Chapter Text
“You okay? You were running around like an idiot out there.“ Ha-ri asked. Both of them were out of breath.
“Ah- yeah. I … uhm. I freaked out a bit.“ Mi-jin rolled her eyes. She slid down the wall, sitting on the floor next to Ha-ri with a thump. Mi-jin reached into her back pocket to pull out a lighter.
She played with it, turning it on and off again.
“Fuck. I'm out of cigarettes.“ Mi-jin muttered.
“Maybe that’s for the best. Get over it.“ Ha-ri stood up from the floor of the bathroom they were both waiting in. As she stood, she promptly smacked Mi-jin on the back of the head.
“Hey!“ Mi-jin began to stand up, but dropped herself back on the ground, deciding it was more trouble than it was worth to fight back.
She sighed through her teeth. “I don’t think you know how that works.“
Ha-ri didn't respond to that, shaking her head slightly.
“Are you bleeding?“ Ha-ri angled her eyes down at blood that was soaking through Mi-jin’s shirt.
“Yeah. Only a bit though. I'm fine.“ Mi-jin used her jacket to conceal the blood by pulling it down over the wound. The fabric was ripped anyway, showing the torn skin underneath.
“Show it to me.“ Ha-ri’s eyes met Mi-jin’s.
“Uhh- No, dumbass. I just said that it’s only a scratch.“ Mi-jin narrowed her eyes.
“Show me the scratch, then.“ Ha-ri repeated.
“No.“
“Stop it. Just show me you weren’t bit.“
“And if I was?“
After a beat too long, Ha-ri replied.
“I don’t know, Mi-jin! Just show me!“ Ha-ri rubbed her face. She was almost annoyed. Almost.
Mi-jin shoved the lighter back into her pocket. As she stood she didn’t say anything. Her hands moved to the side of her sweater, pulling it up slightly over her hip, revealing her skin and blood.
And the source of the blood. A deep indent on Mi-jin’s skin. There was no mistaking it for just a scratch.
It was a zombie bite. A bite just above Mi-jin’s hip, squarely on her side.
“Fuck.“ Ha-ri sighed. She didn’t sound as devastated as she felt. She’d known Mi-jin for less than 2 days, there was no chemistry between them, as far as Ha-ri could tell. They’d already threatened each other's lives at least 3 times each. Mi-jin went quiet again.
“It’s already been 10 minutes… I got bit like- first thing while we were getting chased. I would've turned by now.“ Mi-jin started.
She coughed, “Honestly kinda embarrassing on my part…“ There was a faint smirk pressed up against her lips. Ha-ri’s face remained stone.
“You would've turned by now… I guess.“ Ha-ri spoke quietly.
“Maybe you’re okay.“ Ha-ri said, looking up to meet Mi-jin’s eyes.
“Yeah, that’s what I said.“ Mi-jin looked away from Ha-ri. Holding her own hands by her stomach.
“Maybe keep your bow out, though. Just in case.“ Mi-jin frowned downwards at her feet as she spoke. The white fabric of her shoes was tainted in blood. She peeked at Ha-ri’s shoes which were almost completely clean and free of blood. This kind of stain would be hard to get out, maybe they wouldn't ever be fully clean again.
Ha-ri reached behind her and grabbed the bow from off her back. She held it loosely at her side. She never had any intention of shooting Mi-jin with it.
Mi-jin fell back onto the floor, letting out an exasperated sigh.
“It hurts… Just a bit.“ Mi-jin muttered. “Those dumbass zombies were too stupid to even get me to turn.“
“The bite hurts? I can patch it up.” Ha-ri offered. She started to lower herself on the ground next to Mi-jin.
“Uh?“ Mi-jin sounded shocked that Ha-ri was getting closer to her.
“Let me see it.“ Ha-ri reached her hands over Mi-jin’s abdomen and shifted Mi-jin’s shirt and jacket up slightly to reveal her side.
“It’s bleeding a lot.“ Ha-ri said. She grabbed some paper towels from next to the sink that was in the corner. Ha-ri put the towels on top of the bite and applied pressure to the mark.
The towels quickly became bloodsoaked and Ha-ri had to repeat this process three more times before she could rip off a bandage from inside her backpack and wrap it around Mi-jin.
“Ughhh I’m so tired.“ Mi-jin groaned, tilting her head up against the bathroom stall behind them. She wasn’t even paying any attention to Ha-ri at this point.
Ha-ri ignored Mi-jin’s complaint.
“Where do you think Jun-seong went…?“ Mi-jin asked, gritting her teeth and wincing at the continual pressure on her side.
“He’s probably with Min-jae somewhere. I think they went back to the gym after we all got separated." Ha-ri told her, finally moving her hands away from the injury.
“We’ll find them again tomorrow.“ Ha-ri added before Mi-jin could say anything else.
“Do we have to stay in this fuckass bathroom all night?“ Mi-jin groaned.
“You can leave if you want. I’m not moving until daytime.“
“Of course you aren't…“
Before they could realize, it had gotten very late. Ha-ri had managed to fall asleep slumped against the bathroom stall. Mi-Jin found it harder to sleep that night. She probably had dozed off once or twice, but had mostly been watching Ha-ri and noticing how her body was reacting to being bitten. Her eyesight had gotten a bit blurry, but nothing too major, however her hearing felt sharpened. She could hear Ha-ri’s shallow breaths, even the subtle twitching in her sleep. Mi-jin’s body seemed to listen without Mi-jin’s consent, as if it were trying to track or memorize Ha-ri’s movements. Mi-jin’s bite didn’t hurt anymore, actually, none of her injuries hurt. She felt powerful, a bit indestructible.
After about 30 minutes of just watching Ha-ri, Mi-jin decided to sneak outside and feel the cold air. She felt cramped in the bathroom, and the noises of the pipes groaning and freezing was getting overstimulating. She carefully removed the barricade they put in front of the door and snuck outside. She heard zombies around, mostly toward the giant soccer field. She glanced up at the school building, and her eyes focused on the rooftop. Her eyesight probably wasn’t the best, but she swore she could see smoke rising.
“Did someone light a fire…?” She mumbled to herself, squinting her eyes and blocking the glare of a nearby streetlight.
Mi-jin creeped back into the bathroom before any noise she made could alert any zombies around.
Day had finally dawned on them.
“Ha-ri?” Mi-jin whispered, fearing her own voice would hurt her ears. The vibration in her throat from the words managed to make their way to her head. She winced slightly.
“Hmm?” Ha-ri stirred.
“It’s morning… should we look for the others? Or maybe your brother?”
“Uh. I don’t know? Do you feel like finding Jun-seong first?” Ha-ri opened her eyes to peer at Mi-jin.
“Not really, he’s probably whining at Min-jae right now about losing us…”
“Hah. I won’t say anything about leaving them if you don’t.” Ha-ri laughed under her breath, closing her eyes as she spoke. A sharp smirk pulled at Mi-jin’s lips.
“But… maybe we should find your brother. We should try to get to the rooftop. I saw smoke coming from the rooftop last night.” Mi-jin said.
“You went outside last night?” Ha-ri jerked herself upright, and her hands gripped the tile floor. “You could’ve been killed.” She added, trying to calm herself down.
“As we’ve seen, zombie bites obviously have no effect on me.” Mi-jin gave Ha-ri a sharp smirk and a side eye, tilting her head.
“No?”
“Uh- no. I’m fine!” Mi-jin suddenly felt defensive.
“Really?”
“What, do you want it to have an effect? Would you rather I turned into a zombie? Cause… you’d be the first person I’d eat.”
Ha-ri went quiet for a moment.
“Mi-jin. I don’t want that, but… You’ve been flinching at your own voice all morning. Are you sure you don’t feel… any different? At all?”
Mi-jin shook her head, rubbing her hands in her lap.
“Rooftop, then. Let’s go.” Ha-ri sighed, grabbing her bow and slinging her arrows on her back. She slinked out of the bathroom door with Mi-jin close behind holding her own bow and arrows.
The path into the school was easy, Mi-jin was just worried about what they would find in the school. The second the door shut behind them, they were immediately greeted with 5 zombies standing in the stairway.
Mi-jin heard their own growls, their rumbles and soft footsteps from outside. If she could hear them, couldn’t they hear Ha-ri? Silently, Ha-ri pulled back her bow and shot at one of them. It landed squarely in the creature’s neck. Mi-jin watched her shoot it, and stared at the bow in Ha-ri’s hands. It was so easy for her, almost like her second nature.
It fell to the floor with a thud and the other zombies were drawn to the noise. Ha-ri repeated the motion a second time, with Mi-jin doing the same. Mi-jin was just a bit slower and less skilled than Ha-ri. She had never professionally practiced archery, but having two archers was better than one, even if the other one sucked at shooting.
“Mi-jin! There’s an opening! Run upstairs!” Ha-ri yelled at Mi-jin, who flinched at the noise, in between another shot. Mi-Jin ran past the zombies and got up 10 steps before drawing her bow back again and shooting the last zombie.
“You got it.” Ha-ri sighed, walking over to the bodies on the floor and retrieving the arrows.
Ha-ri followed Mi-jin upstairs.
“There aren’t as many zombies as there were, we should be able to get upstairs pretty easily. There are only 6 floors.”
“I know.” Mi-Jin said.
“How do you feel now?” Ha-ri asked.
Mi-jin didn’t say anything, her eyes were closed tight and she rubbed her hand on the back of her neck.
“Mi-jin?” Ha-ri repeated.
“Huh?”
“…nevermind.”
After a few steps, Mi-jin stopped at the top of the staircase.
“What is it?” Ha-ri asked.
Mi-jin didn’t say anything, but her hands reached for an arrow. Ha-ri went quiet and pulled back her own bow, looking around for any threat. Ha-ri’s back was turned on Mi-jin. Mi-jin’s expression was blank, and unreadable. Mi-jin stared for a second, at Ha-ri. At her neck. Her vision blurred for a moment before she managed to break out of the disassociation and pull back her own bow, shooting a zombie Ha-ri hadn’t even noticed yet.
“Woah. How’d you see that one, Mi-jin?” Ha-ri asked, she was startled and turned around to look at Mi-jin.
“Mi-jin…?” Ha-ri’s bow clattered to the floor, as she rushed to her side.
She was disassociating again, her eyes stayed locked on Ha-ri. She put her hands on Mi-jin’s shoulders before pulling her closer into a loose hug.
Mi-jin’s body tensed up immediately, before she pushed Ha-ri away. Her eyes had started to well up.
“What- what’s happening…? I don’t understand.” Mi-jin whispered to herself, Ha-ri barely heard her. Mi-jin profusely wiped tears off her face. Her eyes had gotten bloodshot. She grabbed Ha-ri’s bow off the ground and continued to walk upstairs.
“Only 3 more floors, right?” Mi-jin asked no one in particular.
At the top of the stairs, were 2 metal doors that opened to the rooftop, only issue, they were locked.
“Shit.” Mi-jin collapsed with her back against the door.
“There has to be someone on the other side, you said you saw smoke.” Ha-ri said. She banged her fists on the door.
BANG BANG BANG
BANG BANG
BANG
“Stop! Stop it!” Mi-jin practically yelled, her ears throbbed. Ha-ri paused for a second before hitting it one last time.
“What the fuck is up with you?” Ha-ri asked, scowling against the door, looking away from Mi-jin on the floor.
“I don’t kno-!” The door suddenly swung open, making Mi-jin fall back on the ground. “Hey!”
An arm appeared and dragged Mi-jin through the doorway by the shoulder of her jacket. Ha-ri followed.
Mi-jin laid on the concrete floor.
“Do they have any bites?” Mi-jin heard someone ask. Her eyes opened and she jerked her upper body off the ground. There was a huge group of kids up here.
“Ha-ri?” Someone else said.
“Wu-jin! We’ve- er- I’ve been looking for you.” Ha-ri said. Mi-jin couldn’t bear to watch those two any second longer.
“Anyway, bites. Have you been bitten?” Someone asked Mi-jin. He stepped closer to her.
“No! Back the fuck up...” She scowled at him.
Mi-jin hoisted herself off the ground, and walked to the group of kids.
“Are you bleeding?” A girl asked Mi-jin, obviously referring to the blood stain on Mi-jin’s side.
“I was. It’s fine now.” Mi-jin didn’t even look at her.
“Are you sure? The cloth on your jacket is ripped.” The girl insisted. She was wearing a white jacket on top of her school uniform.
“Yeah, I noticed.” Mi-jin said.
“Hey, that’s a bite!” Some other guy appeared behind Mi-jin and announced. Mi-jin noticed him hanging around that other girl earlier.
Everyone heard him say that, all eyes were on Mi-jin.
“I’m fine! I already told you!” Mi-jin protested. She felt everyone circling in on her. Watching her, judging the blood on her jacket. Her vision went blurry again, this time, though, it went red.
“Hey! I’ve been with her this whole time! She hasn’t turned. She isn’t a zombie. She was bit early yesterday.” Ha-ri broke out of the crowd.
Mi-jin shrunk back to the floor.
“Is she like Nam-ra and Gwi-nam, then?” Mi-jin heard someone say. She wasn’t really listening anymore, or at least trying not to listen. It was inevitable that she heard everything around her.
“Maybe… if she got bit yesterday, she would’ve turned by now.”
“She must be A-symptomatic, too.”
“A-symptomatic?” Ha-ri asked. She was listening in on their conversation, too, then.
“Yeah, she’s immune to bites.”
Ha-ri looked over at Mi-jin. She was thinking the same thing. Was immune really the right word? Was Mi-jin simply just unaffected? It didn't feel like that.
Ha-ri sat down next to Mi-jin, who pulled her knees up to her face, probably to hide.
Mi-jin wasn’t quick to start any conversation, Ha-ri could tell.
Ha-ri placed her hand on the ground next to Mi-jin’s.
“You’re not going to turn. If you haven’t yet, then you never will.” Ha-ri spoke softly.
“Yeah, okay, sure. That’s not what I’m worried about.” Mi-jin said.
“What are you worried about?” Ha-ri replied, inching her fingers closer to Mi-jin’s hand. Mi-jin felt the brush of her hand and returned the gesture by interlocking her pinkie with Ha-ri’s thumb.
“Uh. Just- getting out of here. I guess.” Mi-jin hesitated.
“Liar.” Ha-ri mumbled.
“What?” Mi-jin looked back over at her.
“Nothing.”
The morning had passed, and it was about midday. The kids up here were loud, but Ha-ri offered two ripped pieces of bandage to wad in Mi-jin’s ears. They helped, a bit.
Mi-jin felt even worse than before, her vision was even blurrier.
Mi-jin was still sitting next to Ha-ri on the wall, but now Ha-ri’s brother, Wu-jin, was sitting next to Ha-ri, chatting with her. Mi-jin couldn’t help but lean over and weigh herself on Ha-ri’s shoulder. All Ha-ri could do was pretend Mi-jin wasn’t falling asleep on her.
After what felt like too long, Ha-ri placed her hand on Mi-jin’s leg. Her thumb traced circles into Mi-jin’s pants. It happened in a way that made Mi-jin think it was completely absent-minded, but when she looked up, Ha-ri was faintly smiling down at her.
One second, Mi-jin was feeling Ha-ri’s warmth, the next, she had fallen asleep. It couldn’t have been for long, because when she woke up, everyone was still in their same positions.
“Hey. You fell asleep.” Ha-ri shook her.
“Hm. I noticed.” Mi-jin groaned.
“You can… y’know… stay asleep if you want.”
Mi-jin didn’t answer, though, that in itself must have been enough for Ha-ri, because she sighed and inched herself closer to Mi-jin so that she wouldn’t fall onto the floor.
Mi-jin’s eyes stayed open, however. Still looking at Ha-ri. She was busy talking to Wu-jin. I guess they had a lot to catch up on… Mi-jin was staring at Ha-ri again. At her neck. It was so close to her face. Hell, her nose brushed it whenever she shifted. Her eyes squinted. Red began appearing again.
*ha-ri… why do you smell so good… why…why am I…*
She couldn’t pull herself out this time. She couldn’t look away, or flinch when Ha-ri directly referred to her.
Mi-jin’s teeth were showing. Her lips were cracking. Ha-ri gently moved Mi-jin off of her. She couldn’t shove her.
“Mi-jin. Holy shit, Mi-jin.” Ha-ri shook her head, rattling Mi-jin’s shoulders.
“Get out of it. Mi-jin, get out.”
Mi-jin was shaking, all she could do was quickly glance up at Ha-ri.
“I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Mi-jin quivered, her vision was still red and showed no signs of reverting.
“It’s okay. You’re fine now, right? Please be fine.” Ha-ri whispered the last part. Mi-jin didn’t nod.
“I don’t know what to do… if you aren’t.” Ha-ri said.
“Ha-ri… That’s not- um- normal.” Wu-jin added.
Ha-ri turned her head to glare at him. “Thanks.”
“I- I wanted to bite you!” Mi-jin told Ha-ri. Ha-ri had her hands clamped around Mi-jin’s arms and she was practically pinned against the wall.
“No you didn’t.” Ha-ri said.
“...I did.”
“Shut up. No you didn’t.”
Mi-jin looked away, at the ground, anywhere but at Ha-ri.
“She has to go.” The boy from earlier came back.
Mi-jin finally looked back at Ha-ri. Her face contorted into anger. She dropped Mi-jin’s arms and stood up.
“Don’t fucking talk to me like that. She’s not going anywhere.” Ha-ri yelled at him.
He took a step back.
“Can you be rational for a second? She’s a zombie!” He said, his voice was lowered but he wasn’t backing down.
“Cheong-san! Stop! We let Nam-ra stay and she’s fine. And she tried to bite Su-hyeok! Obviously it’s just- like- a canon event for A-symptomatic people or something.” The girl in the white jacket pulled on “Cheong-san’s” sleeve.
“ ‘We’ let Nam-ra stay? That was all Su-hyeok’s idea.” Cheong-san said.
Mi-jin saw a girl who was sitting on the ground on the other side of the roof turn her head and watch. Her entire left side of her face was red. Her eye looked infected. That must’ve been the “Nam-ra” they were all talking about.
“Leave me out of this.” The other tall boy said, now standing over Nam-ra.
“Okay, everyone shut up.” Mi-jin finally spoke.
“I’ll leave, If everyone thinks they’ll be safer that way.”
“Wait- Mi-jin! You aren’t actually gonna leave?” Ha-ri looked back over at Mi-jin.
“Uh yeah? I’ll leave, unless anyone wants me to stay.”
“I want you to stay! Do I count?” Ha-ri said.
“Let’s put it to a vote, and no, Ha-ri, you don’t count. Who wants me to stay!” Mi-Jin stood up and yelled over everyone else.
No one raised their hands. Except for one person in the back. Nam-ra very shyly raised her hand up, making sure Mi-jin saw it.
“That’s one vote… Anyone else?”
“No?” Mi-jin cocked her head.
“I’m leaving, then.” Her smirk faded, and the smile in her eyes dissolved.
“Mi-jin. It’s dangerous out there! Why do you want this?” Ha-ri told her.
Mi-jin bit her lip until she drew blood.
“It’s not like any other zombie bites could hurt me. I’m already not human.”
Mi-jin was standing right in front of Ha-ri again. No one was watching them anymore. They were all waiting for Mi-jin to leave. She took a step closer, hoping Ha-ri wouldn’t back away. Instead, Ha-ri grabbed Mi-jin’s hand at her side.
“I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have had to worry about me. You still shouldn’t. I’ll be fine.” Mi-jin whispered.
“You can’t just say that.” Ha-ri said.
“I… I…” Mi-jin stuttered.
“What?”
Mi-jin took another step closer to Ha-ri. Her head tilted to match Ha-ri’s. Her breathing slowed.
Ha-ri’s breath hitched.
Her mind flicked between all of the subtle ways Mi-jin had hinted at this- maybe how Ha-ri had wanted it too.
Even so, she blurted.
“Holy f-fuck. Y-you’re not-“ Ha-ri still had both of Mi-jin’s hands clasped.
“When are you leaving, dumbass? We all agreed you would leave, and here you are.” A girl that Mi-jin hadn’t heard yet spoke. Her eyes were tear stained and her black hair was tied up in a ponytail.
“I’m going.” Mi-jin let go of Ha-ri and headed for the door. She stepped out without another word, leaving with the sound of the door shutting. It rattled Ha-ri’s bones, and left her wishing- wanting more.