Chapter 8

Hope 

Zelo had awoken before anyone else. How long had it been? Daehyun hadn’t shown up in a long, long time. Zelo had lost track of the weeks and months and failed to try keeping track at all. He felt as though he had lost himself; the fights and killings had taken away his civil ways. He was so, so tired of living with guilt flooding his heart over.

The sun had not yet gone up, letting the moon bathe the bare clearing in ghostly light, the snow on the ground twinkling with it. Zelo soaked up the silence of this forest. He reveled in the cool air, his arms folded across his chest. It felt like the warm weather was just yesterday. Now, the time passed by and Zelo was face to face once again with a horrifyingly torturous memory. He gasped at the thought and shook his head in an effort to clear away the thoughts.

Zelo took a step out into the cool air; his bare feet feeling the soft snow melt under his weight and warmth. The silence was almost too overwhelming. There were no birds, no squirrels. Just nothing. It was like time stopped to give him a chance to be quiet. His breath floated into the air in the form of mist. In the horizon, he could start seeing the first few rays of sunlight. The moon retreated to the dark corners of the Earth and let the light shine upon the clearing and the people in it. Zelo saw hope for the first time in the rays of sun, and he admired how it made the dark light of the moon retreat. For the first time, he felt the need to have the warm, fiery light beside him.

For the first time, he realized that someone could be there for him, to be the warm, fiery light that gave him hope and strength; a light that lit up the whole world with its never ending strength and beauty.

But Zelo knew better. There would be a time where that sun would disappear and the moon would shine its dark light once again. And to Zelo, the knowledge of that possibility was the punishment of his wisdom.

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Zelo woke up from a short sleep. The others had already awakened from their slumber. He remembered his activity a few hours before. Groaning to himself, Zelo rubbed his eyes awake.

He saw Yongguk in the clearing. The red-blood was lying down on the slope of the clearing, his sleeping figure in perfect view to Zelo. The said boy slipped his shoes on and walked to Yongguk. Gravity seemed to pull him there.

Zelo sat next to Yongguk and coughed. Yongguk didn’t stir, however. Zelo lay down and looked at Yongguk sleeping. Zelo held his hand out to Yongguk’s face. He took a picture of the man and smiled to himself. The red-blood looked peaceful in his sleep.

Yongguk’s eyes fluttered and his calm aura became wild, making Zelo tilt his head. Yongguk’s eyebrows furrowed and his lips curled into a silent snarl. Zelo knew he was having a bad dream.

“Yongguk! Yongguk wake up!” Zelo shook him awake. Yongguk sat up quickly, snow sticking to his damp hair. Zelo put a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you alright?” He asked, out of concern.

“Y-yea… Just a bad dream.” Yongguk forced a smile.

Zelo nodded, knowing deep inside that this was the same dream Yongguk had when he was crying in his sleep inside the manor. However, he didn’t ask any further questions, knowing that Yongguk probably felt extremely uncomfortable knowing that someone saw his vulnerable side. And Yongguk didn’t even know about the time in the manor. Zelo sighed, feeling bad.

He wanted to know what was bothering Yongguk, but he didn’t want to pry because everyone had secrets. Zelo knew that especially well himself, considering the fact that he had been the only one out of the whole group who rarely talked. Yongguk had shared quite a bit already. Yongguk pulled Zelo up to his feet and brushed the snow off of Zelo’s jacket.

“We should go inside and eat. The others are back already.” Yongguk suggested, pointing at Himchan, Jongup and Yoseob who had just arrived. The boys put the hunted animals down by the cave entrance and walked into the cave to prepare some food. Yongguk pulled Zelo along.

“…And then the bear stood up, and Yoseob started screaming!” Himchan giggled. Yoseob blushed and grumbled in annoyance. The group of boys laughed together.

“But Himchan held onto Jongup like a little girl, and then…” Yoseob didn’t even finish and the boys already cracked up at the fuming Himchan. Jongup laughed with them and they had a good time. Zelo only smiled politely. He was happy for them but in his mind, they couldn’t be too happy.

Yongguk put the dishes away at the end of the meal and sat with Zelo. They watched Himchan and Jongup skin the animals. The boys were serious with their work now, all laughter and smiles gone. They needed the meat, for the winter was getting colder and colder. Yongguk checked on the shield of their area and boosted it up a bit to ease his nerves. Zelo noticed this.

“Hey, let’s go for a walk?” Yongguk suggested. He knew Zelo needed a day outside.