Dead Man Switch Chapter 1.8

 

* * *

 

After the physical fight, the atmosphere went down to its absolute worst. Yoon Jun-seok, who had barely recovered from collapsing on the floor, disappeared into that corner alone, silently fuming. There was a loud cracking sound coming from the direction he went. He seemed to be so angry that he was breaking and beating the furnishings.

 

I went into the shower, not wanting to see others floundering in despair. I sat on a parched marble floor under a translucent glass partition installed in each seat.

 

I leaned my back against the cold tile wall and fiddled with my useless cell phone. The internet and the phone were still disconnected. Messages from family and friends also remained disconnected. However, since the electricity still came on, I thought I could use it as a watch or flashlight if I charged it on time.

 

I swiped the screen and pressed the university community app. I couldn’t see the latest article because the Internet wasn’t working, but the article that was posted about two or three days ago was saved. At that time, it seemed to be the last time when data communication was possible.

 

[Anonymous]

 

Title: How not to get infected with zombies

 

Text: Press like within 10 seconds.

 

Write filial piety within 10 minutes.

 

My parents have been healthy for 10 years without getting infected.

 

[Comments]

 

Anonymous: filial piety

 

Anonymous: filial piety

 

Anonymous: filial piety

 

Anonymous: filial piety

 

Anonymous: filial piety

 

Anonymous: filial piety

 

……

 

 

 

[Anonymous]

 

Title: I’m a graduate student

 

Sentence: Nothing’s going on in our lab?

 

Nothing has changed and people are the same as usual.

 

You guys are messing around, right?

 

[Comments]

 

Anonymous: Of course it would be the same. The humans there are usually zombies

 

└Anonymous: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

 

[Anonymous]

 

Title: I’m a young man in his 20s, and all my peers are infected.

 

Sentence: It’s the end of the century. This is all because of the current president.

 

 

“Aren’t they pure lunatics?”

 

 

This situation was neither a novel nor a movie. A person actually died. Until a few days ago, countless ordinary college students who studied hard for the final exam and dreamed of the upcoming vacation lost their lives.

 

I can’t believe they’ve been joking around in such a situation. My head throbbed with pain. I shouldn’t have watched it.

 

The screen was inadvertently refreshed. Only the warning phrase “Please check the network connection status” was left in the place where the goal-hitting message was posted. Annoyed, I turned off the screen and stuffed my smartphone into my pocket.

 

While everyone lost their composure, only sunbae was fine. He roughly wiped the water with a shared towel on the shower rack and sat down next to me. A flush of color ran across his cheeks. He took off the mask that covered half of his face and looked strangely young with his dry hair roughly disheveled.

 

“You know, hoobae-nim.”

 

“What?”

 

He even talks refreshingly as if nothing had happened. I wondered if that person couldn’t grasp the atmosphere or if he did it on purpose.

 

No matter how well-heated the room was, it was in the middle of winter, and he was wearing a black short-sleeved T-shirt that was worn under his outerwear. I tried not to see the scars engraved like graffiti on his solid forearm.

 

“Were you surprised? Earlier.”

 

“Earlier? Yes. No, well. It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t surprised.”

 

“It’s a little difficult for me to control my anger.”

 

He raised his heavy-lidded eyes, which were still falling down. The black eyes flashed momentarily.

 

“He was about to harm you, so I got angry for a moment. I can’t help it because I feel dirty. You understand that, right? Yea?”

 

What do you mean ‘understand’? I’ll never understand. How can a normal person understand the way an abnormal person thinks?

 

“Yes, sunbae-nim. Of course I understand.”

 

I smiled as innocently as I could.

 

“Really?”

 

“Sure.”

 

“No. Hoobae-nim doesn’t even know how I feel. If you know, you can’t say it that easily.”

 

He turned his head. My fake smile cracked.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

I don’t know why, but I apologized first. It wasn’t because the bloody fire axe that sunbae had leaned against the wall kept coming into view.

 

“Do you know what you did wrong? Is it all you need to apologize?”

 

“…….”

 

“That’s it. You’re always like that.”

 

I couldn’t force myself to laugh any more. I felt like a bad guy who made my lover suffer.

 

“What can I do to make you feel better?”

 

Yoon Jun-seok and Ki Young-won were all out of their minds. In this desperate situation, the seniors fought among themselves and the juniors were mesmerized, so I was the only one who was caught in between. I suddenly became sad.

 

“Ho-hyeon ah.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Hyeon ah.”

 

“……yes.”

 

The second answer came a little late. It was because sunbae suddenly leaned over and leaned his head on my shoulder. It was too friendly skinship between us. My body stiffened up.

 

“It was really hard for me. Really……. So you comfort me.”

 

Moisturized wet hair tickled the back of my neck. Every time he spoke, a gentle tremor spread over my shoulder. The way of speaking was more loose than usual, when he used to have a lot of sharp edges.

 

“How can I console you?”

 

Sunbae chuckled softly.

 

“Hmm… with your body?”

 

“With my body?”

 

I was startled by the carelessness. I wish it was my illusion, but I’m sure it was reality, but the nuance sounded a little strange. Sunbae laughed a little louder.

 

“Why are you so scared, pretty? So cute. Afraid that I’ll eat you up?”

 

Wait? What? Pretty? Chill ran down my spine. I decided to forget the title I had just heard. I thought it would be better to say ‘this bastard’ and ‘that bastard’ like Yoon Jun-seok instead.

 

“What did you think of?”

 

“I didn’t think of anything.”

 

“You’re lying.”

 

“It’s true.”

 

“Tell me. What were you thinking?”

 

“I won’t tell you.”

 

“Why?”

 

He grumbled his last words and rose up. He was smiling broadly, out of proportion to his appearance. I had an ominous hunch.

 

“By any chance, this?”

 

Sunbae asked refreshingly, making a circle with one hand as if he were signing OK, poking the hole with the index and middle fingers of the other hand. It was a blatant sign that didn’t need any additional explanation.

 

My expression naturally distorted. In the meantime, what the hell was the use of two fingers? Is he bragging about his size? I hated finding out about this. I wanted to turn on the shower on the wall right away and wash my eyes and ears under running water.

 

“Are you crazy?”

 

“Ahahahahaha.”

 

A curse came out without realizing it. He finally couldn’t hold it in and burst into laughter. Lying his back head against the hard marble wall, he laughed aloud, and then he spread his arms at me with a soft, loose face. A whitish light that had permeated from outside the shower room cast over his face.

 

“Ho-hyeon ah. Just once. Let me give you a hug.”

 

It was strange. This situation itself was so strange. How long have you known me? I got goosebumps slowly from my fingertips to my toes. I felt out of place. It felt like watching a movie with the wrong subtitles. It was like finding the way while holding the map upside down.

 

I wanted to ask him why he’s doing this to me. I don’t know him at all, and I wanted to ask who the hell he’s overlapping with me. But I didn’t think I should. At that moment, something that was forcibly frozen and pasted seemed to break.

 

Yes, a hug would be such a big deal in a situation where life goes back and forth and blood splashes. They say they’ll grant the wishes of the dead, but the wishes of the living are nothing. After hesitation, I opened my arms awkwardly. He hugged me tightly around my back as if he had been waiting. The firm and wide arms reached me like the tide. It would have been very ridiculous for two grown-up boys to sit on the floor of the public shower and hug each other.

 

“Your heart is beating fast.”

 

He smiled quietly as he focused on hugging me with his cheek resting on me. A shudder spread from where his voice touched. It tickled me. I shrank slightly without realizing it. The sound of each other’s breath and heart beating was too loud. He smelled of unsuitably sweet body wash.

 

“These bastards have already died once, so my heart is not beating. but yours beat. Because you’re alive. So I’m relieved.”

 

“…….”

 

“Merry Christmas, Jeong Ho-hyeon.”

 

He buried his head in the back of my neck. He took a deep breath and rubbed the tip of his nose slightly as if he wanted to feel the scent. A big hard hand supported my back.

 

The whole thing was indescribably strange. The question still showed no sign of being resolved. The same was true of tensions. Even in my warm arms, I became more anxious, rather than relieved.

 

But I couldn’t resist him either. I was held in his arms for such a long time.

 

* * *

 

That was the end of the brief peace found in the chaos. That night, after tossing and turning for a long time, we heard an eerie sound in our ears. One by one, we were awakened from our slumber by a noise that seemed to be digging our nerves.

 

Crack, crack, crack. Someone was scratching at the iron door outside. Like crazy, not caring about the nails and fingers getting ruined.

 

The sound was not one.