Nayoung hears it before she sees it. Nayoung always hears it first, the low guttural growl of the undead, accompanied with the rustling of leaves and the snapping of branches as they move through the forest. Instinctively, her grip on the machete tightens, and her teeth are clenched together as her jaw is set. Her eyes dart around her surroundings nervously and her heart is pounding against her chest heavily, but mentally, she’s more than ready.

Now she sees it, the disfigured creature moving towards her at a speed fast enough to give her a slight jump, but slow enough for her to react. She swings the machete, separating the creature’s head from its body, successfully beheading it before both pieces of the body land on the ground with a loud thud. She’s about to let her guard down, but another one starts charging at her, and she repeats her actions, watching as the second decapitated victim twitches at her feet. She bends down to wipe the blood from her jeans, staining the back of her hands with a shade of dirty red, before she straightens her back, but this time, she sees it before she hears it.

The third creature makes a beeline towards her, with its jaw hanging wide open and its arms outstretched. Nayoung knows she’s one step late, with her machete dangling at her side and her preparations kicked aside. She watches as it runs towards her, but before she can take a moment to consider whether to make a run for it or to lift her machete up and fight, a baseball bat hits the creature at the side of its head, and Nayoung hears its skull cracking as the body crashes to the ground. The baseball bat slams down to the body to deliver a hit once more, twice, thrice, and the body writhes at her feet disturbingly before its movements finally come to a halt.

“You’re welcome,” Siyeon says with a teasing smirk, swinging the baseball bat over her right shoulder. Nayoung chuckles in relief, and presses her thumb against Siyeon’s cheek to wipe off the reddish-black liquid, before giving her a gentle shove on her back. Carefully stepping over the dead bodies, they jog quietly to catch up with the rest, as they make their way further into the forest.

//

The journey through the forest had been far from smooth. They never had the chance to properly rest as they were constantly running. Bumping into a group of undead didn’t make the situation any better, and topping it all off, Minkyung tripped over a twig, introducing a deep gash at her knee, ripping her jeans and soaking it with a reddish-black liquid.

“We’ll take a break here,” Nayoung says when she deems the place safe enough, her eyes scanning the surroundings again to confirm her decision. Considering the fact that there were fewer trees and more skies around this area, the place definitely provides them with a better lookout.

Eunwoo slumps to the ground with a loud sigh, and Yewon wastes no second to the bag to fish out a water bottle, gulping its contents.

“Not too much, Yewon,” Nayoung warns.

The younger girl grins back sheepishly, nodding her head before she takes one last sip of water.

They lay their mats onto the ground, spreading them out wide enough for all of them to fit, but compact enough for them to make a run for it in the case they are to meet with danger. The sky soon darkens as an ominous bank of dark clouds loom overhead, hanging like tattered grey curtains over the inky indigo night sky. Nayoung has volunteered to take watch over the night, and despite some protests, she manages to get the rest of the girls huddled up close on the mats as they let their heavy eyelids close and their unconsciousness ebb away. Nayoung takes her place at one of the four corners of their joined mats, knees drawn up to her chest as she hugs them close. She’s starting to get used to the silence, except for the chirping of crickets, before the sound of footsteps, crushing dead leaves under, disrupts the silence.

“Buddy system,” Jieqiong simply states as she plants herself beside Nayoung.

“Your buddy’s Eunwoo.” Nayoung deadpans.

“But you don’t have a buddy,” Jieqiong retorts, her lips dipping back into a frown.

“You know Siyeon and I are both fully capable of fending off dangers individually,” Nayoung says, “Plus we’ll have less turns and more sleep this way.”

“But don’t you get lonely?” Jieqiong presses on, scooting her way towards Nayoung.

She hesitates in her reply, and although she wants to put up a strong front, wants to give in to her stubbornness and say no, she doesn’t get lonely, she eventually lets her honest side take over her.

“Once in a while.”

Jieqiong is unable to suppress the giggle, which eventually spills out of her, and she moves nearer to Nayoung, if that is even possible, and closes all gaps between them as she rests her head on Nayoung’s shoulder.

“Go to sleep, Jieqiong,” Nayoung says, because as much as she wants the younger girl to keep her company, she really can’t bear seeing her all drained the next morning.

“I’ll sleep here.”

Jieqiong lifts her head, giving Nayoung’s outstretched legs a light pat as she lies on them. Nayoung watches with endearment as Jieqiong’s eyelids start to flutter close, and even in the darkness, Nayoung still manages to make out the crook of her neck, the lines on her face and her prominent cheekbones. She takes a moment to appreciate her beauty, and even at times like these, when the world is reaching destruction and everything seems dark, Jieqiong still remains bright and beautiful.

Nayoung watches as the girl on her lap plunges into dreamland soundlessly, and a small smile soon plasters her face. She lets her intrigued self nervously analyze the gentle face of this sleeping girl, and even though they’ve known each other for almost a year now, Jieqiong still remains a wonder to her. With most, affection is absolutely easy for the younger girl to project, being welcoming and lovely pours out of her, courses through her blood, boils within her veins, and Nayoung is simply struck with awe when she first learns of the personalities Jieqiong carries with her.

While Nayoung never pays attention to her facial expressions, always letting herself being mistaken as someone cold and uncaring even though she’s not, Jieqiong always makes sure to wear a smile on her face, spilling giggles with every word she says. While Nayoung never really is the type to focus on materialistic things like gifts, Jieqiong has a habit of buying small presents for her friends, even if they are cheap items like candies or key chains. And while Nayoung always looks out for things to worry and things to change and improve on, Jieqiong always talks about things she appreciates, things that she’s grateful for. Nayoung thinks that they’re worlds apart, yet she can’t find someone who’d click with her as well as Zhou Jieqiong.

She brushes a strand of hair off Jieqiong’s face, and realizes how bright this girl actually is, how bright her world became ever since Jieqiong came into view, and Nayoung thinks that as long as she has Jieqiong, she really doesn’t dare wish for anything more.

//

Nayoung huffs in slight annoyance, eyeing the stack of documents placed at the corner of her table, before she goes back to writing, hearing the sound of pen scratching paper.

She never really enjoyed the work she has to do as the president of the student council, but she never neglected them as well. She thinks a task must be completed regardless of whether it’s enjoyable or not, so ignoring the growling of her stomach and the stabbing pain deep inside, she focuses her attention on the paperwork.

Half an hour passes and Nayoung finds herself still staring at the mountain load of paper. She tries to tear her gaze away from the clock, tries to think of something that has nothing to do with the fact that it’s lunchtime and she’s still stuck in the office with an innumerable amount of work.

Nayoung is starting to dislike her position. All that paperwork, she can handle, but the fact that she has to cut down on the time spent with her friends is what irks her the most. Besides, the members of the student council are mostly irresponsible students who only joined to get extra points. Nayoung groans in her head.

As if on cue, she hears a knock on the door, and she hears the door click open. A familiar face enters, and Nayoung puts down her pen and squints.

“Hi, I’m a new member of the student council.”

The girl scratches the back of her neck as she looks at Nayoung nervously. Her face is tinted pink, and suddenly her face rings a bell.

“You’re Jieqiong, right? Eunwoo’s friend?”

Jieqiongs nods, her hands now folded neatly in front of her, her fingers tugging at the hem of her skirt. Nayoung smiles warmly, getting up from her seat and walking towards the new member. She stretches her hand, and watches as the other girl does the same.

“Great. I’m Nayoung, president of the student council. Pleased to meet you.”

//

Nayoung watches as the sun rises over the horizon, as she rubs her eyes blearily. Gently, she gives light taps on Jieqiong’s forehead, the other girl whining slightly as she sits up.

“Be a sweetheart and wake the rest up for me, will you?”

Jieqiong laughs, but gets on her feet almost immediately and happily obliges. Nayoung walks over to where their bags lay, rummaging through them to make sure that they’re not short on supplies. She’s on her last bag when Siyeon walks over, squatting down beside her.

“Need help?”

Nayoung doesn’t reply, only shakes her head, is dry and she doesn’t really have the energy or will to formulate a sentence. Siyeon is silent as she looks away, but Nayoung doesn’t miss the expression that washes over her face, one that Nayoung would’ve easily identified as hurt. She’s seen it a couple of times, really. Guilt immediately hits her, and she tries to compensate for her mistake, like she always does. She zips the last bag, and takes another one before trudging over to Siyeon.

“Help me give them out?” she asks carefully.

Siyeon’s face immediately lights up, the corners of curving upwards. “Of course.”

It doesn’t take a long time for them to pack up and be on the move, with Siyeon at the front of the line and Nayoung at the back. They are all armed pretty decently, with weapons they carry that include bats, machetes and knives, so they’re less focused on defense, and more so on speed.

They continue to make their way through the forest, with hopes of finding a stream to refill their bottles and to wash up. Jieqiong sneakily slows down her pace, and ends up walking beside Nayoung.

“Hey.”

Nayoung tries to bite down a chuckle; Jieqiong really does love striking conversations at the most random times.

“Did your legs get numb?”

“It did.”

Jieqiong clicks her tongue, crossing her arms and frowning at Nayoung as if she had done something wrong.

“You should have just waked me up.”

Nayoung opens to say something, but is interrupted when Eunwoo suddenly stops, and they both crash into her.

“Geez,” Eunwoo rubs her back exaggeratingly, “Save the flirting for another time, how about that?”

Nayoung rolls her eyes as Jieqiong gives the girl a slap to the back.

“It’s a stream!”

All nine heads snap to the direction Yebin has her fingers pointing at, and indeed, a stream lies a few feet away from them. Sungyeon is the first to go dashing towards their newly found source of water. Yewon soon follows suit, and one after another, they start to sprint off.

“Let’s go.”

Jieqiong flashes Nayoung a smile, grabbing her wrist as she pulls her along. She’s only made it halfway to the stream, but the rustling sound of the leaves is enough to halt her movements.

“Wait here,” Nayoung whispers, ignoring the look of worry on Jieqiong’s face, before tightening her grip around the machete and walking back into the forest. She knows the thrilled shouts and squeals of excitement from the girls have probably drawn a couple of undead, but she expects nothing more than what she can handle alone.

The first one goes down easily as Nayoung approaches it from the back, slicing off its head, and the second one is less of an obstacle as she expects it to be, as she doesn’t take more than two swipes for its body to come tumbling to the ground. Making sure that there aren’t any more of them, she transfers the blood on the machete from the weapon to a tree trunk, before she jogs quickly over back to where she came from.

“You okay?” Jieqiong asks anxiously, and Nayoung nods her head with a reassuring smile.

Jieqiong lets out a sigh of relief, but what Nayoung doesn’t expect is when the younger girl cups her face out of the blue and stands on tiptoes, pressing their lips together. It’s only chaste, but enough to make her head spin and her heart race.

“I’m thirsty,” Jieqiong says when her heels land back on the ground, and Nayoung tries to ignore the warmth spreading across her cheeks. She turns around before her face turns into an embarrassing shade of red, and grabs hold of the other girl’s hands as she strides towards the stream. Nayoung swears she hears Jieqiong giggle behind her.

//

By the time they reach the stream, the rest of the girls are scattered around, doing their own things, but with weapons still by their sides. Kyungwon is helping Minkyung wash her wound and re-do the bandages, while Eunwoo, Yewon and Kyla are refilling the bottles. Yebin announces her departure as she volunteers to search for berries in the forest, having a reluctant Sungyeon in tow.

Nayoung shouts for the both of them to be careful, and dismisses Jieqiong as the younger girl scurries over to help the rest fill up the bottles. Nayoung walks over to Siyeon, who has her back suspiciously faced towards the group, and her hands busy with something.

“Hey,” Nayoung says without raising her voice, but Siyeon jumps at the sound of it. Nayoung catches the other girl pulling her pants from her knees down to her ankles quickly. “Is something wrong?”

Siyeon shakes her head, and breaks into a smile, and while Nayoung nods in response, she can’t shake away the doubt. Siyeon opens to say something, but is interrupted as Eunwoo runs over with Jieqiong, Yewon and Kyla behind her, each of them cradling the water bottles in their pair of hands.

“Here,” Eunwoo pants, getting on her knees beside Siyeon as she unscrews the lid of the bottle. The latter mutters her thanks as she hurriedly down half a bottle. Likewise, Jieqiong walks over to Nayoung with a bottle filled to the rim.

Nayoung takes the bottle in her hands, lifting it to her lips, but then she stops. Taking the cap from Jieqiong, she screws the lid shut before walking over to the other side of the stream, where Kyungwon is still busy working on touching up Minkyung’s wound.

“I’ll take over,” she says, tossing the bottle to Kyungwon, who catches it in surprise. She takes the gauze into her hands, mimicking Kyungwon’s actions as she wraps it tightly, yet carefully, around Minkyung’s left knee. Just as she ties a knot at the back of her knee, she manages to catch a glimpse of Kyungwon lifting Minkyung’s chin with one hand as she tilts the bottle to with another, and Nayoung hides a smile. She gets to her feet and affectionately ruffles both of their hair, before walking back to where she came from, with Jieqiong greeting her with a newly filled bottle.

“You’re too nice,” she hears Jieqiong say beside her as she gulps down the water. Funny, she thinks, how she’s always admired Jieqiong for her selflessness and optimism and here the younger girl is, praising her for her kindness.

“It’s nothing,” Nayoung answers bashfully, “It’s my responsibility as the oldest of the group.”

“Aww, that’s lovely of you.”

Nayoung feels fingers pitching her cheeks, and as much as she tries to fake annoyance by scrunching her face, she can’t stop the heat from rising to her cheeks. Luckily for her, Yebin and Sungyeon emerge into their view with a bag full of berries, and Nayoung immediately escapes Jieqiong’s grasp as she heads toward their direction.

“Take a handful, distribute them, and I’ll keep the rest. Also, hydrate yourselves. We’ll be leaving in five.”

Yebin and Sungyeon both nod their heads in response, before they scatter to join the rest of the girls, their hands cupping the berries. Nayoung watches as the other seven girls scurry from all directions to surround Yebin and Sungyeon, each of them reaching out their hands to pop the berries into their mouths, their smiles plastered on their face and their laughter ringing in Nayoung’s ears. She smiles, her eyes crinkling as she does so. She thinks she finally sees the light in the dark, the calm in the storm, and the peace while at war.

//~//

A/N: So are the girls making any progress? Anyway, I apologize if the first few chapters are a little boring, I wanted to focus a bit more on their relationships/dynamics, how they start to get used to their new lifestyles and stuff like that. The next few chapters will be more eventful, and I’ll probably be bringing up some more of their past. Please feel free to tell me what you all think!!

p.s. I’m so pumped up for Pristin’s debut?? Hopefully it’ll be late Feb/ early March as rumored ;_;