Beyond Survival: A Time-Traveling Odyssey

Sae Joon Hyun sat back in the military Jeep and sighed deeply, his mind struggling to grasp the surreal sequence of events that had led them here. "A zombie apocalypse. Living in a military Jeep and now time travel," he muttered, the words barely audible over the Jeep’s idling engine.

Eunhye, seated next to him, chuckled at his comment, her laughter light and almost musical in the grim silence that surrounded them. "Seriously. It isn't funny at all," he said, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"Haha. Sorry. That was just... You are cute."

"What?" Sae Joon Hyun’s confusion was palpable, his brow furrowing as he turned to look at her.

"Haha. My bad. I can't stop laughing. You looked so serious when you said that."

"I get it, okay? Gosh. How can you laugh like that in this situation?"

"Why not?"

"What-"

"Why not? Why can't I laugh like this?" Eunhye's tone shifted from mirth to something more profound, her eyes reflecting the resilience that had kept her sane through the chaos.

"Huh... I mean... we are-"

"In an apocalypse? Someone traveled back in time? So? What is happening is happening. Why should I control my laughter for that? Sheesh. You are weird."

"No way... you are weird..." Sae Joon Hyun muttered to himself, shaking his head as he leaned back against the Jeep's cold metal frame.

Yohan, seated across from them, looked at Hailey, whose eyes were glazed over in thought, her hands trembling as she clutched her uniform. "Hailey-"

"Not now, Yohan..." Hailey cut him off, her voice barely a whisper.

"But-"

"You don't want me to discuss this now."

"I... Well... As you say. I won't bother you," he said softly, shifting away from her, respecting her need for space.

Inside her mind, Hailey was a tempest of thoughts and emotions. What is this? she wondered. I explained it to them without any problems just now. Why am I shaking like this now? This is exhaustion, isn't it. Thinking that I was dreaming when in reality, I just crossed universes. Or maybe I had a vision. But no. No matter how I look at it, I definitely time-traveled. But why me?

No, Hailey. Start from the beginning. She mentally retraced her steps. Yohan died. You felt all sorts of painful emotions rush through you. You denied the reality. You denied and expected it to be a dream. A nightmare. Why did I travel back in time? I wanted to save Yohan. Why did I travel back in time constantly? I didn't understand the situation properly, and Yohan ended up dead in every attempt I made.

I am in reality now. Why? Because he is fine now. This is all I need to know. Let's not dwell on things that don't matter right now. I can feel these emotions later.

She sighed, peeping outside the window at the barren, apocalyptic landscape that once was bustling with life.

"There is something I want to get straight," Sae Joon Hyun began, breaking the silence. "Where we all are from. Though we have discussed this once before."

"Yes. Then we might have a clue. Or at least figure when it started in each place if not anything else," Eunhye mentioned.

"We are all from Seoul," Charyeong said. Yohan and the other students nodded in consent.

"I am from Seoul as well," In-Ha added.

"Me too," Yuri said. Jaeyeon nodded along.

"Daegu. And Minji is from Changwon," Young added.

"Incheon," said Jeha, his hands covering his eyes.

"I am from Seoul as well. And you?" Eunhye asked, looking at Sae Joon Hyun.

"Gangnam."

"In Seoul, it began eleven days ago from now. In Daegu, eighteen days ago, and in Changwon thirty-four days ago... What about Gangnam?" Eunhye concluded.

"I don't know," Sae Joon Hyun shrugged, "I was in America with you, remember?"

"And in Incheon?" She asked Jeha.

"Hm. I don't know. I didn't have my phone or anything," he replied.

Placidity crawled into the space, an uneasy calm that left them all pondering their fates. Minji clenched her fists in vexation. She had been running for dear life for more than a month now, and presently, here she was, nonetheless skedaddling from the predicament, horrifying zombies.

In-Ha quietly changed the baby’s clothes, wrapping her in a blue sheet. "You don’t have clothes for her?" Jeha asked, his voice gentle.

"Should I get some?" he offered immediately. Listening to his offer, everyone quickly turned their gaze towards Jeha.

"What...?" In-Ha blinked a few times, processing what he had asked.

"Clothes. I mean clothes. Shall I get some?"

"Ah. Uh. No. It’s okay. That’s too dangerous."

"What’s her name?"

"Huh?"

"The baby. Girl, right?"

"Yes. Yes."

"Name?"

"Oh. I was thinking of calling her Kaneisyeon. What do you think?"

"Hm. That’s... wow."

"What? What is it?"

"It is beautiful."

"Isn't it?" She stroked the baby in her hands, her eyes softening with maternal pride.

"It is. So. For Kaneisyeon. You need clothes, right?"

"But Jeha-"

"There is a store right across."

"I see. And you want to-"

"Exactly. It won’t take me long."

"I... well... I don’t know what to say..."

Jeha didn’t bother waiting another second. He hopped out of the Jeep, determination etched into his every move. He crossed the road, now a barren wasteland with no cars, no humans, and no zombies. The silence was eerie, but he looked both ways before walking across the zebra crossing, perhaps a remnant of old habits in a world gone mad.

Walking only a few steps further, he reached a store. The lights on the board were broken, and the letters from the name of the shop were missing. He entered the store cautiously, grabbing all the clothes he could find. Turning around, he found a large window at the end of the store. A small shop was visible outside—food. He sprinted out of the clothing store with a huge bag on his back and entered the food shop.

He threw in all the edible items and drinking water that was available. Next to this store was an appliance showroom. He entered and picked up some very exceptional items. He carried all the items he had gathered in three bags and walked along the street whistling as if he were on a vacation trip.

"He is weird," Yuri began, "that Jeha boy, I mean. He came from nowhere and is a part of our team. He doesn’t speak much, but he is surprisingly attached to the baby...."

"He is taking things pretty calmly," Eunhye added.

"Don’t go there, you guys. That’s what we felt when we first saw you," Hailey voiced, her tone a mixture of admonition and understanding.

"Haha. But no, I didn’t mean it that way. I mean, he is just... I don’t know, just weird," Eunhye stated.

"Oh. He is back," Jaeyeon announced, pointing at Jeha striding close to the Jeep.

"He is carrying a lot of stuff with him," Sae Joon Hyun commented. They nodded in consent.

Jeha entered the Jeep and gently placed the bags on the Jeep mat. "Wow... Just how many clothes did you get?" In-Ha asked him, wide-eyed.

Jeha pulled out a pen and paper from the bag he was originally carrying around his waist and scribbled on the sheets. He then stuck the slips on the covers with a small glue stick—a content from his bag. All three valises were now labeled: Clothes, Food, Appliance.

"Appliance? What did you find?" Eunhye asked him, gazing at the bag eagerly.

"Water boiler. Juice maker. Induction-"

"What?" Mina overlaid her words over Jeha's.

"What?" he asked her.

"Why did you get all that? No. What did you get all that for?" She asked, baffled by his choices.

Jeha's calm demeanor remained unshaken as he replied, "For the baby, of course. For Kaneisyeon. We need to keep her safe and comfortable."

The group fell silent, the weight of their predicament sinking in. They were no longer just surviving; they were building a life in the midst of chaos. Jeha’s actions were a testament to their resilience, a beacon of hope in their dark world.