painkiller // namhyeok

1: HIGHWAY TO HELL

It was yet another bland night for her.

Namra was walking along the empty streets of Hyosan, checking every street if there were other survivors like her. It has been a month since she chose to leave their group - the first friends she's ever had.

She felt like it was just yesterday when all of them were gathered around a campfire they built at their school's rooftop.

She remembered she gave her lighter to him when she saw him struggling to start a fire.

Him.

Lee Suhyeok.

I miss him.

Thinking about him would sometimes make her regret her decision to leave. But she knew it was for the best. Leaving them was the best, just so she could ensure their safety.

Suhyeok was the first person who tamed her - literally when she was just starting to turn into a zombie.

Fuck Yoon Gwinam.

If he didn't bite me that day, I would have been studying right now. I would have been pestering Suhyeok and the others to study with me.

I didn't want to be a hambie. She smiled to herself. Hambie. Daesu was quite cute and witty when he thought of that term. But it was better than turning into a full zombie.

Her thoughts were cut-off when someone pushed her too hard from the side. A normal person would have flown to the other side of the alley when hit by that strong push but since she's a hambie, she was able to balance herself after taking two steps to her left.

A menacing glare was given to the person who pushed her, but the receiver only chuckled at her. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"I'm too tired to talk, Cheongsan," she said, leaning against a wall before sliding down to sit on the ground. "Two zombies were hanging around the convenience store near our school."

"I thought you're too tired to talk?" She gave him a blank stare, not having it that time. Cheongsan placed down the baseball bat he was holding then sat beside her. "How are these zombies not gone yet? It's been a month and it's not like Hyosan has a big population."

"I honestly don't know." She stood up. "Let's go back to the rooftop."

"Hey! I just sat down. Could we stay for a while? My legs hurt from searching for you and the others."

Namra looked around. "Have you seen Gwinam?"

"Nope. He always runs around the place trying to find food. Let him be."

"Here I thought you're starting to like the guy."

Cheongsan scoffed. "I would never. You see this?" He pointed at his eye patch. "He gave this to me. I would never like the guy. I'm just... tolerating him because he has nowhere else to be."

"Yet you saved him from that explosion."

He picked up his bat and stood up. "Can we go back now? Doc and the others must be waiting for us." He checked his phone, which was one of the many things they got from scavenging the ruined city. "It's time for dinner already."

"What do you think our dinner would be?" Namra asked.

"Chicken? I'm craving chicken!"

"We already had chicken last night."

"I ate noodles this afternoon. I need something normal tonight."

The two teens started walking towards the place they have been staying in for the past weeks, an abandoned private subdivision, Le Ciel Homes.