"I don't like this, Ji-ji," Sung-hyo voiced.
"You wanted to find Hyun-su, didn't you?" Ji-ji asked.
"Yeah, but does it have to be this route?" Sung-hyo replied, her right foot tapping against the jeep's floor with worry.
"If Hyun-su is now in the hands of the military, which he most likely is, then the military are the only ones who have our answers," Ji-ji explained. "I don't like this plan that much either, but if they refuse to give us information, it's our next option."
ᶠYͧoͨᵏu
Ji-ji slammed his fist into the soldier for the fourth time in the last two minutes.
The soldier they'd found wasn't talking, leading to Ji-ji's second part of the plan.
"I told you we could go easy or hard," Ji-ji snarled at the bloody soldier, his pistol aimed at the soldier's head. "Where are the infectees taken? Answer now."
The soldier only seemed to chuckle, "Or what? You'll shoot me? Then you won't have answers."
"When did I say I'd shoot you in the head?" Ji-ji asked.
He pulled the trigger, which had changed direction to his shoulder. The soldier screamed at the sudden pain.
"Every time you don't answer my question, another bullet is going into your body," Ji-ji explained. "Once I run out of bullets, we're leaving you here. I heard one of the soldiers back at our safe zone that some of the monsters react to blood. I wonder if any will appear after we ditch you."
The soldier wasn't smiling anymore. Instead, he was shaking and tears were in his eyes - most likely from the pain in his shoulder.
Sung-hyo was watching the entire thing from the jeep, amazed at her brother's new side. Had he been like this during his enlistment?
Sung-hyo remembered those 18 months very well. Ji-ji had placed her in the care of his classmate's mother, who loved her as much as her actual mother had. Once Ji-ji returned, he found a job as a construction worker and they moved into Green Home, thanking the mother for all her care.
Sung-hyo wondered if the classmate and his mother were still alive. If they were, she hoped they were both in a safe zone. An actual safe zone.
"Okay, okay!" the soldier said. "They're all taken to a research facility in Bamseom."
"Where in Bamseom?" Sung-hyo asked from where she sat in the jeep. "That's an entire city."
"Bamseom Emergency Management Beauru," the soldier answered. "But that place is fortified like a castle. You'll never get in."
Ji-ji nodded, glad with the information they got. They now knew where Hyun-su was being kept. "We're going to get you in the jeep, and you're going to wrap up your own wound. Once we get to Bamseom, we'll drop you off by the bridge, where I'm sure one of your soldier buddies will find you."
ᶠYͧoͨᵏu
"That soldier was right," Ji-ji voiced, looking at the research facility through binoculars from far away. "The entrance alone is crowded with soldiers. It would take a very clever plan for us to get inside."
"Well, they got one place secure," Sung-hyo commented. "Guess they don't want the monsters they have inside escaping."
"They're doing one thing right," Ji-ji agreed with his sister's comment. "Alright, I think if we can--"
BOOM!
Ji-ji's sentence was cut off and Sung-hyo flinched at the sound of the explosion rocking a part of the research facility.
"Guess we jinxed it..." Ji-ji sighed. "Getting to Hyun-su now might be a little easier."
"What do you mean?" Sung-hyo asked.
"We're gonna drive in," Ji-ji revealed. "It's not a great plan, but if what we think is happening is true, we're on a tightrope now. We go in, get Hyun-su and then get out."
True to their word, Ji-ji drove the jeep down to an area nearby to the entrance of the research facility. They paused, both confused as they took in what was before them.
"Where are all the soldiers?" Sung-hyo asked.
"Possibly trying to stop the monsters from escaping," Ji-ji shrugged.
"Then wouldn't some be here?" Sung-hyo pointed out. "This is the final exit before they are free. There would be at least a handful of soldiers here to stop them... unless they ran?"
Ji-ji opened his mouth to say something when he noticed something by the exit.
Eyes widening, he turned off the jeep's engine and pulled Sung-hyo towards a bush nearby, hiding them from the monsters that were emerging from the entrance.
One was massive, at least 12 feet tall. It roared for its freedom.
Another was like a large lizard, but seemed more worried to be outside.
Five different monsters emerged... with a human walking alongside them, smirking with victory.
Sung-hyo then realised who it was.
"Sang-wook?" Ji-ji whispered. "But he was killed...right?"
Sung-hyo felt her heart drop, realising who it actually was.
"It's Ui-myeong," Sung-hyo revealed to her brother. "He took over Ms Ahn's body back at the apartments. He must've done the same to Sang-wook."
The siblings watched in silence as the monsters climbed over the ledge next to the entrance and trudged past them. They made sure to move around the bush as they passed, thankfully remaining unseen by the monsters and Ui-myeong.
"C'mon," Ji-ji helped his sister to her feet once the monsters were no longer in their field of sight, and pulled them back to the jeep.
Once they were sure the monsters were long gone, Ji-ji started up the engine.
The entrance was a long tunnel that led into a parking area. There were only two vehicles.
"There should be more, right?" Sung-hyo asked as she stepped out of the jeep.
"Perhaps you were right-- Sung-hyo, no, you aren't coming with me," Ji-ji protested, spotting Sung-hyo holding her machete.
"Like hell, I'm not," Sung-hyo replied. "My boyfriend is in there."
"And you've still got a bandage over your waist," Ji-ji countered. "What if there's another monster in there and it hurts you? Or worse, it kills you? I almost lost you back at Green Home; I'm not making that become a reality here too."
"And neither am I with you," Sung-hyo argued. "You almost died when the car flipped. I was so scared you'd not make it back. Ji-ji... we're both scared, I know that. But if Ui-myeong released all the monsters, they'd be trying to find a way out. You getting in the way will be your downfall too. I don't give a shit if I get hurt, because like you said, I've already got a bandage over my waist. I'm getting my boyfriend and we're leaving, just like you planned."
Ji-ji let out a loud, annoyed sigh. He began walking towards where he could see a door. When he noticed Sung-hyo was still by the jeep, he turned back to her. "Well...? Are you coming to get your boyfriend so we can go?"
Sung-hyo smiled, following her brother towards the door. Her grip tightened over the handle of her machete, ready for anything.
ᶠYͧoͨᵏu
"Hey! Stop--" the soldier in front of them fell to the ground, having been shot by Ji-ji.
Ji-ji bent down, patting the soldier down. He found a keycard, making him smile.
"This place is slowly falling apart, so we have a limited amount of time," Ji-ji explained to Sung-hyo as they arrived in the next hallway ahead of them, which was filled with large, destroyed doors. "No more than 30 seconds scouting each room."
"Got it," Sung-hyo nodded.
They got through many multiple locked doors ahead of them, easily.
Every hallway they walked through, they checked every room. Each room, however, would be empty or completely destroyed.
A boom would come every now and then, and Sung-hyo would occasionally get a small whiff of smoke. The research facility was burning down... they were definitely on limited time.
Sung-hyo entered probably the twentieth room she'd checked on their scout for Hyun-su.
With every room she entered, she tried to stay holding onto the hope that Hyun-su was okay...
That he was just ahead of them...
That he was in the next room she'd enter...
That he'd be relieved to see her...
That--
"Sung-hyo!"
Sung-hyo turned to the sound of her brother shouting out her name.
Ji-ji arrived... and Sung-hyo immediately took note of his expression. He was trying to hide his real emotions from his sister.
Which meant whatever he'd just found... it wasn't good.
"Ji-ji...?" Sung-hyo hesistated.
Ji-ji hesitated too. "I... I found him..."
Ji-ji led his sister down the hallway up ahead, his hands still holding the pistol he'd taken from the jeep.
Sung-hyo's heart was beating so strongly and so fast, that she wondered if it may eventually start to echo through the hallways.
Then she saw what Ji-ji had found. Her mouth dropped open slightly in horror... and tears filled her eyes. Sung-hyo dropped the machete in her hand and began running as best as she could towards what Ji-ji had shown her.
Hyun-su was underneath a semi-opened door, wearing an orange jumpsuit - similar to prison uniforms... but he was frozen solid. Almost like a statue.
Sung-hyo didn't even take note of his wing at first, just trying to get to where her lover's face was. Tears fell down her cheeks, her jaw wobbling as her hands slowly reached up and touched what was once his bouncy, black hair. Now it was hard, cold and grey.
Sung-hyo wrapped her arms around the statue, sobbing into his shoulders. She felt her heart shattering all over again, just like when Hyun-su had lost his memory.
This was so much worse. Sung-hyo wouldn't have even minded if he still didn't remember her. He would still have been alive.
"Sung-hyo..." Ji-ji started, but had no idea where to go with his statement. All he could really do was watch as his little sister cried over the boy she loved. Looking down at where she was holding Hyun-su's stone hand, he spotted something. "Sung-hyo..."
Sung-hyo didn't respond, still sobbing into Hyun-su's stone shoulder. It was then she realised the stone hand she'd been holding was... was warm and soft again.
Like a human hand.
Looking down at the hand, she realised it wasn't stone anymore. It was his normal, human hand. His wing-like left arm suddenly began to move a little, exactly like a bird's wing would.
"Sung-hyo..." a voice came. It wasn't Ji-ji.
Looking right at Hyun-su, Sung-hyo gasped softly.
Hyun-su was back. He was looking at Sung-hyo, a mixture of surprise and relief on his face.
"Hyun-su..." Sung-hyo let out, her right hand going up to brush his face. Tears were still in her eyes, but they weren't from her sadness anymore. She noticed how Hyun-su seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes open. "Hyun-su, you can rest in the jeep, but we need to get out of here, okay? Can you stand?"
Ji-ji walked over before Hyun-su could answer, lifting the boy from underneath the semi-opened door and pulling the boy onto his back, with the end of his wing-like arm brushing across the floor.
Sung-hyo ran along beside them, noticing Ji-ji was going at a pace where she could keep up. Using the keycard, Sung-hyo went through first before Ji-ji and Hyun-su would follow, the former still supporting the boy.
They got to the jeep just as the fire started approaching the parking area, where they'd left the jeep. Sung-hyo got into the back seats, helping Ji-ji with trying to get the weak Hyun-su into the back too.
Once he was in, Ji-ji shut the door and got into the driver's seat, quickly starting the engine and driving them back through the tunnel. Another explosion went off, but this one sounded closer. Looking back, Sung-hyo realised the fire must've reacted with some split petrol back where they'd just been.
Sung-hyo ended up not looking away from the burning laboratory until they made it towards the semi-collapsed bridge, which they drove under, manoeuvring past abandoned cars and the rubble of the bridge above.
Sung-hyo gently held onto the boy sleeping with his head on her lap as they drove under the bridge. It was only when they'd reached a closed-off area that was still under the bridge that they finally stopped, the two siblings staring back at where they'd just been.
"You both okay?" Ji-ji asked the pair in the back seat.
Sung-hyo smiled, running her hand through his hair while her other hand kept hold of the handle next to her.
They'd found Hyun-su.
And they were both still alive and fighting.
Even if it was for a few minutes, everything felt right again.
"Yeah, we're okay," Sung-hyo answered her brother.
_____
Mills says!
Bet you weren't expecting that haha
I was stuck between two storylines for a very long time.
If Sung-hyo and Hyun-su find each other immediately... or if it takes a year before they reunite.
I then realised that the second option would mean they don't grow as a couple that much, so... here we are with the first option.
Can't wait for ya'll to see what comes next... but please be patient with a long wait, as I'm heading back to my course in a couple of days.