FLIA 15

“…Damn.”

Lee Hyunmook, unusually flustered, came to a sudden stop. Alarmed by the unexpected turn of events, Yohan stretched his neck and looked around anxiously.

“Was that an earthquake?”

“No, this is probably…”

Yohan’s eyes and mouth fell open. The ground trembled violently, and the canyon ahead was collapsing. No, moving. With a deep, thunderous rumble, the path that connected to the next zone disappeared right before their eyes.

The monsters, their escape cut off, went wild, clawing at the mountain, trying to climb or burrow through it. Lee Hyunmook quickly put distance between them and the increasingly frenzied swarm, backing away until he pressed against a building wall and hid beneath its shadow. Yohan asked in a trembling voice,

“I-Is this… normal?”

“…Even I’ve only seen this happen a few times.”

After that, Lee Hyunmook fell silent. Yohan anxiously shifted his feet and kept glancing over his shoulder. From afar, the Flood crept steadily closer, devouring everything in its path, alive or not. The sound was growing louder, a rising cacophony. Monsters, driven mad, began clawing at the ground, attacking the air, even mutilating themselves. And their numbers were increasing at a terrifying pace.

“Then what do we… do now?”

Desperately hoping for an alternative, Yohan asked in a near-whisper, careful not to draw the monsters’ attention. He didn’t ask whether they could climb the mountain, he’d already seen what happened to the ones that tried. Those creatures had sunk into the earth as if swallowed whole.

“There has to be… some way, right?”

He was so scared, he couldn’t even cry. Trembling, Yohan clung tightly to Lee Hyunmook’s back. It was an unconscious plea for comfort. After a long pause, his eyes closed in deep thought, Lee Hyunmook finally spoke.

“…We’ll go to the subway station.”

***

Even after saying they would head to the subway station, Lee Hyunmook hesitated for a few more seconds. From that hesitation, Yohan could sense how dangerous the subway must be. Still, if they were going there anyway, it had to mean that no matter how dangerous it was, it was still safer than the Flood.

Back in the city, Lee Hyunmook came to a stop in front of a building and pointed.

“There. That’s the subway entrance.”

Yohan blinked, not believing his eyes. Like the hospital and everything else here, he’d expected it to be half-destroyed and decaying. But what stood before them was the complete opposite.

[□■ Station …Exit]

The text and numbers were too smudged to read clearly, but the entrance itself was spotless, as if people were still using it for their daily commute. Other than the faded signage, nothing appeared broken or dirty. That only made Yohan more suspicious.

“Why is it so clean here…?”

“Because that means something dangerous is lurking.”

With that, Lee Hyunmook walked into the station without another word. Yohan shrank into himself, holding his breath and scanned their surroundings.

Surprisingly, though dim, the lights were still on. Aside from the long, complicated stairs, it looked like any regular subway station at night. The tiled floor and walls, the familiar signs, the ticket machines, it almost felt like they were back in Korea. There was even a fully intact turnstile, though it served no real purpose.

Lee Hyunmook passed through and continued down the stairs. At the bottom sat a subway subway, looking as though it had just arrived. Yohan’s eyes lit up.

“Mr. Hyunmook, there’s a subway…! It looks brand-new!”

After the Rift Disaster, Korea had reinforced its subway system to withstand attacks and disasters, repainting the subways bright yellow for visibility. The one before them looked just like that.

“Yeah. A subway.”

Lee Hyunmook answered flatly, pausing as the subway, which had been sitting with its doors open, slowly pulled away with a mechanical whir.

‘If we could ride that and make it to Seoul Station…’

As Yohan wistfully watched it depart, he suddenly froze. Lee Hyunmook had stepped down onto the tracks and started walking, in the opposite direction of the subway.

“Is that way… another zone?”

“That’s right. From here on, keep quiet.”

Lee Hyunmook nodded and strode into the dark tunnel. Once immersed in the darkness, Yohan felt the overwhelming urge to turn on a flashlight, but resisted. The last thing he wanted was to draw a monster’s attention with light. Instead, he stayed completely silent and pressed himself tightly against Hyunmook.

‘Why isn’t he running this time?’

Yohan’s senses were on high alert as he puzzled over it. Lee Hyunmook’s pace was fast, nearly a jog, but it wasn’t running. It was noticeably slower than how he moved through the city earlier. And soon, Yohan understood why.

Hoooonk! The familiar sound of a subway approaching echoed ahead. A subway was coming from the direction they were headed, its dim yet strangely intense headlights glaring as it barreled toward them. Yohan buried his face against Lee Hyunmook’s neck, stifling the scream that rose in his throat.

Lee Hyunmook, unfazed, pressed himself against the tunnel wall. Whoosh! The subway thundered past. To Yohan’s shock, he could clearly see passengers inside through the windows.

‘People?’

Wearing business suits, jackets, parkas, skirts, ordinary people stood or sat calmly, as if heading to work. It looked so normal that Yohan’s mind reeled.

‘Are they really people? Not monsters? Why do they look so normal…?’

Sweat slicked his palms. Lee Hyunmook, sensing Yohan’s rising heartbeat against his back, hesitated for a moment, then patted him on the rear. Yohan flinched in surprise, still watching the departing subway.

“Don’t think too hard. I’ll explain everything once we’re out of here. Just hold on.”

“O-Okay.”

Yohan bit down his curiosity and decided to focus on escaping the Flood, just like Lee Hyunmook said. After a few more minutes, a second subway thundered by, this one even faster than the last. Yohan watched it intently, full of longing.

The passengers looked… joyful. Happy, even. Yohan couldn’t take his eyes off them, the ones holding phones, wearing earbuds. Just then, Lee Hyunmook tapped his backside again.

“Did I remember to pack the medicine?”

“Medicine? Yes! You did!”

Yohan, vividly recalling how bad it had been when he’d injured his leg before, answered sharply. He was sure he’d seen Lee Hyunmook pack it. His anxious heart finally settled a bit.

“Yes, definitely.”

“Right. Maybe it’s ‘cause I’m not all there, but sometimes I forget things.”

Yohan felt a pang of sympathy for the calm way he said it. But when the third subway passed, he found himself glaring at the back of Lee Hyunmook’s head. This time, the man didn’t say anything, he just groped him.

“Mr. Hyunmook…”

“What?”

“…Never mind.”

Am I just imagining things? It definitely felt like a fondle, not an accident. Or maybe he was just adjusting his grip? Yohan blushed furiously and tried to rationalize, but couldn’t take it anymore.

“H-Hey, seriously, what is wrong with you?!”

Yohan hissed in a low voice, still watching someone inside the subway eat a warm deli bun with yearning. This time, Lee Hyunmook hadn’t just patted or brushed him, he’d grabbed his butt firmly.

“That was an accident.”

“Accident?!”

Yohan’s face turned beet red. That grip had not been a mistake by any stretch of the imagination. It was clearly intentional and very inappropriate. As the fifth subway barreled toward them, Hyunmook said:

“Okay, yeah. It wasn’t an accident.”

“…!”

His hand moved openly now, kneading Yohan’s backside as the fifth subway roared past. Yohan froze stiff as a board. When it finally passed, he gritted his teeth and yanked on Hyunmook’s ear.

“Have you… gone insane?”

The question carried many layers of meaning. Lee Hyunmook, surprisingly, chuckled low under his breath. He gave Yohan’s rear one last pat, then murmured,

“Shh. From here on, we really need to be quiet.”

Yohan glared at him but clamped his mouth shut. In the distance, the sixth subway was coming. But something was different this time…

‘Was the subway… always that big?’