∞ 𝐑𝐔𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐄∞
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The monsters were lurking in the shadows, reaching for her. She kept on running, breathing heavily, not looking back for even a second, but she was starting to get tired, her feet were numb and her pace was getting slower and slower. She fell to her knees as tears slipped from her eyes and sobs filled the air. She gave up. And the shadows were right behind her, grasping her and pulling her inside, letting the monsters eat her soul.
That's the dream that didn't let Chae-Yeong sleep for the last days now. Every time she put her head on the pillow, she would wake up a few hours later, breathing heard and full of sweat. She didn't tell anyone about it, but there was no doubt the others didn't notice the purple bags under her eyes. But they asked no questions and Chun-Ho was no exception. They haven't spoken since the last fight, only the necessities. It was obvious to her that he was slowly letting go and she felt like crap because of that. Where was this going? She really hoped the answer was something else than 'nowhere'.
Soon, the day when Chun-Ho would leave for the kids came. Chae-Yeong didn't know what to do, and it was killing her inside. She didn't want to let him go alone, but she's built a new life here and she was not sure if there would be one if she would go with him. She wanted that, she wanted a life with him, she wanted everything with him, but now, she didn't know what she wanted. She wanted to know what she wanted. And now, she was standing in front of the mirror, looking at the water on her face as droplets fell on her shirt, as she kept thinking about the decision that was knocking at her door. She wiped her face and took in a shaky breath as she rested her hand on the doorknob and pushed the door open.
She made her way downstairs, looking for the man that gave her so much trouble in the last few days. She paused for a moment, but when she didn't see him, she made her way back upstairs, to the room that she missed sleeping in. She didn't bother knocking before she opened the door, stepping inside as her eyes stopped on a certain spot. She let her eyes travel down the exposed skin , controlling herself not to go and run her hands on it. She lifted her eyes to his face, seeing Chun-Ho already looking at her as he put a t-shirt on. They looked at each other for a moment, not saying anything, moments that gave her the green light to doubting her decision of coming here and that made her grateful she was here.
"Is there something wrong?" he asked and brought her back to the earth.
"Why would you think that?" Everything is wrong, she wanted to tell him instead.
"You barged in all of a sudden, you don't usually do that." She didn't say anything for a moment. "Are you ok?"
"No, Chun-Ho," she decided to tell him the truth. "Nothing is 'ok'. Look at us, look at the world, look at everything. It's all going to shit." He looked down, like he was ashamed to look at her, like looking at her was hurting him. "Say something."
"What do you want me to say?"
"Give me a reason to come with you today. Tell me one thing that would make me want to come with you and I will."
"I can't make you come with me if you don't want to, Chae-Yeong."
"Then make me want." Her heart was staring to ache every second that passed and he didn't say anything. "Say something, for God's sake!"
"I have no plan, Chae-Yeong," he said and she saw his neck bob. "After I meet the kids, I have no plans and I know, I know, that this is probably a very bad idea. So no, I am not going to give you reasons to come with me when I know I can't protect you. You're safer here." He looked like he was fine, but she knew he was not. Because she wasn't either.
"I don't care about that. I can protect myself, so just give me a reason. One single reason."
"I can't."
"You can."
"I won't."
"You will, so stop it already and give me a damn reason!"
"No, you stop it!" He was getting mad, but it wasn't like when they had the arguments a few days ago. It was softer this time. "Don't come with me."
"That's not a reason."
"It is."
"It is not!"
"What do I have to say so you'll stop this?"
Chae-Yeong stepped forward, stopping a few inches from him. She looked at him from up close, admiring his features, something she missed these days.
"Tell me you don't love me and I will stay here." She gulped, wondering if she was too bold for saying that. "Tell me that and I will let you go." He didn't say anything, just looked at her. "You can't say that, can you?"
"If I say it, will you really stop?"
"No. And you know why?" He shook his head. "Because, even if you did, it would be a lie. And we both know what the truth is."
"Stop it, Chae-Yeong."
"Stop what? Loving you? Because I do love you, Chun-Ho. And I am desperate for you to love me back. This whole fight about the kids has been going on for too long and I am honestly tired of fighting with you, I am tired of fighting with myself and with the truth. I am scared and I really want this whole thing to end." By the time she finished that phrase, her eyes were stinging with unshed tears. She was afraid that if she would say another word she would break there. But that didn't matter, because the moment Chun-Ho's hands touched her body, those tears started running down her cheeks. He was holding her close, tightening his grip, saying that he won't let her go just through one simple hug. "I am so tired," she managed to choke out eventually.
"I am tired too," he told her. "Tired of this war, tired of not being able to sleep and tired of being like this with you. I'm sorry that I have been like this the past few days, I should've been there for you, because no one should go through what you did when you found the kids. I am sorry that happened to you." Memories came back to her as soon as he mentioned that day as she let out another sob.
"I'm sorry too. I was so self-absorbed that I didn't even think about how you could feel about this whole situation."
They stood like that for a few minutes after, not saying anything as her sobs became quieter and quieter until they disappeared. He slowly let go of her and they looked at one another. She forgot how beautiful those eyes were from up close and how much she missed their color. She closed her eyes as she closed the distance between the and their lips touched, the warmth that has been missing the last few days being now on their lips. She broke the kiss as she rested her forehead on his and closed her eyes, breathing in his scent. She didn't know where things would go from now on, but she just knew that she didn't care. Not after this, not after anything. She would hold these memories close to her heart as much as she could, for the rest of her life, be it a few days or several years.
"I love you," he whispered and that brought a smile on her lips.
"I know," she said and she could feel his warm breath as he laughed. "I love you, too."
❃❃❃
"Did you take everything you need?" Da-Mi asked them as Chae-Yeong closed her backpack.
"Yes, we did, stop worrying," she told her, but she knew that Da-Mi only wanted for them to come back safe. They kept on telling them they were happy they made up and they are fine now, they kept on telling them they were happy they could both now go and meet the kids, but Chun-Ho and Chae-Yeong knew that the sadness was still somewhere there. Because they both felt it, too. "We'll keep in touch, but don't panic if we don't send you any messages, ok?"
"We'll try searching for a bigger place in the meantime," Han told them and they both nodded. It was all they could do. They couldn't bring the kids there, at least not all of them, as they were too many and the house was not that big, but they would try and find a bigger place to live.
Chun-Ho and Chae-Yeong made the last preparations for their trip before they turned back to their friends and hugged each one of them, a promise that they would come back. Chae-Yeong grew fond on this place, on these people, they became friends, family, and this house was now home, so it was hard to leave it behind, knowing that it was a long trip and they might not come back as they would travel with a larger group. But the faith still lingered in the corners of every room. She fought the tears in her eyes as she got on the motorcycle and Chun-Ho got behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and sending chills down her spine. She nodded one last time toward their friends before she lifted her feet and made her way out of the garage.
For the first few hours, everything was good. They couldn't go at a high speed as the streets were full of holes because of the spheres, but it was still better than going by foot. They took small breaks to stretch their feet and talk about the plan, which, partially, didn't exist, but no more than ten minutes. It was dangerous to stay in the same place for a large amount of time as the neighborhoods were getting bigger and bigger, so that meant more humans and more spheres. But, as everything was going well, that meant something wrong was going to happen.
And it soon did.
After their calculations, they only had a few minutes of driving until they would reach the amusement park, but they came to a stop when they saw the huge truck block the path. They tried looking for another way around, but they found nothing. Chae-Yeong proposed to go on some other smaller streets, but Chun-Ho said it was going to take too long, so they both decided to leave the motorcycle there and come after it when they would meet the kids. Guns ready to fire, they looked around for any dangers and then headed in the way of the park when they made sure it was safe. They walked in silence for a few minutes, the tension high as they were getting closer and closer. Chae-Yeong could feel Chun-Ho being nervous, and she knew what it was all about. He didn't know how the kids looked like after all this time, he didn't know how they would react when they would find out they practically stopped lookin for them because there was no sign of them. But what he was the most nervous about was how many of them remained alive and unharmed.
But, whatever that was going to happen next, they were going to face it together. In this world where 'alone' was the only thing that was heard in the streets, whispers lost in the wind from people that suffered great loss, they had the privilege to shout back at the sky the word 'together'.
As the sun was setting, the enormous ferris wheel came into view. Chae-Yeong and Chun-Ho exchanged a glance, a little smile appearing on both their faces, knowing they finally made it. Chun-Ho quickened his pace, and though Chae-Yeong could barely keep up, she didn't want to say anything. It was only getting darker and darker, and as long as they were near the buildings, they were in much higher danger. So she complied, following him until they reached the amusement park. It was something that Chae-Yeong didn't think she would ever see. Abandoned, the lights off, ivy slowly making its way on the railings. It saddened her a little, but at least there were no spheres.
"Do you think the kids are already here?" she asked, turning her head around and finding Chun-Ho already looking at her.
"I don't know. Let's go and find out, shall we?" She only nodded before his hand reached hers and their fingers intertwined. She gave him one last squeeze before they stepped inside the park, trying to find any sign of the kids.
"If the world wouldn't have been ending, this would have been a perfect spot for our first date," she said as they passed the ferris wheel. She heard Chun-Ho giggle and the tension in her body suddenly disappeared.
"Do you really think that we would have met if it was not for this war?" he asked as she lifted her head, looking at the stars that were slowly starting to appear on the black sky. She took a moment to think about the answer, and still, she wasn't sure if she could give him the right one.
"I don't believe in destiny. I would like to, but so many things happened in the last months that it is hard for me to do so." They made their way to the carousel. "But I think that somehow, we would have met. At least I like to think that. What about you?"
"I -"
He stopped talking as the lights at the carousel suddenly lit up. They raised their guns, startled and ready to fire. After a few seconds, all of the lights in the park lit up and it was like nothing bad happened in this world once again, as if there were no spheres, no war. Chae-Yeong and Chun-Ho looked at one another, searching for answers on each other's face. But they were looking for them in the wrong place.
"Hey! I did it!" they heard a voice, a very familiar one, shouting not far from them. Chun-Ho didn't waste another second before he started running in that direction, Chae-Yeong taking after him. They reached the carousel, Chun-Ho letting his gun drop on the ground as he looked at the view in front of them.
They found them.
They found the kids.
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𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇'𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝑒:
𝓈𝑜𝑜𝑜, 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝓃𝑜 𝓈𝑒𝑒 :))