Chapter 13: Immersed in Uncertainties

With a collective intake of breath, they all ran forward as quietly as they could towards the supermarket's entrance.

Opening the door without much regard for the noise it would make, they quickly got in and ran away from the entrance sure that whatever infected in the supermarket must have heard the door opening.

Inside the supermarket, Ji-hoon, Mr. Park, and Soo Won were gathering supplies when they heard the sudden commotion near the entrance. Ji-hoon's instincts kicked in, and he signaled for the others to move towards the back of the store, away from the entrance.

Soo Won whispered, "What's happening?"

Ji-hoon replied, "Something's not right. Stay low, and let's see what's going on."

As the group from outside moved deeper into the supermarket, Jae-ho carried out his plan. He started making noise near the entrance, intentionally attracting the attention of the infected. The loud shuffling and growls of the infected soon echoed through the supermarket.

Ji-hoon, realizing the diversion, seized the opportunity. "We need to move now while they're distracted. Stick together, and let's find another way out."

The group navigated through the aisles, avoiding the infected attracted by Jae-ho's intentional noise. They managed to find a back exit, leading to a narrow alley behind the supermarket.

As they reached the alley, Soo Won looked at Ji-hoon with concern. "What about the others outside?"

Ji-hoon hesitated for a moment, torn between escaping and going back around to check on the others. His hesitation didn't last long though as he saw So Mi and the others approach from inside the supermarket.

Relief washed over Ji-hoon as So Mi and the others joined them in the alley. He rushed to his brother, Min-jae, giving him a quick embrace to assure himself of his safety.

Mr Park, who had been keeping an eye on the surroundings, approached So-Mi. "Glad to see you all made it out. What happened? And what was that noise from the front of the supermarket?"

So Mi quickly responded "We'll explain later, right now, we need to keep moving. It's not safe here."

With unanimous agreement, they pressed forward, heading towards a temporary shelter located a distance away from the supermarket. After a brief journey, they arrived and, cautiously checking the interior for safety, gathered to discuss recent events.

Ji-hoon, who had harboured questions throughout their escape but refrained from asking due to the urgency of the situation, was the first to speak once they settled down.

"What happened?" he inquired, his curiosity evident in his voice.

So Mi began recounting the events, detailing their encounter with Jae-ho, the revelation about the special infected inside the supermarket, and their decision to run in to warn the others. She also explained how he had decided to help them and told them about the attraction of infected to noise and how they had used that to draw their attention.

As Ji-hoon, Soo Won and Mr Park listened to this, they couldn't help but be shocked at this new revelation of a new type of infected, meeting a survivor was something they had thought would happen anyways but a new type of infected and the revelation that they were attracted to noise came as a surprise.

Soo Won, lost in thought, suddenly remembered something and voiced her concerns.

"Doesn't this seem exactly like the same situation with man that attacked us?" she asked So Mi, drawing a connection between the new information and the previous encounter that had left them on edge.

As Soo Won made this observation, So Mi's eyes widened with realization. She recalled the earlier encounter in the apartment when the man had bitten her. At that time, confusion clouded her judgment as the man exhibited mostly normal behaviour, but the recent information about intelligent infected beings seemed to connect the dots. It struck her that the man they had encountered earlier might indeed have been one of these special infected. What startled her even more was the fact that, despite the bite, she had not experienced any signs of infection.

"How come I didn't get infected though?" So Mi questioned, prompting puzzled expressions from everyone except Mr. Park and Miss Kim.

"What are you talking about?" Mr. Park asked in confusion, just before Miss Kim could voice her own bewilderment.

"Oh, So Mi got bitten by an infected," Ji-hoon casually informed Mr. Park, as if it were the most ordinary occurrence.

Both Mr. Park and Miss Kim's eyes widened in surprise, their confusion deepening.

"What do you mean by that?" Miss Kim asked, this time clearly shocked by this information.

"Exactly what I said. She got bitten by an infected, and she should also be infected by now, but she isn't," Ji-hoon explained to her in a nonchalant tone.

As Mr Park and Miss Kim try to process what they just heard

"Maybe she's immune," Min-ji suggests, her words hanging in the air as everyone else listens, contemplating the possibility of So Mi being immune to the infection.

"Is that even possible" So Mi asks as she contemplates what that would mean.

"We don't know a lot about the infection so maybe, it could be possible" Soo Won adds as the possibility of So Mi being immune to the infection seemed like the most plausible explanation for them.

"It's also possible that the man wasn't infected at all and she just got bitten by a weirdo" Min ji suggests adding a new perspective to the conversation.

Ji-hoon asserts "We can't be certain about anything at the moment. Let's stick to our current plan, but we need to be even more cautious. Relying on luck won't be enough to navigate through another situation like this."

Ji-hoon's pragmatic approach echoes through the group. They agree to maintain their current strategies while incorporating extra caution, recognizing that relying solely on luck may not suffice in the face of the unpredictable challenges that lie ahead.

"We'll stay here for the night since it's almost dark. Let's all get some rest, and we'll continue with our discussion tomorrow. The watch remains the same as last night, so Mr. Park and I will take the first watch. Soo Won and Min-jae, you'll take the second watch, and the rest can get some much-needed rest for now." Ji-hoon concludes as everyone separates to go and prepare their things for the night.