NIGHTMARES ARE SCARY NOT BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE DREAMS THEMSELVES; RATHER, THEY ARE SCARY BECAUSE IT IS THE HUMAN MIND THAT CONJURES THEM UP. it's all dani can think of as they're walking back to class. had she seen correctly? was it really a bite mark on cheonsa's finger? no, it couldn't have been...could it?
maybe she had gotten bit by a dog or something? that would explain her disappearance for the past couple days. but it definitely didn't explain why she suddenly came stumbling out of professor kim's office.
"ah, didn't you say that you have to tell me something?" haruto says, bringing dani out of her thoughts. "what is it?"
dani shakes her head, looking anywhere but haruto's face - which wasn't terribly difficult, given how unfairly tall the senior was.
"oh that? i don't really remember, don't worry about it," dani says, trying to brush off the matter. but haruto turns to her, running a hand through his hair with a somewhat worried look.
"you know you can tell me anything, right? i might be riki's friend first but that doesn't mean that you can't talk to me," he says, trying to convey his sincerity through his eyes. dani blushes, although it irks her that even now, haruto really only sees her as riki's best friend, rather than as a girl that he could possibly like.
she digs her hand into her pocket, fishing out her name badge and handing it to haruto. haruto accepts it, albeit confusedly, turning it this way and that as if it would come to life and eat him alive or something.
"wait, hold on, i think i've seen this in a drama somewhere," he pieces together slowly, a lightbulb going off in his head. "isn't this what people do to confess their feelings?"
dani nods shyly, trying her best to hold her head high. "if i'm being honest, i don't know if people still confess their feelings like this in korea but i figured i might as well. i like you, haruto."
haruto glances at the name badge he was holding as he analyzes dani, not sure how to phrase exactly what he wanted to say. but he's spared from responding when riki comes bounding down the stairs, clapping haruto on the back.
"oh? what are you two talking about?" riki says, trying to see what was in haruto's hand. dani rolls her eyes, evidently upset as she storms off. ugh, he can't let me have even one moment to myself. why does he have such terrible timing?
riki watches dani's back as the two japanese boys stand in silence.
"so, you and dani are dating, huh?" haruto says with a lopsided grin, watching riki's expression carefully. "you like her?"
riki turns to haruto with a serious look on his face, wrangling his hands as he tries to find the words to explain himself. "yeah dude, i don't know what to do. we've been in a situationship for so long but i really have strong feelings for her. do you really think she's feeling the same way?"
haruto blinks at him, suddenly feeling guilty as the name tag in his hand burns as though it had suddenly come to life. riki looks as though he's about to burst into tears...
...until he's not, getting all up in haruto's face and laughing obnoxiously.
"you really thought i would say shit like that?" riki guffaws with an almost offensive shit-eating grin. "nah dude, it's not like that. where did that even come from anyway, what the fuck?"
haruto breaks into a smile, clapping the younger boy on the back. "forget it man. let's get back to class."
for some reason though, the name tag in his pocket and riki's heart both seem as though they're made out of lead.
+++
on the other side of the school, however, the worries that filled the nurse's office were much more sinister than those of the innocent hearts of the students.
"this couldn't have been anything but a rat," the nurse mutters to herself, checking the pulse of cheonsa. upon detecting a spidery pulse, there at times and absent at others, the nurse immediately steps away, reaching for the phone to call an ambulance.
but she cannot take more than a few steps before she feels something tugging on her arm followed by an ungodly sharp pain. she turns to see what the cause of the pain was, letting out a shriek when she realized that cheonsa's mouth was firmly attached to the nurse's forearm.
mustering her strength, she pushes the young student off of her, nursing her arm as she watches cheonsa warily. cheonsa makes no other sudden moves, other than the occasional muscle spasm as she lays unconscious on the floor. the nurse moves to assist her into a more humane position when she hears the telltale arrival of the ambulance, instead trying to carry cheonsa out to the entrance by herself.
"let me help you, nurse roh," professor joo says with a warm smile, hoisting cheonsa up so that the both of them could carry her together. "looks like i came just in time to check on cheonsa, hm?"
"yeah, thank you professor joo," the nurse replies with a tight smile, carefully making their way down the steps to where the paramedics were preparing a stretcher. professor joo lays cheonsa down carefully on the stretcher, bowing at one of the paramedics as soon as she is relieved of her burden.
"oh, it's nari's father," professor joo says, bowing almost ninety degrees to greet one of her students' father. the paramedic seems a little confused for a moment before the realization clicks in his head, bowing equally deep in the young english teacher's direction.
"professor joo," nari's father says in response. "i hope my daughter isn't causing any trouble in your class."
"oh definitely not. nari is one of my best students - i'm incredibly proud of her," she says with a bright smile before it fades as the doors to the ambulance close, cheonsa incredibly still on the stretcher inside. "i wish we were meeting under better circumstances."
"unfortunately, my job doesn't allow for many better better circumstances," nari's father says with a dry laugh that causes professor joo to let out a laugh against her own will. "tell my daughter hello for me please. she didn't respond to her texts this morning."
"oh yes, one of the teacher's caught wind of an online cheating plot for this next exam and so the principal insisted on confiscating all of the phones as soon as students got to class," professor joo explains, rolling her eyes. "but we'll get your daughter safe and sound to you, mr. bae. please don't worry."
nari's father offers her a small smile, hesitating as though he wanted to say something else, extend their conversation somehow, but his partner is clearly getting impatient inside the ambulance, judging by the way the wheels were starting to turn and nari's father is unable to ignore his duty any longer, waving goodbye to professor joo and the school nurse before opening the door to hop into the passenger side.
professor joo watches the ambulance until it's no longer in sight, turning to head back inside before first period started when she catches a glimpse of nurse roh's arm.
"please don't say anything about this to anyone," nurse roh says, pulling her white coat's sleeve over the visible bite mark dug deep into her skin.
professor joo just nods, unable to trust her voice enough to speak. if only she knew how much these few moments of silence would cost her - would cost everyone - in the future.
a/n: omgomgomg so many strange things...i wonder...
if maybe nurse roh is hiding something?
YOU ARE READING
do or die | yang jungwon
Mystery / Thrillerbae nari had always prided herself on her ability to think on her feet - except she never expected her skills to be put to the test when she and her friends are trapped in her high school during a zombie apocalypse and their survival is dependent on...
