Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 212

Im Jang-woo, Go Ju-won, and Yeon Jae-hee, who joined them from the third floor of the main building, headed to the laboratory.

The three of them searched through Professor Maria’s lab and found the vaccine. 

They also obtained the materials to make Molotov cocktails.

They decided to use the sprinklers to spread the vaccine and each of them had their own task to do. 

Yeon Jae-hee handed over some of the vaccine and all the data to Go Ju-won and left the room with Im Jang-woo with a grim face. 

Go Ju-won locked the door and placed a few chairs in front of it.

Im Jang-woo and Yeon Jae-hee went to the basement.

They killed, pushed, and kicked the zombies.

“It’s definitely harder without Ju-won! … It’s exhausting!”

“They keep getting up! … Yeah!”

Im Jang-woo and Yeon Jae-hee took a break in a small office after fighting off the zombies. 

They drank some water to moisten their throats and soaked their weapons in the water mixed with the vaccine.

“Ah. Read this.”

“This?”

Im Jang-woo took out a piece of paper that he had stuffed in his pocket. 

It was a paper that he had found in the conference room before going to the laboratory. 

Yeon Jae-hee took the crumpled paper. 

It was someone’s medical chart written in English.

“… Is this Ju-won’s?”

“Yeah. He must have been sick enough to be hospitalized… But he seems fine from the way he moves, right?”

Yeon Jae-hee read down the paper. 

She didn’t know much about medical terms, but she managed to translate them with the English dictionary on her phone. 

Her eyes widened as she looked at the chart.

‘What? What kind of disease is it?’

Lee Mi-yeon hadn’t forgotten about Go Ju-won’s friends. 

A serious disease. 

How could he have such a disease when he moved so well? 

If it wasn’t for the first part where he came out wearing a hospital gown, she wouldn’t have even noticed that he was sick.

Go Ju-won, who was left alone in the room, fiddled with his bow a few times and rubbed his eyes with both palms.

Im Jang-woo and Yeon Jae-hee left the office and ran to their destination. 

The hospital was large, so was the water tank. 

They lifted up a large lid that looked like a manhole cover and sprinkled all the vaccine they had brought.

Next was the control room.

While Im Jang-woo smashed the head of a zombie that was in the control room, Yeon Jae-hee touched the blood-stained equipment. 

The main building where the water tank was located, the east wing, and the center where there were most zombies. 

She made all the sprinklers attached to every building except for the isolated laboratory work at once.

“It’s done!”

“Then let’s spray it!”

“Yes!”

Yeon Jae-hee pressed the activation button.

A few seconds later, the sprinkler attached to the ceiling of the control room started working.

Im Jang-woo and Yeon Jae-hee checked on the zombies’ condition. 

They were still intact (?) zombies, but they would stop moving as time passed.

Yeon Jae-hee looked at the monitor with a bright expression while soaked in water from the sprinkler.

“Uh… Uh!?”

Why? Why?

The audience who were happy to see the ending soon were startled by Yeon Jae-hee’s reaction.

And then, the screen turned back to where Go Ju-won was.

The sprinkler in Go Ju-won’s room was also working and water was pouring down.

Go Ju-won smiled brightly and laughed. To Go Ju-won, this water was proof that Jae-hee sister and Jang-woo uncle had safely reached the water tank and that he could bring his friends back.

The camera briefly showed Go Ju-won who was soaked wet and smiling brightly without any hesitation, then moved to show a cell phone on his desk. 

The cell phone that was set to silent mode blinked. Go Ju-won quickly picked up his phone.

-Ju-won!

“Jae-hee sister! There’s water!”

He smiled brightly and purely like a flower.

Uh.

The audience clutched their hearts at his smile.

-Ju-won! I’m sorry!

Go Ju-won’s heart sank as he heard her apology before he could even ask why. Yeon Jae-hee blurted out before he could say anything.

-It must be broken. Even if I use the manual device, I can’t make the center sprinkler work at all! If you don’t activate the center sprinkler right now, only the main building and east wing will get water from the water tank with the vaccine!

Go Ju-won jumped up from his seat. He put his phone on his shoulder and moved quickly. He grabbed his arrows, his phones to throw, and his Molotov cocktails. It was a matter of seconds.

“What do I have to do?”

-I’m really sorry!

Yeon Jae-hee and Im Jang-woo ran while fighting the zombies. There was still time left until the effect of the medicine kicked in, until the zombies stopped completely.

Go Ju-won removed the chairs that he had placed in front of the door while listening to Yeon Jae-hee.

-Do you have a lighter and a Molotov cocktail? Go to the bridge on the third floor that connects to the center and set it on fire! If you activate one sensor, the sprinklers in the entire center will work! You have to do it as fast as possible!

Im Jang-woo asked as he lifted a zombie’s jaw with a steel pipe.

“How long can we use the water from the water tank?”

“Less than five minutes left!”

No matter how fast Go Ju-won was, he couldn’t run from the first floor of the main building to the third floor of the main building, east wing, and center where there were full of zombies in less than five minutes.

“… But we have to try as much as we can.”

“Yeah. Let’s go quickly!”

Im Jang-woo pulled Yeon Jae-hee and pushed away the zombies.

-Sister.

They heard Go Ju-won’s voice over the phone.

-I just have to set it on fire, right?

“… What are you trying to do?”

-Shoot arrows. To the center.

Im Jang-woo shouted out loud. 

He was too worried about the zombies coming at them to care about anything else. 

It was a reflexive scream.

“Don’t you dare shoot arrows!”

-Uncle?

“You were hospitalized because of stress-induced vision loss!”

-… How did you know?

“The detective found your medical chart. If this gets worse…”

A disease that could lead to blindness.

It wasn’t a normal vision loss, but a condition that had no known cause. 

He was going to find out the cause while he was hospitalized.

The screen went back to before the sprinkler started working. 

Yeon Jae-hee read the paper with trembling eyes.

“Go Ju-won. 14 years old. Archery prodigy… Stress-induced vision loss… Blindness possible…”

Only then did the audience remember Go Ju-won’s appearance.

Go Ju-won who couldn’t grab the window frame properly. Go Ju-won who swung his bow at Im Jang-woo. 

The reason why his archery club friends said he had a serious disease.

Oh my god…!

It wasn’t fear or a joke about zombies.

They all shut their mouths.

He didn’t hesitate this time. 

Water poured down from the sprinkler. 

It soaked his hair and ran down his cheeks.

“My disease is not like normal people who wear glasses when their eyes get worse.”

Go Ju-won moved while shooting arrows at zombies with his archery skills.

His vision blurred. His sight flickered.

“It suddenly gets blurry and I can’t see anything. You don’t know how surprised I was when I couldn’t see during class.”

He spoke lightly, but they imagined how scared Go Ju-won must have been.

“Stop it! Don’t shoot arrows! You’re stressed out!”

Im Jang-woo shouted at the phone. The noise attracted more zombies. Go Ju-won laughed.

“No, you’re wrong.”

-What?

Go Ju-won ran from the first floor to the third floor of the main building and came out to the garden on the third floor. 

The second floor of the main building was protruding like an L shape, and the roof of the second floor, which was also a spacious terrace for the third floor, was decorated like a garden. 

There were some empty spaces in the garden surrounded by wooden fences.

There was no ceiling here, so the sprinklers in the flower beds were working.

The zombies that were soaked in water wandered around. 

There were few of them, but he couldn’t let his guard down.

“I didn’t want to use this…”

[ Ji-ho ]

His friend’s phone that he picked up from the center lobby. 

He looked down at the phone with a bitter face and threw it to a corner of the garden. 

He pressed the call button.

Bang!

The OST of Escape played. 

The zombies flocked to the phone. Go Ju-won stood at the closest place to the center.

The phone blinked.

Oops. He must have hung up when he called Ji-ho.

-Go Ju-won!

“I’m sorry. I hung up because I needed to use the phone.”

-Forget that, don’t shoot arrows!

Go Ju-won smiled.

“It’s okay.”

He felt his vision stabilize as he gripped his bow tightly. 

His sight became clear and refreshing as if the sun was rising in the dark night sky.

He smiled brightly while holding his bow.

“I feel less stressed when I hold my bow.”

-…What?

Go Ju-won took out a Molotov cocktail from his bag and lit it. 

He smashed it on the ground without any hesitation. 

Flames rose up.

“I feel comfortable and happy when I shoot arrows. I don’t have any thoughts and my mind is empty.”

-You almost hit me when you swung your bow earlier!

He took out a wick from another Molotov cocktail and wrapped it around the arrowhead. 

He left the sharp part of the arrowhead exposed. He put the arrow in the fire. 

It caught fire after a while. 

The arrowhead burned brightly.

“It’s different between swinging and shooting, uncle.”

Go Ju-won’s phone fell from his hand.

Stance.

He stood with his feet comfortably apart. 

He paid attention to his basic posture as he did when he first held his bow.

‘One chance.’

Nocking.

He put the flaming arrow on the string. 

His left hand that held the bow near the fire was hot. But his heart was calm and his mind was clear.

‘Is it more than 70m? Or less?’

Ji-ho’s phone was stepped on by zombies’ feet. 

The zombies’ attention shifted to Go Ju-won who was standing in front of the railing as soon as the bell sound disappeared. 

The sprinkler in the garden was working, but there was still time left until the effect showed up.

-Go Ju-won!

-Ju-won!

He found his target and his eyes sparkled.

I won’t be late this time.

The sun was setting next to Go Ju-won. He was stained red, either by blood or by sunset light. 

He concentrated more than ever. 

His vision was clearer and sharper than ever.

He didn’t hear any sound. 

Not the OST, not the zombies’ screams, not the shouts from the phone.

A silence that seemed to hear his heartbeat. But it wasn’t a fearful feeling like when he saw zombies. 

Rather, it felt refreshing and the audience unconsciously held their breaths and looked at Go Ju-won.

Drawing.

He suppressed his emotions and maintained his breathing while keeping his posture straight and slowly pulling back the string. 

The string felt heavier and lighter than ever.

Anchor.

The string lightly pressed against Go Ju-won’s cheek. 

The blood washed away by sprinkler water, but Go Ju-won’s face showed his hardships.

He looked tired but his eyes were shining.

And, release!

He let go of the string as if he let go of all his worries and feelings.

It was a perfect release more than ever.

Thud!

The arrow left the bow and pierced through the open window and hit the door of a ward. 

The wooden door burned up in an instant. 

The temperature around rose and smoke started to come out.

And then,

The sensor of the closest sprinkler activated.

Swoosh!

Water started to spray from the sprinklers.

Not only on the third floor of the center, but from all the sprinklers in the entire building.

Go Juwon looked at the third and fourth floors where the sprinklers were activated. 

He could see water pouring down from the windows. 

Then he looked at the first floor where his friends were.

Five minutes.

His phone, which he had set an alarm for, had not rung yet. 

Tears streamed down Go Juwon’s face.

…He wasn’t late this time.

Kyaah!

Zombies rushed at him.

Go Juwon felt the tension that he had been holding all day loosen. 

His vision darkened with relief. 

He had no chance to escape from the zombies that were getting closer and closer.

“Go Juwon!”

With a sound of something breaking, he heard Uncle Jangwoo and Nuna Jaehui’s voices. He felt a warm touch that was different from the zombie’s arm. 

Go Juwon smiled and lost consciousness.

“Juwon!”

Im Jang-woo quickly caught Go Juwon as he collapsed.

The vaccine that had spread through the zombies’ bodies finally worked. 

The zombies in the third floor garden stopped moving. 

The zombies in the main building and the east wing were probably in the same state, and it would take some more time for the center where the sprinklers were activated.

The sprinklers suddenly turned on and people’s voices were heard from outside. 

And silence without the chilling screams.

The survivors who were confused by the sudden situation peeked out of the window and looked down.

“Go Juwon!”

The third floor garden that was in a mess. Im Jang-woo and Yeon Jaehui, who didn’t even realize that the zombies had completely stopped, checked Go Juwon’s condition while calling his name.

The red sunset that looked like blood was replaced by a warm orange sunset.

[A few days later]

“Our Juwon looks so good with glasses!”

“Really? I feel a bit awkward…”

“No! They suit you very well!”

Go Juwon, who wore glasses, smiled shyly. He still had a bow in his hand.

“Don’t you have to go to another room, Nuna?”

A spacious hospital room.

Im Jang-woo, Go Juwon, and Yeon Jaehui were sitting on the bed. They only had minor injuries, but lying on the bed was also a hardship.

“We went into the research center, so we’re under quarantine. There’s already a mess and no rooms available… I’m fine.”

“I want to go to another room.”

Im Jang-woo’s words made Go Juwon and Yeon Jaehui laugh out loud. They laughed at everything he said.

“But what will happen now?”

Im Jang-woo had desperately stopped the zombie outbreak, but it only ended with a few zombies. But the situation got worse when people who mistook them for emergency patients moved them to nearby hospitals. Im Jang-woo sighed.

“I really wanted to faint when I heard that…”

The government mobilized the military to seal off the hospitals and places where zombies were. 

The internet was in chaos, there were traffic accidents, fires, and it was hard to tell people from zombies. 

Then he got a call from a detective.

He said he had found the cause and solution of this incident.

He said he would send a helicopter.

Im Jang-woo picked up Go Juwon who had fainted and went to the rooftop with Yeon Jaehui, passing by the zombies that had stopped moving and clearing away (?) the survivors.

The survivors who were on the upper floors of the main building flocked to see the helicopter, but the soldiers only waited for the detective and his party.

Im Jang-woo, Go Juwon, and Yeon Jaehui escaped from the hospital using the helicopter. Of course, the rest of the people in the hospital would be out soon.

Go Juwon, who had lost consciousness, was taken to a hospital for treatment and Yeon Jaehui and Im Jang-woo were interrogated after emergency treatment in a quarantined place. After that, they met their families. Go Juwon, Yeon Jaehui, and Im Jang-woo cried their eyes out at their healthy families and their families did too.

Im Jang-woo, who had met his family in the morning, lay down on his bed.

“I guess they’ll figure it out with the medicine and the research data. Maybe it’ll be fine if they spray it like rain.”

“I wish you’d stop asking me that. I think I’ll be discharged soon… The first thing I’ll do when I get out is eat some cake.”

“I want to do archery!”

“…Ju-won. Don’t you ever get tired of that?”

The conversation of the three people soon drifted to other topics.

The camera that was capturing the comfortable scene of the three people left the isolated ward and went down the stairs. 

The camera showed the black-suited officials and the white-coated doctors, and then focused on the TV in the lobby.

[The news of finding a vaccine for ‘Virus X’, also known as the zombie outbreak, has been announced. The government said it would start production immediately based on the data and vaccine found at the research lab of ‘O.W.C Hospital’, the first source of infection in our country.

…The virus X, which has spread to not only the U.S. but also Russia and Europe, is still uncertain when it can be completely eradicated.

…The buildings related to O.W.C. around the world, which are the cause of the zombie outbreak, are all sealed off, and most of the people involved are expected to be infected with virus X. However, there are also opinions that there are many places that have not been revealed yet, so for a while…]

The announcer’s voice faded and the screen went black.

The audience, who had been tense in case zombies suddenly appeared, breathed a sigh of relief as the theater brightened up. 

Escape, which had made their hearts flutter with its sweet and salty charm for two hours, was over.

Ouch. 

There were groans from here and there. 

It was the sound of the audience stretching their bodies that had been curled up under the pressure of zombies.

“But I feel like I forgot something?”

“? What?”

Im Mi-yeon and Park Sung-ah, as well as the audience, felt a nagging feeling as they massaged their stiff bodies. They felt like they had forgotten something, but their memory was faint because they were too immersed in the movie.

“…What was it?”

As everyone tried to recall, the ending scroll came up with the actors’ names written in Korean.

[Samuel played by Evan Block]

[Professor Maria played by Rachel Hill]

[Chaebol 3rd generation played by Park Do-hoon]

[Security team leader played by Lee Ji-seok]

“Uh. Evan Block!”

“Rachel Hill!”

Everyone’s mouth dropped open.

And then the cookie video came up. No, it was not a video, but a picture.

A picture of Evan Block, Rachel Hill, Lee Seo-joon, Kim Jong-ho, Lee Da-jin, Lee Ji-seok, and Park Do-hoon together appeared at the end of the ending scroll.

“Aaaaaah!!”

The theater exploded with the screams of the audience who came to their senses.