Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The clouds rumble loudly while rain fills the place. A group of students is on a rooftop, looking like a gang with no intention but evil.

“Why do you have to report that, huh?” says a guy who’s tall and athletic-looking, leaning down to a boy who’s struggling to stand up.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” he answers.

The taller guy stood up straight, looking down once again at the slim boy. He smirks before kicking his stomach. The latter groans loudly.

“Yah, Park Sunghoon. Why did you waste my time with this piece of shit?” the tall guy questions another man.

“Sorry, Yeonjun hyung—but he’s really a menace,” Sunghoon answers. Before Yeonjun can talk again, the slim guy attacks them.

Sunghoon pushes the guy right away, making him fall to the wet ground. His attention shifts to a girl whose name seems to be Shin Ryujin, according to her name tag. He tries to attack her, but Yeonjun hits him with a wooden stick. Sunghoon comes to the aid by placing his foot on the head of the slim boy. There’s something off about him, that boy. Veins start showing in his face as he pushes Sunghoon away. Yeonjun hits him again, but he doesn’t fumble. Instead, he tries to bite him.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Lee Heeseung?!” Yeonjun exclaims.

The guy attacks again, but this time Sunghoon throws his body towards him. The slim guy, Lee Heeseung, accidentally fell from the rooftop. Sunghoon looks at his body with a terrified face.

Yeonjun approaches him and says, “If you’re scared, I’ll push you down too.”

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Students from Hyosan High School are cleaning the whole place. Some students are tidying up the infirmary, while some are mopping the hallways. Jake sticks his head out of the third-floor window in front of their classroom. Below him, two teachers puff cigar.

“Look at that idiot,” Yujin snorted, nudging Rei upon seeing their classmate.

Yujin slides into the classroom, while Rei goes straight to Jake. She smacks his head and pulls him in, bringing him back inside the classroom.

“Why are you so slow?” Haerin asks her best friend, who seems to be struggling to wipe a small stain from their room’s window.

“Seriously, who did this?” Minji mutters as she scrubs the towel on the window stain.

“Hurry up, Kim Minji!” Haerin tells her.

“You do this, then? I swear, if I caught the idiot who did this…” Minji snaps at her, continuing to scrub that area of the window.

Behind the school, Ryujin is struggling to carry some trash. Some of her classmates leave her to do the task.

“I swear I’m gonna kill those assholes,” she tells herself while throwing the trash in the big garbage bin.

She’s about to leave when a rattling sound comes from behind the garbage bin. She stares at it for a few seconds, but shrugs that it might be an animal, so she ignores it. The noise grows louder, making her jump.

“What the fuck is that?” she whispers as she walks closer to the source of the noise. “Oh my gosh…Lee Heeseung?”

Heeseung hears her and turns towards her. His face was full of veins, his eyes were tinted white, and his mouth was bloody. He launches forward Ryujin, and bites her arms. The girl screams in pain.

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After cleaning, Minji and Haerin are walking in the school’s field. Minji complains about their restaurant being named after her.

“I told them to change it,” she says.

Haerin looks at her and answers, “I like it. Stop complaining, will you? Just appreciate it.”

“You’re only saying that cause it’s not you,” Minji rebuts.

“Yeah, so what? Hurry up, I’m hungry,” Haerin teases her.

Hanni and Danielle see them and greet them. The two inform them that they’ll come to the restaurant as well.

“I told you already. We’re not open yet,” Minji spits, obviously annoyed.

“You’re mom literally texted me. She even told me to bring some friends,” Hanni explains.

“She’s coming too…” Haerin says quietly while staring at Danielle.

“Yeah, I’m coming. So…this is like a double date?” Danielle seems to have heard her.

“Are you hearing yourself?” Hanni asks her with disgust in her face.

The four go to the restaurant. Minji’s mom serves them 2 plates of fried chicken, 1 bowl of tteokboki, and 1 plate of Korean hot dogs.

“You guys should eat a lot. Students should not be hungry,” Minji’s mom tells them. All are smiling except the daughter.

“Mom, I told you to change the name already. Why won’t you do it?” she complains.

“It was already named like that before you were born,” her mother answers.

“Exactly! It’s like you named me after the restaurant,” Minji argues.

“Just shut up, Minji. I like it so much, Auntie. Sounds so authentic,” Haerin smiles. “If you need a helper, I’m free.”

“You kids just study. Don’t worry about anything else yet. How was the chicken, Dani? Hanni?” she asks the two other girls.

“It’s good, just a bit salty,” Hanni answers while smiling. Danielle nods her head in agreement. The four go from one conversation to another until they reach the topic of Lee Heeseung, the son of their Science teacher.

“I don’t blame him for becoming like that. If my son were also bullied, I would also go crazy,” Danielle says.

“They said geniuses often go crazy,” Hanni mutters.

“Well, at least you don’t have to worry about going crazy,” Minji teases, making Danielle and Haerin laugh. Hanni looks at her in disbelief.

After eating, the four part ways. Minji and Hanni are just neighbors, so they go home together. Before entering her house, Hanni calls Minji.

“What? I have a lot of homework to do,” Minji tells her.

Hanni takes off her hair tie, bringing her soft, silky hair down. Minji stares at her, thinking about how it would feel to stroke them.

“Which side is better? Here or here?” Hanni asks her while tucking her hair into both ears. For Minji, it seems like time has stopped. Staring into her pretty childhood best friend like this feels like a fever dream. A feeling she can’t decipher. A feeling she can’t explain.

“Minji?” Hanni’s voice brought her back to her senses.

Minji answers, “You look so stupid.”

Before Hanni can react, she runs away. She locks their apartment door, not allowing Hanni to get revenge.

___________________________________

In a small house, Lee Byeongchan is panicking because his son confessed that he had bitten someone. He ties down his son for safety purposes.

“This can’t happen. The virus is going to spread,” he tells himself. He is reading his journals, trying to calm down.

“Dad…” Heeseung calls him, but he ignores it. He was focusing on his documents. He clicks the recording button of his laptop and starts documenting himself.

“Patient Zero has bitten someone. This cannot be good! The infection has started, but I must make sure to catch the girl no matter what to avoid further interactions,” he says to the camera.

When a rattling noise creates a loud sound, he finally looks at his son. Heeseung is tweaking, and his body is creating some cracking sounds. Byeongchan is frozen in place. He just watches his son transform into a viscous thing.

__________________________________

Behind Hyosan High School is a forest-like trail. Ryujin doesn’t know how she ended up there. She was just running and hiding away from Heeseung earlier. She can’t understand what’s wrong with him. She gets that she has done him wrong for being one of his bullies, but he was genuinely strange.

“What’s happening to me?” She is unsure of what’s going on. She doesn’t feel the same. After the bite, Ryujin’s vision becomes red and her hearing becomes sharper. She hates the feeling of it. She wants to go home, but her body feels heavy. She decides to slowly walk back to school.

___________________________________

Hanni sits in front of her father to eat breakfast. Her dad shares what happened at his work yesterday about cars crashing into each other.

“Make sure you’re always safe,” her dad reminds her.

“I’m not a kid anymore,” she answers.

“Even so. Health and safety are more important than grades. No matter how smart a person is, we’re all equal when it comes to accidents and illnesses,” he tells her. Hanni just sighs.

Their doorbell rings, indicating Minji’s arrival. Hanni grabs her bag and ignores her father’s lecture about finishing meals.

“Hurry up, shorty. We might be late,” Minji teases her as usual.

“How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?!” Hanni says as she tries to kick Minji, but fails.

In the richer compound walks Jang Wonyoung. She is wearing her earphones as usual, not caring about anything.

“Hey, Prez!” Yuna calls her. “Hey, Wonyoung!”

The class president just walks away. Choi Beomgyu and Kang Haerin, along with their friends, climb the gate. Beomgyu sees Yuna and greets her while hitting her. Hanni and Minji run towards the school after seeing the guard standing at the gate, making the countdown. Hanni ends up in the cut off, so Minji laughs at her.

Inside the school, Yujin sees Choi Yeonjun and his gang bringing two people into the restricted area of the school. She decides to follow them.

“You guys wanted this, right?” Yeonjun asks the two who they brought inside.

“W-we s-swear, we didn’t want to. It’s just that Mr. Kim was pushing us to s-speak,” the doe-eyed guy answers him.

“Are you kidding me, Taehyun? Do I look fucking stupid to you?!” Yeonjun shouts at the guy.

Yujin enters and sees the girl sitting on the floor with her uniform unbuttoned, while the guy is in front of Yeonjun with Sunghoon’s arms wrapped around him.

“We have a visitor,” A guy named Ni-ki speaks after noticing her presence.

“When will you guys grow up?” Yujin says while grabbing the girl’s cardigan.

“Don’t come clean, Ahn Yujin. You used to hang out with us. You’re no better,” Yeonjun tells her.

Yujin grabs the girl and helps her stand up. She’s about to grab Taehyun when Sunghoon covers him. Yujin stares him down with an intimidating look. Sunghoon steps aside, feeling the heaviness of the situation. The three are about to head out, but Sunghoon speaks.

“Yah, Kim Chaewon. Want me to send this to your mom?” he says.

The girl named Chaewon takes Yujin’s hand off her. She was scared that things might go worse.

“You don’t have to do this,” Yujin assures her.

The girl shakes her head. “If I leave, things will be worse tomorrow. Thank you, but you should go.”

Chaewon and Taehyun return to the bullies, accepting their cruelty. Yeonjun gives the tall girl a teasing smile. Yujin storms out of the building, annoyance written all over her face.

“Yujin, you good?” Hanni asks upon seeing her. She just nods.

The two head inside together. Hanni is looking at Yujin with heart eyes, looking happy to be walking with her crush. Yujin notices that Hanni is struggling with her bag and offers to carry it. Hanni’s heart skips a beat. They enter their classroom together. Hanni sits beside Danielle, who’s busy with her phone. The latter notices that her best friend looks bothered.

“What’s up with you?” Danielle asks her.

“What am I gonna do?” Hanni answers vaguely.

“About what? Are you okay?” her best friend asks again.

“I’ll tell you later,” Hanni answers. Danielle is not satisfied, so she wants to ask again, but Yuna enters the room after seeing Haerin sitting at her desk.

“Why are you acting like she’s dirty?” Jake asks harshly.

“Is she not?” Yuna rebuts.

“What is wrong with you?” Haerin can’t take it anymore, so she answers. The two end up shouting at each other again. Thankfully, their Homeroom teacher arrives.

“Today we have to study seriously. Exams are coming up, and I DO NOT want our class to rank last place. Give me your phones,” Ms. Im Nayeon commands.

The students hand in their phones one by one. Ms. Im is looking around when she remembers something.

“Has any of you seen Shin Ryujin? Her mom called me earlier. She said the Ryujin didn’t come home last night,” she informs the class.

“I saw her yesterday at the benches. That was the last time, but I know she just went to throw trash,” Yang Jungwon, the vice president, answers.

Ms. Im tells them to notify her if they have any news about Ryujin. She exits the classroom to put the phones in the office and to go ask the guards about Ryujin’s whereabouts. Ms. Im talked to every guard and staff member of the school to ask if they had seen Shin Ryujin, but nobody had seen the girl. Mr. Lee Byeongchan overhears her, so he follows her every move.

___________________________________

The class is having an English lesson. Ms. Im is teaching them how to translate Korean phrases into English. She asked a question, but no none wants to answer. She calls Wonyoung and asks her to answer. As usual, the class president nails it. The teacher’s attention shifts to Yujin, who seems to be interested in other things.

“Anddaengddaeng?” Ms. Im calls her. Yujin stands right away. All the attention is now on her.

“Why are you called Anddaengddaeng?” Ms. Im asks out of curiosity.

“It’s because her energy is like a puppy. She smells like a dog, too,” Rei explains, making the class erupt in laughter. Yujin glares at her.

“I see…Now, can you tell me what Wonyoung just said?” she asks her student. Yujin glances at Wonyoung, unsure of what she answered. Instead of answering, she just stares at the girl.

“I know that your class president is beautiful—but the answer isn’t in her face,” Ms. Im teases. Yujin just laughs it out. She’s about to answer when Ryujin appears at their door. Her nose is full of blood, and veins present in her neck. The class is terrified by what they’re seeing. Their classmate looks like she’s been through some kind of abuse.

“Ms. Im…” Ryujin speaks.

“Yes, it’s me. What happened to you?!” the teacher answers.

“Lee Heeseung, that bastard…h-he bit me, then I started feeling weird. I feel so sick,” Ryujin says while her body slightly tweaks. Her information causes different reactions from her classmates. Meanwhile, a girl decides to exit the classroom with her bag while clutching her stomach, going unnoticed by anybody.

“Let me carry her. Put her in my back,” Yujin offers, so Ms. Im guides Ryujin into her back.

Their teacher instructs Wonyoung and Jungwon to take care of the classroom. Yujin, along with Hanni and Danielle, rushes to the infirmary. The nurse comes to their aid, and Ms. Im follows inside the room. They put Ryujin in the bed as the nurse checks her temperature.

“Are you okay?!” Ms. Im asks Hanni after being scratched by Ryujin. The girl just nods. The teacher goes to call an ambulance, while the three students are helping the nurse to calm their classmate down.

In the classroom, the other students are making their theories about the context of what happened.

“Maybe he drugged her? I mean, isn’t he the son of our Science teacher?” Rei suggests.

“He probably went ballistic on her. She’s one of his bullies, so that doesn’t sound impossible, right?” Gaeul shares her theory.

“I think Rei’s right. He drugged her—but not for revenge…” Jake says while thinking deeply. “Oh my gosh! What if he drugged her to make porn?!”

Rei smacks his head and tells him to take his mind out of the gutter. The others just stares at him disgustingly.

“Why are you so mean to me, sister-in-law?” Jake complains.

Rei pushes his head harder. “I told you not to call me that!”

Before Jake can rebut, Danielle enters the room. Everyone circles her except Wonyoung, who’s busy studying. She receives different questions like what happened, or how Ryujin is. She shares the details with them, making them more scared.

“Where’s Hanni?” asks Minji.

“She got hurt…just a bit. Gosh, Ryujin went crazy in there,” Danielle answers with a sighing tone. Minji goes to look for Hanni right away. She goes to the infirmary first, but the girl is not there, so she goes to other places.

Outside the school, the ambulance is parked. Hanni’s scratch is being mended by her father. She tells him what happened, so her dad warns her about being careful. Ms. Im dismisses Yujin and Hanni first, so she could talk to the rescuers. The two head up the stairs. They look tired because of what happened. They are silently walking up when Hanni breaks the silence.

“Yujin, I want to talk about something,” she says confidently, but that contrasts with what she feels inside. Her stomach feels like a roller coaster and her heart feels like exploding.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Yujin stops in her tracks and faces Hanni. She’s confused when Hanni grabs her hand and puts something on it.

“This… I—” Yujin doesn’t know what to answer. “Y-you like me?”

Hanni nods to answer. She is looking down because she’s too shy to look at Yujin.

“But you and—”

“HANNI, ARE YOU OKAY?!” Yujin is disturbed by Minji’s loud voice.

When Minji arrives, she checks Hanni’s body and asks her if she’s okay. Hanni got annoyed and walked away.

“She was being careless again, wasn’t she?” Minji asks Yujin.

“Not really. Hey…you like Hanni, right?” Yujin questions.

“Yes,” she answers seriously. “That’s what you wanna hear, right? HAHAHA! Even if the world came to an end, I wouldn’t date her. Just because I like girls doesn’t mean I’ll go date her. Why did you ask, though?”

“Never mind that. I’m too hungry to think right, so I hope lunch is good,” Yujin dismisses her question.

“Why? Why did you ask that?” Minji pushes the question.

Yujin just shakes her head and answers, “I want Tonkatsu later.”

___________________________________

In the infirmary, the nurse seems bothered. She is having a nosebleed, and her eyes are turning red. She checks her temperature, and it’s also low like Ryujin’s. She tries to drink some medicine, but fails. Her body starts tweaking, while veins take over her face.

___________________________________

The bell rings, indicating lunch time, so the students head straight to the cafeteria. Hanni and Danielle are sitting together while eating their lunch. Danielle notices that her best friend is looking at the table where Minji, Haerin, Yujin, Rei, Jake, Beomgyu, and Jungwon are sitting.

“Minji will melt if you continue looking at her like that,” she teases. Danielle is probably the only person in school who knows Hanni’s sexuality.

Hanni rolls her eyes in response, “I wasn’t looking at her.”

“Yeah, sure. As if the whole school doesn’t know something is going on between you two,” Danielle tells her. The whole school finds Minji’s liking of the short girl pretty obvious, but they are unsure about Hanni’s sexuality.

“How could the whole school think that way? I would understand if we’re different genders. We’re both girls, so how could—”

“Girl, it’s the 21st Century. People are more open than you think. And…you guys have more chemistry than any straight couple that walked into this school. What’s up with you? You look so bothered,” Danielle eyes her suspiciously.

“It’s not her. Stop with the nonsense,” she dismisses her best friend’s suspicion.

“You guys sleep together?” Danielle blurts out of nowhere.

“What?! No! What’s wrong with you?” Hanni denies, almost dropping her chopsticks at what she heard.

“Hey, it’s okay. I won’t judge you,” Danielle pushes further.

“What?!! It’s not her, okay? I told Yujin that I like her,” Hanni finally confesses.

“What?! Y-yujin?!” Danielle exclaims.

“I…I gave her my name tag—”

“What?! Sooo, you threw yourself at her. What did she say?” Danielle comments.

“Nothing. I couldn’t get an answer,” Hanni says sadly as she looks at Yujin.

___________________________________

Inside the school, Yeonjun and Ni-ki are talking about lunch. They pass by the infirmary, and Yeonjun sees the nurse standing weirdly.

“She looks like an idiot,” Ni-ki laughs at her. Yeonjun snickers.

The nurse hears them, so she turns in their direction. She screams before launching herself towards the two boys. Ni-ki is bitten in the face, so Yeonjun tries to take her away. The nurse starts attacking other students, while Ni-ki transforms into a monster.

___________________________________

Outside the cafeteria are benches under the bridge. Wonyoung is sitting there quietly with earphones on and a book in her hands. She’s reading peacefully when someone steals her right earphone.

“You know, using earphones every time is bad for you,” Yujin says, trying to strike a conversation.

Wonyoung just stares at her. She’s confused about why the girl is talking to her.

“Can you give that back? Who even are you?” Wonyoung asks coldly.

“You don’t even know your classmate. You’re literally the class president,” Yujin sighs.

“It’s not my responsibility to know who you are. And for your information, I’m only the class president because my mom gives big donations here. I have no choice,” Wonyoung answers while looking at her book. She is unaware that Yujin is staring at her with a smile on her face.

“Why?” Wonyoung asks after seeing Yujin smiling at her.

“I never thought I would hear say something more than five words,” Yujin answers. Wonyoung smiles a little, but composes herself right away. She stands up, grabs her earphones from Yujin’s ear, then walks away. Yujin facepalms, regretting the way she approached the girl.

Back at the cafeteria, Danielle is forcing Hanni to talk to Minji and ask for her help about Yujin.

“Hey, Minji!” she shouts.

“Stop it, Danielle. I don’t want to,” Hanni declines, but it’s too late because Minji approaches them.

“What?” she questions.

“Hanni has something to ask you,” she says before leaving.

Minji’s attention is now on Hanni. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” she answers.

“C’mon, what is it? Is there a problem?” Minji insists on knowing.

Hanni looks at her, then sighs. She is torn on asking or not.

“Does Yujin like girls?” she asks her childhood friend.

“That’s not my business to tell. Why are you curious? Ask her if you want to know. You’re so nosy to everyone,” Minji tells her.

Hanni rolls her eyes and explains, “It’s not that. It’s just…earlier, I told her that I like her, but she didn’t answer. Do you think you could help me? You guys are pretty close, right? I mean, I don’t mind being rejected. I just want a clear answer from her.”

Just like that, Minji’s world starts crumbling down. Her best friend, the love of her life, is in love with another person. And to make things worse, it’s her other friend, Yujin. She’s about to answer Hanni and shove her away, but noises from students outside fill the peaceful air. They are trying to enter the cafeteria, but there are too many of them. The glass doors break, and everyone is panicking. Hanni is pushed down by some students, and there she witnesses how one student bites off the flesh of another.

Chapter Text

In the principal’s office, the issue about Shin Ryujin is being discussed. Ms. Im Nayeon reported what happened, so they picked up Mr. Lee Byeongchan from his office.

“Why did you bring her to the hospital?” he asks, panic written in his eyes.

“Your son attacked a student. Her condition was terrible, and bringing her to the hospital is your biggest worry?” The Principal questions him in disbelief.

“We have to go get her,” He says while heading to the door, but Coach Kang Daniel stops him. He keeps on shouting at them that it’s dangerous and the first thing they should do is to get her back, but Ms. Im and Coach Kang block his way.

“You need to calm down, Mr. Lee, or this could escalate quickly. We must resolve this first in here,” The Principal tells them.

Ms. Im looks at him and informs, “I already called the police.”

“What?! Why would you do that?! This is something that can be resolved here, then you—”

Before he can finish his complaints, two officers enter the room. The taller guy stares intently at Lee Byeongchan, handcuffs in his hands.

“We don’t need police here,” The principal says politely.

“It’s fine, sir. We are happy to help,” The officer tells them while smiling, eyes still stuck to Lee Byeongchan. “I’m Detective Jeon Jungkook. You wouldn’t mind coming with us, Mr. Lee Byeongchan, right?”

___________________________________

Chaos erupts across the cafeteria. Hanni is frozen in the ground, unable to move due to terror. Her eyes lock with the approaching figure—a strange student unnaturally moving towards her. Panic surges as he approaches her, and before she can react, he pins her down. The metallic smell of blood runs through her nose.

“PHAM HANNI!” Minji’s scream cuts through the noise. She shoves the guy above Hanni before he can bite her. She helps her friend up and pushes her under a table where another girl crouches for protection.

On the other side of the cafeteria, Park Sunghoon is being pushed by other students. He tries to run towards the exit, but his body slams into other students. He slips, body stuck to the ground, and one of the infected lands on top of him. Fear appears in his eyes. Choking, he stretches his free hand blindly and grabs a fork, stabbing it to the student’s neck. Blood drizzles across his face.

Minji is standing in the middle of the chaos, mind blank. She roams her eyes around the cafeteria and sees an open window.

“C’mon, Hanni! Over there,” she says, pointing. Hanni stands up and grabs the other girl’s hand. The three of them head towards the window, but another student collides with them, making the group split. Hanni grabs the girl again, but she tweaks, transforms, and lunges at Hanni.

“What’s wrong with you?” Hanni whispers to the girl on top of her. She’s using her hands to stop the girl from coming closer. Minji sees them and shoves the girl away from Hanni. Once again, fear takes over her body. Her feet don’t move. Tears form in her eyes as she looks around the chaos.

“Snap out of it!” Minji shakes her back to her senses. The two rush toward the table with other students. One by one, they exit the cafeteria through the window.

It isn’t better than the rest of the school. Wonyoung walks on the bridge, unaware of what’s happening. Students from both sides run past each other, running for their lives. An infected lunges itself at Wonyoung, but Yujin appears right on time. She kicks the infected and grabs Wonyoung’s hand. Together, they sprinted down the bridge.

“This way!” Yujin’s voice cracks, adrenaline fills her body. She doesn’t know what’s going on, but witnessing something like this is another level of scary for her.

“What’s going on?” Wonyoung’s voice trembles, barely audible. She’s able to ask while running.

“I don’t know—but stay close,” Yujin answers, making Wonyoung grip her hand tighter.

Inside the lobby, the noises of students are heard. Ms. Im and another teacher walk towards the stairs when they see the students running away from something.

“No running allowed inside the school!” The other teacher lectures.

Louder screams erupt inside. Three students run upstairs, while a bigger student with a foot stuck on a traffic cone chases them. The male teacher approaches him without knowing what’s happening. The student attacks the teacher.

Ms. Im frowns, “What are you doing?”

The student hears her and turns to her. His face is splattered with blood, and the teacher’s flesh hangs in his mouth. Ms. Im wants to run, but she feels her legs weaken. He tries to attack her, but the traffic cone in his left leg stops him from climbing up the stairs where the English teacher is holding her fellow teacher, who got bitten. She takes the chance to run away.

Minji and Hanni climb up the second floor using the truck that crashed into the building, while Yujin and Wonyoung continue to run away.

Inside Class 3-1, eight students hide themselves. Jungwon and Haerin hold the door, refraining anyone from letting anyone enter.

“I’m telling you they can’t open doors,” Haerin complains.

“Just hold it to make sure,” Jungwon tells her.

The peaceful classroom is disturbed by a bang in the door. Panic erupts among those inside the room.

“What are you doing?! Open the door!” Minji’s calm, but scared voice brings them back to their senses. Beomgyu tries to stop the door from opening, but Haerin pushes him away.

Haerin assures them, “It’s just Minji.”

Rei, Gaeul, Liz, and Yuna hide behind Danielle, terrified that the two who entered the room are infected. After seeing her best friend, Danielle, run straight to Hanni and hug her.

“How is it outside? Still the same?” Haerin asks them. Minji shakes her head, not knowing what to say. Just then, another person tries to open the door again. Rei, who’s now close to the door, pushes it tighter.

“Fuck! Sister-in-law, it’s me!” Jake informs her, so they let him in.

“What happened to you?” Beomgyu asks upon seeing his state. He’s covered in white stuff, making him look like he just took a bath and did not rinse.

He informs that some crazy person used the fire extinguisher like a maniac. Minji tries hard not to laugh, knowing it was Hanni who did that.

“What the fuck is going on?” Jake blurts out as he wipes his face.

Minji answers, “It’s Train to Busan.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Beomgyu looks at her in disbelief.

“Maybe she hit her head while running away,” Jake comments.

“Their the same, right? Their Zombies, I’m telling you. Take a look for yourself,” Minji grabs his hand and brings him in the window. They’re observing the place when a hand slams the window. Jake and Beomgyu fall backward, while Minji and Rei try to push the person.

“It’s Yujin, you two idiots,” Jake pushes them away and helps the girl. Hanni stands from her seat upon hearing Yujin’s name.

“Prez, hurry up! Grab my hand!” Yujin says the moment she lands in the room. She stretches her hand to the class president to help her up. Wonyoung was able to grab it before an infected lunges at her, making the extension ladder fall. Yujin guides her inside carefully, holding her hand and arm. Hanni sees the interaction and feels a knot twist in her stomach.

“This is so tiring,” Yujin says as she lies on the floor breathing heavily. Yuna, Gaeul, and Liz step backwards, scared that the girl might be infected.

___________________________________

Lee Byeongchan is inside the interrogation room. He roams his eyes around, silently hoping that the virus is spreading slowly.

“I don’t understand why I’m handcuffed. I didn’t do anything wrong,” he says the moment Detective Jeon enters the room.

“I’m not interested in what you’re son did to that girl. You were seen 4 months ago entering a lab and stealing something from it. Based on the school’s report, the girl looked like she had been abused. Did you use those chemicals on your son?” Detective Jeon questions him. Lee Byeongchan just smirks.

“Locking me up will make things worse. They shouldn’t have brought the girl to the hospital,” he tells him, looking directly into his eyes.

Detective Jeon feels offended, so he brings up his bullied son. Tension fills the air of the room; none of them wants to back down.

___________________________________

Inside the classroom, the whole class decides to check for phones inside their classmates’ bags.

“Here! It’s Lia’s phone,” Danielle beams after finding it. She opens the phone, but it is locked. They all suggest different passwords, but sadly, all of them fail. Minji starts checking the infected outside their room.

“There she is,” Minji says, grabbing the phone from Danielle and holding it in front of Lia. The others just stare, while Wonyoung gives a judgmental face.

“Put it closer,” Yujin’s suggestion is enough to trigger Hanni. She informs her stupid childhood friend that they don’t need to unlock the phone to call for an emergency. Minji dials the emergency contact.

“Hello, how can we help you?” a voice from the line greets her.

“We’re in trouble. At Hyosan High School, a lot of people are going crazy, attacking each other. There are zombies here!” She explains.

“Are you aware that calling for pranks can lead to jail?” the person on the other line says, not believing her.

“I’m not pranking you! There are really zomb—”

“Fuck! They cut the call,” Minji is now frustrated.

“You shouldn’t have told them that. Nobody would believe that,” Jungwon comments, still holding the door closed. Before Minji can answer, Hanni grabs the phone from her hand and dials another number.

“Hello, this is Hyosan Fire Department. What can I do for you?” a man answers the call.

“Hi. Is Pham Mihn Tu there? This is her daughter, so maybe I could—”

“If this isn’t important, you shouldn’t call for an emergency,” the guy on the line says firmly.

Hanni is panicking, not knowing what to say next. She comes up with a reason, “There’s Fire! Here at Hyosan High, room 3-1.”

___________________________________

In the hospital, Shin Ryujin is being tested by nurses. They want to check what’s wrong with her body and brain. They are about to run through the test when the girl starts tweaking again.

“What is wrong with her?” a nurse says, walking closer to Ryujin. That is not a good idea because the student bends her body and attacks her.

From the outside of the room, rattling noises are heard. All people near it stare at it. A few seconds pass, then the two nurses rush out of the room. One of them is bleeding. They tell everyone to run away while the fully transformed Ryujin chases them.

___________________________________

In the Cafeteria, Sunghoon manages to hide inside the kitchen. He’s sitting below a cramped metal table with two other students. The girl keeps on making noises, preventing herself from crying. When Sunghoon notices an infected person is nearing them, he pushes the girl away.

“She should’ve been quiet,” another boy with them mutters quietly. Sunghoon looks at him, contemplating something. When the boy notices it, he shakes his head, silently pleading.

“Sorry,” Sunghoon says before kicking him away. Another infected attack. Unfortunately, its eyes lock with him, so he doesn’t have a choice but to escape. He’s already struggling to fight off one zombie, but another starts coming for him. He sees a knife and uses it to kill the two infected.

“What the fuck is happening?!” he asks himself after seeing what their school looked like.

Back in the classroom, the thirteen students sit quietly. Nobody knows what’s going to happen to them. Everything is uncertain after Hanni made the call. Yuna starts getting annoyed, whining every now and then. She slowly approaches Wonyoung, waking Yujin’s guards up. One thing she knows about Yuna is that she’s trouble.

“Hey, you. Do something, you. Do something,” she tells Wonyoung. The girl just looks at her in return.

It’s Liz who gives her an answer, “What can she do?”

“She should do something. You’re the class president, right? You should make a proper contribution,” Yuna argues, making Yujin stand up from her seat.

“How about you do us a favor and shut up? That could be your contribution here,” Yujin hisses at her. The girl is starting to get on her nerves.

“Why are you in my business, Ahn?” she responds with a question, but before Yujin can answer, Wonyoung rises from her seat and grabs her hand. She comes face-to-face with Yuna.

“Should I go out there? Should I go out to call the teachers? Will that do?” Wonyoung suggests possible things she can do.

Yuna looks at her, hiding her intimidation. “…well, if you’re offering.”

It’s enough for Yujin to lunge at the girl. Fortunately for Yuna, Jake stops the girl from moving towards her. Hanni cuts through the argument.

“That’s enough, both of you. She’s just saying that because you’re the class president,” she reasons, but regrets it right away after seeing the disbelief look on Yujin’s face.

“You guys are funny,” Wonyoung’s statement makes everyone look at her.

“What’s funny?” Gaeul questions.

“Now that we’re in this mess…I’m your class president,” she says as she eyes them one by one.

“Enough. We called for help, so let’s just wait,” it’s Minji who speaks up.

“But no one’s coming!” Yuna whines again.

“Why don’t you go out there?” Haerin shouts, already fed up with the girl’s complaints. With that, the two start arguing again while others just look at them. Their fight is cut off when a person enters the room, making everybody jump.

“Coach Kang,” Jungwon states upon seeing their P.E. teacher. Everyone’s guard is up because of the new arrival.

“You guys are alright? That’s great,” he expresses in a bothered tone, Yujin notes.

“You’re okay, sir? You weren’t bitten, were you?” Yuna questions, letting her guard down. The teacher shakes his head and orders them to barricade the door. Finally, relief to have an adult, the students follow their teacher’s order.

Danielle pulls Hanni into a corner. “Hanni…look at his arm.”

“What the hell?” Hanni’s eyes widen upon seeing a bite mark on their teacher’s right arm.

“Can you two move away?” Haerin tells them while carrying a desk. Danielle grabs her arm and points at Coach Kang’s arm.

“Oh my!” She sighs loudly after seeing it. She looks around the classroom, unsure of how to approach the situation. She locks eyes with Yujin by accident, so she takes the moment to point her eyes to the arm of the teacher. Yujin follows her friend’s worried expression, and when she finally sees it, she sighs.

“Coach, you said you weren’t bit,” This is going to be a rough fight.