EAT THE RICH [TWD]

༻15༺

BROOKLYN POV

"You wanna tell me what the hell that was all about?" I ask Jihyun.

He looks down at his knuckles. They'd split open from punching that 'Negan' guy so hard.

"He's a piece of shit," Jihyun answers, heading to his kitchen.

I chase after him. "Yeah, I gathered that. But, goddamn, that was sudden, no?"

He loots around in the cabinet below his sink before pulling out a first aid kit. He slams it on the table, still frustrated at the thought of that guy.

"He killed my best friend," he finally says.

I inch closer, hesitant. This was a new side of him. A darker side. This was the Jihyun that survived all those years on the road.

"Put him to his knees. Killed him with a baseball bat. In front of me.. In front of his wife- she was pregnant at the time."

"I'm so sorry.. Jihyun, I.. I'm so sorry."

"Our old leader kept him alive to prove a point. Then.. he just walked free. Maggie, the one Carol mentioned.. That's Glenn's wife."

"She's.. working with him?" I ask.

"I don't know. Last time I saw him.. He said that he wouldn't give me or Maggie the chance to kill him. So, he left."

"And now he's back.." I figure.

Jihyun places his hands on the table and bows his head.

"Shit's gotta be bad if Maggie and Daryl are sending him of all people."

I slide the first aid kit in front of me and open it up.

"Sit," I order.

Jihyun sighs and plops into the kitchen chair.

A tense silence. Not because of what we did or said.. just because of the past.

"Maggie is the one my mother was close to," I remember. "I'm sure she's fine. She's a strong woman."

Jihyun carefully nods as I kneel in front of him and grab his hands.

His eyes grow cold again. I could tell he was stuck in the past.

Was this the real Jihyun? Or was he shutting down?

I clean his wounds and wipe the blood off his skin.

Lance was going down if Carol succeeded. Sebastian might get away clean.

I rest my hand on Jihyun's after I've finished cleaning and putting the first aid kit back together.

"We should go to Connie," I speak after minutes of silence.

"Connie?" he repeats.

I tap my thumb on the back of his hand nervously.

"If Lance takes the fall for all of it.. there needs to be another step to taking Sebastian down."

"Okay..?"

"Who better than his fake girlfriend of six years?" I clarify.

"You want Connie to interview you," he figures it out.

"She's a fast worker. She'll have the story out before Founder's Day. Or, better yet, on that day."

"That's dangerous," he warns. "Are you sure you want to get even further in the middle of all this?"

"I've never been more sure of anything. Sebastian is a danger to this place. He needs to go down."

Jihyun nods. He leans forward a bit, closer to me. His voice drops in our close proximity.

"I have a better idea," he whispers.

"Fire," I urge.

"Could you play the part a bit longer? Fake fiance, I mean."

I prop my arms on his legs and tilt my head. "What do you mean?"

"He had that plan for you two to exchange vows in front of everyone, no?"

My eyes widen. "Cold feet bride that spills his shit in front of the whole town."

"Exactly," Jihyun confirms.