there was no point in using her as an experiment.


    But that doesn''t seem to be the case either. She had no illnesses, but she had be the first type of infected.


    She was defying the knowledge they had gathered up until now.


    The Marshal in his confusion was thinking of ordering another round of virus to be injected into Myung-hee, however, something happened.


    As he and everyone were stirring in confusion about the situation, amotion urred among the three people in hazmat suits.


    The Marshal and Myung-hee seeing this didn''t know what had happened, however, they soon realized what it was.


    The ck veins that snaked up Myung-hee''s arms and legs were slowly fading away. Her heartbeat monitor, which showed her heart barely beating, suddenly gained new life as her heartbeat almost returned to normal.


    The Marshal, upon seeing this scene, suddenly walked to the ss window and mmed his fist against it while yelling.


    "Take a sample of her blood and have it checked immediately!"


    The three people in hazmat suits were startled by this, but they quickly recovered and the one who first administered the virus to Myung-hee walked over and picked up a new syringe. He then injected it into Myung-hee''s forearm and pulled it.


    Immediately anothermotion urred within the room, and even the person drawing the blood had their hands shaking slightly as he did.


    The blood inside the syringe was ck, but it looked extremely diluted, and even a bit of red could be seen within if the light from the ceiling was shown on the syringe at certain angles.


    What did this mean?


    The Marshal and Madelyn watched the person who drew the blood carry the syringe to a small workstation in the corner of the room. They then waited with baited breaths as the person ced a drop of blood under the microscope and looked at it.


    A few secondster the man yanked his head from the microscope as if jolted by electricity before shakily yelling.


    "Th-There are antibodies inside her blood that are fighting back the virus!"


    Despite his voice being muffled by his mask, the Marshal and Madelyn clearly heard it, and it caused their faces to be filled with astonishment. The other man''s teammates in the room were also in an uproar at this spontaneous development.


    The man who yelled suddenly rushed over to the window and said.


    "Marshal, the volume of antibodies within her blood is too low so that''s why her symptoms resemble a first-type infected. If she had more then she might have only been in aa for a while as the antibodies fought off the virus. But it''s also due to the low amount that we might not be able to make a cure from it."


    The slight excitement that was on the Marshal''s face was immediately wiped away upon hearing those words. However, the man seeing this quickly added.


    "But there''s hope! The antibodies seem to have deteriorated due to her age, however, from my initial observation, it seems the antibodies is a result from a unique set of genes. So, in other words, it''s possible for them to be passed on to her child if she has one! Marshal, who is this person? Does she have a child?"


    The Marshal''s eyes narrowed upon hearing that, while Madelyn''s face stiffened.


    The Marshal was very keen, so he noticed that Madelyn''s reaction was strange. Rather than feeling ted that the cure might be within this woman''s child, she looked worried and hesitant.


    "Spit it out, what are you thinking about?"


    Upon hearing the Marshal''s stern voice, Madelyn hesitated for a moment then recounted a story from the distant past.


    "Did you know that I built thispany to initially study meteors?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The Marshal frowned at that not knowing how this was rted to anything they''d just discussed, but he remained silent so Madelyn could continue speaking.


    "I studied both Astrology and Medicine in college, but to the discouragement of my parents, I went into the field of Astronomy instead of medicine. I initially thought at the time I would never need Medicine again, but that changed during one of my visits to Antarctica in search of meteorites. I found a couple who were on vacation, and because we were both from Gangnam, we became friends.


    One thing led to another, and they joined our team of Astrophysics'' in exploring the Antarctic. Then, perhaps due to sheer coincidence, or some bizarre unseen force, a meteorite the size of a fingernail actually fell on top of the wife''s helmet. Luckily, she was wearing a well-made helmet as the meteorite was halfway from melting through it before she took it off.


    However, shards of the meteorite did break off upon impact with the helmet and burnt through her coat. Only after rushing to the hospital did we confirm that everything was okay with her... and the eight-months baby she was carrying."


    After saying all of that, Madelyn nced up at the Marshal, whose face had turned gloomy.


    "Don''t tell me that pregnant wife was this woman, and that meteorite was the one you mentioned to us."


    Madelyn silently nodded.


    "I ran tests on her and the baby after I discovered a substance inside the meteorite a few monthster, and the results came back fine. But after six years, Myung-hee suddenly called me from out of nowhere and told me that her son had schizophrenia. I felt that the meteorite was somehow responsible for it, but I wasn''t able to find any link that proved that possibility.


    Still, I felt partially responsible, so I hired Myung-hee to mypany as my assistant. I even decided to create a pill that could help treat schizophrenia for my first experiment of that substance from the meteorite because of her. But during that process, she became somewhat of a partner who helped me build thispany into what it is today.


    Even though she was just a housewife before, I think her guilt of possibly causing her son to be born with such an illness and her desire to help him, drove her to be one of the best Pharmaceutical Chemists in the country. No, perhaps the world."


    Madelyn nced at Myung-hee through the window after saying this, a sad expression on her face.


    The Marshal, who had been silently listening to Madelyn''s story, looked at Myung-hee as well but suddenly snorted before turning to leave.


    "Wait, what are you nning to do?"


    Madelyn asked as the Marshal reached the door. Without turning around, the Marshal responded.


    "Things have changed, that boy is now the single most important person in the world. A ragtag group is inadequate to ensure his safety. As soon as the White Tiger forces return, I''ll deploy them to the school!"


    The Marshal''s voice lingered in the room as the door closed behind him.

 Chapter 66- A Hundred and Ten Percent

    Thirty minutes before the bell signaling the start of the lesson after lunch break rings¡­


    "Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, FUUUUCK!!!"


    "God damn it, shut your mouth and run!!"


    The students of ss 1A, or what was left of them, just turned the corner behind the gymnasium and were running with all their might. One of the boys at the back of the now dozen or so students cursed at the top of his lungs, while another youth running next to him turned and barked at him.


    The boy who had let out curses heard the sound of numerous snarls and screeching like it wasing from a pack of wolves. He turned to look behind him to see a horde of zombies in the tens or even hundreds turning the corner of the gymnasium to chase after them. Face going pale, he cried out once more.


    "Fuck, they''reing!"


    The other students didn''t even bother turning around to look and instead exerted even more strength in their legs to sprint forward. Right now, each and every one of them wished they had at least four legs or at least a tenth of Seo-joon''s athleticism.


    The students looked ahead and saw that Seo-joon was way in front of them, with Eun-ju slightly behind him.


    "There''s stairs leading to the roof, let''s climb it!"


    One boy in the group behind Seo-joon and Eun-ju yelled as he pointed at the stair tower against the gymnasium.


    Ye-jun, who was among this group, nced at the stair tower before looking away. He simply ran past it along with Mai-sun next to him.


    A few other students seemed to have realized the implication of climbing that stair tower so they followed Ye-jun and Mai-sun in running past it.


    However, the boy who had pointed it out diverted from the group to climb it, and three more students followed him, a girl and the two boys at the back of the group.


    However, as they started climbing the stair tower an enraged shout was heard from the front of the group, it was Seo-joon.


    "What are you idiots doing?! Where do you n on going if they chased you up there?!!"


    The three boys and one girl heard the shout, and their faces dramatically changed.


    The boy who had suggested climbing the stair tower gritted his teeth and instead of stopping he charged up the stairs and then leapt over the railing tond on the ground below.


    The other two boys were quick to react as well, and they both jumped over the railing individually. Only the girl was a bit slow to react. But when she did, instead of jumping over the railing, she hurried back down the stairs to escape.


    However, a zombie that was particrly faster than the horde was right behind her as she left the stairs and turned around to run. She couldn''t help but release a helpless cry of sorrow as the zombie lunged at her. It knocked her over and then opened its mouth coated in dried blood to rip out her left jugr vein.


    But just as the zombie was about to bite the screaming girl, a foot appeared and kicked it squarely in its face, knocking it off the girl.


    "Quick, get up! Get up!"


    The girl was pulled up by two pairs of hands and she looked up to see that it was two of the three boys that she thought had run away. The third boy who had kicked the zombie off her was the boy who had suggested they climb the stair tower.


    "After what happened to Yoon-min and Micah, we won''t let anyone else die. Let''s go!"


    He said before rushing off in the direction of the other students of ss 1 A, the two boys who were helping the girl run were right behind him.


    At the front of the group, Seo-joon nced back to see this scene and he let out a sigh of relief. However, he shot a cold look toward Ye-jun. He just ran past the stair tower without warning those four. Discover exclusive content at empire


    "Bastard, I still have a score to settle with you."


    Seo-joon muttered murderously under his breath as he reached the back entrance of the west wing building of the high school.


    However, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.


    The gymnasium was next to the west wing of the high school, and between it was a passageway that allowed one to see the football field. Currently on that football field was an endless horde of zombies running around in a frenzy.


    But this scene wasn''t the one that made Seo-joon''s heart skip a beat, it was the zombie that he happened to glimpse between the two buildings as he ran past.


    "Fuck."


    Seo-joon cursed as he suddenly skidded to a stop, before turning around and yelled at Eun-ju who was right behind him.


    "Watch out!"


    Seo-joon charged at Eun-ju as he yelled.


    Eun-ju who was focused on running heard Seo-joon''s yell and saw him rushing back. At the same time, she reached the passageway between the gymnasium and the west wing building when suddenly, a figure appeared from there and lunged at her. However, thanks to Seo-joon''s timely warning, she was alert and was able to dodge the zombie in time.


    "Bastard, even now you''re still aiming for students."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Seo-joon said with a disgusted expression on his face. He reached the zombie before it could recover and after wrapping his hands around its waist, he then flung it back towards the passageway between the two buildings.


    "Go! Check if the doors are open while I hold it off."


    Eun-ju looked at the zombie recognizing the person. She shot Seo-joon a sympathetic look before she rushed towards the double doors several meters away.


    Seo-joon noticed the sympathetic look Eun-ju gave him, but hepletely dismissed it. ncing at the zombie in the passageway he sneered and said.


    "I wish I could have seen the look on your face while you were being eaten."


    Teacher Park, who was now a zombie, released a piercing screech before charging at his son.


    Seo-joon looked indifferent as he raised his foot and kicked out. His footnded square on Teacher Park''s chest and sent him stumbling back.


    Not wasting this opportunity, Seo-joon''s footshed out once more with a low kick. An audible crack echoed as Teacher Park''s ankle was broken and the force of the kick knocked his feet from under him.


    Seo-joon immediately pounced forward like a ravenous wolf and started stomping on his father.


    His legs, his torso, his face, anywhere Seo-joon could get him, he didn''t care along as his foot made contact with his body. His kicks were relentless, and he ced a hundred and ten percent of his strength into each one.

 Chapter 67- Knowing Him, He Should Be There

    Face twisting into a malevolent expression, Seo-joon recalled all the time this man hadid his hands on his mother, and it seemed as if his kicks had somehow be even stronger.


    This thing had never daredy his hands on him when he was younger because his grandmother was extremely doting on him, but that didn''t stop this monster from hitting his mother in front of him as some form of mental torture for him. As for telling his grandmother about it, his grandmother was even slightly more doting on his father than him.


    Only after he entered middle school and started to make a name for himself in Track and Field did his father feel pressured to stop due to media coverage of his family. But even then, his grandmother had to cover up a scandal about him in a rtionship with one of his students from his old school in Gangnam just a year ago.


    When Seo-joon found out he had been so disgusted that he nned on reporting it to the police. The only reason he didn''t was because his grandmother forced him not to, while saying his mother could divorce his father if he didn''t report it.


    Seo-joon had never seen his mother since the divorce and could only speak to her on video calls. He didn''t even know whether she was still in the country or not. She had been so traumatized by everything that she feared that his father would track her down. She also feared that he would let it slip where she was, so she kept minimal contact with him.


    Seo-joon couldn''t me his mother, instead, he even encouraged her to do what she thought was best for her.


    As Seo-joon was recalling everything this man had put him and his mother through, his heart burned with rage.


    Teacher Park as a zombie had tried to grab Seo-joon''s foot, but failed and instead had his face disfigured. Soon a popping sound rang out from his skull as Seo-joon''s footnded on it.


    Seeing that his father had stopped moving, Seo-joon retrieved his foot. However, he suddenly winced as an acute pain shot through his leg when he tried to walk on it. Find your next read on empire


    "Fuck."


    Seo-joon cursed softly as he looked down at his right leg to see that he had sprained it.


    "Hyung!"


    A voice called out to Seo-joon. He turned around and saw that it was one of his friends, Lacky One. He had stopped at the passageway along with Lackey two to look at him.


    Seo-joon immediately remembered the dire situation they were in and moved to leave. However, his sprained ankle made it hard for him to walk, much less run. Lacky One and Lacky Two, seeing this hurried forward to help him.


    The other students reached the double metal doors, and Seo-joon looked to see that it was open. He was relieved since they had nowhere else to go.


    Lackey One and Lackey Two carried Seo-joon into the west wing with the others around them. The three boys escorting the girl at the back of the group were thest to reach, and they immediately shut the doors before the horde of zombies reached them.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Everyone retreated from the doors as the zombies mmed themselves against it.


    "The doors won''t hold out."


    Ye-jun said as he nced at the distorted hinges of the metal doors.


    "Shit, then where else can we go?"


    "If we had continued running, we could have reached the auditorium at the entrance of the school."


    "No, that''s too far, the horde would have caught up to us before we could have reached. Besides, these zombies are just some of the ones that came out of the west wing. The others have gathered at the front of the school. We would have had to pass them to reach the auditorium."


    Ye-jun said rejecting the idea.


    The students continued discussing where to hide when a voice suddenly spoke up cutting everyone off.


    "We''re going to the security station. Knowing him, he should be there. Let''s go."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Seo-joon said to his twockeys and they didn''t question him as they carried him toward the security station.


    Everyone looked around at each other confused as to who Seo-joon was referring to, but Ye-jun spoke up in agreement with Seo-joon''s suggestion.


    "If we head to the security station, we can get a better understanding of the situation of the school using the cameras."


    "That''s right, we can also check if anyone is still alive in the ssrooms."


    One girl said from the crowd, but Ye-junpletely ignored her words and then started on his way to the security station. Mai-sun wasn''t far from his side.


    The remaining ten or so students of ss 1A from the initial thirty followed behind Ye-jun and Mai-sun.


    Seeing that everyone only decided to head to the security station after Ye-jun spoke, Seo-joon felt annoyance rise in his heart but ignored it for now.


    Thankfully, the zombies that were gathered in the west wing were all running outside, which allowed them to peacefully make their way to the security station.


    Seo-joon was the first one to reach with the help of hisckeys. He let go of their shoulders and grabbed the handle of the metal door before twisting it.


    With a click, the door swung open.


    All the students sighed in relief when they saw this.


    Without a word, Seo-joon hurriedly hobbled into the room and beeline towards the monitors. Using the control panel to prop himself up, he nced at the monitors, searching. Soon he found what he was looking for on the left.


    There, on a somewhat secluded monitor from the rest, was the image of a darkroom with its only lit source being several monitors mounted on the wall. Seo-joon''s eyes rested on the figure standing in front of the monitors, a slight smirk appearing at the corner of his lips.


    However, his face suddenly changed when he nced at the person''s hands and only saw a familiar revolver in one. However, he soon spotted the drawstring bag he was wearing on his back and narrowed his eyes.


    Suppressing his anger, Seo-joon grabbed the radio on the right of the control panel and pressed the red button next to it. This red button connected this radio to the one shown on that monitor.


    After he did that, Seo-joon held the button on the side of the radio and spoke into it while ring at the person on the monitor.


    "Freak, I don''t see my cigarettes on you, you better have them in that drawstring bag."

 Chapter 68- Lies

    Jin-woo soon snapped out of his shock and asked aloud in a puzzled tone.


    "How does he know I have a drawstring bag?"


    Jin-woo then thought of something and started ncing around. He quickly located the camera in the top right-hand corner of the room behind him. But upon seeing it he wondered why there was a camera here that let''s one see inside this security room, but not the other¡­ Discover exclusive content at empire


    This thought hadn''t properly formed in Jin-woo''s mind when he suddenly nced at the broken monitor on the ground, and then at the wall to the left where it was torn from.


    "Bastard, stop looking around and answer me!"


    Seo-joon''s voice suddenly echoed out once again, and Jin-woo frownedpletely irked.


    "Press this red button to speak to the other security room."


    Seong said softly from the side while pointing at the red button next to the radio.


    Jin-woo angrily picked up the radio and smashed his fist against the button before retorting.


    "I have your damn cigarettes, alright? You better be grateful that Se-that I even bother picking them up."


    Jin-woo had to quickly correct himself as he almost let it slip that he could see Seong. Though he didn''t care how others saw him, he remembered Seong''s warning.


    While Seong was giving him an indignant look, Jin-woo asked.


    "Are you alone? Is Mai-sun there with you?"


    "Yeah, she''s here."


    Hearing this response, Seong''s expression changed, and he red at Jin-woo for having almost revealed his existence to Mai-sun.


    Even though there was a possibility that no one would believe in Jin-woo''s ability, he was unwilling to chance it with that girl. Better be safe than sorry.


    Within the second security room, when Ye-jun heard Jin-woo ask for Mai-sun, his expression visibly darkened. In contrast, Mai-sun who was next to him looked at Jin-woo on the monitor with a curious expression.


    After giving Seong an apologetic look, Jin-woo held the button on the radio and asked.


    "What about the others? Is Yoon-min and Micah with you? Why did you leave the gymnasium?"


    In the second security room, Seo-joon and the other students visibly stiffened.


    Not hearing an immediate response, Jin-woo''s heart dropped. However, before he could ask if something had happened, Ye-jun grabbed the radio from Seo-joon and said.


    "Yoon-min and Micah split up with us after we escaped the gymnasium. We-"


    However, his voice was suddenly cut off as Seo-joon red at him and reached to grab the radio back from him.


    Ye-jun reacted quickly and pulled the radio out of his reach. He then let go of the button on the radio just as Seo-joon growled at him.


    "What do you think you''re doing?"


    At the same time, the other students nced at Ye-jun with confused expressions. They didn''t know why he suddenly decided to lie to Jin-woo about what happened to Yoon-min and Micah, some of them even felt a bit upset.


    However, Ye-jun fixed his sses on his nose and calmly spoke.


    "Let me ask you, who in here is he friends with? If he found out what happened to those two, do you think he would help us? Right now he''s the only one who has information about the situation outside."


    The students upon hearing this had their expression changed, and they nced at each other with hesitant expressions. They thought that Ye-jun was just hiding the fact that he closed the door on Micah and Yoon-min causing their deaths, but they suddenly realized they might be just as guilty of sitting back and watching it happen.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Bullshit, give me the fucking radio."


    Seo-joon''s voice which sounded like he was suppressing his anger echoed out cutting through the silence. He reached out to grab the radio from Ye-jun again, but he stumbled a bit as Ye-jun stepped out of his reach.


    "Hyung, be careful."


    Lackey One said as he and Lackey Two stepped forward to support Seo-joon. After getting support from them, Seo-joon red at Ye-jun.


    Ye-jun merely fixed his sses before turning away from him.


    Seo-joon seeing this nced at the other students who were either looking down or ncing at him like they were nning on stopping him if he insisted on his actions. His heart immediately turned cold upon seeing this, but he openly snorted and said.


    "From now on don''t expect me to do anything for you."


    Mai-sun nced at Seo-joon and asked softly.


    "Is your leg, okay? It seems you can''t even walk on it properly."


    Seo-joon directly ignored Mai-sun''s words, he didn''t even nce at her. He told the twockeys to move him to a corner to wrap his ankle.


    "Joon? What happened?"


    Jin-woo asked, only having heard muffled sounds from the other end of the radio before it went silent.


    Ye-jun pressed the button and said.


    "When we were inside the gymnasium someone turned into a zombie somehow, and when we rushed to escape the horde from the west wing chased us. Now we''re stuck inside the security room. Do you have contact with the outside world? What is happening outside, is there helping?"


    "It''s the water in the school! Be careful not to drink it."


    Jin-woo hurriedly said, and the students showed surprise expressions when they heard it.


    Ye-jun frowned and asked.


    "Are you saying that it''s the water that''s turning everyone into zombies?"


    "Wait if the water supply is carrying this virus, then does that mean everyone in Itaewon that has the same water connection as us is infected?"


    One student asked in a panic, but Ye-jun denied his im.


    "The school has its own water supply, if it''s carrying the virus that caused this then someone must have done something to it. What''s the media saying outside? Is help arriving?"


    Ye-jun asked again.


    Jin-woo paused for a moment, then said.


    "There''s no helping."


    The three students who were sitting on the ground nced at each other when they heard Jim-woo.


    "What?! Then are we stuck here?! Why is there no helping?!"


    One student behind Ye-jun almost broke down in hysteria when she heard Jin-woo''s words. All this time she had been holding onto the hope that help wasing to rescue them, the others too held this thought, and they simrly felt despair at their current situation.


    Ye-jun ignored themotion behind him and asked Jin-woo.


    "What do you mean there''s no helping? What is the news saying? It''s been nearly two hours so news of what happened here must have already spread to the world."


    "Wait, I''m going to do a quick search."


    "What? You''re just now thinking of doing that? What have you been doing all this while then?"


    Jin-woo frowned at Ye-jun''s words but he didn''t respond as he had already put down the radio to fish out his phone from his drawstring bag.


    Thankfully there''s still service in Itaewon. In the movies, they always made it a point to show that it would have been cut along with the power. However, it seems that reality was different.


    Jin-woo unlocked his phone and clicked on the green browsing app before quickly typing into the search bar. Immediately after he clicked search, several news articles and videos popped up.


    This didn''t surprise him, if news of a virus outbreak happening in their school hadn''t made headlines, then the President and Prime Minister being trapped in the middle of one would.


    Jin-woo clicked on a video that showed a female anchor reporting the President and Prime Minister''s situation then ced the phone near the radio.

 Chapter 69- A Plan

    "We''ve received information that the President was seen returning from ground zero of the virus outbreak at the Geumgang Asan Hospital in a helicopter. Unfortunately, there are no reports of the Prime Minister returning, we fear he might have died during this rescue operation. Hopefully, with our President safely rescued, he would work together with the Marshal in resolving this sudden disaster.


    As of now, the reported deaths are unknown, but it''s estimated that the virus has now spread to a nearly two-hundred-kilometer radius of Geumgang Asan Hospital. Reports of the infected spotted in Itaewon areing in, and as a result, the countries of the embassies affected have expressed their concerns. The U.N. is holding an emergency meeting to decide how tobat this sudden and deadly virus.


    Meanwhile, efforts are still being made by the government to quarantine Yongsan District. For those still in the zone affected by the virus we have been told to inform you to find somewhere safe to hide until help arrives. Rest assured; extensive rescue efforts are being made as we speak. We were also advised to inform you not to go out if you are in your homes.


    I repeat, do not go out as it is extremely dangerous¡­"


    The female reporter then began updating on the U.N.''s emergency meeting, but by this time most of the students listening from the radio in Ye-jun''s hands had checked out. The despair they were feeling was palpable.


    "W-We aren''t ground zero?"


    One student said, his lips quivering as he spoke.


    "That report didn''t even mention our school, it looks like they aren''t aware that the virus is also spreading from here."


    "N-No, if they take priority somewhere else then would they even look to this ce?"


    "But we''re students! They must have started rescue operations at schools and other important locations first."


    "Right, but wouldn''t they go to the major international schools first beforeing here? Who knows when they will reach us, it might even take several days."


    "We won''t survive that long! What about food and water? Are our only options being to either starve to death waiting for help or get eaten by those zombies outside after they find us?"


    "Damn it, I knew I should have escaped the school. If we had escaped the school earlier then we could have survived, but now we''re trapped in here!"


    The students immediately devolved into more hysteria and even Ye-jun''s stern reprimand for them to quiet down and not alert the zombies outsidended on deaf ears.


    "If you all want to survive then I have a n."


    Even though Jin-woo''s voice on the radio was quieter than Ye-jun''s stern voice, his words immediately caused the students to stop talking and turn to look at the radio in Ye-jun''s hand.


    Ye-jun upon seeing this gripped the radio in his hands. He had to forcefully stop himself from crushing it in his grip.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Hearing the noise quiet down, Jin-woo said calmly.


    "I need your guys'' help to carry out this n. But you don''t have to worry, the n I have in mind doesn''t require any of you to leave the security room."


    The students were at first panicked about Jin-woo''s former words, but they sighed in relief when they heard thetter part of his sentence.


    "What kind of n do you have?"


    Ye-jun asked calmly while fixing his sses.


    "First, I need to know if there are any survivors in the west wing."


    Ye-jun nced at the monitors in front of him, but not even a secondter he replied tly.


    "No."


    Seo-joon''s expression off to the side turned cold and he red at Ye-jun.


    Jin-woo on the other side of the radio didn''t question why Ye-jun answered so quickly, he thought that they had already checked before contacting him. Even though he hoped that there were people like that group of students in the ssroom on the west wing that had survived, he had faintly doubted it from the number of zombies he saw exiting the west wing.


    Burying the self-me in his heart, Jin-woo said. Enjoy new chapters from empire


    "There are survivors in the east wing. I need to contact them and tell everyone my n together before I go through with it. Wait for a second."


    Jin-woo disconnected the radio and then nced toward the monitor that showed the ssroom full of students, before asking Seong.


    "Do you know which of the monitors shows the furthest ssrooms from that ss?"


    Seong nodded, having known what Jin-woo was nning and prepared in advance. He pointed out several sets of monitors and mentioned their distance from the ssroom, to which Jin-woo nodded before pressing the button for some that were a good distance away. He needed the zombies to hear the sound so, he couldn''t choose ones too far away.


    Jin-woo then entered the music app on his phone and selected a high-pitch instrumental version of a song from a certain popr anime. cing the phone against the radio, he let it y while holding the button on the radio.


    BANG!


    The instrumental song echoed out from the phone slightly jolting the three in the corner who had been silent up until now. Not just them, Jin-woo watched the monitors with a solemn expression as the zombies near the ssroom full of students jolted before rushing away towards a few ssrooms several halls down.


    After entering those rooms, the zombies ran around destroying the chairs trying to get to the speaker in the corner of the ceiling.


    After waiting for a moment, Jin-woo stopped ying the song and pressed the button to speak to the students in the ssroom while turning down the volume. He was regretful that this PA system wasn''t precise enough to allow him to only speak to a single ssroom, but it couldn''t be helped. His voice echoed in a few empty ssrooms as he spoke.


    "Does someone have a phone on them? Write the phone number on the board."


    After saying this, Jin-woo watched as the students frantically nced at the speakers in panic, but no one moved to write on the board. He knew this was going to happen, so he calmly spoke again.


    "There''re no zombies along the hallways so don''t worry. However, you need to hurry and write a number so I can speak to you that way."


    Finally realizing Jin-woo''s intention, one of the four male teachers immediately jumped up from the ground and rushed to grab a marker from the desk at the front of the ss before writing down a number on the board. After he was done, he hurriedlyid back down on the ground while reaching into his pocket to take out his phone.


    Jin-woo didn''t hesitate to save the number on the board into his contacts before calling it.


    "Hello?"


    The phone answered on its first ring, and the hoarse voice of the male teacher was heard.


    Jin-woo didn''t waste time in saying.


    "I have a n to lure the zombies out of the school building and trap them, but I need your help. Don''t worry, you don''t need to leave that ssroom."


    The male teacher who was just about to question Jin-woo on his age upon hearing his young voice and so-called n, paused. After a moment he surprisingly asked.


    "Are you sure this n of yours will work?"


    "No, but it''s either that or wait until help arrives, which might take several days judging by how fast the virus is spreading in Seoul."


    The male teacher went silent once more on the other end before asking.


    "What do we have to do?"


    Jin-woo revealed a smile and said.


    "Simple, just stay as quiet as possible."


    After saying that, Jin-woo connected the radio to Ye-jun and the others, and with the male teacher still on the phone, he started exining his n in detail to the two groups.

 Chapter 70- A Sweet Voice

    "¡­and with that, I can trap them."


    After Jin-woo exined his n silence came over the two groups he was talking to. The male teacher was the first one to speak up on the phone.


    "Kid, are you sure about this? If something goes wrong, you can get swallowed up by the horde of zombies."


    "It''s fine, even if I can''t trap them, I can outrun them. The only issue is drawing them from the two wings and gathering them together."


    The focus shifted to Ye-jun''s group after Jin-woo said this.


    "If it''s just gathering the zombies from the west wing, then most of them are already at the front of the school. As for the remaining ones inside, we can turn on the speakers at the front entrance to draw them out."


    Ye-jun said after a moment.


    "The goal isn''t to trap all of them, but a majority of them so it''s safer for everyone to gather at the east wing''s cafeteria."


    "The food storage in there was restocked for the start of the new school year, so there should be plenty of food there tost us until help arrives."


    The voice of a female teacher came from the phone. At this point, everyone in the ssroom had gathered around the male teacher''s phone. When they heard that they could survive this ce they couldn''t help but get somewhat excited. The students of ss 1A also wore excited expressions.


    However, they quickly realize this n came at the risk of Jin-woo''s life. Plus, the n wasn''t even foolproof!


    This had nothing to do with Jin-woo''s abilities but rather the unpredictability of the zombies.


    "After I contact the girl on the fourth floor, we''ll start the n."


    "Okay."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Sure."


    The male teacher and Ye-jun both answered before Jin-woo hung up the phone and disconnected the radio. He then focused on the monitor that showed the Broadcasting Club room.


    "These monitors are furthest away from the room."


    Seong didn''t hesitate to point out, and Jin-woo chose one of the monitors before pressing the red button for it. He once again yed the instrumental song against the radio.


    On the monitor showing the Broadcasting Club room, the zombies moving around frantically in the room suddenly stopped simultaneously and cocked their heads up.


    Jin-woo and Seong both felt a chill go down their spines when they saw this bizarre scene. But just when they were specting whether this simultaneous action was coincidental, their faces changed when they saw what happened next.


    A few zombies directly charged towards the door followed by the rest. They all left the room almost in an orderly manner without shoving and pushing each other.


    Only when they reached a wider space in the hallway did they seem to return to acting like mindless animals, running towards the sounding from the speakers while shoving and pushing each other.


    Jin-woo and Seong silently gave each other a look. As much as this scene unnerved them, this confirmed that the n had a higher chance of sess.


    Jin-woo waited until the zombies were far away from the club room before pausing the instrumental song. Pressing the button to the Broadcasting room, Jin-woo spoke as calmly as he could.


    "If you can hear me, then hurry up and close the door. The zombies all left."


    On the monitor, the girl was looking through the in window from the sound booth as if she was surprised by the sudden departure of the zombies. Jin-woo wasn''t sure if the girl could hear him from within the booth at first, but when he saw her nce at the speakers he sighed in relief.


    Jin-woo also thought that the girl would hesitate to do as he said, and was prepared to speak again to convince her, but to his surprise, the girl suddenly jumped up from the ground and rushed out of the sound booth. She carefully skipped over the bloody zombies on the ground as well as the scattered desks and chairs before reaching the door.


    Without any hesitation, she slid it shut, but she even went one step further and closed therge in windows of the room before drawing the ck curtains over them.


    After doing all of that the girl seemed to sigh in relief. She then turned to the camera and spoke before bowing slightly.


    Jin-woo didn''t know what she said, but from that bow, he could guess she was thanking him.


    "She''s really smart and decisive, she immediately figured out our n when she heard your voice and quickly acted."


    Jin-woo came too and nodded to Seong''s words. He had not expected the girl to have this type of personality, what if he had bad intentions? She would have died. But then again in her situation, it would be weird for someone in the security room to intentionally harm her.


    Jin-woo couldn''t help but wonder if it would be like the movies where people like that would appear. Perhaps it''s just that the virus was still in the early stages of spreading, and the limits of human kindness haven''t been reached.


    Jin-woo didn''t let his thoughts run wild, and he immediately said into the radio.


    "There''s a n to draw the zombies out of the school and trap them in the gymnasium and auditorium, but we need your help."


    Without Jin-woo even having to exin further the girl seemed to perk up. She nodded vigorously and then rushed towards the sound booth. After checking the equipment inside, she hurried back outside with a marker in hand. She then picked up a whiteboard that had fallen over before writing something on it.


    Jin-woo''s eyes focused on what she wrote.


    "The PA system is operational; I can y a high-pitch static sound for the speakers inside the gym and auditorium. How are we going to coordinate?" Discover hidden stories at empire


    Upon reading what the girl wrote, Jin-woo sucked in a breath of air. Seong next to him who also wore a stumped expression suddenly forced a smile and suggested.


    "Perhaps she''s into zombie movies?"


    Jin-woo forced a smile and spoke into the radio.


    "Do you have a phone?"


    Jin-woo let go of the button on the radio and sat back to watch what the girl would do. This wasn''t the time, but he wanted to see how intuitive this girl was.


    Sure enough, the girl without needing any further exnation from him wiped away the words on the whiteboard and then wrote down a number.


    Jin-woo quickly saved the number into his contacts, before ringing it. The call went through on the first ring.


    "Hello? I want to say thank you once again."


    Jin-woo immediately heard a sweet voice from the other end of the phone that tickled his ears.

 Chapter 71- Avici Hell

    The voice was too unique and stood out to Jin-woo immediately. He had a feeling she would make a great singer. Perhaps that was why she was in the Broadcasting Club.


    Jin-woo immediately ignored this inconsequential detail and said.


    "No need to thank me. Other students in the security station on the west wing will draw the zombies from there out. All you need to do is wait for my call to turn on the speakers."


    "Okay, which one will you be leading the zombies to? How will I reach the other group?"


    Jin-woo upon hearing this paused, but he soon understood the girl''s words.


    "I''m the only one luring the zombies to the gymnasium and auditorium."


    "Huh? Why?"


    The girl seemed startled upon hearing Jin-woo''s im. She then further questioned.


    "How will that work? You''re nning on trapping the zombies in both the gymnasium and auditorium because it''s not guaranteed that all the zombies would enter one, right? But by yourself even if you sessfully lead the first horde into the gymnasium, how would you close the door while avoiding the rest of the zombies? It''s too dangerous, it''s best if you have a few people helping you."


    Jin-woo already knew all of this, but he couldn''t ask the students from his ss for help. He would feel even more guilty than he already did if someone died following him. As for the other students and teachers on the east wing''s second floor, it was too dangerous for them to leave their position.


    Besides, as he said before, even if he couldn''t trap the zombies, he was confident in outrunning them.


    But more than that, what made Jin-woo confident in carrying out this n was his ability. In this apocalypse, his illness had suddenly be an ability straight out of a movie oric. He didn''t know whether others gained abilities like he had, but something told him that wasn''t the case as he had his since he was born.


    After a moment, Jin-woo responded to the girl.


    "I wouldn''t be doing this if I wasn''t at least seventy percent confident in pulling this off."


    "Only seventy percent? For trapping the zombies? What about you escaping if things go wrong? What percentage is that?"


    "Ny-five percent."


    The girl who had been agitated on the other side of the phone suddenly stopped talking. After a moment of silence, she asked.


    "Really?"


    Jin-woo nodded then exined.


    "I have a gun with me."


    Jin-woo saw the girl on the monitor nodding before her voice tickled his ear.


    "Okay, I understand. My name is Ah-yong, what''s yours?"


    "Jin-woo."


    Stay updated with empire


    "Wait, Jin-woo? As in ''the'' Jin-woo from middle school?"


    Jin-woo couldn''t help but have a smile appear at the corner of his lips when he heard that. From her tone, it looked like she was referring to his athletic reputation rather than what he was now known for. She sounded genuine too.


    "Hm, that''s me."


    "Wah, it''s really you. Alright, I don''t need to worry since it''s Mr. Multitalented. However, you should still be careful."


    "I will, you too. If everything goes well, I''lle and rescue you."


    "Hm."


    Click.


    Jin-woo ended the call and was about to inform Ye-jun to start the n, but he suddenly caught sight of Seong staring at him with a cheeky smile on his face.


    "Ah-yong? She reminds me of those fan girls you had back in middle school. You even got her number too, very smooth."


    Upon hearing that, Jin-woo couldn''t help but blush slightly. But he quickly retorted.


    "Stop talking nonsense, we should focus on the n."


    "Haha, right, right."


    Seong said with augh, but Jin-woo ignored him and contacted Ye-jun.


    "Let''s start."


    "Okay."


    After informing Ye-jun to start the n, Jin-woo turned to the monitors, and Seong at the same time pointed at a few of them.


    "These are the ones closest to the staircases."


    Jin-woo nodded, then turned to the three silent students behind him.


    "Does anyone of you have a phone?"


    "I do."


    One of the girls said while raising her hand.


    "Lend it to me."


    The girl nodded then willingly took out her phone and unlocked it. A pink earphone was still connected to it, and she was about to put it away when Jin-woo saw it and said.


    "Let me barrow those too."


    The girl nodded and handed over her unlocked phone along with the pink earphones inside it.


    Jin-woo took the phone and after disconnecting the earphones from it he found the music app and scrolled through it to find a suitable song. However, he paused when he saw that all the songs on the girl''s phone were either J-rock or K-rock.


    Jin-woo momentarily nced at the pink phone case filled with kitty stickers and thought he shouldn''t judge a book by its cover.


    After tapping a familiar K-rock song, he ced it against the radio so it could y on the speakers.


    Jin-woo and Seong, along with the three students at the back, watched the monitors and saw the immediate effect of the song.


    On the fourth floor, the third floor, and the second floor, zombies could be seen frantically rushing down the hallways. They were all heading in the direction of the staircases on each floor.


    Inside the ssroom on the second floor where the students and teachers were, all of them wore frightened expressions as loud screeching sounds came from the hallway outside the room.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Figure after figure was seen rushing past the ssroom through itsrge windows. Everyone held their breaths and didn''t dare move an inch, much less make a sound.


    This was simrly happening in the hallway next to the Broadcasting Club room.


    Meanwhile, in the second security room, Ye-jun pressed a button on the control panel and the national anthem started ying on the speakers at the entrance. The zombies that had already broken the double metal doors went into a frenzy trying to reach the speakers above the doorway.


    Due to the chaos caused by the eruption of the zombies, the entire school seemed to have been plunged into Avici Hell.


    While the three students'' faces went pale seeing the number of zombies gathering at the staircases, Jin-woo''s expression remained unperturbed.

 Chapter 72- Extra Confidence

    A full minute passed until there were no more zombies along the many hallways in the east wing. Even the zombies on the bridge connecting the two wings had gathered at the staircase leading down to the third floor.


    Another minute went by before both Jin-woo and Ye-jun cut off the speakers.


    Jin-woo saved his number in the girl''s phone before he returned it to her. He then held up the pink earphones and asked.


    "I still need to borrow these, is that okay with you?"


    The girl waved her hands and said.


    "It''s okay, you can keep them."


    Jin-woo nodded then turned to the door to leave. However, before his hand could twist the doorknob, the boy suddenly looked at him and asked.


    "Why are you doing this? Why take such unnecessary risks? Isn''t there an armored trucking to save us? You can just stay here until they arrive an hour from now."


    There was something else the boy didn''t mention.


    If you leave and end up dying outside, how would we be able to leave with the armored truck?


    Jin-woo didn''t look back as he said.


    "An hour? Do you really think they would arrive so quickly? They might not even arrive at all."


    The boy hearing this was stunned. The two girls also had simr reactions as they looked at Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo nced back at them and said tly.


    "They''reing from Gangnam, if it were a normal day they could maybe arrive around that time if they hurried. But with the zombie virus already spread throughout Yongsan and leaking into the surrounding districts, the roads would be full of cars. Their only option would be to clear them or leave their armored truck at a certain distance beforeing on foot.


    If they chose option one, then they might not even make it here until the next day or the day after. But if they chose option two, not only would it be dangerous for them, but for us as well if we were to go with them. That''s if they even make it here on foot in the first ce.


    So, rather than waiting for those few people who are rushed and severely underprepared to rescue us, I prefer to wait for the government''s rescue team. At least they would have helicopters that could avoid all of that."


    This was the entire reason why Jin-woo thought of this n in the first ce, to create a safe zone. He knew how deadly the virus was, and how fast it could spread from person to person. Madelyn was definitely underestimating it while overestimating the capabilities of those people and when they would rescue them.


    If it wasn''t the White Tiger armored forces who were systematically trained and specialized in dealing with situations like these sent to rescue them, then Jin-woo would rather face the zombies in the school by himself than rely on their help.


    After exining all of that to the three students, Jin-woo turned the doorknob and slipped out the open door.


    As the door closed, the three students looked at it with ashen expressions. They really hadn''t thought of those details Jin-woo pointed out. Now they were starting to worry because they realized their survival likely depended on the sess of Jin-woo''s n.


    Outside the security room, Jin-woo nced at the empty halls before turning to head for the exit.


    Up ahead at a corner, Seong yelled.


    "It''s clear."


    However, Jin-woo wasn''t in a hurry nor did he seem as cautious as before while moving through the hallways. He instead had his head down busy connecting the pink earphones into his phone.


    Seong saw this, and he hesitated for a moment before asking as Jin-woo slowly approached.


    "Are you going to use those?"


    "Hm."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jin-woo made a sound of confirmation as he walked past Seong and turned the corner. He still had his head down and was looking through his music app.


    "Why?"


    Seong didn''t appear at the end of the hallway this time but instead walked next to Jin-woo.


    "In your journal, you mention that the antipsychotic medication I was taking dampened my abilities, right?"


    Seong nodded.


    "Yeah, the way they work is that they alter the actions of neurotransmitters in the brain; neurotransmitters that y an important role in how our body works and reacts to the world around us. It definitely dampens your ability to perceive parallel universes and the other dimensions."


    "Hm, I think so too. Mainly because it''s been nearly two hours since I missed taking my medication, and I''m starting to feel strange. Even though I missed taking them in the past, this time is different."


    "How so?"


    Seong turned to look at Jin-woo with a curious expression.


    Jin-woo paused and then looked up from the phone in his hands to stare at the empty hallway ahead of them.


    They were still walking rather leisurely.


    After a thoughtful silence, Jin-woo finally said.


    "I don''t know how to exin the feeling, but I think I can feel somethinging back to me. Something I didn''t even know I had lost in the first ce."


    Seong''s eyebrows immediately raised at that.


    "Is it your ability growing stronger?"


    Jin-woo thought for a moment once again but then shook his head.


    "Growing stronger isn''t the right description. Okay, I thought of something. You know when someone loses one of their thumbs and they be so used to not having it that they don''t even remember what it was like when they had it, but when it does return, the feeling is ufortable, and they would even have to relearn how to get used to having it. That''s how I currently feel."


    Seong allowed those words from Jin-woo to sink in, then he realized something and nced at the pink earphones in Jin-woo''s hands.


    "Don''t tell me¡­"


    Jin-woo turned to Seong and said while fixing the earphones in his ears.


    "I won''t be able to hear you for a while Seong but tap me on my shoulder if you really need to tell me something." Read new adventures at empire


    After putting on the earphones, Jin-woo pressed the y button on his smartphone, and a favorite song of his started ying in his ear.


    It wasn''t the instrumental song from before, but it was simrly heavy on the drums and guitars. Though it wasn''t from an anime but from a traditional song by a J-pop singer Jin-woo enjoyed.


    The starting was soft, but Jin-woo was already anticipating the iing high notes.


    Seong, while observing Jin-woo''s slight head bobs as he walked, suddenlyughed and yfully quoted in an overly exaggerated voice.


    "Don''t worry, if everything goes well, I''lle and rescue you~"


    The song was still pretty soft so Jin-woo heard Seong''s words and he immediately blushed. However, he hurriedly sped up his steps.


    Seong quickly followed behind him and continued to say.


    "We''ll also get married, have babies, and then raise them to be the new generation that will survive this apocalypse! Just wait for me Ah-yong!"


    Jin-woo''s face reddened even more and he couldn''t help but turn to re at Seong. At the same time, the song finally reached its high notes which thankfully drowned out any further teasing.


    However, at the same moment that Jin-woo turned to re at Seong and the song started sting in his ears, a loud bestial screech that sounded like it came from a starved Lovecraftian creation from Avici hell, bounced off the walls of the hallway. A zombie then immediately bent the corner ahead of them, its screeches bing even more guttural upon spotting Jin-woo.


    Seong abruptly stopped teasing Jin-woo upon seeing the zombie and hurriedly turned to look at him with a worried expression. he was slightly regretting not dissuading Jin-woo from testing his abilities so recklessly!


    Seong was about to hurriedly motion for Jin-woo to turn around, however, Jin-woo had already lifted the revolver in his hand and fired a shot. His gaze never having left Seong as he did.


    The zombie that was charging at him, suddenly had its head flung back as a bullet pierced its forehead.


    Upon seeing this scene, Seong stared at Jin-woo who hadn''t turned his head with his eyes and mouth wide open.


    Seeing Seong''s shocked expression, Jin-woo slowly turned around and gazed at the zombie on the ground. He paused, then wore a thoughtful expression as he recalled the sense of danger that had just risen in his heart. He knew how to shoot a gun due to his father, but he didn''t have the godlike marksmanship to shoot so urately without looking, and neither did he spontaneously gain such an ability.


    Rather, it was just that when he was lifting his gun to aim, he sensed that the position he held his arm in just felt right.


    ''An automatic aim?''


    Jin-woo thought of a term for this feeling but he was slightly amused.


    While Jin-woo was in his thoughts he couldn''t hear Seong''s exmations of amazement as the song was still on full st in his ears.


    After a moment, Jin-woo realized he was running out of time. After he ced the phone into an empty pocket on his utility belt, he gripped the revolver in his hand, and with his head bobbing slightly, he strode towards the exit of the east wing with extra confidence in his steps.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 73- Being Chased

    ''Du du du dum, dum, dum¡­ Du du du dum, dum, dum.... Du du du dum, dum, dum~''


    ''I''m tired of being what you want me to be~''


    The J-pop song in Jin-woo''s ears ended just as he passed the corpse -filled cafeteria and reached thest corner to the entrance. He paused upon hearing the music that yed next, but soon continued walking. He thought the song was rather fitting in this situation.


    The song was from a band overseas he found during the winter break. This particr song resonated with him and led him down a rabbit hole in their music and history. Unfortunately, their lead singer died a few years ago.


    ''Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes~''


    Step¡­


    Step¡­


    Step¡­


    Jin-woo soon turned the corner with Seong sticking close to him. From here they could see several zombies rushing past the broken metal doors outside.


    Seong nced at Jin-woo worriedly but said nothing.


    Jin-woo absorbed in the song didn''t notice his best friend''s worried expression, but as if sensing it on a spiritual level, he suddenly turned and shed him a reassuring smile.


    "Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow~"


    Jin-woo turned back to the entrance and he gripped the revolver in his hand before stepping over the broken metal doors on the ground. He briefly came to a stop at the entrance and nced around.


    Zombies were rushing about wildly in the distance, especially near the gymnasium a lot of them were swarming that area.


    "Every step that I take is another mistake to you~"


    Suddenly a piercing scream came from up ahead, a zombie was rushing towards the gymnasium where the others were, but upon seeing Jin-woo it immediately shifted its body and began wildly charging at him.


    It was several tens of meters away, but even from here, one could see that its hands and clothes were covered in dried blood. Its face had a deep cut on the right cheek that showed that its bones had turned a grayish-ck color.


    Its gray fish-like eyes danced wildly in its head, while its arms swung at its sides as it ran. From this, it seemed as if an animal''s brain had been transferred into its body and was unable to use the unfamiliar limbs properly.


    "Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow~"


    Jin-woo silently observed these details. When the zombie reached within fifteen meters of him, he calmly lifted his hand and pulled the trigger.


    The sound of a bullet echoed out as the zombie fell to the ground, its forehead pierced. In the distance, the sound of the bullet going off caused several zombies near the gymnasium to look over. Seeing Jin-woo they raised their heads and released bone-chilling screeches to the sky. From the initial ten or so, more and more zombies started letting out shrill screams as they were notified of food.


    "I''ve be so numb I can feel you there!!~"


    The screeching of the zombies that faintly made it over here was drowned out due to the song in Jin-woo''s ears reaching a climax. His steps were calm as he walked past the zombie on the ground. Now a few meters away from the east wing, he suddenly turned around and pointed the revolver at the building.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Jin-woo emptied thest three remaining bullets in the revolver before the sound of ss shattering echoed out.


    "Be so numb! So much more aware! I''m bing this!~"


    A ss window on the fourth floor, the third floor, and the second floor were shattered by each bullet. As soon as they did, the numerous zombies that were gathered at the stairs near each ss window were like water in a broken dam. They spilled out from the shattered window in droves before falling to the ground.


    ''All I want to do is be more like me and be less like you!~''


    The zombies at the gymnasium became even more restless after hearing the additional bullets fired, and they charged toward Jin-woo. Their screams, with the addition of the ones that fell through the windows of the east wing, resulted in a cacophony of ominous noises that spread throughout the surroundings.


    Seong, hearing their screams felt a chill go up his spine, numbing his skull. Jin-woo, however, simply threw the revolver to the side.


    ''I''ve... be so numbbbb!~''


    Facing the east wing with the music still ring in his ears, Jin-woo had the football field to his back, while across from it the middle school could be made out behind the tall trees. To his right was the direction of the gymnasium, and a bit further down was the elementary campus as well as the back entrance of the school.


    To his left was where the main entrance of the school was, and after walking pass it, one would reach the auditorium.*


    With the zombiesing from the east wing in front of him and the gymnasium to his right, it didn''t take Jin-woo long before deciding where to go. With a turn of his body, he sprinted toward the auditorium to his left¡ª starting the first stage of his n¡­ being chased.


    Rather than taking the curved road leading around the field past the main entrance, Jin-woo directly cut across the field.


    The zombie horde chasing after him, which was likely in the hundreds, was in the formation of a fan. Their guttural screams filled the sky so much so that even the students and teachers on the second floor of the east wing, along with Ah-yong in the broadcasting room could hear them clearly.


    Ye-jun and the others, as well as the three students in the security rooms, couldn''t hear the screams, but they could feel the ground shaking slightly as the zombies chased after Jin-woo, it was as if an earthquake was happening.


    However, no matter how fast the zombies were, Jin-woo slowly pulled away from them. By the time he crossed the field, the zombies were just touching the grass.


    Jin-woo turned to see this scene and intentionally slowed down his pace. However, the zombies behind him weren''t the only ones chasing him, some stray ones who were wandering around the main entrance of the school to the right of the auditorium, and the road leading to the middle school campus to the left of the auditorium were rushing towards him.


    They were closer to Jin-woo, but they were still a few meters out from reaching him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    After carefully surveying his surroundings as he sprinted, Jin-woo turned to Seong who was running next to him, and loudly said.


    "Seong, see if you can find the security guards of the school wearing these utility belts!"


    Seong hearing this had his eyes shed before he nodded, and his figure then disappeared. He reappeared near the horde of zombies at the back. Though he was careful not to get too far away from Jin-woo.


    ***


    *I''ll be putting a rough map of the school in this paragraphment soon to give you guys a better understanding of Jin-woo''s position.

 Chapter 74- The Risky Part

    There were three aspects that dictated Seong''s existence in this dimension. The first two were Jin-woo''s field of perception and how far Seong was away from that perception. Thest one was rted to Seong himself, and it was his own perception. Even if Jin-woo closed his eyes, as long as Seong could see him he could go anywhere he wanted.


    Well, ''see'' wasn''t the right word to describe this aspect or describe it fully, since Seong was flickering in and out at the periphery of the chasing zombies, searching for a security guard, while Jin-woo was running from the zombies.


    They weren''t looking at each other, but Seong could still move about freely.


    Rather than being able to just see each other for Seong to move freely, it was the concept of them being able to know where the other person''s position in space was with absolute confidence.


    It was quite aplicated concept even for Seong to understand, and he suspected it had something to do with Jin-woo''s ability to perceive other dimensions. But to try and put it inyman''s terms, say you had two eggs underneath a bowl. These eggs would be able to know where the other''s position in space was.


    But if you were to lift the bowl and move one of the eggs out before closing it, both eggs would know where the other was in space if they remainedpletely still, however, the moment one of them slightly moved then the two would be clueless.


    When Jin-woo had locked the door to the security room, Seong had immediately appeared next to him, this was because they were put in a situation where they couldn''t see/perceive the other person''s position in space.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    In this situation where Seong was searching for the security guard while Jin-woo was running towards the auditorium, even though they weren''t looking at each other, they were in a position where they could perceive the other''s position in space by simply turning around.


    This was why Seong made sure not to get swallowed up in the horde and simply flickered in and out at the periphery. The moment he got swallowed up; he would be the egg outside the bowl and be forced to appear next to Jin-woo.


    After leaving the field it didn''t take long for Jin-woo to reach the auditorium.


    Bang!


    He tried to open the double doors, but they were locked. The auditorium was normally used for emergency meetings, celebrations, or organized performances by clubs. It wasn''t essible to students on normal days.


    However, Jin-woo didn''t panic. He reached into one of the utility belt''s pockets and took out a set of keys. His hands worked fast, and he quickly found the correct one. After unlocking the doors, Jin-woo pushed them wide open and rushed inside.


    The moment he rushed inside, Seong was forced to appear next to him, but his eyes were shining.


    "I found him! He''s in the hordeing for us."


    Jin-woo heard him say after briefly taking out the earphones from his ears. Nodding he then jogged across the spacious clearing of the auditorium to stop at the back exit where there was a single metal door. He used the key to quickly open it, but he didn''t leave through it.


    Jin-woo nced around and after spotting a table nearby he pulled it over and positioned it across the door before climbing onto it.


    Just as Jin-woo climbed on top of the table, loud screeching could be hearding from the entrance.


    The zombies were here.


    Jin-woo quickly took out his phone and sent a single-word text message to Ah-yong.


    ''Auditorium.''


    The zombies suddenly rushed into the auditorium and seeing Jin-woo on top of the table they charged towards him. However, the speakers in the auditorium abruptly released static sounds that bounced off the walls and echoed incessantly.


    If Jin-woo hadn''t quickly put on his earphones to block out most of it, he would have been clutching his ears in pain. As for Seong, he winced slightly but other than that he seemed fine.


    However, the zombies on the other hand seemed as if they had been electrocuted as they stopped charging at Jin-woo, and then with a jerk of their bodies, they dashed toward the speakers with even more madness than they had while moving towards Jin-woo.


    As more zombies pushed and poured into the auditorium, rather than charging toward Jin-woo, they followed the crowd ahead of them toward the speakers.


    Jin-woo seeing this had his eyes narrowed.


    Seong quickly tapped Jin-woo on his shoulder and pointed at the entrance.


    Jin-woo looked over and saw a zombie dressed in security guard clothes, shoving its way to therge double doors that now seemed too narrow to amodate so many zombies.


    Jin-woo slowly unclipped the handgun at his waist and pulled it out. He then aimed it at the zombie in the security guard''s clothes and fired. Thanks to his elevated position the bullet from the gun managed to whizz over the head of the zombies at the front of the doorway and urately pierced the head of the zombie in the security guard''s clothes.


    However, the sound of the bullet being fired momentarily overshadowed the static sounding from the speakers. All the zombies in the auditorium suddenly nced over at Jin-woo in unison, before they ignored the static sound and rushed towards him.


    Jin-woo calmly put away the handgun and then jumped off the table. With a kick, he sent the table crashing to the ground in front of the charging zombies, tripping a few of them. This gave him enough time to close the metal door and lock it with the key.


    Putting away the keys, Jin-woo took out one of the earphones in his ears and turned to Seong who was next to him to say with a smile.


    "The first stage of the n worked."


    "Hm, but nowes the risky part. We still don''t know if our thoughts about the zombies'' nature are correct or not. And even if they are, it''s not guaranteed it is to the extent for this n to work."


    Hearing Seong''s words, Jin-woo moved toward the corner of the auditorium and peeked around it to observe the line of zombies still rushing through the double metal doors. Just by estimations alone, one could tell that there were several hundred of them gathered there, and this did not even include the ones already inside the auditorium.


    With a solemn expression, Jin-woo ced the earphones back into his ears as he said.


    "We just have to pray we were right."


    After saying that, Jin-woo grabbed the gun from his waist and turned the corner.

 Chapter 75- Final Stage

    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Three gunshots burst forth and pierced the heads of three zombies who were just about to cross the double metal doors of the auditorium. As they fell at the doorway next to the zombie in the security guard''s clothes, the ones who were erratically shoving their way into the auditorium all stopped and turned to look at Jin-woo.


    The creepie synchronization urred for a third time, and even though Seong and Jin-woo had seen it before they couldn''t help but feel a cold chill travel down their spines.


    Fitting the gun back into its holster, Jin-woo motioned towards the horde and fearlessly said.


    "Now that I have your attention...e at me."


    Not even a second after Jin-woo finished his words, the horde of zombies lifted their heads to the sky and let out piercing screeching. Then, with renewed frenzy they rushed towards him, shoving and pushing each other as they did.


    Jin-woo held his breath when he witness this scene, but upon seeing that only one or two zombies left the auditorium to join the ones outside to chase after him an excited expression appeared on his face.


    "Haha! It worked!"


    Jin-woo yelled as he quickly turned around while vigorously waving his clenched fist in the air. Seong who was next to him released a sigh of relief as well before he looked over at Jin-woo while running and said.


    "It looks like we were right. These zombies all act like a pack of wolves that hunt in groups."


    The song currently ying in Jin-woo''s ears was just ending so he heard Seong''s words. As they turned the corner behind the auditorium, Jin-woo took off the earphones and fitted them behind his ears before he nodded and said.


    "Hm, because of that they somewhatck individuality and instead have a horde mentality, with strong tendencies to follow the majority."


    Jin-woo smirked as he looked at Seong and then added.


    "Rather than calling them wolves, it''s better to call them a horde of sheep. And I..."¡ª Jin-woo pointed at himself with his thump¡ª "...would be the shepherd."


    The smugness on his face was pretty evident.


    However, Seong snickered and corrected.


    "Actually, a group of sheep is called a herd or a flock."


    "Huh? A flock? Isn''t that referring to birds?"


    Jin-woo was momentarily confused, but Seong shrugged his shoulders and responded.


    "I don''t know, I think it has something to do with how they stick close to each other when they''re grouped up."


    At that moment, loud screeching echoed out behind them, and they turned back to see the horde of zombies turning the corner.


    Jin-woo''s body jolted. He had been so taken aback by the sudden new information that he almost forgot the situation he was in. But upon seeing how the zombies were closely sticking together as they chased after him, he couldn''t help butment.


    "Looks like they more resemble a herd than a horde."


    Upon saying this, Jin-woo suddenly felt his fear of these zombies lessening quite a bit. Looking at them now, he even felt that they were a bit cute how they were stumbling over each other as they chased after him to suck his blood.


    Jin-woo let out an amused chuckle.


    However, Seong who was next to him wore a strange expression when he saw the look on his best friend''s face.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Jin-woo opened his mouth to say something, but his expression suddenly changed and in one quick motion he twisted his body.


    Just as he made it to the end of the auditorium, a zombie suddenly lunged at him. Thankfully, his sense of danger forewarned him, and he was able to dodge the attack in time.


    But as Jin-woonded on the ground after dodging the first zombie, several more came from behind it to jump on top of him.


    Jin-woo rolled to the side to avoid their dogpile, and with an almost inhuman quickness, he pulled the gun from his waist and fired six shots aftering to a stop.


    Six out of the dozen or so zombies rushing towards him fell to the ground with a bullet lodged in each of their heads.


    Stay connected via empire


    "Damn it."


    Jin-woo cursed at hisck of caution and quickly scrambled up.


    The other zombies were dyed after stumbling over the six dead zombies, but after ring at them Jin-woo raised the gun and fired repeatedly.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Click!


    Click!


    Suddenly, the clip was emptied leaving two zombies, who lunged forwards.


    However, rather than retreating from the two zombies, Jin-woo rushed towards them. His right leg blurred out of focus before connecting to the first zombie''s neck, which sent it flying off to the side. Then with a pivot, he crouched and swept his leg out, kicking the feet out from under the second zombie.


    Jin-woo bounced up, then in one fluid motion, he flicked out empty magazine, pulled out one of the two in his utility belt, fitted it inside the gun, reset it, chambered a bullet with a click, then fired two shots that pierced the head of the two zombies that were just about to get up.


    It took a moment to exin all of this, but everything took ce in less than eight seconds after the initial attack. The horde of zombies chasing him from behind was still some distance away, but they seemed to have be more frenzied after hearing the gunshots.


    Meanwhile, Seong stood off to the side with his eyes and mouth wide open. He knew Jin-woo was good at fighting, after all, he always apanied him to his Taekwondo and amateur boxing matches. However, for some reason, when a gun was added into the mix, he seemed¡­


    "That''s so badass! Was my best friend this cool?! You just move your leg like swoosh, and then you-"


    "Seong, we might be in trouble."


    Jin-woo said cutting Seong off. He then rushed forward and soon reached the corner of the auditorium. Seong realized something and also followed close behind. The two peeked out to see zombies spilling out of the auditorium entrance.


    "Damn it, did it not work? What should we do now?"


    Jin-woo gripped the gun and his hair while asking with a frustrated look on his face. However, Seong''s eyes narrowed before he suddenly vanished from sight. He appeared at the entrance of the auditorium and looked inside while a few zombies ran through him. Soon he reappeared next to Jin-woo and said with a relieved sigh.


    "No, most of them are still inside, looks like the horde chasing us wasn''t all of them at the doorway."


    Jin-woo couldn''t help but release a sigh of relief as well upon hearing that.


    Suddenly the sound of the zombies behind them grew close.


    With a solemn expression, Jin-woo fitted the earphones back into his ears while saying.


    "It''s the final stage, if we can just trap these remaining ones, we''ll be able to create a safe zone and hold out until help arrives."


    Seong nodded, his expression equally solemn.


    Just as the first zombie from the horde behind them bent the corner, Jin-woo rushed forward, heading towards the gymnasium. However, this was a dangerous move as he would be passing right by the edge of the zombie horde in front of the auditorium.


    As expected, a few zombies detach from the horde to block his way.


    The students and teachers in the ssroom, as well as Ah-yong, heard the faint sounds of gunshots outside and they couldn''t help but have a bout of nervousness rise in their hearts.

 Chapter 76- An Impasse

    Jin-woo''s figure stumbled into the gymnasium. His left hand was limply dangling at his side while blood could be seen soaking the ripped sleeve of his left shoulder as it ran down his arm.


    "Jin, are you okay?"


    Seong instinctively wanted to reach out to help Jin-woo but he stopped himself. Even though Jin-woo could do small things like poke him or hold his hand, he couldn''t do something like use him as a crutch.


    Seong was still a projection from a different dimension, thus Jin-woo was the only one who could perceive holding his hand. Other people and even the Third Dimension itself didn''t recognize him so Jin-woo couldn''t defy a fundamentalw engraved in the Third Dimension like gravity and use a nonexistent entity like him as a crutch.


    Jin-woo quickly recovered his footing and responded to Seong with gritted teeth.


    Don''t worry, it''s just a dislocation and a small cut."


    During his encounter with the zombies outside, Jin-woo had fell to the ground in a bad position and dislocated his shoulder. He had also scrapped his shoulder due to sliding, but from the amount of blood running down his arm, it didn''t seem like a small wound. His pink earphones were long gone, ripped out of his ears and phone by a zombie.


    Screech!


    Suddenly a piercing scream echoed out. However, it didn''te from the zombies chasing from behind, but one wandering in a corner of the gymnasium. Its screeching was shrill and ear-piercing as it bounced off the walls, but a loud bang suddenly rang out before it abruptly ended.


    Jin-woo lowered the gun the barrel of which was still emitting faint smoke before heading to the backrooms where the bathroom and exit were.


    Upon passing the center of the gymnasium, however, Seong suddenly came to an abrupt stop, his eyes fixated on a corpse amid the pile of bodies.


    "Liam?"


    Seong muttered; a feeling of sadness washing over him as tears formed at the corner of his eyes.


    Jin-woo paused momentarily as well to nce at Liam''s body. With a quick once over he realized that there were no bite marks on him, and suspected he had drunk the water. Jin-woo then nced at Seong teary-eyed and immediately a pang of guilt rose in his heart.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jin-woo gripped the gun in his hand and harshly gritted his teeth. He bared the pain in his arm and decisively turned around. The determination in his eyes multiplied severalfold.


    Seong didn''t immediately move but stood there staring at Liam''s body in a blurry daze. Because the two of them were alwayspared back in middle school, they had taken notice of each other despite being from different sses, and after getting to know each other they became friends.


    He and Jin-woo would always hang out with him and Seo-joon any chance they got. Even after Seo-joon left their friend group the three of them still hung out until the end of middle school.


    Truth be told, Seong had only be friends with Liam and even Seo-joon so that Jin-woo would have different people to talk to other than himself. Perhaps because of this, Liam was closer to him than Jin-woo, so despite being in the same ss in high school, Liam didn''t approach Jin-woo after he died.


    Bang!


    Suddenly a gunshot rang out and Seong quickly turned his head around to see that a zombie had attacked Jin-woo from the backrooms. He immediately sobered up, and with a flicker, he appeared next to Jin-woo and stuck there.


    Jin-woo, having already sensed the danger from the zombie before it suddenly jumped out at him, remained unperturbed. His gaze lingered on the split path in front of him going left and right. But before he could nce in both directions to figure out where the exit was, a feeling suddenly rose in his heart, and it made him look to his left. The feeling then immediately increased.


    This was the first time his ability alerted him to a safe path, it had always alerted him to dangers instead.


    At that moment, the zombies outside started rushing into the gymnasium and Jin-woo didn''t hesitate any longer and rushed to the left. After another right turn, he came upon the metal backdoor exit. It was unlocked and Jin-woo pushed it open to reach the back of the gymnasium outside.


    However, not even a second after stepping outside a feeling of danger red up in his mind.


    Three zombies blocked by the open door rushed out at Jin-woo.


    Bang! Find more to read at empire


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Three shots rang out in session killing the zombies with a headshot to each of them.


    Screech!


    Jin-woo hearing another zombie screeching turned to the metal door that was slightly ajar to see several of them shoving each other in the narrow corridor as they charged at him.


    Jin-woo didn''t hesitate to fire a shot at the one in front, but the gun suddenly released a click as the magazine was emptied.


    The zombie that was shot fell to the ground momentarily hindering the others, and Jin-woo used that chance to close the door.


    He didn''t have time to lock it with a key due to his dislocated shoulder, so he used his body to block the door before fitting the gun back into its holster freeing up his only hand.


    Then fishing out his phone, Jin-woo entered the messaging app after unlocking his phone and typed ''gym'' with quick fingers. However, just as he was about to send the message to Ah-yong, the zombies mmed against the door with a muffled bang. As a result of this, the phone was knocked out of his hand before sliding two meters away on the ground.


    Seong who was panicking by Jin-woo''s side, had his expression instantly changed when he saw this meanwhile Jin-woo''s face turned ashen as he cursed.


    "Fuck."


    Jin-woo thought of reaching out with his foot to pull the phone closer to him, but upon feeling the constant bang on the door behind him, he immediately discarded that idea. He could feel that the moment he moved, the zombies would forcefully break the doorlock and escape.


    With his gun emptied and one of his arms dislocated, Jin-woo had no way of halting the zombiesing out while sending the message to Ah-yong at the same time.


    Perhaps the only saving grace in this situation was that the path to the exit was narrow so the number of zombies that could attack the door was not a lot. Meaning that Jin-woo could keep the door from bursting open if he put all his strength into it.


    However, he couldn''t stay at this impasse forever.

 Chapter 77- Final Stretch

    "Damn it."


    Jin-woo couldn''t help but curse once again, but he suddenly released a sigh before lifting his head to look at the sky.


    It was around 3 pm.


    Since the moment the virus outbreak happened, only three hours had passed.


    Upon realizing this Jin-woo''s expression changed. Thinking back to everything that happened within those three hours, it felt like several days had passed. Everything happened so fast, but at the same time, it felt extremely slow.


    Jin-woo also realized this was the first time in three hours that he had time to calm down. This situation was far from where he should be doing something like this, but he couldn''t help it. His body had never recovered from Seo-joon''s beatings, and the initial moment his abilities had activated had caused more than a small burden on his brain.


    His mental and physical exhaustion was on the verge of going over the threshold of his tolerance.


    Jin-woo suddenly felt his eyelids be heavy and he momentarily closed his eyes.


    "Jin! You can''t rest, not in this situation."


    Seong immediately yelled with a worried expression when he saw Jin-woo''s actions.


    Jin-woo''s eyes snapped open, and he forcefully buried his exhaustion.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Jin-woo kept his back pressed against the banging door as he nced at the gun in his hand. He flicked out the empty clip, then with a bit of struggle he managed to take out thest magazine in his utility belt with his fingers and fitted it inside the gun. Using his thigh, he set the gun and chambered a bullet.


    Afterward, Jin-woo''s mind started to spin as thought of what to do next.


    Seong by the side nced at Jin-woo and then at the phone, a helpless feeling rising in his heart. Gritting his teeth, Seong suddenly stepped toward the phone and reached down to pick it up. He was then about to press the button to send the message, but the phone suddenly vanished from his hands and appeared back on the ground where it was. It looked as if it had never been moved from where it was.


    Find exclusive stories on empire


    Even though Seong knew this was going to happen, he still couldn''t help but feel utterly useless.


    However, Jin-woo who had been silent observing Seong as he picked up the phone, had his face change after the phone appeared back on the ground. His eyes zoned in on the phone, and upon confirming the feeling that was rising in his heart and mind, his heartbeat slowly started to pound wildly in his chest.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jin-woo couldn''t help but have doubt arise in his mind about this feeling, but it didn''t stop him from fitting the gun back into his utility belt before lifting his hand and positioning it as if he were holding something.


    Seong, who was still upset, red at the phone on the ground, however, that phone suddenly disappeared from his vision. Completely taken aback, he blinked his eyes repeatedly thinking he was just seeing things. But upon seeing that the phone was still gone, an incredulous expression appeared on his face.


    Pointing at the phone, Seong turned to Jin-woo and said.


    "Jin, the phone''s-"


    However, the words got stuck in Seong''s throat when he saw that the phone, which was just in front of him on the ground, had somehow ended up in Jin-woo''s hand.


    Eyes widening, he said in disbelief.


    "Space discement? Jin you¡­ just what kind of ability do you have? Were you actually adopted by Aunty and Uncle after they found you in a spaceship? Or maybe Aunty and Uncle are not from Earth?"


    Jin-woo finally snapped out of dazedly staring at the phone in his hand, and immediately pressed the button sending the message to Ah-yong.


    Not two secondster, a high-pitched frequency started to echo out from the speakers inside the gymnasium. The howls of the zombies were faintly heard amidst the high frequency, and the banging on the door behind Jin-woo stopped as those zombies rushed toward the speakers.


    Jin-woo put his phone inside a pocket of the utility belt before he headed to the corner of the gymnasium to observe the zombies. He noticed Seong kept ncing at him, and he could only force a smile and say.


    "I''m not really sure how I did that, but after this is over, we would have time to fully explore my abilities. As for whether I''m an alien that came to Earth after my home was destroyed, well, we can''t know for sure."


    Seong nodded, then said with a thoughtful expression.


    "Your ability, or should I say abilities¡­ might not be as simple as perceiving other dimensions."


    Even though Seong had said this before, this time had apletely different meaning. With a serious expression, he continued to say.


    "Jin, what you just did was no different from manipting a fundamentalw of the Third Dimension and reality itself."


    Jin-woo''s heart let out a nervous thud, but he managed to calm his emotions and focus on the situation at hand. Reaching the end of the gymnasium, he peeked out to see that the doorway was empty.


    Jin-woo''s expression changed, and he thought that he had taken too long to send the message allowing the zombies to escape. However, his eyes narrowed before he suddenly rushed forward.


    Seong''s figure vanished and appeared at the front of the double metal doors. Jin-woo who was approaching saw his best friend''s expression light up, and this confirmed his suspicion.


    Indeed, upon reaching the entrance of the gymnasium Jin-woo saw that it was filled with zombies. So much so that a few of them were moments away from stumbling back outside.


    Jin-woo didn''t hesitate to step forward and kick out. His kick caused the zombies toe out to stumble back inside and knock against those in front of it.


    Before the zombies here could be alert of Jin-woo''s presence, he pulled the metals closed shut. Thuds echoed out on the door as a few zombies mmed against it, but Jin-woo pulled out the bundle of keys and swiftly locked the door.


    Without waiting, he quickly turned around and jogged back towards the auditorium across the field.


    All of sudden a surreal feeling washed over Jin-woo as he reached the wide-open field that was filled with zombies just moments ago. He had actually seeded.


    Even though the gymnasium and auditorium only held a majority of the zombies, leaving some still roaming around the campus, this was enough.


    While holding his dislocated arm, Jin-woo reached the auditorium and approached its entrance from the side. He shifted the zombies he had killed at the entrance away as quietly as he could before pulling the door closed. As he was doing so a few zombies spotted him, but he managed to close the doors in time.


    After locking the metal doors, Jin-woo released a long sigh. He then felt a pat on his shoulder, and he turned to see Seong smiling at him.


    Jin-woo gave a rxed smile of his own, but it suddenly froze on his face as Seong said.


    "Ah-yong should be waiting, hurry and go get her!"


    Seong gave Jin-woo''s shoulder a few more encouraging pats, while an amused expression yed on his face.


    Jin-woo red at Seong before he walked over to the zombie in the security guard''s clothes he had killed before. He bent down and took off the utility belt around its waist with difficulty, before checking the items inside.


    Unfortunately, the handgun was missing, but thankfully there were three magazines inside. It should be enough to deal with any remaining zombies until help arrives.


    After taking out the magazines and other items inside the belt, Jin-woo fashioned it into a temporary arm sling for his dislocated shoulder. Then without dy, he jogged back to the east wing. His fatigue was settling in once again, but the sense of aplishment in pulling off this n to help the others gave him a bit more energy tost a little longer on this final stretch.

 Chapter 78- Immense Weight Of Gratitude

    Jin-woo''s jogging brought him back to the east wing. Hearing the eerie silence upon entering the building, he didn''t feel a ounce of apprehension.


    Unlike before, when his nerves were stretched thin upon first entering, he felt rxed, having only a slight focus on observing his surroundings. But even that seemed redundant as Seong was there to alert him of any dangers around the hall corner.


    Jin-woo made his way to the stairs leading up to the second floor, but he paused momentarily before moving to turn the corner nearby instead.


    Seong seeing this asked puzzledly.


    "Jin, what''s up?"


    "I''m just checking to make sure the cafeteria where everyone will gather is safe."


    As Jin-woo said this he headed towards the cafeteria, and upon entering he nced around at the corpses that littered the floor.


    From the number of bodies here, about half had made it outside at the very least, but Jin-woo didn''t know how many of those students were still alive. Perhaps they had all died.


    With a heavy heart, Jin-woo walked forward and continued to examine the bodies. Seong upon seeing this finally understood what Jin-woo''s words meant.


    "Oh, you''re checking for the second type of infected people."


    "Hm, if there''s even one of them here this entire room is unusable since we can''t take the risk of moving it. We don''t know how dangerous the virus is, whether the gloves created for protection from ordinary bacteria can block it."


    Seong''s expression turned serious. He had actually forgotten about this matter somewhat. Those zombies outside were the main danger of course, but there was still a silent but deadly threat lingering inside the building. With a flicker of his body, he went around the room checking to make sure all of the bodies had bite marks.


    Though having bite marks or not wasn''t a definite indication of a second type of Infected, it was only a preliminary marker. To truly distinguish the second type of Infected in this instance, Jin-woo came up with the idea of checking for injuries apart from bite marks.


    As long as their bodies had injuries it meant that they were attacking the surviving students and facing retaliation.


    It didn''t take the two youths working together more than a minute or two to ensure a second type of Infected wasn''t mixed among the bodies. All of the bodies had gruesome head injuries, ensuring the sure death of the zombies.


    Just from these wounds, Jin-woo could only imagine the desperation of the students who were alive.


    After leaving the cafeteria, Jin-woo finally made his way up the stairs and headed for the ssroom filled with students; his feet further breaking the fragmented ss under his soles that came from the floor-to-ceiling window he previously shot and broke.


    However, on his way, Jin-woo would stop and lean against the wall several times. His pale face and sweat-soaked shirt made it obvious to anyone that he was exhausted.


    Despite the concerns Seong voiced for him to head back to the security room and contact everyone like before to inform them toe to the cafeteria, Jin-woo refused as it was unknown whether or not the remaining zombies would be drawn to his ssmates and the students in the ssroom due to so many people moving together.


    He was the only one with a gun so his presence while escorting them was logical. As for Ah-yong, she was alone on the fourth floor where the concentration of the zombies was. If she met one, or God-forbid, two lingering zombies, she had no one to rely on.


    Seong could not argue the points Jin-woo made and he would seem heartless if he did. However, seeing his best friend like this, he couldn''t help but feel restlessly worried.


    So, since he couldn''t help him directly, Seong decided to start cheering like a fitness trainer would from the end of the hallways.


    "Come on Jin, you can do it! One foot in front of the other, that''s it, push through the pain. Pain is only a construct of the mind, a mere chemical reaction in the brain, just ignore it and keep moving forward!"


    An exhausted Jin-woo couldn''t help but burst outughing at Seong''s pep talk. Though this indeed made him forget his exhaustion somewhat.


    By the time Jin-woo reached the ssroom full of students following Seong''s directions he was panting, but he could still stand straight while knocking on the door.


    Someone came to the window to cautiously peep out after the knock, but upon seeing Jin-woo their eyes lit up.


    Jin-woo spotted the youth but thought his actions were quite amusing. He couldn''t help but wonder if the people inside thought a zombie would knock on the door to trick them into opening it.


    However, even though this made Jin-woo chuckle slightly, he understood this was a sign of how traumatized they were to go against their logical reasoning and check before opening the door.


    Jin-woo took a deep breath and then released it. At the same time, a smallmotion was heard behind the door before it was suddenly open. Explore more stories with empire


    The first people Jin-woo saw were a slightly older boy and a girl. They both showed excited expressions as the door was opened, but upon seeing Jin-woo the girl was momentarily taken aback.


    The boy, however, suddenly jumped forward and embraced Jin-woo in a tight hug. If not for Jin-woo pointing out his arm in a sling, the youth would not have seen it. He didn''t even ask if Jin-woo was the one who helped them. He just constantly repeated ''thank you'' over and over again, though in a barely audible whisper.


    For the past three hours or so, all the youth''s mind was preupied with was to stay still and silent as possible, so even now when he no longer had to, he was still in that state of mind.


    As the girl stepped outside to let the other students and teachers leave the ssroom, she was still observing Jin-woo with a surprised expression. But finally, she spoke up and asked.


    "Is your name, Lee Jin-woo?"


    Rubbing the boy''s back who was still hugging him, Jin-woo turned to the girl and nodded.


    Seeing this confirmation, the girl hesitated for a moment but then bowed deeply and said.


    "Thank you for saving us. If not for you I don''t think we would have a chance of surviving until help arrives."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Other students seemed to have recognized Jin-woo as well, after all the story of a middle school prodigy killing his friend and then going mad due to his schizophrenia was bound to spread to the high school campus. Even on the elementary school campus, those young kids were retelling this tale as a scary legend of their school to frighten unaware ssmates.


    The freak.


    The friend killer.


    These words used to describe Jin-woo were just two of the many, many nicknames that rose to the top, and of course, his real name was spread all the same as well.


    However, rumors were still rumors, so at this moment when the so-called ''friend killer'' and ''freak'' stood in front of them after sacrificing himself to give them a sliver of a chance to survive, such rumors were dashed from their minds to be reced by a weight of gratitude so immense that each student here were moments away from bowing down in servitude to repay such kindness.


    This really wasn''t an exaggeration as Jin-woo had to stop a few people from kowtowing on their knees while thanking him.

 Chapter 79- Bady-Making Action

    "It''s nothing, you really don''t have to go this far to thank me. We should focus on leaving."


    Jin-woo fidgeted due to the amount of gratitude washing over him, after all, he was partly the reason they were in this situation in the first ce. He didn''t know how they would react when they found that out, so he rather not have them thank him like this.


    Unlike the young students, the two female and three male teachers were moreposed as they thanked Jin-woo. They then did their best to settle down the forty or so students, before directing them to leave.


    Jin-woo also advised them to stick to either side of the hallway as they moved while he stood at the center since he had a gun.


    One of the male teachers suggested that Jin-woo hand over the gun and he would stay in the center to protect everyone, but Jin-woo rejected the idea, and to avoid anyone questioning his eligibility to hold a gun, he mentioned that his father was in the Marines and had taught him how to use it.


    The teacher relented after a while, but Jin-woo could see that he only made such a suggestion because he realized Jin-woo''s exhaustion as well as his dislocated arm and wanted to help.


    So, with Jin-woo at the center, while the others remained on either side of the hallway, everyone quickly made their way down to the ground floor.


    However, unbeknownst to the students and teachers, Jin-woo was only paying attention to the front, and would only turn his head to the back asionally to check on Seong who was tasked to watch their rear.


    Like this, the group made it to the ground floor with the cafeteria just around the corner of thest staircase.


    "I''m going to go rescue Ah-yong on the fourth floor before heading to the west wing to escort the others. The cafeteria is filled with zombie corpses so after barricading the doors you would have to clean it. Just put the bodies inside the walk-in freezer at the back. Oh, and remember not to drink the water at the pipes, it contains the zombie virus."


    After giving his lengthy instructions to the students and teachers at the bottom of the stairs, Jin-woo turned and rushed up the steps once again to head, this time, to the fourth floor.


    Everyone watched as Jin-woo sped up the stairs with his arm in a sling whileplex expressions yed on their faces. By now all of them had realized how exhausted Jin-woo was after he escorted them here. Several times did they thought he would copse after seeing him slightly sway, but each time he stubbornly persisted.


    Find adventures on empire


    Perhaps it was because of this stubbornness that none of the teachers felt they would be able to convince him to rest and let them do the escorting.


    "Come on, let''s go, let''s go."


    One of the male teachers said while ushering the students around the corner and into the cafeteria. However, as they locked the metal doors, faint sounds of vomiting could be heard drifting into the hallway. Obviously, a few students couldn''t handle the gruesome sight inside, which unfortunately added to the cleaning workload.


    Meanwhile, Jin-woo was briskly walking down the hallways heading to the stairs leading to the third floor under Seong''s direction.


    Seeing Jin-woo''s slight increase in pace, Seong was first taken aback, but thinking of something a sly smile formed on his lips before he said.


    "Whoa, whoa, hold on Jin, it''s not like Ah-yong is going to run away, no need to be so hasty."


    Upon hearing this, Jin-woo''s face reddened slightly as he indeed felt a bit of excitement when he thought about meeting Ah-yong. However, Seong''s words didn''t make his pace lessen.


    Seong chortled and then spoke again, this time as if he was an experienced dating coach.


    "Remember Jin, you can''t show your impatience in front of Ah-yong, it''ll make you look desperate. You''re tired right now which is good. After reaching just pant a bit more heavily after opening the door. If Ah-yong offers to help deny it at first, and instead ask her if she''s okay. This would make her first impression of you increase by a notch, and first impressions are everything!


    After that you''re going to throw out the hook while escorting her by swaying and then leaning against the wall, remember to make it look natural. If Ah-yong approaches you to offer help for a second time, then that means she''s a good girl that repays the kindness shown to her. It also confirms she has a good impression of you!


    With this confirmation, you can reel in the hook and ept her proposal to let her help you. She will definitely feel satisfied that she was able to repay a bit of the kindness you showed her. However, she will ultimately feel that it''s not enough and will think of other ways to help you. Now this is where you go in for the kill!


    Using her kindness and willingness to repay you, just directly confess your feelings, and before she could voice a response just interrupt her with a long and passionate kiss. Remember to make sure you two are alone so that this kiss will have a chance to lead to something more, like touching, removing clothes, or even having s-"


    "Wait, stop, stop, stop. What are you even suggesting when we''re still students?!"


    Jin-woo was actually listening to Seong''s advice seriously at first, however, upon hearing the mention of kissing his expression became skeptical, but then thest sentence he heard caused him to be utterly dumbfounded.


    A time skip! Wasn''t there supposed to be a time skip somewhere in there to when they were older?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Not backing down, Seong looked at Jin-woo and said with an overly serious expression.


    "Jin, my consultation isn''t a joke! It''s a strategy meant to build a natural and harmonious rtionship that will eventually help our nation strive to revitalize our declining birthrate! Not to mention how this apocalypse will affect said birthrate, yes, it''s immoral and hasty, but at a time like this we need all hands-on deck in creating the next generation that will be the future hope!"


    "Shut up! Stop talking right now!"


    Jin-woo''s slightly pale face was so red that he looked like a tomato. He immediately attacked Seong, trying to get him to shut up. However, with only a flicker Seong disappeared and reappeared further down the hallway.


    "Jin, stop diddle-daddling, Ah-yong is waiting for you~"


    "Seong!"


    Jin-woo almost yelled but managed to let out a harsh whisper instead. He let his re do the yelling.


    "I almost forgot how much I hate it when you try to embarrass me, and you really shouldn''t be joking about stuff like that!"


    Still with a serious expression on his face, Seong said.


    "I would never joke about my best friends'' future kids. After all, they''re my future nieces and nephews as well."


    Jin-woo gritted his teeth, his steps still kept at the same pace as before. While ring more fiercely at Seong as he approached him, Jin-woo said through his gritted teeth.


    "If you mention anything about kids or baby-making action again, I''ll make you walk around the Third Dimension in your underwear¡ª No,pletely naked!"


    Seong wanted tough at the words ''baby-making action,'' but he managed to keep it in. With purse lips he made a motion of zipping his lips shut as Jin-woo turned the corner passed him; all while still shooting him a re.


    After Jin-woo walked past, Seong started skipping behind him while humming a random tune. However, though this tune sounded random to outsiders, in Seong''s mind it was a song about a man and a woman getting together in the apocalypse and performing baby-making actions to have children.

 Chapter 80- He Came Back!

    It took a few minutes for Jin-woo to reach the Broadcasting Club room, and his heartbeat could almost be heard if one listened closely. However, Jin-woo wasn''t sure whether this was from excitement or exhaustion. Perhaps it was both.


    After breathing in and releasing a breath to calm down, Jin-woo knocked on the door. He then waited for a moment before he heard rustling sounds, and then it was suddenly opened.


    Jin-woo came face-to-face with a face he had only seen on the grainy monitor. He could tell Ah-yong was beautiful then, but now while she stood in front of him, he realized the monitor hadn''t done her justice.


    Ah-yong''s ck hair which reached past her shoulders was tied into a ponytail, giving one a clear view of her dimples that showed as she smiled at Jin-woo. Her eyes squinted into crescent moons as a result of that smile as well.


    "Jin-woo?"


    Hearing the familiar voice that tickled his ear, Jin-woo came to his senses before saying with a nod and a smile.


    "Yeah, it''s me."


    Ah-yong getting confirmation had her smile grow even bigger before she stepped forward intending to hug Jin-woo. However, Jin-woo hurriedly stopped her saying.


    "Ah, wait, I''m covered in sweat so it might not be a good idea to hug me right now."


    Ah-yong took a closer look at Jin-woo and indeed she sawrge beads of sweat forming on his forehead with a few wet patches on his P.E. shirt.


    "Then I''ll just settle for a handshake for now."


    Ah-yong said with a smile still on her face as she extended her hand.


    Seong, who was leaning against the wall nearby, clicked his tongue upon seeing the missed opportunity.


    Jin-woo ignored him and after putting the gun in his utility belt, he wiped his hand on his P.E. shorts and shook Ah-yong''s hand.


    While shaking Jin-woo''s hand, Ah-yong finally nced at his arm in the sling and asked worriedly.


    "What happened to your arm?"


    "I''m fine, it''s just dislocated."


    Enjoy new adventures at empire


    Jin-woo said dismissively but Ah-yong shook her head and said.


    "Look how much blood there is on your arm, there should be arge cut on your shoulder. Not to mention slight blood loss, if you don''t get it treated it might be infected."


    Letting go of Ah-yong''s hand, Jin-woo touched his shoulder with a finger and responded.


    "I''ll get it treated don''t worry, but I have to escort you back first."


    Ah-yong had wanted to help Jin-woo treat his wound, but upon hearing thetter part of his sentence she remembered what kind of situation they were in and nodded.


    "Okay, let''s go."


    Jin-woo nodded as well before turning around to lead the way. However, the moment he took a step he wobbled to the side. This was a frequent urrence, so he managed to catch his footing in time. However, Ah-yong immediately rushed over in panic.


    "Jin, are you sure you''re okay?"


    "Yeah, I''m fine, I''m fine."


    Jin-woo tried to wave off Ah-yong''s concern once again, but seeing his pale face Ah-yong suddenly realized Jin-woo might be the type of person to say he was fine when he clearly wasn''t.


    With narrowed eyes, Ah-yong abruptly stepped forward to Jin-woo''s right side and ced his hand over her shoulder.


    "No, you don''t-"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jin-woo wasn''t able to let out that protest as Ah-yong suddenly cut him off by ring at him and saying.


    "What if you suddenly copse while heading to the ground floor, do you think I would be able to carry you by myself? At that point wouldn''t it have been better if you hadn''te to escort me at all? Just stop saying you''re fine and ept my help."


    Any more words of protest that were on the tip of Jin-woo''s tongue got stuck in his throat due to Ah-yong''s reasoning. He could only nod and obediently rxed against Ah-yong''s shoulder and let himself be helped.


    Seong who had been watching this scene in silence wore a skeptical expression on his face. He kept ncing at Jin-woo while wondering if he had done that on purpose. But he couldn''t tell as it looked extremely natural on Jin-woo''s part.


    He also took the liberty to nce at Ah-yong''s side profile a couple of times as she helped Jin-woo. He realized that he might have misjudged how headstrong she was.


    ''Ah-yong¡­ Ah-yong. Now that I think about it this name sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before? From her uniform, she seems to be a second-year student.''


    It wasn''t like Seong to forget something like this, but this must mean he might have heard her name in an extremely brief passing. He just couldn''t remember when and in what context.


    After giving up on figuring out where he recognized Ah-yong''s name from, Seong went back to ncing at Jin-woo. This best friend of his might have actually tried to implement his n just now.


    However, this thought faded as the two headed down the stairs to the third floor. Jin-woo really didn''t seem like he was acting.


    Seong thought back to everything Jin-woo had been through and he was convinced his best friend might truly be at his limit.


    However, as this opinion was forming in Seong''s mind, something happened as they were walking past a ssroom on the second floor.


    A loud bang echoed out along with ss on the door of the ssroom shattering. A zombie trapped inside had mmed against it. As a result, Ah-yong was startled and stumbled back out of fear. Jin-woo''s slumped shoulders suddenly straightened and he caught her before she could fall.


    "Are you okay?"


    "I''m¡­"


    Ah-yong was about to answer Jin-woo, but she suddenly stopped and red at him.


    "You''re the one who''s exhausted while having a dislocated shoulder, why are you asking if I''m okay?"


    Ah-yong then held Jin-woo''s arm and continued to help him walk.


    Meanwhile, Seong was standing off to the side, his eyes and mouth wide open in shock. He pointed at Jin-woo as he passed with Ah-yong, but Jin-woo''s face reddened as he shot him a warning re.


    Seong remembered Jin-woo''s threat from before and didn''t dare utter a word, but his stunned expression already conveyed most of what he wanted to say.


    As the three youths continued to the ground floor, faint snickers could be heard echoing in the hallway at certain times. However, only Jin-woo could hear it, and each time he did he would feel embarrassed.


    In truth, Jin-woo was making an empty threat. He was too exhausted both mentally and physically to use his abilities, even his auto aim seemed to have disappeared. If not for this, he would have long followed through with his threat and let Seong walk around stark naked.


    Sounds of ss cracking echoed out under Jin-woo and Ah-yong''s feet as they reached the stairnding just before thest flight of stairs. After passing thatst flight of stairs, they turned the corner and headed to the cafeteria.


    However, Jin-woo suddenly said.


    "I still have to help escort the others on the west wing so I can''t stay."


    "You still want to move around in your condition?"


    Ah-yong said with a shocked look on her face when she heard Jin-woo''s words.


    "This is thest thing I have to do, then I can rest."


    Ah-yong hesitated for a moment but then nodded.


    "Okay, I won''t stop you, but you should at least rest for a couple of minutes."


    Jin-woo nodded in agreement, and at that moment they reached the double metal doors of the cafeteria.


    A female student was seen peeking out of the uncracked window of the right door. When she saw Ah-yong and Jin-wooing she turned and yelled at the other students inside the cafeteria.


    "He came back!"


    Jin-woo could faintly hear the girl''s shout and the subsequentmotion that happened inside the cafeteria, but that type of wee made his heart stir with nervousness. He had already decided not to care about what others thought of him and had even mentally prepared for when everyone started hating him after they found out he was somewhat at fault.


    But despite that this nervousness was still going to be there.


    Jin-woo released an internal sigh before one of the metal doors was open, allowing him and Ah-yong to enter the cafeteria.


    However, after entering, Jin-woo saw that aside from the forty or so students and five teachers, he saw several other familiar faces.


    Mai-sun, Ye-jun, Seo-joon, and his twockeys. Even those three students who were with him in the security room were there, with the male student holding the drawstring bag he had left behind.


    Jin-woo had never expected to see them here, so he was more than taken aback.

 Chapter 81- Murderous Intent

    "Wha-What are you guys doing here? Didn''t we agree that I would escort you if the n seeded?"


    Jin-woo asked as he was helped by Ah-yong to one of the long benches in the cafeteria. There was a faint red spot on the table, but the smell of disinfectant masked what would be the smell of blood.


    As Jin-woo sat down at the table, his mind rxed upon realizing he didn''t have to escort the others. But this seemed to have made the exhaustion he was holding back re up, which made his face to visibly pale.


    Ah-yong saw this and quickly asked for a medical kit. One female student who was among the students gathered around the table jumped up and rushed off beforeing back with a white medical kit.


    As the students from the west wing watched Ah-yong cut Jin-woo''s P.E. shirt, their faces were filled withplex emotions, the more perceptible one being gratitude.


    "Seo-joon found a gun so we decided to risk it and return on our own."


    Hearing this response, Jin-woo nced to the side at Seo-joon leaning against the table. Tucked in his waist he saw the handle of a handgun.


    Looking away Jin-woo''s gaze then fell on the three students who were with him inside the security room.


    Without waiting for Jin-woo to ask, the boy said while stepping forward with the drawstring bag.


    "We saw you escorting the other students on the cameras and decided toe to the cafeteria. Here, we brought your bag as well."


    The boy ced the drawstring bag next to Jin-woo on the bench and Jin-woo nodded. However, he suddenly groaned in pain. One of the male teachers had forcefully reset his dislocated shoulder. Ah-yong then acted fast to clean his wounds and wrapped his arm.


    Seeing this one of the female teachers spoke up.


    "Okay, give Jin-woo space so he can recover. For those who haven''t eaten yet we''ve prepared some heated porridge, go and take some."


    With this, the students surrounding the table Jin-woo sat at turned and scattered.


    However, Jin-woo suddenly called out to his ssmates in ss 1A.


    "Wait, you guys. You said Yoon-min and Micah got separated after you left the gymnasium. Did any of you see in which direction they ran off?"


    "Wait, are you nning on leaving?"


    Ah-yong, who had finished bandaging Jin-woo''s shoulder immediately guessed Jin-woo''s intention from his question.


    Jin-woo smiled bitterly when he heard Ah-yong.


    "I-I''ll rest for a bit before leaving to go look for my friends."


    Ah-yong frowned when she heard that, but she didn''t say anything in rebuttal.


    However, while Jin-woo was talking to Ah-yong, he didn''t notice that every single one of his ssmates had stiffened in ce when they heard his question.


    However, Seong saw their reactions, and it caused his brows to furrow.


    After appeasing Ah-yong, Jin-woo turned to his ssmates and waited for an answer. But he paused momentarily when he saw that none of them were even looking at him, they just kept silent with their heads lowered.


    Suddenly, a dull and hollow feeling settled in Jin-woo''s stomach. This was a feeling resulting from his brain analyzing what his ssmates'' silence might mean, but the feeling made him so frightened he immediately buried it.


    Forcing a smile, Jin-woo said.


    "It''s fine if you guys don''t know. Since you were running to safety I can understand if you weren''t aware of your surroundings. So, there''s no need to feel bad."


    Upon hearing this, one of the female students from his ss couldn''t help but burst into a fit of sobbing.


    This sudden action by her caught both Jin-woo and the other students off guard.


    That feeling of dullness in Jin-woo''s heart increased, but he tried to keep his voice from trembling as he asked.


    "Why is she crying? I¡­ I merely ask what happened to Yoon-min and Micah, why¡­ why is she crying?"


    Jin-woo''s slightly listless eyes swept over his ssmates who still had their heads down. By now, the other students and teachers realized that something was not right and went silent. The only sound remaining in the cafeteria was the sobbing of the female student.


    After feeling a nudge on his arm, Ye-jun fixed his sses and opened his mouth to speak. However, before he could do so, Seo-joon coldly looked at him and said tly.


    "Yoon-min was bitten by a zombie after saving Mai-sun, and Micah was locked out of the gymnasium on Ye-jun''s orders before he could enter."


    Jin-woo: "..."


    Seo-joon''s words had caused Jin-woo''s entire body to go rigid, but he suddenly scrambled up and turned to Seo-joon before asking frantically.


    "Micah! Where is Micah?! Is he-"


    "Dead."


    Seo-joon cut off Jin-woo as he nced away from Ye-jun to look at him.


    Boom!


    Seo-joon''s single word ''dead'' was akin to a bomb going off in Jin-woo''s mind. He stood there staring at Seo-joon with a nk expression.


    Seong by the side was already shaking, his eyes reddened with tears about to run down his cheeks. As for the other students and teachers who were listening to this news, their faces all changed to either frowns or shock, with some female students covering their mouths.


    Subsequently this resulted in an even more deathly silence falling over the cafeteria. However, this silence was broken as Jin-woo''s nk expression morphed into fury before he exploded.


    "BASTARD!!!"


    He suddenly lunged forward at Seo-joon and grabbed him by the cor with his only working hand.


    "Why didn''t you help them?! Why did you lie to me that they were still alive?!! TELL ME!!"


    Jin-woo started screaming hysterically at Seo-joon for answers while at the same time, his lunge pushed him back. But before Seo-joon could say anything he had to grit his teeth in pain as he hopped back in retreat on his sprained ankle.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Upon seeing Seo-joon''s expression, Jin-woo''s anger momentarily faded.


    "You¡­ What happened to your leg?"


    Jin-woo looked at Seo-joon''s right ankle and now saw that it was wrapped in white bandages like his left shoulder.


    By this time the twockeys finally reacted and stepped forward to separate Jin-woo from Seo-joon.


    "Jin, stop! Hyung isn''t the one at fault, he was the one who wanted to tell you the truth, but those bastards intimated us into staying silent. All of those bastards are working for Ye-jun, that fucker!"


    Upon hearing this, Jin-woo''s head snapped back and he stared directly at Ye-jun. A murderous intent welled up in his heart before reaching his eyes, causing them to light up with an ominous glow.

 Chapter 82- Ostracized

    Even though Jin-woo''s gaze wasn''t directed at them, the students from ss 1A all felt a chill go down their spines when they caught glimpses of the murderous look Jin-woo was giving Ye-jun.


    Ye-jun, however, calmly fixed his sses and spoke up.


    "If you had known those two had died, would you have been willing to help us?"


    "That''s right Jin-woo, we didn''t mean to lie to you we just¡­"


    Find adventures on empire


    "We just wanted to survive! Please, we didn''t mean to lie to you."


    "We¡­"


    "Sorry, we¡­"


    One student after another gave their excuses after Ye-jun spoke up, and Jin-woo stood there momentarily stunned. But his face suddenly contorted into a pained expression before he said.


    "You¡­ Just what are you guys talking about? You lied to me because you thought I wouldn''t help you? Are you listening to yourselves?"


    Tears fell down Jin-woo''s cheeks, and this caused the talking students to stop and look at him in surprise.


    "If you had told the truth I would have still helped. Even if you had stood there while Ye-jun closed the door on Micah, even if you had done nothing but stand by and watch Yoon-min and Micah die, I still would have helped no matter how much I would have hated all of you. I would have helped because I understand that you were all scared.


    What exactly do you take me for, a monster that would just let all of my ssmates die? Is it because you did it that you thought I would do the same? Ridiculous¡­"


    As Jin-woo finished speaking, more tears rolled down his cheeks. If they had told him about Micah and Yoon-min''s death when they should have, he wouldn''t have spent his time looking for them in the hordes while being chased. He wouldn''t have gotten his hopes up after not seeing them in those hordes, and he wouldn''t be feeling like this right now.


    Upon hearing Jin-woo''s words, all the students of ss 1A fell deathly silent, their faces turning pale white.


    It was true, they really thought that Jin-woo would have abandoned them like they had done with Micah and Yoon-min. That''s why they had listened to Ye-jun and chose not to say anything. However, now that they thought about it, they realized the main culprit in all of this was Ye-jun.


    Even though they were scared and hadn''t rushed out to help Micah and Yoon-min fight off the zombies, Ye-jun was the one at the front of the crowd who locked the door before Micah could enter.


    If there was anyone who Jin-woo would be angry with and refuse to help it was Ye-jun. His words about Jin-woo not helping them were all to make them his aplices and lie to save himself.


    Some of the students in ss 1A cast angry looks at Ye-jun, but still lookingposed, Ye-jun looked at Jin-woo and said tly.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "You say you would have helped now, but who knows what you would have done back then? After all, you''re a psycho with schizophrenia. You might have even led the zombies to-"


    Ye-jun wasn''t able to finish his sentence as Jin-woo suddenly pulled out the gun from his utility belt and fired at him.


    However, one of the teachers nearby reacted quickly and forcefully knocked Jin-woo''s arm into the air, making the bullet from the gun hit the roof of the ceiling instead.


    Screams filled the entire cafeteria as students scattered in panic. The teachers tried to calm them down but to no avail.


    At the same time, they took the gun from Jin-woo and dragged him to a corner away from Ye-jun and the rest of ss 1A, kicking and swearing.


    Ye-jun, who had instinctively dropped to the ground after nearly being shot, had his air of calmness shattered while climbing back up. Fixing his sses he red at Jin-woo across the room and said.


    "See, he''s nothing but a psychopath. After shooting me, he would have aimed it at everyone else."


    Ye-jun looked around at the remaining students of ss 1A who hadn''t run off before turning and walking towards the lunch area to eat some porridge.


    Those students of ss 1A all red at him angrily, thinking that if Jin-woo had shot at them it was his fault. But then they nced over at Jin-woo, realizing that he hadpletely written them off. For some reason, that made them feel life would be more difficult for them going forward.


    After ncing at each other, the students of ss 1A scattered to either rest or eat the porridge prepared for them.


    However, it was hardly ''in the future'' when signs of life bing difficult started to appear. The ones that went to rest on the benches all saw the looks of disgust cast by the other students before they got up and walked away.


    Meanwhile, the students that went to get porridge not only felt res from the other students, but they also realized that their portion of porridgepared to the others was significantly lesser.


    A boy from ss 1A who realized this looked at the students across the ss serving counter about toin, but with a dismissive wave he was harshly interrupted by one of them.


    "Hurry and move aside, the others haven''t gotten any yet."


    The boy nced behind him and seeing several dozen pairs of eyes staring at him, his heart went cold, and he couldn''t muster up the courage to say anything. He merely lowered his head and walked to the corner the students from ss 1A were discarded in.


    This treatment was small for now, but it would only get worse as time went by. In some weird, twisted way, their roles have somewhat swapped with the once bullied and ostracized Jin-woo.


    The teachers noticed this and did their best to smooth things out between the two groups of students, though to little effect.


    The studentsing from the ssroom, some of which were second years, all felt indebted to Jin-woo with their impression of him being something akin to their protector and a lifeline in this apocalypse. Now that they discovered that these students were responsible for the death of their protector''s friends, they felt both enraged and disgusted.


    However, they also felt apprehension towards ss 1A students because of their brutality. If they were willing to let their ssmates turn into zombies, what about them? They would rather avoid these people or else they get betrayed and left behind in times of crisis.


    But the only exception to this was Mai-sun. After going up to Jin-woo and showing concern for him, she went to collect her porridge with almost a skip before mingling with friends she recognized among the second years.


    Herwork of close friends within the school was extremely broad, and this was not mentioning her own poprity which was in no way inferior to the sports prodigy Jin-woo, and the study prodigy Seong. After all, among the Junior and even Senior girls, she was the undisputed first ce when it came to beauty and grades.


    So, it was enough for her to avoid the ostracization the other students from ss 1A were feeling.

 Chapter 83- Just Get The Fuck Lost

    "There you go."


    Ah-yong said after rewrapping Jin-woo''s shoulder.


    "Be careful how you raise your hand, if you don''t, you''re going to reopen your wound again and then it''ll take even longer to heal."


    Jin-woo was slumped against the wall of the cafeteria. He had his head lowered as he nodded and responded to Ah-yong in a voice barely above a whisper.


    "Thank you."


    Ah-yong paused and looked at Jin-woo with a worried expression before asking.


    "Are you hungry? I can go get some porridge for you."


    Jin-woo shook his head.


    "No, I don''t feel like eating anything right now."


    Hearing this Ah-yong became even more uneasy, but she really didn''t know what to do. She could only caution Jin-woo about his wound once again before leaving for the lunch line which still had a few people lining up.


    After Ah-yong left Seong sat next to Jin-woo and rested his head on his shoulder. The two remained silent and time passed like that until someone approached.


    Jin-woo, with his head still down, saw the legs of someone as they used a crutch to hobble up to him and sat down to his left.


    "Give it."


    The hand of the person was shoved in his face. Jin-woo looked up and followed the hand of the person to see Seo-joon''s side profile.


    Your adventure continues at empire


    Seo-joon wasn''t looking at him, he was looking at the bustling but silent cafeteria.


    With brows furrowed Jin-woo asked.


    "Give what?"


    Hearing this response, Seo-joon''s head snapped towards him, his eyes narrowing in anger as he asked.


    "Don''t tell me you didn''t pick up my pack?"


    "Oh."


    Jin-woo''s brows rxed as he finally understood what Seo-joon meant.


    "I have it."


    Jin-woo then turned to his right, where Seong no longer was, and reached into his drawstring bag. After some time, he fished out a white pack of cigarettes with a redbel and ced it in Seo-joon''s outstretched hand.


    Jin-woo saw Seong crouching next to Seo-joon silently staring at him but soon turned away. He surveyed the cafeteria wondering why it was so silent. Turns out the atmosphere was still tense; the students haven''t shaken off the horrifying incidents they''ve been through thus far, so they don''t dare to speak too loudly.


    At one point a student identally dropped their spoon and the cafeteria became even more deathly silent, everyone tensed up and stopped talking. Some even stopped breathing.


    Only after a few seconds and with the teacher''s reassurance did the students somewhat rx.


    Meanwhile, Jin-woo was observing this, Seo-joon took out two cigarettes from the pack and after putting one in his top pocket he fished out a lighter from his pants and lit the other. His foot with his bandaged right ankle was outstretched, while the other was bent, his left hand which was holding the cigarette resting on it.


    Each time Seo-joon released the smoke from his mouth, his gaze would linger on the smoke and watch as it dispersed around him. After watching the smoke disperse for who knows how many times, he suddenly spoke.


    "You know I knew you even before I met you."


    "Hm?"


    Jin-woo was brought out of his thoughts and he nced at Seo-joon confused but waited for him to exin.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Inhaling and exhaling another round of cigarette, Seo-joon casually spoke.


    "My Grandmother has some power, and she spoils that man. When he was in the Marines he used her influence to cheat on my mother with a bunch of unwilling women. My Grandmother covered it up, but it still reached the higher-ups in the Marines, and he was kicked out. The person who blew the whistle was your father."


    Hearing this, Jin-woo was slightly stunned. Only after a moment of silence did he say.


    "¡­I didn''t know that."


    "Hm, because Seong asked me not to tell you."


    "Seong did?"


    Jin-woo was confused once again, and discreetly shot Seong a questioning look. In response, Seong scratched the back of his head and gave him an apologetic smile.


    "Why are you so surprised? You know, I was also friends with him before he met you."


    "Huh? What? Is that true?"


    By now Jin-woo had sat up, this was his first time hearing any of this, and he kept giving Seong looks.


    Unaware of Jin-woo''s actions, Seo-joon rified.


    "Mom found out about that man''s affairs, and they got into a big fight when she said she wanted a divorce. I met Seong at the hospital when I was getting treated for the injury I got when I tried to stop that man from hitting my mother.


    We didn''t talk then, but after that, we met at the station again, and then I found out his father was the one who handled the case, and his mother was the nurse who treated me."


    Jin-woo shot Seong more nces as if to ask why he never told him about this, but Seo-joon continued.


    "We started elementary school sometime after that, but we went to separate schools, so we only spoke when he visited his father''s office in Gangnam, and I was there after my mom was hit. Eventually, that man was found having another affair with one of his students, and to escape he moved to Itaewon with me and my mom.


    I transferred to the middle school here and met up with Seong again¡­ But unfortunately, you were in the picture."


    Seo-joon had been wearing a slight smile at the corner of his lips up until hisst words, where it faded.


    Jin-woo remained silent as he listened to this backstory that was unknown to him until now. But he should have guessed this was the case, Seo-joon had always seemed closer to Seong than him.


    Unprompted, Jin-woo couldn''t help but recall what Seong said.


    ''¡­He did it to get my attention.''


    Pause...


    "Ha?"


    Jin-woo''s expression turned strange as he suddenly connected the dots.


    "Don''t tell me you were being an asshole to us because you were jealous Seong reced you and that I took your spot?"


    Seo-joon''s eyelid twitched, but he didn''t deny it and instead said.


    "Something like that."


    Jin-woo looked away from Seo-joon and nced at Seong, who was ring at Seo-joon with an irritated expression.


    Whether this was because Seong didn''t want him to know, or because he was upset about Seo-joon''s absurd reasoning, Jin-woo didn''t know. Maybe it was both.


    However, Seo-joon couldn''t see Seong''s re so he didn''t stop talking.


    "If it was him just bing friends with you it wouldn''t have mattered much, I could get along with you, but your condition made it near impossible for him to live a normal life. You were like a leech firmly attached to him, the longer things went on the more his thoughts shifted from what was best for him, to what was best for you and only you.


    From what I saw, it felt like it would reach the point where Seong would forsake everything and start living entirely for your existence. So, I thought it was better for you to get lost. Damn bing the viin, damn your illness, just get the fuck lost. I was here first. I li-"


    The more Seo-joon spoke the more heated he got, but he seemed to realize what he was about to say and abruptly stopped talking.


    Seong, who was off to the side, had to cover his face with his hand.

 Chapter 84- Thousandfold

    Jin-woo nced at the now silent Seo-joon who was smoking and then at Seong covering his face. After a moment he suddenly said.


    "You were probably a bad influence on him anyway."


    "What?"


    Smoke escaped Seo-joon''s mouth as he turned to look at Jin-woo with a frown.


    Jin-woo also frowned and nce at the cigarette between his fingers before saying.


    "Weren''t you the one who got him into marijuana?"


    "What¡­ *Cough*¡­*Cough*¡­ are you talking about?"


    Being stunned due to Jin-woo''s words, the smoke drifting out of Seo-joon''s mouth got sucked back into his lungs unexpectedly.


    "Was I mistaken?"


    Jin-woo nced at Seong, but Seong was looking away out of embarrassment.


    "It''s¡­ the opposite."


    Seo-joon was observing Jin-woo when he made that nce toward Seong. Mid-sentence, Seo-joon had nced at the space next to him, but seeing no one he was slightly confused. However, a thought appeared at the back of his mind. But before he could say anything, the stern voice of a male teacher echoed out.


    "You brat, what are you doing smoking?"


    "Shit."


    Seo-joon cursed as he tried to hurriedly get up. At the same time, the male teacher stormed over and took the lighter along with the pack of cigarettes from him before leading him off to a corner.


    Jin-woo watched as the teacher stood in front of Seo-joon and harshly gestured to the cigarette pack in his hand. He couldn''t hear anything, but he could guess Seo-joon was being scolded for smoking.


    However, what was funny was that after sending Seo-joon away, the male teacher nced around then clutched the cigarette pack and excitedly moved toward the backrooms. It was obvious he was going to smoke the entire thing.


    After chuckling at this scene, Jin-woo turned around to look at Seong, only to see that he was already staring at him, and rather intently at that.


    Jin-woo paused and thought for a moment. He had unsubstantiated ideas about the rtionship between Seong and Seo-joon before, but Seo-joon''s unsaid words somewhat confirmed they were right.


    Reaching up to here in his thoughts, Jin-woo looked at Seong and the corner of his lips slowly upturn into an evil smile.


    Seong''s figurative heart let out a thump when he saw Jin-woo''s smile and a bad feeling started to rise in his heart. Not even a secondter after this feeling appeared, he heard Jin-woo ask a seemingly random question.


    "So~ What are your thoughts on adoption?"


    "Ah! Ah! I can''t hear you!"


    Seong''s face turned red from embarrassment, and he immediately covered his ears and began making noise to interrupt Jin-woo.


    Unfazed, Jin-woo continued.


    "Sure, there are ns to increase the country''s declining birthrate by encouraging couples to have children, but we can''t neglect those who simply can''t have kids. I think adoption is a topic that shouldn''t be pushed aside, you and-"


    Jin-woo wasn''t able to finish that sentence, since Seong suddenly stood up and kicked his thigh before flickering away.


    However, he snickered at Seong''s actions since he finally had a bit of leverage.


    But soon, Jin-woo couldn''t help but frown and rub the spot Seong kicked him, surprised to feel a lingering pain. Usually, the sensations he got from touching Seong, or vice versa, would disappear after a second as if it had never happened.


    As Jin-woo was in his thoughts about what this could mean, he heard a familiar voice call out to him.


    "Jin."


    Looking up, he saw that it was Ah-yonging over with a bowl of porridge on a silver tray.


    "Here, you should eat something."


    Jin-woo rubbed his stomach and then nodded.


    "Okay."


    Ah-yong, hearing this, smiled and came over to sit down next to him.


    But just as Jin-woo was prepared for her to hand over the silver tray, he instead got Ah-yong picking up a spoonful of porridge and blowing on it before moving it towards his mouth.


    "I''ll help you."


    "N-No, it''s okay, my arm isn''t hurt to that extent."


    "No, I insist."


    "Ah¡­"


    Jin-woo saw the stubborn look on Ah-yong''s face as she held the spoon near his lips. He could only swallow his embarrassment and give a nod of agreement.


    The stubborn expression on Ah-yong''s face immediately disappeared and those dimples formed on her cheeks as she smiled at him.


    While praying that his heart wasn''t audible outside his chest, Jin-woo ignored the wandering gazes of the students some distance away and opened his mouth to take the first of many spoonful of porridge.


    Seong reappeared some time into Jin-woo''s feeding session, and Jin-woo had to use every ounce of willpower he had not to turn and re at him.


    Seong wasn''t doing anything per se, but as he crouched there while silently staring at Ah-yong feeding him like he was counting the spoonful in his mind, made Jin-woo swear up and down in his heart that he would pay him back a thousandfoldter on.


    ....


    ...


    ..


    "We''re preparing the baths forter; girls will be the ones to go first and then the boys. For a change of clothes, we n on getting the extra P.E. clothes in the storage room just down the hall."


    A female teacher came over and whispered this to Ah-yong and Seong just as Jin-woo ate thest spoonful.


    Ah-yong eyes brightened, and she nodded in response.


    Watching the teacher move to another group and whisper the same thing to them, Jin-woo''s brows couldn''t help but furrow slightly.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Where would they get that much water?


    Was the question that immediately came to his mind.


    ''It couldn''t be the drinking water, right? It would be irresponsible to use our bottled water supply since the water from the pipes isn''t an option.''


    As Jin-woo was worrying about this, Ah-yong got up and said bye to him along with a wave.


    Jin-woo waved back, but at that moment he saw one of the male teachers organizing some male students at the exit.


    It was understandable that everyone would want to clean up after everything that happened, but the virus was spreading so fast that it was still too early to say for sure that help would arrive in a few days. What if those days turn into weeks? Or even Months?


    Looking away from the exit, Jin-woo got up and decided to find a teacher to understand how they were going to carry out this n. He was sure the adults wouldn''t make such a miscalction, so he was curious if a separate water supply was there from the one supplying the school.


    Thinking back on it now, the ones in charge of distributing the lunch should havee in contact with the water from the pipes while the virus was spreading, yet they and the students in the cafeteria weren''t infected when he first saw them.


    That meant they were killed not by someone infected inside the room, but by the ones outside.

 Chapter 85- All Thanks To Our Boss

    In thest corridor before reaching the cafeteria from the backroom, Jin-woo in his underwear was walking along while using one hand to dry his hair with a small towel.


    The corridor was lit by the flickering and extraordinary dim lights above. Perhaps it was because of this that the youths up ahead with towels wrapped around their waists didn''t notice him as they spoke unrestrainedly.


    "Damn, I never thought a shower could feel so good."


    "Yeah, I can''t believe we''re able to be this rxed despite what''s going on outside. It almost feels like we aren''t in an apocalypse but a school retreat."


    "Hey, don''t forget who made this possible, it''s all thanks to our Boss Jin-woo!"


    "That''s right, our Boss risked his life for us, as long as I don''t die then I''ll definitely follow his lead."


    "Right!"


    "Yeah¡­"


    "Me too¡­"


    Jin-woo at the back felt his face heat up a bit, while Seong snickered in amusement next to him.


    However, one youth who was silent suddenly spoke up to burst the excitement bubble among the others.


    "Hey, this is good and all, but did you guys ever wonder how we were able to shower? Didn''t Jin-woo say the virus was in the water from the pipes?"


    "Huh? Is that what you''re worried about? Almost gave me a heart attack because of how serious you were."


    "Yeah, the teachers'' exined it to us already. Back in the day when everyone was worried about the contaminated public drinking water, our school decided to create an independent water source to supply the school. That''s the water containing the virus, but we also have an old system that collects rainwater. We students don''t use it, instead, it''s used by the staff to clean the school."


    "That''s right, we were also lucky that this cafeteria used to be the gymnasium back in the day and it runs on the rainwater system."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "I can''t imagine what we would have done if the school had gotten rid of the showers in the back."


    "Yeah, but thankfully, they left it because they thought the staff could use it."


    More of the youths expressed their relief, but the youth who first brought up this topic asked again.


    "I''m d that''s the case, but how did the virus get into the main water source in the first ce? Did someone put it in there?"


    The other youths became silent when they heard this question, and Jin-woo couldn''t help but stiffen at the back.


    Soon one of the youths spoke up to break the silence.


    "We probably aren''t the only ones who''re thinking this, like maybe this is a nned attack by some terrorist group."


    "Right, it sure looks like that when the hospital the President and Prime Minister were visiting suddenly had the virus there as well."


    A sudden gloomy feeling fell over the group once again, but a boy who looked a bit older, possibly a second year, tried to break the heavy atmosphere by saying.


    "Come on, let''s not talk about this anymore, it''s not like it matters at this point. We just have to focus on sticking together and surviving."


    "Yeah, that''s right!"


    "Yeah!"


    As the group of youths regained their optimism, one of them suddenly released an abrupt exmation of surprise and spoke.


    "Wait, I don''t have a change of undies!"


    Everyone turned to look at the youth with strange expressions before a response came from someone.


    "Why don''t you turn the one you have inside out and wear that?"


    "Ugh, but I wore it in the shower!"


    The youth said removing the towel around his waist to show his underwear was indeed soak.


    "Wait, don''t tell me you guys¡­"


    The youth suddenly realized something, and he looked around at everyone. Then, one by one the other youths looked at each other before removing their towels to show that he was the only one in this situation.


    Everyone immediately started making fun of the youth, suggesting he should just gomando.


    "Haha, imagine if the girls find out."


    "I dare you; I''ll kill anyone who talks!"


    "Haha...!"


    As the youths up ahead went through a round ofughter, Jin-woo couldn''t help but nce down to look at his underwear that was inside out. He opted to save the one he originally brought to change into after P.E. just in case.


    "Speaking of the girls, I guess they''re in the same boat as us."


    "Hm, they might have it even worse off if today happens to be that day for them."


    "Nah, I heard they went and got some pads from the female teacher''s desk in the teacher''s office."


    "*Tsk*... Lucky them, at least they got their needs met, but what about us boys?"


    "Haha, and what needs do you have?"


    "Ugh, don''t act like you don''t know! I just can''t believe I lost my phone while running from those zombies."


    "What do you need a phone for, can''t you just look at the girls?"


    "Huh? What do you take me for?!"


    "Haha¡­"


    Another round ofughter echoed out before one youth said.


    "But seriously, those idiots who tried to look at the girls are too stupid, of course, the teachers would check the showers before the girls entered."


    "Those perverts probably wanted to sneak a peek at Mai-sun and Ah-yong."


    "Damn it, those bastards, how dare they try to look at Boss''s girl."


    "Yeah, I even heard Mai-sun was Boss''s childhood friend too, we can''t forgive them."


    "Of course we can''t, we should find some time to beat the crap out of them."


    As the youths turned the corner to the cafeteria, Jin-woo was left smiling awkwardly behind them.


    "No wonder I thought Ah-yong''s name sounded familiar, turns out she''s that Ah-yong, the school''s idol. I think she was a trainee at one of the big idol agencies before she went independent and started her Newtube Channel, which now has over three million subscribers."


    Jin-woo stopped rubbing his hair and fell silent. Seong, seeing his best friend''s reaction, patted his back andforted him.


    "Don''t be too pessimistic, even though your singing talent was never any good, your athletic skills shouldn''t make you unworthy to date her."


    Jin-woo pursed his lips and decided to ignore Seong.


    Upon approaching the left turn to reach the cafeteria, a voice filled with confusion and annoyanceing from a male teacher faintly echoed in the hallway.


    "Hey, wait, why in the world are you taking off your underwear?"


    "Teacher, I can''t wear it with my clothes, it''s wet."


    "Wet? Did you wear it in the shower? Why?"


    Amidst the male teacher''s confused questions, snickers from the other youths could be heard.


    "Whatever, just hurry and get dressed before the girl sees you."


    The male teacher''s words just fell as Jin-woo turned the corner.


    At the metal doors leading into the cafeteria, along with youths that were ahead of him, there were a few others that were getting changed.


    At first, no one noticed Jin-woo as he approached, but as he squeezed through the crowd towards the male teacher, a few noticed him and immediately parted to give way.


    Upon seeing Jin-woo, the male teacher smiled and handed over the winter P.E. gear, which were navy blue pants and jacket with white stripes at the sides. The school''s emblem, ISH, was stitched onto the right pocket of the jacket.


    Jin-woo thanked the male teacher with a smile then headed to the right wall to change. He still had his school uniform in his drawstring bag, but these clothes were better for running in.


    Leaning against the wall, Jin-woo had managed to get his pants on with one hand, but as he was holding the jacket in his hand, he looked at it and then at his limp left arm.


    "Jin-woo?"


    Just as Jin-woo was busy thinking about how to go about putting on this jacket, he heard a voice calling out his name from behind. He turned and saw a youth.


    Even though Jin-woo didn''t know the youth''s name, his face was familiar to him since he was from ss 1A.

 Chapter 86- Secret Revealed

    Jin-woo''s face took on a cid expression and he didn''t respond to the youth.


    The youth, seeing Jin-woo''s silence, wore a nervous expression as he said.


    "Jin-woo, I have a clean undershirt if you want it. I-I can also help you put it on if your hand still hurts."


    Jin-woo nced at the white undershirt in the youth''s hand, then shook his head.


    "I already have one, and I don''t need any help."


    Jin-woo''s voice sounded extremely cold, and the youth couldn''t help but feel uneasy. He nodded dejectedly and said.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Okay."


    However, he didn''t turn around and leave, instead, he stood there seeming to hesitate to say something.


    Jin-woo upon seeing this frowned and asked.


    "Is there anything else you want to say?"


    The youth jolted a bit, but as if making up his mind, he gritted his teeth and stepped closer to Jin-woo before saying under his breath.


    "Jin, I didn''t know whether to tell you this or not because everyone else thought I was seeing things, but I know what I saw!"


    Jin-woo, and Seong who was listening from the side, became interested in what this person was talking about.


    Without hesitating the youth stared directly into Jin-woo''s eyes and exined.


    "When I was in the gymnasium, I saw Micah at the entrance outside through one of the windows. I called out to him thinking he was still alive, but I saw his eyes and face had changed into a zombie when he turned around."


    Jin-woo hearing this, was about to get upset at the fact that this was what the youth wanted to tell him, but the boy continued, his expression still serious.


    "However, there was something strange about him. First of all, Micah didn''t react like the other zombies when I called out to him. After he turned around, he just looked at me.


    It seemed as if he turned around specifically because he heard his name being called, but what made me even more sure of this is that he tilted his head after not hearing my response, like he was waiting for me to say something."


    The cid expression on Jin-woo''s face changed to one of shock then confusion. Seong simrly reacted the same way.


    Seeing Jin-woo''s reaction, the youth became hesitant once again but still said.


    "I-I don''t know what this means, but before Liam became a zombie and we were forced to escape the gymnasium, Seo-joon had said that there was some scientific theory that could exin how Micah could be dead and alive at the same time, but I don''t remember its name."


    "Is he talking about Schrodinger''s Cat?"


    Seong asked from the side, his brows furrowing.


    "That''s not exactly how it works, but that doesn''t matter. Jin, quick, ask him if he saw a bite wound on Micah!"


    Jin-woo wasn''t sure why this was important, but he asked the youth, nheless.


    "I saw blood on his hand, but I''m not sure if it was a bite wound."


    "Okay, thank you for telling me."


    Jin-woo said and the boy nodded, then said after a bit more hesitation.


    "Jin, I''m really sorry I wasn''t able to help Yoon-min and Micah, we all are."


    After saying that, the youth hurriedly turned and left through the metal doors.


    Jin-woo paused for a moment, then nced away from the doors and gave Seong, who was in thought, a questioning look.


    Seong seeing this said.


    "I think I might have figured out why the virus affects people differently. But let''s go somewhere we can talk."


    Jin-woo subtly nodded, then turned to leave. He was stopped to ask if he needed help putting on his shirt from more than a few of the boys as well as the male teacher, but after declining their offers and mentioning he was going to get an undershirt from his bag, he was finally allowed to leave.


    After passing through the double metal doors, Jin-woo moved around the lunch area and headed to the back of the cafeteria where he left his bag.


    Unable to wait, Seong started to share his thoughts.


    "You couldn''t see me at that time, but do you remember that boy you found in the bathroom who was a second type of infected?"


    "Hm, I remember."


    "Do you also remember that he has asthma? He was using a pump when we entered ss this morning."


    "Yeah, I remember."


    Jin-woo made it to the back of the cafeteria and sat down. He then reached into his drawstring bag and took out his undershirt to put on. Seong sat beside him and continued to speak.


    "Also, do you remember that Micah has asthma as well?"


    "I remember, I remember, do them both having asthma matter?"


    Jin-woo said a bit exasperated.


    "They do! At least I think they do."


    "Just say it, whatever it is I''m sure it has a high probability of being true."


    Seong looked at Jin-woo and said with a chuckle.


    "Looks like you have a lot of fate in me, but I think that to as well!"


    Jin-woo rolled his eyes, but he suddenly had to grimace after putting his left arm through the shirt. He didn''t have any problems taking a bath, since the bandages on his shoulder were reced by waterproof tape over his wound.


    As Jin-woo was putting on his jacket, Seong finally got to the main point.


    "Jin, what if the virus affects us based on the illnesses we have?"


    Hearing this, Jin-woo paused for a moment then asked.


    "Did youe to this conclusion because the pill was developed to cure diseases and other viruses?"


    "Yeah, that''s part of it. Madelyn said the pill was originally designed to cure all sorts of diseases and viruses, and the way they did that was by subjecting the viruses to the pill. After thinking along those lines, it''s not hard to figure out that after that pill was contaminated it would affect people who have diseases and those without differently."


    "Wait, the boy in the bathroom was the second type of infected, but what about Micah, he was the first type of infected when they both of asthma. How do you exin that?"


    "No, didn''t you hear what that guy said? Something was strange about Micah; despite bing a zombie he retained some parts of his humanity enough to show human-like reactions when his name was called. That''s definitely because he has asthma, just that there must be something different about him that didn''t make him die upon contact with the virus like the boy in the bathroom.


    For example, maybe a zombie''s bite is less potent than directlying into contact with the water."


    Jin-woo after managing to put on his jacket, thought for a moment before he went to say something. However, before he could, a buzzing sound was hearding from his drawstring bag.


    After reaching inside and fishing out his phone, he looked at the caller ID and saw that it said ''Mom.''


    Jin-woo immediately got up and hurried to the backroom past the changing students to head to a secluded spot to answer the call.


    However, unbeknownst to Jin-woo, a pair of eyes had been watching him since he entered the cafeteria.


    It was the boy who was in the security room with him and had returned his drawstring bag. When he saw Jin-woo receive a phone call and then run off to a secluded area to answer, he started to fidget from anxiousness.


    ''I knew it, all those things he said might be a lie. He''s probably nning on leaving with Mai-sun! No, I can''t let that happen. Should I find a way for him to bring me with him¡­ or should I tell everyone?''


    After struggling for a moment, the boy suddenly gritted his teeth before getting up from his seat and climbing onto the table to the confusion of the other students around him. But he ignored the strange looks directed at him and cupped his hands to his mouth before yelling for everyone to hear him.

 Chapter 87- Caught Red-handed

    Jin-woo looked around to ensure no one was nearby before he wore the sses he had also grabbed from his drawstring bag. He had waited too long to answer and had received a text instead.


    However, as Jin-woo looked at his phone with his sses on, he realized how much he had gotten used to not wearing them all this while. But he also noticed that his vision had subtly gotten better, his vision now looked a bit off while wearing the sses.


    Putting this observation aside, Jin-woo focused on the text. Seong next to him wrapped his arm around his next and peered over his shoulders at the phone screen as well. Both of them saw the short text that read¡­


    ''Brat don''t tell me you''re dead. If you aren''t dead, then answer the phone!''


    Upon reading this text message Jin-woo and Seong''s expressions became strange.


    "That doesn''t sound like Madelyn."


    Seong said, and just as Jin-woo was about to answer, amotion was heard behind him. He nced down the hall behind him wondering what had happened in the cafeteria. However, the phone started to ring again drawing his attention away.


    Before the second ring could start, Jin-woo swiped the call and answered.


    "Who am I speaking to?"


    Jin-woo heard the gruff voice of a man from the other side of the phone. With this tone of voice alone he recognized the man to be from the army.


    "Jin-woo. Sir, are you the Marshal?"


    The voice on the other end paused momentarily not expecting Jin-woo would figure out his identity by just his voice.


    Snorting the Marshal spoke up after his pause.


    "That''s right, where are you right now? How many survivors are there in the school?"


    Jin-woo wanted to ask questions of his own, but for now, he obediently answered.


    "I''m in the cafeteria on the ground floor with at least fifty students and five teachers."


    "On the ground floor? Is that ce safe? How great is the number of the zombies outside?"


    To this question, Jin-woo calmly exined.


    "It''s safe, I already trapped most of the zombies in the gymnasium and auditorium. However, I''m still worried that more zombies would wander from the middle school and elementary school campuses, as well as from outside. How long will it be until help arrives?"


    "Huh?"


    A sound came from the Marshal that stemmed from his surprise.


    "You... Did I hear right that you trapped the zombies?"


    Jin-woo didn''t answer the Marshal''s question but instead reiterated his own.


    "What about help, when will it arrive? Even though we''ve secured a safe zone if this goes on we''ll be surrounded by zombies again. I want to know if we should wait for help or try to escape Yongsan District on our own."


    The Marshal seemed to snap out of his surprise before he recovered hisposure and said sternly.


    "Tell everyone to stay there, the white tiger forces have already been deployed and should arrive in no more than four days."


    "Four days?"


    Jin-woo was taken and he hurriedly asked.


    "Why four days? With a helicopter, it should take a few hours!"


    "A helicopter is no good, the sound from the des will lead zombies to the school."


    Upon hearing this, Jin-woo froze. That''s right he hadpletely neglected this fact. Suddenly, a cold shiver ran down his spine as he imagined how many zombies would be drawn to them from the outside.


    However, his brain started to think of a way to get around this. For example, if they were to head to the rooftop right now, they could avoid the zombies on the ground when the helicopter came.


    But suddenly another problem squashed this idea.


    How many helicopters would it take for them to rescue over fifty people? Five? Ten? Fifteen?


    With so many helicopters in the airspace above the high school, perhaps it would draw every zombie in Itaewon to them. At that point, their numbers would be too overwhelming, they would surround the entire school and reach the roof before all of them could be rescued, or at least it would be very close, too close to risk it.


    Jin-woo also noticed the faint annoyance in the Marshal''s voice when he told him this. From this, he guessed that evacuation measures weren''t going ording to n, and the virus was bing more out of control.


    Indeed, the Marshal was under pressure after his Air Force was rendered useless in this situation. When he got the report that zombies had attacked the safe zone where the President was by following his helicopter, he had almost lost it. But thankfully, the president had managed to make it out alive before the safe zone was overrun.


    "Listen brat, you should be wondering why I''m talking to you."


    Hearing this, Jin-woo snapped out of his thoughts but remained silent. He was indeed wondering why the Marshal was personally handling their rescue, he thought maybe it was either for Mai-sun or the pill he supposedly had.


    However, the Marshal''s next words refuted those suspicions and left him stunned.


    "Listen here brat, as of right now you are the most important high schooler in the world. Inside your blood, there is a mutation resulting from youing into contact with the bacteria on the meteor that this virus came from. You are to-"


    "Wait, wait a minute!"


    Jin-woo had to interrupt the Marshal because he was too shocked.


    "What do you mean by a mutation? What kind of mutation? Are you sure? I don''t remembering into contact with any meteor."


    "Brat, the mutation was passed down from your mother. As for your other questions, you''ll naturally find the answers to them when you''re brought here."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "What do you mean?"


    Jin-woo noticed the Marshal''s words sounded off.


    With an indifferent tone of voice, the Marshal responded.


    "I''m nning on sending a helicopter to get you. Find a way to get to the roof and keep your phone on you in case of anything unexpected popping up."


    Jin-woo went silent upon hearing this, but after a moment he said.


    "No, I''m not going."


    The Marshal thought his ears had suddenly malfunctioned. His expression darkened as he said.


    "Brat, what do you mean you''re not going? Do you even understand the severity of the situation right now? You need to be brought back to theb so we can make a cure with your blood! If this is about the safety of the other students, then all they need to do is stay within the safe zone until help arrives."


    Jin-woo''s eyes suddenly narrowed, and Seong''s eyes also grew cold as they both realized the same thing.


    "Marshal, you''re not nning on sending the White Tiger forces, are you? You''re only objective is me, right?"


    The line suddenly went silent. Getting silence from the other end of the phone, both Jin-woo and Seong confirmed their intuitions were correct.


    Before waiting for the Marshal to say anything, Jin-woo said coldly.


    "I''m not leaving with that helicopter so forget about sending it. Just send the ground forces of the White Tiger to rescue all of us together like you should. If you don''t then you can forget about getting my blood."


    The Marshal immediately dropped all pretense and with his voice lowering by an octave he coldly asked.


    "Boy, are you trying to threaten me? Do you understand what you''re doing? Without your blood tens of thousands of people will die, can you bear the consequence of that?"


    Jin-woo''s expression was unchanged by this as he calmly retorted.


    "You only need my blood to make a cure as quickly as possible and cover up your involvement in creating this virus. You have my mother, right? It''s because you experimented on her that you knew my blood had the cure, right? Even without my blood, with hers and a bit of research on Madelyn''s side, a cure can still be made.


    Plus, who is to say that you won''t kill me right after making the cure to silence me? I would have already exposed everything on the inte and left this ce if I wasn''t worried about everyone''s safety. That''s the only reason why I stayed and why you''re talking to me right now, so don''t test my resolve. Send the White Tiger forces, and you''ll get your cure."


    After saying this, Jin-woo moved the phone from his ear and directly hung up. But he then clutched the phone tightly and sadly cursed under his breath.


    "Damn it, mom''s gone."


    Seong hearing this, patted Jin-woo''s shoulder andforted.


    "It''s okay Jin, that bastard isn''t going to get away with this. The outbreak of the virus has already be a global disaster so there''s no way his involvement won''t be discovered."


    Jin-woo soon released a breath and nodded.


    "Let''s go, I just want to sleep for a bit."


    Jin-woo turned and headed back to the cafeteria along with Seong. However, upon reaching the metal doors he saw that the boys had all disappeared, but more importantly, there was an eerie silence lingering behind the doors.


    After taking a shower, the students had all rxed and were no longer as intent on not making any noise as before. So, this deathly silenceing from the cafeteria caused Jin-woo''s heart to sink. He recalled themotion he heard before and thinking that something bad had happened, he hurriedly rushed through the metal doors.


    Heart racing, Jin-woo entered the cafeteria thinking he would see a tragic scene, but instead, what he got was everyone turning their gazes towards him as he came rushing in.


    Some of those gazes directed at Jin-woo were filled with confusion, while others were filled with slight anger and a sense of betrayal. This was especially true when they saw the phone in his hand.


    Jin-woo stiffened under the silent gazes of more than fifty pairs of eyes, then nervousness arose in his heart when he saw the various emotions in those gazes.


    Suddenly, Jin-woo happened to catch sight of a familiar face standing on a table in the middle of the cafeteria. Almost immediately, he understood what had happened.


    Everything was out in the open.


    His mother stealing the pill...


    His likely involvement in the virus spreading in the school¡­


    His knowledge of help arriving for him and Mai-sun¡­


    His secrets were no longer a secret anymore.

 Chapter 88- Ungrateful

    Jin-woo ced the hand he was holding the phone with into his jacket pocket, and after fixing his sses with the other he put it into the other pocket. He then made no further movements under the gazes of the students and teachers, only remaining silent.


    Everyone seeing this had their expressions change. From the looks of it, Jin-woo seemed to know what they had been talking about, but rather than giving an exnation he just remained silent. What did this mean?


    Murmurs echoed in the crowd as people angrily discussed this sudden revtion under their breaths.


    Jin-woo lowered his head and his fists clenched in his jacket pockets. Even though a bout of nervousness was rising in his heart, he remained rtively calm on the outside as he had known this would happen. However, he suddenly heard a voice cut through the murmurs, which almost made his calm exposure falter.


    "Jin, is it true? Did you bring the virus into the school?"


    Jin-woo lifted his head to look at Ah-yong who was staring at him with aplex expression. He slowly nodded, only to see tears well up in her eyes.


    Jin-woo''s fists clenched even harder, and he had to look down to avoid her gaze.


    "I can''t believe this, it''s actually true!"


    "He was the one who brought the virus to the school, if it weren''t for him my Min-hee wouldn''t have died¡­*sobs*"


    "My brother died because of him..."


    "He''s the cause of all of this, it wasn''t some terrorist attack."


    Jin-woo''s silent admittance of guilt immediately caused the students to erupt in a cacophony of either sobs or angry curses.


    "Why did you do it?! You did it on purpose, didn''t you?!"


    One especially emotional girl yelled at Jin-woo with tears in her eyes.


    However, Ah-yong wiped her tears and quickly retorted.


    "How can that be? There''s no way Jin-woo did this on purpose, it must be an ident."


    "Yeah, I don''t think this was on purpose, after all, he''s the one who saved us."


    "Exactly, why would he curse us all to hell like this only to then sacrifice himself to save us?"


    After Ah-yong came to Jin-woo''s defense a few students, boys primarily, spoke up. However, dissenting voices to their ims rose as well.


    "He was probably feeling guilty after what he did, so he decided to help."


    "Yeah, or worse, it was all an act so he could escape when those people came for him and Mai-sun."


    "No way."


    "That''s possible, and his motive could have been because he was being bullied."


    "Wait, you might be right about that!"


    Suddenly, the usations took a strange turn, the teachers who had been silent tried to step in to calm everyone down, but it only seemed to agitate the students even more.


    At this moment, a voice was suddenly heard among the crowd.


    "Jin-woo did it on purpose, and I have proof!"


    Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the male student who spoke. The students in the crowd, who were on Jin-woo''s side, furrowed their brows at this male student. This was because the male student was none other than Ye-jun.


    Ye-jun fixed his sses after getting everyone''s attention, then calmly exined.


    "When we were at the tennis court, Jin-woo kept saying that if we left, we would die. This was before he saw or knew anything about the zombies. At the time we thought he was just having an episode, but thinking back on it now, he obviously knew about the virus."


    The students of ss 1A had their faces change as they recalled something like that had indeed happened.


    "Is that even true? How do we know you''re not just lying like before?"


    "No, it''s true, we all saw it happen."


    One male student from ss 1A spoke up to confirm Ye-jun''s words. Following this more students from ss 1A spoke up to testify.


    "Jin-woo even locked someone from our ss outside the tennis court when the person wanted to enter."


    "Yeah, this is all his fault, we shouldn''t have trusted him in the first ce."


    As more of these statements echoed out, one could see that a majority of them, no, all of them wereing from the students of ss 1A.


    All of the regrets they felt from upsetting Jin-woo were dashed aside, and the grievances from being ostracized fueled their dagger-like words and their equally sharp res aimed at Jin-woo.


    However, even though Jin-woo could hear their words he remained silent. As for their res, he did not see them. Not only because he had his head down, but also because Seong was standing in front of him, ring back at the students of ss 1A in the crowd.


    But at that moment, a voice suddenly cut through the noise once again.


    "He''s not at fault."


    After this voice fell, Seo-joon hobbled out of the crowd with his crouch and stood directly in front of Jin-woo. Well, in front of Seong.


    Looking at the crowd, Seo-joon calmly admitted.


    "I was the one who took the pill from Jin-woo when we were fighting and threw it into an open water valve behind the gymnasium. If anyone should be med for this, it''s me, leave him out of it."


    Upon hearing this, the students in the cafeteria momentarily became silent. But that silence was broken by Ye-jun.


    "Both of you are at fault. You might even be in on it together."


    Seo-joon immediately shot Ye-jun a disgusted look, but the students from ss 1A spoke up.


    "That''s right, the both of you could have nned the entire thing."


    "Both of you are at fault."


    "We should just kick them out."


    "Yeah, who is to say that Jin-woo doesn''t have another one of those pills? We would turn into zombies without knowing how!"


    As the students from ss 1A spoke up after Ye-jun one after the other, a voice suddenly erupted from the crowd.


    "EVERYONE ENOUGH!!"


    The person then stepped forward out of the crowd. Even though Jin-woo couldn''t see the person''s appearance, he recognized the voice to be from the youth who had told him about Micah.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    After stepping forward, the youth sharply spun around and fiercely pointed at his ssmates and angrily yelled.


    "Ungrateful bastards! If it wasn''t for Jin-woo warning us of the zombie virus you all would have been eaten at the tennis courts! If it wasn''t for him leading the zombies away from us so we could escape to the gymnasium, we would have be zombies! If it weren''t for him sacrificing himself to trap the zombies in the auditorium and gymnasium, would any of you be here to spout all this nonsense?!


    Ungrateful bastards the lot of you! Why did I even try to speak on your behalf? And this bastard¡­"


    The youth pointed at Ye-jun.


    "¡­Why are you following his lead? Have you forgotten he left Yoon-min and Micah to die? If anyone is the viin here, he is, he can''t be trusted with any kind of power or else he''ll get everyone killed!"


    "But didn''t Jin-woo also leave Soo-ha and Ho-jin to die at the tennis court? How is that any different from what Ye-jun did?"


    "That''s true, the only reason why Ye-jun even closed the door was that Micah wanted to enter with Yoon-min who had already been bitten. It was either closing the door, or bing zombies, and Ye-jun chose to close the door. And yet, Jin-woo is the one getting all the praise, while we get criticized."


    "Right, and besides, with everything said and done, his mother was the one involved in stealing that virus and he was the one who brought it to school, so it''s still partly his fault the virus is here, and his mother''s fault this apocalypse started."


    "You-!"


    The youth was so angered by the fact that they were still sticking up for Ye-jun that he momentarily became speechless, not knowing which swear word to use from his vocabry for these people.

 Chapter 89- More Secrets Revealed

    "Jin-woo is at fault for bringing that virus to the school and his mother is supposedly involved in spreading that virus, but when ites down to who to me it''s the people who created the virus in the first ce. There''s no way they were authorized by the World Health Organization to create something that had the potential to cause a virus deadlier than the ck gue."


    After the youth said that Mai-sun''s brows furrowed slightly, but she ultimately remained silent.


    "Jeon-sok, you keep attacking Ye-jun and siding with Jin-woo, but if anything, you''re the ungrateful one. If Ye-jun hadn''t closed that door, would you still be alive?"


    The youth whose name was now known to be Jeon-sok, red at this person and said through gritted teeth.


    "Ye-jun closed that door to save himself, and you''re an idiot for not seeing that."


    "Okay, that''s enough!"


    A male teacher really couldn''t stand back and watch this anymore, so he stepped forward and harshly interrupted this argument.


    However, a student from ss 1A asked sarcastically.


    "So, after those peoplee to pick up Mai-sun and Jin-woo, we''ll just stay silent and be stranded here?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The male teacher upon hearing this found his words of retort stuck in his throat. He didn''t know what to say to that, and even he thought the situation was a bit unfair.


    "If what that boy said was true, and my mother sent people to rescue me, then I can give up my seat to someone and stay here to wait for help like everyone else."


    Mai-sun suddenly spoke up at this moment, and upon hearing her words, everyone fell silent. No one wanted to say something and be used of trying to steal this chance away from Mai-sun. After all, it wasn''t her fault that she had a mother that was able to send help.


    However, Jin-woo suddenly stepped forward from behind Seong and Seo-joon to speak up for the first time.


    "Help is arriving, not just for a few people, but for everyone. I spoke to the Marshal and he''s sending the White Tiger armed forces, they should arrive in a few days."


    Upon hearing that help was arriving, all of the students felt happy, and the teachers also released sighs of relief.


    Suddenly, the students who had been on the fence about who to trust between Jin-woo and Ye-jun lean towards Jin-woo. Rather than thinking about himself, he spoke to the Marshal to send help for everyone. They were now even more grateful to Jin-woo if that was even possible.


    Some of the boys were so full of emotions that they yelled in excitement.


    As for the ss 1A students, they had nothing to say. They thought their rtionship with Jin-woo had already soured so they instinctively sought out another figurehead to rely on and chose Ye-jun. They were in too deep to back out now.


    "Wait, something is weird, why would the Marshal personally speak with Jin-woo and send help for us? We''re just random high school students."


    Upon hearing this sudden question, the few who heard it realized they had overlooked this fact.


    "Could it be because of Jin-woo?"


    "His mother was involved in the virus outbreak, so maybe the Marshal thinks he''s important enough to send a special rescue team."


    This discussion was immaturely broken up due to the teachers finally putting their foot down, but two people still overheard them, and they both nced at Jin-woo suspiciously.


    These two people were Mai-sun and Ye-jun.


    After the teachers dismissed the crowd of students, Seo-joon hobbled up to Jin-woo and asked.


    "You okay?"


    Jin-woo looked up at Seo-joon and with a confused expression on his face, he asked.


    "Why did you speak up for me? That''s too out of character for an archetypical bully like you."


    Seo-joon shrugged his shoulders and said dismissively.


    "If Seong was here he would have been the one to stand in front of you. I guess I didn''t want him to curse at me from where he was because I stood by while you entirely took the me."


    Hearing this, Jin-woo''s lips curved into a sly smile before he said.


    "Looks like you care a lot about what Seong thinks of you. But I think if he was here, he would be looking at you with a foolish smile because you''re finally acting like less of an asshole."


    Seong, who was looking at Seo-joon with an approving smile, stiffened then turned to re at Jin-woo and punch his shoulder.


    "Ah..."


    Jin-woo flinched from the punch as it slightly hurt his shoulder. This made Seong freeze before he looked at his hand and then at Jin-woo with a confused expression.


    "Jin-woo are you okay?"


    Jeon-sok, who had followed Seo-joon asked when he saw Jin-woo''s reaction.


    ncing at Seong to tell him he would exin the situationter, Jin-woo shook his head at Seo-joon and Jeon-sok before saying.


    "I''m fine, it''s just my shoulder aching a bit."


    As Jin-woo touched, Seo-joon looked at him silently and then cast a brief nce at the space next to him before casually looking away.


    Suddenly, Jeon-sok gritted his teeth and said.


    "Jin-woo, you need to be careful of Ye-jun, something is seriously wrong with his head. It feels like he''s specifically targeting you for some reason."


    Jin-woo''s eyes narrowed and he nodded silently, but Seo-joon suddenly added.


    "It''s not that simple. He is targeting you."


    Jin-woo looked at him and furrowed his brows. He also saw Seong next to him stiffen slightly, but he didn''t address it but kept his gaze on Seo-joon.


    Seo-joon paused for a moment then exined.


    "When rumors about your illness started to spread, Seong wanted to meet up at the back of the middle school. However, when I got there, I saw him knelt over Ye-jun throwing fists at him. I managed to pull him off because it seemed like he was going too far, but I''d never seen him so angry. It was slightly unnerving thinking he might have gotten like that because of that bastard.


    Ever since then, I''ve been keeping an eye on him, and because of that, I figured out he''s been relentlessly targeting Seong. Since Seong hadn''t talked about it when the three of us were together, I didn''t think it was anything serious. It was things like textbooks going missing from his locker, or his test papers disappearing from the teacher''s desk. Anything to get his grades down."


    Upon hearing this, Jin-woo''s mood sank, and this time he couldn''t help but nce at Seong.


    Seong gave Jin-woo a look that said he would talk about itter, but Jin-woo was still upset. Slightly at Seong for not telling him, but mostly at himself for not realizing something like that was happening.


    However, what Seo-joon said next almost made him lose it and charge over to Ye-jun to finish what he started.


    "However, those small incidents changed when they weren''t working. Remember your pills being swapped? I suspect it was him. Also, even though I talked about your illness after returning from suspension I didn''t spread it across the school, Seong would have killed me. Maybe that''s why he almost beat that bastard to death that day."


    Jin-woo remained silent, stirring in his anger, but his eyes soon found Ye-jun among the students of ss 1A who all gathered in a corner of the cafeteria.


    Ye-jun seemed to have felt the intense re on his back as he turned around and met Jin-woo''s gaze. However, he indifferently fixed his sses and then turned back around.

 Chapter 90- Manifesting Abilities

    Jin-wooy on his back at the back of the cafeteria, the doors to the back rooms were to his right while the entrance to the cafeteria was to his left. He had his hands folded on his stomach while he stared up at the blurry ceiling above.


    The cafeteria was dark with the only source of light being the moonlight that filtered through the rows of windows going across the top of the wall, which was across from Jin-woo. The moonlight shone on him as a result, however, he didn''t mind.


    Despite the little light in the cafeteria, the students who had taken up different sleeping areas hadn''t settled down yet and were still muttering to each other.


    Jin-woo was alone in this area, and with the muttering of the students filling the cafeteria as a cover, he asked Seong, who was resting his head on his stomach, a question.


    "So, are you ready to talk? Why didn''t you tell me Ye-jun was provoking you?"


    Seong paused looking at the moon through the windows to respond.


    "I didn''t think it mattered whether he was provoking me or not, he''s been like that since we''ve met."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jin-woo picked up on the meaning behind thetter part of Seong''s sentence, and his voice rose slightly as he asked.


    "Wait, don''t tell me you two were secretly friends before we met as well?"


    Seong scoffed upon hearing that and then exined.


    "Nothing of the sort, it''s just that my father is distant cousins with his mother, and they keep in touch. We met for the first time when I was six during a family gathering my parents organized. He didn''t like me as soon as we met."


    "Why was that?"


    Jin-woo asked curiously, and Seong answered.


    "It''s because he has an abysmal amount of inferiorityplex. You know how I have a photographic memory?"


    "Hm."


    Jin-woo made a noise of agreement before Seong began retelling past events.


    "Well, back then my mom would always show off to the other parents by giving me a random coordinate and then have me recite the country located there. But Ye-jun''s inferiorityplex kicked in after all the parents at the gathering started praising me and he smacked my juice cup to the ground when I was trying to make friends with him."


    Even though Jin-woo thought that sounded rather childish, he also felt it indicated that Ye-jun was never a good person even when he was younger.


    Seong then continued in a suppressed tone.


    "Initially, I didn''t care about his petty provocations. I had already memorized the textbooks that were thrown away, and I could just retake an exam if he stole the test papers. However, he went too far when he tried to get to me through you."


    Jin-woo stayed silent for a moment then said softly.


    "I always thought you fought Joon, but when I asked you never told me. What exactly happened at that time?"


    After a pause, Seong decided to finally exin what had happened those years ago.


    "When I was going to meet up with Joon at the back of the school, I happened to walk past that bastard in the hallway. I don''t know why, maybe it was because of the way he red at me, or maybe I was just sensitive due to the rumors going around about you, but a lot of things clicked when I saw him at that time.


    Like how he was able to enter my locker despite how many times I changed my passwords, or how his father was the CEO of a medium-sized securitypany that has contracts with multiple businesses and schools, including ours."


    Jin-woo''s eyes widen slightly in realization, which Seong confirmed in his next words.


    "In that split second, I realized that he was the one who sneaked into your locker and switched your medication. He must have done it by finding a w in the lockers'' source code from his father''spany, and then deleted the evidence of him doing it by hacking into the school''s security system, which his father''spany also installed."


    There was anger in Seong''s voice, but he suddenly paused and then said regretfully.


    "I''m sorry Jin. It''s because I ignored him that he eventually went after you."


    Jin-woo suddenly smiled in response. He then lifted his hand and rubbed Seong''s hair while saying.


    "What''s there to be sorry about? Didn''t you protect me by beating up that bastard when you found out? He only decided to jump around now because you''re gone."


    Seong''s eyes narrowed before he exined.


    "Actually, that''s not entirely the reason he stopped. Even when I threatened to ruin his life and destroy his father''spany by revealing what he did, he justughed. Only when I started choking him and threatening to kill him that he got scared."


    Upon hearing this, Jin-woo''s hand rubbing Seong''s head paused. He then recalled that Seo-joon said Seong was going too far when he saw them fighting.


    "Seong, were you actually going to kill him?"


    Jin-woo turned to look at Seong as he asked this, and in response, Seong turned to look at him with a smile before saying.


    "A hundred percent."


    Jin-woo frowned. He lightly pped Seong''s forehead and said


    "What were you thinking doing something like that? If you were sent to a juvenile center, what would your parents think?"


    Still smiling, Seong casually responded.


    "I was thinking clearly. After I killed him, I would have gathered evidence of him bullying me, as well as evidence that he tried to harm you by switching your medication. With my dad pulling some strings with the prosecution office in addition to this, the case would have likely been dismissed as self-defense or I''d only gotten a few months of probation."


    Jin-woo stared at Seong speechlessly, not knowing how to respond.


    "It''s because that bastard knew this and that I would truly kill him that he backed off."


    Jin-woo didn''t respond for a long time and only patted Seong''s forehead. In truth, he couldn''t reprimand his best friend, because he too had shot at Ye-jun and almostmitted murder.


    "Hm, you''re really cold."


    Jin-woo suddenly said while rubbing Seong''s forehead. Even though he had a few heat packets in his jacket, he still felt a frigid sensation seeping into his jacket from Seong''s head.


    "Remember my soul is in the same state as I was when I died, it was winter then. Wait, that''s right, now it''s your turn. Why am I affecting you so much?"


    Seong suddenly looked at Jin-woo worriedly.


    "Honestly, I''m not sure. Maybe it''s because I''m getting more familiar with my abilities. That foreign feeling of having them is getting fainter."


    Seong went into deep thought for a moment then said.


    "If that''s the case-- that it''s because your abilities are fully manifesting-- then does that mean I''ll be flesh and blood?"


    After a pause, Jin-woo responded.


    "Maybe you''ll be like that only when interacting with me. After all, there''s still no one who can see, touch, or hear you besides me."


    Suddenly, after Jin-woo said that a voice echoed out from someone approaching.


    "Freak, what are you mumbling about to yourself in the dark?"

 Chapter 91- Being Dragged Across The Universe

    Jin-woo looked up and even though he couldn''t see the person''s face due to the darkness and him not wearing his sses, he could tell by the voice that it was Seo-joon.


    "Nothing."


    Jin-woo responded nomittedly to Seo-joon''s question. However, he could not see Seo-joon''s eyes narrowing at his answer.


    Aftering up to sit beside Jin-woo, Seo-joon leaned against the wall and stayed silent for a moment before he asked again.


    "Did you get Seong''s journal?"


    "Hm."


    Jin-woo gave a simple sound of confirmation. He seemed unwilling to go into further details about this topic. But Seo-joon seemed not to have realized this as he persisted in his questioning.


    "So, do you really have those kinds of abilities? Like, seeing the future?"


    Jin-woo remained silent and didn''t answer.


    Seo-joon snickered at this before saying.


    "Your silence is a response itself."


    But Jin-woo still remained silent, not responding.


    It was then that Seo-joon looked over at him and was stunned. He saw that Jin-woo''s eyes were closed as if he was sleeping.


    Seo-joon''s eyebrow twitched, thinking this punk was pretending just so he didn''t have to fess up. However, he thought back on what Jin-woo had been through before deciding not to call him out on it and instead go to sleep himself.


    Just after Seo-joonid down and turned his back to him, Jin-woo slowly opened his eyes. He turned to look at Seo-joon''s back and after releasing a sigh of relief internally, he went back to staring at the ceiling.


    "Jin, you don''t have to tell him about your abilities. Actually, I prefer it if you keep it a secret from everyone. I can''t imagine what would happen if someone found out and you were brought back to thatb. The Marshal has already shown he can''t be entirely trusted."


    Jin-woo''s heart sank upon hearing that. That was right, if his abilities were discovered by the Marshal his ending wouldn''t be anything good.


    Jin-woo''s hand moved slightly towards Seong''s hand. Seong, knowing what he wanted to do, opened his hand. Jin-woo extended his index finger and then wrote a few sentences on Seong''s palm.


    ''Do you think my abilities have anything to do with that meteor and the mutation in my genes?''


    Seong nodded.


    "Most likely, but I can''t imagine how an alien bacterium from a meteor can allow you to see across dimensions or even possess space-discement abilities."


    Seong then felt Jin-woo''s finger move.


    ''I''m confused by this too, but aside from being the reason for my abilities, I guess this meteor also confirmed that there is alien life outside of our.''


    Seong paused for a moment, then suddenly thought of something that made his eyes widen.


    "Jin, what if¡­ what if that bacteria from the meteor is something like the DNA remnants of an alien species?"


    Jin-woo''s eyes also couldn''t help but widen upon hearing that spection. He hurriedly wrote in Seong''s hand.


    "If that''s true, then doesn''t that mean this alien species also has the abilities I have?"


    "Logically, that should be the case. However, I also have a theory that this alien species might not be from the Third Dimension."


    Jin-woo''s finger stopped over Seong''s palm, momentarily speechless at Seong''s theory. However, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense from the limited understanding they had of the universe. Though, movies andics undoubtedly contribute to this fantasy-like theory in some way.


    The DNA of a being from another dimension somehownded on a meteor in this dimension. Perhaps after moving around the universe for countless years, its trajectory eventually took it to Earth, where the DNA on it caused a mutation in his mother''s gene before it was passed onto him.


    "This is almost like a movie, but could it really be true?"


    Seong suddenly said with augh interrupting Jin-woo''s thoughts.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ''Maybe¡­''


    Seong felt Jin-woo write on his palm. He smiled and then said.


    "Go to sleep Jin, it''ll be fine, I''m here."


    Jin-woo hearing Seong suddenly say this, knew that his worries had been seen through. Even though he was dead tired, he was forcing himself to stay awake. He did not want to have those nightmares again.


    However, under Seong''s constant reassurances, Jin-woo eventually sumbed to his exhaustion and fell asleep.


    For the first time in nearly four months, Jin-woo didn''t dream of Seong''s death. Neither did he hear the loud wails of Seong''s mother in the hospital, nor did he see his father''s resentful gaze as hey on the hospital bed with a bandaged foot.


    However, not dreaming of those tormenting scenes did not mean his dreams tonight weren''t... strange.


    Perhaps it was due to what he and Seong were talking about before he fell asleep, but he dreamt of seeing his body lying on the cafeteria floor from a third-person perspective.


    He even saw Seong and Seo-joon next to him, though his thoughts paused momentarily when Seong suddenly nced at him sleeping before getting up and going over to Seo-joon to squat in front of him and silently watch him sleep.


    However, Jin-woo was not able to witness this scene for long, as this out-of-body experience took a sudden turn. A strong pulling force suddenly yanked him toward the sky.


    After passing through the ceiling of the cafeteria, he continued to go higher and higher.


    The earth below Jin-woo shrank rapidly at a visible rate, so much so he was barely able to perceive anything before he was dragged through the atmosphere and thrust into outer space.


    But even as he entered the vast expanse of space, Jin-woo''s speed didn''t slow down, but rather it felt like the pulling force had yanked him out of the water, which was the, and now in the open air, his body, or rather his consciousness, started to move faster.


    The stars around him elongated and a vast spectrum of colors appeared in his senses until it was overwhelming. Not only that, but he could also feel a slight connection he had to something, which was perhaps his body, was slowly being stretched thin.


    However, strangely enough, despite all of this, Jin-woo had not once felt panicked. Instead, he felt curiosity, as the force pulling him seemed to being from a source that felt familiar, like a second body.


    But even as his speed got faster and faster, that familiar feeling seemed to be on the other side of the universe¡­ No, it felt like it was further than that. A distance that could not be described by any measurement that exists and will exist in the future.


    After who knows how long, the pulling force seemed to run out of fuel, and like a rubber band that was stretched taut, Jin-woo''s consciousness was yanked back in the direction he came from several times faster than the speed of the pulling force.


    In only a few seconds the blue appeared in his vision, but only for a fraction of a second before he saw the high school campus, then the roof of the cafeteria, and then his body.


    Smack!


    Like an stic band hitting one''s skin, Jin-woo re-entered his body. He suddenly jumped up into a sitting position, scaring the girl who was walking past to the backrooms out of her wits.


    While being drenched in cold sweat despite the cold morning air in the cafeteria, Jin-woo nced around only to see that it was already daytime through the rows of windows atop the wall across from him.


    After looking around at the students, who were either walking around or chattering at the tables while eating, Jin-woo released the breath he had been holding onto before listlessly falling onto his back with a thud.


    Even the sudden pain caused by the back of his head hitting the ground could not distract him from the dream he just had. But the more he recalled the strange sensation of being pulled from his body to an unknown source across the universe, the more frightened he became. So much so the cold sweat on his back increased, while a shiver ran down his spine.

 Chapter 92- A Lunch Break On The Roof

    "Jin, what happened? Did you have a night terror?"


    Seong, who was also startled by Jin-woo suddenly waking up, asked with worry from the side.


    After calming down, Jin-woo sighed and said.


    "Not exactly, but the dream was still strange."


    "Okay, you can tell me about itter, but first, go and get something to eat. You''ve been sleeping for a long time it''s already around noon."


    Just as Seong said that a beeping sound echoed out.


    Jin-woo nced down at his G-Shock watch and turned off the rm. He then grabbed his sses and put them on before he went to get up, but internally, he was slightly surprised that he had been sleeping for so long. It felt like it had only been a few minutes. But with that said, he felt extremely refreshed. Even the slight aching in his shoulder was gone and he could move it more freely now.


    "Good morning, Jin-woo."


    After Jin-woo got up, a girl greeted him with a bow as she walked by.


    "Good morning."


    Jin-woo politely returned the greeting with a slight bow as well. He then fixed his sses and nced around the cafeteria which was filled with students all in winter P.E. gear. Soon, his gaze found the person he was looking for.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Ah-yong was seated with a few girls at a table on the other side of the cafeteria. They were chatting andughing as they ate.


    Jin-woo''s gaze lingered there for a moment before he sighed and looked away. He hadn''t spoken to her ever since the events of yesterday.


    "Don''t force it, she probably feels conflicted and doesn''t know how to talk to you. After all, she likely lost friends to the virus."


    Seong said from the side while patting Jin-woo''s back in aforting manner.


    Jin-woo silently nodded before he picked up his drawstring bag and walked over to where they were serving lunch.


    All the students seemed to have gotten their lunches as only one male teacher was standing behind the counter with a ss barrier. He had his arms folded as he spoke to another male teacher who was on the other side.


    Both turned to Jin-woo as he approached. The male teacher standing in front of the counter smiled and said.


    "You''ve been sleeping for a while have you rested up?"


    "Good morning teacher, yes, I have."


    "Hm, that''s good."


    The male teacher behind the counter spoke up next and asked.


    "What would you like to eat? We have a few drinks and some sandwiches."


    Jin-woo nced at the hastily scribbledbels ced in front of the four silver trays filled with handmade sandwiches and then at the standing refrigerator behind the male teacher. After a moment, he said.


    "I''ll have the beef and cheese samsaek sandwich and a banana milk."*


    The male teacher smiled and after going to the refrigerator to grab a banana milk, he came back and wrapped two sandwiches in clear wrapping stic before handing them over the counter.


    Jin-woo wanted to refuse the extra sandwich after seeing a sign next to the silver trays that said ''one per person,'' but the male teacher spoke before he could.


    "Everyone already had one for breakfast and one for lunch, since you haven''t had any breakfast yet, it only makes sense you would receive two."


    Jin-woo paused, but as he looked at the two colorful sandwiches, his stomach suddenly released a growl.


    The two male teachers couldn''t help but burst outughing, and Jin-woo could no longer refuse so he thanked the teacher before taking the sandwiches and banana milk.


    At that moment, a smallmotion was heard in the cafeteria.


    All three parties turned around at the sound to see a girl chasing after a boy who wasughing rather maniacally.


    "Those brats, I just told them to settle down."


    The male teacher next to Jin-woo said, but the other male teacher behind the counter smiled and rebutted.


    "They can''t help it given they''re forced to stay in this cramped environment it''s a given they''ll find some way to upy their time. At the very least, they aren''t despairing about the situation they are in¡­ I''d rather not see that."


    Hearing this, the male teacher next to Jin-woo sighed and chose not to scold the students this time.


    Jin-woo listened to this exchange between the teachers, and after staring at the students in the cafeteria for a moment, an idea formed in his mind. Turning to the teacher next to him Jin-woo said.


    "I was nning on going to the roof to see the situation outside, but I can bring them with me."


    The two male teachers paused after hearing that before the one behind the counter said with a smile.


    "That sounds like a great idea, it would be good for the students."


    However, the other male teacher next to Jin-woo was hesitating. Seeing this, Jin-woo said again.


    "I wouldn''t be suggesting it if I wasn''t sure about keeping everyone safe."


    The male teacher nced at Jin-woo and then nodded. However, he added.


    "But if you''re going outside, we should return what''s yours."


    The teacher turned to his colleague behind the counter, and his colleague''s eyes lit up before he bent down to grab something from underneath the counter.


    Jin-woo watched as the male teacher came back up with a familiar utility belt in his hand. The teacher next to him took the utility belt, and seeing that his hands were full, he voluntarily secured it around his waist.


    "Just don''t go shooting your fellow students, okay?"


    The teacher behind the counter suddenly added with a chuckle, but the other male teacher shot him a disapproving look. However, this male teacher still turned to Jin-woo to say.


    "You have a good head on you, so we adults don''t have to worry about you, but you have to remember not to be what you hate, especially in times like this."


    The male teacher finished securing the utility belt with the gun and magazines around Jin-woo''s waist before he patted his head.


    Jin-woo recognized this male teacher as the one he had spoken to on the phone in the ssroom. He was also the one who asked for the gun so he could rest when he was escorting everyone.


    Jin-woo smiled and nodded before saying.


    "I''ll only use the gun to defend myself and the other students."


    The two male teachers hearing Jin-woo''s words understood the underlying meaning behind them, that he was going to use the gun to defend himself, both against the zombies outside and the humans inside.


    However, they did not say anything despite knowing this fact. After all, the bad qualities of humans usuallye out in situations like these.


    Jin-woo, while holding his two sandwiches in one hand and his banana milk in the other, walked towards the double metal doors at the entrance. At the same time, the male teacher who was next to him started to announce Jin-woo''s n to the students in the cafeteria.


    ...


    *Samsaek sandwich=Three colored sandwich

 Chapter 93- Failed Sense Of Humor

    After the teacher announced Jin-woo''s intentions to bring them to the roof, most students'' eyes lit up in excitement. However, some were too scared to leave, so they chose not to follow the other students outside.


    While standing in front of the double metal doors, Jin-woo watched the students as they gathered in front of him. Out of the fifty or so students, twenty-five chose to follow him outside. The female-to-male ratio was about the same.


    Jin-woo knew not many people would be able to go outside after what they went through yesterday, so he wasn''t surprised by the number of students. However, he happened to catch sight of someone just beyond the gathered students.


    It was Seo-joon. He was leaning against a table with his crutch resting against his chest.


    Jin-woo walked over and aftering up to him he asked curiously.


    "Are you noting?"


    Seo-joon paused sucking on the lollipop in his mouth then pointed at his bandaged ankle before answering.


    "I''ll just slow everyone down, plus¡­"¡ª Seo-joon''s voice suddenly lowered¡ª"¡­even though it''s not hurting as much and I can walk on it, it''s better if I take it easy until the time is right."


    Jin-woo nodded in understanding, but then nced at Seo-joon''s empty waist and asked again.


    "Where''s the gun?"


    Seo-joon motioned to the male teachers and said.


    "They confiscated it, I guess I haven''t earned the right to be the one to carry it like some freak."


    Jin-woo smiled, then turned around while saying.


    "I''m leaving, I''ll be back soon."


    "Yeah, then we''ll continue our conversation where we left offst night!"


    Jin-woo continued walking as if he hadn''t heard Seo-joon''s words.


    Seo-joon pursed his lips upon seeing this but he then thought of something, and his voice turned serious as he added before Jin-woo could fully walk away.


    "Be careful of that bastard."


    Jin-woo didn''t turn around but instead used the banana milk in his right hand to tap the gun on his waist.


    However, Jin-woo suddenly heard from behind.


    "So, you can hear me!"


    Jin-woo''s eyebrows twitched and the pace of his steps increased, bringing him towards the gathered students near the double doors. He was wondering what kind of excuse he shoulde up with to get Seo-joon to drop the subject of his abilities.


    "Just say the theory in my journal about your dreams being predictions was a coincidence."


    Seong said from the side as if reading his mind.


    Sure Jin-woo could say that, but the problem was Seo-joon buying it.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    But Jin-woo soon put aside those thoughts for now and focused on the situation at hand. He ced the two sandwiches and banana milk into his jacket''s pockets and walked past the students to the double doors.


    Jin-woo spotted Ye-jun and a few of the students from ss 1A in the crowd, but he ignored them and approached the unbroken window on one of the double metal doors. As he nced through it, Seong appeared outside and after looking left and right he looked back at Jin-woo and gave a thumbs up.


    At that moment, someone from the gathered students suddenly asked.


    "Jin, is it really safe to go outside?"


    Jin-woo nced back at the girl who had spoken and then at the other students to see nervous expressions on their faces as they clutched the wooden bats in their hands. Those bats were found in the storage room where the P.E. gears were.


    Smiling, Jin-woo said reassuringly.


    "It''s okay, I won''t let anything happen to you guys."


    Even though Jin-woo said this, the nervous expressions were still seen on everyone''s faces, though it noticeably lessened.


    Grabbing the metaltch and opening the door, Jin-woo stepped outside with the students closely following behind him.


    Seong''s body flickered and appeared at the corner where the stairs leading to the second floor were. He cleared the corner and Jin-woo confidently walked forward.


    The students, who were all taking hesitant steps behind Jin-woo, saw his confident strides and couldn''t help but feel a bit of awe in their hearts. However, when they saw him turn the corner up ahead without even checking, their hearts almost leaped out of their throats.


    Jin-woo''s head suddenly stuck back out from the corner he just turned, and he said with a chuckle.


    "You guys should probably keep up or else I might leave you behind."


    Upon hearing that, some of the students'' faces went pale and they hurriedly rushed to catch up to Jin-woo.


    Seeing their reactions, Jin-woo paused, then forced a smile. Perhaps he shouldn''t have chosen a joke like that to lighten the mood.


    After the students all rushed to the bottom of the steps, Jin-woo sighed and decided to just give them time to calm down. He just had to keep calm himself and they would naturally follow.


    Climbing up on the third step, Jin-woo turned and addressed the students below.


    "I want to set some rules while we head to the roof. First, while climbing up the steps, do it in a single file while sticking to the left. Second, while walking down the halls, I''ll be at the front while you guys stick to the sides so I can have a clear view of the hall toward the back. Third andstly, try not to make any loud noise even if you see a zombie approaching us. Well, that''s if you''re suddenly being attacked by one, haha. If so, just scream as loudly as you can to alert us toe help you. Oh, there might be a few zombies trapped in the ssrooms on the second floor, and those ssrooms have windows so be careful of that when passing them. Okay, are you all ready?"


    After Jin-woo finished with a smile, he looked around only to see the students staring at him with either strange or terrified looks.


    The strange looks were due to his casualness about being attacked, and the terrified looks were due to them hearing about zombies being in the ssrooms.


    Jin-woo paused, then mentally reminded himself not to let his dark sense of humor slip out and ruin his recently established saintly image.


    "Jin, can we go now?"


    "Yeah, just standing here makes me think a zombie might rush in from outside."


    Hearing this, Jin-woo nced to the left and saw the main entrance that had its broken metal doors dangling from a few intact hinges.


    Turns out a few of those terrified expressions from the students were due to them internally freaking out over Jin-woo choosing to say all this only after they were outside.


    Jin-woo coughed in his fist and then said.


    "Alright, let''s head out."


    Grabbing the gun from the utility belt at his side, Jin-woo turned and began leading everyone to the roof.

 Chapter 94- Extreme Heartache

    On the stairs leading to the fourth floor, the studentsmented on the broken floor-to-ceiling windows next to them and the ones they had passed on the lower floors.


    "Boss Jin-woo said he shot them out to gather the zombies."


    "Yeah, at first when he suggested the n to trap those things, I didn''t think he could pull it off, but he actually did."


    "That''s boss Jin-woo for you, he''s not like us mere mortals."


    "Guys, focus, you don''t want to get distracted and fall four-stores down."


    Jin-woo said from above the steps, and the boys who were talking looked at the broken window next to them and shivered. They no longer held up the line and quickly made their way up the steps.


    With familiarity, the students then split into two groups and walked along the hallways while Jin-woo stood in the middle, gun in hand.


    On the way, they had only seen a zombie once or twice, a testament to how effective Jin-woo''s n was, but even then, those zombies were trapped in ssrooms. They had to crawl under the windows to get past those zombies, but the students weed such inconvenience rather than facing a zombie head-on.


    Now that they were on the fourth floor, they only had to look out for the open doors along the hallway. They watched more than enough zombie horror flicks to be careless when passing those doors.


    With that said, most of the students were somewhat rxedpared to before. Some were even chatting amongst themselves in hush whispers as they followed the still-calm Jin-woo up ahead.


    However, perhaps they had rxed a bit too early.


    "Stop!"


    Jin-woo yelled while holding up his hand. The students all stiffen in ce, some not even daring to breathe loudly.


    Up ahead, Jin-woo watched as Seong motioned to a left turn in the hallway and a serious expression appeared on his face.


    Time passed by slowly, with the students behind Jin-woo getting more and more nervous. Just when someone was about to speak up to ask Jin-woo what was wrong, his words got stuck in his throat as a figure suddenly turned the corner up ahead.


    A few girls quickly covered their mouths out of fear while a few of the boys gripped the bats in their hands. But despite the nervousness they were all feeling, seeing Jin-woo''s back gave them a sense of assurance.


    Everyone tacitly remained silent while watching the zombie slowly make its way before them.


    It seemed it hadn''t yet noticed them. However, a faint thud suddenly echoed out in the hall. Even though it was faint, in this silent space it was extremely deafening.


    All eyes couldn''t help but doubtfully nce in the direction the noise came from.


    A boy who was looking down at his bat that identally hit the wall had his face go pale before he turned to see everyone giving him disbelieving looks.


    Jin-woo also turned to look at the youth, who was directly behind him. However, before anyone could react, the zombie''s head suddenly snapped in this direction.


    With a loud screech that bounced off the walls of the hallway, it charged forward, passing through Seong and rushing at everyone.


    The students couldn''t help but panic slightly, but Jin-woo kept calm and raised his gun. However, he paused and then suddenly decided not to waste his bullets.


    With an air ofposure, Jin-woo fitted the gun back into his utility belt then turned to the youth who had made the noise and motioned for the bat in his hand.


    The youth didn''t hesitate to throw the bat towards Jin-woo, who caught it just as the zombie came within ten steps.


    Gripping the bat, Jin-woo forcefully twisted his waist and swung forward. With a sickening crack, the bat hit the zombie''s neck breaking it. The zombie staggered to the right before its momentum carried it forward, where Jin-woo dodged and allowed it to fall to the ground.


    Jin-woo was then about to step forward and hit the zombie again, but he realized it was unmoving.


    Upon seeing this, the students all cheered silently, but Jin-woo frowned.


    Up until this point, he had only ever killed a zombie with a gun, and it was straight to the head, so he thought as long as the zombie''s head was destroyed then it would die.


    At least, that''s what the movies said.


    However, what he was seeing now waspletely different. His hit was strong, but it had only broken its neck, its head was still intact.


    As the students silently shifted away from the zombie, Jin-woo approached to examine it.


    Seong appeared next to Jin-woo and seeing his expression, he asked.


    "What''s wrong, Jin?"


    With his back facing the students, Jin-woo whispered under his breath.


    "Why did it die? I barely hit it."


    Seong paused and then his brows furrowed as well, before he nced down at the zombie.


    "Strange."


    Seong muttered and started walking around the zombie. He realized he and Jin-woo might have overlooked something about these zombies.


    As Seong was examining the zombie, his brows suddenly furrowed even deeper, and he pointed at its face before calling Jin-woo over.


    "Jin, look at this."


    Jin-woo got up and walked around to see what Seong was pointing at.


    "It''s eyes, look at its eyes."


    Jin-woo''s gaze shifted to the zombie''s eyes, and immediately his eyebrows raised in surprise.


    "It''s not dead?"


    Jin-woo muttered as he observed the zombie''s eyelids fluttered rapidly.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Jin, something is wrong about this."


    Jin-woo looked away from the zombie to see that Seong''s expression was one of distress.


    "This zombie''s neck is broken, severing the spinal cord and nerves. It makes sense if this happened to someone and it permanently paralyzes them, but¡­ but this is a zombie, regardless of the injury to its body the virus in its brain should allow it to move."


    Suddenly, Jin-woo''s face turned pale as the meaning of Seong''s words slowly sunk in.


    ncing at the zombie in front of him, Jin-woo said hoarsely.


    "If¡­ If human-like injuries have the same effect on them, then does that mean the virus hasn''t changed their biology beyond repair? If that''s the case then... then it means a cure could return them to normal, right?"


    Jin-woo looked at the zombie on the ground, who was a youth around the same age as him. He was wearing the school uniform with stters of blood covering it. Perhaps if it were not for his extremely pale skin and the ck veins snaking across his face, the youth might have looked like he was cosying as a zombie.


    No, the obvious protrusion of his spine at the back of his neck was too eye-catching.


    Seong remained silent at Jin-woo''s questions, but his silence was already an answer itself.


    Jin-woo suddenly felt extreme heartache, if a cure can return these people to normal then wouldn''t killing them be akin to murdering innocent people?


    After a moment, Jin-woo stood up and opened one of the doors nearby. He then dragged the youth''s paralyzed body as gently as he could into the room and then exited.


    Most of the students were observing Jin-woo, and his quiet mutters to himself did not go unnoticed. After he exited the room and closed the door, they all gave him hesitant looks.


    "Freak."


    A voice was heard among the crowd, and more than a few people heard it.


    A few res were sent in Ye-jun''s direction, but he merely fixed his sses and ignored them.


    However, it was at this moment that the students remembered that Jin-woo was diagnosed with schizophrenia. But, given his actions up until now, he should be fine... right?

 Chapter 95- Ordinary Sentiments

    "That''s the eighth zombie we encountered that he trapped inside a room. Why doesn''t he just kill them?"


    A boy asked among the students who were about to reach the stairs leading to the roof.


    "I don''t know. Maybe he feels conflicted since they are students like us."


    "I don''t me Jin-woo for feeling conflicted, I also feel the same. After all, those zombies could have easily been me."


    A few more boys spoke up about Jin-woo''s actions. Along the way there they met a total of nine stray zombies.


    The number didn''te as a surprise to Jin-woo since the zombies were mostly gathered on the fourth floor before he trapped them. It wasn''t unreasonable that a few remained. As for him not killing those zombies, he didn''t bother exining his actions to the others despite overhearing their conversations.


    After climbing up the stairs. Jin-woo reached the doors leading to the roof only to see that a chain locked with a padlock was wrapped around its metal handlebars.


    The students surrounding Jin-woo on the stair ind all despaired when they saw the lock, but their eyes suddenly lit up when they witnessed Jin-woo taking out a bundle of keys from one of the pockets in the utility belt around his waist.


    But as Jin-woo was sifting through the keys to find the right one, a familiar female voice suddenly echoed next to him.


    "Jin, how were you able to tell when a zombie was approaching us?"


    Jin-woo paused and turned to see that the voice came from Mai-sun.


    "Ah, that''s right! Jin, how did you know?"


    "Yeah, it was cool how you were able to do that. Is it like a sixth sense?"


    The boys, having the thoughts that they had at the back of their minds asked out in the open, started staring at Jin-woo with curious gazes.


    Jin-woo''s gaze lingered on the smiling Mai-sun for a moment before he turned back to sifting through keys while answering nonmittedly.


    "Hm, something like that."


    Before any more questions could be thrown his way, Jin-woo finally found the right key and unlocked the door. He pushed it open, and a stream of sunlightnded on everyone.


    Despite the sr panels and the AC units, the roof was still extremely spacious with even a slight elevation some distance away from the door, which was used as a helipad. For safety reasons, the ledges were also secured with a three-meter-tall green fence.


    The excited students all spilled out onto the roof like birds freed from a cage, while Jin-woo walked to the side and sat near a ledge.


    Seong, however, went to the ledge. The football field as well as the auditorium and gymnasium were to his left, but he wasn''t gazing in that direction, his attention was transfixed on the buildings outside of the school.


    From here, faint smoke could be seen swirling up into the air from several buildings on fire.


    The students who were once excited felt like a bucket of cold water had been doused on their heads. Some had their expressions go pale as they watched the burning buildings, while others'' expressions turned gloomy.


    No one could remain calm upon seeing this scene. The reality of their situation, which they had been willfully ignorant of while being stuck in the cafeteria, was nowid bare in front of them.


    Perhaps it was just an illusion, but it felt like they could hear faint screams filled with agonying from those burning buildings in the distance.


    It took a long while for the students to snap out of their gloomy moods brought on by the chaotic scene. For those who had phones they either yed games or watched random videos.


    They had been avoiding watching the news all this while because they knew how bad the situation outside was. For those who lived in Itaewon or Yongsan District as a whole, their families and everyone they knew outside of the school were likely already dead as they couldn''t even get them on the phone.


    As for those who had family outside of Yongsan District, those with phones called directly while the teachers organized for those without to borrow from others to call.


    Meanwhile, the others were going through a rollercoaster of emotions Jin-woo chose not to look. Not that he didn''t care, but because he had longe to terms with the world plunging into chaos¡­ and his likely death.


    Jin-woo knew that the Marshal would never let him go after getting his hands on the cure. At the very least if he was not killed, he would be locked away in ab facility.


    Even with his abilities, Jin-woo wasn''t sure if he could remain unscathed. He and Seong had never talked about this point, but they both knew of the danger he would be putting himself in if he went along with everyone.


    As for not going with the rescue team and escaping by himself¡­ Jin-woo was indeed contemting it, but he hesitated because he wasn''t confident in surviving on his own.


    Plus, who knows how long a cure would take to be created without his blood? The sooner a cure is created the better the chances are to stop this virus before it gets even more out of control.


    Sitting cross-legged, Jin-woo took out his two sandwiches and banana milk. But before he ate, he fished out his phone to pull up a video. As for which video, it was a video on the news overseas.


    After finding a channel page of a big news station on Newtube, Jin-woo clicked on a recently published video. He then ced the phone on his left knee and picked up one of the sandwiches to eat. But at that moment someone suddenly approached and sat next to him.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jin-woo, who was just about to take a bite of his sandwich, paused. But he soon ignored the person and focused on eating.


    Just then, the female news anchor started speaking in the video.


    "We''ve received reports that all the countries in the U.N. have decided to cut off all travel going to and from South Korea. The decision came as a response to the mysterious and deadly virus that suddenly appeared in the Yongsan District of Seoul. The number of infected is currently unavable but the virus is said to have ravaged Yongsan District which is home to the well-known and popted Itaewon neighborhood leaving only a few residents alive¡­"


    Suddenly, the female anchor paused reading the teleprompter, and her face showed a skeptical expression. It was as if she couldn''t believe the next words she was supposed to say. However, she was a professional, so her pausested for only a few seconds. But even as she resumed speaking, she couldn''t help but voice her doubts.


    "I¡­I apologize, but it seems this deadly virus has resulted in something straight out of a horror film... The South Korean government has been silent about the specifics as to what this virus is, but videos of the situation in Itaewon have gone viral on social media as it''s revealed that... that zombies are attacking people."


    The female anchor stuttered on thest few words before it cut to the videos that she had mentioned.


    The first video showed a short clip of a zombie being unsteadily recorded through a window as it stumbled through the narrow streets of Itaewon. The second clip was of someone shaking on the ground while being surrounded by a few people trying to help, it seems they were in some sort of office building.


    A few more clips were yed, but Jin-woo got the jest of it and instead chose to check thements under the video.


    He scrolled through and as he suspected, people didn''t believe the video was real. Somemented that it wasn''t April Fools yet, and others asked if they had somehow clicked on a parody ount rather than a credible news source.


    Jin-woo also saw a fewments asking which low-budget zombie movie these clips came from, as if they wanted to check out this supposed ''indie movie.''


    Thements on this video weren''t only in English, a few othernguages were there, some Jin-woo himself couldn''t understand.


    Suddenly, Jin-woo saw ament in Chinese that made him almost choke on the piece of sandwich he had just bitten.


    TrendyFoist: "Damn, from all those Hollywood movies I thought it was apany in the US that would be the first ones to start a zombie apocalypse, not our brothers over in SK."


    Jin-woo managed to swallow the piece of food in his mouth sessfully before he smiled bitterly, but also curiously opened the replies.


    Commy3994: "Lmao, you really believe this? Ain''t no way this is real, it''s probably fake news. But if it was real, it was prob done by you Japs."


    TrendyFoist: "@Commy3994 Idiot, I''m Chinese, not Japanese."


    Commy3994: "@TrendyFoist Is there a difference? Lol"


    TrendyFoist: "@TrendyFoist You must be a stupid American, go and educate yourself."


    Commy3994: "@TrendyFoist wow, how can you be so racist?"


    TrendyFoist: "@Commy3994 how am I racist? You started this"


    Commy3994: "@TrendyFoist RACIST"


    GuiltyDream: "@TrendyFoist Dude, he''s just trolling you, lol. Don''t respond to ppl like him."


    Jin-woo came to the end of thements, but this brief interaction pretty much summed up a majority of people''s reactions to this news. Either they didn''t believe it was real, or they half believed it but still joked about it.


    Overall, the sentiments were ordinary.


    Suddenly, the person who had been silently sitting next to Jin-woo finally spoke up.


    "Jin, did you speak with my mother? Was she okay?"


    Jin-woo paused, then nced at Mai-sun next to him.


    Seeing her expression as she silently stared at him, Jin-woo suddenly realized, that for the first time since he had known this girl, she had dropped her rather manufactured attitude.

 Chapter 96- Playing Games

    Jin-woo nced away from Mai-sun, and after staring at his second-half-eaten sandwich for a moment he took a bite, but not before saying.


    "She''s the only one in the world who can create a cure, she''s safe so long as that''s the case."


    Upon hearing that, Mai-sun''s expression flickered before she asked softly.


    "So, you''re saying there''s a chance of her being in danger after she creates a cure?"


    "Damn, she''s sharp."


    Seong suddenlymented from the side.


    Jin-woo didn''t respond to Mai-sun as he was too busy eating his sandwich.


    However, to Mai-sun, it looked like he was using this as an excuse to not answer the question.


    Indeed, Jin-woo deliberately chose to not answer and remained silent on the matter.


    This silence persisted with the only sounding from the female anchor who was continuing to report on the reactions of the countries overseas to the virus.


    But Jin-woo was momentarily unable to focus on her and was instead reflecting on the current situation. He had created a temporary safe haven in the midst of a storm, but when they eventually leave, they would be confronted with everything they had been shielded from.


    Though Jin-woo felt he was exempt from this as he knew more than what the others and even this female news anchor did. But it was because of this that he was sometimes forced to remain silent when faced with inquiries.


    First, it was Seo-joon, now it was Mai-sun, but as time goes on the number will only increase more and more.


    As the storm raged outside, in this silent safe-heaven, Jin-woo''s silence might be even louder.


    "Jin! Do you want to y?"


    A voice suddenly interrupted Jin-woo''s thoughts and he looked up to see Jeon-sok and a few youths. They approached and exined they were looking for more people to y video games with, and when they saw him with a phone, they decided to have him join.


    "Sure, but I might not have the game on my phone."


    "No problem, no problem, you can download it for free on Steam."


    The person leading this group of youths and more eager to have Jin-woo join was Jeon-sok.


    Jin-woo looked at him and tilted his head.


    "Steam? What''s that?"


    Jeon-sok upon hearing this froze, and he couldn''t help but look at Jin-woo with a nk expression. The other youths gave Jin-woo simr looks as well.


    Without a word, Jeon-sok took Jin-woo''s phone to create a Steam ount and download the game they were ying. Simultaneously, he exined that Steam was essentially an online store where people could freely download or buy video games.


    "The game we''re ying is sort of like CS, but with crappy graphics."


    Jeon-sok said as he handed the phone back to Jin-woo.


    "CS?"


    "It means counter strike, have you never heard of it before?"


    Jin-woo shook his head.


    "Boss Jin, don''t you y games?"


    "Yeah, I thought Boss Jin would be someone who yed these types of games because of how good you are with guns."


    The other boys all voiced their surprise when they realized Jin-woo''s knowledge of games was practically zero.


    "I only read weics on my phone. I was always busy with my clubs, so I never had time for games. But I can learn now, so tell me how to y this game."


    "It''s easy! Here let me exin. The right control right here is for moving the yer and the left is for moving his vision. That button here is for shooting, and this is for reloading. You can also switch guns if you click this button."


    Jeon-sok happily took on the role of exining the game''s mechanics to Jin-woo. After making sure Jin-woo understood he added.


    "We''re ying a team battle, so we''re facing off against other people online and if we wipe them out, we win."


    Jin-woo nodded, getting an idea of the game. Though despite understanding the game''s mechanics his ying was horrendous, and this was obvious after a few games.


    "No, Jin, that''s me!"


    Jeon-sok yelled, then looked at Jin-woo with an exasperated expression. This was the eighth time that Jin-woo had killed someone from their party with this one being the third time he had killed him.


    Jeon-sok even started to wonder to himself if Jin-woo was doing this on purpose. Was he trolling them?


    "Sorry, sorry."


    Jin-woo apologized with a forced smile on his face, and Jeon-sok had to swallow his emotions. If it was someone else, he and the others would have cursed the person for being aplete noob who was holding them back before booting them off the team.


    "Look, I''ll exin it again. The enemies have red arrows over their heads, and we have blue arrows over ours, okay? "


    "Sorry, it''s just that I get nervous when I see someone, and I subconsciously shoot without thinking."


    Jeon-sok and the other the seven youths nced at the gun tucked in Jin-woo''s waist and gulped nervously. Thankfully, he was only like this in a game.


    "Jin, just focus on the color of the arrows and match it to our position."


    "Hm, I got it, I got it.


    Jin-woo said as he nodded his head with a serious expression on his face. However, Jeon-sok felt uneasy as this was Jin-woo''s exact response the previous seven times.


    Another match started, and just as Jeon-sok suspected, Jin-woo murdered his own teammates yet again.


    However, this time neither Jeon-sok nor the other seven youths cursed Jin-woo in their hearts. Instead, they stared at him with utter disbelief on their faces.


    The reason was that during their final attack against their enemy, there was a scuffle, and amid everything, Jin-woo urately headshot three people back-to-back.


    Two of those people were Jeon-sok and another youth from their team, while thest one was from the opposing team. But the problem was, after Jin-woo killed Jeon-sok and the other youth, he was the only one remaining from their team while the enemy still had three people.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jeon-sok then leaned over to watch as Jin-woo headshot one of those three who was harmlessly peeking out from behind a tree but was then suddenly shot from the back by an ambush.


    Suddenly, Jeon-sok and the others recalled that despite Jin-woo''s crappy y, each time he killed them or anyone else it was always a headshot.


    Jeon-sok thought for a moment then suggested.


    "Why don''t we y a game between us?"


    Jin-woo naturally didn''t object to this, and the others didn''t as well, but a strange look was in their eyes.


    "We''ll do a timer battle royal where the person who scores the most kills for twenty minutes wins."


    Jeon-sok exined to Jin-woo before the match between the nine of them started.


    However, as the twenty minutes slowly drained away, the expressions on Jeon-sok and the other seven youths'' faces increasingly turned more and more dumbfounded.


    When the twenty minutes were finally up, everyone looked at Jin-woo''s stats in mute silence.


    First ce: Jin_101


    Kills: 34


    Headshots: 34


    Second ce: Jeon69


    Kills: 12


    Headshots: 2


    They especially looked at the kills-to-headshot ratio whenpared to Jeon-sok who was in second ce, and they couldn''t help but have their eyes shine when they turn to stare at Jin-woo.


    Jeon-sok reacted quickly and organized another team match against online yers where he devised a strategy with Jin-woo as the center.


    To put the n simply, they just stand back and send Jin-woo to wreak havoc on the enemy. After he was killed, they would step through his trail of destruction to avenge him.


    This n worked effectively, and everyone decided to shift the games from unrated to rated so they could increase their ranks.


    After their sixth rated-game winning streak, Jeon-sok couldn''t help but flung his head back and let out a peal of maniacalughter.


    He might have lost it for a moment as he pped Jin-woo on his left shoulder and said.


    "Jin, you need to keep this up. Our lives depend on it!"


    Jin-woo looked at Jeon-sok and saw his intense gaze, he paused and then forced a smile. He didn''t get it but still nodded. However, Jeon-sok''s hit caused a slight re-up in his shoulder injury, and he winced before rolling his shoulder.


    "Oh, sorry."


    Jeon-sok finally snapped out of it when he saw this, but his friends upon seeing Jin-woo rubbing his shoulders almost fainted.


    A youth next to Jeon-sok pped him over his head and raged.


    "Idiot, if you injure Boss Jin, how is he going to carry- I mean support us?"


    "It was an ident; I didn''t mean it."


    Jeon-sok rubbed his head and turned to give Jin-woo an apologetic look.


    However, Jin-woo smiled and said.


    "I''m fine, I can still y."


    Jeon-sok and the others got excited when they heard that, but just as they were about to start up another team match, a voice was suddenly heard saying.


    "How about ying against us?"


    Jin-woo and the others turned to the voice, only to see Ye-jun walking over with eight or so other students from ss 1A following behind him.


    "What kind of game is he trying to y now?"


    Seong immediately said while ring at Ye-jun.


    Jin-woo also looked at Ye-jun with a frown and given the expressions on Jeon-sok and the other seven youths'' faces, he and Seong weren''t the only ones who didn''t wee these people''s presence.

 Chapter 97- Smoke On The Horizon

    "You must be crazy to think we would agree. We don''t even want someone like you near us. Get lost!"


    Jeon-sok was like a cat that had its tail stepped on and he erupted at Ye-jun.


    "Absolutely shameless."


    "Yeah, how does he have the courage to approach Boss Jin?"


    The other seven youths reacted simrly to Jeon-sok. Their biting remarks were mostly aimed at Ye-jun, but some were hurled at the others behind him, which caused their faces to turn ugly.


    They wanted to retort back, or at the very least turn and walk away, but Ye-jun had instructed them to stay quiet.


    However, he had not informed them beforehand that they were going to y games with them.


    Even the students with Ye-jun couldn''t understand why he was doing this, so Jin-woo was even more puzzled.


    With furrowed brows, Jin-woo stared at Ye-jun who was still calmly standing there despite the insults. He then opened his mouth about to speak, but Mai-sun, who had been sitting behind him silently watching them y, suddenly spoke up.


    "I think you guys are going too far with your words. It''s just ying a game. We''re all in this situation together so being against each other like this will only cause trouble."


    Jeon-sok and his seven friends went silent, a bit taken aback because it sounded like Mai-sun was speaking up for Ye-jun.


    But wasn''t she friends with Jin-woo? They even heard they were childhood friends.


    Jeon-sok''s seven friends weren''t people from ss 1A so they did not know the true rtionship between Jin-woo and Mai-sun.


    No, even those in ss 1A thought Mai-sun and Jin-woo were friends. Though with a particr dynamic between them, with Mai-sun trying to be nice, and Jin-woo, in response, giving her the cold shoulder.


    Jeon-sok paused for a moment, but he suddenly recalled all the times he had seen Ye-jun before they came to the cafeteria, and he realized Mai-sun had always been next to him.


    ''No, wait!''


    Jeon-sok''s pupils suddenly constricted as he remembered something else.


    Mai-sun was the one Yoon-min sacrificed himself to save, he hadpletely forgotten about that. Yet despite that, she was sticking up for Ye-jun in this situation.


    At this moment, Jeon-sok was suddenly aware of Mai-sun and her weird behavior, something he hadn''t taken notice of until now.


    Face turning cold, he looked at her and said.


    "How can you say that after Yoon-min risked his life to save you? If it wasn''t for Ye-jun our ssmate and Yoon-min''s best friend Micah wouldn''t have died. You seem to want us to make up, but did this bastard even apologize to Jin-woo?"


    "Ha? You think I don''t feel guilty? Yoon-min died yet here I am safe and sound, so you''re thinking how dare I speak up for Ye-jun, right? But what should I do? Should I go jump off the roof hoping my death will bring Yoon-min back? Is that what you want?"


    Mai-sun immediately pped back and Jeon-sok was left speechless, not knowing how to respond.


    "I just don''t want anyone else to die because of me, but if you all keep fighting then that''s exactly what''s going to happen."


    After saying this, Mai-sun turned her head away, not willing to pay any more attention to this situation after having her good intentions turned against her.


    Jeon-sok didn''t know what to do with himself. He felt slightly bad, so he scratched his head and said.


    "I never said you should kill yourself, don''t misunderstand me."


    However, the moment he uttered those words, he realized that his intention to call out Mai-sun''s involvement with Yoon-min''s death had shifted to him trying to me her for it. It wasn''t a good look, and the atmosphere turned awkward when Mai-sun didn''t respond.


    Seong nced at Mai-sun and suddenly said to Jin-woo.


    "Looks like her acting has gone up a notch."


    Jin-woo didn''t respond but he subtly nodded his head to show his agreement.


    He and Seong had known Mai-sun since they were young, so they knew her personality well. When she says or does stuff like this and they say she was acting, it doesn''t mean they thought her words and feelings were fake, but that she loves to weaponize her words and those feelings to make herself look good.


    If her personality was rated out of five, it would be two parts narcissism and three parts anarchism.


    Those three parts of anarchism being there because when she does weaponize her words and feelings it''s to sow chaos along with making herself look good.


    Jin-woo looked at Ye-jun and then said.


    "Do you have the game? How many of you are we ying against?"


    Jin-woo didn''t really care what Ye-jun was nning, and even though he didn''t like it when it wasing from Mai-sun, she was right. They couldn''t continue fighting amongst themselves, or else something horrible would happen at the worst possible time.


    Instead of splitting the group into factions that are antagonistic towards each other, Jin-woo would rather have everyone stick together. To do that he had to lead by example by agreeing to this since he was a figurehead of one of those factions, after all, his problem was with Ye-jun not his ssmates in ss 1A.


    "We can just download it. Eight."


    Ye-jun''s response was curt, leaving Jeon-sok and the others frowning in response. However, they nheless make space for them to sit down. Afterward, they work to get the game onto their phones.


    Before long Jeon-sok was organizing a team match between them, eight on Ye-jun''s side and nine on Jin-woo''s side.


    The first match started with Jeon-sok using the same tactic as before, by sending out Jin-woo as a one-man army.


    However, he and the others realized something was different about Jin-woo after he headshoted the third person from Ye-jun''s group.


    A strange scene then unfolded, Jeon-sok and the others crowded around Jin-woo who was taking everyone on solo.


    Their breaths soon hitched in their throats after the seventh headshot just outside a cabin.


    Jin-woo then pushed open that cabin''s door, but instead of entering he suddenly ducked, where bullets immediately exploded above his head, narrowingly missing him. Then, in one fluid motion, he switched to a sh grenade which he tossed inside the cabin before retreating, the door automatically closing as he did.


    After a second, Jin-woo stepped back into the cabin. Inside Ye-jun''s yer was motionless while pointing straight at the door.


    Ye-jun''s entire phone screen was white, but the moment he heard the door being open from Jin-woo''s phone he fired his gun.


    However, Jin-woo was one step ahead.


    Even though Ye-jun could hear the door being open, he couldn''t see that Jin-woo was holding a hand grenade that was tossed into the cabin before he retreated again. A few bulletsnded but didn''t decrease his health barpletely.


    A loud explosion echoed out in the cabin and Ye-jun silently stared at the phone he had borrowed which was showing a blood-red screen with the words ''you are dead'' written in bold red letters.


    Jeon-sok and the others immediately reacted, cheering wildly. They all collectively almost lost their minds as they couldn''t believe Jin-woo just soloed the entire game. They wished they had recorded it so they could post it online.


    Even a few of the students from ss 1A couldn''t help but voice their amazement, while the others were more subdued, giving Jin-woo dumbfounded looks.


    "Let''s y again."


    Ye-jun''s voice cut through the excitement while he was seen fixing his sses. If he was upset, no one could tell from his voice or bodynguage.


    "Haha, sure!"


    Jeon-sok was the first one to agree, and the students from ss 1A couldn''t help but feel irked.


    However, Ye-jun calmly motioned to one of them and whispered something into his ears. Eyes lighting up, this youth passed on the message to the youth beside him, and this went on until all seven youths heard Ye-jun''s orders.


    Jeon-sok saw this, but he only sneered.


    No matter what kind of n they came up with it would be useless.


    However, after the second match ended, Jeon-sok and the seven other youths'' faces were ashen.


    Jin-woo, however, calmly looked up from his blood-red phone screen at Ye-jun who was staring back at him with an equally calm expression.


    "So even in a game, you''re willing to sacrifice people so you could survive."


    After Jin-woo said this he turned to his former ssmates next to Ye-jun before adding.


    "Be careful he doesn''t do this to you in real life."


    Upon hearing that, those seven youths had their expressions change before they nced at Ye-jun with hesitant expressions.


    In the game just now, Ye-jun had instructed two of them to be bait for Jin-woo to lure him into a building where Ye-jun could snipe him from a distance. At the same time, the rest of the team would ambush Jeon-sok and the others who were unprepared.


    With Ye-jun looking over the battlefield with a sniper after taking out Jin-woo, they werepletely decimated.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jeon-sok soon recovered from the devastating loss before he gritted his teeth and turned to Ye-jun to ask for a rematch.


    However, just as he opened his mouth to speak, a loud explosion suddenly echoed before an earthquake-like tremor rocked the building and caused a few of the girls to scream out in terror.


    Jin-woo''s body jerked due to the building shaking, but he quickly stabilized himself and hurriedly got up to see what had happened. Immediately his gazended outside of the school where he saw a bellowing cluster of smoke rising into the air on the horizon.


    It was too far away to see what exactly was on fire, but from the loud sound and the massive impact of the st, it seemed the building held some explosive chemicals.

 Chapter 98- The Person On The Roof

    "That''s terrifying, what could have caused such a loud explosion?"


    "I don''t know, but the zombies must be a part of it."


    "Maybe an ident happened at some chemical nt."


    "Are there things like that in Itaewon?"


    "I don''t think so, but look how far that explosion happened, it must have happened in a different district."


    "That should be the case, but is it really some chemical nt exploding? That earthquake feels like a small shockwave to us, but we are far from the epicenter. I''d be more convinced if a bomb had gone off."


    "Not necessary, if the explosion urred underground then theoretically it could cause an earthquake-like reaction."


    "But what chemical nt is underground? It''s likely a subway station exploding or something."


    "Yeah, that makes more sense."


    "Hey, look! Smoke is rising from more than one direction."


    As the students discussed the explosion, Jin-woo stood by the edge of the building, gripping the fence surrounding it. When he heard thest sentence, he shifted his gaze to the left, and indeed, he saw another trail of smoke rising into the air.


    There were even a few to the right that were a bit closer, a few miles out.


    Jin-woo''s grip on the fence tightened as a foreboding feeling started to rise in his heart.


    "Everyone-"


    He turned to the students ready to gather everyone to head back to the cafeteria, however, he was cut off by the sudden ringing of the school bell.


    The suddenness of the bell startled everyone, with a few people holding their chests as if to keep their hearts from jumping out.


    "Damn it, what bad timing, that bell nearly scared me to death."


    "Wait, that''s the bell signaling that lunch is over."


    One youth suddenly said in confusion.


    "Yeah, I guess around this time we''d be rushing to get to ss after lunch."


    Another youth responded, but the youth who spoke with confusion rified.


    "No, I mean it''s Saturday, why is the bell ringing?"


    "Oh."


    Not only the youth but the others were taken aback as they realized the oddity.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jin-woo stiffened before he suddenly spun around and stared in the direction of the explosion on the horizon. His eyes reflected the smoke rising into the sky, bing an indication of sorts to the increasing panic growing within him.


    ''Chemical nt¡­ Underground¡­ The bell ringing¡­''


    The students'' conversations spun and spun in Jin-woo''s mind as he came to a terrifying conclusion.


    "Substation¡­"


    Immediately after Jin-woo uttered those words his face turned pale.


    Seong, who was next to Jin-woo, heard him, and his expression changed. Gritting his teeth he said.


    "No wonder, no wonder! This smoke is in the direction of Samgakji Substation in Yongsan District! That tremor just now must be due to the distribution lines exploding and causing an ident in the subway lines!"


    Seong turned and started pacing back and forth behind Jin-woo while sweeping his hand through his dyed blond hair.


    "The bell ringing should also be due to the main power going out and the school''s backup power kicking in."


    Jin-woo nced at the newly installed sr panels on the other side of the roof, and his heart sank.


    This was the very reason for Seong''s anxious reaction, those sr panels were newly installed by the school over the winter break.


    Luckily, they weren''t grid-tied sr panels that would shut off along with the main power, but unluckily they were either a hybrid system of both grid and sr panel, or at the very least solely sr panel.


    Why was that unlucky? Because depending on the size of the sr panel''s battery, the power it can generate from sunlight ranges from a couple of hours at the lowest to forty-eight hours at the highest.


    Jin-woo''s mind worked.


    ''Judging by the size of the school''s renovations over winter break, their budget should have allowed them to install the highest quality batteries, which canst forty-eight hours before needing to recharge.''


    However, despite his reassuring thoughts, Jin-woo''s anxiety didn''t lessen.


    This west wing was extremelyrge with a camera system and a lot of back-end power usage. That forty-eight hours could very likely be severed in half to keep everything running¡­ No, since they were newly installed who is to say they didn''t have only a few hours remaining until the power went out for good?


    Jin-woo''s breath hit his throat as he turned to look at the auditorium and gymnasium.


    From where he was, he could faintly hear the speakers that were keeping the zombies in check, but just as the implications of them being cut off started upying his mind, his thoughts and the sound of the speakers were drowned out by the chattering of his fellow schoolmates.


    Some were still a bit frightened by the explosion and the bell, while others were making fun of each other for their initially scared reaction.


    This contrasting scene of Jin-woo stirring in his tumultuous waves of panicking thoughts while the studentsughed behind him made it seem as if they were both inpletely different worlds.


    Seong finally stopped pacing around and turned to look at his best friend.


    "Jin, what are we going to do? If things go on like this, then we''ll be surrounded by zombies before help arrives. Should we stay hoping the power willst until White Tiger forces arrive, or should we take the risk and leave to meet up with them?"


    Jin-woo closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the fence. He took deep breaths to try and calm down so he could properly analyze the current situation.


    Seong paused, then silently approached Jin-woo and patted his back.


    "One little star, two little stars, three little stars¡­"


    He sang that familiar nursery rhyme and Jin-woo felt his stifled emotions pop like a bubble before he began to calm down.


    After about a minute, Jin-woo exhaled onest breath before he opened his eyes, which were filled with unwillingness to give up.


    "First, we need to return to the cafeteria. I''ll ask the teachers if they know anything about the duration of the sr panels'' power. Regardless of if the time we have is a few hours or two days, we need to stay here where there are resources. We just need to block the entrance and stay within the cafeteria. I''ll also call the Marshal to find out how long it would take for the rescue team to arrive."


    Seong nodded, and Jin-woo let out a sigh before he turned to the students.


    In truth, he didn''t know whether this was the right choice. But what he did know was that if they left this school as a big group, it would be tantamount to suicide.


    "Everyone, pack up, it''s time to head back!"


    Upon hearing this, the students didn''t object. To be honest, after the explosion they started to feel uneasy, and they wanted to return to the cafeteria which they knew was safe.


    "Guys, Jin-woo is bringing us back!"


    "Yeah, pack up!''


    The boys acting like a recorder repeat Jin-woo''s orders to the students who may not have heard.


    Before long all twenty-five people were moving to the door leading down from the roof.


    Jin-woo remained at the edge of the building for a bit, looking through the fence at the smoke still rising from the horizon.


    Meanwhile, at the door, Ah-yong stood there staring at his back.


    Seeing that Jin-woo was alone, she was about to head over, but upon seeing Mai-sun walking over she hesitated before turning around and following the others out.


    Unbeknownst to Jin-woo she had been wanting to speak to him during this outing, but every time she found him alone Mai-sun would suddenly appear next to him, interrupting her ns.


    "Everyone''s gathered, are you okay?"


    Mai-sun said when she reached Jin-woo.


    "Hm, go ahead, I''ming."


    Mai-sun smiled despite Jin-woo dismissing her concerns before turning to leave.


    Jin-woo stared at the smoke in the distance for a bit, before his gaze lingered on the gymnasium and then on the auditorium. He was then about to turn and leave, but he suddenly caught sight of something on top of the auditorium roof.


    It was a person.


    It was a bit far away and Jin-woo''s vision was still bad, so he turned to Seong and asked.


    "Seong, is that someone on the auditorium roof? Do they look alive?"


    Seong upon hearing this, shifted his gaze to the roof of the auditorium.


    "Yeah, it''s a person, but they''re unmoving so it''s likely they''re a second type of infected. Wait¡­"


    Seong''s tone suddenly shifted along with his entire demeanor.


    "What''s wrong?"


    Jin-woo asked, surprised by Seong''s reaction.


    "Jin... that person is wearing P.E. clothes."


    "P.E. clothes? We were the only ss who had P.E. before lunch so it''s someone from our ss?"


    Jin-woo responded, not noticing Seong''s words had an underlying meaning. However, Seong turned to look at him and said with a pained expression.


    "I-It''s a bit far away, but¡­ Jin, that might be Yoon-min."

 Chapter 99- Eavesdropping

    Jin-woo''s head snapped toward the auditorium, and he stared at the indistinguishable figure on the roof, his heartstrings trembling, almost shifting out of ce.


    "Are you sure it''s him?"


    Jin-woo couldn''t help but ask.


    Seong looked at the figure in the distance and hesitated. After a moment, he said.


    "I''m¡­ not sure, but his figure and clothes are simr."


    "Can''t you teleport there?"


    Seong concentrated and tried appearing on the auditorium roof, but after a few seconds, he shook his head.


    "No, it''s too far. Maybe if it was through a camera where the sense of distance is distorted, I could appear there, like in the security room. But if it''s not through that method then I''m restricted by your perception. It also doesn''t help that your sense of perception is hindered by your bad eyesight."


    Jin-woo silently stared at the figure in thought before he suddenly said.


    "I''m going to take a look tonight."


    Seong paused but then nodded his head in agreement.


    At that moment, Jeon-sok was heard calling from the door.


    "Jin! We''re ready!"


    "Coming!"


    Jin-woo gave the figure on the auditorium roof onest look before he finally turned and left.


    On the way back, everyone noticed that Jin-woo''s steps weren''t as rxed as before, making them nervous all the way to the cafeteria. Luckily, they didn''t meet any stray zombies besides those in the rooms on the second floor.


    As the door to the cafeteria opened and the twenty-five students hurried inside, they were suddenly bombarded with questions, most of which were about the loud explosion that had happened outside.


    Jin-woo''s mind was slightly distracted as he entered. The male teacher who had helped him put on his belt came up to him and asked with a worried expression.


    "Jin-woo, what happened? Was everything okay?"


    Jin-woo snapped out of it and looked at the teacher.


    "Yeah, we met a few zombies on the way and were a bit startled by the explosion, but everything went fine."


    The male teacher sighed in relief.


    "That''s good. I tried calling you after the explosion, but the service went out. I can''t help but feel the explosion had something to do with it."


    The male teacher''s face showed a contemting expression, but Jin-woo''s expression turned serious before he said in a low voice.


    "There''s something I have to say, but not here."


    Upon seeing Jin-woo''s serious expression, the male teacher''s expression changed. Nodding solemnly, he said.


    "I''ll gather the other teachers and meet you in the back rooms."


    Jin-woo nodded, then turned and headed for the back rooms. The male teacher then approached the two other male teachers and the two female teachers before discreetly asking them to meet in the back rooms.


    Jin-woo entered the back rooms and after reaching the hallway cross-section that led to the showers on the right, and the back of the school on the left, he turned left.


    After a while, the teachers came. After they approached, Jin-woo got straight to the point.


    "The explosion just now is likely the Samgakji Substation going up in mes, which means most of Yongsan District has no electricity including Itaewon."


    The five teachers'' faces all paled simultaneously, but Jin-woo didn''t give them time to ask questions as he said again.


    "Does anyone know if the sr panels were fully installed?"


    "Mr. Kim, weren''t you consulted by the school board on a suitable sr panel?"


    One of the female teachers suddenly asked, and everyone looked at the male teacher, with whom Jin-woo was familiar.


    Mr. Kim nodded and exined.


    "I''m quite an aplished electrical engineer so to save money the school hired me as a consultant. Based on what was discussed, the sr panels were supposed to be up and running at the same time the new school term starts."


    But all of a sudden, Mr. Kim''s expression stiffened, and he couldn''t help but cover his face with both hands. Seeing this, everyone''s expressions changed, thinking something had gone wrong, but Mr. Kim quickly rified.


    "No, don''t worry; they should be up and running. We''ve also installed the highest-quality battery, with forty-eight hours, while having three more in storage. It''s just that during the consultation, I had been contemting having the school use grid-system sr panels. Thankfully, I changed my mind and suggested a hybrid system instead."


    Hearing this, all the teachers and even Jin-woo silently thanked whatever divine entity that made Mr. Kim change his mind.


    With a slightly more rxed state of mind, Jin-woo turned to Mr. Kim and asked.


    "Where are the other batteries stored? We likely don''t have forty-eight hours before we lose power."


    "Ah, if I recall correctly, they''re¡­"¡ªMr. Kim suddenly paused, and his face slowly turned ashen as he finished his sentence¡ª"¡­ inside the gymnasium."


    Jin-woo''s mind momentarily went nk and the other teachers mirrored Mr. Kim''s expression.


    "Damn it, what are we going to do? Will the rescue team arrive before we lose power?"


    One of the male teachers asked this question, and everyone turned to Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo forcefully suppressed his anxiousness and regained hisposure. After thinking for a moment, he said.


    "For now, we have to prepare for the worst. First, we need to board up the entrance, and second, we need to gather any supplies we can from the school. Clothes, food, battery shlight, anything that seems useful. In the meantime, I''ll call the Marshal and find out how long it will take for the rescue team to arrive."


    "But the service is out, and even the Wi-Fi is down, how are you going to contact the Marshal?"


    Jin-woo smiled and said reassuringly.


    "Don''t worry, I have a way to contact him."


    Mr. Kim hesitated for a moment but eventually voiced his doubts.


    "Jin-woo, I''m not suspecting you, but is the Marshal really sending help?"


    The other teachers heard this and couldn''t help but look at Jin-woo with a hint of doubt in their eyes. They hoped this kid was telling the truth and he hadn''t made such a im because everyone was turning on him.


    Jin-woo shook his head.


    "I''ll never lie about something like this... It''s just that I have something the Marshal wants, so, he will definitely send help."


    Hearing this, one of the female teachers asked.


    "What''s that?"


    Jin-woo hesitated to answer that question.


    He didn''t want to tell them too much and implicate them even further since it had already been revealed that thepany Mai-sun''s mother owned was doing something illegal, which involved the Marshal.


    However, it would be fine if he gave a vague response to ease their worries.


    After a moment of silence, Jin-woo decided to confess the truth, but not before prefacing.


    "Since you already know some things you probably shouldn''t have, you understand it''s better not to admit that you know, right?"


    "We know, and we''ll eventually have to lecture the kids as well not to say anything after they''re rescued."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Mr. Kim was the first one to speak up, and the other teachers nodded in agreement.


    Jin-woo let out a breath and then gathered his thoughts before slowly saying.


    "Due to some circumstances, a mutation urred in my genes that could be used to create a cure for this virus."


    Immediately, the faces of the teachers shifted from shock to excitement, and then back again. No wonder the Marshal would send a rescue team for them!


    Wait, no, this actually makes less sense.


    If Jin-woo was the cure for this zombie virus, why would the Marshal send a whole team to rescue all forty people? They should send a helicopter or something to quickly pick up Jin-woo and make a cure!


    Mr. Kim voiced these doubts, and Jin-woo paused for a moment then exined.


    "He did suggest it, but a helicopter would attract the zombies from outside to surround the school, and one helicopter can''t carry forty people."


    After that was said, a deathly silence fell over the teachers.


    They weren''t idiots, they could infer what Jin-woo left out of his exnation. The Marshal had wanted to send only one helicopter to save Jin-woo, but he must have rejected it and instead forced the Marshal to send help for everyone.


    As for what he did to force the Marshal''s hand, they didn''t know. They were also feeling conflicted due to Jin-woo choosing to save them rather than prioritizing leaving to create a cure that could save thousands of people. Unable to find the right words to express their emotions they could only give Jin-woo conflicted looks.


    ng!


    Suddenly, the sound of a door closing was heard, making Jin-woo and the teachers turn to the corner leading to the cafeteria.


    Seong next to Jin-woo reacted instantly and disappeared with a flicker. He appeared at the corner, but he only saw a shadow of someone hurrying away from the door.


    Seong''s eyes narrowed slightly. He returned to Jin-woo''s side and said.


    "I wasn''t able to spot the person, but I faintly saw that they were a girl."


    Jin-woo furrowed his brows slightly and a person appeared in his mind.


    Mr. Kim sighed and said.


    "It seems someone was eavesdropping on us, but this was bound to happen when all of us suddenly left."


    "Should we let the kids know of the situation?"


    One female teacher asked, and Mr. Kim nodded.


    "It''s not something we can hide from them. We''ll head back, tell us the situation after you contact the Marshal."


    Mr. Kim said turning to Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo nodded and then watched Mr. Kim and the other teachers turn the corner and leave. Afterward, he fished out his phone from his jacket pocket and dialed 112.

 Chapter 100- Leaving Fingerprints

    "This is the emergency line, what is your emergency?"


    "Hello, I''d like to speak with the Marshal."


    "¡­"


    There was a beat of silence before the tired voice of the male operator echoed out from the other end of the phone, annoyed.


    "Kid, can''t you see the news on TV? Do you know how busy we are dealing with real emergencies, yet you''re making prank calls? Fucking kid-"


    Beep¡­ Beep¡­


    The operator hung up the call himself, spearing Jin-woo from his cursing.


    With a calm expression, Jin-woo removed the phone from his ear and redial 112.


    "You''re calling 112, what''s your emergency?"


    This time a woman operator picked up.


    "Hello, I''m trapped in my school in Itaewon, and I need to speak to the Marshal."


    "Itaewon? Are you in a safe area? Who else is with you? Don''t worry, there are rescue efforts underway. What is your exact location?"


    The woman''s voice was frantic, from this Jin-woo could tell the operators were probably given instructions to pay special attention to calls from the infected zone.


    "There are around forty of my ssmates here along with five teachers. We''re currently safe, but I need to speak to the Marshal. I have a number to reach him, but the power is out, can you connect us by a bridge-call?"


    The female operator hearing this paused on the other end of the phone seeming to be taken aback, but she quickly regained herposure and understood Jin-woo''s intention.


    She said.


    "If you really have a number to reach the Marshal, then it''s smart of you to use this method to contact him. Okay, give me the number and I''ll contact him."


    Even though the female operator agreed to Jin-woo''s request, she somewhat doubted his words. However, this amount of doubt did not allow her to hang up. What if this boy was telling the truth?


    After receiving the number, the female operator opened another line and made the call. She listened to the ringing phone with bated breath, but after the fifth ring her brows furrowed.


    "Can you redial the number?"


    Jin-woo spoke up. The female operator hesitated for a moment, but she still listened and hung up before redialing the number.


    Jin-woo was extremely calm as he listened to his mother''s phone ring without answering for a second time.


    The female operator hung up after the sixth ring. If she was slightly doubtful of Jin-woo''s words before, now she was on the verge of hanging up on him.


    "Kid, are your words true? This isn''t a prank, right?"


    "It''s the truth, please, just call again this is thest time."


    Hearing Jin-woo''s calm voice, the irritation rising in the female operator''s heart cooled a bit.


    "Okay, this is thest one. If no one answers, then I''m going to trace your call and find your address to get you in trouble."


    "Okay."


    The female operator had only made this threat to scare Jin-woo, but hearing his response she could only grit her teeth and call for a third time.


    Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Rin-


    The phone was suddenly answered on the third ring.


    "Kid, do you take me for a fool?"


    The female operator was about to speak when the gruff voice of a man echoed out, it sounded like he was forcefully suppressing his anger.


    Jin-woo, as calm as ever, coldly responded.


    "The power went out, so this was the only way to contact you."


    "Make it quick, or else."


    "The power is out. We have sr panels, but we only have a day at the very least before we lose power."


    "They''ll be there before nightfall tomorrow. Now hang up."


    Jin-woo got what he wanted so he removed the phone from his ear and directly hung up the call.


    The female operator who had been silently listening to this bizarre conversation in a daze was suddenly brought back by the cold voice of the Marshal.


    "What''s your name?"


    The female operator didn''t know why but a cold chill immediately went down her spine when she heard this question. Thinking back to the conversation just now, she realized it might have been something she wasn''t supposed to hear.


    "I- My name is Kim Soo-hua."


    "Miss Kim, whether that is your real name is not my concern. What is, is that after I hang up this phone this conversation will be deleted from your records."


    Experience more tales on empire


    "I-I can delete the conversation from myputer, but all calls are automatically saved to the main server."


    "That part doesn''t concern you, just make sure it doesn''t exist on yourputer while it''spletely wiped from your memory. If not, then a fake name isn''t going to prevent me from finding you if this conversation is somehow leaked to the public."


    Beep¡­ Beep¡­


    The Marshal directly hung up the call and Kim Soo-hua sat there utterly frozen from fright. Four of her colleagues, three male, and one female, hade up behind her after overhearing Jin-woo''s strange request. They wore pale expressions as they nced at each other. Then, without a word, they turned around and went on their break like they were supposed to.


    Kim Soo-hua sat there for a minute before she stiffly operated herputer and deleted the call log between Jin-woo and the Marshal from herputer. She was even tempted to wipe the entire thing, but eventually she managed to stop herself in time.


    On Jin-woo''s side, Seong looked at the phone in his hand and said.


    "He must have intimidated that person to delete the call log."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Jin-woo nodded but then countered with.


    "Yeah, but the more fingerprints I leave behind the harder it will be for him topletely conceal his involvement with the virus. He''ll also be more hesitant to directly kill me after the cure is made."


    Aplicated expression appeared on Seong''s face as he looked at Jin-woo.


    From Jin-woo''s words, he seemed to have made up his mind to go with everyone when the rescue team arrived.


    Jin-woo put away his phone before he smiled at Seong and said.


    "I might be going but I haven''t given up on myself just yet. It''s just that mom might still be alive."


    Seong slowly nodded.


    "Hm, they wouldn''t kill her before getting you since she has the same mutated gene."


    After the two finished speaking, they made their way back to the cafeteria.

 Chapter 101- Sneaking Out

    Inside the cafeteria, Mr. Kim had just finished exining their dire situation to the students when the doors to the back rooms were pushed open.


    Everyone turned to look at Jin-woo, who paused briefly due to the gazes on him, but he soon smiled and said as he approached,


    "I''ve contacted the Marshal and informed him about our situation. He said that help should arrive within twenty-four hours. But, just in case, we should still gather supplies and board up the entrance."


    Everyone let out the nervous breath they were holding when they heard that. However, just as excited voices rose, a skeptical voice cut through the noise.


    "Wait! How could you contact the Marshal when the power is out?"


    Jin-woo turned to look at Ye-jun who was the one who spoke before he calmly exined.


    "I contacted him through the emergency line."


    Mr. Kim and the other teachers, who held doubts, had their eyes lit up in realization.


    "That''s right, even though the power is out the emergency line is still avable through a backup system."


    "Really? Then it''s smart of Boss Jin to think of this method."


    "Yeah."


    As some students praised Jin-woo, others gave Ye-jun disapproving looks.


    After giving his exnation, Jin-woo ignored Ye-jun and said.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "I''ll watch over you guys when you gather supplies and secure the entrance. We need to hurry and get everything done before nightfall."


    Upon hearing this, the students enthusiastically followed Jin-woo outside to be organized into groups to carry out tasks.


    Gathering materials to board up the entrance was done by a few of the boys with two male teachers overseeing them, one of which who was carrying the second gun.


    Aside from gathering the remaining supplies in the storage room where they got their P.E. gears from, Jin-woo led Jeon-sok and a few others to other rooms. They also tentatively made their way outside to the east wing''s cafeteria, but they only brought back as much as they could carry in their hands, which were mainly water bottles, tin food, and two garbage bags full of snacks.


    While outside, Jin-woo couldn''t help but nce in the direction of the auditorium, but he had to wait until tonight when everyone was asleep to sneak out.


    The entire process of gathering supplies and boarding up the entrancested an entire day due to the students being cautious and moving slowly. But aside from a few hups everything eventually went smoothly without any problems.


    One of those hups being that a few boys from ss 1A snuck out to the back of the gymnasium to gather a few metal pipes to help with boarding up the entrance.


    They were harshly scolded by the male teachers for being reckless, especially by Mr. Kim. But afterward, he thanked them since those metal pipes were just what they needed to secure the entrance since the broken metal doors and scavenged plyboards weren''t enough.


    It was sunset when everyone entered the cafeteriapletely exhausted. Thankfully, a shower and dinner were waiting for them.


    After showering and eating his dinner, Jin-woo dodged Seo-joon''s persistent questioning while he waited until it was deep into the night when even the teachers were resting.


    Getting up, Jin-woo quickly made his way to the back rooms. Internally he thought he was lucky to be wearing his sneakers which cushioned his steps.


    After carefully closing the cafeteria door, he turned left in the cross-section of the hallway and made his way to the back of the school.


    "Jin, what time is it?"


    On the way there, Seong suddenly asked this question.


    "Hm? It''s 11: 28 now, why do you ask?"


    Jin-woo replied after ncing at his G-shock watch.


    "Haha, I''ll tell youter."


    Jin-woo looked at Seong''s amused expression and question marks appeared above his head. However, he soon put Seong''s weird behavior aside and focused on the task at hand.


    Soon, Jin-woo reached the metal door leading to the back of the school. Reaching into a pocket on his utility belt, he fished out his bundle of keys and quickly found the key to open the door.


    After stepping outside, Jin-woo closed the door behind him and quickly made his way to the auditorium under the faint moonlight.


    Winter was already over but the night air was still chilly, which made him tuck his hands inside his jacket pocket.


    After a few minutes of walking while avoiding the football pitch which had its lights on, Jin-woo eventually arrived at the stair tower leading up to the auditorium roof.


    "You okay?"


    Seong asked worriedly when he saw Jin-woo suddenly stop at the bottom of the stairs.


    "¡­Yeah, I''m fine."


    Jin-woo answered after a beat of silence before he nced at the roof solemnly. He then released a long sigh and slowly began his climb.


    Discover exclusive content at empire


    Seong followed next to him, and even though he didn''t have a heart his soul could still experience emotions, which were currently chaotic.


    After almost reaching the roof, Seong suddenly stepped behind Jin-woo and held his shoulders, afraid of what he might see on the roof.


    But although Jin-woo''s expression was calm on the surface he wasn''t fairing any better inside.


    Soon, the two youths'' slow steps took them to the roof ledge. Jin-woo''s eyes quickly scanned around before they came tond on the figure slumped against the wall across from him. Seong peeked out from behind him and upon seeing the figure his grip on Jin-woo''s shoulder tightened.


    The two youths'' eyes couldn''t help but moisten at the sight of Yoon-min''s body. He was still wearing his P.E. clothes, and if not for the ck veins visible due to the faint moonlight, one might think he was merely taking a light nap.


    Even though they hadn''t known Yoon-min and Micah for long, Jin-woo and Seong were both simr in how they got attached to people they found to be good-natured. That was exactly why they were so close to begin with.


    Jin-woo wiped his misty eyes under his sses before he stepped out of Seong''s hold and climbed over the ledge.


    However, the moment Jin-woo''s feetnded on the ground, a familiar sense of danger red up in his mind, sending a cold chill running up his spine, numbing his skull. At the same time, a hoarse voice that sounded like chains being dragged on the ground echoed out in the chilly night.


    "Who is it?"


    Seong jumped and quickly flickered to Jin-woo''s side. Then, the two warily watched a figure stand up from the darkness where the ledge blocked the moonlight to their right.


    However, upon seeing the person''s appearance, both Seong and Jin-woo were stunned, before they blurted out simultaneously.


    "Micah?"


    "Micah?"

 Chapter 102- Its My Fault

    "Jin-woo?"


    Micah, who had been on high alert was momentarily dumbfounded when he heard the familiar voice of his recently made friend. He thenughed and said.


    "I knew it, I knew you wouldn''t have died!"


    Jin-woo couldn''t help but show a smile when he heard that.


    "Micah, they said you were infected I didn''t think I would meet you here."


    Jin-woo''s sorrow was momentarily reced by excitement and relief as he stepped forward to approach Micah.


    However, three steps in, Micah suddenly stepped back and said.


    "No, stay there."


    Jin-woo''s steps immediately froze, and he came back to his senses. He looked closer at Micah and saw that his eyes werepletely white without any pupils. But unlike other infected zombies, no visible ck veins were snaking across his arms or face.


    "You''re infected¡­ What happened?"


    Jin-woo asked with aplicated expression on his face.


    However, while Jin-woo paused his steps, Seong quickly approached Micah and started pacing around him with a curious look on his face.


    Micah went silent for a moment before he sighed and said while ncing toward Yoon-min''s body leaning against the wall.


    "Yoon-min tried to be a hero and ended up getting bitten. He died while I was carrying him here and after reaching the roof I was beaten by one of the zombies that were chasing us."


    Jin-woo knew he was leaving some parts out, so he said.


    "I know Ye-jun closed the door before you could enter."


    Upon hearing Jin-woo''s words, Micah''s fists noticeably clenched.


    "That bastard, he deserves to die. He stared directly into my eyes while closing that door, not even hesitating for a moment. I''ve never been so angry at someone ever."


    Jin-woo remained silent, but he perfectly understood how Micah felt towards Ye-jun.


    Seong paused his inspection of Micah, then a solemn expression overcame his face as he med himself for not going through with strangling his cousin.


    After sighing to settle his emotions, Seong turned to Jin-woo and asked.


    "Hey Jin, quickly ask him how it feels to be a zombie, we might discover something useful."


    Seong then turned back to Micah and leaned in to examine his gray eyes.


    Jin-woo nodded subtly and then got ready to ask Micah this question, but Micah did something thatpletely shocked them both.


    He suddenly turned his head in Seong''s direction and said.


    "Hey, I was trying to ignore it at first, but who are you?"


    This caused Seong to stumble back, his eyes widening and mouth hanging open in mute disbelief.


    Jin-woo''s reaction wasn''t too dissimr, but he quickly recovered and asked.


    "Micah, you can see Seong?"


    "Yeah, it''s weird, after turning into a zombie I lost my eyesight, but for some reason, I can see a vague silhouette of you two."


    Through Micah''s eyes, the world was enveloped in a white-greyish nket, with the only thing visible being Jin-woo and Seong''s figures that looked like ck scrambled pixels, like what you would see on an old TV.


    However, while Jin-woo''s figure was dazzling, Seong''s figure was dim.


    "Wait, you''re blind? Then why can- Ah, no, let''s back up, that''s not what we mean! How can you see me? I''m only a soul projection within this dimension!"


    Micah: ???


    Micah was so taken aback he couldn''t help but show a puzzled expression.


    Luckily, Jin-woo stepped in and briefly exined his abilities as well as Seong''s true nature.


    "You''re a ghost? Wait Jin, so when you said you were seeing things, you were actually telling the truth?"


    "Haha, my name is Seong, nice to formally meet you."


    Seong introduced himself with a peace sign.


    Micah heard that name and hesitated momentarily but then asked.


    "Seong? Aren''t you Jin-woo''s friend who died during winter break?"


    "Best friend! But this isn''t the issue right now, it''s the fact that you''re aware that I exist. Is it because you were infected by the alien DNA? But the other infected zombies couldn''t see me, so maybe it''s because you''re a third type of infected, one that is more dead than alive?"


    Seong suddenly paused, then said.


    "Dead and alive¡­ Could it be because you''re in between life and death that you can see my soul, or is it really due to the virus from the alien''s DNA? Maybe both?"


    Micah: ??


    Micah couldn''t really follow Seong''s words. Alien DNA? A third type of infected?


    "I don''t know about any of that, so I''ll just go with what you say."


    Jin-woo looked at Micah and asked.


    "What''s it like¡­ being a zombie?"


    Seong came out of his thoughts and looked at Micah.


    Micah thought for a moment then exined.


    "I can move my body, but I can''t feel it. It''s as if I''m controlling a character in a game. Also, even though I can only see the world in a white-grayish color, I can hear up to several dozen meters away."


    Seong''s eyes shed, and he quickly asked.


    "Tell us what''s that like, is it like echolocation?"


    "Hm, I think so. Each time I tap my foot on the ground I can sense the sound wave as it spreads out andes into contact with objects, from there I can technically ''see'' my surroundings."


    "That''s strange, it doesn''t seem like the zombies can do this, they only wildly react to loud noise without any order to their actions. But do you share any simrities to them, like do you feel the urge to drink blood?"


    Micah suddenly paused but then nodded his head and replied. Your next read is at empire


    "Yeah, I do feel the urge to drink blood."


    Seong stiffened, while Jin-woo felt a cold chill crawl up his spine.


    "Do you feel like drinking blood now?"


    Micah turned to look at Jin-woo with his gray eyes and honestly responded.


    "Yes."


    Jin-woo immediately felt uneasy, but Micah quickly added.


    "However, I can hold back the urge. Though, for you Jin, I don''t have to."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Jin-woo tilted his head in confusion.


    "What do you mean?"


    Micah didn''t answer immediately, instead, he stared at Jin-woo who was only a dazzlingly static figure in his eyes, and after sensing the danger emitting from him once more, he finally spoke.


    "For some reason, I''m feeling a sense of danger from you, that''s why I asked for you not to approach. As for you, I strangely felt nothing from you since you came, not even the urge to drink your blood, but now I know why."


    Micah nced at Seong as he said thosest few words.


    Seong and Jin-woo couldn''t help but nce at each other, both seeing the surprise in their eyes. They were on the same wavelength as they concluded Micah was sensing the mutated gene in his blood.


    After thinking for a moment, Jin-woo nced at Yoon-min, then sighed. He chose not to reveal the fact that his blood contained the cure for this virus because he wasn''t sure if the cure would work on the first type of infected like Yoon-min.


    For the first type of infected, rather than bing a zombie that exists between life and death, it seemed they simply slipped into death.


    Clenching his fists, Jin-woo turned back to Micah and confessed.


    "I''m sorry Micah, I was the one who brought the virus to school. If it wasn''t for me, Yoon-min wouldn''t have died, and you wouldn''t have be like this. It''s my fault."


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 103- A Bad Omen

    A moment of silence fell over the three youths, and it persisted for an ufortable number of seconds. It was only broken when Micah spoke up.


    "I left the school so correct me if I''m wrong. Were you the one responsible for trapping the zombies?"


    Jin-woo nodded his head but still kept his gaze lowered to the ground.


    Micah clicked his tongue and said with slight disbelief in his voice.


    "How did you manage that? Did you pull it off with your ability?"


    Hearing this, Jin-woo couldn''t help but raise his head and look at Micah with a confused expression.


    "That''s¡­ Are you not mad at me?"


    "Do you want me to be?"


    Micah looked at Jin-woo with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.


    "If you threw a baseball at someone and they hit it through a window before running away, you''re the type of person to stand there and apologize without giving an exnation to the homeowner. So, I know this virus isn''t entirely your fault. If it was then how did it appear outside of the school as well?"


    Jin-woo forced a smile and responded.


    "But I was the one that carried the pill containing the virus to school, even though I wasn''t the one who threw it inside the water supply, I''m still at fault for Yoon-min and everyone''s deaths."


    Micah paused and then said.


    "Tell me what exactly happened and catch me up and everything else."


    Micah motioned for Jin-woo toe over, but Jin-woo hesitated.


    "I''ve gotten used to it so it''s fine."


    Micah said, with that, Jin-woo no longer hesitated and approached, sitting beside him.


    Seong went over to examine Yoon-min, while Jin-woo exined his connection with the zombie virus, while including his mother and Madelyn''s involvement. He also talked about how he trapped the zombies and everything that happened afterward.


    Micah sat cross-legged and silently listened to Jin-woo with rapt attention. He would asionally ask questions while also letting slip a few exmations of surprise, especially when Jin-woo was exining how he trapped the zombies.


    However, a few times during Jin-woo''s retelling Micah''s brows would furrow deeply. When Jin-woo finished, he couldn''t help but point out:


    "What''s with that bastard Ye-jun? Does he have a grudge against you or something?"


    Jin-woo shook his head, but before he could respond to Micah''s question, Seong beat him to it.


    "No, he has a grudge against me."


    Seong''s body suddenly disappeared from Yoon-min''s side and appeared in front of Micah which momentarily startled him.


    This caused Seong to chuckle slightly before he exined his history with Ye-jun and why he was now targeting Jin-woo.


    "He broke into your locker and switched your medication with drugs?! Is he a psychopath? Who does that?"


    Micah was first stunned but then became angry on Jin-woo''s behalf.


    "He needs to be in prison, or better yet in a coffin. Maybe I shouldn''t have hesitated and finished the job for you."


    Micah''sst words were aimed at Seong and his attempted murder in the past.


    However, upon hearing his words, Jin-woo stiffened. He then asked softly.


    "Was that when you went back to the gymnasium after being bitten?"


    "Hm."


    Micah responded with a hum but didn''t borate further.


    Jin-woo also stayed silent, but his gaze stayed on Micah.


    Seong seemed to realize something, and his expression changed slightly as he nced at Micah, aplicated look appearing in his eyes.


    Seeing their reactions, Micah knew he couldn''t stay silent, so he opened his mouth and said.


    "When those four zombies came back to attack us, none of those people came out of the cafeteria to help us. They just stood there and watched as Yoon-min was attacked and bitten. Worse, that bitch Mai-sun who was saved by Yoon-min didn''t so much as turn back to nce at us when Ye-jun was closing the door. So, after Yoon-min died and I was turning into a zombie, I kept repeating to myself over and over again that I needed to kill everyst one of them for what they did, or rather didn''t do. I then threw myself off the roof andnded on the gymnasium steps, I was hoping that my zombie body would linger around the area and bite at least one person. But maybe God answered my wish because when I opened my eyes after that I was fully conscious. Then I¡­ I gathered a zombie hoard and have it surround the gym. A few people died when they tried escaping, and during the chaos, I got near Ye-jun to bite him, but I hesitated at thest moment making him escape."


    Micah turned to Jin-wo before adding.


    "I killed our ssmates, and I don''t regret it, so it would be hypocritical of me to solely me you for this virus. Besides, I don''t think you were responsible for Yoon-min''s death, those bastards who didn''t help and just watch are."


    Micah stopped talking and silence fell as neither Jin-woo nor Seong knew what to say.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    After a minute or so, Micah sighed and said while getting up.


    "It''s gettingte, you should probably head back before someone realizes you''ve secretly left."


    Jin-woo got up, he was still silent, but before he left, he hugged Micah and said.


    "My blood contains the cure for the virus. I wasn''t nning on telling you, sorry. I didn''t want to give you hope since I wasn''t sure if it could work on Yoon-min."


    Micah''s body shook slightly and Jin-woo felt it.


    "I''lle back with the cure to save you; I promise."


    "Then I''ll be waiting here. After all, I don''t have anywhere I need to be, ha-ha."


    Jin-woo smiled and stepped back. Patting Micah''s shoulder he turned and walked to the stair tower to leave.


    However, Seong suddenly asked Micah.


    "I''m curious. Yoon-min became a second type of infected, but what type of illness did he have?"


    Jin-woo paused, he had overlooked this detail. He turned to Micah to hear his answer.


    Micah hesitated for a moment as he nced at Yoon-min''s body, but he soon turned back to Seong and Jin-woo and answered.


    "It was a sensitive subject Yoon-min didn''t like talking about, but I guess I can tell you¡­ The illness he had was H.I.V."


    Seong and Jin-woo paused momentarily upon hearing that, but Micah shook his head and said with augh.


    "It''s not like that, as far as I know, Yoon-min was a devoted virgin, haha. He only has the H.I.V. virus because his scumbag of a father got his mom pregnant without telling her, and his mother decided to have him despite the risks."


    After having their doubts settled, Seong and Jin-woo said their final goodbyes to Micah before leaving the auditorium roof.


    On his way back with Seong, Jin-woo was staring at the starry night sky. Neither he nor Seong spoke and just silently walked next to each other. However, the silence was filled with the faint sounds of crickets.


    As Jin-woo was looking at the stars, for some reason a strange feeling suddenly washed over him. Then, in his vision, the stars began to pulsate while the cricket noises in his ears increased to the point it started to be deafening.


    No¡­


    This wasn''t the sound of crickets anymore. It sounded more like the des of a helicopter.


    Jin-woo''s vision of the stars blurred for a moment before refocusing. However, while the stars were the same, the des of a helicopter appeared in front of him, rotating at fast speeds blocking the stars.


    Along with this strange scene came the feeling of being weightless. It was a simr feeling to what he had when he was moving through the starry sky in his dreams.


    This feeling of weightlessness and the sound of the helicopter des rotating quickly became the only thing Jin-woo could hear and feel.


    "Jin¡­ Jin¡­ Hey, Jin, what''s wrong?"


    Jin-woo felt a pat on his shoulder that quickly pulled him out of this feeling. He then turned to look at Seong who was calling him to see that he was wearing a worried expression.


    "Ah, sorry, I''m fine."


    Jin-woo responded but then nced back at the sky. He ced a palm on his heart. Only now did he realize it was rapidly beating.


    "Hey, are you sure you''re okay?"


    "Yeah, yeah, I''m fine really. What were you saying?"


    Jin-woo hurriedly looked away from the sky to give Seong his undivided attention.


    Seong looked at Jin-woo suspiciously for a moment, but he didn''t pursue the matter. He instead smiled and said.


    "I was asking you for the time."


    "The time? It''s, ah, 12:15."


    Jin-woo said looking at his watch. Then ncing back at Seong he asked with a confused expression.


    "Why do you keep asking for the time?"


    Seong smiled in response and then said.


    "Happy 16th Birthday, idiot."


    Jin-woo blinked, then muttered softly.


    "Oh."


    Jin-woo hadpletely forgotten that today was his birthday, March 15.


    Seong couldn''t help butugh and make fun of Jin-woo for forgetting his birthday. Though it couldn''t be helped, given everything that had happened, his birthday was thest thing on Jin-woo''s mind.


    While joking with Seong back to the east wing, Jin-woo couldn''t help but give the starry night sky onest nce.


    That vision he just had of a helicopter here in the school signaled a bad omen for his birthday tomorrow.


    He didn''t know if this meant that the Marshal had lied to him and instead sent a single helicopter or not. Whatever the case, it was a future he had to face. He just didn''t like the fact that the first vision he had in a while was so vaguepared to the others.


    Perhaps that in itself was what made him even more nervous.


    Jin-woo looked away from the sky and entered the cafeteria backdoor before closing it behind him.

 Chapter 104- Reconciliation

    "Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­"


    Jin-woo suddenly sat up from the ground, his face full of sweat.


    "Jin, are you okay?"


    Seong, who was sitting next to Jin-woo, asked. His worry was even more evident than yesterday when Jin-woo had also jumped out of his sleep.


    Jin-woo sighed from exhaustion and wiped the sweat from his face with his jacket sleeves before responding.


    "It''s not a night terror, it''s that weird dream again."


    "What kind of dream?"


    "It''s¡­ I don''t even know how to describe it. It''s like I''m in soul form floating through the universe towards something."


    Seong thought for a moment before he asked.


    "It''s not a coincidence this dream started just as your abilities are beginning to manifest. It could be something like a vision, or it may even be real."


    "Hm, I think it could be those too, but the experience was too unbelievable to be real. Can my soul honestly travel outside of my body when I''m sleeping?"


    "Well, that''s easy to find out. Did you see anything in your dream that might confirm if it was real?"


    Jin-woo sat there and thought about his two dreams for a while before a scene from his first dream came to mind. He immediately perked up and turned to Seong to say.


    "During my first dream, before I was dragged into outer space, I saw you getting up and walking over to Seo-joon''s side to watch him sleep. Did you really do that?"


    Upon hearing that, Seong was taken aback. But as if caught doing something he shouldn''t have, he showed an embarrassed expression and said begrudgingly.


    "You weren''t supposed to see that."


    Jin-woo would haveughed at Seong''s reaction if only it didn''t confirm that he was indeed having an out-of-body experience when he slept.


    "Seong, I''m slightly scared now. While I was in that state, something was pulling my soul away from my body, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. No, rather, I didn''t even try to resist. I wanted to leave. The only reason why I didn''t was because the distance was too far, and I suddenly woke up."


    Jin-woo looked at Seong, and Seong upon seeing Jin-woo''s slightly frightful expression had his heart figuratively sink. He immediately hurried tofort him.


    But before Seong could, Jin-woo''s G-shock watch let out a beeping rm.


    Jin-woo went to turn it off, though as he did Seong''s eyes couldn''t help but narrow slightly.


    "That''s the second time you''ve woken up at exactly noon. I don''t think that''s a coincidence either."


    Jin-woo paused upon hearing that but then thought of something and added.


    "Before I started taking sleep medication, I would also cry at midnight on the dot. It''s not the same time, but the fact that they were both exactly at 12 means something right?"


    Seong nodded and then added.


    "Yeah, all those times you cried when you were a baby might have been you waking up after having this out-of-body experience. As for the time difference, maybe it can be exined by your abilities being suppressed for so long. Perhaps as time passes and they fullye back, you''ll once again be dragged back to your body at midnight instead of noon."


    "But why at those times specifically?"


    Jin-woo asked with confusion and Seong thought for a moment but then shook his head.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I don''t know. The only connection between them is that midnight is the start of daytime, and noon is when it''s at its peak."


    However, the moment Seong said this his eyes suddenly went wide as if realizing something.


    "Seong, what? What is it?"


    Jin-woo couldn''t help but ask when he saw Seong''s reaction.


    It took a while for Seong to answer, but he eventually did, though his voice was filled with doubt as he spoke.


    "There are theories that when a person dreams, their consciousness can cross dimensions. This might be a leap in thought, but what if that was only possible because the¡­ um¡­ barriers to said dimensions were weakened?"


    Jin-woo''s eyes narrowed in thought before he nodded his head.


    "Your theory makes sense, especially if you add the fact that my out-of-body experience stops when the night ends and when the day is at its peak. If night is when the barriers weaken, then it''s logical to say they''re at their strongest during the peak of the day."


    Seong released a sigh after a while then spoke.


    "Then this means while your abilities are inducing you to have that out-of-body experience during your sleep, you''ll always be brought back. If not during the start of the day, then at its peak. So, as long as nothing changes, you''re going to be fine. Whatever entity is calling you won''t seed."


    Jin-woo''s worry mostly died down by Seong''sforting words. He then got up and decided to head for where they were serving food.


    However, on his way there, he realized several eyes were following him.


    It was then that Jin-woo remembered the rescue team should arrive today, and he had been sleeping until noon. He also caught sight of a few students with slightly red eyes who seemed to have not gotten a wink of sleep.


    From this, Jin-woo could tell everyone was on edge. But there was nothing he could do; he too could only wait and see if the Marshal was actually telling the truth.


    Soon, Jin-woo reached the food serving area and got his two sandwiches.


    "Sorry, Jin, the banana milks are finished."


    Jin-woo nced at the male teacher across the counter and saw him forcing a smile. This was the same teacher who was joking just yesterday, but now he seemedpletely different, like a nervous mess.


    "It''s okay. I''ll just have a bottle of water."


    The male teacher nodded, then handed over the water bottle to Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo turned and was about to head back to his resting area at the back of the cafeteria, but suddenly, a familiar sweet-sounding voice called his name.


    "Jin!"


    Jin-woo quickly turned in the direction of the voice and saw Ah-yong waving at him from a table. In her hand, he saw that she was holding a banana milk.


    A warm feeling rose in Jin-woo''s heart upon seeing her. He immediately decided to change his direction and head over to her table which was to the far side of the cafeteria.


    Ah-yong smiled and said as Jin-woo approached.


    "I saw that the banana milks were about to finish, so I saved one for you."


    "Thanks, but how did you know I wanted banana milk?"


    Jin-woo asked as he sat down across from Ah-yong with his back facing the rest of the cafeteria.


    Ah-yong, in response to Jin-woo''s question, shyly confessed.


    "I was looking for a chance to talk to you yesterday, but you were always with someone."


    "Oh."


    Seeing Jin-woo''s surprised reaction, Ah-yong exined.


    "I wasn''t avoiding you. I know it wasn''t your fault that the virus infected the school, and even if you had done it on purpose, you still saved my life and everyone else''s by sacrificing yourself to trap the zombies. We''re indebted to you regardless."


    "Thanks."


    Jin-woo said with a smile, but after, an awkward silence fell between the two. Luckily it was quickly broken by Ah-yong who slid the banana milk over to Jin-woo''s side while saying.


    "Here, this is yours."


    "Ah, thanks. You can have this."


    Jin-woo, in return, offered one of his sandwiches. Although Ah-yong refused at first, through Jin-woo''s urges she epted half of one of the sandwiches.


    While the two were eating, Jin-woo rather casually slid his water over to Ah-yong before asking a question.


    "Were you really training to be an idol with a big agency?"


    Ah-yong nced away from the water bottle and then smiled at Jin-woo before answering.


    "Yeah, but before I debuted, I decided to leave and be independent."


    "Can you say why?"


    "Sure, but it''s nothing big. It''s just that I had always n on going independent. I only joined a big agency to get a feel of the training they do and get some experience."


    Seong, who was sitting next to Jin-woo, clicked his tongue and looked at Ah-yong as if he was seeing her for the first time before saying.


    "Jin, your Ah-yong isn''t so sweet. I bet she only joined that agency to use their name to advertise her independent career, though this also shows she''s confident in her skills. Quick, ask her how long she trained with the agency and how well she did to confirm my guess."


    Jin-woo instead acted like he didn''t hear Seong and asked Ah-yong a different question.


    "What''s your channel name? I might look it up after we''re rescued."


    A blush slowly crept onto Ah-yong''s face as she responded.


    "My Idol name was Aya, so I just used that for my channel name. But don''t expect anything big. I only do song covers and dance a little on there."


    Jin-woo chuckled lightly as he shook his head and said.


    "Your speaking voice sounds really sweet so I can''t help but get my expectations up."


    Ah-yong blushed even more upon hearing that, which made Seong release a low whistle at Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo ignored him again and went to speak, but suddenly, he heard someone call out to him from behind.


    "Jin, you''re awake! The signal came back. Are you up for a game?"


    Jeon-sok excitedly said as he bounded over to Jin-woo.


    .....


    A/N: I n on rewriting this book. The rewritten version should be up in a while, but there will be no major changes to the plot. Still, perhaps give it some love if you can.

 Chapter 105- A Sense Of Loss And Guilt

    "The signal returned?"


    Jin-woo showed a look of surprise.


    "Yeah, are you up for a match?"


    Jeon-sok nodded while holding up his phone in front of Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo hesitated and looked over at Ah-yong.


    Ah-yong smiled and said.


    "It''s fine, we can talkter."


    "Ah."


    Jeon-sok lightly eximed as he looked between Jin-woo and Ah-yong, realizing toote that he was interrupting.


    Jin-woo, however, smiled and causally patted the seat next to him.


    "Come on, sit down."


    Jeon-sok smiled apologetically at Jin-woo but still sat down as he didn''t want to pass up this chance for a carry. However, as soon as he sat down about ten more youths rushed over upon seeing an opportunity.


    What was surprising was that a few of these youths were from ss 1A. After yesterday the conflict between the two factions was mostly eliminated.


    This cafeteria section soon became extremely rowdy, drawing over a few spectators to watch Jin-woo and the others y.


    The initial number of people ying increased and took over the entire cafeteria.


    While Jin-woo and the others had their PvP game, some other groups started their own games. The observers were stimted and would rotate between groups. They were so excited that they momentarily forgot about their nervousness, which came from the possibility that the rescue team might not arrive.


    However, detached from this excited crowd was Ye-jun on the periphery, looking on with an indifferent expression.


    Within the crowd, Jin-woo was in high spirits at first, but after about two dozen rounds of games, his brain started to ache.


    For some reason, using his ability to improve his physical reaction to achieve a hundred-percent headshot rate in the game was harder than in real life. Perhaps it was because there was an extra gap between his body''s movements and the game mechanics, that required him to exert more mental strength.


    "Guys, I''m a bit tired so I''ll leave first."


    Jin-woo said as he exited the game on his phone and got up. Fifteen or so youths who were benefiting from Jin-woo''s carry to rank up all wore disappointed expressions, but they didn''t force Jin-woo to stay. They could tell he was getting weary after his headshot rate dropped to around eighty percent in thest two games.


    "Don''t worry, it''s not like we can''t yter."


    Jin-woo suddenly said, and the youths all had the disappointment in their hearts vanished to be reced by anticipation.


    Jin-woo put away his phone in his jacket, then picked up his garbage left behind after eating, and was about to leave. However, the quiet voice of a girl from the crowd suddenly asked a question.


    "Jin-woo, is the rescue team reallying?"


    Everyone upon hearing this question suddenly became silent, even the other groups who were ying games nearby all stopped and looked over.


    Jin-woo paused in his steps and then looked around. When he saw the nervous expressions on the students'' faces, he sighed internally.


    No matter how much he assured these kids, Jin-woo realized they would always be nervous.


    However, it couldn''t be helped. So far, Jin-woo was the only one who spoke with the Marshal, leaving everyone else in the dark. If there was a way for Jin-woo to fully reassure them, it would be to call the Marshal in front of them and confirm the rescue team''s arrival once again since the signal had returned. But he wasn''t sure whether this was a bad idea or not given the Marshal''s indifferent attitude towards everyone but him.


    After hesitating, Jin-woo walked back to his table and took his phone. In front of everyone he then ced the phone on the table and called his mother''s number.


    Jin-woo decided he''d warn the Marshal that he was on speaker before he could say something detrimental. Plus, this wasn''t only for the students, it was also for him since he couldn''t stop thinking about his vision fromst night.


    Upon seeing Jin-woo''s actions, everyone was surprised.


    "Jin¡­"


    Jeon-sok muttered softly as he turned to give Jin-woo a worried look.


    This made it appear as if they didn''t believe Jin-woo and had forced him to make this decision. However, Jin-woo shook his head and said.


    "I should have done this before since it involves everyone."


    The hearts of the students around couldn''t help but be moved by Jin-woo, while some students who had doubts about a rescue teaming, felt guilty for suspecting he was lying.


    However, as Jin-woo''s phone rang without an answer, the students started to feel uneasy.


    That unease only grew stronger as Jin-woo redialed the number for a second and third time without it being answered.


    By now even Jin-woo''s brows were furrowed tightly.


    Either the Marshal was purposely ignoring him, or something had happened.


    Thinking about the lone helicopter in his vision, Jin-woo''s heart turned cold.


    "That''s enough, Jin-woo, you don''t have to do this in front of everyone. We already believe you."


    Finally, the silence was broken by Mr. Kim.


    "Perhaps the Marshal is busy with the virus on the outside so he can''t answer. When he does, I''ll answer in front of everyone."


    Jin-woo soon recovered hisposure and said with a smile.


    The students thought the statement made sense, and they all sighed in relief.


    Jin-woo picked up his phone and then calmly left, leaving behind the students ying games.


    Walking over to where he slept, Jin-woo picked up his drawstring bag and headed for the backroom to take a shower. However, the moment he passed through the double doors of the cafeteria, his calm expression disappeared to be reced by slight panic as he went to lean against the wall.


    Seong, who was always next to him, immediately became worried.


    "Jin, don''t panic. Come on, take deep breaths."


    Jin-woo leaned his back against the wall and took deep breaths. His chest was visibly moving up and down, signaling he was moments away from having a panic attack.


    However, thanks to Seong''s constant urgings, he quickly began to calm down.


    "Are you okay now?"


    Seong asked as he stood in front of Jin-woo, his hands cupping his face.


    Jin-woo nodded, but his face was drenched in sweat and his cheeks were flushed red. He looked as if he had just finished a marathon.


    Seong instinctively unzipped his blue winter coat about to grab the hand towel from the small bag on his waist, however, he stopped in the middle of his actions when he saw that the bag wasn''t there.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Seong thought he must have left the bag somewhere and was slightly panicked since Jin-woo''s backup medication was also inside. However, as he was trying to recall where he could have left it, his entire body suddenly stiffened. He remembered that thest time he had it was when Jin-woo picked him up from the library in Gangnam. Then¡­


    Seong''s emotions churned and even though he tried not to let his inner turmoil show on his face, his brows couldn''t help but furrow slightly. Not to mention losing the handy bag he always carried for Jin-woo, he wasn''t even alive so he couldn''t have helped him in the first ce.


    Jin-woo had been silently observing Seong''s instinctual actions, and a feeling of grief couldn''t help but rise in his heart.


    During this routine in the past, Seong would have insisted on taking care of him while he would helplessly protest that he could do it himself.


    But as well as feeling helpless, Jin-woo recalled he would also feel extremely annoyed at Seong for constantly babying him. However, after seeing Seong''s familiar actions, he only felt a sense of loss and guilt.

 Chapter 106- A Thief

    "Seems like I forgot I''m just a disembodied soul. Hey, Jin, can you create my bag with your ability? It feels weird that I don''t have it."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Seong said as he looked at Jin-woo.


    Jin-woo hesitated for a moment and then tried to conjure the bag. But he soon shook his head and said.


    "I can''t."


    "Really? Is it a limitation of your abilities, or is it because you''re tired?"


    Seong rubbed his chin in confusion.


    "Hm, it could be one of those."


    Jin-woo said, then made a move to head for the showers.


    However, what he said was a lie.


    He was tired from using his abilities while ying games, but it wasn''t to the point that he couldn''t conjure a small bag. It was because he didn''t want to.


    That bag... It felt like it symbolized Seong being trapped in the role of his caretaker.


    Seo-joon''s words from before were all Jin-woo could now think about.


    ''You''re nothing but a fucking parasite Jin, that''s all you are. Youtch onto anyone whoes near you, and you suck and suck until there''s nothing left of them. Then when you''re done you throw them away and move on.''


    Even now, after Seong had died his soul was trapped next to him.


    Jin-woo tried to keep his expression normal in front of Seong so he wouldn''t figure out his thoughts, but he wasn''t aware that Seong had silently stared at his back for a brief moment before following him.


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    ..


    In between several rows of lockers, Jin-woo sat on one of the many benches while taking off his shoes. Afterward, he took off his sses and clothes before putting them inside his drawstring bag, which he ced inside his designated locker along with his shoe.


    Jin-woo then moved to the basket cart filled with white towels at the back of the changing room. After quickly wrapping one around his waist, he picked up a smaller one for his hair before moving to the showers, which were just on the other side of the changing room.


    Seong, who was at the end of the hallway watching out for people so Jin-woo could change, followed behind him. But without his shirt on, Seong could now see several bruises on Jin-woo''s back and even a cigarette burn mark on the nape of his neck.


    ''It still hurts to see them.''


    Seong thought with furrowed brows.


    As the same as the first time, Jin-woo decided to shower after everyone was mostly done. Seong didn''t know why he went out of his way to do this at first, but he immediately understood after Jin-woo removed his shirt. He was furious, but also sad since his absence might have caused this.


    Seong reached out and taped the small cigarette burn, which made Jin-woo flinch and grab his neck.


    "What are you doing? You almost scared me to death."


    Jin-woo said turning around and shooting Seong a confused look.


    "Why did you let uncle do this to you?"


    Seong''s brows were still furrowed.


    Seeing that his best friend had be upset again, Jin-woo shook his head.


    "I said I''m fine, Seong. You don''t need to be so upset."


    "How can I not be upset? You purposely let those things happen to you, likely because you were ming yourself. I should have been there."


    After saying thosest few words, Seong''s expression became downcast.


    Jin-woo turned back to nce at him before sighing to himself.


    They reached the showers, and as Jin-woo headed for the one at far back he said.


    "I''m the one who caused the ident that injured Dad and made it so you couldn''t be there."


    "A panic attack isn''t something that can be predicted, Jin. It''s not your fault."


    Seong vehemently insisted, but Jin-woo calmly shook his head once again.


    "No, if I simply hadn''t insisted for Dad to drive me to Gangnam to surprise you, that ident wouldn''t have happened. That''s the truth, and nothing can change that Seong."


    Seeing that his best friend was still upset and wanted to argue, Jin-woo said.


    "Turn around."


    Seong huffed, then turned and squatted in the middle of the walkway behind Jin-woo.


    There were wooden dividers between the showers, so Seong was forced to be a lookout from this area, rather than at the end of the room. But given that it was now in the evening, there shouldn''t be anyoneing into the showers at this time.


    Well, that''s what Seong thought when sometime into his squat he abruptly heard a noise from what sounded like one of the lockers being closed.


    Seong listened more carefully, but after not hearing any more sounds or seeing anyone turn the corner, he was about to dismiss it. However, a thought suddenly struck him, and he immediately stood up.


    "Jin, hurry, go and check your locker!"


    Jin-woo, who was in the middle of washing his hair and hadn''t heard the noise, was surprised by Seong''s sudden shout.


    "What happened?"


    Without even fully removing the soap from his hair, Jin-woo grabbed the small towel and quickly wiped the soap from his eyes.


    "I heard someone opening a locker, hurry and go check if anything is missing from yours."


    Upon hearing this, Jin-woo''s expression changed and he hurriedly grabbed the second towel and rushed out of the shower while securing it around his waist.


    In only a moment he was turning the corner to the locker room. But after arriving he saw that no one was there, and all the lockers were closed.


    Click¡­


    Suddenly, Jin-woo and Seong heard a soft click, and they simultaneously turned to look at the door further down the hall, their expressions quickly turning gloomy.


    Jin-woo immediately approached his locker.


    The lockers here were old-school and could only be locked with padlocks. However, those padlocks were all removed and discarded so the students could freely use the lockers.


    Hooking his finger on the locker''stch, Jin-woo unlocked it before swinging the door open. Immediately his eyesnded on the only item inside. It was his utility belt, which was now missing his gun and the remaining magazines.


    Jin-woo had only ever taken off this utility belt when he was showering, at any other point in time it was always around his waist, even when he was sleeping. If this thief was after his gun, then that meant they had been observing his every movement.


    Jin-woo''s brows furrowed knowing that it wasn''t Mr. Kim or any of the teachers who came to take the gun back. As for who would steal his gun, he had some obvious guesses of who it could be, and as for why, well, it was a gun the answer was obvious.


    However, the gun was only the second most important item in his locker. His phone was far more important right now as it was the only connection to the Marshal and the rescue team. But it was inside his drawstring bag which was obviously missing from his locker.


    Jin-woo furiously mmed the locker shut with a loud bang. His expression was coated with the intent to murder as he quickly turned around and headed for the door. But even as he did, he realized that even his sses along with his clothes and underwear had been stolen, leaving him barely able to see andpletely naked.


    Jin-woo reached the door leading outside, but as he turned the handle, he realized it was locked. This made him recall that his bundle of keys that unlocked all the doors in the east wing were stolen as well. The third most important item he had.


    "Fuck."


    Jin-woo couldn''t help but uncharacteristically let out a curse under his breath. Especially when he recalled the fact that it was in the evening now.


    Jin-woo nced down at his G-shock watch, which he thankfully still wore to the shower since it was waterproof¡ª and squinted his eyes to see that the current time was now 3:38 pm.


    If the rescue team was truly on their way here, then they could arrive at any moment.

 Chapter 107- A Sudden Betrayal

    "Damn it, I need to get out of here."


    Jin-woo was about to try and break the door down, but Seong stopped him and said.


    "Wait, why don''t you try using your discement ability on the door handle?"


    "On the handle?"


    Jin-woo paused and nced at the door handle with doubt.


    "I''ve only done it once and it was an ident. I don''t know if I can do it again, especially on a door handle that''s screwed in."


    "You won''t know unless you try, it''s already been two days since your abilities began manifesting."


    Jin-woo wore an unsure expression but still nodded and said.


    "I''ll try."


    With that, Jin-woo focused on the door handle, his mind upied with thoughts of it appearing in his hand. However, even after a minute of this, there was no change to the door handle.


    "I look stupid."


    Jin-woo stopped his actions and said with a helpless expression. If Seong had not seen him teleport the phone into his hand, he would have thought he was hallucinating at the time.


    "Okay, that''s fine, it''s your first try. What happened when you teleported the phone? Try to recall anything that can be of help."


    Jin-woo was getting anxious, but he tried to stay calm and think. Back then, he felt a strange sensation when he made a phone appear in his hand, and he specifically recalled that feeling only appeared after Seong had picked up the phone.


    Jin-woo ryed this piece of information to Seong, who began pondering.


    However, not long after his pondering, Seong began scratching the back of his head because he had tried touching the door and then had Jin-woo try again only to fail.


    "There are too many theories in Physics to urately determine how you''re able to teleport the phone. Plus, this involves aliens and fiction-like superpowers from other dimensions. Who knows, our understanding of Physics might bepletely wrong. Even all the theories I''vee up with to exin your abilities so far could be incorrect too."


    Seong became extremely dejected after saying this, but Jin-woo immediately shook his head and rebutted.


    "Don''t think like that, you''re the smartest person I know, Seong. If it weren''t for you, I wouldn''t have made it this far."


    Seong couldn''t help but smile at Jin-woo''s words then lightly pped his cheeks to get rid of his sudden gloom. He again started to ponder, and after a moment he looked at Jin-woo before saying slowly.


    "If you''re able to teleport objects because you will for it to happen, then maybe everything depends on your thoughts. Like your familiarity with the object, your understanding of it, or even the amount of desire you have for it to be teleported. Everything stems from your thoughts. So, forget about Physics this once. It all depends on you and how badly you desire to leave this room."


    Jin-woo listened to Seong''s words, and something stirred in his heart.


    That was right, after Seong had picked up the phone and failed to send the text, a feeling of desperation had risen in his heart and all he could think about was sending that text.


    Jin-woo then thought about his current situation, and he stopped trying to remain calm. Instead, he let his worried thoughts run wild. He didn''t know what n the person who did this was concocting, but the simple fact that they trapped him here meant they didn''t want him to be there if the rescue team arrived. And if he stayed here, then the sr energy would eventually run out, releasing the trapped zombies.


    Jin-woo would be surrounded by zombies with a limited food supply. In that situation, he could only wait to die by either the zombies breaking in or by starving.


    With these thoughts constantly churning in his mind, Jin-woo nced at the door handle and anxiously reached out with his left hand.


    Without a sound, the door handle suddenly appeared in Jin-woo''s hand.


    Jin-woo looked down at the door handle in his hand, which still had its screws inside, and it took a while for him to realize he had seeded.


    "You actually did it!"


    Seong couldn''t help but yell excitedly from the side, before bing serious and adding.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Quick, let''s go!"


    Jin-woo nodded and then tossed the door handle behind him.


    The inside of the door handle was exposed, allowing Jin-woo to shift the bolt inside to easily unlock the door.


    However, after pushing the door, it only opened to a finger-wide gape before colliding with something behind it.


    Seong and Jin-woo''s expressions both changed before Seong used the gap to appear in the hallway to see what was blocking the door. After he did, his expression couldn''t help but darken as he looked down at the ground.


    There, a long and thick four-by-four woody. It was cleverly positioned against the door while using the opposite wall as support.


    As long as it was there the door will never open.


    As for Jin-woo moving it with his ability, forget about it. Aside from the fact that he couldn''t see the item, the size of the object undoubtedly yed a part in him being able to teleport it, and given it was impossible.


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    ..


    At the cafeteria doors, Ye-jun fitted the gun inside his waist before zipping up his jacket, hiding it. He had just returned from tossing away Jin-woo''s things at the back of the school. After ncing behind him, he fixed his sses on his nose bridge and got ready to enter the cafeteria. However, the phone in his jacket pocket suddenly started ringing.


    But Ye-jun didn''t have a phone.


    After a slight pause, Ye-jun reached inside his jacket to take out Jin-woo''s phone. After looking at the caller ID, he saw that it was marked as an unknown number.


    Ye-jun initially nned on ignoring it, but an idea suddenly came to him that made him answer.


    "Hello, who is this?"


    "Hello, am I speaking with Jin-woo?"


    The voice of a man came from the other end.


    "Yes, I''m Jin-woo, but who is this?"


    Ye-jun fixed his sses and responded without batting an eye. However, there was a pause at the other end which made his heart momentarily skip a beat. Just when he thought that the person realized his voice was different from Jin-woo''s, the man finally responded.


    "Good, I''m Kai, the leader of the rescue team. We''re about to reach the school gates but there are zombies in the area giving us little time for the extraction. So, we need you to gather everyone together to make it easier for us to get in and out quickly. Do you copy?"


    "Copy, I''ll gather everyone now."


    "Good, we''ll be there in less than six minutes, get ready."


    Beep¡­ Beep¡­


    After the man named Kai hung up, Ye-jun calmly ced the phone back into his jacket pocket while an astute smile slowly appeared at the corner of his lips.


    Fixing his sses one final time, Ye-jun pushed the door open and entered the cafeteria, having alreadye up with a n to exin Jin-woo''s ''sudden betrayal.''

 Chapter 108- A Calling

    After Ye-jun entered the cafeteria, he didn''t draw much attention. However, when he made a beeline for the door and unlocked the bolt with a loud bang, everyone turned to look at him.


    "Ye-jun, what are you doing?"


    Mr. Kim and the other teachers were the first to react, rushing to the door.


    However, Ye-jun didn''t stop his actions and instead shouted.


    "The rescue team is at the school gate!"


    After that, he unceremoniously swung open the double metal doors and stepped through.


    Everyone in the cafeteria momentarily sat there stunned in silence, but a secondter they all erupted with either shock or excitement. Seeing Ye-jun step outside, they hurriedly got up and rushed to follow him.


    The warnings from Mr. Kim and the other teachers were ignored. All this time they had been on edge, but finally seeing hope they couldn''t help but have such a strong reaction.


    Ye-jun made it to the school entrance with all the students following him. Questions were thrown at him such as, ''how he knew the rescue team arrived,'' but he acted like he didn''t hear a thing.


    Grabbing the main support metal pole blocking the entrance, Ye-jun began removing the barricade.


    "Wait, wait! What is going on?!"


    Mr. Kim could no longer stand by and watch as Ye-jun acted crazy, removing the barricade. The sr panel energy could run out at any moment, and if he were to dismantle the barricade but the rescue team wasn''t outside, then nothing could stop those trapped zombies from rushing in here and killing everyone.


    However, just as Mr. Kim stepped forward and grabbed Ye-jun''s hand to stop him, a boy suddenly cried out for everyone to hear.


    "I see soldiersing into the school!"


    The two high school buildings were built with in one-way ss windows at the front. Though zombies could not see inside the building from outside, just to be safe Jin-woo had suggested blocking the ground floor''s floor-to-ceiling windows with wet textbook pages from the library.


    The shout came from a boy who had peeled back one of those pages to look outside. After his shout, everyone rushed to do the same, and one by one they began shouting in excitement as they indeed saw four people with gunsing from the school gates.


    One of the four men who was wearing regr clothes lookedpletely different from the other three behind him who were in full swat gear. However, he seemed to be the leader as he was at the front.


    Now not just Ye-jun, other students began removing the barricade.


    Mr. Kim and the other teachers still had questions for Ye-jun but for now, they helped in removing the barricade.


    "Quick! We need to hurry; they don''t know we''re here!"


    One girl at the window said when she saw the four men hesitating on where to go after stopping near the football pitch.


    In an instant, the students all became frantic and started dismantling the barricade even faster. In only a few seconds, Ye-jun was pushing away the double metal doors and stepping outside.


    The other students rushed outside¡ªthe four men who were hesitating, saw them and quickly rushed over.


    "We''re saved!"


    One boy yelled, and the others followed suit, some even had tears running down their cheeks.


    Jeon-sok in the crowd was also excited but as he looked around the crowd for Jin-woo, he realized he wasn''t with them. His face changed, and he began to panic.


    "Wait, did anyone see Jin-wooe out with us!"


    Jeon-sok yelled but his voice was drowned out by the excited cheers of the crowd, only four or five people close to him heard his sudden yell.


    These youths were all taken aback and started looking around, but they too didn''t see Jin-woo.


    Seo-joon and Ah-yong were among these people and their faces both changed.


    "He went to the back rooms, but I didn''t see hime out."


    One youth suddenly remembered and said.


    "Damn it, Jin is left behind we have to go back! Teacher! Teacher! Jin-woo isn''t here! JIN-WOO ISN''T HERE!!"


    Jeon-sok yelled as he pushed through the crowd towards Mr. Kim. His final shout managed to cut through the noise of the crowd, and it caused everyone who heard it to instinctively start looking around for Jin-woo.


    Mr. Kim''s expression changed.


    "Where is he? Did anyone see hime with us?"


    "Teacher Kim, Jin''s still in the backrooms!"


    Joen-sok said as he approached.


    Hearing this, Mr. Kim suddenly sighed in relief and said with a smile.


    "He''s likely in the showers. Everyone stay here. I''ll go and get him."


    The students all heard Mr. Kim''s words and their momentary nervousness from someone missing was reced with relief.


    However, just as a few boys joked about their Boss Jin being in the showers at a time like this, and Mr. Kim was about to head back to the cafeteria to find him, Ye-jun at the front of the crowd suddenly spoke.


    "Jin-woo isn''t here, he left us!"


    Everyone couldn''t help but turn to Ye-jun when they heard that.


    "What do you mean?"


    Mr. Kim stopped in his tracks and turned to ask Ye-jun with a confused expression.


    Ye-jun calmly fixed his sses and repeated.


    "Jin-woo left. When I went to the showers to get the sses I left in my locker, I saw him packing supplies into his bag. When I asked what he was doing, he said he was leaving. After that I watch him leave through the back of the school."


    Immediately the students began voicing their confusion.


    "What? Jin-woo left? Why?"


    "How could Boss Jin leave?"


    "What''s going on? How there''s no reason for Boss Jin to leave; this bastard is probably lying again!"


    Some people didn''t believe Ye-jun''s words, Jeon-sok being the main one.


    "Bastard! What nonsense are you spouting? I knew you would try something sooner orter. Everyone don''t listen to him! Jin is still in the showers and I''m going to go get him!"


    After saying that Jeon-sok turned to rush to the cafeteria, but Ye-jun calmly took something out of his pocket and said.


    "I''m telling the truth, here''s his phone as proof."


    Jeon-sok paused and instinctively looked down at the phone in Ye-jun''s hand, and his expression couldn''t help but stiffen when he saw it.


    ¡­.


    Jin-woo kicked the door open and it fell with a loud bang. In nothing but a towel, he tossed the door hinges away and rushed to the cafeteria.


    "It''s my mistake, I should have thought about the hinges earlier!"


    Seong said as he ran next to Jin-woo.


    In only a moment, Jin-woo reached the hallway leading to the cafeteria''s double doors. However, he suddenly stopped.


    Seong stopped with him and said.


    "Jin, what is it? We have to hurry to get that bastard."


    "It feels like¡­ something is calling me."


    Jin-woo frowned before he turned and headed down the hallway leading to the back of the school.


    "You mean like when you were searching for Seo-joon bag in ss?"


    Jin-woo nodded but then realized.


    "It''s the journal!"


    Jin-woo''s eyes lit up, and his steps quickened.


    "That bastard must have thrown your bag away."


    Seong said, but his expression suddenly changed before he looked at Jin-woo and gravely asked.


    "Wait, Jin, what if he read my journal?"


    Jin-woo''s expression also changed to one of solemnity. He hadpletely forgotten about Seong''s journal.


    Forget about the gun or his phone, Seong''s journal that detailed his ability was far more important.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Jin-woo''s footsteps quicken even more.


    .....


    A/N: I n on rewriting this book. The rewritten version should be up in a while, but there will be no major changes to the plot. Still, perhaps give it some love if you can.

 Chapter 109- An Indistinct Figure

    "That''s¡­ How do you have Jin''s phone? You stole it didn''t you?!"


    Jeon-sook angrily yelled, and the other students who weren''t sure if that phone was Jin-woo''s, immediately wore shocked expressions.


    "What, did Jin-woo really leave?"


    Doubts began to rise in everyone''s hearts, but Jeon-sok, Ah-yong, and Seo-joon weren''t convinced.


    Mr. Kim too suspected Ye-jun was lying and his expression turned dark as he asked.


    "Ye-jun, did Jin-woo really gave you his phone and left?"


    "He did."


    "Did he say why he was leaving?"


    Ye-jun paused, and his calm expression changed for the first time to one of doubt as he said.


    "I''m not sure. He said something about not trusting the Marshal before he left."


    Mr. Kim''s pupils immediately constricted when he heard that, and an expression of shock appeared on his face. He subtly nced at the other teachers, and they had simr expressions.


    They thought back to that time when Jin-woo told them about how the Marshal wanted to rescue him alone because he had the cure for this virus in his blood. Now upon hearing Jin-woo''s reason for suddenly leaving from Ye-jun, they couldn''t help but wonder if the Marshal wanted Jin-woo, not just for the cure, but for something more nefarious.


    After all, it was confirmed that the Marshal couldn''t be entirely trusted, since if was not for Jin-woo refusing to be rescued alone, the Marshal would have abandoned them.


    ''Did Jin-woo always n to leave when the rescue team arrived?''


    Mr. Kim thought internally and after recalling all his interactions with Jin-woo, he couldn''t help but sigh. To him, it really felt like this was something Jin-woo would do.


    "Let''s go!"


    A voice suddenly interrupted everyone''s thoughts, and they turned to see the four men had arrived. The soldier in casual clothing who looked more like a gangster than a soldier immediately started urging everyone to hurriedly move.


    In the crowd, Mai-sun kept looking at the four men. Suddenly, one of the soldiers behind the man who looked like a gangster nced at her and gave a slight nod.


    Mai-sun sighed in relief internally before giving the man a small knowing smile.


    This brief interaction went unnoticed by everyone as Jeon-sok suddenly yelled.


    "Wait, sir, someone is missing! J-"


    However, before he could finish Seong coldly cut him off.


    "If you want to get left behind by going back to look for someone who''s already long gone then go ahead."


    After saying that Ye-jun left his jacket revealing the gun tucked in his waist. Before anyone could react to the sight of Jin-woo''s gun on him, he pulled it out and then tossed it towards Mr. Kim before saying.


    "He said Mr. Kim should have this, and you should know what to do."


    Mr. Kim caught the gun while his heart trembled. He looked at Ye-jun and then at the four soldiers. Suddenly, he realized that if these soldiers found out Jin-woo wasn''t among them then¡­


    Mr. Kim''s heart chilled but he soon nodded his head at Ye-jun.


    With that Ye-jun turned to the man who looked like a gangster and said.


    "Mr. Kai? We''re ready to leave."


    Ye-jun recognized the voice of this man from the recent phone call.


    Kai''s ears perked up and he nced at Ye-jun. Seeing how he looked like the leader figure among these people, he nodded and said.


    "Good, let''s go immediately."


    "No, wait, you-"


    Ah-yong suddenly stepped forward, but she was cut off by Mai-sun.


    "Why should we wait? He already decided to leave, we should hurry and go with the rescue team."


    Mai-sun then stepped out to stand next to Ye-jun.


    The man who had given Mai-sun a nod stepped forward and loudly said.


    "We''ve already secured the target; we need to leave!"


    "You two-"


    Jeon-sok was so angry that his body was shaking uncontrobly.


    "Stop, we should leave!"


    However, just when he was about to erupt in anger at Mai-sun and Ye-jun, Mr. Kim cut him off before he could reveal that the person left behind was Jin-woo.


    "Mr. Kim, what are you saying? How can we leave-"


    "Enough! We''ve already wasted time; we need to leave right now!"


    Kai suddenly yelled before he turned around, but he didn''t head in the direction of the school front gate where faint sounds of gunshots were echoing out. Instead, he headed in the direction of the west wing, where the back entrance of the high school campus was.


    "If you want to be left behind then go search for him."


    Ye-jun said to Jeon-sok as he fixed his sses and turned with Mai-sun to follow after Kai. The three men immediately surround them as if guarding the president.


    The other students saw how these people were treating Ye-jun and Mai-sun like royalty while ignoring them as if they were extra baggage, and their expressions turned into panic. They were confused, but quickly followed behind them not wanting to be left behind.


    Mr. Kim went to leave as well, but he paused when he saw that Jeon-sok, Ah-yong, and Seo-joon weren''t moving. Face hardening, he said.


    "I can''t exin why Jin-woo chose to leave, but you just need to believe ande with us."


    "Teacher Kim, how can you trust what those two said? What if Jin-woo is still in the cafeteria and we''re leaving him behind?"


    Mr. Kim sighed internally and after ncing back to see that the group was getting further, he felt helpless.


    However, Seo-joon suddenly dropped his crutch and pushed both Jeon-sok and Ah-yong towards Mr. Kim.


    "Both of you go, and I''ll go check if Jin-woo really left. If he did, then I can easily catch up, simple."N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Mr. Kim sighed in relief when he heard that. He then handed the gun to Seo-joon before grabbing Ah-yong and Jeon-sok''s arms and dragging them with him towards the distant group.


    Jeon-sok and Ah-yong wore hesitant expressions but they still let themselves be dragged away by Mr. Kim.


    ¡­.


    At the front of the crowd which had just reached the west wing, Ye-jun suddenly turned back to see Mr. Kim and the others still at the east wing entrance.


    He frowned slightly, realizing that he couldn''t fully get rid of Jin-woo this time either. However, his expression soon returned to calm before he turned to Kai walking in front of him, and said.


    "Isn''t it better if we run?"


    Kai turned around and after ncing at Ye-jun he looked at the other students following behind them. Seeing that none of them were injured and could walk just fine, he nodded.


    "We have an armored truck stationed at the back entrance of the campus, we''re about to run so try to keep up!"


    ¡­.


    Seo-joon watched as Mr. Kim and the others went before gripping the gun in his hand and turning around to head to the cafeteria.


    However, just as Seo-joon turned around, an indistinct figure suddenly appeared and dashed past him.

 Chapter 110- To The Roof!

    Seo-joon''s eyes widened and he swiftly turned to see Jin-woo speeding towards the group up ahead like a raging bull.


    "Shit."


    Seo-joon cursed internally and chased after him.


    Swoosh!


    Jin-woo shot past Mr. Kim and the others in no time. Even though he heard his name being called from behind he didn''t turn around. The only thing he could think about was strangling Ye-jun because when he found his stuff behind the school, everything was still intact, but Seong''s journal was torn to pieces!


    The crowd up ahead suddenly started running, but Jin-woo caught up to them in only a few strides.


    However, just as he spotted Ye-jun in front of the crowd, he saw a figure falling from the sky.


    Kai at the front sensed something and looked up. Immediately his expression changed and he yelled.


    "Look out!"


    Kai lifted his gun and fired several rounds at the falling figure, while at the same time grabbing Ye-jun and tugging him along as he retreated.


    The soldiers and the students didn''t manage to react in time as the figure received Kai''s bullets, his hand blocking his face, beforending where he and Ye-jun were just standing.


    Mai-sun, who was next to Ye-jun, was barely able to shift her body in time before the figure could crush her.


    With a muffled bang, the figurended on the ground in a crutch position, their feet cracking the ground as they did, showing just how high they had been falling from.


    Then, with a forceful push off the ground, the figureunched themself forward, weaving through the other soldiers to get to Ye-jun who was a few meters away.


    Those soldiers were momentarily dumbfounded by what was happening and weren''t able to stop the figure.


    But Kai was quick to react and pointed his gun at the figure about to shoot, however, the figure suddenly came to an abrupt stop and then changed directions, jumping behind one of the soldiers to use him as a shield.


    Kai''s pupils constricted from shock upon seeing this. Due to his dy, he wasn''t able to react as the figure circled the soldier and lounged at Ye-jun.


    Terrified, Ye-jun stumbled back and fell to the ground. The figure jumped on top of him and opened their mouth.


    "Ahhh!"


    Ye-jun raised his forearm to block the figure''s bite and let out a scream as the figure''s teeth sunk into his hand.


    However, the figure''s expression changed when he didn''t feel Ye-jun''s skin between his teeth. Quickly releasing Ye-jun''s forearm, the figure was about to go for Ye-jun''s neck, but Kai finally recovered and kicked him away.


    Ye-jun crawled back and then hurriedly pulled up his jacket sleeve. An armbrace made of bandages and strips of metal was revealed, but upon seeing the visible teeth marks on the strips of metal, Ye-jun hurriedly checked for any wound on his hand. He only released a sigh of relief when he found none.


    Meanwhile, Kai aimed his gun at the figure, who strangely stopped moving after the gun was pointed at him.


    "NO STOP!! HE''S NOT A ZOMBIE!!"


    A loud cry suddenly echoed out causing Kai, who was about to fire his gun at the figure''s head, to snap back to his senses and release the trigger. He then carefully examined the figure who had stopped his attack.


    Though the boy had gray eyes, his behavior was different from the other zombies. Even now he had a calm expression, and the way he looked at him with those gray eyes gave Kai the strange feeling that he was staring at him.


    "Who-"


    Bang!


    Kai was about to ask who this person was, but a gunshot cut him off.


    Kai stood there stunned for a moment while looking at the dead body of the boy, dressed in high school P.E. gear.


    "What did you do!"


    Another shout echoed out and Kai turned to see another boy dressed in a blue tracksuit rushing over.


    Jin-woo, with tears in his eyes, dropped to his knees next to Micah and frantically called out to him.


    "Micah! Micah!"


    However, no matter how loud he called Micah didn''t respond.


    Seeing this, Jin-woo''s face paled and his hands gripping Micah''s shirt started to shake uncontrobly.


    Kai frowned upon seeing this, then turned to look at the soldier who had fired the shot. He was already opposed to this personing here on a separate mission with them, but this incident intensified it.


    It was obvious that this zombie was different from the others and showed it had human-like reactions by how he used someone as a shield as well as how he stopped when a gun was pointed at him. Perhaps he was a third type of infected victim who somehow maintained his senses. Who knows what kind of information they could have gathered from his body if he had been brought back to theb?


    The man who shot Micah seemed indifferent as he walked back to stand next to Mai-sun like a loyal guard.


    Kai could only look away with a sigh and approach Jin-woo who was crying over Micah''s body.


    "Hey kid, I need to ask you some questions about what just happened."


    Kai reached down to tap Jin-woo''s shoulder to get his attention, however, Jin-woo''s hand suddenly shot out and grabbed the revolver gun tucked in the back of Kai''s belt.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Fuck!"


    Kai tried to stop Jin-woo but he reacted too quickly and retreated after grabbing his gun.


    "Kid, what are you doing?!"


    Kai yelled as he stepped forward to subdue Jin-woo, but the mouth of his own revolver was suddenly pointed at his forehead. Then, he saw Jin-woo''s finger on the trigger squeezing, causing his pupils to dte before he hurriedly shifted his head to the side.


    Bang!


    Kai heard the familiar sound of his baby going off before he felt the bullet slipping past his right ear.


    "Ugh¡­"


    A low grunt was heard from the soldier next to Mai-sun as the bullet pierced through his goggles and into his eye, killing him.


    Everyone, including Kai, watched in mute silence as the body of the soldier copsed onto the ground like a puppet that had its strings cut.


    After Jin-woo killed the soldier who shot Micah, he didn''t hesitate to turn the gun on Ye-jun who was still on the ground.


    Bang!


    The gun fired but the shot missed and instead hit the ground next to Ye-jun, making Seong nearby curse at Kai for interfering.


    After knocking the gun out of Jin-woo''s hand, Kai tripped his legs and mmed him hard onto the ground causing the wind to be knocked out of him. Jin-wo was thus unable to react, allowing Kai to pin him onto the ground with his entire weight on his back.


    "I understand killing that fool, but you''re not about to kill the only cure to this damn virus."


    Kai said as he looked at this boy beneath him with furrowed brows.


    However, he soon couldn''t help but nce at the soldier that was headshoted, and then back at Jin-woo while wondering if that was just a lucky shot. His baby had a strong recoil because of his modifications, so it was hard to aim for people who didn''t know what they were doing.


    "Is that what he told you? Why don''t you ask me who I am."


    Jin-woo managed to angrily force out while ring at Ye-jun as if he wanted to finish what Micah started by biting into his flesh and drinking his blood.


    "What do you mean?"


    With a confused expression, Kai nced at Ye-jun, feeling that something was wrong.


    "Sir, don''t hurt Boss Jin!"


    "Yeah, he''s the one who saved us!"


    "Sir, don''t hurt him!"


    The students finally recovered from the shock of everything that happened and started to anxiously call out.


    When Kai heard them, his expression changed.


    "You''re not Jin-woo?"


    Kai said, his expression bing cold as he stared at Ye-jun.


    He knew that the kid he was supposed to rescue was the son of the man who helped his brother in the Marines. Although he had suspicions about the voice he heard over the phone since he had heard Jin-woo''s voice when he was initially investigating his brother''s savor, it all vanished when he saw Ye-jun because he remembered seeing a picture of the man''s son in sses.


    However, now that Kai looked closer, Ye-jun''s hair was of a different color, and his cheeks were more defined rather than being a bit chubby than in the pictures.


    "No, I''m Jin-woo."


    Jin-woo said, and Kai frowned as he looked down at the sses-wearing boy with slightly chubby cheeks he was holding, his heart growing cold.


    He almost made a colossal mistake by rescuing the wrong person.


    Kai stopped pinning down Jin-woo and hurriedly pulled him up.


    "Talk. What the hell is going on?"


    Kai was more than angry; they were wasting time.


    Jin-woo brushed off the dirt from his face and fixed his sses when he got up. He was then about to speak, but he suddenly stiffened and spun around to look in the direction of the gym and auditorium.


    A feeling of danger had suddenly assaulted his senses, and the direction it wasing from was those two buildings.


    Jin-woo''s expression hardened, and he listened closely in the direction of the gym and auditorium. However, no matter how hard he tried he couldn''t hear the speakers.


    ''No¡­''


    Jin-woo''s expression changed upon realizing the sr energy had run out, however, as he went to hurriedly escape, he felt two more sources of danger pop up out of nowhere. He couldn''t help but nce in their direction; the front entrance next to the gym and the back entrance just passed the west wing.


    There only escape routes.


    Jin-woo''s face instantly paled and a feeling of dread overtook him as he felt deathing from almost every direction.


    "Kid, are you going to talk or not?"


    Kai said after watching Jin-woo just staring at nothing.


    "¡­leave."


    "What?"


    Kai finally heard Jin-woo say something, but he could barely hear him.


    "Damn it, Kid speak up!"


    "Leave! I said we need to hurry and leave!"


    Jin-woo yelled and then dived toward the long-mouthed revolver on the ground. After grabbing it, he ignored Ye-jun and rushed back to the east wing.


    However, not even two steps into his run, the danger in Jin-woo''s heart red up, causing him to immediately change directions and head for the entrance of the west wing.


    "Damn it, kid, where are you going?! Drop my ba-I mean gun!"


    Kai yelled and rushed after Jin-woo who grabbed his revolver.


    The crowd of students was caught off guard as Jin-woo pushed through them.


    While pushing through the crowd, Jin-woo saw Jeon-sok and Ah-yong. He immediately grabbed them and pulled them along.


    "Jin, what''s going on?"


    "Jin, those bastards tried to leave without you!''


    Ah-yong and Jeon-sok both said, but Jin-woo didn''t have time to exin.


    After leaving the crowd, he suddenly spotted Seo-joon.


    "The roof!"


    That was the only thing Seo-joon heard before Jin-woo ran past him. He was confused at first, but his eyes suddenly narrowed, and he immediately chased after him along with an angry and confused Kai.


    At the same time, everyone was left equally confused by the situation.


    Some wanted to follow Jin-woo out of instinct, but they stopped and looked at the soldiers wondering what they should do.


    One of the soldiers, after hesitating, turned to his teammate and said.


    "You guys escort these kids to the back entrance; I''ll go find my brother."


    "Rodger!"


    The soldier said before he started leading the students away.


    Mr. Kim looked at the west wing and hesitated, but eventually followed the other teachers to leave with the soldier.


    However, not even a few secondster, screams echoed out from the students as they saw the doors to the gym breaking off their hinges with zombies pouring out in droves.


    "Move!"


    "Move!"


    The soldier immediately roared at the students to run, when the zombies started charging in this direction.


    Suddenly, the door to the auditorium also burst open releasing the zombies inside.


    Seeing this the students all increased their speed as much as they could.


    However, among the crowd, Ye-jun suddenly stopped and grabbed Mai-sun next to him.


    "Let''s go!"


    He yelled and then started dragging her back to the west wing.


    Mai-sun was at first terrified by Ye-jun''s seemingly crazy actions, but Ye-jun forcefully pulled her and said.


    "He predicted the zombies attacking; we have to follow him!"


    Upon hearing this, Mai-sun recalled Jin-wo''s earlier actions. She also recalled when they were walking along the halls and even earlier when they were at the tennis court.


    Mai-sun calmed down and followed Ye-jun, rushing back to the west wing.


    Han Soo, who was at the entrance, couldn''t help but curse upon seeing two kids returning, however, he didn''t hesitate to urge them inside.


    "To the roof!"


    Han Soo yelled when Ye-jun and Mai-sun entered. He then turned to follow behind them, but the sound of zombies screeching outside made him turn back to look.


    A majority of the zombies suddenly diverted from the horde to chase after the group outside.


    Han Soo''s face changed when he saw that, but he didn''t have time to worry about those people. After firing a couple of shots killing the closest zombies near the entrance, he turned around and headed to the roof to find his brother and that kid.

 Chapter 111- A Safe Path

    Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­


    On the third floor, Jin-woo, Ah-yong, and Jeon-sok were breathing heavily having just run up several flights of stairs at full speed.


    "Jin, hurry!"


    Up ahead at a corner, Seong was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling ss windows overlooking the front of the school while urging Jin-woo to run faster.


    Soon the trio reached the corner and turned. Jeon-sok saw the scene outside while running and couldn''t help but let out a startled curse. Ah-yong took a nce as well and her expression pale when she saw the number of zombies flooding the football pitch.


    Jin-woo couldn''t be bothered to look, instead his entire focus was on the stairs up ahead leading to the roof.


    Seong''s body flickered and appeared below the stairs. However, when he turned back to look at Jin-woo he saw that he had suddenly stopped in the middle of the hall.


    "Jin, what''s wrong, why did we stop?"


    Jeon-sok asked worriedly as he and Ah-yong turned to look at him.


    Jin-woo didn''t answer, he stared at the stairs up ahead, his face paled as he sensed danger in that direction.


    Seeing Jin-woo''s expression, Seong''s face changed, and he flickered in front of him and asked worriedly.


    "Jin, what''s wrong?"


    With a horrifying realization, Jin-woo looked at Seong and answered hoarsely.


    "If we go to the roof... we''ll die."


    "W-What?!"


    Jeon-sok yelled, startled. He and Ah-yong began to panic, causing them to overlook Jin-woo talking to Seong.


    Jin-woo, with his heart racing, began to frantically look around, trying to find a direction where there was no sense of danger.


    Suddenly, rapid footsteps came from behind them down the hall. Jeon-sok and Ah-yong turned to see Seo-joon rushing towards them with Kai behind.


    "Huff¡­ Huff¡­ What''s wrong, why did you stop?"


    Seo-joon asked as he approached.


    "I-Jin said we''ll die if we go to the roof."


    Jeon-sok exined while turning to look at the frantic Jin-woo.


    "Damn it¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­ You finally stop!"


    Kai yelled as he stopped near the group with his hands on his knees. Seeing Jin-woo pacing around, his eyes red with anger, and he yelled.


    "Brat, give me back my baby!"


    An enraged Kai stepped forward as if to attack Jin-woo, but Seo-joon immediately blocked him and said coldly.


    "Be grateful, he just saved your life!"


    "Huh?! What nonsense are you talking about? I''m the one who came to save you, how did it turn into me being saved? Damn it, there''s no time for this, you''ve wasted timeing here when there''s an escape route at the back entrance. If we don''t hurry, the zombies we''ve drawn to us whileing here will flood the entire school!"


    Seo-joon rolled his eyes before pointing at the floor-to-ceiling ss windows next to them and said.


    "Go take a look for yourself."


    Kai frowned, but now that it was pointed out to him his expression suddenly changed as he walked to the window to see the horde of zombies that practically surrounded the school.


    "The sr power ran out and the zombies trapped in the auditorium and gym by the speakers escaped. If Jin hadn''t reacted in time, then we would have been surrounded by zombies by the time we reached the back entrance."


    Seo-joon said as he looked at Kai.


    "Wait, the others that are outside, are they¡­"


    Ah-yong''s face paled and she didn''t dare finish her words.


    However, the others could tell what she meant, and their expressions turned gloomy.


    Kai seemed to recover from his initial confusion. He turned around and said with a serious expression.


    "Since it''se to this, we''ll have to request a helicopter from headquarters. We''ll need to hurry to the¡­"


    Kai''s words suddenly trailed off when Jin-woo suddenly frantically walked past him. His serious expression immediately faltered, and he couldn''t help but point at Jin-woo before asking.


    "What the hell is up with him?"


    Seo-joon turned to look at Jin-woo, his expression turning solemn.


    "Jin, can''t you find a way out?"


    "No, wherever we go is wrong. We''re trapped on all sides!"


    Jin-woo yelled without looking back, but after saying that he seemed to panic even more, his chest heaving up and down violently.


    Kai frowned upon hearing that and rebutted.


    "What are you talking about the roof is right there. Let''s go already!"


    "If you want to die then go ahead!"


    Seo-joon snapped at him, but Kai being fed up with these annoying kids was about to explode. However, gunshots suddenly echoed out down the hall.


    At the corner, Mai-sun and Ye-jun''s figures turned and came rushing at them.


    Jeon-sok''s anger immediately red when he saw them, but Ye-jun suddenly yelled from afar.


    "The zombies areing!"


    Jeon-sok''s and the other''s faces changed when they heard that, and they all turned to look at Jin-woo.


    "Jin, I don''t want to rush you, but you have to hurry up."


    Seo-joon said walking over to Jin-woo who was pacing around.


    "I know, but¡­"


    Jin-woo gritted his teeth, his heart almost in his throat.


    At the same time, Mai-sun and Ye-jun came over. The gunshots behind them grew louder and louder, and soon Han Soo''s figure appeared at the corner firing his gun.


    "Damn it, enough of this bullshit let''s go now before we all die!"


    Kai yelled and then dashed towards Jin-woo nning on dragging him towards the roof. But Seo-joon jumped in front of him and blocked his path just as he grabbed Jin-woo''s cor.


    "Damn it, a bunch of crazy kids, do you want to stay here and die?!"


    Kai was moments away from losing his mind. He couldn''t understand what these kids were talking about or why they needed this brat to lead them. The roof was right there!


    "Hyung, we have to go!"


    Han Soo yelled as he fired hisst shot a charged towards them.


    Ah-yong, Jeon-sok, Mai-sun, and Ye-jun all stared at Jin-woo, while Kai and Seo-joon struggled with each other.


    Jin-woo''s eyes ridden and his fist clenched so tightly they almost drew blood.


    Seong, who was in front of him, was equally panicked, but he suddenly thought of something and hurriedly spoke.


    "Jin, instead of trying to find a ce where you can''t feel that sense of danger, find one where the danger is the least."


    "I-"


    Jin-woo had doubt rise in his heart, he had never been able to distinguish them before. These forewarnings only appear when he was about to make a decision.


    However, Seong hurriedly exined.


    "Don''t scatter your thoughts like before, just focus on distinguishing those feelings of danger. Remember, each one of them is a parallel universe, a path that hasn''t been taken yet. You just need to sense them and find the path with the least amount of danger, a safe path. Focus, Jin, you can do it."


    Jin-woo looked at Seong, who suddenly smiled at him. He gritted his teeth even harder but nodded.


    Jin-woo then closed his eyes and tried to calm his emotions. Unlike before in the showers, this time he had to calm his emotions and reign in his scattered thoughts.


    If Jin-woo had to rely on his desire and emotions to use his discement ability, this time he had to be cold and calcting to predict the future.


    "Hyung, we have to go. I killed the zombies behind us, but more areing. What''s going on?"


    Han Soo said as took off his goggles and helmet to look around.


    "How the fuck should I know! These kids are all crazy!"


    Kai yelled angrily after not being able to get past Seo-joon. He was thinking to himself¡ªsince when were high schoolers this strong? However, if you wanted to, he could overpower Seo-joon if he got serious, but he might have to break something to do that.


    "Who are you calling crazy? If it weren''t for Jin, would you be here?"


    Jeon-sok was irked by Kai''s statement and immediately retorted.


    "Brat, you want to fight?"


    Kai said ring at Jeon-sok.


    Jeon-sok expression changed when he saw this gangster-looking person with dyed hair and piercings ring at him, he instinctively stepped behind Ah-yong.


    "That''s what I thought."


    Kai said with a snort, but Ye-jun suddenly spoke up while fixing his sses.


    "Is it really the time for this?"


    "Right, why are we here, we need to hurry to the roof!"


    Han Soo said, but Kai angrily replied.


    "It''s all this bastard''s- are you actually closing your eyes in this situation?!"


    Kai turned to see Jin-woo had his eyes closed and he couldn''t help but erupt in anger from this absurd situation. Was he going to die because of these crazy kids?


    "Can you guys stop talking?"


    Jin-woo''s cold voice suddenly echoed out. It seemed to have some kind of maic effect as it immediately silenced everyone.


    Jin-woo then slowly opened his eyes to reveal that they had turnedpletely red behind his sses.


    Everyone''s gaze was immediately drawn to those red eyes, and shock flooded their hearts.


    "This brat, when did he wore colored contacts?"


    Kai muttered in confusion, but Jin-woo suddenly nced at him.


    For some reason, Kai felt a cold chill run up his spine and numbing his skull. He instinctively took a step back under Jin-woo''s gaze, but Jin-woo soon looked away from him.


    Kai, who was now in a fight or flight mode, felt cold sweat rolling down his face and back. During that brief moment when Jin-woo''s gaze was on him, he felt like that time when he was facing down the barrel of a gun pointed at him by a rival gang leader.


    No, back then there was a sliver of a chance to escape because he had something over the gang leader, so he was rxed then. Now, however, it felt like Jin-woo could have killed him if he had looked at him for even a second longer, and there was nothing he could have done to save himself.


    Now having silence, Jin-woo calmly looked around at all the red threads around him. These red threads flowed from his chest and spread out in all directions. Some went down the hallway where the zombies wereing from, while others went to the stairs leading to the roof and down the hallway passed it.


    Not only him, but the others also had red threadsing out of their chests. When Jin-woo nced at Kai just now, he saw one of his red threads that led to the roof glow momentarily before fading back to the same color as the others.


    Jin-woo also nced around at the others'' red threads and saw a single one glowing before dimming. He knew these were parallel universes created by their possible decisions, but the glowing ones confused him. That was until he saw that the thread that glowed for Seo-joon and the others were floating around him. He realized that the ones that glowed momentarily were the decisions they were thinking of choosing.


    Jin-woo stopped his probing and instead focused on his own threads. All of them were of the same thickness but after a bit of concentration, their thickness started to change. The biggest change was that the ones flowing in the direction of the approaching zombies twisted andbined into one massive red thread.


    Jin-woo directly ignored it and instead focused on finding the smallest thread among the others.


    "Jin, you''re bleeding."


    After Jin-woo nced at them, everyone felt fear rise in their hearts and kept silent, but Ah-yong couldn''t help but speak up when she saw blood dripping from Jin-woo''s nose.


    "Kid, what''s going on with you, are you okay?"


    Han Soo couldn''t help but ask worriedly as well.


    "I''m fine, let''s go."


    Jin-woo dismissed their concerns while wiping the blood away with his sleeves.


    With hurried steps, he walked in the direction of the roof stairs, but when everyone following him thought he was heading to the roof, Jin-woo stopped in front of a door that was on the way.


    Kai looked at the words ''Female Bathroom'' on the door and his expression changed.


    "Kid, you can''t be serious."


    Jin-woo ignored his words and stepped aside before saying.


    "Kill the zombies inside when you go in."


    Kai frowned, but suddenly faint screeching sounds echoed out from down the hallway.


    The zombies were approaching.


    "Fuck¡­ Damn it¡­ I''m going to die because of these fucking kids¡­"


    Kai cursed repeatedly under his breath as he pushed the door and went inside the bathroom. However, not even a secondter, two zombies heard the sound of the door being pushed open and rushed at him.


    Kai''s frightened curses could be heard by the others outside along with the sounds of gunshots.


    After the noise stopped, Jin-woo calmly pushed open the door. However, he didn''t enter, instead, he stopped by the entrance and held the door for everyone to enter.


    Seo-joon was the first to enter, then Han Soo, before Ah-yong and Jeon-sok after.


    Just as Ye-jun was about to enter, Jin-woo calmly pointed the revolver at his forehead and said.


    "You''re the bait, so why are you trying to enter?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Jin, what are you doing?"


    Mai-sun behind Ye-jun said as she quickly stood in front of him.


    Jin-woo''s eyes suddenly burst with a harsh red glow as he red at Mai-sun and said.


    "If it wasn''t for your mother, you would be staying outside with him. So go ahead, say another word to protect him and see what happens."


    Mai-sun''s heart trembled violently under Jin-woo''s red eyes. But behind her, Ye-jun stealthily lifted her jacket and took out the gun from her waist before putting it inside his jacket pocket.


    Mai-sun showed a hesitant expression, but soon lowered her head and entered the bathroom, not giving Ye-jun a single nce.


    Jin-woo looked at Ye-jun and calmly extending his hand and said.


    "You have something that''s mine."


    Ye-jun stiffened when he saw Jin-woo extending his hand but sighed in relief when he heard his words. He reached into his right pocket and took out Jin-woo''s phone before handing it to him.


    Jin-woo lowered the gun while putting the phone away in his jacket pocket. However, as he was taking his hand back out, something was in it which he showed Ye-jun.


    Ye-jun saw the item and was confused, but before he could fullyprehend the meaning of it Jin-woo suddenly put the item back into his pocket and closed the door.


    Shatter!


    The sound of ss shattering suddenly echoed out as a zombie couldn''t turn the corner in time and crashed through the window, falling four floors down. A few more zombies went with it, but even more, turned the corner and chased after Ye-jun.


    Ye-jun''s face changed and he rushed to the male bathroom while taking out the gun from his waist to fire at the closest zombie. However, after the bullet in the chamber was fired, there was a click from the gun.


    Stunned, Ye-jun checked the magazine and shockingly realized it had disappeared. His face went pale, and he stumbled back in a daze.


    Screech!!


    The zombies'' screeches immediately made him snap back to reality, and he let out a terrified scream before turning and running down the hall, passing the stairs to the roof.


    The sses that identally fell from his face were crushed under the feet of the blood-covered zombies who madly chased after him; all while ignoring the female bathroom.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!