painkiller // namhyeok

5: IF YOU'RE WITH ME

SUHYEOK

It was the last day of their quarantine in Geumsan city.

Three months.

They endured being cooped up in the same area for three months; they got lectures from other high school teachers just so they have something to pass time while still being productive, talked to other survivors, and even befriended some.

Suhyeok made two new close friends, three if the baby was counted.

It was their second week in the quarantine camp when he got bored and roamed around to look for his friends. He passed by different people - some badly injured, some too traumatized to interact with other people. He was about to give up looking for the others until he heard a baby's cries.

Curious, Suhyeok walked towards where the sound was coming from. Then, two turns to his left, he found two men and a little girl trying to stop the baby from crying. Concerned, Suhyeok approached them. The first man who noticed him was the bigger guy, and looked intimidating as compared to the other man carrying the baby. The little girl with them hid behind the first man.

"I'm sorry. Was Nabi's cry too loud?" The bigger man asked.

Suhyeok shook his head and smiled. "I was just curious." He stared at the baby in awe. "I'm glad a baby and a little kid survived. Are they your friend's?" He raised his chin towards the other man.

He guy chuckled and shook his head. "We found Nabi inside a restaurant. Her mom got infected and left her there. Same goes for Sebin."

"Oh," Suhyeok frowned, feeling bad for the girls. Then where is the baby's father? Shaking off his unpleasant thought, he offered a hand. "I'm Lee Suhyeok."

"I'm Jeon Hocheol," the man holding the baby answered, still trying to stop her from crying.

"My name's Song Jaeil," the other said. "We're police officers. Call us if you need anything."

He nodded, then stepped forward to get beside Hocheol. Slowly, the little girl revealed herself and approached Suhyeok. "I'm Sebin."

"Hi, Sebin." Suhyeok grinned at her. "It's nice to meet you."

When Nabi saw him smiling at her, she slowly stopped crying.

"Wow!" Hocheol and Jaeil exclaimed, looking at each other.

"Seriously?" Jaeil said, shaking his head before looking at Suhyeok. "Even babies know who's better looking in the room. She likes good-looking people, and cries when she sees Hocheol."

Suhyeok bit his lip to stop himself from smiling. Hocheol didn't look too offended though because he just made a face at Jaeil then continued singing for baby Nabi. "This is why Orangibberish left us with other cool kids." He turned to Suhyeok. "Do you want to hold her?"

Nervous, Suhyeok's eyes widened as he pointed at himself. "You... want me to hold the baby?" Hocheol nodded. He waved a hand with a wary smile. "I don't think I c-"

"Just give him Nabi," Jaeil said, taking the baby from Hocheol and brought her to Suhyeok, who had no choice but to get his arms ready to carry her. "Great. Now, we can have our lunch. Thanks, kid. We'll see you later. Sebin, come on." Hocheol and Jaeil tapped his back before they went to the designated cafeteria in the camp, leaving Suhyeok with the baby, who loved staring at him in silence.

4 days after Suhyeok came back to their room consecutively to play with the baby, both officers have already decided to make him Nabi's official nanny.

His friends only knew about his affiliation with the four when Onjo accidentally saw him singing the baby into sleep when the two officers were busy taking over the case about the Jonas virus. Even with the bombing, Officer Song and Jeon were still adamant in finding the cure. Thus, when Suhyeok came, they volunteered to open the case and lead the investigation by understanding more of what Byeongchan Lee left in his laptop.