[CONTENTID1] CHAPTER FORTY TWO - REUNION[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]

A/N: DOUBLE UPDATE GUYS! Go back a chapter ;)

At some point of our drive out of Andong, I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew — BAM! We were surrounded by loads of trees and the sounds of birds probably about the bad weather tweeting and all that .

I moan as I stretch my limbs and peak out the window on Tao’s side through one eye. “Mmm, what time is it? Where are we?” 

“We’re almost at Cheongju,” Julien answers from the front passenger seat. I yawn and remove his jacket from my body, feeling too hot with Tao’s arms around me and his head buried in my neck. He really is a heavy sleeper. “You’ve slept the entire journey.”

“How long was it?”

He checks the time on the car. “Seven hours. We had to take multiple detours when city entrances were blocked by Infected. We’re hoping the same won’t happen here.” I nod. It can’t happen, this is where we agreed to meet the rest of our team. Before we completely left Andong, Tao managed to contact Hakyeon and they arranged a meeting place: Cheongju International Airport.

“This kid,” I grunt when Tao breathes heavily on my neck. “Tao, wake up. You’re suffocating me.” I shove him off and his head connects with the window. He doesn’t even stir. Instead, his neck flops backwards and his head rests against his seatbelt. I can’t help the giggle that escapes my lips. I put a hand over my mouth and shake my head at the sleeping male. “Ah, gwiyeopda.” 

I feel something touch my neck and I snap my head around. My nose brushes Jungkook’s and we practically jump apart. That was way too close for my liking. I proceed to smack him over the head but he covers himself with his hands. “Yah! What’s wrong with you? Why were you so close to me?”

“You have a scar!” he shouts back before grabbing me and tugging me forward. I readjust my seatbelt so I’m sitting comfortably. He brushes my hair aside and grabs my chin, forcing me to look to the side. I feel his finger trail down from my bottom hairline to the collar of my jacket. “How’d you get this?”

I smile at the memory: yet another good one. Unlike my other scars, this one wasn’t from any beatings. “Actually, you gave me this one. Well, you…Jongin and Taemin oppa.” I swallow the painful lump in my throat. “We were playing around, you were all chasing me. You wanted to win so you tripped me up and I cracked my head against a big rock.” A gasp escapes his lips and he touches the scar again, ever so gently. 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles. I grab his hand and face him again, brushing my finger over his knuckles. As he stares into my eyes, I feel that familiar warmth in my heart. The warmth I got whenever I watched him play with Min-Hee. The warmth I got whenever I caught him getting along and playing with Jongin and Taemin. It’s the same warmth I get when I’m surrounded by the people I love and there is no impending doom nagging at me. 

“Don’t be. Now, I’m kinda happy I have it,” I admit and he frowns slightly. “It’s the best scar I’ve got. The only one…” I bite my lip and stop myself from saying whatever the hell it was I was going to say. “Anyway, don’t be sorry.” I release his hand but clasp my own, putting them between my thighs. “Sehun, how long do we have left?”

“Ladies and gents…welcome to Geongju,” he announces, answering my question. I look out the window and see the sign welcoming us into the city. Immediately upon reaching the first roundabout, Sehun cuts lanes and takes a different road. “No way are we getting in through the main entrance.”

“Here, the map shows another route,” Julien muses as he holds up a paper map. He starts directing Sehun and we drive for a further twenty minutes before we manage to reach the airport. We park outside the many entrance doors into the building, deciding against going to the carpark. Sehun comes to a stop and turns off the engine. “Alright, everyone out.”

We exit the jeep and get our weapons out, strapping them onto our belts and backs. I help Hyoyeon out of the back and she dusts her knees then stretches. “My back is killing me.”

“Really?” I ask absentmindedly as I fix my ponytail. “Eonnie.” Hyoyeon hums in response before freezing and giving me a weird look. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’ve never called me that before,” she replies and I purse my lips. I realise that she’s right, I’ve never addressed her or even treated her as an eonnie. It’s always been Jessica but never Hyoyeon. “It’s weird…don’t do it.” 

“Arasso,” I laugh, nudging her playfully. “Hyoyeonnie, what are you gonna do when you see Daehyun?”

“I’m going to run over to him, grab him and kiss the life out of him,” she answers bluntly and I burst out laughing. “No, seriously. I’m gonna do it. Just you wait and see.” I continue to laugh and nod, though I highly doubt it. Hyoyeon might be bold but when it comes to confrontations with guys she fancies or guys that take a liking to her, she gets flustered. For example, Henry. There’s also Mino and, of course, Daehyun. And let’s not forget wet and Julien.

“Yeah, sure,” I snort, nudging her again. She nudges me back and wiggles her brows.

“What about you? Who are you most excited to see?” she asks, throwing her sling bag over her shoulder. “And you can’t say everyone. You have to pick.”

“Come on, let’s get a move on!” Julien orders as he shuts the car door. “Stay close, keep quiet and stay alert. Moving out, now.” He goes in front of everyone, initiating the formation. Hyoyeon comes closer to me and gives me a look for me to resume our conversation.

“Em…” I rub my chin thoughtfully. To be honest, I’m not quite sure who I’ve missed most. I’ve missed the whole of my team greatly but picking one is rather difficult; I love them all for different reasons. But if I have to choose one person that called to me the most at night… “Err…I guess…wait, what was the question? Who did I miss the most?”

“No, that’s way too hard,” she snorts, shaking her head. “Who are you most excited to see is what I asked.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Nope.”

I roll my eyes. “Well, then, my answer is…either Kyu-oppa or Karim. I really miss those two.” She nods and smiles, throwing her arm around me. “I wonder what they’re doing right now.” I snigger a little. “Let’s speculate.”

She laughs and nods. “I think Kyu-oppa will probably be bickering with someone. It doesn’t matter who, he’ll have managed to piss someone off. DaeJae will be goofing around together, plotting against Jackson or something.” I laugh at the acronym she’s given Daehyun and Youngjae. 

“Probably,” I agree, nodding along. “I think Mino and Kyuhyun will be pairing up to see how many people they can piss off. I can’t think of what anyone else would be up to.”

“Bora probably hates her life since she’s stuck with all those men,” Hyoyeon snorts. “The AIs don’t count as females.” I purse my lips and shrug. I look around and see that we’ve reached the building. We enter cautiously and look around. Immediately, my eyes zero in on a group of Infected growling and clawing at a restroom door.

Julien raises his fist, signalling us to stop and drop low. We crouch down and move to hide behind pillars. Hyoyeon and I peak over and I raise seven fingers behind my back. Julien and Sehun are hiding behind the pillar behind us. 

“What do you think they’re looking for?” Hyoyeon whispers in my ear and I shrug. “Another survivor?” I shrug again. “Should we go check it out?” I shrug, yet again. “Well, , Hyerim. Give me something!” I shush her and look over at the Infected again. They’re still too occupied with trying to get into the restroom.

“I’m not the leader anymore, Hyoyeon,” I hiss in response. “If you have questions or any requests, present them to Julien.” She huffs and leans up against the pillar, folding her arms. A huge, muscled arm crosses me and I look over my shoulder. Julien is crouching over me, almost pinning me against the pillar.

“I couldn’t see from back there,” he whispers in my ear, his breath warm and tickling my skin. “We need to find somewhere we can make our temporary accommodation. We can’t do that with those things around, can we?”

“Unless we go the other way,” I shrug. He curves a brow.

“Aren’t you curious as to what could be behind that door?” he asks, jerking his head at the restroom the Infected are still clawing at. I shrug a shoulder, implying I don’t care either way. I’m too focused on reuniting with my friends to care about what those Infected are trying to get to. 

“I am! I’m curious,” Hyoyeon blurts out and he glances at her, chuckling. “We need to go that way anyway. Look.” She points at a sign hanging from the ceiling near the restroom. “There’s a VIP lounging area. We can get in it, clear it and barricade it.”

“Good idea, Hyoyeon,” Julien comments. He nudges me. “Think you can take those things down?” I snort.

“Easily.” He grins and gets up, extending his arm down. I put my hand in his and he hauls me up. I retrieve my katana from its sheath and he also pulls out a long, sharp-bladed weapon. He signals for the rest to stay in their place and then nods at me to follow him.

We keep our bodies low, inching closer to the group of Infected. The closer we get, the worse the smell of rotting flesh