The room felt too small. The walls were closing in. His vision blurred in front of him. His hand clenched on the sweat-stained sheets as he gasped for breath. He was losing the battle. He could feel his mind slipping slowly into the murky depths of the virus.

No. He couldn’t lose this.

He couldn’t lose his humanity.

But some battles are over before they are even fought.

--- 

Youngjae was a model student at his school. Top grades, good-looking, pleasant personality, people adored him. Girls secretly slid him love letters during their breaks and giggled when he walked past. Teachers were always proud of him. He was even well liked among the other guys and treated all of them as friends.

Yoo Youngjae, the ideal student in this upside down world. Nobody would have ever guessed that he was actually their worst nightmare: A zombie living in plain sight.

There was only one person who ever found out his secret.

Curled up at the bottom of the staircase, Youngjae pressed his hand against his mouth in an attempt to suppress the hunger. The hunger pangs had been coming out of the blue and hitting him so hard that he barely managed to stop himself from lunging for the nearest person. He bit down on his hand hard; hoping the taste of his own blood might curb the longing. If anything, the metallic hint against his tongue made the craving worse.

This was bad. If someone found him…

“Excuse me? I’m sorry but is someone there?” A soft voice echoed in the narrow space. A pretty girl dressed in the freshman uniform peered into the darkness. Youngjae moaned and pressed himself further back into the dark corner. No no no…

“Are you okay?” She had spotted him and reached out her hand.

He saw red. Grabbing her outstretched arm, he pulled her into the shadows and bared his teeth in a low growl. Even in the dim light, he could see the shock registering on her face as her eyes swept over the blood over his lips and the murder in his eyes. He barely cared anymore. Fresh meat, offered to him like this…nobody would notice if she went missing.

Youngjae shook his head. What was he doing? Summoning all of his self-control, he shoved her out into the light. “Stay. Away.” He barely managed to speak through gritted teeth. She scrambled away, eyes wide. Don’t breathe, he told himself. If he caught her scent again, he might not be able to hold back.

The pangs slowly subsided, as they always did and Youngjae slowly relaxed. He took a tentative breath, and recoiled. She was still there. “Yah, I told you to go.” He wiped the blood off his lips and stepped out to see the girl sitting on the lower steps of the staircase.

She looked up at him with clear innocent eyes. “I was worried.”

Youngjae snorted. “Worried? Don’t you realise what I am? I’m…I’m…” His throat clenched.

“A zombie,” she finished his sentence for him.

“Then you should be running for your life, you idiot.” Youngjae pulled off his ruined jacket; he would have to burn this. There was blood all over it, not to mention tears.

“If you were going to kill me, you would already have.”

“I should have. Do you realise what this means for me?” Youngjae turned to her, nostrils flaring. “Once you tell your friends, the teachers, people will hunt me down. Chase me out and kill me. My life here is over.”

She blinked those clear eyes of hers. “I’m not going to tell anyone.”

He looked at her with disbelieving eyes. “Sure you won’t. But I should give you credit that you haven’t already gone screaming for the teachers.”

“I’m not going to tell anyone. Why should I?” She stood up and patted down her white skirt.

“Because I’m a dangerous killer that eats cute girls like you for dinner? Literally.” Is this girl stupid, or what?

She gave him a cheeky smile. “Because I believe that a person isn’t defined by who he is, but by what he does. And I think that you’re fine the way you are. So I won’t tell anyone.”

Speechless, Youngjae watched her walk towards the exit, and before she went out, she turned back, dark curls falling over her slim back. “This never happened,” she said, and left.

She never told anyone. She kept his secret like she had said.

Because of her, Youngjae’s silent heart felt like it had started beating again.

But because of him, she was hunted down by society. A witchhunt that ended in bloodshed.

So now, because of her, he gave up what was left of his humanity.