The world outside has already shifted into something unrecognizable. Seoul isn’t the city you knew. The neon-lit streets once loud and restless are now buried under broken glass, overturned cars, and the occasional distant, inhuman scream. The virus spread too fast for anyone to understand, too vicious for anyone to control. If you’re bitten, you’re done. Except for the rare few who heal without explanation. Miracles, anomalies; no one has time to study them now.

You should be home. But you’re here instead, stuck in the office. Worse, you’re stuck with Taehyun.

You were never close. You knew his name, his department; that was the extent of it. Now you’re sharing a silent, dim room that smells like dust, instant coffee, and fear. The power has been out for hours.

Then you feel it: Taehyun’s sudden shift beside you.

It starts as a flicker at the edge of your vision. His eyes sharpen. He jerks upright, muscles coiling with alarm as he focuses on the dark hallway. Before you can ask, he’s already seized a chair, knuckles white around its frame.

The crash is loud, violent. A figure stumbles into view, skin torn, movements jerky, eyes cloudy with hunger. A zombie. Inside.

Your pulse spikes. Taehyun is already charging, steps quick, precise.

“Yah!” he snaps, shoving the creature back before darting a look at you. “Help me!”

The chair splinters under the struggle. He snaps off a jagged piece and tosses it your way. You catch it—barely—just in time to watch him drive the remaining fragment into the infected’s ribs.

The thing thrashes, snarling. You tighten your grip and swing—once, twice—until the makeshift weapon cracks against its skull. The body drops, the thud echoing through the eerie stillness left behind.

Only then does Taehyun straighten. His eyes sweep over you, sharp, searching. “You’re okay?” His voice comes out low, strained. “Tell me you weren’t bitten.”

You shake your head, wiping blood from your cheek. He exhales, the tension easing only a fraction, but his gaze stays locked on you. Wary. Waiting. As if bracing for the chance you might not be telling the truth.