The Only Woman in a Zombie Apocalypse Vol. 1 Chapter 14 - Isn't this a zombie story? (2)

As the group reached out to take the shopping cart from Dayoung, she shook her head.

“We can come back tomorrow.”

“Still, you never know. What if someone else takes it? I’m grabbing as much as I can today. I’ll take this and come back. Likewise, I only put in what I can carry. Go fill the bags quickly.”

“So thrifty, Dayoung noona.”

“Right, let’s just focus on filling the bags.”

 

The group went inside to gather the food supplies, and Dayoung placed the shopping cart next to the sacks of rice. She was pondering how to carry even a little more when she suddenly sensed something strange.

“Grrrl.”

“???”

A zombie’s growl echoed from somewhere. 

 

Dayoung stifled a scream, held her breath, and tried to pinpoint the direction of the sound. It came from the fork in the path ahead, past the stacked rice sacks. 

 

Carefully, she began stepping backward, trying to retreat toward the group behind her.

 

Then—clang!

 

Her foot hit something metallic, sending a loud, echoing noise through the empty mall.

“Grrraaah!”

The zombie’s snarl grew rapidly closer. 

 

Realizing what she had kicked was a metal bat, Dayoung quickly picked it up. 

 

It was a baseball bat—not much, but better than nothing. She could have run to where the others were—it was close enough—but if she tripped or made more noise, she might attract the zombies lurking in the maze-like underground mall. She couldn’t risk endangering the group. 

 

Gritting her teeth, she steadied herself.

“You can do this, Kim Dayoung. You’ve hit a few baseballs before. You can do this.”

 

Dayoung muttered to herself, steadying her nerves. 

 

The zombies’ howls grew louder. From the right fork in the road, a fast-approaching zombie came into her view. Its body was smeared with bloodstains, flesh rotting away. 

 

Fortunately, one of its arms was crushed. 

 

Alright, let’s do this!

 

“Grrraaah!”

 

Dayoung held her breath as the zombie swayed its head from side to side, searching for prey. She watched it shuffle closer, timing her move. 

 

One, two, three…

 

Summoning all her strength into her shoulders and arms, she swung the baseball bat. 

 

Thwack!

 

“Gaaah!!”

“Eeek!”

 

The bat struck the zombie’s head, but the blow wasn’t strong enough to stun it. Its neck jerked slightly, and as if realizing prey was near, it let out a deafening screech. 

 

Dayoung had no choice but to keep swinging. 

 

Thwack! Thwack! 

 

The bat hit the zombie’s arms multiple times, but it only staggered—refusing to go down.

 

“What the—why won’t it fall?!”

 

Panicked, Dayoung swung wildly. 

 

Inside the store, Jiseok, who had been gathering supplies, looked around when he heard the zombie noises and realized Dayoung was missing.

 

“Where’s Dayoung?”

“Huh? She said she was putting the bags down…”

“I’ll go check.”

 

Jiseok stepped outside and spotted Dayoung fighting a zombie near the stacked rice sacks. 

 

Immediately, he drew the military knife from his belt and rushed toward her.

 

“Dayoung!”

 

Hearing his shout, the others inside the store came running out. 

 

Jiseok grabbed Dayoung’s arm and yanked her back just as the group arrived, catching her before she could stumble.

 

“Noona, are you okay?”

 

Ian quickly checked Dayoung’s body for any bite marks. 

 

Thankfully, there were no signs of blood.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“I thought you were inside with us. Why were you out there?”

“I was putting the shopping cart back…”

“I told you not to wander off. Were you scared?” 

 

Ian asked worriedly, looking at Dayoung’s pale face. Jiseok returned to the group after decapitating the zombie.

 

“Is Dayoung okay?”

“Yeah… I—I’m fine…”

 

Dayoung’s legs felt like they were trembling, but she forced herself to stand steady, not wanting to show it. 

 

Yet, her body shook visibly enough for the group to notice. 

 

They pretended not to see and began packing up.

 

“Let’s go for now. The weather’s bad, and we can come back here tomorrow.”

 

The group gathered their things and slung bags of rice over their shoulders. 

 

Just in case of another zombie attack, they had to leave half the rice behind, but they hid the remaining bags out of sight.

 

“Alright, let’s go.”

 

The group made it back to the mall without trouble. 

 

The others, who had been waiting for the scouting team, checked if Dayoung was unharmed before dispersing to their own spots.

 

“Noona, wash up before dinner and try to rest without thinking about anything.”

“Got it.”

 

Dayoung set down her bag and entered her room. She had come in to grab a change of clothes, but once she was alone, her legs gave out, and she slumped to the floor. 

 

Only now, in a familiar space, did the tension finally ease.

 

“Ha… I really thought I was gonna die. My legs are still shaking…”

 

She forced herself up, barely managing to stand. The rotting body of the zombie—something she’d only seen in movies—looked even bigger and scarier in real life. 

 

And because it didn’t feel pain like a human, no matter how much they hit it, they couldn’t deal much damage. She hadn’t even touched the zombie, nor had its blood splattered on her, yet her skin crawled with discomfort.

 

Dayoung thought washing everything off with hot water might make her feel better, so she forced strength into her exhausted body. 

 

After gathering a change of clothes, she headed up to the third floor. 

 

When she saw Minho sitting at the desk, something inside her suddenly welled up. She didn’t know why, but it just did.

 

“Dayoung, are you okay? I heard you ran into zombies.”

“Word spreads fast already? Nothing stays secret here.”

“How is that even a secret? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“No… I’m fine…”

“I turned on the boiler. There’s hot water, and I heated up the bath too, so go ahead and soak.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

 

Dayoung entered the changing room, took off her top, and removed her bra. Her reflection in the mirror showed a flawless, clean body—not a single trace of zombie blood or any stain.

 

“Dayoung… How have you survived in a world like this?” She sighed and muttered to herself. 

 

Just as she was about to take off her pants, a rustling sound came from the corner of the changing room. 

 

Startled, she glanced around but saw nothing. 

 

Then, after a moment, the rustling returned. Summoning her courage, she cautiously approached the source of the noise—only to scream at the sight of a giant cockroach scurrying out.

 

“AHHH!!!”

 

Her scream echoed loudly, and Minho, who had been sitting at the counter, rushed in and opened the changing room door.

 

“Dayoung, what’s wrong?!”

“A cockroach! A COCKROACH!!!”

 

Dayoung ran to Minho and clung to him. 

 

Caught off guard, he instinctively wrapped his arms around her—then froze when he realized the sensation against his hands wasn’t fabric but bare skin.

 

“I’m scared!! A cockroach!!! A HUGE one came out!!”

“D-Dayoung, it’s okay. It’s fine, alright?”

“It was… seriously the biggest cockroach ever!!”

 

“I’ll tell the kids to catch it. I heard you even took down zombies. But you’re scared of a bug like that?”

 

“Did it come out? Did the cockroach come out? Ugh… I got so scared…”

 

Dayoung suddenly burst into tears, leaving Minho flustered, but he calmly patted her back. 

 

Seeing her cry out loud was both cute and pitiful, but with Dayoung pressed tightly against him, Minho couldn’t help but swallow hard at the feeling of her chest against him.

 

“Shh. It’s okay. You must’ve been even more startled because of the zombies. Want to sit down for a bit?”

 

“Sniff… No, sob… I don’t want to. I’m scared… Sob. Just stay like this.”

 

“Alright. I’ll hold you tight. Come on, let’s move over here.”

 

Minho sat down on a chair in the dressing room, still holding Dayoung. 

 

Even as he sat, Dayoung didn’t let go of him. He settled her onto his lap and continued soothing her back. 

 

Now seated on his thighs, Dayoung’s upper body pressed even closer against Minho’s as she clung to his neck. 

 

Sniffling, she mumbled while still crying into his shoulder.

 

“Hng… I’m being a bother… Sorry.”

 

“No, you’re not. Feeling a little better now? You okay?”

 

“Yeah… I’m fine now.”