Taewoon held up a plastic bag. Every time it shook, the sound of glass hitting each other played.
"Thank you." She said before handing the bag to the two.
"There are painkillers among other medications in there. And don't worry about the meds, Taewoon's a fanatic of his pharmacist dad so he knows a lot about medicine himself."
"H-Hey? No I'm not!" He unconsciously stepped back at her words as his face turned slightly red and his expression hardened.
"Thanks." Said Han Suho.
"Ah, yeah…"
His blank face brought the mood that had barely gone up back down.
Jake bent down and carried the unconscious Hyunwoo on his back while Han Suho carried the medicine.
"We'll be leaving now."
But before they could go, Harin held his wrist.
"Ah, wait a second! We're going to be distributing food for today's portions. "
"You said the cafeteria was empty. The confiscated snacks can't possibly be enough to feed everyone."
"Y-Yeah, that's true. But there's still some frozen and canned food left."
Harin pointed at the behind the counter and inside of the kitchen, an iron door in between empty shelves was there.
"Taewoon, can you bring some canned food and an opener?"
Taewoon's expression distorted at that command.
"Information is one thing, but why should we give them our food as well?! We have a lot of mouths to feed already!"
His argument was valid, the room was filled with students whose numbers were already cut down from hundreds to tens in the 20 minutes the group was late for.
"Who knows, maybe even more guys like them would show up! We can't keep giving them food!"
Harin sighed in response.
"Just go bring the cans. Consider it payment for the information they provided."
"That info isn't worth our food!"
Their quarreling in the room brought even more attention from those who weren't interested before. Their stomachs were empty and they gulped at every mention of the word 'food'.
"You're right, It's worth way more than just a few cans of food and a couple of vials." She said as she turned to look him in the eye.
"Without it, we would've kept waiting for help that would've never come. So just go and bring a few cans."
"But?"
Taewoon tried to talk back but got shut down immediately.
"Go."
Taewoon sighed with his teeth grit as he went to grab the cans. He opened the iron door and a cold mist rushed out.
"I know I keep saying this, but sorry about that. He's my childhood friend, but he keeps getting concerned in my stead…"
A loud road echoed throughout the cafeteria as chilling air brushed past everyone's skin.
The iron door was closed shut and an unhappy Taewoon made his way back with another plastic bag holding cans inside of it.
"Here's your portion." He spoke through grit teeth.
The bag had canned food that didn't require cooking alongside a can opener
"Thank you."
Harin and Taewoon watched the two leave amid a ruckus carrying two bags and an unconscious person.
"Here. Your portion." Taewoon held up another bag and gave it to Harin.
"Thanks…"
"Listen, I'm sorry about what I did to them, and I'm willing to take full responsibility for it, but I had to get us food." Neither one looked at the other as they watched the three strangers leave the cafeteria.
"You don't have to apologize to me." She said while holding a bag of canned food.
He gripped the rest of the bags in frustration before turning towards her and opening his mouth.
"Let's go, we have to give everyone their portions and take care of a few patients."
Harin opened the bag in silence and looked at what was inside.
"Did you give them the same food as us?" She asked.
"Yes."
Inside were cans of mixed vegetables and baked beans among other types of canned food.
"Are those edible without cooking?"
"I chose food that doesn't need to be cooked."
She silently stared at the cans before going forward toward the cafeteria's exit.
"Hey, wait?" he stepped forward and held her wrist.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"The patients are this way!" He said while wearing a puzzled look.
"I have to go somewhere." she replied before shaking his hand off easily.
"What's wrong with you today?! Ever since a while ago you began acting strangely!" Taewoon resided his voice within the loud noises of the ruckus.
"No, what's wrong with you!" She lashed back at him.
"You're too concerned, Taewoon! Even if we knew each other since we were young, this is too much!"
"I'm just trying to keep you alive, ok?! Your parents will kill me if I let 'Miss future doctor' get herself killed by roaming outside the safe zone!"
"Just give me a space to breathe! You're like almost a full-fledged pharmacist like your dad, you take care of them!"
"This is what you agreed to uphold when you stepped up as the leader after Minjun-ssi's death! But after only a day, you became a different person!"
No one paid attention to their conversation while the ruckus for the food was at its peak.
"Where's my portion?!"
"When will the police come to save us?!"
"Mom?"
Such screams and cries filled the room, held back only by the other members of the student council.
"You don't understand!" She said before leaving the room with the bag of food held dearly in her hand.
"Harin! Wait?!" He shouted.
Taewoon was about to go after her when someone from the council came up to him.
"Taewoon-ssi! We can't hold them back anymore, can you distribute the food already?!"
"Give us the food already! Fuck!"
The council was at a number disadvantage as the other students forced their way through.
"Ugh?! Whatever! Do what you want!" He grumbled before taking in a large amount of air and shouting at the students.
"Stop this bullshit and line behind the count! We'll be distributing food now!"
???
[You have left the 'Safe Zone #0'.]
Harin made her way through the second floor's hallway, her steps echoed through the empty surroundings.
Her eyes shook and her pace quickened. Passing through multiple classrooms, she stopped before the door of the principal's office.
She opened the door to the view of bloody mist lurking on the room's floor like fog.
'How bad has it gotten inside if the reception room is already in this state…'
The principal's office was big and was made out of two sections; the reception, and the actual office.
She moved her shaking legs with her mind filled with terrible thoughts.
She extended her hand towards the principal's office door knob and twisted it slowly.
Bloody mist much thicker than the one in the reception room gushed like water out of the office that was now dyed red.
'This is worse than I thought it would be!'
A weak voice belonging to a young child that shouldn't be in high school was heard right after the door was opened.
"Harin…?"
The voice called out her name but she couldn't talk properly due to the mist.
Snapping out of her daze, she opened her lips and replied softly.
"Yes, it's me, Yurim."
The mist's density lessened at her reply and a cheerful yet weak voice was heard coming out of a frail girl that had jumped out from under the principal's desk.
"Harin! I was waiting for you!"
The little girl's happiness was visible even to the blind. She jumped into Harin's embrace and hugged her.
"You're late!" She said with her dry lips and growling stomach.
"I'm sorry~ will you forgive me please~?"
"Hmph! Only this time though, hehe!"
"Aww, how very mature of you. My little sister has grown so much!"
"Hehe~"
[You are trusted by 'Lee Yurim'. Their status screen will be shown to you.]
+
[Status window:]
?Name: Lee Yurim
?Age: 7 years old
?Modifier: Ally of The Deformed
?Physical evaluation:
[Strength Lv.1] [Intelligence Lv.2] [Perseverance Lv.3]
?Skills (1/1):
- [Sacrifice to The Deformed]
+
Harin smiled at her little sister while ignoring the system window.
She grabbed the bag and opened it.
"I brought food we can share!"
"Yay! Food!"
Harin took out a few of the cans along with the opener that was at the bottom and started opening it.
'We're a poor family of farmer parents, so eating canned food isn't that strange for her. But still, I was worried she might not like it.'
Harin grabbed the sole spoon and fed her sister.
"Open wide!"
"Aaa?"
Yurim ate the food as if it was the most delicious thing in the world before smiling back at her big sister.
"It tastes good!"
Her arms dangled with every movement.
Contrary to the rest of her body, Yurim's arms were completely deformed and filled with veins and stitches.
Harin painfully smiled back and took out another spoonful.
Even while she was eating, Yurim's arms continued to emit red mist, although not as dense as the one that had gushed out when Harin went into the room.
"Harin…"
Yurim looked down at the floor as she spoke.
"There was something else I waited to tell you…"
[You are trusted by 'Lee Yurim'. Their quest screen will be shown to you.]
+
[Personal Scenario #1 ? Sacrifice to The Deformed
You have been chosen as the human ally of 'Rebertha', The Deformed. Using the skill given to you, sacrifice the other survivors.
Objective: Sacrifice the other survivors
Difficulty: A
Reward: Complete control over The Deformed
Failure Penalty: Death
Remaining Survivors count: 28]
+
Countless windows appeared in front of them holding an ominous within them.
+
[You have failed to execute a survivor in the last 4 hours. The reselection timer has begun.]
[23:59:57 left until reselection.]
[Execute a survivor within the allocated time to stop the timer.]
+
Yurim looked Harin in the eyes and asked.
"What should I do?"
Faced with the responsibility of protecting her one and only sister, or saving her classmates, her throat ran dry.
Yurim's big black eyes looked at hers.
"I…"
She couldn't look her little sister in the eyes and tell her to die for the sake of others, but she had to make the choice.