Leftovers~All of us are dead

Chp. 23 Closer

All of a sudden Woo-jin rushes to the other students and wraps his hand around a girl. Y/N looks closer and realizes it's his sister. He didn't know her name but had recognized her through hanging around Woo-jin.

He scans the faces of the group and realizes that Mi-jin is with them. A small smile of relief appears on his face at the sight of her safety. It takes a few moments but eventually, Mi-jin recognizes him and walks up to him with a confident smirk, "Glad to see you alive my friend."

"I can't believe your group hasn't killed you yet," Y/N teases.

Mi-jin scoffs, "I could say the same for you." Then the boy notices that the new group also has another person strapped to a stretcher-like platform. I wonder what happened? "But seriously," the girl in front of him interrupts his thoughts, "I'm grateful that I still have you." Y/N can tell she's being honest and he smiles sadly in response.

On-jo then grabs onto her brother's arm, "We have to keep going," she tugs slightly and gives Min-ji a look that implies that the girl is included in that 'we'. Min-ji nods and they start running again. The zombie hoard behind them steadily starts growing, the growls filling the air.

The group soon realizes that there is no way they can escape the hoard and they all start panicking slightly. They've been running for a while now and, even with his increased strength, Y/N's arms begin tiring at carrying Cheong-san. But the students come across the gym and they all enter, hoping to find shelter.

The sound of their heavy breaths echoes in the large room and a wave of relief passes over them. The glass double doors swing closed behind them, clicking softly. However, right after the noise is made they hear a faint grumble. Then lightning cracks outside and illuminates the inside of the gym.

Their eyes all widen in fear. Inside there are dozens of zombies, all hungry for a taste of their flesh. Y/N notices one of the boys from the other group makes a move to run back out but he quickly stops him. The boy looks back at him in surprise and slight frustration. Y/N holds him back by his arm and despite struggling the other boy can't break free. It's better if we stay together, Y/N thinks, looking back at the zombies in the room.

Then Joon-yeong spots the equipment room from the corner of his eye and the group rushes to it desperately. The zombies in the gym quickly start surrounding them and they run as fast as possible. But Min-ji struggles to bring in the boy attached to the stretcher. Y/N wants to help but realizes he can't. In one arm he is still holding his childhood best friend and in the other he is dragging the boy who tried to leave.

"Min-ji!" he shouts out.

She continues trying, "Wait, just wait!" The zombies are almost completely surrounding her.

Y/N tries again, "We have to go." He can already feel the guilt digging into his heart. There's no time though...I want Min-ji to survive. The boy...no matter what he's going to die. Then he watches as Joon-young grabs her and pulls her into the equipment room. She screams in protest, sobs choking her voice.

Finally, On-jo closes the door and the zombies' bodies pelt against the metal door. Min-ji sinks to the floor and begins crying mummering a name. Joon-sung. The group remains silent and the only noise made is the girl's cries and sobs.

Y/N lets go of the boy from the other group and takes a seat on the floor, letting Cheong-san down near him. He leans his head back and closes his eyes. I'm so tired...

Then he suddenly feels a pair of arms wrap tightly around him. He looks back down and sees Cheong-san. The boy's expression is unreadable but the tightness of his hold says everything Y/N needs to know. The taller boy accepts the hug and begins patting his childhood best friend's hair softly, trying to give him some comfort.

Finally, Cheong-san speaks up, "Thank you Y/N," he looks up, his deep brown eyes still glossy, "Thank you for staying by my side."

Y/N's breath catches in his throat, He's so beautiful... He smiles, sorrow still seeping through, "I'd do anything for you."

The other boy leans his head against Y/N's chest and shuts his eyes, listening carefully to his heartbeat. The sound eases him and lets him momentarily forget about the rest of the world. Right now, Cheong-san thinks, It's just me and Y/N.

But soon another body joins them, On-jo. She cuddles against Y/N's arm, and even though instead of heat she receives the cold of someone long dead, it warms her heart. She smiles and holds on tighter. "I love you," she whispers, "Thank you for being my brother."

Y/N smiles in return and puts an arm around her, pulling her closer, "I love you too, and thank you for being my little sister."

On-jo lightly pinches the boy, "We all know I'm older."

"Ha! You wish," Y/N retaliates, making his twin stick out her tongue. Cheong-san chuckles lightly at their bickering and the siblings continue their light banter.

Then eventually the three fall asleep in their small corner of the room. On the other side of them, Ha-ri holds her brother's head in her lap and watches as he sleeps peacefully. She looks at the other pair of siblings in their group and smiles and them, forming a natural affinity with the two.

For now, the students can rest, but most are haunted with nightmares. Y/N dreams of his normal life. Dreaming that his father randomly takes him and his sister on a trip to the beach. He dreams that there all his classmates happened to come on the same day. The breeze is refreshing and the ocean water feels perfect.

But suddenly he spots red in the water and when he looks up he realizes the ocean is filling with the same red. Then the people around him, including all his friends and his dad and sister start running into the ocean. Y/N screams at them to stop but they don't show any signs of hearing him. The ocean turn completely red and the people inside start screaming as they drown in the waves. Dark clouds roll over the sky and a huge lightning bolt races down to the floor and hits Y/N square in the chest.

The boy's eyes snap open and he looks around frantically. When he realizes that he's still in the equipment room his body relaxes but he brings the two people in his arms closer to his chest. Letting their warmth calm him down. Then he closes his eyes and returns to sleep, wishing that when morning comes he'd be back in his bedroom and the zombies would just be a nightmare.