"eunhyuk... didn't make it." that wasn't something your heart accepted to hear. but that was something your mind registered, understood, despite its reluctance to accept it. however, your heart was out of your control, and that was why your tears slipped before you could hold them back. that was why your blank expression didn't match how emotionally unwell you were. that was why you always did what you had to do and not what you wanted to do, just like lee eunhyuk always did. you figured, maybe, you could indulge into a thing you wanted, for once in a very long while. you wished you hadn't been knocked out during your runaway to the bunker— so you would've had the opportunity to slap eunhyuk for leaving or, at least, go with him. but no, of course things couldn't be this good. you had to get a chunk of the breaking building fall on your head and knock you out, only for you to wake up when the group found the exit of the bunker. you didn't even remember entering it, just a faint memory of eunhyuk carrying you and looking at you with a slight smile. it was rare and you should've known then it couldn't mean any good. but your consciousness left as fast as it came. but now you were awake. so you left. ignoring the shouts of all the people you survived with at green home, you walked away. the military threatened, or well, warned you but you ignored it, and yikyung seemed to be telling them to let you go. you didn't care for anyone here much— save for eunyu, who was kind of a friend to you despite how similar your were in personality to her brother (she always lightheartedly insulted you about it) and hyunsu, who... was not here. so he didn't count. you decided eunyu would be fine with everyone else, and that going to check if hyunsu and eunhyuk were still alive was worth the risk of getting killed. so you went to get killed. that is the mindset you walked away with. so you wouldn't feel as upset if you did get killed. green home's building wasn't too far from the spot of the end of the bunker, so the walk wasn't too long. the sound of your shoes against the gravel and the debris from broken buildings was odd, unfamiliar. you'd gotten lucky enough to manage to stay inside a fairly comfortable building throughout it all, so walking outside while literal monster walked around, destroying things was weird. you didn't really mind. the silence. the loneliness of it all. it was enjoyable in a way. and no monsters showed up at all. green home didn't look very well. there was no rooftop to go to anymore, no stairs (none that led to anywhere, at least), no elevator, nothing. your apartment and room was long gone, as well as everything in the formerly well-kept building. you took a deep breath but kept walking. grays, and shades of beige. sand and gravel and rocks and stones. it was so dull. almost tiring to look at. until your eyes caught sight of a trail of blood. fresh blood. without an ounce of hesitation, you followed it, because why wouldn't you? you followed through the remains of the building, followed through what felt like narrow alleyways but were just walls that fell apart, followed until you found... a body. you dropped to your knees and grabbed the familiar figure you hoped was alive. your hand settled on the red flannel covered shoulder and turned the body over. lee eunhyuk. your hand moved up to his cheek, caressing the rough expanse of his dry, bloodstained skin. yes, blood, all over him. from his nose to his chin, from his temple to his jaw, on his neck and on his arms— blood. but only the trail of his very apparent nosebleed was still fresh— and flowing. he was alive. you allowed a breathy, relieved laugh and smiled. "eunhyuk. wake up." he didn't. ...not for at least ten minutes or so, rendering you worried about his wellbeing every other minute until you forced yourself to remember that hyunsu took some time to wake up after getting severely injured and maybe that was just it. after all, the nosebleed was a very clear sign of eunhyuk's turning, which meant he was on the edge of humanity's cliff— holding onto whatever his mind thought was a tight enough rope. he blinked drowsily and looked at you through broken glasses, brows slowly furrowing in confusion. "[name]?" "yes." "why are you here?" "for you." he scowled and sighed, and then sat up with some effort. he ran a hand through his hair and then sniffled. a crease formed between his eyebrows and he brought his fingers up to his nose, slowly confirming that he was (still) bleeding. he bit on his inner lip and looked away, like he didn't want you to see him like this despite knowing you already did. you exhaled, "what happened?" "i went to get hyunsu but he wouldn't come. and then i decided to stay." he said, as calmly as usual. he looked at you with the same emotionless air he usually had on him, "i figured it'd be pointless to go back with you all, considering the state of everything." "you had a chance." you said, certain, "that was illogical." "it was self-indulgent." he retorted, raising his eyebrows. you would've questioned how throwing himself into sure death was self-indulgent in any way, but he was alive and you, too, had thrown yourself into sure death and called it self-indulgent. again, you supposed you were really similar. "it was selfish, too." you added, "eunyu never looked that sad. and i didn't even see her for too long." "is this really about eunyu?" he asked. you chuckled without amusement. "obviously if it had been, i wouldn't have come here alone." he sighed and before you could even think of anything, eunhyuk hugged you. you weren't used to that— despite eight months of dating. he was never really one to initiate physical affection, nor were you, so it was a surprise. pleasant, sure, but a surprise. and despite how warm it felt to have his arms around you, you couldn't help the chill that ran down your spine. "eunhyuk. you're not gonna turn." "... how can you be sure?" so you were right. the sudden embrace was because he thought he would fully turn. and knowing him, and his thought process (which mirrored yours), he probably planned on killing himself before it happened so he wouldn't hurt anyone. or you. but he would not turn, you were sure of that. "because it seems resilience, strength and a clear goal seem to be the key to staying human. to being a special case." you said, basing yourself off what you'd seen from hyunsu and uimyeong. "do you have that?" "i can muster it." he said quietly, "but i don't want you anywhere near for the next fifteen days. just in case." "and where do i go?" silence. the wind felt especially cold on your skin, and conveniently enough eunhyuk rubbed your arm and back as the breeze passed. he seemed to ponder over the question for a while before pulling away and looking at you. "we'll find a pharmacy." "storage?" "yes." same thought process. the storage of a pharmacy would be your home for the following fifteen days, for very simple reasons. one being that there was a door with medications and therefore drugs that could only be accessed through a code (with some fidgeting of a tool kit you found, it was easy to change the latter). two being that eunhyuk could stay in that room, locked, in case he fully turned. three being that a pharmacy had everything to patch your wounds up as well as things that were nutritious enough to keep you alright and well for at least a few weeks. a bonus would be that, surprisingly, no one managed to have made it to that pharmacy alive during the time of the apocalypse, rendering it empty of people and monsters— and filled with everything you'd need. and fifteen days were long. especially when you heard him yell and hit the wall while you sat at the other side of the door. it was hard and it was stressful. sometimes you talked to him— asked him what happened for him to stay alive. he'd explain he woke up under the rumble of what remained of the building with nothing more than a few injuries and broken glasses. then, after some effort to get the bricks and all off of him, he managed to get up and make his way over to somewhere else. he'd found a place that looked enough like a shelter for him to survive enough to understand but got another nosebleed on the way, and passed out. sometimes you'd ask to open the door. he would say no. sometimes he told you to run far away from the room, just in case. and you'd come back ten minutes later to see he was fine. and the fifteenth day came. you opened the door with the passcode you'd set. eunhyuk was up and awake. "how are you feeling?" there was a beat of silence that made you fear. but then he smiled, genuine and content. "human." you smiled in return. "i'm glad to know that." you said calmly, despite the wave of absolute relief that washed over you. you couldn't have been happier. perhaps you'd been lucky enough to survive without getting attacked by monsters all this time. maybe you'd step out of the pharmacy and get stabbed by one and think "oh. great.". but in this moment you didn't care. eunhyuk was okay. he'd managed it. you figured your concerns were whatever, now, anyways, as before you could even begin to think of anything else you felt something wet on your lips, and saw eunhyuk's eyes widen. you touched your skin and looked down at your fingers. blood. well. you figured it was your turn to be quarantined.
Writer on tumblr
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
