His mother's voice. His sister's laughter. His father's calm, steady presence.Home.
"Why me? How did I end up here?"
He gripped the crumpled newspaper he had found earlier in the library. It was yellowed and fragile, but the headline was still clear:
"BREAKTHROUGH: Astronomers Confirm Existence of Twin-Sun System Beyond the Edge of Our Star Map"
The article described a newly discovered solar system — It refers the world where he is from. Scientists had speculated that life was possible there. Songwoo had circled back and gathered more papers and notes, piecing together mentions of strange atmospheric shifts, gravitational anomalies, and something ominous referred to as Project Helix.
He wasn't just in another place. He was in another world.
From across the room, the doctor watched silently. He noticed how Songwoo sat still for too long, how his eyes didn't move like the others — scanning for threats. But he said nothing. Sometimes the strongest people needed space to fall apart quietly.
Later that night, Songwoo returned to the group and held up the newspaper.
"This article… it mentions another solar system. A place with another sun. They thought it could support life." "So?" someone asked, cautiously.
Songwoo lowered his voice just enough to stir curiosity.
"What if there's a way to get there? To leave this ruined world behind?"
It was subtle. He didn't say he came from there. Just planted the idea. But then, a voice cut through the group.
"Forget it," said a gruff man sitting near the back. He hadn't spoken much since joining them.
He stepped forward slowly. A man in his late 30s, lean and tired, but with sharp, calculating eyes. His name was Dr. Seo Jinhwan.
"There's no leaving this world. Not anymore."
Everyone turned to him.
"Why?" Songwoo's eye widen.
"Because people like me tried… and failed. I was part of a research institute. Years ago. We dabbled in things we shouldn't have touched."
"What kind of things?"
Jinhwan looked away, regret flickering in his eyes.
"They were experimenting with alternate space-time theories. Portals. Dimensional rifts. Trying to reach other solar systems. But I left. I couldn't watch the cruelty anymore."
"Cruelty?" Minjae asked.
"Test subjects. Human ones. People went in and never came back. But the project continued. And one day…"He hesitated."One day, something came through."
A silence fell over the group.
"And shortly after… one person came back. He is dead, his body temperature was very low, temperature of a dead person. Still he moves. That's when the virus started spreading. The mutations. The collapse."
Songwoo's chest tightened.
"So… someone opened a door. And something came through."
Jinhwan glanced at Songwoo.
"Why are you so interested in the twin suns, kid?" [ 'twin suns' mention the two solar system.]
"Because," Songwoo smiled faintly, hiding the storm in his chest, "maybe the way out is through the same door."
Silence spread through.
"Songwoo break the silence "Are they still alive?.. I mean the scientists."
"FOR WHAT? TO BRING MORE CHOAS?... I WOULD KILL THEM MY SELF IF I EVER SEE." Jinhwan rise his voice in frustration.
Songwoo smile slightly-"Look forward with hop not backwards with regrets."
A faint glimmer of hope had taken root in Songwoo's heart.
Maybe… just maybe, there was a way out of this world.
Somewhere far away… under a single sun.
His mother stood in his room, holding his pillow tightly. Her hands trembled.It had been three days since Songwoo vanished.
"He wouldn't run away…" she whispered, though her voice cracked with doubt. "He wouldn't leave like that… not without saying goodbye…"
But guilt stabbed her again and again.
She remembered the way she raised her voice at him.
{"You're wasting your life on swords, Songwoo!"}
And his eyes — the way they darkened.
{"You'll never understand."}
She had slammed the door. He hadn't come out for dinner. And the next morning… he was gone.
His father sat silently on the floor of the police station, hands buried in his hair.
"It's my fault… I should've talked to him… I should've listened…"
Posters with Songwoo's photo were plastered on walls.Classmates whispered in hallways. Teachers looked at the empty seat with heavy hearts.
Minjae sat beside Songwoo.He glanced at him.
"You've been quiet. More than usual."
Songwoo didn't answer right away. He stared into the wall.
"I fought with my mom before I ended up here," he said suddenly.
Minjae blinked. "Oh…"
"She wanted me to stop practicing sword… wanted me to focus on studies. I yelled at her. I slammed the door."
He swallowed hard.
"That was the last time I saw her. And now… I don't even know where she's. "
Minjae looked down, unsure of what to say.
"Do you think she'd forgive me?" Songwoo whispered.
Minjae nodded slowly.
"She's your mom. She probably already has."
A silence stretched between them — heavy, but shared.
As silence filled the dim corridors of the mall, most survivors were either sleeping or resting in corners, clinging to whatever safety they could find. Songwoo, meanwhile, sat with his back against a broken vending machine, staring into the dark ceiling above. His thoughts wandered—not to the present danger, but to the warmth of home, the smell of his mother's cooking, and the last words they exchanged.
From the shadows, quiet footsteps approached.
He turned slightly, instinctively reaching for his weapon—but stopped. A girl, perhaps a few years younger than him, stood just at the edge of the hallway's light. Her face was unreadable, her expression calm but watchful. She had been there all along, hiding in silence, unnoticed even by Songwoo's keen instincts.
"You're… with the others?" he asked, lowering his hand.
The girl gave a small nod, still wary. "I've been here since yesterday. Just… watching."
She finally stepped into the light. Her clothes were worn, but she didn't look injured—only cautious. Her name, she said, was Yuri.
"I don't like to be seen," Yuri continued. "People make too much noise. Anyway the zombies… they don't move much at night. They're weak then."
Songwoo blinked, his interest arose. "You've been observing them?"
Yuri nodded and held out a small notebook—tattered but neatly filled with notes. "Their bodies are soft… vulnerable. Especially around the arms and neck. Their bones… don't feel real. They're drawn to sound, not sight. And during the day… they change. They get faster. Hungrier."
Her voice was steady, almost too calm for her age.
Morning sunlight slowly spilled through the shattered glass ceiling above, bathing the mall in a pale orange glow. As the group began to woke, Songwoo called a quiet meeting. With Yuri's observations in mind, he proposed a plan:
"We move at night, when they're at their weakest. During the day, we rest, hide, and recover."
No one objected. Even Minjae, who had grown to trust Songwoo, nodded silently.
They all stare through the glass window.....