Jungeun eyed the building with uncertainty, it was big enough that there was bound to be a ton of infected roaming around and she was worried that they would be cornered with no way out. “It’s getting dark and we have no where else to go,” Jiwoo’s voice had taken her away from her thoughts. 

“But we don’t know how many are in there, I don’t want you to get hurt,” Jiwoo could hear the worry in Jungeun’s voice and she gave the girl a reassuring smile. “That’s why you’re here, to protect me.” Jiwoo reached out to grab Jungeun’s hand with her own, intertwining them so that they wouldn’t be separated. 

Jungeun let out a defeated sigh, once Jiwoo had her mind set, there was no changing it. “Let’s just take things slow, ok? We don’t want to alert any of them,” she took out her gun from its holster, she hopes that she doesn’t have to use it, but for the safety of both of them, Jungeun keeps a tight grip on it, ready to shoot if she needs to. “Let’s go.” 

Jiwoo froze when the door creaked very slightly, a look of worry adorning her face and she turned to look at Jungeun. It wasn’t loud enough that something could hear but still she didn’t want to risk it. Jungeun waited for a few more seconds before continuing to open the door, this time the creaking was much louder. 

“Jungeun,” Jiwoo whispered, but the girl just ignored her as she push the door open even further. “We can get through now,” Jungeun slowly made her way through and watched as Jiwoo followed. It was darker than they expected in the building, it’d be dangerous when night falls. 

“We should find a room to stay in,” Jiwoo eyed the area around her, just empty shelves that had been raided long ago and the sight of fresh blood on the ground told her that there was definitely new infected in the building. Jiwoo tapped Jungeun on the shoulder and pointed to what she saw. 

Jungeun’s worry only grew with the thought of new infected roaming around, they were always more dangerous, somehow more aggressive and stronger than the ones turned early on. “Don’t let go of my hand ok?” Jiwoo sent a smile to Jungeun, which grew when the girl blushed. 

“When have I ever done that?” Jungeun returned the smile, her words making Jiwoo’s smile grew even more. The exchange helped calm Jungeun somewhat and she was so thankful that Jiwoo was with her. “We should go before we get seen by one of them,” Jiwoo tightened her grip on Jungeun’s hand and started heading down the nearest hallway. 

Jiwoo noticed the room first and tapped Jungeun on the shoulder to let her know, and the nod sent her way, told her that they were going to stay there for the night. With slow steps, the both of them made their way down the hallway, eyes wandering quickly in search for any lingering infected. 

The closer they got, they realised that the door to the room had been ripped off, which didn’t comfort them at all, but this was as good as it was going to get and neither of them wanted to search the building for a safer place. 

Just as Jungeun was about to enter, Jiwoo stopped her from entering, immediately pointing to the infected standing in the corner of the room. “,” Jungeun muttered and she quickly scanned the room in case there were any more. When she was sure that there was only one of them, Jungeun grabbed the pickaxe from Jiwoo’s hand and quietly made her way to the infected. 

She raised her hand and immediately took it out, when she was sure that the it was dead, Jungeun turned to Jiwoo. “It’s dead,” grimacing because of the smell coming from the body. 

“I forgot how bad they smell,” Jungeun nearly gagged at the stench as she pushed the body further into the corner with the pickaxe. 

“I saw some deodorant back there, maybe they should use it.” Jiwoo giggled when Jungeun turned around with a blank look on her face, it wasn’t long before Jungeun joined in with her. “That was lame.”

Jiwoo gasped and placed a hand on her chest, “I’m hurt.” She started wiping away her fake tears and the moment Jungeun took her place besides her, the girl shoved her gently, “That was your worse joke so far.”

“But at least you laughed,” Jiwoo argued, the smile hadn’t left her face, especially now that Jungeun was sending one her way. It was nice to see Jungeun smiling, she doesn’t know how long it’s been since she last saw it. 

“Ok ok, I laughed. Happy?” 

“Very,” Jiwoo leaned into Jungeun’s warmth and the girl responded by wrapping her arms around Jiwoo’s shoulders. 

The atmosphere turned silent and the both of just stayed in each other’s embrace, focusing on each other and trying to forget everything for next few hours. “Do you think it’ll be safe for the night?” Jiwoo was the first to break it, voice quiet and full of worry. 

“I…I don’t know,” Jungeun couldn’t bring herself to lie and tell her that everything would be ok and that they’d be safe until they leave. She was scared, probably more scared than Jiwoo was, she just managed to hide it well enough so that the both of them didn’t break down. 

Jiwoo stayed silent, deciding to just bury herself in Jungeun’s embrace, “At least we’re together.” Jungeun stayed silent, deciding to just tighten her hold around Jiwoo. 

“Get some rest, i’ll take first watch,” Jungeun covered Jiwoo with the blanket, making sure that she had most of it. It was getting colder these days and she didn’t want Jiwoo to get sick, especially since they don’t have the medicine for if she ever got worse. 

It wasn’t long until Jungeun heard the soft snores coming from Jiwoo, a faint smile on her lips as she watched her. “Sleep well.” 

 The silence was back and Jungeun was left with her thoughts. She thought about Jiwoo. She thought about where they’ll go when they leave. She thought about a time before everything changed. Jungeun sighed, it wasn’t good to think about the past, it would just make everything harder. 

She leaned her head against the wall and started making a mental note of what supplies they needed to search for. 

Jungeun froze up when she heard the sound of objects making contact with the ground on the other floors, it was hard to tell how many but she could tell they were aggressive. Her fear was only growing and she didn’t want to worry Jiwoo so she decided against waking the girl up so that she could sleep. 

It wasn’t long before the tiredness overtook her and she fell asleep, her head resting on Jiwoo’s.

++

The sound of running footsteps woke Jungeun up, she was feeling a little out of it and she felt so tired that she wanted to go back to sleep. The footsteps turned into low growls and that finally woke Jungeun up. She lifted her body up as much as could without waking Jiwoo up and her heart stopped when she noticed a group of infected racing towards the end of the hall.  

“, that’s our way out,” Jungeun muttered and she started to wake up Jiwoo as gently as she could. “Hey Jiwoo, you need to wake up,” she made sure to check the hall every few seconds to make sure they weren’t headed towards them. 

“Jiwoo we need to leave,” she whispered and Jiwoo could hear the urgency in her voice, she didn’t need to be told why and she quickly packed up their things. “How many are there?” she took out her flashlight just in case they got lost. 

“7, maybe 8, it’s hard to tell through these windows,” Jungeun put her bag on before picking up her gun. She checked the other end of the hallway, it was clear but she wasn’t sure if it was any safer. “We just need to be quiet.” 

Jungeun crawled towards the exit, making sure that she wouldn’t be seem through the windows. She checked the hallway one last time before standing up. Jungeun reached out for Jiwoo’s hand and squeezed gently to reassure the both of them that they would be ok. 

She counted down from three and the both of them headed as quietly as they could towards the end of the hallway that wasn’t covered with infected.

Jungeun was thankful that they weren’t so far from the entrance, they just needed to take a detour that would take them longer to escape. “Jungeun,” Jiwoo whispered, her eyes landing on a group of infected, and the moment one of them turned around, Jungeun grabbed her hand and ran for it. 

They managed to lose them, but there was still infected running around the building that they still needed to be cautious with their moves. “I can see the exit from here,” Jungeun pointed to the light that had made its way through a door not far away.  

It was silent for a moment before the growling was starting to get dangerously close and in her panic, Jiwoo drops her flashlight and practically tells the infected where they are. “We need to run,” Jungeun grabs Jiwoo’s hand tightly and starts running as fast as she can towards the exit. Jiwoo can see the light peeking out, they were so close, but an infected collided into them and the both of them were now struggling on the ground. 

Jungeun managed to push Jiwoo away so that she wasn’t attacked, but now the infected was on her and she was using all the strength she had so that its teeth didn’t make contact with her skin. “Jungeun!” Jiwoo panicked, she didn’t know what to do, she knows that she needs to save Jungeun but her body wasn’t moving. 

“Jiwoo run! Save yourself!” Jungeun exclaimed, but Jiwoo didn’t listen as she was now frantically looking for the gun that Jungeun had been holding before they were attacked. “Jiwoo what the are you doing?! You need to run!” Jungeun was beginning to run out of energy, she wouldn’t be able to hold the infected for much longer and she would rather die before Jiwoo was caught. 

Jiwoo didn’t listen, her eyes trained on the ground and when she caught sight of the gun, she picked it up as fast as she could and aimed for the infected’s head before pulling the trigger. Jungeun pushed the infected away and immediately grabbed the gun from Jiwoo and aimed it back at the infected, ready to shoot if it moved. 

“Why don’t you ever listen to me?” Jungeun turned to face Jiwoo and even though she wanted to be angry at her for not leaving, she just couldn’t bring herself to. “We stick together,” Jiwoo’s voice was firm and Jungeun could only sigh, “If you have a chance to escape, then you take it next time.”

Jungeun grabbed her bag off the floor and put it on, and with her free hand, she grabbed Jiwoo’s and made her way towards the exit. She didn’t stop until they reached the woods and were far enough that they wouldn’t be seen. 

++

Jungeun took in her surroundings and when it looked clear, her steps started to slow down until she finally stopped. She leaned her body against the nearest tree so that she could catch her breath. She turned around to check on Jiwoo, only to find the girl trembling. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Jungeun’s hands immediately found their way to Jiwoo’s cheeks. She already had an idea on what the girl was feeling, but she didn’t want to push and waited for her to say something. “I nearly lost you,” Jiwoo’s voice was quiet and Jungeun could tell that she was close to crying. 

“But i’m still here aren’t I?” Jungeun lifted Jiwoo’s head so that would look at her. “Hey,” her voice was softer now, more comforting. She wiped away the few tears that had managed to fall. If there was one thing that Jungeun hated, it was the sight of Jiwoo crying. 

She sent the girl a reassuring smile, “You won’t lose me, ok?” 

“You promise me?”

“I promise,” Jungeun knows it’s wrong to keep a promise that she knows she won’t be able to keep, but if it gives Jiwoo any reassurance and comfort, then she’ll lie if she has to. 

“Are you going to stop crying now?” Jiwoo sent her a glare and Jungeun couldn’t help the laugh that escaped  her lips. “You make it sound like I cry all the time?” Jiwoo moved away from her, despite the teasing, she’s thankful for Jungeun. She wouldn’t have calmed down if it wasn’t for her. 

Jungeun gives her a look, “Well when we were kids…” her voice trailed off and Jiwoo didn’t need to hear the rest to know what the girl was talking about. She sent Jungeun another glare, “That was like 12 years ago.” 

Jiwoo shoved Jungeun playfully, and the both of them fell into a conversation full of teasing, mainly from Jungeun. The conversation ended, a smile on their faces and Jiwoo started to walk away but Jungeun stayed put. 

She didn’t let go of Jiwoo’s hand as she walked away, “Jiwoo…” 

The girl turned around, and the smiles that she held not even a minute ago had disappeared and was replaced with a look of seriousness. Jiwoo already had an idea of what Jungeun was about to say to her. 

“If anything,” Jungeun looked down, both of her hands were now holding onto Jiwoo’s, rubbing circles as if to calm the girl. “If anything happens to me, you make sure to leave next time.” She looked up and Jungeun could see the hurt in Jiwoo’s expression. 

Before Jiwoo could even try to argue with her, Jungeun continued with what she wanted to say. “Promise me.”  

Jiwoo was silent, hurt and confusion was all she felt. Even though nothing had happened, it might as well have with what Jungeun asked of her. “I...I can’t promise that,” she locked eyes with Jungeun and she stared at her hard so that she could feel what she was feeling right now. 

“Jiwoo,” Jungeun’s voice was firm, no matter how desperately she wanted to argue and tell her, Jiwoo already knows that she won’t be able to convince Jungeun to change her mind. 

She looked away from Jungeun’s gaze, the anger was still there but it was slowly disappearing and what she was feeing the most was pain. “If that’s what you want, then fine.” Jungeun hadn’t responded to her and instead wrapped her arms around Jiwoo’s waist, burying her face into the girl’s neck. 

“I know that was hard for you,” Jungeun’s voice was gentle and just like magic, Jiwoo’s anger had washed away. She returned the hug, arms wrapping around Jungeun tightly as if she would disappear. They both stayed like that, holding each other before they came to their senses. 

Jiwoo pulled away and sent a faint smile to Jungeun before grabbing her hand and walking in the direction they had planned. 

++

Jungeun held her hand in front of Jiwoo, stopping the girl from taking any more steps and just as Jiwoo was about to say something, Jungeun turned to face her, her fingers pressed against her lips. “Be quiet,” Jungeun mouthed and with slow steps, moved away from the small group of infected they had come across. 

Just a few more steps and they would be out of sight, but one of them just had to turn around. They growled and the rest of the group turned around as well. “Run!” Jungeun let go of Jiwoo’s hand and pushed her ahead of her, she trailed behind and whenever one of them got close, she immediately took them down with the pickaxe in her hand. 

“,” Jungeun looked back to find 3 more had joined the group, just like before she slowed down and took down the ones closer to her. 

She had managed to take four of them down but completely forgot about the final one, and before she knew it she was on the ground struggling and the infected managed to claw away at her abdomen. Jungeun let out a painful scream, she didn’t think it would hurt this much. She didn’t think about a lot of things because that’s  what led her to her current situation. 

Jiwoo stopped in her tracks and looked back to find Jungeun on the ground, her feet moving quickly when the girl screams out in pain once again. She grabs the pickaxe that Jungeun dropped and immediately takes out the infected. Her eyes immediately land on the wound. 

She doesn’t have time to break down and worry, they needed to get out of here before whatever infected that was nearby caught them. She wraps her arm around Jungeun’s waist and her heart aches to hear the girl groan in pain.

“Just hold on for me,” Jiwoo’s voice wavered, she was beginning to get tired but they really needed to hide, they’d be caught if they didn’t. Hey eyes noticed some larger trees and she decided that was good enough for the time being. “Come on, just a few more steps.” 

The moment they were safe from the infected, Jiwoo helped Jungeun to rest, allowing the girl to rest her head in her lap. She eyed Jungeun’s shirt and there was so much blood, Jiwoo didn’t know what to do. She reached out and pressed her hands against the wound, hoping to stop the bleeding.

“Jiwoo…” Jungeun reached out and wrapped her fingers around Jiwoo’s wrist, “There’s nothing you can do.”  She let go of Jiwoo and reached out to caress her cheek, “I don’t have long left, and it won’t be long until they find us.” 

Jungeun wiped the tears that were beginning to fall down Jiwoo’s cheeks, “You need to leave.” Jiwoo shook her head violently, angry at how could Jungeun say those words so easily. “I’m not leaving you,” Jiwoo turned away and took of her bag so that she could get the box of bandages that they managed to find. 

“I’m going to patch you up and you’re going to live,” Jiwoo was trembling, she was trying so hard to convince herself that everything would be ok. Her movements were halted when Jungeun grabbed her wrist. “Jiwoo please.” 

Jungeun was scared, she didn’t want to die and she didn’t want to leave Jiwoo all alone in this world.

“Leave. If you stay, you’ll die too,” her voice was becoming weaker as the minutes passed, the loss of blood was beginning to take its toll on her and she was starting to get tired. Jungeun looked up at Jiwoo and it hurt her to see the tears that were steaming down her face, she never wanted Jiwoo to cry because of her. “You promised me,” Jiwoo’s voice was rough and the tears weren’t stopping. 

“Jiwoo please,” Jungeun pleaded before she began coughing hard, the taste of iron on her lips. “You need to live.” She managed to say between her coughs. It won’t be long before they find them and it won’t be long until she turns. Jungeun didn’t want to put Jiwoo through the pain of seeing her like that and having to take her out. 

“I can’t. I won’t,” Jiwoo returned to looking for the bandages and just like before, Jungeun stopped her, “You’re going to die if you don’t leave.” Jiwoo didn’t say anything and just continued to look for the bandages. “You promised me that you would leave if I ever got attacked,” Jungeun pleaded, hoping to jog some sense into the girl. 

“I-” Jungeun cut her off before she could argue with her. 

“Please.”

Jiwoo was silent, her mind flashing back to before the world ended. Back to a time when they were so carefree. Back to a time when she was going to confess. “I love you,” Jiwoo voiced out, this was probably the worse timing in the history of all confessions but she needed Jungeun to hear her say those words.

“I love you,” she looked Jungeun in the eye as she repeated those three words again. “I know,” Jungeun held a faint smile on her lips. “That’s why I want you to go, if you love me you’ll leave,” her heart began to ache at the tears that were flowing down Jiwoo’s cheeks. 

She didn’t want to say those words, but Jiwoo needed to hear them so that she would run and live. Jiwoo was crying harder now, and she wanted to scream her lungs out to get rid of the tightness in her chest. Jungeun reached out and wiped the tears away. 

“I love you Kim Jungeun,” Jiwoo managed to say in between her tears, a faint smile on her lips before she reached out to wipe Jungeun’s tears away. “I love you too,” Jiwoo’s heart soared at those three words, and without thinking she leaned down and captured Jungeun’s lips with her own, pouring out all the love that she’ll never have the chance to give.

Jungeun was the first to pull away, she reached out to her neck and pulled on the necklace that she was wearing. “It might not be a ring but that’s all I have to give you,” Jungeun let out a laugh, the smile that graced Jiwoo’s face was enough to take away some of her pain. 

“You have such perfect timing,” Jiwoo teased as she laughed through the tears. She met Jungeun half way and took the necklace from her before putting it away in her jacket pocket. The growling was getting closer and the smile immediately disappeared from Jungeun’s face and was replaced with a look of pain and sadness. 

“Jiwoo go,” Jungeun’s voice was softer now and she pleaded one last time for the girl to leave. “Don’t look back and keep going ok?” Jungeun made sure that Jiwoo understood what she was saying. With the last of her strength, Jungeun sat up and with the help of Jiwoo, was now leaning against the tree. 

Jiwoo kneeled down so that she could get one last look at Jungeun’s face, memorising every detail so that she would never forget. “Take this,” she planted the gun in Jungeun’s hand and before the girl could argue, she picked up the pickaxe from the ground. “I’ll be fine with this.” 

She kissed Jungeun for the last time before standing up and slowly walking away. “I’ll always love you,” Jiwoo managed to say between her tears, she hated this. She hated that Jungeun was bit. She hated this world that they lived in. And she hated herself for leaving Jungeun. Her tears didn’t stop, only falling down faster with each step that she took away from Jungeun. 

The gunshots echoed and with each one, the growls would lessen. Even in her last moments, Jungeun was still fighting. A few minutes had passed and the growls had disappeared, they were all gone and Jiwoo wanted to to go back and as if Jungeun knew what she was thinking, shouted out. 

“Kim Jiwoo! Remember that I love you!” With those words, a single gunshot followed and Jiwoo collapsed, the tears flowing harder.