The Final Bell (Zombie Apocalypse AU) (NCT127 x Reader)

A Temporary Solution

Chapter warnings: Mild language and violence

Word Count: 1561

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"Mark, hand me that tube."

"The white one or the blue one?"

"Blue. And a lighter as well." Jungwoo held Haechan's half-arm gently as he cleaned and disinfected it. He had already thrown Yuta out as he was so distraught, but he had Y/N, Mark, and Taeyong in the tent. Y/N and Taeyong were sitting atop him, making sure he didn't try and get up. The injured man was drunk off his ass and gagged. They didn't have anything to really knock him out with, so the best they could do is get him shitfaced and make sure he didn't hurt himself. He'd thank them later.

Thankfully, he passed out as soon as Jungwoo had finished burning the wound and began stitching the gap. With the extra mobility, it didn't take long for the medic to bandage him up and grind a few painkillers into a glass of water. He managed to pour the majority of it into his mouth, forcing him to swallow.

"He'll be fine." Jungwoo sighed, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. The intense focus had tired him out.

"Fine." Taeyong repeated sadly. "What does fine even mean?"

"He'll live, is what that means." Jungwoo amended. At what cost, though? He'd never get his arm back. He could potentially do something like Johnny had, but it wouldn't be nearly as functional as his original. Not only that, but could he fight with a bat one-handed? He was always so upbeat, even though it was different than Mark. What would this do to him? Y/N couldn't bear to think about it as she walked out of the medical tent, head down. The whole group was in a stir aside from Yuta. They had needed to set up camp to deal with the wound, so she went to her own tent, lost in thought.

They had decided to stay for the next few days and let Haechan recover. The first day he woke up, he was silent. He was brought food into his tent only by Taeyong. He didn't want to see anyone, but most notably, asked Yuta to stay away. Yuta blamed himself for the accident, for not watching out for his friend. Worse, since Haechan didn't want to see him, he feared that Haechan blamed him as well.

"I deserve it," he had stated, crying quietly. He obviously didn't want to seem so weak, wiping the salty mess off his face, but he couldn't help it. Y/N had sat beside him, trying to comfort him. She rubbed his shoulders as he leaned into his palms, shaking.

"I'm sure Haechan doesn't blame you. He looks up to you, he doesn't want you to see him in a moment of failure." Yuta shook his head denyingly.

The next day wasn't much better. Rather than silence, Haechan was all too loud. He wouldn't even let Taeyong in to bring him food. Every time someone tried, he'd hold the zipper shut and just yell at them until they left. No less than every single person in the camp tried to speak to him, but he was unreasonable. It was only when Yuta knelt at the front of his tent, still crying, that he said something coherent. He had mentioned that he would be fine in another three days.

Y/N's first instinct was to go to Jungwoo. Thankfully, he was alone in the medical tent, no doubt working on his little project.

"Hey, Jungwoo..." He nodded in greeting, not saying anything as he messed with a flask. "Just out of curiosity, if someone is bitten, how long does it take for them to turn?" She asked. He raised an eyebrow.

"...Why do you want to know?"

"Oh, uh, getting up close and personally with those zombies really got me thinking and I... I guess I was just curious." He looked a little bit suspicious, but he was too busy to get in detail with his thoughts.