Gangnam, Ground Zero

Target Practice

"It can't be that hard. It looks easy on TV."

Seungcheol amended, taking the handgun first from the collection, it looked the easiest considering he didn't at all know what he was doing. One watches enough cop shows and action movies that firing a gun looks simple enough. Take off the safety, pull the trigger enough times to empty the magazine, take that out and replace it with a new one.

The hard part was not knowing how to take off the safety, and having no idea how to take out the magazine.

"Hold it tight, I think they get a lot of pull back when they fire."

Taeyeon suggested, from where she was hidden behind him. He wanted to thank her for that vote of confidence. Her previous helpful comment had been to point the gun at a wall and never take the aim off no matter what, which seemed just like basic knowledge.

"It looks like there's some little buttons on here. One of these has to be the safety."

Cheol pressed one of them, only to jump back in surprise as the magazine unlocked and partially fell loose. He grabbed it before it could fall and shoved it back in, making sure it was connected again.

"That must make this one the safety."

He whispered, pressing the other button he saw and waiting for a heartbeat. When nothing much appeared to happen, he steadied his hold on the gun, cautiously keeping all his fingers out of the way. He held it fairly tight and then gently pulled the trigger, afraid that doing it too fast might make something go wrong.

When it unloads a bullet, the power startles him at how much the gun moves back towards his chest. The sound feels like he's partially deafened himself. But it seemed to be a decent success.

"Good job!"

Taeyeon praises and tells him to keep practicing while she surveys the area, promising not to get anywhere near the wall he's using as a target. Seungcheol empties the magazine, putting the safety on and pulling the trigger to make sure nothing fires, then taking the safety off and firing a round. When there's nothing left he puts the safety on, takes the mag out and searches for a new one.

Loading it in, he does some more practice until he feels confident. Double checking the safety, he puts one handgun into the inner pocket of his jacket, and another tucked into the back waistband of his jeans. Taeyeon returns around that time, triumphantly waving a map.

They hop into the armored truck and swing the doors shut enough that if one of the infected creatures came by, they wouldn't be seen. She lays the map out on the floor of the truck and Seungcheol grabs a small flashlight and shines it onto the map.

"We seem to be about here, right in the center of Yongsan."

Taeyeon points, probably having found a few street names to pinpoint their location. Seungcheol curses under his breath as the girl shakes her head.

"We're right in the middle of the damn city."

"Well, technically we're a little further south of the middle-"

She stops talking at the look he gives her. Those aren't the specifics that matter, they need to focus on more important things.

"Our best chances would be east or south. I'd prefer to avoid Gangnam all together because that's where this all started. So that leaves us choices anywhere between Yang-cheong to Seocho."

Taeyeon says and Seungcheol leans over her shoulder, tracing through the districts. He has to agree, everything about going through Gangnam seems like a horrible idea. In fact Seocho is too close for his liking.

"How about we go south, through Dongjak and Gwanak?"

He offers and Taeyeon takes a moment to consider it. She follows the route with her finger before nodding her head.

"Not the most direct, but a relatively faster trip than heading east. And hopefully safer being distanced from Gangnam. Let's do it."

3:39: A plan is formed.

Taeyeon folds the map up and tucks it away into a pocket. Seungcheol decides to keep the flashlight, handing one to Taeyeon. Then he stuffs a couple extra mags into a different pocket of his jacket before cautiously swinging open the door.

"Doesn't it worry you that these men, in bulletproof armor, were dead before any supernatural attack."

Seungcheol points out and Taeyeon anxiously bites on her lip. She takes her bat and uses the end off it to flip over one of the bodies. Each of them muffles a gasp, spying the bullet hole through his forehead. Each body they check is the same, a wound in a place that should've been impossible to hit.

"This is either done by a trained sniper or the literal god of marksmanship. Nobody could've made hits like this."

Taeyeon whispers, her fingers curling around Seungcheol's wrist as she tries to get him to lean closer. She has something to say and it clearly isn't allowed to be heard by anyone else.

"I think the government doesn't want anyone getting out of here alive. Taking away the more average heroes, like these guys, left people with nothing."

She breathes the words into his ear and chills run down his spine because something inside of him knows that she's correct. The barricades were put up, the people within Seoul trapped, and their connection to the outside was taken away. They were meant to be trapped here, to live or die in this wasteland.

"They can't stop us from climbing the fences and freeing ourselves. So let's move."

Seungcheol says softly, pulling Taeyeon along with him. She matches his pace but both their moods have been darkened by this revelation.

"It shouldn't take more than a few hours to make it to the barricades, that's better than I would've originally expected."

Taeyeon says and he glances at her. There's hope in her voice, like she believes they could be out of this entire mess before the sun has reached the highest point in the sky. Seungcheol doesn't have the heart to tell her that it'll never be that easy.