# 09.
If I didn’t take care of this one immediately, the zombies chasing Cha Heegeon and Kim Yuho would discover me.
“Aaack!”
“Ugh…!”
I swung my bat at the zombie that was moving its face closer, trying to bite me. With a thud and a muffled cracking sound, drops of blood splattered everywhere.
“Gurgh.”
The zombie hit the wall and slid down, collapsing. It wasn’t dead yet and was still trembling. I checked both ends of the corridor before raising the bat high and striking the zombie’s head several times.
“Haa, haa.”
Thump thump, my heart was racing wildly. After completely handling a zombie on my own for the first time, I felt a tingling in my hands and feet. Sticky sweat formed on my spine, and my body shook as if I had a chill.
Having barely made it through, I moved while suppressing my rough breathing.
Just before leaving the building, I looked around frantically. The pressure of thinking I was truly alone weighed heavily on my shoulders. I needed to stay alert and dodge on my own, or I might die.
“Phew.”
Taking deep breaths to calm myself, I ran as fast as I could. Just like they had done earlier, I ran between cars and ducked down to hide. Then I looked around and searched for a pharmacy.
Luckily, there was a darkened pharmacy at the edge of the building across the street. Cha Heegeon and Kim Yuho seemed to have gone far away, so it looked like I was the only one who could get his suppressants.
Let’s do this.
Though I was actually terrified, I tried my best to gather courage. Running away now would leave me with nowhere to go. It might be safer to stay with people I know who, despite their suspicious intentions, want to take care of me. Better to get the suppressants and return.
Even in this urgent situation, I calculated my options, took one final look around, and ran with all my might.
“Haa, haa.”
As soon as I entered the dim building, I looked for the pharmacy entrance. I found the entrance door without difficulty, but the glass door was already shattered. Someone had already been here, as the pharmacy inside was a complete mess.
It looked like a strong typhoon had passed through, with all sorts of things scattered on the floor.
After hesitating and scanning the surroundings, I entered the pharmacy. The sound of glass fragments crunching under my feet at the entrance bothered me, so I hurried my steps. After making sure there was no sign of anyone in the pharmacy, I started looking for suppressants.
But no matter how much I searched and rummaged, I couldn’t find any suppressants. I thought that perhaps the people who had ransacked the place like thieves were also looking for suppressants.
In a situation like this, alphas and omegas might urgently need suppressants. Once a heat cycle starts, you need to either take medicine or have sexual relations for it to subside. Otherwise, someone would have to give you a pheromone shower, but in this situation, having suppressants would be much better.
“Are they really gone?”
After checking every drug on the display shelves and floor one by one, I muttered to myself in frustration.
There was a medical clinic upstairs, so there might be another pharmacy not too far from here, but I wasn’t hopeful. Seeing how this place had already been ransacked, other places would likely be in the same condition.
While I was standing there dejected, I heard the sound of glass being stepped on. I quickly lowered my body. There was a tall display shelf next to me, so I wouldn’t be immediately visible from the entrance. I held my breath and listened carefully for any sound.
“Haa, did Kang Jihong already come and go?”
The softly whispered voice sounded familiar.
“But we don’t hear any sound if that’s the case.”
Hearing Cha Heegeon’s voice next made me stand up quickly.
“I’m here!”
“Ah, shit! You scared me.”
Kim Yuho, who had quickly raised his bat, cursed when he saw me. He seemed quite startled. Shrinking from his rough reaction, I glanced at him nervously before looking at Cha Heegeon.
“You’re not hurt?”
Cha Heegeon asked after scanning my body once. His persistent gaze clearly revealed his distrust.
“No, I wasn’t bitten.”
“I thought you’d have been bitten or killed for sure.”
Kim Yuho, perhaps embarrassed by his earlier reaction, muttered in a softer voice.
“I may not be as strong as an alpha, but I’m not weak enough to be taken down stupidly.”
I spoke with emphasis for both Kim Yuho and Cha Heegeon to hear. I prided myself on having lived hard and persistently. I considered myself good at survival, being perceptive and quick to calculate, but they seemed to think differently. Maybe it was because they were alphas and looked down on me as an omega.
“So, did you find the suppressants?”
“Ah, no. I searched as soon as I got here, but there are no alpha suppressants, not even omega suppressants.”
“Are you sure you searched properly?”
As soon as I answered Cha Heegeon, Kim Yuho asked as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Really, I did.”
“Has someone already taken them all?”
Kim Yuho seemed as frustrated as I was and began searching everywhere, unable to give up.
“This is serious. The other pharmacy was completely emptied recently for remodeling.”
“So this is the only pharmacy around?”
I asked in surprise, staring blankly at Kim Yuho who couldn’t let it go. Cha Heegeon sighed heavily as he searched the display shelves.
“There are other pharmacies, but they’re quite far from here. Given the situation, there’s no guarantee they’d be any better.”
“Wow, really nothing here.”
After continuing to search, Kim Yuho finally found an empty rut cycle suppressant box in a corner. Of course, the box was empty with nothing inside.
I went to where Kim Yuho had been and found heat cycle suppressants, but that box was also empty and crumpled.
I searched through the area, which was cluttered like a pile of garbage, but it was also in vain.
“It seems the suppressants are a lost cause. Let’s find some food instead.”
Cha Heegeon suddenly said as he watched me looking frustrated from a distance. Not just me, but he would also have trouble with his heat cycle. Since he was in just as much of a hurry, when he changed the subject, I pulled myself together, feeling I couldn’t cling to false hope.
“Hyung, shouldn’t we take whatever we can from here too?”
“Take things? Is there anything worth taking?”
Cha Heegeon, who was about to leave the pharmacy, looked around as he spoke. Following his gaze, I noticed various vitamins, drinks, jellies, candies, and all kinds of first aid supplies.
“We don’t know how long we’ll need to hold out, so we should take what we can when we can.”
“Then gather what you can.”
As soon as Cha Heegeon finished speaking, Kim Yuho started moving, and I looked around as well.
There was a lot to take, but nothing to put it in. I went behind the counter to search and found a cloth shopping basket in a corner. Judging by its size, it seemed like it could hold quite a bit.
“Shall we put things in here?”
“Yes, that’s better than this – it won’t make noise.”
Cha Heegeon, who had just picked up a stack of white plastic bags, put them down as he spoke.
We gathered various medicines and food. Even though we only took what we needed, we ended up with a heavy bundle.
“Let’s go.”
After checking both sides of the corridor outside the pharmacy, Cha Heegeon took the lead again. I walked with a baseball bat in one hand and the shopping basket in the other.
As we walked, I ended up at the very back, so I carefully watched behind us.
“Grrr.”
“Gurgh.”
We reached the convenience store in the same building as the pharmacy, but were quickly disappointed. This place was also devastated. Being a 24-hour store, it was probably easier to access.
Zombies that had already entered through the open door were wandering around inside the store. Every time a can or burst snack bag made noise under their feet, the zombies would respond with continuous “aaack, aaack” sounds.
“Looks like we came too late.”
Kim Yuho said to Cha Heegeon, who was examining the inside of the convenience store through the glass window.
“Still, we should salvage whatever we can.”
“Then what about the zombies inside?”
After checking behind me once more because of what happened earlier, I asked. Cha Heegeon, without taking his eyes off the interior of the convenience store, said:
“Since the outer door of the building is open, I’ll go out and lure them away. During that time, gather as much food as you can.”
“Isn’t that dangerous? We almost got into big trouble earlier.”
Almost got into big trouble?
I looked at Cha Heegeon after hearing Kim Yuho’s words. When we met at the pharmacy earlier, he didn’t say much, so I thought they had easily shaken off the zombies. No matter how fearless one is, it seems reckless to volunteer for such dangerous work again after barely escaping death once.
“We’ve come this far, we have to do something.”
Unlike the worried Kim Yuho, Cha Heegeon was incredibly calm. His face showed no concern about risking his life for this task. I wondered if this approach was really right.
“I’ll go my own way, so as soon as you gather the food, head back.”
Unlike me, feeling pressured in this unpredictable situation, Cha Heegeon showed not even the slightest hesitation.
“Or let me go with you.”
Concerned about him, Kim Yuho suggested an alternative. Cha Heegeon then looked at me, who was at the back. Having just turned the pessimistic Kim Yuho into an enthusiastic one, I felt nervous when he looked at me.
“One person is enough for luring, but it’s difficult to gather food in a short time.”
Cha Heegeon said simply and moved on. I had been worried he would assign me some important task, but it seemed he intended to do it himself.
Thud, beep beep.
Just then, suddenly, a loud noise broke the silence.
It was a car’s anti-theft alarm.
We didn’t know who triggered it or where it was coming from, but fortunately, the zombies inside the convenience store followed the sound and left the store.
Kim Yuho and Cha Heegeon looked at each other simultaneously as they confirmed the zombies rushing out.
“Now’s our chance, let’s go in.”
Not wanting to miss this perfect opportunity, Cha Heegeon moved quickly first. We followed him as he pushed open the glass door to enter. The convenience store, about 50 square meters, was as messy as the pharmacy we had seen earlier, with signs that people had frantically swept through.
“Gather things in this basket.”
“Yes.”
While Kim Yuho closed and locked the glass exit door that the zombies had used, Cha Heegeon took out square plastic baskets from the corner and gave them to us. The three of us split up and filled them with whatever remained – ramen, drinks, canned foods, and more.
“Hyung, there’s a cart here!”
While we were stuffing the baskets with small items like candy and chocolate, Kim Yuho, who had gone into what looked like a storage area, came out with something. When he unfolded the folded cart, it became a spacious handcart.
“Aaaaargh!”
“Aaack!”
Just then, the locked glass door shook violently. It seemed attention was drawn to us now that the loud alarm had stopped. The zombies crowded against the glass door that Kim Yuho had locked as soon as we entered, their howls making me anxious.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
