My Confession Was Ruined Because of a Zombie 13

He followed him to the 4th floor without ever saying let’s go together or I’ll follow, and even broke the window for him! On top of that, he came to the art room! Yeoul was really scared of Jian, who was as big as Taewoong and looked fierce, but he couldn’t stay still thinking of Taewoong getting angry for him. He squeezed his eyes shut and uncharacteristically raised his voice.

He suddenly yelled but inwardly he thought what if Jian hits me for this. What if I get beaten to death by Jian before getting bitten by a zombie?! Yeoul trembled as he clung to Taewoong’s arm, terrified. Meanwhile, Taewoong’s eyes looking down at Yeoul opened wide and Jian’s face contorted.

“Hey, that’s…”

“Enough. Lee Jian, if you’re going to keep flapping your mouth like that, don’t follow us.”

Taewoong looked at Yeoul trembling like a small animal as he grabbed his arm, then put an arm around his shoulder. Pulling him into his arms slyly, he turned his somewhat reddened face and fake coughed awkwardly with an ahem. Then he whispered quietly into Yeoul’s ear.

“I’m stronger than that bastard so just trust me.”

Boasting sneakily, he fake coughed once more and patted Yeoul’s shoulder. Yeoul’s face, half embraced in Taewoong’s arms, gradually heated up.

“…M-Mm-hmm.”

How can he be so reliable? He ended up falling for Taewoong again.

He falls for him over and over without getting tired of it. There’s really no hope, he thought, and Taewoong moved away from his side. With a stiff face as if he had never been affectionate, he picked up a 3-step easel made of aluminum that looked usable as a weapon.

“Why isn’t there an answer? Are you going to flap your mouth again?”

He looked at Jian who wasn’t saying anything and forcefully snapped the easel with his hands. Jian’s eyes crinkled. Soon he snorted. Taewoong next looked at the corner of the art room.

“You guys too, if you’re going to keep staying still, don’t follow.”

Minchan and Yubin, who had been secretly holding their breath in the corner, flinched. Then they belatedly got up and falteringly approached.

Anyhow, the preparations to leave were all done. Just as they were about to finally leave, Minchan raised a hand a beat late.

“Wai-Wait a second!”

He suddenly raised his voice then urgently held out his cell phone. When Taewoong made eye contact as if asking why, he audibly swallowed.

“Outside right now… it’s chaotic all over the world.”

“What?”

“This is Instergram, look…”

Minchan held out the cell phone he had been holding a bit more. Taewoong took the phone, thinking what is it. The screen showed the results of searching #zombie that he had been looking at until just now.

“What’s this?”

He wasn’t very familiar with SNS since he only played soccer. When he looked puzzled, everyone around gathered in a circle with Taewoong at the center. Minchan selected the reels then froze.

“…What the heck is this?”

Yeoul also stood next to the frozen Minchan. He sighed after watching the video.

“…They’re hunting.”

A man who appeared to be American laughed then shot tied up zombies on a tree. At the bang! bang! sounds, Taewoong flinched.

Detroit in the US, New Delhi in India, Rome in Italy, Nice in France, Hainan in China, etc. All over the world, people were being attacked by zombies, hunting them, praying, and running away. Everyone’s faces darkened as they looked at the Instergram reels and photos.

“…There’s from a week ago too.”

Yeoul, who had been clicking each post one by one to check the dates, swallowed dryly. He slowly raised his gaze and looked at everyone.

“I don’t know exactly when the zombies appeared and how they came to our school… but now, we really need to worry about survival.”

Everyone’s faces turned pale at Yeoul’s sorrowful words. Taewoong unconsciously reached for Yeoul’s hand.

“Shit…”

Starting with Jian’s curse, Seongyong called for his mom in a tearful voice, Hyunwoo mumbled about his pet dog, and Jaeseong whispered his girlfriend’s name. Minchan and Yubin sobbed while Yechan slumped down weakly. Yeoul silently held Taewoong’s hand back. Taewoong exhaled audibly.

“…Let’s go. Let’s move.”

After watching the video, he felt more urgent. Instead of wasting time being sad, they needed to move quickly before problems arose.

“First… yes, let’s get food.”

Somehow their group had grown larger. With more people came more danger, but also more abilities. As Yeoul scanned the group to share his thoughts, Taewoong raised his hand.

“Before we hear from Yeoul. Choi Yeoul is the smartest, so we’ll often listen to his ideas. If anyone doesn’t trust this or has complaints, leave now.”

As soon as his calm but firm words ended, everyone except Yeoul focused their attention on Jian. Jian frowned.

“What? Why?”

The expanded group agreed to follow Yeoul’s opinions without arguing as they planned to visit the first-floor cafeteria and store together.

“Ah, um, hey! Taewoong and I will stop by the health room first.”

After the strategy meeting ended, everyone was about to leave with their weapons when Yeoul remembered the health room. Everyone gave him puzzled looks. Yeoul flinched at the sudden attention.

“Well… Taewoong hurt his hand a bit… I’ll treat it and gather medicine too…”

“Taewoong is hurt?!”

“What?!”

At Yeoul’s words, friends panicked with concern. Seeing their reaction, Taewoong raised both hands to show them.

“It’s nothing, calm down.”

Friends quickly examined his hands. Yeoul watched enviously, then looked over the expanded group.

“I just thought… since we have more people now, maybe we could pair up to search for things? What do you all think?”

“Things? What kind?”

Everyone turned from Taewoong to look at Yeoul. Yeoul cleared his throat softly and spread his right hand wide.

“Since we need to cook food, um… burners from the Home Economics room, alcohol lamps from the science lab. Also, knives just in case… and since we can’t clean with clothes, towels from the supply room, oh, and mops too, and candles or lanterns from the security office, water bottles…”

They didn’t know when they’d be rescued, plus electricity, water, and gas could be cut off anytime. Not to mention it was mid-winter – cold with short days. They needed so many things to survive.

“We should prepare for when electricity and water stop too, what do you all…”

As he muttered about items coming to mind, folding down one finger at a time, he noticed the silence. Looking up from his hand, he saw Taewoong and the other survivors looking dazed. Yeoul blinked twice.

“…What? Is there something on my face?”

“Wow, seriously… Hey, did you see that, baseball team?”

What’s this strange atmosphere? Unable to understand, Yeoul asked, and Taewoong looked at him with an impressed face before turning to Jian and Yechan. Yechan nodded slowly with an entranced expression. Jian clicked his tongue with a dissatisfied face.

Somehow the baseball team members who had visibly disliked Yeoul were now won over. Taewoong suddenly pulled Yeoul into a hug.

“You’re amazing! So cool!”

“Huh?!”

Yeoul froze in surprise as Taewoong patted his back vigorously. Then Minchan spoke up.

“…Are you maybe on your second playthrough of life or something?”

“…What does ‘second playthrough of life’ mean?”

What could this mean? Taewoong looked at smart Yeoul who would likely understand. Yeoul opened his eyes wide, then let out a deflating “psssh” sound as he laughed.

“I’ve just watched a lot of disaster and zombie movies, so I know some things.”

His parents were interested in dystopian and survival stories, so he’d seen and heard a lot. Yeoul shyly confessed this and slightly averted his gaze.

Anyway, everyone agreed to follow Yeoul’s words. They decided to split up to find the items Yeoul mentioned, then meet at the cafeteria entrance. Taewoong took out his phone.

“First, give me your phone numbers. Let’s make a group chat.”

At Taewoong’s words, starting with Yeoul, then Jian, Yechan, Minchan, and Yubin each recited their numbers. Soon everyone’s phones received a notification for the new chat.

“Anyone not get the message? No one?”

“Yeah, we got it.”

“Then let me summarize before we go. Seongyong and Jaeseong to the Home Economics room. Hyunwoo, Minchan, and Yubin to the science lab. Jian and Yechan to the supply room. Yeoul and I to the health room. Get your items and no matter what, meet at the cafeteria entrance within an hour. Okay?”

“Okay. Let’s all survive and eat together.”

“If you have extra time, grab anything else useful. Message if problems come up.”

“Oh, hey! If possible, try to learn about the zombies and share what you find!”

Some time had passed since the zombie outbreak began. By now, unusual characteristics would be emerging. As the survivors were about to split up after hearing Taewoong’s summary, they all nodded at Yeoul’s words.

As everyone gathered their things, Hyunwoo extended his hand forward.

“Let’s do a team cheer before we go.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”