Chapter 6. Change

Chapter 6. Change

When I opened the door and stepped into the corridor, no Schneider’s Cat—or rather, no Zombie—leapt out.

The stairs were clear as well.

In the quiet, with only the sound of rain, we reached the door leading to the rooftop.

Seonyoung, who had once again signaled me with her eyes, grasped the doorknob.

My gaze kept drifting to the faint silhouette of a woman, barely visible through the trash bags.

‘Focus, you idiot. One moment of carelessness is all it takes.’

Clunk, clunk.

“Team Leader… it’s locked.”

“Ah… I didn’t think of that. Why did I assume it would be open?”

There were two reasons I wanted to check the rooftop.

First, to see if anyone up there had turned into a Zombie, though the probability seemed low.

Second, to check the road situation outside the sports field.

When I’d looked out the window on the third floor, the fence surrounding the field had obstructed my view, making it hard to see the road.

“Since the door’s locked, it doesn’t seem like there are any Zombies up there. Let’s head back.”

I couldn’t think of a way to open the locked door and check the rooftop.

Our small expedition, undertaken with intense tension and even trash bags pulled over our heads, concluded with only partial success.

By the time we returned to the Supply Room, the sun was already setting.

“It’ll be dark soon. Wouldn’t it be better to rest here tonight and go out early tomorrow?”

“Yes, I’m so exhausted. Ugh… I thought I had pretty good stamina, but I feel like I’m dying.”

We began to plan our next steps.

Our most urgent need was food.

We had enough water for now, but we hadn’t eaten a proper meal since lunch.

Tomorrow, we’d have to go out early and prioritize finding something to eat.

I hesitated for a moment, looking at Seonyoung slumped on the sofa, then sat down beside her.

I figured sitting on the cold, bare floor would prevent us from resting properly and make us even more tired.

As we sat together on the narrow sofa, our bare skin would brush against each other with even the slightest shift to get comfortable.

‘Her hair is still wet.’

My hair was short, so I was fine, but Seonyoung’s hair was still damp.

Would she be okay staying wet for so long?

She’d keep losing body heat.

With her stamina already low, I worried she might catch a cold.

“I’ll sit next to you, even if it’s a bit uncomfortable. I need to rest as comfortably as possible to recover my body too.”

“Of course. Don’t worry about me. What are we going to nitpick about in this situation? Anyway, I wonder if our clothes will dry. The temperature difference is still so drastic; it’ll probably be cold tonight.”

“You’re right. Moving tomorrow is one problem, but tonight is our immediate concern. We haven’t eaten anything either. If we catch a bad cold or the flu… Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.”

As our environment deteriorated, even a common cold or flu became terrifying.

If we fell ill with our stamina so depleted, our lives would be in immediate danger.

After sleeping, we’d have to venture outside, where an unknown number of Zombies awaited.

While staying put in this relatively safe place was an option, we both immediately dismissed it.

If we couldn’t eat and our condition steadily worsened, a truly inescapable vicious cycle would begin.

‘I absolutely have to recover my body while resting tonight.’

As I thought about recovery, the Status Window suddenly came to mind.

As I focused on wanting to raise Increased Resilience, the number of Acquired points decreased.

Instead, the number ‘1’ appeared next to the phrase ‘Increased Resilience’.

* Transformation: Optimization

* Increased Resilience (1)

* Acquired: 3

‘Ah, I can upgrade this? My body’s resilience will increase, right?’

But what exactly did ‘Increased Resilience’ mean?

The explanation was too vague.

The most intuitive thought was simply stamina recovery.

Though I couldn’t know anything for sure right now, I used all my Acquired points to raise Increased Resilience to 4.

“Shall we get ready for bed now?”

“Yes. Let’s sleep early.”

After resting for a while, we went to the Restroom together, taking turns to relieve ourselves and brush our teeth.

We had toothpaste, but no toothbrushes, so we had to brush our teeth with our fingers.

Again, I felt an involuntary tension when opening the door.

The Zombie that had suddenly appeared inside the Supply Room, which I’d thought was safe, seemed to have left a strong trauma.

Pat-pat.

The sun had completely set.

The sky visible through the small window of the Supply Room was dyed pitch black, with faint, shadowy storm clouds.

The sound of rain hitting the windowpane echoed softly in the small room.

“Team Leader. Lie down here. We both need to rest more comfortably.”

As we sat side-by-side on the sofa, Seonyoung spoke in a low voice, as if she had made a decision.

She stood up, faced me, and unfolded the Blanket she had wrapped around herself.

I found myself thinking the blurred outline of her body was beautiful.

“You can lie down if you rest your head on the sofa’s armrest, right? Ah, but your feet stick out a bit.”

Following Seonyoung’s suggestion, I lay on the sofa and understood immediately.

This sofa was cheap.

The armrests weren’t high, so resting my head was fine, but the middle sagged so much it felt like my back was bending at an awkward angle.

I wasn’t sure if sitting or lying down would be more beneficial for rest.

“I’ll squeeze in between you and the backrest. Could you spread your arm a bit?”

Seonyoung unfolded the Blanket she had wrapped around herself and draped it over me.

Then, she carefully moved over my body.

Seonyoung wriggled to get comfortable, and we shared the Blanket.

And so, we ended up lying side-by-side, pressed close together, almost like lovers.

Still, when a person rests, they should lie down and truly relax.

Once we settled into this position, lying side-by-side, I was convinced that lying down was indeed more beneficial for rest.

“Is it too cramped? You must feel suffocated, are you okay?”

“It is a little cramped, but your body is warm, Team Leader, and that’s nice. I’ve been so cold since earlier. Phew… I’m so tired, I feel like I could fall asleep just like this.”

As Seonyoung spoke, her breath brushed against my neck, tickling me.

It was because we were lying on our sides, facing each other.

Staying like this would certainly be uncomfortable and stifling.

But sharing body heat under one Blanket, I could definitely feel my body warming up.

‘Oh god. What do I do?’

Seonyoung’s soft skin touching mine.

Her full chest pressing against my own.

The physical presence of a woman who, just this morning, had been merely a coworker, was vividly palpable throughout my entire body.

My healthy alter ego naturally rose, pressing against her stomach.

But neither Seonyoung nor I said a word; we simply lay still.

Time passed in silence as we felt each other’s warmth.

‘Gulp.’

At some point, I unconsciously lowered my head slightly towards Seonyoung’s faintly visible face.

Hush, hush.

As my face drew closer, I heard the regular, deep breathing of someone asleep.

It felt like only about 10 minutes had passed since we lay down.

Then again, if I was this exhausted, how tired must Seonyoung have been?

I pulled the disheveled Blanket up and wrapped it around her shoulder.

My body was exhausted, yet a storm of thoughts kept me from sleep.

It wasn’t my usual bedtime, either.

‘Still, it’s definitely warm like this.’

Thump-thump.

I couldn’t tell if it was my heartbeat or Seonyoung’s.

Listening to the regular, soft sound, my consciousness faded with the final thought that sleep wouldn’t come.

‘Ugh, it’s blinding.’

The rain, which had arrived with the Zombies and made things so difficult for us, had stopped overnight.

I woke up, squinting against the intense sunlight that pierced my eyes.

‘Ah… when did I fall asleep?’

Opening my eyes, I saw Seonyoung’s face, still deeply asleep.

Despite sleeping in an uncomfortable position, she hadn’t woken up once and had enjoyed a profound slumber.

‘Oh? I feel better than yesterday.’

Feeling refreshed, I got up and noticed Seonyoung was frowning deeply, perhaps because of the sunlight.

Carefully, so as not to wake her, I placed an object on the windowsill to create some shade.

I drank water and began to stretch.

As I loosened my body, I definitely didn’t feel that typical morning stiffness.

I had expected to feel aches and pains everywhere from the uncomfortable sleeping arrangement.

Could this be the effect of my ability?

Health was crucial, regardless of the Zombie apocalypse.

Thinking that way, Increased Resilience seemed like a good ability.

Yesterday, I had truly envied Seonyoung’s Shield.

It wasn’t as noticeable an ability as Shield, but I should be grateful to have anything at all.

‘This too… ugh.’

I looked down at my lower half and saw my very healthy alter ego.

Could Increased Resilience also include virility?

It was a bit strange to recover something that hadn’t been expended.

In any case, perhaps because it was such a vibrant morning, I felt good.

“Team Leader, when did you wake up?”

After stretching for a while, Seonyoung had woken up.

As she sat up, the Blanket had slipped down to her waist.

Seeing her in the bright light, I thought she truly had a kind heart.

“Team Leader? You slept well, right? Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes. My condition is good. Did you sleep well too, Seonyoung?”

Seonyoung’s voice reached me again.

I quickly averted my gaze, which had been captivated by her ‘kind heart’.

We handed each other water and checked on our conditions.

Seonyoung clapped her hands in delight when I told her I felt much better than usual, perhaps thanks to my ability.

Ah… when she smiled and swayed like that, my ‘kind heart’ was captivated all over again.

“I’m doing better than I expected too. I have some muscle soreness, but this is incredibly good!”

“That’s a relief. Shall we get ready and head out then?”

Our clothes, as expected, hadn’t dried.

They smelled quite a bit, but neither of us complained. We simply gathered our damp clothes, put them on, and prepared to leave.

As we went to the Restroom together, the idea of a buddy system came to mind.

We hadn’t even spoken about it, but we seemed to have implicitly agreed not to act alone.

“I think we’ve got everything, right?”

“Yes. Not that there was much to pack anyway. We don’t even have bags.”

Each of us put two Water Bottles in our pockets, grabbed a Baseball Bat in one hand, and finished preparing to depart.

Our hunger was intense, so we needed to hurry.

“You’re right. Let’s go then.”

“Yep. Let’s do our best today!”

The start of a day completely transformed in just twenty-four hours.

It was clearly a different morning from yesterday, a difficult situation, but we accepted the Transformation and opened the door.