You Make Me | Lee Eunhyuk

07

As Jiwon entered the apartment, she inhaled deeply. They were safe, if only momentarily.

The girl took a few seconds to look about and get used to her new surroundings, but she couldn't help but feel like she was in a trance because of the absurd circumstance she was in. The apartment was not a place Jiwon could call home, but the apartment had individuality. It appeared more like a workshop than it did an apartment, and the lights inside the apartment only weakly lighted the space. The boy she arrived with started conversing with the elderly man in a wheelchair, giving Jiwon the impression that they had already been acquainted.

"And who's this?" the old man suddenly questioned, looking at the girl.

The girl walked toward the man and held out her hand for a handshake.

"I'm Jung Jiwon, you are?" she questioned.

The old man grabbed the girl's hand firmly.

"I'm Han Dusik, nice to meet you," he said, now smiling kindly.

Jiwon returned the smile before answering "Nice to meet you too."

Then, when the kids approached to talk to Dusik, she let go of the man's hand and turned to leave. She rested her baseball bat against the wall after almost forgetting she was even holding it as she had been running away more often than she had been fighting. The boy joined her in standing beside the wall as she leaned against it. While impatiently awaiting her brother to arrive at apartment 1408, she plucked at her fingernails. Before the two even entered the flat, the situation above had turned calm, so Jiwon prayed that everything was well with the others.

The boy next to her appeared fatigued yet his eyes were desperate as she turned to face him as his breathing got louder.

"Hey, uh—. Sorry, what's your name?" Jiwon questioned, as the boy turned to her.

"Hyunsoo" he answered softly, looking away again.

"Are you okay Hyunsoo?" she questioned, concerned at his anxious state that seemed to be getting worse.

"The other survivors are fighting the big monster; we have to go help them!" he exclaimed.

"Hyunsoo" Dusik spoke, "It's quiet. The situation is over."

"I asked them to help me save the kids," Hyunsoo remarked, his expression guilt-ridden.

Jiwon quickly put her hand on Hyunsoo's shoulder, causing him to turn and look at her.

She tried to comfort herself and him by saying, "They will be okay."

Hyunsoo hardly noticed what she said as his anxiety level continued to increase, but he nodded and made an effort to remain hopeful. As soon as she was through speaking, knocking was heard from the door.

Jiwon and Hyunsoo gestured for Dusik to drop his weapon as he lifted it.

"Wait. It's them". To determine which of them would receive the door, Hyunsoo turned to face Jiwon as she spoke.

Jiwon took the lead and cautiously approached the door. She slowly opened it to reveal her brother's worn-out face. She rapidly widened the entrance so Jaeheon, Jisu, and the older woman could enter.

Jaeheon embraced his little sister as soon as he entered the flat. Jiwon reciprocated the hug, but a sudden ache on her arm made her wince. She would need to identify what was hurting later.

"I'm relieved that you're fine." Jiwon's head was patted by Jaeheon as he spoke.

Jiwon replied, "Me too," her words muffled by Jaeheon's shoulder covering her face.

Until their thoughts comprehended, they were both still alive, the two kept clutching onto each other. Jaeheon's eyes widened as he recalled something as soon as they broke their embrace.

"Jiwon!" he said as h He took off the sheath he was wearing and handed Jiwon her jingum, a Korean martial arts sword.

The girl seized it and quickly gripped the handle. She felt safer the moment she had a weapon she understood how to wield.

She spoke a gentle "thank you," stroking her hands over the handle of her jingum, which was wrapped in brown leather as opposed to her brother's, which was in black leather.

Dusik addressed the group, saying, "Come on, everyone, I'll get some food ready."

While Jaeheon went to talk to Jisu, the older woman proceeded to help Dusik prepare the food. Jiwon approached the wall she had become accustomed to and slipped silently to the ground. Hyunsoo approached and took a seat next to her.

Hyunsoo turned to Jiwon and said softly, "Thank you for taking care of the kids.

Jiwon grinned at the boy and said, "If you hadn't distracted that monster, I wouldn't have been able to. Thank you."

Jiwon finally got a good look at the boy's face when a slight smile appeared on Hyunsoo's face. She thought the boy was cold and dishevelled at first, but after interacting with him, she saw that he was timid and afraid of the world around him. Finally, the two turned and stared blankly ahead at an empty wall. Their minds elsewhere.

Jiwon could not help but worry about how her best friend was faring, hoping that he was doing better than they were. Compared to this apartment, the first floor was unquestionably in better condition. More people, food, and resources were available. She attempted to ignore the aching that was present in her heart as she massaged the wound on her arm. She placed her head on her knees and positioned them close to her chest.

"Jiwon! I told you to be more careful" Eunhyuk said sternly, dabbing antiseptic cream on the girl's face.

The two agreed to forgo night independent study in order to celebrate Jiwon's birthday today. Before going to the PC café, they planned to eat, but the two got sidetracked. While they were chasing each other around, Jiwon had just unintentionally fallen and struck her head on a chair.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," she said, sadly not looking into the boy's eyes.

"I know—" he began, pausing to gather his thoughts, "this could have been more serious, okay?"

Jiwon eventually turned to face Eunhyuk and nodded, acknowledging his worry with a little grin on her face. After returning her grin, Eunhyuk turned his attention to her injuries.

"It's going to scar" he inferred.

"Oh," the girl sighed, "that sucks."

The boy looked at the girl pouting before squeezing her cheek tightly.

She said, her eyebrows brow raised, "Hey!"

Before the girl could erupt in rage, he remarked, "Maybe now you'll remember to not be an idiot." He then stood up and took off running.

She screamed, standing up and running after him, "You!"

They kept running about and laughing, Jiwon laughing harder than Eunhyuk until they passed out from exhaustion and fell onto the couch.

To touch the sunken scar next to her eyebrow, Jiwon lifted her hand. She grinned as she recalled the incident, but soon felt sad since she missed the solace Eunhyuk's presence brought.

The girl was startled out of her reverie by her brother's yell.

"Sir! Have you got a TV? Jaeheon yelled aloud."

"They're still showing TV?" Inquiring, Dusik pulled out the TV.

For the daily broadcast, everyone gathered around the TV except the children. After being static for a while, an image suddenly appeared on the screen just as the group was about to lose confidence.

All individuals who saw the news that day were stunned. The program said there was a method for eliminating the monsters.

[author's note]

GUYS I CAN SEE WHAT READING LIST YOU ADD THIS STORY TOO :O SOME OF THE NAMES PFTAHAHAHAH anyways i'm listening to lana dey ray a lot so get ready for some angST. Anyway hope you all have a good day bye bye!

- anise :)