A whisper of incomprehension swept through the crowd. Students exchanged uncertain glances, faces tight with tension, shaken by an idea as sudden as it was terrifying.
Kim stepped forward purposefully, pushing aside several students blocking his path. His furrowed brows, dark eyes, and firm expression clearly conveyed his disapproval. His voice turned grim:
"Explain yourself, Do‑wan. What do you mean?"
Do‑wan lifted his index finger and pointed it straight at Ken.
"Don't you find it strange? That this murder happened just when he came back? Funny coincidence, right?"
He paused, letting silence settle in. Then he slowly advanced toward the huddled students, his stride confident, his tone theatrical, as if performing the greatest scene of his life.
"We all knew him here. He was a good guy. Friendly. Kind. Sociable.
Who would want to harm him? It makes no sense."
His words hung in the air, heavy with insinuation.
Do‑wan had hated Ken Jinheon for a long time.
He had always tried to get rid of him. But without success.
Nothing worked on him.
He couldn't control him with his usual methods. Violence, fear.
Strength? Useless with him.
He hated him more than ever, because Ken had always stolen the spotlight—
with that absurd, almost insulting talent.
Do‑wan still remembered the school basketball tournament where Ken humiliated him in front of everyone—effortless—and he had never forgiven him.
It was always the same: in every sports challenge Ken participated in, Ken shone.
And Do‑wan faded into the background.
Before Ken arrived, Do‑wan had been the king—number one.
Now… now he was stuck in third place.
And that pisses him off. Big time.
Over time, he had developed an inferiority complex toward Ken.
And he hated it even more.
He hated that feeling.
He hated being inferior to anybody.
"Didn't you notice anything? From the very beginning… until we found the body…
He didn't flinch. Not a drop of sweat.
How can anyone staying that calm in a situation like this?
I'm telling you… if there's a suspect here, it's him."
Do‑wan turned to the students behind him.
A malicious smile curled on his lips.
"It's as if… this isn't the first corpse he's seen, huh?"
A shiver passed through the assembly.
Under a veneer of suspicion, he slowly—but steadily—sowed seeds of doubt in every mind.
"So? Still no reaction?
Tsss… That's what I meant. A real psychopath… with demon eyes."
Ken frowned.
He met Do‑wan's gaze, unwavering, impassive.
He sighed.
Then, in a calm voice as cold as steel, he answered:
"Why should I react… when it's only dogs barking absurdities?"
Do‑wan's face twisted. Anger was clear. He opened his mouth to reply, but didn't get the chance.
A sharp authoritative voice cut him off.
"That's enough, Do‑wan."
Kim's voice rang out as an order.
He had moved silently, placing a firm hand on Do‑wan's shoulder—hard enough to shake his composure.
"Do you have proof? Even one tangible piece of evidence for your accusations?
If you rely only on assumptions, you'd better keep them to yourself."
Kim's voice had changed. Deeper. More menacing.
Nothing like his normally warm tone.
He turned to the rest of the students, arms open, voice filled with natural authority:
"If you accuse an innocent without any proof, you're no better than the criminal you're looking for."
Silence fell.
Kim's intervention quelled the doubts.
Do‑wan saw his plan collapse instantly. His credibility vanished.
"You're all idiots…" he whispered, voice trembling.
"How do you explain his calm, huh? He was too calm! As if he didn't even try to hide his crime."
"Interesting." said Ken, cutting him off in a calm but cutting tone.
"You talk a lot for a brainless monkey. We shouldn't hold it against you… It's in your nature."
Ken straightened, crossed his arms, and shot Do‑wan a piercing look only he in the world could deliver.
"Know this from now on… staying calm is one of the many advantages reserved for those who are powerful."
His words landed like a slap on Do‑wan. He froze, fists clenched, face burning with humiliation.
"Who do you think you are?! You bastard!"
"Do‑wan. Stop it." said a voice—feminine, soft but firm.
Seo Hanna stepped forward slowly, a cloth in her hands.
She respectfully covered the lifeless body, closed her eyes, joined her hands in a short prayer, then stood up.
She faced Do‑wan and the still-shocked students.
"Our classmate is dead. And you have the nerve to spread rumors?
At least show some respect."
Then she added, in a firmer yet confident tone:
"Our priority now… is to alert security. Not tear each other apart. We must stay united."
Her voice alone was enough to reassure everyone. They all listened to their class president.
The murmurs ceased. Faces relaxed. The atmosphere calmed.
Do‑wan remained, isolated in a corner, fists trembling, eyes bloodshot with rage.
Kim… Seojun… Ken… Jinheon.
He gritted his teeth, hatred gnawing at his throat.
I swear… you'll regret humiliating me in front of Hanna.
Jae‑sung—sent by Do‑wan to the rear compartments to call security—returned and announced that the door connecting the rear cars was locked.
A strange translucent blue symbol was engraved on it. A padlock-shape hologram.
At his words, one might think shock had made him insane.
But the screams from the front car confirmed him.
They too spoke of a blocked door. The same symbol. But this time blue, translucent, as if floating just above the metal.
It looked like something straight out of a video game.
Just as Hanna and the others turned to check it out…
Something improbable happened.
A scream.
It tore through the air like a blade.
The young man… who had been dead just minutes earlier…
sat up slowly.
His back cracked.
His limbs moved like a disjointed marionette.
A mysterious black mist escaped from his grayish flesh,
enveloping him like an evil aura.
No sound came from the students' mouths.
They turned slowly, frozen.
The sickening crunch of bones breaking and shifting, accompanied by monstrous growls,
had chilled them to the core.
The young man, once dead, now stood before them.
His body wrapped in a dark mist.
His skin gray. His eyes empty.
A trembling female voice pierced the silence.
"Oppa…? Oppa is that you?!" stammered a girl, approaching hesitantly. She was his girlfriend. Tears rolled down her cheeks—others shouted to dissuade her from approaching him. She didn't understand. She didn't want to.
"Oppa, it's me… It's me, Hye‑jin… I'm here… I'm here now…"
She stretched out her trembling hand.
---
But a sinister noise cut through: the sound of teeth tearing flesh.
Then the hiss of blood spouting from a severed vein.
The corpse's jaws had bitten into the girl's throat—
a gruesome ripping-of-flesh sound.
Her eyes no longer human.
Black. Empty.
As if sucked into an abyss.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!
Panic exploded.
Horror screamed. Some students stumbled back or fell. Others ran to the locked doors, in vain.
"He bit her! He bit her!"
Do‑wan went pale and tried to regain control, but his trembling voice convinced no one.
When Kim Seojun spoke—his voice strong and intense—it cut the screams instantly:
"Listen to me, everyone! He's slow—we can neutralize him! If we coordinate… don't panic! We're more of us!"
But the undead student remained focused on his prey, not noticing as three boys tackled him.
They tried to pin him against the seats.
But the undead was too strong.
Two of them worked to free the girl from his jaws,
while another grabbed him from behind, attempting a chokehold.
Their collective effort paid off.
Finally, they tore the undead away from his victim.
But he suddenly turned his head…
in an inhuman motion.
His bones cracked in a chilling, sharp, grotesque sound.
And without warning,
he sank his teeth into the shoulder of the boy who had him from behind.
A new scream of pain erupted.
"He's infected, he's done for! He's done!" cried Jin, the nerd with glasses, legs trembling, pinned face-first against the wall.
Kim didn't hesitate. Before the undead's gaze could fall on another victim, he ripped a metal bar from a broken seat and struck the monster in the skull with a furious blow.
Again and again, in a roar of rage, he smashed the monster's skull—
blood splattering across his school uniform.
Until it stopped moving.
But it was, unfortunately, too late.
The girl lay dead on the floor, her throat torn open. Her body was still warm.
Everyone stared, petrified. A new, dull fear crept into their guts.
Kim sat alone on a seat, bloodied hands trembling. He had killed someone for the first time—he was in shock. Not the only one, either.
What kind of nightmare is this… a real zombie, like in the movies?
"Are… are others infected? And why is the signal down…"
Before anyone could recover, it happened again.
The girl, dead on the floor, began to move—trembling violently.
The same black mist that had escaped from the first corpse
now seeped from her skin and all her orifices.
She jerked upright in a horrifying spasm.
As if it were a cruel joke, she wasn't alone.
The boy who had been bitten on the shoulder also began to spit up blood.
The same evil mist erupted from his entire body.
His skin turned grayish. Soon only a terrifying growl emerged from his mouth.
The shock wasn't over: behind the two undead, a translucent blue screen appeared—
====
[ Flash. ]
[ Loading selection trial... ]
"What is this? Tell me I'm not crazy—I see what I see."
[ Flash… ]
[ Selection trial loading complete! ]
The lights in the rear compartments went out one by one, and an inhuman howl echoed powerfully through the train.
Like a sound from another world—if Ken had to describe it in his own words, he'd say: it wasn't human, nor animal.
A guttural, deep, distorted scream… like a blend of human agony and monstrous beast growls.
As if something gigantic, ancient,
were awakening in the depths of the darkness of the back cars.
It wasn't a scream.
It was an audible curse.
A sound so intense it rattled the marrow—
as if hell itself had opened its mouth.
The same translucent blue interface reappeared,
its cold light pulsing in the dark carriage,
reflecting on faces frozen in fear.
====
[ Selection trial has begun ]
[ OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE THE HORROR ]
Description:
[ Initial participants: 300 / 300 ]
[ Survivors remaining: 30 / 300 passengers ]
[ ...flash... ]
====
Primary Objective:
SURVIVE THE HORROR
You are locked in a train isolated from the real world, overrun by the undead.
Puppets of an abyssal entity known as the [Corpse King] hunt you.
Anyone bitten by his minions or with insufficient mental strength will be corrupted by the necromantic curse: the Black Death.
The contamination is irreversible.
---
Success Conditions:
1. Survive until dawn
Time remaining: 10 hours 29 minutes
Current time: 7:31 PM
All exits are sealed until 6:00 AM.
OR
2. Reduce the survivor count to 9
Survivors remaining: 30 / 300
All means permitted. Betrayals, alliances, sacrifices… Choose your path.
━━━
Important Reminders:
— The Corpse King grows stronger with each victim.
— As a creature of the Abyss, he fears light above all.
[ Failure sanction: Death. ]
D.H