The office had gone quiet once more.
Just quiet enough for everyone to brew with their thoughts.
The faint red glow of the emergency exit sign painted the room in dull shadows, turning the broken desks and overturned chairs into jagged shapes that looked almost alive. Dust still hung in the air from the earlier fighting, mixing with the metallic smell of blood and the sour scent of fear that no one could wash off.
Jin sat against a toppled desk, the steel pipe resting across his knees like some crude promise of survival. Every part of his body ached. His ribs still burned from where the sound hunter had thrown him, and every time he shifted, pain reminded him exactly how close he had come to dying.
Again...
Around him, the others looked no better.
Minho sat near the barricaded door, staring blankly at nothing, his enhanced strength useless against exhaustion. Sora leaned against the wall with her knees pulled to her chest, eyes fixed on the floor. Daniel sat nearby, shoulders tense even while resting, like his body had forgotten how to relax.
Seul-ki had fallen quiet again, her injured leg stretched carefully in front of her. She kept rubbing the same spot on her wrist over and over, like it grounded her somehow.
And Min was doing better, but he was clearly still exhausted because even now he was still knocked out completely; even so, the healer kept using her power on him in hopes he would be able to kill another one of those monsters.
A faint groan broke the silence.
Jin's head snapped up.
Min shifted, his face tightening like even breathing hurt. His eyes fluttered open slowly, unfocused at first, before finally settling somewhere near Jin.
For a second, nobody moved.
Then the healer let out a shaky breath.
"He's awake."
Min blinked once.
Twice.
Then his lips twitched.
"You guys... are still here?"
His voice was rough and dry, barely louder than a whisper, but for the first time, there was no strange echo trailing behind it.
That alone made Jin feel relief he didn't want to admit.
"Yeah," Jin said, leaning forward slightly. "Unfortunately."
Min gave the weakest laugh in human history.
"Disappointing."
Seul-ki let out a quiet snort from across the room.
"Glad you feel well enough to be sarcastic."
Min shifted and immediately regretted it, judging by the look on his face.
"It feels like my brain is trying to leave my body."
"Good, you're only feeling your own pain now, then," Jin said.
Min reached up, brushing dried blood beneath his nose.
Then, after a long second, he muttered,
"I'm starving."
That actually made the room pause.
Daniel blinked.
"Seriously?"
Min looked offended.
"I nearly died. I think I've earned being hungry."
Minho rubbed a hand over his face.
"Honestly, fair."
Seul-ki adjusted in her chair.
"There's a break room on this floor. Should still have vending machines, snacks, and other stuff to eat…"
She looked toward Min.
"Something to help him regain his energy."
Min nodded weakly.
"I'd prefer that."
Jin stood slowly, trying not to let anyone notice how much his body hated the idea.
The pipe felt heavy in his hand.
"Then I'll go."
Immediately, Minho frowned.
"By yourself?"
"Break room isn't far."
"That's not the point."
Sora looked up finally.
"It's been too quiet."
She said it softly, but it landed heavily.
Everyone knew what she meant.
Silence here wasn't comfort.
It was suspense.
Jin glanced toward the barricaded door.
Min's scream had killed the monster, but that didn't mean the floor was safe. It just meant the next thing hadn't introduced itself yet.
Still, waiting forever wasn't survival.
"He needs food," Jin said, nodding toward Min. "And honestly, after everything we just went through, I'd like some food myself."
That got the smallest smile from Seul-ki, though nobody volunteered to go with him.
Fear sat too heavily in the room.
Jin stepped toward the barricade.
He had just reached for the nearest desk when he heard the faint sound of footsteps outside.
The room went still.
Even breathing felt too loud.
Minho stood up quietly.
Sora's fingers twitched at her sides.
Daniel moved closer to Seul-ki without thinking.
The healer's hands stopped glowing as she stared at the door.
"Could it be some survivors?" she whispered.
Seul-ki shook her head immediately.
"Maybe... or it could be a trap...."
Nobody liked that answer.
Jin tightened his grip on the pipe.
The footsteps grew louder, but after some time, they sounded farther away, which was a relief. Still, nobody moved or spoke.
And suddenly without warning a voice came from above.
"Well, well…"
The room stiffened instantly.
That voice.
The same one.
The thing that had started all of this.
It sounded almost pleased.
"I must admit Im impressed, I didn't expect most of you to survive this long."
Jin's jaw tightened.
The others stared into the empty air as they might somehow find the speaker.
The voice laughed softly.
A terrible sound.
"Perhaps I judged you all too quickly. Some of you are more stubborn than expected."
Min whispered bitterly,
"Glad we impressed you."
The voice ignored him.
"Some are doing far better than others. Some have already accepted what this world is becoming. Others are still pretending normal life will return."
Its tone sharpened.
"It won't."
Silence pressed against them.
Then the voice became almost cheerful.
"We will speak again soon enough."
A sharp mechanical chime rang through the room.
Blue screens burst into existence before every survivor.
Jin stared at his.
[ SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT ]
Congratulations.
You have survived for 1 Hour.
Time Remaining: [23:00:00]
Rewards: ???
Current Ranking: ???
Rewards Will Be Issued Based on Placement.
Nobody spoke for two full seconds.
Then Minho snapped first.
"What the hell is this?"
His voice echoed through the room, anger finally stronger than fear.
"Ranking? Rewards? What is this, some kind of damn game?"
Sora stood up too fast.
"It's actually keeping score?"
Her hands were shaking now.
"For what? Watching people die?"
The healer stared at her own screen, pale.
"There isn't even any explanation. Just question marks."
Her voice trembled.
"It's hiding things."
Daniel slammed his fist into the wall.
"I don't care about rewards. I want my son. I want my life back."
Seul-ki laughed once.
"Apparently, surviving the apocalypse earns you points. Great. Maybe we can trade them for therapy."
Nobody smiled.
Because the truth underneath it was too ugly.
Jin stared at the screen.
One hour.
Only one.
It felt like they had been trapped in this nightmare for days.
Twenty-three more remained.
That thought alone was enough to make his stomach twist.
And ranking, that part bothered him most.
Because it meant there was some level of competition, and when humans felt competitive, they became worse versions of themselves...
The system wasn't just watching them survive.
It was measuring them.
Judging them like contestants in some messed-up version of the Hunger Games.
Was seeing so much gruesome death entertaining for it?
His grip tightened around the pipe.
A slow anger burned in his chest, but all he could do was exhale slowly.
Anger could come later.
Right now, if they were going to survive for 23 more hours, they would need water and food. And a safer place to hide out.
He looked toward the barricade again.
"We are gonna need supplies."
Minho frowned.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
Jin pointed at the timer.
"Twenty-three hours left. We don't survive that sitting here without any resources."
Nobody argued.
Because they all knew he was right.
He stepped forward and grabbed the first desk blocking the door.
The others watched, tense but silent.
The footsteps from before were still sitting in the back of his mind.
Someone had been out there.
Was it a friend or foe?
He didn't know.
But sitting still wasn't saving anyone.
He pulled the desk aside.
Then another.
The barricade slowly opened.
Before stepping out, he glanced back once.
At Min, still pale but awake.
At Seul-ki, trying not to look worried.
And the rest of the people started to trust him more than he trusted himself.
That weight settled heavily in his chest again.
He hated it.
But he opened the door anyway.
Because someone had to take charge, and right now, that someone was him.