011 | CHAPTER ELEVEN — THE GAME OF SURVIVAL ❝you don't have to pretend to care about me❞
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TIME WAS MOVING SLOWLY. It seemed like the Earth knew of the horrific situation the students of Hyosan High were dealing with and decided that they must experience it for as long as possible.
Yu-ri wished it could all be over already. She wished there was something she could do to put an end to the agonizing anxiety and fear her and her friends had suffered from. Realistically, It hadn't been long since it started but to Yu-ri, it felt like she was stuck for eternity.
The young girl stared out the window and tried to see the horizon beyond Hyosan. She wondered what the rest of the world was doing. Chances are, they were simply going along with their everyday lives and continuing to take everything for granted because that's what humans do and as long as it wasn't happening to them, they didn't care.
Yu-ri wanted to shout at the top of her lungs, begging for anyone beyond the campus of Hyosan to hear her and notice that they were scared and clueless and alone but that'd be impossible. And extremely dumb.
"Hey," The deep voice belonging to Su-hyeok snapped her out of her daze. "Please, before you say anything because I know you'll shoo me away, just listen for a second."
Yu-ri bit her tongue and when she didn't respond, Su-hyeok took that as his chance to step next to her.
"I'm so sorry I came back by myself. Cheong-san insisted I leave. At the moment I wasn't thinking of anything except how, if we were really stuck and neither of us made it out, I'd be leaving you and everyone else alone. I couldn't do that," He rambled. "I couldn't do that to you again."
The final sentence made Yu-ri's heart drop. She didn't want to look at him because she was afraid of what would happen once she did. "It's not your fault," She said. "I just have a tendency to blame you for every single bad thing that happens to me. I gotta stop that."
At the end, she chuckled slightly and Su-hyeok frowned. "If having someone to blame makes you feel better, then it's okay. You can blame me." His words were sincere and gentle.
Yu-ri wanted to scoff. He should be mad at her for putting the blame on him, not okay with it. He should be upset, not understanding. "Why are you being so nice to me right now?"
"What do you mean?" He leaned against the ledge, turning his head to look at her as she spoke.
"All I've ever been to you was mean. I've disliked you for so long and tried to do everything in my power to make that clear," For some reason, Yu-ri's eyes stung with tears. "You should be angry with me right now. Instead, you're being nice. Why?"
Su-hyeok paused to shift his gaze to the world outside. Then he shrugged. "I deserve it."
For the first time, Yu-ri looked at him—really looked at him. As he stared out at the window, the sunlight shone directly onto his face and he almost sparkled. The chocolate of his eyes reminded her of the warm light from a street lamp, shining on a dark and sleek road. His lips looked soft and plump and she couldn't stop her brain from wondering what they felt like.
