Biohazard [2/2]
Biohazard| 2 |
"He's not behind any of the nearby vehicles..." Junhong reported as they re-grouped after climbing over car over car over car in search of Daehyun, all three of them returning with faces etched with concern and no Daehyun in tow.
"." Yongguk bit down on the inside of his cheek, his teeth threatening to pierce through his own flesh.
"As much as I hate to say it...he must be injured somewhere. There isn't any other reason he hasn't called for us or anything."
"Jongup, please don't rub that in." The younger immediately pursed his lips and stared at the ground. The animosity that stretched between him and Yongguk was almost tangible.
They migrated to the truck to rest, brainstorming, their dire situation going from bad to worse as the orange glow receded and was slowly being replaced with tenebrous, black air.
"There's only the road, cars..." Junhong counted the possibilities on his fingers, "and those ty trees around us, where could he hav--"
"The forest!!" Junhong jumped in his seat when Yongguk shot up at the mention of trees, his voice crashing through the quiet atmosphere, "He must've fallen into the forest that was behind us!"
They exchanged looks and they all mentally face-palmed at their stupidity. It was so blatantly obvious, right in front of their faces and yet they managed to completely miss it.
"We've wasted enough time, let's go." Jongup practically kicked the door open as he headed towards the trees.
"Jongup."
"Hm?"
"You're going the wrong way."
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The slope down to the forest floor was slippery as hell and Yongguk had to deal with Jongup constantly losing his grip and clutching onto him for support. Junhong was close behind clinging onto Jongup's shirt so that every time one of them fell the rest would follow suit (with a series of expletives from Yongguk) as they dragged each other down and tumbled a few feet before they gained their composure again and continued their trek. It was a long way down and the further they wandered, the more shrouded it became and it wasn't long before it was almost impossible to see each other. The night air was beginning to settle.
"We're almost there, just--" Yongguk cut himself off when he spotted a small silhouette lying on the ground, shooting off and causing Jongup to lose his grip on him.
"Dae?!"
Jongup's ears perked at the mention of the name and ran down the rest of the way, forgetting that it was dangerously slippery, towards the body and picked it up. But when he looked at it, his heart skipped a beat.
A headless zombie.
He let out a small yelp and immediately dropped the crumbling remains to the ground and looked up to see the others, illuminated by the small amounts of moonlight slithering into the forest. Junhong was crouching beside Yongguk who was now on his knees, cradling the real Daehyun in his arms. Yongguk held the small body, pulling it towards his own. He felt so light, and his skin was unbelievably cold.
"Idiot." Yongguk muttered under his breath. He looked up at the younger boys who were standing beside them, digging their shoes into the dirt and snapping dry twigs with their feet, "keep yourself warm."
"We're sleeping here tonight?" Jongup asked incredulously.
"Unless you have a better idea, yeah."
"Don't you think this might be a little bit...oh I don't know...dangerous?" Jongup signalled to the corpse lying motionless a few feet away from them.
Yongguk thought for a moment. Jongup was right. They couldn't afford to all sleep at once, especially in a large, open area such as this where they could easily and effortlessly be mauled to death. There really was only one solution.
"Fine, I'll stay awake and keep watch while you two sleep. I'll alert you if anything happens, then when I'm tired we'll swap. Alright?"
Jongup nodded curtly before pulling Junhong along.
Yongguk hauled Daehyun over with him as he propped his own tired body against a tree. He positioned Daehyun comfortably on his lap, letting the younger's head to drop into the crook of his neck as he wrapped his arms around Daehyun's cold skin. It was difficult to stay awake when the warm breath threatened to lull him to sleep. He curled his arms tighter around Daehyun as he closed his eyes and waited for him to wake up.
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"Daehyun?!" Yongguk shoved the branch away from his face as he ran through the thicket, ignoring the small cuts on his ankle from being too reckless with each step, "Daehyun, where the are you?"
Perhaps hide and seek wasn't such a good idea in a place like this. Even if it was near his house, with the sunlight pouring in, it still provided enough cover for anyone, especially a kid, to get lost. He was beginning to run out of breath from all the endless running around and screaming he was doing, but he needed to find him before the sun set, lest Daehyun's parents kill him for losing their son in a forest. Daehyun was a small twelve year old, skinnier than most boys his age and soft-spoken, whereas Yongguk was quite the opposite. He was fifteen by now, but with a brazen aura and an intimidating stance with a voice to match. Daehyun kept at least a mile away from trouble, and if it weren't for Daehyun pulling him back every time, Yongguk would've already gone and done something that would land him in Juvenile prison. Yet somehow they managed to find each other and despite their differences and against all odds, they clicked. Just like two perfectly carved puzzle pieces.
Yongguk kicked the loose piles of dirt around his feet as he looked around, spotting a small opening between some tall bushes. Cautiously stepping through, he found himself in a beautiful, emerald glade, dotted with sunlight and tiny flowers. He ground a couple under his feet and scanned the area. He let out a small 'tsk' as he found what he was looking for.
A young boy, sleeping in the middle of the clearing. How he managed to do that Yongguk would never know, because he never asked. He remembered only running up to him before he gently shook him awake, watching with relief as the other drowsily opened an eye and grumbled something inaudible, before closing it again and rolling over, the dirt clinging onto his hair and clothes.
"Idiot..." Yongguk muttered as he sat beside Daehyun and dusted him off, waiting for him to wake up again.
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It must've been early morning when he blinked his eyes open, feeling disoriented and dazed. He could barely make out the forms of Jongup and Junhong a few feet away from him, but Yongguk was nowhere to be seen. The air was a pale, steel blue.
His body stiffened when he remembered the events that took place right before he suddenly lost consciousness. He arm ached with a dull throbbing, where he had been bitten.
Was he a zombie?
"My name is Jung Daehyun and I do not feel the urge to eat anyone. Yeah, I'm fine." He talked to himself. It was clear that he wasn't a zombie, even though he had heard on the news that the virus takes around 15 short minutes to enter your blood stream and completely up your insides. He wriggled around in the dark, but there was something bound firmly around him, restricting his movements.
"Oh, you're awake." That warm voice.
"...Hyung? Is that you?" A small chuckle followed and Daehyun felt a wave of relief wash over him.
"How are you feeling?"
"I...I'm--" Daehyun looked up and when his eyelashes brushed the underside of Yongguk's jaw he was suddenly aware of the fact that their faces were extremely close and that he had unknowingly made himself comfortable perched on Yongguk's lap. "What the--"
Daehyun managed to scramble out of Yongguk's embrace, but he soon regretted the movement when a dizzying pain shot fast through his arm.
"!" Daehyun hissed as the pain refused to dissipate, catching Yongguk's attention.
"You alright?" Yongguk asked as Daehyun winced and jerked his arm towards his own body, "Take it easy."
"No...I--"
", Dae, what the ?" Yongguk leaned forward and reached out to lightly clasp Daehyun's wrist in his long fingers to inspect the injury.
It was a series of cuts and punctures on his arm, arranged in a semi-circular shape. Around the wound was dried, crimson blood and an angry looking bruise. Judging from the bite radius and the appearance of the would, it was painfully obvious what it was, it couldn't be anything else.
"When did you get this?" Yongguk asked gravely, his eyes never leaving the wound.
"Wh-when we-- well, you three were fighting before and..." Daehyun noticed the concern on Yongguk's face, he was thinking the same thing. He closed his eyes.
"Do you...do you think I'm going to turn soon?" His voice dropped to a low whisper.
Yongguk's in a breath when he heard the question. In all honesty, he knew what the answer was, he just didn't want to say it out loud because doing so would be admitting it. He let go of Daehyun's arm briefly to bring his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
"This is all my fault, I-- I ed up."
Daehyun watched intently as Yongguk turned his head upwards, blinking away the tears before they even came.
"I've survived this long." Daehyun reached out tentatively to tangle his fingers with Yongguk's. "I mean, if you compare it to the others that turned almost immediately...I'll be fine. Right?" Yongguk's fingers tightened around Daehyun's.
Lies and false hope. Perhaps that was what Yongguk needed to carry on.
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It wouldn't help the situation to pass the buck and say that if Yongguk had done a better job at keeping his supposedly keen eye on Daehyun, none of this would've happened. They wouldn't have been stuck in the middle of a forest with possibly hundreds of hungry zombies programmed to eat their flesh and inject them with the deadly virus, and Daehyun would never have been attacked in the first place. But he couldn't help it. Even now, Jongup watched bitterly as Yongguk trudged a few feet in front, without sparing a glance back. Junhong was sticking by his side and chatting with him, his long legs enabling him to keep up with Yongguk's pace.
Jongup walked languidly beside Daehyun, eyes on the bite. Jongup was relieved, but at the same time confused, at how well Daehyun was faring. He showed no symptoms of the infection, in fact he was exactly the same as before the attack. The wound hadn't swollen as much as he expected, especially considering that it was a bite from something that was pretty much a walking, rotting corpse, and the area around the bite was relatively clean, save for the obvious remains of his blood.
"Jongup? Uh...I'd like it if you stopped staring..." Daehyun spoke nervously as he scratched the side of his nose, "I mean, it's sort of become my complex...so..."
"O-oh, I wasn't--" Jongup didn't mean for it to, but his voice took on a whole higher octave.
"I was just staring at your skin? And admiring its perfection?!"
"I-- well, you have really nice skin?"
"Oh. Th-thanks...?" Daehyun was taken aback by the sudden compliment, but it wasn't like it was unwelcome.
Jongup, on the other hand, was ready to burrow into the ground and never surface. Daehyun smiled at Jongup, watching as the other's face gradually began to glow pink. They continued following Yongguk and Junhong as they scanned the area for any sign of an exit, God knows how far away they are from civilization now. Daehyun had heard stories of people driven mad by being in a forest for long periods of time, and he prayed that it would never come to that. If they weren't currently smack bang in the middle of a zombie invasion, Daehyun might've actually enjoyed a small hike in this forest. The trees filtered the sunlight into lime-green spots that dappled the forest floor. The scenery was actually quite beautiful.
Jongup gulped as Daehyun's hand swung loosely at his side, brushing his own occasionally and sending goosebumps up Jongup's arm. He stared at the hand, swaying back and forth.
It looked...perhaps a little bit empty.
And before he knew it, the desire to fill those empty faces between those fingers urged his hand to reach out, until it was merely an inch away from the other.
"Daehyun," and suddenly the hand was pulled out of his reach, "how are you feeling?"
Jongup watched with gnawing envy as it rested comfortably in Yongguk's. He blinked.
"Come closer," and Yongguk smoothly tugged Daehyun towards him, before he held the small face in his hand as if he were made of delicate porcelain. Jongup could hear his heart thump and he wasn't sure if he was seeing correctly, or if right now Yongguk was now going to--
--check Daehyun's eyeballs?
Yongguk's thumb dragged the skin underneath his eyes downwards and leaned close, inspecting on eye, then the other. And repeated this process numerous times.
"Uhh, hyung?" Daehyun mumbled as the other began messing with his face, "Hyung, what are you doing to my eyes?"
"Just checking, because...you know, how their eyes get all milky and ?" Yongguk waved his finger around his eyes to explain. Daehyun let out a small laugh.
"Don't worry, I'll let you know when my vision distorts and I actually start seeing you as a delicious piece of meat." They all knew it wasn't really something to joke about, but the light-heartedness was much appreciated as it helped lift the heavy atmosphere off their shoulders. Daehyun pushed past Yongguk and continued in whatever direction, it didn't really matter to anyone at this point. Yongguk scoffed at Daehyun's comment.
"As if I'm not one already?" Yongguk caught up to the younger as he pressed his body against Daehyun's back and a devious smirk found its way onto his face as he slid his hands slowly down Daehyun's side, providing Jongup with a good preview of Daehyun's slim body line.
"Ugh, stop it. You're gross. Stop being so gross." Daehyun feigned irritation as he pried the roving hands away from his waist.
Yongguk 'tsk'd as Daehyun continued on his way.
"Idiot."
Junhong snorted at the two going at each other again with their playful banter, watching as Yongguk's smug expression was soon wiped off and replaced with a tiny smile. But he stopped when he glanced over his shoulder and saw the way Jongup's expression dropped immediately to one of disappointment and dejection. Junhong trudged over to Jongup's side and took his hand, and Jongup let the taller boy urge him forward. Junhong knew he couldn't be a replacement for Daehyun,
but he could always try.
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"This is really the s, huh?" Jongup grumbled as he dragged his feet forward as they waded through the murky water in the shallow parts around the circumference of the lake.
It was Junhong that first spotted the small shelter in the distance, in the clearing. A heavy metal door guarding its entrance. A large bunny logo wearing a gas mask was stamped onto the front of the door, although it was barely recognizable by now behind the splattered dried blood, claw marks and the dents caused by the barrages of bullets it faced. The damage told them that they weren't the first to have come, and they were probably not the last. It was one of those 'safe-houses' that the B.A.P had spoken about on one of their broadcasts, if they were lucky, maybe this was their rescue. And maybe-- hopefully-- there would be food. The four unanimously agreed to make that their destination for now, all of their sights set so dead on the shelter they had completely missed the giant body of brown water separating them and their objective.
"The s? Not sure if you're talking about the water or our situation." Daehyun remarked off-handedly as he clung onto Junhong's tall frame, easily losing his balance as the water sloshed against his tired legs.
"...how about both?"
Daehyun stared at his legs, knee high in -coloured water.
"I hope you're not right--"
"AHH !" There was only one voice as disruptive that carried that distinctive huskiness.
All three of the others spun to search in the direction of the scream, only to see Yongguk punch the head straight off a water-bogged zombie, the head plopping into the water and drifting off in the opposite direction as the body slipped under the muddy water, out of sight.
"ing zombies in the ing lake," Yongguk muttered as he wiped the equivalent of zombie bile off his face with a grimace, "motherers can't even be drowned, argh this ."
"Hyung," Junhong called out, "are you alright?"
Yongguk looked over to the youngest, yet most collected member of their group and was about to assure him that he was fine, but immediately his heart stopped and breathing hitched when he saw the split-second of fear flash in Daehyun's eyes before his body was violently pulled towards a deeper area of the lake.
"DAEHYUN!"
Yongguk heard Jongup yell out the name, without realizing he was screaming for Daehyun as well. Daehyun was screaming a fountain of swear words as a skinless hand gripped his shirt tightly, its hold refusing to lessen.
"Stop flailing your arms around, Dae, can't see !" Yongguk yelled blindly as water splashed mercilessly into his eyes.
As the others continued screaming, taking a deep breath and following Yongguk's previous example, Jongup swung his arm as hard as he could and landed a heavy punch to the zombie's softening head, successfully knocking it right off in a spray of thick, brown gunk, causing the body to shut down and finally release Daehyun.
"Oh me I am so done," Daehyun exclaimed breathlessly as he threw himself against whoever was closest before he collapsed into the water, and that happened to be Jongup, his arms flying around the younger's neck, "so ing done."
Daehyun's face pressed against Jongup's rapidly reddening one as the indecent words rang close to the other's ears. Daehyun pulled away and realized that he had managed to single-handedly cover everyone with water.
"Oh...sorry...?" Daehyun rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as Junhong attempted to dry his hair, failing as the sleeve of his jumper he tried using to absorb the water was also sopping wet, Yongguk pulling irritably at his shirt to un-stick it from his body, "let's just continue on our way. Shall we?"
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"We should've brought our weapons with us," Yongguk sighed as they trudged towards the safe-house.
Junhong groaned at the realization, remembering that he had left his only form of defense up the large slope, next to their abandoned truck. He didn't really have the muscle and brute strength to be able to protect himself from the lumbering, flesh-eating idiots with his bare hands. Junhong was beginning to feel a bit unnerved. The trees around them were beginning to look at skeletons with their crooked fingers, watching with hollow eyes and wrinkled skin.
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"Junhong! Run!" Her voice was shrill and panicked, yet Junhong stood there, rooted to the spot as the fear wrapped its cold fingers around him in its crushing grip. He watched helplessly as she was being devoured alive, her blood dyeing the scene a deathly scarlet. His eyes widened as the blood oozed from her body, inching closer...and closer...just a little bit more closer...
"RUN!!" A rough shove sent Junhong sprawling backwards on the ground, and looking back he saw a zombie stumble over as lunged and missed its target.
Him.
An ear-piercing scream cut through the air and Junhong watched as his father reached desperately for his mother,
and he turned and ran outside.
But no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't escape the screams that echoed in his head.
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"Junhong, are you alright?" Jongup took his arm in his hand and Junhong quietly nodded.
Their heads shot up when they heard Yongguk yell.
"We're almost there!" Yongguk alerted to the others. Sure enough, they were only a few yards away. The sight gave them temporary energy as they stumbled towards the building.
The closer they got to the shelter, the more littered the place became with dead bodies and decomposing corpses. They were treading carefully, avoiding brittle twigs and trying they're best to soften each step as to not make even the tiniest noise, lest they draw more unwanted attention to themselves. There were a few empty shotgun shells scattered on the ground, reminding them they weren't done just yet.
A groan.
A crunch.
A gurgle.
The four of them subtly picked up their pace and before they knew it they were all running to the entrance, to refuge and solace. It was the first piece of hope they had encountered in a long time and they wanted to grab it as quick as they could with desperate hands.
Crashing into the door, Yongguk pushed down on the rusting metal bar and heaved the door open. The creaking of the hinges was loud enough to cause them to wince and hope that the zombies were too slow to catch up with them because they were so close and nothing would be worse than getting attacked here and now. When the door was finally open wide enough for them to enter, they all scrambled into the safe-house before Yongguk released the door, letting it slam loudly and he dropped the heavy metal bar down to lock the door before they were engulfed in silence. Only the sounds of heavy panting could be heard.
"This is...this is nice I guess?" Daehyun inspected the shelter, roughly the size of a garage. The walls and floor were made of cold, grey concrete and there was a fair amount of graffiti scrawled onto the walls and a few splatters of blood on the floor, even a few messages written in what appeared to be blood.
"Repent."
" you. Where is your God now?"
He didn't notice the ease with which his mind passed over the amount of blood on the ground. Empty boxes that he assumed used to carry ammo sat in a lonely corner of the room and there were two un-made bunk beds pushed against the bare walls. He assumed the sheets were originally white.
"Oh now we find a first-aid kit..." Yongguk complained, rolling his eyes as he looked at the red packs hanging on the wall, lifting them up and looking them over. There was hardly anything inside them anyway, there was a small roll of bandage but it was pretty much used up, a grubby bottle of antiseptic that looked like it would aggravate a wound instead of disinfect it, and other miscellaneous objects that were covered in filth. He spun around to face Daehyun.
"Your arm. How's your arm, are you feeling okay?" Yongguk fired the endless questions at Daehyun, "You're not dizzy? Nauseous? Tired?"
Daehyun shook his head and showed Yongguk his arm, it had healed a considerable amount in a very short amount of time. Thank God it was the onl--
"Is that a bruise on your neck?" Jongup narrowed his eyes and tilted his head as he stepped towards Daehyun. He was right. Just below his left ear was a large enough bruise, black and blue contrasting the pale skin. Daehyun's heart stopped. He had remembered a sharp pain in his neck as he was getting dragged into the water but it couldn't have been another bite...could it?
"It must've been from the lake." Junhong stepped forward to get a closer look, and he shut his eyes and patted Daehyun's shoulder with sympathy, "you never get a break do you?"
"You're ting me." Yongguk spat as he marched towards Daehyun and spun him around to take a look at his neck, causing the other to wince at the sharp movements he was forced to make. Yongguk closed his eyes and sighed. Seeing the other so bruised and bloodied was really debilitating to his heart's ability to function. It just wasn't fair. He could take these injuries twice as well as Daehyun could.
"I'll be fine, trust me I didn't even feel it."
Daehyun felt himself enveloped in hug.
It was warm, it was soothing, and it was just enough to make Daehyun so weak in the knees he would've collapsed if Yongguk hadn't kept such a tight hold around his narrow shoulders, supporting his weight.
"You're such a ing idiot." He could barely make out the words as they lost their way in his hair.
Neither of them noticed when Jongup muttered a hushed "goodnight" before he shuffled to one of the bottom bunks and let his body fall on the flattened mattress, not caring that the sheets were grey and stained with dried blood and possibly the uncleaned vomit of previous occupants. The pillow underneath his head was thin and Jongup scrunched his nose in discomfort.
Junhong tapped Yongguk on the shoulder softly as he walked past,
"You guys on the first shift." Yongguk finally detached himself from Daehyun before turning to the younger boy. He nodded firmly before wishing both Junhong and Jongup's a good night's sleep as Junhong climbed up the wobbly metal rungs to the top bunk above Jongup's.
"'night."
Jongup didn't respond.
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Yongguk shifted uncomfortably as the harsh cold of the door pierced his shirt and sent goosebumps erupting all over his skin. The room was dead cold as the concrete provided no insulation for the room whatsoever, and he swore if the zombies didn't kill him, the cold-- or hunger and thirst-- would. He stared at the bunk beds across the room and all he wanted at that moment was to be under his covers back at home and suddenly he was homesick. He never really appreciated his life back then, now Yongguk understood that saying that you never realize what you have until it's gone.
He felt a soft pressure land on his left shoulder, and he knew what it was. He exhaled slowly and turned to face the head on his shoulder. Yongguk bit his bottom lip.
It wasn't like this fondness grew over night out of nowhere, because things like that rarely ever happened. Perhaps it had been dormant for a long, long time, waiting for the right moment to sprout, or in more accurate terms, to erupt.
Something about the way Daehyun's canines dominated his smile and the way his eyes would glitter as he laughed just like the little kitten he was, his voice that travelled like liquid air, setting his heart on fire. And it burned. He found himself thinking about how easily he could comb his fingers through Daehyun's feather-soft strands, feel the soft skin on his lips, found himself thinking about that every day. Daehyun just drew people in like moths to a fire, and if there was any way he could rid himself of these feelings, these thoughts, he didn't know how.
Perhaps this was what he needed after Jieun.
He watched the eyelashes flutter as Daehyun awoke from his nap. Brown eyes flickered up to look at him and Yongguk was snapped back into reality. He gruffly cleared his throat and averted his gaze, opting to stare at the bunk beds sitting in the icy, dark-blue light. Daehyun must have realized too because in a split-second, he was sitting upright and proper.
When it's late at night and your mind is fuzzy, your mouth tends to run on auto-pilot. Or at least, that's what Yongguk liked to think. He figured he just needed something to blame.
"Daehyun." He addressed the other gently as they both sat in the dark.
"Hm?" He cocked his head to the side, turning to look at the silhouette sitting beside him.
"I-- uh...this will be a bit weird but..." Yongguk scratched the back of his neck as and ground his teeth together, "I think...I think might love you."
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He figured he might as well have been sleeping on the ground because the mattress beneath him was thin and hard with odd lumps in odd places and it would probably be better for his back and for him to rest on the floor instead. His mattress back home was thick and soft and warm and Jongup inwardly slapped himself for remembering things that made him feel even worse in their current situation.
He blinked in the dark.
He couldn't sleep. It wasn't just the mattresses fault. He tilted his head slightly at the two figures sitting in the opposite end of the room. Jongup sighed softly. As if things couldn't get any worse, Jongup had found himself slowly but surely falling, falling for someone whose sights were so set on another, he couldn't catch him.
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Daehyun swallowed thickly. It was dark, he was tired and for all he knew he could be imagining everything that was happening at that very moment, because if he wasn't mistaken...
"I think I might love you."
His ability to string together a comprehensible sentence suddenly disappeared as he sat with his legs crossed under him, hands now squeezing tightly around his ankles. He heard the other take a breath and blow quickly out of his mouth. Daehyun needed to say something before Yongguk took his silence as rejection, which was definitely not what Daehyun wanted because that would just be a complete and utter--
"Me too! I mean, I don't love me too-- w-why would I-- that's stupid. Wait, I- I don't mean you're stupid for liking me-- I--" Daehyun's hands flew up and slapped over his face in an attempt to shield himself from whatever confused-as- expression he assumed Yongguk must have been wearing after hearing that.
Daehyun wondered if his cheeks could be used as a radiator, especially in a bitingly cold room as the one they were currently holing themselves up in, it would probably be the only thing useful thing to come from him embarrassing himself in front of Yongguk with the stupidest words to ever have escaped his lips.
But instead of hearing Yongguk scoff at his idiocy, he heard a small chuckle before warm hands met his wrists in an attempt to pull his hands away from his scarlet face. Daehyun let his hands drop, it was no use trying to resist, especially when every touch from the other rendered him powerless and weak. But he still kept his head down.
A gentle tug on his wrist and Daehyun could see the soft shadow of Yongguk duck his head to level with his own. And finally, years of harbouring unrequited love suddenly felt worth it when Daehyun's lips were captured by a pair of rough lips, a soft but firm kiss and Daehyun felt like he was on fire. It lasted shorter than both of them hoped, pulling away and wishing they hadn't. The strands of his fringe were intertwined with Yongguk's, he didn't bother to move away.
"You're an idiot." Yongguk mumbled, Daehyun could already see his trademark smirk, even in the dark.
"You too." He retorted, grinning so wide that his actually cheeks began to hurt. Daehyun didn't remember the last time he felt this light, elation welling up inside his chest. He bumped their foreheads together and he felt the hands around his wrist tighten their grip, as if they were afraid to let go.
。。。。。。。。。。
He could feel his heart being brutally ripped in two. It was stupid to not want to give up, but he couldn't.
He really couldn't.
If he could, there would be no reason he wouldn't.
He sat up in bed, glancing over at the two leaning against the door. They were asleep by now, he could hear the steady, synchronized rhythm of their breaths melt into the air. Swinging his legs over the side, he leaned his elbow on his knees and rubbed his face with his hands. The springs under the mattress creaked loudly as he stood up, reaching a tired hand up to shake Junhong awake.
"We're keeping watch now, Junhong, come on."
Jongup felt his stomach knot when he heard a small whimper escape. He let out a soft sigh.
He was having nightmares again, and once again Jongup couldn't do anything to help.
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The morning wasn't sprinkled with fresh dew and the singing of birds, but came with the crackling of the out-dated radio sitting on an old table. Freezing cold air slipped through from under the door in an unwelcome fashion. A message was playing from the radio, obviously pre-recorded as the female voice repeated itself over and over again, before being completely eclipsed by the crackling static.
"Remaining survivors, make your way to the nearest safe-house immediately. The B.A.P are conducting a search and rescue and those not in safe-houses will not be rescued. Individuals showing signs of infection may be eliminated or taken in for testing. Remaining survivors, make your way to the nearest safe-house immediately..."
The air became tense as everyone was reminded of Daehyun's bite marks, marring his skin, tagging him to be killed as soon as they were found. Daehyun bit his lip and took a few breaths. The message playing on the radio really drilled it into him, the fact that he had now been irreversibly damaged and that even if they all managed to survive this ty ordeal, nothing good awaited him beyond this.
Daehyun could hear the sounds of heavy footsteps approach him, before strong arms wrapped themselves around his waist and he felt Yongguk's chin rest on his shoulder. Junhong furrowed his eyebrows for a second. Sure, Daehyun and Yongguk were close, hell they were best friends. But this time the two in front of them exuded a vibe that was somewhat...different. Sparing a glance at Jongup, it was no surprise to him that the other had his head down and was staring at his hands with no interest whatsoever, only using them as a cheap distraction.
"We'll get through this together, I'm not going to let them take you away from me. I promise."
Daehyun turned to face Yongguk, spinning with the arms still clasped tightly around him.
"You heard them--" Daehyun began to protest, but Yongguk didn't want to hear it.
"They are not getting to you, you hear me?" His voice was sharpened with determination.
Daehyun sighed and dropped his head on Yongguk's shoulder. He didn't know what to make of those words. As much as he would like to believe that Yongguk could keep to those words, reality was that it was probably not likely. He felt cold.
"Ahem." Both of them stiffened and turned to the interruption.
Jongup nodded apologetically to the two and rubbed the back of his neck.
"O-Oh yeah, sorry." Yongguk released Daehyun and his dry lips. He was sure he was going to die of dehydration before anything else.
"So what's gonna happen?" Junhong asked quietly.
"The B.A.P should be here soon, I guess we'll just have to wait." Daehyun answered nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders before making his way to the bunk bed and plopping himself down. It wasn't long before a growl sounded and Daehyun buried his face in his hand. He was hungry as and he might as well have become a zombie because at least that way he'd be eating something.
。。。。。。。。。。
"Do you think they'd even think to look for survivors in a place like this?" Jongup wondered out loud. Daehyun shrugged and let out a heavy sigh.
They'd be waiting for almost seven hours, and boredom was beginning to eat its way through their sanity. Yongguk had attempted to benchpress Junhong and Junhong was too tired and bored to even object as he was forced to lie still as Yongguk tried to use him as a makeshift weight-- failing horribly of course, but "it wasn't like he couldn't benchpress 63kg of weight it's just difficult to benchpress a soft, bendy weight."
Yongguk had given up after his fifth try and instead opted to sleep and Junhong thought that sleeping was indeed the best way to pass time and if he was lucky, by the time he woke up rescue would be knocking at the huge metal door.
And so Daehyun and Jongup sat together leaning against the wall, using turned-over plastic storage containers as chairs. Jongup bit the inside of his cheek.
"Hyung."
"Hm?"
"Are you and Yongguk-hyung..." Jongup asked nervously, even though he already knew the answer. He just needed confirmation, because hopefully it'd be enough to completely stop his heart from telling him to continue his pursuit.
"I...guess so." A small dusting of pink subtly spread over his cheeks as he nodded. But he didn't fail to notice that hint of sadness evident on Jongup's face, "Why?"
"Just wondering..." Jongup turned away from Daehyun, eyes flicking over to the grey wall beside him. He wanted to have his hopes crushed, but it was more resilient than he originally thought.
"I'm sorry, Jongup."
"W-what?"
"I really do love him, its...stupid, and cheesy I know...but...please understand."
Jongup looked at Daehyun, wondering how he knew, even though at this point it didn't really matter. He watched as Daehyun stood up and shuffled over to the beds. He twirled his thumbs together and picked the dead skin off his lips with his teeth. He wondered if being torn apart by zombies hurt as much as heartbreak.
。。。。。。。。。。
It was probably early in the evening, according to the lilac sky. Without knowing, all four of them had ended up falling asleep, forgetting to keep watch. It probably would have lasted longer if there wasn't the deafening sound of...helicopter wings?
Junhong was the first to fully come to his senses, shooting out of the bed and throwing himself to the barred window of the entrance. The others watched, their minds still hazy with sleep and fatigue.
"That's them! That's our rescue!" It was the most excited anyone had seen Junhong as he jumped up and down, pointing frantically out the window. He turned to find the others rubbing their eyes and yawning, all exuding the level of enthusiasm comparable to that of a disabled llama lying in an empty paddock. The deafening whirring of the helicopter hovered above them.
"Are you guys serious? We're getting rescued!"
"Alright, alright..." Yongguk waved his arm around, dismissing the over-excited boy standing at the door.
"So...are they going to come or what?" Jongup asked, gradually blinking his sleepiness away.
"I mean, they're not going to make us go ou--"
"Attention survivors." A muffled voice through a speaker cut through as if on cue, "There is insufficient landing space. Please carefully and quickly make your way to the chopper and do not allow yourself to make contact with any infected on the way."
"You have got to be kidding me." Daehyun mumbled, looking up from previously having his face in his hands, elbows digging into his knees, "you have got to be ing kidding me."
"Junhong. Are there any zombies outside?" Jongup asked, not wanting to encounter any. It was the last thing they needed, especially so close to their rescue. If he were to die here, whether it be by zombie or being shot for "risk of infection" his last feelings would be of regret and that would be...regrettable.
"Y-yeah." The younger swallowed, "There are...one or two...or...three..."
Yongguk stood up and dragged himself to the door.
Junhong was wrong.
" this ."
。。。。。。。。。。
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THERE WAS THIS MANY?!" Daehyun yelled as they ran, trying to avoid the crowd of zombies.
The zombies were slow and thankfully not very bright, so they had all agreed to a simple plan. Simple, but difficult.
Run.
"I didn't...want...to scare you!" Junhong answered, his sentence punctuated with pants as he desperately tried to keep running.
"Oh me!" Daehyun spat as they all continued sprinting towards the chopper.
"You know, I'd love to be doing that right about now but we have more important matters to deal with first!!" Yongguk threw back, causing Jongup to choke on his spit.
The helicopter hovered, a deafeningly loud presence that was sure to attract unwanted attention from the zombies, before landing in a small clearing. There was only two men visible in the chopper, excluding the pilot, armed and ready to help exterminate the obstruction. Both were fitted with a gray gas masks, one with pink accents, the other; yellow.
"All or nothing..." Jongup muttered as they quickly approached the horde.
"They're not facing us, maybe if we run through them fast enough, they won't have a chance." Daehyun added.
Their lungs burnt, the panic and the talking not aiding with their ability to breathe.
"Avoid contact with infected my ." Jongup muttered bitterly. It was unfair, for them as survivors, having to fight this one final fight just because rescue couldn't get their asses down here.
The rattling gunshots rang out and they could see the zombies fall like dominoes. Perhaps they should've stolen a machine gun from a firearm's store before getting themselves lost in the forest, Jongup thought-- maybe a litle too late. The two men were obviously trained professionals who knew what they were doing, no bullet gone to waste as they continued shooting into the festering group of decaying flesh.
The four survivors mustered up their courage and charged through the horde, shoving their way through. It was a flurry of browns and reds and desaturated greens, a disgusting kaleidoscope of rotting colours. Junhong and Jongup managed to escape first, making their way to rescue. The two men stopped shooting to pull them into the helicopter, but those few seconds they ceased fire meant there was enough time for more zombies to pour into the way of Daehyun and Yongguk's escape.
"Hyung!" Daehyun yelled as he lost sight of the other in the sea of zombies.
"Dae! Just run!"
Yongguk knew it was the end. Not for the others, but for him.
"Where are you?!" Daehyun frantically searched in the crowd but to no avail, all he could see was torn faces and ripped skin, not the face of the one he loved the most.
Suddenly, Daehyun was shoved forwards and his body broke through the crowd. He fell to the ground and for a split-second relished in the fact that he was out, however, that was soon replaced with dread as he finally spotted Yongguk, with a zombie digging its filthy teeth into his perfect skin.
"No!" Daehyun rushed to stand up and run towards him, but a strong pair of hands grabbed him by the side of his arms, refusing to let him move, instead pulling him back. He glanced behind him and was met with the sight of a masked man, the grey mask accented with yellow, his blond hair falling over stone-cold eyes. They bore into him, staring into his own.
"Wha--"
"!" Daehyun's head snapped back to see Yongguk fall out from the swarm of zombies, bleeding profusely from a wound on his arm. The zombies previously attached to Yongguk fell into a writhing heap on the ground, causing other zombies to trip over and fall along with them.
To the Yellow-mask's surprise, Daehyun jerked his way out of his grasp and ran towards Yongguk, who was now swearing and in agony as he stumbled towards them. His weakened body refused to co-operate, dropping just as Daehyun reached him. Thin arms wrapped around him, attempting to hold him up.
"Yongguk...Yongguk stay strong." Daehyun whispered, pressing his forehead against the others, "we'll get through this."
"I'm sorry, Dae. I can't. I'm...I'm not like you..." Yongguk swallowed thickly and winced as the stinging wound throbbed, feeling the virus slowly seep into his bloodstream.
"What?"
"Why do you think you've survived this long?" Yongguk coughed, scrunching his face up when he saw that the fluid that landed on the ground was coloured a deep red,
"I don't und--"
"You have anti-bodies, Daehyun, you're immune. They're going to take you in, you're gonna save the world. Me? I'm dead to them."
And those words shot right through him. He was crying by now, choking on his words as the reality hit him. He knew that Yongguk was right, he just didn't want to accept it. As silly as it sounded, he couldn't envision a life without Yongguk. He just couldn't-- wouldn't. Who was going to be a pain in the and leave beer cans lying around, or laugh at giraffes on tv, who was going to be there waiting for him when he woke up from every dream, every nightmare,
"You said we'd get through this together, you even promised..." He choked out, tears stung his eyes and a lump rose in his throat as he watched Yongguk suffer through the pain, poison entering his system.
"Yeah, well, some promises are broken. Dae, live well."
"I can't. Not without you, I love y--"
"Time's up." A muffled voice interrupted, before he was roughly pulled away.
"No...no!" Daehyun struggled against the strong grip around his wrists, "Yongguk...please..." He was beginning to feel dizzy, this wasn't really happening. It wasn't happening. His heart was beating all too heavily in his ears and he could barely focus, perhaps he would wake up soon, "God, please wake me up."
The infection was beginning to take over, he could see the milky tint starting to form a thin film over Yongguk's eyes as he hacked and coughed, spitting foul chunks of flesh from his mouth. Yongguk was already turning, his insides deteriorating.
Daehyun's vision blurred as he cried desperately for the other as his throat went raw.
Yongguk looked up in response, barely an ounce of humanity remaining.
"Idiot..." the pained smile,
Daehyun was jerked back roughly by the man, and he heard the protests coming from the other two in the helicopter. He heard the cocking of a gun behind him and in that moment when the man with the pink mask mounted the shotgun against his shoulder, that was when realization dawned on him, and everything went in slow motion.
"I love you..." the soft words,
He could hear himself scream, through the heavy heartbeats, through the tears,
but it was all too late.
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A/N: uh...wow. I am not sure how I feel about this one...I don't feel like I've done this plot bunny any justice and I swear the characters are so much more developed in my head (especially Junhong's character sob. Where to fit it in?) What happened ㅠㅠ I'm sorry! Also I am too lazy to read over it. I swear I am missing giant chunks that I had originally planned to put in here but have forgotten about and ugh yeah. I felt like it was a bit too rushed ; ~ ;
Hopefully you guys don't think it's as bad as I think it is...
But I really hope at least some of you enjoyed this! ♥ Your comments are all too sweet!!
Also I would like to apologize to those of you who want to brick me for killing Yongguk off (he's my bias and I'm a terrible stan haha). PlooOoOt TwiST AnYEoNE!?!?! yeah okay I'm sorry I will leave you alone now.
Love love ♥ o 3o
P.S: For those who have played RE6...I'll let you in on a little secret.
Daehyun is Jake Muller *gasps all around*
Okay goodbye. ♥
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