ᴮˡᵒᵒᵈ ᵒⁿ ᵒᵘʳ ᴴᵃⁿᵈˢ . ᴬˡˡ ᵒᶠ ᵁˢ ᵃʳᵉ ᴰᵉᵃᵈ ¹

ᶠⁱʳᵉ ᵉˢᶜᵃᵖᵉ

Ji-min stood beside On-jo, holding onto the girl as tears fell from her eyes, mourning her best friend. Aeja had stopped crying a while ago, but she was still upset that Su-hyeok was no longer with them.

"Let's go out," Cheong-san announced. "We can't last here much longer."

"Where would we go? And how?" Wu-jin asked.

"The rope from earlier," Cheong-san said before facing the two that were holding the door shut. "Gyeong-su, Aeja."

"Yes?" Aeja hummed.

"What?" Gyeong-su asked.

Aeja then noticed the look that Cheong-san was giving, "You wanna open the door, don't you?"

"Open it just a little," Cheong-san replied. "Just enough for the hose to fit."

"Isn't it better to wait until the rescuers come?" Gyeong-su asked.

"We could die if we wait," Cheong-san said. "Especially if we're waiting here."

"This might kill us faster," Gyeong-su replied. "If we-"

"Is waiting for someone the best thing we can do?" Cheong-san asked.

Gyeong-su sighed, "Screw it. I've never given my best at anything other than playing."

The door was slowly slid open, just enough for Cheong-san to reach his arm out so he could grab the hose. But it was too far away.

As if it couldn't get any worse, a zombie then came by, kicking the hose further away from him.

Cheong-san shut the door and went into the supply room nearby. He emerged a moment later with the arm from the human body mannequin. 

After a few tries, Cheong-san was able to pull the hose in. He pulled the entire thing in until it stopped.

Aeja stayed holding the door as Gyeong-su went over to help Cheong-san.

"Help me make knots," Cheong-san said.

Ji-min walked over, "How?"

"Wrap it and tie it," Cheong-san demonstrated. "So a hand or foot can fit."

"Big enough for a foot?" Ji-min said.

"Zigzag," Joon-yeong called out to them. "Tie them in a zigzag. In 50 centimetres."

Once the knots had been tied, Cheong-san went over to the open window and threw the hose over the window. A chair was placed in front of the window so everyone could climb out easily.

The hose made it down past a few floors, but it didn't reach the bottom of the building.

"I'll go down and check the empty rooms," Cheong-san said. "Come when I tell you to."

However, upon seeing On-jo, who was still visibly upset, Cheong-san changed his mind.

"Gyeong-su, you go first," Cheong-san said, climbing back down.

"Why? Did you see something?" Gyeong-su asked.

"No. You go," Cheong-san shook his head.

"What's down there?" Gong-su didn't seem convinced.

"Just go," the others nearby began muttering.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of it, Gyeong-su slowly began making his way down, taking one step after the other.

Na-yeon approached the window, "I want to go first."

However, Cheong-san kept her back, "One person at a time. You might fall if it shakes too much."

"I won't shake it. How long do I have to wait?" Na-yeon asked, growing anxious.

"Just a little while," Cheong-san answered.

Just then, Gyeong-su's voice shouted up. "Guys! It's Ms Park!"

"Gyeong-su is with Ms Park," Cheong-san said to the others.

"Ms Park? In the broadcasting room?" Dae-su asked.

One after the other, the students climbed down the hose to the broadcasting room.

First was Na-yeon, then Dae-su, Ji-min, Hyo-ryung, Joon-yeong and then Wu-jin. When Nam-ra went down, Aeja grabbed a sticky note and a pen from nearby.

Su-hyeok, we're in the broadcasting room.

Stay safe.

- Aeja

While she was trying to place the note on the wall, Cheong-san walked over to On-jo, who was still sitting at the desk.

"Go down," Cheong-san pleaded.

"I-sak..." On-jo mumbled.

"You have to get it together. Everyone in here lost a friend, On-jo," Cheong-san exclaimed. "Do you know how many people have died already?"

"There's just no one left that I like," On-jo replied with a sniffle.

"Well, there are people who like you. Like your dad. And..." Cheong-san trailed off. "You have to stay alive for them."

On-jo gave in, making her way to the hose and began climbing down.

The door edged open a little more, making Aeja run over and shut it again.

"Aeja, you go next," Cheong-san said.

"No, you go," Aeja replied, holding onto the door. "On-jo needs you, now more than ever. Go."

Cheong-san knew he'd never win this fight, so he gave in. Once On-jo got off the hose, Cheong-san began climbing down. 

"Be careful," he said to Aeja, who just nodded.

As Cheong-san reached the bottom of the hose, Aeja walked away from the door and towards the window, beginning to prepare for her descent. But just as she grabbed the hose, the sound of snarling caught her attention.

Aeja looked up, just in time to see the barriers break and the zombies heading right towards her. One crashed into her, sending them both off the window sill and falling to the ground below.

Meanwhile, in the broadcasting room, everyone saw two bodies fly down to the ground. Everyone's breath hitched and their hearts began to pound.

Was Aeja okay? 

Or had she just fallen to her doom?

(:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅[̲̅:♡:]̲̅:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅)

Jae-ik looked at Byeong-chan, a stern yet confused look on his face.

"A virus?" Jae-ik said. 

Byeong-chan nodded once, making Jae-ik sigh.

"So you're telling me, that this whole mess started with a virus made by a high school science teacher?" Jae-ik concluded. "Tell me, why would you do something like this?"

"Detective," Byeong-chan began. "How far would you go to make sure Aeja was okay? Or any of your children? Would you let your child just die? No parent in the world could do that."

"I don't wanna hear that bullshit. Just answer the question," Jae-ik sighed. "What kind of virus is it and how-"

A police officer suddenly entered the room, a worried look on his face. "Jae-ik. Code red. Chief needs everyone right now. Come on, hurry."

"It's too late," Byeong-chan said as Jae-ik and the police officer began to leave. "We're all dead. There's no hope for survival."