"Be careful, princess." Joon-Young stretches his arm out the window as I hook my feet in the
last few loops of the rope. "Watch your step."
"Stop calling me that, it makes me cringe." I groan, grabbing Joon-Young's outstretched hand.
He swiftly pulls me up and I steady myself on the window sill.
He smirks at me, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "The nickname suites you, don't you think?"
"No, I don't think." I frown when Joon-Young snickers. "I don't mean it like that!"
"The drone and the remote are over there." Joon-Young tilts his head towards the other end of the room. "I'll get the other parts we might need."
"Okay."
I walk over the where the drone is neatly placed, grabbing a large backpack along the way. I haphazardly shove the items inside the backpack, which annoys Joon-Young slightly.
"Yah, be careful with that." Joon-Young scolds. "We don't want to lose our only chance of finding your boyfriend."
I blush, ready to retort, but something catches my vision and sends a chill through my body. I yelp, quickly covering my mouth to muffle the sound. My fingers are shaking, and my knees feel like noodles. I choke out a sob as I run towards Joon-Young, hiding behind his bigger form while clutching the backpack close to my body.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Joon-Young's voice is tense as he eyes me with worry.
I point a trembling finger at the small white creature with beady red eyes staring maliciously at me. Joon-Young follows the direction I am pointing at with his gaze.
"It's a rat." I whisper, my voice hoarse.
Joon-Young turns to look at me with a blank expression, and I feel like he's questioning my entire existence. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
"What? I'm fucking terrified of rats!" I squeal. The rat stands on his hind legs and sniffs the air, making me grab onto Joon-Young's arm tightly. "Look at it, it wants to eat me!"
"Oh, so that's why Cheong-San carries the rat's box around the lab when we have Science class."
I scowl at the memory of Cheong-San following me around the room holding the fucking rat with that stupid annoying smile of his.
Joon-Young sighs, looks at the rat, then back at me. "Alright princess, I think we have everything we need so we can go back now before the rat eats you."
"Wait." My grip on Joon-Young's arm tightens. "It can actually eat me?"
"Yes, it can swallow you whole." Joon-Young walks away and I quickly follow him. "Aish, I wonder why they're in love with you."
"Who?"
"The rats, princess. The rats."
I scrunch my nose. "Disgusting."
Once we reach the window, Joon-Young grabs the backpack containing everything we need from my hold and motions for me to turn around. Once I do, he grabs both straps of the backpack and hooks it on my arms. He turns me around so we are both facing each other and fixes the straps of the bag, making sure it's tight enough. Once he finishes, he pats my head and motions towards the window.
"You go down first." A loud bang catches both of our attention. "Ah fuck, they know we're here. Go down now, hurry."
I gulp, positioning my feet in the first loop of the rope. I take deep breaths, trying hard to imagine I'm anywhere but dangling on a rope at the side of the building. Unlike the first time we went down, Cheong-San isn't here to help me overcome my fear of heights.
"Na-Ri, quick and steady, okay?" Joon-Young yells down.
His voice is shaky, and I can tell he's starting to panic so I take another deep breath and quicken my pace.
"Na-Ri, take it easy or you might slip!"
I look down and see Su-Hyeok looking up at me. Wu-Jin's head pops out from beside him as well.
I lose my footing on one of the last few loops, making me yell out in surprise.
Su-Hyeok climbs on the window sill, holding out a hand to help me steady myself once I get down while his other hand grasps the metal bar of the window tightly.
I make it down safely, Su-Hyeok's hand circling around my waist. Wu-Jin holds my hand as I climb down, wobbling slightly due to the heaviness of the backpack.
"Go help Joon-Young." I tell them.
As the boys help Joon-Young down the rope, I hurry towards the table to place the backpack on the flat surface. The girls surround me at once, helping me take out all the contents of the backpack so Joon-Young can assemble them later.
"Aish, I'm never doing that again." Joon-Young wipes the sweat off his forehead, walking towards us. He starts to massage one of his arms when he stops in front of the drone. He turns to narrow his eyes suspiciously at me. "How does a tiny woman like you have such a strong grip?"
"What do you mean?" I ask, blinking.
"I feel like my arm's going to bruise because of how tight you held onto me." Joon-Young answers.
Both Su-Hyeok and Wu-Jin take a step forward.
"Na-Ri, what is he saying?" Wu-Jin asks, glaring at Joon-Young. "Why were you holding onto him?"
Joon-Young rolls his eyes at his friend's behavior. "Relax, I don't mean anything by it."
"Joon-Young protected me from the man-eating rat." I declare proudly.
"Man-eating what?" On-Jo asks, confused.
"She's exaggerating." Joon-Young sighs. "There were rats inside the lab, she almost shit herself."
"Yah!" I punch Joon-Young's arm and he flinches.
"Na-Ri, what are you not scared of?" Wu-Jin asks with a blank expression.
I walk over to Wu-Jin and kick his leg, making Su-Hyeok snicker.
"How long will it take for you to finish assembling the drone?" Ji-Min asks, impatient.
"A while." Joon-Young sighs and pulls out a chair to sit on while he finishes assembling the drone.
While waiting, I see Nam-Ra looking out the window with a wistful expression. I decide to walk over to her.
"Penny for your thoughts, Prez?"
She smiles when our gazes meet. "I was thinking about what you said earlier."
"About the man-eating rat?" I ask. "It's true, right? They eat people?"
"No." Nam-Ra laughs. "About hope."
"Oh? What about it?"
"Maybe it's not so wrong to have hope after all." Nam-Ra says, glancing towards Joon-Young who was just about to finish setting up the drone.
I follow her gaze and smile. "Let's stay alive, okay?"
"Okay."
Joon-Young lets out a long sigh once he finishes assembling the drone. He sets up the small monitor and positions it towards us as we gather around the table. He pulls the goggles above his head and positions it on his eyes, then grabs the large remote. Once the monitor is on and the drone flies out the room, we can see everything Joon-Young is seeing.
I feel my insides twist in anticipation. My hands are slightly trembling, which catches Su-Hyeok's attention. He hesitantly places his hand on top of mine, smiling reassuringly at me when our gazes meet.
My heart drops to my stomach as we see that every classroom is littered with zombies. Even if we wanted to escape, there would be nowhere left to go.
Su-Hyeok squeezes my hand once, almost as if telling me not to lose hope.
When the drone zooms pass what looks like the music room, my heart stops.
"Wait, Joon-Young, go back." I instruct.
"Did you see something?" Gyeong-Su asks.
Joon-Young flies the drone back to the music room, and what we see makes me choke out a sob.
Cheong-San is holding what looks like a weapon in his hand as he slowly approaches something that is hidden from our view.
"Oh my God, he's alive." I bring my trembling fingers to my lips, my vision starting to blur.
"Cheong-San's alive." Su-Hyeok turns to me, enveloping me in a hug.
I instinctively wrap my arms around him as well, resting my chin on the crook of his neck. I can feel Su-Hyeok shiver when I sigh in relief, my breath tickling his skin. He immediately pulls away, and I can see his ears turn pink.
"It looks like he's in the music room." Hyo-Ryung says.
"Yah, Cheong-San!" Su-Hyeok calls out.
"He can't hear you, Bare-Su." Joon-Young reminds.
"Cheong-San, we're here." I say.
"He can't hear you."
"Lee Cheong-San, look over here!" Dae-Su yells.
"Aish, I said he can't hear you, Dae-Su." Joon-Young snaps at him. "The battery is running out."
"Try searching the premises now." Nam-Ra instructs. "At least we know Cheong-San is alive."
Joon-Young nods and makes the drone turn the opposite direction.
I feel like a thorn was removed from my heart when we confirmed that Cheong-San is safe, but everyone's happiness is short-lived. As the drone flies out the school gates, our hearts sink upon realizing that the school isn't the only place affected by the epidemic. Even the grounds near the school are littered with the flesh-eating zombies.
The drone flies above a white truck, and Ji-Min's body jerks in surprise.
Her voice is trembling as she says, "That looks like my family's van."
"Hey, don't worry, there are lots of vans that look the same." Hyo-Ryung says as she tries to comfort her friend.
"Please, zoom in closer." Ji-Min begs.
Joon-Young slowly nods and obliges.
Ji-Min chokes out a sob, hands covering her face as she shouts for her parents who have both turned into the creatures we now fear. Hyo-Ryung wraps her arms around Ji-Min in an instant, trying to soothe her.
I turn, fixating my gaze back on the small screen. "Joon-Young, do you know the bakery across the school?"
"Of course. Do you want me to check there?"
"Yes, please."
"Na-Ri," On-Jo calls out.
"I have to make sure, On-Jo." My voice cracks.
The moment I see the hoard of zombies surrounding the school, I feel a wave of anxiety wash over me. It's like I know what I will see, but there's still this small spark of hope inside of me that says I might be wrong.
"I can't see any further than here." Joon-Young says. "The door is closed."
I can't tell Joon-Young that it's okay, that he doesn't have to look further- because what I feared the most is right there in front of me, playing out like a fucking horror movie.
I stumble back as I watch the once familiar pair of eyes look around the small shop hungrily. The pair of eyes that never failed to look at me in the most loving way- like how a mother would look at her child.
"Na-Ri..." On-Jo's choked voice trails off as she tries to grab my hand.
I shake my head, feeling something damp on my cheeks, but I am too numb to wipe it away. I slap On-Jo's hand that is reaching out to me.
Joon-Young angles the drone a little bit further to the right, and I feel my whole world collapse at what I see.
There, a small boy about five years of age blends in with the hoard, gray eyes looking around the shop hungrily.
"Oh my God." On-Jo cries out, body turning stiff.
"Na-Ri," Gyeong-Su tries to reach out to me, but I push him away.
"No, no, no," I cry out, voice strained. "This can't be happening. Not to them."
On-Jo calls out to me once again, trying to wrap her arms around me as I continue to push back. I don't see her look at Gyeong-Su for help, but I can feel two pairs of arms wrap around my trembling form.
My breath is shallow, much different than earlier.
I don't yell, but my body jolts around aggressively, refusing to accept any form of comfort.
Everything is muted, like a lucid dream I want no part of.
"What's happening?" Joon-Young takes of his goggles, gaze falling on On-Jo and Gyeong-Su who are trying to keep me from moving wildly.
"I have no idea, she just started thrashing around." Dae-Su answers.
Wu-Jin and Su-Hyeok look at the events unfolding in front of them- both feeling powerless.
"Her mother and brother." Nam-Ra says, voice quiet.
"What?" Dae-Su asks.
The rest of the boys turn their attention to Nam-Ra as well.
Nam-Ra points to the small screen, eyes glassy. A tear falls from her eyes. "That's her mother." She points a little further to the right. "And that's her brother."
Everyone stands in shock, refusing to utter a single word.
Joon-Young has his hands fisted in frustration.
Wu-Jin stares at the girl crying out in front of him helplessly- like his mind is pushing for him to do something to comfort her, but his body is too shocked to move.
Su-Hyeok's fists shake in anger, his breathing heavy.
On-Jo and Gyeong-Su's arms are tightly wrapped around me, preventing me from accidentally hurting myself.
My body is tired, my heart shattered into pieces. It feels like I'm falling into an abyss, where everything is dark and lifeless.
I feel so numb.
I can faintly hear the cries escaping my lips, my cheeks wet from tears.
But I feel nothing. Just a large void in my heart.
I close my eyes and see my mother's smiling face, much like how she looked like when she said her last good bye.
Everything feels like a nightmare, and I just want to wake up.
an. hellooooo! finally, na-ri's family is introduced. unfortunately... yeah 😅 i kind of feel bad i hadn't written them in the story earlier on, but it's too late to turn back now sooo... i'm sorry if it feels rushed?
i'd like to thank stardustteenfromtt for the idea! ♥︎
also, i might not be able to follow the exact dialogues for the story since re-watching each episode takes so much time and i end up feeling lazy so please forgive me in advance!
sang-yeon cutie ✨