Throat Knife | Y.Jw

| 15 |

I quietly sat on a thick branch, up in a tree, whilst hitting the end of the staff with a sharp rock I found a few hours ago. My goal was to make one end sharp enough so I could use it as a spear. Of course it was quite hard to see the tip of the staff now that it was dark outside so once in a while I would end up hitting the branch beside me.

"Jiyeon?" a voice called out making my head poke up. I had purposely hid near the base gates just because I was curious as to what the hell Jungwon was thinking, "yah, Park Jiyeon if you're near come out right now."

I let out a small sigh before quickly crawling down from my branch and walked back out to the road that ran outside the base gates. A few meters away Jungwon stood with a bag whilst squinting his eyes around the dark.

"My guess is Soobin let you out," I commented, as I leaned up a tree beside me, making Jungwon snap his head over in my direction, "and then without any weapons, you just are an idiot, aren't you?"

"Shut up I'm out here to help you," he retorted and threw the bag over to my feet.

"Who said I needed help?" I questioned him, "I've done just fine on my own until you decided to kidnap me."

"You chose yourself whether you wanted to stay or not," Jungwon defended.

"I am not staying once I have my belongings," I shook my head at him.

"You're just gonna leave Sunghoon and Jay hyung like that?" Jungwon questioned and I just shrugged.

"It's stupid I should get punished for helping. Now it's my turn to leave people behind," I shrugged at him, "besides I don't get the impression that you're super stoked by the fact that I'm living in your room. So I think I'll just skip town and go back to my treehouse in time."

"I know where your stupid treehouse is located," he reminded.

"So? Rather you shoot me there than I get shot here," I shrugged at him.

"Who said I was going to shoot you?" he questioned as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh... oh Jungwon," I let out a small laugh at him, "how stupid do you think I am? I know you despise me."

"How would you know? Didn't I take care of you for the first few days?" he questioned in amusement making me just shrug you.

"You couldn't care less about me," I excused before picking up the bag and looking through it, deciding there was nothing I missed, before throwing it back to Jungwon, "I appreciate the thought, but I'll do just fine."

"Show me where you're staying the night," he insisted and grabbed the bag once more and threw it over his shoulder.

"Awe! You're worried about me," I commented making him just roll his eyes, or at least that was what it looked like through the dark.

"Sunghoon hyung is," he corrected and I just nodded before turning around and walking back to the tree I had found, Jungwon right behind me as I did.

"Careful not to trip and damage that pretty face of you," I commented as I saw him struggle through the close grown branches. Biting back my laugh at how clumsy he suddenly looked.

"Oh shut up," he hissed at me making me just let out a small laugh before crawling back up on my branch and tapping it with my staff.

"This is my bed for tonight and then I think I'll move more east once the sun rises," I shrugged, "I'll just start from square one and go back to the treehouse. Map out everything again and such."

"You can't do that," Jungwon shook his head up at me.

"And why not?" I questioned in amusement making him sigh before beginning to crawl up the tree.

"Move," he waved me to the side making me shift over on the branch.

Jungwon took off the bag and hung it on another nearby branch as he sat down beside me. He quickly rumaged through the bag before pulling up canned pineapples.

"You never ate them, so I suppose you'd want them now," he commented and handed the can to me.

"You gotta savor the sweet things you can find in this world," I excused with a shrug and opened the can as Jungwon got out two forks, "oh so we're sharing."

"I want some too," he excused and handed me one fork.

I let out a small laugh at him before poking my fork through one pineapple ring before quietly beginning to eat it and glancing at Jungwon as he did the same.

"Why are you nice to me?" I quietly questioned making Jungwon glance over at me as I just sat and looked at him. He almost seemed surprised that I had the audacity to ask that question.

"Do I need a reason?" he questioned and I just shrugged at him.

"It's just... one second you say some... maybe not mean but let's say some debatable things," I pointed out and he just nodded at me, "but at the same time you treat me nicely all the time, even if your words say otherwise... so why are you being nice to me?"

"A long time ago," Jungwon let out a small laugh, "when Jay hyung and Sunghoon hyung came they told me of a girl named Jiyeon. They never specified anything about her, who she was to them, if she was dead or alive. I only knew her name. It was around the time I was allowed to do missions alone outside of the camp. So they had me promise that whenever I came across a young girl I had to ask for her name and if she was Jiyeon I should bring her back and make sure to keep her safe until she was back at the camp. I just never thought the first girl I actually ever stumbled upon out here would be named Jiyeon, and who would've thought it was the right one," he let out a small laugh as a frown grew on my face.

"But you continue to watch out for me. I mean... you quite literally sneaked out and now we're eating canned pineapples in a tree," I pointed out to him making him just let out a small laugh at me, and I had to admit there was something comical about eating canned pineapples during the night while you could hear those zombies wandering about in the distance, grunting and groaning.

"I guess I just grew fond enough of you to continue watching out for you," he shrugged before smiling down at me as a frown just stayed on my face, "what?"

"How can you grow fond of me?" I questioned in confusion as I tried to figure out if it was a sarcastic smile or if it actually was genuine.

"You fight back, you're not some easy sugar sweet girl that is scared of doing anything you're told. I like that you bite back," he shrugged, "I mean... you quite literally drove that car faster than I ever would've dared. That for one is impressive. I like that you're not some soft sugar sweet 'can't kill a zombie' kind of girl. You just... you just do it. And then you also snap back at me, I like to have someone to bicker with... that isn't any of the boys, you're more fun to bicker with."

"I feel flattered," I commented and poked the fork through another ring.

"Don't," he chuckled and shook his head, "I'm not trying to make you flattered, I'm trying to hold onto something I haven't had in a long time."

I glanced at him with a skeptical look before my eyes landed on the bright red line across his cheekbone. Even in the darkness it stood out by the faint light of the moon.

"Do you remember to clean it?" I questioned making Jungwon look at me in confusion, "the cut. Do you remember to clean it?"

"Why are you curious about that?" he questioned in amusement making me shrug.

"Can't let a handsome face go to waste in this world," I quietly excused.

"Oh so I'm handsome now," he teased making me let out a small laugh as he leaned his face closer to mine and I immediately pushed it away.

"I never called you ugly," I defended in the same manner he had teased me.

"Yet," he stated and I simply shook my head, "no?"

"I can't lie," I excused and sucked off the pineapple juices on my fork, "so I'm just not gonna do it."

"I'll have to take advantage of that," Jungwon commented making me glance to him before nodding.

I simply hummed in return before I poked my fork through another pineapple ring and just looked up at the moon, through the crowns of the trees. Only four more nights to go.