The next morning, when the sunlight was still too little to actually notice the arrival of the new day, Chaeyoung was sitting on the sofa checking that her rifle was still intact. Her intention was to find some ammunition for it as well, so she could get an extra gun for one of the other girls.

"It suffered no harm despite all the beatings it took, really good my lethal child"

On the other sofa in Jeongyeon's apartment was Sana, who had woken up and was staring at the psycho of the group "are you seriously complimenting a shotgun?"

"It's far more deserving of my compliments than anyone who even vaguely resembles you"

"You're not nice at all, have they ever told you that?"

"My parents have taken care of it since my birth, but I thank you for having acted for them in their absence" she was totally oblivious to what she had been told, as if there had been an invisible shield to protect her from the insults of any type.

The girl with pink hair, which was so disheveled and ruined that it looked like a swallow's nest, got up from the sofa to take a sip of water and to check if the other girls were still sleeping.

The scene she was witnessing would have been very tender if only there hadn't been an apocalypse in the middle, since Jihyo had left the living room to sleep between the two Japanese girls who had won the bed after a tough battle of intelligence.

"Apparently fear affects everyone, Mina is embracing the two wimps" she was back on the sofa to wrap herself in the blanket "you look like Dahyun, you don't convey any fear"

"Unfortunately, or fortunately, I'm a bit of a psychopath and it's really hard to make me feel scared. With this I'm not saying that I would let the zombies approach me or that I would enjoy having my hand eaten, but I would be lying if I said I was scared. The danger makes me so hot, I bet the adrenaline of fear is better than "

Sana had lowered her gaze, feeling suddenly weighed down by the gravity of what she had heard "how old are you?"

The shorter girl's tousled green hair was covering her profile as she leaned forward to check a dent in her rifle "I'm fifteen"

"You're practically a child, you shouldn't play with firearms"

"I take no morals from a 20-year-old beauty obsessed with a hideous trophy picture in her wallet" she got up from the couch to put the shotgun back on the table "I'll leave you here my friend, but I'll be back with some ammunition for you and I promise you we'll be back soon to blast the innards of those putrid monsters"

"Have you rummaged through my things? If I catch you, I'll rip your head off!" she too had stood up, intent on reaching out to the person who had made her lose her temper.

However Jihyo had managed to reach her first and, after building up her courage, had given her a light tap on the shoulder "when should we go out? The sun is high enough now" while sleepy she didn't seem at all scared, but that was an effect given by the brain still inactive.

Chaeyoung went to the window to check the situation outside the building "we can go now, if it's okay with you"

"The sooner we go, the sooner we'll be back" she was tying her shoelaces very carefully, she wanted to avoid tripping in case of danger. She grabbed a lighter and a deodorant, also arming herself with the knife Nayeon had entrusted to her the night before.

Even the youngest had weapons to set fire to zombies, flanked by her unloaded gun "we have to move in such a way as to avoid fighting, but in case of danger promise me to stay clear and act"

"I'll do my best, even if I'm so scared I feel a constant shaking even in my bones"

Sana was watching them in silence, wondering if she would see that weird couple again "be careful and try to come back soon" she had approached to close the jacket to both, making sure they were covered well even though they couldn't dress too much so as not to limit their movements.

As soon as she saw them go she followed them out the window with her gaze, joining her hands in prayer "if there really is one or more divinity please let them come back safe and sound"

"Are they out yet?" Mina had the same worried look "I hope they're careful, even if I'm a I don't want to lose any of you"

Dahyun had accompanied the two girls to the end of the small square that surrounded the building, so as to be able to intervene in case of danger without making a fuss and to prevent too many zombies from approaching their shelter "you take this, it's not safe without weapons"

Chaeyoung's astonishment was evident, so much so that it made her weigh the sword with both hands "are you sure? You said it belonged to your father"

"My father died and I doubt he needs it now, but I'd like you to bring it back to me"

"It will be done, you have my word" she let be the eldest to fasten her makeshift belt, to which she could have put other weapons as well.

Jihyo was looking around, unable to help but tremble in terror "be careful too, even if this area is quiet it doesn't necessarily mean it's safe"

"I'll be careful, I have my katana to protect me. Try not to take too long or some of us might freak out at the thought of your death"

Chaeyoung saluted, smiling with excitement "you can rest assured, we will take as much weapons and ammunition as possible and go home immediately"

They went in different directions, each at a different but silent pace. The tears that the wimpiest of the group used to shed hadn't yet shown up, giving her serious face a more mature and charming look.

"When your face isn't full of mucus you're really beautiful" the younger was posing as a warrior who had hundreds of deaths behind her necessary for the salvation of her country "how am I with this katana hanging by my side? Be sincere"

Jihyo's gaze wasn't directed at her, but at the countless cracks that had formed all over her. The rubbish was scattered on the asphalt together with the remains of animals and people, the shop windows were in a thousand pieces and the small structures, which had been inhabited until recently, seemed ready to crumble at any moment.

The blood however was everywhere, in complete contrast with the pallor of the white walls "this neighborhood had never been so sad and empty, I'm afraid to imagine how the situation could be in the bigger cities"

Chaeyoung had turned to look at her, pouting and ready to stamp a foot on the ground "are you listening to me? I paid you a compliment and you didn't even answer my vitally important question"

"I was distracted, I'm sorry. What was the question?"

"I asked you if having a sword makes me more attractive" she stopped in front of her to strike a pose "don't be shy, you can give me all the compliments you want"

Jihyo had softened her gaze and her lips were curving in a smile, but that moment of tranquility was interrupted by a zombie that emerged from the alley right behind the minor "be careful!"

Her body moved by itself, so much so that she pushed the other girl aside and found herself with the flame of the lighter in front of her eyes and the deodorant tightly held in her other hand. For the fear she slipped her finger and the zombie was hit only by the scent of talcum powder.

Her mind was completely in turmoil and the only command she could give to that shaking body was to keep pressing to release the highly flammable substance.

Chaeyoung knelt in front of her and only lit her own lighter after placing it in front of the jet, grinning in excitement as a sizable flame slammed into the undead, causing it to flinch and squirm.

At that point, only the coup de grace was missing, which was given by the blood-stained katana that Dahyun had lent her "I have to be taught to use this thing, I made a really obscene cut"

"Did we really kill it?" Jihyo's legs were shaking so much that she couldn't support the weight of her whole body, making her kneel on the ground with her terrified gaze on the shapeless zombie figure.

"It went to hell along with all the others and the credit goes above all to you, you were fantastic" she held out her hand to help her get up, keeping that contact for as long as possible "when this story of the apocalypse will be over I'm going to ask to marry me, seeing a coward like you act like that made me so "

"I thought you liked strong and rough girls"

"I thought so too, but I feel like I want someone like you by my side. You're a stunner and I won't let you get away from me"

They had resumed walking hand in hand, in a strange but almost pleasant silence, and with two completely different expressions: Chaeyoung was smiling until her cheeks hurt, Jihyo was shaken by the whole situation that had arisen.

They managed to reach their destination without any other hitches, except for a small detour to avoid being discovered by two zombies, but the disappointment fell upon them the moment they realized that they weren't the only ones who had thought of refueling in that shop that had already been visited.

Meanwhile, fed up with always having to move from one apartment to another for every single thing, Mina had made a drastic but necessary decision "stay away from this wall until I tell you I can get closer, I have to do something"

The other girls looked at each other confused, stopping their eyes on the two remaining Japanese for answers. Momo didn't have the faintest idea what was going on and Sana was too busy crying into her battered nails to realize she was surrounded by other people.

A noise made them turn towards the wall in front of them and Nayeon almost fainted when she saw the hammer go beyond the wall after only two blows "are you crazy? You could have broken pipes or something worse!"

"It didn't happen, you can save yourself the reproaches for when you really need them" Mina was fierce, but despite the hurry she was trying hard not to make excessive noise "fortunately poor people's homes have thin walls or it wouldn't have been easy to act my idea"

"Should I feel insulted?" Jeongyeon immediately set about helping to open a gap large enough for her to pass through, being very careful not to hurt her hands.

"In this case no, your economic situation has helped us from the beginning"

While those two were busy Dahyun couldn't help but stare out the window insistently, too preoccupied to do anything else.

"They'll be back soon, I feel it" Tzuyu was next to her and had ventured to put a hand on her seemingly fragile back to comfort her.

"I shouldn't have sent them alone, maybe I made the wrong decision raffling off the pairs for shipments. I did everything without any criteria, how stupid"

Momo couldn't help but listen and feel sorry for her "for a start you should try to have some faith in them, if they've survived to this day it's because they've been able to get this far. And then , truthfully said, it wouldn't be your fault if they were to die. You shouldn't give yourself more importance than you have because you aren't invincible either"

Silence had fallen in the room and they found themselves having five pairs of eyes on them, the fear of a negative reaction characterizing each of them. However Dahyun didn't get upset at all "you're right, I don't know what came over me"

Sana had approached her best friend's ear "I almost on myself, I was afraid of having to clean the river of blood caused by your decapitation"

"You are the usual exaggerated, Dahyun is not a killer"

"Fantastic, this hole is as ugly as my mother's sequined dress but at least it will allow us all to live together without having to go out on the landing every time" Mina was covered in dust, but she felt satisfied with her work "could you also give me a smile of circumstance, I did it for you too"

Receiving no response, she went to lock herself in the bathroom to clean herself with wet wipes "the more days go by, the more I feel surrounded by idiots"