SEVEN.

—

It was really a human thing to learn the hard way.

And this time, it cost the survivors their lives.

—

Seung Cheol, rising to his feet, replied to him in a glum voice, “She won’t be coming back.”

A long loud wail of a fire truck’s siren cut through the complete chaos that broke out in the streets not far below. And soon it was followed by sickening noise of brakes squealing, glass shattering, and metal crushing as vehicles crashed into one another in a deadly domino effect.

Ear-splitting screams and panicked cries for help of the scattering crowds pierced the air, scaring the birds away. Seen from above, people looked like helpless ants running away from ravenous creatures that were no longer human. But nobody could escape. Nobody could save anyone else. Not even the squads of soldiers and police officers as they also fell victim to the sudden mysterious outbreak.

Sounds of explosions were heard in different locations, and although they were not near, the horrifying impacts reached Section C4 and shook the ground underneath the building.

The survivors on the rooftop of Section C4 could only listen to the deafening noise of doom in despair. Drained, depleted of energy and courage. Some squeezed their eyes shut and covered their ears. Some sobbed in the arms of their friends, some sobbed while scrolling down random pages looking for news. Some showed no expression as their mind went blank with unspeakable horror. And some had given up trying to contact their most important ones as nobody picked up the call. But some also seemed unfazed by the rising tide of terror, shrill screams, and their doomed world.

Particularly the beautiful man with long, blonde-dyed hair. In his darkened eyes, there was a distinct look of incredulity. And anger.

“What did you say?”

“That girl… Hwang Jin Joo,” the young policeman again responded as calmly as he could manage, his eyes locking with the other’s fuming ones. “She’s not coming back.”

“Bull.” A note of denial crept into the harshness of that voice. “I know she’s coming. Yes, she’s coming,” repeated the blonde-haired guy, the muscle at his jaw taut and twitching. “She must be on her way here.”

Seung Cheol tried to maintain his calm despite a pang of guilt that ran through him, ready to face the consequences of having his fate reversed. He had seen deaths. So many deaths. But this time, he was the one who should have died. And for someone who actually hated feeling indebted to others, Seung Cheol realized that he wouldn’t only feel sorry for the rest of his life—which he didn’t know for how long given the dire situation—but also face the grief of someone who lost his dear one due to his helplessness. His heart twinged as old memories awakened within him. Memories he would never be able to erase. And now all the pain in the angry eyes of the blonde-haired young man would be forever engraved in his mind, adding to the nightmares he had been living with.

“Jeong Han hyung!”

A hoarse shriek snapped Seung Cheol out of his thoughts. When he returned to full awareness, he saw the blonde-haired young man walk past him toward the thick metal door.

“Where are you going?” Seung Cheol immediately grasped his lower arm at the elbow, stopping him mid-step.

Jeong Han furiously yanked his arm out of his grasp, yelling, “GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!” He darted a disgusted look at the policeman and then pushed him hard. Hard enough to make him almost stumble back. “Aren’t you a police officer? You have been in’ sworn and paid to help and protect people! How useless!” His beautiful face was distorted with unreasoning hate, his glare dangerous. But even though he lunged at the policeman grabbing him by the collar of his uniform shirt, the anguish and fear in his voice was palpable. “Why couldn’t you save just one more person? Why did you leave her behind!? Why did you—”

“I can’t help and protect those who died,” Seung Cheol cut in, spilling nothing but the harshest truth as if his heart was made of frozen stone. He stood up calm and unmoving, allowing the blonde-haired college student to vent all of his destructive emotions that might have been bottled up inside him. The grasp on his collar tightened painfully, but he looked fixedly at the younger one whose eyes glistened with restrained tears, accepting all the blame unwaveringly, and then said, “But I will help and protect those who live.”

Jeong Han let out a low, unamused chuckle. “Much easier to talk than to do the real , isn’t it?” His thin lips curved into a wry smirk. A single tear managed to roll down his fair cheek and he immediately wiped it away with the back of his hand. “Get out of my way,” he said coldly, loosening his iron grip and pushing the policeman away again. “I’m picking up Jin Joo now.”

“Jeong Han hyung!”

Seeing the blonde-haired man turn away to leave with no sign of hesitation, Won Woo felt an overwhelming dread washing over him. He moved quickly ignoring the throbbing pain in his ankle and managed to pull Jeong Han back before he could reach the door. And no matter how displeased and threatening the older one looked, Won Woo refused to let him go, holding his wrist so tightly that his fingernails were white. Beyond the steel door, there were only inevitable chaos and deaths, and Won Woo knew the situation well enough to know that Jeong Han had a zero chance of survival once he stepped out.

“You can’t go, hyung! Please stay! Jin Joo...” Won Woo’s dry voice was firm and serious, but as soon as that name slipped out from his lips, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He then fell into a grim silence looking the older one in the eye, guilt piercing through him. “She will not want you to leave,” he ended the void with a woeful voice. But there was no uncertainty in it.

Jeong Han stared fixedly at the younger guy, his lips pressed tight together. Forcing himself to accept the fact was like embracing a bush of thorny roses—the unwillingness to believe it pricking him all over his body, agonizing him. His eyes were smoldering with resentment, even though he consciously knew that everyone was a victim. Everyone was scared and hopeless. Everyone lost someone very important. And everyone would die, sooner or later.

“I’m… sorry,” Won Woo’s low suffocated voice broke the silence. Slowly, he pulled back his hand that had a slight tremor.

“Won Woo.” Jeong Han turned toward the younger one, which seemed like he was finally reconsidering the thought of leaving the rooftop. But the fire was still burning inside. And he couldn’t help wanting to hurt the person he was seeing although knowing it was useless. She would never return again. “If only she didn’t see and hear you…” he said through clenched teeth, crumpling the fabric over his chest in his fist. “If only she didn’t recklessly try to be a hero, she might be—”

“Jeong Han hyung.” Min Gyu stepped forward between them, instantly silencing the older one with an air of acrimony surrounding his presence. “Could you not blame Won Woo hyung?” His tone of voice was cold and flat, carrying bitter apathy that sent a chill through everyone who heard it. “If she died, then there’s nothing we can do about it.”

And suddenly, the invisible time bomb exploded.

Shocked gasps were heard.

When Min Gyu blinked his eyes open, he found himself in the protective arms of Won Woo who reflexively caught him as he staggered back, a stinging pain spreading over the right side of his face. That punch was damn hard. Hard enough to make him feel dizzy and unable to control his balance for a moment. He felt the warm iron taste in his mouth, and then wiped his lips with the end of his sleeve. Fresh blood seeped through the dirt-stained white fabric. And when he looked back at the blonde-haired older guy, he was immediately scorched by rage from the other’s eyes.

“Kim Min Gyu.”

Jeong Han stood rigid as if bound to the spot, glaring at the taller junior with his fists still tightly clenched at his sides. Instead of the amiable warmth of an approachable and caring older brother that he was always associated with, his voice now carried venom that made the air around them feel suffocating.

“Are you aware of the way you just talked? I can’t believe that your incapability to make peace with the past has really turned you into a heartless son of a . Do you even realize that someone has sacrificed her own life to keep you alive?”

At that very moment, whatever connection that ever existed between the senior and the junior was broken off. A grave consequence that Min Gyu didn’t see coming.

“You! Me! All of us here! We all ing owe our lives to Hwang Jin Joo!” Jeong Han suddenly screamed himself hoarse in fury, veins bulging in his neck and eyes. He turned around to mentally slap everyone again with the truest truth before unforgivingly looking back at Min Gyu who just stood stony-faced without saying a word. “How dare you… HOW DARE YOU SHAMELESS BASTARD TALK AS IF HER LIFE WAS INSIGNIFICANT!”

There was no hint of regret whatsoever in Min Gyu’s unchanged expression, and that was like adding fuel to the fire. Yoon Jeong Han, whom everyone in Cheon Yang College of Arts knew as the gentlest senior and ex-president of the student council, lost his temper again and completely this time. He trembled with a new surge of rage when he raised his fist at Min Gyu, but Seung Cheol caught his wrist fast.

“Sorry that I have to stop you,” said the policeman unemotionally. “We’re not here to hurt each other.”

“And who the hell are you talking like—”

Jeong Han couldn’t complete his words as a shrill scream of terror suddenly pierced through the air, and through the clamor of other sounds. Close to them. All the survivors turned their heads in unison to the source of the scream. An unknown girl burst into hysterical crying while tightly hugging the leg of her friend who was standing unfalteringly on the raised barrier at the very edge of the building rooftop.

“Ji Ae-ya! Please! Please, don’t do this!”

“Let me go, Seo Yeon-ah,” said the suicidal girl in a low voice. Fearless and ready.

“No, I won’t!” replied the crying bob-haired girl furiously, tears blurring her vision. “Please stay with me, Ji Ae-ya. We are… we’re going to get this through together, o-okay?”

Sighing softly, Ji Ae shifted her soulless gaze from the appalling sight of ravenous corpses killing people down there to her best friend. A faint, apologetic smile pushed up one corner of her lips as she saw the bob-haired girl tremble with the ugly cry and hiccups. That broke her heart too, and she wanted to hug her to stop her from wailing before things got worse and she lost her voice. But she couldn’t move. She couldn’t think of any comforting words to say. She couldn’t feel it anymore. The will to live.

“Wait, Miss. Can we talk for a moment?”

The lifeless-looking girl turned her head a little further to the side, looking at a stranger in a bloodied Cheon Yang city’s police uniform who was slowly approaching her, her heels still unmoved on the barrier. Despite him not being in a good shape, he maintained a calm expression. His steps were calculated and purposeful as if he was trying to catch a butterfly and not wanting to scare it away.

She fixed her attention on him, a realization growing in her. It was the first time she saw such an attractive young policeman. He was tall and masculine, his hair jet black and now damp with sweat, eyes like those of an eagle: sharp and vigilant. The tears and rips on his uniform and that ing ed first button revealed a bit more of his well-toned and healthy body that was like that of an athlete in full prime.

Amusement then tickled her, which surprised her as she thought she had been disconnected from all things in the world including temptations. She stared at him longer, silently. Although there were cuts and scratches on his face, he sure had the charming look of an idol whom girls and even boys would madly crush on.

“Can we talk for a moment?” he asked the same question again in his softest, most persuasive tone. “I’ll be hearing you.”

The girl remained unresponsive with a mirthless expression that was so hard to read, her long disheveled hair whirling around her head.

Seung Cheol stepped forward very carefully, and then stopped again. “Would you please tell me your name?”

“Kang Ji Ae,” she replied flatly.

“Miss Kang Ji Ae,” he called her tenderly, empathetically, and yet his voice was tinged with insistence. “Please allow me to hear your concerns. I’m here to help you. I promise.”

The girl finally responded to the persuasion, giving him a quiet chuckle. “What’s your name?”

“Choi Seung Cheol.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-six.”

To his surprise, a big enigmatic smile spread across her lips. “Gyeongchal-nim, do you know that you’re hot?” An honest teasing that suddenly caught everyone off guard. “And you are my type too,” she continued. “Have you got a girlfriend already?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Do you have someone you like?”

Still utterly confused, Seung Cheol shook his head again.

Ji Ae blew a disappointed sigh. “.” She dropped her gaze spiritlessly, back to the corpse-filled ground that was four floors away from her. “God is ending the world too soon,” she said in a weak complaining tone. “I would have been busy chasing after a in’ good-looking cop and making him mine if this didn’t happen.”

Seung Cheol opened his mouth to say something, but he had to swallow it again as the other girl suddenly raised her voice.

“Right!” Seo Yeon sobbed and cackled at the same time, getting the sad humor. “Just look behind you, Ji Ae-ya! We’re not fighting on our own. Jeong Han sunbae, Min Gyu sunbae, Won Woo sunbae, and Vernon sunbae are with us! Don’t you think it’s a blessing in disguise? To be here with the hottest guys of our college?!” She firmly held her friend’s cold hand, giving it a hopeful squeeze. “Usually peasants like us can only admire them from a distance, but now they’re right in front of us! Sunbae are noticing us!” She shouted looking up at this stubborn friend, wishing she could knock some sense into her in spite of using the most ridiculous way of persuasion. “And you just heard that Mr. Policeman is still single. It’s in’ no fun to die without giving a try now, right!?”

Ji Ae didn’t respond, didn’t turn back, but she was listening.

“You gotta stay alive, Ji Ae-ya!” Seo Yeon cried, frantically shaking her friend’s hand harder. “Yes! We’re all gonna die! But why can’t you live a little longer and mess with God’s plan a bit?!” she challenged her. “You might be able to win the policeman’s heart if you try! Who knows! Everything is possible if we’re alive. But if we—”

“Amazing.” Ji Ae’s shoulders shook as she laughed, immediately silencing the other girl. And they shook harder the louder her laughter became. “Seo Yeon-ah, you’re amazing,” she said again, looking back at the bob-haired girl with amusement slowly turning into incredulity. “Sometimes I can’t understand you. You always see the good in people, in everything. And I’m so jealous now… the world is coming to its end right in front of your eyes, and yet you remain positive. And hopeful. Very impressive, Seo Yeon-ah. How the hell could you do that?” she asked, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

Seo Yeon gave no reply, flustered by the unfamiliar indifference that she saw in her childhood friend. Her smile faded away.

“Seo Yeon-ah, aren’t you feeling sad? Aren’t you scared?” Ji Ae continued. And the more she talked, the more bitter her words became. “Your parents, your brother and sister, your neighbors, and also your fiance… they’re all going to die. Or maybe, they’ve all died now.” She grinned down at Seo Yeon, her eyes mirthless. “The world is over. What the hell do you want to live for?”

“I know,” the bob-haired girl answered with a resigned smile, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I’m sad. I’m scared too,” she said. “The world is over. People are dying everywhere, turning into monsters, but here we are. Still breathing. Still alive. Still human. And where there’s life, there’s hope. Ji Ae-ya, let’s fight this together. Okay?”

“How funny.”

Still standing on the edge of the barrier, Ji Ae slowly turned around and looked at the concerned faces of other survivors, one by one. Her gaze stopped on the young policeman for a moment, until finally, she locked eye contact with Seo Yeon, a cynical smile lifting her lips.

“Stop pretending that you’re strong. Stop pretending that everything is going to be alright.” Ji Ae stared down at her befuddled friend, her words as cold as ice and sharp as daggers. “I’m in’ sick of seeing it.” Her eyes widened with rage, tears welling. “Just admit that you’re ed up, you .”

There was a painful silence. And nobody knew how to break it.

“I’m pregnant,” Ji Ae said all of sudden. A revelation that everyone wasn’t ready to cope with. “Two months now.”

“... what?”

“The father is Hyun Seok.”

Seo Yeon forgot to breathe for a moment, her eyes unblinking. That was the name of her fiance. And she didn’t mishear. And although there were a lot of men with the same name, she knew whom Ji Ae was referring to. Still in shock, she unconsciously pulled herself away from the person whom she adamantly prevented from jumping a while ago, tottering back. It felt like a big thorn was stuck in her chest, bobbing. And she could just stare at the long-haired girl, not able to utter a single word.

“We’ve been cheating on you behind your back for the past nine months.” Ji Ae smirked unapologetically. “Seo Yeon-ah, you know it, right?” Her lips flattened again into a straight line, her expression resentful. “But you act like you don’t. Seriously, that sickens me to the guts,” she grunted, a single tear gliding down her cheek. “Why don’t you get mad at us? Why don’t you try to stop us?!”

Seo Yeon took in a sharp intake of breath, her joyless gaze falling to the rooftop floor. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, her lips shut tight. After sorting out her thoughts, she looked back up at Ji Ae with a gentle forgiving smile on her face. “I’m sorry for being such a coward for so long,” she told her. “Actually, I’ve always been wanting to tell you… I’m okay with letting him go. If that’s what’s best for us.” Tears burst from her eyes again, but she quickly wiped them away. “If you and Hyun Seok love each other, I’ll be happy to break off the engagement.”

Ji Ae suddenly yanked their friendship bracelet off her wrist and threw it right at Seo Yeon’s face. “Shut the up!” she screamed. “Are you making fun of me?! That’s exactly why I hate you! I hate the way you always make me feel like I’m the despicable, condemnable one!”

“I’m… sorry,” Seo Yeon replied, a flicker of pain distorting her face. “That’s my fault… for not knowing it earlier. I’m really sorry, Ji Ae-ya… for making you feel that way. But please, I’m begging you. Don’t do this to yourself. To the new life inside you,” she pleaded, slowly taking one step forward. “You can continue to hate me, you can blame me, you can hurt me. I won’t mind.” She reached her hand out to her, smiling hopefully. “Could you give me one more chance to be a better friend… for you?”

Ji Ae sighed heavily and then cast her eyes skyward. “Seriously,” she groaned. “What should I do to you?”

“You may think of that later, okay?” Seo Yeon said. “I swear you can do anything to me. But now, please come back. We can survive this together.”

“Know what?” For a moment Ji Ae fell silent staring at the bob-haired girl, pondering, a flashback running through her mind. With a sad smile, she then said, “I told Hyun Seok the truth. But he said he wouldn’t take the responsibility. He wanted me to abort.”

Seo Yeon’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“He said he needed to focus on his newly-established company.” Ji Ae let out a low, ironic laugh. “And then marry you.”

“Did that bastard really say that to you?”

Ji Ae nodded. “Do you believe me?”

“Of course I do!” Seo Yeon answered without even a second thought. “We’ve been friends since we were children. You’re very important to me!” Now anger burned in her chest. “Ji Ae-ya, why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”

“What would you do if I told you earlier?” Ji Ae asked in a skeptical tone.

“I would kill that filthy bastard with my own hands for ever hurting you!”

“Seo Yeon-ah, why are you so stupid?” Ji Ae shook her head weakly, sighing with an amused smile. “What if I was just fabricating a lie?”

“I might be stupid. Sometimes,” Seo Yeon said and returned the smile confidently. “But I’m good at knowing when you’re lying. In other words, you can’t lie to me.”

The girl standing on the edge of the barrier stopped saying a word now, but her expression gradually softened as she stared down at the bob-haired girl. They were smiling at each other, and Seung Cheol secretly heaved a sigh of relief. The tension that once existed between them had melted into a heartening understanding. Whatever miscommunication they had before seemed to have been gradually solved.

Seung Cheol turned his head and furtively glanced across the distance at certain male students standing near the metal door. The blonde-haired pretty one and the dark-haired tall one. It seemed like those two wouldn’t forgive and be reconciled with each other soon because the bitter and sullen atmosphere between them was still stronger than anything else.

“Can this unnecessary drama just stop? It’s getting boring.”

A caustic, unempathetic voice was suddenly heard in the background. Startled, all the survivors turned their eyes on a girl with brown long wavy hair.

“If you want to jump, then just jump. What a waste of time,” said the brown-haired girl provocatively after a loud sigh, her arms folded across her chest, looking away with a scornful expression. “Are you feeling better now that people pay attention to you?”

Enraged, Seo Yeon spun on her heel and walked toward her. “What did you just say?”

The tall, model-like girl shifted her cold gaze to Seo Yeon and took one step forward toward the shorter girl, towering over her. “Are you deaf?” she asked back with an arrogant smirk across her lips.

“Park Da Mi, you . Look at your oh-so-fake self! Getting all dolled up and acting like you’re above others just because you think you’re beautiful and cool are for what?!” Seo Yeon dauntlessly jabbed her index finger into the taller girl’s chest with each word she spoke. “Seeking attention from Min Gyu sunbaenim that in’ much, huh?” She smiled derisively. “But it seems like Min Gyu sunbaenim is not even attracted to a person who’s only proud of her fake beauty but has no brain like you. How pitiful.”

If they were in a game, Seo Yeon’s bluntness was that ultimate punch that KO-ed the enemy.

Now while the girls were starting a new commotion, Seung Kwan was surprised by the weak movement of someone leaning against his arm. His heart skipped a beat for a moment as he saw the blondish-brown haired guy in his embrace stir slowly into consciousness. And when his eyes finally flickered open, a flood of tears suddenly burst from Seung Kwan’s eyes. “Vernon-ah!” he wailed, hugging his cherished friend so tightly. “Vernon-ah… you’re back…”

“... Seung Kwan?” Vernon winced as he tried to move his head and sit up. A sudden rush of pain racked through his body and he fell backward again. But he didn’t give up. His survival instinct told him that he had to stay awake and alert. He blearily forced himself to regain full consciousness, enduring the wild pulse that was hammering inside his head.

“Yes, yes! It’s me!” Seung Kwan replied fast as he released the battered-looking guy from his arms, half relieved and half flustered. “Take it easy, Vernon-ah.” He supported him carefully as Vernon moved into a sitting position. “How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know… my head hurts…” muttered the half-Korean guy. A low moan escaped his chapped lips as he tried to steady himself. “Seung Kwan… are you okay?”

“I’m okay!” Seung Kwan pouted disgruntledly, hot tears streaming down his already puffed face. “Thanks to you, I’m in’ okay and scared as hell!” he half yelled. And he obviously looked unmollifiable when he laid his fist on Vernon’s chest, but it was a light punch filled with worry, relief, and gratefulness. “Please don’t force me to leave you behind again, you bastard!”

Vernon listened to him, amused and yet regretful. “... sorry.”

“Vernon.”

Vernon weakly turned his head, responding to another male voice that came from his right side. “Min Gyu sunbae...” His vision blurred again for a moment, but he still could recognize the approaching human shapes around him. “... Jeong Han sunbae. Thank you… for saving me,” he said raspily.

“Don’t talk anymore,” Min Gyu replied, squeezing his shoulder concernedly. “You must rest up for a while.”

“... mn… why is it so noisy?” Vernon asked, repeatedly opening and closing his eyes. “Are we safe yet?”

“Yes. You don’t need to worry,” Jeong Han said. “It’s just the ladies arguing and bickering, that’s all.”

Vernon shook his head. “No… no… it’s not from us...”

And that suddenly filled them with apprehension.

Chwe Hansol Vernon was known as one of the top music students in Cheon Yang College of Arts and had astounded countless people, especially professionals, with his musical intelligence. Born into a family of professional musicians and artists, Vernon was gifted with the ability to play many musical instruments very well, but ones that he whole-heartedly preferred playing were violin and piano as he devoted himself chiefly to classical music. And this had indeed led his name to fame and acknowledgment.

One thing that made Vernon receive widespread attention was the fact that the handsome violinist had won numerous violin competitions nationally and internationally. But if there was another thing that made him unusual, it was the fact that he was extremely sensitive to sounds. Not only was he able to naturally recognize musical patterns and express musical forms, but he was also easily distracted by strange or unrhythmic sounds. They disturbed him, irked him. Which was why he always appeared in public with earbuds stuck in his ears and classical music playing to help him calm down and avoid any kind of irritating noise.

So when Vernon suddenly blurted out that he heard a weird noise that wasn’t coming from any of the survivors, those who heard him felt chills run down their spine.

“I hear something getting closer…”

Seung Kwan, Min Gyu, Jeong Han, and Won Woo were silent with tense expressions, listening to him.

“Fast footsteps… groanings… so many… too many…” His brow furrowed as he said too with a heavy emphasis. “And they’re all coming up… toward us...”

Won Woo was the first one who could somehow sense the connection. He shifted his unblinking gaze from the blondish-brown haired junior to the worried policeman across the distance, and then to the quarreling strangers. The suicidal girl hadn’t stepped down from the raised barrier on the edge of the rooftop. And it clearly seemed to him that none of them noticed anything strange.

Woo Woo looked back at Vernon and a rush of dread shot through him. A realization suddenly dawned on him and he quickly dragged himself toward the edge of the rooftop. As soon as he cast his gaze downward, his breathing hitched, the color draining from his face.

“Stay quiet. Stay unseen. Stay alive.”

Won Woo turned his eyes back to the other group of survivors that were still making a ruckus at the other side of the rooftop, and he froze. A warning message reverberated through his head and soul.

Noticing the drastic change in the older guy’s behavior, Min Gyu rose to his feet again and approached him. “Won Woo hyung, what’s happening?”

Won Woo didn’t answer the concerned taller guy, nor did he look back at him. Then suddenly, he trembled and screamed at the policeman, “Gyeongchal-nim!” An unfiltered and uncontrolled fear had overwhelmed him, surprising everyone who heard him. He ignored the sharp throbbing pain in his sprained ankle and ran toward them. The moment the policeman responded to the shocking urgency in his voice, he raised his hand pointing at the long-haired girl standing cluelessly on the barrier at the edge of the rooftop. “TAKE HER AWAY FROM THERE!!!”

Seung Cheol immediately understood the message and fear flashed across his face. Without a second thought, he spun on his heel and hurried toward Kang Ji Ae, shouting and stretching his hand out to her.

But it was too late.

A filthy, bloodied hand suddenly emerged from the unobserved space and yanked Ji Ae off her balance with its deadly grip. She was violently pulled down, completely unprepared and helpless, but then she felt the speed at which she was falling slowed down. The policeman managed to grab her arm, but all hopes shattered milliseconds later.

Alone, Seung Cheol failed to haul himself up against the power of gravity and the pulling mob. He lost his grip on the barrier. And next, they all watched the terrifying sight as Ji Ae disappeared from their view and the policeman fell along with her.