Last Night in Paradise [Discontinued]

𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐔𝐑

Taehyung woke to an aching feeling lingering within his back. Taehyung had spent the night in a tree, but only because Jungkook and Jimin had told him to; they said if he was to sleep on the ground he's most likely to get bombarded by infected in his sleep. Taehyung had to suffice with their every order, he more or less had no choice.

"Rise and shine, princess." A voice hollered beneath Taehyung's dangling feet. He felt a small tug at his ankle, almost freaking out at the way his body tilted off the side of the elongated branch. Taehyung gazed below himself to only be presented with a grimacing face he didn't recognize. there stood a boy with a hooked nose, wide eyes, and relatively thin lips; one thing notable was the scar scaling across his left cheek and his shabby, fluffed, brown hair. 

"come on, I don't have all day," the familiar voice but unfamiliar face beckoned. Taehyung recognized the voice to be Jungkook's, the young boy was even dressed in the same attire -- yet, this was the first time he had seen his face.

Taehyung huffed, gazing around the diminished campsite. Jimin had already packed all his things, as did Jungkook. It was dawn, the sun already rising as tiredness plagued the boy's mind. Taehyung swung his only leg over the branch, nervously leaping off. He didn't want to appear weak in front of his new acquaintances, but he couldn't help his undeniable fragility as he stumbled upon his rough landing.

Jungkook and Jimin both gave him a pitiful look before turning away.

Taehyung felt like an outcast.

Jimin stepped toward Taehyung with a small grin to his face. "The infected are beginning to gain their sight back so we don't have much time, show us wear the van is and we'll be on our way."

Taehyung nodded, but he wasn't even sure which direction they were facing. where did he come from? "Do you know where the trail is from here?"

Jimin shot Taehyung an odd look as Jungkook did with a glare; nonetheless, Jimin pointed straight ahead. The boy nodded once more, turning slightly in that direction to lead his two guides down to this van. Hopefully, the vehicle would still be in working condition, if not it may take weeks for the boys to even reach this laboratory marked out on their map. 

"So," Jimin started with pep laced in his voice, "what was life your like?" Taehyung gazed at him with raised brows, "I mean, before this whole virus," he clarified.

Taehyung already knew what he meant, he was just surprised that Jimin cared enough to ask -- even if it was just small talk. The boy let his eyes wander in blissful thoughts, "I was a college student. I was just taking general classes. I didn't really have much planned for the future, I was just living for myself -- for the hell of it." 

Both Jimin and Jungkook watched on, intrigued by the lost boy's reminiscence. It reminded them of their own past; their faults and triumphs; and everything in between. "Where were you when things got... bad?"

His gaze lingered over Jimin for a moment before continuing on, "I was hanging out with a friend of mine, he's from Gwangju. My family had left on a trip, luckily to Seoul, so I invited him over to hang out for a week or two. Then shit got out of hand and the military quickly evacuated my neighborhood and transported us to a reserve in Busan. The virus broke out in Daegu so there was no time for them to build refuge there. These past six months have been literal hell."

"I can relate," Jimin piped upon seeing the military trail, the three boys scaling onto it as they continued on. "I was in university to be a nurse, I even had an internship at one of the best hospitals in Busan. A few months after the virus broke out I was helping out in the ER, doing minuscule things, that was until I first saw someone turn. We tried to contain this guy, we didn't even know how he got in; that day ended with me alone, wandering around in the woods because the streets had an infestation of infected." He looked Taehyung deeply in the eyes, the expression on his face speaking more than words itself, "that's when I met Jungkook and his father, they taught me how to survive."