The Only Woman in a Zombie Apocalypse Vol. 2 Chapter 42 - Humans Are Scarier Than Zombies (2)

Bang— 

 

Dayoung, who had precisely aimed at the leader’s head, turned to look at the men staring blankly at her.

 

“See? It’s not that I can’t kill you. I just choose not to. So be careful.”

 

Dayoung slung the military backpack over her shoulder and hurriedly exited the building. 

 

‘Ah, clothes…’ 

 

With nothing but the bag hanging loosely over her naked body, she couldn’t muster the courage to go back inside. She needed to get away quickly, but her legs trembled uncontrollably. 

 

The blood splattered on her legs from firing two shots at the leader also bothered her.

 

The remaining men were unarmed, but that didn’t mean Dayoung was safe. If they rushed her all at once, she might take a few down, but ultimately, she’d be the one caught. 

 

Step by step. Her barefoot pace gradually quickened. Let’s get out of here. She didn’t know how long she’d been inside, but she had to return to the mall. 

 

Holding onto that thought, she kept moving.

 

They had held out for the promised one hour with Dayoung. 

 

Jiseok and Minshik wanted to return to the mall, but the rest insisted on waiting 10 more minutes. Just 10 minutes. 

 

Time passed aimlessly, and as 9 of those 10 minutes slipped by, the group spotted a small figure emerging from the gymnasium.

 

“Someone’s… coming out?”

 

“Isn’t that Noona?!”

 

Through the binoculars, they confirmed it was Dayoung. 

 

Just as they had last seen her when she left the building—completely naked, carrying a military backpack far larger than her frame, eyes fixed on the ground as she walked. 

 

The six of them sprinted toward her.

 

“Dayoung!!”

 

“Noona!!!”

 

At the distant voices and the sound of running footsteps, Dayoung lifted her head. 

 

The sight of six figures rushing toward her—was this real, or just an illusion?

 

“Noona, are you okay???”

 

“Dayoung, here—put this on first.”

 

Jiseok took off his own T-shirt, and Minshik removed the military backpack hanging on Dayoung’s back. 

 

As they helped her put on the shirt, the group looked around anxiously—then froze in shock at the sight of blood on her leg.

 

“Your leg! Are you hurt? Did you get shot?”

 

“No… It’s just… blood splatter…”

 

“Let’s get out of here first.”

 

Minshik slung the military backpack over his shoulder while Jiseok lifted Dayoung into his arms. 

 

The six of them sprinted back to where the others were waiting. 

 

Since Dayoung had no clothes to sit on, Jiseok sat on the ground, still holding her. The group checked her bloodstained leg and the soles of her feet—they were scraped raw from running barefoot.

 

“It really is just blood. Thank god. Seriously, thank god.”

 

“You’re sure you’re not hurt anywhere else?”

 

“Yeah. I’m… okay…”

 

“Then what was that gunshot earlier? Did you fire it, noona?”

 

“Yeah… I… I did, but…”

 

“Noona, are you really okay…?”

 

“No… Huh… That person… Ugh… Because of me… Sniff… Because I…”

 

Dayoung burst into tears, and they watched helplessly, torn between relief that she’d returned unharmed and dread over what she must have endured to escape. 

 

Jiseok patted her back gently—his large hand rubbing circles, which only made her cry harder. 

 

You know how it is. When you don’t want to cry, but someone’s kindness makes the tears spill anyway.

 

“I… Sniff… I killed someone… Ugh, I… I did…”

 

“Shh… It’s okay, Dayoung. You had no choice. Let’s just go home now, yeah?”

 

“Sniff… I didn’t want to kill them… Sniff…”

 

“It’s okay. Noona… Yeah? It’s okay…”

 

“First, let’s get out of here quickly. Dayoung seems to have taken all the weapons, but we’re outnumbered. And the zombies seem to be closing in.”

 

Minshik glanced around the darkened surroundings. The commotion from the group had drawn the distant zombies closer, little by little. 

 

Right now, they didn’t have the strength to deal with them. 

 

Many of their companions were injured, and there were people they needed to protect. 

 

Minshik pulled the walkie-talkie from his waist and turned it on. He had switched it off earlier, not wanting those still in the mall to worry—he had planned to radio them once they arrived.

 

“All safe. Heading back to the mall now. ETA four hours. Turn on the boiler in the women’s bath. Prepare some easy-to-digest food.”

 

—Is everyone okay?

 

“Yeah. All safe. We’ll talk details when we get back.”

 

—Thank goodness. Alright. I’ll get things ready. Come back safely.

 

Jiseok carried Dayoung, who was still crying, on his back. She had no shoes. 

 

Sniffling, she worried about him.

 

“Sniff… I was so stupid… Sob. I left my shoes behind… Ugh… Now you have to carry me… Sniff.”

 

“Dayoung, I’m fine. Stop crying, okay? You’ll exhaust yourself. Want some water?”

 

“Yeah… Sniff.”

 

Dayoung took a few sips of water, cried a little more, and soon passed out from exhaustion. The group moved as quickly and quietly as they could. 

 

By the time they reached the mall, it was almost midnight. 

 

The others, who had been anxiously waiting inside, were horrified to see Dayoung being carried in.

 

“What?? Noona, are you hurt? What happened?”

 

“No… I’m okay…”

 

Dayoung, now awake, had red, swollen eyes and a hoarse voice. 

 

On top of that, she was wearing different clothes from when she’d left. The group fell silent.

 

“We’ll explain everything later. Dayoung, can you eat something?”

 

“No… I don’t want to.”

 

“Then…? Want to sleep more?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

The group took Dayoung to a temporary shelter, worried she might feel uneasy. 

 

They laid out a blanket, had her lie down, and roughly wiped her body with wet wipes. 

 

After cleaning her feet thoroughly, they applied ointment and bandages before covering her with the blanket. 

 

Watching Dayoung fall asleep with ragged breaths, the group gathered in a corner of the room. 

 

The four who had been captured headed to the bathhouse, while Jiseok and Minshik briefly recounted what had happened at the gymnasium.

 

Dayoung had regained her memories—she was a shooting athlete, had been captured by them, escaped, and then let the group go while staying behind as a hostage before finally breaking free.

 

“Let’s all sleep here tonight. Jiseok and I will wash up first and come back.”

 

“Yeah. Go wash up, hyungs. We’ll keep an eye on Noona here.”

 

While the group watched over Dayoung, she had a strange dream. 

 

Was it because she had regained the original owner’s memories? 

 

The real Dayoung’s life unfolded before her like a drama. Then, everything went black, and the real Dayoung stood before her. 

 

Looking down at her own body, she realized the smaller chest was her original appearance.

 

“Hi?”

 

“Uh… hi.”

 

“How’s life in that body? Are you happy?”

 

“…”

 

Dayoung couldn’t answer the real Dayoung’s question. 

 

Truthfully, the month she’d spent here had been truly happy. Compared to her reality—no family and only a few close friends—this place was far better.

 

“I was unhappy. But you’ve been living happily here, huh? Isn’t this inside a novel?”

 

“How… did you know?”

 

“I found out after I died. You were curious about my death, right? Why? I don’t even appear in the novel. I saw, heard, and felt everything through you.”

 

“I was just curious. Why did you die? Why did I end up here?”

 

“I don’t know the reason either. Why did you come here? For what purpose? Even if it meant killing me—someone who didn’t have to die?”

 

“What…?”

 

Dayoung was flustered by the real Dayoung’s words. She couldn’t understand what she was saying. She still didn’t know the cause of the real Dayoung’s death, but the fact that someone who didn’t have to die had died—and because of her?

 

“But now that I see your real face… I think I understand why I died.”

 

“What… What are you talking about?”

 

“When you recovered my memories, I received the contents of this novel. Stories about characters who don’t appear in it. I didn’t escape from the gymnasium—I was miserable, but I survived there for quite a long time. That was the future of Kim Dayoung, the one not written in the novel. But for some reason, I escaped. And I died. Because you had to come here. But I won’t tell you where I saw it now. There’s no time. We’ll meet again. When we do, you’ll find out why you came here, why I died, and where we met. I hope you’ll be happy here. See you later, Dayoung.”

“W-wait, hold on!!”

 

“Gasp!!”

 

“Dayoung, are you okay?”

 

Dayoung jolted upright, her entire body drenched in cold sweat. 

 

Minho, who had been sleeping beside her, quickly sat up and checked on her. Seeing her panting heavily and covered in sweat, he reached out to wipe the beads of perspiration from her forehead.

 

“Why are you sweating so much? Are you feeling sick? Dayoung, are you alright?”

 

“Yeah… I’m fine… Where are we…?”

 

“A temporary shelter. We were all worried about you, so everyone’s staying here.”

 

“Because of me? I… caused trouble… Can I go wash up, if that’s okay?”

 

“Sure. We kept the boiler running in the women’s bath in case you woke up. Can you get up?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

Minho looked at Dayoung with concern as she seemed different from usual. 

 

Somehow, her condition didn’t look good at all.

 

Dayoung gathered her bath supplies and a change of clothes from her second-floor room and headed up to the third floor. 

 

Unconsciously, she undressed in the changing room, showered, and sat in the bathtub. She wasn’t even sure how she had managed to get into the tub.

 

So much had happened today. She had recovered the real Dayoung’s memories and learned that the real Dayoung wasn’t someone destined to die. 

 

Quietly, she murmured, “M16A1, K2, rifles. K7 silenced submachine gun. K3 machine gun. K4 high-speed grenade machine gun. K5 pistol.”

 

These weren’t the real Dayoung’s memories either. 

 

In reality, the only experience Dayoung had with guns was trying live ammunition shooting once on a trip to Jeju Island. 

 

So… whose memories were these?