Chapter 10
“What?”
“There’s no guarantee this place will stay safe forever.”
“The hallway is still safer than here.”
Could I really survive if I came face-to-face with a monster?
I could answer that question without even thinking.
I’d be lucky if I didn’t faint first.
“Can’t we just stay here and wait for rescue?”
I spoke calmly, trying to persuade Han Siwoo.
But Han Siwoo wasn’t even looking at me.
“Everyone heard what I said, right?”
“...You mean going to the rooftop?”
Anyone who wanted to leave would have already gone.
And now that they had heard there were even more monsters outside, there was even less reason for them to go.
“I don’t want to.”
“...Me neither.”
“Can’t we just stay here and wait for rescue?”
It was only natural for them to react that way.
As long as we didn’t make too much noise, we probably wouldn’t run into any monsters.
That was what I thought.
Oppa scoffed at all of us.
“Bullshit. If you heard what we saw on the way here, you wouldn’t be saying that.”
He pointed toward the door.
“Want to know what we saw? We saw a door just like that one—the one you all think is keeping you safe—completely smashed apart.”
Oppa spoke in a calm, almost casual voice.
But his actions seemed to be saying one thing.
Get a grip, all of you.
Maybe I was overwhelmed by the look in his eyes, because I swallowed without realizing it.
“Still, if you want to stay here, I’m not going to stop you. I don’t have any reason to.”
Silence spread through the classroom.
Everyone seemed lost in thought.
Then, during the brief silence, someone asked,
“...Th-Then doesn’t that mean it’s even more dangerous outside?”
Oppa smiled meaningfully.
“Who knows? Like I said, outside could be more dangerous, or it could be better than staying here.”
Then he continued sarcastically,
“But if a monster breaks in here, do you really think you’ll be able to run away from it in a cramped room like this? A hallway open in every direction would be a hundred times better.”
His mocking tone was irritating.
Even so, no one could completely deny what he was saying.
“Anyway, I’ll hand out the knives we brought. You can decide for yourselves what you want to do. You’re all capable of making at least that much of a choice, aren’t you?”
It was an incredibly arrogant and conceited attitude.
Yet no one complained about the way Oppa was acting.
Not even me.
Oppa carefully placed the kitchen tools from his bag onto a desk.
The people who had been hesitating eventually picked up weapons one by one.
Though calling them weapons was a bit of a stretch.
They were just ordinary kitchen tools.
As I watched everyone choose their weapons, I stared down at the kitchen knife already in my hand.
...Two would be better than one, right?
Most of the knives looked about the same, but among them, I spotted a sashimi knife that seemed somewhat useful.
Just as I reached for it, a hand suddenly shot out and snatched away the knife I had chosen.
I turned my head.
Lee Dohyun was spinning the knife in his hand with a victorious grin.
“What? You wanted this too?”
For a moment, I was so dumbfounded that I had to think about what to say.
He was right that I wanted it.
But not enough to argue with him over it.
I probably wouldn’t even know how to use it properly anyway.
I quickly gave up.
There were plenty of other knives besides that one—
What? Where did they all go?
The knives that had filled the desk just moments ago were suddenly gone.
Only a few small fruit knives remained.
Apparently, everyone else had grabbed them while we were talking.
I smacked my lips in disappointment.
Well, I probably won’t even be able to use it anyway.
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue and walked over to Oppa.
“Are you really going out into the hallway?”
“If you don’t want to, stay here, coward.”
Oppa frowned as he answered.
Once again, I found myself amazed.
How could every single thing he said be so irritating?
Had he secretly attended some academy where they taught people how to pick fights?
I let out a short sigh.
“Forget it. I’m going too.”
I thought I had said it rather confidently.
But my voice trembled slightly.
Maybe Oppa was right.
Maybe I really was a coward.
I looked down at the knife in my hand.
Can I really stab a monster with this?
I had barely even cooked at home before.
Just holding a knife felt unfamiliar.
But if I don’t stab it, I’ll be the one who dies.
Being afraid wouldn’t change the situation.
If anything, that fear would only lead me straight to death.
Just close your eyes and stab.
At that moment, Oppa opened his mouth again to address everyone.
“Everyone who’s staying here—”
BOOOOM—!
A sudden explosion-like crash swallowed his voice.
There wasn’t even enough time to understand what was happening.
CRACK!
The sound of something breaking slammed into my ears.
Creak.
Crk-crk-crk.
Then came a strange sound that couldn’t possibly belong to a human.
It was almost like...
The sound of an insect’s joints moving.
My thoughts stopped completely.
My breathing froze instinctively.
As though I had been cut off from the entire world, all the sounds around me became distant behind a hazy curtain.
Thump.
Thump.
The only thing I could hear was my own pounding heartbeat.
Talk about terrible luck.
Why did I have to be standing right next to the door?
Below my lowered gaze, I saw something like a dark-red foot crushing the metal door beneath it.
Its skin was rough and bumpy, like the hide of an enormous reptile.
Goosebumps rose across the back of my neck.
Without thinking, I slowly...
Very slowly...
Raised my eyes.
And at that exact moment—
The tip of a long claw filled my entire vision.
It felt as though the ground beneath my feet had collapsed.
At the same time, every hair on my body stood on end as if I had been struck by lightning.
