𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔 : 𝐘. 𝐆𝐰𝐢-𝐧𝐚𝐦 𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

•12•

"Alright, let's vote, then," I announced.

~~~ 12 ~~~

"Okay," Ha-ri said. "Raise your hand if you want to leave tonight."

Min-jae, Mi-jin, and I all raised our hands.

"Alright. It's decided. We leave tonight," I said.

"But wait!" Jun-seong complained. "Ha-ri didn't vote to leave, so it's three verses three."

"No, my vote should not count. I'm the leader of this group," she replied.

"I think your vote matters as much as anyone else's," Mi-jin told her.

"I agree," I also said.

"Oh..." Ha-ri started. "Well, my vote is for leaving tonight, or tomorrow."

"Well, that's a separate problem. When do we leave?" I asked.

"I'm fine with either. Don't count my vote," Gwi-nam said. "It'll make it an odd number of votes."

"Okay," Ha-ri nodded. "Raise your hand for leaving tomorrow."

I first raised my hand, then Min-jae.

Min-jae nudged Ha-ri and asked, "Which vote are you for, Ha-ri?"

She shook her head. "I vote leaving tonight. We know that there are survivors up at the rooftop, and if we wait any longer, they could go dehydrated. We have the supplies to help them. And, another thing... My brother could be among them."

I sighed in relief.

"Oh, you're right... Well, then my vote is for leaving now," Mi-jin said as she raised her hand.

Jun-seong looked around the room, defeated. "Alright, fine... You guys win."

Everyone put their hands down.

"Grab your stuff, and meet by the back door in five minutes," I announced.

Everyone nodded at me.

I eventually noticed that Gwi-nam was uncomfortable, but I didn't know why.

I decided to talk to him. "Hey, Gwi-nam? What's wrong?" I asked as I walked over to him.

"Nothin'. Just thinking," he replied.

"Thinking about what?"

"I wanted to tell you somethin' before we had to leave this place, but I could never find the time. And even now, I can't bring myself to do it."

What?

How was I supposed to respond to that?

I didn't say anything at first, but eventually, I said, "It's alright. When you're ready to tell me, I will be listening. Okay?"

He just nodded. I realized that he had buried his face in his hands.

"We should go get our stuff. We leave in about three minutes," I continued as I got up.