Astronomy // Duty After School

Chapter Twenty-Two.

All across the construction sight, the kids were searching for supplies. Hui-rak entered a shed and kicked a can on his way in. He knelt down to eye the metal containers in the room and discovered they were full of liquid nitrogen. Deeming them useless for the time being, he exited the area. Tae-man opened a large storage container that was full of stuff, none of which was useful to their group.

"Why do I have to do this?" Sun-yi mumbled near the faucet she was using to fill a container with water. She turned off the water and picked up the container to head back inside as Yeong-shin came over to check the storage container Sun-yi was near. That, too, had nothing the group could use.

"It's just full of junk here," Chi-yeol commented to So-chul as the two searched the garage. "Do you think the others arrived safely?" So-chul faltered. "I hope we can see them soon." So-chul slumped a bit and Chi-yeol glanced over at him. "Hey, So-chul, you've been quiet for a while. What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"

"The others should be alive, right?" So-chul spoke.

"Hey, of course!" Chi-yeol insisted. "Why do you ask such a question?" So-chul turned to him with tears in his eyes.

"Wu-taek," So-chul said.

"What? Wasn't he in the second truck?" Chi-yeol asked. He swore he saw Wu-taek as he was certain Wu-taek was the one to pass out the magazines to the boys.

"Wu-taek would be dead if (Y/n) wasn't there," So-chul said tearfully. "She saved my best friend, but I couldn't save hers. Min-kyu was laughing one minute and dead the next and we just had to leave him there." He looked into Chi-yeol's eyes. "I can't get (Y/n)'s screams out of my head. And she's hardly had the chance to process it. I don't think she can take another death. I'll kill every last one of those Cells if I can prevent that."

"I don't think we'll be able to save your shirt when we get to the military base," (Y/n) said to So-yeon. "I'll lend you my thread cutters so you can at least save your pearls." Yeon-ju's lips turned up and So-yeon weakly opened her eyes to look at (Y/n). She, of course, would never want to admit that she hardly thought she would be alive long enough to see the military base, but she most definitely wouldn't dare admit that to Yeon-ju and (Y/n), who were working so hard to keep her alive. "There are space blankets in here," (Y/n) commented, picking up one of the packaged space blankets.

Inside the main building, So-yun and Jun-hi were searching for anything that would be of use. So-yun's priority was finding a medkit that she could take to (Y/n) and Yeon-ju. Jun-hi was searching the kitchen, hoping to find food and quite oblivious to the fact they already had military rations in the plastic container Hui-rak had been carrying.

"Oh, come on!" Jun-hi muttered as she came up empty-handed time and time again. "There must be something..." She opened a cabinet and immediately spotted a pack of ramyun.

"Hey, did you find something?" So-yun hollered, making Jun-hi slam the cabinet shut.

"No, there's nothing," Jun-hi denied. So-yun sent her an odd look.

"What the heck?" So-yun muttered, turning away and continuing her search. Jun-hi glanced in at the noodles once more. "I found it!" So-yun exclaimed, excitedly taking out the medkit to show to Jun-hi, who smiled and nodded. She brought it right back into So-yeon's room. Yeon-ju handed (Y/n) back the saline solution the girl had taken from her bag, using the disinfectant in the medkit to clean So-yeon's wound. So-yeon whimpered in pain.

"Sorry. I know it hurts. Hang in there," Yeon-ju said gently.

"Here, take it," So-yun said, offering some bandages to Yeon-ju, who used them to cover So-yeon's wound.