24 | CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR — BIGGER THAN THE WHOLE SKY ❝ nothing can hold you down. not anymore ❞
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"THIS IS IT," Joon-yeong announced as the group of teenagers finished putting on protection to shield them from the horrors outside of those supply closet doors. "Here we go."
"Hold on," Dae-su said, adjusting his elbow pads. "This will work?"
Joon-yeong nodded, standing at the front of the room. "This will work."
It's the bravest Yu-ri had ever seen him–the most confident. Despite everything, she thought, it was an incredibly sad, yet oddly comforting, idea knowing how much of all of them had grown. There was a time where all of them, including herself, were too afraid to step forward, too afraid to lead and make decisions. Yet in such a short time span, they've evolved into courageous and strong people.
It was a shame, though, that they had to grow into it at such young ages. The universe hadn't given them much of a choice in that matter.
Yu-ri bit her tongue as she struggled to slip a pad over her arm, courtesy of the scratch on it that stung with every pressing movement. "Fuck."
Su-hyeok approached her, gently taking her hand in his and carefully adjusting it on her forearm to protect her injury. "Is that okay?"
She nodded, exhaling gently. "You're not wearing a lot of armor."
The boy glanced at his body and then scanned Yu-ri's. "Neither are you." He pointed, remembering how he'd witnessed Yu-ri handing all of the protection to everyone else, leaving herself with only arm pads.
She tilted her head up, meeting his eyes that stared down at her with such desperation, she swore she could've kissed him right there.
In that moment, she realized there was so much she hadn't told him. There were so many thoughts and feelings that she'd bottled up since they were younger; so many unspoken words that were threatening to spill out of her mouth with every second she looked at his face.
"Su-hyeok," She said, her voice just above a whisper. "If this is the last moment we have together,"
"What?" He furrowed his brows.
She shook her head, continuing. "Then I just wanna say something, in case we run out of time or something happens or-"
"Yu-ri, what are you talking about?" Su-hyeok frowned. "Nothing's gonna happen. We're fine."
She straightened her shoulders, determined to say it without him interrupting. "You don't know that. Okay, no one knows what's gonna happen once we step out of these doors and I just, I just don't want to die regretting not saying what I should've."
Su-hyeok swallowed the lump in his throat. His heartbeat picked up as he awaited the words that were to come out of her mouth. "And that is?"
Yu-ri hesitated, her chest heaving up and down as she racked through her brain, trying to find the best way to say it. "Su-hyeok, I, I think I-"
