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Accidents, accidents, accidents. The world is full of accidents.

I sat in the passenger seat, quietly taking in the passing scenery. The opposite lane was jammed, and a fire had broken out in the nearby residential complex. On the sidewalk, a zombie was tased and handcuffed.

It was a scene so surreal it felt like a movie set, but it was reality.

“Apocalypse…”

Even the sight of firefighters, police officers, and civil servants trying to manage the situation with exhausted expressions was bleak.

Government agencies were showing signs of overload. It was just a routine accident, but public servants were running around as if it were a full-blown disaster.

Already, manpower seemed insufficient.

The only silver lining was that citizens seemed to have adapted to the zombies. It had been nearly two weeks since the zombies first appeared, and people quietly avoided them without panic or commotion.

Then, Jeon Dohyeong spoke suspiciously.

“We’re almost there. That Professor Kim… is he really an expert? Or just some attention-seeker chasing views?”

“Yeah, no. He’s a famous university professor. He’s even advised on policy before.”

I glanced at my phone. There was a reply from Professor Kim, instructing us to come to an apartment in the city.

The meeting was approaching.

***

The apartment looked decent. The cars lined up in the parking lot looked expensive, and the facilities were clean and luxurious.

Delayed by the traffic jam, we hurried to Building 102, only to be stopped by a security guard at the entrance.

“Hey, wait a minute!”

Was it because we were outsiders? Or because we were carrying axes and hammers? But this level of armament was common now.

I calmly spoke up.

“We’re here to see—”

“Oh, no, it’s not that. You can’t use the elevator right now.”

“…What?”

Jeon Dohyeong and I froze. I glanced at my phone. The address was on the 12th floor. Were we supposed to walk up?

“Is the elevator under maintenance? When will it be done?”

The security guard sighed deeply.

“No, there was an accident in the elevator. Zombies and people died in there. We reported it, but no police or disinfectant team has arrived yet.”

“Ah.”

Well, there was no way we could take an elevator filled with virus-infected bodies.

So, we painfully climbed the 12 flights of stairs, cautiously watching for any traps set by fellow humans.

By the time we arrived at Professor Kim’s apartment, we were gasping for air, nearly dead.

Ding-dong.

“Are you there? It’s Kim Da-in, the one who emailed you.”

With trembling hands, I pressed the doorbell. The electronic lock clicked, but the door didn’t open. A soft voice came from inside a few seconds later.

“Come in.”

Carefully opening the door, we were greeted by Professor Kim, wearing a mask, standing far from the entrance.

A middle-aged man wrapped in gloom and despair. His hair was streaked with gray, and his eyes behind his glasses were deeply sunken. His intellectual and gentle demeanor was overshadowed by his gaunt, gloomy appearance, making him seem irritable.

He looked every bit the doomsayer.

He nodded slightly and gestured for us to follow him inside.

Jeon Dohyeong and I exchanged glances before stepping in, following him to the living room.

***

Professor Kim sat at one end of the living room, pointing to the opposite end with a thin finger. The floor was bare, with no chairs or cushions.

“Sit there. Keep your masks on.”

His voice was heavy, like someone who had cried all night.

“Um, could we have some water?”

Jeon Dohyeong, exhausted from the climb, hesitantly asked. I also looked at the professor expectantly. My throat was dry.

Professor Kim gave a bitter smile, shaking his head.

“Sorry. I should at least offer tea, but I can’t even give you water.”

“No, it’s fine. We understand.”

It might have been a mood-killer, but I quickly waved my hand and nodded.

His caution was understandable. If we were latent carriers, we could spread the virus. This level of precaution was necessary.

As I sat down on the floor, Jeon Dohyeong plopped down beside me, leaning against the wall and catching his breath. While I was pondering how to start the conversation, Jeon Dohyeong jumped right in.

“Professor, is the world really going to end? Can’t we stop the virus?”

“The I-virus…”

I glanced at Jeon Dohyeong.

Asking a doomsayer if the world is ending? Of course, he’d say it is. Or was this just a way to break the ice?

Professor Kim stared blankly into space before answering in a low voice.

“The chairman of Immortal Company was a true genius. How did he create such a virus? With that brilliant mind, why create a virus that could wipe out humanity? Why…”

It sounded more like a muttered lament, tinged with quiet anger.

Seemingly lost in thought, Professor Kim suddenly snapped back to attention, staring straight at us. His eyes held a dark certainty.

“Yes, it will end. The diagnostic kits were developed too late. Effective early response is impossible.”

“No, that doesn’t make sense. It’s just a virus. It hasn’t even been a month yet.”

I quickly cut off Jeon Dohyeong’s emotional outburst. I was more curious about Professor Kim’s predictions. He must have seen the bigger picture better than I did.

“How will it end?”

“…”

Professor Kim hesitated, as if unsure whether to share this. But after glancing toward the bedroom, he continued, resigned.

It was a dark, apocalyptic prophecy.

“The documents seized from Immortal Company said this: We have created an immortal virus.”

An immortal virus.

“Like how COVID mutated into Omicron, viruses generally mutate to become less lethal but more contagious. But the I-virus has already nearly perfected that direction. So, how will it mutate?”

Mutation. Evolution.

My mouth went dry as a thought struck me. I muttered without thinking.

“Transmission routes…”

Professor Kim nodded approvingly, like a teacher praising a bright student, and continued.

“Immortal Company predicted this: The immortal virus will evolve to increase its hosts. It will evolve to survive in more diverse environments.”

A horrifying future flashed before my eyes.

A future where every animal is infected. Birds in the sky, beasts on the ground. Their blood and waste pollute the soil and groundwater, spreading through broken water systems.

Animals, water, air. The world itself becomes the virus, threatening all life.

For a moment, the chairman’s smile came to mind. It had changed. Into a vile, grotesque grin.

“Chairman… this is a bit much, don’t you think?”

This is extinction. The end of the world. At least leave some room for survival in a post-apocalyptic world.

This makes prison in a normal world seem better than this.

My fists clenched, and my heart pounded. I became a fervent government supporter, desperately looking at Professor Kim.

“Countermeasures. What if we act now?”

“It’s too late. By the time diagnostic kits are distributed, the number of infected will easily surpass a million, rising sharply every day.”

Jeon Dohyeong suddenly stood up.

“If we take proper action now, petition, report to the news, convince people—”

“Do you know about foot-and-mouth disease?”

Professor Kim’s words brought a scene to mind. Pigs being culled during a foot-and-mouth outbreak.

Silence fell. Professor Kim suddenly seemed like a different person. Not an intellectual professor, but a mustached executioner.

He gave a bitter smile.

“To prevent extinction, you need extreme measures. Mandatory virus testing, killing and incinerating all infected. That’s the only way to stop it.”

“Ah.”

That seems… impossible.

While zombies with visible symptoms might be one thing, latent carriers were just ordinary people. By the time diagnostic kits are available, over a million people.

Using such extreme measures…

“I proposed the most effective countermeasure, but I was immediately dismissed. Everyone looked at me like you are now.”

“That’s… impossible, isn’t it?”

This isn’t a virus diagnostic kit. It’s a lottery ticket for execution. Would people just stand by? What about the soldiers carrying out the slaughter?

Resistance, escape, rallies, protests. It would create the perfect environment for the virus to spread.

And in the end, the virus would mutate, and extinction would—

‘No!’

No, no. I can’t trust this doomsayer. Even if it’s not his apocalyptic delusion, it’s just speculation based on the worst-case scenario.

I desperately sought hope, countering his argument.

“Couldn’t it evolve in a different direction? Toward maintaining rationality?”

“It could. Toward weakening symptoms. But then…”

Professor Kim suddenly reached out, making a twisting motion with his hand. Like opening a window or using a tool.

“…a vaguely lost intelligence would only make the world more dangerous.”

He added self-mockingly.

“Zombies are already quite smart. Cold or heat won’t kill them. When it gets hot or cold, they’ll head to subways or underground parking lots.”

“No, they’re drawn to stimuli. If we lure them with trucks or armored vehicles—”

Jeon Dohyeong, who had witnessed zombies, started saying what I wanted to say, but Professor Kim shook his head.

“The zombies would die, but the virus they spread during the latent period would remain. It’s all too late. This can’t be stopped.”

Extinction…

I deeply understood that. My racing heart seemed to slow. A strange calm washed over me.

Whether I wanted an apocalypse or prison in a normal world, the world didn’t give me a choice.

But does that mean we should just give up and die? No. We have to survive, whether by looting or twisting our bodies.

‘Actually, this is good.’

No need to agonize over ambiguous crossroads. Just run straight down the path ahead.

I clenched my fists and looked at Professor Kim. We needed this expert.

“Professor, even in an apocalypse, people survive. Will you join us? Lend us your knowledge.”

“That’s a good offer… but I can’t.”

His voice was firm.

“If you help us, more people could—”

“Helping through broadcasts is enough—”

I tried my best to persuade him, but the conversation went nowhere. Had he already lost hope? The idea of surviving together didn’t resonate.

Then, a sound came. A rough, guttural groan. From the direction of the bedroom.

Professor Kim stood up.

“My wife must be hungry. I’ll go feed her.”

He scooped some white porridge into a bowl from the kitchen and went into the bedroom. A faint voice came from inside. The professor’s gentle voice urging her to eat.

The door was slightly ajar.

Jeon Dohyeong and I crept closer, peeking through the crack.

Professor Kim’s wife, tied to the bed. A person turned zombie.

We realized at the same time. Professor Kim wasn’t fit to join our pillager group. He was likely already infected. More importantly—

‘I can’t understand this man.’

He spooned the pale porridge into the zombie’s mouth. The zombie twisted its body but eagerly ate.

He wasn’t killing her, nor was he planning to use zombies as biological weapons like I was. He was convinced of the apocalypse but couldn’t make a decision or take action.

He wasn’t a doomsayer. He was just an ordinary person caught in a disaster, a good man warning people through broadcasts even in this situation.

‘Pillager, disqualified.’

 

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