Sempiternal || Saeyeong

༄𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡༄

  𝐽𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒

  After dinner, Jiyeong and I sat in silence. Her head rested on the pillow while I decided to stay up, eyeing the people around me. The rest of the group had split up, everyone realizing it was a free for all at this point. We were the only allies left. 

  "Say-Byeok?" Jiyeong called.

  "What?" I met her eyes which were looking up at me. They quickly diverted.

  "What are we going to do for lights out? There might be another fight." She was right, we had to find a way to protect ourselves. 

  "Let's take turns watching." I suggested, "I'll go first." 

  "Are you sure?" 

  I nodded.

꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂

 
  There was ten minutes until lights out. Jiyeong sat up, her shoulders touching mine. She fidgeted nervously beside me. I got up in an attempt to not fall asleep, her eyes followed me, but I refused to make eye contact. 

  "What's your life like outside of here?" She asked. 

  I didn't want to talk about that, so I reverted the question back to her. "What's yours like?"

  "Well, there isn't much of one, that's why I'm here." She smirked, looking up to the ceiling. "I'm assuming your life is pretty action packed."

  "I guess." I agreed, though it wasn't entirely true. My life was scary, catastrophic, and sad. But above all else, it was numb. I hadn't felt real emotion in years. 

  Jiyeong swung her legs over the mattress, pushing herself off of it. She stretched to one side, and then the next. I forced myself to look at anything but her. Sang-Woo was across the room, sitting deep in thought. The next bed over was the old man. I had not noticed him until now, it was a miracle he was still alive.

  "Do you think someone will kill Deok-Su?" Jiyeong asked me, looking over her shoulder to the bed in the corner.

  "Doubt it." I responded a little too quickly. 

  Jiyeong sighed and turned back around. She stepped closer to me, looking unsure of herself. 

  "What?" I asked. Our eyes met, and they held on for longer than I wanted them to. Once again, she took a step closer, reaching out and wrapping her arms around my waist. She rested her head against my chest.

  For a while, I refused the embrace, letting my arms rest at my sides. But then she felt warm, and I knew her. I knew why she felt the need to be close. My arms wrapped around her shoulders.

  I felt her heartbeat running away from her, beating so fast I thought she might explode. My face felt like it was on fire as well, eyes around the room crept up to us in judging stares or glances. I held on a little tighter. 

  She finally let go, backing up a couple of steps. "Just in case one of us doesn't make it." Awkwardly, she lies back down on the bed, covering herself with the blanket. 

  "Lights out." The intercom played and the room flooded with darkness.

  I stood there for a couple more seconds before deciding to sit back down, watching the people around me intently. 

Words: 527

(Edited) (Re-edited)