𝙎𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙧 (Gwi-Nam x Cheong-san)

Twelve

You know, after about a week, of constantly moving about, walking, along with any sort of exercise was growing to be my least favorite thing to do. I'm definitely going to be a lazy lump once I'm safe in the quarantine camp. I was tired but I was also afraid for myself, and that kept me awake and alert during the long and tedious walk. We were nearing the outskirts, but Dae-su flopped onto the ground.

"I won't go any further. I'm not walking all the way there tonight." He groaned, acting like it was too much of an effort for him to get up and keep walking.

I was annoyed, but I didn't want to stir up any more trouble tonight, and especially not with a bunch of tired teenagers. 

"Yeah, I don't want to go any farther tonight." Ji-min agrees. 

"Fine. We'll stop here. Into that house, come on." Su-hyeok says. I look at him. When I was gone, he had become the makeshift leader of our group. 

We laid down for the night in a small abandoned house. We all set up camp in the living room, doing rock paper scissors to see who slept on the couch. Sy-hyeok won, but gave up the couch for Nam-ra. Now that I really looked, it was rather obvious that his affections were directed in her direction. I sat close to the door when everyone else was afraid to. 

I didn't want to sleep, but his voice kept whispering in my head. 

"Go to sleep, nuisance. You have things to do tomorrow morning, remember? Are you really going to just let your health go downhill? Keep your head up and an optimistic voice in your head." It said.

I missed him and it made my heart ache. But what his ghostly voice was saying is true. I have a mission to fulfill.

I laid down, wincing as the cold, hard floor living room touches my cheek. Then, my mind flashes back to my backpack. It has his jacket in there. 

I grab the jacket and hold it tightly to my chest. I breathe in the familiar smell, and my body instantly relaxes. I fold in and use it as a pillow. In no time, I am falling asleep. 

But before I can close my eyes, Su-hyeok is tapping my shoulder to get my attention. 

"Who's jacket is that? You're not on any sports teams for our school..you haven't been since middle school." I shift it so his name, stitched on the back, is hidden.

"I found it. When I left the school." I hate lying to them, but I know that Su-hyeok won't take kindly to it. He's always hated Gwi-nam.

"I see. Um..are you okay, though?" He's scooting closer to me, so that he won't wake up the others. 

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" I look at him in the dim light.

"You just seem different. It might seem silly to you but you've changed in the week that we were apart." He puts his hand on my shoulder. "You can talk to me if something's bothering you, we're friends, after all. And that's what friends are for." I still wasn't completely sure he wasn't talking to me because I was walking and talking to Nam-ra a lot earlier. 

I rolled my eyes. "You don't have act all hero-y. I can take care of myself. Besides, are you sure it isn't you guys that have changed?" I looked at him and drew my knees up to my chest. "I mean, everyone is protective of each other. Honestly, maybe I have changed. But I'm not going back to way I was." I meet his eyes with mine.

He nods in understanding, then moves off to attend to someone who softly called his name. I'm not sure who it was, but it sounded a little like Ji-min.

Watching him take care of the members of our group..for a moment, I am filled with resentment. It must be nice to be competent enough to take care of yourself and the others. 

Then the moment passes and I'm just grateful that Su-hyeok is there for them and I don't have to be. I roll over and put my head back down on the jacket, taking a deep breath in.

I need to go to sleep, and if I want to sleep I have to relax and let the things that happened today go. It's what he would tell me to do..At least I would like to think that. I don't really know what he would say. 

I listen to the voices around me fall silent and breathing go even. It was easy for the rest of them. Not for me, unfortunately. Eventually, I hum When I Go To Busan for myself and fall asleep imagining his deep, comforting voice lulling me to sleep.