𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐀𝐋 ─ all of us are dead

𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯

They had found Cheongsan, hugging him and sharing words of comfort when they made sure no one was harmed. Suhyeok wasn't back, and neither was Nam-ra. It worried Rosie. Where could they be? She couldn't help but think of all the possibilities of bad things happening to them. On-jo was worried too – only about Suhyeok. She liked that guy; of course she'd act like he was the only one that mattered.

On-jo couldn't see just how much Cheongsan was in love with her. She never noticed how much it hurt him – or maybe because Cheongsan was just too good at hiding it? Not really. It was visible to anyone who paid the slightest bit of attention to that weird pair.

Suhyeok and Nam-ra arrived in the room, everyone noticing that Nam-ra was bitten. To prove a point that Nam-ra wasn't dangerous or that he'd be her first target if she ever turned into a zombie, he ripped a piece of cloth from his shirt and tied their hands together – all while On-jo looked at them, jealous.

Rosie didn't care much about the situation. It was a bad thing to say, really, a horrible thing to do, but she simple didn't care enough. She never thought that she'd come across a day where she'd have to be selfish to live. She didn't want her friends in any type of danger, but she also didn't want to die. It was confusing her to no end. Was she an evil person for prioritizing herself over the others in an apocalypse?

Gyeong-su and Rosie were sitting together on the floor – their bodies close to each other, finding comfort with the touch and proximity. He hasn't said a word to her, and it honestly worried Rosie. What was he thinking? Why wasn't he looking her way? Why wasn't he holding her hand? Why wasn't he wrapping his arms around her to bring her closer to him? Why did he look so far away when he was literally sitting next to her?

"I feel like you're mad at me," she broke the silence between them. "Again."

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" he forced himself to spill the words. He turned his head to look at her, his hands gripping the end of his shirt tightly as he spoke, "Why do you always do this? Why do you always run away somewhere, leaving us behind? Do you even have any idea how worried we were? How worried I was? Or you simply don't care about my – our feelings? It hurts me when you leave without informing anyone about where you're going. And you can't leave like that. It's so fucking dangerous. Why can't you understand? Why are you trying to fuck up your life? Fuck up my life?! Please think of the things you're doing and how it affects other people. You have no idea –"

He was cut off when he felt a hard force against his body. He took a few seconds to regain his balance. Despite the condition they were in, he could still smell the strawberry shampoo that he knew Rosie used. He hugged her back immediately, tightening his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry, Gyeong-su," her voice broke. "I'm so sorry. I didn't think this through. I just – it felt like I couldn't breathe. I needed to get out of there. Please forgive me, Gyeong-su. I'm so sorry. I don't want you to be angry at me –"

"Hey," he cut her off in a comforting voice. "It's okay. I forgive you. Now just stop talking and let the tears flow. It's okay to cry, you know? Sometimes I cry too. Everybody cries. It's normal."

"Yeah?" she asked softly, her hands gripping Gyeong-su's shirt tightly.

"Yeah," he whispered. He rubbed his hand over her back in order to comfort her – internally hoping it was helping.

After she had calmed down, she broke the hug, embarrassed over the fact that she had wet Gyeong-su's shoulder with her crying. She sighed softly, wiping away the tears from her face the hundredth time.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked, scooting closer to her to wrap his arm around her shoulder to bring her closer.

"I don't know," she replied, allowing herself to lean into Gyeong-su. "I feel a bit relieved, yes, but I don't know if I'm okay. I'm sorry for your shoulder, uh, thank you for letting me cry. It's just – I don't know what to feel. It's so confusing. Like, I'm here with you, and I feel so much better. I like being with you."

That was definitely what Gyeong-su had asked. She was just embarrassing herself by spilling the most stupidest shit.

"I," Gyeong-su was definitely not expecting her to say something like that. "I like being with you too, Rose."

She smiled at him warmly, glad that he liked her company. "Do you know that day in seventh grade when you said that someone left a rose for me on my desk?"

"Yeah?" he gave her a confused smile.

"I knew you left it for me," she revealed. "But I played dumb because I didn't know what to say or do. It was stupid, really."

"All this time you knew that it was me?" He asked with an awkward chuckle.

"I did," she nodded her head. "And do you remember when you found a rose on your desk in eight grade?"

"I remember," he looked at her closely.

"I left it for you," she said, her lips forming into a small smile.

"You did?" he asked, his eyes wide. "Stop messing around, Rose. It isn't funny."

"But I'm not," she shook his leg, making him look at her. "I left it for you."

"I," he stuttered, stunned. "I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything," she shrugged her shoulders as if it was no big deal. But she wanted to know what he felt about the rose – what he was feeling now.

After a moment of silence, he asked, "Why'd you leave it?"

That was a good question. She didn't know why she left it for him. One day she woke up, and she just felt like giving him a rose. Of course she went according to it – she bought a rose, she entered the classroom with a brave face, but she faltered as soon as she saw him. He was laughing alongside Cheongsan and Suhyeok – his loud laughter making her smile. She pussied out in the last moment, simply placing the rose in his desk when no one was looking.

"I don't know," she replied honestly, "I just felt like it."

He hummed, deciding to not discuss about it anymore. Despite the condition and situation they were in, he liked how she was so close to him willingly. He thought he was being selfish by thinking about them being together. Sure, some people would think of it as stupid, but most people would not.

Love is the strongest feeling. You're afraid to lose the person you love. It makes you blind. It makes you selfish. It makes you think about your decisions twice, because your decisions could affect the other person's life – the person you're in love with, the person you care about, the person you're ready to do anything for.

In all honesty, Gyeong-su didn't really care if he was being called stupid by other people in school. It didn't really matter to him. You can't help who you fall for and when you fall. It's very unexpected and unpredictable – to realize that you've fallen in love with someone.

But it was okay. He didn't mind.