Re: Survival Chapter 1

Part 1 – Survival Game

* * *

1. The Return
Year 2020, Nanji Hangang Park

'More than anything, I wish I could have a cigarette right now. Has it been 6 months since I last smoked one? No, it feels like it's been at least 8 months.'

"To think that smoking is all that I can think about right before I die." A chuckle escaped his lips. Even he could tell that these thoughts were ridiculous.

Blood trickled down from his torn shoulder and soaked through his s.h.i.+rt. He cringed involuntarily, unaccustomed to the pain. It was the first wound that he had received from a zombie and, in this d.a.m.n apocalypse scenario that didn't allow for a single mistake, it would be the last wound as well.

Yohan slowly raised his head as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. The scenery around where he was sitting stood out to him.

It was complete h.e.l.l.

A complete annihilation without a single survivor in sight. His entire party was wiped out again. He had stopped keeping track of the party death count once it hit the double-digits. He had already seen hundreds of his allies die. The names—and even the faces—of those who died near the beginning were faint in his memory.

Yohan s.h.i.+fted his gaze to his right. Next to him was the last zombie that he killed. Just a few hours ago, it had still been his oldest and longest companion. It was someone who had been with him to the very end, even when Yohan had given up his humanity to survive in this fallen world. And it was the one who infected him.

"Haa…"

He was completely exhausted. It had been three years since the zombies first appeared. He had endured and survived for a long time, but it would all end here. Is there anyone still left alive? His party might have been the very last of humanity.

The final battle between groups, who had been at odds with each other over dwindling supplies, was fierce. It was a battle between two forces who were quite strong and had survived for a long time.

His team was annihilated and the opposing team suffered a blow that was most likely impossible to recover from. Although his team was the one defeated, both sides ultimately lost.

He had already tried his best to survive. He felt like he could take a well-earned rest now.

Yohan closed his eyes.

* * *

It's an odd feeling opening your eyes after you thought you had closed them for the last time. Yohan also had a strange feeling that there was a soft blanket covering his body.

'A blanket?'

Yohan's eyes shot open and he froze as he was met with an unbelievable scene.

"This place is…"

It was a place that he remembered vaguely. He had opened his eyes and saw that he was in the rented room in Incheon that he had lived in since he was 24.

"What is this…"

Yohan looked around at his surroundings. His room was filled with useless things. There was a computer, an air conditioner, and a was.h.i.+ng machine. It was just as he remembered it.

*Pick me, pick me, pick me up*

The ringtone from his cellphone snapped Yohan out of his daze. He answered the phone while still a bit disoriented.

"h.e.l.lo?"

"Hey you!" shouted a voice through the phone. Yohan frowned.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"Are you out of your mind? Do you know what time it is? Why aren't you at work yet!"

"Uh…"

"Get over here now!" shouted the man once more before he hung up on Yohan. The caller's number was saved on his phone and identified the man as "Deputy Manager Moon".

However, what caught Yohan's eye more was the date displayed on his phone.

September 2016. It was six months before the zombies went rampant. A time when the world was still peaceful.

'Is this a dream?'

Confused, Yohan pinched himself. He definitely felt the pain. Was the apocalypse that he experienced just a dream? He hastily scanned through his three years worth of memories.

He didn't think that he just had a long, awful nightmare. There was no reason he would dream over three years worth of content. Additionally, he could remember specific incidents and people very vividly. Though he had early comrades whose names and faces he could barely recall, he could never forget how fiercely he struggled to survive. Even now, his body was still tense, ready to respond at any moment to rotting corpses rising up and lunging at him jaw-first.

'If that's the case, don't tell me…'

He had returned to the past. There was no other explanation except that. There was no way to physically explain it, but the idea was already solidifying in Yohan's head. He rested his hand on his forehead and laid back down on his blanket.

He had returned.

Although he never wished for it, Yohan was revived and returned. Initially, he felt resentment towards the fact that he would have to go through the entire ordeal once again. But that was quickly washed away by a feeling of relief. He felt the relief in being able to peacefully take a breath again.

Yohan picked up his cellphone and slowly typed out a text message.

His company will disappear without a trace in six months. Rather than going to work, Yohan wanted to enjoy the comforts of the present day. He wanted to rest.