[CONTENTID1] CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR - THE SECRET [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]

A/N: I've had this in draft for ages and IM SO GLAD TO FINALY POST IT OMG.

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“Jesus Christ, Hyerim.”

I open my eyes but quickly screw them back shut when I feel how badly they sting. Someone forces them open again and I’m too weak to fight them off. My vision is blurry and I can’t make out the person standing above me.

“Will she live?” someone asks. I know my friends well enough to know that the question came from Kyuhyun.

“Of course she’ll live, she’s Hyerim,” Youngjae replies with a small chuckle and I realise that he’s the person currently examining me. “But she’s weak. Terribly so. The fever, if allowed to get too high, will kill her…”

“You just said she’ll live!” Hyoyeon exclaims, and is then shushed by Karim. “Ah, mianhe.”

“I was being optimistic,” Youngjae says as he presses a hand to my forehead. “But we seriously need to get this fever down — and we need more medicine. Something for the pain and something to fight the infection spreading through her.”

“In—infection?” I manage to croak out as my fear spikes. I try to focus my eyes on Youngjae but he’s still just a blurry figure above me.

“Don’t worry, it’s not the infection you’re thinking of,” he assures me as he holds something to my lips. “Drink, it’ll help your throat.” I part my lips ever so slightly and slowly drink the water. It’s cool, though not cold, but it’s enough to send a shudder of bliss through my body. “Better?”

“Eung,” I reply, sighing somewhat contentedly. “What— what kind of infection?”

“Not La Folie,” he answers and relief floods through my veins. “It’s a bacterial infection. The micro-organisms in the sewage water got in your open wounds and made them worse, even after I removed the bullets.”

“Am I…am I going to have to get them removed?” I ask him. “My legs. Are— are they dead?”

“No,” he replies after some time. “Not yet. But they will be, if we don’t get you the appropriate antibiotics as soon as possible.”

“Oppa…” I groan when a dull pain awakes in my legs and rapidly starts worsening and expanding to the rest of my body. “Everywhere hurts.” I feel his lips on my forehead and relax, if only a little. “That was nice.”

He chuckles and goes on to my hair while he speaks, “We need someone— scratch that. We need more than one person, for safety reasons, to go back to the hospital next door and get us the medication we need.”

“I’ll go,” Sehun instantly volunteers. “If she needs it, I’ll get it. And I’ll go alone.”

“No way,” Kyuhyun snorts. “I’ll come with you; watch your back and all.”

“You’ll just slow me down,” the blond insists. I manage to slide my eyes to the pair and my vision finally focuses. There are more people in the room than I thought. Yongguk comes into view and he stands before them.

“Stop trying to act cool,” he says to Sehun. “You won’t make it back if you go in there alone. Especially with as many Infected as we saw.”

“Worry about yourself.”

“Minki should go with him,” Hyoyeon chips in. “He has a lot of medical knowledge, he’ll know just what Hyerim needs. Right?”

“That’s a good point, Hyo,” Daehyun remarks. “We should send a team of four. Sehun, Minki, me and Kyuhyun.”

“Why him?” someone asks, I think Jongup. “He’s handicapped. He’ll only slow the team down.”

“He’s also smarter than most people in this room,” Hyoyeon snaps. “He could singlehandedly — literally — handle this operation, so sit down and shut up, kid.” Kyuhyun shoots her a glare and, immediately after, a thankful smile.

“Yah, who are you calling—”

“Jongup, shut up,” Yongguk commands and the younger male obliges. 

“How did—” I my dry lips, “—how did everyone get in here? Who’s actually here?”

“Not all of us,” Karim answers. “The others are still split up but Hyoyeon and Daehyun managed to get a phone working, hacked it and turned it into a tracking device. We know where the AIs are and there’s an AI in all three teams.”

“Even this one?” I question. Tao steps forward and waves at me. “Oh, hi, Tao.”

“Hi, Hyerim.”

I take a deep breath before speaking again. “If you’re going to send people, send different ones.” Youngjae places a damp cloth on my forehead and I in a sharp breath before releasing it. “Karim, Sehun and Daehyun.”

“What!?” Hyoyeon exclaims and she’s, again, hushed by Karim. “Why those three? Are you insane, why would you want to send Karim? He’s a kid!”

“He’s also smart,” I tell her. “He’s tactical, logical and pragmatic. He’s also resourceful and knows a thing or two about medicine.” There’s also the fact that he’s seen a side of Sehun that no one else — other than me — has and he’ll be able to keep Sehun in line.

“Alright then,” Youngjae mutters. “You three prepare and leave within the next fifteen minutes. We need that medicine ASAP. Good luck, be safe.” He smirks a little. “And kick , of course.”

“Eeeyyyy~ Who do you think you’re dealing with?” Daehyun winks at him. “I kick in my sleep.” I snort a laugh then flinch when pain shoots through me. Youngjae chuckles at Daehyun before tending to me again. 

“Hang in there, noona,” Karim whispers as he leans down to kiss my forehead. “I’ll be back, unharmed and with antibiotics for you. I’ll save you, okay?”

“I trust you,” I whisper back, nodding at him. I offer him a smile, which he returns with his own. He then straightens up and walks to the corner where Sehun and Daehyun have migrated to. I clear my throat before turning to Youngjae. “How long before I recover?”

“If they get what you need…around three days, maybe four,” he offers whilst rubbing the back of his neck. He then nods it from side to side. “Aaaand that’s if you don’t pass out for five days again.”

“Five days?” I grunt, closing my eyes briefly. “. How are we on supplies?”

“We have no food but a lot of water,” he replies. “The taps are still working and there are a handful of manual filters in this apartment alone.”

“Handy.”

“Indeed,” he agrees. 

“What about my diary?” I ask, though I know it’s hopeless. “It’s lost, isn’t it?”

“Yes. But I’ll get you another one,” he murmurs, kissing the damp cloth on my forehead. “You can just start again. I’ll do the same. I’ll write multiple copies so I can leave them in different places, to be found years later. And I’ll write it in English, so more people can read it.”

“I’ll—” I cough and my chest tightens painful. “—I’ll do that, too.” 

He takes my hand and it soothingly. “You need food to get better, Hyerim. Three to four days was my insensitive estimation. It’s only because we can’t be in one place for too long…and I know that you’ll force yourself to get better. In reality, it might take you over a week to fully function well.”

I groan again and massage my eyes with my free hand.

“Alright, we’ll talk about it some more once they return with the medicine,” I mumble and on cue, Karim, Daehyun and Sehun leave the apartment. I my lips and look at Youngjae. “What’s— how’s everyone doing? Do they know…?”

“About Jackson?” he asks, to which I nod though we both know I’m referencing to everyone we lost a few days ago. “Badly. No one spoke for two days. We mourned. So did you, you kept having night terrors.”

“I did?” I ask weakly. He nods softly and begins to massage my hand. “Huh. Well, that’s pretty normal by now, right?”

“Not like that,” he whispers. “Hyerim, I’m worried about your mental health. You’re on the verge of a major depressive episode — previously known as a nervous breakdown. Have you been experiencing hallucinations?”

“No,” I lie. I then take my hand out of his and pat the back of his hand. “Don’t worry about me, Youngjae. I’m stressed and I’m heartbroken and just about anything else that falls under the ‘devastated’ umbrella term. But I’m also alive and I’m determined…I’ll live. I always do, right?”

“Right,” he mutters. I offer him a smile and pat his hand again.

“Stop worrying so much. You’re ageing yourself far too quickly,” I tease and he cracks just the tiniest of smiles. “How long has it been since you’ve rested, hm? Get some sleep, Jae.”

His smile falls and he looks away, “I can’t sleep these days. Not enough. I’m worrying myself but…every time I close my eyes, I see Jackson.” My own smile crumbles and I swallow thickly. “It’s terrifying. I keep thinking about what I could’ve done to save him.”

“It all happened too fast for any of us to react,” I mumble, looking down at our hands. “We— we couldn’t have saved him. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but Hyorin’s and her people's.” 

“I know,” Youngjae sighs. “But it’s still hard. We’re losing bodies faster than we’re gaining them. The group’s morale is at an all time low and it’s only going to get lower.”

“Do they know?” I ask and I know he knows what I mean.

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