You Make Me | Lee Eunhyuk

17

Jiwon made the decision that it would be a good idea to inform her brother that she was alive and back in the lobby before heading to the security office. Her feet grew heavy and started to drag as she made that choice. She was aware there was no way she could avoid the coming scolding.

Despite searching the lobby, she was unable to locate her brother. Her brother should be okay since, as far as she knew, he had stayed in the lobby the entire time she was gone, but there was still some degree of doubt. She approached the security office out of habit rather than apprehension and was welcomed by a reassuring sight.

With his back to the girl and his back slouched, her best friend was working on a project as security cameras flickered in front of him. Jiwon silently watched the boy for a while as he appeared to finally achieve the solitude he required. She was grateful to the boy for putting up with her recent behaviour, which led to the disheartening question, "How much longer till I turn into a monster?" He appeared to be fully immersed in his task when Jiwon entered the room. Despite being put together, his noticeable slouching of the back revealed that he was fatigued. The boy grinned, slammed his pencil to the page, and leaned back in his chair while Jiwon watched. She felt grounded. Because she wasn't quite ready to speak to the boy, she tried to leave the room, but it seemed like her feet had been stuck to the floor.

Eunhyuk quickly swung his head around and made eye contact with Jiwon, who was uncomfortably positioned next to the entrance. He didn't know what to say to her because he was so surprised, so he simply turned around and straightened up into rigid posture. He gulped, hoping that what he did wouldn't give her the impression that he was ignoring her.

Jiwon grimaced, "He's not even looking at me".

Jiwon was at first nervous, but she worked up the bravery to move cautiously toward the boy's plastic chair while remaining silent. She saw Eunhyuk merely fumble about with a pencil as he focused mostly on the security cameras. Jiwon imitated him and started fussing with the end of the flannel she was wearing.

Eunhyuk stopped moving but kept staring at the security cameras as Jiwon murmured, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout or become angry with you."

He remained silent for a long period before saying, "Yeah, I'm sorry too."

He eventually turned to face the girl sitting next to him and apologized, "I'm sorry for not talking to you about the plan about Hyunsoo, I just knew you wouldn't agree with me, and I didn't know what to do. And I didn't talk to you after because I felt maybe you needed distance from me."

The girl interrupted the boy's tangent by saying, "I do not need space"  as she put her hand on his shoulder. "I swear,"

The two mentally agreed that things were going smoothly.

Eunhyuk jokingly said, "Obviously, that's what I was thinking, what could you do without your best friend anyway."

Jiwon shook her head and said, "You're such an idiot," as she smacked the back of his head.

He mutely chuckled, "Ow, why are you like a dog, always barking."

Jiwon arched an eyebrow at the jest from the boy. "Well, if I'm a dog, you're a cranky cat who doesn't get along with anyone,"

He looked over to the girl sitting next to him and remarked, "I get along with you. "I believe that's enough."

When Jiwon attempts to hit the back of Eunhyuk's head again after becoming flustered by the boy's playful tone, he catches her hand and stops her in her tracks. As quickly as he had taken her hand, he let go and chose to gaze at the girl he hadn't seen in a while.

She has her hair up in a ponytail, her hairline covered with perspiration. He approaches her face slowly and notices a bruise appearing on the side of her head and soot covering some of her face. He spotted a hole burnt through part of the flannel he had handed her when he glanced down at it. " What exactly had she done up there?"  He tried not to look, but he saw that her collarbone was more pronounced than he recalled it being and that her hands were bonier, which made him wonder if she had been eating enough. Finally, he returned his gaze to hers. Her eyes glistened like they always had, full of warmth and tranquillity, and despite the bags under her eyes and the sunken appearance, they gave Eunhyuk the comfort he had been lacking.

Eunhyuk's unwavering gaze into Jiwon's eyes caused her to gulp as he suddenly made her feel nervous.

She paused before saying, "I'm going to find my brother." 

She paused before saying, "I'm going to find my brother."  

She then hurriedly bolted from her chair, confusing Eunhyuk.

He told the girl, "He's in the room near the main door."

"I got it, thanks!" Jiwon smiled and walked out to the lobby.

Jiwon said to herself, "It's the infection," as her cheeks flushed. To swiftly shake herself out of whatever emotional reverie she was in, she slapped her face.

"Jaeheon?" Jiwon inquired as she entered a space filled with piles of dirt.

She could see her brother repairing a pile of dirt that, as she later realized, contained the remains of the deceased. Compared to her memory, there was one additional body.

Jaeheon's attention was suddenly drawn to his younger sister, prompting him to run over to her and tightly hug her. He appeared to be expecting her to vanish as his arms were securely encircling her shoulders. She just saw a fleeting glimpse of his face, but it was covered with sweat, blood, and grime.

"How could you leave the lobby without telling me?" He spoke quietly but in a disappointed tone.

She responded, "I'm sorry, I know I should have told you, but you wouldn't have let me leave."

"You're right, I wouldn't have, but that doesn't mean you should just keep it to yourself," Jaeheon replied.

Jaeheon drew away from his sister and put his hands on her shoulders as Jiwon cautiously nodded.

"You're my baby sister, I have to protect you"  The girl nodded once again as a guilty expression developed on her face in response to what Jaeheon stated with a sorrowful grin.

Jaeheon was about to drop his hands before he lightly grabbed some of the fabric of the flannel his sister was wearing. He raised his brow at the girl with a knowing smile growing on his face. Jiwon quickly looked away from him as some tenants came into the room.

After a short while, all the tenants entered the makeshift cemetery, including Eunhyuk, who pulled Jiwon to the sides to stand respectfully in front of the graves.

The children who arrived later brought paper flowers that  broke the dense, oppressive stillness in the room. As the tenets mourned the people who did not survive, flowers were laid on their graves.

After then, the days seemed to drag on and nearly become a routine. Myungsik, the elderly man, kept bolstering the lobby's barriers. In order to reach an understanding with Eunhyuk and her brother, Jiwon only occasionally accompanied Hyunsoo as he ascended the floors. Jiwon and Hyunsoo grew close as he explained to her how to evade the entity's hallucinations, which facilitated their trips. Jiwon had successfully avoided Eunhyuk by spending more time with Hyunsoo since she believed the infection could be compromising her feelings.

[author's note]

Hello there, readers! I hope everything is going well for everyone! I just wanted to say thank you for 300+ votes, 7k+ reads and the #1 place under the hashtag "Eunhyuk". I am very grateful for all of your love for this fanfiction, and I will continue to write and hope you will keep supporting me!

- anise :)