Chapter 09 

Kai pulled the pillar out of the floor with one hand—like it was nothing.
Then he slid our handcuffs under the gap he’d created.

Holy— what kind of physical strength is THAT?

His wide shoulders and densely packed arm muscles practically radiated brute force.

“This way.”

He practically dragged me toward the entrance.

With a few kicks, he broke the lock and opened the sealed door.

And at the end of the hallway—

–Grrrhhhhh.

A monster, bearing sharp teeth, welcomed us.

“……”

I immediately reached forward and closed the door again.

Then I exchanged a look with Kai.

“K-Kai, I’m seeing things again, right? Please tell me I’m seeing things.”

“Unfortunately… your eyes are perfectly fine.”

Our isolation room was located at the very back of Zone 3.

Meaning—
for a monster to appear here…

“Haha… oh wow. I’m screwed.”

I laughed like a madwoman, clasping my hands together.

And prayed.

Dear God, I know life is hardcore, but this is a bit much, isn’t it?

Honestly, I wanted to grab the author by the collar and shake them violently.

Because during the 12 hours Kai and I were locked up in here…

The entire passenger ship had fallen to the monsters.

But there was no time to despair.

Thud! Thud! GRRRHH! THUD!

The monster outside pounded the door so hard it looked ready to break down.

“Ah! What do we do?! What should we do?! What are we supposed to do?!”

“First, calm—”

“HOW am I supposed to calm down?! My life is over! I just wanted to enjoy a fancy, luxurious, noble life, and THIS is what I get?!”

Clinging to panic, I yanked at my hair.

Tears even began leaking from the corners of my eyes.

But crying or not, we still had things to do.

“Ugh, Kai, get that table! Yes, that one! Hurry and block the door!
Sniff… Yeah, that statue too—drag it over here. Good job. Sob…”

“Cry or give instructions—pick one.”

Kai snapped as he fully barricaded the door.

I collapsed onto the floor, hugging my knees.

“This is a dream. A dream.”

A nightmare, really.
The worst one possible.

But I knew the perfect way to escape a nightmare.

I placed both hands on my cheeks and closed my eyes.

“Okay. When I count to three and open my eyes, everything in front of me will disappear.
When I open them again, I’ll be in a peaceful, heartwarming childcare novel, with tasty food and a warm bed—”

“Nettie Kertis. Does escaping reality change anything?”

His deep voice shattered my fantasy.

I opened my eyes.

Yep.
Still stuck on a monster-infested ship.
Still trapped.
Still facing my stupidly handsome favorite character.

Damn. Guess I can’t respawn into another novel that easily.

“This is my coping method, I’ll have you know. Respect my privacy?”

“Your ‘privacy’ makes you look insane.”

Kai pointed out the obvious.

I shrugged.

“Well, if you DON’T go a little crazy in this situation, isn’t that the real crazy?”

“So you’re claiming it’s a psychological defense mechanism?”

“Something like that.”

I beamed.

“Just think of this as a light game, Kai. Otherwise, one day you’ll get eaten alive.”

“…Is that a warning?”

“It’s a prophecy.”

Kai frowned.

He clearly wanted to ask more—but it wasn’t the right time.

–Scrraaatch. SCREEEEE.

The monster we’d locked out was still clawing at the door.

It wasn’t breaking through yet… But if it called others over, we’d be doomed.

“Kai, we should go out, right?”

“If you don’t want to die like a rat trapped in a poison jar, then yes.”

“…A rat? Really?”

I pouted.

But thanks to him, my panic calmed, and my trembling hands steadied.

When my brain finally rebooted, I remembered something.

“Oh! If we go to Zone 4’s middle deck, there’s a secret passage only crew members know about. And that leads to the emergency lifeboat storage!”

“Do you know how to pilot a lifeboat?”

Kai’s expression shifted.

He used to look at me like I was baggage…
But now?

He looked like he’d stumbled upon glittering treasure.

I wanted to brag—see? Finally recognizing my greatness?
But instead, I scratched my neck awkwardly.

“I mean, I know… kind of. Sort of. But I can’t promise.”

I’d only read a couple lines about it in the original novel.

But even that half-baked answer seemed enough for Kai.

“Then that’s good. Stay behind me until we get out of here.”

He began removing the barricade.

Then he signaled me to help, so I shoved the last table aside.

The door opened—
and THUD!

Kai swung the pillar chained to his wrist and smashed a monster’s head in.

Yep. He’s definitely the male lead.

One hit.
Instant kill.

After finishing it off, Kai examined the monster’s face.

“Arlen Walker…”

“You knew him?”

His expression twisted in pain.

He gently closed the monster’s eyes and answered coldly:

“Not anymore. The person I knew wasn’t a monster.”

Then he headed to the nearby cabin—where confiscated belongings were piled up.

He retrieved his guns.

And my adorable little frying pan.

“Kai, I’m fragile and delicate, you know. If a monster comes near me, I might faint. I’m really sensitive…”

“And so?”

“With this tiny frying pan… can I really protect myself?”

I waved it weakly.

“What exactly are you asking?”

“Give me a gun. Just one.”

“You think I’d give you one?”

“…No.”

My pitiful answer must have pleased him.

He unlocked my handcuff and said,

“I’ll protect you. You’re my hostage. Instead of worrying, focus on how to turn these monsters back into humans.”

I didn’t hear the last part.

Because my brain had stopped functioning.

He said he’ll protect me.

“This is it. THIS is the jackpot!”

I nearly sobbed with joy.

Are you seeing this, fan café members of “Undying Romance: People Who Love Kai”? I did it! I hit the jackpot for all of us!

I quickly turned my head away so he wouldn’t see my stupidly happy expression.

But maybe he misunderstood—
His voice softened.

“This is a military-developed weapon. It uses magic bullets. The recoil is heavy.”

“…”

“If you use it recklessly, your hand will break before the monster dies.”

This is what I heard:

‘I can’t give you this. You might get hurt.’

So he wasn’t giving me the gun…

because he was worried about me.

This man.

This man right here.

GUILTY.
Life imprisonment for emotional damages.

I held back the grin threatening to explode across my face and stroked my frying pan.

He asked:

“So you’re over the gun now?”

“Yeah, well. Even if you gave me one, I wouldn’t know how to use it anyway. And you said you’ll protect me, so…”

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not protecting you because I want to. Hostages must stay alive.”

“Sure, sure. The result is what matters—I get to live!”

I glued myself to Kai’s back.

We’d meet monsters any second now, but I felt safe like this.

He was the strongest male lead.
No way anything dangerous would—

I take it back.

“AHHH! Kai! There are three more behind us! Wait—FOUR!”

Every hallway corner had monsters jumping out.

I guarded Kai’s back with my frying pan, clinging to his clothes like a terrified meerkat.

“Damn it! This way!”

Kai grabbed me with one arm and lifted me like a sack of potatoes.

I wrapped myself around his shoulders for dear life.

Behind us, packs of monsters screamed and chased us.

Kai ran like a lunatic—so fast the scenery blurred.

And when we finally burst out onto an open deck—

“…Wait. Is that…”

Under the bright sun, a woman in a flowing dress stood on the uppermost deck.

I instinctively strangled Kai.

“Ghk—what?!”

“Kai! Look! Look! Isn’t that Rachel?!”

Far away, on the highest deck—

stood the heroine.

Or rather…

the heroine, who had already turned into a monster.