Chapter Text
The city had stopped breathing a long time ago.
He just sat there in that empty park on the same bench everyday staring at the sunset like it had all the answers. The once loved, adored idol and actor park jihoon sitting in that eerie silence utterly alone. A few screams of zombies could be heard in the distance followed by gunshots and footsteps. Not like any of it mattered to him anymore.
Jihoon slowly sat up from the cold, dirty bench as a long exhale left his lungs.
Sometimes he thought about what it would be like to go back to the once lively, loud and beautiful world of his, but it was useless now anyway. Nothing was left. Nothing.
The same routine every day. Get up, look for food, run, look for shelter and survive. Again, again and again.
He walked out the front gate of the park, the wooden sign writing „evergreen park” tilted at a weird angle. The name evergreen just sounded off.
He walked past boarded-up stores, houses, not even glancing inside anymore. He stopped looking for people weeks ago. The quiet breaking of a fallen branch could be heard, interrupting his not-so-comfortable silence. Jihoon stopped. Completely. His heartrate quickened, and an uneasy feeling spread through his body. Then another sound. There was no time to waste now, he grabbed his gun from its worn holster and turned around in one quick motion. He lifted the gun, his grip tightening around it. There was no attack. There was absolutely nothing behind him except for a few old posters caught up by the wind.
He lowered the gun, letting out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. A humorless, dry laugh escaped him.
“I think I’ve finally gone crazy”
He turned back to continue his walk to the nearby shelter he found a few days ago. He should get back before the sun goes down completely, these empty streets of Seoul can get wild and dangerous at night.
It’s been more than 10 months since the city he once knew fell apart. Though it felt longer sometimes... It’s not easy to keep track of time when you barely feel like living at all. He still remembers the terror on his colleague’s faces when the news announced that the outbreak took over and there was no way to stop it now. “To everyone still out there out there. Go and be with your loved ones. God bless you all” the news anchor said before the TV signal cut, replaced by static.
That memory is still something that keeps him up at night.
It took him a while to get back to the base. The “base” in question was a run down coffee shop that had a lock on the back door. He managed to run into it when running away from a few zombies a few days ago. The lock was hard to open. It took a while, but that also meant some kind of safety. This shop had been his little home for the past couple of days. The last one got attacked and burned down by other survivors who tried to take everything he gathered in the last few months. Although he managed to escape with only a few scratches, there wasn’t much left.
When he finally opened the lock after a few tries, he stepped in and closed the door. With a long exhale he slid down to the floor against the door and buried his face in his hands, pulling his knees up to his chest. A quiet sob escaped him but before it could take him over he wiped his tears and got up.
“I don’t have time for this”
With that, he made his way over to the old mattress in the corner and laid down, exhaustion taking over.
The next day, the same routine. Getting woken up by loud bangs or screams, running, searching, and surviving. The day passed a little longer than usual but before he even noticed, he was sitting on that same bench, same park, watching the sunset. All the hope left finally leaving his thoughts. As he stared blankly ahead at the huge grey building across the park, he noticed a billboard, slightly burned at one edge. His own face looking at him, smiling. A reminder of what the world was before it became a mess.
“Park Jihoon you absolute idiot.”
He said to himself then looked away with a scoff.
He thought about what it would be like to just finally give up after everything. But he got the privilege of being able to live when so many people didn’t. So it would be unfair to decide that for yourself…right? He glanced at the gun resting next to him on the cold bench. But before he could reach out, a loud shout snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Yah! Park Jihoon!”
He looked up in confusion. Why would anyone be shouting his name? Then again.
“Park Jihoon!!”
What? He looked behind, and saw a boy, sprinting towards him with a horde of zombies chasing him. As the boy got closer, Jihoon grabbed his gun and stood up, not even thinking about the danger that was closer every second. He just stared ahead with a slightly confused expression. Was the boy expecting help? Why is he shouting my name? It’s not my problem. Jihoon thought. But it didn’t feel right. Before he could even think about helping, the boy grabbed his wrist and ran, dragging Jihoon with him. His eyes widened as he realized what was happening. Why would anybody do that? When they finally got out of the park, he glanced behind and saw that the zombies finally gave up, now just roaming around the park behind them. They were alone now. He pulled his wrist back aggressively and stopped.
“Yah...”
The boy said, out of breath. A hint of concern in his voice.
“We have to keep going, the sun is almost down.”
Jihoon just stared at the boy. He was tall, taller than him. Maybe a few years younger. He had broad shoulders an athletic build that explains why he ran so fast. His hair was messily cut, like if a 4 year old tried to cut their hair themselves with paper scissors.
“Who are you?”
Jihoon finally asked, his voice slightly cracked as he tried to catch his breath as well.
The boy gave him a concerned smile.
“Choi Hyunwook. Nice to finally meet you Jihoon.”
Jihoon just stared at him in confusion, still breathing heavily. The sun has set completely, and they were standing in full darkness.
“How do you know my na-“
“We have to go.”
Hyunwook cut him off, his expression turning serious. Suddenly a loud bang-possibly a gunshot echoed through the area, so he took Jihoon’s hand again and started dragging him to who knows where. After a few minutes of running Jihoon felt like he couldn’t run anymore. He hasn’t eaten anything in two days and exhaustion started to take over every part of his body. Hyunwook slowed down a little and glanced back at Jihoon.
“Just hold on a little longer we’re almost there”
He said in a reassuring tone.
Jihoon wasn’t even sure if he should trust this guy. They met 15 minutes ago and now he’s dragging him along to some unknown place. But what could he possibly do in this situation? His coffee shop was pretty far and it was completely dark so he had no choice but to blindly follow the complete stranger he just met.
Hyunwook led him into a huge office building. The windows were broken and a few scattered documents lay forgotten across the floor. Hyunwook opened the door to the emergency staircase. The stairs led them down into a hidden basement. Hyunwook pulled out a key from his back pocket and opened the basement door.
“I used to work here before the outbreak.”
He said calmly as he stepped inside. The basement door opened up into a huge, well equipped base. Jihoon glanced up in awe, looking at the rifles hanging off the walls, a bunk bed in the corner, and an actually functioning small makeshift kitchen. It would be nice to live here. He thought. Then he snapped back into reality. He didn’t know this guy.
“Look it’s very nice whatever you’re trying to do. But I’m leaving as soon as the sun comes up”
Jihoon replied in a cold, distant tone.
“Wait! You can stay for however long you want, I have an extra bed”
Hyunwook stepped forward, Jihoon stepped back instinctively.
“You act like we know each other”
Hyunwook looked away for a moment before looking back at Jihoon, concern visible on his face.
“Look…I know what you were thinking about doing on that bench. And you weren’t like that before. I know your cheerful, friendly side. The person you used to be and I just want to hel-“
“Stop.”
Jihoon cut him off as he stared at the ground, his vision blurring.
“I’m not the person I used to be. Don’t act like you know what I feel or what I need. I don’t need your pity or your help so fuck off.”
With that he turned around and opened the door but before he could leave, Hyunwook grabbed his wrist firmly.
“Please just hear me out first… you’ll die if you go out right now.”
“I don’t care!”
Jihoon tried to pull his hand back but Hyunwook didn’t let go.
“We’re complete strangers!! Why are you acting like this? Were you my fan or something??”
Jihoon asked but he didn’t really mean the last part until…Hyunwook stayed completely silent and looked down in embarrassment. Jihoon didn’t say anything either. He just stared at Hyunwook, his expression softening a little. The other boy let go of his hand and finally looked up.
“Yeah...”
Jihoon didn’t admit it but it felt good. Like a part of him was given back and he almost forgot how good it feels when you realize someone still loves you. But he still didn’t trust Hyunwook completely. He couldn’t go back this late…and he was really hungry. Staying for a night couldn’t hurt right? Jihoon opened his mouth to say something but Hyunwook spoke faster.
“I’m sorry… you can go just be careful”
He said as he looked away, clearly upset.
“I’ll stay.” Jihoon replied.
“What? Really?”
“Only for tonight.”