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A day has passed.

The bathroom, where a candle placed on the toilet spreads a soft light. I stood still, looking at the mirror.

“Wow, I’m a mess.”

Even compared to when I was an aspiring scenario writer, it’s worse. Back then, I was holed up at home, barely showering, just tapping away on my laptop. But now, it’s even more of a disaster.

My face, illuminated by the orange light, looked like that of a homeless person. My hair, grown out haphazardly, a messy beard, skin tanned in the shape of a mask. And to top it off, I hadn’t even washed properly, so I looked grimy.

But my eyes, full of life, seemed better than before…

Back when I was just writing scenarios, not knowing if I’d ever make it, each action now feels more rewarding, with immediate results.

At that point, I picked up scissors and cut my hair short.

“I stood out too much in crowded places. I need to change my appearance.”

Snip, snip, chunks of hair fell. As the hair fell, so did my thoughts.

“I threw away the clothes I wore yesterday. I should avoid clothes with a similar vibe. The people who heard my voice clearly probably got caught in the explosion.”

I robbed a place frequented by Electric Nomads and small groups of survivors. I even fired a gun. No matter how careful I was, it wasn’t enough.

From now on, I plan to avoid Electric Nomads and not show myself in front of too many people, but a little disguise is necessary.

Even after cutting my hair with scissors, it was still quite long, like weeds.

“Where’s the razor…”

I switched to a razor to shave off the remaining hair, but as soon as I pulled it, a scream escaped me.

“Ahh!”

It stung. The razor wasn’t cutting the hair but tearing it out. The pain of skin being ripped off.

I can’t do this with a razor. I need a sharp knife to cut the hair again.

With a mask on, screaming in pain, I jumped out of the bathroom, and the waiting pillager companions looked at me in disbelief.

“What happened to your hair? A pinecone? Did a rat chew on the side?”

“Why are you screaming? You scared me.”

I rubbed the torn part with my palm and reached out my hand.

“Do you have a knife? A razor blade? The razor isn’t working.”

“I have a knife.”

Sajihyeok handed me a short knife from his pocket, and I took it immediately. Sajihyeok looked away.

“Shouldn’t we finish the job first?”

Sajihyeok, with his long hair tied back, Park Yang-gun, with his messy hair tucked under a hat, and Jeondohyeong, with a headband made from a handkerchief, all looked at one person.

A stranger, sweating profusely. It’s better to finish the job first.

I crouched down, holding the knife, matching the stranger’s eye level.

“You must be shocked to be suddenly kidnapped. We need someone to do a job for us.”

The stranger gulped. His shaking eyes suddenly turned to the gun in Park Yang-gun’s hand.

“W-will you let me live if I do it?”

“Yes, of course.”

No, we won’t let you live. Once the job is done, there’s no reason to keep you alive. Originally, you were just blocking the road, collecting tolls, and when you seemed easy, we killed a few people and threatened to bring you in.

Why would we keep someone alive who holds a grudge and could reveal our identities?

I extended the knife and gestured.

“You see those mask boxes over there? Open them all.”

“What’s in them that you need me to open them?”

“Do it or die.”

Click, right on cue, Park Yang-gun aimed his gun.

The kidnapped person closed his eyes tightly, then opened them. His eyes cunningly scanned the room. He was looking for a way to escape, but eventually, he looked at Park Yang-gun’s gun and slumped his shoulders.

“I’ll open them.”

The kidnapped person slowly walked into the room, step by step.

We quickly stepped back, holding up blankets and pillows as shields. Jeondohyeong muttered.

“Could that be a bomb? How is that possible? We can’t get gunpowder.”

“I don’t know. But Gijeon? That guy seemed like an expert.”

Highly advanced science is no different from magic. Technology with professional knowledge has already reached the realm of magic.

The magic of turning apocalypse trash into bombs.

According to the research I did when I wanted to write a crime scenario, it seems you can make a homemade bomb with just butane gas and an electric circuit.

‘Was the expiration date for butane gas three years? In three years, you could make as many bombs as you want.’

The kidnapped person’s movements slowed even more. Park Yang-gun waved his gun.

“Think carefully. You might live if you open that. But if you don’t, you’ll die.”

“I’ll die if I run too.”

Finally, the kidnapped person reluctantly started opening the mask boxes one by one.

We all held our breath and watched. Every time his trembling hands slipped and barely opened a mask box, our bodies twitched.

It felt like a chill was running down our sweaty, sticky bodies.

One, two, three, the boxes opened one by one, and masks spilled out.

I gasped and shouted.

“Wait!”

“Can I stop now? Please.”

The kidnapped person jumped up, delighted, but that wasn’t my intention. I pointed to the masks scattered on the floor.

“Take the intact masks out of the room. Open the rest after that.”

If it explodes, the intact masks will be ruined too.

“…”

The kidnapped person clenched his mouth and continued working. Then he picked up the last box and stopped. He shook it slightly, then bent his head to listen to the box.

A sense of foreboding rose, and the kidnapped person suddenly turned around and cursed.

“It’s a bomb! If you open it, we’ll all die!”

“Ahh!”

We moved instantly. We all ran far away. Park Yang-gun had already opened the screen door and was halfway out, and I and the other companions pressed against the opposite wall, holding up chairs and pillows.

I swallowed hard and carefully extended the knife.

“No, we’ll let you live! Put down that bomb!”

“Liar! You’re trying to kill me! Hey, the gun! Put the gun down! Are you opening it? Are you setting it off?”

The bomb threatener threateningly held out the mask box. I urgently grabbed Park Yang-gun’s hand and pulled it down. Park Yang-gun exploded in anger.

“Let go! How am I supposed to climb the wall like this!”

“No, put the gun down first!”

“I’ll set it off! It’ll explode! I put my finger in! It’ll open if I pull!”

It’s chaos. Anything could explode at any moment.

As I struggled with Park Yang-gun, I suddenly thought. Is that really a bomb?

‘Is he bluffing?’

I shook it a few times too. Since it was shaken a lot while running, I expected it wouldn’t explode, but just in case.

I couldn’t tell from the rustling sound, but the weight and texture didn’t feel like a bomb.

‘But you never know.’

I was considering making a strong move when Sajihyeok stepped forward.

Sajihyeok slightly bent his body, raised both hands, and spoke in a friendly voice as he slowly approached.

“Calm down. If that explodes, you’ll die too, right? You’re doing this to survive, right? I’ll open the door for you, and you can just walk out.”

“Don’t come closer!”

“You can’t keep this up forever, can you?”

The agitated bomb threatener nervously shook his foot and then pressed against the wall. He roughly shook the box. There was a sound, but I couldn’t tell if it was plastic or explosives.

“Go. Open the front door. If you do anything stupid, I’ll set it off!”

“Okay, okay.”

The distance between the two narrowed.

I let go of Park Yang-gun’s wrist and quietly cheered Sajihyeok on.

‘Good job. If you can just knock the mask box away when you get close, it’ll be fine.’

If you just close the distance, it’s easy. The bomb threatener seemed to know that too, rolling his eyes constantly. Looking at Sajihyeok, Park Yang-gun’s gun, me, and Jeondohyeong.

And then, Sajihyeon brushed past him and opened the front door with a click.

“Now, you can leave.”

“Now, move. No, go over there where the people are.”

I sighed and rubbed my face. I don’t know why he just opened the door like that.

No, it’s not just Sajihyeon’s fault. We all made a mistake. Why did we openly suggest that it might be explosives? That guy could use it to threaten us.

Now, there’s no choice. We have to kill him safely from a distance.

Sajihyeon came back to us, and the bomb threatener glared at us as he backed away. When the threatener reached the entrance, I whispered in a low, almost mumbling voice.

“To the rooftop.”

“Huh?”

“Now!”

As the bomb threatener turned and started running, I dashed out. There’s no time. We need to get to the rooftop before he escapes.

Jeondohyeong, not understanding, followed me.

“What are you doing! What if that’s a bomb!”

“That guy himself is a bomb! We have to kill him!”

I frantically opened the rooftop door and looked for a ladder.

We have to kill him. The criminal who robbed us on the street took masks. It’s easy to connect that information to me. We even openly suspected it was a bomb, so it’s even more so.

‘If we throw it now, the timing will be right.’

The speed of running down the stairs from the 4th floor and me finding a ladder on the rooftop should be similar.

Jeondohyeong and I worked together to throw the ladder towards the entrance. In the cloudy, blurry world, the ladder cast a faint shadow as it fell, and bang, it collided with the threatener who had just run out of the entrance.

“Ahhh!”

A loud crash and screams filled Villa Street. The threatener tried to move the ladder, but his bones might have been broken, so he couldn’t move properly.

Also, the masks that had spilled out of the mask box fluttered and scattered everywhere.

I took a deep breath and leaned on the railing.

“Right. It didn’t seem like a bomb.”

Jeondohyeong’s bewildered voice came from behind.

“If it didn’t seem like a bomb, why did you drag someone here and cause all this trouble?”

“But you never know.”

“…So what do we do with that guy?”

I looked down at the street. These days, zombies aren’t seen much during the day. Maybe they were swept away by the rainy season, died from disease, or are hiding from the heat. I’m not sure.

But there were zombies moving around during the day. Only the hungry zombies moved in the heat. They shuffled towards the threatener, who was screaming loudly, and started biting and tearing into him.

The sound of flesh being torn was gruesome.

“While they’re distracted by the meat, let’s get inside quickly. Before they come into the villa.”

I took one last look at the bomb threatener. Could I frame him? Make it seem like he was the masked robber.

‘He’s about the same build as me.’

I also had two guns. One I took from the church, and one I picked up from a dead police officer’s body at school. To cover up the crime, it’s okay to use one.

I went back inside and borrowed Sajihyeon’s phone, which was almost out of power. The call was to my police friend.

“Hey, how are you? So, I just took down an armed robber. He had a bunch of masks and was threatening people with a gun…”

 

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