APOCALYPSE ━ Min Yong-guk

𝟬𝟴. live like legends

    "Mister..." He spoke with difficulty like it hurt to breathe. "I'm scared. Take me home. My mom is waiting for me..."

     Dabin didn't bother to listen. Because Jin-hee's mom was waiting for her to come, too. Soon enough, the infection got to his brain, and as expected, his first instinct was to attack and bite normal people. Unfortunately, Seok-woo was the nearest one to him. He tackled the man and Seok-woo fought against him. It went back and forth until Dabin finally managed to break through between Yong-guk and Sung-gyeong.

    She launched herself toward them with her hand wrapped around the pocket knife and buried the blade deep beneath his skull. Seok-woo pulled himself over the train, pressing his back against the wall as he took deep breaths. The others watched as Dabin slowly pulled out the small knife from his head. Then she stabbed him again. And again. And again. Right on the head in the same spot.

     Dabin only stopped when his body slipped off the moving train and hit the tracks. Some of them looked horrified. Then she realized why. Yong-guk rushed forward, being the only one who held no fear toward her actions. He kneeled in front of her, grabbing her cheeks and using his thumb to remove the splatter of blood on her pale skin.

     Her lips quivered. She didn't look afraid. She felt vengeful. Yet for some reason, something in her just doesn't seem right. Jinhee was still dead. The guy who killed her was dead, too. So why the hell does she still feel so empty?

     "Come on, Dabin," Yong-guk muttered, trying his best to make her look less terrifying to the little girl who stared at her with trembling eyes.

     "He's dead," Dabin said blankly. Then her eyes landed on Seok-woo, briefly flickering on his hand where a visible bite wound was. "And he's infected."

      Seok-woo ignored them and ran inside the control room, his daughter crying after him. Sung-gyeong followed, leaving the two former students outside the tram. Dabin stood from the floor, Yong-guk hovering over her like a persistent fly. He was too worried and it was obvious from the fact he was constantly looking at her and touching her hands or shoulders.

     "Yong-guk," Dabin called. Immediately, he looked at her with a furrow between his brows. "I'm okay. I swear."

    "I know... I know," Yong-guk said frustratedly. He grabbed the pocket knife from her and squeezed her hands coated with red. "You don't always have to be, you know?"

     "I know," Dabin muttered.

     His eyes widened when they landed on someone behind her. "Mister."

     She quickly turned around, finding Seok-woo with tear-stained cheeks. His pale complexion made her realize just how fast the infection spreads. Dabin could hear his daughter, Soo-an, crying out loud inside the tram with Sung-gyeong trying her best to calm her down.

    "I suppose, this is it," Dabin muttered, refusing to show any emotions. She didn't know him. Why would she feel sad? At least that's what she told herself.

    Because her heart twisted when he cried and said: "Please take care of them."

     Dabin hesitated. "We'll try."

     Yong-guk slipped his hand into hers and nodded at the man. "We'll do our best."

     Seok-woo tried to smile one last time and Yong-guk forced her to turn away from the man. Because in all honesty, that was all he needed to hear from them. He just needed his little girl safe. And they were the best person who could probably keep her safe.

     Their trip to Busan was quiet. They let Sung-gyeong and Soo-an sit on the seats up front while they settled on the floor next to each other. They kept close to each other like one of them would suddenly disappear.  His head was on her shoulder and Dabin pressed her cheeks on his head. Their eyes remained open the whole ride, listening to the sound of the train and the constant sobbing of Seok-woo's daughter he had left behind.

    It didn't take long for the train to slow down. Dabin glanced up from where she sat, briefly exchanging eye contact with Sung-gyeong who looked confused. She tapped Yong-guk's arm and proceeded to stand up to check out what it was. Her brows furrowed. Something was blocking the tracks and it didn't look very safe or friendly.

     Yong-guk climbed down the tram first, landing on the tracks with two feet. He helped Soo-an down and set her beside him. Then it was Sung-gyeong. And lastly, Dabin, who brushed off his help as she jumped off the height of the outside platform of the tram.

     Dabin held his hand as they began to walk through the bridge, forcing her eyes away from the river where people's corpses floated. Behind them, Sung-gyeong looked like she was suddenly in pain. They both looked at her, Yong-guk looking the most worried for the pregnant lady. He didn't even know anything about pregnancy. He was the youngest child so he'd never known what to do.

     "Are you okay, miss?" He asked politely.

     "Keep... keep going," Sung-gyeong said, choking back another sob.

     Dabin almost didn't want to. Because ahead of them were a bunch of dead military men. There were small fires everywhere too. Like this place just had been in a war. A terrible one. The wire fences looked ruined and black from the smoke, and there were a few charred bodies that still twitched. Yong-guk hefted his baseball bat━well, Dabin's━in his hand as they entered the dark tunnel.

     It was scary. Not knowing what lies at the end of it. But they kept going because they had no other place to go.

     Soo-an began to sing a Hawaiian song called Aloha O'e. Her voice was small and innocent in this world that turned upside down. The older ones were so wearied and tired that their feet could barely move at a fast rate. The only thing keeping them on their feet was each other, and somehow, it was enough. Yong-guk finally showed how tired he really was after putting on a strong act for everybody else.

    His birthday hasn't even passed. He was supposed to be twenty by the end of this month. Now, all he could think about was reaching the end of this tunnel and finding something hopeful.

     As for Dabin, she was just surprised that she still hadn't turned insane. Because at some point, she did think she finally lost her mind after losing Jin-hee. The girl never got the chance to turn any older than eighteen. Then again, I suppose she had Min Yong-guk to thank for keeping her sane.

    "Survivors approaching!" She heard a voice shout at the end of the tunnel, which was followed by a bunch of armed military men marching toward them in the tunnel.

     "We did it." Dabin almost wanted to cry. A part of her wished Jin-hee and the others were with them right now. But they made it through. And for now, that should be enough. "We did it."

    Yong-guk looked at her gently in the darkness, squeezing her hand in relief. "Yes, we did."