My Confession Was Ruined Because of a Zombie 7

“…You’re really different.”

Playing soccer every morning, hallway slipper soccer during breaks, soccer at lunchtime, and soccer again in the afternoon. The national representative who plays soccer all day is way too different from the average person who feels like their lungs will burst and die at any moment!

As he admired Taewoong who looked like he had just gone for a light jog, Taewoong, who had been examining the stairs, turned his head.

“Of course I run every day, hey! Are you okay?!”

He belatedly noticed pale Yeoul who looked like he would collapse at any moment while checking the surroundings.

His already fair face had turned ghostly white, and his pretty face was clearly fatigued. Taewoong sat in front of squatting Yeoul and swept his bangs, now wet with sweat, to wipe off the sweat. Yeoul’s cheeks flushed red.

“…I-I’m okay.”

It’s already hard to breathe and I’m dizzy, but Taewoong is worried about me so I don’t know what to do. Embarrassed, he curled up his squatting body. Taewoong, who had been watching him right in front, laughed softly then urgently turned his head.

“…Ahem! Stay here. I’ll go to the rooftop alone.”

“…Huh? No, let’s go together.”

“It might be dangerous so stay here.”

Curled up Yeoul looked just like a cute squirrel. Taewoong, who laughed without realizing, stood up and patted Yeoul’s head. Then he picked up the wooden bat he had put down. Grabbing the bat tightly, he climbed the stairs alone and turned the door handle leading to the rooftop.

Click.

Click, click.

Only the sound of it getting stuck was heard and the door didn’t open.

“What, what is this? Tsk.”

“Why, it won’t open?”

No matter how hard he turned the handle with all his strength and pushed with his foot, it didn’t budge. In the end, unable to hold back his temper, he kicked the door, and Yeoul came. Taewoong stopped banging and lowered his foot.

“I think we need a key?”

“Uh… then no, let’s go back to the classroom for now.”

The key would be on the 2nd floor faculty office or 1st floor security office. Going all the way there seemed too much, so they decided to return to Class 3-9.

“Wait a second… let me text the guys that the rooftop isn’t working, huh?”

Before returning to the classroom, Taewoong was about to text his friends who would be waiting, but he got a text from Hyunwoo. Taewoong’s face gradually crumpled as he read the text. Yeoul carefully went to his side and he showed him the text.

[Fuck it’s a shitstorm]

[Right after the bell rang the fucking zombies]

[Went batshit crazy flipping desks and chairs so we ran away]

[Don’t go back to class]

Although a path formed in the corridor due to the bell, conversely, it seemed the zombies in the classroom caused a riot. Taewoong and Yeoul’s faces hardened at Hyunwoo’s text that felt urgent.

“…I guess we shouldn’t go back to the classroom?”

Taewoong slowly turned his head to look at Yeoul.

As Yeoul was pondering what to do, the bell for 3rd period rang from downstairs. At the same time, the zombies’ shrieks and heavy thumping sounds were heard.

“Wait, hold on.”

Where would be good to go? As Yeoul was thinking of the many classrooms in the school, his phone kept vibrating. He took out his phone to put it on silent mode and froze.

“…Tae-Taewoong. I think the rescue will take some time.”

“Huh?”

“Did you see the disaster text alerts?”

Notifications were piled up on the screen. The more he checked each notification, the more complicated his mind became.

At Yeoul’s words, Taewoong made a puzzled face then took out the phone he had put away.

“…Ah, I turned off notifications for disaster alerts.”

There were no disaster alerts. So he was wondering what it was about, then belatedly remembered turning off notifications because disaster alerts about the flu were coming way too frequently as the flu was going around recently.

What kind of texts came? Taewoong went to Yeoul’s side. Yeoul said here and handed over the phone he had been looking at. Taewoong took the phone and quickly scrolled up to read the texts.

[Refrain from going out and if you have symptoms…]

[…A fire broke out at a factory in district. Please detour this area and nearby residents should be aware of safety accidents.]

[Due to a trailer collision accident… the section is congested. Please check traffic information and detour.]

[Due to a quadruple cargo truck collision accident, it is congested… Please detour before entering.]

[…A fire broke out in a high-rise building in district. Please detour this area and nearby residents should be aware of safety accidents.]

[…A fire broke out at a factory in high school in district. Please detour this area and nearby residents should be aware of safety accidents.]

“…Wow. It’s the first time I’ve seen this many.”

Disaster alerts with all sorts of content like fires, water leaks, collision accidents, missing persons, and infectious diseases kept coming. He was at a loss for words at the texts pouring in every few seconds. Taewoong let out a hollow laugh. Yeoul grabbed his head with both hands.

“…What, what do we do?”

The numerous disaster alerts made it feel real. Realizing the zombie incident wasn’t a dream, game, or movie, the strength drained from his legs. He plopped down on the stairs.

“Are you okay?!”

The shock sent him into a panic. All sorts of thoughts tangled in his head like a mess of thread. Yeoul groaned as he looked at Taewoong’s surprised face.

I have to think. To avoid being a burden to Taewoong, to be helpful, and to succeed in confessing, I have to think somehow!

After racking his brains so hard his head felt hot, a disaster movie he had seen a few times at the hospital came to mind. Yeoul raised his head that he had been hanging and looked up at Taewoong who was waiting for him to speak.

“Food, we need to get food.”

Looking at the disaster alerts, it seemed accidents kept happening beyond the school. With so many accidents, there was no telling when we would be rescued or if a rescue team would even come.

But waiting meekly for rescue at a school that wasn’t a safe and abundant home was no good. To survive, we needed a safe place to be, things to eat, drink, and a place to sleep. Right, I can’t let our Taewoong starve! Yeoul clenched his fists tightly.

“…Food?”

Is Yeoul hungry? Taewoong asked with a puzzled expression as he sat next to serious-faced Yeoul. Yeoul nodded.

“Yeah. It seems the rescue will take some time, but that means we have to keep staying at school. We can’t starve while waiting so we need to get food.”

At Yeoul’s calm explanation, Taewoong nodded in understanding then brightened.

“Come to think of it, they said 1st and 2nd years are having lunch today. There should be food in the cafeteria.”

“Really? Then let’s go to the cafeteria.”

“Yeah. Since we’re going to the cafeteria, let’s also go to the school store, ah!”

While thinking about the cup ramen, hamburgers, dumplings, and snacks sold at the school store, the convenience store suddenly came to mind. Taewoong abruptly grabbed Yeoul’s knee who was sitting next to him.

“I have snacks, bread, and drinks in my locker.”

So before coming to school, he had already stocked up at the convenience store. He put them in the locker to eat while watching the graduation ceremony, so he should be able to find them. Taewoong’s eyes sparkled.

Perhaps happy that there was food nearby, Taewoong’s black eyes that were half dead until just now twinkled like stars. Seeing Taewoong’s face that brightened up as if a soccer ball had come to him, Yeoul smiled as if enchanted, then made a serious face with an “ah”.

“If it’s in the locker, that means there’s not much… I think it’s better to go to the cafeteria or school store before others go.”

As Taewoong was listening to Yeoul’s words that continued quietly, he tilted his head as if asking why. Yeoul smiled bitterly.

“People are scarier than zombies, you know.”

When faced with survival, people gradually become anxious and impatient. Then they change aggressively like zombies in order to live. Yeoul recalled the survivors he had seen in movies and novels and got up from the stairs. Then, after confirming that cell phones could be used, he urgently informed his family of his life or death. Taewoong, who had been silently watching, narrowed his eyebrows and followed suit, looking at the watch he was wearing.

“If you say it’s scary, it must be scary. Then we have time until the bell rings, so let’s quickly gather food from the classroom and go straight to the cafeteria.”

When the bell rang, the zombies would surely be near the speakers. If they minimized the sound of their footsteps, they could get to the classroom on the floor right below without a problem. Taewoong grabbed the bat he had put down for a moment and gave the mop handle to Yeoul. Yeoul received the handle with both hands.

As Yeoul took a deep breath big enough to make his chest heave, Taewoong said “Ah,” and took out his cell phone.

“Wait a minute, I’ll send a message.”