The Only Woman in a Zombie Apocalypse Vol. 2 Chapter 38 - Humans Are Scarier Than Zombies (2)

Every day was the same unless it was the once-a-week party. 

 

Today was no different. The scouting team went out early in the morning and returned, and to escape the midsummer heat, they spent the daytime resting in the shopping mall. 

 

Dayoung was passing the time playing board games with the scouting team in the comic book café when Minho’s urgent voice crackled over the walkie-talkie.

 

—Everyone except those on scouting duty, gather in front of the bathhouse! There’s a rescue request. I repeat, a rescue request!!

 

The management team, responsible for internal upkeep, handled minor repairs of broken devices within the facility. Still, their most important task was playing the scheduled guidance broadcast through the wireless speakers installed at the farthest points cleared by the scouting team. 

 

They played the message daily, just in case there were survivors the scouts might have missed or areas they hadn’t yet reached.

 

‘This is the Constellation Shopping Mall. Supplies are still available here, and it is safe. We’ve established pathways to the mall from all directions—east, west, south, and north. Once darkness falls, you can use these routes to reach the mall safely. If movement is difficult for you, we’ve left a walkie-talkie tied to the streetlight across from the speaker. The channel is set to 06. Contact us, and we’ll come to rescue you.’

 

Though they played the broadcast every day, the walkie-talkie had never rung before. 

 

Since it was a different device from the ones they usually used, Dohun and Minho always carried two walkie-talkies clipped to their belts. 

 

Aside from the two teams who had come to the mall for supplies and the three troublemakers, no one else had arrived. But they kept clearing paths and broadcasting the message. 

 

And today, finally, the walkie-talkie rang.

 

“What happened? Was it really a rescue request?”

 

“Yeah. They said there are two people near the sports center. They’ve run out of food, and one of them is injured, so they can’t move. Not only that, but they’re asking if we can come get them. Checking the map, the sports center is to the east.”

 

“I saw the gymnasium from a distance. If someone’s hurt, we should get there as soon as possible. But setting up barricades all the way to the gymnasium will take a lot of time. Even at the shortest, we’d need at least six hours. If we leave now, we’ll arrive by dawn. Jiwoo, Seojun, and Jihu, start getting ready to go.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Woomin, pack some food and water for us. And for them too.”

 

“Got it.”

 

Jiwoo, Seojun, and Jihu left to prepare, while Woomin went to gather supplies.

 

“Two hours to the eastern barricade. If we set up barricades all the way to the gymnasium, we’ll probably arrive around 1 or 2 a.m. Minho, guide the survivors, and Dohun, hand the walkie-talkie over to me. If we rest for about two hours and then move with the survivors, we’ll arrive by tomorrow morning. Jiseok, from now until tomorrow, just focus on scouting the building.”

 

“Understood.”

 

“Yeah, don’t worry.”

 

Ian also left to get ready, and Dayoung watched them with an uneasy expression. 

 

This wasn’t in the novel. The novel only described major events, so nothing strange should happen—but Dayoung couldn’t shake her anxiety. 

 

Soon, they were ready to leave, and Dayoung forced a smile as she saw them off.

 

That night, Dayoung revisited the novel’s plot in her mind. But since she couldn’t recall anything unusual, she reassured herself that it must be nothing. 

 

Still, her unease kept her awake. Tossing and turning, she eventually climbed up to the rooftop as dawn approached. The red sun rose in the eastern sky—but there was no sign of them. 

 

Even with binoculars, she saw nothing.

 

Morning passed by endlessly as they ate. 

 

Dayoung’s unease must have spread to the others because they still hadn’t returned to the mall by lunchtime. No matter how much Minho tried with the walkie-talkie, there was no response.

The scouting team considered going to the gymnasium, but in the current situation, splitting up the group didn’t seem wise, so they ultimately couldn’t go looking for them.

 

Those left in the mall barely noticed whether lunch went in through their noses or their mouths.

 

They forced themselves to eat in case of unforeseen circumstances, but Dayoung couldn’t even manage that. She couldn’t bring herself to ask the others—whether they were wrong, whether something had happened, whether they should go rescue them. 

 

Speaking it aloud might make it real.

 

“Noona, you have to eat at least a little.”

 

“I… can’t…”

 

“I know how you feel, Noona. But there’s a saying that the living must live. Of course, skipping one meal won’t kill you, but since we never know what might happen, we should eat while we can.”

 

At Dohun’s words, the others nodded. They had gone hungry for over ten days before. 

 

In times like these, they believed they had to fill their stomachs whenever possible—especially when they couldn’t see even an inch ahead. 

 

Under their watchful gazes, Dayoung picked up her spoon. She forced down a few bites when suddenly, Minho’s walkie-talkie crackled to life with a sharp static noise.

 

—Ah, ah. Satellite Mall. Can you hear me?

 

At the unfamiliar voice, Minho grabbed the walkie-talkie. The others, still eating, stood up and gathered around him.

 

“Who is this?”

 

—This is the gymnasium. Some of your people are being held here.

 

“What?”

 

―We’ve taken hostages. There’s a woman there, right? The exchange condition is the woman. Since we’re generous, we’ll trade one woman for four men. It’s a bit of a distance, so bring the woman by 8 tonight. If you do, we’ll let these four go safely. Oh, and we’re all armed, so it doesn’t matter how many of you come. You get what I mean, right?

 

“What?? Who the hell are you?”

 

―Who I am doesn’t matter. If you don’t come by 8, we’ll kill them all. If you come without the woman, we’ll kill them too.

 

“The kids… Are the kids okay?”

 

―They’re fine. They won’t open their mouths when we tell them to say their names. Hold on.

 

―Aaaagh!

 

A scream of pain crackled through the radio. The voice sounded like Jihu’s.

 

―Let me say it again—the condition is the woman. No woman, no exchange.

 

“Hey! Don’t hurt the kids! Hey? Hey!!!”

 

Despite Minho’s shouts, the radio fell silent. 

 

They must have turned it off, the group panicked. 

 

Faced with something they’d never experienced before, the young ones couldn’t help but be flustered. Ironically, the calmest one was the woman demanded by the man on the radio—Dayoung.

 

“Let’s get ready to go.”

 

“Noona!!”

 

“Dayoung!”

 

“What? Should we just let the kids die? Let’s go. I’m all they need, right?”

 

“No, don’t make a rash decision. Do you really think the kids would want you to do this?”

 

“No. We have to go. This happened because of me.”

 

“Dayoung. Calm down a little first. You’re too worked up.”

 

At Minho’s words, Dayoung slumped into a chair. 

 

The man on the radio demanded a woman. Dayoung believed this incident happened because she had interfered with the original story—just like the three men’s situation, or how she alone had discovered the large hardware store in advance. 

 

Since she was the reason they were in this shopping mall now, she couldn’t just sit still. She couldn’t let them be endangered because of her.

 

The group sat around the dining table. 

 

A heavy silence lingered before Dayoung let out a deep sigh and spoke, “No matter how much I think about it, I should be the one to go.”

 

“It’s too dangerous. We don’t know how many of them there are or what condition they’re in.”

 

“Should I try cross-dressing?”

 

At Dohun’s words, the group all turned to look at him. If only he were a little shorter, he might’ve passed perfectly—but his height was the problem.

 

“You’re way too tall.”

 

“Then what about me? 174 cm is a height that could pass for a woman.”

 

As Minho spoke, the group subtly nodded in agreement. It seemed plausible—but Dayoung disagreed.

 

“I think they already know about me.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“They specifically mentioned there was one woman. They know I exist.”

 

“Don’t tell me it’s those bastards from before? The ones who broke the first-floor door.”

 

“…!!!”

 

But it was unlikely they could’ve taken down four people with just two. Besides, they weren’t particularly strong. Dayoung shook her head.

 

“The voice on the walkie-talkie was someone else.”

 

“True.”

 

“I think those two started it, but they must’ve met another group and told them about us. And the most important detail in that story would be me—the only woman and the reason they got kicked out.”

 

“Ugh. Those damn bastards.”

 

The endless discussion had wasted too much time. Dayoung checked her watch and realized they couldn’t delay any longer. It was almost 3 o’clock.

 

“This won’t end unless I go. Get ready to move out.”

 

Despite the group’s protests, Dayoung was firm. She went to her room, changed clothes, and tied her long hair up in a high bun so it wouldn’t get in the way.