A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened.
Jin-Ah stepped out, now dressed in a white shirt and black pants. She looked at Rien, who was standing near the entrance with a baseball bat resting against his shoulder.
She frowned.
"Care to tell me what's happening?"
Her voice carried equal parts confusion and concern.
Rien looked at her calmly.
"People are becoming... abnormal."
He reached for the doorknob.
"They're attacking one another."
Without another word, he opened the apartment door and stepped into the corridor.
Jin-Ah quickly followed.
The moment she looked down the hallway, she froze.
A lifeless body lay sprawled across the floor.
Its unnatural appearance and the blood staining the corridor made her face turn pale.
Her eyes widened.
"W-What... is that?"
Her voice trembled with fear.
Rien continued walking, his eyes carefully scanning every corner of the corridor.
"I already told you."
His calm voice contrasted sharply with the eerie silence.
"People are becoming abnormal."
He turned the corner without slowing his pace.
Jin-Ah hurried after him, staying close enough that she almost walked into him.
Suddenly—
A woman's scream echoed from one of the nearby apartments.
It was desperate.
Terrified.
Then it abruptly stopped.
Jin-Ah immediately turned toward the closed door.
"Someone's in there."
She looked at Rien anxiously.
Rien met her gaze for a brief moment before quietly stepping in front of her.
He slowly turned the doorknob.
The door creaked open.
He carefully looked inside.
After a few seconds, he spoke without taking his eyes off the room.
"Don't make a sound."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
He stepped inside.
The apartment was in complete disarray.
Furniture had been overturned.
Dark stains marked the walls and floor.
The silence was suffocating.
Jin-Ah swallowed nervously before following him inside.
Every cautious footstep echoed through the room.
Then—
A bedroom door slowly opened.
A woman emerged.
Her clothes were stained, and her movements were disturbingly unnatural, her head tilted at an impossible angle.
She stared blankly ahead.
"...Blood..."
Her voice was little more than a whisper.
"...Flesh..."
She shuffled toward them with slow, uneven steps.
Rien tightened his grip on the baseball bat.
Without taking his eyes off the woman, he spoke quietly.
"You have the keys to the main entrance."
Jin-Ah nodded.
"Go downstairs."
His tone remained calm.
"Unlock the building's front door."
"Once that's open, leave immediately."
"What about you?" she asked, panic rising in her voice.
"I'll catch up."
The woman suddenly stopped.
A disturbing smile spread across her face.
"...Flesh..."
The next instant—
She lunged forward.
Rien reacted immediately.
He sidestepped with precise timing, allowing her to rush past him.
Using her momentum against her, he drove a powerful kick into her side, sending her crashing into the wall.
Before she could recover—
The baseball bat came down with a heavy strike.
The apartment fell silent.
Rien lowered the bat and stood still for a moment, catching his breath.
Without another glance, he walked toward the kitchen sink.
As he entered, his eyes briefly fell upon the tragic remains of a child.
His expression did not change.
He simply stood before the sink.
Looking into the mirror, he saw faint streaks of blood across his face.
He turned on the faucet.
Cold water flowed over his hands as he quietly washed his face.
For several moments, only the sound of running water filled the apartment.
Finally, Rien looked at his own reflection.
His calm eyes remained unwavering.
"I have to do something."
He spoke softly to himself.
Then he turned off the faucet and walked back toward the apartment door, ready to face whatever awaited beyond it.
The main entrance of the apartment building slowly opened.
Rien stepped outside.
A cold breeze swept across the deserted streets.
His calm eyes slowly scanned the city.
Wrecked cars littered the roads. Windows had been shattered. Fresh blood stained the asphalt, while abandoned vehicles sat motionless as if time itself had stopped.
The city that had once been alive...
Now felt like a graveyard.
A car horn suddenly broke the silence.
Beep.
Rien turned toward the sound.
A black sedan was parked nearby.
The driver's window rolled down, revealing Jin-Ah behind the wheel.
She waved at him with a confident smile.
"Get in, Eiffel Tower."
Rien returned a faint smile before walking toward the sedan.
He opened the passenger door, climbed inside, and quietly closed it behind him.
The engine rumbled to life.
"Where are we going?" Rien asked calmly.
Jin-Ah tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
She shifted into reverse before smoothly backing the car away from the building.
"Somewhere safe."
She tried to sound confident, but a trace of uneasiness lingered beneath her hopeful voice.
The sedan accelerated onto the empty streets.
Silence filled the car.
Outside, the city had become almost unrecognizable.
Abandoned vehicles blocked entire intersections.
Smoke drifted into the gray sky.
The roads were littered with motionless bodies and scattered debris.
There wasn't a single sign of normal life.
Jin-Ah stared ahead, her hands gripping the steering wheel tighter with every passing second.
"How..."
Her voice trembled.
"...did this happen?"
Rien quietly watched the ruined streets pass by the window.
After a moment, he turned toward her.
"Are you certain your father is safe?"
His tone remained calm.
Jin-Ah nodded without taking her eyes off the road.
"We're heading to him."
She swallowed nervously.
"It's the only place I can think of that's still safe."
The sedan turned onto another road and disappeared deeper into the devastated city.
---
Meanwhile...
At a military command headquarters in South Korea.
Dozens of officers stood in complete silence inside a massive briefing hall.
Large digital screens displayed emergency broadcasts, rapidly spreading infection zones, and evacuation routes.
An elderly general stood at the podium.
His commanding voice echoed through the hall.
"We will eliminate this threat."
He looked across every soldier in the room.
"And we will protect every remaining civilian."
The officers stood at attention.
"Yes, sir!"
Their unified voices shook the room.
Then—
The general suddenly stopped speaking.
A drop of blood slid from his ear.
Another followed.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
The officers nearest to him frowned in confusion.
"General?"
One of the commanders stepped forward.
Before anyone could react—
The old man's entire body convulsed violently.
Bones cracked.
His neck twisted unnaturally.
His breathing became deep and animalistic.
"What...?"
Shock spread through the room.
The general abruptly lunged at the nearest officer.
A scream echoed through the hall as panic erupted.
"Get him off!"
"General!"
Chaos consumed the briefing room.
One commander immediately drew his sidearm and pointed it toward the infected general.
"All personnel!"
His voice thundered through the hall.
"Open fire!"
For a brief second...
No one moved.
Then every rifle was raised.
Gunfire erupted throughout the command center.
The deafening barrage echoed against the concrete walls until the infected general finally collapsed.
Silence followed.
Only the lingering smell of gunpowder remained.
No one spoke.
The soldiers simply stared at what had once been their commanding officer.
For the first time...
Fear had entered the military's eyes.
They realized this was no ordinary crisis.
This was the beginning of something far worse.