“Up to here is good.” Sejeong mumbled into the still darkness as we stopped in a more residential area compared to the place we were in before. My mind was still hazy and I felt deathly tired - Sejeong took up leader duty as I wasn’t in the right mind to do so. “That house.” She pointed. “We’ll stay in there for a while.” She glanced towards me and I gave a weak nod.

The girls walked into the front door and used their flashlights to check every nook and cranny for any infected. I sat down on the dusty couch and watched as Chaeyeon tended to my injuries, setting my gun down on the small coffee table. Somi sat beside me, watching the girl open my bandages and replace it with new ones.

“That was pretty reckless.” Chaeyeon commented on my earlier lash-out on the man. She lifted up my hands and stared at my knuckles. “It hurts, doesn’t it?”

“Like hell.” I murmured, hissing as she touched the cuts.

I heard footsteps from behind me and watched as Chungha went to walk in front of me. “Everything is clear.” She said. The doors aren’t broken, either. We can lock them.”

I nodded. “Get some rest.” I told her, wincing as Chaeyeon wiped off the dry blood on my knuckles - my blood mixed in with the man’s. Once my knuckles were all washed and covered up, Chaeyeon turned her attention to Somi.

Chungha sat down next to the youngest.

“How’s your ankle?” Chungha asked quietly. Somi frowned. “It’s throbbing.”

“You put weight on it, that’s probably why.” Chaeyeon mumbled. “I’m not sure what else to do.”

She looked towards me for guidance. I felt my stomach drop at the worry in her eyes. “We can stay here for a couple of days and have everybody rest up.” I clenched my fists. “We all need some rest.”

I stood from the couch and left the three of them alone, going to check on the rest of the girls. Sejeong was with Mina and Sohye, the three girls sat on the bed in quiet conversation. I continued down the hall and paused as I noticed Chaeyeon walking past me. She walked into the room across from the one Sejeong was in and I peeked my head in to see Yeonjung, Jieqiong, and now Chaeyeon in there. I gave them a small smile and walked into the last room, seeing Doyeon and Yoojung getting prepared to sleep.

After doing a headcount of all the girls, I walked back into the room Sejeong was in and kneeled down to open up the bag full of supplies. Sejeong was quick to come to my side and help me, taking out water bottles and bags of food. Mina and Sohye also got up to help, leaving me with nothing to carry.

I smiled at them, letting out a small scoff as they did all the work I planned on doing. I followed Sejeong into the room with Jieqiong and watched her give them their rations. I crossed my arms and leaned on the doorway, quirking an eyebrow at Sejeong.

The girl patted my shoulder, smiling. “You need to rest, Nayoung.” She said endearingly. The brightness in her eyes dimmed for just a moment, her tone lowering. “Are you okay now?”

Was I?

I nodded anyways. It didn’t seem to be enough for her but Sejeong didn’t pry. She squeezed my shoulder and then let go, returning to the other room. My gaze turned to the three girls on the bed; Chaeyeon and Jieqiong were talking to each other about who-knows-what whilst Yeonjung sat on the end of the bed, lost in her thoughts.

I bit my lip and walked closer, placing myself down next to Yeonjung. I heard Chaeyeon and Jieqiong’s conversation stop from behind me, silence enveloping the room. Yeonjung looked up at me with tired eyes.

I hesitantly placed a hand on her knee. “You did a good job.” Her gaze focused on my knuckles. “We couldn’t have made it out without you.”

Yeonjung let out a small breath and looked up at me.

“He fed them.” She said quietly. I froze.

“What?”

“I went into his base and…” I had the urge to scold her for doing something so dangerous but kept quiet as I noticed the color seem to drain from Yeonjung’s face. “He just had body parts there… hung up. And he had the zombies caged up like dogs.” She let out a shaky breath and I felt bile fill my throat just from imagining the scene.

“I’m sort of glad you lashed out and killed him.”

I winced at her words, giving a weak smile and pulling my hand away from hers. I felt two pairs of eyes staring at the back of my head.

“Just get some rest, okay?” I whispered quietly. Yeonjung nodded and I turned my head to look at Chaeyeon and Jieqiong. “You two, too.” I smiled. Chaeyeon responded with a nod but Jieqiong just stared at me. I looked away first and stood, walking out of the room.

Somi was limping down the hall with Chungha helping her. I stood to the side so the two could get by, watching them enter the room Doyeon and Yoojung were in. I continued down the hall and into the living room where I sat on the couch by myself, leaning my head back and closing my eyes. I heard the floor creak and opened my eyes instantly, only slightly surprised to see Jieqiong standing there.

I patted the spot next to me and she sat without a word.

We sat there stiffly for a few seconds longer before Jieqiong spoke up.

“You could’ve really hurt yourself.” She murmured.

“I’m fine.” I replied, curling and uncurling my fingers to show her that I wasn’t too injured.

“It was scary seeing you like that.” Jieqiong said, causing a sharp pain to travel directly to my heart. I never wished for Jieqiong to be scared of me - never.

“I was scared of myself, too.” I swallowed the lump in my throat and my gaze travelled over to Jieqiong. She frowned.

“What happened to forgetting everything and starting over?” She asked me with a shaky voice. “You wouldn’t beat the man to death with your bare hands if it were Sohye.”

I sighed frustratingly and stared at the girl directly in the eyes.

“Jieqiong, I’m sorry - but I can’t. I can’t pretend that I don’t…“ I looked away tiredly, blinking back the hot tears forming.

I bit my lip as I tried to figure out what I would say to the girl.

“When I saw him grab you, I…”

The words seemed to get stuck in my throat.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before opening them.

“Something inside of me snapped.” I spoke gently and steadily, taking pauses between words when I could feel my voice giving up. I trailed my eyes back over to hers and saw the girl’s eyes filled with conflicting emotions.

“We weren’t in good terms at all when everything first happened and for the past year, we’ve been practically ignoring each other.”

Jieqiong’s eyes continued to bore into mine.

After realizing I had no idea what I was saying, I let out a defeated sigh and my shoulders deflated. I slouched down and rubbed my face with my hand. Jieqiong sat silently.

“It’s fine if you don’t have feelings for me anymore.” I turned my head to look at Jieqiong whose eyes widened slightly at my sentence. “I just want us to be okay.” I mumbled.

Jieqiong’s eyes flickered between mine for five seconds before she spoke up. “We’re okay.” Her voice was trembling as she said this, head nodding.

Next thing I knew she was hugging me tightly, face buried into the curve of my neck.

Though I still had questions running through my mind, my heart felt relieved as I wrapped my arms around the girl’s waist. How I had missed her touch.

But I missed her personality most of all. I missed her cheerfulness and the way she was entertaining without even having to try because she was just naturally bubbly. I missed her smile that made the world seem to slow down for a few seconds. I missed her silliness that could almost be deemed as immature - but that’s what had initially attracted me to her.

She just wasn’t the same after the epidemic - none of us were.

Jieqiong pulled back after a few minutes and let out a deep breath. I smiled and moved away slightly. “You should get some sleep.” I said quietly, not wanting to wake any of the other girls. Jieqiong gave me a confused look.

“Are you not going to?” She asked me. I hummed and looked around the dark room, towards the large cracked window. I could see a few shadows moving about.

“No.” I answered. “I’ll stay up.”

“You’re not a robot, you know?” Jieqiong spoke in a light tone, her knee bumping with mine. “You need rest, too.”

“I will. When someone else wakes up.” I said assuringly, giving her a smile and a nod. Jieqiong could see right through my lies. She let out a sigh and laid down on the opposite end of the couch, knees bent to stop her feet from hitting my thigh.

“Why are you sleeping out here?” I asked her. She hummed. “To keep you company.”

I my teeth. “Go sleep in one of the bedrooms. You’ll have back cramps if you sleep out here.”

“No, I’m good.” Jieqiong had her eyes closed and I scoffed at her resilience. She never really listened well to me, anyways.

It wasn’t long before I could hear her even breathing filling up the night silence. There were low groans coming from outside the house but nothing out of the ordinary - nothing that scared me too much.

My eyes lingered towards Jieqiong’s curled body and I frowned.

With the way she was positioned, her neck would be stiff and her knees would be sore when she woke up. I let out a sigh and stood from the couch. I walked to the other rooms to check for a space Jieqiong could sleep in, finding Yeonjung and Chaeyeon’s room the least crowded.

Making a decision, I walked back out to the living room only to scoop up Jieqiong in my arms and bring her to the bedroom. She let out a small groan as I walked her down the hallway, making me smile.

I set her down next to Chaeyeon and unbent her knees, making sure her head was properly rested on one of the pillows. I stared at the peaceful sleeping face before standing and walking out of the bedroom.

A scream nearly escaped my lips when I happened to bump into Doyeon and Yoojung. The duo both jumped at my appearance as well.

I close the bedroom door behind me gently. “What are you two doing up?” I questioned in a low voice. Yoojung’s hand was holding tightly onto Doyeon’s.

“Doyeon keeps crying in her sleep. I’m worried she’ll wake the others.”

Doyeon avoided my eyes as Yoojung said this and my heart tightened. “You girls can take the couch.” I whispered, walking them back out to the living room.

Yoojung laid down with Doyeon next to her, the small couch clearly not big enough for the two of them. My eyes stayed on Doyeon as the older girl wiped away her tears and clung to her waist. I watched as Doyeon closed her eyes tightly and buried her face in the side of Yoojung’s neck. I sat on the couch’s armrest silently.

If I ever saw those men again, I swear…

As if Doyeon wasn’t already ed up because of the infected…

The two were awake for a while - I could hear their mumbles of conversation from the opposite side of the couch - and then they eventually went to sleep.

Or so I thought they did.

Yoojung was still awake.

She spoke out loud which slightly shocked me, directing her words towards me despite her eyes being settled on Doyeon.

“She won’t tell me what happened.” She said, fingers trailing the side of the girl’s face and pushing away stray strands of hair. Even in such dim lighting I could see the hurt in her eyes.

“I think they really did some messed up things to her.” Her voice broke off at the end of her sentence - as if Doyeon’s pain was her pain - and I wouldn’t doubt that that was the case.

My throat seemed to constrict as my eyes drifted downwards to my lap.

If Doyeon wouldn’t tell Yoojung, would she even think about telling me?

“What happens if she’s pregnant?” Yoojung brought up suddenly.

My train of thoughts froze and my eyes snapped towards Yoojung who was still gazing at the girl.

“Would we keep it?” Yoojung asked gently.

My tongue ran dry but I knew that I had to reply. “That’s her call.”

Yoojung just let out a small hum. She rested her hand on the girl’s nape and leaned in to place a kiss on her chin before going to lay her head on the girl’s shoulder. I stood from the couch and walked down the hall, the question running through my brain along with a million others.

Was Doyeon’s body even healthy enough to carry a baby?

What about giving birth? None of us were medically trained enough to deal with deep cuts let alone childbirth.

I leaned back against the wall and slid down, resting my head on my knees. We already had so much to worry about but - a baby?

.

-

I had unknowingly fallen asleep the night before and woke up in a bed. I sat up immediately and looked around, finding one other body in the bed with me; Sejeong. I let out a sigh and laid back down, closing my eyes and trying my hardest to ignore the throbbing pain in my temple.

What if something had happened whilst I was asleep? The blame would’ve been on me.

The sun was already peering through the three windows in the bedroom, lighting it up brightly. My eyes opened once more when I heard the girl beside me let out a tired groan. I sat up just as Sejeong opened her eyes and she gave me a tired grin, eyes still half-closed.

“You’re really heavy, you know?” Was the first thing she said to me.

I couldn’t help but laugh shortly at the comment, causing her grin to widen. She sat up next to me, back leaning against the bed’s headboard like mine was as she fixed her hair with her fingers. She reached for something in her pockets and pulled out a packet of gum.

“I don’t think gum expires.” She said, popping a piece into before offering me one. I looked at her amusedly. Of all the things she could’ve scavenged from a market and she chose gum. She noticed my stare and sneered playfully. “I hated bad breath then and I hate bad breath now.”

I smiled and took a piece.

When we had lived back in the original house, we had toothbrushes and toothpaste stocked up for dental hygiene purposes. Of course, we never wasted water for it and brushed our teeth dry (better than nothing) but nowadays we had no time to brush our teeth. Gum will have to do.

“How are your knuckles?” She asked me, her thumb running over my hand’s bandages.

“They feel better.”

“And your cut?” Sejeong asked, hand moving up to touch my lower arm. I had forgotten that it had reopened but the reminder seemed to cause a faint throb to occur.

“It’s okay.”

“And you?” Sejeong’s eyes moved up to meet mine. I nodded.

“I’m good.”

She narrowed her eyes and I sighed at the look. “Really, Sejeong. I’m okay. It was just a… a moment.”

“A moment.” She repeated skeptically, quietly.

“Yeah.” I confirmed. She pulled her hand away from my arm just as the door opened and Mina walked in.

“Oh, you two are awake.” She commented, eyes lingering more on me than it did on Sejeong. I noticed this immediately and could hear the nervousness hidden in her tone. I hummed. “Did you all eat yet?” I tried to sound as gentle and caring as I could - aware that Mina was kinda terrified of me.

“No, not yet. We were waiting for you both.” She answered.

Sejeong lifted the covers and got off the bed. I followed her actions. “Okay, let’s eat now.”

Mina lifted the bag with a delighted smile and made way down the hall. Sejeong and I followed but Sejeong stopped me just before I could sit down on the floor next to all the girls. She leaned up and took the hair tie out of my messy hair and tied her own hair up, shooting me a smile.

I simply shook my head and helped Mina hand out rations.

We ate quietly, conversation occurring here and there but most of us lost in our own thoughts. My eyes drifted towards Jieqiong and saw that she was staring right back at me. At the eye contact, she stood from the group circle just to plop down next to me. I took a sip of my water bottle and eyed her with one eyebrow raised.

She leaned closer and ran her fingers through my hair softly, tugging away the knots. “Your hair's a mess.” She murmured.

“Blame the sleep.” I replied, much calmer than I really was. She hummed and continued to comb my hair until all the knots were gone. It took a while considering my hair was naturally curly and I hadn’t brushed it in about… a year.

“I have to pee.” Somi said into the quiet atmosphere, causing Chunga to snort in amusement at the blunt statement.

“Use the backyard.” Sejeong suggested.

“Is it safe?” Chaeyeon spoke up before the youngest could, eyes flickering to Somi worriedly before staying on Sejeong. Her cheeks turned slightly pink.

“Go with her.” Sejeong smiled, seeming to catch on to the two girl’s awkward interactions. “Take the machete with you.”

Chaeyeon and Somi had come to the group together, just a little bit after we had picked up Sejeong and Mina. The two didn’t seem that close when we had first met them and they definitely drifted apart for the duration of the group being together as eleven with Somi tending to stray near Chungha and Chaeyeon sticking with Jieqiong. I was always curious about those two but, then again, I’m curious about all of the girls and their backstories.

“Anyone else have to go pee?” Somi asked the group with a forced smile. She nudged Chungha with her knee but the older girl shook her head and hummed. “Just you.”

Somi glared at her and Chaeyeon stood, going into the bedroom where the machete was kept. The two of them walked to the back door together and Jieqiong snickered.

“What is it?” I asked her, looking at her oddly.

“Those two are so weird together.” She murmured, letting her fingers fall from my hair. “I bet they had a thing before.”

The absence of her gentle touch made my stomach drop so I reached and took hold of her hand, lifting it back to my head. I heard a light giggle come from her lips and felt my heart skip a beat as she scooted closer and threaded her fingers through my hair once more.

-

Sejeong let out a sigh as she stared down at the girl sleeping in her lap. It had been exactly one week since Nayoung had passed - Sejeong had been keeping count. It was hard without the oldest there to keep them calm and composed but in a way, it had made Sejeong stronger.

Mina cried a lot but Sejeong cried only after the younger one would fall asleep - silent tears falling down her cheeks as her heart ached for the love of her life to come back.

Why must she had been so stubborn?

Why did she have to go?

Sejeong shook her head at the thoughts starting to run through her brain and looked around the dark room. They were in an abandoned classroom in a high school far from Sejeong’s home, running to wherever their feet would take them.

Mina was the only thing keeping Sejeong alive at this point. Sejeong would protect the smaller girl with her life - just as Nayoung did with her.

She’ll live with Nayoung’s memory engraved in her brain.

-

“Hey, look - a bakery.” The younger one pointed to a building just across the street. “I miss eating bread… Can we go check it out?” Mina grinned as she asked this and Sejeong’s heart nearly burst out of her chest. She hadn’t seen a happy look from the girl since what had happened with Nayoung - and that had been at least a month ago. Sejeong held the girl’s hand tightly and tugged her towards the building, eyes carefully peering through the broken front windows.

She walked in with Mina following close behind her and they stared at the bread on the shelves. They were all moldy, of course - but Mina seemed happy just by looking at the pastries.

Their moment of tranquility quickly ended as they heard footsteps rushing down the street. Sejeong cursed and pulled Mina behind the counter, making the two of them duck down.

As if they were cursed with bad luck, those footsteps ran into the same bakery that they were in and Sejeong’s eyes widened with fear when she realized that those weren’t zombies.

And what was the scariest thing after zombies in the zombie apocalypse? Humans.

“Are they still following us?” A tired female voice asked, panting.

Another one - one that wasn’t as out of breath, spoke up. “No, I think we lost them.”

Mina nudged Sejeong and the older girl just gulped and shook her head, making a motion for her to be quiet. What Sejeong didn’t realize was that Mina had nudged her because there was an infected walking out from the closet behind the counter.

When the infected was getting closer and closer, Mina got more and more panicked. She shook Sejeong’s arm roughly and pointed to the zombie.

Once she spotted the zombie, Sejeong stood up in alarm and caught the attention of the group that had walked in. She tugged Mina up from the ground and rushed out from behind the counter. It was then that Sejeong saw that the group consisted of three girls - the three of them looking equally as worn and tired out as Sejeong and Mina.

The tallest one there took a glance towards the zombie before moving towards it and whacking it on the side of the head with the side of a flashlight. Mina hugged Sejeong’s entire arm as the girl who had just murdered the thing turned to look at them, face surprisingly calm and collected for someone who had just gave a fatal bash to the side of a zombie’s head.

“I’m Nayoung.”

hello! long time no see! i’ve been busy/sick so :( but i’ve updated!!!!!! yes yes the girls’ backstories are all being revealed over time :p i hope this chapter wasn’t /too/ boring and the next chapter might be something similar to thing but they’ll be on the move again soon enough so don’t you worry! as always, upvotes and comments are appreciated - and i will try to reply to everyone’s comments! <3

-dd.