"Medico was formed with one sole purpose," Dr. Lee spoke, swirling the punch within the glass as if it was wine, gazing at the young adults whom looked towards their glasses or the floor in respect. "To make the world a better place. To obtain this objective, we have done many things, search for the rarest of plants, improve on already made medicine, or create new ones." After taking a sip from the glass, he placed the cup back down onto the table before continuing. "Recently, we started focusing on improving human life not as a whole, but more towards the individual aspect. Simply speaking, changing a person's life for the better. This led to the discovery of many medical creations, but only one caught our eyes."

"Virus Z..." Soyou mumbled, tightening her grip around the smooth clear surface of her glass.

"That is correct, young lady. Virus Z was phenomenal. It was meant to be life changing, for the better, of course. But things just had to turn for the worst."

"Um... pardon me, Dr. Lee, but I had no idea what you are ranting on about." Hyorin said bluntly, earning a hit on the shoulder by Soyou.

"My apologies, dear lady. I guess I should explain myself. First of all, Virus Z wasn't something we had created. It was created by a professor called Kim Hyunjung, who only did it for his daughter. She was suffering from a rare condition in which the body wasn't able to function properly. It'll start slowly at first, like maybe the inability to move a finger or produce sweat on hot days. Then there would be complications like kidney failure or the inability to walk. At the age of four and a half, his daughter's heart started to fail on her. Virus Z was a germ that he had made from scratch which sole purpose was to get the cells working properly and even more efficiently, much like a helping hand. If the virus had worked perfectly, she would have been cured in a matter of seconds."

"Wow." Soyou mumbled, taking everything in. Who knew that such a deadly virus was created for a young girl's salvation? His daughter must have meant a lot to him if he was willing to go through all that trouble. "So, what went wrong?"

"The virus works for a few days, but after that, the virus will slowly take over your cells, making you lose control of your own body. At the end of a week, you just be a half-living organism hungry for flesh." Dr. Lee sighed as he placed his punch onto the table. "It's just too upsetting for such a miracle to have such a deadly side effect."

"So the daughter didn't live?" Hyorin asked, feeling quite terrible for the young child, though she was probably a adult by now.

"That's where you guys come in. You see, before finding out about this deadly effect, Dr. Kim had already sold his invention to another medical company. From the information that we had gathered, he then warned them about the virus, and went over to the company with the viral control. However, he never make it there."

"Wait wait wait." Taecyeon spoke. "The professor may have died?! And how is this related to the daughter, and us?"

"Patience, my young man, is a virtue you should acquire. Nobody really knew what happened to the professor, but one thing's for sure, the daughter is still alive."

"How can you be so sure?" Wooyoung joined in.

"If he has the control, he'll would most probably give it to his daughter first, right? After all, she was the reason for its creation in the first place. If she has been around good company or have animal-like instincts, she'll most likely be alive still. Therefore, your job is to find the girl and see of there are any controls left." This answer, of course, left everyone shell-shocked. How could he expect them to find a young woman in the entire of Korea, even though she may not be alive anymore in the first place? "So," he continued, tapping his fingers rhythmically against each other.

"Are you game?"

"Sir," Junsu coughed out, trying to get his mind together. "Do you mind giving me and my crew ten minutes?"

"Be my guest." After picking up his empty glass, he made his way to one of the doors in the room, leaving the young adults to themselves. Just as the door clicked shut, all of them out a sigh, a mix of relief, worry and frustration.

"Great," Wooyoung bluntly snapped, lifting his head and bringing it down hard against the padded couch. "Now THIS is really impossible." Soyou opened , having the urge to let out an objection, before sinking back onto the couch. Who was she kidding? This was seriously too much. Are they going to risk their lives for a girl they barely knew of?

"So," Nichkhun spoke, causing everyone to turn their heads towards the man of a few words. "Are we still doing this?"

"Oppa..." Soyou mumbled, looking into the his eyes in awe. Could he really be thinking what she thought he might be?

"Because if we are, I'm still game."

"WHAT?!" Taecyeon exclaimed, grabbing the man by the shoulders. "You can't be serious!"

"I am." He replied calmly, brushing the young man off and picking up his glass to take another sip. "Don't you forget what we came here for." Soyou, full of admiration for him seconds ago, let out an unintentional scoff. It's still all about him, isn't it? Deep down inside, though, a little piece of her still wanted to go on. She herself had her own selfish desire, which to her may just outrun the risk.

"Guys..." She mumbled, drawing circles on her thigh, "I'm still into doing this."

"Oh my GOSH!" Junho groaned. "Not you too!"

"Hey, think about it guys. What Nichkhun said was right. What was the main reason why we choose to come here? We wanted a zombie-free world, right? Even though it may cost me my life, I'm still going to do it, if it mean that some kid out there may have a shot on a normal childhood." The last point resonated deeply in everyone's mind. Childhood was definitely something that none of them had. Hyorin brushed her bangs away with a shaky hand and lightly touched her scar, bringing tears to her eyes as well. She knew what Soyou wanted now.

"Jihyun!" The young girl called, grabbing the attention of the little one playing by herself in the school garden, digging into the rich brown soil and flipping it over. "Come here."

"Ne!" She cheerfully exclaimed, standing up and running towards her unnie. She liked Hyorin, the first person who became friends with her despite the age difference. They would play by themselves during recess time, usually in the garden or at the school field. Today was no exception.

"How's my little girl doing?" Hyorin asked, lightly ruffling the young girl's hair.

​"I failed math." Soyou pouted, her chubby cheeks becoming more prominent. "Teacher didn't give me a sweet."

"She can't give you a sweet if you fail, silly. She's give you one if you pass."

"But I want a sweet!" Soyou whined, stamping her feet on the moist earth. Hyojung sighed. Being the older one of the two, she forced herself to be much older, even though she was only seven. She felt it was the best way to take care of her still naive and hyperactive 6 year-old friend.

"Okay, I'll buy you a sweet later. But you must do well for you math next time, okay?"

"Ne! Thank you unnie!" Jihyun cheerfully answered, giving her unnie a tight hug. Hyojung laughed, hugging the girl back. She made a mental note to get Jihyun an orange flavored lollipop, one of her favourite sweets.

She never got to.

A sharp scream pierced through the normal chatter of the school, causing the both of them to jump. Puzzled, the both of them ran towards the source. They found a girl unconscious on the floor and her friend shaking her desperately. A small ring of little children began to form around the two.

"It's Jiyoon," Jihyun mumbled, holding on to her unnie's hand tightly. "The one on the floor, it's Jiyoon."

"Jiyoon? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. And there's her friend, Gayoon." Gayoon was definitely brawling beside her unmoving friend. There was something very unsettling about Jiyoon, though. Was it just Hyojung, or does Jiyoon look a little green?

"What's the matter?" A deep male voice asked. The children turned to find their teacher, Mr. Go, running up to them and squatting beside Jiyoon.

"Jiyoon," Gayoon chocked through her tears. "We were playing, only for a short time. She fell down, and didn't get up."

"Stand back, Gayoon. I'll see if there's a problem. She be fine, okay?" Giving Gayoon a reassuring smile, he turned back to the limp body and shook it lightly. "Jiyoon, Jiyoon. Can you hear me?"

Everyone felt relieved when Jiyoon started to respond again, moving slightly at the teacher's touch. Glad, Mr. Go picked her off the ground, hoping that she'll wake up soon. Much to his horror, he was greeted with a pair of red eyes that opened up to him. "Jiyoon..."

​It didn't take long for her to sink her teeth into his neck.

High pitched screams resonated thoughout the school, as the kids watched their beloved teacher get ripped apart from their friend. None of them dared to move, the horror rooting them to the ground. Hyorin was the first one to react, grabbing Jihyun hands and pulling her towards her. "Go!" Hyojung shouted. "We have to go NOW!"

"But Jiyoon..."

"That isn't Jiyoon anymore. You know that." Holding on to the younger's hand tightly, they ran as fast as they could to the school's exit.

"Unnie..." Jihyun whined, the memories still vivid in her mind. "I'm scared."

"It's okay. Let's get out of here first." Hyorin pushed open the door with her hands to find something she wasn't expecting. Jihyun, wide eyed in fear, hid behind the older.

The streets were full of them.

Hyorin may be seven, but she knew that neither of the choices she had were good ones. She clutched on to Jihyun, getting her to look into her eyes. "Jihyun, listen to me. I'm going to do something really stupid, but you have to trust me. Do you trust me?" After earning a nod from her, she continued, "My house is not far from the school. If we run, really fast. We can get there quickly. Can you run?" Jihyun took this into consideration again, before giving another nod. "Okay. On the count of three. One, two-"

"Ah!" Jihyun screamed, as a tall green man with blood dripping from his mouth lunged forward at Hyojung. In a flash, Hyojung barely move backward and slammed the door onto his face. A spot of red liquid appeared on the clear window on the door.

"This isn't good." Hyojung commented. "We need weapons." She made her way to the schools nearest fire hydrant, where an axe enclosed in glass stood, to use when doors would not open. Hyojung, with trembling hands, opened the glass case and took out the axe. It was extremely heavy, but better then nothing. She was about to venture out again when she felt a tug on her blouse.

"Unnie..." Jihyun mumbled, stepping further away from the door. "I don't want to go out."

"I'll protect you, okay?"

"But, can't we just stay here? You can kill Jiyoon, right?" Kill Jiyoon? Hyojung wasn't sure if she could, but having to kill one girl in comparison to the army of green men outside seemed like a better option no matter which way you look at it. Nodding her head, Hyorin dragged the axe against the floor and Jihyun tagged along behind her.

Reaching dangerously near to the place where they last saw their 'friend', Hyojung's heart accelerated at an unbelievable speed. She struggled to hold onto the axe, which was becoming increasingly slippery. The both of them came face to face with an unrecognisable figure covered with bite marks and blood pools, alongside a smaller figure with the same tragic result.

"Gayoon..." Jihyun mouthed, on the verge of tears. Hyorin grew worried. Jiyoon was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Jihyun screamed again, grabbing her immediate attention.  Jiyoon, with her clothes coated in blood and her eyes glowing red, advanced toward the little girl. Mustering all her strength, Hyojung threw the axe, unfortunately missing its target and landing with a clank on the ground. It did, however, diverted its attention away from Jihyun and on to a new target.

Her.

Hyojung ran as fast as her short stubby legs would allow her to, the constants grumbles and the steps of the monster trailing behind her. She knew there was no way she could defeat Jiyoon without a weapon, but the most she could do was the get her as far away from Jihyun as possible. Reaching the end of the corridor, Hyorin turned the doorknob.

Locked.

"This is it." She told herself, staring face to face with the green girl in front of her. Hyorin felt something burst open as Jiyoon swiped her hand across her face, a warm, sticky liquid trailed down her face from her forehead. Clutching her forehead with one hand, Hyorin mouthed her prayers for the last time. She heard a clash, then a crack, and something felt with a thud. Trembling, Hyorin opened her eyes to find Jiyoon sprawled out on the floor, her skull cracked into two, a pool of blood forming below, and Jihyun, panting heavily as she gripped onto the red axe with her whitening knuckles.

"Nobody..." She heaved. "Nobody hurts my unnie."

Hyojung knew, without a doubt, that the girl who loved orange lollipops and swing sets was gone. That in her place stand a different person, someone forced into this harsh world, stripped away of her purity and innocence. As Jihyun bend down and tenderly wiped the blood of her forehead, Hyojung let out silent tears. She saw Jihyun's eyes, lost of fun and full of determination. Eyes that belonged to a woman many times older that the person in front of her.

Little Jihyun's never coming back.

Soyou grew up.

=================================

I know, this isn't a chapter full of much substance, and that I should probably put in Dasom soon. Unfortunately, you guys would have to wait until the 7th or 8th chapter. Be patient! Sorry again!