-----

"Your head scan says everything is fine, Miss Kim. Everything has been fully healed. The headaches you're experiencing might just be coming from stress. Any troubles from work lately? Family?"

Taeyeon sat on the chair beside the doctor's desk, hands on her lap. "Not really," she answered, mind elsewhere. "I'm just tired, I guess."

The doctor hummed as he wrote something on a paper. "I'm going to write you some prescriptions, okay? Take it whenever you get headaches," he said without looking at her.

She nodded absentmindedly, eyes darting towards the skeleton model at the corner of the room.

-----

Sometimes Taeyeon finds herself wondering why she didn't stay dead.

There was no point, she thought, her life wasn't anything of value anyway. She knew there's someone out there who deserved the second chance more than she did.

Everyday she would think of this, right until she falls asleep at night.

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

Taeyeon smiled as she thanked the pharmacist behind the counter, clutching the paperbag that contained her medicine as she walked towards the exit. Her head was starting to hurt again, and she wanted nothing more than to lie on her bed and sleep.

She was almost at the exit when she caught sight of the sign that pointed towards the hospital morgue.

-----

The powerful scent of formaldehyde wafted through her nose and Taeyeon coughed, reaching for the handkerchief tucked inside the back pocket of her jeans. She breathed through behind the cloth as she searched the quiet halls, stopping by the opened doorway that led to a wide room filled with empty metal beds.

The girl she was hoping to see stood at the very far end, her back facing her. She was humming a pop song that Taeyeon readily recognized.

For a minute she stood there by the doorway, contemplating on how she should approach her. She thought about calling her from where she was, but she realized then that she didn't really know her name.

This was a stupid idea, Taeyeon thought to herself.

She decided to just leave, but the girl had turned before she could retreat.

Their eyes met, and the initial shock and confusion she saw on the girl's face instantly turned into recognition.

"Zombie Girl!" She called out, making Taeyeon smile.

She watched as the girl pulled out a pair of earbuds from her ears before walking towards her.

"Hi," Taeyeon greeted when she was near enough.

"What are you doing here—Wait, you're not supposed to even be here." The girl's smile instantly turned into a worried frown. "Is there anything wrong? Are you okay?"

"Oh, no no, I was just," Taeyeon paused, raising the paperbag in her hand, "I went for a check up and I just thought I should say hi before I head home."

"You have great timing, I just finished my shift too," the girl said, gesturing for her to follow her out of the morgue. "You could've missed me if you came any later."

They walked further down the hall until they reached another door.

"Could you wait for me here? I'm just going to get my stuff."

She pointed towards the 'Authorized Personnel Only' sign beside the doorway and Taeyeon understood.

"Sure."

It didn't take long for the girl to come back out, now decked in a pink hoodie that stood out against the bland colored scrubs. "Come on, let's go home," she said, excited. "We take the same bus, right?"

Taeyeon could only smile as she nodded.

-----

Unlike the other time, the bus was practically empty. The two got to sit beside each other, with only a dainty armrest separating them.

Taeyeon closed her eyes and leaned her throbbing head on the back rest.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded, eyes still closed. She didn't know she had her forehead creased until she felt a soft touch on her skin, gently straightening the wrinkles between her eyebrows.

Taeyeon opened her eyes and saw the girl smiling brightly at her. It made her furrow her eyebrows even more.

"How do you do that?" Taeyeon asked, frowning.

"Do what?"

She looked at the still smiling girl oddly, feeling something she couldn't explain. "How come you always look so..." Taeyeon paused. "Happy."

"I am happy!"

"Why?"

"What do you mean why? I have all the reasons to—Hey wait, this is my stop!"

The bus screeched to a halt and Taeyeon let the girl drag her off, following the pull until they were safely walking on the sidewalk. She only remembered she wasn't supposed to be off the bus yet until it was no longer in sight. She sighed.

They continued to walk wordlessly, with only the sound of their shoes hitting the pavement accompanying them. Taeyeon was tired, but the throbbing in her head had already stopped, much to her relief.

It was already several minutes into the walk when the girl finally talked again.

"What?" Taeyeon asked, a little confused. "Sorry, I didn't get that."

"I said I'm alive," the girl repeated, matter of factly. She had a smile on her face and a faraway look in her eyes. "Isn't that a good reason to be happy?" She added.

Taeyeon frowned in response, making the girl pout. "You seem unconvinced," she said, lower lip jutting out.

A shrug, and the girl sighed.

"You see, Zombie Girl," she started, "when all you see every day are dead people, you're bound to appreciate every little thing." She looked at her and smiled. "Even breathing makes me happy."

Taeyeon could barely nod. She remembered the time when breathing was so hard that she felt like her lungs were tearing apart with just a little of air, when burned with just a little swallow. She couldn't possibly be happy with such a memory, but nonetheless she nodded again, convincing the girl and herself that she understood her.

They continued to walk further until finally the girl stopped, right in front of a modest apartment building.

"This is me," she said, again with that smile of hers. "Thank you for walking me home."

Taeyeon wanted to tell her that it wasn't deliberate, but she couldn't—not when the girl was looking so happy that she was there to walk with her. So she just nodded, gave her a little smile before taking a step back.

With one final wave, she watched her skip towards the building entrance, hair bouncing and a spring in her steps.

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