Chapter 565
The overwhelming despair made the viewers feel another emotion as well.
-Ah, fuck, what do they do TT_TT
-They're blocked front and back, what the hell are they supposed to do?;
-Ah, this is tense as hell
-She's a national hero, the government should save her
It was exhilaration.
The kind that made your back stiffen, cold sweat run down your body, and your fists clench before you even realized it.
People screamed when On Jihwa chose the stairs.
“This is it!”
“Holy shit!”
“Ahhh!”
On Jihwa didn't panic.
The moment the option of escaping through the front entrance disappeared, she chose the next one.
Her hurried steps headed upstairs.
Her grip on her mother's wrist was so strong that her own hand turned pale.
The smart watch between the sleeves of her sports jersey came into view.
[Heart Rate Warning: 188 bpm]
“Kyaaaah!”
“Get away! Get away from me!”
Behind Jihwa, those who failed to make a decision were thrown into utter chaos.
The first floor of the hospital became drenched in blood.
The pristine white walls turned crimson.
The digital clock in the lobby came into focus.
4:44
An ominous number.
* * *
“What do we do, what do we do....”
Two people were hiding inside a locker room.
Tak Jeongyun was drenched in cold sweat, while Do Gyeoul trembled violently, still unable to grasp the situation.
“Senior... out of everything we saw earlier... do you know what makes the least sense?”
“...Keep your voice down. Don't say anything.”
Do Gyeoul's eyes were unfocused.
It was the numb despair people showed when confronted by terror that surpassed common sense.
“How can a patient we declared dead move?”
There was a smart watch on Tak Jeongyun's wrist.
Unlike On Jihwa's, however, the screen was cracked.
Judging by the black display, it seemed broken.
“T-this doesn't make sense.”
“...”
Tak Jeongyun's hair was a mess.
She buried her face in her hands, as if trying to catch her breath.
“A dream, right? Yeah, it's a dream. Isn't it?”
But nobody answered.
Do Gyeoul shook Tak Jeongyun's shoulder.
“Senior, why haven't you said a word this whole time? You look like you've gone insane...!”
“Quiet, quiet. I don't understand any of this either. I feel like my head's going to explode.”
It seemed the zombies hadn't reached this place yet.
Everything was silent.
* * *
“Ah, fuck!”
Meanwhile, Myeong Jeha was surrounded by zombies.
He wildly swung the IV stand in his hand to keep himself alive, but it seemed he had reached his limit.
“Get lost!”
The zombies surged endlessly like clouds.
‘What's going on?’
IP 85.152 tried to understand why the story was showing them in different locations.
Surely the director and writer had something they wanted to convey here.
‘Could they really all turn this quickly?’
Something felt artificial.
On Jihwa heading to the second floor of the rehabilitation hospital.
Myeong Jeha inside the cancer center.
Tak Jeongyun and Do Gyeoul inside the main building.
“It's natural that the infection spread from the main building to the annex, meaning the cancer center...”
The smart watch on Myeong Jeha's wrist, clutching the IV stand, also displayed the same time.
4:44.
“Tak Jeongyun and Han Yeoreum's clocks showed the same time.”
Given the distance, it would've made more sense for the zombies to overrun the upper floors of the main building where Tak Jeongyun was.
Yet the annex and rehabilitation hospital were already crawling with zombies.
Which pointed to only one possibility.
“It's too artificial.”
Someone had clearly spread the zombie virus intentionally.
-CG team, what the hell are you people
-The zombie quality is so terrifying I keep watching and hiding repeatedly TT_TT
-Somebody save me, fuck
-This is insanely scary;;
A little child in a patient gown cried while hiding.
People confined to beds died without even being able to resist.
Even those desperately trying to escape by pushing their wheelchairs with their hands were eventually caught.
“No!”
“Moooom!”
“My daughter, my daughter...!”
Because it was a hospital, there were so many weak and vulnerable people.
Among them, the most striking were the hospital guards who had become zombies.
Once those large, muscular men lost their minds, the destruction they caused was tremendous.
The camera showed the ceiling of a restroom.
Looking down into one of the stalls, someone pitifully hid inside.
“Hng... ngh....”
White shirt.
Black vest.
And on his back:
SECURITY.
* * *
That's when the nervous rattling sound reached the locker room where Tak Jeongyun and Do Gyeoul were hiding.
Click.
Rattle.
Rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle.
Someone was pulling on the doorknob.
-Who is it?
-Ah, this is terrifying
-Fuck, who is it TT_TT
-Go away
-What the hell is it
Darkness filled the screen.
Who was it?
What caused the zombie outbreak?
Did On Jihwa survive?
Had Kim Kangil been bitten?
Everything was thrown into mystery.
-It's over TT_____TT
Episode 1 of ended.
* * *
“AAAAAH!”
“What was that?!”
The studio turned into chaos.
The reporters screamed and grabbed their heads.
‘I knew this would happen.’
There was a reason Seomun Ihwa was called Mad Ihwa.
The guitar sounds that played over the rattling door in the final scene were so creepy and unsettling that they intensified the fear.
“Can't you tell us?”
“I really need to know.”
“You'll find out when you watch it at home later. Haha.”
They returned to the interview after Episode 1, but the reporters' reactions were completely different now.
Gone were the lighthearted curiosity and pleasant atmosphere.
‘They look like they're dying to know.’
This was probably how the public who watched Episode 1 of felt right now.
I smiled, imagining the people who would immediately start Episode 2.
The interview ended rather well.
It was finally time to leave.
“Yeoreum.”
Do Gyeoul called me while I was saying goodbye to the reporters after the cameras had stopped rolling.
“Yeoreum. You're going to watch it all when you get home, right?”
“Of course.”
The cameras were off, and as long as I smiled on the surface, it should be fine.
Do Gyeoul smiled kindly, looking genuinely delighted.
“Ahaha, I thought so. Me too. I'm so curious I don't think I'll be able to sleep.”
The reporters around us chimed in.
It looked like the conversation of close university classmates and coworkers.
Do Gyeoul gently patted my shoulder and passed by.
‘Starting the day after tomorrow, I'm going to see Do Gyeoul's face every single day....’
Thinking about the promotion schedule, I let out a small sigh.
“I'll be heading out first. Reporter Wi, it was really nice seeing you today. You know that, right?”
“I knowww....”
Turning around, I saw that Myeong Jeha was still chatting with the other reporters.
Our eyes met.
He lightly tilted his head, and I signaled that I'd be leaving first.
“Phew....”
“Yeoreum, are you exhausted?”
“Here, drink some water.”
Manager Choi and Coordinator Hwang rubbed my back as they looked at my drained face.
Seeing Do Gyeoul's face, being conscious of everyone else's eyes, constantly calculating things in my head while filming—
The exhaustion was enormous.
The moment I got into the car—
My phone rang.
“...What.”
The caller was Myeong Jeha.
Maybe because I was so tired, my voice cracked slightly.
-I didn't get a chance to say it earlier.
“Mm.”
-Happy New Year.
Ah.
Come to think of it, it was already January 1st.
We had spent midnight watching .
“What's with you....”
The corners of my mouth, stiff from smiling all day, lifted slightly.
Though late, I wished him a Happy New Year too.
-Yeoreum, starting tomorrow.
After wishing me goodnight, Myeong Jeha added:
-The world around you is going to change.
Would it really?
On January 1st, while everyone was immersed in thoughts about the new year, I quietly stared beyond the bridge crossing the Han River.
Countless lights sparkled in the distance.
How many people were watching right now?
* * *
“Ah! I shouldn't do this.”
The office worker wasn't usually fond of this genre.
Scary, stressful, gruesome, nerve-wracking.
“I'll just watch one more episode.”
But there was no way he could save it for later.
His plan to binge during his commute had already been ruined.
[Everyone in my house is watching Episode 2 together right now T_T lmao]
[Starting the New Year like this is insane]
[Same here;]
[Dad says he isn't sleeping]
[This is hilarious, but me too lmao]
His friends were no different.
What had started as a light viewing with a can of beer to end December and begin January had changed completely.
Every group chat was talking about .
Anyone who had watched Episode 1 was being dragged by the collar into Episode 2 by Seomun Ihwa.
Clang!
The sharp sound of metal striking echoed.
Tak Jeongyun and Do Gyeoul trembled.
Rattle. Rattle-rattle.
The doorknob turned.
Clack.
The door opened.
“W-who are you?”
A long shadow of a man stretched into the locker room.
-What the fuck
-Please don't do this
-So scary TT_TT
-Who is it?
The man entered the locker room and tried turning the knob a few more times before clicking his tongue.
“Who are you...?”
Do Gyeoul asked with a trembling voice.
The camera rose upward.
The man's back, previously only visible as a silhouette, appeared.
“Me?”
The man locked the door and removed his helmet.
Long black hair that reached the nape of his neck.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he turned toward the sound.
“I'm a delivery guy.”
He was such a beautiful young man that even the scar on his eyebrow looked like decoration.
-Fuck
-Holy shit
-What
-Oh my god
-MYEONG JEHA 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
-THIS IS IT
-Wow
-Finally
- TT_TT
The discussion thread exploded.
Hundreds of comments appeared every second.
[Drama/Movie Actors TALK / Seriously what is Myeong Jeha's character in Seoul Metropolitan City]
I thought it was weird because he was such a cheap punk, but fuck T_T the moment he took off the helmet and showed his face I melted. My heart's pounding.
-Anonymous 1: I screamed and now my dog, who was sleeping, is pissed at me;;
-Anonymous 4: Myeong Jeha gave me a delivery guy complex.
-Anonymous 8: Fuck, I love this T_T
-Anonymous 12: Never thought Myeong Jeha would serve a bowl cut like this... my face is red. How did he know I live for this kind of character///
-Anonymous 14: Normally he's annoying as hell but this is why I can't leave T_T Jeha, please do more projects.
Tak Jeongyun asked quietly.
“How's the situation outside...?”
“What kind of question is that? It's fucked.”
“Not that! You know what I mean!”
Despite the idiotic conversation, Tak Jeongyun desperately tried to find clues.
“People... died?”
But she too was panicking, so it wasn't exactly a meaningful question.
“Fuck, what kind of question is that? I barely survived myself.”
In the distance, screams could still be heard.
* * *
On Jihwa and her mother were running.
As they climbed floor after floor, Jihwa's mother became increasingly breathless.
Bang!
“Mom!”
Her mother stumbled.
The giant hard case on her shoulder seemed too heavy.
Rattling sounds echoed through the building.
“Oh dear, oh dear, what do we do?”
“Get up.”
Jihwa grabbed her mother's arm and pulled her up.
There was no time to hesitate.
Just as she was about to run again—
“No!”
Her mother shook off her hand and ran back to retrieve the hard case they had left behind.
And then—
Clang.
That sound from when she had fallen.
“Mom!”
It was the sound of the fire shutter descending.
“...Huh...?”
In an instant, her mother was trapped on the other side of the fire shutter.