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Translator: penny
Chapter: 005
Chapter Title: Choice
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After breakfast, I lay down on the sofa for a bit.
When I woke up, it was noon.
I'd only taken a short nap, but my body felt light and refreshed.
I turned on the TV.
The local station was running a breaking news report on the zombie attacks.
"Monstrous creatures have now appeared in Kimhae and Yangsan as well. The government has officially classified them as 'zombies' due to their method of biting people to spread the virus and the twisted bodies with changed eye colors. Traditionally, zombies refer to living corpses..."
I flipped channels and stopped on footage of a zombie horde.
It was zoomed in from a building rooftop.
The sight of zombies swarming like flies on a railing, tearing into people, was horrifying.
I rushed to the room on the right with a view of Busan Station.
Peering out the window, I saw the station completely overrun by zombies.
They'd spilled onto the roads, colliding with incoming cars.
Then.
A car barreled in fast from the left, plowing through zombies.
But it couldn't go any farther.
The vehicle swung into a right turn but slammed into the bollards blocking the sidewalk.
A man got out.
"What the...?"
The man was knocking zombies down with his bare fists.
Then a woman stepped out from the driver's seat and fired an arrow.
Ah, so that's how Ma Tae-beom and Ye Ji-ah arrived.
I grabbed my binoculars and observed.
Ma Tae-beom struck joints and vital points with precision. Ye Ji-ah's shooting was flawless—nocking arrows again at an unbelievable speed.
They fled into an alley, followed by others from the car.
It was the alley leading to Jesty Hotel.
I bolted out of the room.
"Hey! Where are you going?"
Oh Jong-seong's voice trailed after me.
"Customers are coming. Clean up."
"What the hell!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I was stunned when I reached the first floor.
We'd clearly barricaded the entrance with furniture, but now it was wide open.
People were flooding in like a tidal wave.
Things I hadn't known a year ago came to light as my actions changed.
Now I finally understood the horrific massacre and zombie outbreak that had happened in the hotel.
I approached a staff member.
"When did you open the entrance?"
"Local politicians were coming, so we opened it ten minutes ago. We didn't expect this rush."
"How many came in?"
"At least two hundred, I think. We've moved them to the basement fitness center and second-floor banquet hall."
"Block it now! Call all the staff!"
That's when Ma Tae-beom pushed through the revolving door.
Behind him, Ye Ji-ah with a bow slung over her shoulder.
Accepting everyone like before would lead to disaster.
I had to stop it as much as possible.
I looked at Ma Tae-beom and said,
"I need your help. There are probably infected mixed in, so we can't let everyone in."
Ma Tae-beom sized me up and nodded.
"I'll help."
Ye Ji-ah, bow on her back, showed resolve.
"You sure you're okay?"
"I'll handle the zombies coming from afar."
"Good. I'll take the lead."
I approached the revolving door.
Every time it reached the lobby, people tumbled forward.
Behind them, hotel staff were dragging furniture forward.
"Let's go."
The door stopped at the lobby entrance, and people poured out.
I pulled them forward and grabbed the door.
"Come in!"
Ma Tae-beom and Ye Ji-ah entered the revolving door.
The moment they stepped out, horrific screams and desperate pleas filled the air.
"Aaaagh!"
"Help me!"
Beep—honk!
Even car horns.
Gruesome scenes unfolded on both sides.
A woman's face half gone, her freshly ripped-out heart twitching on the asphalt.
Scattered police in uniforms, mangled beyond recognition.
A collapsible baton lay beside one.
No guns in sight.
I dashed right.
A male student was fleeing into the alley from two zombies.
Tat-tat!
I flew in fast with a scissor kick.
My feet struck both zombies' jaws precisely, staggering them.
"Student! Get inside the hotel quick!"
Then a one-two straight to their jaws, followed by a hook and uppercut.
Thud-thud-thunk!
Their jaws shattered, teeth spilling out.
That should stop them from biting.
No time to think.
"Aaaack!"
A middle-aged woman tripped, bitten on the leg by a zombie. Nearby, a female student fled along the wall.
Bitten people were hopeless.
I spotted the zombie chasing the girl.
It spat out blackened rotten flesh, roaring madly.
Kwaaang!
Just as its sharp nails nearly grazed her butt.
I kicked off the wall fast and punched.
Crack!
The zombie hit in the solar plexus toppled backward.
In an instant, two more lunged, teeth bared from both sides.
Dodged left, but right was dangerous.
Rough texture grazed my shoulder.
Splat!
An arrow pierced the right zombie's eye simultaneously.
The zombie flailed its arms in the air.
Now's the chance.
I gouged the left zombie's eye deep with two fingers, then side-kicked the right one's groin.
Kuueeugh!
Thuk!
An arrow lodged in the zombie's chest.
I grabbed the girl's hand and ran toward the hotel.
Ahead, Ma Tae-beom dispatched zombies with fluid motions.
His joint and vital strikes were unmatched.
Ye Ji-ah fired arrows from the front steps.
I picked up the police baton and shouted,
"Let's head in now!"
Not everyone could be saved.
Dull crunching of bones under teeth, endless screams. Blood sprayed everywhere, painting the walls red.
Ma Tae-beom and I pushed back approaching zombies from the steps, shoving salvageable people into the revolving door.
I told the two,
"Go in first!"
Then a hotel staffer emerged with an oil drum and lighter.
"If we light a fire out front, they won't approach."
I took the drum, poured it down the steps, and hurled it at the oncoming zombies.
A zombie caught it clumsily.
It ignited.
Whoosh!
Its damp flesh burned, filling the air with a rotten stench.
The zombie flailed toward the sky before collapsing. The ones behind hesitated to approach.
"Save me too."
"Please, help!"
People kept streaming from the alley.
Regrettable, but this was it.
I slipped into the revolving door, locked it, and with the staff, piled furniture in front—five rows, five high. Impenetrable.
Ma Tae-beom and Ye Ji-ah helped too.
"Whew."
I told the two,
"Let's go inside."
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Shhh—
Ma Tae-beom showered in room 1205.
I watched through the glass.
Even a rickety bridge needs testing—I checked for wounds.
Fortunately, clean.
His body was wrapped in lean muscle that radiated power.
I'd ask what he did for a living later.
I went to the living room and sat beside Ye Ji-ah.
"No injuries?"
"No."
"You must've trained in archery. You shoot amazingly."
"Yes."
I knew Ye Ji-ah well.
Late twenties.
A prodigy in archery from elementary through high school, her peak was a silver at the Asian Games.
She aced nationals near-perfect scores but crumbled under pressure in majors.
Her Olympic debut team event ended in quarters due to nerves.
Nicknamed "Timid Archer" and "Doomed Marksman," but the real pain was the mockery and hate.
- It's because of you we lost.
- Total drag, what an embarrassment! Shooting arrows like that?
- Dragged her seniors to hell and has no shame!
The hate comments ended her career.
Now she worked at a hospital, part-timing archery lessons on weekends.
That's her from a year ago.
Above all, she's a potential immune—must save her.
Oh Jong-seong on the sofa looked pissed.
"You were on the phone earlier. No word on them coming?"
"Zombies everywhere outside—they can't make it! Damn it!"
Oh Jong-seong had exploded when I brought Ma Tae-beom and Ye Ji-ah.
He'd shown hostility even introducing himself.
"If you don't like it, leave."
"Hundreds more came in? You want me to stay in a crowd?"
"Then shut up. Keep whining, and you're out."
"Fine, damn it!"
Ma Tae-beom emerged showered, in my clothes.
"Fits well."
"Yeah. But you're no farmer."
He'd arrived in sweatpants and a Saemaul shirt—not farmer gear.
His physical prowess screamed anything but ordinary.
"Doesn't matter. What's your deal?"
He was about ten years older, but bantered casually on first meet—like a year ago.
He took my informal speech fine too.
"We'll learn in time. Ji-ah, you need to get to Seoul, right?"
"Yes. It hasn't spread there yet. Mom called—worried sick about me."
"Me too, Seoul."
I knew.
Same destination, so we'd traveled together at first.
"Let's think it through here. Government will announce measures."
"Bullshit! Foreign soldiers getting bit too—what measures?"
Oh Jong-seong showed us a smartphone video.
America.
SWAT team in marked gear torn apart by zombies.
"Europe's the same! Africa's dying to Super Ebola—99.9% fatality! Earth's done! Screw this."
"Go to your room. You're interrupting."
"What talk? Think there's a way?"
I glared; he rolled his eyes and went to the left room.
"Ji-ah, take the right room. Ma-hyung and I'll use the living room."
"Thanks. You can drop the honorifics."
We'd be casual anyway.
"Cool. How'd you two meet?"
"Fled zombies in Yangsan, met on the road. Thanks to him, we made it."
I knew what was coming.
Not the exact day, but two or three days from now.
Bok Cheol-su's daughter Bok Su-jeong gets infected here; he chooses infection too.
Bok Su-jeong, taunted as "born eating her mom."
Their bond was special—I wanted to save them.
Of course, this choice might change everything from a year ago.
It had to be different anyway.
I told the two,
"We leave tomorrow afternoon. This place is doomed to become hell."
"What?"
Ma Tae-beom's eyes sharpened.
Events from a year ago.
Infected outbreaks, food riots, mass hysteria.
I explained.
Ma Tae-beom reacted sharply.
"What the hell are you? Saw you fight—not normal."
"National Intelligence Service. Black Agent."
No need to hide with Earth's doom at stake.
Winning them over came first.
Ma Tae-beom stayed calm, as expected. Ye Ji-ah's eyes widened in shock.
Useful people must be used.
One name popped into my head.
Had to meet him.