The Girl Wants to Be Murdered

TL/Editor: Butter Cat

Status: 4/week mon-thurs

Illustrations: none

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〈 Chapter 100 〉 888. The Chapter of the Girl and the Zombie (12)

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**

With the intense smell of blood, the sharp piercing sound, and the unsettling feeling of not having a proper place to stand.

No.

Don't.

Please, don't do that.

—Thwack, whack!

"—Stop!! Stop it, you bastards!!!"

["—■■■,■....­!"]

I desperately swung my arms, trying to somehow block their advance.

Yeon-ah and Jung-eun, also grasping the situation, stood beside me to try and block their path.

But those things didn't even spare us a glance who were shouting, their eyes fixated solely on Hee-ah as they rushed towards her.

And with my frail arms, I couldn't stop all the zombies that were crashing in like waves.

And so.

"No... This can't be happening....!!"

By the time I managed to knock down one or two, dozens of them had already slipped past me and were climbing the stairs, approaching where Hee-ah was.

They finally reached the glass railing, where Hee-ah was hanging outside of it precariously.

In my heart, I prayed that the thick glass would be able to protect Hee-ah's body.

But a railing is just a railing.

That railing, which had to support the weight of countless zombies leaning against it and reaching out with their bodies, with only that thin glass panel less than a hand's width thick and small metal brackets connected to the floor───

—Shatter!

"—Ah."

Finally, broke into pieces.

Like falling snow, the fragments of the railing rained down from above.

And the pieces of glass from the railing where Hee-ah had been hanging were scattered into the air.

"──────"

And in between them, a snow-white angel without wings was falling.

The child who had stabbed herself in one arm with a sharp shard, yet still desperately clung to the stopwatch in her hand, refusing to let go even in that agonizing pain.

Even as Hee-ah fell from that height towards the horde of zombies below, she was smiling while looking at us.

Her last words, too far away for us to reach.

The shape of her lips was clearly calling out our names desperately.

Even as I watched the whole scene unfold before my eyes, I couldn't do anything.

I couldn't catch that child's hand.

I couldn't answer that child's final words.

I couldn't even soothe the pain that child must be feeling now.

"Ah—"

I couldn't do anything at all.

As if frozen in ice, my body wouldn't move even a bit as Hee-ah was falling through the air.

Less than a few meters remained until Hee-ah fell into the horde of those things, amidst the shower of shattered glass.

In that frozen time, I was only able to move my right arm after biting my tongue hard and screaming like crazy.

But my arm still wouldn't move properly.

I extended it towards the falling Hee-ah—

—And of course, my hand couldn't reach.

**

"───NO!!!"

Thud—!!

I woke up from under a familiar ceiling I had seen many times before, pushing away the blanket that was covering my body.

A space that had become so familiar that I could clearly picture in my mind where every item was placed, even with my eyes closed.

A space that had been a complete stranger's home until not long ago, where we had all lived together for almost two months.

That is, Hee-ah's home.

"........."

The red sun, setting in the distance.

Taking deep breaths to calm my pounding heart, I looked down.

My body, bathed in the setting sun's glow, was soaked in sweat and an unidentifiable, slimy fluids.

.....

Had I fallen asleep without realizing it.

Yes, it must have been a dream.

That we went to the supermarket together, fell into a trap, and that Hee-ah had been caught by those zombies there.

There's no way such a horrible and ominous thing could happen in reality──

—Tap.

"—Hee-ah?"

I called out Hee-ah's name loudly.

Though I knew better than anyone that what I had just recalled was nothing but a dream, but I still wanted to shake off this ominous feeling crushing my heart as soon as possible.

I need to see Hee-ah.

I needed to hold that child in my arms who would usually welcome me with a bright smile when I came down.

The distinctive calendar hanging on the wall, the modestly sized room, and even the family photo with Hee-ah in it.

This must have been the second-floor room that was originally used as Hee-ah's room.

The others must be playing downstairs.

Hee-ah would surely be there with them too.

Really, do you really think so?

....

That's right.

She’ll be there with the others.

She has to be there.

"........"

But in this house that should have been bustling with noise, an eerie silence that would make one's hair stand on end took over, with no sign of human presence.

Though I tried to convince myself it was just my anxiety acting up, I continued calling out Hee-ah's name with a trembling voice.

But.

Surely, that ominous dream had just ended.

"—Hee-ah, where are you."

Yet, for some reason.

The nightmare consuming me felt like it had only just begun.

**

"Hee-ah."

Click, I opened the door to the other room on the second floor.

An empty, dirty room with things scattered all over the place.

Hee-ah wasn’t there.

Of course.

"Hee-ah?"

Slide, I turned to the side and opened the veranda door.

Only the familiar sight of the devastated street and a dusty chair entered my vision.

Hee-ah wasn't here either.

You saw it clearly with your own eyes, didn't you?

—Tap, tap.

"Hee-ah, stop playing around."

I ran down the stairs to the lower floor like a madwoman and looked around the living room.

The place where everyone would usually sit together playing board games until sunset.

"........."

"........."

But there, only Yeon-ah and Jung-eun lay on the floor with haggard appearances, staring blankly with their eyes open.

Even though they must have noticed me coming down, they didn’t even spare me a glance, their gazes fixated on the empty space.

Hee-ah wasn’t here either.

In fact, you know it too, don't you?

In fact, you're just trying to deny it, right?

Hee-ah wasn't anywhere.

Where is Hee-ah?

Outside, yes, she must be outside.

Hee-ah is, right before your eyes—

—Grab.

"....What is it, Jung-eun?"

"........."

I had been about to continue walking around the house calling Hee-ah's name, but Jung-eun's hand suddenly grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks.

"........"

Jung-eun, still holding my arm, staring at me with eyes that showed no sign of life whatsoever.

Seeing that horrifying sight, I shouted.

No, I pleaded.

"Hey, Jung-eun. This is strange. I can't find Hee-ah."

"........."

"Where is Hee-ah? Hmm? Jung-eun. Are you playing a prank too? Hee-ah, I can't find Hee-ah!! Jung-eun!!! I'm asking you, where is Hee-ah—!!!!"

It was strange.

I was simply asking Jung-eun where Hee-ah was.

But my voice kept getting louder and louder for some reason, to the point where I was basically screaming at Jung-eun.

However, Jung-eun who would normally have snapped at me for acting like this, remained silent, even with me in front of her.

When I finally came to my senses, I found myself kneeling before Jung-eun, clutching her arm.

It can't be.

"Please...tell me…!"

"........."

Tell me that what I'm thinking isn't true.

Just close your eyes once and tell me it isn’t so.

".........."

"Anything is fine...... Even if it's a lie...... Please, just tell me....."

That this is all a nightmare.

Tell me that I’m just dreaming right now.

That I haven’t woken up from my sleep

Otherwise, there was no way the Jung-eun I knew, the one who was always energetic and courageous, would be crying in front of me with such a face.

Otherwise, There’s no way Yeon-ah, who at some point had become so bold as to scold me and Jung-eun whenever we played pranks, would be scratching her neck with her fingernails until it bled with such a terrified expression.

Otherwise.

Yes, otherwise───

.....

Why are you all looking at me like that.

Why are you all looking at me with such broken expressions.

Really.

It’s really like Hee-ah—

Has died or something?

Bloodshot, red eyes.

The faint smell of bad breath and missing teeth here and there.

Clinging to Hee-ah's neck, arms, legs.

Fingernails, teeth, tongues crawling over her body, three eyes, strong grips.

Long wounds, narrow wounds, deep wounds, shallow wounds.

Purple bruises, broken bones, flowing blood.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.

Unnie, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts...

The child's scream that I’ve never heard before.

Sobbing, despair, pain, sounds.

Dragging, leaving a trail of blood.

The struggling child is being dragged away.

The child is being dragged into the darkness, into the darkness she had been so afraid of.

Look.

You saw it all, didn't you?

"─────Uweeeek!! Keh, Kheek…!!"

I threw up.

The reality I couldn't accept.

The reality that had taken everything from us.

Hoping that it was all just a dream, that all of this was just a delusion I was having while dying from a zombie bite on that first day at school.

I vomited everything inside.

Hope.

Memories.

I threw it all up.

But the hard texture of the floor that I still feel even now.

This maddening sense of reality that could never be felt in a dream.

"—Wue… wueek…!! Kuhk!!"

Was strangling me, gripping my throat.

The suffocating feeling, and the dissonance between dream and reality.

Memories I wanted to forget, but could never possibly forget.

—Swish.

".........Ah."

Having recalled everything, I collapsed onto the vomit I had just thrown up.

And just like that, I lost consciousness.

Day 59 after the zombie outbreak.

And—day 41.

Hee-ah had died.

**

Ah, so this is how it was.

I muttered to myself.

While observing their every move, there was always something I was curious about.

Some would literally eat the flesh down to the white bones, and when it became a cold corpse, they would leisurely leave.

While others would only leave small scratches from their fingernails or teeth before moving on as if finished with their business. Those zombie's incomprehensible behaviors.

What is the difference between the two.

What is at the underlying cause behind the difference in those two behaviors.

The ultimate goal of zombies, the answer that lay at the root of all the questions I had asked.

Ironically, I was able to find the answer by becoming one of them myself.

.........

"──,───"

Yes.

So that's, what it was.

—Just for reproduction, seriously.

No, it's more accurate to say that there couldn't be a more appropriate reason in this case.

Reproduction of the species.

An act that could be said to be the fundamental goal of all living beings, not just humans, animals, or plants.

They weren't hunting humans to eat them or out of hatred.

It was for reproduction, they were prioritizing attacking and infecting humans who had the aptitude to become zombies.

Well, it's easier to think of it as a 'gene' that allows one to become zombies.

All human values stripped away and crushed, replaced by the aptitude to become a member of the 'zombie' collective.

Even if a human didn’t have that gene, they were still hunted as a potential threat to the zombie collective.

And as a bonus, they could also create mindless zombies to use as 'dummies'.

Typical zombies with poor physical condition, who mindlessly charges at humans.

They were all just decoys lacking the gene and thus intelligence, meant to divert humans' attention and thoughts.

The real ones, were these.

It wasn't that they became zombies after death.

From the start, they were selecting and judging who to kill and who to merely wound and release.

Like sorting out weak chicks from healthy ones.

Everything was for the prosperity of the species.

That is, to increase 'themselves'.

"──,──i."

And this time, by chance, I was the lucky one caught for that goal.

Well.

"Un──,──n."

The thought that came first was that it was fortunate.

If even one of them had the gene to become a zombie, no matter what I did, they would have all become targets of the zombies.

After all, their ultimate goal was to turn humans with the right aptitude into zombies.

Well.

If that had been the case, I would have gotten them out even if it meant my limbs being ripped apart.

Although things didn't go exactly as planned from start to finish, I was glad that the result turned out well.

Glad….

Yes. Maybe you could call it that too.

—Crunch, crack!

"—Unn,──ie."

Was there some kind of bug crawling around inside my body.

I kept hearing this strange sound in my ears, as if something was eating away at my body.

The unpleasant sensation of something burrowing into me, trying to control my body, continued even now.

Of course, I'm suppressing it with my willpower for now, but it was still unpleasant.

This discomfort was only intensifying as time passed, and I was worried it might eventually consume me completely.

I didn't want that.

At the very least, even if I die, I don't want to become a zombie and go around hurting people.

Though I'm already living a life that only causes trouble for everyone, being a nuisance even after death would be too pathetic in its own way.

....

Well, so.

While I can still move my body.

While I'm still alive as a human being.

That is, before I completely degenerate like them.

—Crack, crack.

"Un──nie────"

I think I'll try moving my body one last time.

**

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