Bittersweet Home

Chapter 4

*Hyunsu's pov*

When I looked down, i saw a man being held up by ropes. He appeared to be trying to scale down the side of the building. 

"Dad, don't go. It's too dangerous," i heard the voice of a young child. Was he really leaving these children unattended when they could be attacked by monsters at any moment? Even I can barely handle myself in this new world and I'm 19. That child sounded no older than 9 years old, how are they going to protect themself? 

"Don't cry, Su-yeong," the father started trying to comfort the little girl. Trying to explain to her why he needed to leave them at that moment. "Take good care of Yeong-su while I'm away. All right?" He continued, looking for confirmation that she understood the serious task that he was placing on her in his absence. 

*3rd person pov*

"Dad?" Suyeong says worriedly. A movement behind him worrying her but she had no idea what to say. She was totally lost in thought due to her inability to even verbalize or properly process what she was seeing with her very own eyes. 

"Don't cry, Su-yeong," her dad's interruption bringing her thoughts back to the current situation at hand.

"Monsters might come if they hear us. You know, I was in the special forces, right? I'll come back with food. Yeong-su, listen to your sister, okay?" The unsuspecting man declared. Meanwhile a quiet whisper was coming from the open window just two stories above this quaint little family. Unfortunately for them, his voice could only be heard by one person. 

"Get out of there," Hyunsu choked out quietly since it was the only sound he could make out in his state of shock. The man in the other room over hearing this rushed into the room with him. 

"What's wrong Hyunsu?" He asked looking to find the cause of the other man's distress. 

"Get out of there," he said a bit louder but his efforts were in vain as in the man's nervous state, the ropes snapped. Even though the man was in the special forces, using old ropes to propel oneself down a tall building wasn't the best idea in an apocalypse. 

The sound of the children's cries could be heard by the two men causing Junseo to push his question more as he rushed towards the open window. He was met with the sight of a large and grotesque creature thats eye resembled that of a snail. The unsettling blinking of the eye as it looked around for the cause of the noise continued to freak out Hyunsu and the children. Junseo was slightly unsettled but was, for the most part, desensitized to these creatures. His history with this plague, of sorts, goes back a little while. 

"Go away! Go away, monster! Go away!" the children cried as Suyeong cradled her baby brother's head into her chest. Even though she felt completely helpless in this situation, for some reason, just being able to hold him in a moment of intensity such as this one, brought a strange sense of peace to her. 

Meanwhile, the two men upstairs only heard the muffled cries for help from the children due to Hyunsu quickly slamming the window shut and crouching down on the floor in a fetal position.  

The continued cries of help could be heard as the gears in Hyunsu's head began to turn. 

**Hyunsu's pov*

I need to come up with a way to save those kids. How are they going to protect themselves from the snake like eyeball that just killed their father. 'Think Hyunsu, think,' i mentally yell at myself before i feel a comforting hand on my shoulder. 

"Are you okay?" Junseo asks while bending down to my level. I shook my head yes, trying not to break my focus. 

"I believe in you Hyunsu, I know that we will come up with a way to protect those kids," he reassured me. It was almost like a light bulb went off in my brain after hearing his kind words. I stood up quickly, slightly startling Junseo as i approached my computer monitor. It was on the heavier side, maybe i could use it to wound the monster or maybe even detur it so the kids would no longer be its primary focus. Worse comes to worse, the monster changes targets and attacks us. Nothing can happen to me with Junseo by my side. He has been almost my knight in shining armour since he came into my life.