This is a transcribe of Soobin's explanation into a few chapters, because I don't feel like making a huge speech bubble into a single chapter. So, this'll be from Soobin's POV and what he's trying to explain. It's going to be broken into a few parts, and they'll all be his explanation.
Also, I want to thank everyone for how much support this story has been given, especially it being my first ever.
Anyways, on with the story we go!!!
POV: Choi Soobin - TXT
"I need to explain. I need to explain what happened that day. And why I'm not dead."
Seokjin perks up. He looks at me, intrigued.
"Ah, yes. I do want you to explain, but we should get everyone together first, don't you think? They'd want to know as well."
I'm slightly taken aback. I wanted to have a private one-on-one with him for now, I don't think I'm confident enough right now to tell everyone.
"No, Seokjin. Please hold on. I want to tell it to you first. And only you. Alone." I say, in a rushed whisper.
He looks into my eyes, his face soft and full of compassion.
He places one of his bandaged hands on my arm, gripping it gently.
He speaks to me in a reassuring tone.
"Sure, it's OK. Don't worry. You can tell me. I promise you I won't tell a soul."
I smile at him. I'm grateful for his thoughtfulness. I hadn't realised that before, because I'd only met him briefly. But the more I talk to him, the more time I spend with him, I see just how much he is willing to sacrifice for all of us.
He even nearly lost his life trying to help me.
I reach my hand to his and hold it gently.
I look at his handsome, scratched up face. He smiles at me, which spreads through my veins.
This guy never misses a chance to make others happy. Even when we're all in this hell of a situation.
"Soobin, I'll make sure to be there for you, always. I promise that I'll be there for you, and everyone else. I'm your hyung." He says, letting out a small chuckle.
"You will keep this promise? Right? You'll be there, not just for me, but for everyone, right?" I say, my face lighting up.
"I promise."
He gives my hand a squeeze.
"And, you don't have to tell me the explanation if it makes you uncomfortable." He adds.
"No, it's OK. I want to tell you, it'll clear things up." I tell him.
"When you're ready, then." He says, sitting back.
I take a deep breath in, and start my explanation.
"So, when you were resting..."
Soobin's Story
2 Days ago...
Context: This is the time after Jin passed out (chapter names- Regret + Crushed); Jimin had decided to go back outside in the van again in search for food, because he felt bad that they had brought back none after their trip.
He brings the rest of BTS and TXT with him. And Soobin is explaining what happened, because when the van came back into the car park, there were zombies and then the people in the mall had to evacuate. Jin thinks that Soobin was dead because he saw the van being crushed by zombies.
Basically, in short, this is what happened while Jin was passed out.
POV: Soobin - TXT
Time: 14:27
"We'll be back soon, it's just a quick trip, Yoongi, stop complaining." Namjoon says from the driver's seat, clearly distressed by Yoongi's many complaints.
Yoongi scoffs, annoyed.
"Why do I have to come? You guys would've been fine on your own." he puffs.
It's a little weird in here, listening to our sunbaes argue. It's just because they're years older than us, so we're a little daunted.
"This is so flipping annoying, why can't I just stay back? You know, I would definitely have been doing something super productive right now if you had let me stay behind." Yoongi says, exasperated.
"And you're at it AGAIN, Yoongi. Just stop. We're doing this for everyone, we need the resources. Do you want to die of hunger instead?" Namjoon says, glaring at Yoongi through the rear mirror.
Yoongi looks taken aback.
"I wasn't saying that this trip isn't necessary, I'm saying that it's just useless bringing me along, oh my gosh. Dummy." he says, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.
Hoseok looks sharply at Yoongi. His face is really, really scary. It's out of his normal demeanour, as if this was nearly the last straw for him.
Yoongi doesn't notice Hoseok's stares.
"Do you even know where you're going, Namjoon? What if we get lost? If we do, I blame you." Yoongi scoffs.
He leans back and lets out an audible sigh.
I need to speak up. I don't want this argument to go any longer for Namjoon, because it'll distract him from the road.
I muster up the courage to speak.
"Sunbae, I- I think that this trip won't be too long, don't worry. We'll be back in about half an hour."
My voice comes out a little choppy and fragile. Exactly how I didn't want it.
Yoongi sits upright, very quickly. He looks at me, his face halfway between disgusted and surprised. Probably because he'd never thought that any of the younger TXT members would talk back to him.
"Back in a half an hour, my backside. Which school did you go to? They need to strengthen their Maths estimation skills. What did your parents teach you? Or even better, your friends or your siblings, if you even had any, but I don't even care whether you were loved or not. And also, don't talk to me, stay out of this." He states, his voice raised high in annoyance.
This seems to be the last straw for Hoseok. He's sitting just opposite of Yoongi, so he leans forwards, and shoots a death glare at Yoongi.
He speaks, his voice quiet, but full of rage.
"Yoongi. You will stop this. And you will not talk to our leader like that. In fact, you will not talk to any group's leader like that. If you don't want to go that bad, get out and walk."
Even after he finishes his sentence, he continues to stare, stone faced, at Yoongi. Hoseok's face is so red, it looks like he's about to blow. It's really, really scary, even Namjoon at the front seems to be petrified along with everyone else.
Yoongi huffs and slinks back in defeat.
He curses at Hoseok under his breath.
Then, I feel a small hand on my leg. I look at who's hand it is. It's Beomgyu's hand, and he's sitting next to me, reaching out his hand asking for comfort for him.
I take it subtly, trying to be secretive about it. Luckily, nobody seems to notice, so I lightly pat his hand to help Beomgyu.
His hand his shaking, probably out of fear, but it is slowly getting less and less shaky the more I pat.
I look at him and mouth Are you ok?
He's looking at me, his eyes still quite wide, and his bottom lip trembling. He remains silent, but he gives a curt nod at me, and his hand's shaking subsides.
I decide to leave his hand where it is, I don't want to stop holding his hand either, I'm a little scared too. Not just because of the argument in the van, but also the fact that we're going outside of our comfort zone, out into the zombified world, outside of our safe-place at the mall. It's nerve-racking; it's the first time I've done this in a while, and I have no idea what the outside looks like now, compared to when I last saw it. Who knows, it could've started with the few zombies now and again, to maybe every single building being filled with hundreds of the flesh-eating, human devouring things.
The thought makes me shudder. I can't picture losing my closest friends, or family. Or, even worse, watching them die in front of me, being torn apart piece by piece, by a cold-blooded creature.
I feel a little bit of unease. Lots of our friends out there have lost a lot of their members, like Ni-ki, who only has himself, and the other groups like Seventeen or Itzy appear to have a few members missing as well.
I don't want to wait for the time we join them. Because I don't think I'll be able to bear the fact of losing a member.
"Honestly, it's like this zombie apocalypse affected your brains or something..." Yoongi huffs under his breath, just enough so that Hoseok can't hear.
Yoongi's definitely in a bad mood now, whether that be because he really doesn't want to come or he has a lack of sleep or food, I really can't tell. Probably all of them.
I decide to stay silent for now, and let Yoongi ramble on about his "I don't need to come" problem on and on for a while. Nobody decides to butt in with Yoongi, as it would probably make him even worse.
I hold Beomgyu's hand until I feel the car take a final turn and come to a stop. Namjoon turns his head around, near the front of the vehicle, to the rear view mirrors to check if the coast is clear.
"Well, I can't see any zombies around here, it's safe to go out for now, but keep your guard up." He says, opening his car door and exiting.
I hear a scoff and a small curse from Yoongi as Namjoon walks over to the back of the van and opens the back door compartment, letting a stream of dull, grey afternoon light inside. Aside from the light, it also lets in the pungent smell of rotting corpses, but, thankfully, it's not as strong as it usually is, which probably also means that there won't be many zombies nearby.
All of us exit the van, and I take in my surroundings.
The street looks quite short, and multiple shops line down all the way to the end of the street. I don't recognise any of the shops around here.
"Namjoon, where are we?" I ask, curious on our whereabouts.
He looks at me, and says,
"It's one of the less popular shopping places in Seoul, I came here because I didn't want to risk going to the more crowded, popular shopping places, there might be more zombies there. The only downside is, well, we don't have quite as many items here as we would've there."
It's a smart decision. Even if we don't have as many shops or items here, this place still looks sufficient for us.
"I mean, that's true. And, I think it's a pretty smart decision too. I mean, I would rather shop in a less zombie-populated place with less things rather than a potentially super populated zombie festival." I say, chuckling.
I look over to my left, and see Kai, his hand above his eyes, blocking the light rays. He seems to be looking at all the shops, maybe he's just checking what they have in stock.
"What chu' looking for?" I ask him.
He lowers his hand, looks at me, and says, "A telephone."
"Are you trying to find a telephone? Is there any service though? What use will it be to us if there's no signal?" I say, confused.
"There are some uses for a mobile phone, but I'm looking for a landline phone. If the building still has electricity, we can use a landline phone. Or even better, we can find one of those telephone boxes. Plus, there were no landline phones in the supermarket that we've set camp at." He tells me.
It's true. There were only clothes stores and some other random homeware and food shops there. But, nonetheless Kai's idea is a really good idea. We can use that to get someone to help us. Or maybe even check up on family members. I give a nod at him to show that I think it's a good idea.
Kai sets off to the nearby store, which looks a bit like a small tobacco store. The windows of the shop lay in pieces, all over the floor and the roof light above seems to have been torn down. I mean, I can't say I'm surprised; literally every single store on the street looks like this, and this is a zombie apocalypse, so, it just makes sense. Maybe those zombie movies were right after all.
I decide to follow him inside, carefully avoiding the dangerous looking patch of glass shards near our feet. I can't risk one stabbing me in the foot. Especially not out here.
I hop over the shards, while Kai shimmies is way around it, his back to the wall.
"Quite the patch of glass shards here, hyung." He says, looking down at it, as if it might just pop up and stab one of us.
I take his hand and I pull him towards me, safely out the way of the patch. He pats my shoulder in thanks, and we look around for anything useful.
I look towards the many small shelves in the shop which all look tipped over, all covered in ceiling plaster and... other... things. Maybe it's better not to say what they look like, but it undoubtably smells horrid. Something on the verge of puke and expired sushi. And it doesn't mix well with the pre- existing odour of zombie in the air.
Despite the horrid smell, Kai doesn't seem to bat an eye, or even scrunch up his face in any way. He just goes to the nearby shelf and searches through the things on the floor. His nature's a little weird... Kai is normally the energetic one in our group, and one of the few drama queens too. But this isn't anything like him; stone faced, un-reactant and quite silent.
I decide to strike up a conversation with him to lighten up the mood; it's only us two who are in this store anyway.
"So... Kai... is there any specific reason that you want to get a phone? Weren't we out here for stuff like food, or maybe even, like some weapons?" I say.
Kai stops searching, and pauses. But then he just resumes searching not long after, ignoring my question.
Why is he ignoring me? Something's definitely bothering him.
"Kai, speak to me, please."
He pauses again, but this time, he turns to look at me.
Kai speaks in a very fragile and shaky tone,
"Hyung, JYP and HYBE aren't the only entertainment buildings that are located in Seoul." He says, glaring at me.
That's right. There's a ton of entertainment buildings in most of the sections of Seoul. But why is he bringing this up? The entertainment industry is the last thing we have to think about at this moment. It's not as if we're trying to survive in a zombie apocalypse right now or anything.
"Mhm, and what about it?" I ask, intrigued.
Kai seems to tear up, and his shoulders slumps.
"An- and do you remember what Yoongi said to you in the va- van? About- about... family?" He says, sniffing in between words.
~"What did your parents teach you?" ~
I'm still confused. What does my conversation with Yoongi have to do with us now?
I answer him, my voice uncertain.
"Yeah, why? Is there something wrong-"
"WHO DO YOU THINK IS IN MY FAMILY? WHY DON'T YOU GET IT?!?" Kai screams, his voice high pitched and hoarse.
His sudden scream makes me stand back a bit, recoiling.
He stamps on the floor, clearly frustrated that I haven't caught on.
"THINK, CHOI SOOBIN, THINK!!! THIS PERSON IS PROBABLY RUNNING AROUND SEOUL, AND I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S SAFE OR NOT."
His outburst makes me think quicker, trying to find out the answer.
In his family... In his family... And it's a she... Leah? No, it can't be her, she's out of Korea...
No... Wait... How come we didn't think of this earlier?
"It's Bahiyyih, your sister. She was supposed to be in the Wake one Ent. building. And..." I speak, pausing as I'm taking everything in.
Kai finishes the sentence for me.
"I'm trying to find this phone for her. For Bahiyyih."