Chapter Text
If anyone asked Seokjin why he was being chased by zombies, he’d ask them to go ask whatever supernatural being that put him in this ridiculous game.
One second he was about to be crushed by a lorry, the next he was about to be chomped by zombies. Just five minutes ago, right after Seokjin got pushed aside by his dear childhood friend when the lorry was about to crash into him, Seokjin landed on the ground with his best friend on top of him.
“Hyung!” Namjoon seemed surprised that the pain he was expecting did not come, “Are you okay?”
“More or less,” Seokjin, who was still recovering from the shock, said, “Where are we?”
Okay, maybe he should first explain how they ended up in this situation.
They were on the way back home, when a piece of shyt decided it was a good idea to speed in a small area like theirs, which caused a lorry to turn too fast in an attempt to dodge the car. Which in turn caused it to flip over and land on Seokjin, who was just an innocent pedestrian nearby. On any other day, Seokjin would probably turn red from head to toe. Namjoon had been right on top of him! How embarrassing was that! (Not that he had any complaints)
Today, however, was not any other day. Seokjin looked around. It was an empty street. There were many empty cars around, most of them had opened doors and broken windows.
Wherever the heck they were now, it was not their neighbourhood.
What the heck? Had they travelled through time and ended up in an apocalypse? Was there anything around that could tell the date? Or at least where they were? Seokjin looked up at the building next to them, it seemed like some sort of convenience store?
“Holy shyt–” Just then, four lines of red words appeared out of nowhere.
[Welcome to the Abyss]
[Survival Instance: No More Dream]
[Main Quest 1: Find the Cause of the Outbreak]
[Main Quest 2: Survive]
Seokjin pointed at the words and looked towards Namjoon. Were they both seeing that? Namjoon shrugged with a confused expression mirroring his own. Yup, Seokjin was not hallucinating. What in the world was that?! Were they trapped in some sort of game?! Seokjin was a game streamer, and he can say responsibly that there were no VR games in the market that looked like this.
Well, at least being thrown into a random game was better than actually being stuck in a zombie apocalypse, right? Games were Seokjin’s territory. First step, explore their place of birth.
Seokjin nodded towards the convenience store. Shall they? Namjoon nodded. They shall.
The bell above the door rang. There was no one inside the store to answer the call. The place was a mess, the shelves had all fallen, and everything was everywhere. It looked as if there had been a big fight here. Oh dear, were they trapped in a horror game? Seokjin was bad at horror games. Right next to the cashier was a rack of newspapers. The topmost newspaper wrote:
News Breaking! The government confirms that the zombie virus is real! The Ministry of Health has called for a conference…
“Hello?”
“AHHH!!!”
Seokjin and Namjoon knocked into each other as they both backed away at the same time. What was that?! Seokjin looked towards the direction of the call. There was a little girl peeking from the cashier. Has she always been there? Their reaction must have surprised her, as she ducked back under the counter.
“Hi?” Seokjin called out to her cautiously after determining that it wasn’t a ghost, “Sorry about that, we didn’t see you,”
“...” The little girl peeked up again. “Are you with the government?”
“Uh, no,” On second thought, maybe Seokjin should have lied. “But we’re looking for them as well?”
“Can I come along?” Her eyes widened in expectation. “Mama and Papa told me to look for people from the government…”
[Side Quest Unlocked: Bring Bora to the Government. Do you want to accept the quest?]
Seokjin exchanged glances with Namjoon, from the abandoned cars and the newspaper, it wasn’t hard to deduce that this world was going through a zombie apocalypse. Was it wise to bring a little girl with them? Probably not. Namjoon nodded.
“Sure,” But what can go wrong with a side quest? “What’s your name?”
“Bora,” She came out of her hiding place, holding a purple whale plushie close to herself. Her pants were dirty from the dirt on the ground, she must have been here for quite a while. She can’t be any older than five. It made Seokjin’s heart soft. Cute.
“Hi Bora,” Seokjin knelt down so that they were at the same level, he held out a hand to her, “I’m Seokjin, and he’s Namjoon. Nice to meet you,”
Bora gave him a nervous smile and shook Seokjin’s hand.
[Side Quest Accepted: Bring Bora to the Government]
That marked the end of five minutes.
It started with Namjoon patting Seokjin’s back rapidly, demanding his immediate attention. Namjoon pointed at the door. Following his direction, Seokjin saw a man in a suit stumbling past the convenience store. Alarming hairline, a lanyard, a beer belly. He looked like an office worker. And then Seokjin saw his face.
His eyes were black, his skin was rotten, and his mouth was stained by something that looked suspiciously like blood. Fuck.
The zombie turned in their direction.
Bora screamed.
Shyt! Seokjin covered her mouth, but it was too late.
The zombie crashed into the convenience store.
AHHH!!!
Namjoon was the first to react. Namjoon picked up an umbrella that had been laying around and threw it at the zombie’s legs. Seokjin picked Bora up from the ground just as the zombie tripped, saving her from the zombie’s grasp. This was why he did not like horror games!!! Scratch that, this was too realistic to even be a game!!! Seokjin backed away from the zombie as quickly as he could. But fuck, no one told him zombies could crawl?!
His back hit the wall. They were cornered. Now what?!
Adrenaline controlled Seokjin. He clenched his teeth as he stepped forward and stomped the zombie’s head rapidly as if that was a cockroach and not a zombie. Disgusting!!! The zombie groaned. It seemed to be stunned for a few seconds, otherwise completely unfazed. That few seconds were enough for them to get out of the corner they were in. Run!!!
They made it towards the door. Seokjin cursed. From one end, there were more running towards their way. At least they didn’t have to decide which direction to run.
They ran as fast as they could. Seokjin could hear them getting louder and louder as the distance between them got smaller and smaller. What should they do?! Neither of them had very good stamina. Heck, pretty sure they couldn’t outrun the undead even if they were athletes! Think, Seokjin, think! How could they stop the zombies from following them?! If only there was something to distract the zombies! Or let them hide from the zombies!
Wait, pause. The scene at the convenience store replayed slowly in Seokjin’s mind. The zombie only crashed into the convenience store after Bora screamed. Could it be possible that the zombies couldn’t see well? Their eyes were black… It sort of made sense if they couldn’t see?! But what if he was wrong?! Well fuck it, one way to find out!
Seokjin looked around, anywhere… Ah! His sight zoomed in on the shadow of a building.
“Namjoon-ah!” Seokjin called out, “Take the second turn on your right!”
Namjoon did as told, and Seokjin followed suit. It was dark inside the alley, as the building shielded them from the sun. Both of them stopped their tracks abruptly. It was a dead end. Well shyt.
It was either Seokjin was right or the three of them were dead.
Seokjin placed a finger on his lips, shushing the rest of them, then beckoned for them to move backward. They slowly backed towards the end of the alley. If his deduction was correct, hiding in the alley would be the best decision. Though it would be better if it wasn’t a dead end… Seokjin gulped. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. Hopefully, the zombie couldn’t hear it.
Right as they reached the end of the alley, Seokjin saw a hoard of zombies running by. Seokjin held his breath. That’s right, just keep going straight!!! Nothing to see here! Keep going! The groaning sound of zombies faded. None of them had turned into the alley. Thank god!! His deduction was correct!!! Just as Seokjin was about to let out a sigh of relief, a zombie appeared at the exit of the alley. It turned towards their direction.
Seokjin held his breath again immediately. Fuck. Where did he come from?!
Namjoon moved quietly in front of Seokjin, as if ready to fight the zombie if it advanced.
Seokjin covered Bora’s eyes, she didn’t have to see this if things went ugly.
Go away go away go away
The zombie stumbled a step forward. AHHH!!!! Just go away!!!
Suddenly, an animal-like cry rang from a distance. The zombie whipped his head around and ran in that direction. Seokjin wanted to say that he felt relieved, which he was , but that sounded like some sort of zombie boss calling for its henchman.
“AHHHHH!” Just a few seconds after the call, the shout of a man was heard. “HELP! HELP! ANYONE!!”
”I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY!”
“HELP! ANYONE, HELP!”
Too realistic. The cries for help were too realistic, Seokjin was sure that it would haunt him in his dreams. If this was a game, it must have been a PG18 game. Seokjin’s legs were tired from running, his breath was uneven as his body demanded more oxygen. It forced Seokjin to realise – this was more than just a normal game. It never hit Seokjin what sort of world they were in until then. If the zombies caught up to them…
A warm hand on his shoulder pulled Seokjin back to reality. It was Namjoon.
His fear must have been showing on his face. Calm down… Seokjin took another deep breath and nodded, indicating he was fine. He had to be. This wasn’t the time to be controlled by fear. Namjoon let go of him and took a few cautious steps forward. Namjoon peeked outside the alley. How was this guy so brave? Namjoon turned back and gestured an ‘okay’, signalling that it was clear.
Thank god. At least they were safe for now.
“You alright?” Seokjin placed Bora back down on the floor. The little girl seemed to be still recovering from the shock. “We’re safe for now,”
“I’m sorry,” Tears started to form in her eyes. Woah, woah, woah. This NPC had feelings?! “I shouldn’t have screamed,”
“Hey, hey,” Seokjin had next to no experience in comforting little kids, “It’s not your fault, I shouted when I saw you too, remember?”
Namjoon came over and kneeled down as well, “It’s alright to be afraid, we all just have to be more careful next time, right?”
Bora nodded and wiped away her tears. At least she wasn’t going to start breaking down here. Phew. Seokjin gave Namjoon an appreciative gaze. Who knew Namjoon was so good with kids? Then again, Namjoon had always been good with words. That aside… Now what? They can’t stay in this alley forever. Seokjin wiped some sweat away with the back of his hand. His throat was starting to feel dry. Shyt, probably should have packed some supplies back at the convenience store.
“Okay, we need a plan,” Seokjin turned towards Namjoon. “Where do we go next?”
“Bora here is looking for the government, right?” Namjoon smiled at Bora. Those dimples had to be illegal. Bora nodded. “Then let’s go there, do you know the way to the ministry’s office?”
So… They were going to complete the side quest first? Namjoon was still looking at Bora, but his palms were placed together. He opened and closed them. As if signing a book. Book? Reading? Oh! Newspaper! It was written in the newspaper that the Ministry of Health held a conference regarding the outbreak. They should be able to find more clues at the minister’s office!
Namjoon’s brain had always attracted Seokjin.
Unfortunately, Bora shook her head. She didn’t know the way. Then again, she was what, five? Why would she know the way to the ministry’s office?
“Do you know any supermarkets nearby?” Seokjin asked. Maybe they could find a map, and more importantly, supplies! Seokjin needed water. Bora nodded. Bingo! “Can you lead us there?”
“Yes!” Bora smiled brightly. So cute!
“Then are you ready for an adventure, little friend?!” Seokjin couldn’t help but play with her. Even if she was only a NPC. Not sure if it was to help her relax or himself.
“Yes!!” Bora giggled. Ah, the sound of an angel. Okay, but that was about enough. They needed to leave before the zombies decided to turn around.
“Roll call!” Seokjin stood and held one of Bora’s hands, “One!”
“Two!” Bora responded. They both turned towards Namjoon, who had a very stupid smile on his face.
“Three,” Namjoon shook his head fondly, “Let’s go,”
—
The nearest supermarket was further than what they expected. They ran into zombies a few times along the way. They even passed by… The man who had been shouting for help. It wasn’t something Namjoon could erase from memory. Fortunately, they managed to use the same trick to hide from the zombies each time.
But Namjoon wasn’t sure how long their luck was going to keep up. Who knew how long until they ran out of places to hide?
Fortunately, their luck was enough to last until they reached the supermarket. Namjoon assessed the situation. The door of the supermarket was broken, and it was too dark to see if there were any zombies lurking in it. The image of the victims they passed by emerged in Namjoon’s mind. If anything happened inside, they may be the next victims. Namjoon took a deep breath. He turned towards Seokjin. Seokjin nodded.
They didn’t have a choice. They can't go any further without supplies.
Namjoon led them inside.
The electricity was dead. The only source of light was the sun behind them. Hmm, they should try to find a torchlight. Like the convenience store, the supermarket was a mess. Finding supplies by looking at signboards wouldn’t be applicable here.
“Ya!” HOLY SHYT WHO WAS THAT?! On instinct, Namjoon stood in front of Seokjin and Bora with a hand out. From the direction of the sound, a gang of men appeared. There were four of them. Each of them had a knife in their hands and was carrying a backpack. Great. They probably had already taken all of the supplies available here. What were the chances of them sharing?
“Hi,” Namjoon decided to try his luck. ”You guys here for supplies as well?”
”All available supplies are with us,” The one in the middle, who had very eye-catching blonde hair, confirmed Namjoon’s suspicion. Tsk. “Let’s bargain,”
“What do you want?” Namjoon asked.
“I assume you know about the main quest?” The blonde spun the knife in his hand. Oh? Were they also thrown into this world and told to complete a quest? Namjoon nodded.
“We want to leave this area to investigate, but this place is surrounded by zombies,” The blonde smirked, “You don’t seem to have anything to exchange for supplies, so it would be alright for me to ask for your help with something, right?”
“You want us to be bait,” Namjoon stated. The blonde shrugged as if he had not just suggested that. Namjoon turned towards the game expert, shall they risk it? Seokjin turned towards the exit. Namjoon followed his gaze, it was getting dark. Seokjin nodded. Namjoon got his message. Zombies had bad vision, it shouldn’t be too bad of a trade. “We’ll do it, but we want the supplies first,”
“I don’t think you understand the situation you’re in,” The blonde wanted them to distract the zombies now? When they were obviously tired from travelling? They really didn’t care about them surviving, did they?
“You don’t understand the situation you’re in,” Namjoon had nothing to bargain with, but that didn’t matter. He can’t let them become bait now. “We were able to make it all the way here without anything on us, what makes you think we can’t turn around and find another supermarket?”
The men raised their knives. Namjoon smirked, “You think you can kill us? When the zombies couldn’t?”
Seokjin took a step forward, Namjoon could just imagine the stare Seokjin was giving them. He was probably staring at them like they were trash, as if anything they tried would just make a fool out of themselves. Neither of them knew how to fight, but Namjoon went to the gym, and Seokjin was born with wide shoulders. They knew how to pretend that they did.
“Let me guess, you have already tried leaving this place, but retreated when you noticed there were zombies loitering around,” The blonde looked away. Bingo. Namjoon continued, “You don’t even have the guts to try fighting the zombies, you think you can fight us?”
The group of men looked like young adults, they were probably only university students. They didn’t know a thing about hiding emotions. When they exchanged nervous glances, Namjoon knew they had won the battle.
Namjoon took a step back to move forward, “We don’t want to go any further to find supplies, nor do we want to waste energy fighting for it. I think the trade is a fair deal, unless, of course, you guys can get out of here alone,”
The fact was that they couldn’t risk going any further without supplies, but they didn’t have to know that.
The blonde patted the back of one of the other men. The men glared at them but placed his bag down and pushed it towards their way. Seokjin stepped forward and opened the bag. Out of the two of them, Seokjin was the one who knew about what to pack. Namjoon couldn’t see what was inside, but he trusted Seokjin’s decision. Seokjin looked up and nodded at Namjoon. Deal.
“We’ll let you know when we leave,” Namjoon stated, they needed a break.
“Fine,” The blonde turned towards the other men, “Watch them closely,”
Namjoon and Seokjin sat down near the entrance. Seokjin passed him and Bora a bottle of water each. God bless. He really needed water. He never appreciated the convenience of vehicles until today. A fifteen-minute drive took forever on foot. Though he went to the gym, his daily life never required this much stamina before. He could only imagine how Seokjin felt. Namjoon opened the bottle and passed it back to Seokjin. He needed it more.
Namjoon took a satisfying gulp after Seokjin had drank.
“Sleepy,” Bora pouted. Ah, the day must have been extremely tiring for a little girl like her.
“You wanna take a nap?” Seokjin then locked eyes with Namjoon. Seokjin made a wiping motion over the floor. Clear a place for her to lie down? Uhh. Namjoon looked around. He noticed the clothes section was untouched. Guess they determined that clothes were unnecessary supplies.
Namjoon went over and took some shirts for themselves, and laid the rest on the ground for Bora to lie on. Bora rested her head on Seokjin’s lap. Namjoon couldn’t help the smile that crept up his face. There was something about Bora that made Namjoon’s heart swell. Maybe it was the way she interacted with Seokjin. It was so cute. Namjoon turned away, this wasn’t the time to be thinking about how cute they were!
It was time to think about a plan! How were they going to attract the zombies? Noise, that much was obvious. But how? Obviously, they could scream, but was there any better way to do it? Namjoon decided to take another walk around the market. Who knows maybe there was something useful? Just as Namjoon stood, Seokjin caught his hand. Their gazes met.
Seokjin made a turning gesture with his hand and glanced outside. What? Did Seokjin really think he could find car keys here?! Namjoon shook his head. That was impossible. Seokjin pointed towards somewhere behind him, Namjoon turned around. The supermarket was a mess. Everything was everywhere. There were all sorts of things on the ground. Toys, pens, handbags… Handbags?
Namjoon was not an expert on bags, but that bag looked too luxurious to be sold at a supermarket. Its owner must have dropped it while running when the zombies attacked. Meaning that there could be keys inside! Nice observation, Seokjin! Namjoon nodded, signalling that he understood. It’s just… Namjoon gave the other men a quick glance. Namjoon didn’t want to know what their reaction would be if they managed to find car keys.
Namjoon’s eyes zoomed in on the other things near the bag. Was there anything that they might need, so they can cover their actions? Wait. Toys. He saw toys. That’s it, that was his plan. Namjoon walked over to the place where the bag was located. He could feel their gaze following him. It’s alright, Namjoon, no one said anything out loud, not everyone would be able to decipher his and Seokjin’s communication!
Namjoon picked up the abandoned stuffed toys from the ground, and then he pretended to look around in search of something to hold them. Of course, his target was only the handbag. It was now or never! Namjoon took the bag. He took a quick glance inside the bag as he stuffed the toy into the bag. There were keys!! Those were definitely car keys!! Nice!
“Hey, what do you have over there?” Shyt.
“Nothing much,” Namjoon kept his poker face on. “Something to keep the kid entertained, that’s all,”
“Really?” The man looked unconvinced. “Don’t play a fool with me, I saw you eye fucking with your friend over there,”
“Language,” They had a kid in the room! There really were better ways to put their silent conversation! Namjoon explained, “We just wanted a wind-up toy for the kid to keep her entertained later,”
Namjoon held the bag out, “You can check if you don’t trust me,”
The man snatched it over and emptied the handbag. Out came the wind-up toy that he had just put inside, lipstick, a purse… Namjoon secretly stuffed the car keys into his back pocket as the man went through the bag. Good thing he already took the keys out when he saw them. Perks of having a big hand, maybe? The man cursed when he couldn’t find anything.
“Gays,” The man threw the bag back at him angrily. Okay, now that was something Namjoon had not been expecting. Why were they gay?! Just because they were two men with a kid did not mean they were— Fine, that sounded pretty gay. But hey, no one could abandon Bora back there, okay?! Namjoon ignored the feelings that one word made him feel.
Namjoon placed everything back into the bag. Seokjin was frowning in concern when he walked back. Namjoon gave him a smirk and nodded. The next problem was to find the car. Even if they found it, they couldn’t just get in the car and drive. Those men would never allow it. They needed to distract them before finding the car. Not to mention the zombies. Tsk. How to hit two birds at once?
Unless.
The night came sooner than expected. Seokjin woke Bora up gently. Though she won’t be running, she needed to be awake as they did. Namjoon carried the bag of supplies as Seokjin carried Bora. Namjoon took a deep breath. It was time to see if his plan worked. He hadn’t had the chance to talk to Seokjin about his plan, because it wasn’t something he could sign out, and he didn’t want those men to know his plan.
But he wasn’t too worried. He trusted the teamwork between him and Seokjin.
“We’re ready,” Namjoon told the blonde.