The school bell rang three seconds late.
It was such a small thing that no one noticed.
Except Lee Dohyun.
He was sitting in the back corner of Class 3-B, a half-read apocalypse novel open on his desk, eyes fixed on the words but mind somewhere else.
The bell was always sharp and on time—like a slap to the face.
But today, it rang three seconds late.
And it sounded... tired.
Like it didn't want to ring at all.
Weird, he thought, flipping the page.
Outside, the wind blew hard against the tall windows, pushing dried brown leaves against the glass. It was early autumn, but it already felt like winter—gray sky, colder mornings, and air that smelled like dust and cold metal.
The classroom was noisy, like always.
Voices bouncing off the walls. Chairs scraping.
Someone's phone blaring a pop song under their desk.
Dohyun barely registered it.
He was used to being invisible.
Quiet.
Forgettable.
Just the "book guy."
He liked it that way.
"Dohyun," a voice said beside him. "You're reading another zombie book?"
Choi Minjae, of course.
The only person who bothered to talk to him without being forced.
Dohyun gave a small nod without looking up. "End of the world. Third in the series."
"Let me guess," Minjae grinned, propping his head on his palm. "The guy with the sad backstory saves the girl and then dies for her in the last chapter?"
"No. She dies. He survives. Alone."
Minjae winced. "Harsh."
"That's reality," Dohyun said quietly, turning the page. "In the end, people always die alone."
Minjae let out a dramatic groan. "You're so depressing in the morning, bro. At least wait until lunch to hit me with the existential dread."
Dohyun allowed the corner of his mouth to twitch. That was the closest he came to laughing.
A knock came on the classroom door.
Everyone turned. Even the teacher paused mid-sentence.
A girl from Class 1-A stood in the hallway, pale, sweating, eyes wide.
Her hand trembled as she pointed down the corridor.
"T-there's something wrong with Jiwon... She bit someone. She's not... she's not okay."
Some students laughed.
Others looked confused.
The teacher frowned. "What kind of joke is this? Come inside—"
And then they heard it.
A scream.
Real. Sharp. Wet.
It came from the stairwell.
Chaos doesn't come all at once.
It creeps in slowly.
First, people whisper.
Then they stand.
Then someone runs toward the door.
Then three more.
Within seconds, the classroom exploded in noise.
"Did someone get stabbed—?!"
"It's a prank, right?!"
"No way—was that blood on her—?!"
Dohyun stood up slowly.
His heart was calm. His hands cold.
Minjae grabbed his arm. "We should check it out."
"Why?" Dohyun asked. "You want to be the first dead idiot in a horror movie?"
"I want to know what's happening. You don't want to?"
"Not if it means becoming breakfast."
Still, they left the classroom.
Half the students were already in the hallway, phones up, voices rising.
Dohyun followed, sticking close to the wall.
Then he saw it.
Blood.
A dark, thick trail smeared across the white floor.
Like someone had been dragged.
And at the end of the hallway…
Three bodies.
One was standing.
But not alive.
The girl—the one who bit someone—was chewing.
Her face and blouse were soaked in red.
She turned, eyes white, lips torn open.
And then she ran.
Straight into the crowd.
Screams filled the air.
Some ran. Some froze.
One boy tried to grab her and got his throat ripped open in front of them.
Minjae cursed under his breath and pulled Dohyun back.
"We have to go. Now."
They ran.
Past lockers. Down a stairwell. Into a side hallway.
Doors slammed shut around them. Teachers yelling. Students crying. Someone praying loudly.
Dohyun felt nothing. No fear. No shock.
Just a strange calm.
Like his books had finally come to life.
They turned a corner and collided with two girls.
One hit the floor hard, gasping. The other stood fast, holding a sharpened mop handle in both hands like a sword.
"Don't come closer," she warned, eyes fierce.
Dohyun raised his hands. "We're not infected."
The girl narrowed her eyes, then looked at the one on the ground. She was shaking—skin pale, eyes wide. Her long black hair covered part of her face.
"Mirae?" the girl asked. "You okay?"
The girl—Mirae—nodded slowly, tears slipping down her cheeks.
"She's scared," Minjae said softly.
"We're all scared," the standing girl snapped. "And you still haven't told me if you've been bitten."
"We haven't," Dohyun said. "I'd be eating you by now if I had."
She raised an eyebrow. "…Fair point."
"I'm Dohyun. He's Minjae."
"Sena," she said. "That's Mirae. We're from Class 2-C."
They stood there for a moment, the four of them, surrounded by distant screams and blood-streaked walls.
Strangers in the middle of a nightmare.
And something—something quiet—passed between them.
A silent understanding.
We might die today.
But maybe… not alone.
They found an empty classroom.
Locked the doors. Barricaded them with chairs and desks.
Everyone breathed hard. No one spoke for a long time.
Dohyun sat by the window, looking out at the courtyard.
Smoke was rising from the east building.
A body lay face-down on the grass.
Far away, sirens.
And inside his chest, something cold began to warm.
Not hope.
Not yet.
But something like it.