Apocalypse: Apparently, I Can See Zombies

At the slightly jarred door of the female bathroom, a single eye was seen glancing at the horde of zombies stumbling down the hallway while bumping into each other.

Kai glanced past the zombies to look through the now broken windows outside to see that the sun had already set. He then cast one final glance at the stairs leading to the roof several meters down the hallway before gritting his teeth.

Kai no longer thought heading to the roof was a good idea. Only after he calmed down and thought about it did he realize they would have been trapped with nowhere to go if the zombies had followed them up there.

Though they were similarly trapped in this bathroom, they were momentarily safe as bait was used to lure the zombies away. So long as they kept quiet, they would be safe, and that proved true since it had been nearly three hours since they entered the bathroom without being attacked.

Suddenly, one of the zombies walking past the door stopped and turned to look in Kai's direction.

Kai's entire body stiffened, and his breath hitched in his throat. Thankfully, after several seconds the zombie was pushed forward by the others and eventually went back to following the horde.

After slowly closing the door, Kai released the breath he was holding. He then walked into the bathroom that was being light by three small but bright flashlights where the others were.

Mai-sun was at the back of the bathroom, while Han Soo was near the door with his gun ready. As for Jeon-sok and Seo-joon, the former was on the ground leaning against a bathroom stall door and the latter was similarly on the ground but was on the other side of the walkway leaning against the wall.

Both youths were staring at Ah-yong who had the head of the unconscious Jin-woo on her lap. She would occasionally wipe the blood that was coming from his nose.

Kai walked past his brother into the bathroom and glanced at Jin-woo. With a frown, he asked.

"How is he not awake yet? He's not dead, is he?"

Han Soo tensed up and looked over at Jin-woo worriedly. However, Ah-yong shook her head and said.

"No, except for his nose which won't stop bleeding, his breathing is stable."

Seo-joon looked at Kai and Han Soo, who seemed excessively protective of Jin-woo, and he couldn't help but ask.

"Why are you two so worried if Jin lives or dies?"

Kai looked at Seo-joon before dismissively waving him off while saying.

"You're thinking too much, aren't we here to rescue you kids? Naturally, we'd be worried if one of you died or not."

After saying that Kai recalled the others outside and went silent. He chose not to bring it up since the odds of them surviving while being surrounded by a horde that large was almost zero.

However, while Ah-yong and Jeon-sok were a bit confused by Seo-joon's question, Mai-sun near the window had a calm expression.

"Is the call not going through?"

Kai turned to Jeon-sok and asked, but Jeon-sok shook his head.

"Damn it, just keep trying."

"But the battery is at five percent."

Jeon-sok said, and Kai's brows furrowed even deeper.

"Then stop for now."

Afterward, Kai turned to his brother and asked.

"What about the radio, is the Marshal still unreachable?"

Han Soo helplessly shook his head while taking out the walkie-talkie in one of his vest pockets and turned it on to show his brother that it was still emitting static sounds.

Kai's face turned gloomy before he cursed.

"Damn it, why does a high school have a barrage jamming device installed in their bathrooms?"

Han Soo sighed and said while putting the radio back into his vest pocket.

"Hyung, they likely installed it to prevent recording devices in the girl's bathroom."

"*Tsk*… What a waste of time, do they think that would stop those hormonal kids from spying? They could just go buy anti-jamming devices online. Fuck, back in my day even when a teacher stood at the door, we still managed to get past them."

Han Soo's expression became embarrassed when he heard that as he seemed to recall memories of his brother excitedly coming home to retell his various espionage stories.

"Pervert…"

A whisper was heard and Kai immediately turned to glare at Jeon-sok.

"Brat, do you want to fight me?"

"Who wants to fight you?"

Jeon-sok said as he shrank his head back.

"That's what I thought."

Kai sneered, but just as he was about to look away, he saw how Jeon-sok was sitting with his legs pulled up to his chest. He chuckled darkly before saying.

"I'm the pervert? Look who got excited because they're in the girl's bathroom."

Kai then walked over to Jeon-sok, who had his face turned beet-red from embarrassment.

Seeing him coming over, Jeon-sok panicked and hurriedly said.

"It's not what you think. I just… I just want to use the bathroom."

Kai paused and stared at Jeon-sok with a hesitant expression before asking.

"Number one or number two?"

Jeon-sok seemed even more embarrassed as he buried his head in his knees and raised his hand to shakily show two fingers.

Everyone's expression changed, and Seo-joon was the first to speak.

"Fuck that, you're not taking a shit when I'm in here."

"Do you think I want to?"

Jeon-sok indignantly replied, his voice coming out muffled as he still had his head buried in his knees.

However, just as Kai and Han Soo were thinking of what to do with this sudden news, a horse voice was heard saying.

"Just go ahead, the girl's bathroom has air freshener."

Everyone turned to look at Jin-woo who was sitting up from Ah-yong's lap.

"You're finally awake, I thought you were dead."

Kai said as he carefully looked at Jin-woo's eyes, only he didn't see what he wanted since Jin-woo's pupils were back to normal. No, his eyes did have a strange gray hue to them.

"How long was I out?"

Jin-woo asked as tried to find a window but realized there was none in this bathroom. However, he also realized that his vision was especially blurry, far more than it originally was.

Jin-woo searched around for his glasses, and they were handed to him by Ah-yong. At the same time, Kai answered his question.

"You've been out for almost three hours. Since you've woken up, think of a way to escape this situation. After all, you're the one who made us come in here."

Jin-woo slowly got up but he clutched his head and wobbled slightly.

"Can't you at least wait for Jin to recover first?"

Ah-yong said to Kai as she helped Jin-woo steady himself.

"I'm fine."

Jin-woo said, but soon after his nose suddenly started bleeding again.

"It's okay."

Jin-woo refused the tissues Ah-yong was handing to him before he held his nose and went to the sink. On his way there he glanced at Jeon-sok and said.

"You should really go if you have to or else it'll become a problem later on."

Jeon-sok hesitated, obviously reluctant to use the bathroom in front of so many people.

However, Kai waved his hand and said

"Go take a shit if you have to, it'll be worse if you shit yourself later."

Jeon-sok resentfully glared at Kai, but eventually got up and moved to one of the stalls.

However, Kai suddenly added.

"Brat, use the last one, maybe the zombies' body will cancel out the smell if the air freshener doesn't work."

Jeon-sok gritted his teeth, but still walked past Jin-woo, who came out of a stall after getting tissues to wipe his nose.

After Jeon-sok entered the last stall, Jin-woo glanced at it through the mirror before turning on the fossette at the sink.

The sound of the fossette filled the entire bathroom, and Jeon-sok who was seated on the toilet with two female zombies next to him, thanked Jin-woo in his heart.

With the tissues hand, Jin-woo wiped away his nosebleed. However, there were red streaks running from his eyes down his cheeks. Turning his head to the side, Jin-woo saw that bloodstains were running down his ears.

Only now did he realize the backlash from forcefully using his ability was terrifying. Along with bleeding from his eyes, nose, and ears, he had been unconscious for nearly three hours. Even his vision decreased by a few notches.

Jin-woo sighed and wet the tissues to wipe away the blood stains. However, his hand holding the wet tissues froze after barely wiping away the blood stains on his cheeks. He had a terrible feeling something was wrong… that something was missing.

Suddenly, Jin-woo's body shook and he swerved around to look at everyone in the bathroom.

Mai-sun at the back, the two soldiers at the door, Ah-yong and Seo-joon standing in the walkway, and Jeon-sok in the last stall.

"Seong?"

Jin-woo called out. He had realized that Seong's worried voice was missing and now that he looked around, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Seong!"

Jin-woo called out louder and he began to panic.

"Kid, what are you yelling for? Do you want the zombies to find us?"

Kai said angrily after being surprised by Jin-woo's sudden shout.

Tears suddenly well up in Jin-woo's eyes, and after checking that Seong really wasn't in the room, the tears fell down his cheeks as he gripped the sink and crouched down.

"This kid... what's wrong with him now?"

Kai was stunned upon seeing Jin-woo suddenly crying.

The others were equally surprised.

"Who is Seong? Was he left behind?"

Han Soo asked, turning to Ah-yong and the others for an answer.

However, Ah-yong hesitated while Seo-joon stayed silent, his gaze fixated on the crying Jin-woo.

Mai-sun was the one who spoke up.

"Seong is dead. He died over winter break."

Kai and Han Soo were even more confused when they heard that, but Mai-sun further clarified.

"He's probably having a psychotic episode after not taking his schizophrenia medication."

"Schizophrenia? He has schizophrenia?"

Han Soo said surprised, but Kai only frowned as he had known this from his investigations.

Mai-sun smiled and continued.

"Yeah, it's a whole thing. The entire school knows and even calls him a freak after he had an episode during the Entrance Exams. He-"

"Shut the fuck up."

Seo-joon suddenly turned to Mai-sun and coldly cut her off. His intense glaring made it obvious that if Mai-sun continued, he would make a move.

Mai-sun smiled and said nothing more.

Seo-joon stared at her for a bit longer before turning away. He looked at Jin-woo still crying and said.

"He's not having an episode, just leave him alone for now."

Ah-yong hearing this pause, she along with everyone eventually listened to Seo-joon's words.

By the sink, Jin-woo continued to cry, his tears still carrying a tinge of blood as they fell down his cheek.

"Seong, come back. I still need you; you can't leave yet. I don't know what I'm going to do if you aren't here. I'm sorry, but I don't want to be alone. Seong… Seong, please come back. Seong… *sobs*"

Jin-woo knew Seong might have disappeared because he overused his powers, but there was a thought at the back of his mind that made him think he might never come back, that his soul had fully crossed over.

This made Jin-woo feel desperate, and continually called out to Seong with that desperation hoping his ability would bring him back.

However, even after several minutes of constant calling, Seong never showed up.

….

…

..

In a vast black void, a white figure with no features floated with its entire body curled up into a ball.

The scene was akin to a painter painting a white canvas completely black, but then taking his brush and using its tip to paint a small white dot in the center.

While floating in this void, the figure could not feel or hear anything. It seemed as if nothing existed here, not even time itself.

The only thing that existed was the figure itself, and its unnaturally clear thoughts— Thoughts, which conjured up the conclusions stated above after the figure had floated through the void for an unknown period.

However, after the figure had finally given up on exploring this seemingly endless void and curled up into a ball, a change occurred to this eternally unchanging void.

"Seong, come back…"

The figure who was curled up, immediately became alert and started looking around.

"…I don't know what I'm going to do if you aren't here…"

After the figure confirmed this voice wasn't its thoughts, it began to frantically fly around the void searching for the source of the voice.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to be alone. Seong… Seong, please come back. Seong…"

The figure heard the voice crying and it seemed to become even more frenzied. Its body left white streaks in the void as it crazily darted around.

However, no matter how far the figure went, it couldn't find the voice. It felt like it was coming from the void itself.

The voice continued for what felt like forever, but it was only after flying around for who knows how long the figure realized the words were repeating like an echo. But like an echo, the voice was growing fainter and fainter.

Soon, the figure stopped flying around as the voice was barely above a whisper.

Though the figure had no features, from just looking at it one could tell it was panicking.

'Calm down… calm down… The voice doesn't seem to be coming from a specific point in this place. Where is it coming from?'

Seong's thoughts churned and churned, but the voice eventually came to a complete stop.

However, just as the voice stopped, Seong finally managed to calm down enough to realize where the voice was coming from.

It wasn't coming from the void just as he deduced, but rather, it was coming from his soul!

After calming his thoughts, Seong reached into his body with his ghostly hand to try to see if he could find anything.

When that didn't work, he tried to sit cross-legged in the void and sense his body. He took his own advice he had given to Jin-woo and focused on directing his thoughts to desire nothing more than to go where that voice was.

However, like a sailor out at sea without a compass, Seong couldn't hear the voice and was thus not able to follow the voice.

'No, come on Jin. Call out to me again. I'm right here, just one more time. One more time Jinny...'

Seong stayed like that, desperately hoping Jin-woo's voice would emerge again.

Finally, after an undetermined amount of time, Seong heard Jin-woo's voice again.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Seong, Seo-joon wants to see you. Please, come b-"

Without waiting for Jin-woo's words to finish, Seong latched onto the red thread that suddenly appeared in his chest with his thoughts, and then in the blink of an eye he vanished from the void.

No… rather than vanishing it was as if a second painter had taken a knife, walked over to the black canvas with the small white dot at the center, and then curved out that white dot before taking it away.

The canvas painted black, or rather the void, acted like skin and flesh where it slowly healed from the hole left behind after Seong was taken away.