Home; I Found With You // Ryeji FF

falling.

They both dashed into the house, maneuvering past Seulgi and Yuna clustered around the dining table near the kitchen to assess the situation. There, they were stunned to find Lia and Chaeryeong standing precariously on chairs, trembling with fear.

"What's going on?!" the lieutenant demanded, her hand instinctively resting on the knife at her waist.

Lia pointed frantically towards the kitchen, her finger trembling as she gestured towards the floor. "It was huge, Seulgi!"

"What was?!" Yuna exclaimed, her voice rising in alarm as she scanned the kitchen floor, noticing a bag of rice scattered across the tiles.

"A massive fucking rat!" Chaeryeong shouted in response, her voice laced with panic as she took a cautious step onto the dining table.

"A rat?!" Ryujin echoed in disbelief, her voice rising as she fought the urge to leap onto one of the chairs.

Yuna scoffed, "Are you guys sure you didn't just imagine it?!"

"Nope, it was definitely a rat," Yeji somehow managed to slip into the kitchen unnoticed and opened the pantry door. "There's a hole in the wall."

"See?!" Lia retorted, "Now it's running around somewhere."

With confirmation now in place, Ryujin immediately hopped onto a chair, scanning the floors for any signs of the critter.

Seulgi made her way over to Yeji, inspecting the damages caused by the rodent. There were bite marks on bags of non-perishable goods—bags of beans, pasta, and even dents in some of the cans of soup.

"It makes sense that the rat would try to come into our home," Seulgi remarked to Yeji. "It's winter now, and the rats need somewhere to live, so what better place than a house with a fireplace."

Yeji nodded in agreement, closing the cabinet and turning around to find three of the women perched on furniture, while the youngest was coaxing her girlfriend to remove her shoes from the table. Her eyes landed on Ryujin, who was offering her a nervous smile. She couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the woman who was fearless when it came to revenants, yet petrified by the thought of a rat roaming the place.

The Lieutenant pulled out one of the chairs and hopped onto it, squatting with her boots on the seat (more to tease the frightened women than anything). Finding amusement in the situation, Yeji also grabbed a chair, mimicking Seulgi by squatting on it.

"Okay, chickens. Here's the plan," Seulgi started, addressing Chaeryeong in front of her before glancing around at the other members. "We need rat traps and maybe some poison."

"We should also scavenge for food. I doubt the food is safe to eat now after the rat had its feast," Yeji chimed in. "We can split into groups to cover more ground."

"Where should we scavenge?" Ryujin asked, kneeling down and pulling her knees to her chest.

"We live in a big neighborhood," Chaeryeong replied, now sitting comfortably with her legs crossed on the table. "We didn't really have the chance to properly search the houses around here."

"But is it safe? Are you sure there aren't still people living around here?" Ryujin asked again, seeking reassurance.

"About once every six months, we drive around in the Humvee with a megaphone, calling out into the streets to check for corpses or any survivors that may be wandering around," Seulgi explained, turning to face the dark-haired woman. "So far, we've cleared out all the infected, and there were no signs of the living."

Ryujin felt a sense of relief wash over her at Seulgi's words, knowing they had taken measures to ensure their safety.

Yuna sighed, her arms crossed as she stood beside the table. "But guys, how can we be sure that there's a rat—"