Chapter 4. Change

Chapter 4. Change

The venue rented for the company outing was a Grass Field near DMC Station.

More precisely, it was a small sports ground within a park grandly named the Comprehensive Sports Park.

Right next to the Grass Field stood a building.

We had rented both the field and the building.

The building had one basement floor and three above ground, and we were currently hiding in its Underground Parking Lot.

It had been three years already.

Every May, we would rent the Grass Field for our company outing.

As many company employees as possible would gather, exercise together in the morning, have lunch, and then hold a small event.

Once, we even showered in this building after the event before heading home.

“Team Leader, are you alright, though?”

“Yes. I’m not hurt. More importantly, the Zombies seem to react to sound, so let’s move as quietly as possible.”

Seonyoung suddenly asked, worried about my condition.

I quietly answered her question after she got out of the Company Car and gestured towards the stairs.

After seeing that stout man get attacked right after exiting the elevator earlier, I figured it was best to be careful even with the slightest sound.

I led the way towards the Emergency Exit next to the elevator, but then I felt a tug on my shirt.

Turning around, I saw Seonyoung pointing at the Company Car and the Baseball Bat in my hand.

I nodded, went back to the Company Car, and grabbed another Baseball Bat.

Now Seonyoung had a weapon too.

*Swooshhh*

The rain grew heavier.

The sound of rain falling all around us was quite loud.

With two of us moving, small noises occasionally escaped, but the rain muffled them somewhat.

I hadn’t realized how much noise people made when walking normally.

Perhaps because I was so focused, even the soft rustle of fabric sounded loud.

‘Phew…’

We made it up to the second floor from the Underground Parking Lot without incident.

Seonyoung gave me a look before the Emergency Exit door on the second floor, then carefully opened it.

Through the open door, a deserted hallway came into view.

Perhaps because it was a small building, I could see the entire length of the corridor at a glance.

‘Nothing here.’

One side of the hallway was lined with floor-to-ceiling windows, and the opposite side had a row of doors.

Above the very last door, a sign read “Shower Room.”

“It looks like no one’s here?”

“We rented the entire place for the day, so there probably weren’t any outsiders.”

We walked down the hallway, gently knocking on every door.

We thought if there were any Zombies inside, there would be some reaction.

On the second floor, we didn’t sense any sign of life.

Finally, we entered the Shower Room to find two doors.

One led to a Restroom, and the other led to a Shower Room after passing through a Changing Room.

It was a small Shower Room with three showerheads.

“Team Leader, this looks like the women’s Shower Room. The men’s must be on the third floor.”

“Alright, let’s search the third floor as well.”

Unfortunately, the Shower Room only had facilities; no supplies were stocked.

Only water came out.

I had hoped for a hairdryer or amenities, but it was a bust.

*Pat-pat-pat*

We walked, listening to the rain drumming against the windows.

We returned to the Emergency Exit and went up to the third floor via the stairs.

Seeing the stairs continue further up, it seemed to connect to the rooftop.

Again, we exchanged glances before cautiously entering the third floor.

The third floor had the same layout as the second.

Outside the large windows on one side of the hallway, the sports field was visible below.

Near the blue tarp, Zombies stood motionless, exposed to the rain.

‘One, two, three, four, five… How many employees participated in the outing again?’

I pondered for a moment before tearing my gaze away.

Just like before, I began checking the doors lined up along the hallway.

“It’s quiet here too. No sounds at all.”

We even went into the men’s Shower Room at the very end, but there was nothing.

No Zombies, not even a single Towel left behind.

“They must manage this place really well. How can there be absolutely nothing?”

“Team Leader, let’s try opening the Supply Room. There has to be something…”

We had only knocked on the other doors and passed by.

Feeling like we were grasping at straws, we headed for the Supply Room.

*Click*

Seonyoung opened the Supply Room door.

It wasn’t locked.

*Graaaahhh!*

“Kyaaaah!”

As soon as the door opened, a Zombie burst out with a shriek.

*Thud* went Seonyoung as she fell.

A female Zombie lunged at her.

“Seonyoung!”

*Whoosh!*

I instinctively swung the Baseball Bat.

I missed its head initially, so I just wildly struck the fallen Zombie.

*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*

“Team Leader. Team Leader! I think you can stop now. It’s not moving anymore.”

“Hah… hah… Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Luckily, I used this to block its mouth, so it didn’t bite me.”

The Baseball Bat Seonyoung had grabbed in the Underground Parking Lot.

It had become her lifeline.

“Haa…”

I helped Seonyoung up and checked the Zombie again.

It was completely still.

Judging by its clothes, it looked like a cleaner. Had it transformed inside the Supply Room?

What caused people to turn into Zombies?

I had seen Jinsu transform after being bitten by a Zombie, but this person seemed to have been alone in the Supply Room.

Could mutation occur even without a Zombie bite?

Or had this person already been infected elsewhere, come here, and then had a dormant period?

I couldn’t be certain of anything; only various conjectures came to mind.

“I wasn’t bitten, but a lot of blood splattered… Could I get infected just from this?”

Both Seonyoung and I had a lot of blood splattered on us.

I didn’t know about infection, but I definitely couldn’t wear these clothes anymore.

The bloodstains here and there felt disgusting.

“I don’t know. We can’t guarantee anything yet. But I also got blood splattered on me in the Underground Parking Lot earlier, remember? Don’t worry too much. I think this much should be fine.”

We comforted each other, calming our startled hearts.

Fortunately, Seonyoung seemed calmer than I expected.

I had worried she might panic or tremble.

“Ugh. My heart nearly dropped, seriously.”

Seonyoung, with a determined expression, checked the Zombie’s corpse and then entered the Supply Room.

I hoped she’d find something useful in there.

Inside the Supply Room, there were Cabinets and Metal Shelves on either side, with a small sofa in between.

On one side were various cleaning tools, and several large Blankets and Towels were also visible.

They looked like items people had used and left behind.

‘This isn’t the time to be picky.’

On the floor were bundles of 500ml Water Bottles.

Seeing the water, a sudden thirst overcame us, and we both gulped it down.

“Ah. I feel a little better now. Ugh. My whole body suddenly aches.”

“It’s probably because the tension has eased a bit. But didn’t we hear absolutely no sound earlier? It’s creepy if the Zombie was just quietly waiting.”

“It’s just a guess, but I don’t think Zombies have incredibly sharp hearing. It’s raining heavily, and we were knocking gently to be careful, right? If we think positively, maybe the Zombie didn’t hear us at all?”

Seonyoung’s conjecture made sense.

I wanted to believe the easier path.

Of course, thinking too optimistically could also lead to danger.

“Then, assuming the worst, the Zombie was patiently waiting for us to let our guard down. But I think Seonyoung is right. If it had that much intelligence left, it could have opened the door itself, couldn’t it?”

If Zombies retained some level of intelligence, this situation was truly hopeless.

A world dominated by intelligent Zombies.

Without any certainty, our conversation only raised more questions.

“It’s not Schneider’s Cat or anything. From now on, we absolutely must not let our guard down when opening doors.”

“Yes. That much is clear. Be careful when opening doors, don’t feel safe. But why a cat? Do cats like to hide too?”

Seonyoung stared at me for a moment, then said it was nothing and started rummaging through the shelves again.

“Team Leader! This Toiletry Bag has Shampoo, Body Wash, everything! Lots of Disposable Items too.”

“Ah, you want to wash up, don’t you?”

“Yes, very much. I feel so grimy; I want to wash if I can. Warm water was coming out too…”

Even without that desperate look, I wanted to shower too.

Sweat, rain, and blood mixed together, clinging to my entire body; I looked like a complete mess.

The two of us had been moving around in this state, tense for a long time.

If we heard even the slightest sound while moving, we would stop, prick up our ears, and wait.

Even though it was a small building, moving like this meant it took us a long time just to get here.

“Seonyoung, you go wash up first. I’ll wait in the hallway.”

The situation was completely different, but I felt a little strange.

To tell a colleague, and a woman who anyone would call beautiful at that, to go wash up first.

It felt… peculiar.

It had been over five years already.

Forget marriage, my last relationship was in my twenties.

Around the time I had somewhat adjusted to the company and my life became stable, a department head who had since retired set me up on a blind date.

Thinking about it now, it was a bit strange for a much older superior at work to arrange a blind date.

‘Ah, if I think of it as an arranged marriage meeting instead of a blind date, does it feel a bit better?’

Anyway, at the time, we weren’t meeting with marriage in mind, so I remember it as a blind date.

She was a friend who worked at a broadcasting station, and her work hours were very erratic.

She was quite timid by nature, and perhaps because of that, she was a friend with many secrets.

Or maybe her heart wasn’t open enough to confide her deepest thoughts in me.

‘I guess the tension really has eased.’

To be thinking about my ex-girlfriend while Seonyoung went to wash up.

In this situation, such thoughts felt like a luxury.

Unfitting, I suppose.

I should try to think of something that would help us survive.

‘Hmm…’

Nothing came to mind.

If I let my stream of consciousness flow, various thoughts would emerge, but trying to consciously recall something was difficult.

Eventually, I leaned against the hallway wall, sat down, and opened my Cell Phone.