By Zephyria 
It was such a sudden realization. The correlation between zombies and rain. Jeffrey, barely able to interpret Eden’s words, muttered a low curse through his teeth.
[Shit, what the hell is this? Zombies avoid the rain?]
“Uncles! Phone call!!”
At that moment, everyone’s attention was drawn to Byeol’s loud shout. A phone call? Without time to think rationally, everyone frantically searched for their cell phones. In that gap, Mi-so grabbed the child and asked.
“Byeol, what do you mean a phone call?”
“That thing. Thick and square….”
“Huh?”
“The phone the police officers use….”
Beep—!
It was the moment Ha-jin was racking his brain to understand Byeol’s words. Just then, a faint signal sound cut through the noise from somewhere. Ha-jin and Eden’s eyes met.
‘The walkie-talkie we found at the police station.’
Ha-jin quickly ran to where the backpack was, frantically searching for the walkie-talkie without even noticing his knees scraping on the ground.
In the meantime, the call signal rang again. Picking up the walkie-talkie, its screen dimly lit, and pressing the receive button, an unfamiliar male voice flowed into the walkie-talkie.
—Uh? Connected… it’s connected….
Static—
—Is there anyone receiving this channel…? Requesting confirmation. Requesting… receiver…
The weather conditions were the worst, and they were in a rugged, high-altitude area. There was no way the walkie-talkie would connect unless they were close. Ha-jin quickly handed the walkie-talkie to Eden.
“Received. Who is this?”
—This is Kim Kwang… from Sangwon Central Station. Who is receiving?
“I am an acquaintance of Lee Chang-yeol, a patrol officer from Sangwon Central Station.”
—…Lee Chang-yeol? Did you just say Lee Chang-yeol… …are you?
“Yes. I am an acquaintance of Lee Chang-yeol.”
There was no reply. It seemed the signal was not good. Eden frowned and lightly tapped the speaker with his palm. Just then, another call signal was heard.
—Chang-yeol… can you hear me? If you can hear me… go straight to Misan Ranch….
The connection was cut off around there. Eden threw the unresponsive walkie-talkie onto the backpack. The signal was not good, but he could understand what the person on the other side of the walkie-talkie was trying to say.
To Misan Ranch.
Ha-jin and Eden’s eyes met once again. For some reason, it felt like they were out of breath.
❖ ❖ ❖
Mi-so carefully packed the survival supplies into the plastic bag Eden had given her.
“Seriously, these zombie bastards are so funny. Are they people or what? They run at you no matter if it’s night, morning, or when it’s hot enough to die, but they hide when it rains? Park Chun-beom, does this make any sense to you?”
“W-well, I’m also taken aback. But if you think about it, animals instinctively hide when it rains. And since the zombies’ bodies are rotting… wouldn’t the decay accelerate if they get wet, so they naturally avoid water? Ah, am I going too far….”
Even while frantically packing, a heated debate continued. It was unbelievable that zombies who didn’t even flinch at the sharp edge of an ax would hide from mere raindrops.
“Whatever the reason, it seems right to say that rain is their weakness. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a zombie on a rainy day. Ugh, why didn’t I notice that sooner?”
“Honestly, the fact that a zombie virus even spread is absurd…. How could we have imagined that monsters would avoid the rain? We’re too busy trying to survive. Either way, I’m so glad we found out even now.”
Park Chun-beom looked noticeably excited. It was because Eden had established a new destination while they were packing. He hadn’t recklessly decided on a destination because he didn’t have reliable information, but this was finally an opportunity to visit Misan Ranch.
The radio report that the police were stationed there was not a lie. The proof was that the police officer, mistaking Eden for Lee Chang-yeol, had directly told them to come to Misan Ranch.
Eden planned to obtain the necessary information, raincoats, and boots from Misan Ranch, located south of Jeongmang Mountain, and leave immediately. The stay would only be an hour. Now that they knew that zombies avoided the rain, they had to equip themselves with protective gear and move diligently during the rainy season. There was no time.
The group, having finished their preparations, silently moved in the direction of the Ranch, getting occasionally hit by the pouring rain. Misan Ranch was a hilly area located on the southern side of Jeongmang Mountain, at the 850m mid-slope.
After moving for about 40 minutes, the mud kept sticking to their feet, making their bodies feel heavy. If they hadn’t torn the remaining small amount of raincoats and crudely covered their heads, their condition would have been even worse.
“Haa, haa… A-are we, are we there yet? Are we there yet?”
Park Chun-beom, breathing roughly, took off his glasses and shook off the raindrops.
[Shit, this is really killing me. If there’s nothing at Misan Ranch, whatever it is, I swear.]
Eden, leaving behind the group who were throwing out words one by one, looked around the vast pasture surrounded by fences. Dark clouds filled the sky, but the green meadow created a rather refreshing feeling. Gray sheep stood blankly among the green leaves, getting rained on.
“Those aren’t zombies, right? They’re eating grass in the rain.”
Mi-so shuddered at Ha-jin’s words.
“Ugh. I’m okay with people, but I think it would be too heartbreaking if animals became zombies.”
“But I don’t see any people. There are animals, though.”
“This pasture is originally really big. You have to go down a long way to get to the restaurant area and the campsite. Since it’s raining, everyone must be gathered there.”
In the meantime, Eden handed Byeol, who he was holding in his arms, to Jeffrey.
[Just in case, please take care of Byeol at the very back.]
[Alright. Princess, come to Uncle.]
“No. Jeffrey Uncle has a lot of hair growing on his chin now, so it’s prickly.”
Byeol, held by Jeffrey, grimaced in disgust.
[Uh-huh. I told you, if you speak Korean that fast, Uncle can’t understand you, right?]
Eden smiled and straightened his head again. Before he knew it, Chun-beom was walking far ahead. He was saying he was so tired he was gagging, but once he arrived, he seemed to have gained strength.
“Director! It’s a hut! I think we can rest there for a bit?”
As Park Chun-beom said, there was a small log hut about 100m ahead inside the fence. On closer inspection, there were huts placed like photo zones throughout the trails.
Ha-jin, who was standing next to Eden, nodded.
“Since we’re almost there anyway, should we rest for five minutes like Chun-beom said? The pasture is so big, it’ll take a long time to go down.”
“Sure.” Just as Eden was about to answer, a black object caught his eye. Just then, the thin rain stopped, and the heavily gathered rain clouds receded, and the sun began to fill the sky.
He stopped abruptly, extending his right arm to block Ha-jin, who was trying to move forward. While questioning gazes swept across Eden’s profile, Eden stared intently at something black that had come out of the hut.
Eventually, Ha-jin also turned his head towards the same place.
“Uh…?”
Stumble. Ha-jin, discovering a figure wearing a black raincoat, widened his eyes in surprise.
“Is that a zombie? That’s a zombie, right?”
The hunched figure was approaching the group. Because of the awkward gait, they couldn’t help but be sure it was a zombie. It was when Ha-jin was gripping the newly received rock hammer tightly.
“No.”
Eden’s low voice rang in his eardrums, and at the same time, a thunderous gunshot covered the group.
Ta-aang—!!!
“Agh!!”
[W-what, you crazy bastard!!]
It was a sudden firing. The surprised group all sat down on the spot. Despite the child’s loud screams, the shooting continued. The man who came out of the hut was firing a pistol hidden in his raincoat indiscriminately.
Bang! Ta-aang!!
[Everyone go back the way you came!!!]
As Eden ordered in English, Jeffrey quickly took Mi-so and Byeol and ran back.
Ha-jin also grabbed Eden’s arm to hide in the bushes. The ruthless shooting continued. However, soon the bullets seemed to have run out, and the number of gunshots that had been deafening gradually decreased.
In the meantime, Eden roughly pulled off Ha-jin’s hand that was clinging to his arm.
Leaving Ha-jin, who was looking back in surprise, he ran out fearlessly. Ha-jin watched Eden’s back as he jumped into the jaws of death, as if in disbelief.
And his face, which had been soaked in bewilderment, soon hardened with despair.
“Park Chun-beom…?”
In the distance, Park Chun-beom was seen collapsed, leaning against the fence.
The yellow short-sleeved T-shirt that he often wore as pajamas was completely stained with bright red blood.