“Jeong Ho-hyun?”
"yes."
“Today’s examination is over. The appointment is scheduled for next week, and next week you only have blood drawn and no detailed examination.”
The staff of the choreography department spoke quickly in a voice without an accent. His gaze was fixed on the monitor, not me. After all, the staff always say the same thing. As I listened, I turned my head away. Dozens of patients and caregivers were sitting on the sofa in the waiting room. News reports played on the large TV set in front of him.
[Disease Control Headquarters developed 'One-to-one virus' therapeutic antibody, confirming the effect of animal test papers]
[There is a hole in the quarantine system, neglecting the management of suspected infection patients... Re-examine the problem of insensitivity to safety that is prevalent in society]
Several months have passed. Day by day, the name of our school goes up and down in the news, and reporters come and go so many times that the hospital threshold wears off. Occasionally, a familiar face appeared on TV under the title Survivor Interview. It took time to get used to it, but it still felt weird.
It was obvious where those therapeutic antibodies came from. It must have been extracted from the blood that was drawn last week by inserting a needle into my forearm. The blood you just drew will go somewhere else to be studied.
There is something called the anti-D vaccine. It is the name of a treatment for a rare disease that affects people with the Rh- blood group. Since this vaccine cannot be made artificially, very few antibody holders have to donate blood consistently throughout their lives. The same was true of the virus that spread through this disaster. No, in this case the situation was even worse. Because I was the only person with the antibody that had been identified so far.
Even after the campus was closed, infected people came out one after another. Some of the people who escaped the campus were already infected, and some were transmitted through animals. A terrible thing happened when the person who had been rescued thinking it was just a cold because he had a high fever suddenly mutated in the ambulance.
The government mobilized the military and police to move quickly. Those with abnormal symptoms were quarantined, access to the vicinity of the campus was controlled, and the entire area was thoroughly disinfected. It was the best course of action for them.
However, while it may slow the spread of the virus, it cannot completely stop it. It was impossible unless they killed all suspected infections. I couldn't even heal someone who was already infected. I have no choice but to watch the scene where my heart stops completely after suffering pain and then comes back to life in a terrible state. If the animal test was successful, I just hope that the vaccine will be successfully developed and that there will be no more deaths.
I still didn't feel it. Getting out of school and getting back to normal. I slept late under the blanket, ate every meal, took a refreshing shower, changed into new clothes, and fiddled with my phone, but reality felt like a dream. The memory of walking around the frozen campus covered in blood and dust was rather vivid.
Ever since I was rescued from the snowy mountains, I've had nightmares every single day. The repertoire was also very diverse. It was a dream that I escaped, and when I woke up, I was still inside the campus, or a virus spread to the outside world and everyone was killed in droves. He received psychiatric treatment for survivors, but there was no significant effect.
“See you at the next reservation. Goodbye."
The employee who clicked the mouse with a dry face bowed his head and said hello. The voice woke me from my thoughts. I was handed a medical card, greeted each other out of habit, and turned around.
The university hospital lobby was crowded as always. Are there people among them who have lost their families or lovers to the zombie virus? If the countless deaths I witnessed on campus had been a bit lucky, would they have been alive and waiting in this lobby for their turn to be treated?
Conversely, if I had been a bit unlucky, I would have died without getting out of school. Like the many corpses that were there. And time... … .
“Did you see me die?”
<… … yes.>
Back to Christmas morning again. Because when I die, the only person with antibodies will be gone, and then the world will become a literal nightmare.
We couldn't find an answer at all. Why did the senior go against time and why did he have to be the subject who remembers everything? Was it God's arrangement, the devil's trick, or did my senior and I hallucinate at the end of an extreme situation?
It's futile to think about it now. So far, we've been through too many unreality. It was unrealistic from the point of view of a dead person reviving as a monster. It's just one more addition to the unresolved questions that have piled up like a mountain.
I headed for the exit across the spacious lobby. Strangers constantly passed me by. Just before I came out completely, I caught a glimpse of the title of an article on TV through the glass door.
