Dead Man Switch - Chapter 1.4

As I followed sunbae through the halls, I couldn’t help but feel nervous. Despite its seemingly quiet and deserted surroundings, this dormitory building harbored sinister entities in every corner. They were once human, but now they were monsters that preyed on people.

 

Why did they transform into such grotesque forms? What are our family members doing right now? How many more living people are there? A horrifying murder occurred on campus, yet why haven’t the police or an ambulance arrived?

 

Unanswered questions gnawed at me incessantly. It felt like wandering through an endless nightmare. Among them, the biggest question was: Who on earth is that man?

 

Everything was bizarre. Despite such a horrific tragedy unfolding, that person seemed too nonchalant. He approached me as if he had been waiting and casually dismembered the body of what was once a person. He referred to himself as a Sunbae who knew me well and willingly revealed his own name.

 

However, I had no way of knowing if that name was real or fake, or even if he was a student at this school. He frustratingly evaded important matters, pretending not to hear or refusing to disclose anything. The monsters with their grotesque appearances were dangerous, but at least to me, that man seemed just as dangerous as those creatures.

 

Suddenly, an impulse surged within me. Should I run away? If I were to flee, now was the chance. When the Sunbae wasn’t looking in my direction, and there was a fair distance between us. If I escaped now, at least it wouldn’t be as easy for him to catch me as before.

 

“Hoobae-nim.”

 

At that moment, he suddenly turned around. His eyebrows, dark and elongated, narrowed. I flinched, feeling as if he had read my thoughts.

 

“Come here.”

 

He extended his hand that was not holding the axe, as if calling a pet dog. It was an attitude that left me dumbfounded.

 

“Come here. Hold my hand.”

 

“Are you trying to prevent me from running away?”

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Why are you acting so defensive between us? Don’t resist, just grab my hand quickly. We don’t have much time.”

 

What between us? Our relationship is a freezing hell..

 

“What are you suddenly…”

 

Thud, clunk! Before I could finish my sentence, a dull sound came from far away. It sounded like something heavy rolling down the stairs, or the sound of a solid object being thrown against a wall. The distance was considerable, so I couldn’t hear it clearly. Startled, I stopped mid-sentence and closed my mouth. Sunbae let out a small sigh inside the mask.

 

“Hurry.”

 

He urged me. Without thinking, I placed my hand on top of his palm. In that instant, my hand was firmly grasped with a forceful grip. It was painful to the point of causing discomfort.

 

Sunbae’s hand was about a size larger than mine. The first thing I noticed was that his hand was dry and cool. The second was the roughness I felt. Calluses covered the knuckles and the palm of his hand. It was definitely not the hand of an ordinary college student who sat and studied all day.

 

Just then, the heavy noise resonated once again. It was slightly louder than before. Something was happening nearby. As soon as he caught my hand, he immediately started running. I was partially being pulled along and partially running after him. My vision shook and wobbled.

 

“Wait a moment! I can run on my own. Wait!”

 

“How could I? You just told me to follow you and then you went ahead, leaving me behind. It’s obvious that you’ll end up falling behind and whining about it. And then you’ll probably stumble and fall flat on your face, making a big fuss.”

 

“It won’t be to that extent.”

 

“That’s what you think.”

 

“……”

 

I was at a loss for words. In the midst of my life hanging by a thread, it wasn’t the right time to say this, but I could feel irritation welling up inside me.

 

As Sunbae tightly held my hand, we ran across the hallway. Then, abruptly, he came to a stop in front of a slightly ajar room. He quickly pushed me inside, forcefully squeezing me through the half-open door.

 

“Ugh!”

 

It was a touch devoid of any consideration. I almost crashed onto the floor of the room, but managed to regain my balance just in time. Sunbae also entered the room and promptly locked the door. We leaned against the door, gasping for breath. There was no opportunity to examine the abandoned scenery inside the dorm room. All our attention was focused on the corridor beyond the door.

 

“It seems like those bastards caught another one.”

 

“Another one?”

 

“They caught a meal. Human flesh. Human meat.”

 

He explained without a flicker of change in his expression. It was an indifferent attitude, as if reciting the dinner menu. The vague scene I glimpsed at the convenience store earlier became more vivid through his words. My stomach turned upside down. Nausea welled up, causing me to grit my teeth.

 

“Eating, human flesh…”

 

“Now you’re starting to grasp the situation, huh? There aren’t many humans left here who are alive and well. The teachers, the supervisors, they’ve all turned into that. If you stupidly stand there, facing someone you recognize, you’ll be torn apart from head to toe in an instant.”

 

“……”

 

“Act quickly. Unless you want to turn into one of those bastards, crawling around with your intestines spilling out of your stomach.”

 

“Why isn’t anyone coming? Shouldn’t the police or the military be mobilized in a situation like this?”

 

He laughed quietly, as if he had heard an amusing joke.

 

“Who’s going to come? Even if they did, they’re already dead. You could say those bastards wandering around, sobbing over corpses, are also dead.”

 

“Sunbae, how much do you actually know?”

 

“Me?”

 

He tilted his head slightly, and his abundant black hair cascaded over his forehead. With eerie, sharp eyes, he stared at me as if contemplating what to say.

 

Thud! At that moment, a massive impact struck the door we were leaning against. It felt like something had slammed down with full force. Startled, we recoiled backwards. For a brief moment, I thought the door was going to shatter.

 

“Is anyone there? Help, help me… Cough!”

 

Someone outside desperately pleaded, their breaths ragged and gasping. Simultaneously, sporadic screams echoed, filled with agony. It wasn’t just one. Before I could even comprehend the situation, my body acted on its own accord. I urgently approached the door. I had to help the survivor in distress.

 

“Hey, Hoobae-nim. What are you planning to do?”

 

As I reached out to unlock the door, my hand got stuck halfway. The grip of Sunbae’s hand on my wrist was painfully tight, as if it would snap my forearm. His eyes, visible above the black mask, contorted fiercely.

 

“I told you to snap out of it, but you didn’t.”

 

“You heard it. There’s someone outside!”

 

“What can you do? You panicked at the sight of a few drops of blood earlier.”

 

“So, are we just going to ignore it and pretend nothing happened?”

 

I gritted my teeth and tried to twist my wrist to pull it out. He exerted even more force. A harsh, snapping sound occurred.

 

“It’s not just one or two things outside. A bastard even attacked you. But what can you do if you go out alone?”

 

“At least I can help them hide or escape.”

 

“You think you’re capable of that? Someone like you?”

 

“I won’t know until I try.”

 

“Listen to me when I’m being nice. Don’t talk shit when you don’t know anything.”

 

He remained eerily calm, as if nothing was happening just beyond the door at this very moment, where a struggle was unfolding. Blood rushed to my head.

 

“Well, yes. It’s true that I have no clue about what’s going on right now. But people are dying. They’re begging for help. Whether it works or not, shouldn’t we at least try!”

 

My voice unintentionally grew louder. I had been acting subservient, fearing Sunbae who had been wielding a blood-stained axe and exhibiting abnormal behavior. But now, I couldn’t help but stand up for myself. I had called him Sunbae from the moment I first saw him, trying to appease him. However, I didn’t want to continue doing that in this situation.

 

It was a matter of life and death.  I don’t know who it is, but that person must have been an ordinary college student who spent Christmas in the dormitory like me. They could be someone’s child, sibling, or friend. An innocent person was desperately pleading for help, and even though I clearly heard it, my conscience pricked at the thought of just hiding and doing nothing.

 

After shouting out in frustration, I tensed up. I was afraid that the man would suddenly go crazy and swing the axe at me. However, surprisingly, Sunbae didn’t lose his temper or try to harm me.

 

“Are you going out there to get yourself killed?”

 

His already low voice grew even softer. The ends of his words trembled with anger. I forcibly tried to calm my stiffening body and took a deep breath.

 

“Sunbae, I won’t put you in danger. I’ll go out alone and bring that person back immediately.”

 

“Without me, you can’t do anything. What’s the difference between going out to die and doing that?”

 

“Even if I die, it’s only me who will die. It has nothing to do with you.”

 

Before I could finish speaking, a terrifying noise erupted, tearing through the space between us. It seemed like the person outside was attempting to fight back. Or perhaps they were being attacked in return.

 

“Ah!”

 

A horrifying scream echoed. There was no time to hesitate any longer. I forcefully pushed away Sunbae’s hand and rushed out.

 

“Jeong Ho-hyeon!”

 

An arm suddenly reached out from behind. A large palm covered my nose and mouth. My vision turned pitch black. By the time it cleared, I found myself being dragged backwards, my mouth still covered by Sunbae’s hand.

 

“Heok!”

 

I collapsed onto the bed behind me. Thump! The mattress bounced forcefully. Weak and helpless, I laid there as he climbed on top of me. Dressed in black with black hair, a pitch-black presence filled my vision. His heavy weight pressed down on me. His strong thighs tangled with mine, leaving me unable to move a muscle.

 

I realized belatedly. Just now, he called my name in a tone I had never heard before. Reflexively, I searched my memory. No matter how much I thought about it, I had never told him my name.

 

“Our Ho-hyeon, you’re so desperate to die, huh? If you want to die that badly, should I kill you?”

 

Sunbae half-growled, whispering harshly. Rough breaths escaped between his words. He still tightly covered my mouth. I tried to shake my head or move my face in any way, but his grip was too strong, leaving me unable to make even the slightest movement.

 

“……”

 

The hot breath I couldn’t release lingered in my throat. It was agonizing. He looked straight into my teary eyes. Our gazes met at a close distance, almost touching. His pupils, completely black without any blemishes, reflected my appearance vividly. With my eyes bloodshot and congested, tears welled up, and my complexion turned pale as if I had seen a ghost.

 

“Yeah. Since you fucking hate me anyway. Killing you once wouldn’t make a damn difference.”

 

He sullenly averted his gaze. His black eyebrows gently lowered. In contrast, the strength in his grip was incredibly ruthless. A loud squeak echoed in my ear. The sounds of someone engaged in a fierce struggle and screaming desperately from outside gradually grew distant.

 

While still covering my mouth, Sunbae briefly tilted his head to listen to the commotion outside. Only after the sound completely subsided did he release his hand. As I gasped for air, feeling dizzy from the lack of oxygen, my blocked breath suddenly burst out.

 

“Gasp! Cough, ah…”

 

He ceased pressing me down and swiftly stood up. Without hesitation, he turned his back and retrieved the axe that had been leaning against the wall.

 

“Let’s go now.”

 

I abruptly stood up, no longer plagued by coughing. I was astounded. I had forgotten about the despair of not being able to save the person outside.

 

“But earlier, you told me not to go out. You threatened that I would die if I did!”

 

“That was back then. It’s different now.”

 

“No, why do you change your words so quickly?”

 

“Ha… Hoobae-nim, don’t dwell on the past and live in the present.”

 

He sighed deeply and retorted, triggering an inexplicable surge of pent-up anger within me.

 

“Excuse me, Sunbae. If you’re just going to hide here without caring about the situation outside, wouldn’t it be better to stay here? We have a bed, electricity, good heating, and running water.”

 

“Excuse me, Hoobae-nim. Aren’t your grades good?”

 

He looked at me with a mixture of pity and disdain.

 

“But why isn’t your head working properly? Is it because you’re stuck in your room studying all the time? Use your head for more than just solving problems and writing reports. Sometimes, you need to think and live.”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, he walked briskly with heavy footsteps towards the door. Then, lifting his foot, he forcefully kicked the door open. I stood there, dumbfounded, watching the scene unfold.

 

Thud, creak! With just a couple of powerful kicks, the door was destroyed. I had clearly locked it when I came in, but now the door weakly swung open by about a span of a hand. It was likely due to the previous impact from outside, which had already damaged the locking mechanism, and it was probably worsened by the merciless kicking from Sunbae.

 

“You think hiding in a place like this would work? Why, should we gather all those bastards and throw a pajama party? They have a free pass to enter now since the door is broken.”

 

“No, I’m sorry. I was wrong, it was my fault. It was my mouth that was the problem.”

 

I quickly apologized. I’d rather lose and be done with it than continue to hear those damn words. Sunbae cleanly ignored my words and went outside. After looking around, he beckoned me with a flick of his hand.

 

“Come out.”

 

The outside was quiet. It looked no different from before I entered the room. The broken door was shaking on its own, making creaking sounds, so I instinctively turned to look. I noticed long streaks of bloodstains on the door. My heart sank.

 

“Sunbae!”

 

“Don’t look.”

 

He casually shook his head.

 

“Those bastards are gone. They won’t come around here for a while. They have low intelligence, so once they find one prey, they don’t pay attention to other places.”

 

An ominous thought brushed through my mind like an intuition.

 

“So, when you told me not to leave earlier and to pretend I didn’t know anything….”

 

“I’m already drawing their attention away on our behalf. There’s no need for you to step in.”

 

“……”

 

“Be thankful to him. He screamed so loudly in the hallway that it covered up your nonsense about leaving. He has good vocal cords, is he from the Department of Vocal Music or something?”

 

“Ha.”

 

I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh. He was casually confessing that he used other people’s lives as bait. If this situation were an ordinary natural disaster like a fire or an earthquake, would he have acted the same way? Would he have pushed the victims who pleaded for help and begged for their lives, claiming that he would safely evacuate, into death without a care?

 

“Well, what can we do? Let’s go. There’s nothing good about dilly-dallying.”

 

He forcefully grabbed my hand and pulled me along. I couldn’t resist and was caught off guard. The grip that tightly intertwined our hands was so strong that it hurt.

 

Hastily, we walked, leaving the dimly lit corridor behind. Throughout the movement, Sunbae kept his mouth tightly shut. His eyes, visible through the mask partially covering his face, appeared remarkably calm.

 

“You know, Sunbae-nim.”

 

“What is it, Hoobae-nim?”

 

Only then did he turn to look at me. Playfully batting away my words. The doubts that I had been holding back forcefully burst out.

 

“Why are you taking me with you? I don’t know anything and I’m just a burden. Why bother dragging someone who doesn’t know or understand anything? I don’t see how I can be of any benefit to you.”

 

“……”

 

“Or… Are you planning to use me as bait as well?”

 

“Hoobae-nim, why are you asking such obvious questions?”

 

He let out a small sigh and shrugged his shoulders, as if to say he was used to dealing with bland guys.

 

“You can’t die. Even if everyone else here perishes, you must survive.”

 

Rather than being solved, my doubt grew even deeper. I couldn’t figure out what to ask anymore.