The Perfect Escape

Protagonist Nate Kim is a 16-year-old Korean American student who enjoys working at a zombie-themed escape room called the “Zombie Laboratory” (1). Today, as usual, he leads a group of participants through a session but is unsurprised when they immediately fail to “escape” the horde of attacking zombies in less than half an hour. After everyone leaves, one of the “zombie” actors, a girl, steps out of hiding.

Nate is immediately intrigued by the girl, who introduces herself as Kate, a new seasonal employee. He feels awkward but is attracted to her, even though she is in her zombie makeup. She asks him for a ride home and promises to buy him food in exchange. Despite this promise, Nate worries that he’ll have to pay for the food, which he cannot afford because he saves all his money for his Xbox subscription, his college fund, and his future business fund; he is very frugal. As they chat, Nate pretends to have more in common with Kate, lying about his preferences for food and music. Kate is a senior at Seattle Academy, and Nate is relieved that she doesn't ask about his school.