Trigger ↬ [ P.JS ]

Chapter 34:

Haneul shook her husband awake the second she heard a news about a plane crashing in a place just a few streets away from where they're staying at. She stared at the screen, the words in the television just passing by her ears and not really absorbing. The news reporter was blurry or maybe that was just her eyes.

Her gut told her that somehow, her kids were there. It might be impossible since there's a hundred other planes, but this one came from Neo. The plane was in the area that they lived in. It can be a coincidence, and she's just losing her mind, or her overthinking can be true.

Seonghwa rubbed his eyes, still too groggy to understand what his wife wants him to. He turned to the only source of light in the room, freezing when he read the article. "Haneul? What's this about?" he asked, his voice raspy from just waking up.

"I don't know why.. but I think Hayoon and Hwayoung are in there."

-

"I want to see Hwayoung and Hayoon. Where are they?" Astrid mumbled while walking with Jisung. She stared at the sky, the sun is slowly revealing itself meaning that they'll be most likely prone to being in danger with zombies. Her hand was accompanied by another pair, giving her just enough warmth for comfort.

Jisung sighed, moving his gaze to Astrid's profile. "I told you that we split up, right? We're literally trying to find them right now." He squeezed her palm a little. After the breakdown, Astrid forced herself to suck it up since her friends are nowhere to be seen.

Apart from many alleys and streets, they don't really know where they're going. Of course, in a foreign country, you're not familiar with places, and they can't really blame themselves. Though Jisung regrets saying that they should separate. He didn't think about how they would find each other again.

"It's gonna be bright later, you think we'll have trouble dealing with the infected?" Astrid mindlessly spoke, her voice accompanied by the noise of asphalt sinking in her shoes. "This is supposed to be a safe place, but I feel uneasy. I don't even know where to start finding Haneul. Seoul is a large city, and I just can't suggest to walk around like this especially since we're in the middle of an apocalypse. Should we ask officers for help? I think the main town is close."

"We need to find our friends first. We don't even know if they're alive or not," Jisung laughed dryly. "I can't help but feel numb at the though of that. Gray already left, and I feel emotionless even with negative outcomes." He inhaled sharply, tightening his grip on Astrid's hand. "We can't trust anyone. The officials we saw earlier, I don't know why they're after us. We can't ask anybody but our group. This is survival, Astrid. We need to survive ourselves, and ourselves only."

Astrid stared at his face, letting the words settle in her brain. "We're lost, but I think it's a bit better that I'm with you." she smiled softly. "I hear you, Jisung. We'll make it. We can do this with the help of ourselves." she nodded in confirmation, hoping to do what she said.

The sunlight already gave a bright ray to their faces, telling them that they needed to be urgent on finding either a shelter for the meantime or one of their friends. The clouds seemed light and feathery compared to the ones they saw in Los Angeles. Speeding up the pace of their steps, they're joined by the singing of the birds,akong their hearts a little lighter somehow. Whether it's a building droplets of hope or a temporary distraction, it's needed by the both of them.

Soon enough with their marching, the place seemed to have transitioned to an urban area. The placed seemed to be much more innovative and industrial-like. Tall monochrome buildings surrounded them, along with a few running vehicles. It's obvious that the place isn't as busy as pre-apocalypse.

"Do you have money?" Astrid jabbed softly on Jisung's side. She saw the male shake her head followed by a curious look. "Well, I just wondered if we can check in a hotel or something. Buy some essentials, you know? I smell like rotten apples." she scrunched her nose as an exaggeration.

Jisung laughed at her thoughts. "I have my wallet before, I think it's lost because of the crash."

"Right. You're rich," the girl scoffed playfully. "You think we can beg for money?" she suggested, looking around the place, while people were eyeing their figures, wondering how they became this dirty, and their bleeding injuries.

"Let's not do that, Astrid. It's a greater idea to find Chenle first, then we can steal his precious wallet."

"You sure he still hasn't lost it, like you?"

"That man is the poorest rich guy you'll ever meet. He treats his wallet like his child. I wouldn't worry about our money supply if we found him."

"Jisung, I think we already did." Astrid pointed at a familiar raven, smiling in relief. "What magic is this, almighty, praise the lord!" she whispered to herself, internally celebrating.

"Stop being embarrassing," Jisung shook his head, while saying the words with gritted teeth, dragging the girl to their first found friend.

"I am not being embarrassing. You just get embarrassed easily. Plus! We just survived from a whole plane crash! Of course we're gonna attract attention, we're all bloody. I haven't ate anything in days, I might eat you alive if you don't stop speaking, and that's even with me uninfected." Astrid rolled her eyes, charging herself to the raven faster than Jisung. "Slow motherfucker." she said, clicking her tongue.

"Wow, she is hangry. Remind me to not mess with her when she is." Jisung whispered to himself, letting the girl go before him. He took the time to scan himself, reminded that they absolutely looked wrecked. He didn't know how they'll get help, nor how they haven't been found yet with their outcast visual.

He followed behind Astrid shortly, telling her to slow down a bit, for her injuries are still not tended. The exact time he grabbed her wrist, he heard a familiar voice cackling behind him. He froze, holding Astrid still with him.

"Oh, don't be silly. Aren't you glad to see me again?"

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Hello there! It's been a while shsosjjsis ,, sorry for the shitty chapter btw I am quite busy chasing deadline and school works here and there. I'll try my best to make it up when the sched loosens up but oh well

Like I said ,, I might update 1-2 times every two weeks (?) I'm having a hard time with writer's block heh

please wait for the future chapters! I can say that it's worth it ;))