"Come on!"

Cheong-San gently, but promptly, tugs you along by your wrist, instantaneously noticing how your other hand clutches the opposite shoulder, grip tightening as you try to fight off a wince before it makes way onto your face.

He turns his head to the side fleetingly to check on you, concerned, but before he gets the chance to question it, out of nowhere, a zombie springs forward from an adjacent classroom, practically flying catatonically as it knocks both of you to the ground.

The precious phone and possibly last hope for a lifeline in Cheong-San's now-loosened hold skids across the floor and he clambers to have it back in his possession.

You make it to your feet first, and cursorily lead Cheong-San downstairs into the library after he recollects himself.

On second thought, it probably wasn't the best idea aiming for a seemingly scot-free location, the vicinity sprawling with zombies upon approach, but somehow, the zombies pale in comparison to Gwi-Nam.

After all, the undead don't hold grudges, and neither do they use it to fuel their dogged determination.

Cheong-San helps lift you onto a table, urging you to run across the surfaces of the closely oriented wooden desks, hastily giving you a boost onto the top of a bookcase thereafter before he too, follows suit, heaving himself up next to you.

The two of you find yourselves face-to-face with a fellow schoolmate you've never once met before, desperation etched clear as day on his face and fear simmering in his eyes.

"Were you bit?" He looks from Cheong-San to you, and back again. "You had to have been, right? There's no way you two made it here unharmed..."

"No, I—" Cheong-San stammers, but without another thought, the male student forces him off, his body hitting the floor with a thump.

"You next."

You scoot backward as much as you can without throwing yourself off accidentally and deflect the guy's hand. In your peripheral vision, a brief form in green flashes by, and you know with certainty Cheong-San will be alright.

"I don't think so."

Avoiding another grab, you stand up from your squatting position and leap onto the next bookshelf over, stretching your legs as far as they'd go, landing safely.

Thinking over your options, not that there are many when you're trapped in a library, you glance down, observing as Cheong-San dashes in-between rows of shelves, dodging zombies every which way. At last, he throws himself onto the bookcase opposite yours, madly kicking at those grabbing his leg and restricting necessary movements.

You jump forward twice, and then sideways once, trying to get as close to Cheong-San as possible in case he needs any extra help.

"Quick! Over here!"

You extend your non-injured arm, kneeling at the very edge, in time to see one despicably clever zombie scaling its own horde to reach Cheong-San.

The aptitude, however, fizzles out when it miscalculates human positioning, and rams itself into the overhead light, sparks flying as it breaks, taking the ceiling fixture with it.

Cheong-San grasps your hand and hurdles over just as the glass door of the library is violently thrown open, Gwi-Nam making his way effortlessly across, heartlessly throwing the bespectacled student from earlier into the mouths of looming zombies down below.

"How does he always manage to make it out alive?" you grumble as you follow Cheong-San again, vaulting over bookcases repeatedly, Gwi-Nam mirroring your actions across the aisle.

"Hopefully it'll apply to us all the same."

Cheong-San wraps his hand around your forearm as Gwi-Nam stares him down.

Zombies are still running in between the two, an undead sea parting the two boys, the parallel between good and bad.

"Can't you stop here?"

"Not until you give me the fucking phone." Gwi-Nam sneers evilly. "Chae-Wol too."

"Never." Cheong-San moves you behind him defensively, at least as much as he can with the limited space, seething. "You killed a person. You don't deserve anything, murderer."

"What did I say to you before? I always get what I want, and if I have to destroy you to obtain it, I won't hesitate." Gwi-Nam chuckles menacingly, pointing a bloody finger. "You're the one who made me kill the principal. Didn't I prove I wasn't a loser, then?"

Cheong-San looks upon him with utter revulsion.

"Crazy bastard."

Seeing as Gwi-Nam would leap at any second, you turn and lug Cheong-San back in the direction you came in from, the entrance slowly but surely growing closer. You don't look over to the side or back, the only thing serving as indication that Gwi-Nam still hasn't given up the chase is his pounding footsteps keeping in time with yours and Cheong-San's on his respective column of bookshelves.

Regrettably, with Cheong-San being on the inner side, Gwi-Nam dives and knocks him off his feet. Cheong-San's head slams against the edge of the bookcase hard, his hand slipping through your fingers no matter how much you hold on.

You watch with trepidation, heart in your throat, seeing Cheong-San facedown on the floor. Gwi-Nam is also looking down, waiting to see whether his plan paid off.

No zombies in sight yet, Cheong-San springs to his feet again, almost spiritedly so, and goes back to climbing another bookcase a few rows away from you, unbelievably agile. You let go of the breath you weren't aware you were still holding and head in his direction, Gwi-Nam not far behind.

Of course, you're not as fast with your shorter strides, and Gwi-Nam reaches Cheong-San first. Trying to kick the latter proves useless as Cheong-San clamps his hands down tight onto Gwi-Nam's feet, preventing him from progressing with the motion. You silently praise his quick thinking, for if Gwi-Nam used any more force to counter the block, he would send himself backward. Realizing that fact, he clutches Cheong-San's sweater vest, purely for mutual self-destruction as the two target each other's throats.

There's completely no room for you to hop over, and even then, you getting into the middle of their tussle on minimal space probably wouldn't help Cheong-San out in the slightest. If anything, you'd just be extra baggage and you can't afford to burden him like that, especially not with his life at stake.

With all the noise, zombies flock quickly to the action, waiting for another meal. They hang onto Gwi-Nam's pant leg, incessantly holding on.

"Let go!" Gwi-Nam can only curse at the zombies but can't seem to shake them off in his precarious position.

Your eyes meet with Cheong-San's and you stealthily point up. Getting your clue, he resolutely swings a ceiling light with all intent to smash it against Gwi-Nam's head while the bully is distracted. However, his opponent is no easy match. Gwi-Nam unexpectedly ducks, using his back to break the impact from the bulbs. It still smashes to bits, but he turns out well and alive, to your dismay. Cheong-San gets his feet swiped out from under him once again, Gwi-Nam dangling his head down to the zombies below without hesitation.

"Do you want to live?" He laughs maniacally, the sound reverberating over the groans of zombies as he shoves Cheong-San down further. "Beg for it, then. Beg me to take pity on you."

You scamper to the right and then one more bookshelf forward, now perpendicular to them. It's near impossible for you to intervene, despite how badly you wish to.

"Fuck you."

Cheong-San glares back with defiance, much too confident at the threshold of death.

"Your call, then."

With that, Gwi-Nam repeatedly punches Cheong-San in the face with one hand, the other pinning him beneath for better leverage, regardless of not wanting to drop him just yet.

You clench your teeth at the pure joy on his face, clearly in love with torturing others just for the sake of it; enough to kill their soul but not their body.

Cheong-San passes out soon after from the repeated blows, and Gwi-Nam straightaway goes to steal the phone from Cheong-San's pants pockets, fiddling with the device for the wretched evidence that would incriminiate him.

"Let Cheong-San go!"

Gwi-Nam whips his head toward you, eyes crazed, teeth pulled back in a snarl as zombie blood drips from his face.

"Why should I? What's in it for me?"

You see Cheong-San slowly come to, but don't make any indication that you're aware of it.

"I'll go with you. I'm trading myself with him."

You shift your eyes imperceptibility, realizing Cheong-San has finally opened his eyes, but he's still somewhat dazed.

Gwi-Nam narrows his eyes and tilts his head at you, appearing to assess whether you're serious or if there's a catch.

You bite hard on the inside of your cheek, almost hard enough to draw blood, maintaining a poker face in spite of the way your skin crawls at your blatant lie. No matter how untrue, they disgust you to no end. You can only hope you sound convincing, even if to your own ears, it isn't inherently so.

"I said I was in your debt before. Consider it repaid."

You silently thank whatever being is looking out for you because apparently you had bought enough time for Cheong-San, who slaps the phone out of Gwi-Nam's hand with his left and catches it with his right as it flies in an arc, suspending it over the zombies' heads.

Gwi-Nam resorts to choking, and in true Cheong-San quick thinking fashion, the latter slams the phone's sharp corner into the former's eye socket with purpose, the squelch of a ruined eyeball unmistakable as blood gushes out.

In the midst of Gwi-Nam screaming in horror mixed with obvious pain, you surge forward at the same time that Cheong-San throws the entire weight of his body to send Gwi-Nam falling straight over himself and down into the waiting arms of starved zombies.

The force of it sends you backward, and you squeal as you can barely hold on to the edge of the bookcase, hanging on for your life.

"I've got you!"

Cheong-San catches your hand just as you lose strength in your tenuous fingers, and helps draw you back up to the top, folding you into a half-hug of sorts, both of you out of breath, running purely on adrenaline.

"Cheong-San! Fuck!" Gwi-Nam screams as zombies tear into him. "Please!"

Ironically, he ended up being the one to beg for his life.

"Chae-Wol! You saved me that time. Can't you save me again?!"

Once was once too many, you think to yourself.

Cheong-San ultimately diverts his gaze, but you watch to the end, seeing pure hatred burned into the depths of Gwi-Nan's eyes, blazing with the deep-seated promise of revenge even as he's being eaten alive.

There's no time to stay and confirm Gwi-Nan's turning, but the uneasiness from encountering him since the initial run in at the principal's office doesn't dissipate, even knowing you and Cheong-San had tossed him to his death.

Still not fully satisfied, the zombies who weren't busy feeding on Gwi-Nam scramble over one another, flocking to the foot of the bookcase, upending it with their gradually increasing weight.

"Let's go!"

Cheong-San pulls you to your feet, and the two of you take off running again even as the short-lived surfaces beneath you crumble, a domino-effect in motion as shelves topple onto one another in rapid succession.

When you're about to reach the entrance, a zombie runs head-first, disoriented, into the one you and Cheong-San just landed on and flings the two of you sprawling to the ground, slamming into the floor with a thud. The lack of carpeting makes it hurt like hell, more so when your still injured shoulder breaks your fall.

Before the bookshelf crushes you entirely, Cheong-San maneuvers himself to partially cover you protectively, but when the impact never comes, you realize the slanted way in which the bookshelves are leaning horizontally on one another gives you two a bit of leeway.

You clamp a hand over your mouth seeing zombies walking near, but between being shielded by Cheong-San and a fallen bookshelf, plus the zombies' blindness, you're undetected.

There's minimal space, barely enough to crawl out of, though even with yours and Cheong-San's combined strength, it's not enough to lift the heavy wooden slabs pieced together. Frustrated, Cheong-San continues to shove with all his might, but it doesn't give, the creaking sound of wood obnoxiously loud.

The zombies might be blind, but they're certainly not deaf.

"Shh," you try to hush Cheong-San, your whisper tampered down, much too afraid of drawing any more attention.

There's a brief moment of silence before you see a zombie head peering through the empty shelf devoid of books scattered on the floor. It bares its teeth, trying to stick its head in further in hopes of biting you both.

You're too scared to even yell as blood from its mouth drips onto the side of your face as you turn away, crouching and crawling out at the same time.

Cheong-San isn't far behind, bringing up the rear and muzzling zombies with books so they have something else to bite on as you kick away zombies approaching from the front. With the wall to ceiling windows, more zombies plaster themselves against the glass, unable to simply pass through.

You and Cheong-San make use of chairs within close range to smash against any much too near for comfort. Sprinting as hard as you can, you fling the double glass doors of the library entrance open, Cheong-San closing them in record time after he also passes across the threshold.

Soulless eyes of the multitude of zombies left behind stare back at you, but unable to open doors on their own accord, they opt to smear their bloody hands with abandon, staining the once pristine glass.

"Now how do we get back?"

You walk alongside Cheong-San, still trying to catch your breath. Pressing your back against the wall, you lean your head out to the left, peeking around the corner of the hallway. Only a few zombies were milling around, the corridor eerily empty.

"Over there." Cheong-San points to the panel where the water detector is located. "That's our escape."

You follow his line of sight. "That's all metal." Turning to Cheong-San, you mumble quietly, "If it's locked, we won't be able to break through."

"We have to try."

He pats your head softly and tenderly, encouraging you to not give up just yet.

"Where'd you get all this courage from?" You smile lightly. "If I knew chicken made you this brave, I'd have eaten more."

Cheong-San snorts.

"It can't get any worse than this. Might as well go all or nothing."

"Alright, I trust you."

He takes the lead and you follow quietly but quickly, not wanting to waste precious time or draw more zombies than necessary. Inevitably, the metal panel being yanked accessible has zombies whirling in your direction. Cheong-San jumps in fast, and you mimic his actions, hunkering into the small space.

You stick an arm out to shut the latch, but quickly retract it hearing the pandemonium and growling of zombies. Narrowly evading, you begin to ascend, except one stubborn zombie is hell-bent on keeping you rooted.

"Kick it!"

Cheong-San doesn't have any room to grapple back down and assist you.

"I'm trying, but the bastard refuses to let go!"

You hang by your arms and with your free leg, you throw your heel back into the zombie's head repetitively, hearing grotesque crunching sounds. Somehow, you go from being held captive to being freed, the zombie suddenly jerking backward to the ground at the last minute. Whatever happened, you weren't going to stay and find out. Even more zombies are climbing on top of one another, vying to get through the slot, and you leave closing the door as a lost cause.

"Are you alright?"

You can't really make out Cheong-San's face in the dark, so you decide against nodding, knowing he'd be worried either way.

"Aside from all the bruises I'll have by tomorrow and blood that's definitely not mine on me, yeah, I'm fine."

You continue climbing the pipelines, squinting against the sudden bright light shining in your eye. Not a moment later, Cheong-San nearly drops the phone, scarcely managing to catch it in the lick of time.

"Is there enough to make a call?"

"There's no Wi-Fi, no signal, and it's at 7%."

"Maybe try the emergency call? I'm pretty sure those can go through without a network signal."

"Calling now." Cheong-San presses the phone to his ear, clutching the phone hard enough as if it'll make a difference. "It's not going through," he says, as you can hear the deep monotonous beeping, sorely missing the familiar sound of the default operator message. "I'm going to climb higher to see if it works."

The longer you wait, the longer you know it's useless. Cheong-San's scream of frustration only confirms that.

"Fuck! Why is it not connecting?!" His rage slowly dwindles into despair, and you can hear him sniffling, though he tries his best to hide it.

"Cheong-San..." You place a hand on his back, hoping it's somewhat comforting. "You've done everything you could the whole time I was with you, and that includes keeping me safe." You sigh. "The government most likely shut down all forms of communication since this is practically a national emergency. We don't even know what's going on outside, but they're probably acting in their best interest to maintain security, even if it's not in our best interest. I hate it as much as you do, but we don't have a choice, and it's not our fault."

Cheong-San breathes out shakily on an exhale, gradually nodding.

"Thanks, I needed that reminder. We should find a way out of here."

"Do you see an opening?"

"Hold up." Cheong-San shines the phone flashlight on the topmost panel. "Damn it!"

"What?"

"You called it earlier. This door is locked and it doesn't open from the inside either. I don't know how to break it." Cheong-San pushes on it a few times, testing to see if it'll give way to no avail. "Those creatures are on the other side too. I can hear them."

"I believe in you, Cheong-San."

He pauses briefly before seeming to make up his mind, his leg jerking out firmly, denting the thin panel with the force of his kick.

You hear zombies groaning as they're smacked in the face, knocking one another over like bowling pins. Cheong-San forces his way through, striking and tossing zombies out of the way, clearing a path for you to climb out. Any remaining zombies that close in, you shove away.

"FUCK THIS!" Cheong-San hollers as he veers down the hallway, evading every zombie with unimaginable speed.

He's right though. It's either fight for your life or lose it. You kick and punch until your muscles are sore, eventually managing to catch up with Cheong-San. The other end of the hallway is no better, infested with even more zombies who come stampeding at you.

"Change of plans!"

Cheong-San drags you by the arm in the opposite direction, and you elbow a zombie hurtling toward him out of the way.

"The classroom!" you yell out as he catches on and slides a